Just back from the Galaxy-8/25/06

[excitedofharpenden]

Sheik, glad to hear that you enjoyed yourself. Hope you didn't miss those hot tubs too much!;)

 

Phil

[elena7seas]

Sheik, I'm really glad to hear that you had a good cruise. I'm looking forward to seeing your pictures.

 

What was the highlight of the trip?

[carpese]

Hi and Welcome Back to all who sailed on 8/25! It was great to read the positive comments about Celebrity. We sailed on her Dec., 2003 and absolutely LOVED her - couldn't imagine how she could so rapidly deteriorate from reading previous postings!

 

My DH and I are on her 9/15 sailing. Question: what was the "ashore attire" when on excursions? I'm beginning to pack and unsure whether to bring several prs. of shorts for DH and I or keep it capris for me and khakis for him?

 

Also, I have read from other posters that jackets for men on Informal nights isn't a necessity? It'd be great if we didn't have to bring a sports coat - just shirt/tie?

 

Thanks for the advice. Better get packing . . . we leave Tues. for a few days in Rome pre-cruise.

 

Susan

[doublemm16]

Hi Carpese!

 

To answer some of your questions. There was quite a variety in dress on the ship for casual, informal and formal. A jacket is not required for informal, many men were not even wearing ties.

 

As for touring...it all depends on what you are going to do. I myself always wore capri's but if you are not visiting any churches, shorts are fine. Also remember that your shoulders must be covered to visit the Vatican, and other places of worship, so be sure to bring a wrap, scarf, wtc. if you plan on going sleeveless. It looked like shorts were fine for men.

 

Enjoy your cruise...you will have a great time. The staff on the Galaxy was terrific!!!

 

Mindi

[barbels]

I just posted this review but it will take a while to show up so here it is.

 

Review of Galaxy August 25th Cruise

 

This cruise was the ninth on Celebrity and the third on Galaxy for my husband and me. The food and service were as good as ever. The ship was still beautiful, even if she is a little worn around the edges. We had a wonderful time and wouldn’t hesitate to sail on Galaxy again, especially since they are in the middle of changing all the mattresses on the ship.

 

Our flight to Rome on Alitalia was on time and uneventful. We were picked up at Fiumicino by a gentleman from Romacabs and I highly recommend booking with them. We used their services three times during the trip and they were reliable and friendly. Their prices were very fair. The cost of the ride from Civitavecchia to the airport was less than the cost for 2 people on Celebrity’s transfer bus. I highly recommend making friends on the specific board for your cruise and arranging shared rides. This makes an expensive trip much more affordable.

 

We stayed at the Hotel Mozart in Rome for 5 days before the cruise. The hotel was fine- clean and pleasant with a great location between the Piazza del Popolo and the Spanish Steps. Rome was extremely crowded with tourists- lots of English heard everywhere and not so full of Romans. According to our guide at the Vatican Museum the Romans were all at the beach and traffic which was not bad would worsen considerably when they returned in September. Many of the stores and restaurants were closed for vacation. I knew this would be the case when we booked the trip but decided to go then anyway and there were still lots of places to shop and eat.

 

If you are going to Rome for a one day stop starting at the port I would recommend not going to the Vatican unless you have reservations for the Museum. The line to get in to the museum was extremely long- well over an hour I think. We made reservations with the museum for a tour by fax (no phone and no email) and walked right in. The museum was packed. It was hard to stop and actually look at all the wonderful art. No other museum I have been to, including the Met in NYC, the National Galleries in London and Washington or the Louvre were as crowded as the Vatican. The Sistine Chapel was wall to wall people, but since the paintings are on the ceiling and high on the walls it was possible to see them. I last visited this museum in 1971 when it was a lot less crowded and it was possible to enter with little wait but the restorations of the Last Judgment and the Sistine Chapel ceiling murals are truly magnificent. I was riveted by the Last Judgment which didn’t impress me at all in its unrestored state 35 years ago.

 

On another day we went on a tour of the Vatican Gardens- these tours also must be booked by fax with the Vatican. (The museum website has all the information on how to book.) I highly recommend this tour if you have more than a day or two in Rome. It was quite a contrast from the crowds at St Peter’s to calm of the gardens. We spent 2 hours with a guide in the beautiful Vatican and they were definitely one of the highlights of the trip. I took more than 100 photos in those 2 hours- many of them close-ups of Michaelangelo’s Dome. One completely unexpected discovery I made is that there are wild parrots in the Vatican Gardens- more than 200 of them. They have been there more than 7 years and are exactly the same kind of green, yellow headed parrot that has colonized my neighborhood in Brooklyn. Really. I think these birds will eventually take over the world.

 

Rome was hot in the sun but reasonably comfortable in the shade. It helps that the water in the fountains is not recirculated so it is drinkable and cool. One thing I don’t like about Italian cities in general is the lack of parks, greenery and free spaces to sit. There are parks large and small all over London, Paris and even Manhattan, but very few in the historic cores of Rome and Florence. Any shaded area fills quickly with people sitting on steps or leaning on columns.

 

We arrived at the ship about 2pm and had almost no wait to board. It helped that there was a separate line for select Captain’s Club and above members. But I don’t think the general wait was 15 minutes. We were offered an escort to our cabin but turned it down since we know our way around Celebrity ships pretty well by now. So champagne in hand we arrived at our cabin to be greeted by the friendly face of our steward Daniel. Daniel was a very happy man. This was his last cruise before returning to Honduras for his break to see family including his 9 month old baby. But in spite of looking forward to his trip home he was the friendliest and most efficient steward we have had yet.

 

I liked the changes in the set up of the buffet. There is now a special line for salads and sandwiches and pizza and pastas as well as ice cream are available from lunch through 10pm. This is extremely handy for a port intensive cruise when it is common to return to the ship hungry after normal meal times. There were extensive buffets set up for dinner on the three days the ship stayed in port past 7. I have to admit that we ate some wonderful salads, especially the artichoke and grilled vegetables, one night at the buffet before going to our 8:45 seating in the main dining room.

 

There are now 4 times for dinner; 6:15 pm and 8:45pm in the main floor of the dining room and 7pm and 9:15 in the balcony. I think this may have been started to accommodate the many European cruisers who tend to eat much later than most Americans. It seemed to work well. On most Caribbean cruises I would choose to eat at 7pm if they continue these 4 seatings.

 

The food was just what I have come to expect from Celebrity- good quality ingredients well prepared with filet mignon, rack of lamb and lobster tails. Yum. Escargots, a favorite of my husband, were served 2 or 3 times.

 

We ate breakfast in the buffet every day where I could get my fill of smoked salmon and pineapple (eaten serially, not at the same time). The bread and pastries were also up to the good old X standard. I have stopped worrying about the occasional reports of a decline in the quality of Celebrity’s food. I simply have not found these reports to be true.

 

The entertainment on board was enjoyable. I meant to pack my dailies so I could give details about the groups’ names but they somehow got thrown out so I will have to rely on my sometimes faulty memory. The Italian pool band Euphoria was great and completely different from a typical Caribbean cruise band. Usually my husband and I have a bet about how many times we’ll hear the band play Margarettaville, a song I used to like. On this cruise the count for lost shakers of salt was 0! Instead of calypso we got the old Italian chestnuts- you know, Volare and the like. It was fun and appropriate to the setting. The band could also rock and roll so we enjoyed their performances at the pool and in the nightclub.

 

The young woman in Michael’s Club sand and played the standards well and the duo in the Rendezvous was fun to listen and dance to. The music up in the disco was much too loud for us so we left after 5 minutes on our first visit and didn’t return. For us the best of the shows on the main stage was a Turkish pianist whose name I am sorry not to remember. He played a long and inventive medley of music from around the world accompanied by large and beautiful photos of those places.

 

For us the best entertainments on the ship were the conversations we had with the wonderful people we met from around the English speaking world. We are always lucky to meet nice people on our cruises but this group was the best yet; lovely people, fun and interesting. (Hi Mindi. It was fun playing trivia with you.)

 

We were lucky enough to go on private tours with some of these people arranged before the cruise through the cruise critic boards. These privately arranged tours were more personal and less expensive than the ship sponsored tours and worked well for us. The tour arranged for Pisa and Florence by Pilgrim Pete, thanks Dave, was especially wonderful. Our guide, Paola, took eight of us in a comfortable air conditioned minivan through the country side and history of Tuscany on the last full day of the cruise. It was a wonderful day. One of the couples we met on the ship was extremely pleased with ship sponsored tour they took of historic Florence. The one ship sponsored tour we took was Taormina on your own. After a drive through the Sicilian countryside we were given about 3 and a half hours on our own in beautiful Taormina. The trip was well organized and the bus was nicely air conditioned.

 

All and all it was a great cruise and I’d like to do it again some day soon.

[jplewis]

Thanks for the great reviews. We will be on the Galaxy Nov. 20. When the two late dinners are soooo late do they have any of the shows before dinner? We have been on some ships that will have shows while one group is at the early sitting. That would be nice since it may be 10:30 or later before dinner is over.

Did you have a choice of dining times?

We also like Trivia - when was it played?

Thanks, Patsy

[jplewis]

Thanks for the great reviews. We will be on the Galaxy Nov. 20. When the two late dinners are soooo late do they have any of the shows before dinner? We have been on some ships that will have shows while one group is at the early sitting. That would be nice since it may be 10:30 or later before dinner is over.

Did you have a choice of dining times?

We also like Trivia - when was it played?

Thanks, Patsy

[prettypetunia]

BARBELS! great review, we had a great time too. Help, what was the name of your maitred? we are still trying to remember our guys' name and those who have posted their maitreD's name so far didn't have the same guy as us. I KNOW if I hear his name i'll know it, we just can't remember for the life of us so far!

[just-cruising]

Hi Barbels,

Loved reading your review, we are on Galaxy 10th November and were wondering if you could give us a link to Pilgrim Pete for Pisa & Florence tour. We did a google search but to no avail. We are four Aussies doing this cruise and have all our shore excursions finalized except this one. Can't wait to get onboard, counting down the weeks now!

[ccpuff04]

Glad to hear so many enjoyed the Galaxy 8/25 . . . our impression was not quite so favorable. We've sailed 9 or 10 times and were on the Constellation a few years ago . . . one of the best cruises we've ever been on so we expected as much from this one. For starters, our flight was delayed and our luggage was placed on a later flight (obviously, not Celebrity's fault). We waited at the Rome airport for 3 hours until the next flight came in but the Celebrity transfer staff threatened to leave without us at 4PM - the last bus to the ship, they said - they couldn't wait any longer! They were less than helpful or even semed sympathetic. Our bags arrived around 4:45 and the bus had not even starteded loading other Galaxy passengers. It left the airport well after 5. So we arrived at the ship later than most but still an hour or so before sail-away . . . no lines at all to get on board but the complimentary glass of champagne had already "closed" and no one was interested in running one down for us even after we asked. Concierge Class didn't seem to make a difference, either, as no one welcomed us aboard nor offered to help to take our carry-on bags to the room, muchless show us where it was. It took 1 1/2 hours to get our luggage delivered to the room - so much for priority luggage delivery with Concierge Class! The flowers in our room were dead and when brought to the attention of our steward were told that it would be another day or two before he could get get fresh ones. Dead, wilted, petals on the counter. The canapes were well past their prime by now. The ice around the complimentary bottle of Champagne had long melted. The towels in the bathroom were pathetic - discolored and stained - had been through a few too many wash cycles. Our initial impression of CC was rather discouraging. The ship itself was in good condition, except for the whirlpools which were down the entire cruise. Generally clean everywhere. Overall, the staff was OK, but most of the crew looked worn from going through the same ritual for too long. Smiles seemed forced, not genuine. There were a few exceptions, of course, and one of the guys at the buffet would be so friendly and warm as he greeted us, it brought big smiles to our faces. The food at the buffet was suprisingly good, as was the variety. The omlettes and waffles were superior! The ports of call were great, too. Mixed grades on the tenders - some ports it flowed well and others there was a long wait, even for CC. We booked two "on your own" bus transfers in both Cannes and Livorno. The Cannes transfer to Nice and Monaco was billed as 2.5 hours and 3.5 hours of free time, respectively, at each. We got 1 hr 59 minutes in Nice and less than 3 hours in Monaco - barely enough time to see anything. We even left two people in Nice - gotta go, gotta go! On the Florence bus, we were forced to "tour" a leather factory on the way, 15 minutes from our destination. Five buses rolled in for a 30 minute stop which turned into 40 minutes. This, of course, cut into our time in Florence and six hours promised turned into 5 - 5 1/2. The excuse was that it was mandatory to stop when the trip was more than a certain time so the driver could rest and everyone could get a potty break. Funny, we didn't stop anywhere on the way back. Linda, the Excursions director, was surprised, understanding and sympathetic when we mentioned these two trips and said she would follow up. But we lost a lot of valuable time at these destinations. The leather shop needs to be optional. Somebody got a cut of the action, no doubt and we had to pay to go there. The menu in the dining room was not impressive - a lot of the fish (always a white and flaky) with names I have never heard of draped in sauces. I ordered a plain piece of salmon (off the menu but available) three times. The room service menu is basic, definitely not fancy. I tried to order a piece of salmon from room service once and got the run around like you wouldn't believe. Never saw that "we'll do whatever it takes to make you happy" attitude. On sea days, the pool was packed, obviously. The problem was finding a couple of open chairs. Little was done to curb the chairs with the books and shoes and towels that sat vacant the entire day. The pool band was much too loud but was enjoyable if you sat at the other end, a deck or two higher. The other shipboard entertainment was mediocre. The Duo in the lounge was horrible - the girl had to read the words to every song from sheet music. Despite the smoking sections, the entire ship seemed to be smoking, port, starboard, front, back, top and bottom. Even our hall and balcony wreaked of smoke. Ashtrays were moved everywhere. We definitely appreciated the Catholic priest and the services he provided, something many other lines don't have. As well as the ability to download your digital photos at the computer lab anytime and then load them to a CD on the last day. Security was excellent - they sniffed out every bottle of wine that attempted to board - but missed two boxes of wine. Back to Concierge Class - what a joke. We were just never impressed. All the "extras" were worthless and definitely not worth the extra $$. The flowers were never fresh, the cleaning cart was parked outside our door the majority of the cruise (on the other hand, it was easy to find our stateroom!), I don't think 90 minutes to get luggage is priority, especially when everyone else is already on board, and we waited for 30 minutes to catch a tender back to the ship in Cannes. The rest of CC we could have lived without. To top it all off, our room steward knocked on our door at 8AM on the last day and had the gaul to say we needed to leave because he had to make up the room before 11. The cruise director, on the other hand, announced in the disembarkation talk that we could leave our rooms anytime we wanted to - "Celebrity wasn't like those other lines". We left at 8:45 and doubt we'll be back with Celebrity anytime soon. I can appreciate the fact that many had good experiences on the Galaxy 8/25 and I'm glad they did. I guess we expect more and were rather disappointed, especially after our Constellation experience. It had nothing to do with the ship. The Galaxy is a very nice ship. It was the finer points - the service and amenities, the food in the dining room, the sincerity of the staff - that was different - and somewhat disappointing.

 

Lapcat

[doublemm16]

Sorry you did not enjoy your trip on the Galaxy ccpuff04. I have always found it fascinating that people could have completely different experiences on the same ship, but that is the beauty of these boards. While I have always taken other people's reviews, both good and bad, with a grain of salt, I always value the helpful information that they do provide. I have never been on an M class ship. The only ships I can compare the Galaxy to are the Zenith and the Horizon, and my experience on all three was wonderful. I also have never traveled in concierge class or in a suite, so I cannot comment on the "extras" that are supposed to included with that level of travel, but I do know that one or two waiters, room stewards, etc. could really make or break a trip.

 

Barbels...thanks for the great review. It was nice meeting you and playing trivia...that cold pack will really come in handy for my lunch. Twinds(Katie and family), and June....it was great meeting all of you too!!! Looking forward to seeing you aboard another Celebrity ship!

 

Mindi:)

[Ms. Bittersweet]

Barbels

 

Thank you for taking the time to review the Galaxy. We will be traveling on Galaxy for the October 6th sailing. After reading your review I can't wait for our cruise. We are celebrating our 20th Anniversary on board after celebrating our honeymoon, and 10th Anniversary on Royal Caribbean (Song of America and Sovereign of the Seas).

[scorpiojem]

Hi Mindi and Barbels: Just another chance to say how much I enjoyed meeting you on the cruise. Just sorry I didn't get a chance to see more of you, but we did have some fun. I concur with everything Barbels said about the ship and the tours. It was one of the most perfect cruises we've ever experienced (especially our tour of the Amalfi Coast and Pompei with Barbara). Hope to see you all again someday on another Celebrity cruise!

 

June

[jplewis]

Will somebody pleaseeee answer my question about the nightly shows. Were any shown during the early dinner hour for the late seating passengers or were they all after dinner no matter what time.

Thanks,

Patsy

[scorpiojem]

Patsy: If I remember correctly, most of the show times were geared so that you were always able to see a show. We had the 8:45 dinner time, and when we were done with dinner at around 10:30-10:45 - we just ambled over to the Celebrity Theater to see the show, which usually started around 11:00 or so. Never any problem getting a good seat. I believe there were one or two nights when there may have been a show that was before dinner, but it never actually interfered with the dinner time. All the shows were wonderful, by the way.

 

There was definitely a lot of trivia played on board. I think the daily newsletter listed at least 2-3 trivia games during the day.

 

As far as choice of dining times, that is something that you should have already chosen when you booked your cruise. You can indicate whether you want early or late dining.

 

Hope this helps a little.

 

Have fun on your cruise.

 

June

[sarh]

June is right - the main shows run twice, once after early dinner and once after late dinner. As she said there were a couple scheduled before dinner, but always at a time to allow everyone to see them.

[jplewis]

Thanks, June. We have already chosen late seating but now people are saying there are two late seatings and two early seatings. 8:45 is pretty late but 9:15 is really late. I know we wouldn't see any shows if we finished eating at 11:15 or so (too close to bedtime).

Glad to hear the shows were all good.

Thanks, Patsy

[scorpiojem]

Patsy: I also thought that 8:45 would be really late for dinner (since we usually eat dinner @ 6:00), but believe me - by the time you get back from your excursions and then shower, dress, and, of course, go to one of the lounges for a pre-dinner cocktail and dancing, it really doesn't seem that late anymore. On our cruise we tended to eat lunch later, so having a late dinner was no problem.

 

June

[doublemm16]

We also had the 8:45pm dinner and we were traveling with an 11 year old. As June stated, given the port intensive itinerary, this worked out great. We had time to relax, grab a drink or snack and have plenty of time to get ready for dinner.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Mindi:)

[prettypetunia]

Still desparately trying to remember the name of our maitreD on the galaxy! were on the Aug25 sailing but I know that staff stays on the ship for a few months.... anyone?!

 

I know it was not the blond gentleman with glasses from Poland. We were on the lower floor (5th deck) of the Orion restaurant, and our section was near the blond matireD with glasses!

 

Our maitreD was so great and we want to write a letter about all the things he did for us, but cannot remember his name. But we're sure if we "hear it", it will sound familiar!

 

Thank you to ANYONE who has recently sailed Galaxy that can help.

[scorpiojem]

Sorry Prettypetunia: I can see his face (he came over to our table every night to make sure everything was OK), but I can't remember his name. I know he was slight of build, with short dark hair and a slight accent. But for the life of me, I can't recall his name either. For some reason the letter "H" stands out, though. Does that ring a bell for anyone?

 

June

[prettypetunia]

Sorry Prettypetunia: I can see his face (he came over to our table every night to make sure everything was OK), but I can't remember his name. I know he was slight of build, with short dark hair and a slight accent. But for the life of me, I can't recall his name either. For some reason the letter "H" stands out, though. Does that ring a bell for anyone?

 

June

 

Thanks for trying to help - YES that IS him I think, he fits the description... "H" doesn't stand out for me, my husband seems to think his name started with an "A".... but we still don't know his name!! I really hope someone here knows the name of the MaitreD we are talking about. That description definitely fits our guy though....

[Sheik]

I shot this picture at the 25 August sailing and unfortunetely it's one of my most blurried picture.

 

Do you see the Maitre d' on the picture?

 

[iuac1]

What can someone tell me about the email program on the Galaxy? The web site mentions a $2.00 charge per email sent and received but with this, it is not necessary to do the minutes package. Has anyone used this service and does it work? I know it is cheaper to use the cafes on shore but it also takes valuable time. I am interested in the ship's computers - and what anyone knows about this "new" program.

 

Thank you.

[prettypetunia]

I shot this picture at the 25 August sailing and unfortunetely it's one of my most blurried picture.

 

Do you see the Maitre d' on the picture?

 

 

SHEIK!! you are so great with all your photos... and we were on the same sailing I see... and wow this photo brought back wonderful memories, what a fun night that was!. OK - YES, our maitre D is the one 2nd from the left, with the dark hair, talking to the blond w/glasses maitreD, he is the one with his head turned to the side. We NEED his full name! we want to write a glowing letter about him, as he was so good to us and bent over backwards for our table. Ha ha, if only I could read that nametag!!