Caribbean Cruise Galaxy 1-14 trough 1-25-08 (REVIEW)

[marylander2]

(FINE PRINT) I don’t feel attached to any particular cruise line. If this review looks less (or more) “patriotic” towards X, believe me it has no hidden agenda. Just facts.

 

 

THE SHIP

This is our second X cruise within last 2 years, so I can compare things btw Infinity and Galaxy but won’t do it – different classes, different age.

:Age” is the word which frequently comes to your mind when you wonder trough the Galaxy.

Harsh truth: Galaxy is definitely in the need for major repair/refurbishment. Forget her outdated (here on forum I often read the word “elegant”...) décor and color palette. X could shake ship’s dust in dry dock, but there too many obvious for non-specialist such as myself problems onboard, which have to be addressed seriously.

 

There were two occasions when we ate on the back of Oasis Café (aft, deck 11) during the time of departure (the ship was backing out from harbor), and we just had to leave. The whole aft was shaken so badly that bartender had to hold the bottles in the bar, spreading himself against the shelves... Vibration and noise in different areas of the ship were clearly noticeable during sailing at nights or days at sea. Our tablemates changed their stateroom twice because of the creaks-n-squeaks at night… each instance – as they stated – had obvious signs of attempted panel fixing in the past (rivets or bolts), but it did not seem to work. At high speed, our stateroom also produced various noises at night, but we are not that sensitive anyway – I hit a ceiling panel a couple of times, and that seemed to resolve the issue for a particular night.

Our table in the main dining room was at the entrance from the galley. The floorboards in 3 or 4 spots around our table were wobbling badly; waiting staff was walking around those very carefully.

Condition of our stateroom was marginal. Mind you, we are tolerant people. We cruise quite a bit and on different lines, and when it’s old, we could tell. Spotted/soiled carpets, duvet covers, chair; cigarette burns (albeit non-smoking room?) on the desk counter; lost screws in closet hinges. Of course, stateroom attendant was working his tail off and took care of every our request... however, he couldn’t replace worn out furniture or replace rusted and leaking fittings in the shower. Plumbing system was more troubling. The vacuum was not as strong as it has to be – make your own conclusion from this... During evenings when everybody went to shower before formal nights the water stood in the sink and the shower stall (and we were on the 9th deck...).

Public areas are kept in more or less appreciable condition, but we were mostly passing through those, using lounges/bars occasionally. The most upsetting in this respect was the condition of highly exploited areas – Oasis Café and Orion Restaurant, main eating venues. Although overall condition of the furniture in these areas was acceptable, the smell in Oasis Café during breakfast and lunch was pretty bad - a mix of bleach and dirty kitchen towel. The carpet there had to be replaced a long time ago...

Orion restaurant had the same stale smell as well, especially on the 5th deck, left entrance. It was hard to figure out, was it from the galley or from the carpet area next to it... one really has to be quite hungry in order to disregard it. We were.

The list could go on and on, I will not continue. I know that this board includes some passionate X-cruisers, which will find my review over exaggerating... however, this ship is done, trust me.

Yes, I know she goes to the dry dock in March or so, but as I said above, there are things on the ship that you just can’t patch or duct-tape.

 

SANITARY CONDITION

Having all that said about ship’s overall condition, I think the crew provided reasonable level of sanitation during the cruise. Why only reasonable? I saw several – more than single digits, actually... – staff members being sick (flu/cold) and still serving food to passengers. Naturally, many paxs got sick as well, myself included, and I know that I’ve got flu from our assistant waiter – she admitted that she is sick but can’t loose money since she has to pay to another girl to cover her shift.

We were handed Purell towlettes in abundance, and I think this is great and important. I probably would’ve rated the sanitation level on the ship higher, but after seeing a roach on the counter of grill buffet I hold back my prizes.

On cruise ships you always see staff vacuuming the stairways or polishing the brass rails or wiping this and that... so this is normal. Our stateroom attendant was really good, and the bathroom was clean to the level it could be clean.

 

SERVICE

Can’t say enough good words about the crew and staff of Galaxy. Everybody we came across with, from our attendant to a young kid serving tapas in Cova Café, from Sushi Bar chefs to very seriously caring about their business Security Staff on the gangway – everybody was always responsive, alert and (most often) smiling. But maybe this time onboard it was just my lucky day...

 

FOOD

As always on X, the food in dining room was very good to great. They told us that X is looking for a new top honcho-chef, but current menu (which is created by 4-5 different chefs) was soild - everyday choice of seafood-beef-poultry-lamb plus 3-5 choices of very good desserts, plus good soups... I am drooling again...). One thing we all noticed was that portions became smaller, which is great! In your face, extra pounds!

Buffet in the morning... eeeh... nothing noticeable, standard stuff. Omeletts were good, but they have only 2 stations on Galaxy, so the line was always about 5-7 people waiting.

Pizza/pasta grill was standard.

Fountain drinks occasionally went sour but were quickly replaced. There are 4 varieties of those, both for breakfast and for lunch. Ice dispensers were always working, with rare exceptions.

4 o'clock tapas/dessert in the Oasis and Cova cafe were outstanding, and we also thoroughly enjoyed sushi/sashimi at 5 pm. After all, we were "second shift" folks...

 

 

ENTERTAINMENT

We are not your everyday show-goers, but by popping up in the theater a couple of times and by talking to our tablemates (two other couples, who by the way were avid X-cruisers) it was obvious that the entertainment was not great, to say the least. What I have seen and heard myself – live band/singers, etc. – was far below even for my non-exquisite taste. The band (I think the name’s “The 5th Element”) is way too loud, and the leading singer for sure needs to take singing lessons, as does the lady-singer in Rendez-Vous Square dance club... although I’ve seen people enjoying their singing quite a bit... So there you have it. Must be my sobriety, I guess.

The classic quintet playing in Champagne bar was really good, and a solo guitarist-singer who played by the pool after 4 pm was not bad.

Can’t comment (really!) on Cruise Director because this kind of ship species always irritates me a lot, with their glued smiles and bottomless artificial optimism... although this guy’s British accent seemed to work its charm on the old folks.

Photoshop staff – as everywhere on cruises – was twisting your arm to be photographed on every ship’s event or on/out the gangway, but at least they were not terribly annoying. Fellow cruisers enjoyed picture-taking during formal nights – again, pretty common feature of cruise life – which brings me to quite interesting question.

 

DO ALL THOSE PEOPLE, WHO TALK SO PASSIONATELY ON THIS FORUM ABOUT STICKING TO THE FORMAL NIGHT RULES, WEAR TAXEDOS/FORMAL WEAR EVERY SO OFTEN BETWEEN THE CRUISES?

Believe me, we do adhere to the policies meticulously. Nonetheless, I find it fascinating that many folks on this forum seem to wear formal outfits just for sheer idea to look posh.

Nothing’s wrong with it, but the original idea/concept of formal nights was – correct me if I’m wrong – to show respect to the main man during captain’s dinners. While in XIX - first half of XX century to be well-dressed on public was a must (hence tuxedos on gala, etc.), I think formal nights will eventually go away from cruise ships. My apologies to the soldiers of etiquette.

Simple example (as many of us noticed): informal nights already represent a strange mix between casual and “jeans” nights (yes, soon ships will have these... as well as flip-flop nights...). This is particularly noticeable on Caribbean destinations, where crowd is younger and there is substantial number of European cruisers.

 

ITINERARY

We chose Galaxy’s cruise exclusively because of the itinerary (Aruba-Curacao-Grenada-Barbados-St. Lucia-Dominica-St.Kitts-Tortola), and one of the ports supposed to be a highlight of our trip... Sorry to tell you that the highlight did not happen. Not only captain reversed the two islands in the beginning of the cruise (which, by the way, created havoc in dressing codes for both nights, i.e., instead of informal and then casual nights we had a strange mix of the two – plus jeans night – two days in a row... I guess many just did not bother to read “Celebrity Today!” newspaper stating dress code on the very top). Galaxy also informed us – only a couple of days away from Dominica – that the ship would be docked at Cabrits, not in Roseau. For those who are unfamiliar with Dominica, Cabrits National Park is located on the top North part of the island, while Roseau is about 2/3 down to the South. Because of that, our booked snorkeling excursion to Scotts Head Marine Park was cancelled, and no substitute/similar tours were offered. We were on Scotts Head peninsula a couple of years back with Windstar, and I personally think that it is one of the best snorkeling/diving spots on the Caribbean (read the Internet, don’t want to PR on that). So naturally, we wanted to get back there, but...

Cabrits is also very nice spot, but if you are not really a hiker there’s nothing there to see. Portsmuth, a city next to Cabrits Park, is a complete dump. Just imagine that about 2,000 paxs are deployed on the tiny pier... Enough about that. Sorely disappointed.

To say the least, that cancelled excursion was the only one we booked from ship.

Other islands in the itinerary were both familiar and not, so we used local tour operators to go around the islands, which was just as good as ship-organized tours, but at least twice cheaper. All you need is to step on the pier, and they will find’ya. Just remember to bargain and to ask common sense question, such as “how long’s the tour?”, “what are you going to show us?”, “would there be stops at selling points (various local factories, shops, boutiques, etc. – this is not entirely interesting because you eventually find the same stuff on the pier, but it is quite time-consuming and your tour guides have kick-backs from local entrepreneurs... Same goes, by the way, about ship excursions – you are may very well have them through ship’s tour operators)?”, etc. You may even ask the organizer/driver to show you the route before agreeing to get onboard of the taxi, bus, or boat.

So we did tour Grenada, Barbados, St. Kitts, etc. in this manner. We had Sunday on Barbados, so naturally all the stores downtown were closed, which was again a frustration – we like Barbados’ shopping... but the tour was very good; the guy drove us almost around a whole island (a bit less than 4 hours) for only $20 pp, minivan with other 10-12 people from the ship, whom we met spontaneously at the taxi stand.

And I snorkeled almost everywhere...

 

There you have it.

If I missed something, or you need more info on the islands, please feel free to ask.

[3dlinder]

Enjoyed your review......No flaming....I will see what I will see, on Monday!! My idea is ~ it's a vacation....I'm in warm weather, out of work, with my hubby of 30 yrs..and I can sit on my balcony for 12 days and veg, if I want!!:p

Very informative review....but I do have a question..the itinerary says Aruba first...Curacao second....our time in Aruba states something like 12 hours....were you still there for 12 hours, or did they shorten the time because of the switching of days?? We are hoping they didn't shorten the time in port for Aruba!:confused:

Another question...is there a beach around Cabrits in Dominica??

 

Thank you for your review....and any answers to my questions that anyone can give me....I'm going on vacation.....whooohooo

[CaribbeanBound]

I also appreciated the "no fluff" review.

[nps001]

Thanks for the great review! I'm on Galaxy 3/28 and I know not to expect "new" (not that I did). I'm glad to hear the service was not an issue.

[Lois R]

Enjoyed your review......No flaming....I will see what I will see, on Monday!! My idea is ~ it's a vacation....I'm in warm weather, out of work, with my hubby of 30 yrs..and I can sit on my balcony for 12 days and veg, if I want!!:p

Very informative review....but I do have a question..the itinerary says Aruba first...Curacao second....our time in Aruba states something like 12 hours....were you still there for 12 hours, or did they shorten the time because of the switching of days?? We are hoping they didn't shorten the time in port for Aruba!:confused:

Another question...is there a beach around Cabrits in Dominica??

 

Thank you for your review....and any answers to my questions that anyone can give me....I'm going on vacation.....whooohooo

 

Hi, I hope you have a wonderful cruise:). As of tomorrow I can

say I sail her next month:D

[TourDeCruise]

Thank you posting your helpful review. Since we are on the Galaxy soon, I have questions about your statement, "Cabrits is also very nice spot, but if you are not really a hiker there’s nothing there to see." Does the Cabrits Park offer hiking opportunities? I read on another post that there is a fort there, but could we actually hike close to where we dock if we also dock in Cabrits? Are you aware of any other excursion cancellations there? We are planning to tube in Dominica with Celebrity.

Happy sailing to all. Lois: Tomorrow I can say I am sailing her this month!

Thanks again, Kathy

[w&k]

We are going at the end of February as well. (Hi Kathy!)

 

I do have a couple of questions for you -

 

Do you know if there are penny machines in the casino, and

 

Could you please tell me if there is a centrally located lounge/bar/whatever that has a smoking section? I have been trying to figure out a meeting spot for our group.

 

Thanks so much!

 

Wendy

[marylander2]

Thank you all for visiting! Glad it helped.

Answers follow:

 

3dlinder:

1.Yes, they did not shorten the time on Aruba in our case. Just switched days, that’s it.

2.Cabrits has a beach in about 10-20 min walking, and another one (on the other side of peninsula), about 30 min walking. Both are so-so, besides, locals in some cases may get somewhat annoying – nothing serious, just approach and offer some souvenirs or fruits, or just want to chat (even if you don’t...). The farer beach is a bit better – inquire at the pier’s info desk when get onshore how to walk there.

(careful... Vegging under Aruba/Curacao winds+sun is not really a safe idea ;))

 

TourDeCruise:

Hiking trails begin right at the exit from the pier. There a small fee, I think around 2-3 bucks, to enter the trail. The fort is clearly visible from the ship and is about 20 min away from the pier, higher than the 12th deck on the ship. There were 2-3 other excursions cancelled, but as far as I remember tubing was not (don’t take it for granted, though).

The whole idea of changing Roseau to Cabrits was to avoid crowdiness in Roseau’s harbor (there supposed to be at least 3 more ships on the 22nd of January...).

The tip of Cabrits peninsula is very steep and covered in lush greenery. Beautiful scenery.

 

(And I am not Kathy...:D)

 

W&K:

Yes and yes. At least I think I saw penny machines in casino, and there definitely was a smoking section in the central lounge. On our cruise there was a large number of European tourists (Germans, French, Spaniards), most of which smoked a lot.

 

Thanks to all once again!

[TourDeCruise]

marylander2: Thanks so much for the information. We plan to tube 1/2 day, but hiking in the afternoon would be nice. Sorry to be confusing. I am the one who is Kathy. That was my attempt at signing my post. :D

 

Hi Wendy, Lois, & CaribbeanBound. Not long now for our cruises. Wendy, CaribbeanBound, and I go this month, and Lois next month now.

[Donnaluv2cruise]

Thanks for your review. Kind of a tough pill to swallow as we'll be sailing her in 5 weeks. Glad there were some parts of the cruise you liked, though.

 

You said you snorkeled at every port. Is there any place that you would go back to or one we shouldn't miss?

 

Donna :)

[blong2200]

I was on the same ship at the same time you were and I saw none of the things you described. I thought the Galaxy was in great shape, staterooms were nice and clean, bathroom immaculate, except for a small stain in our sink. We were on 9th floor also, and had no plumbing problem what so ever.

 

We were inconvienced by the change in Dominicia, as a group of us had booked a tour with BENO, but the guest relations desk helped us contact via email and he met us at our new stop and did a shortened tour.

 

Service on the ship and in the dining room was always excellent as was the food.

 

Beth in Georgia

[Adlibjac]

Well...I am sitting in my office here close to tears.

 

We are due to leave on the Galaxy in a few days and I now feel that we are due to spend the 'holiday of a lifetime' on a smelly old rust bucket!!!

 

We chose the Galaxy for the itinery as we have never been to the Caribbean but now it seems we are even being messed around with that and dumped in 'inferior' ports.

 

We have saved for years to celebrate a special anniversary with a cruise. If this is bad it will be our last. I really dont know why we bothered.

 

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

[Donnaluv2cruise]

Well...I am sitting in my office here close to tears.

 

We are due to leave on the Galaxy in a few days and I now feel that we are due to spend the 'holiday of a lifetime' on a smelly old rust bucket!!!

 

We chose the Galaxy for the itinery as we have never been to the Caribbean but now it seems we are even being messed around with that and dumped in 'inferior' ports.

 

We have saved for years to celebrate a special anniversary with a cruise. If this is bad it will be our last. I really dont know why we bothered.

 

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

 

Try to take the review with a grain of salt. If you show up with a bad attitude, you will have a bad cruise. Read the most recent reviews on the review board. The reviews mostly have been really good. Life's what you make it.

[Bobocasey]

The ports visited on the Galaxy 1-14 were absolutely beautiful. We chose the Galaxy NOT for the ship but the ports she visited. I enjoyed the shore excursions(we did a lot of 4x4 tours) Don't stress about the change in ports. Having been to both Roseau and Cabrits, I would choose Cabrits hands down but that could be because we absolutely enjoyed the hike up to and around the old fort. Yes, there were a few things wrong with the Galaxy however, I have stayed in some hotels that also have a few thing wrong with them. Just be flexible and roll with the punches.

ANY DAY IN THE CARIBBEAN IS BETTER THAN A DAY IN THE COLD AND SNOW!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[starlake]

Adlibjac,

Please don't be so upset. Enjoy your cruise. I am sure you will have a great time. As they say," Beauty is in the eye of the beholder". I have been on the Galaxy before, we had an inside on the bottom and yes we were shaken out of bed every morning--did it destroy our cruise not a chance.

Some people see things others do not even notice. I was on a cruise where all the carpeting had been replaced two cruises before mine. My husband, of all people, asked me if I noticed the big stain in the hallway. I had walked by it for 5 days and never noticed. Sometimes it is just what some people look for and others not.

I love cruising. I have never had a bad cruise. I feel like a kid going to Disney World.

Go, enjoy, have fun on the islands.

[3dlinder]

Do NOT be upset..........I am sailing with you on Monday....and we, as a group, are going to have a BALL!! Remember....it's warm, you're not at work, we'll be at the beach........you are ON VACATION!!:D

As another poster said.....take each and every review with a grain of salt!! All of the "beautiful" reports and all the "horrible" reports, are to each his own.....

When are you arriving in San Juan?? Have you been on our roll call?? We have some plans lined up...............join us and look forward to this trip!!

Linda:p

[hawt1]

Adlibjac,

 

I too was on the exact same cruise as the OP. Here is my very brief take on the cruise.

 

We had a GREAT time.

 

We noticed a bit of wear and tear on the ship. We noticed vibrations pulling in and out of port especially in the aft area of the ship. We thought the buffet was okay. We thought the service and dining room were excellent.

 

There were odd smells occassionally and there are parts of the ship where I would say that air circulation is a problem so they get stale.

 

If we were to look for the negatives, we likely could have had a worse time. If we ignored them when they really did not concern us or affect us directly, we would have a great time.

 

We loved the itinerary. We loved the islands. We loved our fellow guests. You can have a great time if you CHOOSE to have a great time.

 

Have fun!

[Lsimon]

Well...I am sitting in my office here close to tears.

 

We are due to leave on the Galaxy in a few days and I now feel that we are due to spend the 'holiday of a lifetime' on a smelly old rust bucket!!!

 

We chose the Galaxy for the itinerary as we have never been to the Caribbean but now it seems we are even being messed around with that and dumped in 'inferior' ports.

 

We have saved for years to celebrate a special anniversary with a cruise. If this is bad it will be our last. I really dont know why we bothered.

 

:mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad: :mad:

 

Please don't let this one reviewer spoil you fun! We felt the same as you just before our Galaxy trip last year - some of the same types of comments appeared. But we found the ship in fine condition and had one of the best times we've had in recent cruises. In fact we've booked the Galaxy again this March. There are several people on our roll call who have sailed the Galaxy recently and selected the Galaxy to sail again, including some people that were on her as recently as the TA last December.

 

Here is a link to my review: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=26001

 

Here is a review of someone else who was on the same cruise as the original poster above:

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=37322

 

And some other recent threads from people returning from the Galaxy who loved it:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=699585

 

 

If you read through the reviews you will find a lot of pro and con reviews, but you will also find that on all of the newer ships as well. We run into negative people all the time on every cruise and stay clear of them so they don't ruin our fun time. We even read their reviews and comments posted on Cruise Critic and think "wow...were they really on the same cruise we were on?" We've seen this as much on newer ships like the Summit and Constellation as older ships like the Galaxy.

 

If you look for older carpeting on the Galaxy to frown about and ruin your day you will find it even though much of the carpeting has been replaced recently. It is an ongoing process on ships that are not brand new. Same goes for other items on board - no cruise line replaces "everything" on any ship every year. But if you're ready to enjoy a wonderful ship, some of the best service on any mass line, and one of the best Caribbean itineraries being sailed then you're in for a pleasant surprise and a wonderful time.

 

So relax and go back to that wonderful sense of anticipation as you prepare for your upcoming cruise!

[blong2200]

Please go to the Cruise Critic home page and look at the top and click on REVIEWS.....read the mostly positives reviews of the Galaxy for the last six months or so.

 

Some people look for the negative in everything. Hey, I have strange smells in my house occassionally, and a spot on the carpet and living in Georgia I am lucky that I can flush and shower!

 

You will love the Galaxy. Don't worry..........remember you can't please everyone.

 

Beth in Georgia

[Lois R]

Hi, I am so sorry your are so upset:(.....I echo the other's advice

and hope you have a wonderful cruise.

There have been many reviews about every ship.....seems

each time 2 people can be on the same sailing and have totally

different experiences.......

I have 2 friends who sailed the week before this particular sailing

and they came back and told me they had a fantastic time:D

 

Wishing you a Happy, Happy Anniversary and a wonderful

cruise:)

[Adlibjac]

Thank-you to all who have posted your helpful and optimistic comments.

 

I suppose the most worrying thing was being told that the restaurant and cafeteria were dismal and smelly as I had thought they would be lovely with all of us dressed up and with delicious food served. It all sounded rather depressing.

 

You are all right - I will go with a positive attitude. It is very cold today here in UK so I will look forward to beautiful Islands and special time with my DH.

 

I will let you know what we thought on our return.

 

:o :o :o :o :o :o positive face!

[Lois R]

Good:)

 

And these are the really positive faces:) :D :) :D

[Adlibjac]

Thank-you all for your positive comments.

 

I will certainly try to go with a positive attitude and let you know how it was.

 

:) :) :)

[jimrsalem]

Marylander2,

 

Your post was just brought to my attention. You are certainly entitled to your opinion as well as anyone else.

 

I do find it hard to believe that you were on the same ship and same deck as we were on this cruise. I wrote a member review last weekend for this cruise and have to admit that I felt this cruise was just the opposite of what you saw.

 

We did notice a couple of things that were in need of repair. However, I can do the same thing in my house and I think everybody would agree with me. The ship was not about to sink and in such bad shape that it offended anyone I spoke with.

 

Doesn’t it seem odd that everyone I talked to on board, nobody every mentioned that there were offensive odors on board? I sure didn’t smell anything offensive.

 

Vibration in the aft section of the ship? I wonder why we didn’t notice the vibrations when we were on the same deck as you were. How many cruises have you been on? Anybody who has cruised before should know that “all” ships vibrate when accelerating or getting underway. You will feel these vibrations most in the aft and lower sections of the ship. You can’t criticize the Galaxy for something that all ships exhibit. If you don’t like vibrations, select a more suitable cabin next time. Correction, not all ships vibrate. Some newer ships use pods instead of a central shaft to the props. These new ships have very little vibration.

 

I’m not going to comment on all of your “observations” as I for one don’t go on cruises to critic the ship, crew, or service. I will comment on the “positive” things that I notice. For some reason “positive” things are more important to me than any negative thing.

 

I hope you get better soon.

 

Jim

[Donnaluv2cruise]

Besides, I'm usually too busy concentrating on not spilling my martini or margarita, I can't be looking for spots on the carpets! :D