Review of Galaxy Xmas Cruise

I have been on many cruises, including 15 on RCCL. I will be comparing the Galaxy to RCCL while doing this review. This was our second cruise with Celebrity, and it was after one cruise that was so bad that it has taken 8 years to go again. However we did try a couple of years ago and they fumbled the reservation. That would be strike one and two. So this had to be a home run or strike three. Lets see how they did.

The trip was Xmas cruise on the Galaxy. Check in went very smoothly, and although we did not get finished until 12 PM, they were already boarding the ship. But just like on RCCL, you cannot go to your room until 1PM. This was a big day in Galveston. There were three ships in. First time for that to happen in the port. News crews were taping for the 6 o’clock News. Galveston has a ways to go before they can pull that off without a lot of problems and congestion. They are getting better. The comments about the Dolphin parking being gone were true. No more Dolphin parking. Now is part of the port of Galveston system. However, you could park and they would take your luggage and group to the ship from the lot just as before. Beats the heck out of trying to push into the line and drop off luggage and people and go back to park. Again, with three ships in, it was a bit chaotic. The eating began right away, and did not stop until we got off. At 1, we went to the room and dropped off our stuff and headed out to explore the ship. The room was a sky suite (1202). Quite a bit smaller than the B suite I am used to on RCCL. Found it very small for 4 people. The balcony was large enough to hold a barn dance on! What a massive deck. BUT… it was only partly covered, so everyone was in your business and made “sunning” on the deck a careful thing to do. Just had to tuck up under the overhang. Made for a problem as the kids would come by and leave things for you like extra deserts or other less welcomed objects. Also, when the wind blew in the wrong direction, soot from the stack landed on the deck and made a mess of it. (Not a good start)

Here comes the worst of the review. The ship was no match for RCCL. The decks were broken up, Always a stair to climb. I hate not being able to just go around on a deck. The central area was small and kind of bland. It gets much worse. The ship is in a bad state of disrepair. I had seen some grumbling about it on the boards, but it was much worse than stated. Many of the windows in the Stratosphere Lounge were frosted over and unusable.

The general state of the ship was at best clean, but often with things that need fixing. This ship is in bad need of a dry dock to fix these problems. I will only say that several of our fellow CC people found their rooms just as in need of fixes. We were VERY disappointed in this ship overall. This was Christmas, and the ship was not very festive. The last two years on this same cruise on the Splendor of the Seas, the ship was decked to the nines, simply wonderful for Xmas. Some of the crew told us it was happy holidays, not merry Xmas. Sigh…. PC strikes again. The general décor of the ship was dull and I was even tempted on deck 12 to throw a few pictures overboard so they could be replaced with something better. O.K. so I did not like the ship overall in design or appeal….

Celebrity gets very good reviews on its food. Most consider them the best at the mass market cruise ship food. Food is soooooooooo much a personal choice. But I decided to try it and see for my self. Boy did I try it…. Sheese….. It lived up to its billing and then some. The food in general has RCCL beat, hand down. The amount and variety are stunning. If you cannot find something to eat on that ship, you must be on a strict bread and water diet. Very high marks here! I must say that RCCL broth soups and deserts are better by far. (JMHO) Not to say that there were plenty of calories to go around, just that I think RCCL has them beat in these two areas.

The service was much like what I found when I started cruising many years ago. The staff was very friendly and helpful. Even the workers would tell you hello and smile. Gee that was nice. Everywhere you turned, they were there. I give the Galaxy very high marks for service, They once again have RCCL beat on this. Getting better isn’t it?

I will not dwell much on the ports, as others can review the ports on another board. This was a 12 nights cruise to Panama, Cozumel, Costa Maya, Costa Rica, Grand Cayman, and Jamaica. We were not able to make the Caymans due to weather, but they took us back to Cozumel. This was very nice and Cozumel is one of my favorite ports anyhow. So in short, a great choice on something that was NOT their fault. Funny how many people were angry about the loss of the Caymans and wanting to get money back. Gee, wouldn’t it be great if you could change the weather?

Went to a few shows, most were O.K. about what I have come to expect on a cruise ship. DW would be better at review here, but she said it was about what she was used to.

The Thelasotherapy(sp?) pool is incredible. That alone was almost worth the whole cruise. I like that. RCCL could use one of them. It came unlimited with the sky suite. Wish someone had bothered to tell us sooner than day 9.

The chair hogs were out in force. The pool crew needs to start in on them. Got really bad as the cruise went along. Shame that they are on board most ships. RCCL has begun to really hammer them. They don’t like it, the rest of us love it. This being a Christmas cruise the ship was alive with kids. MOST were very well behaved, and no problems. However as I found out on the last day of the cruise, there were a few real knot heads that made life miserable for some of the passengers. They tore up the teen room, and were spitting on people in the “open” balconies like mine. Others had even worse tales. But then as I told one older lady, “what did you expect?” She was not going to ever do this again. Her last one was years back and not a problem. I sighed and said, “It is now….”

There had been some bad comments about disembarkation. I thought it was fixed, but was very wrong. You were told where to wait for your tag color and that you would be escorted to the gangplank. Some were told that colors would be called. No one seemed to really know for sure. To make a bad situation worse, a handful of idiots would NOT go to customs. This slowed it down by at least 40 minutes. Finally they just began getting people off anyhow and checking as best as they could to find them. At this point everyone seemed to just head for the door. Final insult came when you got to the luggage and the doofus workers on the dock had not even put the luggage in their color areas. (brown was in red, ect.) Not the ships fault, just one more minor aggravation.

O.K. so will I sail again on the Galaxy and with Celebrity? Yes to both. Booked already for next Christmas, but in a royal suite. Yes, I would like to try one of their more modern ships. I guess it was a home run. I was very pleased with the food, service and ports. The ship needs help, but hopefully it will get it soon. Hope you enjoyed this as much as I enjoyed writing it.

Thanks Kling. I appreciate the review. I enjoyed reading your review.

Roy

Thank you for the review. We will be on the 1/22/05 sailing of the Galaxy in the same suite(1202). Who was the butler and how did you like him/her? We are hoping to really enjoy the balcony. A little concerned about the soot problem you mentioned -- can't do anything about that now! Glad to hear that you enjoyed most of the cruise. We are eagerly anticipating ours.

Sue

crzrr the butler was named challes. (sp?) He was nice, always to us about 4:15 with tea and munchies. Still having withdrawls from that... :D DW is haveing a harder time than me. He was O.K. did not do anything extra, but was helpful if we needed him. He made sure that the soot was washed off after the first time it happened. (talked to the room attendant) Should not be any kids and the ship will not be filled. Maybe the upgrade fairy will be around? Or a quick check at the dock for an upgrade? You will love the cruise, it was wonderful. Thanks for the questions.

Klingoncruiser, thanks for taking the time to write this review, I really appreciate the information and your insights. I’m really confused about an issue I have seen in your review and those of some other CC members – the condition of Galaxy.

We are booked on the May 7 transatlantic in an RS, on an anniversary/get away from it all/first real vacation in years trip, and I am very concerned with the reports of the need for refurbishment on Galaxy. Some pax have said it is serious, some have said that it’s pretty minor. Looking at zooms of some pretty high resolution recent pictures, such as those taken by Cujosmom on the Dec. 6 – 18, 2004 cruise, seem to support that the maintenance issues are pretty minor.

Your post states:

It gets much worse. The ship is in a bad state of disrepair. I had seen some grumbling about it on the boards, but it was much worse than stated . . .

The general state of the ship was at best clean, but often with things that need fixing. This ship is in bad need of a dry dock to fix these problems. I will only say that several of our fellow CC people found their rooms just as in need of fixes. We were VERY disappointed in this ship overall.

These comments make me very reluctant to risk a “dream vacation,“ not to mention a significant sum of money, on Galaxy. However, you conclude that not only would you sail again on X, but also on Galaxy. And, you state you have already booked Galaxy again for next Christmas.

It is hard for me to reconcile your comments about the condition of the ship, and that fact that you obviously had a great cruise and are looking forward to repeating it. I hate to ask this after all the time that must have gone into the review, but can you elaborate on what issues you had with the ship? Am I taking your comments on the “bad state of disrepair” and “VERY disappointed in this ship overall” too literally? (Maybe I as well as some of my fellow CC members that have gotten nervous about the need for maintenance have been taking the various Galaxy reviews too much at face value!)

Please understand I am not questioning your opinions – in fact if I didn’t value them, I wouldn’t be writing this! But I am confused at statements regarding the poor condition of the ship, when I also read the “VERY disappointed” reviewer has booked a repeat cruise. Clearly, X needs to do some maintenance on Galaxy, but equally clear is that the ship is not the “S.S. KMart” (to use a term I saw in another board for another ship). What are some of the problems you observed? They don't seem to be enough of a problem to be a factor in vacationing on Galaxy . . .

Thanks for your information!

Thank you for the review. We will be on the 1/22/05 sailing of the Galaxy in the same suite(1202).

Sue

CRZRR--

We'll be your next door neighbors (1204). Our first time on X and we can't wait.

Susan

Kling,

Thanks for the review. If you remember, we almost went with you. We were on Infinity instead, and it was marvelous.:) But, we loved Galaxy also.

Thanks so much for posting a review!

We're sailing on the Galaxy in March. Can you elaborate further on the "bad" state of the ship? We've been on the Mercury, so we're familiar with the layout. I'm more concerned with the things in "disrepair."

Thanks,

Lisa

Gatklt, great question and I can understand your quandry. No problem, let me see if I can put it into context. As I stated, I am accustomed to RCCL ships. If you have been on one, they are very elegant, open and each deck it laid out for the most part in full. If on deck 10, you can go all the way from bow to stern without any stairs. This is a personal preference of course, but deck 12 did not go all the way forward. You had two stairs to get to the top. The one that got my goat worst was the promenade. It had a set of stairs to go around the back side. Just a pet peeve.

The overall decor is very dated (JMHO) Wife could not sit in the chairs in the Library as they were too small and uncomfortable. Many of the chairs looked as if they were from europe in the 70's. (JMHO) We continued to laugh at the butt ugly pictures outside of the hall in front of 1202. Some odd pictures from Madi Gras.

A couple of people told us that they had bad stains in the carpet in their rooms and broken fixtures. Our room was just fine. One hint from the boards was that you could ask for an extra matress and we did for the pull out. It made it MUCH better. Got to love the people on CC.

The frosted windows in the Stratosphere were just plain inexcusible. You will see when you get aboard. The problem is that on RCCL this would not be allowed to happen. They are always pulling up carpet, resurfacing the decks, ect. Those windows are quite large and will require a lot of manpower to replace. But to let it go for so long is a bit puzzeling. Others also commented on it as well. Some missing linoleum in the entrance on one side. Just a lot of little things that you would notice at the oddest of moments.

Now if anyone out there can find the perfect ship, with the perfect crew and everything else let me know. It is a cruise and it is the total combination of everything that makes or breaks a cruise. I hammered the ship on its conditions on purpose. They do read this and will take steps to fix them if I do. If I make it trivial, they will just go on and let it slide. Yes, I was harsh on them. BUT in the overall scheme of things, the service was so wonderful and the food so filling that it is easy to just stay away from the Stratosphere lounge and chalk the extra steps up to two extra deserts. ;) We love this 12 day run, and it was enought to draw us away from a 10 day cruise on RCCL next year to go again. I figure by then, the windows WILL be fixed and if not, no one will be able to see out at all. As of now, I am guessing at least 1/3 of them are frosted and a few more starting. (I once lived in a house that had double paned glass that broke the seal and a mold began to grow betweent he panes. This is what is going on here.) In the over all scheme of the cruise, I will go on a ship that "agrivates" me but treats me like royalty. Fair trade in my humble book. I would not hesitate for a moment to tell you to go ahead and take the cruise. Laugh at the pictures on deck 12, shake your head at the windows if not fixed by then, and if you also find the stairs a bit silly in design, go grab an extra bowl of icecream and head for them. :D

Thanks for the great question, I hope this makes more sense now.

Hi texed! Great to hear from ya. Hope we can link up on another cruise some day. Glad to hear you had a good cruise as well.

Shonuf,

We will look forward to meeting you. This is our sixth cruise with X -- have also done RCCL and Carnival (but not since we started sailing on Celebrity). Once we started with Celebrity, we have had no desire to return to the others.

Like you, we can't wait for the 22nd. Eagerly counting down the days. We are flying in from the Philadelphia area so are hoping that the weather cooperates!

Love the itinerary and looking forward to a wonderful relaxing vacation. See you on the 22nd!

Sue

We are on Galaxy now - on the way to Cayman's. Suite 1021 -butler Roumell

is top notch!

We don't share the criticism mentioned above - great trip -thallosotherapy pool is a daily must!

We just left Limon - here is a post regarding our private tour - DO IT!

"We are on the Galaxy 11 night cruise to Panama Canal. Our 7th Celebrity Cruise.

Our most recent stop was Limon, Costa Rica –perhaps, one of our favorite stops.

We generally opt to arrange our own tours thus giving us maximum flexibility and personalization. They are always cheaper ---by far!

Here is a great recommendation for a private tour in Limon.

Contact Marshall Scott who runs his own tour business. We had a 7 passenger Van and we did our own tour to include a 1 ½ hour boat trip on the Tortuguero canals (saw sloths,crocodiles, iguanas and many birds) –a quick tour of Limon with a great lunch stop at a local restaurant (El Faro) with a hilltop view of the city,port and Galaxy. Marshall then drove us to Cahuita national park (45 min drive) to see Monkeys and swim at the Beach, Marshall got us back to the ship with an hour to spare.

We had 4 adults and 2 children and Marshall was fantastic and most accommodating. He know all the “locals” and we highly recommend him. He will let you construct your own tour. He charges about $200 for a full day (7 pax van)

And about a $100 for a half day. He speaks excellent English.

We highly recommend him. Fun and a great VALUE vs ships tours. We tipped him well!

He can bring his local resources to accommodate large groups or do a one van trip. CHECK WITH HIM BEFORE YOU RESERVE. Contact us if you want to check this out: t2jaguar@yahoo.com

Marshall’s email is : eventosinternacionalessb@yahoo.com.mx

Phone: Costa Rica 506-384-7719

He will soon have a website."

By the way - HELLO to TEXED -- we learned about private tours from and with him!

We are going on Baltic Cruise on June 18 on Constellation!

This is our second trip on Galaxy.

We have our Son and his wife + 2 grandsons age 5 and 2 with us.

Having a great time. Butler has sure helped.

Have they done anything about the furnishings in the Grand Foyer area? They were quite soiled and the cushions were very compacted -- did not make a very good first impression. This was a couple of months ago....

We are on Galaxy now - We have our Son and his wife + 2 grandsons age 5 and 2 with us.

Having a great time. Butler has sure helped.

We depart as you go home! We will also have 2 little ones, 3 1/2 & 16 months.....are there many children? How are the kids club activities?

Has the butler done anything in particular for the children? We are in a RS and I have requested a high chair for our dining table in the cabin, I am planning to ask for whole milk to stash in the fridge, bringing pb&j, will need bread though. Any advice??

We sailed on Galaxy in March of 2004 and October of 2004. Both cruises were fantastic and we liked Galaxy very much. As you can see from my signature, we have been used to cruising on newer larger ships, but we didn't notice any significant problems with Galaxy re maintenance. In fact, we found her to be a lovely ship.

We were in cabin 1200 and found the same problem with soot from the stacks. We felt that if our cabin steward had cleaned it daily (he didn't) that the problem would have been minimal.

This is not meant to contradict klingoncruiser's observations...just to say that everybody sees things differently, and I'm sure you'll enjoy your Galaxy cruise.

Kling,

Thanks for your reviews of the Galaxy. We are sailing on her in March of '06...just happen to be in SS1202! Would you have any pictures of the SS you would like to share? I am so excited... I don't think it was such a good idea to book so far ahead of time. It's driving me crazy.

This is our 1st Celebrity cruise and I am so looking forward to it. Can you tell?