If you just returned from the Galaxy Mediterrean

[tteettimes]

please share with us ( we're going Aug 24th ) the shore excursions--what's good and what to NOT do-------anything about ship would be nice too-----did you enjoy the Formal Nights as well-----yadayada

thanks--we':) re really excited-------can't wait:)

[tteettimes]

well everybody must have got naked--------no shore excursions----no formal nights--------must have been a helluva cruise ;) :cool: :) :D

[tom_uk]

It's possible that many of the first passengers aren't yet home, expecially if they are american: it's not unusual for passengers to spend more time in europe before & after their cruise.

 

Give it a week or two, the reports will start coming through.

[tteettimes]

was just trying to get the thread back up-------we also are post cruise in Rome------just drives me nuts having to wait another three months:(

[pkgjockey]

We just got off the May 14th sailing. Had a great time. First time in the Med. The waters were very calm.

 

In Athens we did the Athens Sightseeing and Acropolis. 4 hour tour. Very well done. The tour included the original Olympic Stadium and then allowed folks to depart in the downtown shopping area if they choose. The Acropolis was fantastic.

 

Next stop was Kusadasi Turkey. We booked The Highlights of Ephesus. We choose this as it was one of the 3-4 hour tours versus the 7 hour ones offered. Ephesus was very interesting. The Great Theatre and the Celsius Library were very neat. You also visit the Archeological Museum of Ephesus. The guide was very good. Good concise tour. The vendors at every stop were very pushy though...we thought we were in the Bahamas....

 

Tendered at Santorini the next day. Pick your trans method for getting up to Fira from the port. Cable car, walk or donkey! We choose the cable car! Went out on our own here. Walked, shopped, etc.... found a great restaurant for lunch overlooking the harbor. Beautiful views and food. The line for the cable car back down to the port was over an hour wait. We choose to walk down the "switchback" walkway....the locals will try to get you on a donkey...and they are EVERYWHERE. The walk down took around 20-25 minutes. Dodging the donkey piles was fun as well as walking by at least 50 donkeys.

 

Unfortunately in Mykonos it was raining and about 55 degrees. We choose not to leave the ship.

 

We did a couple nights pre-cruise in Rome and stayed at the Empire Palace. Very nice hotel, the desk staff was excellent, bellman too. The one area we would not recommend was the patio eating/drinking area at the hotel. The service was terrible and the food was poor. Live and learn here....we should have booked the room on our own directly with the hotel, instead of through Celebrity. We would have saved money.

 

The formal nights were very nice. Our 7 day cruse had the normal 2 nights (Tuesday and Saturday).

 

Hope this helps.

 

Regards,

Tony

[eded1953]

Hi

I'm also on the August 24th sailing and anxious for the cruise to come. Glad to read that someone is wondering about the ports/tours.

 

Never been to Greece or Turkey and looking forward to these ports.

[tom_uk]

We just got off the May 14th sailing. Had a great time. First time in the Med. The waters were very calm.

......

The formal nights were very nice. Our 7 day cruse had the normal 2 nights (Tuesday and Saturday).

 

Tony

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise.

 

Can I ask you a quick question? I'm looking at my 2007 Celebrity brochure, and I can't see a 'May 14' cruise on Galaxy. There was supposed to be one on May 11, for 10 nights (returning on May 21). Was that one cancelled and a shorter cruise put in its place?

 

(My brochure was a '1st edition' for 2007, so it's perfectly possible that there have been changes since then, particularly at the beginning/end of seasons.)

[nonrev1]

I am on the cruise with you on the 24th of August and would also love to hear what everyone has to say about the ship and the ports. Any updates on Messina? Are there taxi's there that will take you to/from Taormina? If so, any idea of the cost? We would love to go there, but don't want to pay the high price for the ship transportation if we do not have to. (there are 4 of us) The train and bus schedules will not work with the ships arrival/departure time.

Can't wait for the cruise....I hope the 3 months goes fast!

[tteettimes]

The formal nights were very nice. Our 7 day cruse had the normal 2 nights (Tuesday and Saturday).

 

 

did most men wear tuxedos???? and further---on other nights did you wear a coat and tie???

glad you enjoyed your cruise------we're very excited

its so good to hear from someone just off the same ship

sounds like Galaxy is a good ship---thanks for your kind response

 

anyone else on the Aug 24th needs to sign up for the roll call critic party

[nonrev1]

We are signed up....it does not look too active! I hope more people join before the cruise.

[mikeb0724]

My fiancée and I are considering going Aug 3-13, 2007 on the Galaxy for our Honeymoon.

For those who just got back from the ship, what was the average age of the passengers? Was the ship/itinerary "honeymoon" worthy? We are both in our late 20's.

Thanks!

-Michael

[chessbriar]

Michael,

 

The age shouldn't really be a factor. You will be on shore more than on ship. With people touring all day, there will not be much of a nightlife. That being said, I started cruising X in my early 30s and have never felt out of place. As to the itinerary, it's the European itinerary I really want to do.

[Nonna and Papa]

Come on with us in November!:) We'd love to meet you!

 

Mary

[chessbriar]

I'd love to, but we have booked a cruise on RCCL for our 10th anniversary. It was a great 12 night cruise from NY we can drive to. We are living it up in a suite. When we were looking into booking we thought about Europe and the Galaxy, we seem to do it every year, just haven't made it. But when push came to shove, we hated the idea of being that far away from our 21 month old daughter. So we booked our cruise on RCCL and are bringing the little one and Kathy's parents as baby sitters. I told you we hated leaving her behind. I still laugh, our 10 year anniversary cruise and we're bringing the outlaws and daughter.

[Nonna and Papa]

Hope you have a great time and a very happy anniversary. (We just celebrated our 37th a couple of weeks ago)! I'll bet the outlaws and the baby won't hamper all the opportunities for a romantic cruise, since their presence will actually provide you both with some alone time.

 

Mary

[pkgjockey]

tteettimes - We've sailed on Celebrity 6 times now and Royal twice. I have always done the Tux rental deal.....sort of hokey, but it eliminates two nights of dress clothing for the guys. We normally cruise with my brother and his wife and he does the same. Many men simply wear a suit and tie for the formal nights. For the "informal nights" we have transitioned to a nice polo or button down shirt with a sports coat. Celebrity is more formal than RC. You still see all kinds in the dining rooms...

 

Tom - The 5-14 sailing was the first after the crossing from Puerto Rico. They have now started the 10 and 11 day cruises. I found this 7 day cruise on line quite a while ago. We booked it as a celebration for our 25th wedding anniversay.

 

Take care,

Tony

[crazy4cruzin]

My family and I were on the Galaxy Med. cruise last July and we thoroughly enjoyed it, so much so that we still talk about it all the time. Firstly the ship is an older ship but is kept in good condition. Yes there is some wear here and there but nothing that should spoil your cruise. The crew/staff more than make-up for any defect due to age. We got great service throughout our cruise in all areas. The food was very good, our waitstaff was excellent. Our cabin steward was attentive. On our 10 nt cruise there were 3 formal nights. My DH and DS both rented tuxedos in order not to take along suits/shirts/ties for the formal nights, it saved some room in the luggage for us ladies. In any case, this worked out very well. The crowd on the ship was definitely of all ages, from toddlers on up. Our favorite spot to eat breakfast before we started our day in port was in the back of the ship, eating on the outside terrace. Also in the back there is a made to order waffle station, that my kids loved. In every port we purchased a local wine and brought it back onboard to have with dinner, we just paid the corkage fee of $15.00 (well worth it).

 

We did not take any shore excursions through the ship, we did it all on our own and it all worked out well for us. I did do lots and lots of research so I was well prepared with all the information I needed in order to get around and do what we had planned.

 

In Naples we took the tram to the train station then the train to Pompeii, toured it for a few hours then onto Sorrento for lunch and walking around. Make sure you go to the area that overlooks the harbor, you get incredible views (and photos) from here. Then we took the train and we headed back to Naples. We walked back from the train station to the port making a stop at a famous Pizzeria along the way that's been around since the 1880's. We all had a personal pizza each (at 5:00pm) and walked back to the ship in order to get ready for the late dinner seating!

 

In Santorini we took the cable car up to Fira then walked to the bus depot, purchased roundtrip tickets to Oia. We enjoyed several hours walking around Oia and enjoyed the incredible views. Then we got the bus back to Fira, had lunch at a local Gyro joint and walked around, had some chocolate filled crepes then got in line for the cable car back down to the tender boats. Allow enough time for all this.

 

In Mykonos you need to get a shuttle bus to the main square, then we walked towards the windmills and found where the buses leave from, bought roundtrip tickets (very important). We took the bus to a family beach (Paradise beach?), paid for lounge chairs with umbrellas, got some lunch and relaxed for a few hours. Then we headed back with the bus and walked around some more in the main town of Mykonos. Very picturesque and enjoyable.

 

In Messina we had rented a car in order to go to Taormina. Taormina is a very charming, hilltop town. If you want to shop get there early because the shops start closing up by about 1:00 or 2:00, only restaurants and bars/gelateria are open. Go visit the Greek amphitheater, you get a view of Mt.Etna from here. Have lunch in a nice little sicilian restaurant. Take a walk to the botanical garden. Taormina is not to be missed.

 

In Livorno we took a taxi to the train station, a train to Lucca, spent a few hours there and then took the train to Pisa. In Pisa we took the bus that leaves from in front of the station to the Leaning tower area. Had a nice lunch right around the corner from the Leaning tower. We spent a few hours in Pisa and then took the bus back to the train station and the train back to Livorno. In Livorno we took the taxi back to the port. We did not go to Florence since we had already been there pre-cruise, otherwise we would have gone to Florence instead.

 

In Cannes we walked to the train station, purchased round trip train tickets Cannes-Monaco-Cannes which allowed us to stop along the way in Nice. We took the train to the furthest point first which was Monte Carlo, we went to the upper part where the Cathedral and Royal Palace are located. The town up there is quaint and the views over the harbor are fantastic. Then we took the train from Monte Carlo to Nice, spent a few hours in the old town area and walking along the beach. Then we took the train back to Cannes for a couple of hours of looking around and shopping.

 

We had an incredible trip with so many, many adventures and memories and most of them due to the fact that we did it on our own and we had to interact with the locals. We did Florence and Rome pre-cruise and Venice post-cruise and thoroughly enjoyed those places too. It will always be a trip to remember and reminisce about.

[pkgjockey]

Help a rookie please.....

 

DH and DS?????

 

Thanks.

[ILoveScotland]

The D is Darling or Dear. H=husband, W=wife, S=son, D=daughter, etc.

 

We're on the Exotic Med cruise in mid October. It's been sold out for quite a while and the cabin rates went up dramatically so we're thankful we booked last summer.

 

Those of you who've been to Santorini tell me how easy it will be to get DH on the Cable Car in a small wheelchair. Are there other options for people with disabilities? Thanks.

[crazy4cruzin]

ILoveScotland - If memory serves me, the cable car that brings you up to the top of Santorini was the type that you just walk on and hold on, no seats. I can't imagine that a small wheelchair couldn't fit, but I don't remember how wide the door was.

[jtoniva]

Hola! Gandy - Ciao: (crazy4cruzin)

 

U R usually R right on the money about all topics cruise related; however, you missed the "gondola" on the Santorini cable cars! I've added a link to same: (http://www.santorini.grsantorini.com/holidays/cablecar.html)

 

Glad you are alive and well and still cruising; we are doing the Greek Islands and Turkey again this summer on the new Emerald Princess; hope to see you & DF aboard! Cheers to Leaky44 as well; thanks for the pictures!!

 

Best regards,

 

John & Chris

[uktog]

We are just back from the 21 May trip which was great

As regards excursions, as this was the first full run of the programme there were some glitches however overall they were fine. Here is what we did

Mykonos - there is only the excursion to Delos on offer, we did not take this. We had a lovely afternoon wandering around the port it is very pretty

Santorini - we went on the X excursion to Mesa Gonia - the hidden Santorini; weather was cloudy but it was very pretty and as I understand it becuse OIa was clouded out we may have had a better run

Rhodes - we went to Filermimos and Meze tasting before wandering around Rhodes town. The Meze tasting was brilliant in a little fishing taverna. If you are only planning to look at Rhodes town, do it yourself it is very easy

Istanbul - In general the tourist authority seemed to have a good handle on trips however, I know one excursion - the shopping one - was a disaster. We went on the Best of Istanbul which was good, except we were in Istanbul on a Saturday which is a traffic nightmare; we got back over 2 hours late and I know some people missed the evening show. I would still say (despite the high sales pitch at the carpet place) that this trip over 2 days is good

Kusadasi - we went to the House of the Virgin Mary and Ephesus - both parts really good

In Turkey they now use a headset system with the guides so as long as you are in about 100 meters of your guide you can wander and take other pictures and are not bothered about hearing over the noise of other groups -this was excellent

In Greece we went on an independent trip through Greek Taxis and we had the best as we did not go to the Acropolis until the afternoon. Our ship was late in and the ships tours hit the Acropolis all together as they tried to catch up time; from what I can gather, it was a nightmare and very unpleasant

Naples we went on the taste of Naples, Sorrento and Pompeii - a lovely trip to a real farm to see Mozarella being made. The guide was ok, she became very wearing and domineering later in the day and kept extending times "so I give you the best" the trouble was it was the last day of the cruise and we all needed back to pack. From what I can gather the Capri trips were not good as there were problems with the buses on Capri and as a result the ship had to sail late as over 150 people did not get the scheduled hydrofoil back. Independent travellers found that the hydrofoils were booked out and had to go back at 1330 to be sure of making the trip

Anyway, hope this helps and ask away

By the way it was a really good trip and we were very pleased with our experience

AJ

[anniecat]

thanks to Uktog for the great insight...we have already signed up for the two day Istanbul tour and are now deciding about some others. Very nerve wracking to consider 'on your own tours'.....I'd spend the whole time worrying about missing that last bus/ferry/taxi:eek:

[tom_uk]

Hello UKtog! (Is that the Wogan expresion, btw?)

 

You said regarding Capri:

Independent travellers found that the hydrofoils were booked out and had to go back at 1330 to be sure of making the trip

 

I'd be grateful if you could expand on that a bit (and I recognise that you didn't go to Capri anyway). Do you mean that it was not possible to book return tickets on the mid-afternoon hydrofoils when the passengers landed in the morning?

[uktog]

Hello UKtog! (Is that the Wogan expresion, btw?)

 

You said regarding Capri:

 

 

I'd be grateful if you could expand on that a bit (and I recognise that you didn't go to Capri anyway). Do you mean that it was not possible to book return tickets on the mid-afternoon hydrofoils when the passengers landed in the morning?

 

Yes Tom (and by the way I love introducing transatlantic cruisers to the Togmeister) our tablemates found they could only get on the 1330 return once they landed (and they were on the first hydrofoil over) Also in Naples that day was an RCL trip and a Seven Seas and another smaller ship were tendering at Sorrento. If you are planning to do this trip I suggest you keep a watch on the boards over the next couple of weeks to see if this was a one off at the start of the season or what.

It was a great trip I am sure you will have a good time on the Galaxy!!