Is Galaxy in desperate need of refurb.?

[RnD]

My wife and I have been on 48 or so cruises, with 14 of those on Celebrity. I just booked the Galaxy for a 1/4/2008 sailing, and am now having second thoughts due to her going in for an overhaul in May of that year. We do enjoy a smaller (relative to the mega ships) vessel experience, and her size seems about right. We have sailed on each of the celebrity ships and have rarley been dissapointed except the one time we took the Horizon four months prior to her being taken out of service, and she was in real need of fefurbishment etc. Things like our cabin lamp being taped together, the deck around the pool looking moldy, and the general appearence of the public rooms looking less that up-to-standard all bothered us. We have the option of taking the Oceana's Regatta for a similiar itinerary, but would prefer to save the $1200.00 or so cost difference for the ten days if the ship is up to Celebrity's standards.

 

Has anyone sailed on the Galaxy recently, and if so, what was her condition like?

[GORDONCHICK]

The difference here is that Horizon was being taken out of service. Galaxy isn't. She's a fine ship, but she does need some updating. But I don't know that the May 08 refurb is going to be as in-depth as some hope. She should get the new beds and linens and a few other things. It would be nice if the retractable roof over the aft pool actually worked and I think someone mentioned foggy windows somewhere.

 

I'm a glass half full person, so my perspective may be different than yours.

[dkjretired]

Although I believe it will be going in for work next year, please be advised that this has not been officially announced by Celebrity. Many on the ships have said it is going in for work but these people have been extremely wrong in the past. Just a warning...

[RnD]

The Celebrity reservation person told me about the ship being refus=rbished on that date. Looking at their itinerary for next year, it looks like she wil only be out of service for four weeks at most, so it doesn't appear to be a major overhaul.

 

I am a glass half empty person so maybe that is why my concern.

[Dale Jr]

We have the option of taking the Oceana's Regatta for a similiar itinerary, but would prefer to save the $1200.00 or so cost difference for the ten days if the ship is up to Celebrity's standards.

 

Has anyone sailed on the Galaxy recently, and if so, what was her condition like?

 

No question in my mind that the Regatta is a much better cruise. We have done the Regatta itinerary twice and you would not be dissapointed.

 

We were on Galaxy in November 2005 and according to these boards little if anything has been done to correct some very well discussed major problems. They have fixed the pool deck, replaced soft goods, but all in all good friends of ours who were recently on Galaxy in the mediteranean described it as very tired and much in need of an "extreme makeover". They sailed with us on Regatta in March in the Caribbean and basically have said you cannot compare the two ships.

[SleepingUgly]

Boy, this topic never gets old on this board, does it? ;)

 

My family and I were on the Galaxy in March of this year, and honestly, I would not use the words "tired" or "desperately in need of refurbishment" to describe her. True, she is not new and she does not have all of the amenities that some of the newer ships may have, but we loved being on her and were not bothered in the least by her character. While we were on the ship, they were replacing all the carpet in public areas, from the top floor on down. I am sure they have long been finished with this process. One of our cabins had had its carpet replaced, and I believe the bed linens and pillows in both our cabins were new. The retractable roof that everyone talks about -- I believe it was working while we were on the ship. The foggy windows -- Honestly, if you are sailing in January 2008, you are most likely sailing the southern Caribbean itinerary, and it is a BUSY itinerary, and you will not have much time to sit around and complain about the windows.

 

Yes, there were issues -- stains in the bathroom sink, stains on one of our cabin's carpet (the one that had not been replaced), worn-looking couches in the staterooms. But did those issues affect our enjoyment of the cruise? Most definitely not! The stains did not harrass us, the older furniture did not mock us -- we still enjoyed our vacation tremendously!

 

We truly loved everything about the ship, and I have been on the newer RC ships with all the extras. We were not lacking for anything on the Galaxy. The crew went out of their way to make us feel special, and we did not feel like we were shacking it up at a Motel 6. It is a lovely, lovely ship with grace and much character, and if it does go in for refurbishment, I hope they do not change much at all about her. She was easy to navigate and a joy to sail on. Out of all the places my kids have been to for vacation (including Disney and Europe), they have loved the Galaxy the most.

 

Enjoy your trip. If you spend your time enjoying your vacation, instead of going around looking for imperfections wherever you may be at (and I am certain you are not that type of person at all!), then you will have a great time on the Galaxy.

 

Linda :)

[Almagetty]

My wife and I have been on 48 or so cruises, with 14 of those on Celebrity. I just booked the Galaxy for a 1/4/2008 sailing, and am now having second thoughts due to her going in for an overhaul in May of that year. We do enjoy a smaller (relative to the mega ships) vessel experience, and her size seems about right. We have sailed on each of the celebrity ships and have rarley been dissapointed except the one time we took the Horizon four months prior to her being taken out of service, and she was in real need of fefurbishment etc. Things like our cabin lamp being taped together, the deck around the pool looking moldy, and the general appearence of the public rooms looking less that up-to-standard all bothered us. We have the option of taking the Oceana's Regatta for a similiar itinerary, but would prefer to save the $1200.00 or so cost difference for the ten days if the ship is up to Celebrity's standards.

 

Has anyone sailed on the Galaxy recently, and if so, what was her condition like?

 

Boy, this topic never gets old on this board, does it? ;)

 

My family and I were on the Galaxy in March of this year, and honestly, I would not use the words "tired" or "desperately in need of refurbishment" to describe her. True, she is not new and she does not have all of the amenities that some of the newer ships may have, but we loved being on her and were not bothered in the least by her character. While we were on the ship, they were replacing all the carpet in public areas, from the top floor on down. I am sure they have long been finished with this process. One of our cabins had had its carpet replaced, and I believe the bed linens and pillows in both our cabins were new. The retractable roof that everyone talks about -- I believe it was working while we were on the ship. The foggy windows -- Honestly, if you are sailing in January 2008, you are most likely sailing the southern Caribbean itinerary, and it is a BUSY itinerary, and you will not have much time to sit around and complain about the windows.

 

Yes, there were issues -- stains in the bathroom sink, stains on one of our cabin's carpet (the one that had not been replaced), worn-looking couches in the staterooms. But did those issues affect our enjoyment of the cruise? Most definitely not! The stains did not harrass us, the older furniture did not mock us -- we still enjoyed our vacation tremendously!

 

We truly loved everything about the ship, and I have been on the newer RC ships with all the extras. We were not lacking for anything on the Galaxy. The crew went out of their way to make us feel special, and we did not feel like we were shacking it up at a Motel 6. It is a lovely, lovely ship with grace and much character, and if it does go in for refurbishment, I hope they do not change much at all about her. She was easy to navigate and a joy to sail on. Out of all the places my kids have been to for vacation (including Disney and Europe), they have loved the Galaxy the most.

 

Enjoy your trip. If you spend your time enjoying your vacation, instead of going around looking for imperfections wherever you may be at (and I am certain you are not that type of person at all!), then you will have a great time on the Galaxy.

 

Linda :)

 

We were just on Galaxy in the Mediteranean in July. If you look up my review, you'll find it just a couple of pages back on this board. We've been on over 50 cruises on many different lines. The Galaxy is not perfect. She does need to go to drydock to get some major things fixed that cannot be worked on in the course of her cruising schedule (i.e. the Stratosphere Windows). However, I would never classify the Galaxy as a ship that is in desperate need of a refurbishment. Carpets were new everywhere you looked. The pool deck was redone sometime last winter. All of the beds and linens were new. The ship is very, very clean. Nowhere on the ship was there any furniture or fixture that was taped together. Upholstered furniture in the public rooms does need to be replaced. Chairs are stained, some pretty badly. The retractable roof never moved once during our 11 days onboard. I don't know if its because it doesn't work or if its just because they didn't move it.

 

Like I said, the Galaxy is not perfect. We had a great cruise anyway. I would go again tomorrow if the opportunity presented itself.

 

Given the choice, though, I would choose Regatta over Galaxy. Oceania offers a product that is one step above.

[hcat]

What was done to the pool deck? Can anyone compare it to the pool area on Mercury? We were very disappointd in the pool area on Century--just not very appealing so we did not go in--- Our cruise on Galaxy is set for Nov 08 to E Medit, so maybe we won't be at the pool at all--just curious abt what was done...

[SusieV]

We were on Galaxy in February and had a wonderful time. I think there was a stain in our sink, that's the only maintenance issue we noticed.

 

I'd gladly sail her again.

[Almagetty]

What was done to the pool deck? Can anyone compare it to the pool area on Mercury? We were very disappointd in the pool area on Century--just not very appealing so we did not go in--- Our cruise on Galaxy is set for Nov 08 to E Medit, so maybe we won't be at the pool at all--just curious abt what was done...

 

Hi hcat:

 

The pool deck was re-finished this past January or February. If I remember the reports at the time, they closed it off one section at a time and worked on it while the ship was in different ports over several cruises.

 

We enjoyed the pool area tremendously on our Galaxy cruise last month. I think the layout (very similar to Century's) worked nicely for our needs.

 

I do have to agree with a previous poster (the stockholder) that Celebrity should be spending more money on maintaining the Galaxy. She is a beautiful ship with a great layout. I understand the the Solstice ships are waiting in the wings, but the Century class has a lot to offer still, IMHO. Century's retrofit was awesome. Hopefully, it will be Galaxy's turn next.

[dkjretired]

The Celebrity reservation person told me about the ship being refus=rbished on that date. Looking at their itinerary for next year, it looks like she wil only be out of service for four weeks at most, so it doesn't appear to be a major overhaul.

I am a glass half empty person so maybe that is why my concern.

 

That is the point I am trying to make, in the past everyone from ships Captain's to reservation clerks made bold predictions about ships being refurbished, etc. and they were clearly not in the know and totally wrong.. I believe it will be done but will not accept anything until Celebrity announces exactly when and if it will be done. How do you know those four weeks the ship isn't listed for charters. I am always a half full person but as far as this goes, definitely half empty because of the track record of those on board.

[kona1234]

I just returned from the Galaxy, 7-23 sailing. If you have been on a number of other ships Galaxy will leave you wishing you were still on them. I was amazed at the dis-repair, from dirty carpeting, stained walls, rusted railings, torn upholstry, etc. I was in a Sky Suite on deck 12. I felt as if I were staying in a Holiday Inn or Motel 6.

 

As far as service the butler, cabin attendant, and waiter were great. However, it seemed as though many on the ship would rather be working elsewhere.

 

The worst part was they changed the late dinner seating to 9:15 with no advance warning. They said it was to accomodate the large European (mostly Spanish) contingent who prefer to eat late!

[excitedofharpenden]

Boy, this topic never gets old on this board, does it? ;)

 

My family and I were on the Galaxy in March of this year, and honestly, I would not use the words "tired" or "desperately in need of refurbishment" to describe her. True, she is not new and she does not have all of the amenities that some of the newer ships may have, but we loved being on her and were not bothered in the least by her character. While we were on the ship, they were replacing all the carpet in public areas, from the top floor on down. I am sure they have long been finished with this process. One of our cabins had had its carpet replaced, and I believe the bed linens and pillows in both our cabins were new. The retractable roof that everyone talks about -- I believe it was working while we were on the ship. The foggy windows -- Honestly, if you are sailing in January 2008, you are most likely sailing the southern Caribbean itinerary, and it is a BUSY itinerary, and you will not have much time to sit around and complain about the windows.

 

Yes, there were issues -- stains in the bathroom sink, stains on one of our cabin's carpet (the one that had not been replaced), worn-looking couches in the staterooms. But did those issues affect our enjoyment of the cruise? Most definitely not! The stains did not harrass us, the older furniture did not mock us -- we still enjoyed our vacation tremendously!

 

We truly loved everything about the ship, and I have been on the newer RC ships with all the extras. We were not lacking for anything on the Galaxy. The crew went out of their way to make us feel special, and we did not feel like we were shacking it up at a Motel 6. It is a lovely, lovely ship with grace and much character, and if it does go in for refurbishment, I hope they do not change much at all about her. She was easy to navigate and a joy to sail on. Out of all the places my kids have been to for vacation (including Disney and Europe), they have loved the Galaxy the most.

 

Enjoy your trip. If you spend your time enjoying your vacation, instead of going around looking for imperfections wherever you may be at (and I am certain you are not that type of person at all!), then you will have a great time on the Galaxy.

 

Linda :)

Linda, I'm with you. I was on Galaxy in 2004 and 2005 and heard all these stories about her being a rust bucket prior to both. Do you know? I had the best time on each of those cruises and the crew were excellent. Really excellent. She was clean and had a really nice warm feel about her. Not glitzy or brand new, but then neither is my home. That was a feeling shared by all of our Cruise Critic group and it was a large one on the two cruises, so it can't just be me. As for the fogged windows? Yes I noticed them, but I never really spent much time in the Stratosphere Lounge during the day anyway. I felt it was a bit of a barn of a room. Better at night.

 

Indications are that there has been quite a bit of work done on her too, ignoring any dry dock. They can attend to cosmetic issues without the need for a dry dock.

 

I can put hand on heart when I say "go and try her". I'm pretty sure you won't be disappointed.

 

Phil

[Drew B]

It's so hard to find much use in these threads. There is no good answer to the question because it all depends on individual standards and expectations. Some people could look at a ship that is practically FLAWLESS, but if it has one stain or one patch of worn carpet, they may as well send the whole ship to the scrap heap. Others could be floating around on the cruising equivalent of a garbage scow, but as long as they're on a cruise, "it's better than a day at work."

 

Only you can decide what is right for you. People can try to give you "facts", but they will inevitably color what they say with their own biases.

 

The other important thing to note is that our acceptance of imperfections changes in relation to the price we pay. Yes, for $1200 more, you may get a more pristine ship on Oceania. To me, for a savings of $1,200, I'd be willing to overlook a few imperfections. If I spent the extra $1,200, I'd have much higher expectations, and I would be far more disappointed if these expectations were not met.

[excitedofharpenden]

Drew, as is most of the time ;)I don't disagree with you, but I guess I'm posting a reply based upon the facts that the OP provided (a seasoned Celebrity cruiser). I just think it would be a shame if they took all the negativity to heart. If I had done the same I feel we would have missed out, big time. If you want a brand spanking new, all the glitz ship with the latest technology, it's probably not going to fit, but if you want a great cruise in comfortable and warm surroundings with a wonderful group of individuals looking after you, I don't think you have much to worry about. That's the only advice I can offer. My opinion of course.

 

Phil

[Drew B]

At the risk of sounding obnoxious or exclusionary, here's what I think:

 

If people read about a little disrepair and are scared away, I'm not particularly upset about it. Chances are that if they are upset by reading about small maintenance issues, they would be upset by the reality as well (as minor as you and I know them to be). This way, they hopefully find a cruise on board a ship as pristine as they need it to be, and we get to enjoy a nice, comfortable X cruise without having to listen to people kvetching about every little blemish...

 

That being said, I've not sailed Galaxy... I may feel otherwise if I had...

[tom_uk]

It seems clear reading the reports posted above that there is an ongoing 'rolling refurbishment' of cabins happening. The Ocean View cabin I was in (22/6 sailing, deck 8) had obviously been done; the carpet looked pretty new, there were no stains in the bathroom, and no obvious wear on the furniture upholstery. However, someone else posted about a very tired Sky Suite, so perhaps that hadn't been done. While I was on board, I personally saw new carpet being laid in several cabins on deck 8, Ocean View & inside.

 

Carpets in public areas seemed to me to be good, and better than I remember from summer 2006 when there was evidence of patching and tape-repairs; by this year, it looked as if new carpet had been laid across lots of areas.

 

The foggy windows in the Stratosphere Lounge, the Portals of Obscurity, are indeed as obscure as ever.

 

And finally, I can confirm from personal observation that the retractable roof over the Oasis Pool & Cafe area is working - on several days on our cruise it was operated during the morning to open up one section to the air. I saw it working with my own eyes...

[dkjretired]

It seems clear reading the reports posted above that there is an ongoing 'rolling refurbishment' of cabins happening. The Ocean View cabin I was in (22/6 sailing, deck 8) had obviously been done; the carpet looked pretty new, there were no stains in the bathroom, and no obvious wear on the furniture upholstery. However, someone else posted about a very tired Sky Suite, so perhaps that hadn't been done. While I was on board, I personally saw new carpet being laid in several cabins on deck 8, Ocean View & inside.

 

Carpets in public areas seemed to me to be good, and better than I remember from summer 2006 when there was evidence of patching and tape-repairs; by this year, it looked as if new carpet had been laid across lots of areas.

 

The foggy windows in the Stratosphere Lounge, the Portals of Obscurity, are indeed as obscure as ever.

 

And finally, I can confirm from personal observation that the retractable roof over the Oasis Pool & Cafe area is working - on several days on our cruise it was operated during the morning to open up one section to the air. I saw it working with my own eyes...

 

Tom:

 

Your point about "rolling refurbishment" is perhaps the most important of this thread. Ships do not have to go to drydock to have these things done or taken out of service. Drydock is to do mechanical things that can't be done at sea. As long as they keep up a decent maintenance program there should be no problem.

 

Drew is also correct in that many of complaints are in a sense personal in nature. I wouldn't notice a ripped carpet unless I tripped over it, my wife would. She would probably then blame me for ripping it...

[signman]

Does anyone know if Deck 10 has new carpeting and bedding yet?

[getaway101]

RnD........If you decide to book the Galaxy, come on over to the roll call. We are on this cruise & looking forward to every moment of it.

My glass is usually half empty most of the time too, but I am going with an open mind with this one.

I agree with several of the posters........Until you actually take the cruise and see for yourself, you can't really go by what other people say. If that was the case we would never have cruised Princess or Holland America before. We have cruised X 3 times and while a good cruise line I perosnally don't think it is the best. MHO

But then again......even though I am a pessimist and not an optimist....I have very rarely complained about anything on any cruise ship. (okay....maybe the food :rolleyes: )

Hope you book!

[jsea]

Does anyone know if Deck 10 has new carpeting and bedding yet?

I can't speak for all cabins, but having recently returned from the 23 July sailing I can say that two ConciergeClass staterooms do. A Deck 8 Outside had new bedding and spotless carpet, in addition to a desk chair being recovered mid-cruise that didn't even appear to be dirty before being taken for reupholstering.

 

For my comments regarding Galaxy's condition and some photos from the 23 July voyage, see the following:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=410778&page=3

[tom_uk]

Can I come back with some final thoughts?

 

Galaxy is a 12-year old ship. She's well-maintained, but many aspects of her design and condition reveal her age. There aren't many balcony cabins, for example, no purpose-built alternative restaurant, and a fairly small spa (I believe). And of course there will be wear & tear of her fixtures, fittings & furnishings. The 'rolling maintenance' programme deals with this latter problem, but there is always a chance that the areas of the ship that you frequent may not have been refurbished yet, or may have been refurbished some while ago. So it's as well to understand that Galaxy just does not have either the features of more modern ships, or that new-ship gleam.

 

What Galaxy does have (for her Mediterranean cruises) are two unrivalled itineraries. Luxury brands apart, I have not found better eastern Med itineraries than those that Galaxy follows. For comparison, have a look at the 7 night cruises that all and sundry operate out of Venice - they either feature a real charge around the islands (Mykonos & Santorini on the same day? - Costa & MSC do that), or they do fewer islands - RCI will take you to Mykonos or Santorini, but not both in the same cruise. Also the 11 night Galaxy cruises feature that overnight stay in Istanbul, and I'm not sure that other lines do that.

 

Of course Galaxy is a Celebrity ship, so all the 'soft' things - the levels of service, and so on - should be the same on Galaxy as on any other Celebrity ship.

 

So if the features of the ship itself are a major part of what you look for in a cruise then Galaxy may well disappoint. But if you cruise primarily for the itinerary, then Galaxy offers probably the best eastern Mediterranean cruise there is.

[Grumpy7]

I agree with you 100%. We have been cruising 20 years. We recently took the 11 day Galaxy eastern Meditteranean. We chose it for itinerarry.

Level of service was very good. There will always be a trade off.

Thanks for your comments. They were on the mark.

[BikerAl]

Have read some reports on these boards about the very visible problems of fogged windows and the stuck pool roof that have gone on for several years. Things like this and worn furnishing may not matter to some, but to many others they are a sign of a ship that is being neglected. Other cruise lines do not let their ships get to this kind of condition and I would like to see Celebrity paying more attention to these types of things and spend less on advertising. While I think Celebrity offers a fair cruise value, you can only live off your past reputation for so long.

 

Amen. While I have not yet sailed Celebrity, I applaud you for posting this. I am booked for two cruises (three if you count both legs of our BtoB) because of the past reputation. I would be on the Galaxy transatlantic, if there were not so many comments about a lack of maintenance. I cannot imagine the people who say stains, inoperable equipment, fogged windows, etc., are OK, cause they don't affect the cruise experience,would be happy in a supposedly high class hotel with the same problems. When I book a ship, I expect it to be in top shape. I expect that stains are removed, or the item is replaced. I expect the mechanicle equipment to work. As a military officer for 20 years, I found when the tank looked like crap, it operated like crap.

[Drew B]

I cannot imagine the people who say stains, inoperable equipment, fogged windows, etc., are OK, cause they don't affect the cruise experience,would be happy in a supposedly high class hotel with the same problems.

 

 

I challenge you to find ANY cruise ship (or hotel for that matter) without some maintenance issue if you look for it. And some of the issues that people report (like a stain, for example) could have occurred the day before and been rectified or replaced the day after, but that doesn't stop the word from getting out that THERE WAS A STAIN!

 

I agree that the long-running problems with the fogged windows and the retractable roof are of concern, but those are both issues that cannot be fixed while the ship sails. They require dry-dock. I think people would be FAR more upset if they cancelled entire cruises, often booked years in advance, to correct superficial problems... I don't know if Galaxy has ever been dry-docked in the years that these issues have existed...

 

What it comes down to is your degree of tolerance for maintenance issues. All ships will have them, so it's up to each individual to decide for him/herself how much is acceptable.