Glorious Galaxy in Greece

[desirod]

We chose this cruise after perusing all since we had a specific itinerary, time frame, and budget. The Celebrity Galaxy fell right into place. Alternates were the Blue Monarch which seemed charming but too much money for what is a converted ferry. Mille class of Century was not the right itinerary for us, and 50% higher fare. MSC was the right price and like the European format but the itineraries were not what we wanted. The Queen Victoria was instantly disqualified at 2x the Galaxy fare.

 

The cruise itself was excellent in food, service, entertainment, and the physical ship. What lacked here is poor itinerary planning which I will later elaborate on.

 

Rome:

 

We got there early to tour on our own. My last trip there was 30 years ago as a student and much has changed. We stayed in the Trastevere neighborhood which is across the river from the antiquities and just south of the Vatican. Trastevere used to be rough but gentrified and full of trendy shops and restaurants without being in your face yuppie.

 

Rome is a dusty noisy city but ever so charming and full of life. Italian driving habits leave little space for pedestrians and other cars. It is full of history and very walk able.

Upon seeing the coliseum, the forum and many other buildings from the year 100, makes many 19th century structures seem new. The Vatican is squeaky clean and a great work of architecture.

 

We took the commuter train to Civitavecchia and boarded the Galaxy from there. Galaxy is an excellent ship. It is well planned, easy to get around and much more manageable than the 77,000 tons suggest. I was just on the slightly larger Queen Mary 1 which is a maze in a maze. The décor is what I would call Scandinavian Deco. The light woods and colorful furnishings remind me of many Swedish and Danish hotels and restaurants I visited. It has the ambience of an elegant Collins Ave hotel in South Beach.

 

The Stratosphere: forward observation lounge is reminiscent of the Empress of Britain 1956 Empress Lounge with the racetrack oval columns and maple veneers. It is a beautiful space that is open and intimate at the same time. The use of marble in the atrium areas gives the ship a class look. The Rendezvous Lounge is a happy space with good use of color with the maple paneling and German Expressionist murals. The only bad room is the aft Savoy Lounge: Many of the stern facing windows are paneled over. The décor has too many shades of gray, clear acrylic, Marriott chandeliers, and from nowhere a Rousseau mural is an unhappy combination of Liberace’s living room and a 1980’s Sheraton. On the Mercury it is called the Manhattan Lounge and quite elegant. Go figure?

 

The décor now a decade old still is fresh and elegant. Connection to the sea is good except for deck 6 where a cinema and Michael’s Pub block off the sea.

 

Our cabin was an outside double which was only 170 sf but well laid out with no pinch points. It had good closet and drawer space, and a very usable bathroom. The Summit which is a newer fleet mate is not as good. It is larger but narrower and on that ship there is simply too many pinch points to the point of annoyance.

 

The ship does have a fair amount of vibration from the aircon and roar from the diesel engines. The sea movement is a side to side jiggle like a rail car. It is not reciprocal. It will jiggle a few beats to one side, then a few more and lurch to the other and jiggle back with no rhyme or reason. I much prefer the symmetrical waterbed motion of the classic liners.

 

Food and service on board are excellent. The cuisine is not imaginative at all. Food is of fresh ingredients and well prepared, but boring. It is what you would get at a Westin, or Grand Hyatt. The buffets were good. Alternative dining consisted of a Sushi bar, Carvery and a portion of the buffet cafeteria at night is white tableclothed with waiter service and the room starts to look elegant. Menu is a bistro style. Entertainment is good. We enjoyed the string quartet. The piano bar Michael’s club was underutilized. I would have liked to see more Cunard style enrichment lectures.

 

People:

 

The cruise was in shoulder season, began and terminated in Rome. There were 1000 Americans, 400 Germans, 150 Brits, 100 Japanese and 350 from all over. Most of the Americans were retirees. The international passengers were quite friendly. Many Germans mentioned taking the Galaxy for price and a less buttoned up atmosphere than a German ship. Announcements were in both German and English. At breakfast one morning the Japanese woman sitting next to me asked about the grits on my plate. I gave her a teaspoon to taste and she liked it.

 

Our tablemates were wonderful! : Two retired couples of which 2 were teachers, one business man, and a chemist. They had kids our age and we all connected. We closed the Orion Dining room every night.

 

Gay and Lesbian travelers: There were about 20 people that we found. Friends of Dorothy parties were on 4 of the 10 nights. About 10-15 people attended. Many of the European gay couples did not know what Friends of Dorothy was, when explained the always showed up. It was fun with people from Germany, California, England, Philadelphia and Muncie, Indiana. The age range is 40 on up. We experienced no prejudice or discomfort.

 

Ports:

 

Mykonos: It is a very colorful and charming port. We loved getting lost in the maze of white buildings along the many stairs and narrow passages. The island only needs a day.

 

Rhodes: The old part of town is charming and not too hard to filter out the tourist ticky tack. In the morning it was fine. In the afternoon the Grand Princess came in and dumped 3000 people onto the island and made it a mob scene. We headed outside the old city and walked about. In the town to the east we found many of the streets to look like Santa Monica Boulevard with deep sidewalks and outdoor cafes. We enjoyed a Greek coffee in one. There and most of Europe it is great to sit outside and not hear people tethered to a cell phone or Crackberry. Prices and atmosphere got better away from the din of tourists.

 

Santorini Mob Scene:

 

This is where the itinerary planning was poor. One has to tender at Santorini and one enters at the bottom of a volcanic cliff with the town 1000’ up. There are 3 ways to get to the top. One is a tram car with a capacity for 60 people where lines were 4 hours especially with the Grand Princess, Brilliance of the Seas, and Galaxy in at the same time. The other is a switch back stairs/ramp which is the donkey trail up for those that do not wish to walk. Walking in either direction is not easy since the trail is slippery, covered with donkey dodo, and they stampede in both directions within millimeters of humans. A mistake is a drop deep enough to kill you. We had 6 hours at the port which is inadequate. Either the ships stay for 12 hours or skip it for another mid cruise sea day.

 

Istanbul: the 2 cities

 

Again we arrived at 2pm and left 12pm the next day. It is an inadequate and awkward time set up for this city of 13 million people. A 48 hour stop is needed. Istanbul is 2 cities. One is the old city and grand bazaar which is a tourist trip. It is hard to get around and the lack of street signs puts one on the defensive. Local hucksters descend on Westerners like a teenage boy on Paris Hilton nude. It takes many times to say no. They approach you which make one paranoid. Here is where it stops being a restful vacation.

The antiquities of the Blue Mosque and Aga Sophia make it worth it. Next day we walked through the non-tourist neighborhoods and the city became nice. The streets are clean, and the people not wealthy were polite and nicely dressed. The store clerks were gracious unlike the old city. It felt like a collection of villages. Istanbul has a downtown of hi-rises. The poor timing of the port stop negated the ability to see the hi-rise downtown.

 

Kusadasi:

 

It is essentially a resort town but the gateway to Ephesus the Roman ruin. We took local mass transit for about 8 Euros each r/t to get there. We met a few from our ship and students on a backpack world tour. Ephesus is one of the greatest archeological sites in the world. The remaining structures and the locale are indescribable and leave one with a feeling of wonderment. The amphitheater has perfect acoustics and a venue for concerts at one point. Be sure to look at the latrine set up.

 

Athens:

 

Ship stops in Piraeus which is a ship lover’s paradise although the city itself is just like Bayonne, New Jersey.

 

Athens itself is the Indianapolis of the Mediterranean. The Acropolis is the only reason to be there. After many years of seeing it in photos it is a joy in person. The Parthenon is under repair and expects it to be that way for the foreseeable future.

 

Naples:

 

A city ever so grimy, bit ever so charming. We planned Pompeii that day. It rained cats and dogs. In Europe: a rainy day is a museum day. The National Museum of Archeology is a delight with many of the Pompeii ruins in display. On the way back to the ship we enjoyed a local biscotto and Rossi wine from a small bistro. The house wine is far better than what yuppies in the US pay $100 a bottle for. The biscotto was out of this world.

 

In conclusion the cruise was excellent except of the awkward itinerary planning. Celebrity is the American Cunard. The line caters to “professional” class Americans wanting a grown up dignified cruise format without the excess formality and class division of Cunard.

 

Although the Galaxy is a decade old she is fresh. She and her sisters were the last word in luxury when built, and has not dated like the NCL Dream or Carnival Holiday class.

 

My biggest complaint with the Galaxy is that it is leaving the North American market.

[signman]

Thanks for posting this David. (although I just finished reading it over on LL) I did the same cruise last fall, only it was 14 nights and we called on Yalta and Odessa too. Luckily, Santorini for us wasn't too bad, although there were 2 other large ships there, but you are right about Istanbul, the timing is very awkward and you feel very rushed to see everything. Next time I would want a cruise to begin or end there.

[desirod]

Oceania terminates in Istanbul. Problem is a 12 hour flight. Rome to Philly is a direct flight of about 8 hours. Istanbul's only direct flight is to JFK in New York, a zoo then another long trek to Philly. Istanbul to Philly requires a Frankfurt connection and being wanded again.

[ischeer]

Knowing that there would be 2 other larger ships in Santorini that day, we booked a ship's excursion (the only one we booked), having read that the ship's excursions bus you up to the top. Excursion went first to Oia, then to a winery, (OK wine, great olives), and then dropped us in Fira, where we walked around a bit, had lunch, then joined the long line (1 hr) for the tram back down.

All in all, a great trip. Third time on Galaxy, and loved her as much as ever. We will miss her.

[norah50]

a generous, well written & appreciated review. Nicely done.

[aingel]

santorini hotel, atlantida Villas traditional hotel is located in amazing region of Oia santorini. Handing from the cliff ,

overlooking the mystical caldera and opposite the volcano. The hotel offers various types of studios ,apartments and suites

all accommodation have private balcony and are built such a way that overlooking the caldera of santorini. and sunset ,aiming

at satisfying all types of guest

The atlantida Villas oia hotel of the santorini hotels belong to the 4 star category of the santorini hotels due to this

location it is the ideal place for quiet and peaceful vacations. island of Santorini. oia