Galaxy, 4/26/04 sailing. Trip report

Galaxy 4/26/ 2004 sailing
11 days from the Port of Baltimore to the Caribbean.

This was my 16th cruise. Second on Galaxy. Since it is a second review
of this ship in two years I will try to include some comparisons.

Embarkation was a lot better than last year since the ship had arrived
in Baltimore at 8:30. Also the terminal was set up better. After
registering only had to wait an hour.

Very nicely greeted on entering the ship with a glass of Champagne.
Escorted directly to my cabin.

The ship was in excellent shape. I looked all over for worn or
stained carpet, upholstery and at the condition of the outside decking
but found nothing bad except for some worn armrests on the chairs in
the lower level of the Grand Foyer. The bedspread in the cabin was not
worn. Everything was very clean.

The dining room service was very good, not as good as Island Princess
which was my last cruise before this one, but the service was very
good. One major advantage over Princess though is that Celebrity has
maintained wine stewards. He certainly earned his keep selling wine and
the wine service was much better than Princess. No chocolate
croissants at breakfast in the dining room. Quality of the food was
very good. The dinner menus are getting tired, though. Not much change
over seven years. they could use a refresh. Food quality, a slight
advantage to Galaxy over Island Princess and over last years Galaxy
cruise.

The buffet was much improved. Last year I thought it was lousy. They
had bad and strange carved meats and other poor quality selections at
the lunch buffet. This year normal and good quality carved meats. Still
only a small fresh fruit selection. A very good desert selection. Also
maintained the popular free ice cream bar, although there is less
choice in flavors. The soups are not very good. The breakfast buffet
is now the best of the mass market lines I have been in my opinion
because they now have fresh Belgian waffle stations. And I really like
fresh cooked waffles. The omelet station has been moved to the Oasis
pool area and you can pick your ingredients. Also the hours that you
can get something have expanded. There is also pizza and pasta
available at expanded hours. Service in the buffet areas improved to.
They really were eager to take the trays for us, unlike in the past
when it appeared they just went through the motions after the first day
or two. Also they were bringing coffee refills to the tables in the
morning. In all a positive change over last year.

The evening dress code remains as it was, overdone with three formal
evenings and three informal evenings over 11 nights. I prefer the
Princess dress code of jut two informal evenings and the rest casual. I
do prefer that Celebrity is all traditional dining.

If you drink much alcohol you will be very disappointed. They have
increased the prices. About a dollar a drink. To be sure I was not
imagining the increase I "saved" a bar menu and comparing it to one I
saved from last year the increase was real. I think too much. A Martini
from the Martini Bar was over ten dollars including the gratuities.

Entertainment, the production shows are not that good and they don't
like to refresh their shows. On Princess they seem to refresh them more
often with new shows. They did have some very outside entertainers on
Galaxy this year. A violinist, pianist and a very good singer.

The have really downgraded the Captains cocktail party. There is no
cocktail-party just a Captain's toast before the show in the Celebrity
theater.

They are adding more events for past cruisers. For Captains Club club
select members there was a backstage tour, a separate smaller cocktail
party from the main Captains Club event for Select and Elite members, a
"Wine Blending" and an elegant tea and a galley tour for Select and
Elite members. I was a bit surprised by the galley. Having done a few
of those on Princess I expected a pristine, gleaming galley.
Everything looked like it was brand new on Princess even on ships a few
years old . The galley was not gleaming. It looked clean but much
used. I don't know if it means anything but I was surprised because I
expected gleaming having seen the galleys on Princess.

Activities, the usual type, trivia, quests, games, pool games. They
have added enrichment classes, not near as many as Princess but they
have some. Since I did not do any classes I won't be commenting on
their quality.

Internet access is a weak area. They need to add a wireless option. I
ended up using free Wi-Fi in a couple of ports. I did use the ten
minutes of free internet access they gave me as a Select Captains Club
member but Princess gives the same level unlimited access. I would
gladly pay for wireless access with my own laptop.

The Internet Access room across from the Library is being converted to
a card room and the card room is being converted to an Accupunture
room. There are still a couple of other Internet Access areas on deck
6. The Library has a very nice full time librarian but the library
itself is small with a small collection. They do have a lot of the
recent best sellers though. They also rent out iPods filled with music
of your choice.

In addition to the art auction they now have emulated HAL and have a
tailor on board who will measure you for made to order suits, shirts,
etc.

The pool deck on Galaxy are well maintained. Not as nice as Island
Princess but nice enough. And although they provide beach towels in the
cabins for taking ashore at port they provide plenty of fresh towels on
the pool deck which I prefer over the Princess policy of no towels on
the pool deck. It does mean that some chairs are mistaken for being
occupied where the person has just left the towels with no plan to come
back but I would rather have fresh towels available on deck.

The crowd on Board. This was an eleven day cruise which generally
brings out the older crowd but this was about the oldest group of
cruise passengers I have seen. And it pretty much was a dead ship after
dinner. There were also more wheelchairs and scooters than I have ever
seen. Also lots of people walking around who looked like they should
have stayed home who could hardly move. There were heart attacks on
board almost every day. Ambulances at every port and a major medical
evacuation by chopper that cause a six hour loss of time getting to St.
Martin. And since Celebrity has a no announcement policy those special
code announcements for medical personal really stuck out.

I recommend the roll call type boards like the ones at Cruise Critic
for online meeting of like minded cruise enthusiasts before a cruise.
Those of us who connected online got together on Galaxy and I think the
friendships we made really enhanced our cruise experience.

They are taking increased security measures. Divers check under the
ship at every port and they had a bomb sniffing dog on board.

The itinerary.

It was much cooler than last year. The first couple of days it was to
cool and windy to enjoy the outside decks. That would make me hesitant
to book any of those winter sailing's out of New York. It had warmed
up by the return and the last sea day back to Baltimore.

Charleston, I visited Fort Sumter and walked around the market. Ft.
Sumter I did on my own, not the ship excursion which took the same boat
over I was on.

St. Martin, lost six hours between because of the medical evacuation
after Charleston that could not be made up. That made port time from 3
p.m. to 11 p.m.. So all excursions were cancelled. In addition most
shops were close because it was May Day carnival. Since I had late
seating, and confidence from being there before, I took a cab to
Orient Beach and while it was less time there than I would have liked,
that really saved the port day. The beach was great.

St. Thomas, since this was the only opportunity for snorkeling, and
since I went to Sapphire Beach last year I took the ferry over to St.
John and Trunk Bay. It is somewhat of a hassle and time consumer
because the cab drivers won't move until the fill every seat. That
being 12 seats or so. I don't like sitting in a poorly air conditioned
cab for twenty minutes waiting for them to fill it. Also twice they had
us get out and change to another cab to optimize them for their
benefit. If you go to Sapphire Beach or one of the other beaches on
St.Thomas i figure you will have an hour and a half or two hours more
beach time. The snorkeling at Trunk Bay was very good. I snorkeled for
about an hour before the hordes on the cruise line excursions arrived
from our ship, Carnival Jubilee and Seven Seas Mariner. I laid on
the beach while they stirred things up. Really awful someone got in
trouble while I was there. There is a lifeguard and I saw him run down
the beach. About 15 minutes later EMS came. I heard later it was a
Galaxy passenger and the person drowned. Quite surprising as the water
was not rough and I did not feel any currents during the hour or so
snorkeling I did. Makes me wonder if my solo snorkeling was wise.

Nassau. They shortened the port time and had the ship leaving early at
noon. Also they cancelled all the Snorkeling excursions. So I walked
around Bay Street since the shore time was so short. I looked at Rolex
watches at the John Bull store!!! Not buying, it was just for fun. Not
much time . The straw market, well I left quickly. Narrow aisles,
claustrophobic, and rude, pushy sellers.

Disembarkation was very fast and pleasant this year. The ship arrived
early, probably partly due to that departure from Nassau which I
suspect was done because the Captain desired more port time in
Baltimore to prepare the cruise leaving that day which was the
repositioning to Europe cruise.

I enjoyed this cruise a lot. I met a lot of great people. I had a
great time. In the general context where all the cruise lines have made
cut backs, and increased revenue enhancers, Celebrity has in my opinion
moved up somewhat compared to what the other mass market lines that I
have been on, Princess and RCI, by making some improvements in their
cruise line while leaving other things as is they were.

I am disappointed that Celebrity is moving this ship out of Baltimore,
and not replacing it with another Celebrity ship.

--
Charles

"Charles" wrote in message
d...
Galaxy 4/26/ 2004 sailing
11 days from the Port of Baltimore to the Caribbean.

This was my 16th cruise. Second on Galaxy. Since it is a second review
of this ship in two years I will try to include some comparisons.



So, we did good picking Galaxy for the Med this summer? She's in great
shape?

--Tom

In article , Tom &
Linda wrote:

So, we did good picking Galaxy for the Med this summer? She's in great
shape?

I thought so. The carpeting in the public areas was in excellent shape.
No stains at all. There were a few chairs in the center of the Grand
Foyer with worn spots on the armrests and the coverings for the
loungers in the Winter Garden had rips but that was the only bad I
noticed. The cabin carpeting had a few small bad spots. Some chipped
tiles in the cabin shower and the sink had a discoloring. The outside
deck railings had just been varnished. The outside decks seeme in good
shape.

--
Charles

Charles wrote:

I looked all over for worn or
stained carpet, upholstery and at the condition of the outside decking
but found nothing bad except for some worn armrests on the chairs in
the lower level of the Grand Foyer.

Did you really?


If you drink much alcohol you will be very disappointed. They have
increased the prices.

Don't drink martinis; but if they still have Jamaican bartenders, I'll
gladly pay the extra buck.

cabins for taking ashore at port they provide plenty of fresh towels on
the pool deck which I prefer over the Princess policy

Great news!

And it pretty much was a dead ship after dinner.

That sucks.

I took a cab to
Orient Beach and while it was less time there than I would have liked,
that really saved the port day. The beach was great.

Now, I'm envious.


I enjoyed this cruise a lot. I met a lot of great people. I had a
great time.

Cool Charles. Thanks for the review.

Howie

In article , Howie
wrote:

Did you really?

Only because I knew Tom would worry about the condition of the ship
since he has that Med. cruise booked. I think he even asked about it
after one of my short posts from Charleston. He doesn't seem to
concerned about the cruise experience, just the ship is shiny. I was
hoping to find something evil to tell him about the carpets but they
must have just replaced them

Don't drink martinis; but if they still have Jamaican bartenders, I'll
gladly pay the extra buck.

They still have a few Jamaican bartenders.

--
Charles

"Charles" wrote in message
d...
In article , Howie
wrote:

Did you really?

Only because I knew Tom would worry about the condition of the ship
since he has that Med. cruise booked. I think he even asked about it
after one of my short posts from Charleston. He doesn't seem to
concerned about the cruise experience, just the ship is shiny.

The Celebrity experience is what it is. It's not Carnival, it's not RCI,
etc. It's not NCL. It's Celebrity. It's quiet. It's relaxed. It's a
touch more formal. A little chic A little elegant. Not too different from
Princess overall IMO. They tend to remain true to the overall experience.
Many of us going are multilple times Celebrity repeaters. We picked
Celebrity because we know what it is. I'm not worried about that part.

The real "variables" on Celebrity are 1) the food, and 2) how pristine they
are keeping the ships.

I remember some negative comments about Galaxy (maybe from Babette) some
time back. So I wanted to make sure that if we're bringing a group on
her... that she's all "deck out in her finest".

--Tom




I was
hoping to find something evil to tell him about the carpets but they
must have just replaced them

Don't drink martinis; but if they still have Jamaican bartenders, I'll
gladly pay the extra buck.

They still have a few Jamaican bartenders.

--
Charles

Charles,

Thanks for sharing your review with us. What a great read.
And it is so delightful to hear you had such a good time! I
think you must be a terrific traveling companion--there were
enough glitches here and there, from weather to delays, to
cause some people to whine. I like your upbeat take on
things.

True confessions: Pre-RTC days, did you evaluate the carpet
& upholstery for signs of wear and tear? the bedspreads?!
Maybe you did. Don't get me wrong. I'm not making fun of our
favorite carpet spotters or bedspread checkers. I'm just
observing the sociological phenomenon that I perceive has
occured within RTC--how one RTCer's personal interests/pet
peeves can become so well known (and endearing), causing
other RTCers to want to role play that person when cruising
and report back on the things that person would want to hear
about.

You didn't mention the speciality restaurant. ls there one
on Galaxy? Did you try it this time?

Does Celebrity offer a wine package? I remember RCI doing
this for a while, but they weren't doing it on the Mariner
in December.

I'm glad you had that realization about the solo snorkeling,
Charles. I think we have similar "scofflaw" sorts of
personalities about some things, but I'm pretty much a
stickler when it comes to safety, and you do know better
than to go out in the water alone. Even if you don't have a
swim/snorkeling buddy, find somebody who's hanging out on
the beach & ask them to keep an eye on you, to get worried
if you don't check back in with them by a certain time.

Sounds like we're lucky to be getting the Galaxy in
Galveston. That'll be the first Celebrity ship to come to
Texas. She'll be competing with Princess' first Texas ship,
the Grand P. Should be interesting. Sorry to hear Baltimore
will be Celebrity-less. Hope it's a temporary situation?

Best regards,


Diana Ball
near Houston, TX

next up:
Celeb Millie=96Med=96June 04, followed by a Nile cruise

"D Ball" wrote in message
news:40a836ca.458.41@news2...
Charles,

True confessions: Pre-RTC days, did you evaluate the carpet
& upholstery for signs of wear and tear? the bedspreads?!
Maybe you did. Don't get me wrong. I'm not making fun of our
favorite carpet spotters or bedspread checkers. I'm just
observing the sociological phenomenon that I perceive has
occured within RTC--how one RTCer's personal interests/pet
peeves can become so well known (and endearing), causing
other RTCers to want to role play that person when cruising
and report back on the things that person would want to hear
about.

Wonder who that could be? VBG

You didn't mention the speciality restaurant. ls there one
on Galaxy? Did you try it this time?

The first specialty restaurants for Celebrity were on the Millie class
ships. Galaxy didn't have one when we were on her several years ago.

--Tom

D Ball wrote:
Charles,

True confessions: Pre-RTC days, did you evaluate the carpet
& upholstery for signs of wear and tear? the bedspreads?!
Maybe you did. Don't get me wrong. I'm not making fun of our
favorite carpet spotters or bedspread checkers. I'm just
observing the sociological phenomenon that I perceive has
occured within RTC--how one RTCer's personal interests/pet
peeves can become so well known (and endearing), causing
other RTCers to want to role play that person when cruising
and report back on the things that person would want to hear
about.


You're right, some of this has to do with making reports to rtc and
noticing things. However, there may be some other factors.

I think some of this may stem from what the cruise industry offers. When
the industry continues to offer newer and newer ships people start
noticing areas of wear on more seasoned ships. I think people noticed,
at times, when a line's ship isn't as clean as another line or as clean
as it was on previous sailings, also the increased amount of wear that
appears on the ship.

I think Charles is reporting normal wear for a ship the Galaxy's
vintage. Nothing to be concerned about. But, your cabin condition may
vary, the state of the ship may vary as well. If a previous sailing had
people on the ship that scratch their names into the furniture, you'll
see it on your cruise.


You didn't mention the speciality restaurant. ls there one
on Galaxy? Did you try it this time?



Thankfully, no. Give me a lounge any day over a restaurant, no matter
how nice the restaurant. Celebrity has been tossing out ideas of putting
specialty restaurants in the pre-Millennium ships that many Celebrity
loyalists are rejecting as they include stretching the ship or taking
away public areas. Don't know if there ever will be one as revenue
enhancements seem to win out at the end of the day.

Galaxy is my favorite mid 90s design ship, Diane. And it is the
evocative period feel of her that I enjoyed. I don't see her as a
contemporary design, I see her as updated retro.

Ben S.

Best regards,


Diana Ball
near Houston, TX

next up:
Celeb Millie–Med–June 04, followed by a Nile cruise

Charles wrote:

Only because I knew Tom would worry about the condition of the ship
since he has that Med. cruise booked. I think he even asked about it
after one of my short posts from Charleston. He doesn't seem to
concerned about the cruise experience, just the ship is shiny. I was
hoping to find something evil to tell him about the carpets but they
must have just replaced them

It's Ben's influence.

Eileen