Galaxy, 4/26/04 sailing. Trip report

D Ball wrote:

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.

You're right, Diana, Charles is delightful to be around.

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.

Good insight, Diana, and I think very true.

Eileen

Benjamin Smith wrote:


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 that's a good point, Ben.


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.

Due to differences of a personal nature, I don't see Galaxy as anything
in particular, just as a beautiful comfortable ship that feels cozy
despite its size, one of those rare ships where they've got everything
right.

Eileen

Charles wrote:

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.

I agree that 3 and 3 is a bit too much. It also makes packing very hard
if you are flying to your cruise. I also prefer traditional dining.

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.

We think a lot alike. I hate that so many cruise lines now leave pool
towels in your cabin and you have to carry them around with you.

Thanks for a great review.

sue

It's Ben's influence.

Eileen

Eileen, when I cruised on the Norwegian Dawn a couple of weeks ago,
someone at the cocktail party mentioned Ben's name. They were taking
photos of the carpet and the drapes.

Ben has also made me more aware of the carpet, drapes and upholstery
when I cruise, and I appreciate this. While reading his comments when
he inspects a ship, I think it is a shame he is not writing for one of
the cruise magazines.

Becca -----thinks Ben rules!

Sleazy3 http://www.cruisemaster.com/sleazy3.htm
MOAGC http://www.motherofallgroupcruises.com/

CupCaked wrote:
Eileen Garland wrote:


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.


That Tom looked at the carpets or that Celebrity replaced them? :-)

Teehee, maybe both.

Eileen

In article 40a836ca.458.41@news2, D Ball wrote:

True confessions: Pre-RTC days, did you evaluate the carpet
& upholstery for signs of wear and tear? the bedspreads?!

other RTCers to want to role play that person when cruising
and report back on the things that person would want to hear
about.

True confessions: No. And a few worn areas would not bother me like it
does some.

In this particular instance since Tom has a Galaxy cruise booked this
summer and asked a couple of times about what kind of shape it was in I
included carpet stuff etc. in the report. That however did not stop him
from asking about the shape of the ship again .

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

There is no specialty restaurant at this time. There is a casual dining
option and a Sushi Bar in the evening as an alternative to the dining
room in the 'Lido" type area. I tried neither.

--
Charles

Charles wrote:

True confessions: No. And a few worn areas would not bother me

Ata boy, Charles. Good for you, buddy.

Howie

Eileen Garland wrote:



Benjamin Smith wrote:


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 that's a good point, Ben.


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.


Due to differences of a personal nature, I don't see Galaxy as anything
in particular, just as a beautiful comfortable ship that feels cozy
despite its size, one of those rare ships where they've got everything
right.


Life experiences and adolescent memories. The Galaxy's spaces,
especially the Savoy Lounge and Rendezvous lounge, remind me of areas
and clubs in New York City where I heard great jazz musicians as a kid.
I think people like the Galaxy due to her more cheerful nature and
lighter look and feel in many areas, but a few find her borderline garish.

Ben S.

Eileen

Becca wrote:

It's Ben's influence.

Eileen


Eileen, when I cruised on the Norwegian Dawn a couple of weeks ago,
someone at the cocktail party mentioned Ben's name. They were taking
photos of the carpet and the drapes.

Ben has also made me more aware of the carpet, drapes and upholstery
when I cruise, and I appreciate this. While reading his comments when
he inspects a ship, I think it is a shame he is not writing for one of
the cruise magazines.


Becca, all of that goes out of the window when I'm on a cruise. I'm
pretty much just like everyone else, enjoying what's going on.

Becca -----thinks Ben rules!


Whew!!

Ben

Sleazy3 http://www.cruisemaster.com/sleazy3.htm
MOAGC http://www.motherofallgroupcruises.com/

Thank you all for your comments about the Galaxy. We just booked her for the
Jan 22 Panama Canal cruise to celebrate our 33rd anniversary.

We've never done Celebrity before (mostly HAL, one RCCL, and one Carnival to
our credit). So I'm avidly reading everything I can about the Galaxy. We'll
do a 4 day on Carnival in September just to whet our tastebuds.

Love that drive to Galveston!
Susan