Review: Galaxy Panama 2/14/05 - Long

[brentp]

Overall, this was an excellent cruise experience. We really enjoyed the trip. I will touch on a number of topics here, . . . if you have additional questions, I will be happy to respond. Nice to meet the fellow CCs at the party the first day!! Hope we sail again!

 

Embarkation: We arrived at the pier shortly after 11am. We were through security and at the check in desk with no waiting in either spot. Ship allowed new guests on once they were cleared to do so, but no earlier than 11:30am we were told. At 11:30am, guests were allowed to embark. Very smooth.

 

Fellow Passengers: Definitely an older crowd. We are mid 40s and were some of the youngsters on board. There were very few (but there were a few) kids on board. I think the length and itinerary determined the demographics of this cruise. Lots of retirees that can afford a couple of weeks to go to Panama.

 

Food: I will split this into a number of categories because I believe it made a significant difference in opinions.

 

Main Restaurant: Orion – Excellent!!! We never had a bad meal here. Breakfast, lunch, dinner, . . . all were outstanding. There were a few items we ordered (and I mean only 1 or 2) we did not care for, . . . but it was our choice from the menu. We were quickly asked if we would like something else and it was promptly fetch if we desired it. We thought all the dishes were excellently presented and tasted very good here, including the beef dishes. I did hear one of the other guests say that they had tough beef one night (we did not – different seating). We also had beef served one night that was at the wrong temperature and they were replaced before we even took a bite (the waiter saw it before we even brought it to his attention). We eat most of our meals here when we could (sea days, etc.). Shrimp Cocktail & Caesar salad is available any night you didn’t care for the menu appetizers or salad choices. By the end of the cruise, I was getting double shrimps every night without asking along with a baked potato. Deserts were some of the best I have ever had at sea. One side note, after a couple of so-so experiences on our last 2 cruise with medium sized tables, we asked for a table for 2 which Celebrity honors if available. Also on this note, we were waitlisted for main dinning and that did not clear by the time we got on board (were assigned to late seating). Being early birds from the east coast, I really wanted main dinning. Went to the MD as soon as he started on the first day and was switched instantly to table for 2 (actually a table for 4 that was set up for 2) in the main seating. This made all the difference. We really liked a table for 2 and wish all the lines would offer this. Good Job Celebrity!!!

 

Buffet Dining: Good. I think the buffets were ok, . . . but the quality of the food was not as good as the main dining room. I think the beef dishes at the buffet were a much lower grade than the main dining room. The breakfasts were also somewhat tasteless and appeared mass produced. This is a buffet after all, . . . but I would have expected a bit better. The omelet station for breakfast was good, . . . but not great. The eggs were pre-processed and frozen I believed. The waffle station for breakfast was excellent (this is out back), and is worth a trip to the separate spot just for the waffles! We didn’t try the pasta station or the themed dinning during this cruise.

 

Casual Dining: Don’t know. We never had dinner in the casual dinner area during this cruise. I did go up there a couple of times. Menu had salmon, chicken, and a steak every night, . . . there were also a few specials. Looked like some of the sides dishes were done buffet style. They also had the pasta station and pizza stations opened at night – we did not try either of those.

 

Pool Grill: Excellent if you got the burgers and fries fresh off the grill or out of the fryer. If they had been sitting around for a bit then tended to dry out. Still ok, but if you can time your burger needs here you will be very happy.

 

Room Service - Dining: Very Good. Used this once on a very rocky morning for breakfast. If you order during the normal Orion hours, you can order off of that menu for the day. This is what we did for this one day. At first, the order taker didn’t want to do this, but we mentioned it said would could in the room service menu and she backed down. I think they had an overload of orders that morning due to the rocky sea conditions and were trying to make it easier. It took about 45 mins for our order to arrive, . . . but it was hot and tasted just like the main dining meal when it arrived.

 

Dining Service: Excellent. Of course, this is so dependant on who you get for your waiter and asst waiter. Ours (Varga and Roy) were exceptional. We were at the table for 2 and the first night we were asked if we would like to be served quickly or not. Wasn’t sure what was meant by this, . . . but they did get our food to us quicker then the other tables, . . . but we were never rushed. He simply timed it so that our next course would be ready close to when we were. Later in the cruise, I started to understand their process and then I really started to understand what he was doing (the asst waiters all had to fetch a small number of meals - so he always had our asst waiter fetch ours – it was faster that way). The main waiter at the next station also help out from time to time and served our main courses if our waiter was back waiting for his other meals. They worked very well as a team (which we were told they would do right up front).

 

Room Cleaning Service: OK – definitely not Excellent, barely good enough. Like the dining service, this is so dependant on who you get. I believe our steward was, . . . well, simply put, lazy. When we arrived, there was sand from the prior passengers that was left on the bed and floor. There were also small scraps of paper left on the floor. There were also glass rings on the table and night stands. We had to ask to have this all cleaned, which it was. We had to ask 3 times to have the mini-bar cleared out of the all contents so that we could use the refrig. When he finally did clear it out, he simply took the contents out and put them on a shelf in our room. Not sure if all the contents were there or not and/or we will get charged. Also, we had a drink in our room most nights and I started to notice that the rings from the glasses from previous nights would stay on the table and night stand for a few days. One final note, on the last night when we got our tip envelopes, we noticed that the Asst Chief Housekeeper’s envelope had a note written in our steward’s hand writing (he also wrote on his so we could compare) to hand the tip over to our steward. Both of these envelopes were stapled together. Just a little bit tacky in my opinion. Needless to say, we had never met the Asst Chief Housekeeper up to this point so we removed the staple and kept that envelope to ourselves. Figured if he wanted a tip, the least he could do is show up and get it, which never happened. My sense is there was not an Asst Chief Housekeeper working this area of the ship this cruise. Mind you, this was not terrible service, . . . not bad enough to complain about during the cruise, but it was not up to our cruise standards either. My wife likened it more to a low budget Hotel than a high end cruise line. Again, I’m sure others had very good service from other stewards (didn’t hear any other complaints) and this was more than likely due to the steward we had and/or lack of supervision.

 

Entertainment: Excellent. We attended all the shows but one (the ACapella group). The Galaxy singers (4) and dancers (8) did 4 shows (over the 12 nights). They also had a pair of ballet dancers which also doubled as aerialists. Some of the shows were better than others, but all were at least very good, and a couple were outstanding. On board for the entire cruise they had an ACapella group (Sustained) that did one main show and many mini shows around the ship. They were good, but you need to like that music (it got old after the first night to me). For headliners they had; a magician (Brett Sherwood) who was excellent, a multi talented musician (Mark Donoghue) that was very good, a comedian (Jeff Nease) who was excellent on his first show, a violinist (Nicola Loud) who was very good, a circus type comedian (Michael James) that did may stunts (aka: ladder guy) and was also excellent. There were also 2 variety shows that consisted of multiple acts from all of the above. In the dining room each night, they had a string quartet. Before diner, you could also listen to a singer & pianist duo, or a signer/pianist solo artist in two different lounges leading up to the dinning room. All were very good and also played in other spots during the night. It was a joy to walk to dinner with music in the air. I thought the pool band was also good, but we did not spent a lot of time by the main pool. So, . . . overall – excellent entertainment.

 

Ports of Call: See my separate reviews linked below. One note, Montego Bay and Grand Cayman were switched a few days prior due to a cruise ship load in Montego Bay (or so we were told). If they kept it they way it was originally scheduled, we were told we would have to tender into MoBay. Captain did not want to tender twice in a row due to age of passengers. No big deal, had to send some EMAILs to re-arrange our shore excursions.

 

Cozumel – Dolphin Discovery – Very Good.

 

Cozumel Dolphin Discovery Review

 

Costa Maya – Chacchoben Ruins Tour with local Guide - Excellent

 

Costa Maya Ruins Review

 

Panama Canal – Canal by Ferry through Celebrity – Excellent

 

Panama Canal by Ferry Review

 

Puerto Limon – Ziplining with Oscar Brown – Good

 

Zipline with Oscar Review

 

Montego Bay – Horseback Ride ‘N Swim through A-Z Jamaica - Excellent

 

MoBay Horseback Ride ‘N Swim Review

 

Grand Cayman – Stingray City on Buccaneer (Capt. Bryan’s) - Excellent

 

Capt Bryan Buccaneer Review

 

On-Board Activities: Internet: it is expensive ($0.75/minute) but we used it a few times for EMAIL and worked well and was responsive. One thing you can do is log in without internet access (for free), write up your EMAIL body and addresses in Word in advance and save them away. Then log back in with the internet enabled and cut and paste to send via a web based EMAIL server. While there, cut and paste any incoming lengthy EMAILs to a Word Doc and log off and read later. Saves A LOT of internet charges. Fitness Room: Very good, used it most every Sea Day to try to keep the pounds from ‘sticking’ (didn’t work). SPA: My wife used it once. They are very expensive. But, on the last Sea Day she noticed that they had a 50% deal listed on the back of the Celebrity Today. She went up and got the 75 minute thermo rock massage for ½ price ($96 versus $193). She loved it and felt this was worth it at that price. They also offered specials on port days (but not that much off). Pools: Didn’t really use them. All the whirlpools were closed for the entire cruise due to a mechanical failure – this was a bummer. We normally only use the whirlpools.

 

Ship’s Shape: Here is where it gets difficult. We had an excellent cruise. However, the ship is showing signs of needing some major work. Many of the public rooms showed some signs of age (stains, worn upholstery, etc.). The front stratosphere lounge had many windows that appeared like the internal seals had broken and were all ‘fogged’ up. As already mentioned, the whirlpools were not working for the entire cruise. However, don’t let this effect your cruise decision unless you only cruise on brand new ships in pristine condition. The ship is kept very clean throughout and is very nice all around. This items I mention are not simply cleaning items, . . . they will require renovation to repair. It was mentioned at one point that the Galaxy is not schedule until early next year for its next dry dock. I would think they would want to try to get to some of these items before then. I noted a number of items on the final survey (less then excellent). Knowing that they really use those things, if they don’t fix them, it will start to hurt them in the long run.

 

Debarkation: Extremely easy and efficient. We were in Galveston harbor very early in the morning (I would guess before 5am). Meet with Immigration at 7:40 and were told that no one would get off until 9am at the earliest. At 8:45am the first announcements for certain cabins to meet with immigration started to come over the PA system. At 9am, the message came over to the debarkation people that they could start the process (even though 100% of the people had yet to complete the immigration process). We had early flights and were in the Theater when the first group was told it was ok to leave. We simply got up and walked off the ship around 9:15am. Plenty of porters were available to assist with luggage. Our luggage was in the correct zone. I think we were one of the first through Customs, and out the door.

 

Weather was great (little rain end of the day in Panama). Except for the one night and most of the next day of really rough seas (and 35 – 40 MPH winds), the seas were for the most part pretty normal for a Caribbean cruise - mostly flat, occasional chop. All in all, a great cruise to a fantastic engineering work. Really happy we signed up.

[Fridaynightlights]

We appreciate you taking the time to write a review. We'll be on the Galaxy in nine days.

[Melissa at Mohair Meadows]

Hi BrentP.

 

Thanks for the great review. I have a few questions for you: was the Thallasotherapy pool out of order too? Also, were there any photo applications on the PC's for downloading and writing photo data from SD Memory cards?

 

We're going April 14 and plan to join Oscar Brown for ziplining also. Hope I can make it up the ladder.

 

:p Melissa

[wv4891]

Thanks for the great review. We are doing the ferry through the canal in april and I was wondering how hot it was on the ferry and was it hard to find shade on it? Also, was it raining very hard going through the canal or the cut this trip?

[tawcat]

sounds like we will have fun!!! yeehaa

[brentp]

Some answers, . . .

 

The T-Pool was opened all cruise long. Run by the SPA revenue partner and must have been on a different system. There is a cost associated with this pool (I believe it was $99 for the whole cruise or $20 for a day use).

 

For downloading photos, . . . I saw a number of events called out in the Celebrity Today daily paper for this type of activity in the computer lab. I did not notice any connections available on the 24/7 computers available outside of the lab which were the ones I used. They also offered a photo to CD event on the last sea day to bring those photos home. I don't recall off the top of my head these were free or paid service in the lab. But, I believe they have the capability to back up your photos for you if needed. I will look through some of the C-Today's that I brought home and see if I can get a better answer for you on cost. Maybe someone else can answer as well.

 

Canal Ferry has 2 decks. The lower deck is mostly enclosed and air-conditioned (I don’t recall anyone in there when I walked through to go to the bathroom). The upper deck is ~ 75% covered with open sides. So, lots of shade possibilities. The day we went through was sunny and upper 80s to low 90s (don't recall the exact temp). I don't recall it as being stifling hot, in fact, it was a pleasant day on the canal. Didn't get the rain until we were back on the Atlantic side and it was very late in the afternoon (close to 5pm).

[btoohill]

The ferry has an inside area plus you can stand on the shady side. It wasn't particularly hot the day we went through

[Pincus]

Brent, thank you for a thoughtful -- and helpful -- review.

 

We are looking to book Galaxy soon, but have heard from others about the worn, and sometimes even stained, condition of its rooms. This was true when we were aboard her last October, and it is sad to hear that it is still true.

 

Thanks again for a helpful review.

[napunani]

Thanks - great review! I'll be sailing for the first time on Galaxy in 9 days!!!!!!:) :) :) :) :)

[Fridaynightlights]

Did you speak anyone who took the ship-sponsored bus excursion to the Canal and Panama City with lunch provided?

 

Just looking for feedback.

[Maryr1]

We were on the Galaxy 2/3 and noticed many of the same things. The hot tubs were closed after 2 days but the T pool was made available free of charge. We were in PS 1051-the fold out couch does not work and will not be fixed until it goes to dry dock(per Vasant the Butler). They brought in a roll away, but we had to climb over it, entertain around it, etc. because it could not be moved easily. Our 7 y.o. DD ended up sleeping in our bed most nights. I really felt they should of told us that this suite would not accomidate us easily. They cotinue to sell this cabin as if the fold away bed can be used.

[LoneStarJeffe]

There are memory card readers on board that will allow you to view your photos if you slip your camera's memory card into them. When you log in to do this, you get space on a network drive to store your photos and edit them using Photoshop Elements. All of this is free. Only Internet access and email has a charge.

 

However, if you want to transfer them to a CD-ROM at the end of the trip, that costs $20 per CD-ROM.

 

I would invest in sufficient memory cards if you have the money, but burning is an option. The main concern is if you use a higher resolution camera, the number of high res photos you can store on CD-ROM is limited to what you will take. I filled two 512MB cards and partially filled a third. That woould have been at least two CD-ROMs to burn. So, if you can afford them, buy additional memory cards and then burn your best photos after you get back home.

[LoneStarJeffe]

It was great sailing with you. I think more people were ticked off over the hot tubs then anything else. I personally did not feel the seas were what I would describe as rough, but that is a personal opinion. Neither my wife nor myself got motion sickness. We did not use any patches and although we brought the "Sea Bands" we didn't use them. I kinda liked feeling the motion of the ship that day.

 

The canal is certainly wonderful and Grand Cayman is fantastic despite the damage from hurricane Ivan. If anybody goes to Grand Cayman, tip extra. They can use the tourist dollars since they are still rebuilding. Don't be cheap there and try to save bucks by tipping minimum unless the service is non existent.

[CaroleSP]

We were on the Galaxy 2/3 and noticed many of the same things. The hot tubs were closed after 2 days but the T pool was made available free of charge. We were in PS 1051-

 

Isn't the T-pool available at no charge to suite passengers, anyway?

 

I'm sorry to hear about the condition of the Galaxy; we are heading out for the 4th time next October. I sure hope they "clean" her up before we go.

[brentp]

Did you speak anyone who took the ship-sponsored bus excursion to the Canal and Panama City with lunch provided?

 

Just looking for feedback.

Rhadlock,

 

Sorry, we did not meet up with anyone on this tour.

 

. . . , I kinda liked feeling the motion of the ship that day.

Jeffe,

 

I might have too if I thought I could have gotten out of our cabin. Seems like every time I got up, I bounced off a wall or two. :D

 

No motion sickness that day - for us - thanks to Bonine. I could feel the initial effects though when I was standing for awhile or trying to walk about. I definitely couldn't look out the windows for very long, that definitely would have accelerated things. :D Worked out well actually, we spend most of the morning laying down and napping to catch up on sleep. We did make it out later in the day when it got a bit calmer.

 

Nice meeting you and your wife, . . . glad you had great time too!!

[videogirl]

Mary R.

 

We're taking the Galaxy cruise on 04/25 and we're in suite 1051 also, with our teenage son. I read your post, and called celebrity. They basicly said that was to bad that the couch doesn't work and to contact my travel agent. I have to agree they should not sell a room that states it has a hideabed if it doesn't. We booked these rooms a while ago and booked two togeather 1051 and 1061 1061 has four people in it I hope there hide-bed works. All other suites are already booked. Don't know why they just don't replace the bed. Are they that cheap?

[Maryr1]

Carol-I too, thought that the T Pool was no charge to suites, But we were told on the first day that it was only no charge to PS and RS-so it was no charge to us, but my mom who was in SS 1047 (the connecting cabin to us- PS 1051) had to pay.

[Maryr1]

Video girl-I hear you. The roll away bed looked comfy,but it would not be comfy for a bigger person (tall ) or older or heavyset. Also,they would not remove it each day in a timely fashion, so you climb over it, entertain around it.......Have a great time anyway, that's what I did!(It's not like I could fix it or they cared)

[LisadelRio]

Thanks for the great review Brent!

 

Mary, when we upgraded to a sky suite, one of the considerations was free use of the T-pool. This is on the Celebrity website:

Enjoy complimentary use of the Thalassotherapy Pool aboard our fleet of ships with the exception of the Century, Galaxy, and Mercury, which offer pool use for a small fee. Package options are available for purchase. Suite guests enjoy complimentary use of the pool at all times. Thalassotherapy Pool is not available onboard Horizon and Zenith.

 

Maybe I should bring a copy with me.

 

Lisa, leaving on Galaxy in a week and a day:D

[Basfreeman]

brentp:

Enjoyed your review-It was a great cruise, wasn't it. I may have to rank it as tops of the ones we've taken. The 12 days was just right (if you have to eventually get off, of course) and the itinerary a good mix of relaxing sea days and port calls. Sharon and I really enjoyed meeting you and wife, and also Jeffe and his better half.

 

Interesting your comments on cabin steward. Initially, I thought we were going to have a similar problem, but I was totally mistaken. Visant and Francisco took care of us very efficiently.

 

I haven't read all your comments on your shore excursions yet, but I will soon. I'm interested in what you had to say about your Costa Rica experience. The only shore excursion that we did was the Dune Buggy Jungle Safari at Costa Maya--pretty good experience.

 

Hope to see you again.

[Basfreeman]

I kinda liked feeling the motion of the ship that day.

 

Jeffe:

 

That evening, while attempting a dance with my wife, I gained a whole new appreciation for the ship's dance company.

[videogirl]

Mary,

Just another ? regarding the room. Was it a nice room, how was the balcony, any noise from above? :confused: I also read in my paperwork and I printed it out that complimentary use of thalassotherapy pool. So I'm taking that page with me.

[fireguy091]

Lisa

Everything I have read says the T- pool is free for suite guests. Bring your article but I don't think we will need it....:)

[Maryr1]

Videogirl-It was a lovely room-very comfy! The spa staff gave us no trouble about using the TPool free of charge for this room,it was the SS that was next door (that I had my mother and sister in) that we had to pay for to use the T Pool.Not a big deal. The balcony was not huge, but it was very pleasant-my husband fell asleep there many a day while reading. The noise from above was minimal-I really didn't notice much at all. If you send me your email address I will share with you some pics that I have on shutterfly. You will have a wonderful trip I am sure!

[videogirl]

:confused: Mary,

 

1051 is a ss suite I,m confused. 1061 is also an ss suite. Help. We're in 1051 and our daughter and family are in 1061.