galaxy questions

[crisvow]

Hi all, my husband & I, along with my parents are considering going on the 11 night Caribbean cruise on the Galaxy next Feb. 12th out of Puerto Rico. This would be our first time on Celebrity, cruising RCCL & NCL in the past. We love the itinerary but need some help on the ships highlights. How is the nightlife entertainment? The pool area? and those who have cruised on bigger ships, how are the food options with only one main restaurant and one buffet?? I would appreciate any feeback! Thanks a lot!

[Dick in Falls Church]

Scan through and read the different reports. There is a recent one on the last Galaxy trip in the western Carribean.

In short, we thought the evening entertainment was absolutely top-notch, best of the 3 Celebrity cruises we've been on. What will it be next year?

My crystal ball is too murky.

 

One main restaurant was sufficient. First seating was jammed, which left second seating with plenty of room. Food was ample and very good-- allowing for individual tastes. However, choice of several appetizers, soups, salads and 4 entrees was usually enough. Never went away hungry--and was still full enough to pass up the midnight chow line.

[goldminer1951]

The dining in the Orion is very good. It is open for breakfast, lunch and the two dinner seatings. The menus offer a very good selection (breakfast menu was the same every day for our cruise, but is large enough to have something different everyday on a 28 night cruise). The dinner menu offers a large variety of five course selections, and was different every night on our 11 night eastern Med cruise last August on Galaxy. The wine and cocktail service at dinner was execellent, and they have an excellent wine list. The beef, poultry and lamb selections were excellent. The lobster was also good. There is a poolside grill and a pizza place open during the day. The buffet upstairs offers a wide selection throughout the day. I heard a few complaints that some buffet food was not as hot as it should be, but I did not experience that myself. The service was always great. There is also "free" room service at any time of day or night.

 

The entertainment was also good. There is live music during dinner, a piano bar, and dancing area with live music. They have two shows each night (repeated to accomodate the two dinner seatings). Most nights have a production show with music and dancing. These were always very good. They also have guest artists on several nights to add variety. These entertainers came onboard at different ports of call for us (Athens, Istanbul, etc.). There is live music in the different bars, but as I was travelling with teens, I did not frequent these areas. The casino always seemed to be busy in the evenings after we left port. The "daily" list lots of activities during the day and evenings.

 

The main pool area has two pools, and there is a covered pool in the aft area, which was used for an excellent Greek buffet one night in Mykonos. There are lots of deck chairs in the pool areas, and also on the outside area of the 5th deck. There is also a therapy pool in the spa. The three main pools are salt water, and are filled during the night and early morning. They closed and started draining the pools about 7 PM, which I thought was too early, as it would have been nice to be able to swim after dinner, as I have done on RCCL.

 

Have a great cruise, which ever ship you select. My teens and myself liked Galaxy so much we are doing an Alaska cruise in June '06 on the sister ship of Galaxy- Mercury.

 

'Miner

[donnaw]

Link below may answer some questions.

 

Have a great cruise!

[crisvow]

Thanks so much for the great replies!

 

Donnaw, I don't see a link posted!

[donnaw]

Thanks so much for the great replies!

 

Donnaw, I don't see a link posted!

 

It is in my signature, 4th one since I have to put up my Century review next.

 

Here, this should work: http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberre...?EntryID=13659

 

You will have a wonderful time!

[crisvow]

thanks! great review!

[superjerryw]

Hi all, my husband & I, along with my parents are considering going on the 11 night Caribbean cruise on the Galaxy next Feb. 12th out of Puerto Rico. This would be our first time on Celebrity, cruising RCCL & NCL in the past. We love the itinerary but need some help on the ships highlights. How is the nightlife entertainment? The pool area? and those who have cruised on bigger ships, how are the food options with only one main restaurant and one buffet?? I would appreciate any feeback! Thanks a lot!

 

I've sailed on Galaxy twice and had a great time. The last cruise was an 11 night Med cruise this past summer that was one of the best cruises we were ever on. The selection of food was more than adequate. The entertainment was OK, typical of what you find on any cruise line. As for whether you and your parents will enjoy themselves, you have left out one important piece of information, your ages. I don't know if you and you husband are in your 20's and your parents are in their 40's or if you and your huband are in your 50's and your parents are in their 80's. You actual ages might play a part in how much you enjoy yourselves. Celebrity offers a more adult oriented experience and the longer the cruise, the older the average age of the passengers. If you're actually very young you may not find that many people in your age range and the entertainment may underwhelm you. In any case, Galaxy provides a top notch cruise experience and you should have no problem enjoying yourselves regardless of who the other passengers are.

[crisvow]

thanks for all the replies! My husband & I are in our late 20's, however, mingling w/others our age is not a big deal at all. We choose cruises based on the Itinerary anyway. The things we are most concerned about are the food, which I have heard great things about, and the pool & spa, since we like to spend most of our time lounging around. It seems from what I read that the pool area is very nice & deck chairs are not hard to find, as on most lines. Thanks again!!!

[poetic license]

Crisvow, you will have a wonderful time on GALAXY! I was on the ship in January, and this is what I wrote about it: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=286425

 

The food in the Orian Restaurant is very good. If there is something you love in particular, bring it up with your waiter, and you will be surprised on one evening with it -- almost assuredly! I ate most meals in the dining room, and casual afternoon tea and sushi up in the Oasis on most late afternoons that we were in port.

 

The ship is lovely, the theatre is BEAUTIFUL ... the best of any of the Celebrity ships. The crew takes excellent care of the ship.

 

As you noted, this was the only ship we didn't have a problem with deck chair hogs. What a nice change! The itinerary is great too ... it will be close to this year's itinerary, except that it leaves from San Juan.

 

Nice that you are going with your parents .... I think all of you will find it a great fit. :)

 

Have a great cruise~

[HawaiiApril]

For next February 2nd. We were satisfied with the Galaxy but we booked that criuse because the itinery sounded great. It is very port intensive and a lot of the ports would be new to us. I have not heard great things about sailing out of San Juan but we thought we could give it a try. The crowd on the Galaxy was alot older than any other cruise we have ever been on but that didn't seem to make much difference. That was probably due to the length of the cruise and the time of year. We were a little worried because of the hype about the condition of the Galaxy and found that to be unfounded except for the nasty windows in the Strosphere. The only time we were in the Stratosphere was after dark anyway. Otherwise the ship was beautiful.

[bulldogmom]

I've never sailed with Celebrity before but we are booked for this same exact cruise you are thinking about. I've heard wonderful things about the Galaxy.

[MrLee]

I've never sailed with Celebrity before but we are booked for this same exact cruise you are thinking about. I've heard wonderful things about the Galaxy.

 

 

It looks like a great itinerary. I went to much of it in February on the Ryndam and we loved it. I haven't sailed the Galaxy yet but I'm on the May 6 T/A so if there are any questions I'll be back around the 23rd.

[Marytutor]

Got of the 12 day Panama Canal trip yesterday and it was wonderful. Everything said in pervious responses are correct. The small things that show age are not worth even mentioning. Staff is wonderful and the ship has a very comfortable feeling. We have done cruises on the Millie and the Constellation and each has different pluses. The design of Galaxy is different and in many ways I like it better.

[BeckyR]

I have sailed on all the Celebrity ships except the Mercury and Zenith and Galaxy is my favorite, by far. If you can get a Sky Suite on the 12th deck, you'll never be sorry! We did a 10 day Med on Galaxy and the deck was huge and wonderful at sail-away. This was such a port intensive cruise that we didn't get to spend as much time around the pools as we like, but that may be because I think this ship has the best of the Thallosotherapy pools. We spent a lot of time there. There is an extra charge to use this pool unless you are in a suite. The service on this ship was wonderful, as was the food and most of the entertainment. Due to the number of ports and long days, there was not as much late night entertainment as I've seen on Caribbean cruises, but maybe it was because I was too wiped out from our days in port to go looking for it!

 

Becky

[Longboysfan]

Hi all, my husband & I, along with my parents are considering going on the 11 night Caribbean cruise on the Galaxy next Feb. 12th out of Puerto Rico. This would be our first time on Celebrity, cruising RCCL & NCL in the past. We love the itinerary but need some help on the ships highlights. How is the nightlife entertainment? The pool area? and those who have cruised on bigger ships, how are the food options with only one main restaurant and one buffet?? I would appreciate any feeback! Thanks a lot!

 

If I were you I would switch to the cruise the week before.

1) February 2nd through the 12th. Covers two weekends. Less vacation days.

2) I'll be on that trip. ;)

[HawaiiApril]

Yes, I picked that date for that very reason! I just did the 12 night with only one weekend involved and I was away from work just way too long! We should start a roll call soon. You and I both just got off the Galaxy and booked again next year for the same date. Small world.

[Longboysfan]

Yes, I picked that date for that very reason! I just did the 12 night with only one weekend involved and I was away from work just way too long! We should start a roll call soon. You and I both just got off the Galaxy and booked again next year for the same date. Small world.

 

I just started a connections thread.

[carolmacey]

The food in the Orian Restaurant is very good. If there is something you love in particular, bring it up with your waiter, and you will be surprised on one evening with it -- almost assuredly! I ate most meals in the dining room, and casual afternoon tea and sushi up in the Oasis on most late afternoons that we were in port.

 

The ship is lovely, the theatre is BEAUTIFUL ... the best of any of the Celebrity ships. The crew takes excellent care of the ship.

 

Nice that you are going with your parents .... I think all of you will find it a great fit. :)

 

Have a great cruise~

DH and I (50's) took his parents (80's) on Galaxy last October. First cruise and Europe for parents. We did a B2B med/TA for 24 nights. We had a great time. Sushi is open everynight and they do a great job. Pasta/pizza bar is open late and very good. The pasta bar becomes a waffle bar for breakfast, great waffles. Poolside grill had nice variety of items, not just burgers and dogs. Greek buffet was the best as were Spanish tapas several nights on aft patio. It was our favorite place to spend time.

Have a great cruise.

Carol

[BrendaJ]

Crisvow

We are also booked on the February 12, 2007 Galaxy with my parents. My parents will not be dining in the main dining room, so the dining options are also of concern to me. However, my parents eat early and will probably have a big lunch at the buffet, and then will eat sandwiches and desserts at the afternoon tea buffet from 4 till 5. Till now, we've only been on the M-class ships, which certainly have lots of dining options. However, I believe there is pizza and pasta available for extended hours on the Galaxy.

I think you might find the nightlife rather subdued compared to your other cruises, especially if they were one week cruises; however, there is always something to do in the evenings and if you're a night owl, you won't be the only one.

As well, I don't know about any of this for certain, but we booked this cruise while on the Millennium last November, and were told that Galaxy is going to be refurbished this fall. I know the Century (Galaxy's sister ship) is going into drydock this spring, and some of the refurbishments on Century sound pretty good, like the addition of a spa cafe and extra verandahs. The spa cafe on the M-class ships is great and has extended hours. I look forward to seeing what the post-drydock Century cruisers have to see about the changes.

If you've booked February 12, please join us on our small roll call (which I'm sure will be getting bigger). http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=277200

 

Brenda

[SheilaNC]

Hi, Brenda,

We've sailed the Galaxy 4 times and really love her. She is showing a bit of wear but, hopefully, the refurbishment will take care of that. Staff was excellent. We had a table on the upper level of the dining room and loved it - no vibrations like some talked about on the lower level and quieter. The T pool is wonderful even if it's a bit pricey (not like the Millie :)) Service was excellent except for the folks at Guest Relations (but that may have changed since we sailed).

 

If you have specific questions, ask away.

[dkjretired]

just to point out there is no buffet on any Celebrity ship for dinner. The area towards the back of the buffet is open but it is a menu driven dinner with less choices than the dining room. Again, buffet for lunch and breakfast but not for dinner.

[crisvow]

Thanks again for all the great feedback! Is it true that Celebrity has Cirque du Soleil shows on their ships? Or is that on only the newer ships? Also, as far as the drydock, I read somewhere on here that they dry dock wasn't expected until spring of 2007. Even if it is an older ship, it doesn't bother us! All we care about it a great itinerary, good food, and a nice pool area! Looking forward to booking the 2/12 sailing!

[crzrr]

We're on the 12th now too (were booked on the 2nd, but had to change our schedule).

 

I don't believe they have the Cirque du Soleil on the Galaxy. I think that's only the M-Class ships. However, the shows are good and the theater is nice. This will be our 3rd trip on the Galaxy, and although some areas are a little worn, the service makes up for it. Can't wait to go!

 

Look forward to seeing you all there!

[jaynak]

Is it true that Celebrity has Cirque du Soleil shows on their ships? Or is that on only the newer ships?

 

Cirque du Soleil is currently on Summit and Constellation - ONLY. We enjoyed the 1/2 hour show on Summit very much and hope they expand to other ships - which I believe is the long term plan. Jayna K