Any info on dates for the Galaxy refurbish?

[pkgjockey]

We are sailing on her in March 08 for the 4th time! Thanks, PJ

[KRB_AMB]

We just did the East TA on Galaxy and were told that the referb will be done at the end of the '08 Caribbean season. I have noted that there is no listing for Galaxy East TA showing on X's site so I suspect that this is due to the rework scheduled.

 

There was a person on board the day of sailing in San Juan that was taking pictures and measuring things... Aparently the team of 'designers' were on board before departure getting design ideas.

 

Honestly she was in excellent shape ... But I heard that they will be reconfiguring similar to what was done on Century and that they will add a specialty restaurant.

 

Can't wait to see how she is improved!

 

Ken

[tom_uk]

No such annoucement has been made yet.

 

All that is actually known is that there is a gap in her schedule between the end of her last cruise in the Caribbean (18 April) and her first cruise in Europe (9 June) next year. There isn't a date yet for her eastbound Transatlantic that spring.

 

My guess - and it's no more than that - is that Celebrity's management either still haven't finally decided to spend the money on a refit, or have decided but haven't yet been able to find a slot in a suitable shipyard.

 

If they do decide (or are able) to go ahead they'll make an announcement then. Alternatively, if they don't (or can't), they'll book additional cruises to fill the gap. It's a case of keeping on looking.

 

But if my guess is correct, then your cruise will be before her refit.

[Lois R]

We are sailing on her in March 08 for the 4th time! Thanks, PJ

 

Hi PJ,:) when in March are you sailing? If it is March 7th we

have a nice Roll Call already started if you want to come

say hello we would love to have you visit:)

[chessbriar]

Having just sailed on her a couple months ago, you'll be happy to know they are working hard to redo much of the interior. Redoing carpeting, bedding, and upolstery. The roof over the aft pool has been fixed and from what I have read, the windows in the disco have been replaced.

[pkgjockey]

Thanks everyone for the responses.

 

Lois - We are on the 11 night Southern starting on March 17th 2008. Sorry we will miss you.

 

We just sailed on Galaxy May 14-21 out of Rome. Had a wonderful trip. First time in the Med. The ship still is in excellent shape and the food and service was outstanding.

 

Thanks again,

Tony

[Lois R]

Tony, have fun.:) I will be disembarking as you arrive!

[starlake]

Tony,

My DH and I will be joining you along with four friends on the 17th. We have tried to get some things going on the Connection board without much success. I thought for awhile the trip was haunted or something with no one replying.

 

Patti

[dcourt]

We are on the April 7, 2008 11 night southern caribbean cruise on the Galaxy. Did I read that they will be retrofitting the Galaxy after our cruise? I have seen on the Travel Channel when they did a retrofit on one of the Royal Caribbean ships and the last couple of days of the cruise the crew had already started to rip up carpet and started to dismantle things. Is this what we have to look forward to? This cruise is the most expense cruise I have ever done in the caribbean (this will be my 12th cruise) and I would not want any of my 11 days to be hindered by any of that. What are your thoughts?

[tom_uk]

We are on the April 7, 2008 11 night southern caribbean cruise on the Galaxy. Did I read that they will be retrofitting the Galaxy after our cruise? I have seen on the Travel Channel when they did a retrofit on one of the Royal Caribbean ships and the last couple of days of the cruise the crew had already started to rip up carpet and started to dismantle things. Is this what we have to look forward to? This cruise is the most expense cruise I have ever done in the caribbean (this will be my 12th cruise) and I would not want any of my 11 days to be hindered by any of that. What are your thoughts?

 

Well, you never know for certain, but consider these things:-

 

a) as yet, no refit for Galaxy has been announced. There is a hole in her schedule in the late April / May period, but we don't knw for certain that it will be used for a refit;

 

b) in any case, there is likely to be a transatlantic cruise after yours. If any on-board work was going to be done it would be more likely during the last few days of that.

[Arubalisa]

The roof over the aft pool has been fixed and from what I have read, the windows in the disco have been replaced.

:eek: :eek: :eek: Now no one will have anything to gripe about! Oh no...:D

[Dale Jr]

:eek: :eek: :eek: Now no one will have anything to gripe about! Oh no...:D

 

Not bad - it only took five years to fix. No wonder people griped. Leaving them broken for so long was just a true reflection on their lack of commitment to continuing maintenance.

 

The only reason Celebrity started fixing things was the fact that bookings were way down on Galaxy and the fares they were ending up charging just to fill the ship were incredibly low. So whether or not a select few here on cruise critic didn't care if Celebrity fixed things or not it is good to know that Celebrity ended up hearing the cruising public speak with their money by not booking this ship.

 

I was on this ship twice three years apart and to me it was absolutely mind boggling to see broken items still not repaired three years later or to see a complete lack of any maintenance whatsoever throughout the ship with respect to soft goods. For those who were seeing the ship for the first time they probably thought it was great. There are those of us who knew better.

[denb]

But I heard that they will be reconfiguring similar to what was done on Century .....

If that means removing the T-Pool..........

[chessbriar]

The only reason Celebrity started fixing things was the fact that bookings were way down on Galaxy and the fares they were ending up charging just to fill the ship were incredibly low. So whether or not a select few here on cruise critic didn't care if Celebrity fixed things or not it is good to know that Celebrity ended up hearing the cruising public speak with their money by not booking this ship.

Actually, the reason they started to fix things onboard was the Mercury took Galaxy's dry dock to get her ready for down under. Originally, Galaxy was going in this past spring. No, it wasn't announced, but that's what the plan was. When it was announced Mercury was going to Australia and they wanted to schedule a dry dock before she went, they took Galaxy's dry dock. Once that was decided, X knew they had to fix things they were waiting for dry dock to repair. So they have been working on her regularly for the last year. Her schedule for the last year has been conducive to working on her on the fly. With so many days in port, the ship is mostly empty and the work can go on.

[Susan-M]

:eek: :eek: :eek: Now no one will have anything to gripe about! Oh no...:D

 

Some things are not easily forgotten ;)

[usha]

Not bad - it only took five years to fix. No wonder people griped. Leaving them broken for so long was just a true reflection on their lack of commitment to continuing maintenance.

 

The only reason Celebrity started fixing things was the fact that bookings were way down on Galaxy and the fares they were ending up charging just to fill the ship were incredibly low. So whether or not a select few here on cruise critic didn't care if Celebrity fixed things or not it is good to know that Celebrity ended up hearing the cruising public speak with their money by not booking this ship.

 

I was on this ship twice three years apart and to me it was absolutely mind boggling to see broken items still not repaired three years later or to see a complete lack of any maintenance whatsoever throughout the ship with respect to soft goods. For those who were seeing the ship for the first time they probably thought it was great. There are those of us who knew better.

Yikes! Doom, gloom, and mental telepathy, all in one post!:eek:

[hcat]

We are booked in Nov 08 on Galaxy so I hope we get the benefit of the sprucing up. If it is like Mercury the layout is what is so nice & I doubt they will change that very much..

The changes to Century were nice but not having sailed on her pre-refurb I cannot compare. It is still quite noticeable the Century is an older ship esp in the area we use alot--like the pool area, lack of T pool & no indoor pool. & the odd deck layout that don't go through--- That said we had a great time & the cabin was very nice, but after our cruise on her next Sept would not re-book Century unless it was a must-do itin with no other options.

As to Merc & Galaxy, hope they keep the T pool----losing that to an enlarged spa area, Persian garden & barbershop on Century is a big shame.

Guess we have something to lookforward to !

[Dale Jr]

Yikes! Doom, gloom, and mental telepathy, all in one post!

 

Is there something you wanted to add to this thread or is this just another put down on any poster who happens to think Celebrity could do better than they are?

[chessbriar]

Is there something you wanted to add to this thread or is this just another put down on any poster who happens to think Celebrity could do better than they are?

Dale,

You made a post based on assumptions not knowing the whole story or even some of the story. You don't expect someone to make a comment when you include a post based on assumptions and not fact. How does that add to the thread?

[chessbriar]

Not bad - it only took five years to fix. No wonder people griped. Leaving them broken for so long was just a true reflection on their lack of commitment to continuing maintenance.

Not true, it's not like the parts needed to fix the roof or the windows for the disco can be picked up at the local hardware store. These are custom made parts that take time to get. I sailed on the Galaxy New Years 2004/2005 and the roof was working at that time. Yes, windows in the disco have been fogged since 2002. The one broken window in an out of the way corner only happened in the last 18 months. Both of these items were scheduled to be fixed during the dry dock Mercury took. Parts were ordered to have them available for the dry dock. When Galaxy lost her dry dock to Mercury, X pushed to get the parts as soon as they could be constructed. The roof was fixed this year, Jan/Feb and the windows replaced in March.

 

The only reason Celebrity started fixing things was the fact that bookings were way down on Galaxy and the fares they were ending up charging just to fill the ship were incredibly low. So whether or not a select few here on cruise critic didn't care if Celebrity fixed things or not it is good to know that Celebrity ended up hearing the cruising public speak with their money by not booking this ship.

I hate to tell you this is once again not true. X started upgrading carpeting and bedding during Europe last year. The ship was sailing full and getting good prices. It is still continuing and the ship is still sailing full and getting a good price. I know when I sailed on her in February 2A balcony cabins were going for between $175-$200 per person per day. I don't consider it a deal on a balcony until price falls below $150 per person per day. Yes, there was some discounting, but it was on inside and ocean view cabins. The biggest problem with all the C class ships is not enough balconies. It's a design flaw that resulted from the ships being 10 years old. Keep in mind the Galaxy and Mercury were the first X ships to have balconies. At that time not a required feature on a ship, so they just didn't build enough for what cruisers what today. But the Galaxy is/was sailing at 100-115% of capacity

 

I was on this ship twice three years apart and to me it was absolutely mind boggling to see broken items still not repaired three years later or to see a complete lack of any maintenance whatsoever throughout the ship with respect to soft goods. For those who were seeing the ship for the first time they probably thought it was great. There are those of us who knew better.

I have sailed on Galaxy in 2001, 2002, 2004/2005 and 2007. By what you are saying, I should have noticeable wear as the years went by. Where I saw noticeable wear was the artwork in the middle of the pool deck and the wood decking around the pool. Things I noticed on one cruise were fixed by the next. With the work they continue to do, I see noticeable improvements.

[excitedofharpenden]

Yikes! Doom, gloom, and mental telepathy, all in one post!:eek:

It's all very familiar, Usha. Chicken Licken is alive and well and posting on the Celebrity boards.

 

For the record, I have been on Galaxy twice and had a great cruise on both occasions. It's good to see that these details have been attended to. Enough of the griping already.

 

Phil

[chessbriar]

Phil,

 

We you on Connie in March? I have trouble keeping your cruises straight. If so, how was it. We were supposed to sail in April, but X canceled and we jumped to Galaxy instead. It was great to see old friends.

[excitedofharpenden]

Rick, it was excellent (to coin a phrase) and we got off Connie at the beginning of April and went down to Miami and did a short five day on Century to see what she was like. The staff on Connie were great. Those on Century were even better and matched the cruises we had on Galaxy. I know that Captain Peppas is perhaps not the most outgoing of Captains, but his staff were first class on both occasions we sailed on Galaxy. Hopefully our cruise paths will cross at some stage.

 

Phil

[chessbriar]

Did you get a chance to talk with Capt Pagonis on the Century. He is probably one of the friendliest captains I have met. When we were on the Galaxy in February we have Capt Lekkas. Apparently, he is doing 3 months then Capt Peppas. We enjoyed Capt Peppas, quiet and unassuming, but when approached willing to talk.

 

My favorite thing about Capt Lekkas, as the end of his noon broadcast signed off "Bye for now" All the guests loved it, the last day the pool broke out into cheers and applause.

[excitedofharpenden]

We had Captain Mitropoulos on Century. He arranged a bridge tour for us and we had dinner with him on the first formal night too. He invited our whole table which was really nice of him to do (and thanks to the CC host, Brenda Meyer also). He was a quiet guy, but Captain Papanicolau (sp?) on Connie was something else. A real character.

 

Phil