We just completed a Panama Canal cruise on the Galaxy.
We have cruised a lot (mainly Princess and Holland American), but our first on Celebrity. We normally book our cruises through the Auto Club or travel agents but have done our own bookings for flights and cruises a couple of times (so we know it\'s not rocket science). This time we booked through a group called Crusie Encounters in Langley B.C., we initially wanted to spend a couple of pre-cruise days in Galveston prior to the cruise but the itenary given to us by the t.a. indicated we would arrive in Houston about 4:30 in the p.m. and spend one night at the Tremont.
We planned on having dinner with friends and an early night to prepare for the cruise. Well we got a surprise when our tickets arrived (7 days prior to the cruise). We were on a totally different flight (through Calgary) and it would not arrive in Huston until after 11p.m. When we contacted the travel agent he acted like a used car dealer (bait and switch), saying that we should have read the \'fine print\' that flights could be subject to change. I smelled a rat and asked - \"so how much would it cost for an earlier flight\". The answer \"oh, between $300 and $400 per person plus taxes. I am familiar with booking flights on the net and I know that Continental has direct flights to Houston from Vancouver that are competative. I believe that was an attempt to scam us out an addition $700 - $800 after we had already paid for the cruise package. Well we took the fight via Calgary and did not end up in our hotel until after 1 p.m. To make matters worse we slept in the next morning (Thanksgiving day) and when we got up the hotel restraurent was closed, the only food we could get for breakfast or lunch was coffee and a bun at a java hut. I would not recommend Cruise Encounters to anyone wishing to book a cruise - we know we will never do it again.
Enough - on to the ship.
The Galaxy is a very nice ship, well maintained and clean throughout. In today\'s market it is small but that\'s the kind of ship we like. We found it unfortunate that the Promenade deck was not wrap around, so we could not stroll around the full ship, but that\'s a minor detail.
The staff were very friendly, helpful and efficient. Air Canada managed to lose one our bags in Calgary and Galaxy\'s staff were very supportive and helpful - especially Sora Geceira the Concierge (the bag contained our good cloths and they loaned me a tux, shirt, tie and shoes for the first formal). Sora\'s efforts finally got Air Canada to fly the bag to Cozomel where it was delivered to our stateroom.
We like to play games like Trivia on cruises and it was great fun on the Galaxy with many games and excellent staff. We made a lot of friends and had a great time. On one occasion we played team trivia \"Battle of the Sexes\" and there must have been 50 people playing.
The food on the Galaxy was good with slightly larger portions than on H.A. , but I would say that the quality was about the same. We enjoyed afternoon tea each day , but were disapointed with their \"Elegant Tea\" - served in small individual metal tea pots (like a dinner). Nothing compared to the \'white glove service\' with scones on H.A..
All in all a very good cruise. I would say that our fellow cruisers on the Galaxy were as friendly a bunch as any we have sailed with - and yes we would recommend Celebrity and the Galaxy to cruisers.
