excitedofharpenden
02-01-2005, 12:37 PM
Here is a review of our Panama Canal cruise onboard Galaxy. Just to say at the start, we loved this cruise and it lived up to all our expectations. We met some great people, had some new experiences and loved being back on Galaxy again. I have described the highlights of what we did, together with observations from a personal viewpoint. It was to be brief, but has ended up an essay. Feel free to skip those parts not of interest. If anyone has any questions, I’ll try to answer them.
Pre-Cruise
We flew in from the UK the day before and stayed at the Hotel Galvez, which took about an hour and a half to reach from IAH, through the Houston evening traffic. Houston looked impressive at night as we passed the downtown area.
The Galvez is a really nice hotel, with a lot of charm and we took the opportunity to have just a bar meal after all the travelling. We also had the chance to meet up with a couple of our Cruise Critic Roll Call buddies, Justin, Donna and their lovely children Raymond and Sarah and we talked excitedly about what the next couple of weeks would hold for us.
The hotel was really busy. I am not surprised independent booking is difficult. There were 46 of us on our flight from the UK there, together with another larger planeload for the Grand Princess, also leaving that Saturday. The bar staff struggled until more help arrived during the evening. The room was comfortable and had a nice view to the beachfront.
Embarkation
Boarding couldn’t really have been much easier. We were on the first bus to leave the hotel at just before 11am and were soon in the terminal. There was a separate line for Captains Club and suite passengers, but there was no one in line so we were checking in before we knew it and soon had our sea pass cards in our hands and were ready to join Galaxy. A wooden gangway led us up to the ship. Not state of the art by any means. I know they are working on improving the terminal and were glad the weather was ok. We boarded the ship at 11.45 and were the very first passengers to do so. It was strange to see the ship so empty. Our prompt boarding may have had something to do with the previous cruise already having been through US immigration in Key West, following its change of itinerary. BTW, I understood that the ship wasn’t full. There were 1700 passengers for our sailing and I know a few of the Concierge Class staterooms were not occupied. We had our champagne in hand and found our own way to our cabin, RS1045. We stayed in 1038 last year, so we knew where we were going!
Arriving so early, we had plenty of time to walk around, get something to eat in the buffet and sit for a while at the back of the ship in the brisk Northerly that was affecting Galveston that weekend. We had arrived and contemplated carefully our Panama Canal adventure.
Pottering around on the ship we already knew well from our previous cruises, in no time at all it was time for us to join our table for the first dining experience. We had a table for eight and were on the lower level looking out of one of the side windows near the aft.
Day 1 – Sea Day
It had warmed up somewhat overnight as we headed South and we were able to sit outside for our first sea day. For the first two or three days I over catered for breakfast, without doubt. Gradually as the cruise went on those sausages, bacon rashers, hash browns and scrambled eggs were replaced by melon, grapefruit and orange segments with a bit of Swiss cheese and sliced ham for effect. Much more sensible! Oh and a toasted muffin.
I had an appointment with the webcams at 10.30 (for my 15 minutes of fame) which had the Computer Lab staff laughing and then it was off to the Cruise Critic get together at 11.30, held in the Stratosphere Lounge. We had a great time meeting all those I had chatted to prior to the cruise and we saw all of them again often around the ship and also some for our tour in Costa Rica (see below).
I tried out the Thellassotherapy Pool for the first time and it was as invigorating as I remembered it. This would become a daily ritual and I always arrived back at the cabin relaxed and ready for afternoon tea, which was served in cabin by our butler at about 3.45pm.
Our drink holdout for the most part was either on the balcony or at the Ocean Bar and for the evening before dinner, in the Rendezvous Lounge. Yes, they do remember what drinks you have too. The bar staff do have an amazing memory.
We had an invite to the Captain’s table that evening, hosted at the first sitting by the Chief Engineer, Nikolaos Baltsavias. He really is a very nice chap and he and the rest of our tablemates (including the Sanitation Officer) made it a thoroughly enjoyable evening from start to finish. The conversation was varied and the wine flowed freely.
Day 2 – Cozumel
We have been to Cozumel before and in the knowledge that we would still be getting over the travelling, had planned a relaxing day at Paradise Beach. We took a taxi and were there in no time. We paid $5 for snorkel equipment and use of other beach equipment and settled ourselves in lounger chairs under the shade of an umbrella. A bottle or three of Sol followed not long after. George and Joyce joined us, a couple more of our Cruise Critic buddies. They had brought quite a bit of equipment for the school kids in Cozumel, which was very warmly received by Paradise Beach Tom, who was out doing the rounds. I had taken a backpack to give to the kids, as it was easy to pack in the suitcase. All in all we had a great day there. I snorkeled quite a bit. There is not much to see close to the shore, but further out there was quite a bit of wildlife. A word of caution. There is a rocky patch quite near to shore. George hurt his leg treading in a hole nearby, so take care.
The Sol beer finally took its toll (or was it just the sun?). Both Helen and I fell asleep and missed dinner that evening. We felt bad that they may have waited for us. If we weren’t going to show for any reason we would have wanted to let them know. Ah well. We would just have to explain the following evening……..
Continued...............
Pre-Cruise
We flew in from the UK the day before and stayed at the Hotel Galvez, which took about an hour and a half to reach from IAH, through the Houston evening traffic. Houston looked impressive at night as we passed the downtown area.
The Galvez is a really nice hotel, with a lot of charm and we took the opportunity to have just a bar meal after all the travelling. We also had the chance to meet up with a couple of our Cruise Critic Roll Call buddies, Justin, Donna and their lovely children Raymond and Sarah and we talked excitedly about what the next couple of weeks would hold for us.
The hotel was really busy. I am not surprised independent booking is difficult. There were 46 of us on our flight from the UK there, together with another larger planeload for the Grand Princess, also leaving that Saturday. The bar staff struggled until more help arrived during the evening. The room was comfortable and had a nice view to the beachfront.
Embarkation
Boarding couldn’t really have been much easier. We were on the first bus to leave the hotel at just before 11am and were soon in the terminal. There was a separate line for Captains Club and suite passengers, but there was no one in line so we were checking in before we knew it and soon had our sea pass cards in our hands and were ready to join Galaxy. A wooden gangway led us up to the ship. Not state of the art by any means. I know they are working on improving the terminal and were glad the weather was ok. We boarded the ship at 11.45 and were the very first passengers to do so. It was strange to see the ship so empty. Our prompt boarding may have had something to do with the previous cruise already having been through US immigration in Key West, following its change of itinerary. BTW, I understood that the ship wasn’t full. There were 1700 passengers for our sailing and I know a few of the Concierge Class staterooms were not occupied. We had our champagne in hand and found our own way to our cabin, RS1045. We stayed in 1038 last year, so we knew where we were going!
Arriving so early, we had plenty of time to walk around, get something to eat in the buffet and sit for a while at the back of the ship in the brisk Northerly that was affecting Galveston that weekend. We had arrived and contemplated carefully our Panama Canal adventure.
Pottering around on the ship we already knew well from our previous cruises, in no time at all it was time for us to join our table for the first dining experience. We had a table for eight and were on the lower level looking out of one of the side windows near the aft.
Day 1 – Sea Day
It had warmed up somewhat overnight as we headed South and we were able to sit outside for our first sea day. For the first two or three days I over catered for breakfast, without doubt. Gradually as the cruise went on those sausages, bacon rashers, hash browns and scrambled eggs were replaced by melon, grapefruit and orange segments with a bit of Swiss cheese and sliced ham for effect. Much more sensible! Oh and a toasted muffin.
I had an appointment with the webcams at 10.30 (for my 15 minutes of fame) which had the Computer Lab staff laughing and then it was off to the Cruise Critic get together at 11.30, held in the Stratosphere Lounge. We had a great time meeting all those I had chatted to prior to the cruise and we saw all of them again often around the ship and also some for our tour in Costa Rica (see below).
I tried out the Thellassotherapy Pool for the first time and it was as invigorating as I remembered it. This would become a daily ritual and I always arrived back at the cabin relaxed and ready for afternoon tea, which was served in cabin by our butler at about 3.45pm.
Our drink holdout for the most part was either on the balcony or at the Ocean Bar and for the evening before dinner, in the Rendezvous Lounge. Yes, they do remember what drinks you have too. The bar staff do have an amazing memory.
We had an invite to the Captain’s table that evening, hosted at the first sitting by the Chief Engineer, Nikolaos Baltsavias. He really is a very nice chap and he and the rest of our tablemates (including the Sanitation Officer) made it a thoroughly enjoyable evening from start to finish. The conversation was varied and the wine flowed freely.
Day 2 – Cozumel
We have been to Cozumel before and in the knowledge that we would still be getting over the travelling, had planned a relaxing day at Paradise Beach. We took a taxi and were there in no time. We paid $5 for snorkel equipment and use of other beach equipment and settled ourselves in lounger chairs under the shade of an umbrella. A bottle or three of Sol followed not long after. George and Joyce joined us, a couple more of our Cruise Critic buddies. They had brought quite a bit of equipment for the school kids in Cozumel, which was very warmly received by Paradise Beach Tom, who was out doing the rounds. I had taken a backpack to give to the kids, as it was easy to pack in the suitcase. All in all we had a great day there. I snorkeled quite a bit. There is not much to see close to the shore, but further out there was quite a bit of wildlife. A word of caution. There is a rocky patch quite near to shore. George hurt his leg treading in a hole nearby, so take care.
The Sol beer finally took its toll (or was it just the sun?). Both Helen and I fell asleep and missed dinner that evening. We felt bad that they may have waited for us. If we weren’t going to show for any reason we would have wanted to let them know. Ah well. We would just have to explain the following evening……..
Continued...............