Galaxy seven night "Greek Islands" cruise completed - a winner

[Viper]

Thanks for the tip. We'll do that. Having never been there before it's all new.
Thanks

[nettie]

Hi Dick....Thank you so much for all the info on the Galaxy cruise. We have only another month to go so we're looking forward to the experience !! We have already booked all our excursions but have decided to spend our time in Mykonos on our own since John is a keen photographer and wants to do his own thing taking lots of photos of the gorgeous houses and blue sea.This truly is a photographers paradise don't you think ? We are also wondering whether we can take a couple of bottles of local wine on board from Rome....or is this forbidden ? With many thanks again for all your info.

[Dick Williams]

Nettie,

You'll do fine on your own on Mykonos - and a day of photography will produce dozens of images you'll be able to enjoy forever.

The tours are great but so is time on your own . The port calls on a cruise are mostly just teasers that leave you wondering what it's really like at X, Y and Z locations - so doing it on your own will let you explore Mykonos on a different level. I would still recommend the Delos tour but we have to make choices and in this case both are good - different but good.

The Greek Islands I think are pretty reliably photogenic - sunlight is abundant and the lighting and sea should be in your favor in the fall - as it was for our October cruise. Instead of film just be sure to have plenty of SD or similar cards if you're shooting digital.

Be sure to watch for the Stromboli volcano - it wasn't mentioned via the ship's PA but you'll likely pass within easy viewing and photorgraphy of the steam venting from the active volcano. It'll be on the nav chart posted in one of the upper deck foyers. It was forward outside the SPA I believe but you'll find the chart one your exploratory tour of the ship. For us it was on our day at sea at the end of a seven day cruise but that will vary with the itinerary. Just seeing Sicily glide by is another teaser that you'll see but won't experience without some time and expense and effort before or after the cruise itself.

There is a stated Celebrity policy on bringing wine onboard. They store it and will serve it but with a corkage fee - check the website or the brochures. I don't recall the particulars but they'd like you to buy the ship's wine of course. On the trip of a lifetime you sometimes decide to splurge and do it no matter the expense.

I'm not sure how thorough the search of your packages brought onboard. We weren't shopping so didn't get quizzed about purchases. I believe it all passes through an X-Ray scan however so might as well answer forthrightly.

Best wishes for a great cruise.

Dick Williams
Kansas City Missouri usa

[pepperonijoe]

Originally posted by nettie:
Thanks Dick for all the info...we are sailing on the Galaxy for 11 nights in Sept 2008. What was the weather like when you were sailing in October....is it slacks or shorts ? Is it best to do all the tours on offer or to go at your own pace as you said in Santorini it would be better to do your own thing ! Do we have to dress up every evening for dinner or is it all fairly relaxed...we are first time cruisers and are doing a 13 day tour of Italy before joining the cruise and of course have limited baggage allowance. Is there a laundry on board ? Any info would be greatly appreciated.
With thanks Nettie

[pepperonijoe]

Nettie,

We are sailing on the Galaxy Sept. l for 11 days. Is that your sail date?

[Dick Williams]

I may have touched on some of the dress and laundry questions elsewhere so will do a short form and from year old memories.

Dress casual but I sort of deferred to what I judged as local custom and stayed in long pants for the shore excursions - you'll see plenty of pants and shorts however so it'll all be acceptable.

There were two formal nights our the seven night cruise. Dark biz suit is ok - few went full formal with tuxes. And you can easily lay off the formal nights entirely - the Oasis Grill is open and there are plenty of alternatives. The meal service is fun so it's worth taking one suit along in my view and I'm as informal as anyone but sort of enjoyed the moderately dressy nights.

Laundry is onboard but it's not self-serve coin op. You bag your laundry and leave it for the steward. Pricing is per item.

Last night out there was a one-time good deal - full bag for a set price. If you can save up and only need laundry once for the trip home - wait for the "deal". I don't recall that it was publicized ahead of time - just shows up as a surprise. And that was Oct 2006 so no assurance it's still the practice.

Our October weather was great - it's the Med - sunny, dry summers that extend into the fall normally. Needed a jacket on deck at night for the breeze. Daytime on shore was comfortably warm but without the heat of mid summer. 80s not 90s daytime as I recall.

Dick Williams
Kansas City Missouri usa

[giftnurse]

Hi, Dick,
We're booked on the Galaxy for 10/24/08 for a 10 day eastern Med cruise, starting in Rome. This is only our 2nd cruise, but both with Celebrity. Just want to add that if you read the brochure carefully, you are allowed to bring on two bottles of wine per cabin. There is no charge, unless you take them to dinner, then there is a hefty corkage fee. Our steward even provided us with a corkscrew and wine glasses. Enough about vino!
My question is back to the excursions: This may be our only trip to this part of the world,and I don't want to miss anything. We were going to do the trip to Oia on Santorini..could care less about their wine stop, but also not interested in beaches, esp in late October. With that info, would you do the Oia trip? Also, for Ephesus, there are 12!!
trips listed. This is overwhelming. Any suggestions on what's most important to see there? Thank you...

[pepperonijoe]

We took the same Galaxy Cruise that you are going on. Ours left Sept. 1, 2008. Don't miss Oia! It's the most beautiful picture spot on the island. We were told Santorini was the 5th most popular island in the world to visit. Oia is where 90% of all photos of this island are made. I think the winery will pleasantly surprise you. It is on a cliff overlooking the bay and it too is gorgeous. It's located on the opposite side of the island from Oia so getting there is a chance to see all of the area. Sipping some free wines and eating cheese and olives at that setting is fantastic.
This was our first Celebrity cruise but our 7th cruise overall. It was good but as I always say there isn't any such thing as a bad cruise, but our cabin was from hell. Rm. 4119. Ship was full, so we were told, thus we couldn't change cabins but construction on the floor above sounded like a demolition derby going on all night every night. There was little chance to sleep. And it wasn't just us. Many of our neighbors had the same complaint.
Ephesus had special meaning for me as a Christian. We took an excursion to the Virgin Mary's house where John took her to live out her life 4 yrs. after the crucification. They hid her high up in a canyon with a beautiful view of the valley. At the base of the hills there are magnificient Roman ruins to walk through. I did enjoy this excursion very much.
Hope this is helpful.