I'm thinking of soon doing a trip on the Galaxy and it'll be my first cruise.
could someone tell me - are there charges for using things like fitness centre, the therapy pool, the Internet...
also, how pricey are alcoholic drinks!
is it worth paying $2,000 extra for a room with a verandah as against an inside room?
and do the crew expect daily tips (in Australia and NZ it isn't done!) thanks!
I WOULD TRY ANOTHER LINE.. tHE Galaxy is in rough condition.. If it is going to be your first try another line so that you can appreciate what cruising should be like..Celebrity is not like it was years ago when it was a stand alone line... Since RCCL bought it it has really suffered... Tom
Although I have no opinion on the Galaxy per se - it is one of Celebrity's older ships - in answer to some of your other questions: yes, there are fees for using the internet, and fees for the fitness center & spa depend on what you do there. If you opt for a spa treatment, there will be fees, but if you just want to go and work out on the equipment, there should be no extra fee for that. And cruise crews do expect daily tips, which these days are usually added to your onboard account; you can change the amounts by talking with the purser's office (before the last day!) but about $10/day for your waiter, asst waiter and cabin steward combined is the standard rate. Crews are paid very little, and depend on the tips.
Never been on Galaxy but I agree with Tom...try a differet line such as Carnival or Royal Caribbean or Princess. I thin you would enjoy a cruise on one of those lines more then galaxy.
thanks for the replies. I must say I'm a little surprised about the tips and extra charges. I'm paying $9,000 Aussie dollars for 13 days, about $700 AUD ($540 USD) per day. That's fairly hefty and I'd have thought things like that wouldn't be extra. Must be a cultural difference!
I hope that $540 (USD) per day is for two people and not pp.
Even for two that is still high. I've booked two 15 day cruises on Princess in a mini-suite with balcony for $400 a day and change for two. Yes, there are many things that are extra, but you don't have to use them.
I am a long time Princess fan and would highly recommend them for your first cruise.
hmm, it is for one person in the cheapest room!it is probably unusually expensive because it is taking in the cricket world cup and almost all flights and hotel rooms there are booked. Another company is charging similar rates.
Here is the link: http://www.astsports.com.au/cricket/43/55
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The reason this package is so expensive is because it is an outside company who has blocked space on the Galaxy, then bundled it with these other components. Therefore, it isn't really fair to compare paying gratuites on top of it, based on your total package cost.
We just returned from a carribean cruise on the Galaxy last night. It was our first cruise and had a blast! We are in our 40's. The fitness center is included. Additional classes have a fee, but you can used the equipment. We planned active excursions and always used the steps instead of the elevator so we didn't use it often. Not sure what the therapy pool is but there were too pools (salt water) and one indoor pool. There is a fee for the internet. Depends on how much you want to use it. My husband was on quite frequently for his business so he purchased a package. I think it was about 70 cents a minute if you don't want to used it frequently. The internet cafe was quite nice and there were plenty of computers and someone on hand to help you. We did get a deck and it was well worth it to us. We had our coffee on the deck every morning. Room service was included so we had coffee delivered. We left our beach stuff out to dry on the deck, too. We were quite pleased with the size of the room and how much storage it held. Even though we didn't spend much time in the room, we will never take a cruise without a deck. To us, it was worth every penny! The excitement of looking out it every morning was priceless. The staff was very nice and our room was refeshing clean every day by the time we returned for lunch. Other than tipping the person who took us to our room, we didn't need cash on the ship. Tips of 15 percent were automatically added when purchasing drinks. I think a martini was around $7. The drinks do add up but you can monitor your expenses any time on your television in your room. You tipped your server and assistant (dinner) and your housekeeping and manager on the last day. Look on the celebrity web site for the amounts they recommend. You can also pre-pay their tips before you go. We gave them cash. I think the total of tips were around $200 but we gave them more because we thought we had exceptional service. The entire staff on the ship bent over backward to make sure we were happy. We never saw an employee with a bad attitude. The ship is showing some wear, but it was always being cleaned. the ship was easy to navigate. We thought the serivce was exceptional but we will probably plan to take a larger, newer ship next. We will stick to Celebrity. (Celebrity is a premium crusie line and is not a party liner if you are younger and are looking for a young crowd.) It was so easy to get checked onto and off the ship. The staff is quite organized. For our first cruise...I wouldn't change a thing!
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