A Cruise Above Expectations

Celebrity Galaxy Cruise Review to Europe - Mediterranean

Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 36

Overall rating:

5 out of 5
Verified Review
Celebrity Galaxy

11 Night Eastern Mediterranean (Rome Roundtrip)

Sail date: June 12, 2006

Ship: Celebrity Galaxy

Cabin type: Inside

Traveled as: Family (older children)

Reviewed: 14 years ago

Review summary

The ship far exceeded our expectations. The staff was friendly and available at all hours with a smile to meet any needs or answer any questions. The staff even worked hard to anticipate our future needs, as well.The food was everywhere, delicious, and overwhelming with the many creations. The food, alone, was an experience. The decks were comfortable and a great place to relax. The whirlpool was wonderful, but the pools were too cold for us to use.The shore excursions were safe, well-planned and amazing experiences with great guides. Sometimes, a better system for getting larger excursions off the boat would have been preferred. We loved the late dinner sitting, so we could have time to relax from excursions and the day. We did have trouble coordinating our daughter between shore excursions and dinner to meet with the youth group. However, the staff worked hard to please both children at all times, as well as the adults. Our stateroom was kept clean, we always had clean towels, ice and water, as well as beds always set up for the time of day with mints at night and information for the next day's activities. We found the stateroom to be ample, even with two children and two adults in one room with two bunks and two lower beds. We would love to do this all over!

Ports of call

Istanbul, Turkey

5 out of 5
We were fortunate to have a guide full of information. Istanbul is a city rich with history, and you must have guided tour. The city is an experience to not be missed, and we had tons of fun bartering with merchants in the Grand Bazaar. We also found the carpet sales at the end to be too high pressure, and are still a bit nervous about our rug purchase.
Don't Miss: Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, Hagia Sophia, Grand Bazaar, and Topkapi Palace guided tours

Santorini, Greece

5 out of 5
I must reiterate, the amazing views. However, allow time for the cable car line back. We found this line horribly long, as several cruise ships had people all coming down at the same time. The mineral springs swim was a blast!
Don't Miss: the views and the mineral springs

Rhodes, Greece

5 out of 5
Again, the water, the mountains, and the homes were amazing to see. However, we found the market to be a bit too commercial with prices higher than in other areas.
Don't Miss: the scenery

Mykonos, Greece

5 out of 5
It was a beautiful port filled with wonderful old churches. You must see all of them you can, as we left the final one in tears.
Don't Miss: the churches

Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey

5 out of 5
This port was our surprise. We found it to be much more than expected. The greenery and scenery was astounding. The Virgin Mary shrine was uplifting, as was St. John's Basilica. The Ephesus ruins are amazing to see. The temple of Artemis has little left that you can see.
Don't Miss: The Virgin Mary shrine

Piraeus (Athens), Greece

5 out of 5
The acropolis was overwhelming, and our guide was very good with amazing details on the structure, as well as handling our group, so we could comfortably see everything in the crowds.
Don't Miss: The Acropolis and Hadrian's arch.

Naples, Italy

5 out of 5
We loved the Mount Vesuvius views, but Celebrity correctly evaluates the walk to be strenuous. It was a long, hard walk, and our guide seemed to indicate incorrectly our need for water etc, as well as us never finding the geologist at the top to give us information. We experienced some misunderstandings in language between this particular guide, only. I would listen to Celebrity's evaluation. Pompeii was fascinating and our guide was very informative there.
Don't Miss: Pompeii

Piraeus (Athens), Greece

5 out of 5
The acropolis was overwhelming, and our guide was very good with amazing details on the structure, as well as handling our group, so we could comfortably see everything in the crowds.
Don't Miss: The Acropolis and Hadrian's arch.

Rhodes, Greece

5 out of 5
Again, the water, the mountains, and the homes were amazing to see. However, we found the market to be a bit too commercial with prices higher than in other areas.
Don't Miss: the scenery

Istanbul, Turkey

5 out of 5
We were fortunate to have a guide full of information. Istanbul is a city rich with history, and you must have guided tour. The city is an experience to not be missed, and we had tons of fun bartering with merchants in the Grand Bazaar. We also found the carpet sales at the end to be too high pressure, and are still a bit nervous about our rug purchase.
Don't Miss: Blue Mosque, Hippodrome, Hagia Sophia, Grand Bazaar, and Topkapi Palace guided tours

Naples, Italy

5 out of 5
We loved the Mount Vesuvius views, but Celebrity correctly evaluates the walk to be strenuous. It was a long, hard walk, and our guide seemed to indicate incorrectly our need for water etc, as well as us never finding the geologist at the top to give us information. We experienced some misunderstandings in language between this particular guide, only. I would listen to Celebrity's evaluation. Pompeii was fascinating and our guide was very informative there.
Don't Miss: Pompeii

Santorini, Greece

5 out of 5
I must reiterate, the amazing views. However, allow time for the cable car line back. We found this line horribly long, as several cruise ships had people all coming down at the same time. The mineral springs swim was a blast!
Don't Miss: the views and the mineral springs

Mykonos, Greece

5 out of 5
It was a beautiful port filled with wonderful old churches. You must see all of them you can, as we left the final one in tears.
Don't Miss: the churches

Kusadasi (Ephesus), Turkey

5 out of 5
This port was our surprise. We found it to be much more than expected. The greenery and scenery was astounding. The Virgin Mary shrine was uplifting, as was St. John's Basilica. The Ephesus ruins are amazing to see. The temple of Artemis has little left that you can see.
Don't Miss: The Virgin Mary shrine

Pros: The food, service, and friendly staff who try hard to meet all our needs

Cons: Swimming pools too cold, and youth activities difficult to coordinate with excursions

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