I was wondering if anyone is booked for this cruise? Or thinking about it? It's a 16 night sailing from Galveston to Rome.
Lots of great sea days but nice ports too.

No one has replied so I thought I would. But not quite an exact reply.

We are booked on the Opera..Ft Lauderdale to Genoa leaving April 2nd. I did look at the Galaxy (we will be on the Galaxy two weeks from tomorrow..12 nights out of Galveston) but it was quite a bit higher than the Opera. Plus, we live about mid-way between Galveston and FtL but our final destination is Genoa so the Opera was a logical choice for us. It's 17 nights with some great sea days too.

When we return from our upcoming cruise I will at least be able to speak to the Galaxy. I'll post something like 'Galaxy review' shortly after Thanksgiving Day.

Good luck on your plans for a transatlantic cruise.

Ooops, I see from your other posting that you are committed and also hanging in there for a med cruise. My Opera plug is really moot.

Have you sailed on the Galaxy before? Just curious.

Happy sailing!

Hi Esd,
I just appreciate a reply! Not being one of the "in group" sometimes I get no replies, but I keep plugging along!
No, we have not cruised on Galaxy, but it's a big draw for us - going out of Galveston and also the many sea days which we really enjoy.
We have sailed on Celebrity 3 times but on the larger ships. But I'm sure we'll be content. We have had multiple cruises and all have been good. Nothing perfect, but I haven't found that anywhere except most of the time in my DH.
However since Celebrity has adopted the "No Discount" we will be looking at many cruiselines before we book again. We are retired and on a fixed income, so of course, we have to find the bargains to be able to feed our travel habit!
I'm sure that Opera will be a great cruise for you too, and I'd love to hear about it when you return. And also, any hints, tips, etc about the Galaxy are always appreciated!
We are particularly excited about the Med cruise that goes on to Istanbul and keeping our fingers crossed that it is not cancelled this year.
Carol

Hi Carol,
We're in the same boat (hmmm), retired on a fixed income. We also love to travel - especially cruise - so we try to find the best deals out there. In the past few years, we've booked months in advance when we have seen a good rate. We booked last years September Alaskan cruise in January, this years November Galaxy cruise in February and April's Opera cruise in June. I think I'm going to leave '06 open and try being spontaneous for once!

We've yet to cruise on Princess or HAL and would like to try both. I'd like to see HAL come to NO or Gal/Hou as we can drive to those ports. As for the Grand Princess, she's so big that it's kind of daunting. And speaking of the GP, she is sailing out of Galveston on the same day as we leave on the Galaxy. Traffic should be a nightmare! I'm glad I booked the hotel near the pier back in February, too!!!

Happy cruising. Will post something when we return. I can almost guarantee a good review..not much could spoil my fun. I've liked every cruise we've been on and can always pick a few things from any one that I preferred over the others. Hey, if I'm not cleaning, cooking, shopping, doing laundry etc. etc, what could possibly be bad!

esd, where do you live? If you are within driving distance you are closer than we are. We live up around Abilene, but we can drive down and spend the night and be ready to board the next day and that sure beats flying.
We have done the same thing - book way in advance to get the big discount. We did go ahead and booked one for 06 - that's really stretching it! It's 1/15/05 - Summitt to Hawaii so that's another very exciting venue for us.
We have sailed once on the Golden Princess (sister ship to the Grand) and just loved it! It was Venice to NYC - our first trans. But that was before Carnival took her over and there are some mixed reviews - but then there usually are about any ship.
HAL is another of our favorites and have sailed on her twice - once was out of New Orleans.
That was 1/05/02 - so you might check when HAL comes to NO again.
What hotel did you book ? Do they provide free parking and transportation to the pier by any chance??
Yes, I agree with you wholeheartedly - any day at sea is wonderful!
I don't know anything about the Opera, but I'll read up on her - it's a smaller ship, right? About the size of Oceania? That's another interesting line, but a little pricey right now.
When do you leave in November on the Galaxy?
Carol

Good morning,
We live in Gulfport MS so actually NO is a 'day of' drive to the port and for Texas - like you - we would leave the day before and then drive home the day we get back. We're booked at the Harbor House at Pier 21 and, yes, for $20 they let you stay in their parking lot for your cruise duration.

I wasn't through....my finger slipped.
What is funny, though, is that we have been looking at the Summit too, but for 1/2/06. For a couple of years I've been looking longingly at the Statendam out of San Diego for that 'to Hawaii' sailing and then found out about the Island Princess (completely out of our budget) and now, the Summit. But alas, we've decided to hold off on trip planning for a while. I might just have to see what kind of prices are offered for that cruise while we're on the Galaxy. I know all pricing is supposed to be the same but there was a couple of hundred $'s difference for the Summit with the 2 websites I checked with recently. To my mind, that kind of a trip is definately one that would need to be booked and planned way in advance and couldn't fall under the 'spur of the moment' type trip.
Yes the Opera is not that big compared to some ships out there. She looks very beautiful in the photos but I'm a little concerned about the food which up to now has received spotty reviews. My husband is Italian and speaks Italian (he was born and raised in Genoa and his family - brother, sister +++ - are there) so there won't be any language barrier with the crew!

Once more, HAPPY SAILING!

So I guess you are sailing on 11/14 on the Galaxy? I am really looking forward to your impressions of her when you get back! Do you usually post a trip report? If not, will you let me know? My generic spam-proof (I hope!) email is [email protected]. I just reread an earlier post and you had said you would post it!

So good to know about the Harbour house and their policy. We are hoping to book something for next October (and maybe this Jan if we can sell enough calves!) and want to go out of Galveston. I don't really even care where we go.

Well, keep looking about that 1/15/06 Summitt! We booked it early - but I've heard that there are still some good prices available. We haven't been to Hawaii and love the 10 sea days so it ought to be a winner.

And what fun to be going to Genoa and have Italian relatives ready to meet and greet you. You are so lucky! Italy is one of our favorite places to be - cruise or land. We love everything Italian from food to music. I'm sure the food will be wonderful - on an Italian ship, how could you miss? I never agree with other people's food reviews anyway, so I never let that bother me! I know you will be delighted.
hmm, makes me ready for a pasta just typing about it!

Hi folks! Maybe I can add a little something to help you as wife and I did sail the Galaxy last year out of Baltimore and were quite pleased. In this day of mega ships she is probably considered mid-sized although certainly not small by any standard. We thought that she compared quite well with Holland America and Princess, both of which we have been on many times. I would not hesitate to recommend the Galaxy and our experience on her will probably lead us to explore some other Celebrity ships as time goes by.

As to prices, I have noticed that they seem to be going up this year but don't be fooled by this alleged "no discount" policy. The policy is that agents "may not advertise" discounted prices. They still have their own deals but you must talk to the agency to find out what a trip REALLY will cost you. Plenty of discounts out there on ALL of the lines if you look for them. Even though the Interent is an interesting way of shopping I would NEVER book a cruise without having a living, breathing T/A to help me out if things got messed up somewhere along the way.

Both trips sound wonderful and I wish both of you a Bon Voyage! Clarence

Clarence, your Galaxy comments are appreciated. It sounds wonderful and I can hardly wait.

We leave on the 13th. I will definately give you a full report when we return. In fact, I've been known to be long-winded and you will probably say TMI. I'll try to contain myself! I'll also fill you in on the Harbor House. I think it's a couple of blocks from the ship pier and I'm curious as to whether we'll be able to walk it.

Yes, it is nice to have a group of family waiting for you when you travel abroad. I'm determined on this trip to try and fill in some blanks in my childrens family tree so that our descendents here will know something about that side of the family. We took our kids there when they were younger but only our oldest has gone as an adult. And unfortunately (and much to my in-laws consternation) we never taught them to speak Italian. I envision the connection being broken or lost in another generation. I hope I'm wrong. See?..I do tend to go on and on.

I do agree about taking some review comments with a grain of salt. As for food, some dishes just wouldn't appeal to everyone..especially something they might never have tried. The first time I went to Italy I had a salad in a restaurant that had what I described at the time as a 'naked squid' right there in the middle of the plate! It seemed like all eyes were on me as I tried to bury it under lettuce, then scoot it under the edge of my plate and, finally, as discreetly I could, wrap it in my napkin. Don't know what made my remember that, much less convey it!!

Twelve days and counting!

There is a post over on the Celebrity board of Cruise Critic by a lady that is on the Galaxy right now. She has promised to write *live* from the ship while on the cruise. I believe it was the first time that the Galaxy had come to Galveston so she said that had some hold-ups in boarding. That should be all taken care of by the time that you (or I) take our cruises!
I had to laugh about the *naked squid* and my husband laughed too.

Our guide took us to a local cafe in Naples for lunch. It was just exactly what I had requested - local food - not overrun by tourists, etc. Well, there were no people there but locals and Rino had to interpret for us. He finally just ordered away - I don't think there were menus anyway - and the antipastos started coming. Plate after plate - and then primos - We finally begged him to stop the food convey belt! I was eating something vaguely resembling pasta, with some tomato sauce and redolent with garlic. I asked him what I was eating and he replied something like trip. "Trip" I repeated? Yes, he nodded. The penny dropped. My husband and I were chowing down on TRIPE! We gulped, smiled and drank some more red wine. Ah, Italy!

Aren't we the luckiest people to be traveling?

Yes, we are lucky. Thanks for sending me to cruisecritic. That was very interesting and it sounds just wonderful.

Ah yes, 'trip'. Congratulations for even knowing what it was once you got the proper name...I had to be given a cow anatomy lesson...and was not impressed! I just know my husbands sister will fix his family's 'secret' tripe recipe for us within 24 hours of our arrival. "Ah, Italy" is exactly right!

One week from tomorrow we will be on our way to Galveston. These last days of waiting seem to be flying!! I'm afraid our cruising days will fly by, too. Darn!

Bon Voyage!

Only a couple of days until your cruise. Please do post a review as soon as you get back. and have a wonderful cruise!
Carol

Bumping up again in hopes of finding more people that have booked this cruise.

[email protected]

Now that it's getting closer to May, I thought I'd bump this back up to see if there are any other people signed up for this cruise???

Carol / Brahmama

Ok, here it is again! And only 1 month from today. We do have a small group over at CruiseCritics, but it is not very active and I am hoping there are others looking for a connection to this May 7 Trans.
You can write me at:
[email protected]

Happy Cruising!
Carol