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){kind=small} www.maxpages.com/galaxy1 Note: Click Here for accompanying photos. January is a good time to visit the Caribbean with its warm climate and even warmer hospitality. The Celebrity Cruise Line's Galaxy has had good reviews and the 12-night itinerary from Galveston down to Panama looked attractive. I drove from Los Angeles to Galveston to see the country along the way and arrived at the Gulf port a few days before boarding. Galveston is a good cruise port inasmuch as all the shoreside facilities are in place; hotels, transportation, dockside attractions such as the nearby old historic Strand area, beachside amenities, Moody Gardens and, of course, the not-so-far away Houston and all of it's attractions such as shopping and entertainment. I made a special effort to visit the NASA Houston Space Center which I found to be very worthwhile. After leaving the car at a beachside hotel, at no extra cost, the boarding of the vessel at about noon was fast and easy. The ship presented a good appearance and continued to please for the entire twelve-day voyage. It was not too difficult to locate all the more important public spaces on the ship and decide where most of the activities would take place. I did find the pools to be rather restrictive but that was not a particular surprise. Cozumel was a nice stop after a day at sea. The crossing of the Gulf of Mexico was easy enough and the increasing warmth of the southern course was very much appreciated as coastal Texas was experiencing a mild cold spell when we left it. I rented a car to tour the island and enjoyed the coastline and some of its beaches. A short drive off the main road in the central part of the island permits a visit to the San Gervasio Mayan ruins which provides a nice walk in the area. Costa Maya continues to improve as a cruise port although it is limited to a small entertainment and shopping center at the base of a recently constructed pier. Think of it as one of the private island arrangements although it is on the mainland not too far north of Belize. One can take tours emanating from the pier area but distances to local attractions tend to be on the lengthy side. Most of the passengers enjoyed a lazy day onshore with a minimum of activity. A day at sea for me is always a treat and this was no less so on the Galaxy. Elite frequent Celebrity cruisers are given all sorts of interesting invitations, such activities as wine-blending sessions, which made the journey just that much more enjoyable. The music aboard the vessel was quite good and overall the voyage was most pleasant. The Panama Canal, with its lock arrangement, is always an interesting visit from a cruise ship. The Galaxy merely entered the northern or Caribbean entrance consisting of three continuous locks and visited a resort area on Gatun Lake to offload those passengers taking shoreside excursions. The ship then returned back through the locks and tied up at Colon for a short stay of some four hours. Cristobal is the port area of Colon and contains the Colon Free Zone which is a huge money maker for Panama. Unfortunately, the town is not as attractive as it might be for the cruise passenger. Puerto Limon is located on the east central coast of Costa Rica and is primarily a banana exporting port. It has an interesting Tortuguero Canal which is located just north of the city and a boat ride along it provides views of various birds, bats, sloths and an occasional cayman. Another day at sea provided a good routine to the itinerary as sea days interspersed with port visits seems to me to be ideal and I like both. So many activities on the sea days is an attraction of its own and not to be missed. Because of severe winds, the Grand Cayman port area, which requires tendering, was closed to cruise ship visits and, thanks to the captain's efforts, Montego Bay was substituted instead which turned out to be a wise choice inasmuch as Grand Cayman was opened on the following day and nothing would be missed. Jamaica's Montego Bay is a long-time favorite in the Caribbean but it seems to have lost ground in it's competitive position as compared to other Caribbean ports. The swimming was good and a bit of time was spent in the town proper. Grand Cayman, is recovering nicely since the devastating Hurricane Ivan took out a great part of the vegetation and not a few roofs in September, 2004. Most of the tourist facilities seem to be back in operation. I took a public bus north to a dubious tourist town called Hell at West Bay and then swam at a very fine beach near the Turtle Farm on North West Point Road. I was surprised to see a very small wedding being performed on the beach for two cruise passengers and no guests. I was also informed that the cruise lines will be using this area once a pier is built to relieve the George Town congestion of too many cruise ships visiting at the same time. Two sea days to return to Galveston was a nice way to finish the cruise which was a most enjoyable voyage. I had been apprehensive that a twelve-day cruise would not be enough so I also learned that a Carnival ship, the Ecstasy, would be departing two days after the Galaxy return so I booked a five day cruise to continue the cruise experience just a bit more. Copyright 2005. All Rights Reserved. |
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