Panama Canal

[samson]

My wife and I have purchased a cruise with Celebrity on their ship "Galaxy",

we won't be sailing until November (Thanksgiving) but I was hoping I might get some information before leaving.

We've sailed before on the Princess line and enjoyed it VERY MUCH. If any of you have had an opportunity to compare the two lines would you please give us the info you have and especially about the ship Galaxy.

Also, we will be departing from Galveston and stopping at Cozumel, Belize City, Panama CAnal, Cristobal pier, Panama, Puerto Lion, Costa Rica and Georgetown, Grand Cayman. If any of you have taken any of these excursion and could give help on any we'd appreciate.

Many thanks and I hope I didn't ask to many questions and take up too much space for a newcomer :smiley:

[sailinglisa]

I've been on both Princess and Celebrity and love both. Celebrity will be a little more formal....Princess a little more flexible with dining times, etc.

As far as excursions, I would do what was on Princess the Ocean to Ocean tour - takes you from Gatun Lake through the canal through the Pedro Miguel and Miraflores locks and then you bus back to Cristobal to catch the ship......being able to see the canal from the vantage point of a smaller boat is amazing!

On Grand Cayman, if you have not done this before, do Stingray City to swim with the Stingrays.....you can easily do this without a shore excursion. Do an internet search and look up Captain Marvins and others that do private Stingray City excursions - you will get smaller boats, more personal service and get to Stingray City between the times the huge cruise ship excursions arrive.

Cozumel - if you are into snorkeling, definitely snorkel here - some of the best in the Caribbean. Shopping is also big here. You can also swim with the dolphins (reserve far in advance outside the cruise ship if you want to do this) with Dolphin Discovery.

[DaCruzNut]

Hi, samson, and welcome to CruiseCrazies, the friendliest, most helpful and fun cruiise message board on the net. You'll find our members to be helpful and sociable.

Hope you'll stick around....

Having been on both Celebrity, and Princess, among many others, I think you have made a good choice!

IMHO, I feel the food on Celebrity is a bit better than Princess. In fact, I prefer Celebrity, to Princess, by a small margin. However, they both outshine RCCI (Celebrity's parent line), NCL, etc.

Cozumel is one of my favorite ports, and one of my favorite places to visit, there, is Chankanaab National Park.

It's a beachfront park, about a ten dollar ($10.00 US) taxi ride from the port. It has a main beach, studded with palapas for sunbathers, while just off shore there's outstanding diving and snorkeling . You can rent snorkel, and dive, equipment right on the beach for about six dollars ($6.00 US). Chankanaab Reef, one ot the best in the Caribbean, is only about 300 yards offshore. On the site, there is an interestingArchaeological Park, complete with winding jungle trails, replicas from sites throughout Mexico, a typical Mayan village, and free guided tours. There's also an excellent Botanical Garden with over 300 plant species from 22 countries. Topping things off is the site's beautiful lagoon - a sinkhole filled from the sea by underground tunnels. TFrom a path surrounding the lagoon you can view tropical reef fish, and other aquatic life. There's an optional "dolphin encounter," and several shops, snack bars, a restaurant, and a Mayan Museum. . Admission is ten dollars ($10.00 US) and children are free.

I'm not a big fan of Grand Cayman, but can recommend several options. The Atlantis submarine goes 100 feet down the Cayman Wall and offers fantastic views of the marine life that many divers don't even get to see. it's a little "pricey" (about $90.00), but worth it. If you're on a budget, several glass-bottom boats offer excellent viewing of the reef.

While in georgetown, make sure you stop at the Tortuga Rum Cake Factory for a slice of one of the many vrieties of rum cake and a cup of coffee....

[KeithnRita]

samson,

Welcome to CruiseCrazies from us, as well. The only thing we could add would be--Belize. We snorkeled Shark Ray Alley and it was great!

Also, Galveston was our first trip to Texas and we really enjoyed staying at the Galvaz and taking the trolley to the strand.

We just did a New Years cruise on the Celebrity Horizon and had a great time. Celebrity is a very good cruise line.

[Shari2]

Welcome aboard, samson!

If you liked Princess, I think you will really like Celebrity. I did do a Panama Canal cruise recently on the Infinity, but some of our ports were different than yours. I have been to Grand Cayman and to Cozumel, but it was a long time ago, so I can't help you there.

In Costa Rica, my DH and BIL took a ship's tour of the rainforest, and they really liked it. This was a long tour with a lot of walking. My SIL and I wimped out and took a Sarchi shopping tour, but I thought that it would take us through a lot of the beautiful countryside, and it did.

This was a ship's tour, and we had air-conditioned buses, and a guide who told us about the country as we traveled. I was happy with this tour. In Panama, we just stayed on the ship and watched the transit through the canal. It was fantastic! I have heard a lot of good things about the Galaxy. I think you will like her! Have fun!

[Tamara]

Don't worry about taking up too much space as a newcomer. I flooded this board with questions before my cruise to Alaska last May and everyone was very helpful. So pleasant, in fact, that they've yet to get rid of me. The guest that never leaves!