Update, May 11th: the SS Galaxy is set to return to Second Life as a result of an intersession from the Lab. See my update for details.
I’ve written about the SS Galaxy a couple of times in this blog, the most recent being in March 2015. The Queen of the Sagittarian Sea has been a staple of Second Life for many years, being a destination, a venue and a home to many, as she sits to the south of Blake Sea, spanning the length of three regions from bow to stern.
And now it seems that she is embarked on her final cruise. On Sunday, May 3rd, the mighty Queen will make a final figurative return to port as she is removed from the grid.
The news came on Sunday, April 26th, in the form of a post on the SS Galaxy blog, which reads in part:
Dear Supporters and Friends of the SS Galaxy,
The Management and Crew of the SS Galaxy would like to thank each and every one of you for helping make the Galaxy community one of the most thriving, vibrant and welcoming on the Second Life grid.
Together with your help, we have been building wonderful memories since February 2007…
For us as the Crew, the privilege has been ours to meet and interact with each of you over these eight years. The memories we have from these experiences, will continue to inspire us and our values, long beyond 2015.
Many of you have become more than our cabin tenants – we consider you a part of the Galaxy family as well :-). In the many diverse strands of life stories, God has granted us the blessing of having our respective stories intertwine, at least for a time. As we prepare to go on beyond April 2015, the Crew wish you that the strength in bonds will continue to sustain each and every one of you, along life’s way.
From all of us here at the SS Galaxy,
A heartfelt thank you.
The reasons for the closure are complex, and are not related to problems of tier, but rather have arisen as a result of a number of unfortunate incidents over the course of the past month.
As someone who has always enjoyed my visits to the Galaxy, I know that I will miss her presence in Second Life enormously. It was while exploring her in 2009 that I first discovered the fun of skeet (clay pigeon) shooting in Second Life – and i think there was a time back then when my name could regularly be seen on the Leader board 😉 . I also thoroughly enjoyed skydiving from the launcher on her stern deck, and frequently used her as a venue to introduce friends to the fun of skydiving – the last one being Strawberry Singh.
Saying farewell to a much-loved venue, destination and home in Second Life is never easy, particularly for those closest to something that has, over the years been a labour of love. Commenting on the Galaxy’s forthcoming departure from Second Life, DBDigital Epsilon, the driving force behind the great cruise liner said, “as hard as this is, I know it is God’s timing and time for her to go with dignity and grace as she always has.”
Events aboard the ship will continue up until she returns to port on Sunday, May 3rd, so if you haven’t visited her before or in a while, while not schedule a visit around one of them, and both tour the ship and enjoy her unique atmosphere? Because once she is gone, I doubt we’ll see the likes of her again in-world.
Related Links
- SS Galaxy embarkation SLurl (Rated: Moderate)
- SS Galaxy blog
Inara Pey: Living in a Modemworld 
I’ve never been to the Galaxy, as that sort of thing was never really ‘my scene’ in SL.
That said, it seems like such a cool idea. I’ve heard about the Galaxy before, and some other attempts at cruise ships over the years. I definitely plan to check out the Galaxy, but I find myself wondering.. are there any other builds/communities like this in SL? (ones that aren’t about to shut down?)
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The SS Galaxy is quite unique in some respects, given it is is effectively a 3-region estate built as a cruise liner, which in turn gives it a theme as a multi-purpose venue. Communities-wise, there are plenty still thriving in SL, many of which have their own uniqueness and special qualities.
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Well yes, I know there are communities in SL.. I meant specifically are there other ‘cruise ship RP’ places? I don’t know of any.
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I took your “like this” comment to mean communities with a similar style of setting / residential / venue mix, rather than specifically cruise-liner focused (the Galaxy isn’t a role-play environment per se).
In terms of cruise ships, the region-long RMS Titanic is still going strong, although it is intended more as a dance / historical venue, rather than offering the residential expanse the Galaxy has. There have been several other Titanics, but I’ve no idea how many of them are still active.
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That is so Sad!! I have never even been on it yet … I’m betting it will be packed from now till the last run. Will have to check out the RMS Titanic now too! Thanks for the Heads-Up!! 🙂
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Closing such an amazing and successful venue “as a result of a number of unfortunate incidents” sounds very mysterious and secretive. It’s enough to make a person wonder whether something could be done to turn things around, say, with an even larger number of fortunate incidents.
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Under the circumstances the answer appears to be “no”.
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I offered assistance with their griefer problem, which is reportedly the reason for the shutdown, but they refused to discuss it with me. It’s a shocking loss that hurts all of Second Life.
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I wonder about the “unfortunate incidents”. They are there since 2007, so I don’t think they never had griefers before. Unless they felt bored or dishearten, after so many years, or with the contribute of some drama too, and usually there was almost nobody there, besides on the events. If the motivation fades away, the effort in keeping to pay and manage it, becomes harder. In that case, an increase of griefing or some serious drama can be the last drop and the coup de grace.
Whatever the reason, it’s sad. I still remember the wonder I felt, the first time I saw that huge ship, and I used to show it to my new friends, when I toured them.
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Not only it is missed, deeply, but now we have a void of 5 sims closed when before one could sail. I do hope that LL will sell those with at least rules to let the traffic free to pass, as the south areas of blake sea where finnaly linked and we had for a few weeks a 2 way passage that now ended.
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Not entirely sure what you mean, but if you’re referring to the regions of Sailor’s Cove South (rain forest regions) and Temasek, they can still be reached via sailing / flying through the Sailor’s Cove East regions.
Sure, you can no longer do a trip down through the Sailor’s Cove regions and back via the Galaxy (or vice-versa), but the regions are still connected & still navigable from Blake Sea.
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Yes but for a few time we had a choice of to places to reach them, yesterday’s Lcc Cruise should be passing one last time by the Galaxy but the shutdown was already done so we had to skip it:(
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Unfortunately, that’s what happens in some instances when estate owners close their regions; but as noted, passage still exists, allowing a loop around Sailor’s Cove South.
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