Alaska and the Millennium

Has anyone done the Millie to Alaska lately. Someone just posted on a social media site they just returned...he said there was a lack of staff and was very disappointed. He gave service and food a grade of F! :eek: :eek:

I'm hoping this is not true. It doesn't sound like the X we're accustomed to.

Has anyone done the Millie to Alaska lately. Someone just posted on a social media site they just returned...he said there was a lack of staff and was very disappointed. He gave service and food a grade of F! :eek: :eek:

I'm hoping this is not true. It doesn't sound like the X we're accustomed to.

Not worried about it here.

We are on her in July with a group of six.

I will panic if something happens to Millie before we board.

When is your sailing?

Bon voyage

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I would take anything I read on social media with a grain of salt.

We we on her last year to Alaska and she was very good.

Not worried about it here.

 

We are on her in July with a group of six.

 

I will panic if something happens to Millie before we board.

 

When is your sailing?

 

Bon voyage

 

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Next week. It's strange because after he posted a couple of nasty posts, no further answers. That's just wrong in so many ways. Normally, it's a very positive group and closely monitored.

I just got off the Millennium May 21st in Vancouver after a 15 day trans-Pacific cruise. There were definitely problems with the food. Shrimp and hot dogs ran out several days before the end of the cruise. Bananas were also in very short supply.

The chef also did some strange things with some of the dishes. There was a ceviche appetizer with popcorn in it. I also had the very worst chocolate eclair of my entire life. Other people that we talked with also agreed that the food was sub-par.

I just got off the Millennium May 21st in Vancouver after a 15 day trans-Pacific cruise. There were definitely problems with the food. Shrimp and hot dogs ran out several days before the end of the cruise. Bananas were also in very short supply.

 

The chef also did some strange things with some of the dishes. There was a ceviche appetizer with popcorn in it. I also had the very worst chocolate eclair of my entire life. Other people that we talked with also agreed that the food was sub-par.

Glad to know this is a post from this year. My concerns now mount. :confused:

When we were last on the Millennium 4 years ago, I saw the same kinds of posts prior to our trip. I don't know what some people expect, but we found everything to be wonderful, which is why we are going back [emoji4]. I'm certain , from seeing other posts, that service may have slipped a bit, but as long as they keep the ship clean, and safe, I will be happy There are certainly plenty food choices to be had.

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Well, upon doing some investigation, I found that out of seven (7) reviews, the food issue, as it appears to me, was about the fact that Asian style/type of foods were served and not American or British style food and a few that complained breakfast was too American or British.... One person complained that there were too many Americans on board which swayed some of the choices available. I surmized they may have been Australian reviewers

but could not know as their locations were not shown.

All in All, Millie will be fine in Western Hemisphere waters, or so I believe. If one is not adventurous when it comes to food, I Am sure there will be offerings available regardless of ones palate.

We are on her on 28 July, yet upon your return, please update this post to let us know what you found.

bon voyage

Well, upon doing some investigation, I found that out of seven (7) reviews, the food issue, as it appears to me, was about the fact that Asian style/type of foods were served and not American or British style food and a few that complained breakfast was too American or British.... One person complained that there were too many Americans on board which swayed some of the choices available. I surmized they may have been Australian reviewers

but could not know as their locations were not shown.

 

All in All, Millie will be fine in Western Hemisphere waters, or so I believe. If one is not adventurous when it comes to food, I Am sure there will be offerings available regardless of ones palate.

 

We are on her on 28 July, yet upon your return, please update this post to let us know what you found.

 

bon voyage

I will do that. With that said, we are sailing Aqua, so our experience may be a little different than those who were complaining.

I have been on the Millennium to Alaska 8 times and have always enjoyed our cruises. In fact, I have already booked our B2B to Alaska for 2018.

People will fuss over a lot of little things -- I read the reviews and take them "with a grain of salt." People's expectations and experiences will be different. Will everything be absolutely perfect? Probably not --- what experience ever is. Go, have a good time and judge for yourself -- don't let a bad review cast a shadow on your upcoming cruise.

I was on the Millie last year to Alaska and the food was good, but not as good as the Reflection. However, the staff was wonderful and things ran smoothly. I may be a little prejudice, as the layout of the OVC is not very user friendly and I love the S class ships. If you look for the good you will find it on her! Alaska is not my favorite itinerary either, but It is beautiful...enjoy!

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We were on the Millennium in Alaska last July and in Asia (Hong Kong to Shanghai) in March. The service was great the food was very good but there were some times in Asia that the chef had to improvise a bit on some receipes because he was not happy with the quality of the raw foods he was getting in some of the foreign ports. There was one night he changed to the chicken dish that was listed to something that was more of a stew type dish because he felt the chicken they had been provided was not good enough for the planned dish. The substituted dish was quite good but indeed the chicken was a bit tougher than we would expect and had he not made the change, it would not have worked well. Going forward for Alaska they will be provisioning in places where they can get better quality, at least that is my guess.

I was on the Millie last year to Alaska and the food was good, but not as good as the Reflection. However, the staff was wonderful and things ran smoothly. I may be a little prejudice, as the layout of the OVC is not very user friendly and I love the S class ships. If you look for the good you will find it on her! Alaska is not my favorite itinerary either, but It is beautiful...enjoy!

 

 

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I'm used to OVC because we've been on the Summit and Infinity. I actually like the staterooms on the M class better because of the storage.

We're sailing in Aqua class.

We got off of the Millie trans-Pacific Sunday and only had great experiences with the staff. As with any longer cruise going to unfamiliar ports, provisions took a hit. They ran out of Ice tea in the buffet, lemons, tomatoes, big shrimp for the shrimp cocktails and a number of other other items but that certainly did not impact our experience. No worries on going on this ship.

We got off of the Millie trans-Pacific Sunday and only had great experiences with the staff. As with any longer cruise going to unfamiliar ports, provisions took a hit. They ran out of Ice tea in the buffet, lemons, tomatoes, big shrimp for the shrimp cocktails and a number of other other items but that certainly did not impact our experience. No worries on going on this ship.

I was on this cruise (our first with Celebrity) and it certainly did affect our impressions (negatively) of all future Celebrity cruises. Princess will continue to be #1 with us.

Did a b2b on millie to Alaska last May and loved it so much we are going again next May. I would not spend a minutes time worrying. And by now you are locked in anyway so why torture yourself. Go and have a great time :)

Did a b2b on millie to Alaska last May and loved it so much we are going again next May. I would not spend a minutes time worrying. And by now you are locked in anyway so why torture yourself. Go and have a great time :)

That's what I'm doing....can't wait for fresh baguettes 🥖 and escargot 🐌. My mouth is watering. :D

Repositioning cruises are always different when it comes to foodstuffs. They actually under provision with the aim being to run out of as many perishable foodstuffs as possible. Many countries have agricultural / public health laws that require the offloading and incineration of any perishable foods upon the termination of the voyage in the new seasonal homeport. They also want to run out the supply of many regional non perishables, like canned soda, cereals, etc.

Repositioning cruises are always different when it comes to foodstuffs. They actually under provision with the aim being to run out of as many perishable foodstuffs as possible. Many countries have agricultural / public health laws that require the offloading and incineration of any perishable foods upon the termination of the voyage in the new seasonal homeport. They also want to run out the supply of many regional non perishables, like canned soda, cereals, etc.

Wondering where you learned this? In the past year have been on two Celebrity cruises first after repositioning and had no issues with food. They did run out of some wine which left limited choices but I have seen that lately on other cruises too:(

We were on board "Millie" in early to mid April this year prior to the T/P and it is the first and only time I have ever asked to speak to the F&B Manager. We were in AQ and we, along with many other CCers on board (both expressed to me on board and via the R/C after the cruise) felt the food was really not as good as we had enjoyed in the past (and we had been on Sillie for the fall T/A and Equinox for the Xmas sailing last year and the food was far better on those sailings). The service in Blu was excellent and everyone was very helpful and pleasant but it certainly was not the Blu experience we have come to know and love...and the food in the buffet was quite poor we thought. The F&B Manager took copious notes and did meet with the staff (they told us this) but TBH nothing really changed. I'm not sure if all of this was because they were trying to source food that was local and not of good quality or ???. We are Elite Plus and have many, many sailings on X and we have never been disappointed with the food in Blu before. Just our recent experience...hoping things improve in Alaska!! LuAnn

Wondering where you learned this? In the past year have been on two Celebrity cruises first after repositioning and had no issues with food. They did run out of some wine which left limited choices but I have seen that lately on other cruises too:(

Was on the Serenade of the Seas Transatlantic from Barcelona to New Orleans a few years ago and there was an open forum with the hotel director and executive chef where they talked about this.

Most perishable foodstuffs must be offloaded and incinerated due to USPH/agriculture laws, though there are exceptions. This is common on lengthy Transatalntic and Transpacific itineraries where the ship will undergo a thorough inspection by USPH and agriculture upon arrival in the US after a season abroad. To lessen waste they will purposefully under provision certain food items. Fruits, vegetables and fresh dairy are the most common to run out, or get low enough to be noticeable.

Does anyone know what time the Oceanview Bar is open to and if smoking is allowed? We have an aft cabin on the 9th floor, think I am going to be dreading the decision to take this cabin...

Does anyone know what time the Oceanview Bar is open to and if smoking is allowed? We have an aft cabin on the 9th floor, think I am going to be dreading the decision to take this cabin...

Smoking at the Oceanview Bar has ceased on Summit and Infinity, so I'm assuming this is shipwide. They stay open pretty late...maybe 11:00 or 12:00, depending on weather. If the time is wrong, someone please correct me.

I don't know the bar's hours but I know they do allow smoking on the port side only. The actual operating hours will depend a lot on the weather. When we were on the ship in March in Asia it was pretty chilly so the bar war closed a lot of the time and even when it was open it was not busy. On our Alaska cruise last July it was damp and chilly for the first half of the trip, then it warmed up and dried out some once we hit Skagway. That said, the weather is the weather, no way to really forecast what it will be.

I don't know the bar's hours but I know they do allow smoking on the port side only. The actual operating hours will depend a lot on the weather. When we were on the ship in March in Asia it was pretty chilly so the bar war closed a lot of the time and even when it was open it was not busy. On our Alaska cruise last July it was damp and chilly for the first half of the trip, then it warmed up and dried out some once we hit Skagway. That said, the weather is the weather, no way to really forecast what it will be.

Are you sure the Millie still allows smoking at the Oceanview Bar, portside? I was told there is now only that one area down by the pool on deck 10.