Celebrity continues to deliver.......

........ the kind of X-cellent cruise experience we've come to expect under difficult circumstances (about 300 passengers with Norovirus that started after porting in Bali, perfectly contained in short time by excellent infection control measures, some of the best I know of in the cruise industry). We did a B2B (01/03/16 and 01/17/16) to tally one full month aboard Celebrity Millennium out of Singapore. Overall, anything I might add to the review that detracts from the overall 5 Star rating I gave this cruise experience are minor nits significantly overcome by the positives.

Millennium is the oldest ship in Celebrity's fleet. It goes in for a major overhaul in April but will return to it's home port in Singapore from which the varied Asian itineraries it sails during the October - May time frame originate. So, it's old but Celebrity runs an excellent maintenance program but it's hard to make the older technologies work as well as the newer ones and stuff does wear out. This accounts for any of the downside of our experience.

When Celebrity introduced it's Solstice Class ships the medium range plan, ahead of the introduction of it's new H Class ships in 2018, they embarked on a plan to "Solticize" the Millennium class ships. My only nit about this is that in doing that, they ended up cramping the space of the Main Dinning Room, the Metropolitan, when they added Blue (Private dinning for Aqua Class) and most recently, Luminae (for Suite Class).

I'm a bit put off by this sort of thing. One of the best parts of cruising for us is the dining experience, sitting with new people, at a big table and getting to know them over the time frame of the cruise. In my view, that's become impaired by this approach. Our enjoyment of this has also been impaired by the implementation of Select Dining (in NCL's terms: Anytime Dining). My view is that if you want to sail on ships with a clear class structure, sail with Cunard. If you want to dine whenever, sail with NCL. The one time we tried Select (the first leg of our B2B) it was chaotic with waits regardless of the time you booked and especially when Metropolitan was overwhelmed right after the 7pm show. Second half of the B2B we switched to late seating. Much better and we knew our head waiter from two previous cruises. That was nice.

I'm disappointed that Celebrity has tried to broaden it's appeal by mimicking what other lines are doing. In the past, I've viewed the best aspect of Celebrity Cruising as the feeling that you are experiencing an upscale vacation with a great guest demographic coupled with a welcoming, friendly, and family crew culture. That is still definitely present and it is the primary reason we keep going back to Celebrity, this our 32nd and 33rd Celebrity cruise. I just don't want this to slip away as Celebrity tries to remain competitive in a very competitive industry.

I've made my views clear to them every opportunity I get to comment on it. Pretty sure they are listening. Not sure they’ll do anything as it is clear to me they are working to improve their appeal to “affluent cruisers who demand more amenities” (quote from CEO’s News Letter regarding Celebrity’s newest ships coming in ’18). I think most of us are trying to optimize value, at least I am. We've loved Celebrity since our first cruise with them in 2001 (Century, 10d Southern Caribbean Special). We've tried some others (NCL, RCL, Oceana, MSC, Carnival) and keep coming back because it feels like home to us and by this time we know 1/2 of the Celebrity crew members it seems. Most of them greet us if we run into them again. It's nice. I fear getting priced out of X as cabin prices keep rising and you all know they have.

The Asian itineraries are fantastic. You visit a wide range of ports in Asia and get to experience multiple Asian cultures. These include ports in Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, China (Honk Kong) and the Philippines. While you can do this using other modes of travel, cruising to these ports is ideal for us ..... all-inclusive and pack and unpack once!

Singapore, the originating port, is a fantastic city. It is safe, easy to navigate, spotlessly clean and has fantastic food, entertainment and cultural experiences. The Marina Bay Cruise Terminal is huge and marvelous like most buildings in Singapore. You can get a free tour. I would have liked to but never got around to it. Taxis are easy to get and since you spend a day in Singapore as part of some of the cruise itineraries, this is important. You're also about a 1/2 mile from an MRT station that's an easy walk. Not all the trains stop there so there can be a 30 minute wait but it is an important gateway to the city. Hotels can be pricy but for smart shoppers who take advantage of the competitiveness of this sector of the Singapore economy, you can find good deals at less than obvious hotel chains. I recommend these. We stayed at the M Hotel which is convenient to the MRT (light rail) and very near the Marina Bay Cruise Terminal, where Millennium is ported. Moderately priced in the low $100 USD range per night. There are also many Boutique Hotels offering interesting accommodations and good prices. The Majestic and the Wanderlust are two of them.

Avoid high end, touristy dinning. It is very expensive. There are literally thousands of clean, much more interesting places to eat in Singapore famous for Hawker stands/street food. Just do a Google search. I also have to mention it: MacDonalds. Gasp you say! Not so fast. Right down from the M Hotel on Anson Street, there is one of the coolest MacDonalds I've ever been in. Way different that in the good-'ol USA. Still features the same burgers and fries but the ordering process is hi-tech, much like you'd expect everything is in Asia, and they have beautiful pastries.

Things to do in Singapore: Too numerous to mention them all but recommend Marina Bay Gardens (Gardens By the Bay), the Zoo, Singapore Botanic Gardens, The Hop-On-Hop Off Buses (originate at the Suntec Center) ....... this bus allows you to stop off at China Town and Little India to experience all the cool shopping there.

I could spend hours talking about the rest of the ports. I'll mention just one more: Ho Chi Min City, HCMC or Saigon. Especially if you are an American, make the effort to go there. Saigon is an interesting blend of Communist propaganda and booming entrepreneurialism. The Communists in Hanoi tried hard to implement a Soviet style system throughout Vietnam after the fall of the democratic Republic of South Vietnam in 1975. There was famine and desperation. 2.5 million Vietnamese fled the country. It was a miserable failure and produced a change in policy called Doi Moi in 1986, pretty much like Glasnost in Russia where there were expanded personal freedoms, less censorship and most importantly, capital markets and land ownership. Saigon is a vibrant city with, at first appearance, little changed from it's French Colonial beginnings. Wide tree line boulevards, beautiful architecture and great food. Things to see are the Liberation Palace (the old residence and former command headquarters of the President of South Vietnam) and the War Remnants Museum. The later was moving if not filled with anti-American and anti-French propaganda. Both well worth a visit. Also make sure you visit the Binh Tay market. Fascinating.

If you've made it this far, you're probably wondering about the rest of the ports or the reviews of the ship, the boarding process, cabins, ship's food and entertainment, all that. email me and I'll answer any questions you might have, esp. about Norovirus. jbuch002@gmail.com.

Thank you for your excellent cruise review and quite fair assessment of changes made by Celebrity. Your Asian adventure sounds incredible! Perhaps posting a few pictures are next?

Thanks for the review, we are back on Millie in Asia in 2017, can't wait!

Singapore is one of my favourite cities, so clean, welcoming and we loved the food in China town.

Any hotel recommendations for Singapore? Last time we visited it was part of a package and we were in the Orchard Road area, this time we would like to be more central, have been looking at the Swisshotel....You views would be appreciated.

Thanks!

Thank you for your review.

Keith

Thanks for your well balanced review. We, too, are on Millie next Christmas and would love any feedback (and photos) you have on Hong Kong and Bangkok :).

JB,

Thanks for posting. :)

Thanks for the review, we are back on Millie in Asia in 2017, can't wait!

 

Singapore is one of my favourite cities, so clean, welcoming and we loved the food in China town.

 

Any hotel recommendations for Singapore? Last time we visited it was part of a package and we were in the Orchard Road area, this time we would like to be more central, have been looking at the Swisshotel....You views would be appreciated.

 

Thanks!

If this will be your first time to some of the Asian ports like it was for us, you will be amazed. Do your homework so you know some of the history and what it is you want to see. Review the TripAdvisor city forums for recommendations on guides. You can use ToursByLocals, which we did use

and they are very good but expensive, or you can search for local, non-affiliated guides. The one we used in Saigon was absolutely terrific and I found him on TripAdvisor in the forums not in the things to do section. Same with Phukett and Manila. Amazing guides. All three of these tours were significantly less expensive than ships tours, private, because we like to walk and have a 1 on 1 conversation with the guides we hire (better to get a feel for the local culture), and just plain outstanding.

Drop me an email at jbuch002@gmail.com and I'll give you some more specific information about guides. This was our second trip to Singapore. I did a lot of searching for hotels and came up with two that we stayed at the first and second time. Both reasonably priced, excellent locations within walking distance of great food and the one we stayed at in January of this year, close to the Marina Bay Cruise Terminal. I'll provide details if you will email me.

Thanks for the review, we are back on Millie in Asia in 2017, can't wait!

 

Singapore is one of my favourite cities, so clean, welcoming and we loved the food in China town.

 

Any hotel recommendations for Singapore? Last time we visited it was part of a package and we were in the Orchard Road area, this time we would like to be more central, have been looking at the Swisshotel....You views would be appreciated.

 

Thanks!

We stayed at the Swisshotel and loved it. Last year we stayed at the Novotel on the other side of the river. We used the bum boats to get around in = sorta like a HOHO boat. From the hotel location you can walk anywhere, the Flyer, Raffles, Marina Bay Sands etc. Love, love Singapore.

If this will be your first time to some of the Asian ports like it was for us, you will be amazed. Do your homework so you know some of the history and what it is you want to see. Review the TripAdvisor city forums for recommendations on guides. You can use ToursByLocals, which we did use

and they are very good but expensive, or you can search for local, non-affiliated guides. The one we used in Saigon was absolutely terrific and I found him on TripAdvisor in the forums not in the things to do section. Same with Phukett and Manila. Amazing guides. All three of these tours were significantly less expensive than ships tours, private, because we like to walk and have a 1 on 1 conversation with the guides we hire (better to get a feel for the local culture), and just plain outstanding.

 

Drop me an email at jbuch002@gmail.com and I'll give you some more specific information about guides. This was our second trip to Singapore. I did a lot of searching for hotels and came up with two that we stayed at the first and second time. Both reasonably priced, excellent locations within walking distance of great food and the one we stayed at in January of this year, close to the Marina Bay Cruise Terminal. I'll provide details if you will email me.

Sincere thanks for your offers of help.

This will be our second stay in Singapore and we have previously cruised the region. We already have quite a lot of ideas of what we want to do....just walking around China town in the evening being high on the list along with a return visit to Raffles!

Just the hotel to decide on now...

We stayed at the Swisshotel and loved it. Last year we stayed at the Novotel on the other side of the river. We used the bum boats to get around in = sorta like a HOHO boat. From the hotel location you can walk anywhere, the Flyer, Raffles, Marina Bay Sands etc. Love, love Singapore.

Thanks for your reply...It was the location and the views that made us seriously consider this hotel. Also wondering about upgrading to the 'club' level for the included perks, any idea if it is worth it? I know drinks in Singapore can be quite expensive.

Our first trip to Singapore in 2013, of course we had to visit the Long Bar at Raffles. The famous (or infamous as the case might be) Singapore Sling was $26 a pop, yes, that's right!!! Heard they are $32 now. Not at all worth it.

Raffles Hotel has a lot of history but it is overpriced in every respect. If you have money to blow, fine. If not, just have a look (it is beautiful) but select another bar/restaurant to dine in.

For example, down on the lower level, street side there is a very nice restaurant that has an interesting menu of Asian dishes. We liked it in 2013, know it is still there. It was reasonable. The thing that will shock you eating in Singapore are the taxes and service charges that are added on to meals at most of the larger restaurants making the Hawker stands in various locations much more affordable and excellent places to dine.