Review Millenium 11/14/11-11/19/11 Royal Suite 6137

In appreciation for all who shared their experience in anticipation of our cruise....

Profile: mid-40s, traveling in party of two with DD.

Celebrity Day 1 Monday

SAS Transportation picked us up at 10:30 at Crowne Plaza in Hollywood Beach ($99 via hotwire). Paid SAS $15 pp to POM. Btw- not too happy with concierge at crowne plaza who advised taxi and transportation companies were same price at $65. Steve at SAS was very helpful particularly as we booked that am.

Arrived at our ship at POM around 11:15. Able to walk in and start check-in process. Booked suite so received tag to wear indicating suite status. Got mimosa and escorted to Michaels. Nice environment, limited food. Talked w Galyna (hostess)- very nice. Since we hadn't eaten breakfast we headed up to Ocean Cafe. Bummer- could have had better lunch if proceeded to Ocean Cafe directly and then proceeded to wait at Michaels. OC was packed-no seats so passed on OC and went to Cova cafe for some petit sandwiches and cappuccino at nearby coffee bar. Note: On RCI you can walk the cabin hallways and see the various cabin categories. X very effectively cordons off the hallways prohibiting you from walking the hallways of the cabins. Next time I would heed other posts and come on later.

1:30 arrived in room 6137 royal suite aft. Lovely suite. Unpacked. Never saw room attendant or butler on first day. Relaxed. Checked out ship. Set up early disembarkment. Made reservation in Olympic for last night (thank you Amex).

Got nervous about luggage. Final bag came about 1 hour after muster drill. I was thinking if 1st ones on may get luggage sooner but based on number of people on 6th floor checking on bag status they must simply sort bags to bins by locations and ours happened to be later in delivery process.

Attended dinner. 6:00 seating in MDR. Only my dh and I at 8 person table. A little ackward. Many tables only had 2 people. Food was fine. dh got steak, I got chicken coc-a-vin. Enjoyed goat cheese tarts.

Did not attend any shows. Called it an early night. I sleep like a baby on the ship-best sleep I ever get.

uploading from iphone more to come

Day 2...

Woke early. Used track on level 11 to run off dinner. A little busy with walkers. Track was not as spongy as tracks on newer ships.

Tried to attend 7:30 stretch class. Arrived at 7:30 and it was packed so passed. If interested get there early (at least early on).

Light breakfast in aqua spa cafe. Delightful. Quiet. Sunny. I really like that there are limited food options (compared to ocean cafe!) but that each healthy option looks wonderful. In agreement with other posts - Muesli was fabulous. Service good.

11:00 doubles ping pong tournament. Fun event with fellow travelers.

Hung out on deck for a while. Chair hogs out in full force. One thing RCI does is set aside lounge chairs for suite guests. That is a nice perk that we missed.

Not used to the heat! Checked out library. Very nice quiet space. Two levels. Read for a while in the library. Relaxed in cabin. Note that the balcony REALLY does not have any privacy - people on deck 7 and higher look directly down on your balcony, round port holes in floor up in Ocean Cafe look directly down on you and (per other posts about security cameras) yes, a security camera on overhang pointed in vicinity of balcony.

1:30 attended the elite event in cosmos. Large group. Ok. Not many followed dress guidelines here. Felt overdressed.

4:00 went to salon for pedicure that I didn't have enough time to get before the cruise. Not sure it was worth the $70 + upselling on products but damn my toes look good!

8:20 went to martini bar. Wonderful martinis. Tried French martini. Met head bartender. Passed on great reviews on CC. Ate at captains table. Enjoyed dinner with Simon (corporate office) and Barbara and Jim (134 x cruises!) and Doris from Toronto.

Managed to stay awake long enough for karaoke. Nice group. Some great talent... some not so great but very nice crowd to all performers.

Met suite attendants and butler (Selva). Very nice. In complete agreement that all the staff we met geniunely wanted to do whatever they could to ensure your cruise was pleasurable. Cudos to them all.

Day 3.... Port Day: Roatan

4:30 up early so took walk around the ship until 5:30. Only other guests up were congregated at the smoking areas.

5:30 Got up on the track earlier to miss the walkers. Got in a good run even in the rain. Putting clock bk 1 hour helped. Enjoyed watching sun rise while jogging. Pretty good size track.

Breakfast in MDR with Marta and Ricardo from Argentina. Egg white omelet very good. DD got eggs benedict. Delicious. Excellent service.

Port day: Roatan. We did not make any plans ahead so got off the ship (very quick process). Very small port. Too many hawkers for us. Booked private guide with Bodden Tour (from booth at port). Driver was fine.. A little reserved and quiet but polite, honest, and attentive. My DH lost his clip on sunglasses and we were trying to find new ones. It was a scavenger hunt. Note: we did NOT take enough small bills. Vendors take US currency but (of course) only have local currency so make sure you take small bills! Note: driver paid for our purchases himself and then we went to local bank and were able to get smaller us bills. He was very attentive during transactions and we felt he was looking out for our interests. He advised it was a safe area but we noted the number of

guards at banks with automatic weapons, the number of security guards in general, and many people simply armed with guns. This is a very poor area. Cost for a guide with 6 people was $25 pp. Cost of a personal guide for 2 people was $40 pp. Pretty much drove around the island. I typically enjoy trying to get to know the locals and their lives by avoiding the big tourist attractions, ie zip lining etc but this island is very undeveloped and I wouldn't venture too far off the main paths. Went to Parrot Tree Inn (resort) and would probably join other travelers in simply coming here to relax if I ever return to this island (per recommendation from Roll Call member who was returning to Roatan). Parrot Tree really should market themselves more, arrange transportation and perhaps offer a day rate like Paradise Island does. This was a vice nice, spacious, upscale resort. It seemed VERY empty accept for fellow cruisers.

3:00 returned bk to the ship for late lunch bypassing the local food. Relaxed.

7:00 attended comedian show (Troy). In agreement with previous reviews - he was really good. Funny without all the swearing that most comedians feel they need to do. Highly recommend.

Dinner-did not feel like dressing for dinner. Went to ocean cafe but nothing really looked appealing so ordered burgers from room service. They were good.

Thank you so much for posting! We are booked in RS 6139 in March, doing the same route you are on. We are flying in to FLL the morning of our cruise (by necessity, work schedule doesn't allow arriving a day early this time), and I have already booked SAS transport to the Port of Miami, based on CC advice. I'm very glad to hear that worked out so well for you. Can't wait to hear more of your impressions of Millie! :)

Thanks for the review. We will be on Millie for the first time this Thursday. Thanks for the head's up on the Ocean Cafe on the first day for lunch.

Looking forward to reading more! Roatan sounds like it will be a 'stay on the ship' day for me. :(

Port day: Cozumel

8:00 waffle man will be happy to see that we took up his advise - went all the way to the back in the Ocean Cafe and ordered the waffles. Yummy.

Before we left, we had signed up for the Amazing Race (Cozumel). This event was rated #3 on tripadvisor. Note: We did not see this as a Shore Excursion through the ship so if you are interested you would need to contact them ahead of time. All of the correspondences with them were responsive. I had been worried as the race starts at 10:30 and the Millenium docks at 10:00 but getting to the starting point was not a problem and we ended up having plenty of time. It was still reassuring that they offered to refund our money if we couldn't make it in time.

10:00 debarked. Process very smooth. Parked next to Oasis which completely dwarfs us. We were lucky that our suite was facing out at both ports so we could enjoy the beautiful views of the ports and not look 30 feet away into the Oasis cabins (and no sun).

10:30 taxi to Amazing Race. So much fun. LOVED this excursion. So well run. People running this event showed so much passion and soul; you can see that they were loving what they do. I can't believe how much they have you do in a few hours and the locals were just incredible. The locals seem to really enjoy watching you and helping you try to win and the ones we asked were very helpful. This was the highlight of our vacation. We had never been to Cozumel or Mexico and would return to Cozumel for a vacation just because of the people. This was a nice port. Our race finished at Mama Lindas. You get 2 free drinks - water please! We had wonderful grilled vegetable quesadillas and (then) a few too many drinks with our fellow racers! Walked back to some of the shops and then taxi to ship. We had a great group of teams (mostly from Carnival) and enjoyed their company. Note: Only sign up for this excursion if you are prepared to run. Eduardo (I love you man!) mentioned that the race covered 3.5 miles - all on foot. I wish I could tell you more about ALL of the things that you do in the 2 hour time frame but it would give away too much but its incredible how many things you do and the locals you meet. It is very well executed and, most importantly it is very safe.

Back to the ship to freshen up. Loved the cool towels they give you. Relaxed. We went back into the port and shopped for a little while. Drinks at Senior Frogs.

6:00 seating at Metropolitan. Food ok. Our table expanded to 10 with only the 2 of us. We were asking to be placed at another table when another couple joined us. Service was good - Pedro and Edgar.

Must have been all the running in the heat because off to our rooms we went to sleep.

Last Day - Sea Day

Vacation mode setting in and I get up late (7:00)- how wonderful. A little sore from the (Amazing) race and decided to check out the Thelassotherapy pool. Didn't really get it. A mix between wave pool and hot tub. Relaxed at pool trying to get some last minute sun. Skipped breakfast in anticipation of buffet. Well, ok - I snuck in a few of the (delicious) almond and chocolate croissants from the Cova Cafe.

11:00 attended the crew talent show. Funny and entertaining. Particularly liked the closing act (dishwasher). This was well worth the time.

11:45 Attended the buffet in the Metropolitan. This was lovely. Most of the food was the same but very well presented and the sculpures (ice, cheese, watermellon) were amazing. Particularly liked the turkey cordan bleu. Open seating.

In the afternoon relaxed more at the pool.

3:00 Spa time. Signed up for the body scrub, facial, hot stone back message for $159. Note: Would have preferred the $119 package offered earlier in the cruise for 20/20/20 but it wasn't offered as an option. It was nice. Back to the room for soak in hot tub and long hot shower.

6:00 Dinner at Olympic. Very nice candlelit table for 2 at a window watching the sun set. Food and service were very exceptional. Surprised it was so quiet in the Olympic.

Wonderful, relaxing last day. Relaxed in room. Prepared for debarking.

Random collection of thoughts, confirmations and personal observations based on previous threads:

1. Had cruised (mostly) RC before. This was our first X cruise. Didn't realize before how much we enjoyed a promenade on the ship. This ship seemed more confined to us without the promenade. While the ship was nice, we wouldn't look to go back on to the Millenium and will now add criteria that ship have promenade.

2. Regarding the condition of the ship - it seemed fine to us. If you looked you could see things that needed to be done but IMO you would have to consciously look to see the wear.

3. Space is important to us. We travel mostly in suites. Previous suites had more of an open layout. This suite had more space but didn't feel as spacious as the other suites (with less s.f.). Nonetheless, it was lovely. This suite has a connecting door. If we were in the LR we could hear sounds from the adjoining cabin but our BR was very quiet.

4. We did NOT like the placement of royal suites on level 6. It felt like a fish bowl. People from cabins above standing at railing look right down on you -as our balcony came out farther. In addition, there were port holes above you in floor on Ocean Cafe for people looking down and cameras pointed in direction of balancies in our vicinity.

5. Why are the lounge chairs (cushions) SO wet each morning?

6. Waters were very calm. Smoothest cruise we have ever taken.

7. We are pretty simple eaters. Food was fine but agree with previous posts that it was a little monotone. Service was very good across the board.

8. We didn't enjoy sitting in the Metropolitan at a large empty table. While we spoke to the maitre de early on they seemed reluctant to move us (as dinner had already started) and (in hind sight) we weren't as assertive as we should have been about moving. I think we would go select next time. One thing that Royal does that we missed is that if you don't want to dine in the MDR and you go to the buffet (Ocean Cafe) you will find they 'dress it up' for dinner with linens, dim lights, candles on the tables, etc. and you can, for the most part, get the MDR food at the buffet without having to dress for dinner, be waited on, and yet still eat in a tranquil environment. We missed this option. We also found the Metropolitan to be loud. The one evening we went to the Ocean Cafe for dinner it was limited in options (unless you like Indian or Sushi) - either pasta or pizza. In this case we passed and went for room service.

9. On the other hand, RC had cut back on staff and the waiters had to actually go get your food (from the kitchen?) and the service in the RC's MDR was SLOW. We had 6:00 seating and many were late for the 9:00 shows on our last Freedom of the Seas cruise to Bermuda. Whereas on Celebrity, the service was consistently very prompt.

10. Our lives (like many) are so busy and filled with meetings, deadlines, appointments, etc. that we simply enjoy cruises for restoration - we relax quite a bit in our cabin and simply enjoy peace and quiet, reading, etc. Not HAVING to be anywhere at a set time is a vacation. After the cruise, we always feel that we should have attended more shows, events, etc. There were many activities that we didn't participate in but the itineraries for the day looked very full if you wanted to participate.

11. Of things we missed on RC - reserved deck chairs for suite guests. I am really not a fan of having to lay stake to a chair but then not being able to find one because of the chair hogs.

12. We had a great time and enjoyed the experience and appreciated all of the hard work of the people on the ship.

Thanks for your review.

8:00 waffle man will be happy to see that we took up his advise - went all the way to the back in the Ocean Cafe and ordered the waffles. Yummy.

Sounds good to me. ;)

Thanks for your review.

Thanks for posting.

What time was debarkation and by what time were you off the ship and through customs? We have decided to book a limo service SUV and I don't know what time to have them come pick us up for return drive to FLL. Our flights are late afternoon, so no rush, just curious for the limo service.

What time was debarkation and by what time were you off the ship and through customs? We have decided to book a limo service SUV and I don't know what time to have them come pick us up for return drive to FLL. Our flights are late afternoon, so no rush, just curious for the limo service.

Hi, I just got off Millennium yesterday. People were off the ship starting

at 7am......I was off about 8:00am and they normally want the last folks

off by 9:30am.