Millie Eastern Caribbean Sailing (Post #3) 4/17/05 - 4/24/05

Finally, here is the third installment in a continuing review of the cruise my husband and I just returned from. To access the first two posts click on:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=172949 for the first post, and:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=173634 for the second. Enjoy!

Sunday, April 17th – Stil on the Atlantic

Because the wind was chilly, and random raindrops continued to fall, we decided to wander around inside the ship and take some pictures before our show at 7pm. Over the course of the cruise, we fell in love with our digital camera. Aside from taking it on a short trip to a bed and breakfast in Pennsylvania, we hadn’t been brave enough to forego the 35 mm for a big vacation. Recognizing that we would need to embrace the 21st Century eventually, we made the leap on this trip and laid the fate of our precious cruise memories in the hands of the digital gods. Our confidence grew with each picture we snapped around the ship. The little window showed us that we could indeed take a halfway decent picture on occasion, and if a shot didn’t look too great we could delete it right then and there. Needless to say, we did that a lot. For all digital photographers, you can take your camera to the computer lab on Deck 3 Center (not the Internet Café on Deck 4) and view your pictures for free throughout your trip. The computers can accommodate just about every type of memory card or stick, and the staff members in the lab are very nice and willing to help. We found it helpful to see our pictures full size on a computer screen. It gave us a much better idea of which ones should stay, and which should hit the cutting room floor. Invaluable when you have limited memory capacity.

During our stroll we gathered pictures of Fortunes Casino, the Celebrity Theater, The Olympic (specialty restaurant), the Cova Café coffee joint, Michael’s Club, the Emporium shops, Cosmos nightclub, the Rendezvous Lounge and occasional artwork that couldn’t be construed as…unattractive and/or frightening. We ended our self-directed tour at Millennium’s three-story foyer and gorgeous center staircase. The staircase makes an excellent photo-op area with its back lit amber glow, and lovely flower arrangements flanking the base of the steps. We became quite familiar with this area of the ship as our cabin was just down the hall from the main atrium. Centrally located, we found this to be an extremely convenient location. Guest Relations and the Cashier were a few steps away, the glass elevators and exits to the outside decks were a quick climb up the stairs and, most importantly, the Ocean Cafe was a straight shot upwards on Deck 10. I must admit, we used the glass elevators quite frequently. We could have walked up the stairs and gotten some exercise, but we just couldn't pass up watching floors and people fly by through the glass fronts of the elevators. Besides, trying to lug ourselves up the stairs after incessant eating became more and more tedious as the cruise moved along.

Speaking of eating, after dropping the camera off at #3078 we decided that lunch just hadn't been enough. The pizza station was calling, and that's a call that has to be answered. After all, we wouldn’t be eating again until 8:30. In a surprisingly quiet corner of the buffet, the scent of freshly baked pizza drifted through the air, beckoning. A myriad of toppings lay before us, and a smiling gentleman in a jaunty chef's hat and Italian colors awaited our request. With interest, we perused the anchovies, black olives, pineapple, feta cheese, salmon, diced ham, onions and other morsels that rested in tins next to the prep station. After a long and careful perusal of the topping choices, we smiled serenely at Mr. Italian and placed our orders. Two slices of pepperoni for Greg and a slice of cheese for me. Nothing like living on the edge. We pulled up a seat and happily munched our slices while the deep blue ocean slid by beyond the window.

We read in our Celebrity Today newspaper that there was to be a Martini Tasting between the hours of 5:30 and 8:30pm. Curious, we decided to head for the Martini Bar and give it a whirl. There we met Marcini, the Polish Martini bartender. That's not a joke. Because we weren't sure if we'd like the drinks, we asked Marcini if we could share the samples, and he graciously told us that it wasn't a problem. We arrived just after the first Martini had been tasted, so we began with the second in a set of 5. I can't recall the names of all of the drinks, but one that stood out for me was the Caribbean Sunset. From the chorus of "Mmmmmmmmmmm"'s that arose from around the bar, it was obvious that this fruity Martini was a hit. There were a couple of tasty lemony concotions, as well as a classic or two by the time it was all said and done. We munched on breadsticks between tastings, and enjoyed the engaging personality of our new friend, Marcini. Just as a warning, we are by no means Martini experts. We're not on a lifelong search for the "perfect" martini. And neither of us have ever uttered the words "Shaken, not stirred" with any kind of seriousness. But we like drinks that taste good, and these Martinis certainly did. Greg and I agreed that the tasting experience was well worth the $6.15 ($5.00 + 15% gratuity) it had cost us, and we were glad we'd caught the special. This wasn't something we had thought to try on previous cruises, but we know now to watch for the advertisement in the future. And without a doubt, there will be no sharing next time if the Caribbean Sunset is on the menu.

After thanking Marcini for the Martinis, it was time to get dressed for the show. On some evenings the late seating show went on at 7pm, while on others it didn't begin until 10:30pm. We were grateful that the first night of the cruise brought us a 7 o'clock show. After our ridiculously early start that morning, we wouldn't have made it through a 10:30 show. Back at the cabin we changed for the first of 4 casual nights. I had packed assuming that the dress code schedules hadn't changed from our previous cruises...meaning 3 casual, 2 informal and 2 formal for a 7-night cruise. I quickly found out that Celebrity had changed the code to include 4 casual nights, only 1 informal and 2 formal. My outfits were appropriate for either casual or informal, so I wasn't worried about me. Gravely, I warned Greg that he was not to spill anything on the khakis or the polo shirt that he was currently wearing. Even as I spoke, I was calculating the number of courses those clothes would have to endure. Inwardly sighing, I resigned myself to the fact that I'd be washing something out in the sink. In a short amount of time we were ready for the evenings entertainment. Casting a forlorn glance back at the bed, we headed for the Celebrity Theater and our first show of the cruise.

Suzy: I am thoroughly enjoying reading your travelogue. I have been thinking about buying a digital camera. Any suggestions?

We loved the Martini Bar;there are quite a few concoctions that are fabulous.

Looking foward to your next installment.

Mari

Thanks for continuing your review... I was wondering when the third installment would arrive. As usual you are a gifted story teller.

Hi Mari!

I'm so glad you're enjoying my endless ramblings!

Our digital camera is a Fuji Fine Pix (3.2 Megapixel). It's a mid-range camera as far as price, which is all we need for vacations, and family pics. We like it because it has a handle on the side, making it very easy to hold steady. If you've never taken pictures with a digital camera, you'll learn that the pictures can turn out pretty blurry if you move just a bit. Our particular camera seems to take much better pictures outside than it does inside. Or maybe it's just the photographers...who knows?! We're definitely glad we went the digital route on this trip. We ended up taking 400 pictures! That would've been a lot of film.

Thanks again for continuing to read!!

Tide Pride,

Thank you too for continuing to read, and I really appreciate your kind words! The fourth installment is forthcoming. Hopefully it'll be up in the next couple of days. Keep watching for it!