Millenium - This is disconcerting....

Bandit,

We just returned from the Millennium Med Cruise this Tuesday, and I must say I was also really disappointed. This was my 4th sailing with Celebrity, and my last. As far as I am concerned this line has really gone downhill.

I just sailed on my 28th cruise, so I feel I know a lot about cruising. I am a very positive person and have always enjoyed my cruises with little complaints.

The food and service on this ship was very good. My complaint was the condition of the ship. Celebrity should be ashamed of themselves for having a ship in that condition. Our stateroom had very dirty and stained carpeting, a cracked toilet seat, mold in the shower. The hallways were very worn and in some spots there seemed to be holes in the floor with carpeting over it. Several of us tripped while walking. The sewage smell was terrible and we smelled it several times a day in some areas of the ship, especially in the hall where our staterooms were. In addition, the toilets would not flush some of the mornings. Several of the puplic lounges had chairs so dirty I would not sit on them.

I do not feel bad about posting this information. I do not live like this at home and I certainly do not want to live like this on vacation when I spend a lot of money for the trip.

Shame on you Celebrity. You have just lost a customer along with the other 8 couples that sailed with us.

Sandy

I scratched my head and frankly shrugged my shoulders at the negative post about the Century below. I then posted asking why anyone would care about some things, specifically the Cruise Director.

The post said the food was very good and service also. There was a concern as to the moral and the person did not like the lunch buffet. Such minor quibbles.

Am however sailing Millenium in December and the above is more of a concern.

Any confirmations or dissension?

Anthony, IMO you will two or more distinct sets of opinions here as appears to be the case with most X ships these days.

There is the camp that all is well in X land and that none of the "small" issues regularly raised detract from the posters overall opinion of their cruise. It is, after all, only about attitude:rolleyes: and those who have less than glowing things to say are "whiners and complainers".

Then you will have a camp of those who believe X truly has declined over the past few years and has real issues with maintenance and service.

My last X cruise was not a positive experience but the first four were; I have one booked next month. If Century does not meet my personal expectations then I will not be back on X again.

I am of the camp that expect well maintained ships, good bedding, cabin bathrooms to be in very good condition (no cracked sinks, mold etc), decent towels, etc. It does affect my experience and to paraphase a recent poster, I don't live that way at home and will not pay to do so on vacation.

Hi Kim:)

Hi Anthony:) I know we are on the same sailing and I have

also been reading many, many postings of many of the recent

cruisers who have returned from different sailings.

I am still planning to have a wonderful time.

I am not disputing the other people's experiences as I wasn't

there so I really can't comment on them. I feel bad those folks

didn't enjoy themselves though.

I do know all my prior cruises have been terrific:) and hopefully

Dec will be the same!

We were on the September 23 Millennium cruise. As Bandit said the food was good and our service was outstanding.

We had an aft cabin on deck 8 and although the carpets in the hallway are in need of replacing, the condition of our stateroom was very good. No cracked toilets or mold. Our room attendants kept the cabin spic and span. The mattresses and bedding were new. The hallways on deck 7 looked better.

I would imagine Bandit was on the same deck we were as we noticed the problem with the floor as well. I'm a particular person, but these things did not ruin my cruise. The ship is not new, but it was certainly clean.

Many areas of the ship have newer upholstery and look good and there are some that are ready for replacement. There are times in the life of a ship where you are going to be the person who is sailing just before she is refurbished.

The toilets on ships are a vacuum system and on a cruise like the Med where you are in port almost every day and everyone is on the same schedule of wanting to be ready at the same time, there are occasionally times when you need to try more than once to flush. I've seen it happen on all ships at certain times.

Please don't be too concerned and enjoy your cruise. Will the ship be perfect, no. But it will be clean and for the most part looking good.

First was also Century.... We had a positive experience and the kids particularly enjoyed themselves though there were very few on board. We were particularly lucky as we had nice weather (not perfect, but 8.5 out of 10).

In retrospect there were plenty of minor things to quibble over. Entertainment was only okay. Movies were not inspiring or worth seeing. Tablemates (in a separate post) were great, but much older and they had to put up with our kids, who fortunately were on their best behaviour. Activities and overall vibe of the ship according to staff was really quiet (i.e. Bingo was as empty as they have ever seen, and who on a cruise does not play bingo)? Sporting activities not attended (4 of us showed up for a basketball game)...

Can go on but I think you get my point.

So I think there is plenty of room to improve on this trip (as long as the food & service lives up to my memory). Looking forward to it.

Anthony,

I am sure you will have a good time on your trip, and I certainly wish that for you.

This condition of the ship did not ruin my trip, it just made me realize that I do not have to put up with a ship like this when I take a vacation. There are simply just to many out there that are much nicer. We have been sailing about 3 times a year since retiring 7 years ago, so I am very familiar with most of the lines.

I found the food and service to be very good and our room steward did the best job he could considering the condition of the room. Our dining room wait staff was always efficient and friendly. I do not think the ship was as clean as one poster posted, but that is my opinion. Maybe I am a bit fussy, but I am also not a complainer. What's not to like about cruising.

I have been very active reading posts on the boards and find them to be very helpful. Have been following the Celebrity board since booking this trip October, 2005. It certainly seems like there are more complaints lately than positive comments. I simply do not want to sail on this line again.

I do want to wish you a wonderful trip and hope will have many good memories when you return.

Sandy

Anthony...I hate to tell you but I think you are going to be disappointed again if you are looking for an "active" cruise. Celebrity is not known for their active ship life. Typically the crowd is a bit older and the sidewalks aren't rolled up at 11:00pm...they roll themselves up!

If you are looking for more activities I'd recommend RCI or Princess.

and yes I know Celebrity is more sedate however in 2004 the week before US Thanksgiving there 400 kids as opposed to 40 our week.

The week was so dead, even the staff was shaking their heads. Don't want Carnival, just may be a little more.

and yes I know Celebrity is more sedate however in 2004 the week before US Thanksgiving there 400 kids as opposed to 40 our week.

 

The week was so dead, even the staff was shaking their heads. Don't want Carnival, just may be a little more.

Typically, there aren't as many children on board (especially longer cruises) during the school year unless there is a scheduled break or something.

I would agree that Princess may be more suited to you.

I guess there will always be some disagreement as to what degree of "wear and tear" of upholstery and carpeting on a ship is acceptable. Yet, whenever I call a charity to donate furniture they tell me that if it is faded, stained, or not in good condition they will not accept it. That is why it always amazes me when furniture that is not good enough for a Charity to accept for free is suppose to be acceptable for passengers who are spending their hard earned money on a cruise.

We sailed on the Millennium in June of 2007 on a Med. cruise and must agree with the overall condition of the ship. It is in need of a serious overall. We stayed in a Royal Suite with connecting CC class room. The Royal Suite was very tired and need of refurbishment. The sofas, carpet, and draperies need to be replaced and the shower had quite a bit of mold. My ten year old daughter didn't even want to take a shower in the Royal Suite, she chose to shower in the connecting CC cabin because the shower was in better condition. Truthfully, I felt like we paid Ritz Carlton prices for Holiday Inn accomodations. Our stateroom attendant did work hard, but because of the worn condition of the stateroom it never felt clean.

I will say the staff, service, and food were very good and the itinerary was terrific! We had a fantastic cruise. However, I must agree that there are too many other cruise lines to choose from to settle for such "conditions", The original poster had a good point ....I don't live like that at home so why would I pay large sums of money for less than desirable conditions on vacation.

We have been loyal to Celebrity for several years (twice to Europe and twice to Alaska). In fact, I have reluctantly booked Celebrity again for next summer on a Baltic cruise. It is on the Constellation which I am hoping is in better shape than the Millennium. It doesn't appear to get as many compliants as other ships. If I could find a comparable itinerary on another cruise line, I would not hesistate to book it. I would not have said this a year or so ago. Oceania has a great Baltic itinerary but we travel with our children ages 10 and 12 and wasn't confident that Oceania is the right choice for families.

Unless things drastically improve, I think next year on the Constellation may be our last time with Celebrity. I just get the impression that management doesn't care and there is no plan in place to address some of the serious mantainence issue that need attention.

Nancy

We sailed Century almost 2 years ago and the ship conditions/ our cabin condition mirrored some of the comments in this thread. Had it been a hotel, restaurant we would have promptly left and searched for something else. The condition of the physical plan is very important, if the front of the house is soiled, worn and dirty, what are the food preparation areas really like? It was very depressing to be in a run down cabin for a week. Celebrity's weak point appears to be ship maintenance, probably to save $ on refurbishment costs.

Hasn't the Century recently been refitted with new stuff and isn't the Millie going into dry dock within the next few months?

Will be sailin on the Millie on Oct.29th and do not intend for the conditions to spoil our cruise.

Dear curisergal,

Even if the Millie is going into drydock anytime soon, it doesn't mean the staterrooms will be refurbished. I think there is a general misconception about drydock. It is my understanding that it is mostly mechanical in nature, very little if anything gets done in terms of replacement of soft goods. Soft goods should be replaced on an on-going basis, but it doesn't seem to be happening as often as necessary on Celebrity ships.

I am sure you will have a great cruise. We found the service on the Millennium to be very good.

Happy Sailings,

Nancy

:o Good afternoon,

This is a good thread....for once, there's no name calling, ''fist fights'' and general disprespect, just a very cool calm collected exchange of views on a subject very much in evidence during the past 2 years.

We must admit that our beloved Celebrity, with all its still excellent facets, is slipping downward in 2 specific areas: 1/ pre-post after sale customer service ( inconsistent, mediocre....and with horrible communications skills from top to bottom) AND 2 / :: maintenance, along the lines expressed in this thread, and many others ( minus the over emotionnal argumentative flaming).

Mechanical maintenance is not an '' option''; gotta be done, and the " M " class pods-related problems have forced X's hand in that regards...But the plant, soft and hard goods and the ship itself: preventative or pre-planned scheduled down time for maintenance is lacking, big times !!!

We're booked on MERCURY Dec 8th Panama canal full transit; still look forward to a positive and relaxing sailing;; WILL enjoy ourselves ;; will NOT be beaten by aesthetically mediocre issues ;;....but our expectations have dropped down several rungs off the ladder recently. While not looking for things that are wrong,we expect they will be there...Are we on our last X cruise ?? Nope...not if we can help it.

BUT, Celebrity is on a bad path here...the sooner they rectify their management, the sooner they will preserve their loyal base...and acquire some more loyal followers...

Thanks for all the well tought comments.

Still: happy sailings on X

Cheers

Claude G

;)

We are going the week before Christmas and there will be more children and I expect a little younger crowd. We don't party all night and there will be no problem.

Maybe they should have separate cruises for some of you....

I sailed on the Millenium last year In May and it was wonderful- I guess alot of wear and tear can take place in a year and a half but I doubt the ship is in dire need of refurbishment. The carpeting and bedding on all the ships is replaced periodically. I know that Millenium was in drydock last Novemember- so, no- drydock is not always= to refurbishment.

Drydock is simply a mean of inspecting the hull and repainting the hull, inspecting the propellers and motor- that sort of thing.

Of course while in drydock they do try to get as many interior things repaired too if possible. Laws require drydocking every two years (at least according to the Disney refurbishment video I just watched).

I also sailed Millineum 5/05 on the Med Cruise. Our 10th cruise and it was wonderful. I am really surprised a ship can go downhill that fast.

We will be sailing the Constellation Dec 8th, so if anything unusual is seen we will be dissappointed and will post. Expecting the best out of one of the younger X ships.

Maybe my expectations are lower. I sailed some old ships overf teh early years, buthtey were like antiques -or old Euro hotels they had character.

floridatravelersforlife--

You must have just been getting on the Millenium when I got off in Barcelona ( I was on the Transatlantic May1-May15, 2005). Who was your waiter at dinner? Just wondered.

Anthony.....What cabin were you in? Just curious. I am booked for January and want to see if the trouble spot is near my cabin..

Thanks

Jeff

on the Millenium. Her name is Sandy. We are taking her in December.

Hope we don't have the problems she encountered. My spouse also would find it unnacceptable.

According to one staff member on-board the Millie, She will be going into dry-dock in April.

Hasn't the Century recently been refitted with new stuff and isn't the Millie going into dry dock within the next few months?

 

Will be sailin on the Millie on Oct.29th and do not intend for the conditions to spoil our cruise.

Hi:) Century was more than "drydocked". Actually she was basically

turned into an M-Class Ship.

It was a $55 Million dollar upgrade. New everything.

New cabins, new restaurant....you get the picture.

I always think of DryDock as basic ammenities but maybe

I don't know what an actual dry dock is supposed to be......

and to paraphase a recent poster, I don't live that way at home and will not pay to do so on vacation.

Even if we do live like that at home, we shouldn't pay to do so on vacation!!

here is an extremely positive review of the Mille which says she is in great shape and spotless....

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=423442