BeachTunes

Thank you very much for your input! This is encouraging! I think we might go with Celebrity's tour for the sake of ease and simplicity. 🙂

Looking forward to following along! We were torn between this cruise and the one on Millennium departing from San Juan on March 25th. In the end, Millie won but we are very keen to experience an Edge class ship and will enjoy your updates, whenever you have time to share. Happy and Safe Travels!

Thank you for this explanation! We are 9 days away from embarking on the Millennium and still have not heard about our Move Up status from Aqua to a Sky Suite even though another cruiser has reported their offer was recently accepted at a higher price. There appears to be one Sky Suite left for this sailing so I'm remaining cautiously optimistic that we might hear some good news next week before we board. If not, then oh well, we'll have more funds to do some port shopping! 🙂

Hello! I'm tremendously excited to be able to say that in one week we will be out of Canada's deep freeze and in sunny San Juan before our cruise on the Celebrity Millennium! It turns out that our flights post-cruise have been bumped back to later than 5pm so we have loads of time to spend in limbo after disembarking. We will be pre-cruising in Old San Juan for two nights and have visited the city a few times before, so we're looking to do something different at the end of the cruise. Just wondering if anyone has done Celebrity's post-cruise El Yunque tour with airport drop off? Specifically, I'm wondering if it's crowded. We typically prefer private tours so we can explore at our own pace. This one, however, would be very convenient. We're also wondering if there are any interesting stops along the way to try some local fare. If anyone can share their recent experiences with this we would appreciate the input! Thank you!

Thank you for your reply. Both the San Juan port forum and Roll Call for this cruise have been very quiet. That said, I will reach out there as well. Being a Celebrity forum, I was hoping someone who has experienced this specific Celebrity excursion might notice and chime in!

Greetings From Snow-Covered Ontario, Canada! We're finally just over a week away from embarking on the Millennium for a sailing out of San Juan. To say we are excited is an understatement! Everything is pretty much planned for our pre-cruise stay and port days with the exception of that age-old dilemma of "What to do in San Juan when you have to be off the ship around 8:30am and don't need to be at the airport until 2pm for a 5:30pm flight?". We will be spending two nights in OSJ before the cruise and have also been to San Juan before and while the area is interesting we're looking to do something different. We've narrowed it down to: A. The Celebrity excursion that takes guests to El Yunque with an airport drop off at 12:30pm. It looks interesting but to be honest, we don't love big group tours. Just wondering if anyone has done this recently and enjoyed it? We would then still have a whopping 5 hours at SJU to crush before our flight. B. Alternately, we're thinking of hiring a driver to take us to "Pork Alley" and then on to either El Yunque and/or a beach. This is pricing out a little bit more than the ship's sponsored excursion, which is fine but but could be a miss if we end up with a less than dynamic personal tour guide. On the bright side, we wouldn't likely have to spend an exorbitant amount of time at the airport. If others have had a stellar experience with Celebrity's excursion, we'll go with that. Again, though, we sometimes have found big group excursions to be disappointing as we are very active and don't prefer to wait around for those might dawdle. (No offence to anyone!) Thank you all in advance! I promise to post a detailed trip report with photos when we return! 🙂

Yay! Congratulations! We're on the same sailing anxiously awaiting the status of our bid from AQ to a SS. We bid a little bit less than your bid as the value of our Canadian dollar is rather crummy right now. May I ask if you were assigned an accessible Sky Suite? I ask because I saw that there were four available yesterday and only one is left today. Trying to gauge if I should still keep my hopes up! LOL! 😉 Enjoy the countdown! Hope to see you on board - preferably in The Retreat! (We know we'll have a great time either way!)

Welcome home! Thank you very much for sharing your cruise experience! What an adventure you had getting to Florida! We're counting the days (16 to be exact!) until we leave for San Juan and board the Millennium. Hopefully Air Canada will get us there in a timely fashion. I likely won't report live but will be sure to share an overview when we return. We sailed aboard the Summit pre-revolution in 2015 and loved her then and can only imagine how beautiful she is now. Sorry if you addressed this but I'm curious if your AQ stateroom near the stairs was noisy after all. We will be in a similar place on our upcoming cruise and have been wondering about the location. Given that the Summit is a mirror image of Millie, I figured traffic/sound issues of those rooms would be the same on both ships. At the very least, it sure does look convenient for grabbing snacks and bevies! Enjoy your reunion with your hubby and fur babies! 🙂

If you're a craft beer fan, I recommend a visit to a bar called La Taberna Lupulo in Old San Juan. They specialize in local beers and have quite a lengthy selection of draught, cans and bottles. We've been twice over the years and enjoyed both visits. We'll be back in Old San Juan next month for a pre-cruise stay and plan on paying them a third visit! 🙂

We're staying in Old San Juan for two nights before a cruise on the Millennium next month and have also "bookmarked" the bars you mentioned. If you like craft beer, whiskey and rum, La Taberna Lupulo is a neat spot. We've been there twice before during the day. I believe they have music several nights of the week. El Quinqué De Douglas’ Pub has also caught our attention. We typically don't do shots but they have a funky-looking signature shot that looks like jellyfish that I might try even if only for the photo op! LOL! We're also planning to just stroll the streets and wander into whatever places inspire us! Happy sailing! 🙂

Thank you so much for this post! 💙 We have reservations for Le Petit Chef on the Millennium next month and are really looking forward to it. Interestingly enough, the Le Petit Chef "franchise" has a pop-up location in Toronto that is available for bookings through to at the end of April. The price is $129.99 per person Canadian plus gratuity so about $260 per couple. After tipping 20% that equates to about $312.00 CAD per couple BEFORE drinks! (And Ubers to and from the venue. LOL!) We had some OBC and reserved a table for two on our upcoming cruise so this experience will, in a way, cost us nothing! If we did this at home it would easily be close to $500 for the night! Breaking it down: TORONTO EXPERINCE (Per Couple): Food: $260 Drinks: $50+ (Drink pricing not online. This is a low estimate. We would consume more, admittedly. Haha!) 20% Gratuity: $60+ Ubers: $50+ TOTAL TORONTO LPC EXPERIENCE: $420+ CAD (Minimum depending on drinks ordered.) CELEBRITY MILLENNIUM EXPERIENCE (Per Couple - With a Drink Package and No On Board Credit): Food: $177 Drinks: Included Gratuity: Included in above pricing Ubers: $0 TOTAL CELEBRITY LPC EXPERIENCE: $177 CAD TOTAL CELEBRITY LPC EXPERIENCE (Per Couple - With a Drink Package and $200 OBC) FREE! (Or at least, included with one's cruise fare. 😉) So if the concept floats your boat and you have on board credit, Le Petit Chef on Celebrity is an excellent value to try at least once, in my humble opinion. I'll be sure to share our review when we return in April! 🍽️

That is a good point about the Michelin rating system. I had forgotten that service did not play a factor. We enjoyed our first Michelin-starred restaurant experience last fall in Positano, Italy. The amuse bouche was, believe it or not, a slice of pizza! It was as delicious as it was whimsical! 😊

My husband's motto with these kinds of questions is, "Don't get involved!" Here I am getting involved. LOL! I will say that this is false for us as food is a very important factor to us when cruising or traveling in general. I have been known to make restaurant reservations in distant countries before even booking flights and hotels! Will we get a Michelin experience on our upcoming Millennium cruise? Highly unlikely and not at all expected. But, as an example, we're looking forward to dining at Le Petit Chef as it will offer us something new, fun and unique. I have lunch reservations at a couple of our ABC island stops to savour local fare. We always pre-cruise on land for at least a night or two so pre-cruise dinners are always well researched and planned ahead of time. (I'm waiting for reservations at Marmalade in Old San Juan to open up for March! 🙂) I would agree with others that cruise food is more than just the dishes offered... It's about the ambiance, being on the ocean, drifting from the Martini Bar to the Sunset Bar and soaking in the entertainment along the way. To me, cruise ships are more than just floating hotels. Back in the day, dining and entertainment were some of the main draws of cruising! All of this is that if we were on a cruise and the food and service were lacklustre or subpar, we would likely not sail that line again. We're counting down the days until our March Millie sailing with open minds and joyful (and hungry) hearts!

Yes. It is my understanding from what I've read on Celebrity's website and here on this forum that each passenger (of legal drinking age) is allowed to bring on 2 x 750ml bottles of wine per person. So as long as that bottle of Champers isn't a magnum, you should be fine! 🙂

We booked a March sailing on the Millennium in Aqua Class in December. We wanted all-inclusive and it turned out that Aqua was less than all of the other balcony categories! Of course, without all-inc, the prices for the other categories was less but comparing apples to apples, so to speak, Aqua offered the best value for us. We like Blu and chose a cabin in a location we like so it was a no brainer! We compared pricing on the Apex for similar dates in March and noticed the same thing. Aqua was less than a regular verandah when factoring in all-inclusive. Supply and demand is real! LOL!

Hello! On the topic of upgrading the drinks package on board, is there a cut off day to do so? We currently have the classic package and only 2 sea days on a 7 night cruise. We're thinking about using the classic package for the first 2 or 3 days to decide if the upgrade is worth it. Day 1 is embarkation, Day 2 is a port day and Day 3 is a sea day. We'd likely upgrade on Day 3 or Day 4 if possible. I thought I had read somewhere that one has to upgrade by a certain day... Please correct me if I'm wrong! Thank you!

Thank you both! We haven't set him up for his own account/cruise planner so I guess that explains it! I'll set one up for him. I appreciate your help. 🙂

Hello again! (I promise this will be my last question for a while! 😊) It turns out that I might have to participate in a couple of Zoom calls during our week-long cruise on the Millennium. Looking for some advice from anyone who has used Zoom onboard. 1. Will I need to upgrade to the premium WIFI package to use Zoom? If so, may I upgrade for just a day or two? 2. Does Zoom tend to work in staterooms? (We will be on deck 11 unless our suite upgrade bid is accepted.) 3. If Zoom can't be relied upon in staterooms, can anyone suggest a quiet, somewhat private place to make a business call on the ship? (My job doesn't entail discussing secrets of Area 51 or anything. LOL! I just prefer to not be that person who announces their business to everyone around them!) I do plan to temper the expectations of my colleagues accordingly so worst case scenario, if the calls get dropped, I get more free time on deck! Thanks a bunch!

Hello! My husband and I booked an "Always-Included" Aqua Class fare which comes with the Classic Drinks Package for both of us. However, when I look at the cruise planner and click on my Order History and scroll down to our drinks package, it only shows my name. For reference, when I click on Le Petit Chef, which I reserved online, it shows both of our names. Looking again, I see that my name is the only one listed for basic WIFI as well. I'm expecting both my husband and myself will receive the drink package and WIFI so I'm not terribly concerned. Just wondering if this merits a call to Celebrity to clarify or if this is the norm until check in/boarding. (I'll call if I have to but would rather not spend the time on hold! LOL!) Thanks everyone for helping with all of my random questions. This forum is helping bide the time until the cruise and I appreciate everyone's feedback and commentary very much!

Thanks @bookitdanno for sharing this fun tidbit. It's the top news story north of the border! LOL! 🍺🧉🍷🍾 As a Canadian following this "announcement" I am both perplexed and amused. Mostly amused. I think with pandemic woes easing, they're looking for something else to make us fear living the good life! I used to work in the beer industry and can assure you, this new radical recommendation won't be supported by suppliers or consumers. My goodness, here in the province of Ontario our alcohol sales are strictly sold mostly through *government* owned and managed stores. And the handful of grocery stores with licenses? Well they have to purchase through the government body. Ontario is the #1 purchaser of alcohol in the world because of this monopoly. 1.1 billion litres of alcohol were sold in Ontario in 2021 alone with a value of $9.6 billion! Taxes on alcohol in Ontario are among the highest in the country meaning in some way, drinking helps pave roads and fund health care here!?!? Oh, how ironic that the government is both telling us to enjoy responsibly and refrain? Oh, Canada! 😊 (66 days until I will be enjoying many more than 2 drinks a day on the Celebrity Millennium!) Edited to add: Kudos and respect to those who do not drink. 💙

This question actually makes me feel for the crew. If there are cuts being made to the cuisine of paying customers, undoubtedly cuts are being made to crew meals. I was a crew member aboard a Disney ship over 20 years ago when the line was brand new. The crew mess was "something" to put it nicely. I was told the budget per crew member per day for food was a measly $1.00. Not sure if that was true but I believed it at the time. I hope dining has improved for crews on all fleet. They work so hard, many of them with zero accolades or recognition. Ah, now I'm reminiscing! Pig tail and pig feet were featured multiple days of the week! Lots of "mystery fish" in sauce. The majority of the crew wasn't North American/Western European/Australian so most meals weren't catered to what we were used to. I completely understand having to cater for diversity but I lost a LOT of weight during those two 6-month contracts! LOL! The officer's mess, the few times I was invited as a guest, was much better. The best time to eat in the mess was around 10pm when the extra steaks and other MDR mains were sent down for the crew. I will say that the line did an excellent job for festivities like Christmas dinner and various cultural celebrations. (I will save tales from the crew bar for another thread! 😉) Back to the topic... We'll be on the Millennium in Aqua Class this March for our first Celebrity cruise since 2015. We enjoyed the food and service on two previous X cruises on The Reflection and The Summit. We're hoping for the best as we sailed with Paul Gauguin and Crystal pre-pandemic and were totally spoiled. (Alas, what happened and is happening to Crystal is another story!) I'll be sure to post lots of foodie photos when we return!

@Jim_IainI appreciate your input and honest feedback. If only the bid for a Royal Suite was significantly lower. 😉 PS: I loved your live reports from the Solstice last month. We haven't cruised with Celebrity since 2015 so I enjoyed the refresher!

@If only: Thank you very much for this! I appreciate your info about Sky Suites on the Millennium. I'm only 5'2" so maybe not having a tall tub to scramble out of would be a benefit after all? 😆

Thank you @jelayne! That is good to know so we can be prepared for whatever upgrade we are granted, if any at all. I'm sure I can do my makeup at the desk and just won't pack the bubble bath. 😉 I think we will keep our offer as the Retreat and Luminae would be an excellent experience if our bid is accepted. Please feel welcome to share any thoughts on the room, if you like! 🙂

Thanks for everyone's insight and advice here so far! We're counting down the days to our March cruise on Millie! We're currently in an assigned A1 Aqua Class stateroom and have put in a Move Up bid to a Sky Suite. I see that there appears to be only one Sky Suite on deck 6 available at the present along with around 6 Accessible Sky Suites on other decks available. I'm wondering if Celebrity would assign an accessible stateroom to someone who doesn't need the amenities? To be honest, I am not a fan of the bathrooms in the Accessible Sky Suites on Millennium from what I have seen as the sink storage space is limited, they don't have a bathtub and have a shower with a curtain. I know, know, this is a problem of privilege! I'm sure we would really enjoy the rest of the suite, Retreat and Luminae, but I'm wondering if the bathroom set up would disappoint given our circumstances. (I feel like a bit of a heel even asking about this!) I like the room location we have currently and have enjoyed Blu in the past so I'm weighing the pros and cons of keeping the upgrade offer. The price I've bid is within our means. And who really spends a lot of time in the bathroom while cruising? (Well, I usually do getting ready in the evenings! LOL) I must share that I have a great deal of respect for those who travel with mobility devices and physical challenges. I'm hoping Celebrity reserves at least a few accessible staterooms per cruise for any last minute travellers who truly need them. 💙