Sort of LIVE Celebrity Millennium Nov. 28 and Dec. 3rd B2B's

[dmwnc1959]

Hi David.

I have to say a great big thankyou for sharing you photos and story... it has taken me about 2 weeks to find as i am new to cruise critic..we will be on the Millenium on 31st oct for 19 nights from Hawaii to Australia (where we are from).

so once again thankyou.. love the tip about the water which we were wanting to bring on board..and you are the only one so far who has said they didnt get the drinks package;

cheers barb

 

Your'e welcome! Of course she would have been 'Solsticized' by time you board her so things will be a bit different with all new eating venues and bars. ;)

 

Although I had purchased a Premium Non-alcoholic drink package on my Celebrity Mercury cruise Dec. 2010, I did not purchase a drink package this last cruise due to being 'diagnosed' with IBS, which came as a sudden onset in Feb. 2011. That basically knocked out all coffees, energy drinks, caffeine of any kind, sodas, and most all of the virgin drinks (can't have ice cold drinks) that I had previously enjoyed. I did drink a few cans of ginger ale as it seemed to calm my system.

 

I bought the bottled water from CVS and took several boxes of Crystal Light to enjoy, as well as drank the free beverages in the Lido cafe and AquaSpa Cafe.

 

In the end I found I really didn't miss all the other drinks but I am sure it would have added to the 'vacation' state of mind if I had been able to enjoy them.

[ChasingHenry]

I know this is an older thread but I just wanted to say thanks for all the great details and pics. We are close to booking on the Millie for Alaska 2013 and your blog is inspiring :)

[dmwnc1959]

I know this is an older thread but I just wanted to say thanks for all the great details and pics. We are close to booking on the Millie for Alaska 2013 and your blog is inspiring :)

 

You're welcome! I love Alaska, have cruised there five times, and to me it's a truly wonderful destination that never gets old. Keep in mind that Celebrity Millennium went through a major refit earlier this year so several of the public rooms have been completely changed with some really nice new venues added.

 

I do wish she was doing the short market Caribbean itineraries this December but instead she passed through the Panama Canal a couple of days ago headed for her new Asia adventures. I looked at booking the Celebrity Constellation for the same time frame as I cruised last year but she returns from Europe too close to the holidays so instead I'm booked on back to back cruises on Allure of the Seas and Ruby Princess. Should be a stark contrast from the Millennium-class ships which I think are about the perfect sized ships for me.

 

Enjoy Alaska and I hope you love the ship as much as I did. :D

[gambee]

so I came over from that other post and started reading this thread, I was wondering something this is a 7 day cruise right? how many minutes of ship internet did you end up using? I am assuming those small pictures are under 100kb did take a long time to upload them?

[dmwnc1959]

so I came over from that other post and started reading this thread, I was wondering something this is a 7 day cruise right? how many minutes of ship internet did you end up using? I am assuming those small pictures are under 100kb did take a long time to upload them?

 

This was a 10-nt B2B that I booked by combining two different 5-night itineraries on Celebrity Millennium with Turnaround Day in Miami after the first segment.

 

I used a LOT of internet :o but it was well worth it. :D I think in total it was around $200 worth for the entire 10-nt trip (including checking my email, updating this Live thread several times a day, posting on other forums, etc) but only because I goofed and underestimated my usage. On the first segment I purchased a small package (90 minuntes), then when it ran out purchased another, but if I had purchased one large internet package (200+ minutes) it would have been 'cheaper' since they offered an added bonus (+10% minutes?) on the first day. On the second segment of the B2B I just purchased the larger package and benefited from the added bonus minutes.

 

As for the pictures posted during this Live thread all were taken with a iPhone 3GS and downloaded to Cruise Critic via the Tapatalk app. The pictures downloaded very quickly and I was pretty impressed. The most helpful tip I leaned was to draft your text in advance on your cell phone or tablet in one of the apps like Notebook then when ready log on to the internet and then cut and paste the text and add the pictures. Tapatalk now offers three different sizes in which to download your pictures and the best size for resolution I have discovered is the Medium size.

 

Previously the only size available downloaded via Tapatalk

 

This is an example of a screen grab I took off of the Panama Canal webcam the other day and downloaded it this morning to CC while testing Tapatalk:

 

New 'Medium' size picture downloaded via Tapatalk

[gambee]

Well I will do most of my work offline and then connect to do specific tasks that require you to be connected. I already set up my laptop with apps that are extremely fast. I don't plan of doing a live blog, the only reason is because this threads absorve me and I don't plan on having that pressure on my cruise. I do however plan on doing a post review and post pics with very good quality and lots more details.

 

I think 100 minutes should do it. I only plan on sending email twice a day, maybe 3 times and uploading pics to facebook :rolleyes: i know i know. I do plan to attach pictures to the emails, but no larger than 80kb each picture ( maybe 2-3 per email). What do you think 100 minutes should be enough ? or should I go a step higher?

[dmwnc1959]

What do you think 100 minutes should be enough ? or should I go a step higher?

 

I would probably err on the safe side and get the larger 208 minute package. If your cruise is a week long that gives you about 30 minutes per day (which you can easily divide up into 2-15 minute surf sessions?). That way you won't have to worry about running out of minutes if you get caught up in your picture uploading or emails.

 

From the Celebrity Cruises web site:

 

INTERNET PACKAGES

Package......Minutes....Price

In and Out.....38........$24.95

In Touch........90.......$49.95

Informed.......208.......$99.95

Interact........555......$199.95

Involved......1666......$399.95

 

P.S. Look for any past guest coupons in your cabin or first day internet sales bonuses that will add to your minutes.

 

.

[gambee]

I would probably err on the safe side and get the larger 208 minute package. If your cruise is a week long that gives you about 30 minutes per day (which you can easily divide up into 2-15 minute surf sessions?). That way you won't have to worry about running out of minutes if you get caught up in your picture uploading or emails.

 

From the Celebrity Cruises web site:

 

INTERNET PACKAGES

Package......Minutes....Price

In and Out.....38........$24.95

In Touch........90.......$49.95

Informed.......208.......$99.95

Interact........555......$199.95

Involved......1666......$399.95

 

P.S. Look for any past guest coupons in your cabin or first day internet sales bonuses that will add to your minutes.

 

.

 

thanks for the info, I guess I have to think about it. the RCCL internet plan is a little different.

 

$35 for 60 minutes

$55 for 100 minutes .55 min

$75 for 150 minutes .50 min

$100 for 250 minutes .40 min

$150 for 500 minutes .30 min

 

I do like how you divided it two 15 minute sessions, but I am sure that during sea days we would like to sign in really fast to send some pictures and such. The 500 minute one would give me a little over an hour of daily internet, not a bad deal if you account everything into it.

[dmwnc1959]

thanks for the info, I guess I have to think about it. the RCCL internet plan is a little different. The 500 minute one would give me a little over an hour of daily internet, not a bad deal if you account everything into it.

 

The biggest package would of course allow enough time to get everything done in case the internet is slower than what you are use to (or a lot of people on line). An hour a day will give you two 30 minute surf sessions and that should be plenty of time. ;)

[gambee]

The biggest package would of course allow enough time to get everything done in case the internet is slower than what you are use to (or a lot of people on line). An hour a day will give you two 30 minute surf sessions and that should be plenty of time. ;)

 

yeah after much thought I think I am just going to do that. thanks for the advise :)

[cruiseclues]

Thank you so very much for your excellent photo review...your Oceanview Stateroom photos...and the Penthouse Suite photos...and all your good Celebrity Millennium Information. :):):):)