Asia on Millennium

[LdyDDS]

you might want to read the last page or 2 of the millennium roll calls from December. Both sailings did this itinerary. I was on Dec. 9th sailing......it was a mess.

[3littlepigs]

Disagree with the "it was a mess" comment above. There was a delay of a couple of hours in returning passports to passengers who were staying overnight in Bangkok, hardly unexpected given the immigration officials needed to stamp every passport. All the other ports were fine. I'm still at a loss as to what all the fuss is about!

 

A little patience goes a long way in Asia!

Edited January 15, 2013 by 3littlepigs
Spelling

[seahappy08]

:)No stopping us now....however still time to cancel.Ha Ha We will start to look for hotels soon. Hope the Millenium has all their excursions posted soon.

 

Looks like if we don't do a ships excursion, we may need a Visa at least in Vietnam. We are also starting our journey in Beijing, so will need one for China too.

 

I heard it was 1.5 hr drive to Saigon from Phu My. Anyone know if that's true?

 

Boatsafloat

You will need a visa for Vietnam but you can buy it on board just take extra photos. It is more expensive if you have arranged an overnight and remember to ask for your passports back.

[LdyDDS]

When I said "it was a mess" I was not just talking about BKK. I meant the whole cruise....bad service, less than tasteful food, ship in poor repair, poor entertainment, etc. I had fun because of the nice people I met aboard the ship and the people I toured with but I will NEVER sail with Celebrity again.

[sandancer]

I really wish I had not read that last comment. Joining Millie on Sunday and now my anticipation has become apprehension. Surely it can't be that bad.?

[emileg]

I really wish I had not read that last comment. Joining Millie on Sunday and now my anticipation has become apprehension. Surely it can't be that bad.?

Elaine: Different people on the same cruise can have very different experiences. See the post by 3littlepigs. Krys and I were on the Silhouette in April. We thought it was the best cruise we had been on out of 23 at the time (excluding consideration of ports and the QM2, in a class by itself). Yet there were people on the same ship at the same time who posted on Cruise Critic that it was the worst cruise they were ever on. I believe their experience was as valid as ours. Likewise, our experience was as valid as theirs. Similarly our cruise on the Infinity (prior to refurbishment) in South America was right up there on top. Yet a fellow at our table suggested it was the second worst cruise he was ever on. Had it not been for his tablemates whom he liked, he said it would have been the worst. Was everything perfect? Not at all. I could never seem to get the waiter or assistant waiter to bring water to the table even with three requests. There was rust in places and the cabin furniture and drapes were worn. But, it was still one our best and memorable cruises overall.

 

Maybe LdyDDS is doing us a favor. With lowered expectations, things can only get better. With very high expectations, things can only get worse. In any event, we chose this cruise for the itinerary, ports, lectures and fellow cruisers. We did not choose the cruise for the ship. Any ship would have done.

 

The worst cruise out of what is now 24 was on the Carnival Legend. Yet, I would still have to rate that cruise as "Very good", as the bar is so high. We have never, ever had a bad cruise.

 

P.S. Since you are on the ship for two weeks before us, if conditions are less than satisfactory, perhaps you could spruce it up a bit for us. Just kidding. Have a great cruise and we'll see you at the Muster Party if not before. Safe travels.

 

Can't wait to meet you, Lysle and our fellow CC members. We'll have a grand time together regardless of the condition of the ship.

Edited January 17, 2013 by emileg

[sandancer]

Thanks Emile. If the opportunity arises I will update you all via the rollcall once we have done a recce. You are right of course about different strokes and to be honest we are glass half full folk and not glass half empty. Our worst cruise was also Carnival and even then we still found things we liked about it. See you soon. Elaine and Lysle

[cheffip]

I really wish I had not read that last comment. Joining Millie on Sunday and now my anticipation has become apprehension. Surely it can't be that bad.?

 

Have a look at recent entries on the December 23, 2012 roll call. A couple of people on that cruise have been posting comments and answering questions and overall they are really very positive about their experience.

Edited January 17, 2013 by cheffip

[LdyDDS]

I REALLY do hope you have a better ship than we did. We DID have a great time due to the other cruisers on the ship....a really fun bunch. We LOVED all the private tours we did and had great experiences with the 2 tours we did through the ship.....Bicycle in Hoi An and Night Safari in Singapore. We also chose this ship for the ports not for the ship. Many of the cruisers on our voyage were seasoned Celebrity Cruisers and very disappointed with the cruise and voiced their opinions VERY LOUDLY. I thought they were really a bit obnoxious to the crew since it was a management problem really, not a crew problem. With that said....Celebrity has had a few weeks to spruce up the ship, retrain the staff, etc and hopefully you will have a better ship experience than we did. We do not regret doing the itinerary but REALLY regret doing it with Celebrity. This was our first exposure to Celebrity.....NOT impressed and won't be back with them but will probably travel with some of the people we met on the ship. As a thank you from Celebrity for sailing with them.....their apology was to send us a $50 certificate to sail with them again before April......NOT going to happen! I hope you have a fun time...you will... they are great cities to explore.

[emileg]

I REALLY do hope you have a better ship than we did. We DID have a great time due to the other cruisers on the ship....a really fun bunch. We LOVED all the private tours we did and had great experiences with the 2 tours we did through the ship.....Bicycle in Hoi An and Night Safari in Singapore. We also chose this ship for the ports not for the ship. Many of the cruisers on our voyage were seasoned Celebrity Cruisers and very disappointed with the cruise and voiced their opinions VERY LOUDLY. I thought they were really a bit obnoxious to the crew since it was a management problem really, not a crew problem. With that said....Celebrity has had a few weeks to spruce up the ship, retrain the staff, etc and hopefully you will have a better ship experience than we did. We do not regret doing the itinerary but REALLY regret doing it with Celebrity. This was our first exposure to Celebrity.....NOT impressed and won't be back with them but will probably travel with some of the people we met on the ship. As a thank you from Celebrity for sailing with them.....their apology was to send us a $50 certificate to sail with them again before April......NOT going to happen! I hope you have a fun time...you will... they are great cities to explore.

Thank you for taking the time to report on your experience on the Millennium. I am so surprised that the ship was in the shape you described. We had sailed on the Summit both before and after Solsticization. The difference was between night and day: new carpets, furnishings, recovered furniture, new drapes throughout. They even got rid of the tired "carpeting" on the outdoor promenade and replaced it with beautiful faux teak. We thought the Millennium would get the same total refurbishment and it is disappointing to learn that it did not. We don't understand.

[emileg]

Just got a report from Sandancer, a member of our roll call for the Feb 3 Millennium Cruise. She just boarded the Millennium today for a back to back with our cruise. Here are her first impressions:

"We are onboard. Just had a nice prime rib dinner. Boarding was easy and quick. Ship is, as has been said, older but still in good shape, carpets certainly not threadbare. Staff very nice, helpful and polite."

[Calisense]

We had a great time at Zoom's home on Tet lunar new year festival. He showed and explained about yellow apricot flowers, family ancestral shrine and even gave us a good treat. We enjoyed banh chung square cake and other things, an extra value to our trip to Saigon Feb. 11.

[SissyBeaux]

Just wanted to recommend Zoom as a guide in Saigon/Ho Chi Minh City!! He did an outstanding job and was so informative. The highlight of our time there was Zoom taking us to his personal home to celebrate the Chinese New Year with their traditional New Year's dinner. It was great and we experienced the Chinese New Year in the traditional way!! We want to thank Zoom and his family for inviting us into their home and providing this expereince. He also shared his Ancestoral Shrine to his family and were so honored to experience this. We also visited Flower Road, which was a part of the Chinese New Year festivities. The flowers were absolutely beautiful and we enjoyed seeing all the families celebrating there. Zoom is so knowledgeable and his expertise and many kindnesses made our trip to Ho Chi Minh City such a memorable experience. He had a driver pick us up at the airport and transport us to our hotel, The Grand Silverland Hotel. This hotel was one of his recommendations and he made all the arrangements for us. The hotel was outstanding and provided us with an upgrade and a great breakfast. After completing our tour Zoom and his driver transported us back to our ship at Phu My. Many thanks to Zoom for a wonderful trip to Ho Chi Minh City!!!:)

[Bev]

I REALLY do hope you have a better ship than we did. We DID have a great time due to the other cruisers on the ship....a really fun bunch. We LOVED all the private tours we did and had great experiences with the 2 tours we did through the ship.....Bicycle in Hoi An and Night Safari in Singapore. We also chose this ship for the ports not for the ship. Many of the cruisers on our voyage were seasoned Celebrity Cruisers and very disappointed with the cruise and voiced their opinions VERY LOUDLY. I thought they were really a bit obnoxious to the crew since it was a management problem really, not a crew problem. With that said....Celebrity has had a few weeks to spruce up the ship, retrain the staff, etc and hopefully you will have a better ship experience than we did. We do not regret doing the itinerary but REALLY regret doing it with Celebrity. This was our first exposure to Celebrity.....NOT impressed and won't be back with them but will probably travel with some of the people we met on the ship. As a thank you from Celebrity for sailing with them.....their apology was to send us a $50 certificate to sail with them again before April......NOT going to happen! I hope you have a fun time...you will... they are great cities to explore.

 

Hi

 

We'll be heading to HK this spring. You posted on another thread that you arranged a tour for Hong Kong. How did your tour turn out and would you mind sharing the contact info for the guide?

 

Thanks.

 

Bev

[ghstudio]

I REALLY do hope you have a better ship than we did. We DID have a great time due to the other cruisers on the ship....a really fun bunch. We LOVED all the private tours we did and had great experiences with the 2 tours we did through the ship.....Bicycle in Hoi An and Night Safari in Singapore. We also chose this ship for the ports not for the ship. Many of the cruisers on our voyage were seasoned Celebrity Cruisers and very disappointed with the cruise and voiced their opinions VERY LOUDLY. I thought they were really a bit obnoxious to the crew since it was a management problem really, not a crew problem. With that said....Celebrity has had a few weeks to spruce up the ship, retrain the staff, etc and hopefully you will have a better ship experience than we did. We do not regret doing the itinerary but REALLY regret doing it with Celebrity. This was our first exposure to Celebrity.....NOT impressed and won't be back with them but will probably travel with some of the people we met on the ship. As a thank you from Celebrity for sailing with them.....their apology was to send us a $50 certificate to sail with them again before April......NOT going to happen! I hope you have a fun time...you will... they are great cities to explore.

 

Well, we are seasoned travellers and we were on the b2b singapore/indonesia...singapore/vietnam/hong kong and while the ship does show some age, I think the cruises were pretty good.....in fact, if you want my running commentary (pluses and minuses), I created a blog on the main celebrity thread you might want to read:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1772350

 

Like most other things, different folks have different opinions. I found some things to grouse about...I also found a wonderful friendly crew and few problems tendering/etc.

 

Hope it helps put things in perspective....

 

GH

[emileg]

I REALLY do hope you have a better ship than we did. We DID have a great time due to the other cruisers on the ship....a really fun bunch. We LOVED all the private tours we did and had great experiences with the 2 tours we did through the ship.....Bicycle in Hoi An and Night Safari in Singapore. We also chose this ship for the ports not for the ship. Many of the cruisers on our voyage were seasoned Celebrity Cruisers and very disappointed with the cruise and voiced their opinions VERY LOUDLY. I thought they were really a bit obnoxious to the crew since it was a management problem really, not a crew problem. With that said....Celebrity has had a few weeks to spruce up the ship, retrain the staff, etc and hopefully you will have a better ship experience than we did. We do not regret doing the itinerary but REALLY regret doing it with Celebrity. This was our first exposure to Celebrity.....NOT impressed and won't be back with them but will probably travel with some of the people we met on the ship. As a thank you from Celebrity for sailing with them.....their apology was to send us a $50 certificate to sail with them again before April......NOT going to happen! I hope you have a fun time...you will... they are great cities to explore.

We were on the February 3 itinerary, Singapore to Hong Kong. While there were some intermittent service problems in Blu, Cosmo's and the stateroom, none of the problems would rise to the level where I would no longer sail Celebrity. The ship was beautiful, well maintained, had new "teak" decking on the promenade and very visible and approachable senior officers. We did get a new captain on February 3. Also, we had immigration officers on board from Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong. All passports were handed out on time in an efficient manner. We were able to depart the ship at ports on time or early. We had excellent lecturers on Asia and Buddhism. Obviously, Celebrity learned from the mistakes it made on your cruise. Sorry your cruise was a learning experience for Celebrity.

[miamiu96]

Emile - so glad to hear you had a great time, I leave on the March 3 sailing in 3 days and am happy to hear a positive report!

[suekay]

Did Celebrity provide a shuttle bus to/from Pattaya from Laem Chabang? Any idea of the cost? We are booking a hotel to stay overnight and am trying to decide whether to book a private transfer. Thanks for any help

[LdyDDS]

Hi

 

We'll be heading to HK this spring. You posted on another thread that you arranged a tour for Hong Kong. How did your tour turn out and would you mind sharing the contact info for the guide?

 

Thanks.

 

Bev

 

I arranged a private 3 day (2full days, one evening) walking tour of HK through Toursbylocals.com. Our tour guide was Jacky W. He was a very nice guy in his 20's who spoke prefect english. He did everything he said he would and was never late, and never rushed us. I liked him. We toured with 2 other coulple from our ship. One couple didn't like him and the other couple though soso. Check out toursbylocals.com. Most tour guides in HK do not have cars. We took all kinds of public transportation and I loved it. We would never have seen all the stuff on our own and would not have known to go to most of the places he took us to.

[emileg]

Did Celebrity provide a shuttle bus to/from Pattaya from Laem Chabang? Any idea of the cost? We are booking a hotel to stay overnight and am trying to decide whether to book a private transfer. Thanks for any help

There wasn't a shuttle bus per say, but I believe there was a Pattaya on Your Own tour. Just to make sure, take a look at the shore excursions listed for your particular cruise. It is certainly not free.

[emileg]

I arranged a private 3 day (2full days, one evening) walking tour of HK through Toursbylocals.com. Our tour guide was Jacky W. He was a very nice guy in his 20's who spoke prefect english. He did everything he said he would and was never late, and never rushed us. I liked him. We toured with 2 other coulple from our ship. One couple didn't like him and the other couple though soso. Check out toursbylocals.com. Most tour guides in HK do not have cars. We took all kinds of public transportation and I loved it. We would never have seen all the stuff on our own and would not have known to go to most of the places he took us to.

What a great idea for future reference. Thank you for the suggestion.

[suekay]

There wasn't a shuttle bus per say, but I believe there was a Pattaya on Your Own tour. Just to make sure, take a look at the shore excursions listed for your particular cruise. It is certainly not free.

 

Thank you.Will check the excursions

 

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[cccruisin]

Anyone use Best Cruises for other ports besides Halong Bay??contacted him for junk on the bay and he came back suggesting some very interesting tours for Saigon and Hanoi also. Appreciate any feedback.....

[Busybean]

Anyone use Best Cruises for other ports besides Halong Bay??contacted him for junk on the bay and he came back suggesting some very interesting tours for Saigon and Hanoi also. Appreciate any feedback.....

 

 

Hi

 

We have just returned from the S E Asia cruise on Millennium. We used Stefan to arrange a day tour to Hanoi from Halong Bay as well as the 1/2 day junk trip on Halong Bay. He also arranged an overnight tour to Saigon for us visiting the chu Chi tunnels on day 1 & seeing the sights in Saigon on day 2. All tours were great & good value. We would definately use him again. We formed small groups for each toiur via the CC thread & everyone was happy with their choices.

[suekay]

Hi

 

We have just returned from the S E Asia cruise on Millennium. We used Stefan to arrange a day tour to Hanoi from Halong Bay as well as the 1/2 day junk trip on Halong Bay. He also arranged an overnight tour to Saigon for us visiting the chu Chi tunnels on day 1 & seeing the sights in Saigon on day 2. All tours were great & good value. We would definately use him again. We formed small groups for each toiur via the CC thread & everyone was happy with their choices.

 

Did you get any free time to just wander and soak up the atmosphere in Saigon? And did Stefan offer an overnight in Hanoi as we'd prefer to split the travelling over 2 days plus have some time to wander in the Old Quarter night market.Thanks

 

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