REDAL Posted February 8, 2013 #1 Share Posted February 8, 2013 First time poster (although regular reader). My wife and I and a couple of friends (who are first time cruisers) have just returned from a 14 nighter on board Millennium. The cruise was South East Asia including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. I felt compelled to share our thoughts on the quality of the food on board as I believe there are some who believe that standards may have slipped in recent years. Keeping in mind that food preferences are very much an individual thing and what one likes is very subjective, I have to say that after 13 cruises (11 with celebrity) the quality of the offering in both MDR, Oceanview, Quisine and The Olympic was absolutely without fault. The standard was of the highest quality and probably the best and most consistent we have experienced on any cruise (other than with Azmara...very close though). We have a S Pacific cruise booked for Jan/Feb 2014 with Oceania and I will be very interested to compare (what is regarded by many as the best food available at sea) with our experiences of the last 2 weeks. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare JoePDX Posted February 8, 2013 #2 Share Posted February 8, 2013 Thanks for your post. I'm very much looking forward to our transpacific cruise in Millennium in late April. Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hallasm Posted February 8, 2013 #3 Share Posted February 8, 2013 I also just did the 14 Night Gems of Southeast Asia on Celebrity Millennium. This was my first Celebrity cruise after 15 RCCL cruises. I did find the MDR quality of food and service at the same level (or maybe for the variation of food a bit better) than RCCL, however I did not found that Oceanview Cafe is at the same level as Windjammer - the variation, quality nor service - neither for breakfast or lunch. I did not try any of the speciality restaurants. All in all I were not impressed with Millennium - The captain was invincible, the ship a bit worn, entertainment not at the same level as RCCL and 'staff less friendly' . I'm more like to find on a RCCL ship in the future. A small video from the recent tour (January 6th, 2013) - Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REDAL Posted February 8, 2013 Author #4 Share Posted February 8, 2013 I'm sure you'll enjoy it Joe. Say hello to Stanchey in the Martini Bar for us, tell hime the Ferguson "clan" were asking afer him. Alan:D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
We're The Groupnors Posted February 8, 2013 #5 Share Posted February 8, 2013 Thanks you for your very timely post; we depart on Millennium on Mar 3! I'm glad to read your report that the food was good given the negative reviews Millennium has received since her arrival in Asia. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kevnzworld Posted February 8, 2013 #6 Share Posted February 8, 2013 I sailed on the millennium in October for a two week Panama Canal cruise. I found the MDR food to be the best of any I've had to date. On the other hand, the Oceanview Cafe lunch buffet ( normally a favorite of mine ) was the worst I've experienced. The Asian delight section was disorganized, with the wrong condiments for the dishes offered. The best part of Olympic is the demonstration window looking into the kitchen. I ate there three times. After being on an S class ship, I really missed Tuscan Grill. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lj77346 Posted February 8, 2013 #7 Share Posted February 8, 2013 I was on the Jan. 6, 2013 Gems of Southeast Asia cruise and in general, the food was good. I ate all my dinners in the MDR and found the appetizers to be very good, the soup fair (always arrived lukewarm, never hot), the entrees were good with the exception of the everyday steak which I thought was pretty bad, and the desserts were good - everyday chocolate cake and creme brulee were consistently tasty. All of my breakfasts were in Oceanview Cafe and they were very good - eggs either from the omelet or poached egg stations and waffles from the waffle station at the back of the Oceanview Cafe. Lunch in the Oceanview Cafe was hit or miss. On 3 days there were fish and chips which were very good. The biggest problems with the Oceanview Cafe, which is also a problem at other buffets is that hot food is not held at proper temperatures and lunch meats and cheeses were put out too early and seemed to dry out. However, at lunch other options exist like the pool grill for burgers and my favorite, the Aqua Spa Grill for salads and chicken, salmon, or pork chops grilled fresh for you. The food on the Millennium was not great, but there were plenty of good things to eat - no worries about starving. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TeaBag Posted February 8, 2013 #8 Share Posted February 8, 2013 First time poster (although regular reader). My wife and I and a couple of friends (who are first time cruisers) have just returned from a 14 nighter on board Millennium. The cruise was South East Asia including Singapore, Indonesia, Malaysia and Thailand. I felt compelled to share our thoughts on the quality of the food on board as I believe there are some who believe that standards may have slipped in recent years. Keeping in mind that food preferences are very much an individual thing and what one likes is very subjective, I have to say that after 13 cruises (11 with celebrity) the quality of the offering in both MDR, Oceanview, Quisine and The Olympic was absolutely without fault. The standard was of the highest quality and probably the best and most consistent we have experienced on any cruise (other than with Azmara...very close though). We have a S Pacific cruise booked for Jan/Feb 2014 with Oceania and I will be very interested to compare (what is regarded by many as the best food available at sea) with our experiences of the last 2 weeks. Thank you for your positive report on the food on Millennium. We will soon be on her for 37 days. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare JoePDX Posted February 8, 2013 #9 Share Posted February 8, 2013 I'm sure you'll enjoy it Joe. Say hello to Stanchey in the Martini Bar for us, tell hime the Ferguson "clan" were asking afer him. Alan:D Alan- Since you insist, I guess I'll HAVE to spend some time in the Martini Bar! :rolleyes: Greetings will be passed on.... Joe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
REDAL Posted February 9, 2013 Author #10 Share Posted February 9, 2013 Cheers Joe and have one on us! Alan;) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dunelm Posted February 9, 2013 #11 Share Posted February 9, 2013 Thanks for this post. There have been so many negative reviews recently that I began to be concerned about a cruise in October. I do think that some people forget that food in the MDR is banquet style. As such, I think Celebrity usually does a very good job. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cal516 Posted February 9, 2013 #12 Share Posted February 9, 2013 We sailed on Millennium in Mar and Oct of 2012, before and after her overhaul. In general, I noticed no real difference in her food quality ... it was as good as any other -X- cruise we've taken (MDR and other venues - except the Bristo which was pretty bad - mostly cold, dried out food due to appallingly slow service). The result of her overhaul was a modest surface face lift but she will never be mistaken for new. Disappointingly to us, a large percentage of her crew turned over and the ship's personality changed. There was, generally, poorer service, less attention to detail, and significantly less access to senior staff during our Oct cruise. None of this was awful ... but it was enough to change my overall experience from an "A" in Mar to a "C+" in Oct. which was the lowest grade I've ever given a -X- ship. To their credit, I wrote a note to the Hotel Director on day 3 or 4 of the Oct cruise and did observe some improvement. That marked the first time i ever complained about service on a -X- or RCI ship! I exclude from this evaluation the Oct boarding process in Mexico which was a disaster on anybody's scale but not entirely Celebrity's fault. Remember, all observations such as these are an individual's experience based on their expectations and a snap shot in time. Ships change as staff changes. We're off on Reflection in less than a month so, hopefully, that will go better. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiseclues Posted May 8, 2013 #13 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Thank you for your review regarding the food on Celebrity Millennium. :):):):) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stan vermeers Posted May 8, 2013 #14 Share Posted May 8, 2013 Just off the Millennium on April 25. Found the food to be better than RCCL ships. I call RCCL steaks "forklift steaks". Put on the steel deck and run over by forklifts until thin to tenderize. Millennium had reasonable steaks. Got hardly any beef on Princess cruises (lamb, pork, or chicken). So a positive for the Millennium. Our group of 6 loved Quisine dining. Olympic dining had outstanding service but food not as great as Quisine. Loved poached egg and waffle stations in buffet dining and all-day ice cream. Service was excellent all over the ship. We raved about our assistant waiter to the Maiter d and he got promoted to full waiter during the cruise. Ship shows wear and needs up dating, but clean and functional. Entertainment good but had better. Lectures were good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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