Millennium Amazing Asian Adventure 2014

[Iluvcruising2]

Awesome itinerary. Have a wonderful and safe cruise and welcome to Singapore.

[Happy_Traveler_2008]

Thanks for sharing! I'll be on the Millennium in a month's time so looking forward to getting advance information from your trip.

[DYKWIA]

Would highly recommend the peak both at night and day. There's a nice walk around the top that takes about an hour. If you have visibility from your bedroom up in the clouds you should have good visibilty from the peak. There's also a good walk down from the Peak to Central but it is tough on the knees. Some nice parks near the Peak Tram as well.

[need2bespoiled]

We'll definitely head to the peak, not sure at night though out hotel has some amazing views it's deteriorated since the first days as it is rainy. It's supposed to get better starting this afternoon.

 

I'm not sure how much hiking Dee and our friends will be into, we'll see. Dee has some bad knees to begin with.

 

We're off on an all day tour today.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

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[need2bespoiled]

Eating breakfast this morning we noticed the Millennium is in port this morning for an overnight the cruise before is doing. It looks so small.

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

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[need2bespoiled]

Today started off pretty rainy so pictures were tough. Our tour included a Chinese Buddha temple, Victoria Peak via cable car, Stanley Market, Modern Chineese temple and garden and the Jade Market. We we planned to visit Aberdeen but traffic was really bad so that had to be abandoned. We also didn't get to ride the Star Ferry but may tomorrow.

 

Tomorrow we're heading to the ship to checkin and board and then going to Macau tomorrow evening. We'll finish up some touring on Monday, not sure what yet, maybe Aberdeen or Lantau island. Millennium doesn't depart until 8pm on Monday.

 

Here are a few pics from today.

 

 

 

 

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

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[Mparis184]

Thanks Jenna for sharing your adventures. We will be on Millie March 15 - Hong Kong to Singapore and will follow your posts daily. So much to see, so little time!

 

Marion

[UNV-IT!!!]

Interested in your thoughts on millennium. I'm thinking about doing my first celeb cruise on her

[challahmom]

Jenna,

 

Thank you for sharing your interesting experiences! We'll be on the Millie December 7, 2014. We're from Florida and I think the weather in Southeast Asia is similar to our summers, hot and humid. What is appropriate clothing for touring? My husband and I would appreciate your suggestions for our 14 day Southeast Asian cruise.

 

Thank you,

Joanne

[joytravels]

Going on the Millenium on March 15 from Hong Kong to Singapore, so we are super interested in your wonderful postings so far, but especially on your actual trip! Our trip is a Celebrity package with economy airfare on Emirates to Dubai for 3 nights in hotel, and then to Hong Kong for 2 nights, then 14-day cruise that ends with another 2 nights in Singapore hotel.

 

We will be gone 24 days, but will have less than half the luggage you have! One large wheeled suitcase each, plus backpack or large tote on plane! But will probably buy enough to have to buy extra suitcase on way home!

 

We will look daily for your great posts and pictures.

 

Joyce and Marion

 

P.S. We have 3 private tours set up for Vietnam and 1 overnight private tour set up for Bangkok. We found others on Cruise Critic to join our private tours.

Will live through you until our March trip. Love to have your suggestions for Hong Kong and Singapore.

[need2bespoiled]

It's now Tuesday and our first sea day, and I'm going to try and get caught up.

 

On Sunday we left for the post at 11:45, checkin was painless, though there is a lot of walking to get to the new ship through the terminal. We were greeted by Lucy, The Michael's Club concierge after security. We were onboard by just after 12:30 and in our room by 1pm. We enjoyed a wonderful lunch at Bistro on 5 which on this sailing includes a number of Asian Soups! They were GREAT.

 

In the evening we decided we wanted to see Macau. We took the free shuttle at about 5:30p form the boat to Diamond Hill MTR (Subway). There is also a free shuttle to the Kowloon Bay station but it wasn't leaving for another 10 minutes. There is shopping all over Hong Kong including both stations. From Diamond Hill we took the metro to the rights station but left the large station from the wrong exit and walked WAY too far to the Macau ferry. We arrived just before the 8pm ferry and arrived in Macau at 9pm. It should have taken about an hour or so. Once we arrived in Macau we took s free shuttle to the Wynn. We were able to see a bit of Macau but really by the time we were there it was quite late. We had a bite to eat, walk around a bit and took an 11:15pm ferry back to Central and than a taxi straight back to the ship.

 

 

To be continued...

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

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[need2bespoiled]

While the ship was not sailing until 8pm we had to be back onboard by 5pm for face to fact meetings with immigration. It was very fast but limited our time. We met a guide at 10am back at our hotel as they had arranged the tour and wanted us to meet there if there were any issues. We took the metro with our guide from there to Lantaou Island. I highly recommend this trip to see the big Buddah via cable car, the temples and especially eating the vegetarian lunch at the temple. It was recommended by our guide, Mai and it was GREAT!

 

 

Today was a MUCH needed sea day which consisted of a quick treadmill run for me, yoga, some pool time, booking all of our spa time for next 4 weeks, an enrichment lecture on Hanoi and Halong bay and afternoon matinee hypnotist show. Tonight iOS the first formal night of 3. We enjoy getting dressed up and will start the night with a reception with the Sr. officers in Michael's Club.

 

To answer the a few questions, we have found Millennium VERY similar to Constellation and Summit, which are all sister ships. There are a few issues in our cabin that have been or are being addressed like broken blinds or drawers that are hard to use, but general,y the ship is in good condition. The solarium pool has been closed for maintenance but will open tomorrow looking brand new. The smells from the grinding and painting have made the solarium hard to use.

 

There are some Asian decorations around.

 

Of course comfortable shoes are most important, ideally closed toed as they could be stepped on in the MTR and there are the typical dirty streets many cities have with lots of people in close conditions. I wore skirts / dresses. Many people wear jeans, leggings, trousers, a few in shorts. Bing a light sweater or windbreaker jacket as it can be chillier especially at the top of Victoria peak, etc. I did noticed very, very few people in tanks with shoulders exposed.

 

In Hong Kong we missed Aberdeen which is our only "big miss" due to time and traffic. The main tourists sites are shopping, star ferry. Stanley Market, Shay Lion (sp?) temple, Victoria Peak via cable car, Aberdeen, Lantou Island, Jade Market and all the various markets. We stayed at the ICC (Ritz) which is the 8th tallest building in the world, the Bars and restaurants provide amazing views of the city. Head up one night if you have time.

 

Tomorrow we're not doing the 2.5-3.5 hour drive to Hanoi and instead doing and overnight Junk Boat trip in Halong Bay. In Chan Mai were bicycling through the rice paddies, visiting a local fishing village, seeing rice paper marking and eating lunch with a local family.

 

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

Ps, no time to spell check or check for typos, sorry!

 

 

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[need2bespoiled]

Bistro on 5 with added items.

I'm not sure why the expanded menu from

Summit has not been rolled out when they can add these (wonderful) soups.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

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Edited November 11, 2014 by need2bespoiled

[uncfes]

Good luck we just got off the Millennium many good things but I've never heard so many complaints and had some myself.

We moved rooms from an Aqua suite on the 9th floor because it smelled and the pounding from deck 10. Many others had the same issues with their rooms and toilets not working.

Service in Blu was great but slow at times. Much better then the main dining room with the feel you are herded cattle at dinner.

We wanted to try Q-restaurant, sat down got our iPad menu and sat for almost an hour before we bitched about no service. They sent a waiter over just to give us iPads we already had and we just flipped at how bad the service was and walked

 

Much more but as you go you'll find out yourself

 

 

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[Blue Lagoon]

Would you happen to know if there have been many changes in the crew and staff this cruise?

 

We find that when there is a turn over, it takes a little while for everything to shake into place especially in the MDR.

 

Thanks.

[cruisingsfun]

Jenna, Thank you so much for the wonderful pictures. I absolutely cannot wait for our cruise in January. I love it that they have added Asian touches to the ship. Gail:)

[Mparis184]

Is there still a charge for eating at the Bistro on 5? We were there a few years ago on the Solstice and I was surprised there was an additional charge.

 

Thanks for sharing your wonderful photos!

 

Marion

[need2bespoiled]

We generally don't think too highly of the main dining room but have had excellent service and food so far this cruise with one except for a fish dish my partner ordered medium rare/rare, but came raw. She thought it was salmon but was "black cobia" which is a white fish and not something she would eat rare. We have not eaten in the buffet, not our thing except I did grab one breakfast (fruit, bagel, hard boiled egg and cottage cheese which was a bit odd). I did smell a bad smell outside our room, it it was mild. We are traveling with friends in a concierge class room, so we have not eaten in Blu yet but I'm sure we will.

 

There has been a lot of turnover, we were told over 100 crew members, the Captain, our butler, our Assistant Maiter De to name a few I can remember are all on their first cruise but as I've said, it has been excellent.

 

Quinine is not out thing either, though we ma try with a group of friends if we're bored.

 

Service lapses happen everywhere, it's a bummer, but it's how you deal with, and what you make of them. Some people turn lemons into lemonade!

 

Arriving in Halong Bay this morning:

 

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

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[need2bespoiled]

Bistro on 5 is $7 and well worth it in our opinion.

 

Tendering today was delayed due to immigration but we were one of the first off due to the wonderful Lucy in Michael's Club.

 

We're waiting for our junk boat and have wifi.

 

 

I don't think the Bistro on 5 menu posted:

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

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[Blue Lagoon]

There has been a lot of turnover, we were told over 100 crew members, the Captain, our butler, our Assistant Maiter De to name a few I can remember are all on their first cruise but as I've said, it has been excellent.

 

Is there a new captain on board who is sailing with Celebrity for the first time? Would you happen to recall the name?

 

Thanks.

[harz99]

Bistro on 5 is $7 and well worth it in our opinion.

 

Tendering today was delayed due to immigration but we were one of the first off due to the wonderful Lucy in Michael's Club.

 

We're waiting for our junk boat and have wifi.

 

 

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

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Another typical grey day in Halong Bay, at least it wasn't raining! Makes you wonder how people managed to get the lovely sunny pictures you see in all the brochures.

[hulamoon]

Here's hoping you get a some lovely sunny brochure pictures for yourselves. Thanks for the lovely pictures.

[toodietat]

Just an added point of interest - the bridge you can see in the Halong Bay photo was constructed & paid for by the Australian Govt. as a gift to the Vietnamese people after the war. Our guide told us this when we did an extensive 23 day tour of Vietnam. We really enjoyed the people & sights then, so have been back again. An overnight/s junk cruise is a must!!!

[need2bespoiled]

Any of the new staff, such as the captain aren't new to Celebrity, just new to, or back on Millennium.

 

I'll try to post a who's onboard.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

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[need2bespoiled]

Sorry for this long update. I’ve been a bit behind, so I decided to catch up, and just started typing away! Instead of trying to edit it down, I am just going to post it in a few sections and add the pictures from Taptalk which works well with the slower internet.

 

Wednesday, we arrived in Halong Bay and for some reason woke up about Sunrise. It is an absolutely spectacular place to sail into. Thousands of steeply sloped, rock islands covered in lush greenery. It took a bit longer for Vietnamese immigration to clear the ship and individually clear every passport than would be ideal, but thanks to Lucy (the Michael’s Club Concierge we were some of the first passports given back after Celebrity excursions and at just a bit after 8, she escorted us to the next tender. It’s a short tender ride to a rusty looking makeshift tender dock.

When we got to the area where tour guides were waiting, our ride was nowhere to be found. After a bit of calling the agent we used to book, are ride arrived to transport us to Indochina Junks. It was a short ride, but between tendering, waiting and the ride, we arrived at the port for the junk boats at about 9am. We were told we were early, and boarding wasn’t until 12pm for our overnight junk boat cruise. Needless to say we were a bit disappointed as we had paperwork that said 8am pick-up. What were we supposed to do for 4 hours? Dee, Toni and I took a walk while Rob decided to hang out in the lounge overlooking the harbor. After arriving back and using their free wifi for a bit, we were greeted by our guide and told they would allow us to board our Junk, Prince 1 early and head out. We walked to the Junks tender and were ferried out by our bar tender / server, guide and captain. We also had an engineer. At first site, she didn’t link like much, but Prince 1 was a WONDEFUL vessel with 2 nicely appointed and spacious cabins, beautiful al fresco and inside dining areas and sunbeds.

 

We headed out and on the way to a local floating fishing village we were served an amazing multi-course lunch of local fare. Once we arrived we were ferried to the dock with Prince’s tender where we switched over to a very small bamboo boat (covered in tar for waterproofing) to cruise around the village, visit a school and see how they farm oysters (for pearls and for consumption) and view one of the many arches in the rock. Of course we were able to buy local pearls and found the pearls and hardware to be quite nice, not the “cheap” souvenir type.

 

To be continued...

 

 

 

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