Millennium Alaska June 16, 2017 LONG Trip Report photos - menus - schedules

[luckybecky]

Thursday June 22 Sea Day

 

Our last day! Scenic cruising the inside passage. Beautiful views all around. We slept late, and failed to check our daily schedule. So we missed our last chance to see a talk by Milos, and also a talk by the Captain titled “Ocean’s Ahead: Secrets of Ships Navigation.” When we woke up, we just sorta piddled around and later I saw that Milos had done one last show. I was sorry to miss it. I wish we had read the schedule ahead of time and planned to attend these talks. Instead, we just lazed around and then went to lunch.

Lunch at the buffet was nice. They pulled out all the stops with the carving station and even a chocolate fountain. The desserts were gorgeous.

 

We enjoyed the view while relaxing on our balcony

 

 

And snapped some selfies

 

 

Paul gets silly

 

 

 

We went to the afternoon Eric Buss magic show. It was very entertaining. He's a funny guy..

We packed in the afternoon, then supper and the evening show, which was good as always.

Edited July 27, 2017 by luckybecky

[luckybecky]

Here's the dinner menu and a few final food pics

 

 

Spinach turnover

 

 

Green leaf and radicchio salad

 

 

Steak Dianne

 

 

Gnocchi -- this was listed as an entrée but seemed entirely inadequate as such. It was fine as a side, but not enough for an entrée. If ordering it as an entrée you need to ask for some veggies or something to go with it. This was the only dish the whole cruise that I thought was lacking, and only for that reason. It tasted just fine.

 

[luckybecky]

The dessert menu

 

 

 

And our very last desserts on board, crème brulee and chocolate cake :loudcry:

 

 

[luckybecky]

Here's the debarkation info that was in our room:

 

 

 

 

Note that breakfast closes much earlier than usual, and room service is not available on debarkation day.

[luckybecky]

The evening show:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

We are going to miss this:

 

[luckybecky]

By the way, if you needed to do laundry while on the ship, here is the price list. It could add up very fast if you need to do much! On Carnival, I recall that there was an option to send out a bag of laundry (in a bag they provided) at a set price for as much as you could stuff into the bag. It was relatively reasonable -- much less costly than the per-piece pricing here.

 

 

 

We did not use the spa at any time, but here is a price list for all the services they offer. You can also pick up a booklet on board that gives a longer description of each service.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[luckybecky]

Friday June 23 Disembarkation

We would have loved to spend some time in Vancouver, but we have already spent 15 nights in Alaska -- our budget and time off work only hold out for so long. So we will have to come back to see Vancouver some other time. We planned to go straight to the airport.

We set our alarm for 6:15 and were dressed and at the buffet by about 6:30. Of course it was very busy. We brought our plates back to our room to eat, and then finished last minute packing.

 

 

 

We carried our own bags, and our instructions were to go to the Rendezvous lounge at 7:30. We arrived there right on time and joined the line to leave, which took only a few minutes.

Customs was a breeze. They didn't even need to see our passports. We just gave them our customs form; they gave it a quick glance, and waved us on.

From there, we walked the short distance outside to the taxi stand and were loaded up very quickly. There was a short line but it didn't take long. Our flight wasn't until 12:55 so we had plenty of time.

Our ride to the airport took about 30 minutes and cost about $35 not including tip. We arrived so early, there was no one to check us in at the American Airlines desk. We had to wait for over an hour but finally someone showed up so we could check in and get rid of our luggage.

After going through security, we were directed to a US customs inspection area. This was unexpected and nice -- we were able to get our US entry taken care of now, instead of having to do it in Dallas where we didn't have a lot of spare time before our connecting flight.

We were in for a treat with our flight from Vancouver to Dallas and then on to San Antonio. We had first class tickets! We have never flown first class in our lives. The cost is usually just so ridiculously high, we can't justify spending the money. But on this flight, at the time we bought our tickets, first class was going for only $100 more than the cheapest coach seats, so we jumped at the chance! We got to see how the 1% lives and I have to admit it was nice! I'll definitely be looking for bargains like this in the future.

Our flights were uneventful and we were back home in San Antonio by 11pm local time. Sorry that our adventure has come to an end.... but this just means we get to start planning the next one!

[CHEZMARYLOU]

Thanks for the great review. It's time for us to think about packing for our 3rd trip to Alaska in August. This time we are going to spend more time in Seward before the cruise.

[QShip]

Great Review! We leave for the Millennium on the 16th.

 

I have to ask: How did you get photos of all of the entrees? If I ate that much I would not be able to move . Friends at the next table?

[jaimevoyager]

Thank you for your hard work in putting this review together. Four of us are now so anxious for 6/1/2018 to arrive!

 

 

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[luckybecky]

Great Review! We leave for the Millennium on the 16th.

 

I have to ask: How did you get photos of all of the entrees? If I ate that much I would not be able to move . Friends at the next table?

 

LOL Well I didn't get photos of ALL the entrees. :D

 

Remember there were four of us, and we almost never ordered the same thing. And on several occasions when my husband couldn't decide, he would order two entrees. Not all the time, but he did it more than once. You certainly can do this if you wish.

 

The portion sizes were not huge. They were plenty for me, especially since we were eating several courses. But so many restaurants have gotten to serving such HUGE portions -- it's not like that on the ship. It's more normal size portions.

 

Believe it or not I only gained one pound from when we left to when we got home! I was happily shocked and amazed. I guess we were just so active, it helped keep things under control.

[Zoedokey]

Fantastic detailed review. Thanks for taking the time to do this.

 

Your scallops rockerfeller pic was funny to me, as on the Infinity last month there was one (yes, just one) little scallop in the shell. We had a laugh about that!

[TeaBag]

I'm sorry your review is done. I looked forward to the next installment every morning. It was a very well written and entertaining review and I loved all the pictures. Sorry also, you did not have time to visit our fair city. Maybe next time.

[Travelling Paddies]

Thank you very much, Becky, for your excellent review. I thoroughly enjoyed reading it. The very detailed information you have included, together with great photographs, will be really useful next month when I will be sailing on the Millennium with friends. I cannot wait!

 

I really appreciate your taking the time to post such an informative review. You have answered many questions which prospective travellers might have.

 

Thanks again,

Kath

[Assateague Island Princes]

Becky,

 

Thank you so much for this review, particularly the details and photos of the wildlife center excursion in Haines. After showing it and the photographs to my DH, he was most enthusiastic about booking it while in Haines for our 10 day land only trip (in just two short weeks - but who is counting? woo-hoo!). I've sent an email to Steve, referencing your glowing review, so hoping we can book this on one of the days we've still got available. Again, I really appreciate it! And welcome home.

[hubofhockey]

Becky, thank you for your review. I am at the beginning stages of preparing for our cruise next summer on the Millennium and your post probably helps more people planning for next year than this year. We are doing the reverse and taking the northern route inside passage from Vancouver. As usual, I have learned so much from Cruise Critic and Trip Advisor, including how early to get started planning and reserving, lodging, and transportation. I had always thought that pre or post cruise Alaska was about land tours through the cruise lines. Now, when I leave the ship, it's on me and I know that I can do better and also save money over any cruise line experience.

 

As for the Millennium, we had never been on Celebrity either until this summer and we did a cruise on the Constellation in the Adriatic and loved the ship. I know the Millennium is a little older, but it's similar and I love that class of ship. Looking forward to the Millennium and S Class can wait for us (not so sure about Edge and not liking what I am seeing). In any case, it looks like you had a great time an we may copy some things you did.

[shipshape sam]

Thanks for a great review both in words and pics! We are wanting to sail again to Alaska. We like doing both the cruise and a land based portion.

[Ron Don]

Thanks for being able to join your trip with you. We will be doing a similar trip in August but only from Anchorage and taking the rail down to Seward. We will also be spending a few days in Vancouver after the cruise before returning home to Dallas. Loved your pictures.

[EOwens]

Stumbled across this awesome review! What a fantastic trip! I can hardly wait to board the Solstice to Alaska on August 18th! Thanks for all the time and hard work to prepare this - loved it!

[transam84]

Thank you so much for your review. We just come back from a land vacation to Alaska and visited a few of the places you have pictured. We actually stayed in Seward for 4 days and loved it. Your pictures made me smile.

More importantly, we will be on Millie for 2 weeks starting April 1, 2018 Shanghai to Tokyo. Having never sailed Celebrity, and after reading some very mixed reviews of Millie, I've been concerned. So I'm happy to see some very nice pictures of the ship. I appreciate you providing such a nice overview. The ship looks nice and in good condition. Certainly not glitzy like my Allure or Oasis Voyages but quite acceptable. The food looks quite nice too!

So thank you again for the memories of Alaska and great pictures of the ship.

[Tweedy]

Thank you very much for your review. I don't think you could have had better weather. You've made me more excited for my upcoming Millennium cruise.

 

 

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[cormike1]

Thanks for that great review Becky! We are doing the Rocky Mountaineer and then the Alaskan cruise in 2019 so I love to read which tours people took and how they enjoyed them. I appreciated you taking the time to post all this info and the pictures were wonderful. Thanks again.

[deladane]

Gnocchi -- this was listed as an entrée but seemed entirely inadequate as such. It was fine as a side, but not enough for an entrée. If ordering it as an entrée you need to ask for some veggies or something to go with it. This was the only dish the whole cruise that I thought was lacking, and only for that reason. It tasted just fine.

 

 

How weird that they gave you such a skimpy serving! We had a much larger portion size when we ordered this dish on our Equinox cruise last year...

 

 

We tended to each order one entree and then order a third dish to share (usually a pasta dish), so we shared the gnocci but both loved it so much that we wished we had ordered two of them haha

 

I am LOVING your review! Such beautiful photos and how amazing that you really made the most out of every day!!

[luckybecky]

Thanks everyone for the kind comments! I'm so glad y'all have enjoyed my trip report. It really was an awesome trip. We loved the ship, in spite of my occasional quibbles about this or that. Overall it was a beautiful ship and an amazing time.

 

But the truth is -- every vacation I've ever had has been amazing! We love to travel and hey, I'm on vacation! Sure there are occasional lapses in service or something doesn't work out as we expect, but that's just life. Every day that I'm on vacation, seeing something new, eating great food, meeting new people -- it's all good!

 

And that's funny about the gnocchi! I promise, that is the way it was served. I had not eaten half of it before I took the picture. :D Funny how different it was on the two ships. And I agree with you, it was delicious.

[JBSteelerfan]

.

 

But the truth is -- every vacation I've ever had has been amazing! We love to travel and hey, I'm on vacation! Sure there are occasional lapses in service or something doesn't work out as we expect, but that's just life. Every day that I'm on vacation, seeing something new, eating great food, meeting new people -- it's all good!

 

.

 

Very well said!! That is the attitude we should all have when traveling!

 

Thanks again for the excellent review and pictures. Very nice of you to take time to write all of this and to share your great photos!