Quest in Hakodate today

[audobon_tx]

Sail in photo from our balcony on Celebrity Millennium 

[ragesinn]

By the post I assume the Crystal adventure has ended and you are finally heading home.   Bob & Monica

[audobon_tx]

3 hours ago, ragesinn said:

By the post I assume the Crystal adventure has ended and you are finally heading home.   Bob & Monica

 

Yes.  But really do not like the Celebrity experience so far.

 

Missed you after you departed in Papeete.  Are you guys going to join us on Quest in August? 

Edited April 30, 2019 by flyingshoes

[ragesinn]

Unfortunately we opted to do back to back on Pursuit (july 27 to Aug 13) which fit better with our granddaughter's schedule and prefernce.However we are interested in Africa and would like to do that one. If you remember the dates, let us know this way or we will email you once you guys get home and settled. We did Celebrity last summer with our grandsons and had the same experience.

[audobon_tx]

6 hours ago, ragesinn said:

Unfortunately we opted to do back to back on Pursuit (july 27 to Aug 13) which fit better with our granddaughter's schedule and prefernce.However we are interested in Africa and would like to do that one. If you remember the dates, let us know this way or we will email you once you guys get home and settled. We did Celebrity last summer with our grandsons and had the same experience.

 

Africa cruises plans:

 

Quest 12/28/19 Mumbai-Capetown (preceded b2b with 12/17 Dubai to Mumbai and a safari post-cruise - can provide details)

 

Journey 11/10/20 Lisbon-Capetown then b2b Journey Capetown-Capetown, no plans at the end yet but may do the Rovos train)

Edited May 1, 2019 by flyingshoes

[excitedofharpenden]

On 4/30/2019 at 6:56 AM, flyingshoes said:

 

Yes.  But really do not like the Celebrity experience so far.

 

 

Tell us a little more in comparison to Azamara. I believe Millennium has gone through its transformation recently?

 

Phil 

[audobon_tx]

11 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

Tell us a little more in comparison to Azamara. I believe Millennium has gone through its transformation recently?

 

Phil 

 

There is a cruise for everyone, this is not for us.  We just completed a long Crystal cruise and have done 20 on Azamara with more booked on both lines.  We took this cruise because it was cheaper than business class airfare home, we have a large suite, and the ship is essentially brand new following the transformation completed in February.  We figured we would give it a try.

 

The ship has been completely redone and looks great with tasteful colors and fixtures, casino excepted.  I would describe the fit out as midrange benefiting from its newness. The furniture looks good but must have been designed by the interior designer since ergonomics and comfort were not priorities.

 

The ship public decks are long strings of sales venues separated by bars and anchored by nicely appointed restaurants at one end and a nice theater at the other.

 

Canned music is a constant presence throughout the ship, particularly in restaurants for some reason, is loud and irritating.

 

Entertainment is of a higher standard than Azamara but still not particularly entertaining.

 

Sales pressure everywhere and half the ship it seems is devoted to selling stuff.  Park West "art" auctions and "seminars", Canyon Ranch spa, photographers at every corner and accosting diners, jewelry and gemstone "lectures", fitness classes, etc.

 

The CD actively promotes all this, talks a lot, listens not at all.  Reminds me of a USA morning drive time radio DJ.  

 

Lots of activities of the trivia, games type.  Lecturers have been good and give talks on things that have mass appeal.  Better than Azamara.

 

Food looks good but has no flavor.  Service is acceptable but not polished.  Since we have a suite we take most meals in Luminae but often order off the main dining room menu since Luminae has very limited offerings.

 

Suite guests have access to the Retreat lounge and sun terrace and pool.  This provides a nice buffer, and unlimited drinks in the lounge with continental breakfast and evening snacks.  However it is too cold on this cruise to use the Terrace and the lounge is an uncomfortable glass enclosed fish bowl with the aforementioned furniture.  

 

We are in a Celebrity Suite which is spacious, tastefully decorated, panoramic views.  Dining, living, dressing areas with separate bedroom.  The whirlpool tub/shower combo is a real pain though.  It is very hard to enter/exit due to a very high step up/down from the bathroom floor and no assist devices nor handholds.  You need to be tallish and lithe to deal with it.  Water pressure in the shower is as bad or worse than Azamara standard showers.

 

Good coffees and teas, pretty tasteless baked goods, at Cafe al Bacio.  Complementary to Elite/Discoverer and higher loyalty levels.

 

We don't do Aqualina nor Prme C on Azamara and haven't tried any extra cost restaurants on Millennium.

 

Passengers are a mix of nicely dressed polite folks and those that are here for the buffet and the casino slots.

 

Captain's Club desk is manned by a rude, dismissive person that we have learned to workaround via the Retreat concierges.  Shorex desk is staffed by smiling efficient folks and is a plus.

 

Internet is much better than Azamara as is interactive TV and Celebrity has a nice smartphone app that keeps you connected to menus, calendar, account, etc.onboard.

 

Azamara wins hands down on officers and crew and the feeling of being special and home.

 

Any questions are welcome.

 

Edited May 1, 2019 by flyingshoes

[excitedofharpenden]

Flyingshoes, thanks for the comprehensive feedback. You have struck on one thing that has driven me away from Celebrity. The incessant music. Drives me nuts. Can't get away from it. Just awful. I do hope Azamara don't go down the same route.  I agree about Luminae too. Nice food. Not the best and too limited. Boring very quickly. Glad it's not just me. Reading the Celebrity board you'd think you'd gone to dining heaven!

 

Phil 

[ragesinn]

Ross the first African cruise looks good. Will book soon and e-mail you when we do.

[audobon_tx]

4 hours ago, excitedofharpenden said:

 I agree about Luminae too. Reading the Celebrity board you'd think you'd gone to dining heaven!

 

Phil 

 

Yes, the Celebrity board gave us hopes that were quickly dashed.

[audobon_tx]

1 hour ago, ragesinn said:

Ross the first African cruise looks good. Will book soon and e-mail you when we do.

 

Outstanding!  Looking forward to seeing you guys again.  

[bob278]

We are also currently on the Millennium and mostly agree with Ross’ review.

 

So many things are subjective and open to personal opinion/taste and that is the only area where I am not in full agreement.  We fine Luminae food to be about on par with Azamara but agree that the choices are limited.  We have experienced mostly excellent service.  

 

Two examples:  

The heat (no need for AC) in our cabin has been problematic and we have had a parade of technicians working on it with intermittent success.  It was good for a couple of days but it is now borderline uncomfortable in our cabin (wearing long sleeves and doing OK but shouldn’t have to).  My guess is that it is about 18 degrees and we would prefer about 21-22.  But our cabin attendant, butler and suite attendant have been hovering to see that we are happy.

 

I used the App Ross mentioned and noticed that the next night’s menu in Luminae did not have anything appealing for me and Anatoly (sp?), the Maitre’D offered to have a ribeye for me as he remembered that I had liked the first one and that was done.

 

I would say that our cabin service and Luminae service is comparable to Azamara and elsewhere, it is about how Ross described it.

 

After only a couple of days on board, I was reminded of my impression of the S-Class with Celebrity’s pride in having a team of 5 women assist in the design of certain elements.  I thought then that they must have never set foot on a ship.  While the color scheme looks better in person that the pictures we saw before boarding, it is still a bit bland and mostly form over function.

 

Due to a price increase, we got upgraded to a royal suite instead of money back and, while it is very nice, there are a few strange things in it.  For instance, when you wash your hands in the bathroom sink, you must turn around and take two steps to reach the hand towels.  And those are placed above the toilet paper so if you drip, you may have wet TP on your next visit.

 

We haven’t been to the Retreat Lounge since the second night, preferring the Rendezvous (sp?) before dinner.  I have struggled in how to describe the lounge (and agree 100% with the characterization of the furniture).  The best I can come up with is “sterile”.  It looks almost like a black and white picture and is way too bright for a comfortable lounge atmosphere.  We managed to find some comfortable chairs and sofas in the Rendezvous.

 

Overall, I would give Celebrity a passing grade for the Revolution.  Especially in making the Oceanview Buffet more like the S-Class with serving stations rather than the long cafeteria-stay serving lines.  But each success also has a miss.  They took the cover off the back bar/dining area and replaced it with a strange set of slats that do not offer any shade.  This will not be a popular place in hot, sunny weather. 

 

My opinion remains that Azamara is worth a 25-30% premium over Celebrity and is where I look first for cruises.  But we still think Celebrity can provide us with a decent experience/value if we understand that it is not   In what I find as an unexpected and pleasant surprise, we are booked on the Pursuit to Antarctica next January for about $5,000 less than the Eclipse similar itinerary.  That’s a real win-win.