Something positive about Celebrity - Millie is great

[vhojm]

Hello all,

 

I would not normally take to a forum to post anything about a trip but I feel that there is so much being said about Celebrity that is negative that I would share our very positive experience currently on board the Millennium.

 

We are on day 3 of our cruise from Mumbai to Singapore and whilst early on in the cruise I firmly believe that one can tell how good their voyage will be based on the first few days.
 

This is our 11th cruise with Celebrity and all have been in suites. We were on the Eclipse last December and definitely found it to be not quite to the level of our previous sailings.

 

However, the Millennium has been perfect so far.
We are in a Celebrity Suite which is in excellent condition (when we were on her in 2017 the suites were in a state of disrepair - thank you revolution).

the wifi works excellently and the room is constantly clean and our stateroom attendant Lenie is kind and does a very thorough job of cleaning the room.

 

The retreat concierges Connor and Alex are superb. They are both well-intentioned and competent, a combination rarely found these days.

Marlene, the retreat manager is just wonderful - we have sailed with her before and her promotion was incredibly well deserved.

 

Luminae is being run very well by Soner and our waiter Umesh is a gem as is the sommelier Mark. The food has been excellent with every meal and we have not found that there has been a drop in quality

 

Orlando our butler is also friendly and does his job excellently despite their being less butlers and more work for him to do.

 

i once again find myself thinking that the Millennium and Solstice class ships provide the real Celebrity experience rather than the Edge series which are aimed at younger cruisers who have not experience what Celebrity has been in the past. 
 

People always write reviews and post in forums when everything is going wrong. I just wanted to say something good about Celebrity and the people who make our experience great!

 

 

 

 

[bigbenboys]

We have sailed twice since the restart on Millie. Both times have been great. We are thinking about do Mumbai to Singapore cruise in 2025 on Millie  .

[RedIguana]

There have not been any complaints about the upper level suites. It is wonderful to hear you had a great experience, and Celebrity (the whole RCG actually) does seem to do a pretty good job keeping their ships looking good. The issues are with the majority of us in steerage class, and to some extent the sky suites now. So once you mention you were in an upper level suite, your experience as something to expect (except for shared areas of the ship) are not realistic for 90% of the passengers on board. No butler to compliment, no retreat hosts to take care of us, and completely different food than Luminae. Even before the cutbacks you have an enhanced experience (you paid for it, you deserve it!). 

[VintageCheap]

1 hour ago, RedIguana said:

There have not been any complaints about the upper level suites. It is wonderful to hear you had a great experience, and Celebrity (the whole RCG actually) does seem to do a pretty good job keeping their ships looking good. The issues are with the majority of us in steerage class, and to some extent the sky suites now. So once you mention you were in an upper level suite, your experience as something to expect (except for shared areas of the ship) are not realistic for 90% of the passengers on board. No butler to compliment, no retreat hosts to take care of us, and completely different food than Luminae. Even before the cutbacks you have an enhanced experience (you paid for it, you deserve it!). 

After 15 days in Steerage so far, what are the cutbacks we should be watching for?

 

Edited December 13, 2023 by VintageCheap

[RedIguana]

Just compare last year's menus to this year's menus for starters. Although that may be improving again.

[Ex-Airbalancer]

22 minutes ago, RedIguana said:

Just compare last year's menus to this year's menus for starters. Although that may be improving again.

 

1 hour ago, RedIguana said:

There have not been any complaints about the upper level suites. It is wonderful to hear you had a great experience, and Celebrity (the whole RCG actually) does seem to do a pretty good job keeping their ships looking good. The issues are with the majority of us in steerage class, and to some extent the sky suites now. So once you mention you were in an upper level suite, your experience as something to expect (except for shared areas of the ship) are not realistic for 90% of the passengers on board. No butler to compliment, no retreat hosts to take care of us, and completely different food than Luminae. Even before the cutbacks you have an enhanced experience (you paid for it, you deserve it!). 

what issues are there in steerage ? 
Did 16 nights on the Connie in a Balcony besides all the coughing on the ship it was a very good cruise 

 

[vhojm]

1 hour ago, RedIguana said:

There have not been any complaints about the upper level suites. It is wonderful to hear you had a great experience, and Celebrity (the whole RCG actually) does seem to do a pretty good job keeping their ships looking good. The issues are with the majority of us in steerage class, and to some extent the sky suites now. So once you mention you were in an upper level suite, your experience as something to expect (except for shared areas of the ship) are not realistic for 90% of the passengers on board. No butler to compliment, no retreat hosts to take care of us, and completely different food than Luminae. Even before the cutbacks you have an enhanced experience (you paid for it, you deserve it!). 

Whilst I do take your point that i am in a suite, the biggest cut backs have absolutely been to the suites. 

[doghog]

1 minute ago, vhojm said:

Whilst I do take your point that i am in a suite, the biggest cut backs have absolutely been to the suites. 

Agree. Only from what I've read here on CC recently the biggest cutbacks I'm reading are for those cruising in suites. We've done two cruises this year (March and October) in regular balconies. The only change we noticed from past cruises was the MDR menu changes. I won't count the Captain Club change. 

[CruiseRQA]

1 hour ago, VintageCheap said:

After 15 days in Steerage so far, what are the cutbacks we should be watching for?

 

Have been off these forums since our cruise on Beyond last year.   After booking another cruise for January I have returned.    Last year every other post was about CUTBACKS!.   This year it is about every 3rd post.   Last year the complaints about CUTBACKS!  were mainly about the buffet.   This year the main CUTBACK complaint seems to be about the lack of a butler in the lower level suites.   We were in a sky suite last year and could never really find anything for the butler to do.   Perhaps Celebrity is doing a wise thing by diverting butler $$ elsewhere

[Mike981]

3 hours ago, vhojm said:

Hello all,

 

I would not normally take to a forum to post anything about a trip but I feel that there is so much being said about Celebrity that is negative that I would share our very positive experience currently on board the Millennium.

 

We are on day 3 of our cruise from Mumbai to Singapore and whilst early on in the cruise I firmly believe that one can tell how good their voyage will be based on the first few days.
 

This is our 11th cruise with Celebrity and all have been in suites. We were on the Eclipse last December and definitely found it to be not quite to the level of our previous sailings.

 

However, the Millennium has been perfect so far.
We are in a Celebrity Suite which is in excellent condition (when we were on her in 2017 the suites were in a state of disrepair - thank you revolution).

the wifi works excellently and the room is constantly clean and our stateroom attendant Lenie is kind and does a very thorough job of cleaning the room.

 

The retreat concierges Connor and Alex are superb. They are both well-intentioned and competent, a combination rarely found these days.

Marlene, the retreat manager is just wonderful - we have sailed with her before and her promotion was incredibly well deserved.

 

Luminae is being run very well by Soner and our waiter Umesh is a gem as is the sommelier Mark. The food has been excellent with every meal and we have not found that there has been a drop in quality

 

Orlando our butler is also friendly and does his job excellently despite their being less butlers and more work for him to do.

 

i once again find myself thinking that the Millennium and Solstice class ships provide the real Celebrity experience rather than the Edge series which are aimed at younger cruisers who have not experience what Celebrity has been in the past. 
 

People always write reviews and post in forums when everything is going wrong. I just wanted to say something good about Celebrity and the people who make our experience great!

 

 

 

 

 

You are bringing back some fun memories. We went on the Millennium shortly after she went into service. It was our second cruise after going on the Mercury the year before. It was a lot of fun, they were still working out some of then kinks. One that comes to mind was a bar that was very busy and the bartenders were doing a fantastic job, especially since there was water rushing  down the  back  wall of the bar. At first I wondered if it was some kind of strange effect, but it didn't take long to realize that this is a problem.

Have a great time and thank you for your positive review.

[PTC DAWG]

Positive posts seemed to be frowned upon here…

 

Glad you enjoyed the cruise.,

[Mangrove Snapper]

We had a great time last year on Millennium in Alaska!

[RedIguana]

Well at least Steak Dianne is back on the menu for my cruise next week. But can it really be called Steak Dianne if it is a sirloin cut? I realize it is technically the sauce, but traditionally it is made with filet, or at least part of the tenderloin.

[snowflake_quilter]

I was on Beyond last month, and Millie is still my favorite!

[doghog]

4 minutes ago, RedIguana said:

Well at least Steak Dianne is back on the menu for my cruise next week. But can it really be called Steak Dianne if it is a sirloin cut? I realize it is technically the sauce, but traditionally it is made with filet, or at least part of the tenderloin.

Exactly what was offered on our October Eclipse cruise. I ordered it. Cooked perfectly (medium rare) and excellent flavor. I'd order it again if it was offered with that cut.

[RedIguana]

53 minutes ago, doghog said:

Exactly what was offered on our October Eclipse cruise. I ordered it. Cooked perfectly (medium rare) and excellent flavor. I'd order it again if it was offered with that cut.

I'll have to give it a try then. I've been a filet (tenderloin anyway) guy for years now. I know some do prefer sirloin.

[doghog]

1 hour ago, RedIguana said:

I'll have to give it a try then. I've been a filet (tenderloin anyway) guy for years now. I know some do prefer sirloin.

I'm a huge tenderloin fan also. I just had a filet Saturday evening.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[debfed65]

6 hours ago, vhojm said:

Hello all,

 

I would not normally take to a forum to post anything about a trip but I feel that there is so much being said about Celebrity that is negative that I would share our very positive experience currently on board the Millennium.

 

We are on day 3 of our cruise from Mumbai to Singapore and whilst early on in the cruise I firmly believe that one can tell how good their voyage will be based on the first few days.
 

This is our 11th cruise with Celebrity and all have been in suites. We were on the Eclipse last December and definitely found it to be not quite to the level of our previous sailings.

 

However, the Millennium has been perfect so far.
We are in a Celebrity Suite which is in excellent condition (when we were on her in 2017 the suites were in a state of disrepair - thank you revolution).

the wifi works excellently and the room is constantly clean and our stateroom attendant Lenie is kind and does a very thorough job of cleaning the room.

 

The retreat concierges Connor and Alex are superb. They are both well-intentioned and competent, a combination rarely found these days.

Marlene, the retreat manager is just wonderful - we have sailed with her before and her promotion was incredibly well deserved.

 

Luminae is being run very well by Soner and our waiter Umesh is a gem as is the sommelier Mark. The food has been excellent with every meal and we have not found that there has been a drop in quality

 

Orlando our butler is also friendly and does his job excellently despite their being less butlers and more work for him to do.

 

i once again find myself thinking that the Millennium and Solstice class ships provide the real Celebrity experience rather than the Edge series which are aimed at younger cruisers who have not experience what Celebrity has been in the past. 
 

People always write reviews and post in forums when everything is going wrong. I just wanted to say something good about Celebrity and the people who make our experience great!

 

 

 

 

Thank you for posting so much positivity!  We are booked on two separate B2B on the Millie next year for the Best of Japan & Northeast Asia and also doing the Spice Route with Bali, Malaysia & Thailand.

 

Although we are not in a Suite, I would love to see some pics of the ship and hear about the ports of call on the Spice Route!  

 

But best of all, keep the positive vibe coming!  It's snowy and cold in Canada, so enjoy the weather!

 

Cheers, Ron & Debbie  

 

 

[CruisinNewb]

Thanks for the positive review. It is nice to read something that isn't a complaint. Yes there are always things to complain about but there are also (usually) positive things to praise.

While we never travel in suites we always enjoy our cruise.

We will be on the Millennium for the first time in 2025 for a Best of Japan cruise and are looking forward to both the itinerary and the ship.

Enjoy the rest of your cruise!

[DaKahuna]

@vhojm   Thanks for your honest comments regarding Millennium. 

 

We were on her for the 15-day East to West Panama Canal cruise in April and May and had a wonderful time.  Our only negatives were with regard to the ship was in regards to the redesign of the Sky Suites - lack of storage and no real coffee table for in room dining.  Other wise we had a wonderful cruise with great food and service. 

 

We look forward to sailing on her again in May of next year on a 13-Day Best of Japan cruise. 

 

[jbcallender]

We sailed on Millie last August, as well in a Celebrity Suite and we echo your comments.  Umesh (Umesa?) is indeed a gem and made the Luminae experience wonderful.  As I remember, we were in 6128 - I may be wrong, it was on deck six, starboard, forward half of the bump out.  We enjoyed the entire staff on Millie and the Hotel Director, Andrea, I think, seemed to be everywhere all the time.  We would indeed sail again on Millie in a heartbeat. 

 

Edited December 18, 2023 by jbcallender
bad typing

[NMTraveller]

On 12/13/2023 at 7:31 AM, vhojm said:

i once again find myself thinking that the Millennium and Solstice class ships provide the real Celebrity experience rather than the Edge series which are aimed at younger cruisers who have not experience what Celebrity has been in the past. 
 

People always write reviews and post in forums when everything is going wrong. I just wanted to say something good about Celebrity and the people who make our experience great!

This.

 

Thank you for your review.  Millie is our next cruise and first M class cruise.  It will be interesting to see if we prefer M or S.  We tend to prefer the smaller quieter ships.

[DaKahuna]

11 hours ago, NMTraveller said:

This.

 

Thank you for your review.  Millie is our next cruise and first M class cruise.  It will be interesting to see if we prefer M or S.  We tend to prefer the smaller quieter ships.

 

 We did our first and only, so far, M-class sailing on Millie last April - May. We thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

 

 Things that may stand out to you - fewer specialty dining options = only Le Petite Chef, Tuscan, and Sushi on Five.  

 

  Cellar Masters and the Rendezvous Lounge are very nice venues but tend to get very crowded and sometimes the guest talking made it difficult to enjoy the entrainment in these venue's but if you get the right seats they are both very nice and relaxing places to hang out. 

 

[billc23]

On 12/13/2023 at 10:31 AM, vhojm said:

 

 

i once again find myself thinking that the Millennium and Solstice class ships provide the real Celebrity experience rather than the Edge series which are aimed at younger cruisers who have not experience what Celebrity has been in the past. 
 

I agree on that point. I love sailing on the M class ships. I still prefer the S class for the added dining options. The E class is beautiful but not as enjoyable for me.

[tartantiara]

We are on Millie in February 24 does anyone know who the current cruise director is ? TIA