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Just back from Millenium

mattmike6972

By mattmike6972,
in Celebrity Cruises

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mattmike6972

mattmike6972

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Sailed on the Millenium from May 29-June 5 from Vancouver to Seward. We last sailed on the Millenium in June, 07. Here are my comparisons:

 

Embarkation: Two years ago, we were through the Celebrity check-in and on the ship in 15 minutes. This trip there are multiple security checks and a long line to get on the ship. We arrived at 12 noon sharp as advised and it took about 1 1/2 hours to get on the ship.

 

Drydock: We were in cabin 8082. Carpeting was new as well as a new flat-screen TV. Carpeting had also been changed throughout the ship, but after a couple of days, I didn't notice it. The Celebrity theater has been completely refurbished, new upholstery, carpeting, etc.

 

Food: Everyone knows that Celebrity built its reputation on the food quality of Michael Roux. He is no longer associated with Celebrity. However, I thought that the food presentation and quality under Jacques Van Staden was as good, if not better than two years ago. The new menus are superb. Two pages, on the left is a complete menu that is available all the time, on the right is a menu that changes every day. You can mix and match. I even ordered a NY strip steak that wasn't listed anywhere. The only negative was that the meat quality was OK, but not consistently above average. The Olympic restaurant was as good as any 5-star restaurant in the US. Wonderful experience not to be missed.

 

Entertainment: This is the area of biggest improvement. The new cast of singers and dancers were all hired by Qdos for six months and are all from Great Britain. Everyone gave them a standing ovation for each show. They were that good. Don't miss them. The comedian, Fred Klett, was hilarious, and not an F-word in over an hour. The magician was fine but very familiar.

 

Staff: Outstanding. During the entire trip I was always greeted with a "hello" by every staff member I passed.

 

New embarkation luggage policy: We used Celebrity's new luggage policy which for $20/person takes your luggage off the ship and checks it through to your final destination and issues your boarding passes. Once your luggage leaves the ship, you don't have to touch it again until you get to your home airport.

 

Shore excursions: excellent, we did three (only one booked through Celebrity), Harve and Marv whale watching, Misty Fjords floatplane trip with Michelle of Island Wings, and the White Pass and Yukon railroad trip. All were excellent.

 

Also, the weather was magnificent 65-70 everyday and sunny and clear. We got to within a couple of miles of the Hubbard glacier which is unheard of at this time of year because of the ice buildup.

 

Your experience may not be the same as ours, but we found this cruise to be fabulous. I spoke to the cruise director, James Calhoun, and he told me that Celebrity has made a strong effort to upgrade all aspects of service and entertainment.

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nothriver

nothriver

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Thank you so much for your review! We'll be sailing in less than two weeks and I'm excited to hear such a positive review.

 

If you don't mind answering a few questions:

 

Were the shows appripriate for children? We have girls ages 4 and 5, and were planning on skipping the entertainment, but based on your review we may give it a try. Anything in particular you'd recommend for preschoolers?

 

If you are a coffee drinker, can you tell me how the coffee was in general and in specific, how was Cova Cafe?

 

Thanks in advance.

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mattmike6972

mattmike6972

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The shows would be fine for children, especially the magician, great singing and dancing by the Celebrity singers and dancers. The comedian's material was tailored more to older married couples in regard to marriage, so a child would not understand the humor The only problem is one we mentioned to the cruise director, James, was that the music was slightly too loud for us and we wound up sitting in the back or in the balcony. They may have lowered the decibel level by now. The television was placed above the minibar. I only used it to check my onboard account (although I did watch the Lakers-Magic game on ESPN)

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mattmike6972

mattmike6972

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Another observation, when we sailed on the Millenium from Barcelona to Venice two years ago, approximately 70% of the men wore tuxedos on formal nights. On this Alaskan cruise, I only saw five or six men wearing tuxedos. The rest wore a dark suit or blazer. I even saw a couple of men without a jacket.

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gillianrose

gillianrose

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New embarkation luggage policy: We used Celebrity's new luggage policy which for $20/person takes your luggage off the ship and checks it through to your final destination and issues your boarding passes. Once your luggage leaves the ship, you don't have to touch it again until you get to your home airport.

 

Is this policy in effect for those who don't use Celebrity's Cruise Air, too?

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mattmike6972

mattmike6972

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We were on deck 8 and as I recall, all of the tenders are several decks below so there were no obstructions looking toward the back of the ship. Yes, we attended Graham Sunderland's lectures. He is very knowledgeable and funny.

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seahawkfan

seahawkfan

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We were on deck 8 and as I recall, all of the tenders are several decks below so there were no obstructions looking toward the back of the ship. Yes, we attended Graham Sunderland's lectures. He is very knowledgeable and funny.

What kinds of stuff did Graham lecture on? History of Alaska or any animals?

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Shirley C

Shirley C

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New embarkation luggage policy: We used Celebrity's new luggage policy which for $20/person takes your luggage off the ship and checks it through to your final destination and issues your boarding passes. Once your luggage leaves the ship, you don't have to touch it again until you get to your home airport.

 

This was offered on our recent Solstice cruise, but only for certain airlines. Do you know which airlines it was offered for? We used it on the Solstice, and it was the best money we ever spent. It was great not to have to deal with the luggage.

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gtcruising23

gtcruising23

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My husband & I are will be sailing June 12 with his parents and sister & her husband. Was concerned about other reviews that the ship is showing signs of "old age" since I made all the arrangements. But your latest news on Millennium, gave me comfort. Thanks for sharing.

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mek

mek

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quote=mattmike6972 Another observation, when we sailed on the Millenium from Barcelona to Venice two years ago, approximately 70% of the men wore tuxedos on formal nights. On this Alaskan cruise, I only saw five or six men wearing tuxedos. The rest wore a dark suit or blazer. I even saw a couple of men without a jacket.

 

Oh, this is great since I would really like to only pack a Navy Blazer and grey dress pants for my husband. Even back in the early 90's when we did our last cruise to Alaska, I thought the dress code was much more casual than other itineraries.

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TomTN

TomTN

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Thanks for the nice review.

 

The beef has never been Celebrities best menu item.

 

Interesting about not having to touch your luggage until you arrive at your home airport. It will be interesting to see how many places they will be able to offer that service.

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cruise sojourner

cruise sojourner

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Thanks for the nice review.

 

 

Interesting about not having to touch your luggage until you arrive at your home airport. It will be interesting to see how many places they will be able to offer that service.

 

Here's the info from the YVR website about the on-board check-in and how it works.

 

http://yvr.ca/guide/around/onboard/index.asp?id=0#work

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Shirley C

Shirley C

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Here's the info from the YVR website about the on-board check-in and how it works.

 

http://yvr.ca/guide/around/onboard/index.asp?id=0#work

 

Thanks for that link. We used this service coming back from our last cruise, and it makes it so much nicer. I will now book my airline arrangements utilizing an airline that offers this service.

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