Trip Report: Millennium from Seward to Vancouver

My husband, daughter, and I recently returned from about 2 1/2 weeks in Alaska. We flew into Fairbanks, then visited Denali, Anchorage, and Seward, before cruising to Vancouver. I posted about our land trip here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2524483

This post is about the cruise portion of our trip. Thank you to everyone who provided tips on these boards to help our trip go smoothly. I kept the dailies and would be happy to attempt answer any questions that anyone might have.

Cruise Day 1: Embarkation in Seward

We stayed at the Hotel Seward until the 11:00 am checkout time. The hotel shuttle took us to the cruise port. (After checking into the hotel, ask to reserve the shuttle. They have a clipboard where you can sign up for transportation to the train depot or the cruise port.). The shuttle driver took our bags, which already had our cruise tags on them, and dropped the bags off after dropping us at the terminal. We saw them again when they were delivered to our room that afternoon.

We had reserved a Celebrity Suite (9096) on the Millennium from Seward to Vancouver. At the port, we were directed through a very short line to get our SeaPass cards. We had done online check-in, and had our Express Pass, so we just had to show our passports and our credit card and we were ready to board.

We were escorted through security, onto the ship, and into Michael’s Club, where Denny, the concierge, immediately welcomed us and made us feel at home. During that visit, he confirmed a dining reservation that had been made in advance by the shoreside concierge, arranged for a spa appointment at the exact date and time I requested, explained the suite perks (especially Michael’s Club and Luminae) and took the time to get to know us a bit before he moved on to greet other guests. Later in the cruise, he helped us cancel an excursion, sent a bottle of wine to our room, and recognized and greeted us around the ship, not just in Michael's Club. He was excellent.

We then headed to lunch in Luminae. Here, I really must give *HUGE* shoutout to the staff of Luminae. The rest of our cruise was great, but Luminae is what made it exceptional. Fernando runs a wonderful restaurant, with attention to every detail. Leonardo paired excellent wines with each course at dinner, and delighted my teenage daughter with heart-shaped straw wrappers on her sodas. James, Bogdan, Lorendo, Uttan, and Rolando took care of us with friendly, professional, service. They anticipated every need, accommodated special requests, and carefully maintained awareness off my husband's food allergies.

By the time we had finished lunch, an announcement had been made that cabins were ready. We made our way to deck 9, and found 9096. The suite was very spacious, and met the needs of our family very well. The ship is not new, but the room is nicely appointed. The beds were comfortable, though my daughter told me on the last day that, in certain positions, she could sometimes feel something hard in the fold-out couch. I'm confident that if she had told me sooner, we could have arranged for a topper or something, but at that point I figured that if she had survived 6 nights, she could manage a 7th.

Ronald, our butler, was very attentive. He took care of a couple of minor maintenance issues when they arose, served breakfast and tea sandwiches in our room when requested, and made us feel special by offering some "extras" like complimentary laundry service in the middle of the cruise, soda and water for our minibar, without charge, and chocolates and a bottle of on the second evening chic night.

IMade, our cabin steward, was friendly when we saw him, but was usually invisible, in a very positive way. By that, I mean that he was in and out of the room quickly and efficiently, He replaced towels, set up our daughter's bed each evening and closed it up each morning, replaced toiletries as needed, and kept the room in good condition.

General cabin maintenance (unrelated to the service provided by our butler and cabin attendant) could be better. The ship isn't new, and I expect some level of wear and tear, but one of the hooks on the the bathroom door (9096) was useless because it was missing the outer part that keeps things from sliding off. The cover for the drain in the cabin floor kept coming off. It was easy to slide it back in place, but a little caulk might keep it there on its own. We mentioned a couple of things that affected our experience, and they were fixed, but we didn't want to keep pointing things out, so if we could ignore it, we let it go.

There were only two requests that we brought to our butler’s attention that he was unable to help with. He communicated clearly with us about them, so this is not a complaint about his service, but rather a suggestion for the cruise line in general. First, with three of us in the cabin, and a nice long balcony, we hoped to be able to acquire a third chair for the balcony. Ronald told us that he brought the request to Denny and it went all the way up to the captain, and it couldn't be done. With his approval, we used the desk chair as a backup, but it would be nice if that policy could be more flexible. Also, upon embarkation, we couldn't find binoculars in our room. When we asked, we were told the people in our cabin the cruise before us took the binoculars with them. Hopefully, this is unusual, but I was surprised that a replacement couldn't be found. It might be a good idea for Celebrity to stock a few extras on the ship so that incoming guests aren't disappointed because of the actions of the guests before them. Fortunately, we had packed two pairs of our own, but had thought the pair that should have been provided would allow each of us to use a pair at the Hubbard Glacier, etc.

I should also mention that, though no one’s fault, this suite is not a quiet one. We rarely heard noise from the hall or the adjoining cabins, with the exception being squealing from water pipes when a shower was being run. However, the cabin is under the pool deck, so we often heard footsteps, chairs dragging, etc. Though noticeable, it did not ruin the experience. We originally booked a Sky Suite, and upgraded to this Celebrity Suite when it was priced just a few hundred dollars more than we had already paid. 9096 was the only CS available at that time, and, if given the chance again, we would make the same decision. It did not wake us up or keep us from sleeping, and my husband is not a heavy sleeper.

There was a wonderful barista at Cafe al Bacio. We did not catch his name, but he was always smiling and/or singing, and provided excellent service with a fun flair.

Milos, the naturalist, did a great job with his presentations. We found them entertaining and informative.

My daughter was really pleased with the first evening of the teen program. After dinner, she went up to the X Club, met a new friend from Norway, and did some arts and crafts. The next day was a sea day, and she connected with the friend again for a little while. After that, she lost interest in the activities the club was offering. In her words, they centered around video games. I'm sure that was not entirely true, as I know there was a talent show, pool Olympics, etc., but my book worm/crafter/dancer/musician ended up deciding that we were more fun than the teen program.

We enjoyed a lot of the evening entertainment. The Celebrity singers and dancers did a great job, a guest performer by the name of Jesse Hamilton, Jr. had the crowd in his hand, and the acrobatic act had my daughter mesmerized. We also enjoyed the live music around the ship - for example, a cello/violin duo, a guitarist, and individual singers accompanied by a small group of instrumentalists.

In Juneau, we did a Celebrity Shore Excursion - the Whale Watching and Mendenhall Glacier Photo Safari. It is very accurately described by Celebrity as follows:

“Take a specialty excursion with an Alaska naturalist photographer and board a safari vessel for a journey to beautiful Stephens Passage. Begin capturing Alaska’s “magical moments” at Mendenhall Glacier, where you’ll walk along a scenic rainforest trail, encountering a variety of amazing wildlife to inspire your creativity. Then, by sea, capture shots of humpback whales and other incredible marine creatures as you journey through the pristine waterways of Stephens Passage.”

Our guide, Kristen, was really wonderful. She was knowledgeable, funny, and warm. She talked about the plants we were seeing, the wildlife we saw, and about photography. On the water, we saw humpback whales, sea lions, and birds. On our hike we saw a porcupine. The group ranged from a young girl (age 8?) through adults with a lot of experience with photography. Kristen interacted with everyone at their own level.She also had a nice rapport with the captain of the whale-watching boat, Jen, who was also really good. We were glad that we had booked this excursion.

Cruise Day 4: Skagway

We booked a hike and river float with Skagway Float Tours. Our guide met us right at the dock, and we rode in a van to the starting point of our hike. As advertised, the two-mile hike was pretty challenging. The first half was a lot of up and down, climbing over rocks and roots. The company does offer the opportunity to call another guide to lead you on a more mild walk if desired. The hike ended at the launch site for the rafting trip on the Taiya River. The raft was large enough for the group of 12. Seating was primarily around the outside edge of the raft, making some seats less comfortable because you were sitting at an angle. However, the whole float trip was only about 45 minutes long, so that wasn't a big problem. At the end of the float, the company met us with some snacks - individualy packaged salmon jerky, granola bars, individually wrapped sticks of cheese, and some tubes of Ritz crackers. The guide then took us back to the ship, with the option of being dropped in town instead.

At the time that we booked our cruise, the cruise fare for suites included one dinner in a specialty restaurant. Even though that has changed, they honored it, so we chose to have dinner at Q-Sine. It was a fun meal, and the food was good, but in the same situation, I'm not sure that I'd choose to give up a night in Luminae for any of the specialty restaurants that are currently onboard.

Cruise Day 5: Icy Strait Point

We had planned on doing a ship’s excursion (A Whale and Marine Mammals Cruise) but we had had successful whale watches on our DIY land tour and in Juneau, and we were ready for a day “off” so, 24-hours ahead of time, we asked Denny (Michael’s club concierge)to cancel that for us. We enjoyed the ship, including going to a rooftop movie. Hidden Figures was showing. It was raining lightly, but we spread pool towels on the slightly damp seats, and covered up with the blankets that were provided around the pool, and had a great time.

Cruise Day 6: Ketchikan

We started our day with the Historic Ketchikan Trolley tour. Our driver, who was really funny, took us through Ketchikan to Saxman Native Village, where we learned a little bit about how the totems were made and had the opportunity to take pictures and visit the gift shop before heading back to the ship. On the return, the trolley stopped at Creek Street for anyone who wanted to get off there, then returned to the ship for anyone who prefered to get off there.

I got off at Creek Street to do a little shopping. I had also made an appointment well in advance for a massage at Peace at Hand Massage. It was much less expensive that a massage on board, and Suzanne was wonderful!

Meanwhile, my husband and and daughter returned to the ship, had a quick lunch in the Oceanview Cafe, and headed off on the Mountain Point Snorkeling Adventure. A shuttle bus took them to the snorkeling shop, where they suited up. Wetsuits, hoods, masks, etc. were provided. Weight belts were offered. They were then transported to the snorkeling location where they walked into the water and sat on some rocks to finish putting on their gear. They said that after the initial shock of the cold (55 degree) water, it was very comfortable because the thin layer of water inside the suit was warmed quickly by their bodies. The guides found sea cucumbers and sea stars, and brought them to the surface for the participants to see. While snorkeling, they could see kelp and fish. It was a good experience for beginners.

Cruise Day 7: Inside Passage (Cruising)

Our online cruise reservation indicated that this was our 20th anniversary. In addition, on embarkation day, the Michael’s club concierge confirmed the date of that occasion. Our butler wished us a happy anniversary when he saw us that morning. That was the only recognition of the day that we received. I guess if I'm honest, I found that a little disappointing. It's not that we actually needed little cake or anything, as we had plenty of options, but I wasn't sure why they made such a point of asking about and confirming the special occasion if there wasn't going to be some recognition of it. However, there were far too many good things to let that even begin to spoil our day.

The evening entertainment was a pair of talented aerialists. While our daughter enjoyed that, from our balcony, we watched a pod of dolphins leaping out of the water. We packed and put our bags in the hallway before the 10:00 deadline.

Cruise Day 8: DIsembark in Vancouver

We had breakfast in Luminae. It was the only time during the cruise that we had to wait for a table, but we weren't in a hurry to get off the ship, so it didn't matter. In retrospect, we should have brought our last few things with us to breakfast, out of consideration for our stateroom attendant. Because we waited almost 30-minutes for a table, we didn't get back to our cabin until almost 8:00, and it was about 8:10 before we were ready to leave. They have such a tight schedule on turnaround day, but he was really nice about it. As suite guests, we were permitted to leave at any time. We didn't want to fight the crowds any more than we had to, so we went to Michael’s club and relaxed until almost 9:00. Then we walked off, found our bags, and caught a cab to our hotel.

We spent one night at the Vancouver Marriott Pinnacle Downtown. They were able to check us in and give us our room right away, which was amazing. We then took a cab to the Vancouver Aquarium, which was very enjoyable. We had lunch at the aquarium’s cafe in the middle of our visit.

That night, we walked to the Cactus Club Café for dinner, which was very nice. We had a table by the window, overlooking the water.

The next morning, we took a cab to the airport. US Customs happened at the Vancouver airport, so we didn't have anything to do once we arrived back in the US.

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Thanks for your review, we sail in 3 weeks in a royal suite. Was this your 1st time in a suite on Celebrity? Glad to hear Denny was as you expected but it is disappointing to hear about your anniversary. How was the food in Luminae?

We had previously sailed once in a Sky Suite, but that was before Luminae existed and before Michael's Club access was extended to all suites. So this was our first time experiencing all of these perks.

We thought the food and presentation in Luminae were excellent. We would usually stroll by the main dining room on our way to dinner so that we could have an idea of what was on that menu. Though we were never handed a main dining room menu, if we asked for something from it, the request was always honored. For example, my daughter wanted escargot every night and it was happily provided. I would not choose to dine elsewhere on the Millennium, unless the novelty of QSine appealed. However, we didn't try Tuscan Grille. It just didn't appeal to us.

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Thank you for your detailed review.

A great review and glad you enjoyed the evening entertainment. My daughter is currently working on board Millennium in that area so I will pass onto her your positive comments.

My husband, daughter, and I recently returned from about 2 1/2 weeks in Alaska. We flew into Fairbanks, then visited Denali, Anchorage, and Seward, before cruising to Vancouver. .....

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We boarded the Millennium on July 14th in Seward for a B2B pair (Seward to Vancouver and then back to Seward). Were we possibly on the same cruise? We had driven down to Seward to spend a few days, left our vehicle in the long-term parking lot located about a five minute walk from the cruise terminal, and also boarded shortly after 11 AM. When we walked into Michael's Club Denny was talking to a family of three (wife, husband and daughter) but when he saw us he walked over to say hi and give me a hug. When he returned to the family he said something to the effect that repeat Celebrity cruisers are part of a family (the past few years we have spent between 60 to 90 days on a Celebrity ship each year).

We had originally booked one leg and added the second leg at a later date, so were in two different Sky Suites. We had the same butler, but different stateroom attendants. If we were on the same cruise with the OP I would essentially agree with the comments.

We spent thirty nights on the Infinity last spring, again in a Sky Suite and a Celebrity Suite as the legs were booked at different times. I will add that despite the fact that the Millennium is the oldest of the M-class ships my husband and I both thought that the interior of the Millennium was in better condition than the Infinity. For example, the MC chairs on the Millennium were in better shape as was the carpet in the walkways through the casino. In both of those Millennium Sky Suites the drawers rolled closed with no effort, and the closet doors also properly closed. That Celebrity Suite on the Infinity had suffered some rough treatment by one or more prior occupants.

Thanks for your review, we sail in 3 weeks in a royal suite. Was this your 1st time in a suite on Celebrity? Glad to hear Denny was as you expected but it is disappointing to hear about your anniversary. How was the food in Luminae?

In 2015, approximately six months after the introduction of Luminae, we were on a cruise in which the Luminae experience was less than stellar. Every time since we have been extremely pleased. On first leg from Seward to Vancouver we actually had a group of thirty (yes -- 30 passengers in 15 suites). Despite the smaller Luminae size on a M-class ship (as compared to the size on a S-class ship) the Millennium Maitre 'D handled this group with no disruptions to the rest of the suite passengers. On our second leg from Vancouver to Seward we had an extended family of 12, and again this group was handled well.

These Alaska itineraries are not port intensive, but we do a number of trans-Pacific and trans-Atlantic itineraries so those old three lunch menus sometimes were so repetitive. When we spent a month on the Infinity this past spring we heard about the new additional lunch menus to expand the rotation, but didn't see one. The lunch menu on the turnaround day in Vancouver was one of the new menus, and we were pleased with the offerings.

We boarded the Millennium on July 14th in Seward for a B2B pair (Seward to Vancouver and then back to Seward). Were we possibly on the same cruise? We had driven down to Seward to spend a few days, left our vehicle in the long-term parking lot located about a five minute walk from the cruise terminal, and also boarded shortly after 11 AM. When we walked into Michael's Club Denny was talking to a family of three (wife, husband and daughter) but when he saw us he walked over to say hi and give me a hug. When he returned to the family he said something to the effect that repeat Celebrity cruisers are part of a family (the past few years we have spent between 60 to 90 days on a Celebrity ship each year).

 

 

 

We had originally booked one leg and added the second leg at a later date, so were in two different Sky Suites. We had the same butler, but different stateroom attendants. If we were on the same cruise with the OP I would essentially agree with the comments.

 

 

 

We spent thirty nights on the Infinity last spring, again in a Sky Suite and a Celebrity Suite as the legs were booked at different times. I will add that despite the fact that the Millennium is the oldest of the M-class ships my husband and I both thought that the interior of the Millennium was in better condition than the Infinity. For example, the MC chairs on the Millennium were in better shape as was the carpet in the walkways through the casino. In both of those Millennium Sky Suites the drawers rolled closed with no effort, and the closet doors also properly closed. That Celebrity Suite on the Infinity had suffered some rough treatment by one or more prior occupants.

That was us! :-) I remember when you arrived, and how excited Denny was to see you! I'm glad you had a good cruise, too!

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Thanks for the report.

Thank you for the great review. What nights were the evening chic nights and any special dishes at Luminae you can recommend

Evening chic nights were nights 2 and 6.

On the second sea day, Luminae had a crab cake sandwich on the lunch menu, as well as a petit filet. I asked if the crab cake could be plated as an appetizer, prior to the filet. Our waiter highly approved of the request and made it happen.

For dinner, my husband is more adventurous than I. I enjoyed a filet mignon one night, a delicious lobster tail another evening, and excellent chicken on a third night. My husband often ordered fish, and was always pleased.

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g - we were on this flight and thought it was terrific! While we were in a standard verandah, had friends in CS who had challenges with some strange odor emanating from their bathroom for most of the sailing.

I spoke with Denny who did all he could do each morning to mitigate the issue. Kudos to him, even though my friends were not happy with that aspect of X, they did enjoy the sailing (usually Crystal sailors) .

Thank you for your review...

bon voyage

I'm sorry to hear of the situation in your friends' bathroom. I am grateful that we did not have the same situation.

I am glad to hear that you all enjoyed the cruise, anyway!

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Thanks for the review. We're leaving on the reverse of this cruise next Friday.

Enjoyed your review and thank you fro sharing your cruise with us.

Thank you for your review! We were aboard the Millennium about 5 weeks ago (Vancouver to Seward). Our experience in Luminae was also outstanding. We have been in Luminae on several previous cruises but the Millennium staff was heads above what we experienced before. Jana, the bartender in Michaels was also wonderful and made the cruise exceptional for our group of two couples. We were also in a Celebrity Suite and echo your sentiments about general maintenance. However, our main issue was the bathtub height which is hazardous to get into and out of. Had my parents (who weren't on this cruise) been in this cabin they would have had to shower somewhere else.

Thank you for your review! We were aboard the Millennium about 5 weeks ago (Vancouver to Seward). Our experience in Luminae was also outstanding. We have been in Luminae on several previous cruises but the Millennium staff was heads above what we experienced before. Jana, the bartender in Michaels was also wonderful and made the cruise exceptional for our group of two couples. We were also in a Celebrity Suite and echo your sentiments about general maintenance. However, our main issue was the bathtub height which is hazardous to get into and out of. Had my parents (who weren't on this cruise) been in this cabin they would have had to shower somewhere else.

Excellent point about the bathtub. It wasn't an issue for us and so it didn't stick in my mind. But yes, climbing into it would be difficult for anyone with any mobility issues.

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Thanks for taking time to review trip. we spend time near Seward (on the coast) and just love it up there.

I think its cute that they told you they talked to the captain about getting you an additional deck chair!

Glad you had great trip!

We have only had suite once on ship (summit) and I'm 6'4" and I found the tub to be dangerous getting out of!

I think its cute that they told you they talked to the captain about getting you an additional deck chair!

Yes, that made me laugh a little, too. :)

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