1st time on Celebrity, 1st time to Alaska. Review of Southbound Millennium cruise

Let me start this review by saying we loved Alaska and all that we saw there. I have been wanting to take an Alaskan cruise for several years now. Actually had 2 cruises booked before but had to postpone them. So glad we finally made it this year.

This was our first time on Celebrity (we’ve only sailed Royal Caribbean) and there were things we liked and things we didn’t. I’ll cover those as we go along. I'm going to break this up into several posts since it is fairly long.

We flew to Anchorage Alaska on Thursday, June 2. Had no issues with our flights and the Seattle airport was a nice place to hang out in between flights. We flew on Alaska Airlines which we don’t usually fly but they were excellent. We took a cab to our hotel in Anchorage, the Voyager Inn. I picked this hotel because it was near the downtown Hertz location. My original plan was to do the one-way car rental and drive ourselves down to Seward. However, it was too expensive so we ended up doing the shuttle bus that had the 1 hour stop at the Wildlife Center.

The hotel was fine for a one night stay. The breakfast offerings were good and the afternoon wine/happy hour was appreciated as well. The staff there were very friendly and it was in a good location for walking around the downtown area. We had wanted to go to Glacier Brewhouse for dinner but they were booked and we were hungry so we walked down to Humphy’s. It was only ok. More of a sports bar and it was loud because Game 1 of the NBA finals was on.

We woke up early the next morning (time change) and decided to rent bikes and ride along the water path. We had a beautiful morning and really enjoyed the mostly flat, paved trail. If you have time in Anchorage, I would definitely recommend doing this.

We were to meet our shuttle at noon (it was closer to 1pm) for the ride down to Seward. I was a little nervous but contacted them and they assured me that they were coming. To be fair, the info says you have to be ready at noon but they make several stops and it could be any time between noon and 1pm. It would have been nicer to have a 30 minute window to wait. We sat out in the hot sun for an hour which didn’t seem necessary. Anyway, the bus ride was nice and the guide was very informative. We stopped at Beluga Point for pictures. There was a moose on side of the road at Potter’s Marsh but I didn’t see him.

I picked this shuttle primarily because of the Wildlife Center. I felt like an hour was enough time to see everything (bears, moose, eagle, reindeer and other animals). The ride did get a little long towards the end. We were anxious to arrive and board the ship!

Embarkation was fast and easy. It is unusual for us to board the ship so late (usually we board early). It was nice to be able to go straight to the room for a change. I had originally booked a Concierge Classroom (because we needed the extra room for 3 people, not because of the Concierge benefits). However, after final payment, I was browsing the Celebrity website and saw that an Aft Family Verandah (7204) was available so I switched to that room. I’m so glad I did! The aft balcony was great (especially for Hubbard Glacier) and the extra space in the cabin was wonderful. Our cabin attendant did a great job for us.

We set out to explore the ship. Our last cruise was on the Oasis of the Seasso this ship definitely felt smaller (which was a nice thing). I really liked that there were 3 elevatorbanks. We never had to wait long for an elevator but being on Deck 7, we took the stairs most of the time. The ship layout reminds me of the Radiance class of RCCL. The Millennium is showing her age a little bit, but overall she is a pretty ship and was in good shape.

We had Select Dining for this trip and I had made reservations for 6:30 each night. I was glad I had done so because there was a line of people waiting each night that had not made reservations. We showed up each night between 6 and 6:30 and was always seated right away. I loved the large window in the dining room and being able to see out while eating. The service and the food for the week was so-so. We had 2 nights with good service and the rest was sub-par. I would have liked to sit in the same section each night but that didn’t happen. We sat at a table with other folks one night which was nice for a change but otherwise it was just the 3 of us.

I know food is subjective but I was expecting better than Royal which I don’t feel is the case. The family did agree that it was nice to see a different menu (we’ve seen the same one on Royal over and over). We found the serving sizes on the starters and salads to be small so started ordering 2 each night. The portion size for the entrees seemed fine. We did feel that the service was lacking, mainly in the personal attention or just general personal interaction with the staff. The sommelier however was very nice and took care of my wine each night which was great.

Day 2: Hubbard Glacier

This was primarily a Sea Day and then we arrived at Hubbard Glacier around 2pm. It was cloudy and rainy which was a bummer. However, it was clear enough to go to the glacier which was fabulous! This is where having the back balcony paid off. We stood on Deck 11 at the front to watch the approach into Hubbard. Once he started turning, we went down to our cabin and watched the rest from there. We saw the glacier calve several times which was amazing. The captain did the full turn and then ½ again so we were facing the glacier as we sailed away. This was the coldest, wettest day we had. Definitely needed gloves, hat,scarves, long johns, etc for this day. The Celebrity umbrella in our cabin was handy on the balcony. Later that evening, it cleared up and the views were incredible with the blue sky and the snow covered mountains.

Day 3: Juneau

I booked the Juneau Sled Dog Discovery &Musher's Camp excursion through an independent tour vendor which wasn’t scheduled until 3pm. My plan was to go up the Mt Roberts tram in the morning if the weather was clear,eat some crab for lunch, and then meet our tour at 3 pm. Luckily for us the weather was clear enough so we headed out and went up the tram around 10am. We did the small hike on the back side which was pretty and saw the eagle and the other sights. It was very enjoyable and I’m glad we did this. There weren’t too many people up there that early in the morning so if you have a late afternoon excursion, this is a good thing to do for a few hours. We came back down and went to Tracy’s Crab shack and had some excellent crab legs… yumyum.

We met our tour for dog sledding around 2:45. We took a small shuttle bus over to Douglas Island and went up the road near the ski area. This was a fun excursion, booked mainly because my 13 yo daughter loves dogs and wanted to do it. I didn’t want to pay for the helicopter/glacier dog sledding since we had picked several other pricey excursions. The guides were informative and the dogs were adorable (especially the puppies). The actually ride wasn’t very long and I’m not sure it was totally worth the price we paid. However, it was a nice outing.

Day 4: Skagway

I booked Dyea Dave’s Emerald Lake tour with the train ride back down from Frasier. This was a long,but very enjoyable day. Saskia was our guide and she was wonderful. Informative, down to earth but didn’t over do on the talking either. We pulled over multiple times for picture shots. We saw 4 bears, a black bear, a mom and her cub, and then a brown bear (which was really a black bear) later. She circled back so we could see that one as one of the people in our van spotted it. We also saw a marmot, grouse, and deer. The scenery is gorgeous and the shuttle van was comfortable. We stopped in Carcross for lunch. I will say the lunch selection at the bakery was minimal (pre-made sandwiches and 2 types of soup).There is another restaurant (Bistro) that we could have gone to but it was expensive. We did have an hour in Carcross to walk around.

We opted to pay for the train ride back to Skagway. Saskia made sure we were there on time and took care of getting us on the train (the whole Dyea Dave group rode back in the same car). The train ride was enjoyable and I’m glad we did it for just one way. I would definitely recommend this tour!

Day 5: Icy StraitPoint (Hoonah)

I booked whale watching with Misty Lodge and was very happy with my decision here. We had a small group (16 people) with a guide and the boat captain. It was more than I could have imagined. I thought we might see a few whales in the distance, maybe a tail here or there but we saw so much more than that. We found a group of 4 whales and stayed with them for most of the time. We saw 2 of them breach in the distance before we got to them. They did bubble feeding twice and a few of them came up within 10-15 feet of our boat. Amazing! Captain Dan seemed to know exactly where they would be going and we always seemed to be in the best location to see them (compared to the other boats around us). This was the highlight of our trip for me! I know a lot of people do the whale watching in Juneau but I think this is the better location. In fact our guide had just come down from Juneau and said we saw much more than they had been seeing around there.

Day 6: Ketchikan

I booked a 2 hour float plane ride with Island Wings. This was another great excursion. We were so lucky with the weather, partly sunny with calm winds. Michelle said they had to cancel a few days earlier due to wind and were expecting rain the next day. The plane ride was smoother than I expected. I was worried it might be bumpy and make me nauseous but that wasn’t the case. We saw beautiful mountains, fjords,waterfalls and lakes. She landed at one point and we got out for some photos. This was an expensive excursion but definitely worth it.

After our plane ride, we walked back into town and had lunch at Annabelle’s based on Michelle’s recommendation. It was very good. We also wandered around the town doing some shopping and sightseeing. My daughter was thrilled to find a shirt she wanted for less than she had seen it elsewhere. She was also on a mission to get a postcard from each place we visited which she accomplished.

Day 7: Sea Day

This was a grey, gloomy, rainy day. Couldn’t see anything so that was disappointing. We did some activities on the ship (trivia, wine tasting, and swimming). Started the dreaded packing up to leave the next day.

Things we liked about our cruise on Millennium:

1. 1. Welcome champagne. They also had water and hot chocolate eachtime we came back to the ship which was very nice.
   
2. Ship layout – the 3 banks of elevators was very nice. Never had to wait although we tried to use the stairs most of the time
   
3. Teen club activities – my daughter did attend a few of these and had fun.
   
4. Family swim time in Solarium. We took advantage of this several times. The warm pool was very welcoming after being out in the cold. The hot tubs in the Solarium were actually hot!
   
5. Free scoops of ice cream. Much better than the soft serve on Royal Caribbean.
   
6. Buffet – breakfast was good. Loved the eggs Benedict and omelets made to order. We did try it for lunch one day and didn’t find much except the made to order Pasta bar. Never ate here for dinner.
   

Things we felt could have been better:

1. Afternoon snacks – we missed having a venue like Café Promenade to pick up a small sandwich or a slice of pizza. The options in the buffet were just not as good. The only other option was cookies or pastries a Café Al Bacio. Not sure if it was the weather or itinerary but the pool grill was only open once and the food area in the Solarium was never open.
   
2. Dining room – as previously mentioned, service and food weren’t as good as we’ve had before. Lunch in dining room was not good either. My husband ordered Pad Thai and then they brought something else and said they were out. There didn’t seem to be a good selection for lunch.
   
3. Specialty Restaurants – we enjoyed Qsine. That was a fun experience and the food and service were good. Sushi on 5 was just ok – they were out of some menu items here as well. We got 20% off so that helped. Tuscan Grill was too expensive for what we got. The steaks were ok but we didn’t care for the pasta or my veal dish. We weren’t going to do Tuscan Grill but after having bad experiences in dining room decided to try it on the last night.
   

Overall, our Celebrity cruise experience was good, just not great. The entertainment was ok (saw 3 shows). Had fun at trivia and karaoke.We only heard the naturalist at the opening show but I heard he was excellent. We heard so much about Alaska on our excursions we didn’t feel the need to go hear more. The energy level compared to Royal is definitely a little lower which is fine. However, when traveling with our daughter, we would definitely go back to Royal. I would consider trying a Solstice class ship if it is just my husband and myself and an itinerary we haven’t done before.

However, Alaska was all that I thought it would be and more. I would recommend that everyone go to Alaska at least once to see the beauty and wildlife.

Thank you for your objective review.

We also liked our Alaska cruise before!

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things we liked about our cruise on millennium:

1. family swim time in solarium. We took advantage of this several times. The warm pool was very welcoming after being out in the cold. The hot tubs in the solarium were actually hot!
   

Mom to CCC.. can you give some more information about family swim time in the solarium pool? Did they post the hours the kids could use the pool? Did anyone use the outdoor pools? We are traveling in July and I am thinking it's too cold to swim outdoors. Glad they allow family time in what is probably the only usable pool.

Mom to CCC.. can you give some more information about family swim time in the solarium pool? Did they post the hours the kids could use the pool? Did anyone use the outdoor pools? We are traveling in July and I am thinking it's too cold to swim outdoors. Glad they allow family time in what is probably the only usable pool.

Family swim time was everyday from 4pm - 7pm. The sign was clearly posted in the Solarium. We did use the hot tub in the outside area on a sunny day. My daughter even jumped in the regular pool but it was too cold.

Thanks for your review, we loved Alaska too, although we were on the Solstice. Question about the Aqua Spa Cafe...you stated that it was closed your entire trip, was it under renovation or something? I've never heard of it being closed before and we've enjoyed many lunches and the odd breakfast there.

Thanks for your review, we loved Alaska too, although we were on the Solstice. Question about the Aqua Spa Cafe...you stated that it was closed your entire trip, was it under renovation or something? I've never heard of it being closed before and we've enjoyed many lunches and the odd breakfast there.

It didn't look like it was being renovated or anything. I really have no idea why it wasn't being used, or I just missed it if it was.

Thanks for the review we are going at the end of august. Any shows or comedy worthy of note?

Thanks for the review we are going at the end of august. Any shows or comedy worthy of note?

The shows we had (which may not be the same for you) were "Not 3 Tenors" which I didn't stay until the end. I was just too tired.

There was a singer, Marcus Tyrell (not sure on last name) that was very good. Then we had a duo that did some comedy and Cirque de Soleil type acrobatics. They were ok. We were supposed to have another outside act but his plane was cancelled. We did not go to any of the Celebrity production shows.

Could you provide the name of the shuttle service you used from Anchorage to Seward please? Thanks LuAnn

thank you for your review. I'm going on Millie in July. This will be my 3rd time on her. I'm disappointed to hear about the subpar service though.

Charlie

Just a note for future reference on the M class ships. In the afternoon, around 2-3 o'clock, the Aqua Spa cafe does put out a very nice spread of afternoon snacks that includes fresh baked cookies, finger sandwiches, etc.

Thanks for the review.

We took the Millenium in May from Yokohama to Vancouver as it repositioned for the summer season in Alaska, and really enjoyed it. We had an Aqua Class cabin, which entitled us to dine in BLU every night, any time we wanted. For what it's worth, we thought the food was excellent.

Last Summer we took the Solstice roundtrip from Seattle to Alaska, and ate in the MDR. We too thought the good was subpar, hence our decision to upgrade to Aqua Class. For us it paid off!

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Sorry...typo..."food" not "good"!

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Thanks for the review, very informative!

Can you expand more on the naturalist lecture offerings and did they have other Alaska specific entertainment? Also was there any Alaskan food offered in the buffets and/or MDR?

I'm trying to figure out whether X w/Select Captain's Club benefits or Princess w/no status would be a better suggestion for some fam to sail Alaska next year.

Very nice review, thanks for sharing your trip with us. Do you have any pictures of your family aft verandah?

We, along with friends, are on Millie southbound in July and look forward to it very much.

Thank you for your review...

bon voyage

Thanks for your thoughts! I was on the northbound sailing that ended when you got on for southbound. I've mostly sailed Royal Caribbean as well, however a few NCL and CCL thrown in. I prefer Royal or NCL these days. I'm not sure what I was expecting going into it, but I do feel like it was lacking slightly.

I loved the itinerary, we had great weather for all of our port days and only light rain for the Hubbard Glacier. The ship was okay. I thought it was nice. In my opinion, the layout is slightly better than Royal's Radiance class as far as use of public space . I loved the 3 elevator banks.

I agree that the food was a little disappointing. I too am tired of the same Royal menus, however Celebrity was actually on par with their food. It wasn't amazing, just fine. Service was definitely slow in the MDR, minus the sommelier, he was great!! I did Celebrity Select and made no reservations, ate 4x at 5:30, 2x at 8:30 (got a pager for lobster night) and then once at Qsine, which was worth it for 30% off the first time.

I liked the small touches from Celebrity, like the better drink service in the bars, the welcome Champagne, the rose and chocolates in the room, but I definitely wouldn't pay a premium for the product.

Thanks for the review, very informative!

 

Can you expand more on the naturalist lecture offerings and did they have other Alaska specific entertainment? Also was there any Alaskan food offered in the buffets and/or MDR?

 

I'm trying to figure out whether X w/Select Captain's Club benefits or Princess w/no status would be a better suggestion for some fam to sail Alaska next year.

The naturalist gave several lectures. He gave a quick intro talk during the welcome show the first night. The first one on Alaskan wildlife, one on stargazing, and another on Volcanoes and Glaciers. He may have done another but those are the ones I remember.

They offered a special Alaskan crab/seafood lunch in one of the specialty restaurants (for a fee) a couple of times during the week.

Very nice review, thanks for sharing your trip with us. Do you have any pictures of your family aft verandah?

I have a couple:

Here is back part of room which has 2 sofas

https://pix.sfly.com/JUeXMD

Here is the front half which has main bedroom, bathroom and closet. It is a great room, lots of storage

https://pix.sfly.com/Xrbvg7

Here is balcony

https://pix.sfly.com/6JYoQf