BruinBuckeye

Love your review, Lia!  We will be sailing on the Millennium for the first time in March.  Our 1st Celebrity voyage.  It's a 7-day itinerary out of San Juan - Tortola, St. Maarten, Dominica, Barbados & Grenada.  We haven't been to any of the ports except San Juan, so it will be nice to see some new places we could potentially return to later...

We're kind of pale folks, so it's a mixture of beach time (in the shade!) and hiking/walking for us...  Did some nice hikes on a recent visit to St. John, USVI - lovely trails there.  As far as shipboard activities go, we kind of like to do our own thing.  I'm neutral on shows - have seen some good & some not.  How were the activities on the Millennium?  Any favorites or duds?

Thanks again for the amazing review!  Glad you had fun!  🙂

Thank you for the replies!  I realize my questions were not very specific.  What are your thoughts about the various restaurants on the Millennium?  Are the specialty restaurants worth the extra expense?  How is the Main Dining Room food?  Any shows you've especially enjoyed?

I feel like we haven't cruised in forever, but we were on Viking Kvasir (river ship) in June!  A completely different but very enjoyable experience...  Happy Cruising!

Hello fellow cruisers,

My husband & I will be taking our first Celebrity voyage on board the Millennium in March.  We decided to throw caution to the wind & book a Royal Suite.  I've researched the amenities included, but I'm wondering if any more experienced Celebrity cruisers would have any "insider" information that might be helpful.  Anything about the Millennium that might be helpful to know beforehand?  I didn't see a roll call yet, but will check again... 

Our previous cruise experience consists of several Princess trips, 1 Crystal cruise, 1 Viking Ocean cruise & 1 Viking River cruise.  

We had a fair amount of on board credit which I used to book a few excursions in Tortola, St. Maarten, Dominica & Barbados. What do you all think of the various dining options including Luminae & Blu? 

Thank you in advance for your assistance!

BruinBuckeye (aka Leslie)

Dauntless, thanks for the good information on finding a TA, etc.!  I understand it can be a highly subjective thing according to one's own preferences.  We didn't use our previous agent again as she was retired.  I'm sure some agents can "overmanage" as well.  We are not expert cruisers and, hence, look to others to help us in making decisions. We kind of know Princess as we've had 6 cruises with them, but we're looking to branch out to a slightly higher end product & avoid upselling, nickel & diming, etc.  

I agree that this thread has lots of good information!  We are off on our first Viking Ocean cruise in July on the Star (Mediterranean).  I used a TA recommended by a friend, but I'm not satisfied she has done a great job.  No miracles expected here, but we didn't receive any OBC or other perks.  I asked & she said they weren't offering deals.  We received a small discount by paying our balance via e-check.  That's it.

We've been on other cruises, mostly with Princess (booked through a previous agent), and received some OBC and specialty restaurant dinners (not included on Princess). 

My question is, does anyone have any pointers/advice on how to find a good cruise specialist TA?  I know we can't name names on Cruise Critic, but how would I go about finding someone reputable & fair?  Again, we don't expect special treatment, just the benefit of the TA's experience...

Thanks,

Leslie

Hello,

I noticed a photo of a frosty glass of beer in your first post!  🙂  Hubby is a craft beer aficionado, and we were wondering about craft beer selections aboard Viking Ocean cruises.  We're off on the Star in July for our first Viking Mediterranean cruise...  Do they have a decent list of beers?  Also, any mixed drinks not included, right?  Just beer/wine during mealtime hours?

Thanks in advance,

Leslie

Hi all,

A quick question about the Chef's Table - we are off on our first VO cruise in July & I'm looking at making reservations soon.  I saw some sample CT menus on My Viking Journey.  The Asian one looked interesting; didn't much fancy the Italian theme (I think that's what it was).   🙂  Also, there seems to be a "foam fixation" as it is featured in at least a few dishes!  Ha ha...

My question is:  should we go for it at Chef'sTable?  I'm worried we won't like it & I'd feel embarrassed getting up & leaving...I know there are more menus that just the 2 I mentioned above...  Any advice greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Leslie

We're off on our first Viking cruise in July to the Med.  Very excited.  Have previously cruised on several Princess & 1 Crystal cruise.  I plan to be careful in my sanitation practices and bring sanitizer, wash hands, etc.  I've had food poisoning twice in the  distant past on land based trips & would never wish it on anybody.  Not the same as noro but neither is good.  Healthy sailing to all!

Leslie

Hi everyone,

Appreciate the good advice & information on this thread! We're headed to the Mediterranean on Viking Star next July & very excited to go. :-) We booked through our TA after an initial quote from Viking. She is informative & efficient. On this Viking voyage, she did not offer us any OBC saying that because the ship was nearly sold out, there were no special offers. Isn't it the TA's discretion to offer the OBC up to what Viking allows (up to $150 each for 7 day voyage)? I thought I read that earlier in the thread. I believe we got some OBC on the previous cruise she booked for us (on Crystal).

I'm not trying to be greedy, but I'm used to getting at least a little OBC. We haven't had extensive experience with this TA (2 cruises, 1 Switzerland trip - 2 weeks), so I'm not sure about getting a fair deal. Should I ask once we get on the ship about TA's? I know CC policy prohibits identifying them on the site. Many thanks for any input!

Leslie

Haha! I love that comment, "Was anything ok?" I agree that you have to do your homework on cruises. We've been on mainstream line (Princess) with 2500 and up on board with lots to do, kids programs, loud music & crowded pools. Also sailed on Crystal Serenity a year or so ago which was totally different (not to mention costlier but this was no surprise). Our first Viking Ocean cruise will be next July & we are very much looking forward to another relatively quiet experience. As many have said, it's a port intensive cruise & evening entertainment & other organized activities are not the strong suit on board.

We had no problem on our Princess cruises, but on that line & others, one is subjected to regular upselling in many places on board, everything is extra & port time is sometimes inadequate. Our general preference is for a quieter experience which may mean we don't cruise as often since the smaller lines tend to be more expensive...

Leslie

My husband & I made the $1K deposit last week on a Viking Iconic Mediterranean cruise next July. We are super excited to go! We're within the 15 day window & can still do the "cancel for any reason" or "pre-existing conditions" inclusions on insurance. Each of us has an elderly parent, so would it be prudent to buy this type of coverage? We would like to do the phased approach as outlined in some previous messages on this thread.

So if we need to cancel due to parental health issues or other valid reason at some point after full cruise payment made, it would potentially cover everything including cruise fare, flights, hotels, etc.? I realize it depends on the inclusions of individual policies. We don't want to pay Viking's prices, and so are working with insuremytrip.com

My husband was also asking me about the concept of transferring the insurance to another future cruise. How does that work? Would you lose any money paid toward the cruise you had to cancel? Sorry to be obtuse but we are kind of newbies to this - we previously purchased insurance through cruise carrier or went without... Not a great idea! Any advice would be greatly appreciated. :-)

Thanks,

Leslie

Hello fellow cruisers,

My husband & I are considering the "new" Azamara Pursuit for a 7-day Mediterranean next summer. We've never sailed the line before but have sailed on Princess & Crystal. Our TA quoted us prices for the Club Veranda & Club Continent Suite. I'm asking for feedback on those types of accommodations as well as on the line in general. The veranda stateroom is 175 sq. ft. which seems pretty tight. Our Princess balcony staterooms were in the 220 sq. ft. range. Any thoughts? The suite is significantly higher priced but comes in at 266 sq. ft.

We like the idea of a smaller ship having enjoyed the Crystal Serenity California Coastal cruise. Our on board pursuits include reading, relaxing & eating! :-) I'd appreciate any feedback you can provide & many thanks!

Hi everyone,

We have been considering trying Oceania for a while, specifically Marina or Riviera to start... I wasn't sure where to post my query, so hope someone can enlighten me. :-) We've cruised several times with Princess and once with Crystal. We're intrigued with Oceania's smaller ships & ports plus the reputation for excellent food! Hubby & I are mid-late 50's.

Some questions/comments: I'm seeing that many people do not book air through Oceania? But you can still do "the rest of O Life?" Do I have it right? The whole air fare/deviation thing has me a tad confused. :rolleyes: :rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes::rolleyes:

Another takeaway is that many travelers handle their own excursions? Thoughts on doing O Life or Cruise Only? The price difference is substantial.

Does anyone have comments or advice on the type of cabin they've enjoyed aboard Marina or Riviera? (We've had premium balconies on Princess & splurged on Penthouse Room on Crystal Serenity). Couldn't stand Princess' miniscule showers! Crystal bath was enormous!

On board activities? (BTW, we are not big night lifers & would probably enjoy enrichment lectures over shows...) Any input is greatly appreciated!

Thanks,

Leslie

Hello cruisers,

We're sailing on the Caribbean Princess in July (7-day Norwegian fjords). I booked through an online cruise discounter for $2234 pp. Final payment due today. I'd seen a price drop to $1849 pp, so I got on the phone to them. We were able to adjust to the new rate, but they took away a couple of our promotional items (dinner for 2 at specialty restaurant plus $50 of our OBC).

I'm wondering if this is normal when trying to take advantage of price drops. Also wondering if I should find a good cruise specialist TA & hope they can score us better deals with less hassle in the future??

Any thoughts from the cruising community? Maybe I'm in over my head. :)

Thanks,

Leslie & Rick