Just off the Millennium, Jan 13th sailing

[rollie]

What can I say, what a great cruise. 10 days in paradise. The staff has to be the best on the high seas. From the senior staff being at the Cruise Critic party, to Steve the CD meeting people coming back to the ship with cold towels and a glass of champagne. Yes, the ship is getting on in years, but everything was spotless. We were lucky enough to get cabin 6144 and was not dissapointed, but the service here was not any better than any other cabin. We thought that being in suite country, we might be getting top dog service.

The ports on the 10 day itineary were fantastic, and Curacao is now our favorite port. If you have any questions, ask away.

 

Rollie

[TLMNAZ]

Hi Rollie, Glad to hear you had a great time! We leave for an 11-nt on the Millenium, in a couple weeks.

In the past, cruises we have been on offer a day or two that, whatever laundry you can fit in the provided bag, is a flat fee. Did the Millenium offer that, if so, did they offer it more than once? With the airline charging per bag, and additional for weight, I would like to minimize what we are bringing. Thank you

[rollie]

TLMNAZ, we are Captains Club Elite members, so we were offer 2 free bags of laundry. A very nice perk. I think you will get a 2 bag discount.

 

Rollie

[monkeyinhat]

please tell me about curacao. this will be a new port for us

 

what did you do , etc.

[HR Queen]

We are also going 10 days on Millennium in April. We have never been to Tortola, St. Lucia, Barbados or Curacao. So any information on those islands would be appreciated!

 

What nights were the formal nights?

 

Thermo Pool still open for all?

 

I am so excited....it has been a bad winter for us in Minnesota.

[HR Queen]

Bumping this one up - hoping for some more information from Rollie!

Thanks

[JRarey]

My DH and I were also on this sailing with Rollie ( Hi Rollie :) )

 

The service was great, Steve did a great job, the Cruise critic group was the most amazing group, and we had tons of fun meeting up for many things we did as a group.

 

We did not get a discount laundry, but they may do it on the 11 day cruise. Ours was only a 10 day cruise.

 

Select dining was great, we never had to wait. Ask for John's section, he and his crew did an amazing job.

 

The bar crew at the Aft bar took amazing care of all of us, tell them we sent you and they will give you great service.

 

All the Islands were great. Many of us went to Portia de Maria (spelling may be wrong) it was very nice but a bit of a drive. It was nice though because you could see a lot of the Island getting there. $20 per person taxi ride gets you there and back. $5 gets you admission and a chair. Everything you could need is right there, including snorkeling and diving equipment to rent, massages, bar, restaurant and beautiful view!

 

St Lucia offers Island tours that take you to Pitons, volcano, snorkeling spot, lunch, iguana petting zoo, rum factory. Very good tours.

 

Entertainment was the only complaint I had about the cruise. Not much going on in many of the bars. You could be the only people in many of the bars.

 

Have a great trip, we all did!

 

Jan of Jan and Joe

[katfam]

I am going on this cruise on 2/25. What day, time and location was the Cruise Critic Party? Also, what time did you board the ship? Thanks.

[ExRockyMountainGal]

I was on the same cruise with Rollie and Jan (Hi :o). The cruise critic party was the evening of the 3rd day (St. Maarten) at 7:45 in Michael's Club. We were able to board the ship around 11:30, but we couldn't get into the cabin until about 1:30. It was one of the smoothest embarkations (and debarkations) we have ever had.

 

I agree about the friendliness of the crew and the cruise critic group. It was an amazing vacation.

 

Our sommelier, Jomkwan, was the best, and she is married to Marlon in the martini bar, so between the two of them we were well taken care of.

 

The formal nights were day 2 (Tortola) and day 9 (Curacao).

 

We did mostly private excursions based on Cruise Critic recommendations. The only ship's tour was swimming with the dolphins in Curacao. The experience was amazing, although there was too much dead time once the swim was over.

 

I'm happy to try to answer other questions.

[DeirdreTours]

If this is the January 14 sailing, we were also on it. Overall, a good experience, although we were not nearly as enamored with CD Steve as other posters appear to be. We found his near constant blathering about how incredibly WOMDERFUL every single Celebrity employee was tiresome...Truly, Steve explained to us that every entertainer was the "Best in the World", every cook was the "Best in the World", etc. It got old, fast.

 

The food was, overall, quite good. We were particularly impressed with the chocolate desserts (on HAL, desserts often look lovely but taste like nothing) and the asian dishes (the dal was wonderfully spicy!) The service in the Olympic was silly and pretentious, but the food was, mostly, interesting and well prepared (again, a big wow was was the dark chocolate soufle).

 

The ship was clean and well maintained. And pretty, we enjoyed the decor. We never had an unkind word from any of the staff. Our C2 balcony room was fine-- with the exception of a poor closet/bath door design issue that others have mentioned elsewhere. Oddly, our mini bar was not unlocked until we finally asked on day 3-- It was then never replenished-- apparently it was one mini fridge diet coke per cruise. Also, the fridge had no cooling capacity- the beverages were room temperature.

 

The biggest disappointment was the entertainment and activities-- I had been expecting a big step up from HAL in these areas but found them to be, instead, a big step down. The "Celebrity Life" activities were run by staffers who were well meaning but, frankly, unable to even correctly read aloud the trivia questions! Much less engage people in them in an enjoyable way. A substantial number of the 'activities" consisted of one semi english speaking staffer leading passengers in a group playing wii games like "Deal or No Deal" and "English Pub Trivia". The theater entertainment wasn't entertaining to us, we left the "Ballroom Dance" show, the comedian and an extremely odd piano show after a few minutes each. I heard from a friend that one of the musical shows was quite good, but by then I had given up checking them out.

 

The late night parties were nicely done, but the house band was pretty bad. I must note, the guitar player in the cova was talented and a pleasure to listen to. There was also a fairly good acapella group on board.

 

Again, overall, a good experience with the food exceeding expectations and the entertainment falling short.

[katfam]

Thanks so much for the information. Can't wait!

[rollie]

Monkeyinhat, we went to Playa Porto Mari Beach in the morning. It's a bit pricy to get there by cab [40 dollars round trip] but a few of us on Cruise Critic got together and we able to buddy-up and get the price down to 20 dollars round trip. The snorkling was some of the best we've ever had. After the beach it was back to the ship for lunch, and then a very nice walk into town. Willemstad is IMHO the most beautiful port in the Caribbean. You have to walk the floating bridge.

 

HR Queen, the only other island that we did anything on was Tortola. Here we went to Cane Garden Bay, again taking a taxi. Here it was 6 dollars one way, but they had those open air taxi's and waited to fill them up before leaving. It was a very beautiful beach. In St Martin we did Maho beach and shopped in town. The rest of the ports we just walked into town.

 

I must add, we were impressed with Celebrities new menu. I know this is subjective and will probably get some comment on this, but I felt there was always something on the menu to try, and never had to resort to off menu. My DW did try their off menu steak, and just loved it.

 

I will have to agree with others about the entertainment. The production shows were ok, but the headliners wern't too good.

 

Rollie

[Redtravel]

I was also on that cruise. My experience does not match the other postings. The ship is nice. It looks good for a 10 year old ship. There is some wear, but the general appearance is good. Food was fair. Breakfast was the best meal of the day. Omelet stations at the buffet made a hot and tasty omelet. I also enjoyed the pancakes and french toast station. At lunch the pasta was good...and the asian offerings were tasty. Nice salads and good sandwiches. Dinner was fair to poor. The only really good dinner was the short ribs. I even asked for the recipe, but never got it. I lost in the cabin steward and waiter lottery. Poorly maintained cabin ( cabin was never serviced until close to noon...and we ate breakfast early and told the cabin steward) and extremely slow waiter service. Food was often dried up and cold. When I asked for something else, I was often told that the waiter had to get the approval of her supervisor. I got other dishes which were not much better. I eventually switched to select dining. I did have an better experience when I switched to select dining. Then the food was fresh and hot. I loved the entertainment. The production shows were some of the best that I have seen on a cruise. The performers in the lounges were all very good. I especially liked the piano player. There were a lot of very nice people on the ship. We did enjoy talking to people. As an elite, the perks were nice. I loved the free laundry and internet. It certainly made my life easier. The breakfast drinks in Michael's were nice. It was nice to get really good coffee. Too bad that the buffet and MDR doesn't have good coffee. We loved the AquaSpa therapy pool. We did not think much of the people who hogged the poolside chaises. However, I do commend Celebrity for kicking them out after a chaise was unoccupied for more than 30 minutes. A nice cruise, but it had some bad flaws....my food and service weren't the best.

[Heather H]

I lost in the cabin steward and waiter lottery. Poorly maintained cabin ( cabin was never serviced until close to noon...

 

Are you telling me that your room didn't get cleaned or made up until the last day? Seriously? Did you not talk to someone after the first day?

 

I worked in a resort town, at the base of the gondola in a ski shop. It was a destination resort, and not cheap. I was always amazed when folks would come down after a full day of skiing and tell me they were on the worst skis ever and how the skis ruined their day. My only response was - I am so sorry, I really wish you would have returned them immediately instead of ruining your day, after all you paid good money, and time and energy to get here, why on earth should you suffer? Let me get you a new pair of skis, and if after the first run or two you aren't happy come back and we will figure it out together.

 

It always stopped them dead in the water - and I imagine if you had a discussion with the head person you wouldn't have had to suffer either. I would be bummed if I didn't get fresh towels everyday.

 

Its good to know you enjoyed most of your holiday!

 

The food is an interesting issue - I eat to fuel my body, my friend is a total foodie - I am sure I will be very happy with the food, and she will find fault. But then again maybe she won't.

[JBINTOR]

Rollie, it was so nice meeting you, your wife and your friends. We thoroughly enjoyed our cruise. It was a great start meeting the 4 of you at the Hampton Inn and sharing the cab ride to ship. We're all home in the snow now. Bob and I are already looking at itineraries for next year!!:rolleyes: Take care!

[Redtravel]

We always went to breakfast early. Our room was always unmade when we returned. We asked our cabin steward to try to service us earlier. We told him that we were early risers. He said that he would try. However, he also told us that his cabin load has been increased due to cutbacks in the staff. He has over 20 cabins to service. He showed me the list. My cabin was near the bottom of his list. My bad luck. Dinner time was better. We were always turned down by the time we returned to our cabin.

[Redtravel]

I met a lot of cruise critic people . Great group. Nice party.

[rollie]

JBNITOR, it was great to meet you guys too. It was funny, alnost everyone we met seemed to have a smile on their face. I don't think I have ever seen so many happy passangers.

 

Rollie

[masterbaker]

We always went to breakfast early. Our room was always unmade when we returned. We asked our cabin steward to try to service us earlier. We told him that we were early risers. He said that he would try. However, he also told us that his cabin load has been increased due to cutbacks in the staff. He has over 20 cabins to service. He showed me the list. My cabin was near the bottom of his list. My bad luck. Dinner time was better. We were always turned down by the time we returned to our cabin.

 

Yep, you definitely lost the steward lottery. Making excuses? Showing a list? I suppose his day started when the first cabin on his "list" left for breakfast??? Nonsense! A good steward works around the schedules of his passengers, not by their placement on a "list". Some people enjoy an early morning, others are late risers. Working in list order is wrong. I would have had a chat with his supervisor if I couldn't get my steward to understand that concept. ;)

[Despegue]

And what exactly is the problem with your cabin not serviced yet when returning from brekfast?

What a disaster!:rolleyes:

 

In hotels, also 5 star ones, your room might not be serviced until the afternoon sometimes. As long as it is done what is is the big deal? Some people really have lost their sense of reality. They want top notch service without having any patience. You even see this in politics, where people want things solved now, when it will take years of courage and changes. I call it the microwave mentality and it is a sign of our times and proof that indeed, we are now behaving like spoiled children.

[DeirdreTours]

I don't think the expectation of having your cabin cleaned while you are at breakfast has a thing in the world to do with modern politics or a "microwave mentality".

Instead, it is the direct result of the cruise industry providing exactly that level of service for many years and now cutting back on staff while pretending to still provide the same level of service..... 15 years ago, my cabin was cleaned while I was at breakfast and again while I was at dinner. Heck, sometimes the steward even slipped in for an afternoon tidy. Every time I poked my head out into the hall, it seemed he was there to take care of anything I needed. But, back then I think the steward had half as many rooms to clean.

 

The problem is the result of the cruiseline creating certain expectations of service (based on past experience, advertising, etc) and then failing to meet those expectations.

[Redtravel]

On my previous 20+ cruises, my cabin steward /butler has always made up my cabin while I went to breakfast. Since I am a very early riser, I get to breakfast really early. Often I get the coffee before 7 am. In most cases the cabin stewards learn my schedule and usually comment about being able to get in early while they are waiting for the late risers to get up. It wasn't the worst thing, but it was certainly different from the service on other cruises. I often exchanged good morning greetings with my steward as I left my cabin on my way to breakfast. We were near the end of his cabin list...and he just never came early.

[ORV]

Are you telling me that your room didn't get cleaned or made up until the last day?

 

Where are you getting that? I can't find that in Red's post.

[drjeff]

My DW and I were also on this cruise (our 15th but 1st on X). I am a constant lurker on these boards but have not yet posted.

 

Agree that the ship was in quite good condition for its age. Food,overall was quite good(better than many other ships we have been on). Had 7:30 reservation each night in Select dining..never had to wait. Also had excellent service from waiter John and sommelier Jomkwan. Only food complaint was with availability of coffee at breakfast buffet. Coffee stations need to be better maintained. Variety at buffets was excellent and mostly quite good.

 

Room was standard fare but clean. Steward, Danilo did a good job and met all of our requests. It should be noted that when asked, he said he had 26 rooms in his care. It is no wonder that not all rooms would be cleaned during breakfast. Perhaps X should look in to the workload of the stewards.

 

Entertainment is subjective. Production shows were only fair. Thought some of the sound mixing needs to be improved(some of the mikes on the singers were quite loud) Walked out on most of the Individual showtime performers who we thought were were quite poor. It should be mentioned however, thought the on-stage orchestra was quite good. CD was least interactive of any CD on any of our previous cruises.

 

Never been on a ship where the lounges were so empty in the evenings. Special mention should be made for Kathleen and the Saints who drew a crowd in the Rendezvous whenever they played.

 

Ports were all good. Overall a very relaxing 10 days. Excellent value for the money. Was rather disappointed to hear that Celebrity has decided to stop the 10 and 11 day cruises from San Juan in 2012. Would not hesitate to sail celebrity again

[Heather H]

Where are you getting that? I can't find that in Red's post.

 

The post was edited