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Sort of LIVE Celebrity Millennium Nov. 28 and Dec. 3rd B2B's

dmwnc1959

By dmwnc1959,
in Celebrity Cruises

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dmwnc1959

dmwnc1959

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P.S. My two cases of water made it to my room just fine. Just came down after sail away and they were in my room! Yea!

 

Will sign up for an internet package tonight after dinner do I can continue with daily updates.

 

Still have an AT&T signal even in my room on Deck 2. Not sure when it will drop off but it may be before dinner. I have 1st seating.

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Mapleleaf5

Mapleleaf5

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A couple of quick notes on my room at the Intercontinental:

 

- I have a two bed room, it was the only one left at check-in that faced the cruise ships, I'm on the 13th floor and the charge was $20 to upgrade from a standard room (supposedly one that faces elsewhere). And so far the extra charge is WELL worth it.

- the bathroom is large and separated into two spaces; shower and toilet in one with a door the closes and locks, the other space is the single basin sink with vanity mirror (magnifies) and hair dryer (1200/1600 watts). In this space is also a large closet with an electronic safe and another small counter above a four-drawer cabinet deep enough to hold clothes.

- the products used in the bathroom are Elemis; a small 1.4 ounce bottle of shampoo, conditioner, and body lotion as well as two small round bars of soap.

- there is an In-room Bar set up with snacks that will cost $6 for a soda, $7-9 dollars for a beer or alcoholic drink, $2.50-$13 for candy bars to cashews.

- there is an excellent Room Service menu for breakfast with everything you can imagine at a price that reflects that. There is also a small 4 cup coffee maker.

- there is no free wifi: it cost $11-14 depending on the speed you choose.

-the room has a large flat screen Samsung TV looks to be about 42" with remote control

-there is a small sitting area next to the large window that overlooks Dodge Island.

- there are plenty of outlets beneath a large very writing desk

- there is also a quite stylish alarm clock but I didn't use it.

- there is a small closet space next to the temperature control for the room that houses an ironing board and iron.

- the room itself has literally no drawer space, it's all in the bathroom.

- there is space in the TV stand to store stuff. Enough for lots of folded clothes or electronics.

 

Overall VERY pleased with the room and the beds were very soft but not so much that you sank into them. Plenty of pillows, also very soft.

 

Just to let you know for next time you can pick up free wifi by the pool area because of the condo's.

 

I hope you like the hop on hop off bus tour in Miami!

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dmwnc1959

dmwnc1959

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That was one of the best sailways I have had in decades. Lots of ships, lots of people, excellent weather, and great music playing topside. After we were well clear of the ship channel and off the coast I still had an AT&T signal and sent text msgs and pictures to friends back in WV. I finally shut down my phone at 5:45pm.

 

Dinner was superb. The waiter was wonderful in helping me choose items that wouldn't trigger any IBS issues. Afterwards he brought the menu for tomorrow and helped me pick main courses.

 

Speaking of main courses, during dinner we had a chocking incident that required the Heimlick Maneuver. She was ok long before medical staff showed up.

 

I am seated at a table for 8, of which 7 showed. My table is on the upper level of the MDR all the way back port side, one table from the back windows. My table mates are a lively, fun bunch of which I am the 'baby' at 52 years of age. Most are either snow birds or retired and live in Florida full time. One couple from The Villages (you've seen the commercials) and several are first timers on Celebrity. All are impressed with the ship and its decor. during dinner one of my tablemates iphone dinged a text message alert saying 'International Rates Apply' so I showed him how to shut off data roaming. Gave him other hints on how to avoid a huge phone bill once he gets back.

 

The general demographic seems to be a bit older to me, maybe I'm wrong, and there are a few kids on board, maybe 20-30. I hope Kevin will make some observations as well. It may be just the places I am hanging out or the early dinner seating. Don't get me wrong, there are still quite a few younger people and a large mix of ethnic groups well represented aboard.

 

The are advertising Cyber Monday for signing up an internet package. Get an additional 10% on top of any coupons. Istead of 90 minutes I'll get 108 minutes. Not being Elite every extra minute counts. I did a test log in to Cruise Critic and the internet speed is slow, not really dial up and definitely no high speed, but fast enough to do the job.

 

First night out and the ship is lovely in evening lighting. Amazing how a ship can take on a completely different personality once the sun goes down and she is all dressed to impress.

 

John was kind enough to post the daily's for this 5-nighter so no need in going into details about whats happening. There is a televised football game between the Giants and Saints showing in the casin bar on deck 4.

 

Full day at sea tomorrow. May sleep in to recover from the very long day coming in from West Virginia. Really dragging tail.

 

More to come....

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dmwnc1959

dmwnc1959

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A couple of quickie notes before I jot off to breakfast.

 

These beds are hard! Maybe I was spolied by my one night (3hrs) sleep at the Intercontinental, or maybe my mattress at home is a little softer, but it was hard to get comfortable last night, and even the pillows seem to be a little on the soft side.

 

Went to bed at 9pm, set the alarm on the room phone (very easy; just touch the button that says ALARM and set time based on 24 hour clock 0600 for 6am), got up and took a shower after trying to remember how to set water temperature and adjust the shower head to the right height, then got dressed and went up to the Cova Cafe hotspot.

 

Not a lot of people up at 6:30am, a few people outside the lido cafe for coffee. Sun isn't up yet and the room TV had us due north of Havana, Cuba at 6am. We are being trailed by another cruise ship but I can't tell which one.

 

Oh, and before I forget, the room safe is big enough for my 10" Netbook with a little room to spare. It was easy to set the passcode (close safe, set your number, it locks, then enter your number again to reopen). Put my valuables in there as well. It's probably about 12" square available space inside the safe. Will double check that later.

 

Off now to the AquaSpa cafe to see what breakfast up there looks like.

 

Be back in a few hours!

 

.

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dmwnc1959

dmwnc1959

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Breakfast was great. I opted for the lido cafe. Even eating healthier I could gain weight! I guess it's all about portion control, but on a cruise ship there's food around every corner. I had a delicious egg white only omlet with salmon and mushroom, fresh fruit and water. I did pass by the waffle station and there had the waffles piled in a warmer. Not like last year on Celebrity Mercury when they were made fresh.

 

I'm trying to remember what I had for dinner last night but it was a bread crusted fish that was very good. Most everyone else at the table had the prime rib in various states of blood letting.

 

The ship following us is a carnival ship, you can see the distinctive whale tail, maybe it's the Carnival Destiny?

 

The ship is rolling about nicely even though the seas are not bad at all. The T-pool is more like a wave pool with the water sloshing out over the sides, same for the main pool with water rising up and splashing out of either end.

 

The skies so far are mostly overcast and the sunrise uninspiring with a few rays peaking out between the cloud breaks.

 

Still only a few joggers at 7:30am.

 

Off to see what I can get myself into today. Probably just relax and enjoy the ocean moving beneath my feet. :)

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babylnor

babylnor

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Hey David-

 

Not that you would need it :D But where do you get a map of the ship? Do they give it to you when you check in at the terminal? Or do you have to go to guest services?

 

This is great I LOVE the virtual sail away!!

 

Deb

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dmwnc1959

dmwnc1959

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Hi Deb. They gave out a small deck plan of the ship as you check-in at the embarkation counter but it is very small. There are deck plans at each elevator lobby on the ship. Also maybe if you can get your hands on a Celebrity brochure from a local TA and just tear out the pages and bring it with you?

 

More about today...

 

Cuba is still prominent off of our port side, has been all morning.

 

Spent part of the morning on an actual self-guided walking tour of the ship (getting my exercise in). Hit all the stairwell art up the aft and amidships stairwells deck 2-11. The aft stairwell is all vase art (white ceramic, painted and glazed with gold leaf), the amidships stairwell consit of large ceramic heads (Turkish?) painted and glazed. Very interesting. This before I found out that there is a free Self-guided art tour; you check-out an iPod from Guest Relations and with the headset they give you it apparently leads you all over the ship to specific works of art with a description. That will be my activity today before afternoon sets in. Will let you know how that works out.

 

The Conservatory is a great space. Lots of gorgeous flowers, very relaxing. There is a tiny seating area on the second floor with a great view of the ocean. Very few people know it's here. Lots of people in the Internet areas and hot spots and in the Deck 5 area Cova cafe. The little breakfast treats they have here look very, very tasty. The pool deck is also quite busy.

 

I'm glad I bought the cases of bottled water and Crystal Light. Lots of great juices in the AquaSpa Cafe.

 

Morning trivia was well attended and was pretty short, only about 15 minutes. Last year on the Celebrity Mercury it was at times difficult to understand the questions because of the accents, but ths year on Celebrity Millennium it is projected onto a screen set up in the Rendezvous Lounge.

 

Stopped by the kids club. The attendant said we have 59 kids on this cruise, 372 last cruise, 440 the cruise before that. I'm glad I'm on this cruise.

 

If you've ever watched Lord of the Rings as they were at the beginning of their trek it was asked 'what about breakfast', and second breakfast, and third breakfast? I had a second small breakfast at 10am in the AquaSpa cafe (just as they were closing) consisting of yogurt with granola, cheerios with soy milk, and some fruit. May skip lunch or have a light snack in the AquaSpa Cafe around 2pm. AquaSpa cafe is turning out to be my favorite so far.

 

The weather has improved greatly over this morning. Still have partly cloudy skies and the seas a relatively calm.

 

In the shops there is a sale of $10 watches, as well as $10 evening bags for the ladies, pashimas (don't know what that is), and costume jewelry. I must confess I don't understand the popularity of chocolate diamonds, You can't eat them and they don't look like the diamonds I've seen in the Liz Taylor commercial.

 

Tonight is formal night which should be interesting. Last night at dinner there were some shorts and blue jeans and no one whispering and pointing, not that I saw. Tonight will be the first night I will ever try formal night with no jacket. My packing limited me to smart casual and casual wear (on land/sea vacation for 17 days), and it was right at 50 pounds. There was no room in the suitcase for a jacket, dress shirt, tie, and dress shoes. And I wasn't about to pay an additional $70 r/t for a seconsd bag. We'll see how it goes. I may just show up early to scope out the other guests then decide on the MDR or lido for sushi and stir fry.

 

More to come later....

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