The Millenium, Vancouver to Seward

[GeorgiaPeach51]

richfrommo: I'm sorry, I didn't see or hear country being played. That doesn't mean it wasn't there, but I don't think so...there are more bars and venues playing music than you would imagine, so I'll cross my fingers for you! :)

 

withabix: Boy, are you SO lucky to have this cruise ahead of you! Happy for you! We loved it so much! You're pretty much doing the same routing we did...the Pan, Vancouver and so you might as well do the Skytrain. Somewhere on CC, if you use the search thread is a post from a guy who took pictures of each step of doing skytrain....I'll try to find it for you. That's what gave us the confidence to know it wasn't going to be a hassle. If it was raining it would be a different story!

 

And anyone who can do swing and cha cha and all you mentioned can have a blast on this ship...you'll be dancing your feet off every night!

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Love the review!

 

4 weeks and we will be on that cruise :D

 

Staying at Pan Pacific and arriving at YVR too. May try the Skytrain rather than a taxi.

 

 

Here's the link to the photos of how to get from YVR to Pan. I found it in the Pacific Northwest section:

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1204694&highlight=vancouver+skytrain

[withabix]

Thanks - I've been to Vancouver many times (6 I think!) and am a veteran of the Skytrain, although haven't used it from the airport before, as we normally pick up a car when we arrive.

 

The taxi might still win out, after getting off a 9 hour flight!

[grace2008]

Hello, I was wonder do you have any thoughts on the drink packages. (Bottle water and beer/wine). What were the prices ? Thanks for any help you can give me.

[tawcat]

Georgiapeach51: How rough were the seas? I'm thinking there is a pretty strong current pattern running through the passage.

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Hello, I was wonder do you have any thoughts on the drink packages. (Bottle water and beer/wine). What were the prices ? Thanks for any help you can give me.

 

Hi, Grace,

We loved the drink packages. There's a great overview...someone on CC when to great trouble to list all the beverages and prices. If you use the thread function and put in drink package listing or something similar, it will pop up and give you all the info you need.

 

We found the service to be very good and quick, and we liked the variety. There is a difference in the classic and premium packages in both cost and what is offered, so make your choices based on what you prefer. We definitely got our money's worth out of our package. You can also purchase the package after a day or two onboard so you can deliberate and see what you want to do.

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Georgiapeach51: How rough were the seas? I'm thinking there is a pretty strong current pattern running through the passage.

 

 

Hi, Tawcat...the seas were smooth as silk. Truly. There was NO rocking and rolling. Sometimes it felt like we weren't even in the water. It was the calmest trip we've had in a while, for sure.

 

Our last cruise to Bermuda we hit some rough seas and I got queasy and a little seasick, but this trip was surprisingly steady. That Millie sailed on like she owned the sea! :)

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Our next stop was Skagway. We liked Skagway....but did something pretty different because my husband's cousin own Sockeye Cycle and another bike shop in Haines. He has been in business for about 20 years, so if you are a bike rider they do fantastic tours, by day or week, very unusual ways to sightsee while getting exercise.

 

Anyway, we had never seen Thom's shop, so we spent the day with him. We looked around Skagway a bit, and I thought it was charming. Not so long ago Thom said the streets were still dirt, but some farsighted town leaders came up with the plan to return the town to more like the original, with nice, I assume, historically accurate exteriors for shops, and wooden walkways for the streets. What I especially liked was that even the side street shops had to comply, so I thought the atmosphere of the town was charming.

 

We went on the fast ferry to Haines, a sweet little village, and saw a HAL ship there, then went to Thom's house to see his wonderful view, then took the ferry back.

 

Our ship was at the end of a very long pier, a long walk, so be prepared. Lots of passengers were getting on the train that went up the mountain. I understand that this is great to do on a clear day, when the views will be magnificent. On a cloudy day or a rainy day, the views at the top will probably not be worth the ride.

 

I'm struggling with Photobucket, trying to get photos from my ipad to CC...I am not the sharpest knife in the drawer when it comes to this kind of stuff, so bear with me, I'm trying hard to make it happen because I want you to see some of the photos...it will inspire you if you haven't planned to go, and will excite you if you're headed to AK! I promise! :)

[olemissreb]

Thank you for the review! We'll be on the Millie in 20 days! We're doing the southbound journey with our own land tour prior.

 

On your whale watch in Icy Strait, were the seas a little rough? I'm sometimes prone to seasickness, so I was thinking I'd just start taking dramamine each night starting a couple nights before we leave. That way I sleep well at night, but still get the benefit of the drugs in my system.

 

I so can't wait to get up to AK!

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Thank you for the review! We'll be on the Millie in 20 days! We're doing the southbound journey with our own land tour prior.

 

On your whale watch in Icy Strait, were the seas a little rough? I'm sometimes prone to seasickness, so I was thinking I'd just start taking dramamine each night starting a couple nights before we leave. That way I sleep well at night, but still get the benefit of the drugs in my system.

 

I so can't wait to get up to AK!

 

Hi, Ole Miss! You're welcome--my pleasure! I'm sorry it's taking me so long to finish it...a new job this week, so it has been a little hectic.

 

The seas were not rough in Icy Strait. Not at all. We went out in about a 35 foot boat...it bounced some....I tried something I read about on CC called Motion-Eaze, available in Walmart. It is a natural remedy. You put a drop or two on the tip of your finger then put it behind your ear, right at the ear lobe. Then do the other ear. I had zero seasickness.

 

On another trip I used Bonine-non-drowsy. On our trip (which I haven't talked about) to the Kenai Fiords we were on a larger boat that held about 50 people. I took the bonine when we got on board. (forgot to take it early enough). Boy, that thing really rocked and rolled and I was queasy for the first two hours. However, part of it was due to the diesel smell of the engines. I kept going in and out...the fresh air helped for sure. Overall, it made me think that the Motion-Ease worked better. Not sure why behind the ear, but the scopolomine or whatever those patches are that you get from the doctor go behind your ear. The problem with those is that they give you such a dry mouth...you feel like you could drink 50 gallons of water and it wouldn't help a bit.

 

I know many people are miserable with Bonine and Dramamine because it makes them so sleepy, even the non-drowsy kind. What I would suggest is that whatever you take, you take it well ahead..follow the directions, in other words! :p And be sure to get fresh air...do go outside.

 

Do you have a balcony or inside?

[fleckle]

Thank you for the review! We'll be on the Millie in 20 days! We're doing the southbound journey with our own land tour prior.

 

On your whale watch in Icy Strait, were the seas a little rough? I'm sometimes prone to seasickness, so I was thinking I'd just start taking dramamine each night starting a couple nights before we leave. That way I sleep well at night, but still get the benefit of the drugs in my system

If you are going to hit any rough seas at all on that itinerary, it would most likely be when cruising across the open, unprotected waters of the Gulf of Alaska after starting your southbound cruise.

 

Sometimes that stretch can be rough, but other times it can be very smooth.

[moonglum]

Great review and pictures. DW and I have been fortunate to have been on Alaskan cruise twice. In my opinion it is one of the most beautiful places on this planet. My desktop is a picture of Mendenhall.

 

Reading your review this morning brought great memories flooding back and a hankering to return.

 

So glad you enjoyed it.

[cruzeluver]

What a wonderful review! Thank you so much. Your commentary and photos are very helpful. We are booked on the Millie to Alaska next year so we have quite a wait ahead of us. :( I was particularly interested in your experience at Icy Straight as we did not go there on our previous Alaskan cruise.

[olemissreb]

Hi, Ole Miss! You're welcome--my pleasure! I'm sorry it's taking me so long to finish it...a new job this week, so it has been a little hectic.

 

The seas were not rough in Icy Strait. Not at all. We went out in about a 35 foot boat...it bounced some....I tried something I read about on CC called Motion-Eaze, available in Walmart. It is a natural remedy. You put a drop or two on the tip of your finger then put it behind your ear, right at the ear lobe. Then do the other ear. I had zero seasickness.

 

On another trip I used Bonine-non-drowsy. On our trip (which I haven't talked about) to the Kenai Fiords we were on a larger boat that held about 50 people. I took the bonine when we got on board. (forgot to take it early enough). Boy, that thing really rocked and rolled and I was queasy for the first two hours. However, part of it was due to the diesel smell of the engines. I kept going in and out...the fresh air helped for sure. Overall, it made me think that the Motion-Ease worked better. Not sure why behind the ear, but the scopolomine or whatever those patches are that you get from the doctor go behind your ear. The problem with those is that they give you such a dry mouth...you feel like you could drink 50 gallons of water and it wouldn't help a bit.

 

I know many people are miserable with Bonine and Dramamine because it makes them so sleepy, even the non-drowsy kind. What I would suggest is that whatever you take, you take it well ahead..follow the directions, in other words! :p And be sure to get fresh air...do go outside.

 

Do you have a balcony or inside?

 

Thanks for the info as we are also doing a Kenai Fjords tour (6 hours). I can't stand the smell of exhaust of any kind which is why the a/c in my car is always on "recirc". It makes me nauseous too.

 

We have a Royal Suite so will be making a lot of use of the HUGE balcony (OK well HUGE compared to the normal size balconies we're used to).

 

I think I'll bring along some of the Motion Eze as well as the Bonine or Dramamine. The kids and I also have SeaBands so we may double or triple up on seasickness stuff! :)

[brazilgirl]

Thank you so much for the lovely review - am really enjoying it.

 

We are considering this cruise for July 2014 . We are looking at some HAL itineraries as well.

What factors lead you to choose this ship and itinerary over others?

 

Thanks again !

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Thank you so much for the lovely review - am really enjoying it.

 

We are considering this cruise for July 2014 . We are looking at some HAL itineraries as well.

What factors lead you to choose this ship and itinerary over others?

 

Thanks again !

 

Hi, BrazilGirl,

 

I'm glad you're enjoying the review! Determined to finish it today if I can.

 

Here's why we chose this ship and itinerary.

 

First, we love Celebrity. Our primary reason is the lack of smoking issues compared to the other cruise lines we've been on; Carnival, Princess, HAL. We also like the service on Celebrity and some of the little touches Celebrity offers.

 

We chose this itinerary because so many people said that with sailing the Inside Passage you get a chance to spend more time seeing the scenery on the way to Alaska; less time on the open water with nothing but sea around you. Less likelihood of rough seas. More possibility of seeing animals, etc. In reality, though the scenery was beautiful, we saw zero animals from the ship. The seas were very calm. Very little motion. We booked on the starboard side, having been told that would provide the best views. Not sure that's the case. Having not sailed the Solstice we're not sure how different it would be.

 

We do prefer the S class ships to the M because they're newer, and we like all the amenities. However, we sailed the Summit last year, the Millenium this year and will be on the Infinity next year, so we obviously don't mind the M class!

 

The reason we didn't choose the Solstice (though we seriously considered it) is because we wanted the Inside Passage, we liked the itinerary better. Apparently there are tendering issues in Juneau, though they may be worked out soon. In Juneau we were at the dock, very easy, pop off the ship and the town is right there. We wanted to see Hubbard rather than Tracy Arm. Having not seen Tracy Arm I have no idea which is "better".

 

Having said that, we are considering going on the Solstice in a few years, if she's still doing the same itinerary and taking our grown kids and their spouses, so we certainly have no problem with doing the Solstice.

 

One negative to the Millie is the one way trip...you end up having to do much more planning and organizing to get yourself from Seward to Anchorage to fly home. I think the Solstice is round trip? The Solstice was less expensive but I would think it evened out by the time we got ourselves from Seward to Anchorage. We spent two extra days in Seward, so there was extra cost there also.

 

One positive to the Millie is the Vancouver embarkation. It was easy and we loved being able to see the city, which we'd go back to in a hearbeat.

 

I actually think either cruise would be wonderful. One thing I now know about Alaska is that one cruise gives you the feel of Alaska but I wouldn't say it lets you say "I have seen Alaska" if you know what I mean. You will have seen a miniscule part of Alaska. I will tell you that many people told us that cruising is the best way to see a lot of Alaska since travel within the state is so difficult....relatively few highways, many, many towns that you must fly or boat into...no roads. So, I think doing one or more cruises certainly increases your odds of being able to see as much as possible. It's all about the excursions, no matter what ship you're on, I think. The towns are pretty much to same to me...it's the excursions that let you see what we all dream about when we think of Alaska...so you have some wonderful, fun planning ahead!

[azanthem]

Our next stop was Skagway. We liked Skagway....but did something pretty different because my husband's cousin own Sockeye Cycle and another bike shop in Haines. He has been in business for about 20 years, so if you are a bike rider they do fantastic tours, by day or week, very unusual ways to sightsee while getting exercise.

 

We just got back from the southbound Millenium trip and took the Sockeye Cycle trip up to Fraser on the train and then bicycled back to Skagway. Really fun excursion. Saw a black bear by the side of the road on the ride down.

 

Tell your husband's cousin he has a great crew working out of Skagway.

[GeorgiaPeach51]

We just got back from the southbound Millenium trip and took the Sockeye Cycle trip up to Fraser on the train and then bicycled back to Skagway. Really fun excursion. Saw a black bear by the side of the road on the ride down.

 

Tell your husband's cousin he has a great crew working out of Skagway.

 

Thanks, azanthem, I just passed it on to him! I'm sure he'll be pleased to read your comments. He's very passionate about what he does and about provided great, unusual trips for both cruise passengers and people travelling independently.

 

One interesting thing about Skagway, and other parts of Alaska, I'm sure....in order for him to get crew for their summer season he provides lodging for his summer employees. There's no way they could find or afford lodging for the whole summer, so to keep his great crews, they come up each summer knowing they don't have to worry about where they will stay, and his clients reap the benefits of having experienced people leading their bike trips.

 

Once winter sets in the population of Skagway drops dramatically. We heard this frequently on the trip...how many young people come for the summer jobs then return home. What a great adventure!

[GeorgiaPeach51]

What a wonderful review! Thank you so much. Your commentary and photos are very helpful. We are booked on the Millie to Alaska next year so we have quite a wait ahead of us. :( I was particularly interested in your experience at Icy Straight as we did not go there on our previous Alaskan cruise.

 

Crueluver, forgot to reply...sorry! We really liked Icy Strait because it's such a low-key un-touristy place. It was the only place we tendered, which was no problem....and it's an easy walk into town with some lovely scenery. The village is just a little, un-commercial, typical small Alaskan town. There is a little to see, but the big draw for us was the chance to see whales.

 

We actually went on 3 separate whale watching excursions, so you can easily tell what our focus was. There is just so much to do in the different excursions and I would think there'd be something for absolutely everyone. The only limit might be $$$$$$$ for some of them, but I think that's why lots of people go back to AK again.

 

Anyway, we valued Icy Strait for the small village charm and because it was our first glimpse of those magnificent whales.

[fleckle]

Our next stop was Skagway. We liked Skagway....but did something pretty different because my husband's cousin own Sockeye Cycle and another bike shop in Haines. He has been in business for about 20 years, so if you are a bike rider they do fantastic tours, by day or week, very unusual ways to sightsee while getting exercise.

 

Anyway, we had never seen Thom's shop, so we spent the day with him. We looked around Skagway a bit, and I thought it was charming. Not so long ago Thom said the streets were still dirt, but some farsighted town leaders came up with the plan to return the town to more like the original, with nice, I assume, historically accurate exteriors for shops, and wooden walkways for the streets. What I especially liked was that even the side street shops had to comply, so I thought the atmosphere of the town was charming.

 

We went on the fast ferry to Haines, a sweet little village, and saw a HAL ship there, then went to Thom's house to see his wonderful view, then took the ferry back.

If you go to Haines in late August - mid September, be sure to drive out to look for bears along the Chilkoot River around sunset.

 

If you get lucky, you can have better and closer bear sightings there for free than on the expensive bear watching excursions at other locations.

 

Here is a link to one of the youtube videos that somebody posted

 

 

[brazilgirl]

GeorgiaPeach...

 

 

What a helpful and insightful response. We love the M class ships ( have sailed the Summit , Infinity and Connie) and we especially love the FV corner staterooms. This is one of the main reasons we are considering this cruise. The itinerary looks lovely as well.

 

We will be sailing HAL for the first time month (Norway and the BI ) and are eager to compare the line to Celebrity.

 

We have never sailed Princess , but I have read that Princess and HAL "do" Alaska well , so I have been looking at their itineraries.

 

The Solstice would be perfect if it left from Vancouver and didn't have tendering issues.

 

Your post was very helpful. I love planning and it has given me food for thought!

 

Kim

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk HD

[GeorgiaPeach51]

The last day. We were up early, knowing we would arrive at the glacier at 7 a.m. When we stepped out on the balcony it was kind of surreal. The water was covered, and I do mean covered with icy chunks, tiny, bigger, much bigger...as the ship moved you could hear them crunching against the sides. It was COLD. Do not get lulled, if you have good weather into going on deck without the warmth you need because it's too fantastic to miss because you're frozen!

 

I wore a turtleneck and a heavy, long, hooded fleece; earmuffs, gloves. And I was cold. The wind doesn't help the situation, but that's where a hood will help your cause. I did buy and take long underwear with me but didn't use it. It's a little bit of a dilemma; if you dress so that you're toasty when you're outside, when you come inside you are ready to ignite you're so hot....so removable layers are the way to go. That's why the long underwear top and pants didn't work...I'd have to get totally undressed and redressed to deal with them and who's got time to change clothes 5 times in the morning?

 

Here's a fun place to go...the decks will, of course, be crowded. We went to the Celebrity theater, at the top level, to the left, and out....it will take you out onto the helicopter pad at the front of the ship. It was less crowded than the main decks. People were, for the most part, very nice about gaining a spot at the rail, getting photos and then relinquishing the spot to others. There are blankets available and servers with Baileys and hot chocolate, etc.

 

I'm still struggling with Photobucket to get my husband's awesome photos up...these are from my small Canon, but you can see how icy the water was. It really was a strange landscape, but beautiful!

 

 

 

 

[Leesie6351]

Hi-- I'm going to be posting a longer review but had to comment on Georgia Peach's review. Ironically, I believe I live near to Georgia Peach. We first took a pre-tour, arranged through X, then the Millenium Cruise, then a post-tour to Denali, Fairbanks, Anchorage, Alyeska and Seward. I will write a complete review but just wanted to comment that all 3 legs of our experience of 18 days were fraught with complications, glitches and near catastrophies mainly resulting from the tour company X chose to coordinate the pre 5 day/6 day post tours. The pre-tour was so bad, Celebrity actually had a letter of apology waiting in our stateroom upon embarkation with $100 OBC. The post tour which was at least "escorted" was equally disorganized and we unfortunately had a novice Tour Director that had never guided a tour before-- we were his first tour!!!!!

 

As far as the cruise itself on the Millie, our waiter, assistant waiter and room attendant were great however, the rest of the experience left much to be desired. Food was way below normal quality and standards- actually had to request replacements twice-- first time ever!!!!; entertainment was spotty; cruise director, captain and officers were rarely seen or heard. Guest Relations was completely clueless about our post tour-- kept sending us to the shore excursion desk thinking we meant an excursion; no one in guest relations ever tried to resolve problems-- on last night, finally got to "vent" to the Assistant Manager who did make a call to headquarters for us trying to get information about our post tour (we had been given none!!!)

 

Disembarkation was very well organized and easy BUT contrary to Georgia Peach's experience, our embarkation was a nightmare!!!!! I had dislocated my hip that morning in Victoria on the pre-tour and needed a wheelchair when we arrived. First, we were directed to the Convention Center because apparently there were 3 ships in port and Vancouver personnel could not handle everyone directly so passengers were directed to auditoriums and given numbers to then wait to be called for Passport control and Security. I was told some people on our tour wait 2 1/2 hrs to make it through. (we had arrived at 2:15) When we entered the building, we immediately saw an area cordoned off for both Princess and HAL for wheelchair assistance. No such area for Celebrity. We were told to look for a Celebrity Rep who would then get us a wheelchair. It took my husband over 20 minutes to find a rep, while I leaned against a pole as there were chairs, who said she was helping someone but would request help for me. After no one responded to her call, she grabbed a chair that had been left, got me in it, asked my husband if he could push me, and she had us follow her. The good news was we went to the head of all the lines and took elevators down to the actual check-in area instead of having to walk 3 narrow metal flights of stairs all the other passengers were forced to walk, and got processed and on the ship from that point in 10 minutes.

 

I'm waiting to write my full review because if I did it now, it would be scathing!!!! Celebrity needs to get out of the tour business (which HAL is after the 2014 season) and re-direct their money and efforts towards re-establishing the excellent cruise experience we expect. X has raised our expectations so high, that perhaps we get overly critical but the fault is theirs not ours.

 

If anyone is planning to sign-up for a pre-or post tour through celebrity, I strongly suggest you save your money. I'd be happy to give specifics. Feel free to contact me at: der6351@gmail.com

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Formal nights: different than previously experience. Much less formal. I think I mentioned this previously, but wanted to address it more specifically. We have found that formal nights are really becoming less and less formal. Back when we started cruising it was very common to see long gowns; now, in our experience, not so much. Far fewer tuxes, many people on this cruise who just didn't dress up and wore their usual clothes, nice but not what anyone would consider formal.

 

The older I get, the more I get it....the struggles with luggage, with extra shoes, etc. When we went to Europe we found the same issues; people with luggage restrictions that impacted their abilities to be super fancy; do you bring a tux to wear twice or a suit you can wear 4 or 5 times in a 15 day vacation? Each to their own. I said previously that I just don't care anymore...people are going to do what they're going to do and as I've gotten older I realize that most of what goes on in this world is out of my realm of influence, so I just let it go. That's hard-won, let me tell you! ;)

 

We saw everything from tuxes to Dockers on formal night; and it had zero effect on my enjoyment of the formal nights. You may feel differently; if it would bother you to be in the main DR with people not as dressed up as you, maybe it would be a good night to go to a specialty restaurant? Even there you may run into people who are there to escape formal dress. I think it's like the cute high school kids you see all dressed up for prom while the rest of us in the restaurant are dressed in our usual stuff....just do your own thing and enjoy!

 

Overall, Alaska is a pretty dressed-down cruise, more than usual; and part of it is because you're dragging heavier clothes with you, possibly boots, etc.

 

Speaking of boots; there was only one time I needed them, and that was in our debarkation port, Seward, which is up next.

Edited June 9, 2013 by GeorgiaPeach51
spelling!

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Leesie, oh my goodness, I'm so sorry you had such a terrible experience. First, so sorry about your hip--a terrible way to start the trip...and you're right, your embarkation was a 180 from ours. I'm sure you were exhausted before you even got on the ship.

 

Due to previous experiences we never, and I do mean never, book excursions with the ship. We were burned several times and decided we were done with the hassle. Due to working still, we don't have the vacation time to do too much in the pre and post cruise area, so I'll be reading your review with interest, since we definitely want to return to Alaska. However, we would still be very unlikely to book with Celebrity even if we had the time just due to what we have read on CC.

 

re: sending food back, if I read your post correctly; we did do that a few times, and had no problem with it. The staff was very nice about it and eager to correct the problem; they also were speedy with getting a replacement meal. Also meant to note previously, and I don't think I did,. that there were a couple of times my husband ordered two entrees, and there was no problem with them bringing both at the same time. Previously we have had times when they would bring one and then the other, saying they couldn't bring two for the same person at the same time.

 

We enjoyed the dancing but saw zero shows; just not our thing, but we did hear others comment that they didn't particularly enjoy the entertainment. We did see ship's officers around, but that's not a big deal for us; thinking back, I'm pretty much unaware of whether they're around or not on most of our cruises; I had zero awareness of who the Cruise Director was; he could have knocked me down and I wouldn't have been aware of who he was.

 

Hope you are feeling better since your return.

Edited June 9, 2013 by GeorgiaPeach51