Southbound Millennium Cruise and Excursions Photo Review

[Aquahound]

Hi Paul,

 

I am pretty sure Celebrity has not done away with them. Lots of folks love them but, I am not one of them. My wife loves them while I can't get way from them quick enough.

 

Regards,

Kevin Reid

 

Ah ha! Thanks Kevin. :)

[Aquahound]

Looks like Zebra Ice!!! Love your pictures.

 

Great review and wonderful photos. Thanks!

 

 

Thanks! :)

[Big_G]

Great job Paul. We did southbound a few years ago on Princess and it was great. You've got me yearning to go back and this time do the crab tour. Thanks for the review.

[geekypenguin]

Great review!

[George D]

Excellent report and pictures, Paul. We've booked the Millenium for a back to back in September and you've got us excited.

 

We may have cruised with that mother daughter team.:)

 

George

Edited June 28, 2013 by George D
Typo

[Aquahound]

 

We may have cruised with that mother daughter team.:)

 

 

George, I was being nice earlier. I can't even begin to describe these 2 and how vile their attitudes were. Fortunately for all of us, they weren't on our ship. Our excursion group were mixed from 2 ships and they were on Rhapsody of the Seas.

[Tea3]

Did you book this excursion on the ship or in Skagway? Do you remember how much it was? I will be there in a week with my husband and 2 30-year old sons. This sounds like something they would love to do.

[Tea3]

Did you have fixed or select dining?

[Aquahound]

Did you book this excursion on the ship or in Skagway? Do you remember how much it was? I will be there in a week with my husband and 2 30-year old sons. This sounds like something they would love to do.

 

I pre-booked the excursion through the cruise line. It was something like $170 pp. You could probably do better booking on your own if you have time.

 

Did you have fixed or select dining?

 

We had fixed, late seating.

[LuckiStac13*Majesty*]

Hi Paul,

 

Enjoyed your review and pictures. The pics of the orcas amazed me, how awesome! Also the otters and the bald eagles were so cool.

 

Thanks for sharing.

[Loyal2RCCL]

Fog started to settle in. At one point, we came pretty close to this ship. I'm not sure of the name, but it did look pretty cool seeing it sailing in the fog.

 

 

 

That's one of the Alaska Marine Highway Ferries.

[Zimbo]

Hi Aquahound, amazing review, thank you. This is the cruise my wife and I are planning for next year, and despite the minor shortcomings of the older Millenium, we are very much looking forward to it!.

 

Quick question, relating to my post here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1871481

 

The Celebrity route map for the Southbound sailing shows the ship actually leaving the inside passage on the way to Ketchikan, before somewhat doubling back. Is this map representative of you route you took, or did you stay quite close to the mainland, through the Inside Passage, during the Juneau to Vancouver portion? Any input would be greatly appreciated!

Edited June 30, 2013 by Zimbo

[Aquahound]

Hi Aquahound, amazing review, thank you. This is the cruise my wife and I are planning for next year, and despite the minor shortcomings of the older Millenium, we are very much looking forward to it!.

 

Quick question, relating to my post here: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1871481

 

The Celebrity route map for the Southbound sailing shows the ship actually leaving the inside passage on the way to Ketchikan, before somewhat doubling back. Is this map representative of you route you took, or did you stay quite close to the mainland, through the Inside Passage, during the Juneau to Vancouver portion? Any input would be greatly appreciated!

 

Hi Zimbo. I read your post and I highly recommend port side on the southbound leg. To answer your first question, no, we never did leave the inside passage between all the ports, including going to Ketchikan. But as far as reaching the Inside Passage enroute Vancouver, we did not enter the narrow area until about 3:30 pm. Not only were the better views on the port side that day, but also on the first sea day. That photo I posted of Mt Elias early in my review represents the port side view, whereas the starboard side only saw open water.

 

I hope this answers your question. Feel free to shoot more my way. :)

[LSEA]

Thanks for sharing your great photos.

[pattyj 1204]

Makes me wish I were going to Alaska again. I loved that trip and your pictures are awesome. Thanks for taking the time post.

[phillie gal]

Great review Paul. You must be my brother from another mother! I was on this cruise with you and totally agree with your assessment. We were on the same deck, concierge class 8115,b did a few of the same tours and used the same camera! In short, we loved the MDR food, disliked the breakfast and lunch buffets at the buffet. We were also torn between RCCL ROS and X Millenium. We really never noticed any lack of maintenance. Cleanliness… well, I didn’t notice what you reported in the MDR but I did find that the base of the coffee table in front of our couch had not been dusted in quite some time. I wrote “CLEAN ME” in the dust and it was still there when we left. Fortunately, that was the only unclean/unkempt issue we had with our cabin, or at least all I that came to my attention.

When comparing X to RCCL, we only felt X excelled with their food at dinner in the MDR. We, too, had a wonderful vacation and felt this trip was everything we had hoped for and then some so that anything that was not to our liking or expectations was minor and we would gladly do it all over again. However, we would strongly consider choosing RCCL before X for our next cruise.

[Aquahound]

Thanks sister, I mean, Carole. ;) Wow, we had a lot in common here. Wasn't our weather amazing? Im glad to hear you also had a wonderful vacation. There are a coupe pics of me in the review. Did we ever have the pleasure of meeting?

[phillie gal]

Yes bro, our weather was amazing. We were so fortunate. Any rain that we had was either not enough to make life difficult or at the end or after a tour. We booked three flights thinking we'd be lucky to be able to take one of them but we were able to do all 3! We spent a week before the cruise on land. Seeing Mt. McKinley on the way to and from the park was great. I told the girl when we checked out of our hotel in Denali that I think they just tell people there is only a 30% chance of seeing the mountain; that way everyone feels special that they were able to see it. We couldn't see it while we were in the park but the cloudy weather was better for our wildlife viewing.

Yes I did look at your picture in your review and no, I don't think we had the pleasure of meeting.

[swafluffy11]

Paul stunning pictures! We were looking forward to our Alaska cruise and now that I have read your postings and seen your pics I am beside myself with excitement. I have not booked ANY excursions through the cruise line. We are doing the biplane in Ketchikan and are using Island Wings... Are excursions easy to book off of the ship? Or would you suggest getting them done prior to sailing....? Thanks for any tips... :D

[midwestchick]

Fantastic review and loved all your pictures.

Question....what happened to the crab they caught? Did they cook them for you or were you just along for the experience of going out in the boat?

[Zimbo]

Hi Zimbo. I read your post and I highly recommend port side on the southbound leg. To answer your first question, no, we never did leave the inside passage between all the ports, including going to Ketchikan. But as far as reaching the Inside Passage enroute Vancouver, we did not enter the narrow area until about 3:30 pm. Not only were the better views on the port side that day, but also on the first sea day. That photo I posted of Mt Elias early in my review represents the port side view, whereas the starboard side only saw open water.

 

I hope this answers your question. Feel free to shoot more my way. :)

 

Thanks, very helpful. Looks like we might stick to our original plan with a cabin on the port side.

 

 

Sent using the Cruise Critic forums app

[phillie gal]

Paul stunning pictures! We were looking forward to our Alaska cruise and now that I have read your postings and seen your pics I am beside myself with excitement. I have not booked ANY excursions through the cruise line. We are doing the biplane in Ketchikan and are using Island Wings... Are excursions easy to book off of the ship? Or would you suggest getting them done prior to sailing....? Thanks for any tips... :D

I'm not Paul but was on the same cruise. We only booked one excursion in Juneau thru the ship because you couldn't book it any other way. I unfortunately did find the advantage of booking thru the ship as I was feeling well that day so I saw the doctor and was able to get a full refund. We did the seaplane with Island Wings, Michelle is fantastic! Our other excursions were all booked in advance. Some of them, for example our whale watch with Glacier Winds in Icy Strait, only held 6 passengers so they may be full if you wait. I can highly recommend Chilkoot Tours for Skagway, Island Wings Misty Fjord flight and Bering Sea Crab Tour in Ketchikan (yes we did both with time for lunch in between), and Glacier Winds whale watch in Icy Strait. All were booked thru their websites and were excellent! :D

[Aquahound]

Fantastic review and loved all your pictures.

Question....what happened to the crab they caught? Did they cook them for you or were you just along for the experience of going out in the boat?

 

Thank you! :) I wasn't going to mention this, but since you asked, the crab were plants. They keep the crab in the pots. They put them back in prior to splashing the pots. King Crab actually isn't found there. That part of it was a little cheesy in order to benefit tourists, but otherwise, it was a great excursion.

 

Paul stunning pictures! We were looking forward to our Alaska cruise and now that I have read your postings and seen your pics I am beside myself with excitement. I have not booked ANY excursions through the cruise line. We are doing the biplane in Ketchikan and are using Island Wings... Are excursions easy to book off of the ship? Or would you suggest getting them done prior to sailing....? Thanks for any tips... :D

 

Carole answered your question and I agree 100% with her. Like she said, if you are going to book a private whale watching tour in Icy Strait, do it early. The 6 person boats are the way to go. Misty Bay was fantastic and it sounds as though Glacier Winds is great too. While most of my excursions were booked through the ship on this cruise, I'm usually not a big fan of it. It does have its advantages, but I prefer smaller groups because it eliminates the possibility of being held up by fellow passengers. It sounds like you have a good plan for Ketchikan. Juneau is also a good place for a seaplane tour, flying over Mendenhall Glacier.

[subtchr]

Hi, Paul,

 

Thanks for your great review! We just got back from the southbound Radiance cruise, and now I can't get enough of reading about Alaska. What an awesome place!

 

I did a blog review, linked in my signature, if you are interested. We LOVED Radiance - it was perfect for Alaska - and the schedule was ideal.

 

Thanks again!

[Aquahound]

Hi, Paul,

 

Thanks for your great review! We just got back from the southbound Radiance cruise, and now I can't get enough of reading about Alaska. What an awesome place!

 

I did a blog review, linked in my signature, if you are interested. We LOVED Radiance - it was perfect for Alaska - and the schedule was ideal.

 

Thanks again!

 

Thank you Sue. Like you, I can't get enough reading or picture viewing either. Pictures just don't do Alaska justice, but it's nice to look and remember seeing it in person. Thanks for your link. I'll check it out. :)