Celebrity Millennium July 12, 2013 Southbound Alaska review

[olemissreb]

Hi crazycruiserdc! We're doing the northbound version of your cruise in 3 weeks and wonder if you can give specific comments about your whale watching tour with FISHES. We are also going out with them while in Icy Strait Point and would love to hear more about your day. Also, can you comment more on what was wrong with Select Dining? We are set up for that option but have heard numerous negative remarks about Select Dining on the Millennium which makes us nervous since supper is one of the most anticipated parts of our cruise. Thanks so much!

 

The problems we had with Select Dining was the service was really slow and not at all up to Celebrity standards. We would sit at the table 5-10 minutes before we even got menus. Then we would get a bread basket and by the time anyone came to get our order, the bread was gone - and it wouldn't be refilled. Empty seats at the table were never cleared. The sommolier had so many tables, we were lucky to get our wine ordered and served before our appetizers arrived - same was pretty much true for the bar service as well. Too many tables, too close together and not nearly enough staff. The Head Waitress came by our table twice the entire week to see how everything was, but never did lift a finger to help.

 

We did My Time Dining on RCI and we never had to make a reservation for dinner - even on formal night. With Celebrity, I got the impression that if you don't make a reservation, you could be waiting for a while every night. I could be wrong about that, as I said it was just an impression left with me. The service on RCI was more attentive and since we liked our wait staff the first night on RCI, we stuck with them every night. Not so on Celebrity - NONE of the wait staff that we had, were impressive enough to warrant sticking with them all week. If gratuities weren't prepaid, I don't think I would have tipped them - if they were in a regular restaurant on land, I know I wouldn't have tipped them - that's how bad our service was each night in the MDR.

 

At Qsine however it was a totally different ball game. Very attentive, immediate service, pleasurable to be around.

[crazycruiserdc]

Gretnagirl,

 

I think Olemissreb pretty much answered your question about select dining. Our experience was exactly the same. We even had missing plates and glasses on our table when we sat down. You certainly don't get the personal experience that we are used to when you have the same staff serve you every night. If your food wasn't cooked right then you were just stuck with it because you wouldn't see the waiter again until he cleared plates for dessert. I booked our reservations for select dining online ahead of time. So glad I did. I saw people standing in line every night trying to get a table with bad results. Even with a reservation they managed to screw it up most nights and we had to wait. We saw a large party that had a reservation that was lost in the system and they had to wait until about 9:30pm to get into dinner with small children. They were fuming. Just don't take a chance if you enjoy dinners. Try to get into the set dining times.

 

About FISHES, it is owned by a husband and wife. They are very quiet so don't expect much conversation. But that doesn't really matter because you are there for the whales and Floyd will get you to the whales. He takes 6 people out on his boat and that is about all it can hold. He gets you up close to the whales. He knows the right spot and we saw so many whales that I lost count. You will enjoy the day. I'm sure any of the tours on the small boats would be great. They do provide you with coffee and hot chocolate along with cookies on the boat. It also has a bathroom, although I didn't try it. There are seats inside the cabin for about 5 people so someone will have to sit outside. He had two patio chairs up in the front of the boat but it was windy and cold for those people.

[crazycruiserdc]

 

Dog sledding in Girdwood (near Anchorage)

 

 

Octopus Encounter at Seward Alaska SeaLife Center

 

 

Whales in Icy Strait Point

 

 

F.I.S.H.E.S. whale tour

[crazycruiserdc]

 

 

 

 

[crazycruiserdc]

 

 

 

 

 

 

Only outlets in room. Comes with nightlight

[BrusselsGirl07]

Wow, love your Anan Creek photos, I built our whole trip around this excursion! Nice shots of your room as well. We are in an inside at the moment on deck 8 near the library. The airfares from Australia and the tours we are taking make this an expensive trip already, and there is a big difference between an inside an an ocean view let alone a balcony! But I will keep an eye on price drops and we may get lucky.

[crazycruiserdc]

BrusselsGirl07,

 

There was a big price drop in our cruise about 12-10 days out from our trip. So keep an eye out at the last minute. Maybe you can at least get an ocean view for about the same price as the inside. I agree that going to Alaska is quite expensive. The excursions are so pricey but at least they were all worth it. How long of a flight do you have from Australia? We had a 9 hour flight from the east coast. I just hate sitting on a plane that long!