Are Asian Itineraries on X a "Hot Mess"

[MaggieAtSea]

Hello!

 

I'm considering a sailing with my family on Millie's Asia itinerary for a "big birthday" celebration. I wonder, though... recent reviews make it sound stressful and, perhaps, a bit less than the admittedly over-used X mantra, "Modern Luxury" - cattle-call embarkations, disorganized port stops, and food and drink that are surprising some passengers in its quality.

 

We have done so very many X sailings (see signature), but ALWAYS in the Caribbean. Ready to be bold and adventurous, but wondering if visiting Asia via Celebrity cruise is the way to go about it.

 

Would welcome any perspective and thoughts from folks who have done any of the Asia itineraries, particularly on the grand older lady Millie.

 

Thanks and happy sailing!

[Celebrity Cruises]

Hi there,

 

I'm currently on the Celebrity Century, and not having any issues that could be deemed a "hot mess." It has been an absolutely wonderful cruise!

 

Additionally, we saw Millennium the other day when we visited Hong Kong!

[TeaBag]

Where are you planning on going and when? Singapore is hot no matter when you go but it is lovely. Japan can be cool, and parts of China. When we went (April 2013), I was not aware of "cattle-call embarkations". We sailed from Hong Kong to Vancouver in 37 days. I would say go for it. We are booked for March 2016, Singapore to Vancouver through Australia and Pacific islands.

[Nachosdelux]

Wife and I just got off the Millennium 14 night Hong Kong round trip (Mar 1-15) Taiwan and Vietnam. You can read my long post in another thread about the embarkation mess; hopefully it will not happen again.

 

For reference, I have been on 10+ Celebrity cruises, 5 RCI, and 1 Princess. I was on the Millennium once before, in 2004 on an Alaska itinerary.

 

We had a great time on this cruise - the food was very good and the service was excellent.

 

The ship is in decent condition. Not as shiny and polished as the newer ships, but fine. We had a couple issues in the cabin and they were fixed within 20 minutes. Public areas were very clean, especially restrooms.

 

My only negative was the Ocean view buffet. The layout is not as good as the larger ships, which leads to bigger crowds, and they had fewer options. The quality was ok, but not as good as our last few cruises on the S class ships. We usually stick to the salad bar and the Asian selections, and they were ok, not great. The deserts there were good.

 

We loved Blu, and Qsine, and had 2 good meals in Olympic (excellent service, but old-school French is not our first choice)

 

Don't miss the deserts at Cafe Al Bacio - the best on the ship.

 

We did our own tours in most of the ports. We did not go to Hanoi primarily because it was too much drive time and too little tour time. If you can do the overnight tour I would recommend it.

 

We did encounter the infamous Millennium smell on occasion, on the 6th level port side hallway, for a few minutes while walking midship. Nothing horrible.

 

We met lots of nice couples, from all over. Some people will complain about anything and everything. We met one guy who complained that the water from the dispenser in the OceanView Cafe was too warm. It is right next to the (unlimited) ice dispenser. Another woman complained that Celebrity staff was responsible for what was clearly a Hong Kong Immigration procedure. One couple complained the food portions were too large, another too small. One woman complained to the waiter in BLU that her bread plate was dirty. It was the china pattern. I think some people just love to complain, and nothing will satisfy them.

 

We have a positive attitude, but are not blindfolded Celebrity cheerleaders. If something is not good we are honest about it. The cruise was by no means perfect, but we had a great time.

 

I think that Celebrity is still having growing pains in Asia, and has to deal with countries that change their policies/procedures each week .

 

It is a long way to go, but we found it well worth the trip.

Edited March 17, 2015 by Nachosdelux

[geospyder]

Wife and I just got off the Millennium 14 night Hong Kong round trip (Mar 1-15) Taiwan and Vietnam...

 

Thanks for the input. We prefer the M class ships - been on the Infinity and Connie many times. In three weeks it will be our first time on the Millie. Sounds like we'll be retracing your cruises - Hong Kong to Vancouver for a 34 B2B plus a few days prior in Hong Kong. Next January we're back on the Mille for a 28 day B2B around SE Asia. We are coming in early to celebrate New Years Eve in Singapore.

[cle-guy]

I read a review that complained about embarkation, but the issues seems to be clearly Customs and Immigration and VISA related, not cruise staff issues.

 

I just can't imagine that X would have experience of loading 2000 passengers per ship every day all over the world, and for some reason would cut staff to such bare bones levels as to impact the embarkation process.

 

What I WOULD worry about, is losing an asian cruise to a charter group. I've read many threads about this happening there, and if I recall this fall 3 itineraries were taken over by charters, in expense making it impossible to see Japan with the remaining open ones.

 

I'd suggest when/IF you book, you have a plan B in the back of your head, and try to hold off on airline reservations, or book thru Choice Air to ensure you have no hiccups if you lose your sailing.

[NLH Arizona]

Hi there,

 

I'm currently on the Celebrity Century, and not having any issues that could be deemed a "hot mess." It has been an absolutely wonderful cruise!

 

Additionally, we saw Millennium the other day when we visited Hong Kong!

Glad to see you are having a great cruise. Now, stay off of here and enjoy it.

[gek]

You will notice a difference with the ports. Customs is definitely an issue. Celebrity do their best to minimise problems but they really are at the mercy of local authorities. Shore excursions sometimes have their chaotic moments but mostly they are well organised. Doing your own thing in port can be a challenge but often worth the extra effort.

 

On the other hand when you are on board it's pretty much like anywhere else in the world. The ship is great, the crew is great , the food is fantastic and the passengers are a more cosmopolitan mix which may be good or bad depending on your attitude.

 

In fact your whole enjoyment of the cruise can depend on your attitude. Just remember that in Asia it is all about the ports. In the Caribbean many people are there just to hang out and relax. Apart from sea days I wouldn't say an Asia cruise is about relaxation. How much you enjoy the cruise will depend on how much you invest in it and how much of an effort you put in to overcoming the occasional challenge.

[MicCanberra]

Well said Gek.

Some issues with the port authorities or customs doing things differently (sometimes what appears to be unorganised )is to be expected from any country that has such a different culture and language background. :D

[Andy]

Hi there,

 

I'm currently on the Celebrity Century, and not having any issues that could be deemed a "hot mess." It has been an absolutely wonderful cruise!

 

Additionally, we saw Millennium the other day when we visited Hong Kong!

 

Hi Celebrity,

 

Thanks for the update. We've been on Century many times. She's a wonderful ship, and will be missed. Have a great time, and we look forward to your updates - if time permits.

[MicCanberra]

The Century is a nice ship and it was a shame that she will go.

[Texed]

I'm currently on the Celebrity Century, and not having any issues that could be deemed a "hot mess." It has been an absolutely wonderful cruise!

 

Have a wonderful cruise. :)

[MicCanberra]

Have a wonderful cruise. :)

 

And a waffle for Texed.:p

[Texed]

And a waffle for Texed.:p

 

Hey, that is a good idea. ;)

[zoncom]

Is Solstice going to be in Asia at same time?

[Hlitner]

The questions raised by the OP are valid, but not so much about X as about all cruise lines. The Caribbean is one big tourist park where nearly all islands visited by large cruise ships are well known, have a tourist structure designed for cruise ships, etc. But once you venture off to Asia, Europe, South America, or Africa it is not really a cruise ship world. So yes, things on shore are not as well organized (in many places) and some places (especially in places like Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, etc) require tourists to have a little spirit of adventure. But we would submit this is not a negative, but rather a huge positive. I would also admit that when we cruise in Europe and Asia we follow our usual philosophy and do everything possible to avoid large excursions.

 

So here are my words of wisdom to the OP. Visiting Asia with X is not much different then being with Y or Z as most cruise lines utilize the same onshore tour providers. But also keep in mind that many places (especially large cities like Hong Kong, Singapore, Bangkok, etc. can easily be done on your own with a little bit of planning. In some other places (like Bali, Vietnam, Cambodia, etc) using a tour is probably the best option for the inexperienced traveler.

 

Hank

[Cassicruiser]

We did the 14 night gems of Indonesia cruise on Millennium last year - loved everything about it, as did most everyone we met on the ship. There was one family that hated, and complained about, everything. It was too hot, too busy, the ports were too Asian :confused:

 

We embarked in Singapore, which we really enjoyed, embarkation and debarkation was a breeze at their new terminal, and the ship, crew, entertainment etc was great. It's one of the older ships, but we've only been on the smaller Celebrity and RCI ships, and not on one of the newer bells and whistles ships so cant compare, but to my view it was still a beautiful ship.

 

It was hot and humid in January, but we spent a lot of time on deck at the pool, inside was airconditioned, and in ports we went to a few beaches and put up with the heat. It really wasn't intolerable. The ports are of course very Asian, but there are many choices of things to do, and that's what made them different and interesting.

[Germancruiser]

I also just dissembarked on sunday off Millenium- same cruise as Nachosdelux- I agree with his comments- esp. the food in Ocean View- mostly the same stuff and not so very good.

As for the ports- it was just a great cruise, no problems to get off an on the ship and HOT- well we had four very warm days around Taiwan- the other ports were a relaxing 20 Celsius- nice to visit and explore.

Millenium is one of my favorite ships and she´s well kept- just the public restrooms are in desprerate need of major overhaul- they seem to fall apart, clean of course- but rather shappy in appeareance!

Well the embarkation mess- that was really not handled well- X knows much better - no organisation- no real lines- everybody was angry and stressed to the max!

I should have expected someting from the captain about the embarkation issue- nothing! We heard that Millenium arrived late in Hongkong and that people arrived at the port around 8 am- I was supposed to be there around 2 pm - I arrived an hour early- so well I did expect to wait an hour more or so not 4 hours...! Oh well- all is well that ends well!

[need2bespoiled]

I'd say do it, and did this past Nov / Dec. Until 2013 we had not left North America, so it was a bit adventurous for us, but it was well worth the challenges and differences as Hiltner described so well. It may not go as planned, but will be a WONDERFUL trip regardless, as long as you do a bit of planning and make it what it can be for you. It will require some work and research, but that only builds the excitement.

 

Happy saililng,

Jenna

[toodietat]

Our family of 6 (3 generations) have not long returned from a 14 day cruise ex Singapore on Century to Myanmar, Phuket,Langkawi, Penang & KL. As we have all travelled extensively in Asian countries. we were very much aware of all the different aspects within these countries, which necessitates detailed research of the Ports on your itinerary. As long as you are very much aware of the heat (high humidity) when planning and regardless of the little "inconveniences" that may occur, your visit will be enlightening. Attitude (the need to experience cultures & view new sights) will be the reward. Century was a great little ship, great food, wonderful service with guests of very mixed ages & nationalities resonating into a happy ambience. Our only hic up was in Burma & this involved their Custom/Immigration Dept., largely because of inexperience in processing such a large group of tourists. Was very impressed with Celebrity's welcoming iced water/lemonade & ice cold washers on return from excursions.

[MicCanberra]

Our family of 6 (3 generations) have not long returned from a 14 day cruise ex Singapore on Century to Myanmar, Phuket,Langkawi, Penang & KL. As we have all travelled extensively in Asian countries. we were very much aware of all the different aspects within these countries, which necessitates detailed research of the Ports on your itinerary. As long as you are very much aware of the heat (high humidity) when planning and regardless of the little "inconveniences" that may occur, your visit will be enlightening. Attitude (the need to experience cultures & view new sights) will be the reward. Century was a great little ship, great food, wonderful service with guests of very mixed ages & nationalities resonating into a happy ambience. Our only hic up was in Burma & this involved their Custom/Immigration Dept., largely because of inexperience in processing such a large group of tourists. Was very impressed with Celebrity's welcoming iced water/lemonade & ice cold washers on return from excursions.

Those are a welcome site, especially after a long day exploring the city/country by foot. A very nice touch.:D