Mille Alaska Review - First Cruise ever!

[scorchestra]

I’m glad share my trip report with you. First a little about me. I almost did not take this cruise see previous post if interested. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2351956

 

I traveled with my husband and 18 year old son.

 

This was our very first cruise. On a scale of 1 to 10 it was a 15! We loved it. Can a person fall in love with a ship? Well, I’m in love with the Mille. Our cruise left Vancouver on May 27th.

 

Things I did not do that I thought I would:

I had read about people being bombarded with requests to upgrade to the premium beverage level, so I thought I’d upgrade when asked, No one ever asked, so I never upgraded. The classic beverage package was fine. I had proseco and wine and any coffee drink I wanted from Il Bacio. My favorite was the Aspen Coffee!

Same for Speciality dining. No one ever offered that. I only saw it in the dailies as a deal, but the dining room had such delicious food and a great variety that we decided not to do any speciality dining and we were more than fine.

We only saw one show and that was the first night. The comedian was hilarious and we laughed the entire time.

Never had a martini or other special cocktails.

Stop me when I start sounding boring.

I loved our cabin. It was larger than I thought I would be. We stayed in a CC room 6th deck aft.

 

Well, on to the report - short on words with photos. I’ll try to do a little everyday.

 

We flew to Vancouver from Los Angeles and spent 3 nights in this beautiful city. We stayed in the same hotel (Hyatt Regency) that we stayed in on our honeymoon 23 years ago. A bottle of champagne was waiting for us in our room. We ate a few delicious meals. I highly recommend Joe Forte’s Seafood and The Flying Pig in Gastown. See food pictures below and a few Vancouver pics.

 

[scorchestra]

Day 1 -

So excited for boarding day. We arrived at 10:30am. We boarded at about 11:15am. Because of my broken foot, I had wheelchair service, so we were one of the first to board. There was a smiling server with a tray of champagne and mimosas. Mimosa for me, champagne for my husband and OJ for my son. I’m gong to love this!

 

We had a special CC embarkation lunch. We ordered the lamb chops. I’ve had lots of lamb in my life and this was in the top 3. Yum! After lunch we went to the famous Il Bacio for coffee. French kiss for my Husband and an Aspen coffee for me. Gee, I’m really going to like this cruise. Not sure how this ship used to be, but it is lovely now. New carpet, new paint, it’s beautiful!

 

At about 1:30 we hear an announcement that rooms are ready. Nice large room and balcony - NICE! Loved the space. It was larger than I thought. We met our steward, Michael, who was very nice and welcoming. We relaxed in the room then went off to explore the ship. Sail Away was sort of late. We did not sail off until about 6:00. We sat and had a glass of wine as we watched it sail off in the light drizzling rain. Dinner time. We were asked if we wanted to sit alone or share a table. We want to share! I was surprised to over hear people say they wanted sit alone. Honestly, if I wanted to sit alone, I would have stayed at home - LOL.

 

We caught the 9:00pm show in the theater. It was a comedian. He was hilarious! We laughed the entire time. Back to room after show where we were lulled to a gentle sleep.

 

[Bo1953]

Thank you for the wonderful post and quite happy you and your family seem to have a great time, so far!

 

bon voyage

[Bimmer09]

Glad to see you have pushed the boat out on your review.

 

Excellent photos- I particularly like the rain photo and the wake one.

 

Keep them coming!

 

Norris

[scorchestra]

Bo1953, Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment!

 

Norris! How are you my opera loving friend!? I'm honored that you are reading my review and slightly intimidated, LOL. I'll post more later. When & Where is your next cruise?

[Amishcountry]

Great review. Experienced your same excitement 3 years ago , on our First ever cruise, which was on the Mille from Seward southbound. We are returning next year!! Can't wait How much wildlife did you see?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[chemmo]

So glad you enjoyed your cruise...I do remember your previous post. We loved Millie too and are booked on her for an Asian cruise 2017.

[wallie5446]

Always look forward to reading what the feelings of someone on their first cruise were. Following along,

EW

[Bimmer09]

Bo1953, Thanks for reading and taking the time to comment!

 

Norris! How are you my opera loving friend!? I'm honored that you are reading my review and slightly intimidated, LOL. I'll post more later. When & Where is your next cruise?

 

Hello again, my next cruise is Vancouver to Whittier, Alaska on the Star Princess, Sept 10th. A new ship for me and some different excursions than my two previous trips. Expect a deluge of photos and video. I'll start the review a couple of days after getting home on the 19th so pop over to the Princess board around then and say hi.

 

After that it's Celebrity Reflection January 14 2017 to Western Caribbean.

 

Best wishes,

 

Norris

[TeaBag]

Thank you for your very positive review, so very different from one already posted on here. I'm glad your broken foot did not impair your enjoyment of the cruise. Sorry the weather in Vancouver was not ideal, you'll just have to come back!

[TexSea]

Saw this photo and thought, wow, that's a LOT of people with iPads. ;)

 

Great review!!

[jerseygirl3]

Day 1 -

So excited for boarding day. We arrived at 10:30am. We boarded at about 11:15am. Because of my broken foot, I had wheelchair service, so we were one of the first to board. There was a smiling server with a tray of champagne and mimosas. Mimosa for me, champagne for my husband and OJ for my son. I’m gong to love this!

 

We had a special CC embarkation lunch. We ordered the lamb chops. I’ve had lots of lamb in my life and this was in the top 3. Yum! After lunch we went to the famous Il Bacio for coffee. French kiss for my Husband and an Aspen coffee for me. Gee, I’m really going to like this cruise. Not sure how this ship used to be, but it is lovely now. New carpet, new paint, it’s beautiful!

 

At about 1:30 we hear an announcement that rooms are ready. Nice large room and balcony - NICE! Loved the space. It was larger than I thought. We met our steward, Michael, who was very nice and welcoming. We relaxed in the room then went off to explore the ship. Sail Away was sort of late. We did not sail off until about 6:00. We sat and had a glass of wine as we watched it sail off in the light drizzling rain. Dinner time. We were asked if we wanted to sit alone or share a table. We want to share! I was surprised to over hear people say they wanted sit alone. Honestly, if I wanted to sit alone, I would have stayed at home - LOL.

 

We caught the 9:00pm show in the theater. It was a comedian. He was hilarious! We laughed the entire time. Back to room after show where we were lulled to a gentle sleep.

 

 

First of all, let me say how happy I am that you were able to take your cruise after all! And for a newbie, how smart of you to grab one of those coveted aft balcony cabins! On that class of ship, those aft balconies are spectacular. And I agree with you that Aspen is my fave drink too! Aren't they wonderful. If you're ever on another Celebrity ship and it doesn't show up on the drink menu, just ask for it. They'll make it for you no problem.

 

So it appears you are a new cruise addict. Welcome to the club. My name is Jo-Ann and I'm a cruiseaholic!

[Keith1010]

Thank you for your review.

Keith

[scorchestra]

First of all, let me say how happy I am that you were able to take your cruise after all! And for a newbie, how smart of you to grab one of those coveted aft balcony cabins! On that class of ship, those aft balconies are spectacular. And I agree with you that Aspen is my fave drink too! Aren't they wonderful. If you're ever on another Celebrity ship and it doesn't show up on the drink menu, just ask for it. They'll make it for you no problem.

 

So it appears you are a new cruise addict. Welcome to the club. My name is Jo-Ann and I'm a cruiseaholic!

 

Hello there Jerseygirl! Thanks for the welcome! Well, we have several things in common including the Aspen Coffee. I had told myself that I would go down the list and try a different coffee everyday. Never happened. My first was Aspen and I got stuck there, hooked. I took a sip of my husband's French Kiss coffee and it was good, but not as good as the Aspen.

 

Twice at dinner I sat with Jersey girls, they were always lots of fun. I regret not taking a photo with our table mates. Would have been nice for our memories. Overall I found the Cruising group to be, as it is here, a friendly group, though, as you know there are always some exceptions.

[scorchestra]

Day 2

Woke up at about 7:30 and quickly drew back the curtains to see where we were. I knew we were somewhere in the Inside Passage. My husband was already up and standing on our balcony. I peeked out and saw the most awesome, beautiful scenery of the Inside Passage. Gorgeous!!!

 

It wasn’t long after we were awake staring out at the beauty that I had turned away to go get ready for breakfast when he yelled “Whale!” What? Wow, I quickly turned and made my way to the balcony. With my broken foot and my slow hobbling - I missed it, but did catch it going off in the distance and saw it spout up water. I then listened to my husband describe how the whale breeched right outside our balcony. How is that for a welcome, my friends?

 

We went up for breakfast and were promptly seated , one again being asked if we wanted to be alone or share - we shared each and every time. As we went down we were literally approached by 3 servers all at once, and beautifully orchestrated I must say. We were offered coffee, another server offered orange juice while the 3rd had a beautiful basket of pastries and croissants. ME > “Yes, I’ll have coffee, OJ please and I’ll take that lovely croissant, thank you so much” Can you say Downton Abbey on the Sea? Love this! We were so thrilled with all of the lovely breakfast choices. Starters for breakfast? Wowsie! (Is wowsie a word?)

 

I ordered stewed fruit for breakfast; figs and prunes with pears and I had a french omelet for my entree and some bacon too. We had our first of many conversations with our table mates. The highlight of our breakfast was a huge pod of dolphins swimming outside! There were so many including baby dolphins we “oohed and awed” and then everyone on that side of the dining room headed towards a window to see them. The dolphin parade went on for a few minutes. Lovely. Not sure who is supplying the sea show, but I’ll have to thank them. A whale and dolphins in one morning, nice!

 

Well, I won’t bore you with the details of my day, but I will say that this inside passage sail day was one of my very favorite days. I recall reading some reviews where some people complained about doing the Inside Passage at night and never seeing anything. I am now guessing they slept thru the day, because we had awesome views all day long!

 

I spent a long time sitting on the 11th deck on a lounger just staring out into the ocean. I rested and lounged for a couple of hours while my husband and son explored the ship and walked around. Guess what? I got sun burnt! Who knew? I should have worn sunscreen, but I did not think that when wearing layers and a coat I would need sunscreen. Bring sunscreen folks.

 

Apparently, the one thing I did not do this day was take photos, sorry guys.

[scorchestra]

Yay, I do have photos from the Inside Passage day. I asked my husband and he took some, so here are photos to enjoy.

 

 

[coldweathergirl]

Enjoying your review and the photos.

 

Glad you loved your cruise and Celebrity. My daughter and her boyfriend recently cruised on the Reflection in Europe. He had never sailed before either and was unsure if he would like it. He loved it, so much so they booked another while on board. We've never done an Alaskan cruise so I'm looking forward to further installments.

 

So glad you were able to make the trip as I had read about your precruise challenges. Hope your mother is doing well and her angiogram went well.

[riclop]

Thanks for the review.

[timtrek]

Thanks for the great review and pictures. Keep them coming!

[ansoninc]

Great pictures. Thank you!

 

 

Diana

Las Vegas

Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[lag9122]

Great review. Wonderful pictures.

[Jim_Iain]

So glad to hear you are enjoying Millie. She was the first ship I ever sailed and I have a special place in my heart for her.

 

Jim

[scorchestra]

Day 3

Woke up in Ketchikan. First our lovely dining room breakfast. Today they have what is called an early express breakfast. That means it is all ready for you and you don’t order it. You sit in the dining room, get the usual coffee, OJ and bread (Downton Abbey at sea) servers then they serve you scrambled eggs, bacon and a grilled tomato. A grilled tomato! who would have thought of that? I think I’ll have grilled tomatoes at home from now on for breakfast. It was lovely.

 

Out the door we went for first excursion. Well, it was not as easy as that. remember my broken foot? I got wheelchair service for each and every dock. I was quite thankful for that because some the docks are quite long and some a little steep getting off the ship. They guys always did an excellent job! Superb service. I did give them a little tip each time.

 

Our excursion was the Deadliest Catch. Los of fun! I so very much enjoyed hearing the stories of the fisherman and hearing about the danger they go through. Stories of the sea have always fascinating me. They drove us out into the bay and further out for about 1 ½ hours. Very nice ride, no movement whatsoever.

 

Side note: I was armed with seasick medication and a bag of candied ginger anticipating getting seasick on the ship or on an excursion. Never ever did. Never had to take anything and never got seasick and I’m the kind of person who gets motion sickness very easily even in a car. If my husband does not completely stop at a red light and just moves the car a bit froward while at the light, I get motion sickness, so glad to report that I did not get seasick.

 

Back to the Deadliest Catch… the boat stopped so they could feed the eagles. We saw the most amazing, beautiful sight - about 40 eagles diving right in front of us for the fish. Gorgeous, but difficult take their photo. My creative teenage son took a video. I’m going to try to post that so you can see it when I finish my report.

 

After this excursion we had a couple of hours before our next, so I let the guys park me and my wheelchair next to the statue there and they went to explore the town. Broken foot bummer, but that’s Ok. I sat and enjoyed some people watching and called my mother to see how she was doing back home.

 

Next show was the Lumberjack show. Very cute and lots of fun. Money well worth spending.

 

Evening dinner once again was awesome. Coffee at Bacio. I had the London Fog drink, which is Earl Grey tea with steamed milk. Oh my, this was good and it was my first of many! At night we went to Cosmos, which is the nightClub. There weren’t too many people, but we were happy to see that they had karaoke. My son sang a few songs while we had a drink and enjoyed the show.

 

[Djaye]

We will be repeating a southbound cruise on the Millie in July. Have not sailed since the dress code was changed from formal to evening chic. I have read what Celebrity says is acceptable. Could you comment on what you actually saw in the dining room on evening chic nights? Currently planning for DH to be in sports coat/tie and me in black pants and very dressy tops. Thanks in advance.

[Bo1953]

We will be repeating a southbound cruise on the Millie in July. Have not sailed since the dress code was changed from formal to evening chic. I have read what Celebrity says is acceptable. Could you comment on what you actually saw in the dining room on evening chic nights? Currently planning for DH to be in sports coat/tie and me in black pants and very dressy tops. Thanks in advance.

 

That is good, you will find some dressed up more or less.... enjoy your sailing and let us know how you find and enjoy it!

 

bon voyage