Having a great time on board Millennium

[topwop]

Just got off as you got on had a great trip we had about 980 passengers.  If I had to single out one place for great service that would be all the staff at Cafe al Baccio.  

[schittenden]

3 hours ago, Fouremco said:

I would hope that the driver or tour guide would announce that until everyone had their masks on, the bus wasn't going to move. Alternatively, that security staff would be called from the ship to remove the offending passengers. The passengers all know the rules and shouldn't have booked the excursion if they felt they couldn't comply.

To the contrary, the bus driver made an announcement on the way back to the ship that the cruise line requires masks on board the bus and to please put them on, but that he wouldn’t be “looking back there and fighting you about it.” In contrast, one woman did not have her mask on in the gift shop (where we had been told it was required), but the cashier told her to put it on when the woman was leaning over the counter in the cashier’s face talking to her. 
 

We are supposed to have an empty row in front of and behind us on the bus, but two women sat in the row behind us on the way to the ship. Although the driver told everyone as they boarded not to sit in the first three rows, he didn’t say anything to them when they actually did sit there. 

[Susanb10567]

Thanks for keeping us updated…Alaska was one of my favorite cruises…can’t believe it’s been 10 years since we sailed there on Disney.

[schittenden]

2 hours ago, patty1955 said:

Did you get sparkling wine when you boarded? We didn't and I haven't heard anyone else mention it so I'm curious. 

We did not. They handed out a small welcome cocktail in the dining room last night. Not sure if that is normal or if that was the replacement. 

[schittenden]

13 minutes ago, topwop said:

Just got off as you got on had a great trip we had about 980 passengers.  If I had to single out one place for great service that would be all the staff at Cafe al Baccio.  

The service has been good there, but we did get a hard sell on the nonalcoholic drink package twice there. 

[briguy1314]

Thanks for all of the updates. Can’t wait to hear more! 

[Ken the cruiser]

We’re currently on the Edge, produced negative antigen tests as well as our CDC cards before boarding. However, the same protocol was applied to passengers on the Equinox today, but they were also issued tracelets. The reason why we didn’t get tracelets is supposedly because the Edge has facial recognition technology while the Equinox doesn’t. Just curious, were you folks issued tracelets when you boarded the Millennium?

 

[TMaine]

44 minutes ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We’re currently on the Edge, produced negative antigen tests as well as our CDC cards before boarding. However, the same protocol was applied to passengers on the Equinox today, but they were also issued tracelets. The reason why we didn’t get tracelets is supposedly because the Edge has facial recognition technology while the Equinox doesn’t. Just curious, were you folks issued tracelets when you boarded the Millennium?

 

It's likely because you sailed out of Florida. 

[schittenden]

1 hour ago, Ken the cruiser said:

We’re currently on the Edge, produced negative antigen tests as well as our CDC cards before boarding. However, the same protocol was applied to passengers on the Equinox today, but they were also issued tracelets. The reason why we didn’t get tracelets is supposedly because the Edge has facial recognition technology while the Equinox doesn’t. Just curious, were you folks issued tracelets when you boarded the Millennium?

 

We were not issued tracelets.

[schittenden]

 

Edited August 15, 2021 by schittenden

[TXU2]

Can you comment on the boarding process at Bell Street Pier 66?

[schittenden]

[schittenden]

1 minute ago, TXU2 said:

Can you comment on the boarding process at Bell Street Pier 66?

Not sure if you had specific questions, but I can tell you what we experienced.  We arrived at 2:00 pm, right at the start of our 2:00-2:30 window.  A porter came to our Uber and took our bags. It sounds like there was a long line earlier in the day to tag bags, but ours were already tagged and there weren’t many other people dropping bags at the time we arrived. We went over to the entrance for boarding. Someone checked our passports outside. Then we went in and someone checked our passports, CDC vaccination cards, and Covid results. Then we went to another room for my son to be tested. We waited there for 40 minutes to get cleared. (Had we not had him we would have skipped to the next step.) Then we went through security and had carryons scanned. Then upstairs for someone to photograph our vaccine cards, test results, and passports and scan our boarding passes. Then we walked onto the ship. There were basically no lines anywhere. But for my son’s COVID test we could have been on the ship within 10-15 minutes of arrival at the port. 

[TXU2]

Thanks for the quick and complete response on boarding😀. Obviously, you can only give your experience.

[LGW59]

18 minutes ago, schittenden said:

 

Wow just wow!!

[schittenden]

1 minute ago, TXU2 said:

Thanks for the quick and complete response on boarding😀. Obviously, you can only give your experience.

My only complaint was that like four people looked at the same paperwork. If it could have just been done once, that would have been great. 

[schittenden]

1 minute ago, LGW59 said:

Wow just wow!!

It was a good excursion. I’d recommended it. Very sanitized, I’m sure, but a good introduction to the wildlife, fauna, and history of the Ketchikan area. We got luck that the weather was quite pleasant. 

[davekathy]

3 hours ago, schittenden said:

We did not. They handed out a small welcome cocktail in the dining room last night. Not sure if that is normal or if that was the replacement. 

Something new. At least on your cruise. 

[schittenden]

1 minute ago, davekathy said:

Something new. At least on your cruise. 

They referred to it as a “Blue Alaska”. Citrusy and vodka-based. 

[davekathy]

5 minutes ago, schittenden said:

They referred to it as a “Blue Alaska”. Citrusy and vodka-based. 

We have always enjoyed the flute of sparkling wine when we first board the ship. Tradition. But the Blue Alaska sounds even better. 

[Silkroad]

1 hour ago, TMaine said:

It's likely because you sailed out of Florida. 

That makes no sense since Edge also sails from Florida, and Edge passengers aren’t being issued tracelets.

Edited August 16, 2021 by Silkroad

[Silkroad]

Excellent and informative live review! I really appreciate your thorough assessment and gorgeous photos/video. I hope you, your wife, and your son are having a lovely time. 

[schittenden]

3 minutes ago, Silkroad said:

Excellent and informative live review! I really appreciate your thorough assessment and gorgeous photos/video. I hope you, your wife, and your son are having a lovely time. 

Thank you! We are. Doing out best to be safe and being cautious. I typed up four paragraphs describing the excursion and it didn’t post. I didn’t have it in me to type it again. 

[remarcm]

Thanks for the great pics and information. What was the name of that excursion?

[schittenden]

Just now, remarcm said:

Thanks for the great pics and information. What was the name of that excursion?

Rainforest, Eagles, and Totems, or something close to that. Very easy to navigate. Easy trail. Good guide. 

Edited August 16, 2021 by schittenden