A Few Comments on the Sept. 10 Millennium Alaska Cruise

[lj77346]

Not much has been reported on recent Millennium cruises to Alaska,so here are a few of my notes from the Sept. 10 cruise.

 

We had an inside room on deck7 - nice location, could easily avoid elevators and take the stairs everywhere (and we're in our 70's) - 3 decks up to the buffet and two or three decks down to the various lounges.

 

We had a noon check-in time, arrived right at about that time and after having our documents reviewed and loaded on an iPad, we were in our cabin before 12:20 to drop off our carry-ons.  On this cruise, according to the captain, the crew outnumbered the passengers - 780 passengers with 820 crew.  So, we had a small ship experience on a relatively large ship - great service and quite frankly it was nice to never have to contend with any crowds.

 

We didn't eat in any specialty restaurants, but had all our dinners in the main dining room, which not surprisingly was very empty.  It was a few years since we were on the Millennium and the Oceanview Cafe is set up much more efficiently now than it was in the past and the variety and quality of the food there was very good. At lunch everyday there are stations with Indian food, Asian food, Mexican food, two chef's specialty stations always with at least one having beef or pork roasts, and daily specials like fried chicken, roast turkey, fish & chips, etc.  There is also the grill at the back as well as salad, pizza, sandwich, fruit, dessert, and ice cream stations - lots of choices.

 

The cruise director's staff did a great job of putting on lots of activities (trivia and games) during the day that were well attended considering the low passenger count.  The naturalist on board, Celia, gave a number of educational and entertaining talks about Alaska wildlife and cities.  The cruise director, Alejandro. had a number of talks including some with the captain that were very amusing.

 

Because of the low passenger count, many of the shows were not very well attended.  However, there were 2 production shows, one show with the acrobats from the production staff, on show just by singers in the production staff, a comedian, a magician, and an excellent quartet "Company Men" who presented an evening and a matinee show.

 

The first sea day was a little rocky, but it got smoother by dinner and after that it was smooth sailing for the rest of the cruise.  The weather in the ports was temperatures around 50 with rain in Ketchikan and Juneau and with lots of wind in Skagway.  Due to lots of ice, we did not get to see Dawes glacier.

 

It was great to cruise again and the low passenger count made this trip to Alaska a unique experience.  

[DCPIV]

Thank you for the report.  We had a similar experience on board Summit recently.  With only 450 passengers on board, shows and other spots were even more sparsely filled, but everything was excellent.

[TeaBag]

Glad you had an enjoyable cruise.  That was an amazing crew to passenger ratio.

[cruisequeen4ever]

I’m glad you had a nice cruise, and the passenger capacity being reduced is fantastic.

[Northern Aurora]

We boarded the Millennium yesterday.  We spent a month on this ship during the fall of 2018 but haven’t been on since the renovation.  

 

We are in a suite so are dining in Luminae which appears to be unchanged.  The change of decor in the old Michael’s Club was somewhat stunning but there is definitely more seating.  

 

Walking through the ship some areas appear to be unchanged, but the changes to other areas is dramatic.  In addition to the changed decor of the Retreat Lounge the changes in the Oceanview Cafe are dramatic.  The Oceanview is much more efficiently organized and the seating capacity increased.  There are other areas of new carpet and artwork.

 

The naturalist has changed since the prior cruise.  Instead of Cecelia Garland we have Brent Nixon.  Brent is scheduled for two lectures today.  Brent’s wife, Mary Amanda, is also onboard and presenting lectures.

[webeinky]

We also were on the Sept. 10 cruise, I agree embarkation was a breeze even with the extra COVD stuff.  The ship was beautiful, they did a great job on the Revolution. The crew was outstanding, they really made us feel so welcome. We genuinely felt they appreciated the guests getting back to cruising as much as we appreciated the cruise line starting back to cruising. Hats off to the wonderful crew on the Celebrity Millennium for making this a wonderful cruise for us.  

 

The low guest count (770) on this cruise made this truly a once in a lifetime unique experience, and one that we will probably never experience again. It was so odd to see the elevators empty, not having to worry about finding an open table at the buffet and finding a seat at the show was definitely no problem. Never once did we have to wait for anything. 

[Middle Bru]

We were also on this cruise and echo all of the comments above…

 

We are actually Disney Cruise folks and were interested in how Celebrity compared. Both lines have their positives… But Celebrity had a special free luggage program called “Port Valet” We had to sign up for it early during the cruise, but the night before we received special airline tags. Our three bags were picked up at 10:00 pm the last night. After a cross country flight involving a connection, we arrived the appropriate luggage carousel and out popped our bags… This enhancement allowed us to do a simple 7:30 am walk off for a hassle free disembarkation. 

[t18c97]

3 hours ago, Middle Bru said:

We were also on this cruise and echo all of the comments above…

 

We are actually Disney Cruise folks and were interested in how Celebrity compared. Both lines have their positives… 

Also long time DCL cruises which have their first Celebrity booked for an Alaska sea/land cruise next August. What are your thoughts on how the two compare???

[CTSandy]

On Millenium currently, in a concierge cabin aft balcony.  Easy check in and, as noted before, captain announced that crew outnumbers passengers.  Invited to helipad for sailaway from Ketchikan yesterday - in spite of rain earlier, it held off while out there and it was an enjoyable event.  
 

I sailed on Equinox a month ago (ABC Islands - 9 nights) so I was prepared for the empty elevators and dining room.  I was surprised that some people got on elevators that had more than 4 passengers - we just waited for an empty one.  Some wearing of masks - maybe 5 to 10 % - we have used ours only when there are crowds in indoor places.  Masks mandatory in Alaska indoors; “suggested” outdoors.

 

Service has been outstanding, but I have always been very happy with Celebrity service.  What is unique now is to see servers more relaxed in dining rooms and having the opportunity to have a lengthier chat with them.  Food in MDR has been a little hit and miss - I had expectations based on my August cruise on Equinox - ordered an appetizer last night that we really enjoyed on Equinox (a Barolo braised beef/gnocchi dish) and  it wasn’t as well prepared.  Also found our entree last night (seafood and orzo) was not very good - could have just been an off night because meals prior were fine.

[graphicguy]

Thanks for the report.  I almost booked Alaska on the Millenium.  Happy to hear it was a wonderful experience.

[Pizzasteve]

Joining the ship 9/24.  FV category. Any further tips welcome.

[earlydiner]

We were on the Millennium for the 9/3 week  We so enjoyed everything on the ship.  I will say that our favorite place on the ship was the Sky Lounge.  Beautiful view from deck 11 forward.  It turned out to be a great place to meet new friends as well.  Several of the bars also had some great musicians that we loved listening to.   Enjoy the small number of guests on board.  No waiting for elevators or in line anywhere.  

Have a great time.    

[Ferry_Watcher]

On 9/18/2021 at 4:08 PM, Middle Bru said:

But Celebrity had a special free luggage program called “Port Valet” We had to sign up for it early during the cruise, but the night before we received special airline tags. Our three bags were picked up at 10:00 pm the last night. After a cross country flight involving a connection, we arrived the appropriate luggage carousel and out popped our bags… This enhancement allowed us to do a simple 7:30 am walk off for a hassle free disembarkation. 

Port Valet is actually offered by the Port of Seattle, and is available on most sailings out of Seattle (HAL, PCL, RCI, X).  It is a complimentary service designed to increase tourism in Seattle, and help with congestion at SeaTac Airport.

[cruzzzinma]

1 hour ago, Ferry_Watcher said:

Port Valet is actually offered by the Port of Seattle, and is available on most sailings out of Seattle (HAL, PCL, RCI, X).  It is a complimentary service designed to increase tourism in Seattle, and help with congestion at SeaTac Airport.

Port Valet in Seattle was awesome. We had about 25 minutes to get to another terminal in DFW for our flight home. When we got to the gate, I saw our luggage coming offloadEd from a pickup truck and onloaded toour plane.

[vivian02]

So glad you sailed Alaska in 2021. I was on a different cruise out of Seattle in July but will be on Celebrity Solstice in 2022. That crew ratio is amazing. I suspect the ships capacity will rise come next cruise season in Alaska. Lets hope for a back to normal cruise season next year. Tim

[TMLAalum]

We last sailed the Millennium in 2014 and were delighted with the refurbishment of her when we sailed on 9/10. In fact, I rate her above the S-class and Edge ships. My only annoyance is that outdoor forward viewing areas are gone thanks to the Retreat takeover. For an Alaska cruise, which is about the scenery, what a shame. The helipad was opened once by invite and to all during Endicott Arm enroute to Juneau which helped. At least there is still the Sky Lounge on the M and S class!