Celebrity Millennium: what do you love about her? What do you dislike? Any tips?

[dleahy4444]

Will be on the 1/6 sailing of the Millennium for the first time. Have never been on an M Class ship. I usually sail on RCCL Oasis class ships but I was on the Edge in July and fell in love. I know the Millennium is significantly smaller but it looks lovely from the pictures online. Any insights from recent cruisers? Likes, dislikes, hidden gems? I’ll probably spend some time in the casino, so any impression of it you’d like to share will be helpful. We splurged for a sky suite and I’ve read up on those amenities online but I’m interested to hear what others have to say about the retreat experience.   Ive never been on a cruise that I didn’t love so I don’t expect the Millennium to be any different, but would appreciate your input. Thanks!!

[tonyd285]

We were on the Millennium in October.  On the plus side, the staff was terrific, cabin attendants, bar staff, waiters and assistants, all were friendly and helpful and went out of their way to ensure comfort and a good experience.  I thought the food (we ate mostly in Blu), was not quite up to the usual standards for Celebrity.  The entertainment was bleh.  The ship was clean and in good shape.  The slots were tight (as usual), the indoor pool area always had lounges available.  Overall we really enjoyed the cruise.

[dleahy4444]

1 hour ago, tonyd285 said:

We were on the Millennium in October.  On the plus side, the staff was terrific, cabin attendants, bar staff, waiters and assistants, all were friendly and helpful and went out of their way to ensure comfort and a good experience.  I thought the food (we ate mostly in Blu), was not quite up to the usual standards for Celebrity.  The entertainment was bleh.  The ship was clean and in good shape.  The slots were tight (as usual), the indoor pool area always had lounges available.  Overall we really enjoyed the cruise.

Thank you for your response. Ive always found the staff on the cruises Ive been on to be hardworking and friendly. Glad to see it is no different on the Millennium. Too bad that the food was not up to expectations. But it will be cooked and served by someone other than me, so its all good! Lol! I noticed that you wrote that there were always loungers available in the indoor pool area. How about the outside pool? Was it a problem? As far as the slots, I too expect them to be tight. I’m prepared to lose my budget, just hope that it takes a while to do it. Glad you enjoyed your trip

[GMoney]

I'm Pinnacle on RC and while I love their newer ships, Millie is one of my favorites. I spent 15 nights on her sailing through the canal recently. I agree with the previous comments about food and entertainment, but the ship is a great size, in amazing shape after the 2019 revitalization, and has a great connection to the sea. I love the outdoor seating in the Oceanview Cafe (Windjammer), and all of the live music around the ship

Edited December 5, 2021 by GMoney

[Northern Aurora]

We spent two weeks on the Millennium in September.  We've done several cruises on her in the past, prior to the 2019 revitalization, including a month in 2018 and two weeks in 2017.  In 2017 we were actually in the same suite we were in this past September.  

 

The decor of the suite was totally different from 2017, and even had more storage space than I remember.  The safe, however, is smaller.  

 

Parts of the ship don't even look like the Millennium of 2018, while other areas (Sushi on 5, Cellar Masters, Cafe al Bacio, Luminae)  remain much the same.  The OceanView Cafe has been gutted and totally redesigned with more seating and a much better flow (no more cafeteria style lines).  New carpet and furnishing in many public areas.

 

The Michael's Club/Retreat Lounge has a much brighter appearance which initially took some time to adjust to.  But it also has more seating and an improved area for the morning light breakfast items, tea sandwiches and evening munchies.  

 

I was talking to another passenger who was on their first Celebrity cruise.  When I mentioned that the Millennium is now the oldest ship currently sailing in the Celebrity fleet he was impressed.  She doesn't look like an old tired ship.

 

 

[cruise kitty]

We were on Millennium 2 weeks in September & October.   The ship is gorgeous.  Did week one in suite & week 2 in aqua/blu.     Cabin wise, preferred our aq cabin over S1.   Food & service wise, preferred Luminae.   Blu was less than we have come to expect,  & we ended up booking specialty restaurants mostly.   Favorite place? The Retreat Lounge with its amazing staff & the outdoor area aft of buffet… some excellent whale watching there.     The Persian Gardens are “ok”. Nothing like S class.    Loved the indoor thassotherapy pool area, but jets aren’t currently working.   Way more to love than to complain about.     Would book again in a heartbeat, love the edge upgrades.  

[jelayne]

With the M class ships Luminae, Blu and the MDR all share kitchen space so you can order off of any of the 3 menus.  We love suites, but don’t t care for the Luminae menus (actually dislike as they are fish and seafood heavy and I  can’t eat either) so the options of al, 3 menus on M Class are great for us.  
 

We also enjoy the Rendezvous Lounge and the pool in the Solarium.

[dleahy4444]

5 hours ago, GMoney said:

I'm Pinnacle on RC and while I love their newer ships, Millie is one of my favorites. I spent 15 nights on her sailing through the canal recently. I agree with the previous comments about food and entertainment, but the ship is a great size, in amazing shape after the 2019 revitalization, and has a great connection to the sea. I love the outdoor seating in the Oceanview Cafe (Windjammer), and all of the live music around the ship

Thanks. You make a good point about the connection to the sea, which I hadn’t considered. 

[dleahy4444]

5 hours ago, Northern Aurora said:

We spent two weeks on the Millennium in September.  We've done several cruises on her in the past, prior to the 2019 revitalization, including a month in 2018 and two weeks in 2017.  In 2017 we were actually in the same suite we were in this past September.  

 

The decor of the suite was totally different from 2017, and even had more storage space than I remember.  The safe, however, is smaller.  

 

Parts of the ship don't even look like the Millennium of 2018, while other areas (Sushi on 5, Cellar Masters, Cafe al Bacio, Luminae)  remain much the same.  The OceanView Cafe has been gutted and totally redesigned with more seating and a much better flow (no more cafeteria style lines).  New carpet and furnishing in many public areas.

 

The Michael's Club/Retreat Lounge has a much brighter appearance which initially took some time to adjust to.  But it also has more seating and an improved area for the morning light breakfast items, tea sandwiches and evening munchies.  

 

I was talking to another passenger who was on their first Celebrity cruise.  When I mentioned that the Millennium is now the oldest ship currently sailing in the Celebrity fleet he was impressed.  She doesn't look like an old tired ship.

 

 

Thank you for your insights. Very helpful

[dleahy4444]

2 hours ago, cruise kitty said:

We were on Millennium 2 weeks in September & October.   The ship is gorgeous.  Did week one in suite & week 2 in aqua/blu.     Cabin wise, preferred our aq cabin over S1.   Food & service wise, preferred Luminae.   Blu was less than we have come to expect,  & we ended up booking specialty restaurants mostly.   Favorite place? The Retreat Lounge with its amazing staff & the outdoor area aft of buffet… some excellent whale watching there.     The Persian Gardens are “ok”. Nothing like S class.    Loved the indoor thassotherapy pool area, but jets aren’t currently working.   Way more to love than to complain about.     Would book again in a heartbeat, love the edge upgrades.  

Interesting that you preferred the aqua cabin over the suite. Any particular reason? I’ll be sure to check out the area in the aft, though I will miss the whales since we will be in the Caribbean lol! Thanks for the tip about the Persian gardens. I’ll plan accordingly.  Vert informative post, thanks!

[dleahy4444]

1 hour ago, jelayne said:

With the M class ships Luminae, Blu and the MDR all share kitchen space so you can order off of any of the 3 menus.  We love suites, but don’t t care for the Luminae menus (actually dislike as they are fish and seafood heavy and I  can’t eat either) so the options of al, 3 menus on M Class are great for us.  
 

We also enjoy the Rendezvous Lounge and the pool in the Solarium.

I didn’t know about the shared kitchen, Thanks! I’m not big on seafood either so I am happy to see that ordering from the MDR is an option. I’ve never experienced Blu, so that should be fun to try it. Does your server in Luminae bring you all 3 menus or do you need to ask for them?

[tonyd285]

Responding to Dleahy4444, no one was using the outdoor pool.  October in Alaska, a little too cold.  The ship was only about one-third full so not a normal cruising experience.  The indoor pool and hot tubs were fine.  busy but not crowded.  I suspect that in warmer temperature with more passengers both pools will be used so loungers should still not be an issue.

[dleahy4444]

1 hour ago, tonyd285 said:

Responding to Dleahy4444, no one was using the outdoor pool.  October in Alaska, a little too cold.  The ship was only about one-third full so not a normal cruising experience.  The indoor pool and hot tubs were fine.  busy but not crowded.  I suspect that in warmer temperature with more passengers both pools will be used so loungers should still not be an issue.

Lol, I didnt realize you went to Alaska. Of course the outdoor pool was empty in October. My mistake 

[jagoffee]

13 hours ago, dleahy4444 said:

Interesting that you preferred the aqua cabin over the suite. Any particular reason? I’ll be sure to check out the area in the aft, though I will miss the whales since we will be in the Caribbean lol! Thanks for the tip about the Persian gardens. I’ll plan accordingly.  Vert informative post, thanks!

 

15 hours ago, cruise kitty said:

We were on Millennium 2 weeks in September & October.   The ship is gorgeous.  Did week one in suite & week 2 in aqua/blu.     Cabin wise, preferred our aq cabin over S1.   Food & service wise, preferred Luminae.   Blu was less than we have come to expect,  & we ended up booking specialty restaurants mostly.   Favorite place? The Retreat Lounge with its amazing staff & the outdoor area aft of buffet… some excellent whale watching there.     The Persian Gardens are “ok”. Nothing like S class.    Loved the indoor thassotherapy pool area, but jets aren’t currently working.   Way more to love than to complain about.     Would book again in a heartbeat, love the edge upgrades.  

I assume you were in a Sky Suite?  What was your cabin number?  We’re you on deck 6?
 

I recently booked a cruise on the Summit and I was a little concerned about the lifeboats under the Sky Suites on Deck 6.  I was wondering if that was your issue?  I ended up booking cabin 9111 on deck 9 instead.  
Thanks

[cruise kitty]

6 minutes ago, jagoffee said:

 

I assume you were in a Sky Suite?  What was your cabin number?  We’re you on deck 6?
 

I recently booked a cruise on the Summit and I was a little concerned about the lifeboats under the Sky Suites on Deck 6.  I was wondering if that was your issue?  I ended up booking cabin 9111 on deck 9 instead.  
Thanks

Exactly, we were in a sky suite on deck 6...  6123....  great balcony, but mostly unusable due to constant cigarette smell...  the balcony is mostly unprotected, so with the storms we had week one, you could be wet & cold on the balcony, or blasted with cigarette smoke 😉

 

Week 2 AQ on deck 9 under overhang, cabin 9046... completely protected, & were able to leave door open for gorgeous sounds of ocean & nature...  we just turned off our room HVAC system as the air outside was fresh, cold, & perfect.  Bathroom in AQ is a step in shower with door...  Sky suite is a very tall tub...  with shower in it... it's a very tall tub & I'm 5' 3". 

 

The service in the sky suite was impeccable...  in both cabins we received almost daily gifts from hotel management, captains club, retreat hosts, etc. a lovely new bottle of wine almost every day 🙂.   So thoughtful.

 

Both rooms were beautifully updated.  In both rooms we asked the steward to please remove the desk chair (it sticks out & is a useless hazard)  & I personally packed away the knick knacks that clutter the room...   my neat freak tendencies travel with me, for good or bad 😉  I put them back on the last day.  

 

Good storage in both rooms,  I was never lacking for a place for our items to be neatly put away.  

 

The Millennium is a beautiful, beautiful ship...  we tried out the Sushi restaurant & loved it....  Chef's Table, wonderful experience, if you have the premium drinks package they will pair your included wine, don't pay the wine upcharge for the meal.  Ate at Tuscan... was just "ok" difficult to live up to Chef's Table experience.   

 

Enjoy!

 

[jagoffee]

1 hour ago, cruise kitty said:

Exactly, we were in a sky suite on deck 6...  6123....  great balcony, but mostly unusable due to constant cigarette smell...  the balcony is mostly unprotected, so with the storms we had week one, you could be wet & cold on the balcony, or blasted with cigarette smoke 😉

 

Week 2 AQ on deck 9 under overhang, cabin 9046... completely protected, & were able to leave door open for gorgeous sounds of ocean & nature...  we just turned off our room HVAC system as the air outside was fresh, cold, & perfect.  Bathroom in AQ is a step in shower with door...  Sky suite is a very tall tub...  with shower in it... it's a very tall tub & I'm 5' 3". 

 

The service in the sky suite was impeccable...  in both cabins we received almost daily gifts from hotel management, captains club, retreat hosts, etc. a lovely new bottle of wine almost every day 🙂.   So thoughtful.

 

Both rooms were beautifully updated.  In both rooms we asked the steward to please remove the desk chair (it sticks out & is a useless hazard)  & I personally packed away the knick knacks that clutter the room...   my neat freak tendencies travel with me, for good or bad 😉  I put them back on the last day.  

 

Good storage in both rooms,  I was never lacking for a place for our items to be neatly put away.  

 

The Millennium is a beautiful, beautiful ship...  we tried out the Sushi restaurant & loved it....  Chef's Table, wonderful experience, if you have the premium drinks package they will pair your included wine, don't pay the wine upcharge for the meal.  Ate at Tuscan... was just "ok" difficult to live up to Chef's Table experience.   

 

Enjoy!

 

Thank you.  I appreciate you explanation.  Do you think the smoke would not have been a problem if you were in the other side on Deck 6?  I much prefer a covered protected balcony as our sun worshiping days are over.

[cruise kitty]

Just now, jagoffee said:

Thank you.  I appreciate you explanation.  Do you think the smoke would not have been a problem if you were in the other side on Deck 6?  I much prefer a covered protected balcony as our sun worshiping days are over.

I could never figure out if it was from the smoking deck on 5 or from a nearby cabin....  I do know I will never again book a cabin on that side... I was careful to choose opposite side for the second leg 🙂

[Missymo]

Ah,  Millie is a beautiful old timer.  She is small, only holds about 2100 passengers but she is truly a classic  ,, before the days of the mega ships.  I can't speak of the cabins, as I have not been on her for awhile.The crew has always been wonderful,, and our butlers couldn't do enough for us.  NO reservations needed for shows. .  I will be on her for Christmas in a few weeks, for a short cruise. Looking forward to seeing her again.  

[dleahy4444]

6 hours ago, cruise kitty said:

I could never figure out if it was from the smoking deck on 5 or from a nearby cabin....  I do know I will never again book a cabin on that side... I was careful to choose opposite side for the second leg 🙂

Thanks for the cabin info. I will be in 6132, on the other side so hopefully it will be ok. Can’t wait!!

[dleahy4444]

6 hours ago, Missymo said:

Ah,  Millie is a beautiful old timer.  She is small, only holds about 2100 passengers but she is truly a classic  ,, before the days of the mega ships.  I can't speak of the cabins, as I have not been on her for awhile.The crew has always been wonderful,, and our butlers couldn't do enough for us.  NO reservations needed for shows. .  I will be on her for Christmas in a few weeks, for a short cruise. Looking forward to seeing her again.  

Oh that’s right around the corner. Enjoy! Please let us know what you think once you cruise on her again. I’ll be on her the following week

[NonnaTLC]

I have a quick question...

We are sailing AK inside passage in May (definitely too cold to swim outside!) in AQ1 which means Blu dining.  How are we able to order from MDR?  Do we need to ask for menu, read it in advance (it seems they used to give you an advanced menu in your room at the start of the day) or is it automatically given to you as you sit to dine?  This is our shortest cruise ever, only 7 days, so we probably will not want to do any specialty dining.  (Although Sushi sound absolutely divine!)  

TIA!

[bigbenboys]

On 12/4/2021 at 10:16 PM, dleahy4444 said:

I didn’t know about the shared kitchen, Thanks! I’m not big on seafood either so I am happy to see that ordering from the MDR is an option. I’ve never experienced Blu, so that should be fun to try it. Does your server in Luminae bring you all 3 menus or do you need to ask for them?

We were on Millie last Oct 1st in Aqua. I enjoy both SS and AQ for different reasons. This cruise was the 1st time our waiter said we could order off the MDR menu in Blu. We got Blu menus and 1 MDR menu. In Luminae we have been ordering off the MDR menu since we started booking suite in 2015. I've never asked to see the Blu menu in Luminae. Suite guest can dine in Blu if seating is available. In Luminae after asking for the MDR menu the 1st night. We would be handed one MDR menu each evening with our L menus.

[bigbenboys]

5 minutes ago, NonnaTLC said:

I have a quick question...

We are sailing AK inside passage in May (definitely too cold to swim outside!) in AQ1 which means Blu dining.  How are we able to order from MDR?  Do we need to ask for menu, read it in advance (it seems they used to give you an advanced menu in your room at the start of the day) or is it automatically given to you as you sit to dine?  This is our shortest cruise ever, only 7 days, so we probably will not want to do any specialty dining.  (Although Sushi sound absolutely divine!)  

TIA!

You can use the app to see menus. See my post above. I've gotten a sunburn in Juneau late May by the pool. We are back on Millie in June 2022.

[NonnaTLC]

58 minutes ago, bigbenboys said:

You can use the app to see menus. See my post above. I've gotten a sunburn in Juneau late May by the pool. We are back on Millie in June 2022.

THANK YOU! 

We definitely will be bringing Sunscreen,  as our granddaughter in law looks like Casper, lol!  

[Missymo]

On 12/5/2021 at 11:40 PM, dleahy4444 said:

Oh that’s right around the corner. Enjoy! Please let us know what you think once you cruise on her again. I’ll be on her the following week

You will love her.  She is small, compared to todays ships, but still a beauty.  The food in buffet, and Blue was excellent.and a good time was had by all.  I will definitely cruise her again.