Celebrity Newbie, Sailing in March (Any tips/tricks?)

[BruinBuckeye]

Hello fellow cruisers,

 

My husband & I will be taking our first Celebrity voyage on board the Millennium in March.  We decided to throw caution to the wind & book a Royal Suite.  I've researched the amenities included, but I'm wondering if any more experienced Celebrity cruisers would have any "insider" information that might be helpful.  Anything about the Millennium that might be helpful to know beforehand?  I didn't see a roll call yet, but will check again... 

 

Our previous cruise experience consists of several Princess trips, 1 Crystal cruise, 1 Viking Ocean cruise & 1 Viking River cruise.  

 

We had a fair amount of on board credit which I used to book a few excursions in Tortola, St. Maarten, Dominica & Barbados. What do you all think of the various dining options including Luminae & Blu? 

 

Thank you in advance for your assistance!

 

BruinBuckeye (aka Leslie)

[mom says]

Your assigned dining room will be Luminae. Blu can only be accessed  by suite pax on a space available basis. You would need to ask your Maitre d to arrange this for you.

Millie doesn't have a Murano, which is a shame, but Tuscan Grille is nice. Sushi on 5 is a nice change if you like Japanese food - they serve more than just sushi. Le Petit Chef was a one and done for us- more as a novelty dining experience than anything else.

 

You should be contacted by the shoreside concierge in the weeks before embarkation for any special requests. You can let them know what liquor bottles you want, and what you would like in the mini bar.

[Guindalf]

There was a post the other day saying that suite guests can no longer use Blu!

[Honolulu Blue]

I'm on the Millennium RIGHT NOW, though not in a suite. I don't have any advice for you, but if you have more specific questions, I could perhaps take a look around.

[BruinBuckeye]

Thank you for the replies!  I realize my questions were not very specific.  What are your thoughts about the various restaurants on the Millennium?  Are the specialty restaurants worth the extra expense?  How is the Main Dining Room food?  Any shows you've especially enjoyed?

 

I feel like we haven't cruised in forever, but we were on Viking Kvasir (river ship) in June!  A completely different but very enjoyable experience...  Happy Cruising!

[Honolulu Blue]

22 minutes ago, BruinBuckeye said:

Thank you for the replies!  I realize my questions were not very specific.  What are your thoughts about the various restaurants on the Millennium?  Are the specialty restaurants worth the extra expense?  How is the Main Dining Room food?  Any shows you've especially enjoyed?

I'll have to give my opinion on the shows next week. All I can say now is a couple look interesting.

 

Others will have to speak about the onboard restaurants. I doubt I'll do specialty dining or the MDR. I do think the buffet has quite good food, but then again I'm not very fussy.

[DaKahuna]

7 hours ago, BruinBuckeye said:

  How is the Main Dining Room food?  

 

 As a suite guest your restaurant will be Luminae, which is for Suite Guest.  

 Our experience is that the quality of food and service in Luminae is much better than the Main Dining Room.   You can order items off the MDR menu in Luminae and I believe some have even been able to order items from Blu as well.  You can view the menu items for the restaurants on the Celebrity app but we usually ask for the MDR menu when we get our Luminae menu's.  

 

[Honolulu Blue]

Very quick note while I'm in port with decent Internet... I saw Boogie Wonderland last night. I liked it a lot and it seemed well liked by the crowd that attended, but the theater was less than a quarter full for my show. YMMV. More detailed review to come.

[luv2camp04]

We've been on the Millenium 2 or 3 times.  We have always been very happy with the food in the MDR.  We've never done a suite so I can't speak to Luminae but I've heard it's great. We've also never done specialty dining because we're always happy with the MDR, however, we are booked for Tuscan on the March cruise for the first night. The shows are normally quite good, however we're not much for the big production shows, but some have been great.  The staff is amazing.  The ship is beautiful.

[peanut head]

On 11/6/2022 at 12:23 PM, BruinBuckeye said:

Thank you for the replies!  I realize my questions were not very specific.  What are your thoughts about the various restaurants on the Millennium?  Are the specialty restaurants worth the extra expense?  How is the Main Dining Room food?  Any shows you've especially enjoyed?

 

I feel like we haven't cruised in forever, but we were on Viking Kvasir (river ship) in June!  A completely different but very enjoyable experience...  Happy Cruising!

No extra expense for specialty dining as you are in the Royal Suite and it's included for you.

[Mimiya11]

While not specific to your being in a suite, but as a first time Celebrity cruiser, take full advantage of the ambiance, coffees and desserts in the Cafe Bacio.  We go there daily for our early lattes and after dinner for something sweet and just enjoying hanging out. 

 

 

 

[George C]

On 11/5/2022 at 3:44 PM, BruinBuckeye said:

Hello fellow cruisers,

 

My husband & I will be taking our first Celebrity voyage on board the Millennium in March.  We decided to throw caution to the wind & book a Royal Suite.  I've researched the amenities included, but I'm wondering if any more experienced Celebrity cruisers would have any "insider" information that might be helpful.  Anything about the Millennium that might be helpful to know beforehand?  I didn't see a roll call yet, but will check again... 

 

Our previous cruise experience consists of several Princess trips, 1 Crystal cruise, 1 Viking Ocean cruise & 1 Viking River cruise.  

 

We had a fair amount of on board credit which I used to book a few excursions in Tortola, St. Maarten, Dominica & Barbados. What do you all think of the various dining options including Luminae & Blu? 

 

Thank you in advance for your assistance!

 

BruinBuckeye (aka Leslie)

Get ready to be totally spoiled, we have sailed a few times in royal suites on sister ships including earlier this year , you have lots of dinning options, Luminae the suite restaurant is excellent great service. Because of royal suite you can eat for free in any of the specialty restaurants, I would recommend you try all three , Tuscan grill, sushi at 5 and Le petit chef. Concierge can help with reservations. Your suite is huge separate bedroom, dining room , huge balcony with small hot tub, also bar setup you get your choice of 2 liters of liquor, fridge gets restocked daily with your choice of water, beer , soda . Also a nice bottle of champagne. On port days Luminae is closed for lunch but sushi at 5 is normally open, outdoor retreat is also open there menu is extremely small. I would skip blue , Luminae is superior. 

[Cruise a holic]

You will love the suite!  the extra 1/2 bathroom wonderful.  We enjoyed dining in specialty restaurants nightly and even some lunches.  Enjoyed Luminae for breakfast and some lunches. But nice to have breakfast on your balcony- butler can arrange also.  The only restaurants we didn't dine in was sushi on five  and don't care for blu, as we do not enjoy that food.  Our butlers varied- some excellent and some not so.  If you have any special requests, do it through either the butler or the suite lounge concierge.  The butler can set up your bath or outdoor hot tub.  Give advanced notice.

 

The Martini bar was a great place to hang out.  The suite has great storage.

Edited November 8, 2022 by Cruise a holic

[George C]

32 minutes ago, Cruise a holic said:

You will love the suite!  the extra 1/2 bathroom wonderful.  We enjoyed dining in specialty restaurants nightly and even some lunches.  Enjoyed Luminae for breakfast and some lunches. But nice to have breakfast on your balcony- butler can arrange also.  The only restaurants we didn't dine in was sushi on five  and don't care for blu, as we do not enjoy that food.  Our butlers varied- some excellent and some not so.  If you have any special requests, do it through either the butler or the suite lounge concierge.  The butler can set up your bath or outdoor hot tub.  Give advanced notice.

 

The Martini bar was a great place to hang out.  The suite has great storage.

No extra 1/2 bath on M class. Wish they did have that.

[CHEZMARYLOU]

You can request champagne in lieu of the bottles of alcohol. No need for the butler to set up the whirlpool on the balcony. Works like a regular tub but with jets. Ask if you can't figure out the jets.

[George C]

17 minutes ago, CHEZMARYLOU said:

You can request champagne in lieu of the bottles of alcohol. No need for the butler to set up the whirlpool on the balcony. Works like a regular tub but with jets. Ask if you can't figure out the jets.

We traded our champagne for Cabernet, lots of options. We have had royal suite a couple of times never tried the hot tub . 

[Cruise a holic]

4 hours ago, George C said:

No extra 1/2 bath on M class. Wish they did have that.

I had a royal suite on the S class.  Reflection and Equinox- didn't realize M class on had one bathroom.  Good to know- Txs

[D. B.]

Because this will be your First Celebrity Cruise I wonder if you researched that Celebrity has 3 generations (Age,Size Capacity) of Ships?

   We love Mille. and have sailed on her 5 times since St. Maarten June 2021. That was the first covid era Celebrity Cruise from a port Near the US.

   Some of Us prefer the M and S class ships for their less crowded feel and classic elegance.

 If you like cutting Edge (pun intended) design, then the newer Edge class ships are there for that.

   I hope Enjoy Celebrity and The Millenium as much as we have.

     

 

[George C]

45 minutes ago, D. B. said:

Because this will be your First Celebrity Cruise I wonder if you researched that Celebrity has 3 generations (Age,Size Capacity) of Ships?

   We love Mille. and have sailed on her 5 times since St. Maarten June 2021. That was the first covid era Celebrity Cruise from a port Near the US.

   Some of Us prefer the M and S class ships for their less crowded feel and classic elegance.

 If you like cutting Edge (pun intended) design, then the newer Edge class ships are there for that.

   I hope Enjoy Celebrity and The Millenium as much as we have.

     

 

For suites the Edge class is definitely the way to go , great outdoor retreat area with swimming pool and hot tubs, bar with small restaurant, great service . I do prefer suite restaurant on M class since it is much smaller . My only S class was a long time ago pre suite restaurant and suite lounge.

[Mike45LC]

2 hours ago, D. B. said:

Because this will be your First Celebrity Cruise I wonder if you researched that Celebrity has 3 generations (Age,Size Capacity) of Ships?

      

 

I prefer the earlier generation -- Meridian, Horizon, Zenith and Century!  I consider those the first generation of Celebrity ships!  But I guess that just makes me old!