Detailed (& long) review of Celebrity Millennium 12 Night Best of Japan 14-26th July

[Pushka]

5 hours ago, Justpackingmybags said:

Loving the review!

Can I ask a question about the Suica app? I’ve downloaded it to my iPhone but I can’t decipher it! How did you get to read it in English! Thanks in advance.

It's not an app but in Apple Wallet it's called Travel card or similar. Add it to your Apple wallet then transfer funds to it. 

[zitsky]

14 hours ago, Lunastella said:

 

I agree, while I really enjoyed the cruise, what I missed was spending more time in the countryside. Most of the ports were in big cities, and we just did not have enough time to get our into the countryside (particularly when you are not on an excursion), so I feel like I dont know what the countryside is like. I would like to do some hiking and explore places outside the main cities. 

 

There was a chef's Japanese special each night in the MDR - DS tried it sometimes (with mxed results), but we preferred to eat Japanese food when out for lunch each day. 

We’re hoping to do this cruise.  My dad lived in Japan in the 1960s and almost married a Japanese woman.  So I’ve always wanted to see the place.  Plus the movie Rashomon got me interested in Japan as a college student.

 

I did a solo trip in China 20 years ago.  A mix of city and country.  I wanted to see where they filmed Crouching Tiger and see the beautiful area around Guilin.  I understand why you would want that for Japan.

[Justpackingmybags]

6 hours ago, Pushka said:

It's not an app but in Apple Wallet it's called Travel card or similar. Add it to your Apple wallet then transfer funds to it. 

Fantastic! I think I’ve got it sussed out now. I’ll definitely be using it when I travel to Japan in November. First time visit, but not a cruise - it’s a self guided land tour.  That doesn’t mean there won’t be a cruise there in the future!

[zeberdee]

Loving your review, we're doing this cruise in October. 

We've recently had 2 of the ports changed, so no Aomori or Hakodate, it's now Nagasaki and Kumamoto.   

[Lunastella]

Day 1: Yokohama

 

Otherwise known as ‘get on the ship’ day. Our great plans for this morning evaporated once we opened the blinds to reveal torrential rain….again.  We needed to recalibrate. But first, the gym for a run (short, slow, but something!). Then I headed back to the room to pick up DS and DM for breakfast. I was hungrier today so I could really appreciate the mega buffet. I had a mixture of Bircher muesli, banana, boiled egg, pastries (multiple), and coffee…lots of coffee…of course.

 

DM particularly enjoying the fruit

 

 

My brekkie looks decidedly boring in retrospect

 

 

 

While we ate, we considered how to spend a rainy Sunday morning in Tokyo. It was a long time until our 3pm boarding slot. Originally we were planning on going to Meiji Jingu, but visiting a shrine in a forest on a very wet day is probably not a great idea. My raincoat cannot take another onslaught. We considered going to an art gallery, we considered going to another Uniqlo, we then we considered going back to the room and chilling, and that’s precisely what we did.

 

At about 11am, we decided to head to Yokohama and try our luck in boarding earlier than our 3pm time slot. We knew the journey by public transport could potentially be challenging given the weight of our cases and our numerous bags. As mentioned above, we don’t like making life easy for ourselves. Most normal people would probably take a taxi, but we are not normal people. DS had Google mapped a route on the metro which only involved only change that would bring us within walking distance to the port. Perfect!

 

The good news is that there are escalators going up all staircases. The bad news is that there are no escalators going down any staircase. Hauling our bags down multiple steps was a good work, think positive DS, but we survived and that’s the important thing.

 

We made it to the metro!

 

 

The metro journey was just under an hour, and the walk from the metro to the port was literally five minutes. With no luggage it would be a breeze!

 

I spy a cruise terminal

 

 

By 12.20 we had reached the terminal, and by 12.30 we were on the ship! There was no problem boarding much earlier than our official boarding time, and checking in was really swift as we had already checked in and had our passes on our phone.

 

 Ship!

 

 

 

Finally, we are onboard!

 

I continue to repeat my mantra ‘this trip is about the destination not the journey’.  Going from Beyond to Millennium is a hard pill to swallow, at least at first glance.  Milly has less restaurants, less chill out areas, and less art installations. But this was as I expected so I am not let down. Again, this trip is about the destination not the journey. I would repeat this several times over the course of the day as I explored the ship.

 

First photo onboard (of the place I would spend a lot of time)

 

 

We went straight to the theatre to do our safety briefing (literally less than 5 mins) and after that we could go to a cabin to drop off our day bags. The room was not ready yet, so we went exploring, and explored all of deck 10 and 11 and then chilled out in the solarium as it was still a little bit too early for lunch (we are not hungry after our massive breakfast at the hotel). The weather is bit grey, but at least it’s not raining! Plus, we are on a ship! About to cruise around Japan!

 

Hunger soon returned (of course) and the Oceanview Café called. As usual when lunching onboard, I had an array of salads and because it’s a holiday, some bread. DS and I also had a glass of wine to celebrate being onboard…any excuse! We also sampled some mini desserts and I had a coffee, not too bad actually, which is a good thing as it’s the only coffee I will be drinking on this cruise given our new ‘no drinks package’ reality….farewell Café Al Bacio…you were a good friend.

 

 

Salad and bread

 

 

Lunch view

 

 

That simple request for a glass of wine heralded the onset of what would be many requests to buy a drinks package (‘what package you ask’, ‘no package I reply’). We were very tempted by the 40% reduction that was offered but we were steadfast in our resolve…at least for now.

 

After lunch we headed back to the cabin, but the room was still not ready so we went back to solarium to read, watch the world go by, and enjoy the Yokohama skyline.

 

While relaxing in the solarium we fought off multiple drink package temptations. This time we were even more tempted (especially by the ‘free’ prosecco), but we got the calculator out and estimated how much we would ‘have to’ drink every day in order for it to make an economical decision, and much to the chagrin of the barman, we did not capitulate. A definite upside will be less drinking on this holiday which is no bad thing. This will be a healthy holiday I tell DS…apart from all the mini desserts…and the deep fried tempura…and the many many pain au chocolat to come.

 

DS offered to do all the unpacking (I know, I know, I am very lucky, but she is just so good at it!). She headed back to the cabin at 3pm to do her magic and when I went back at 5pm, the cabin was impeccable, everything I mean everything, was packed away and had its place.

 

However, I view an elephant in the room and that elephant is a bunkbed!! We always share a cabin for 3 people, but this is the first time we have a bed that folds down from the ceiling. In all our previous cruises, there was a sofa bed that converted into a pretty good single bed. This bunkbed situation is going to be a challenge…for someone at least…

 

Bunkbed(ish)!

 

 

None of us were happy with this arrangement and considered whether it too late to book a suite. Probably. But I am feeling more glass half full about this than DS and DM. I agreed to give it a try tonight. I may regret that decision.

 

Apart from the bunkbed situation I cabin is ‘grand’, maybe smaller than some of our previous cabins, but its obvious that it has been renovated recently enough. The main telltale sign of its age were the windows and the balcony. The windows seem to be the original ones and didn’t really close properly, so we were accompanied by a constant ‘whistle’ and much condensation.

 

More cabin photos

 

 

 

One cabin inspection was complete, DS and I went for a stroll around the ship from top to bottom scoping out a good spot for sail away.

 

Café Al Bacio where I will spend more less time this cruise due to said lack of drinks package for fancy coffees

 

 

Where DS decamped to most days

 

 

While out on our scouting trip, we picked up some wine glasses for the prosecco (regular grocery store purchase) which was cooling in the fridge. Pre sail away beverage in the cabin, and then we headed up to the Skyview Lounge for actual sail away (it was too windy to be out on deck). There was a live band playing, and that’s all I will say about that.

 

It was strange to have a sail away in the dark, a first for us. Sunset here is so early compared to home, but we could still see the lights in Yokohama and the wonderful bridge that we would have to pass through…at least we thought we had to pass through…looks like a tight squeeze, breath in!

 

Will we, won’t we???

 

 

We made it woo hoo!

 

Job done, we headed back to the cabin for a quick change to make our late seating reservation in the MDR. At least I thought we had a late seating, but inevitably I was wrong. The documentation we received from our travel agent said we had late seating, but at the MDR reservation desk they said we had ‘any time’ seating. This was news to us, but no matter, glass half full and all that, maybe any time dining is even better. DS and I are fine with eating late but DM would much prefer early dining, so a compromise could be reached (in theory) with any time dining, or so we thought, in reality, not so much. Buzzer time!

 

Instead of gracefully gliding into the MDR on deck 5, we had to descent to deck 4 where we were given a buzzer and told to wait at least half an hour for a table. The buzzer will only buzz if you are relatively close to the MDR. As a result, we were to become very well acquainted with the Rendezvous Lounge. Now, had we had a drinks package, this would be the perfect opportunity to sample a cocktail. Hence, this waiting game is less fun than usual…..I sense we’re going to get back to cocktails soon.

 

In the meantime we got our first (not) sunset outfit post

 

 

Our buzzer finally buzzed at about 8.50pm. We were seated in the middle of the dining room which was pretty hectic, but that is to be expected from the first night. There are also a lot of teenagers on this cruise, and we seem to be in the middle of them!

 

DS still happy to be having her first cruise dinner

 

 

Unfortunately we have an MDR budget but Luminae tastes. That said, the food was actually pretty good (well at least in my case, DS looked less happy as meal continued). The wait between courses was very long; so long that the waiter took our dessert order while we were halfway through eating our main course! That was the first.

 

I had shrimp cocktail, followed by the lamb with a sneaky side of fries and finished up with a tiramisu. Overall it all very acceptable apart from the wait. [SIDENOTE: things significantly improved in the MDR after that].

 

Shrimp

 

 

Lamb

 

 

Tiramisu

 

 

 

We finished dinner at about 10.15pm and while I had expressed some desire to go to the silent disco, that simply wasn’t going to happen so I headed to my bunkbed for a what would not be a very good night’s sleep. DS’s turn tomorrow night!

[Provence55always]

1 hour ago, Lunastella said:

Unfortunately we have an MDR budget but Luminae tastes.

🤣🤣🤣 I know the feeling. We have decided not to have a drinks package on our Japanese cruise.  We will be Elite Plus by then and will have free coffee in Cafe Al Bacio. Plus if you are Elite you get complementary drinks between 5 and 7. Being such a port intensive cruise I think we will be okay with buying the odd drink along the way. I can’t believe you only got 3 shrimp it was 6 when we started cruising and 4 last October. Your dress is beautiful 🤩 

 

[billc23]

Thank you for taking the time to write such a great review. I have my first trip to Japan planned for April 2025 so I am very interested in all the land based activities. I am really enjoying your writing style. You mentioned that you have done prior reviews, would you be so kind to add a link?

[Rick&Jeannie]

Following along closely as we will be doing this exact itinerary in 10 days.

[hcat]

Interesting read..so far  it seems you are doing ok with the no frills approach,  but hope you did not make DM haul her suitcase  or climb onto the top bunk..

[Lunastella]

17 hours ago, zitsky said:

We’re hoping to do this cruise.  My dad lived in Japan in the 1960s and almost married a Japanese woman.  So I’ve always wanted to see the place.  Plus the movie Rashomon got me interested in Japan as a college student.

 

I did a solo trip in China 20 years ago.  A mix of city and country.  I wanted to see where they filmed Crouching Tiger and see the beautiful area around Guilin.  I understand why you would want that for Japan.

 

Hi Zitsky,

I would recommend this cruise as an Introduction to Japan at least, it really gave us a sense of the country. If I were to go back, I would spend more time in the countryside rather than the cities.

[Lunastella]

20 hours ago, JackE said:

Great review! I am thoroughly enjoying your writing. We are on a best of Japan cruise on the Millie in March of 2026! 

 

Glad to be of help JackE!

[Lunastella]

19 hours ago, Ciaranaman said:

Loving your review!  And looking forward to more!  You are your sister are so blessed to be able to have this trip/time with your Mom.  Wonderful memories!

~Bernadette

 

I agree Ciarnaman, DS and I are so lucky that DM is still willing and (well) able to travel. We plan on lots more!

[Lunastella]

5 hours ago, zeberdee said:

Loving your review, we're doing this cruise in October. 

We've recently had 2 of the ports changed, so no Aomori or Hakodate, it's now Nagasaki and Kumamoto.   

Thanks Zeberdee. If you are going to lose any ports, they are probably the best to lose in fairness. There is relatively less to see in these ports compared to the other big hitters.

[Lunastella]

2 hours ago, Provence55always said:

🤣🤣🤣 I know the feeling. We have decided not to have a drinks package on our Japanese cruise.  We will be Elite Plus by then and will have free coffee in Cafe Al Bacio. Plus if you are Elite you get complementary drinks between 5 and 7. Being such a port intensive cruise I think we will be okay with buying the odd drink along the way. I can’t believe you only got 3 shrimp it was 6 when we started cruising and 4 last October. Your dress is beautiful 🤩 

 

 

I agree Provence, you don't spend much time on the ship on this cruise, so its fine to just buy a drink when you want one. I was also a little dismayed by my lack of prawns! 

[StopTheWorld]

Thanks for the info on travelling to Yokohama. We’ll be travelling from Shinjuku too, but DH has limited mobility. Whilst we love using public transport abroad, I think we’ll look at an alternative for embarkation day! 
Do you remember how much you topped up your suica card with? And how many days did that last? 

[Lunastella]

59 minutes ago, billc23 said:

Thank you for taking the time to write such a great review. I have my first trip to Japan planned for April 2025 so I am very interested in all the land based activities. I am really enjoying your writing style. You mentioned that you have done prior reviews, would you be so kind to add a link?

Thanks Bill. I know there is a way I can link my previous reviews in my signature, but I havn't investigated that yet. So here is a link to the cruise we did on Celebrity Beyond (Med) in 2022:

 

 

And here is one from Dec 2019 on Princess Sapphire around Indonesia 

https://boards.cruisecritic.co.uk/topic/2726150-detailed-review-of-sapphire-princess-10-day-orient-indonesia-28-dec-–-6-jan/

 

That's probably enough to keep you going for a while!

[Lunastella]

1 hour ago, Rick&Jeannie said:

Following along closely as we will be doing this exact itinerary in 10 days.

Very jealous of you Rick&Steve! Have a great time. 

[Lunastella]

40 minutes ago, hcat said:

Interesting read..so far  it seems you are doing ok with the no frills approach,  but hope you did not make DM haul her suitcase  or climb onto the top bunk..

 

I half joked DM should try it!! No, we are not that bad children! DS and I alternated every night, and I go used to it pretty quickly. 

[Lunastella]

5 minutes ago, StopTheWorld said:

Thanks for the info on travelling to Yokohama. We’ll be travelling from Shinjuku too, but DH has limited mobility. Whilst we love using public transport abroad, I think we’ll look at an alternative for embarkation day! 
Do you remember how much you topped up your suica card with? And how many days did that last? 

 

Yes, a private transfer may be a better option.

 

I just checked and I used 4000JPY on Suica in total over the whole trip, so 13-14 days.

[villauk]

How did your DM find the heat and humidity?

[Lunastella]

10 minutes ago, villauk said:

How did your DM find the heat and humidity?

I would say, with difficulty. Although she is a trouper so pushed through. She slept very well on the cruise as a result, much better than at home, so there is always a positive. I will ask her if she would consider visiting somewhere as hot and humid again, and get back to you.

[hcat]

47 minutes ago, Lunastella said:

 

I half joked DM should try it!! No, we are not that bad children! DS and I alternated every night, and I go used to it pretty quickly. 

our grandsons would love it..but youngest has to wait 2 yrs before his parents would ok him for top!  It does look cozy.. Does it stay open or put back each day?  thnks

[Pushka]

16 hours ago, Justpackingmybags said:

Fantastic! I think I’ve got it sussed out now. I’ll definitely be using it when I travel to Japan in November. First time visit, but not a cruise - it’s a self guided land tour.  That doesn’t mean there won’t be a cruise there in the future!

If there are two of you then you will both need it. It seems to work flawlessly even if your battery is low. Just tap the phone at the gates and go. 

[Justpackingmybags]

7 hours ago, Pushka said:

If there are two of you then you will both need it. It seems to work flawlessly even if your battery is low. Just tap the phone at the gates and go. 

Great advice @Pushka, thank you 🙏🏻 

[cinnamon]

Lunastella, did you notice if there was a nightlight in the refurbished bathrooms?  We are both in our 70s so always need the loo during the night. 
Thanks.