Millie review July 1-13 (long)

[RhondaPerr]

A plane trip from you know where. Three hours late. The most uncomfortable seats we have ever experienced. A poor autistic child in front of us screaming in terror....Would we ever get to Barcelona?

 

We are here...Airport in Barcelona a breeze..customs...bags took a long time to come out...Rep. met us after baggage...Short wait for the the bus, longer wait for the bus to fill up...5 minutes and we were on the ship.

 

We were greeted with champagne and cookies, but did not receive an escort to our cabin. Cabin 8112....Okay cover your eyes because it has to get a little negative for a moment...Our bathroom was beyond disgusting..it wasn't just dirty, it was moldy! This was my husbands first time on Celebrity and after hearing all about it, he was flabbergasted. Our toilet wouldn't flush and we had to wait almost 4 hours for it to be serviced. The room has definitely seen better days! Having said that...we didn't let this ruin our cruise in any way!

 

1st night...Note* 2nd seating is at 9pm which means most nights we were in the diningroom till eleven. **please excuse any typos I am still really lagged!

Waiter and busboy were wonderful, friendly, pleasant and anticipated our every need. We had great tablemates.. The show was a pre-show tonight so with unpacking etc. we didn't make it. We decided to not do anything in Barcelona since we had flown all night, and I knew we wouldn't be up for a tour.

 

2nd day...Sea day--formal night... breakfast buffett, long lines for the omlettes but otherwise fine. We attended port and shopping talks as well as some incredible lectures by Justin Newell the art historian on board. Tuxedo delivered to the room, missing pieces...we have never experienced that problem with Cruise Formals before. Cruise critic party, same time as lecture so I didn't attend, Went down to have pictures taken around 8pm..no lines..wonderful...Dinner was excellent.. Show at 11:15pm same shows as in April...singers and dancers were good but not as good as the previous group..wonderful show...

 

3rd day...Villiefranche....Had a healing message to start the day...quick lunch on baord and the our first tour at 1:30 pm...Monte Carlo...really interesting tour, great guide. and I won $189 when we went to the casino...Good old red white and blue machine. back to the ship by 6pm..dinner no show tonight because we have to be up at 6am...dinner was great.

 

4th day Florence...up at 6am....nice guide..but you need so much more than a day to see evrything... Note** If you want a ships tour, bu also want some free time to shop take the Taste Of tours... we had only 45 minutes to shop, but did some damage :)

 

Dinner again was great...the only real negative about the food is, that it is never hot when you have a table upstairs. It didn't really bother us, but we noticed it. One of our tablemates had been quarentined...he got sick after eating outside of the ship..the doctor did a bloodtest which did not show the virus but her had to stay in his cabin anyway...

 

Tonight we felt badly for a wonderful performer..only about 40 people showed up for the late show...Pre-dinner shows are hard to make after 10.5 hour tours..

 

day 5 Rome...We had a wonderful guide...and despite a taxi strike which was causing havoc we made it tp the Sistine Chapel and museum, the Roman Colosseum and St. Peter's Basillica. The lines were not as long as they could have been because the Pope was speaking for one last time before starting his holiday.

 

We were really lucky with the lines, and also the weather...although it wa shot, it was not as hot as they had predicted. We went to the Colosseum

in the morning instead of the faternoon which made a big difference with the heat.

 

Lunch was included in a nice hotel. It seemed like all the tours pretty much followed the same menu...som type of pasta, a meat sometimes a tomato salad, and dessert and coffee...the wine flows...

 

Dinner again was great.. The show "I love the nightlife" with the singers and dancers was excellent.

 

Day 6 Up at 6am again...We did the exclusive tour of the Almafi Coast.. There are no words to describe how wonderful this tour was...our guide, our busdriver, everyone on the bus....We all wanted the tour to be longer...It was breathtaking...Note* If you suffer from motion sickness, or are afraid of heights, beware its quite a ride..Our guide was so genuine, we can't say enough about her. We enjoyed Pompeii and glad that we were not talked out of going there...It was not as hot as it could have been and again we were really lucky with the weather...

 

We are at sea tomorrow...The pace has been so hectic, I can't wait to sit and relax.. 10 hour tours make for very long days. All the formal nights are sea days...all the other nights so far have been casual. No jeans though :)

Next stop Greece...dinner again was great...

 

Day 7 at sea....Lectures and slot machines...lunch by the pool...the sea is the most incredible blue I have evr seen,,Emergency on board...young guy with appendicitis.. they were going to land a helicopter, but ended up sending down a basket and being pulled into the copter instead.. Tonight formal night...and the show is the Singers and Dancers Classique...Note** at first 9pm seemed like it was so late to eat, but it really gives you a lot of time

during the day.. other notes** although there are some thing we find are lacking on this cruise...the one thing I have to say is I have never met a friendlier cruise staff...no matter what their position on the ship..

 

Dinner was good tonight, the show was excellent..

 

Day 8 Santorini..head message in the morning...tour didn't start till 12:30pm..first bad tour...promises of old fashioned wine making, not the push a button and voila! There was a tour escort on our tour who told me she was disappointed with the tour...Note* People with buttons that say Tour Escort..are people who work in other areas on the ship...they are kind of a secret shopper to check out the tours..

 

We got dropped off in Fira..and met 2 of our tablemates at the Spinx for dinner...It was a romantic outdoor cafe with an incredible view..food was excellentbut it was extremely pricey..Cable car down to the shuttle boat, and back to the ship. Dancing under the stars with centerfold..a yacht nearby gave us a fireworks display right before we left..

 

Note** It was windy and cold when the sun went down, during our meal..The tenders were really choppy.....Tomorrow Athens..

 

Day 9...Athens...raining and overcast...it started to pur while we were at the acropolis...we took the Taste of Athens tour which gave us 3 hours at the Plaka to shop..our guide was good, very informative and bright..bought a tapestry in one of the Ship's shops..lots of shops, high pressure, especially to get you in for lunch..Suggestion don't eat in a cafe called Sikiness..UGH!

Dinner on the ship was just okay tonight.. the show was also okay..

 

Day 10 our last day at sea...lots to do..last formal evening..lobster and baked alaska parade..we got our comment cards already..hard to believe its almost over,,Show was Fantasea...FANTASTIC!

 

Day 11 Croatia...It was unbreably hot today..we were lucky because we were docked...We took the shuttle(no tour today) $10 a person and it had no air....went to the walled city but it was so hot and crowded..we just walked around, bought some tee shirts and went back to the ship..We were told we should have done the tour, but we were just so wiped out...We spent the day at the pool, first time we have ever gotten a lounge chair in the shade...Note*** seats for the shows were no problem at all...but seats at the pool same old same old!

 

Pre-dinner show..it was good... our luggage has to be out by 11pm tomorrow...Due to security and a terminal taxi strike the Murano glass tours have been cancelled..wonder how disembarkation is going to go...

 

12th day...11am coming into Venice was breathtaking...we could see everything from our balcony so we had breakfast on the balcony...Its hot! hot! hot! today but so far no rain....Tour of Venice...amazing...I don't want to leave Italy....Gondola...fun but kind of disappointing...we ended up with a mother and daughter and they ended up in the love seats..and my husband and I across from eachother..the singer was terrific.. Last dinner...poor! bread was actually stale..

 

Disembarkation.....SMOOTH! We were supposed to get off at 7:05 but didn't get off till about 7:45...got our luggage immediately...found the bus..and off we went to the airport..

 

NOTES** our flight was not until 12:20 and they will not check you in until 2 hours before the flight...So if you get there early...you have to find a place to sit with all your luggage until that two hours before..

 

We had bought a scale from Magellens for $7.50 to make sure our luggage was not overweight...it was a great investment...I also bought these neck cooler things that you wet in water and then you can put in the refrig..which weigh nothing and keep you cool for hours...QVC..

 

You want to have lots of $5 and $10 Euros for tipping on the tours etc..

 

If you are CC class and can't have or don't like fish they will give you cheese and crackers with some fruit..

 

If there is nothing on the menu that you want to eat...aside from the steak and chicken which are always available, you can also ask for pasta....If there is a pasta dish you want but something else looks even better..you can ask if you can have an appetizer size portion of the pasta...

 

Make sure you check you mini-bar bill carefully...we were charged for things we never used...

 

If you are a size small don't wait to buy a jacket or sweatshirt in the shops on the ship...if they have smalls they are the first to go...

 

Cova Cafe not to be missed!!

 

Safe in room was fine...we had no problems....there are no safety deposit boxes..

 

Excursions were the best and most organized we have seen...and this was our 15th cruise..

 

Sea days at the spa fill up almost immediately so make your reservations as soon as you board...same for the alternative dining...

 

We bough smaller cards for our camera..so if our camera was stolen we would not lose everything....We burned them to a CD each day...and we took more than 900 pictures...once you burn them though you can't add to the same CD...

 

We used under the clothes wallets and had no problems..My husband and another gentleman did feel someone lightly touch their back pocket...Just be careful and wise...we only carried one credit card each and enough cash for that day...we wore little to no jewlery.. Beware of the kids...and beware of gypsies with babies...they will pretend to almost drop it..and while you go to grab it...they take your wallet... we were told they are not even real babies but dolls...Just be smart and you will be fine!

 

I am sure there is more I am forgetting so if you have any questions...I promise to do my best....I wanted to get this posted before real life takes over again :)

 

Rhonda

[katiebeth]

Dear Rhonda,

 

Thanks for posting such a great review. I was re-living our cruise on the Millennium from Barcelona to Venice from June 7th through the 19th, as I read. You summarized everything so well. We had a terrific time and the ports were amazing. We were in Dubrovinik on June 17th and it was very hot then as well. There were 11 ships in port that day which they said was a record. It was surprising hot and very crowded, which is such a shame because it is so incredibly beautiful!!

 

We had a terrific time and would love to do the Med. again. I have been somewhat hesistate to go into detail about the condition of our stateroom on these boards because it doesn't go over well with many people. As I stated on another post we were in a Royal Suite with a connecting CC class room. It was in definite need of updating and I wasn't going to mention the mold in our shower but since you touched on the subject ...hopefully I won't get too much grief from those who don't want to hear anything negative. Both my husband and I were very surprised at the condition of our shower ..it was rather gross. We had never experienced this on any other Celebrity cruise. Hopefully, it is not a reflection of the overall attention that is being paid to the fleet. Our stateroom attendant was very good and did a good job cleaning, but the room never felt really clean due to the wear and tear issues.

 

We have sailed on the Constellation and Infinity and both seem to be better maintained.

 

We want to do the Baltics next summer and are holding space on both the Century and Constellation. Normally, I am not sure we would consider the smaller ships (as we like the "M" class ships) but since it has been totally refurbished it definitely has some appeal. I guess I am a little hesistate about the Constellation given the condition of the Millennium. If we sail the Constellation next summer it will have been 4 years since we were on her last. I am sure things can change alot in 4 years. Although, a poster on another thread indicated that the Constellation is still in great shape.

 

I did think the public rooms on the Millennium looked good and I agree we had some really great shore excursions. The food in the dining room was very good and the Olympic dining room was absolutely the best!!

 

Again, we had a terrific time and the issues with our staterroom did not at all impact the enjoyment of our cruise.

 

Nancy

[mahdnc]

Rhonda,

 

thanks for taking the time to write the review. We are planning on doing the reverse trip next year. Your review makes me look forward to it even more!

[RhondaPerr]

Hi,

 

I know what you mean.. I was hesitant to mention the mold as well, but I think it could be a health issue for some...so I took the chance of being blasted... :) We heard about the 11 ship day...I can't even imagine..thank goodness we were the only ship in port and we were able to dock as a result.. I want to live in Positano...:) I may come back to earth someday but not anytime soon I hope! We are also looking at the Baltic for next year....I was on the Century before the major refurbishing and I just loved her! We had the suite with the butler and I have never been so pampered in my life..

[florisdekort]

Nobody should be blasted for writing an excellent, well balanced review! :D

 

Thank you for taking the time to share your cruise experience with all of us, it is appreciated. I am happy you had a great time overall!

 

As to the condition of Millennium, I think it also has a lot to do with individual expectations. What is 'gross' to one person might not even be noticed by somebody else. I don't expect any ship that handles 2000+ passengers per week to look brand new. Was there mold in my shower? Yes there was some. Did I think it was 'gross'? No, not at all. I didn't even notice it at first. It is just like the 'sewage problem'. Some people claim the ship has a bad smell, others (including me) didn't smell a thing.

 

Again, thank you for sharing!

 

Cheers,

Floris

[gillianrose]

We were greeted with champagne and cookies, but did not receive an escort to our cabin. Cabin 8112....Okay cover your eyes because it has to get a little negative for a moment...Our bathroom was beyond disgusting..it wasn't just dirty, it was moldy! This was my husbands first time on Celebrity and after hearing all about it, he was flabbergasted. Our toilet wouldn't flush and we had to wait almost 4 hours for it to be serviced. The room has definitely seen better days! Having said that...we didn't let this ruin our cruise in any way!

 

You were being too kind when you wrote "it has to get a LITTLE negative for a moment" when you refer to a bathroom that was DIRTY, MOLDY and had a toilet that did not flush and was out of service for FOUR HOURS before someone fixed it, not to mention a room that has "seen better days."

 

When you take all those dreadful things together (or even just a couple of them), you have a situation that I think is inexcusable. The cost of cruising in 2006 has gone way up from a few years ago, yet housekeeping standards have apparently gone way down. And Celebrity actually suggests tipping the Head of Housekeeping, :eek:

 

How many times have any of us had these problems in land-based hotels, regardless of the price category? I have travelled extensively, and regardless of the price range of the hotel, or B&B, or motel, I have not run into any of the problems you stated, with the exception of some rooms that have seen better days with regards to furnishings (softgoods) or some really awful mattresses (think Venice during the "Europe on $5 a Day" era). It has happened that I was given a room in a hotel that had not yet been made up, or one that smelled of stale smoke (nonsmoking rooms formerly occupied by smokers who can't or won't follow the rules) and that has always been cheerfully and immediately rectified. I do realize that it is usually easier to move someone to another room in a hotel than on a ship, especially since cruise ships are at capacity, but that's all the more reason that they must be diligent in their housekeeping, not only the day-to-day housekeeping, but ensuring there is no mold. When a person is showering, they are in a steamy environment and the mold is far more likely to be breathed into the lungs. Many people have a great sensitivity to mold and even for those (like Florisdekort) who don't even smell it, everyone is entitled to a clean and mold-free stateroom and a toilet that flushes.

[Host Anne]

Rhonda ~ wonderful review. Thanks for taking the time to share your experiences. Everyone appreciates it. Please be sure to submit your review to the Cruise Critic REVIEWS section so others that might not regularly visit the Celebrity board can read it as well.

 

The Med remains my all time favorite cruise for ports. I'd go back in a heartbeat!

 

Thanks again for sharing....glad you enjoyed your cruise!

[Johnny's girl]

Rhonda,

Thanks so much for the great trip report. It was very helpful. My husband and I will be doing that cruise starting on the 25th. We are very excited. Where there any tours from the ship that you would recommend? It is so hard to know what the right thing to do is. This is our first Med. cruise. Also our first time with Celebrity, we have taked 9 other cruises all with RCI.

Again, many thanks,

Jonnny's girl

[RhondaPerr]

Rhonda' date='

Thanks so much for the great trip report. It was very helpful. My husband and I will be doing that cruise starting on the 25th. We are very excited. Where there any tours from the ship that you would recommend? It is so hard to know what the right thing to do is. This is our first Med. cruise. Also our first time with Celebrity, we have taked 9 other cruises all with RCI.

Again, many thanks,

Jonnny's girl[/quote']

 

All the ships tours were really good except the wine tasting in Santorini. The one that we really loved was the exclusive amalfi coast tour. If you want to see a little bit but still have time to shop you want the Taste of Tours..Here is a list of what we had taken...

 

Rome the Eternal City Vatican, Sistine Chapel etc.

Florence and Pisa

Exclusive Amalfi coast

Taste of Athens

Evening Gondola Serenade

Masterpieces of Venice

Monte Carlo and Grand Casino..

 

You can print off descriptions of each tour from the Celebrity sight, and they also are in your docs when you get them. This was our 15th cruise and I have to say the best and most organized ships tours I have ever seen.

[RhondaPerr]

Please accept my apologies for all the typos in my review. This is really the first day I have been able to see straight...Clearly my brain was not on full tilt when I posted...

 

Jet lag and I are not friends :)

 

I hope it was helpful just the same.

 

In response to being a little negative...Yes, we are aware that Mold can cause you to be sick...etc...and No it is not okay to experience that...but it did not ruin our cruise..It just shows that this ship needs to be refurbished. The bed we had was extremely comfortable, unlike the one I had in April.

 

I still love Celebrity and will travel with them again in the future.

[C 2 C]

Thanks for a great review. We, like Anne, love the Mediterranean and are going back this fall. We were there on Galaxy in the Spring and will be on Century for the western portion this time.

Did you take the ship's tour for the Amalfi Coast and Rome? Did you perhaps discuss with others, any private tours for the same area.

I don't like the heat so we cruise the Medit in spring and fall.. and tie it in with transatlantics.

[katiebeth]

Dear Johnny's Girl,

 

We were on the Millennium from Barcelona to Venice June 7th through the 19th Barcelona to Venice. The ports are terrific.

 

One of our favorite shore excursions we took through Celebrity was Capri, Sorrento, and Pompeii. I was afraid it would be too hectic and we would be exhausted at the end of the day, but it turned out to be very very enjoyable. We took a hydrofoil over to Capri (beautiful scenary) and toured the beautiful gardens with our guide for 20 minutes or so and then had 45 minutes on our own. We then took a hydrofoil to Sorrento which was beautiful approaching the rugged cliffs from the water and had a lovely lovely lunch in a charming little restaurant (the wine flowed and the the lunch was included with the tour price). We had about 45 minutes to shop in Sorrento before boarding a bus for Pompeii. The road to Pompeii was very scenic and we had a fascinating tour of Pompeii (not to be missed). We were very lucky as it was overcast and not terribly hot. Overall, we really had a great and memorable day.

 

My other piece of advice is when in Santorini ...don't miss the village of Oia. It really was a highlight for us. I know the ship offers and wine tasting tour along with a stop in Oia that books up very quickly. You can also take a taxi or a public bus from Fira to Oia. We booked a private tour (as there were 6) of us and toured the whole island. However, nothing on the island IMHO could compare with Oia.

 

If there are tours you are interested in, I would suggest you book online before you go. You can always cancel once you are onboard if you change your mind. (within a certain timeframe of course). Several of the tours were booked when we boarded.

 

You will have a great time!! The Med. is beautiful.

 

Nancy

[RhondaPerr]

Thanks for a great review. We, like Anne, love the Mediterranean and are going back this fall. We were there on Galaxy in the Spring and will be on Century for the western portion this time.

Did you take the ship's tour for the Amalfi Coast and Rome? Did you perhaps discuss with others, any private tours for the same area.

I don't like the heat so we cruise the Medit in spring and fall.. and tie it in with transatlantics.

 

We took the Exclusive tour for the Amalfi coast and just loved it... The bus was smaller, there were only 15 people on the bus, and we loved the tour from the beginning to the end.

 

Yes, we discussed private tours and did a lot of reading on the Ports Of Call Board, but we decided since this was our first time that we would do all the ship's tours. It all worked out really well, and with the various strikes along the way, we never had to worry. We are already talking about going back next year, but this time spending all our time in Italy on a land tour. We fell in love with Italy, and want to spend some extended time there. I would love to be able to cruise in the Spring or Fall, but I am a teacher :)

[C 2 C]

but I am a teacher :)

 

That's what I did for 33 years... got early retirement and have been cruising (a lot!) ever since then:D

 

Was that exclusive tour booked through Celebrity?

[RhondaPerr]

That's what I did for 33 years... got early retirement and have been cruising (a lot!) ever since then:D

 

Was that exclusive tour booked through Celebrity?

Thanks you have given me something to look forward to someday :) If I don't lose my mind first.. Yes, it was booked through Celebrity.

[florisdekort]

Moving this topic to the top to see some :) between all the :mad: ...

[RhondaPerr]

done deal!