Millenium - This is disconcerting....

[BimmerBabe]

My husband and I were traveling with Sandy--we had the "Sky Suite", and I agree with her comments. While we had a few extra square feet in our room, it in no way compared with a large, multi-room sky suite we had on the NCL Sun--it was real luxury. The Millenium sky suite was just ordinary. What we really got for the extra money was the butler service, which, frankly, was largely wasted on us (although the butler himself was very good). The Mediterranean cruise has so many long days of touring--we would get back just in time to make it to the dining room, and the afternoon tea and hors d'oeuvres were left on the table.

 

Anyhow, the itinerary alone makes this a great cruise, but we were disappointed in the condition of a lot of the furnishings. I don't do threadbare, so to speak. And if a chair arm is threadbare, it is generally dirty, too. The worst was in the Rendez-vous Lounge. Yuk is the word.

 

One thing we do not like about Celebrity that we don't see changing is the lack of any passenger laundry facility. If you need clothes laundered, you have to send them out. The cost may not seem high per item, but send a bagful and you get a whopping bill. And, one of our friends had some clothes lost and never found. When you are traveling for 12 days and have the current luggage restrictions, having a laundry room is a must for us.

 

I thought the food was okay, my husband found it disappointing. However, we did have the best waiter in our cruising experience (11 cruises). His name was Joseph and he was from India. We enjoyed his fine service.

 

Our last two cruises were with Seabourn and Crystal. I'm sure we have become spoiled. We have sailed with Royal Caribbean, Princess, HAL, Cunard and one time previously with Celebrity. We don't plan to sail Celebrity again.

 

I must say the sewage issues did not come to our attention until the day before departure. But the morning of departure was a situation that NO cruise passenger should ever be subjected to. Imagine, no toilets working on the entire ship and they even locked all the rest rooms in the public areas. That was not a fun experience.

[cechase]

Sheilb4, we have had Royal Suites on both C-class vessels and M-class vessels.

 

The size of the suite itself [sans veranda] is almost the same on both classes, with the size being 537 sq. ft. on C -class and 538 sq. ft. on M- class. The big difference is in the veranda. The veranda on M - class is over twice as large as on C - class, at 195 sq. ft.

 

We are of the opinion that the RS on M - class is much nicer, with a much better configuration, flat screen TV's etc.

[mcintyre9454]

Oh My. I am now in a quandry over what to do. Was almost set to book the Millie for next Sept. in the Med. Never cruised Celebrity before, but have done RC, NCL and Carnival. We thought we'd step it up at try Celebrity....but now, after reading the condition of the Millie....I am very hesitant. I am also lean more towards the "picky" sidel, especially when I'm spending thousands of dollars on a cruise.

 

For those who have voiced their complaints, thank you so much for bringing some of these matters to our attention. Also, thank you to those who have posted more positive reviews. It certainly gives me pause to consider what to do now.

[cechase]

Oh My. I am now in a quandary over what to do. Was almost set to book the Millie for next Sept. in the Med. Never cruised Celebrity before, but have done RC, NCL and Carnival. We thought we'd step it up at try Celebrity....but now, after reading the condition of the Millie....I am very hesitant. I am also lean more towards the "picky" sidel, especially when I'm spending thousands of dollars on a cruise.

 

For those who have voiced their complaints, thank you so much for bringing some of these matters to our attention. Also, thank you to those who have posted more positive reviews. It certainly gives me pause to consider what to do now.

 

We are so sorry that some of the posters with their negative comments are affecting your cruise decision. At least one of the prominent negative posters has not even cruised on a Celebrity vessel. While our six cruises on Celebrity have been absolutely wonderful, we are sure that others have enjoyed the same on other cruise lines. Would suggest that you take with a "grain of salt" both the negative and positive posts.

 

We were faced with this situation almost three years ago, when we made our decision to take our first cruise on Celebrity. Thank god, we did not know of Cruise Critic before making that decision. Like you, if we had read the posts, we probably would have stayed home! :D Like most things in life, you have to at least dip your toe into the water. Best luck to you, no matter how you decide.

 

Just as a caveat: four months before our first cruise on Celebrity's Century, we read posts which described the vessel as literally nothing other than a rust bucket, a garbage barge. We still took the cruise, and it is now our very favorite vessel of the Celebrity fleet and the conditions which we noted were just the opposite of the posters. The same thing happened before we took our second cruise on Celebrity's Mercury - just awful comments about the dismal condition of the vessel, dispirited crew, awful food, etc. and our actual impression of a wonderful cruise was just again the opposite.

 

Take into consideration, that if you see repeated negative comments by a handle [poster], there might be an agenda that these posters have, be it, a really bad experience with Celebrity, a bad experience over which Celebrity had nothing to do with, seeking compensation from Celebrity, or even to push their choice for another cruise line such as Princess, NCL or others.

 

Just "put that toe in the water", and see for yourself, whether it is Celebrity or any other cruise line - and we hope you have a great cruise experience.

[Ma Bell]

I would say to anyone, try it for yourself and make up your own mind.

[sammiedawg]

As followup to a recent post stating negative comments are intended to steer people to other cruiselines, I really dont think this is the case. I had 1 Celebrity cruise and complained on these boards about cabin conditions. Since then there have been countless other threads raising the same issues, so apparently I was telling the truth. I do not mention other cruiselines by name or steer to any other line. I just want prospective cruisers to be aware that Celebrity ships have significant wear and tear and maintenance of the physical plant seems to be a big issue across the fleet.

[Ma Bell]

There have been times when some cabins have needed refurbishing and times when some chairs needed upholstery. I'm not being defensive when I say I've been on a lot of Celebrity cruises and only seen a couple of small issues. The next time I was on the same ship they were changed. I've been on a lot of Princess cruises and seen the same thing. I've been on other cruiselines but not enough times to make a valid judgement.

[sammiedawg]

Someone also posted their theory that negative posts have to do with securing refunds after the cruise. How would Celebrity even know who the negative posters are, much less know where to send the money?

[kaiemiascott2]

Cechase,

 

After just sailing on my 28th. cruise and I am an outside travel agent for my brother's company who only books cruises, I think I have had a fair amount of experience in this industry.

 

I pride myself on being a very positive person, who can find good in almost anything. I hesitated giving my comments on this board, because I knew I would be slammed by many, but I also felt it was important to let people know what I experienced on this ship. When you spend in excess of $11,000 on a vacation, you hope you will not have to put up with the conditions that I have described in my previous posts.

 

In my opinion, I think it is important to make my experience heard to those who are trying to make a decision on a very costly vacation. I know for a fact that there are just to many other fine ships and cruise lines out there to have to put up with the poor maintenance on this Celebrity ship. The sewage smell alone is enough to make you not want to cruise on the Millennium again.

 

I appreciate those of you have thanked me for my opinion. Yes, we really did enjoy our trip in many ways, but if I had it to do over again, it would not be with Celebrity.

 

Sandy

[Drew B]

And I TRULY can't imagine something like a worn chair having significant impact on my enjoyment of a trip on this or any other line. Food, service, fellow passengers, space ratio, layout, itinerary, weather... All of those things would have an impact on me, but not some reasonable wear and tear... Of course, if areas are closed off or non-functioning due to wear and tear, that would be another story...

 

I'm not judging anybody for whom this would be a high priority. We all have our priorities - this just isn't mine.

[kaiemiascott2]

Cechase,

 

After just sailing on my 28th. cruise and I am an outside travel agent for my brother's company who only books cruises, I think I have had a fair amount of experience in this industry.

 

I pride myself on being a very positive person, who can find good in almost anything. I hesitated giving my comments on this board, because I knew I would be slammed by many, but I also felt it was important to let people know what I experienced on this ship. When you spend in excess of $11,000 on a vacation, you hope you will not have to put up with the conditions that I have described in my previous posts.

 

In my opinion, I think it is important to make my experience heard to those who are trying to make a decision on a very costly vacation. I know for a fact that there are just to many other fine ships and cruise lines out there to have to put up with the poor maintenance on this Celebrity ship. The sewage smell alone is enough to make you not want to cruise on the Millennium again.

 

I appreciate those of you who have thanked me for expressing my opinion. Yes, we really did enjoy our trip in many ways, but if I had it to do over again, it would not be with Celebrity.

 

Sandy

[Piepkorn]

We sailed on the Millennium during the summer from Venice to Barcelona. Although we are veteran RCCL cruisers, we selected Celebrity for this trip as we liked the itinerary and the time allotted in ports better. We also wanted extra time in both Venice and Barcelona.

 

I would agree with just about everyone regarding the poor condition of this ship. A lot of wear and tear in the public areas. It was clean, but needs a lot of work. We didn't notice sewage smells. But for us, it went far beyond that. Every morning, the pool deck area looked like a bomb had gone off. Trash everywhere, chairs overturned...etc. There seemed to be no staff to clean anything up during overnight hours. It was also common to see them closing parts of the upper deck and pool areas during early evenings when people wanted to stroll the decks or relax - to spray things down.

 

Although our cabin was neat and clean, our cabin attendant came in 3 times while the 'do not disturb' sign was posted. Our complaints to housekeeping services, and our requests to change cabins was met with utter silence. The cabin attendant seemed obsessed with constantly filling the water & ice container (although we never used it). This service was unacceptable, and the housekeeping staff was tipped with Monopoly money.

 

The 'greetings' we received from other staff seemed contrived and not genuine. Bar service prior to the nightly shows was strangely absent.

 

The dining staff was the most attentive, but not to the level of ANY RCCL cruise we ever took. Although the food on Celebrity is miles ahead of what anything we have had on RCCL, that in itself is not reason enough for us to sail on Celebrity again. We seem to think they are extremely short staffed in all areas.

 

We just returned from a short 3 day trip from LA to Baja on RCCL. This trip only cemented our opinions of Millennium. We checked in, and our luggage was at our cabin before we got there. We were well treated and the staff was attentive.

 

We have felt special on every RCCL cruise. We didn't feel special on Celebrity, and won't be sailing with them again. We did have a good time though, but it was because of the destination. Had this been a less 'port intensive' cruise, it would have been the 'cruise from hell'. To do this trip over again, we would sail RCCL instead in a heartbeat. :)

 

In regards to the comment regarding the company reps IM'ing people that negatively post regarding things, I would sincerely welcome someone from Celebrity to IM or email me....as the silence from them has been deafening. I have the pictures to back up what I'm saying. (And I didn't mention that they couldn't find my primary suitcase for 24 hours although I knew it was on the ship).

 

Dave

[C 2 C]

but how do TA's get to travel so much. ... but seems everyone seems to travel 6-8 weeks a year from these posts.

 

I'm no TA but I pick my cruises carefully... In the past year we sailed 28 days on Summit, 31 days on Mercury, 26 days on Galaxy and just returned from 34 days on Century. We have never had any serious problems but some ships are better maintained than others. The service has been consistently excellent, the food from great to mediocre. Summit's Rendezvous furniture should have been replaced years ago, Galaxy is in the worst state of surface disintegration on outer decks and window surfaces. If you compare cruise rates for the different ships you will find lower prices on the older ships. Mediterranean rates for inferior products is a real shocker. As a frequent Celebrity cruiser I enjoy the experience provided by X staff members but I will not make excuses for poor maintenance. Fortunately poor maintenance and poor housekeeping by some staff are not uniform on all ships nor throughout each ship. For that reason some people report bad experiences while others never have any problems.

I will continue to sail on Celebrity ships until I have a truly negative experience.... Century still has a few blemishes but I like the ship and layout more than any other ship in the fleet.

[Nurse Bambi]

Cechase,

 

After just sailing on my 28th. cruise and I am an outside travel agent for my brother's company who only books cruises, I think I have had a fair amount of experience in this industry.

 

I pride myself on being a very positive person, who can find good in almost anything. I hesitated giving my comments on this board, because I knew I would be slammed by many, but I also felt it was important to let people know what I experienced on this ship. When you spend in excess of $11,000 on a vacation, you hope you will not have to put up with the conditions that I have described in my previous posts.

 

In my opinion, I think it is important to make my experience heard to those who are trying to make a decision on a very costly vacation. I know for a fact that there are just to many other fine ships and cruise lines out there to have to put up with the poor maintenance on this Celebrity ship. The sewage smell alone is enough to make you not want to cruise on the Millennium again.

 

I appreciate those of you who have thanked me for expressing my opinion. Yes, we really did enjoy our trip in many ways, but if I had it to do over again, it would not be with Celebrity.

 

Sandy

 

Sandy - Thanks for taking the time to post your thoughts. It is nice to hear from someone who has as much as experience as you have had. I have encountered many of the same things and thought it was just me.

[AnthonyF]

I'm no TA but I pick my cruises carefully... In the past year we sailed 28 days on Summit, 31 days on Mercury, 26 days on Galaxy and just returned from 34 days on Century. We have never had any serious problems but some ships are better maintained than others. The service has been consistently excellent, the food from great to mediocre. Summit's Rendezvous furniture should have been replaced years ago, Galaxy is in the worst state of surface disintegration on outer decks and window surfaces. If you compare cruise rates for the different ships you will find lower prices on the older ships. Mediterranean rates for inferior products is a real shocker. As a frequent Celebrity cruiser I enjoy the experience provided by X staff members but I will not make excuses for poor maintenance. Fortunately poor maintenance and poor housekeeping by some staff are not uniform on all ships nor throughout each ship. For that reason some people report bad experiences while others never have any problems.

I will continue to sail on Celebrity ships until I have a truly negative experience.... Century still has a few blemishes but I like the ship and layout more than any other ship in the fleet.

 

How is that possible??? Want to adopt???

[greasyregs]

I was also on the September 23rd sailing. We were in CC room 8088 and have no sincere complaints about our room or the condition of the public rooms. Maybe we just got lucky with the room. No carpet stains or mold. The edges of the metal walls in the bathroom were a little rusty, but it didn't affect our good time or our ability to use the facilities. I think not receiving our luggage until the end of the second day diminished the significance of any other small problem.

 

I did smell the funky smell a couple of times a day, usually at the same time everyone else was getting up or getting ready for dinner. I wouldn't doubt if it was emanating from the sewage system. It seemed to pass quickly and did not nauseate me. I have a very sensitive nose, so I was worried having read so many negative posts, but it wasn't that severe.

 

I also experienced the difficulty in toilet flushing, but I devised an apparutus to push the button in further and it seemed to solve the issue. I only experienced the problem in our room, all of the public toilets flushed for me on the first try.

 

My only gripe with maintenance was the T-pool. For 2/3 of the trip, the dang thing was out of order. Luckily, we had gone in on the 2nd day so we got to at least experience it. But I thought it was ridiculous that there was no effort to fix it or the hot tubs. What's a cruise with no hot tubs?

I'm not sure. This was our first cruise on Celebrity and I was not as impressed as so many others are about this line.

 

We too were on the 9/23 sailing and we felt that our cabin could have been cleaner. Like Archchic I was very, very unhappy that the T-Pools were out of order for essentially the entire cruise. Why Celebrity could not find a way to fix these delightful pools (all the hot tubs were not working) is bewildering. The only explanation by one of the ship's officers was "she is an old ship you know". That's unacceptable.

 

I was impressed with the staff. The food was fine; the dining room was far too noisy and crowded; BUT the Olympic was a memorable experience.

 

OK, chances are I will go elsewhere for my next cruise. In fact we have. Sailing on the Oceania on a TA in November 2007.

 

I think I was spoiled as a kid by the Matsonia to Hawaii in the 60's. I bet not many of you were lucky enough to experience that.

[iandjm]

Hi,

 

On Millennium now.

 

Ship Great

 

Cabin in good condition

 

All public areas look like new

 

Food v v good

 

Service fantastic

 

All crew seem happy and welcoming

 

You all have nothing to worry about. After 27 cruises I know what I am looking for!!

 

Ian :D

[fabulous50]

iandjm,

 

thank you so much for your update. will be on the Mille in Jan. and can't wait. No worries here.

[florisdekort]

Hi,

 

On Millennium now.

 

Ship Great

 

Cabin in good condition

 

All public areas look like new

 

Food v v good

 

Service fantastic

 

All crew seem happy and welcoming

 

You all have nothing to worry about. After 27 cruises I know what I am looking for!!

 

Ian :D

 

 

Hi Ian,

 

You still don't get it, do you? You need a magnifying glass to spot the scratches on your furniture and you need to bend over and stick your head in the toilet so that you can complain about bad smells :D

 

All kidding aside, it's good to hear from you! I hope you're having a great cruise! It's been too long since we last spoke!!

 

Keep Millennium in good condition for us, we'll be boarding when you get off!

 

Cheers,

Floris

[cechase]

Don't forget to look under the bed for the presence of "dust bunnies"! :D

[momwig]

My husband and I just returned from a delightful time on the Millenium. While we have not cuised numerous times like others who have posted previously - what we experience was "super excellent"! The cabin was clean and well maintained - the food was wonderful and all the staff were accomodating and very friendly. It was really difficult to come back to reality and actually have to make the bed and cook meals - and I guess I need to buy some wrapped chocolates to put on the pillow. Well I guess people "look" at the same thing and "see" different things.

[lvz2cruz]

Thank you for the positive posts. We cruise next month and are expecting the same great experience of the last few posters.

 

Sandy,

I was curious about your experience. Was it so disappointing because of the$11,000 price? Current pricings for a balcony are less than 1500 for 2 and I was wondering if that was your price if you would have been happy. I can certainly understand higher expectations on a cruise costing 7x as much!

[Nurse Bambi]

As followup to a recent post stating negative comments are intended to steer people to other cruiselines, I really dont think this is the case. I had 1 Celebrity cruise and complained on these boards about cabin conditions. Since then there have been countless other threads raising the same issues, so apparently I was telling the truth. I do not mention other cruiselines by name or steer to any other line. I just want prospective cruisers to be aware that Celebrity ships have significant wear and tear and maintenance of the physical plant seems to be a big issue across the fleet.

 

I think you have summed up what many posters have been trying to say.

[cechase]

I think you have summed up what many posters have been trying to say.

 

Nurse Bambi, we would like to know the basis for your opinion. Sammiedawg took apparently a cruise on Century two years ago [her only Celebrity cruise], and listed many many negatives concerning Century. We cruised on Century about 5 or 6 months after her cruise, and found none of the conditions which she related and in fact loved the vessel and the cruise.

 

Perhaps you might relate to us how a person takes one cruise on one vessel, and then can state that all of the Celebrity vessels have significant wear and tear, etc.

 

If you care to go back and if you are able to view Sammiedawg's posts, she stated that she would never cruise Celebrity again. Might you ask yourself, why she still posts on every negative Celebrity Cruise Critic post.

[sammiedawg]

Thanks for understanding my motivation to post truthful comments about the condition of the Celebry ship I previously sailed. Cruise critic is a forum for both positive and negative opinions and all viewpoints are helpful to prospective customers.