Millennium With Children – Eastern Caribbean (2/08) - Cruise Review

[CruiseDad-NYC]

MILLENNIUM WITH CHILDREN – EASTERN CARIBBEAN (2/08)

 

ABOUT ME:

 

I’ve lurked on Cruise Critic for about 6 months and found it a great resource as I planned our vacation. I sailed on the 2/3/08 voyage of the Millennium in the Eastern Caribbean with my wife and 2 boys (ages 3 and 5), so here I am with a write-up of my own and hopefully some helpful information for anyone planning to travel on it or another Celebrity cruise in the Caribbean, especially with children. I know this review is coming just as the Millennium is leaving the Caribbean and will be in Australia & New Zealand next winter, but I figured I’d post this just the same in case there are any kernels of wisdom in here for someone else.

 

The long and short of it is, we had an outstanding time. This trip was to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary and it was our first real vacation in 4 years. We used to travel a lot before we had kids, so we were really looking forward to it. I don’t consider myself a cruise kind of guy, because I think there’s truth to many of the stereotypes about cruises, and I think of myself as a more adventurous traveler. That said, this was my third cruise, and we just booked a fourth for next year. So, I guess I’m a hypocrite. The fact that we didn’t have to cook or clean or rent a car, combined with easy access to babysitting and the opportunity to have quality couple time and also have quality family time really make a cruise a good choice for a family vacation for us. When you consider that almost everything is included, a cruise is also a pretty good value. (I use the words “almost everything” a bit loosely. Food and many on-board activities are included. But, when you add on babysitting, shore excursions, spa treatments, and drinks, the extras can add up. We figured we spent $700 during the trip for those items; we are not big drinkers, so if you are, you could plan on spending more, so be careful).

 

The Millennium was the first cruise we took with our children. We were booked in adjoining (i.e., there was an internal connecting door) Concierge Class cabins (8109 and 8111), which were spotless and tastefully decorated in muted colors (the cabins looked garish to me in the Celebrity website photos, but weren’t in real life). I don’t know if Concierge Class is worth spending a whole lot extra. For us, it was only $50 per person different when I booked last July. I would do it again, but not if it were much more than that. Having adjoining cabins was great, as was the convenience of having 2 bathrooms. If you’re traveling with children and can afford 2 cabins, I would recommend it if your kids are on the younger side like ours are and go to bed early. But, if your kids are older and/or solid sleepers who go to sleep more or less around the time you do, 1 cabin would work just fine.

 

I’ve read a few reviews that complained about the Millennium’s condition. I thought, overall, the ship was beautiful and in great shape. I looked closely and tried to find fault only because I had read some of the negative reviews. Those people must have been on a different Millennium than we went on. Sure, there were a few areas (one of our couches had a small tear; the T-pool had some chipped paint; there was a cracked piece of glass in one of the forward interior elevators), but I only noticed them, because I was looking for them. Overall, I really thought the ship was in great shape. Everyone’s entitled to their own opinion of course, but I’m puzzled by reviews that bemoan the Millennium’s condition.

 

GETTING TO FLORIDA:

 

We flew into Ft. Lauderdale a day before the cruise left in part to be able to get on the ship early and start enjoying it, and in part because we live in the Northeast, and you never know if it might snow up here and mess up your travel plans. On our last cruise (the Galaxy in Nov. 2000), our first flight to San Juan was canceled, and by the time we finally arrived, we were one of the last people on board and had spent a few anxious hours wondering if the ship was going to leave without us.

 

This time, we stayed overnight at the Marriott Springhill Suites near the Ft. Lauderdale Airport. I had wanted to stay at the Embassy Suites, but it was about $350, which just isn’t worth it to me for an Embassy Suites. The Springhill Suites was $195 with a AAA discount. There was a free shuttle from the airport (hint: you have to call them for pickup. Do so right before you pick up your luggage instead of after, since it can take about 20 minutes for it to arrive, which may not seem like a lot of time, but just try standing in the hot sun with 2 small, tired kids and a lot of luggage). The hotel was new, had a nice heated outdoor pool that we made good use of for the afternoon, and free hot breakfast. It’s not a true suite as I usually think of one, since there wasn’t a separate bedroom (we had 2 queen beds and a separate area with couch and desk, but all more or less in the same room with only a partial fixed divider between the 2 areas). Dining options were limited (there’s a Burger King right next door, but we try to avoid fast food). If you cross a very busy road (there’s a cross walk), there’s a shopping center with a Kmart, BJs and Barnes & Noble. At the far end of the parking lot, about a 10 -15 minute walk, just past the Kmart, there was a faux 50s diner that we ate at and liked and would eat at again.

 

The hotel has a free shuttle to the cruise port (the departure times vary every week and are posted at the desk). Our posted shuttle time was 1 pm, which was disappointing, since we wanted to get on the ship early rather than just hang out at the hotel. So, rather than taking the free shuttle, we called the shuttle service the hotel uses, and they arranged for another shuttle to come pick us up (and also for some other guests at the hotel who had called up separately) at 11 am, albeit for $7 per person, which was fine with me. You could also take a cab for about $15 - $20 total, but we had so much luggage (3 big suitcases, 2 strollers, a knapsack, and a carry-on tote) I didn’t think we’d fit, though we didn’t have a problem when our cruise was over and we fit in a cab just fine on our return to the airport. All in all, we were happy with the Springhill Suites and would stay there again with the caveat that lunch and dinner options within walking distance are very limited. There was a Hampton Inn across the street, which makes access to the shopping center easier if that’s important to you, but it was something like $259 per night, which is not an amount I’m willing to pay for a Hampton Inn.

 

 

GETTING TO THE SHIP AND EMBARKATION

 

The shuttle took about 15 minutes, and we arrived at the port at 11:45. Check-in was a breeze. I had already paid for our cruise in advance, but had not yet paid the fuel surcharge, so I was shuffled off to the side and had to pay an additional $140 or else we would not have been permitted to board. It really felt like kind of a hold-up. (Enough has been said about the fuel surcharge other places and I’ve read that RCCL has settled with the Florida Attorney General’s office, so I won’t dwell long on it here other than to say shame on Royal Caribbean and Celebrity for the sleazy way you handled it. How you can charge people for cruises they had already paid for in part or in full before learning about the charge (like me) and then retroactively changing your contract terms to allow yourself to change prices – all the while patting yourself on the back in your annual report for hedging your fuel prices and having a very profitable quarter - it is shameful that it was up to the Florida Attorney General to keep you honest).

 

Embarkation was not a problem and we were on board and in our cabin by about 12:10 (i.e., less than half an hour from the time we showed up at the pier). We had been told at check-in that our rooms would not be ready for a while, but they totally were. Our luggage arrived at about 4 or so. I had thought about packing our bathing suits separately so we could swim in the afternoon. Our carry-on was full-enough already, so we didn’t do it. In retrospect, the kids and I would have enjoyed going in the pool, so next time, I would try to bring bathing suits in our carry-on so we could enjoy a swim in the pool that first afternoon.

 

By the way, we received a notice when we arrived in our cabin that there had been a virus outbreak on the previous trip (they wouldn’t say what it was, but a few crew members confirmed that it was norovirus, which had struck some passengers and crew on the previous trip). They dispensed sanitized wipes outside all of the dining areas and the Fun Factory. You could also see crew members constantly sanitizing hand rails, elevator buttons, etc. during the whole trip. Having the sanitized wipes so readily available was very convenient, and I wished they did it on all sailings, not just ones linked to a norovirus outbreak. More on the norovirus below.

 

I mentioned above that we were on the 8th deck. I had read on these boards that the 9th deck is just under the overhang of the pool deck which extends past the side of the ship on both sides. From my vantage point looking up, I preferred being on 8 rather than being so close to the overhang that you would be on 9. If you have a choice between those 2 decks, I would go with 8 if you have a balcony, but if you don’t have a choice I wouldn’t worry about it.

 

Our big rolling bags, to our relief, fit under the beds. In case you didn’t know it, the airlines weigh your suitcases and if they weigh over 50lbs, be prepared to pay extra.

 

My wife had wanted to bring the baby monitor so we could hear what was going on in the boys’ cabin, but I talked her out of it, thinking we’d be so close it wouldn’t be necessary. She was right – the sound proofing was so good on the ship, we couldn’t hear them next door, so we always kept it propped open about an inch and even then it was hard to hear what they were doing or saying. It would have been nice to have the baby monitor for peace of mind, and I wished we had brought one. We brought a nightlight, in case they woke up in the middle of the night. We didn’t bring a bed rail (I don’t know how you could, unless they make travel rails, which maybe they do), and my 3 year old rolled out of the bed one night. Despite the loud thud, he wasn’t hurt and just crawled back in on his own - but who wants to take chances. To avoid having this happen again, we kept one of the big rolling suitcases on its side next to his bed with an extra pillow on top, and that worked.

 

Another thing I wish we had brought (again, my wife had suggested it, but I talked her out of it) was a small clock, since the cabins don’t have them and you kind of have to know what time it is to keep up with all of the planned activities. A small travel clock with a light would be convenient.

 

The rooms had hairdryers, soaps, shampoos and a set of binoculars. The second to last day of the cruise, one of the pairs of binoculars (which were missing part of their lens) went missing. We tore the cabins apart trying to find them, because we didn’t want to get charged for them. I mentioned it to the cabin steward, and he said, no, not to worry, that he had taken them and would be putting them back the next day, after we got off).

 

THE FUN FACTORY

 

After lunch in the buffet grill (during which my 5 year old said it was the best day of his life), we visited the Fun Factory. There were only 16 children on the ship, and they had a list of who was on board and the ages, so they were expecting us to show up, which was a nice surprise. My kids, who can sometimes be clingy, especially if there are a lot of kids and noise around, immediately took to the Fun Factory, and it was a real highlight of the trip for them. (Since there were so few kids, they got a lot of attention; if the ship had a few hundred kids, which they do during holiday breaks, I don’t know if they would have liked it so much). There was a ball pit, a big slide, things to climb on, tons of games, books, crafts, etc. The 3 counselors on board (Christy, Liliana, and Ines, all from Peru), were terrific and really helped us out in a big way, which I’ll get into more below, under babysitting.

 

Kids have to be fully potty trained to use the Fun Factory, which is not a problem with my 5 year old, but I wasn’t sure what “fully” meant. My 3 year old is potty trained and hasn’t had any accidents in a while, but is not able to pull his pants up all the way, and I was a bit worried that would get him expelled. But, it turned out to be a non-issue, since we checked in on him every 2 hours or so and took him ourselves. Apparently, one day he went on his own and needed help buttoning his pants and pulling them up all the way, and that wasn’t a problem.

 

I thought I would feel guilty dropping them off at the Fun Factory, but they loved it so much, they kept asking when they could go back. We would typically bring them there in the mornings for a few hours and then spend the afternoons with them, possibly dropping them off back there for an hour at the end of the day.

 

BABYSITTING

 

One of the reasons we took a cruise was to be able to have babysitting at night. Our kids go to bed early (i.e., 6:30) and we figured that because there were so few children on board, getting babysitting would not be a problem. We made arrangements at Guest Relations to have a babysitter every night as soon as we got on board. We had the early seating, so we planned to have a sitter arrive every night at 5:45. We were told they didn’t have anyone for the first night, but would for the others. This was a minor disappointment, but turned out to be a blessing in disguise: we were exhausted after our journey and ended up having room service deliver us dinner, which we ate out on our balcony. During dinner hours, room service will deliver what the dining room is serving (they even have the dining room menu for you to order off of). The view from the balcony was beautiful, and the food, amazingly, arrived hot. For our next cruise, we would probably just order room service the first night as well, we liked the experience that much.

 

The second night, a formal night, we were all dressed up and ready to go. The purpose of the cruise was to celebrate our 10th wedding anniversary, and this was going to be the kick-off. The babysitter, however, was a no-show. The problem turned out to be norovirus. Not, because the babysitter had it, but because she (and the other cleaning staff, who make up most of the babysitters on board) were pulling extra duty sanitizing the ship to rid it of norovirus. OK, fine, but, having a no-show with no notice is not acceptable (the sitter’s supervisor should have at the very least notified the guest relations desk and had them call us). While we enjoyed dining in our room the first night as a fallback, we weren’t going to do it again. The Guest Relations person we dealt with was wholly unhelpful. We ended up getting the kids dressed and bringing them up to the Fun Factory for an hour and a half while we went to the casual dining option since the dining room for the main seating had already closed.

 

The next day, the long and the short of it, Guest Relations worked out with the Fun Factory counselors to have them alternate babysitting for us at night in our cabin. (Initially, Guest Relations said they could get us a male babysitter, something I wasn’t comfortable with.). Christy even rearranged their work schedule to make this happen, which went way beyond the call of duty. The charge was $8 per hour, and we were so grateful to be able to go out in the evening for a few hours and appreciative that they had rearranged their work schedules, we tipped them $20 per night. Because the Guest Relations desk was being super-cagey about why getting babysitting was a problem (they were clearly trying not to talk about norovirus), we suspected but couldn’t get a clear idea if it’s always hard to get babysitting for the early seating and easier for the later seating, so you may wish to inquire on your own before you choose your seating time. I suspect that getting in-cabin babysitting might be a problem on holiday or vacation cruises when there are a lot of children, but I’m just speculating there, since the extra-cleaning duty because of the norovirus situation might be why it was so difficult for us.

 

THE FOOD

 

For breakfast, we ordered room service and had it on our balcony every morning, except for the last full day. My kids loved the smoothies and the fresh fruit, the yogurt, and the oatmeal. We had heard raves about the croissants, which we found overrated. Also, the coffee wasn’t good anywhere on board, except at the Cova Cave where you could get a latte for $2, a pretty good deal, I think. Generally, we ordered room service for dinner for the kids (we usually fed them at 5 or so) or took them up to one of the buffet upstairs, where pasta, pizza, and some other choices were available. We actually never ended up bringing them to the main dining room, except for high tea the first sea day and for breakfast the last full day. Incidentally, water, lemonade, milk, and tea and coffee were available free from morning til late at night on Deck 10.

 

I’ve had the good fortune to dine at many of the best restaurants in the country, so I just don’t get as excited about cruise ship food as other people do. Plus, I try to eat healthy and light, which is hard to do on a ship. By the last night, I had had enough of all the food. Incidentally, I had read good things about the Olympic dining room; the menu looked good to me, and I’m very interested in old ocean liners, so the history was appealing to me. We considered going, but didn’t get around to it, which is a minor regret of mine – the room looked very cool, and if you’re even only half to three-quarters interested, like I was, I would consider going.

 

One of the highlights of our trip was that we were invited to dine at the Captain’s Table one night. We were a little ambivalent about going (I know, I know, 9 out of 10 people would probably be thrilled to bits to be able to go, but we had been enjoying our time as a couple (a rarity for us) and didn’t feel like sharing it with strangers). As it turned out, it was a blast. We totally enjoyed the company of the others at the table, and the pageantry of it all was an experience we really enjoyed. It was a formal night, and I ordered the lobster, fully expecting it to be tough (it hadn’t been very good on the Galaxy), but it was cooked perfectly.

 

PORTS OF CALL:

 

The first full day was a sea day. It was fairly rough, and I heard that some people were seasick. The water was splashing over the sides of the T-pool and the outdoor pools, which made swimming a bit too challenging for my kids. My wife felt a little bit gross because of the roughness. Amazingly, I didn’t. I get every kind of motion sickness (air, car, bus, train and once even felt queasy on a horse). But, there was something about the movement of the ship that I really liked. My kids weren’t bothered by it all.

 

San Juan – We arrived here about an hour late because the rough seas had slowed us down. We had been to Puerto Rico before (our trip on the Galaxy in 2000 left from San Juan, and we had extended our stay with 3 nights at the El Conquistador, which we really didn’t care for), but had not been to Old San Juan, which is where the ship docks. We didn’t book a tour, but instead just walked through the streets, which we found very charming. We did a lot of walking, and this was the only day we used the strollers. Our walk led us up to the El Morro fort, which we looked at, but didn’t go in, because the kids had had it at that point. I wouldn’t think you would need to book a tour at this port. I didn’t have any expectations either way going into this port, but we really liked it and found it an easy port to get around with children in strollers.

 

Tortola – We wanted to go to the beach, so I had researched which would be the best and easiest to get to. From what I had read of Cane Garden, it sounded way too crowded to be appealing to me. Brewer’s Beach, however, sounded pretty good. So, we hoped in a van (they line up as soon as you get off the ship) with some other people from the ship. The fare was $6 pp. and the ride was about 15 – 20 minutes away. The beach was a little disappointing (my expectations from the reviews I had read were too high). I’ve been to the Bahamas, St. John, Virgin Gorda and other places in the Caribbean that I found much better. But, it was good enough for about 90 minutes, when it started to pour, so we walked back to the road and waited for a cab to come (one did after 20 minutes). If I ever go back to Tortola, I would consider going to Long Bay Beach (it looked beautiful in photographs). I’d also consider trying to go to Peter Island (you can reach it by ferry from Road Town; the only catch is, the last one leaves to return at 2:30, and if you miss it, you miss the ship) – but with kids, it just wouldn’t be practical. Road Town, FWIW, didn’t look too appealing to walk around.

 

Caso de Campo – we had read a lot of negative things about it, so we decided to stay on board and enjoy the ship without very many people on it. This was a good choice. We brought the kids to the fun factory for about 2 hours in the morning and then spent the day with them at lunch and by the pool. Towards the end of the day, they begged to go back to the Fun Factory, so we brought them up for about an hour before dinner. It was a nice day.

 

Labadee – We all loved it. The view of the island from the ship was out-of-control beautiful. We walked to the second beach on the left after we first got off. It got a bit crowded after awhile, but we were all in the water and playing in the sand, so it didn’t matter. The water on this side of the peninsula was glass-smooth, and we snorkeled; it was rougher on the other side. It would probably be less crowded if you went down to the third beach on the left (there is a shuttle), but when you have kids, some times enough is enough and the extra 7 minute walk would have been pushing it. It would also probably be less crowded on the far side of the peninsula, but the water was rougher, which would not have been good with kids who are the age of ours. I had read that it would be good to have a few single dollar bills available, since attendants drag chairs out and set them up for you; I’m glad I had read it and was happy to tip them for this service. We ate lunch under the pavilion. They also had a children’s water park that the kids enjoyed. We had gone over on the first tender and came back on one of the last. We all agreed that it was our favorite stop, and knowing that this is a destination would be a big highlight for me if I were choosing a cruise. Incidentally, because we were in Concierge Class, we were able to wait in Michael’s Club for priority tender service to Labadee, the only port where we tendered. While I guess it was nice, if you’re trying to decide whether Concierge Class is worth it for a perk like this, I wouldn’t think it would be.

 

The last full day was a sea day. I had won a raffle for 50% off any spa treatment, so we treated ourselves to a couples massage. The original base price was $266 for 50 minutes for 2 people. We both had had better massages than this, so I thought it was a decent value at 50% off, but would have been disappointed if I had spent $300 (including tip). Luckily, they didn’t try to sell us anything afterwards, which my wife said they usually do after spa treatments, which can help ruin the glow of the experience.

 

DISEMBARKATION:

 

There was a line, but it moved fairly steadily. When we got to the place where you pick up your luggage after customs, a Celebrity attendant could see that with our strollers and children and 3 mongo-suitcases that we could benefit from help, she directed a porter over to us. He picked up our suitcases (I think I tipped him $10) and wheeled us straight out and got us a cab. Celebrity sold airport transfers for about $15 per person (so it would have been $60 for us). The cab was $20 total, so I would consider grabbing a cab rather than using their transfer service. The airport is only about 15 minutes away. Our designated disembarkation time was 8:30. We were off the ship, to the airport, and through security by 9:45, which was plenty of time for a 12:30 flight.

 

All in all, it was a great trip, and we are planning to go on a 10 night Constellation trip next February. If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to answer them.

[GORDONCHICK]

Good and comprehensive review.

 

BTW, I think the croissants you may have heard raves about (almond or chocolate) are at Cova Cafe, but aren't available on room service.