Boatharbour

4 hours ago, TrulyBlonde said:

Shanghai is worth the price of the Visa. The Bund is fabulous especially at night. We embarked in Shanghai and spent two days prior to enjoy the city. Well worth it and you won't be disappointed.  Just my suggestion. It deserves more than one day.

Absolutely agree. We found Shanghai very interesting. 
 

Yes, the “ headache” was around the visa issue in Shanghai.  I’m sure others can explain it better, but in a nutshell most passengers didn’t need a visa. This is because of a waiver that’s available if you are there less than 144 hours.

However, Celebrity sent out multiple confusing emails prior to departure stating or inferring that you would need a visa. There was also conflicting advice about not needing one if you went on a Celebrity shore excursion. 
 

The upshot was that some passengers had visas, some didn’t and some were barred from entry by Chinese immigration - even if they had a visa. It was a mess. 
 

To add to that, there was the whole technical stop issue off South Korea - which wasn’t a stop. We reached the spot, turned around and headed back. 

We had Chinese visas,  were allowed off in Shanghai and had a wonderful day. We chose the cruise for the comprehensive itinerary which took us to a wide variety of ports in Asia. Loved them all. 

9 minutes ago, Georgia_Peaches said:

Just found this.  Is it still accurate?  Seems like a lot...

Perks:
Amenities are subject to change without notice.
Concierge / Priority Check In / Priority Luggage Delivery / Priority Deparkation / Afternoon Canapes / Complimentary Shoe Shine / Fresh Fruit / Fresh Flowers / Welcome Champagne / Priority Dining Reservations / Thick Cotton Robes / Pillow Menu / Celebrity eXhale custom premium mattresses / Interactive Samsung flat-screen television system / Complimentary tote bag / Upgraded room service menu / Use of binoculars and golf umbrella / Hansgrohe massaging shower-head / Access to the exclusive Concierge Class Pre-departure Lounge / Extra hand-held hair dryer / NEW dedicated onboard concierge desk, concierge service available during check in, exclusive destination seminar, exclusive welcome aboard lunch in main dining room from 11:30 to 1:00 p.m. /

Amenities also include custom-blended bath amenities, personalized stationery, oversized 100% cotton bath towels, specialty restaurant seating time preferences, and access to exclusive concierge class pre-departure lounge.

We sailed concierge on Millennium recently. No flowers, no fruit, champagne available on request, didn’t see a pre- departure lounge, no tote bag, only one hair dryer ( which was all you’d need). There are other posts about the value of the afternoon canapés. 

We did like the daily notes from the concierge about the next port of call which were much more detailed than those other passengers received. Bed was extremely comfortable and our cabin was in a great location. This last reason is why we try to book C1’s. 

We sailed Tokyo to Hong Kong in November with a stop in Shanghai. Great cruise, but there was a lengthy debacle over the need for visas to visit Shanghai. Celebrity sent out multiple emails about visas and at one point stated passengers without Chinese visas may not be allowed to board in Japan. 
 

The original itinerary was actually changed so that we had a “ technical stop” on a buoy off South Korea. One day at sea to go around a buoy and then another day to reach Taiwan! This was to comply with Chinese immigration rules that would make  passengers eligible for the visa waiver scheme. In the end, a number of passengers with and without visas were not allowed off the ship when we reached Shanghai. 
 

Perhaps Shanghai became too much of a headache for Celebrity?

There’s ALOT to see in Taipei and we found a tour was the most efficient  way to get around . In honesty, we could have spent another day or so there. 

We booked a private tour with a company called YOLO. Our guide Willie, was one of the best we’ve encountered. He knew exactly where to stand at various places to get the best views, away from the larger tour groups. He took note of our interests and immediately tailored the day to our liking. His own “highlights of the museum tour” was brilliant given the short amount of time we had. 

Yes, we could have spent the day in Taipei independently, but no way would we have seen as much as we did, nor understood what we were seeing.

1 hour ago, gslvanbc said:

We were onboard the Nov. 23rd sailing and it was Celebrity that would not allow us off the ship to go on our private tour. They didn't have the procedures to process passengers who wished to use the 144 hr visa free transit policy. Total mess as they gave incorrect information when asked why? Said it was only for passengers who were transiting to depart through an airport, which was total baloney. Our tour operator had asked for itinerary (Japan, Shanghai, Kora) and country where were from (Canada) and assured us we should be good. It had nothing to do with government authorities as we didn't even get a chance to present our passport to Chinese immigration. We had to book a shore excursion with Celebrity under the 15 day Visa-free policy for Cruise Tour groups (an alternate option). Celebrity apologized later and gave us future booking credit but still unclear what the deal with denying us from leaving ship.

 

Summary: You don't need a Chinese Visa (save your money). Either book a tour with Celebrity or book one through a registered travel agency (Celebrity would honor that one but for whatever reason would not honor the 144 hour policy). More info here...15 day visa free Shanghai

Same cruise, but all of our passports were collected (and kept) by Celebrity before leaving Japan. I believe Chinese immigration  officials came on board at that point and assessed everyone’s “eligibility” to enter Shanghai. The decision was made as we sailed to Shanghai, not after we arrived. The photocopy of the visa that we  provided when we boarded in Tokyo, was returned to us -  stamped by Chinese officials the night before we docked in Shanghai. 
 

The tour company we used was registered and they were as flabbergasted as the rest of  us at what transpired.

As you can probably tell by now,  the way the visa issue was handled was a mess. No, you technically don’t need a visa, but it’s a long way to go to find out you may  not be allowed to leave the boat - and there’s no guarantee that even if you have a visa, you’ ll be allowed off. 

Excellent summary bubbachief.
 

It also appeared that Celebrity had anticipated some passengers would ignore the warnings of not being allowed to board without a visa. 
 

At the Yokohama port there were separate lines to process embarking passengers - one for those with a visa and another for those without. I didn’t see anyone being denied boarding rights. I did hear that of the 30 people who had booked with our Shanghai tour company, 16 were refused entry by Chinese officials. 

We were on the Tokyo to Hong Kong Millennium cruise that departed 23 November 2019. There were lots of issues leading up to the cruise about visas. In the end some passengers without visas were denied entry in Shanghai and had to stay on board. Most were told the news less than 24 hours before arrival after Chinese officials had been on the ship. 

Technically  most passengers were eligible for the transit visa waiver anyway because of our itinerary.  However, Celebrity sent out multiple emails advising / warning passengers to get a visa. We decided to do as advised, got the visas and had no problem. 
 

In Australia,  you can apply for a visa by mail. I’m not sure if this applies in other countries, but it certainly makes it easier than traveling to an embassy or consulate. Just leave plenty of time for the processing.
 

Shanghai was a fascinating place to visit  by the way. 

We enjoyed our two days in Hong Kong in December at the end of our Millennium cruise to Japan and Taiwan. Admittedly there weren’t any protests planned at that time, but we were prepared to avoid those areas anyway. We didn’t see any evidence of trouble in the areas we visited. 

 Tourism is down as there were no queues for any of the attractions we visited and hotels were often offering discounted rates. There are plenty of threads on TA that give up to date reviews from current visitors and local experts. Personally, I wouldn’t forgo a cruise that includes Hong Kong. 
 

32 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

 

Thank you so much for your suggestion! I found the town of Newcastle itself is very underwhelming (from a tourism standpoint) as we were there on Jan 2018 during our Great Barrier Reef cruise. 
 

I agree with your suggestion and we are going to Port Stephens to ride quad bikes in the nearby sand dunes. 

 

 

I understand perfectly which is why I made the polite suggestion!
 

The Hunter Valley excursion might appeal to others,  but with expected temperatures of 40 degrees Celsius there this weekend, Port Stephens is a better choice.

Thank you for your reviews, which I’ve enjoyed reading. 

44 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

We are almost half way to Newcastle. We are scheduled to be there by day after tomorrow. 

I’m sure you have already have plans for Newcastle, but I can highly recommend a day trip to Port Stephens to others planning this trip - twice the size of Sydney Harbour, dolphin cruises, the largest sand dunes in the southern hemisphere, sand boarding, camel rides and spectacular beaches. 
 

I found the temperature comfortable and  consistent across all parts of the ship during our November- December Asian cruise. Perhaps the Oceanview Cafe and MDR were slightly warmer than other parts, but I was never cold anywhere on board. ,
 

Light weight, long sleeve tops at night and the same or three quarter sleeve tops during the day.  I never needed the cardigan or wrap that I always pack. 

53 minutes ago, Edinburghgirl1 said:

We were on Millenium in The South China Sea in December 2017. We experienced the roughest seas of any cruise we have ever been on. I had to hold on in the shower and shampoo my hair with one hand. Drawers were opening and closing all night. We were on deck 11 in one of the Aqua class aft cabins. At times I thought we were going to keel over but fortunately I don’t get sea sick so it was fine. 

One tip we picked up on CC was to take a roll of strong tape with us to stop wardrobe doors and drawers opening and shutting in the event of rough seas. Sure enough we had several rough  days on our recent Millennium cruise in Asia and the tape worked a treat. 
 

We were in an aft cabin and did feel quite a bit of movement in these seas, but didn’t bother us. It was more pronounced in the Sky Lounge at the bow however. 

We loved LPC. I had booked it for a special anniversary without giving my husband  any prior information about the concept. We both thought it was clever, witty and entertaining. 
 

The food was very good except for the dessert which was too plain, given the standard of the other courses. The filet mignon was one of the most tender we’ve eaten - and I’m really fussy about meat. 
 

However... I would recommend people think of it as a show or a performance rather than a traditional dinner. And as for most shows I’ve seen, I wouldn’t need to “see it” again, 

We were on this cruise too. We took a taxi from the rank inside the terminal -

inexpensive and quick.  Terminal employees asked each passenger where they wanted to go and then told the driver. They also gave us a card with the terminal address written in Chinese to show to a driver when we wanted to return. 
 

We went to the Macau bus terminal near the airport to experience traveling over the amazingly long  bridge to Macau. We took the ferry back to HK that night, wandered around the night markets and then took a taxi back to the ship.

On disembarkation day we took a taxi to the airport express MTR station and checked in early for our flight actually at the station. No need to go to the airport.  The benefit of this was that we could drop off our luggage and had the day free to wander around Lantau. You do need an Octopus card though to enter the check in area of the station. 

Tourism has been badly hit. The night markets were extremely quiet. An elderly stall holder started crying when I bought a bunch of Christmas cards from her. We walked straight in to many attractions that we had queued for on previous visits. 
The OP has given good advice about safety. We also never felt unsafe but were careful.

We rarely ate them and usually asked our attendant to stop bringing them. They often looked unappetising or were left sitting in our cabin for an unknown period of time  unrefrigerated. Suitable cutlery was also not supplied  making it impossible to eat dips or spreads if crackers weren’t included.

We sailed on Millennium in November and she’s in great condition from her makeover early this year. We went to a presentation on the ship about the work that was done and it really was a major refurbishment. I would ignore posts from 2013.

We’ve also sailed on Equinox and found the only thing lacking on the M class ship was Murano ( speciality dining). We went to Le Petit Chef instead and thoroughly enjoyed it on Millennium, although see no need to repeat. Agree with Ian about the Tuscan Restaurant  and wouldn’t repeat that either.  At least on Equinox there is a wake view, but the food was no better than the main dining room which was good. 

On both ships we were able to find quiet places to read or relax. Neither ship felt crowded expect the Oceanview Cafe at breakfast. On our last trip it was often unpleasant particularly on port days. I’d choose by itinerary. 

11 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 2 volunteer firefighters died when a tree fell on their tanker. 

 

Our wildlife tour which was set for tomorrow was cancelled today because of the fires. 

 

Depending on the weather conditions, the amount of smoke in the harbor changes. Today, the air was pretty clear. 

 

Not sure if you have made other plans following the cancellation of your wildlife tour, but you could take a ferry across the harbour to Taronga Zoo or to Wildlife at Darling Harbour. Enjoy your stay.

51 minutes ago, mahdnc said:

When we returned to the Marriott at around 2:25 pm, our room was ready. 

 

We had a very nice view of the Sydney Opera House (photo) but the smoke from the nearby forest fires created a haze that marred the view. 

 

The smoke is from bushfires on the outskirts of the city and has prevailed for weeks. We are in a state of emergency for the next 7 days, with a catastrophic fire rating for tomorrow. The western suburbs of Sydney are predicted to reach 47 degrees Celsius. Thinking of all the volunteer firefighters out there putting their lives on the line to protect homes and people. 

5 hours ago, Clock_8 said:

I'm currently on the Summit, and made a quick call. They have an early seating at 6:00 pm, and a late seating at 8:30 pm. 

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Same times on Millennium two weeks ago, with a request to be there 15 minutes beforehand. 

On 12/12/2019 at 10:53 PM, terrydtx said:

My sister and BIL have been on 12 Celebrity cruises and they prefer the M class ships with AQ. They prefer the 11th deck aft facing cabins that overlook the Sunset bar because there is a door and stairway just outside the aft facing cabins that go down to the Sunset bar on the 10th deck. This makes it very easy to walk down and get a drink and then enjoy the drink with any live music from their oversized aft facing veranda. This information from my sister sold us and with the CBP perk we will be using those stairs a lot. There are only 5 of these aft facing AQ cabins and they book fast and early. When we booked our 2021 Infinity cruise the week the cruise was released by X we snapped up the last AQ aft facing cabin #1138. My sister also said they love Blu compared to the MDR for dinners, they do not like the big crowds and noise in the MDR.  On their last X cruise earlier this year when they booked AQ was sold out and they settled for a concierge class cabin and they said the lack of Blu and cabin location made this cabin not worth the extra cost.  

 

When we started looking at cruises for places we wanted to go in 2021 we set a budget for what we wanted to spend. The Infinity AQ cabin fell easily within our budget so for us it was an easy choice. I say if you can afford the cost go for the best you can afford. 

The aft cabins on deck 11 on M class ships have the disadvantage of being under the area where the rooftop movies are shown. There are other threads that discuss this, including reports that the noise can be heard not only on the verandah, but inside the cabins. There is also noise from the bar floating up too.

We stayed in an aft concierge cabin on deck 7 that had a huge balcony and loved it. 

19 hours ago, cachouonacruise said:

Is the glass door for showers on Millenium available for all cabin categories? 

We were in a concierge cabin. 
 

Agree it would be a squeeze for a portly person because of the way the door opens inwards.  There’s a good size foot rail though. 

I would have liked a second shelf in the shower, as the existing one had no room for personal items. It was filled with 3 large bottles of the ship’s shampoo, body wash etc.

Sailed on Millenium last week and the showers have a glass door.

Just returned on Millenium where we went to LPC to mark a special occasion. Husband thought we were simply going out for dinner and was amazed by the show. We had a truly wonderful time.

it was clever, witty and a completely new experience we very much enjoyed. The bouillabaisse was excellent and the fillet steak was one of the tenderest cuts we’ve ever had.  The animation for the dessert was great, although the actual dessert ( scoop of ice cream with a few add ons) a bit of a let down given how good the earlier courses had been. 
 

I’m not sure that we would repeat the experience, as a big part of our enjoyment was the novelty of it all.  We rated it 9/10, being one of the highlights of our cruise.

Just arrived home on the weekend and found the classic package was fine for us. Coffees from Cafe Bacio were included. I was happy with the cocktails and my husband paid the difference for  premium wines if he wanted a nicer drop. We weren’t in a budget, but it worked out much cheaper than an upgrade. This was a port intensive cruise. 

5 hours ago, riverdale60 said:

Hong kong Situation

harveyb1:

 

you guys are the only ones to respond.

I guess no one else is concerned.

We are departing cruise in HK and

presently planning 2/3 days in Kowloon.

The question is will the Westerdam

and/or airlines have trouble entering

or leaving HK. If travellers have to be

diverted or delayed, what are the options?

I guess we have two months to figure

it out-‘suggest making all reservations

”cancellable”!

good luck

If you read through the thread  “Is Hong Kong safe”?  on this forum, you’ll find responses to similar questions. There are also threads on TA that may help.

Our cruise disembarks in Hong Kong on 7 December. Many passengers have changed their plans - cutting short their time in Hong Kong at the end of the cruise, rebooking accommodation at hotels nearer the airport or  restricting sightseeing to in Macau and Lantau Island. 

I posted an identical question some months ago and the general response was that it was hard to predict what the situation would be in December. The reality is that it is much worse.

We have not been contacted by the cruise line about Hong Kong.