CruisinCrow

10 hours ago, Ashland said:

We did the around the island tour (Harrison Caves etc) booked independently and ended up with a shared group....total of 8 people....this worked great...no need to book privately.

We ended up booking the rum tour with them.  Can't wait!

On 4/7/2022 at 8:16 AM, Aplmac said:

 

That's awesome. 🤣

On 12/18/2021 at 11:39 AM, Ashland said:

Last time we had a port day in Barbados we used "Glory Tours". Would highly recommend them...check out their website & tour options.

Thanks for the recommendation!  Which tour did you take and was it a group tour or a private tour?  We did a catamaran and snorkle tour the last time we were in Barbados and we'd like to see some of the island by land this time.

1 hour ago, cameronp12 said:

Great review, thank you! I will be taking this same cruise next week and can't wait!

Have a great time!

I finally got my review finished for our February 17 Millennium cruise to Key West and Nassau.

Here is a link to the trip report:

http://susancrow.blogspot.com/2022/03/celebrity-millennium.html

I also did a write-up on the ship's bars:

http://susancrow.blogspot.com/2022/03/the-bars-on-celebrity-millennium.html

And the Celebrity Today daily schedule is here:

http://www.susancrow.com/pdf/CelebrityMillennium.pdf

I hope you enjoy the review and pictures.  We had a great time.  The service in the main dining room was hit and miss, but our cabin steward was fantastic.  The cruise director, Manuel, was very involved and funny.  Loved the itinerary with full days in Key West and Nassau.  We weren't sure if we would get to Key West or not but we did make it and didn't encounter any protestors.  Chic Night was on the third night (which was a sea day).  The pool area and bars were surprisingly busy considering there were only 1100 passengers onboard.  

I'll be glad to answer questions, if I can.

We were in Nassau last month.  The whole hotel was closed.

Did you see that Maks was in Ukraine when the invasion started and got stuck there?  I just heard this morning that he was able to get a train to Poland.  Peta must be frantic to have him back home.  Thinking of all the Ukrainian crew on the ships right now and their families.

8 hours ago, luckybecky said:

 

I think you touched on the problem. It must be exhausting to have to interact with every passenger about how awful the situation is in your home country. They already have enough worries, and surely do not want to have to engage on this topic with every single person they meet.

 

I agree.  We were on Millennium a week ago and one of the casino dealers was from Ukraine.  Someone asked him about the situation (this was before the invasion) and he said, "I don't know what's going on over there."  I could tell he was uncomfortable.  The poor guy was trying to do his job and he couldn't stop the entire table to talk about a very complicated and emotionally sensitive subject.  I've been thinking about him a lot though and hope he and his family will be ok. 

On 2/21/2022 at 11:30 AM, Jim_Iain said:

I've heard that the crew are now wearing KN95's but can't verify as I haven't been on a cruise since November.

We were on Millennium last week.  All the crew were wearing KN95s.

I think they say that because it is not accepted by some countries for travel.  We used the CVS rapid antigen test for our cruise on Royal Caribbean and it was accepted.

10 minutes ago, zitsky said:

What sort of religion let’s you get a vaccine waiver?  Jehovah’s Witness?  I would prefer that everyone be vaccinated.

Same here.  I was very surprised that someone had gotten an exception.  The person didn't say what grounds it was based on.  Maybe it was medical. 

Here's the link: 

39 minutes ago, cruisestitch said:

Celebrity is not making exceptions. It’s vaccine or nothing if you are an adult.

That's what I thought about Royal Caribbean too.  I was very surprised to read the review of the unvaccinated person.  She (or he) was the only adult, along with 12 unvaccinated children, on the sailing.  

I just did this the other night.  I had to wait about half an hour on hold before I got to talk to a person, but she upgraded my drink package with the discount.   I was even able to use my onboard credit.  No problems.   

2 hours ago, DCPIV said:

Casino does make sense in that there's a lot of density and a lot of yelling. That doesn't really distinguish it from many other bars, but there's likely something else. It could be (as mentioned) that contact tracing has taught them a few things. It could be the employees. Well never know. 

 

What's weird is that on Royal Caribbean, the casino is one of the places where you don't have to wear a mask.  It's considered a "vaccinated-only" area.  I wonder why Celebrity went the opposite route.

30 minutes ago, sakigemcam said:

I'm a little confused. Aren't they requiring vaccinations for all that can be vaccinated, ie except for children? 

They are probably making some exceptions (for medical or religious reasons).  I read a review from someone on Royal Caribbean who was unvaccinated and got an exception.

3 minutes ago, m8zenblue said:

Avoid the pre made bacon, greasy and undercooked.

 

Do they have made-to-order bacon?  Pre-made is the only kind I've seen.

Yes, we've done it.  I wrote about it and posted pictures here: http://susancrow.blogspot.com/2019/02/celebrity-summit-southern-caribbean_25.html

I thought it was a good tour.  Loved the boat ride and the private island.  My only complaint is that I couldn't hear what the tour guides were saying over the speakers so I know I missed a lot of their information about the island.  If you don't want to get completely soaked, come inside when you get to the rough part.  The guides will warn you. 🙂 

I love the fresh pasta station.  And the "real" hand-dipped ice cream (not soft serve).  The cinnamon ice cream is amazing.

19 hours ago, boilermaker330 said:

On the Hilton website, it says that the hotel is leaving the Hilton brand. Sounds like the hotel isn't closing permanently, but instead under new ownership?

Someone posted this link on another thread: https://ewnews.com/iconic-landmark-shuts-doors-british-colonial-hilton-to-close-indefinitely-on-february-15#:~:text=NASSAU%2C BAHAMAS — The British Colonial,100 employees out of work.

On 1/30/2022 at 3:43 PM, Kfamilycruise said:

Where was the inclusion of the credit for food and drink? I booked on resort for a day and it did not include? Does anyone know?

Have you used Resort for a Day before?  Were they good?

So sad.

On 1/26/2022 at 11:34 AM, dman1 said:

We will be there next month from 7am to 3pm.  What time would you recommend leaving Atlantis to get back to the pier?

1:30 at the latest.

I agree with mets123, you're trying to do to much.  Skip the beach and do the walking tour of Queen's Staircase, Government House, Graycliff and Watlings (Graycliff and Watlings are pretty close together).  Then walk back down towards port and have lunch before getting back on the ship.

I think in Nassau, you have to be back on the ship half an hour before sailing.  But it can take a while to get through security at the pier (at least it did pre-covid) and the pier is a long walk so it's better to count on an hour.  Also factor in "island time" when you're getting lunch. 🙂

1 hour ago, STLCRUISIN said:

Maybe they are allowed to dock because of the number of people onboard but not sure since I thought docking in KW was based on tonnage.

Where they are docked today is a privately owned dock (Pier B) whereas the dock right at Mallory Square is owned by the city and the other dock further away is the Navy's Outer Mole Pier. 

I think it's based on the number of passengers but tonnage would make more sense.  It seems like at least part of the reason behind the protests is the environmental damage the large ships cause.

On 1/29/2022 at 4:57 PM, njhorseman said:

The hotel is slated to close effective Feb. 15.

https://ewnews.com/iconic-landmark-shuts-doors-british-colonial-hilton-to-close-indefinitely-on-february-15#:~:text=NASSAU%2C BAHAMAS — The British Colonial,100 employees out of work.

Oh no!  I hate to see that loss of history.