amcb

12 hours ago, AstoriaPreppy said:

It’s important to note that many of the things you remember about Celebrity are relics of 2005. I’ve seen all lines become less formal, much as how workplaces are much less formal today. Sadly, this also means many of the little things you remember may have gone by the wayside. Thankfully, menus are much more 2020… less trying to emulate some sort of wayward Michelin star at sea ethos, and more flavor forward and global in focus. We’ve found Celebrity’s food to be the most consistent at sea, whether in the MDR, Blu or Luminae. (Oddly, the transformation of Qsine into Le Petit Chef at Qsine was a step backwards food-wise).
 

The biggest overall positive is the refurb the Millennium underwent in 2019. They stripped the staterooms (down to the studs) and completely redesigned and replaced everything. The rooms are stunning, making the old stateroom design look oddly retro. Many of the public spaces were also heavily renovated, including the main dining room and Rendezvous lounge. The Retreat and the suites lounge that were added are both fantastic spaces.
 

We sailed the Millennium in Japan in 2019 (post refurb) and when we heard it would relaunch in June we knew it would be a no brainer to book again. We’re looking forward to being at sea again. 

 

You are absolutely right about all lines becoming less formal. We have seen this over the years on Royal Caribbean although, as always, there is a difference between European cruises and Caribbean cruises in terms of formality. 

I'm really looking forward to the refurbished Millennium.  The spaces look amazing from what I've been able to see. Although I loved the dark wood and cozy look of Michael's, the new suite lounge looks spectacular.

2 minutes ago, George C said:

Service in Tuscan grill is definitely hit or miss.

 

Loved our Renaissance cruise in 2001, perfect cruise for us adults only and non smoking.

We also sailed on Renaissance in 2001. It was DH and my first cruise together. 🙂

Sorry to hear about the service in Tuscan Grill.  We may just stick to Luminae since it's only 7 days. But at this point, we'll take what we can get!

3 hours ago, George C said:

Yes they have a sommelier, we had brought a couple of nice bottles with us on a cruise two years ago and sommelier asked if he could taste it, which we allowed then he didn’t charge us there 25 dollar corkage fee, another time they were out of the wine we wanted by the glass and they substituted Caymus which was a real step up. I like the idea of a rolling cheese cart we had that on last rccl cruise in 150cp. Luminae in my opinion is a huge step up from CK. Another thing was we didn’t like the Cabernet that they were serving in suite lounge and they got the wine we requested and made sure it was available for rest of the cruise. Typically we order a wine a coupon dollars over price limit and we then just pay the difference.

Glad to hear they still have sommeliers. We first met our sommelier, Rudy, on Renaissance (when they still existed), and were super happy to see him again on Constellation.  Back when you could still bring wine on board at every port, we would get a local specialty and bring it to dinner. He would always try the wine we brought and we would get into a great conversation about how the wines from that particular location differed from the other places we were visiting. 

Glad to hear they are flexible about the wines they offer in the suite lounge.  That is definitely different from RCCL although our bar servers have always done a wonderful job, especially at making our kiddos feel special.

58 minutes ago, Northern Aurora said:

 

But for the OP, another noticeable change will be the smoking policy.  In 2005 smoking was allowed on one side of the casino, but in 2008 that changed.  Now there are no indoor smoking venues.

 

All of the M-class ships had a restaurant like Oceanliners on the Constellation.  While the names were different they had the same menu.  On the Millennium it was named the SS United States.  While Muranos remains on the S-class ships, the Oceanliners equivalent restaurants were replaced on the M-class ships with Tuscan Grills.

 

 

In 2005, smoking was still allowed on the balcony. My DH used to enjoy a nice cigar on the balcony on formal nights while I got all dressed up and then he would shower and don his tuxedo for a lovely evening.  Formal nights were much more enjoyable before the kiddos! 😉

Does Tuscan Grill follow any of the types of service standards that made Oceanliners so amazing? Bringing the entrees out with covered domes and then revealing the plates at the same time, the after dinner liquor trolley, the cheese trolley...?  Sorry, I know I'm obsessed with the cheese trolley, but it was amazing!!

7 minutes ago, George C said:

Back in 2005 I do not believe there was Luminae, 

No Luminae, just Oceanliners on Constellation.  That may go down as my absolute best dining experience ever. The coordinated service, the wine service, the cheese trolley..... sigh.

We have been on the RCCL big ships and small ships and have enjoyed Coastal Kitchen as the suite restaurant, but understand that Luminae is a step up from that.

Although I know I will miss the formality of the old Celebrity, the new relaxed atmosphere has its appeal as well. I am looking forward to experiencing some of the changes.

To add another question to my original post, in Luminae, are there sommeliers?

Hi all.

We have booked one of the summer sailings on Millennium this year, but haven't sailed Celebrity since 2005.  We loved Constellation back then, but the kids came along and we found that Royal Caribbean was a better fit for us as a family of 5.  This will also be DH's and my first cruise sans kiddos since 2005. I know a ton has changed, but from everyone's perspectives, what are the positive changes and what are the negatives? We will be sailing in a suite so will have access to the Retreat.

Looking forward to hearing people's thoughts!

🙂 amcb

Hi all.

I was hoping that someone might have a suggestion for a hotel in Hong Kong for a family of 5 (mom, dad, kids-13, 12, 8).  Not finding much that can accommodate all of us without having to book two rooms. Ideas and suggestions would be greatly appreciated.  

Thanks so much,

amcb

We faced this issue for the first time on our last cruise, as it was our first cruise with our oldest having just turned twelve. They do not have to sign in/sign out as many of the activities are in different locations on the ship and they just meet there.  For instance they had a dodgeball tournament on the sports court, so everyone went straight there.  

In terms of communication, we would look at the event times, tell our son where we would be, and give him a time that he needed to report in with us.  It worked surprisingly well. I will say that although our son is not the most social of kids, he did find a small group of other boys to hang out with, and they all seemed to have a wonderful time.

🙂 amcb

Up until 2 years ago, we had never done a Caribbean cruise! All of our cruises were in Europe, and we’ve been cruising for almost 20 years! As other posters have commented, it’s a great way to get an overview and then decide where you might want to spend more time.  With children in particular, it’s great to know that you only have to pack and unpack once, and that you’ll go back to a familiar place every evening for a nice dinner while someone else worries about getting you from place to place. For us, with 3 young children, it was an easy choice. 

Very interesting articles. Thanks very much for sharing. How do the general guidelines change for children?  Say DS-12, DD-11 and DD-7?

🙂 amcb

Thanks, Travelgrrl, that sounds interesting!  We haven't seen that on any of our Med cruises, but this will be our first time in Venice.  I do recall people going all out for the white party.  

Still curious about people's take on recent dinner attire.  Do people still dress nicer than on US departure cruises? We had only sailed in Europe up to 5 years ago, and were very surprised at the difference in sailing out of US ports.  I realize that 5 years can make a huge difference which is why I'm asking.

🙂 amcb 

Slightly off topic, but related.  In the past when we have cruised in Europe, we have found people to be dressed quite nicely in the evenings on board, much more so than on our cruises sailing from the US (Alaska, NE/Canada, Caribbean). People also seemed to get really excited about the theme nights and seemed to really prepare for them. It's been about 5 years since our last cruise out of Europe and I wanted to see if people still found that to be the case. 

Thanks in advance,

amcb

I suspected that might be the case. Thanks so much for the quick response.

🙂 amcb

Hi all,

Just checking to see if anyone knew if there was a lunch option for suites on boarding day? I can't remember what the options are on the smaller ships.  I want to say on Grandeur we just went to the Windjammer, but I honestly can't remember.

Also, does anyone know if the suite breakfast is in Chops or Giovanni's?

Thanks in advance,

🙂 amcbr

Hi all,

I was hoping someone could let me know if there's a good beach near the port in Villefranche or a beach club/hotel that does day passes.  This is our first day of the cruise, followed by 3 really intensive port days (Florence, Rome and Pompeii).  We are a family of 5 (mom, dad, DS -12, DD-11, and DD-7).  Understanding that the 3 intensive days of sightseeing are going to be a lot for the kids, we thought starting them off with a beach day might be a good idea.  Any other suggestions for fun, relaxing, not stressful activities would also be welcome!!

Thanks in advance,

🙂 amcb

Jackie101,  if you click on the image of a person in the top right hand corner it should give you your profile info.  Your cruise might appear there.  If not, on that page, scroll all the way down and see if you can add it by clicking on "select a different sailing"

Thank you so much!  That worked perfectly!!

Hello!

I'm trying to check in our family for our upcoming cruise using the app.  We have two reservations because we are a family of 5 and they will only put 4 people on a reservation.  How can I check in the second reservation using the app?

Thanks in advance,

amcb

Hello Everyone.

More questions on the Royal app.  My DD who is 10, was trying to sign up for the app but it said she had to be 13 to use it.  Is this correct?  Seems to limit the usefulness for the chat feature it keeps reminding me about if that is the case.

Thanks in advance,

amcb

Thanks Bob!  I’ll try that.  I’m still having no luck with the app.  I don’t know if it has anything to do with the fact that we have two linked reservations because we are a family of 5.

57 minutes ago, matj2000 said:

Does he really need to go to the organized programs?

 

Most kids start to migrate away from that stuff around that age or younger and do their own thing instead.

 

He doesn’t need to go, but if his dad and I would like to have a date night, I don’t like the idea of leaving him unsupervised just wandering the ship.  He has really enjoyed the kids club up till now, and both his younger sisters will be participating. I suspect we’ll check out the 12-13 year old activities, encourage him to participate and just keep very close tabs on where he will be at different times.

Hello Everyone.

I’m trying to check us in for our Dec 30 sailing using the app, but it keeps getting stuck after I enter the arrival time.  Has this happened to anyone, and if so, how did you fix the problem?  If I can’t get it to work and I check in online, do I still have the ability to upload pictures for the expedited check-in? 

Thanks in advance,

amcb

4everAfamily, we will be on Allure for the New Year’s cruise.  I will make sure he goes to the first night event so he can meet some of the other kids.  I’m still quite uncertain about allowing him to be off on his own.  Because he’s such a big kid, people think he’s quite a bit older than he is, and expect him to behave accordingly.  But he’s young for his age in terms of maturity, so I definitely have some concerns.  I guess we’ll just play it by ear.

Pmmaurer, is your daughter very social? Did she have any difficulty making friends?

And thanks so much for your replies!

Cbatsea, I didn’t think the counselors would move him down, it’s more of a parental concern.  Even this past summer we didn’t think he was ready to be a self-signer.  This is a whole different level! 🙂 

6 minutes ago, mjkacmom said:

I doubt he’d be allowed to move down during such a kid heavy week.

I was afraid of that.  Plus, he’s so big, I don’t think they’d want him with the 9-11 year olds.  Even this summer, when he was still only 11, they were very skeptical because it seemed like he should be in the teen club.