Millennium - back from Sept-10-07 Mediterranean Cruise

We returned three days ago from our Millennium Sept. 10th to 23rd cruise from Barcelona to Venice. This was our first trip to Europe and our first on the Millennium, although we’ve had several cruises on the Summit and Constellation.

First off I wanted to say hello to all the fellow cruisers we met from Cruise Critic - we had a great time hanging out with all of you - especially at the Martini Bar!

We loved our entire trip – from a pre-cruise trip to England and Scotland and a couple nights in Barcelona to our days and nights on the Millennium and all the ports we stopped at. We thought that the Millennium was in great shape, and really enjoyed the staff and facilities on the ship. We were awed and amazed by the sights at every port we stopped at - from the crowded sights in the big cities of Rome and Athens to the lazy small towns in Italy and Greece - one place was better than the next and we loved them all. I'd recommend this cruise and itinerary to all!

Cruising the Mediterranean in mid September was a great idea, thanks to the suggestion of our cruising friends the Scotsman and Weemo! We could not have possibly hoped for better weather – I don’t think it rained once during our days and it was sunny with clear skies at every port as well. Temperatures were warm, and it was a little hot in the sun a couple days, but never too uncomfortable with temperatures ranging from the upper 70’s to mid ‘80’s depending on the day and location. We also found that while some areas were a bit crowded, especially at the major sites in places like Rome and Athens, that the crowds didn’t approach the massiveness we’d heard stories about in the peak seasons of July and August.

We found the food on the Millennium to be as good or better than any we’ve had on Celebrity to date. The diner menus were not totally different from what we’ve seen on past Celebrity cruises but did have some notable changes with better tasting beef and seafood dishes than we’ve had on other recent cruises. We ate at the specialty restaurant, the Olympic, three times and really enjoyed the food and service there. We did find the famous Goat Cheese Soufflé was modified a little, apparently from the original Roux recipe, and while it was very good it was not quite as superb as the recipe we enjoyed in the past. There was also a Greek Buffet on the pool deck the night we were in Santorini. It was nicely done with lots of tables added to the area, good Greek food, and even local Greek music – a really enjoyable evening.

As usual, we found the service and drinks in the Martini Bar to be top notch – what a great place for socializing with our fellow cruisers before dinner each night – and after dinner now and then. Our Martini Bar waiter, John, gave us great service.

Noro Virus – We’d been a little concerned about a major outbreak on the Millennium two cruises before ours. To make a long story short, Celebrity and the Millennium staff apparently did a great job of quickly bringing this under control as we did not hear of any issues at all during our cruise, and the precautions were not as extensive on our cruise as some problem cruises we’ve been on in the past. For example, there were snacks on the tables at the bars and guests were allowed to serve themselves in the buffet areas. They did have delayed boarding on our cruise, and apparently the preceding cruise, while they did some major disinfecting and cleanings on embarkation day. They issued our sea pass when we arrived around noon but delayed boarding until later that afternoon. Transportation was provided to a nice area of the city with coupons for lunch to ease the effects of the delay – a nice touch! One big change – the ship has changed from the liquid hand sanitizers to sanitizing wipes provided when boarding the ship or entering food areas. The staff reported that these wipes were found to be more effective than the liquid hand sanitizers we’d found used over the past several years on the ships.

Entertainment: We’re not big fans of cruise ship shows and went to only one show, which was nicely done, this cruise. We found the lounge entertainment just OK, at best, for our tastes, and a little disappointing from what we’d hoped for. We appreciate some nice rock oriented music from the 70’s to 80’s, and even newer. We’re not into “hard rock” by any stretch of the imagination, nor do we like modern “hip hop” disco music, but none the less found the music on this cruise too sedate for our tastes most of the time. The party band was just OK and didn’t seem to have much zip in their selections or performances. One or two nights the disco area was lively with them, but other nights it was like a ghost town. The best performance we saw was one sea day when two of the guests took over the guitar and singing for a few songs by the pool – it was the only time during the cruise that the live music truly rocked! Other than that, it seemed like the best music we heard was the recorded music they played for music trivia games by the pool on sea day afternoons. The guitar player (solo by the aft bar and Cova areas) played nicely but it was all background/dinner music and none of the nice acoustic rock/folk music we’ve experienced on many of our past Celebrity cruises which drew crowds to listen and enjoy a drink. The piano bar player and the group playing the other lounge also seemed a nice quality, but also played a more mature style of music. We understand that the ship needs to cater to a variety of tastes and that not all the music will be in our style but it seemed like we heard similar comments from other guests both younger and older than our 50ish age, so I don’t think we stray too far from Celebrity’s prime target market. We still had a fantastic cruise, and even danced a night or two, despite the lack of music that “rocked”. But did miss the experience we’d had on past Celebrity cruises which had some nice quality lounge music more aligned with our tastes.

I’ve done a short write up on each port we visited and posted these in the ports of call forums. In general we did a mix of ships tours and exploring on our own. At several port stops that lent themselves to touring the city center on your own, we slept in a little and made easy days of it. The few big touring days in places like Rome were very tiring, especially when up late partying at night, and the easy days helped make the trip a little more relaxing.

Click on the city names below to link to our notes on our port day activities at these spots:

Villefranche Florence Rome

Naples Santorini Athens Corfu

Dubrovnik Venice

Hopefully we’ll have some pictures up on our web site soon, and we’ll try to answer any question on the cruise or itinerary that others might have.

With such a great overall cruise I hate to make complaints, but here is another minor one: The water and coffee on the ship were terrible. The tap water had a very strong chlorine type taste, in contrast to past M-Class sailings that had pretty good water. Likewise the coffee from room service and in the buffet was awful. We left the coffee pot home this trip and brought coffee bags, but brewing them in the awful water made awful cups of coffee. We drank lots of Evian and ended up running to the Cova every morning for coffee – both were great but added an extra charge to our bill every day.

In closing I’d say that both the ship and itinerary were just great, and I’d highly recommend either to anyone considering them.

I should have some pictures posted on our photo page in a few days.

Let me know if you have any questions or comments.

-I agree with your summary Larry - we (group of 8) were on the same cruise - we had a wonderful time - weather as you say, couldn't have been better! The ship was in great shape for the most part - the Olympic restaurant was outstanding - we were amazed at the service - a group of 4 waiters simultaneously set each component of our meals before us and removed used dishes from us - whoosh - wish we had gone a second time! -if they had changed the menu we would have - the only complaint I listed on the questionaire they give out was: THE COFFEE SUCKS!!! -how hard can it be for a cruise line to come up with some decent coffee?

Tim Hortons coffee would have my day! Thank goodness for the Cova Cafe $2.88/capacino but necessary, eh? Personally, I would have preferred a different stop than Athens - busy, dirty, city - but the rest were beyond belief in terms of spectacular views! Wow! A pile of folks seemed to get the cold bug - 6 out of our 8 still have colds despite a staff effort to encourage hand washing every time one approached food.

-we attended a few shows - the juggler on the last night was unbelievable - he had me spellbound - the singers/dancers were also very talented although the shows were just usually OK - the service on the ship was outstanding - a wonderful group of people! -so, been there done that - which way to Panama Canal cruise?

Bill

Great review Simon,

I look forward to your pictures.

Gitte

Thanks for the great review Larry. We're doing nearly the same itinerary in reverse on Millennium in November, so your timing was great.

Chris

Thank you Larry and Bill. How were the waffles?:)

Thanks for a great review Larry.

We haven't sailed Millennium in a couple years. She was the first ship I ever sailed and I have a special place in my heart for her.

Jim

We'll be on the same cruise with Chris, and your review gets me even more excited.

Thanks,

Wonderful reviews - the one above and the port reviews . Thank you so much.

Did you go straight to the airport after disembarkation in Venice? If so, did you go by water taxi, bus, or motor taxi? Any recommendation please? I've heard that the motor taxi drivers try to rip people off and that water taxis are very expensive, but would value hearing what you did.

Lynne :)

What a wonderful review

We are doing this cruise on the Summit in August. Will be checking out your port reviews to make notes on things to do and see

Tammy

Hi Larry,

Thanks so much for your great review. I will be on Millie for the 7 Oct. cruise, and your info is timely.

WHAT have they done to the goat cheese souffle? Please tell me it is still wonderful!!!!!

Anne

Thanks for the great review! Glad you had such a wonderful time! We haven't planned a Med cruise yet, but we're going on the Millie in April and I'm thrilled to hear she's still a beauty. Your review makes a future Med cruise even more tempting. Thanks again!:)

Happy cruising!

Denise

-the waffles were quite tasty - had them virtually every day

-water taxi from ship to San Marco square for 8 people and 15 bags was 140 euros - the first day in Venice one can use the ship's shuttle all day to San Marco for 20 euros each - we stayed in Hotel Ala, a Best Western hotel very near San Marco square for 210 euros/night - nice clean hotel with breakfast included - Venice is not cheap - we stayed in the Hotel Continental in Barcelona, right on the top of La Rambla where the action is non stop, with a great balcony and 24 hour soft drinks/snacks/breakfast for 110 euros/night - taxi from airport to Continental was 40 euros and from hotel to ship 45 euros - confirm price with driver before you leave! -watch out for thieves in Barcelona - one couple got out of taxi and was unloading baggage when his nap sack on front seat was snatched with travel documents & credit cards!

-rented a van in Corfu for 100 euros/day iincluding insurance for 8 people from Sunrise car rentals - van was right there when we got off ship & returned it to same spot - just left keys under mat - paid in advance when we picked van up - in Livorno we were going to take a taxi to the train station and train to Florence but I found a taxi driver as we got off ship that would chaufer the 8 of us to Florence, Pisa, etc all day for 160 euros for group of eight - he had great information & knew routes and times! -a great decision since trains are supposedly unreliable - we booked S.A.R.L REvelation tours (Michel Legrand) in Villefranche - his driver was a very pleasant and knowledgable guide named Isoline - terrific day with her 600 euros for group - I would be willing to share any other info/advice anyone needs

hillbil

Thanks for your Info.

It is great when as soon as people get off the ship they give a brief update. Thanks Larry

We also will be doing the Milli's last appearance for some time to come in the Med. It was good to hear she was in good shape cause we are getting excited.

Again, thanks for the info, everything is welcome when you are waiting to sail

Best

Larry -- welcome home:) Sounds like you had a wonderful time. I am truly amazed though, that Celebrity is having such a hard time making decent coffee in this day and age. It seems that all we hear about.

Hilbill -- Panama Canal? Join us on March 1, 2008 for a 14 day cruise on Azamara Quest!! Hopefully it will be a new experience (smaller ship, etc.) and lots of fun.

Take care,

Lucy

Larry & Bill-

So wonderful to hear all the positives of your cruise. We'll be on Summit but same itin next June (after our 7/12 cancelled cruise on Millie). We've been waiting a long time & it's good to hear we have a lot to look forward to. Thanks for posting!

Meg

Thanks for the informative review! Hope the coffee and water are better on our Millie cruise in February.

Just a note: I couldn't get some of your links to individual port reviews to work--got an error message saying that no thread specified. Who knows with computers?

We were on the August 5 Med Cruise on the Millennium(yes the one right before the norovirus breakout) and it was also our first Med cruise...well we loved it and had a great time.

But you are right about the coffee...it was horrible...it didn't even smell like coffee. We also made many trips to the Cova Cafe...maybe they do this on purpose???:D Well we made due and still had a great time.

The entertainment was also pretty bad...thank goodness we were traveling with a large group and made our own entertainment. Also with all of the great ports you visit....that alone is such great entertainment:)

I think these are 2 things that Celebrity can easily fix on such a great cruise.

Those of you that are soon taking this cruise....I am sooo jealous...your going to love it.

Just a note: I couldn't get some of your links to individual port reviews to work--got an error message saying that no thread specified. Who knows with computers?

The cruise critic monitors merged most of the postings into one thread. The one for Villefranche should get you there and I think they left the one for Naples separate.