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Millie post refit

takemewithyou

By takemewithyou,
in Celebrity Cruises

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Dowunder

Dowunder

Posted
Posted
I don't post very often, but thought I'd throw my 2 cents in this time for the sake of those curious about the new changes.

 

Like some others reporting in here, we are just off the 5 day trip on Millie from San Diego to Vancouver.

 

I think you have to remember that this 5 day "Wine Cruise" was actually just a slightly dressed up "repo", and no matter what line you are on, there tends to be not quite the same attention to detail by the crew on this sort of shorter trip, who are often in the midst of a changeover as well, and are gearing up for the start of the next season. I have experienced this phenomena on several other lines, so I don't find it unique to X. (I was recently on a Princess repo where they spelled my first name wrong on my "seapass" and for some reason couldn't fix it, so I was "Frsnk" for the rest of the 2 day trip. On the same trip, the room steward kept calling me by the name of the fellow who's cabin I was upgraded to at the last minute.... probably because he couldn't figure out how to pronounce "Frsnk"! Talk about travelling incongnito...) Much of X's crew were just transferred to the ship 2 weeks earlier following the refurb and were just getting used to the changes on the ship as well.

 

I also find that many of these shorter repos attract more first timers and may be a less sophisticated crowd than one usually finds on X's longer trips (call me a snob if you want, but they did seem to be having lots of fun, so I'm not being all that judgemental). However, that particular scenario is often (but not always) a function of price, and again, you will find that same situation on most other lines that do repos as well. (Although there are some lines that do not seem to demonstrate the correlation, regardless of length or price!)

 

Anyway ... We had a great time! Here's a mini review for a mini trip.

 

Boarding was a breeze. Got there around 10:30 and zipped through the check in process. Unfortunately we had to then sit and wait for a while to actually board because apparently debarkation of the previous cruise was held up by customs, but we were still on and exploring before noon which is a plus in my book. Maybe it got busier at the check in later on, but ... the early bird ... etc.

 

As always onboard M class ships, we went straight to the Spa Cafe for a terrific salmon fillet (you have to ask for it, but they will always make one up for you fresh and bring it to your table while you eat your soup and salad.) then dumped our bags in the room as soon as the fire doors were opened (they closed them off so that you couldn't go down to your rooms "early") and started to explore the new changes, which overall ... we liked. Personally I like the M class partly for the low passenger to tonnage ratio and although I was a bit concerned that all the new cabins would add 200 passengers and eat up a certain amout of "personal space", it didn't feel crowded on the ship to me at all, so I have to say it isn't an issue.

 

Our AQ cabin was great! ... what a shower! This is probably the cleanest I've been on a cruise if nothing else. I'm surprized there was any hot water left for the rest of the passengers. ;) We had a cabin on deck nine, which only had the refurbished bathroom and bedding, but we spoke to some of the new deck 11 cabin occupants who said that while the cabin layout was similar, everything was brand new. They said there were no noise, slammin exit door, or smoke problems from the aft bar and overall seemed impressed with it except for having to go outside and use the stairs at times to get around. However, no matter where your cabin is... you're going to have to walk somewhere to get around. I don't see it as a negative, myself.

 

Our cabin attendant, Laurence, was able to get or do everything we asked for. No water jug in the room, anymore unless requested, but they did deliver the iced tea daily in Aquaclass. :) Persian Gardens perk was relaxing on the sea days. T-Pool not too busy considering the extra passengers on board now.

 

Didn't eat in the MDR so can't comment, but Blu was fabulous in both service and quality of food for both breakfast and dinner. I agree with many that it is Blu that makes the AQ worth while (as long as its not too much more price-wise than CC) ... but not sure if I can go back to MDR again now...hmmm. Changed our prime C1 6135 cabin to A1 for our next trip on Millie at the end of August as a result. (Although I did that online after the cruise, as the "Future Cruise Guy" (with no name) couldn't get on line...)

 

It's not really the ship's fault that the inet was out of reach so often up the coast. I've done lots of repos and have experienced the same problem in that area before. Was only able to use about half of my 90 minute package (but since I'm elite, it was free anyway so no major inconvenience). I heard X refunding credits to some passengers who had trouble with access, so I figure they handled it as best they could. Nice to see that they have expanded wifi to cover almost all of the ship now, instead of just the central core as it was for many years.

 

Qsine was a neat treat and we found the staff (and the food) very entertaining. A new experience. And Robyn enjoyed the chance to taste and compare a selection of fine wines, an ounce at a time in Celler Masters (which didn't seem too crowded, I must say. Actually ..the word empty comes to mind, but maybe it was just our timing). Bistro on 5 didn't seem too busy either, but perhaps the new venue will take a bit of time to be discovered.

 

The Olympic seemed busier than normal, booking up early in the trip, but service was pretty much as expected, although some changes to the menu made the experience only marginally less enjoyable than previous trips. Slightly less than great, is still great though. The goat cheese souffle was presented a little differently (if it ain't broke, don't fix it) and the starters were all in one bunch at the top of the menu instead of breaking them out as appetizers, soup, salad, etc. ... not really a problem since you could just order them all anyway, however, someone not familiar with cruising might think that you only got to choose one item from each category and perhaps miss out. Terrific beef medallions that certainly didn't require a steak knife to cut. I couldn't decide on the chocolate souffle or the Gran Marnier one, so they made up a "custom" combination one for me with both. Couldn't get too much more accommodating than that I figure. We had to cancel the cheese course for lack of room and belt notches. Maybe next time.

 

While it wasn't exactly sunbathing weather after the first 2 days, we spent quite a bit of time up on deck and didn't find it cool until we approached northern Washington and BC. Actually, I was colder out walking by the bay in SF than I was on the ship at sea (but I did have my shorts and a short sleeved shirt on.) Perhaps I'm used to the cooler temps living in BC, but I got a bit of a kick out of seeing some of the diehards out on the pooldeck with four blankets wrapped around them, woolly mittens, and earmuffs trying to keep it feeling Florida-like.

 

The stay in Victoria was a bit strange. Arriving late in the afternoon and leaving at 9PM. We had a brisk walk into town and a quick look around before the stores started closing, but it was still a nice break and a bit of exerise to work of the lbs pick up on board. Not sure what the passengers on Infinity did that night, as they seemed to arrive in port just before we were leaving at 9PM. I guess Victoria was a technical stop for them to appease the Jones Act.

 

The CD was not as personable as most I've met, (that often remembered me by name and said hello passing in the hallways) but I found the other entertainers on board to be very friendly. On the other hand, I have often been fortunate enough to be the "top cruiser" and as such, perhaps get an additional degree of attention. This trip, with only 40 odd X cruise credits to my name, I was a mere pleb ;). (Travelling incognito again?) With over 250 Elite on board, there were a lot of high time cruisers mixed in with all those first timers, which possibly accounts for some of the higher expectations reported... and perhaps justifiably so. With so many Elite on board, the Elite lounge venue was moved from Michael's Club to the Olympic in the morning and the Deck 11 forward lounge for afternoon drinks and appies.

 

Walked off the ship in Vancouver @ 7:45 and was through customs, on the skytrain, and at YVR waiting for our flight in under an hour. Can't get much more efficient than that.

 

Anyway ... in summary... Great trip (for what it was, and at a pretty good price) and an improved ship IMO. Yes, it probably doesn't rank up there with 2 full weeks in the Med or the Baltic in July, but judging from what I observed, I think most passengers really enjoyed themselves. I'd definitely do it again and wish we didn't have to wait till August to do so!

 

Happy cruising everyone.

 

Frank and Robyn

 

Great review, just what i was looking for. Can't wait until next April!

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Jeff1964

Jeff1964

Posted
Posted
I don't post very often, but thought I'd throw my 2 cents in this time for the sake of those curious about the new changes.

 

 

Our AQ cabin was great! ... what a shower! This is probably the cleanest I've been on a cruise if nothing else. I'm surprized there was any hot water left for the rest of the passengers. ;) We had a cabin on deck nine, which only had the refurbished bathroom and bedding, but we spoke to some of the new deck 11 cabin occupants who said that while the cabin layout was similar, everything was brand new. They said there were no noise, slammin exit door, or smoke problems from the aft bar and overall seemed impressed with it except for having to go outside and use the stairs at times to get around. However, no matter where your cabin is... you're going to have to walk somewhere to get around. I don't see it as a negative, myself.

 

Frank and Robyn

What cabin were you in??

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  • 5 weeks later...
Gig103

Gig103

Posted
Posted
On the same trip, the room steward kept calling me by the name of the fellow who's cabin I was upgraded to at the last minute.... probably because he couldn't figure out how to pronounce "Frsnk"!

 

Oh my gosh, that is hilarious :D:D

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