Thoughts on Dec 9th Millennium Southeast Asia cruise

[clipper110A]

Your assumption is that someone at Celebrity cared enough or thought about the new itinerary enough to even ask RCL or Azamara. The more I read about and deal with Celebrity HQ, the more I think they are disfunctional with no management and no leadership. Fortunately, most of their ships are staffed with good folks who try to give an excellent cruise, mostly without any help or guidance from HQ.

 

We are on the same wavelength here...with 20 years with X, over 100 tier credits, hit every ship in historical fleet including Xpedition, we find X's shoreside support, certain reservations policies and customer "care" to be generally abysmal, non customer focused, and at times illogical and intractable..Misinformation and/or contradictory info on several reasonable requests for basic information for certain sailings over the years...

 

In fact, when asked for our opinion, we have told ship captain's and Corporate VPs at Captain's Tables and/or S class inaugural functions that the moment the shipboard experience begins to resemble what we deal with at times from res/corporate shoreside, we are high tailing it to Oceania or Cunard...

 

We are very interested in seeing if Mr. Bayley is willing/able to effect some positive changes in this area...or if he is even cognizant of these issues...

[MMastell]

I was also on this sailing and I have to say that we had some of the same issues and none of some others.

 

The greatest debacle was the handing out of passports for Bangkok. There was an apology letter from the Captain that did state it was out of their control because of the late start of the Thai officials. That did not account for the issues in handing out the passports in Michael's Club. They should have had one or two people retrieving passports about one hour before they did and then have one person calling out cabin numbers. It was a mess and Celebrity Shore Excursions definitely did a bad job. Add to that the one person, in the last group, who wandered off causing the last bus to wait an additional twenty minutes.

 

In regard to the Vietnam visa I have to say that we had ABSOLUTELY no problem with it. We went to guest relations on the first day and received the application. We then went back to our cabin and filled it out and took it back to guest relations. I always carry an extra set of passport photos with me so I included them with the application. The couple in the cabin next to ours had the photography staff take their picture and it was no problem. Our visa was in our passports when we received them in Vietnam.

 

I hate to say it but many people made more problems for themselves with the visas then Celebrity did. Complaints about pictures. Wanting them taken immediately instead of going at a designated time; Complaining about the $50 fee and some people being just plain rude. It is possible someone got a Customer Service rep who wasn't familiar with what's going on but overall I saw that most knew the process.

 

I have to agree with the food. It was far below Celebrity's average. The buffet was repetitious with the same things over and over. MDR breakfast was slow and on the two days we did eat there the food was cold. Room Service breakfast was a joke. The omelette was a hunk of cold, overcooked egg and everything, including beverages was delivered at room temperature.

 

Gone are the days of exemplary service in The Olympic. Now it is about the same as you once received in the MDR. I will have to say that the mushroom risotto was fantastic but everything else was just good, except for the lobster that was prepared tableside. The waiter did not burn off all the alcohol in the flambe leaving an alcohol taste to the whole dish. A new dish was substituted but it took a long time to show up.

 

QSine was good and the filet was excellent. It was not my type of dining. Sort of a Tapas with a Twist and a little too gimmicky but many people will like that type of experience.

 

Our cabin steward was excellent as were most of the waitstaff in Select dining.

 

We had one night where the service was slow and the water glasses remained empty for most of the meal but the Sommelier made sure the wine glasses stayed full. The MDR food was just "ok" with nothing really standing out and a couple of things not very good. The lamb was overly salty and the replacement steak was inedible. I also had to send back the steak Au poivre because it was too tough to eat.

 

I was also very disappointed with the staff in the buffet. I have Celiac's and need to eat gluten free. When I would ask if a particular soup or dish was gluten free I would be met with a shrug, "I don't know" or "You can look". Never did anyone offer to "go check" until I asked them. One server actually said that he couldn't leave the station. I just walked away. On Equinox and Carnival Breeze (my last two cruises) if I would ask the answer was "Yes, No or I will check sir". I did like that the items on the MDR menus were marked with gluten free, dairy and other allergens. That is a nice touch.

 

Millennium is also showing her age with some areas of worn carpets, elevator button that didn't work or the numbers were worn out and just an "old feel" to the ship.

 

I have to say that I did have a good time and by no means went hungry. The food was overall good, the itinerary great, the staff OK and most of my fellow guests were nice. But depending on itinerary I will think twice or even three times before booking Millennium again.

 

Take care,

Mike

[baldercash]

I was also on this sailing and I have to say that we had some of the same issues and none of some others.

 

Millennium is also showing her age with some areas of worn carpets, elevator button that didn't work or the numbers were worn out and just an "old feel" to the ship.

 

I have to say that I did have a good time and by no means went hungry. The food was overall good, the itinerary great, the staff OK and most of my fellow guests were nice. But depending on itinerary I will think twice or even three times before booking Millennium again.

Take care, Mike

 

"Millennium is also showing her age" Wasn't she just refurbished? How is it that she is so worn so soon?

I am booked on a 35 day Hawaii to Singapore in Aqua class deck 11 for next fall. What would be your thoughts on that itinerary on Millenium?

 

All comments are appreciated.

[Despegue]

Cabin carpets and seats, showlounge and library were not refurbished I think. Maybe the worn carpets were found there?

[MMastell]

The worn carpets were in the Rendezvous Lounge, cabin, hallways and theater. Also some of the tiles in the pool areas were cracked and chipped, latches on the bathroom stalls on Deck 10 and outside the theater were broken. These are things that show age.

 

I don't want to give the impression that the ship is falling apart. There are just some maintenance issues and hopefully they soon will be taken care of.

 

If I was booked on another Millennium cruise I would not cancel it. However, if I was booking a future cruise and there was another ship, at a comparable price, then I would strongly consider that ship over Millennium.

 

Take care,

Mike

[CruisinMaterial]

I do actually have a couple of questions regarding the formal nights:

 

1. How many nights were there on the Northbound voyage?

2. What nights of the voyage were they on? (I'm guessing sea days as that seems to be the norm but this itinerary is anything but the norm with so much port time!!)

3. What did the gents wear in the MDR?

 

I appreciate everyone's feedback on the sailing thus far. Just curious if one of the 3 posters who have shared experiences could answer the above questions and this new one:

 

4. What time did the Celebrity Select Dining stop seating? Was it consistent on most nights (staying at the same time)?

 

Thanks again!

[MMastell]

I appreciate everyone's feedback on the sailing thus far. Just curious if one of the 3 posters who have shared experiences could answer the above questions and this new one:

 

4. What time did the Celebrity Select Dining stop seating? Was it consistent on most nights (staying at the same time)?

 

Thanks again!

 

There were three formal nights. Each was on a sea day.

There were some tuxedos but mostly dark suits and sports jackets and slacks. My perception was that each subsequent formal night became less formal with many men wearing a jacket and shirt and no tie on the last formal night.

 

Select dining was from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. The peak times were around 6 and 7 p.m. Only once did we have a wait of more than five minutes and that was around 7 p.m. on one night.

 

The formal nights were the sea days before: Bangkok, Chan May, and Hong Kong. Days 3, 9 and 13.

 

Take care,

Mike

[CruisinMaterial]

There were three formal nights. Each was on a sea day.

There were some tuxedos but mostly dark suits and sports jackets and slacks. My perception was that each subsequent formal night became less formal with many men wearing a jacket and shirt and no tie on the last formal night.

 

Select dining was from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. The peak times were around 6 and 7 p.m. Only once did we have a wait of more than five minutes and that was around 7 p.m. on one night.

 

The formal nights were the sea days before: Bangkok, Chan May, and Hong Kong. Days 3, 9 and 13.

 

Take care,

Mike

 

Mike - :) I am incredibly thankful for your detailed response! :)

 

Dining has never been so challenging to me with my love of NCL's FreeStyle Dining - dine when you want with whatever food you want. This is a very different type of experience. Your feedback has been invaluable in helping me make decisions. Also, the number of formal nights and attire allowed is quite helpful for packing. Space is limited these days on flights for luggage without huge fees.

 

Thanks again!

~J

[emileg]

The worn carpets were in the Rendezvous Lounge, cabin, hallways and theater. Also some of the tiles in the pool areas were cracked and chipped, latches on the bathroom stalls on Deck 10 and outside the theater were broken. These are things that show age.

 

I don't want to give the impression that the ship is falling apart. There are just some maintenance issues and hopefully they soon will be taken care of.

 

If I was booked on another Millennium cruise I would not cancel it. However, if I was booking a future cruise and there was another ship, at a comparable price, then I would strongly consider that ship over Millennium.

 

Take care,

Mike

Interesting. We were recently on the Summit that went through similar Solsticazation and all the areas you describe we're refurbished with beautiful new carpeting and drapes in the cabin. All hallways, theaters and public room also had brand new carpeting. Go figure.

[tjar13]

Hi Mike,

 

Have read with interest your posts, We are sailing on the Millennium, Honolulu to Sydney, Nov 2013, have booked "Any Time Dining" rather that Assigned sitting.

 

Do you need to reserve a time for dinner for each day , say the evening before as I have had to do on P and O ( Aust ) ships , or can you just turn up at whatever time your ready to eat. We would normall eat around 7 pm or after the early show in the showroom

 

I just plan to take a Dark Suit with White shirt and Bow for Formal nights, so this seems ok by your reports.

 

This will be my first time on Celebrity, most of my cruises have been on P and O Aust ships ( 3 star at best) with the exception of the Diamond Princess.

 

regards Tom

[tjar13]

Hi Mike,

 

Have read with interest your posts, We are sailing on the Millennium, Honolulu to Sydney, Nov 2013, have booked "Any Time Dining" rather that Assigned sitting.

 

Do you need to reserve a time for dinner for each day , say the evening before as I have had to do on P and O ( Aust ) ships , or can you just turn up at whatever time your ready to eat. We would normall eat around 7 pm or after the early show in the showroom

 

I just plan to take a Dark Suit with White shirt and Bow for Formal nights, so this seems ok by your reports.

 

This will be my first time on Celebrity, most of my cruises have been on P and O Aust ships ( 3 star at best) with the exception of the Diamond Princess.

 

regards Tom

[ghstudio]

Hi Mike,

 

Have read with interest your posts, We are sailing on the Millennium, Honolulu to Sydney, Nov 2013, have booked "Any Time Dining" rather that Assigned sitting.

 

Do you need to reserve a time for dinner for each day , say the evening before as I have had to do on P and O ( Aust ) ships , or can you just turn up at whatever time your ready to eat. We would normall eat around 7 pm or after the early show in the showroom

 

I just plan to take a Dark Suit with White shirt and Bow for Formal nights, so this seems ok by your reports.

 

This will be my first time on Celebrity, most of my cruises have been on P and O Aust ships ( 3 star at best) with the exception of the Diamond Princess.

 

regards Tom

 

If you'd like, you can reserve times in select dining before you leave on the "my celebrity" section of celebrity's web site. If you do make a reservation, they don't actually hold a table for you...you just get a table before those that are just walking up with no reservation. If you miss your reservation slot, no one cares...you just join the short line of folks with no reservation.

 

Dark suit, white shirt (or any color shirt) and tie will be fine in the MDR on formal nights....and formal is only required in the MDR....specialty restaurants and all other eateries are Smart Casual every night.

[sandyss]

We were also on the December 9th departure, so I will add my comments.

 

Bangkok was a disaster. We did not get our passports until 1:00pm. Our private overnight tour missed some of the sights planned, since the sites were closed by the time we arrived in Bangkok. Our tour guide rearranged things as much as possible, but we did miss some special sites that were closed. Celebrity took absolutely no responsibility for this passport fiasco, and continued to blame the Thai authorities.

 

Bangkok, HCMC, and Hanoi are best seen on overnight tours, because of the distance from port to city. Smaller ships can dock closer to Bangkok and HCMC. Celebrity should consider having a smaller ship on this itinerary.

 

The Millennium needs additional refurbishment. It was irritating that many elevator buttons often did not work. We have also sailed on the Infinity and Constellation this year and both were in better repair than the Millennium. There was also loads of rust on our balcony.

 

As for dining, we enjoyed most of the food on board. The service was not up to par, though. People said that the ship was short staffed for our departure. Dinner service and our cabin crew were excellent. Breakfast and lunch in the MDR had very poor service, though. On one day, we went for lunch to the MDR at noon. We were the only two people at our table. At 12:35 our appetizer was finally served. Other nearby tables also were impatient for their food to be served. At 12:55, we gave up waiting for our entree, since we had a Captain's Club event at 1:00pm. We just walked out. Luckily food was being served at the Captain's Club event, so we didn't go hungry. We did point out the problem to the Assistant Matre'd, and he said that we should always ask for a table for two in order to get faster service. Normally we eat most of our meals in the MDR, but for this sailing, we went to the buffet for breakfast on most mornings and frequently for lunch.

 

The entertainment was not up to par for this sailing. The entertainers were nowhere near as good as on the Infinity and Constellation. There were three production shows on nights that we were on the ship. We skipped two of them since there was only standing room or seats with no view available.

 

The sound level of the music at the Captain's Club events was a little lower than in the past. We were able to converse with others. There was lots of loud music elsewhere, which kept us from getting drinks at the bars.

 

We would recommend the tour guides that we had, with the exception of Zoom in HCMC. I had arranged by email several deviations from his standard tour of the city, and this was not communicated to his guide, who was rather inflexible. Thi from Smile Tours provided excellent tours and guides for us from Danang and to Hanoi. Nook in Bangkok also was excellent - very flexible after our passport fiasco.

 

We had opted to go to the Mekong Delta for one day of our HCMC tour. We found it extremely commercial and were disappointed. Those who went to the Cu Chi Tunnels enjoyed their tour much more.

__________________

[MMastell]

Hi Mike,

 

Have read with interest your posts, We are sailing on the Millennium, Honolulu to Sydney, Nov 2013, have booked "Any Time Dining" rather that Assigned sitting.

 

Do you need to reserve a time for dinner for each day , say the evening before as I have had to do on P and O ( Aust ) ships , or can you just turn up at whatever time your ready to eat. We would normall eat around 7 pm or after the early show in the showroom

 

I just plan to take a Dark Suit with White shirt and Bow for Formal nights, so this seems ok by your reports.

 

This will be my first time on Celebrity, most of my cruises have been on P and O Aust ships ( 3 star at best) with the exception of the Diamond Princess.

 

regards Tom

 

There is no need to make a reservation for Select Dining. We never made a reservation and, as I said earlier, we never had a long wait for a table.

 

You can make a reservation to assure you get the table, time and waitstaff you want. I personally feel that making reservations defeats the reason that I choose Select or any other open seating type of dining. Depending on the day and what we are doing we may not know what time we will be eating in the evening or if we will even eat in the MDR.

 

The dark suit and bow tie will be fine.

 

Take care,

Mike

[bigbenboys]

We are booked on the Millie out of Singapore 1/20/2013. As I have learned here that it is best not to book the 1st cruise. Millie is doing the same cruise out of Singapore on Jan 6th 2013. I do hope they will get the bugs worked out on the 1st cruise. I have always thought that if you make your own cruise excursions ie not booked with the cruiseline, it would be your responsibility to send your own passport out for the required visas before you get on the ship. You can have 2 US Passports. The 2nd one is for only 5 years. I also get the large Passport with 52 pages. Yes some of the Visas take one whole page or more. If I remember right you have to have 6 months left on your Passport and 6 open pages for most countries Visas. Richard

[weliketocruise86]

Does anyone know if priority tender tickets were available to Elite members and if so were these delivered to your stateroom ?

[Taralevi]

Hi,

Were on the 3rd march sailing Singapore - Hong Kong, do you know the name of the port we will be tendering into for Halong Bay.

Many Thanks

John.

[4774Papa]

We have recently returned from sailing on the inaugural Celebrity Millennium Southeast Asia cruise. We have previously cruised Celebrity five times with a total of 14 cruises including other lines (me) and 25 cruises for my mother. I will provide a complete review in the coming days in the Member Reviews section. Before I sound like a constant complainer I should mention we felt very fortunate to be taking this cruise. I loved the idea of the overnight stops which would allow us more time in port. Visiting Vietnam in particular made us appreciate our high living standard and quality of life in the USA.

 

We were booked in Aquaclass in 1141 and had a large aft veranda. While we enjoyed the ports we were disappointed with the service and food on Millennium. I have a cruise booked on the Infinity for August 2013 which I will be cancelling.

 

I never say “never”, but I doubt I will be sailing on Celebrity in the future due to what we experienced on this cruise. There were many other cruisers I spoke with who shared the same view.

As there were so many issues on this sailing I want share a few items which may be beneficial. Below is some information which may be helpful to others who will be sailing on the Millennium and on the same itinerary.

 

December 9th cruise from Singapore to Hong Kong

There were many issues and problems with this cruise:

 

Departure from Singapore – Celebrity did not comprehend that the Singapore port authority would require every passenger to have a departure stamp in their passport. As the departure day was the second day of the Singapore visit, some people apparently kept their passports. Ours were frantically collected after we were standing in line on the gangway on the second day in Singapore. The crew were feverously grabbing passports and running around with as many they could hold in their hands. Due solely to the problem with stamping passports, we were delayed departing Singapore for 3 hours. However, the Captain did a superb job of making up the lost time and getting us to Bangkok (Laem Chagang) on time. He had to go much faster than planned and apparently it cost $100K additional for the fuel. The Captain joked with me that he would send me the bill!

 

Vietnam Visa – This has been a very popular and unfortunately contentious issue on the Cruise Critic threads. This is mainly due to Celebrity’s poor communication on their website and over the phone with Customer Service for the procedure and requirements for the visa. We did our research and determined that Celebrity would provide the visa on board the ship and charge the stateroom account. This turned out to be correct. However, the process was a lot more complicated than anyone including Celebrity anticipated. After boarding in Singapore we enquired at Guest Relations about the charge for the visa and getting our passport back for the overnight in Bangkok as well as Saigon. We were surprised to be handed an application form for a Vietnam Landing Card. There was no information about having to do this in our room or when we checked in. If we had not stopped at the desk we may have never known anything about it.

 

 

The first indication that things were going seriously wrong regarding the visas and the Vietnam ports was at our Cruise Critic Meet and Mingle on the sea day after we sailed from Singapore. This event was held in the Cosmos lounge and attended by about 75 people and hosted by Darrin the Hotel Director, Captain Tamaris and the Cruise Director Steve. It started out fine with some comments from the Cruise Director. It quickly became a bit of frenzy when many people started to ask questions about the Vietnam Visa. It soon became very clear that the ship was inadequate in comprehending how many people were spending time on overnights in Vietnam on their own and not on a ship sponsored tour. The cruise director gave some feeble answers and had zero understanding about anything that was being said. When someone mentioned they were spending the night on their own in Vietnam and what was required regarding the photo, the cruise director said, “We will get in touch with you”. Really? A lot of us were sitting there dumbfounded. How would they know just by looking at us if we would spend the night in Saigon on our own? The hotel director quickly sensed the frustration in the room and after a few calls made an announcement that they would setup a desk in the Guest Relations area within the

hour with the Documentation Officers.

 

The major confusion was that there was no mention of requiring a photo for the Vietnam visa in advance. I did read this on the Azamara site so thought it might be true for Celebrity as well. In summary there are two types of Vietnam visas from the Celebrity Millennium:

 

The first is the group ship sponsored tour Vietnam Visa which cost $35 and apparently does not require a photo. As I understand it this is for those on a ship tour only and not spending the night off the ship in Vietnam. However, there are ship sponsored tours for overnights that might require a different visa so it was confusing who needed which one.

 

The second visa is for those spending the night off the ship in Vietnam whether on their own or on a ship tour. The cost is $50 and does require a photo. With all the chaos on the ship, they decided to try to use the photos taken for the Seapass cards but were unsure if those would be acceptable to the Vietnamese authorities. The poor planning and understanding of the port requirements by Celebrity was glaring. This was despite having the Documentation Officers on board the Millennium who had previously sailed with Azamara Quest in Asia.

 

I had photos taken for our China visas and meant to take the extra ones with us just in case. Unfortunately I forgot them at the last minute. To be on the safe side we opted to pay the $12.95 for the ship’s photographer to take our photos. However, this was not so easy as they did not want to do this as they were getting ready for formal night (it was only 11:00 am) and didn’t want to change to a light background. We sort of begged and they told us to come back in a few hours after they made a decision. They ultimately agreed to do the photos.

 

For those spending an overnight in Vietnam off the ship the following is required:

· Application form for the Vietnam Landing Card

· Vietnam Visa + photo

· Passport

 

Our Vietnam visa was the one for $50 and was actually adhered in the passport and took up an entire page. Our Landing Cards were stamped in each Vietnam port when we exited the ship. They did not however collect the Landing Cards when we left Halong Bay (our last Vietnam port).

Toward the end of the cruise I overheard a couple at Guest Relations who were furious because they were not allowed to do their overnight tour in Hanoi. Their understanding of the application for the Landing Card was that they could use the visa for $35 which was not true. From what I overheard they were on a ship tour but spending the night so needed the $50 Vietnam visa. They lost money on the hotel they booked in Hanoi plus the cost of the tour. They were adamant that the form was not clear. I agree with them.

A huge obstacle and constant headache was the inadequacy of the Guest Relations staff. They had conflicting information and very little was accurate. They had to consistently revise what they were telling us. The one bright spot was Jennifer, the Concierge who is a superstar. I strongly advise anyone who has questions about any of the ships requirements for any of the overnight stops or ports to consult with her and avoid the Guest Relations staff altogether.

 

Before we reached Vietnam I spoke directly with Khun, one of the ship’s Documentation Officers and have verbal confirmation that ANY Celebrity passenger can apply for the Vietnam Visa on the ship. There is no nationality that cannot. Please be advised that for Thailand there are several countries that need to acquire the visa in advance. These include Mexico and Cuba.

 

 

Arrival in Bangkok, Thailand – Our first stop after departing Singapore was the cruise port of Laem Chabang. We arrived on time a little before 10:00 am. The pilot boat went out much earlier to pick up the Thai authorities to stamp the passports. We had been told that we could collect our passports at the Conference Center soon after the ship was cleared. I had booked a car and driver with Oriental Escape to take us roundtrip to Bangkok where we would spend the night. I expected to disembark at the latest around 10:45 am.

 

Celebrity clearly underestimated the large number of people who would be spending the night off the ship and require their passports. Celebrity blamed the port authority for arriving late to stamp the passports. I actually saw them board and it seemed like they came around 9:30 am. The line to get the passports snacked all the way down the hall from the Conference Room to Guest Relations. Those going on ships tours also needed their passports and were in the theater. It was complete chaos with the staff running back and forth with passports. When we finally made it to the conference room the passports were in small bunches and in no order. They just randomly called out room numbers. As the line was so long someone in the room would shout and repeat the number down the hall. We did not receive our passports back until 2 ½ hours later. Some people got the wrong ones and others did not get them back at all despite being on a ship tour. It was a horrendous situation. Most of the passengers were staying calm but a few were understandably losing their cool. Prior to getting our passports back I called the hotline for our driver and they were aware of the problem as no one was getting off the ship. They said they would have the driver on standby and wait for us. We were much more fortunate than others who had private group tours booked with other passengers and were just waiting and waiting until everyone received their passport. A letter was distributed to all passengers when we came back the next day. It blamed the port authority for starting late and Celebrity accepted no responsibility for the situation. Even if the Thai authorities were entirely to blame (which I doubt), Celebrity still could have #1 handled the ensuing chaos more professionally, and #2 been more gracious in their apology.

 

Currency requirements in port and exchanging money on the ship. Prior to departure I contacted my banks and learned to my surprise that Chase considers Singapore, Vietnam and China to be high fraud areas. Therefore I was advised not to use my Chase Debit card or the account will immediately be blocked. I spoke with Bank of America and they did not have the same issues. However, I decided to be on the safe side and not use the ATM’s in those countries. I did use the Hang Seng Bank ATM in Hong Kong on several occasions without any problem.

 

If you want to get currency on the ship, do it early. They ran out of currency in almost every port. If you get Vietnamese Dong you cannot exchange it back on the ship if you have any left over as they will not take it back. This is despite sailing back there in just a few days. We fortunately gave the last of our Dong to our bus driver and guide in Halong Bay.

 

 

Cambodia Overnight Tour – The ship sponsored visit to Cambodia was a complete fiasco. We did not go on it but learned about it during dinner in Blu from a couple seated next to us. They gave me permission to discuss it with other passengers online and in person.

There were 26 people on the Cambodia overnight tour booked through Celebrity. They were bused from the port of Laem Chabang to the Bangkok airport unaccompanied by any Celebrity representative. The departure of the tour was a complete disaster as the arrival stamps in the passports had the wrong date. The authorities would not allow them to board their plane or leave the airport. There was no one to call for help. By the way, for the entire Asia cruise Celebrity never gave a local phone number for the port in case of problems. The only number provided was a number in Miami. With the time difference that was going to be of little use. One of the people on the tour tried to contact an agent in Europe who then tried to call someone at Celebrity and then contact the ship. This did not work. There were about 6 people who had the correct stamp in their passport and were able to depart on the scheduled flight to Cambodia .

 

The remaining 20 spent and additional stressful 4 hours in the airport trying to solve the situation on their own. Ultimately, the Bangkok airport authorities decided to put a “cancel” stamp in the passports with the wrong date and then re-stamped them all correctly. Once on the Cambodian side there was a local Cambodian travel services person in charge of the tour who was apparently outstanding. The price for the Cambodia excursion from the ship is around $1600 per person. It is absolutely unacceptable that there was no Celebrity representative accompanying them on this tour. Celebrity’s documentation officers should have also checked the passports to make sure they were in order.

 

 

That is about all the important information from the cruise I have distilled so far. I will be repeating some of what I have written here on the blog that I write but wanted to make sure those on the same itinerary are aware of the challenges we faced. Hopefully Celebrity learned from their mistakes and will do a much better job going forward

We visited China last September with Vantage for a 20 day tour, it was great. Our visa cost $200 each through a private firm, since we don't live close to a consulate or Embassy.

How did you get your China visa, and how much did it cost?

[Steph27]

Below are responses to some recent questions.

 

Priority Tender passes

Yes, we had the priority tender passes delivered to our stateroom. Just ask your attendant. However, we waited in Michael's Club with the other Elite passengers for about 40 minutes until we were allowed on the tenders. It was a quick journey to shore (about 17 minutes).

 

Halong Bay port

The name of the port in Halong Bay is Bai Chay Ferry Station, Halong Street, Bai Chay Ward, Halong City, Vietnam. We walked from here to Royal Pier which was much longer than I anticipated. We took a private overnight junk from the Royal Pier.

 

Overnight Junk

The name of the company we used was Heritage-line.com. The name of boat was the Halong Violet. We had a fabulous time. We arrived in Halong Bay at 1:00 pm and took a private tender to the Violet. Would highly recommend it!

[Steph27]

We used Travel Document Systems (TDS / http://www.traveldocs.com). The cost was $55 for the TDS service fee and $145 for the China Consulate fee. It took 4 Business days to process. We received the multiple entry visa which is good for one year. We can stay for up to 60 days per visit. I was very happy with TDS and would happily use them again.

[Taralevi]

Many thanks for the Halong Bay port info.

 

John.

[Skyrules]

Seems they generally learnt from their experiences on the north bound cruise.. We did the next cruise, southbound, and the only issue we had was in Bangkok, where the immigration officials did the visa processing in their own good time, delaying those doing overnight tours. But the shore tour co-ordinators did a great job, in difficult conditions, getting passengers ashore, albeit a bit slowly.

 

In Hong Kong after having an overnight stay, all passengers had to be on board by 3.00pm to go through a face-to-passport immigration check (done in Cosmos) where the passports were collected. This seemed to be a bit early - as we didn't sail until 8pm.

 

Vietnam visa processing went smoothly, and information was clearly distributed, particualy if people went to the inital presentation by the Shore tour team, or viewed the information on their TV or read the information provided to each stateroom.

 

Those doing day tours in Vietname didn't need to have their passports returned to them, they just needed to carry the landing card, which was delivered to our cabin the evening before. This card was checked each time you left the ship, and was collected at the last Vietnamese port, in our case Ho Chi Minh City.

 

Those doing overnight tours in Vietnam had to organise their Visa's on the sea day between Hong Kong and Halong Bay - and their passports were available for collection in the showlounge following arrival at Halong Bay.

 

Doing the cruise in the reverse direction, Singapore was our last port, the process there was probably a bit smoother than for those embarking there.

 

Our passports were processed on the last sea day, and we collected our stamped passports from Cosmos late in the afternoon. Then every time we left or returned to the ship, we had to present for a face-to-passport immigration check. This is a Singaporean immigration requirement.

[Skyrules]

Do you need to reserve a time for dinner for each day , say the evening before as I have had to do on P and O ( Aust ) ships , or can you just turn up at whatever time your ready to eat. We would normall eat around 7 pm or after the early show in the showroom

 

Tom,

 

The Select Dining on Millenium works much like the Anytime Dining on P&O Aus, with the advantage that you can book your time prior to your cruise. We pre-booked our dining time in the MDR for everynight of the cruise, excluding the nights we booked for the Specialty Restuarant's, before we left home.

 

The first night we got shown to a table, and we got on so well with the wonderful waitstaff (look out for Cedric, Guilmore and wine waiter Geoffrey) that we asked if we could get the same table each night, and the Restaurant manager happily booked us on that table for all our subsequent bookings in the MDR... She even adjusted the times for us the night we were late back from one of the Shore tours, so we could keep "our" table.

 

Alternatively, you can just show up each night and take pot luck. When you pre-book it's done in 15 minute intervals, so tables should turnover about every 15 minutes, so you shouldn't ever have to wait too long. We didn't see long ques outside the dining room any night when we came out, usually around 7.30pm