Millennium advice please

[cruisingtheword]

Thanks for the thoughtful post above. My husband and I love Celebrity, have also sailed on HAL, Princess, Costa, MSC, and Carnival as well has Viking River cruises. We look for the best deals to the places we most want to visit, the actual cruise line is secondary. However, that said, I get most excited when I know an upcoming cruise is on Celebrity because its quality of service, entertainment, and food best fit what my husband and I enjoy. As it has happened, we seem to end up on the older Celebrity ships which we actually end up considering a blessing rather than a curse. We were on one of the last sailings of both Horizon and Zenith out of Tampa before they were sold. We loved the convenience of the Port of Tampa (as we live in Atlanta it is one of our closest ports, so very easily driven in a day) and we particularly loved the smaller ships. We don't care about rock climbing walls, multiple restaurants, etc. when stacked up against the crowds and lines you face on the larger ships. We are currently booked on the Millennium's sailing from Tokyo - Hong Kong this October and are very happy to be on one of Celebrity's smaller, older grand dames. It is nice that she will be dry docked for updates shortly before our trip, but I have no doubt we will love her every bit as much as we did Horizon and Zenith.

Edited February 9, 2016 by cruisingtheword

[phoenix_dream]

We have cruised on Celebrity more than 25 times, dating back to the days of Horizon and Zenith. In all those cruises, I have only had one were we were a bit disappointed in the condition and maintenance of the ship and that was years ago on the Summit (problems long since corrected). Even then, the issues were minor compared to the cruise overall. Celebrity takes very good care of their ships, and while the older ships of course will show their age a bit, I have no hesitation about booking ANY Celebrity ship. In fact, our next three cruises are on Summit, Millennium (B2B to Alaska), and Infinity respectively.

 

My final point would be that I would choose itinerary over ship any time (any Celebrity ship, that is). That is particularly true for Alaska, and particularly if this is your first (and perhaps only) time sailing there.

[kathywin53]

Thanks for this thread. We are booked Alaska May 2016, doing 5 independent land days with a rental car. After many cruises we also look for the route. This is our 4th time north (RCI, Princess) and cruising with first timers who we are hoping will have a great experience, making the refit of Millennium to our advantage. Not looking for the sports activities on board, just good company, amazing scenery and historic ports.

[lag9122]

We are going to Alaska in June 2017 on millie and looking forward to a wonderful cruise . I don't believe everything I read on the web .

[chemmo]

The problem with M class reviews is they are often written by people who have previously cruised S class and not done their homework before boarding an M class. They may be vaguely aware M class ships are smaller and older but still board expecting to see an S class ship!

 

Less dining venues, older rooms, some signs of age and then people start to focus on the negatives. There are many positive aspects of these ships and the service we have found equally good....Some of the rooms have advantages over their S ship counterparts....

 

We enjoy that we can cruise on one cruise line and have two different experiences...Future cruises planned on both M and S ships. We hope as the new ships are launched at least some M class will stay in the fleet.

[villauk]

The problem with M class reviews is they are often written by people who have previously cruised S class and not done their homework before boarding an M class. They may be vaguely aware M class ships are smaller and older but still board expecting to see an S class ship!

 

Less dining venues, older rooms, some signs of age and then people start to focus on the negatives. There are many positive aspects of these ships and the service we have found equally good....Some of the rooms have advantages over their S ship counterparts....

 

We enjoy that we can cruise on one cruise line and have two different experiences...Future cruises planned on both M and S ships. We hope as the new ships are launched at least some M class will stay in the fleet.

 

I'd like to know what they are actually doing to Millie in the dry dock. Have you read any confirmed updates? Wonder if they will spruce her up inside and add the additional amenities like they have on Infinity & Summit?