How gracefully is the Millennium aging?

[cirpi]

Some recent reviews of the Millennium have claimed that the old girl is showing her age with rust showing here and there, worn carpeting and a serious decline in food quality. The last of our four Millie sailings was eight years ago and she was showing she needed a refurbishment, which she has had since our cruise. Is she due for another?

[MaisonDeBritts]

Millie was our first cruise... for our honeymoon in 2012. We met some wonderful people and we love her so much we did almost the same cruise in 2013! She was fine then... certainly no complaints from us.

[TFLG]

I was on it last April. Our cabin was showing it's age. Lots of rust on the balcony, and the carpet and furnishings were in need of replacement or a good cleaning. The public areas of the ship actually were not too bad and other than the first night the food wasn't too bad. On par with my other recent cruises anyway. It went in for a refit right after our cruise. Hopefully they got rid of the dreadful smell near the gangway. It smelled like a sewer overflowed every time we got on or off the ship.

[redransom]

We were Millie last December. Cabin was a little run down and had to admit we were surprised when our beds were split apart to see the bedding was torn. Still had a great cruise and would book her again.

 

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[soraya]

I can report back soon as we're onboard at the end of March! It will be our 2nd Celebrity cruise but I am quite concerned about the reviews of a rusty ship with bad food. We were on the Constellation 2 yrs ago and it was in good shape, so I booked this as I thought the 2 ships should be in similar shape. It doesn't sound good though.

 

Not sure what sounds worse, the cold, inedible food or the rusty balconies!:eek:

[annbarker23]

We are booked on the Celebrity millennium (Concierge cabin) for two cruises chosen specifically for the itineraries. We have only cruised Solstice class before and do hope we will not be disappointed. We are very much "glass half full" people so will look to find positives. A bit of rust won't bother us but we do like nice food.

 

 

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[4774Papa]

When steel is exposed to salt water, rust is the result. I think X does a great job keeping the M class ships maintained. We loved Millie on our Japan and China cruise in Fall of 2015.

[DirtyDawg]

Hmmmmm. Only a little rust and fraying in some places.

 

Sounds like she's ageing a heck of a lot better than me!:eek:

[villauk]

Hmmmmm. Only a little rust and fraying in some places. Sounds like she's ageing a heck of a lot better than me!:eek:

 

 

Lol :').

 

We had a great time on her over the Christmas and New Year period :).

[Mynki]

Not sailed on her since November 2015. She showed her age then, but people have to bear in mind she's 17 years old now, so it's hardly a surprise.

 

If you want a shiny new cruise ship, don't book her. If you have realistic expectations then go for it. You will see rust. You will seen worn carpets and furnishings etc. Book an S class ship if you don't want this.

[Mr. Click]

We sailed on the Millennium last July in Alaska. She had been in dry dock in May and we found things to be in nice shape. Yes, there is always some wear and tear but nothing out of the normal for cruise ship that handles 2000 guests per week. Rust is always the enemy on any boat/ship. Steel was not meant to be exposed to saltwater, just a fact of life and from what I have seen on both M class and S class ships, they do a very good job of maintaining things. We will be back on the Millennium in two weeks and are really looking forward to it.

[Canada17]

We were recently on Millie for our October 2016 Tokyo-HK cruise. Yes, she is showing signs of aging, specifically on the balconies and furniture/fixtures in the cabin are dated and showing signs of wear. We found that food and service was on par with what we expect from Celebrity on both their M and S Class ships. Millie will not be as shiny and sparkly as Reflection (our favorite ship) or any other S Class ship, but, she is still a beautiful ship with a great crew. So much so that we are booked on Millie again for March 2018 China & South Korea cruise.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Not sailed on her since November 2015. She showed her age then, but people have to bear in mind she's 17 years old now, so it's hardly a surprise.If you want a shiny new cruise ship, don't book her. If you have realistic expectations then go for it. You will see rust. You will seen worn carpets and furnishings etc. Book an S class ship if you don't want this.

 

Guess what? You will see some rust and furnishings in need of replacement on S class ships as well. These ships are floating hotels that operate day in and day out in a very hostile environment (salt water and lots of people). I think Celebrity does a good job maintaining the ships. To get shiny and new, you have to book a ship that's less than a year old.

I haven't been on the Millie lately as she doesn't seem to go places I want to go. But I've spent quite a bit of time on her sister ship, Infinity, and things were fine. And I'm about to hop on the Summit for the first time in April. Can't beat the penthouse on those M class ships!

[Mynki]

Guess what? You will see some rust and furnishings in need of replacement on S class ships as well. These ships are floating hotels that operate day in and day out in a very hostile environment (salt water and lots of people). I think Celebrity does a good job maintaining the ships. To get shiny and new, you have to book a ship that's less than a year old.

 

 

I think you need to read my post again, because in essence, that's what I said! :D

[ghstudio]

The food on Celebrity is consistent across the ships (in fact, with a few exceptions, it's all sent from the same place in containers) although preparation/seasoning varies depending on who is making it...not the ship. We have had both excellent and terrible meals on most every Celebrity ship.

[BEAV]

We sailed the ol' gal for 26 days last September from Vancouver to Shanghai. Wonderful ship, great crew, no complaints. A little rust here and there doesn't bother us.

 

I only wish I were growing old as graciously as she is!

[The_Big_M]

If you want a shiny new cruise ship, don't book her. If you have realistic expectations then go for it. You will see rust. You will seen worn carpets and furnishings etc. Book an S class ship if you don't want this.

 

 

Even the oldest of those are 10 years old, so also has worn carpets and fittings, and rust.

 

Just a fact of life for both... though more advanced for Millennium class.

[beentothere]

When steel is exposed to salt water, rust is the result. I think X does a great job keeping the M class ships maintained. We loved Millie on our Japan and China cruise in Fall of 2015.

 

May I ask was that the September transpacific from Vancouver?

[cruisefam38]

Some recent reviews of the Millennium have claimed that the old girl is showing her age with rust showing here and there, worn carpeting and a serious decline in food quality. The last of our four Millie sailings was eight years ago and she was showing she needed a refurbishment, which she has had since our cruise. Is she due for another?

 

 

As one of the the people who wrote one of those recent reviews, and with some detail, is there a specific question you would like answered, cirpi?

[cruising cockroach]

I've been researching this ship as I am contemplating a TPAC in the autumn. It would seem that reviews on this site indicate much lower customer satisfaction with the ship after it got to Asia last year (i.e., from late September 2017 onward) than earlier in the year (plying Alaska and then the TPAC) eyeballing, I would say the overall ratings dropped a full "star" out of 5. It just wasn't the worn condition (not talking about rust) but major issues consistently involved poor food (poor quality, poorly prepared, undercooked or overcooked), poor service (perhaps from a large changeover in crew, full ship), dirty/worn cabin furnishings, and of course crew trying to upsell you on everything consistently

[NJ Fred]

The old gal would benefit from a stem to stern makeover. Rust? Heavens, saw some on Reflection, Regal Princes, et al.

 

Food? "X" and other lines do their best to push passengers into pay-per-bite venues - - - a trend that will linger and escalate as long as passengers are willing to fork out $$$ without first receiving some consideration for the MDR meal they paid for at the time of booking.

 

Size wise, give me Mille, Connie, etc. over the bigger boats any day of the week.

[cirpi]

As one of the the people who wrote one of those recent reviews, and with some detail, is there a specific question you would like answered, cirpi?

 

Thanks, but no questions now. My wife and I are booked on the Millie October next year. The cruise is high on my bucket list. I served 18 months there in the waning days of the Korean Conflict. It will be interesting -- perhaps shocking-- to see the many, many changes. It also will be interesting to see how the Millie has changed since our last of four TAs on her in 2008.

[cruisefam38]

cirpi and cruising cockroach:

I wish for you both good cruises. We too we concerned with the negative trends in the post-cruise reviews, and discussed it with our TA. We went, and the flight to Hong Kong was the longest either of us has ever taken (over 16 hours), the first component of a pleasantly different vacation. We enjoyed our Asian cruise and are still talking about it with friends who ask one month later. We met many experienced travelers on that trip, world travelers who had interesting tales to tell and worldly perspectives on global events. We were sprayed by the China Sea, the crew and passengers were challenged by the Luzon Strait, and we saw the explosive economic growth of East Asia. Was it perfect, no. Is the Millennium an older, more traveled and used ship than she was in 2006, certainly. The Millennium groans, creaks, and the wind plays across her decks. Oh, if we spoke her language, the stories she could tell! As you note cruising cockroach, cruising is a cost effective way to touch other parts of our world. As of now, Celebrity provides the service we enjoy and we are currently booked on three more cruises.

[cruisefam38]

The old gal would benefit from a stem to stern makeover. Rust? Heavens, saw some on Reflection, Regal Princes, et al.

 

Food? "X" and other lines do their best to push passengers into pay-per-bite venues - - - a trend that will linger and escalate as long as passengers are willing to fork out $$$ without first receiving some consideration for the MDR meal they paid for at the time of booking.

 

Size wise, give me Mille, Connie, etc. over the bigger boats any day of the week.

 

We too are fond of the M class ships, the Goldilocks "just right" size and onboard activities. However itineraries are taking us on S class ships in our future.

[cruising cockroach]

I don't know how CC weighs recent vs old reviews when it comes to "% of cruisers love it" but the rating for the Millennium appears to have slipped from 70% to 69% in the past day. There's currently 1,221 reviews and IIRC 3 added since yesterday (I seem to have 18 in my mind) has resulted in this slip.

 

I'm not complaining about old ships - just the food and service and presence of obnoxious smells. I liked HAL's current Prinsendam which was 24 years old when I sailed it (had a nasty raw sewage odour eminating from the port side, good thing we were starboard) and the current Zaandam which was 14 years old when I sailed that. Newest ship I've sailed on, a mere 6 years old, was CMA CGM Libra