Report on March 2 Southeast Asia Cruise on the Millie – VERY LONG

Suskies · March 17, 2019

We are in our 60s and have been on over 20 cruises, mostly on Princess and HAL but once on Celebrity (Summit). These days we choose cruises based more on the itinerary than the ship. We chose this cruise because DH served in Vietnam and wanted to see Hanoi and Hue, and this cruise stopped in both plus Ho Chi Minh City. This was our first and possibly only trip to this part of the world, so for us this was truly a cruise of a lifetime.

When possible, we prefer to do our own thing in port, soaking up local culture by wandering streets and markets and people-watching. This means I spend a lot more time researching and planning ports than, say, passengers who prefer to simply choose from the ship’s shore excursions. I began researching and planning the ports for this cruise in Summer 2018. My research consisted of reading up on what to see and do in each port, using tour books, Trip Advisor, these boards, Google Images, ship excursion descriptions (which I found frustratingly vague), etc. I then marked the sights we found most interesting on Google Maps (to eliminate anything too far to be feasible in a short visit), then researched the best way to see as many of those things as possible (on our own, private tour, ship’s shore excursion, etc.) while NOT spending a lot of time seeing and doing things we weren’t especially interested in.

This was the most challenging trip I’ve ever planned because there wasn’t as much information on some of the ports as, say, Europe or the Caribbean. For example, there were few CC reviews of many of the ship’s shore excursions we considered.

We packed some things we don’t normally take on a cruise, including plastic forks for eating on shore (neither of us are especially adept with chopsticks); insect repellent on the advice of our doctor to ward off dengue fever from mosquito bites; a very cheap, thin, packable overnight bag for our Bangkok overnight; small packs of tissues and bathroom wipes; and paper copies of our passports. (We carried a set with us whenever we went ashore.) Following US CDC recommendations, we got immunizations for hepatitis A and typhoid and, when ashore in Thailand and Vietnam, avoided fresh fruits and vegetables, unbottled water, and ice.

Suskies · March 17, 2019

Getting to Singapore Via Hong Kong

We live near a US East Coast American Airlines hub, so we generally fly American to earn and use miles. We couldn’t find flights on American or its partners to Singapore. So we flew from the US East Coast to Hong Kong via Dallas/Fort Worth on American, then connected separately to Singapore via Scoot, a low-cost subsidiary of Singapore Airlines.

The Dallas-Hong Kong leg was over 16 hours! We didn’t really sleep much on the plane—watched a lot of movies! We arrived in Hong Kong around 5:30 PM. A very long walk to Immigration but no line when we got there. In the arrivals hall, we went to the “desk” of our hotel (Hong Kong Marriott Sky City) to get the free shuttle bus to our hotel. The staff asked us to take a seat nearby and wait about 20 minutes until they escorted us to the bus. The ride was about 5-10 minutes. The hotel was very nice—perfect for an overnight layover. We had a light meal at the hotel restaurant—very good food, with a varied menu, but too tired to enjoy it!—then were soon sound asleep. If you’re disembarking in Hong Kong and want to stay near the airport before an early morning flight, we recommend the Marriott Sky City.

Suskies · March 17, 2019

Singapore Pre-Cruise

We enjoyed the phenomenal breakfast buffet at the Marriott—one of the best we’ve ever had—then took the hotel shuttle back to the airport to fly on to Singapore. The Scoot flight was fine. It’s worth ordering a meal online when you book, because the cost is a fraction of what you’ll pay on board. The meals, mostly combinations of seasoned meat and rice, come hot in little hermetically sealed packages. Small but very tasty.

We were disappointed in Singapore Airport, supposedly one of the best in the world. We stood in line 45 minutes to get through Immigration. For quite a while it looked like no one was moving through any of the lines and then of course some lines seemed to be moving faster than others. I’ve been to a number of other international airports that handle immigration much better than this.

Once we were finally through immigration, we collected our luggage and got cash from an ATM to pay the taxi to our hotel (which, I had forgotten, does accept credit cards). With just a couple of jet-lagged days in Singapore, we really wanted a hotel room with a view, so we splurged on a Marina Bay view room in the Mandarin Oriental. Worth every cent. It had a phenomenal view of the skyline. At this point, jet lag finally hit us. We ate a light meal at the hotel’s poolside café, then walked a bit around the harbor area before returning to our room to watch Marina Bay’s Spectra light show and turn in.

Suskies · March 17, 2019

Day 1: Board in Singapore

We started the day with another amazing breakfast buffet, this time at the Mandarin Oriental, then took the Singapore River Cruise around the harbor and river. We were glad we took the cruise in the morning when it’s cooler. For half the cruise there was a big talkative Chinese group on board, but they exited halfway through and we had a private tour the rest of the time. There is recorded English narration. It was very informative and a pleasant way to start the day. We then checked out and took a taxi to the Marina Bay Cruise Centre. A lot of people were already there at 11 AM! Once we checked in, we had to wait for our group to be called; the reason for the delay was that everyone had to go through Singapore immigration. Once we were on board, we dumped our carryons in our cabin. got lunch in the Oceanview Bar, then went up to Cosmos to relax.

The ship truly looks brand new. It’s hard to find anything that hasn’t been completely redone. The predominant color is that soft warm gray that’s trendy right now, with accents of soft blues, greens, and browns. We’ve been on one other Celebrity cruise (Summit, a twin of the Millie) about 4 years ago, and this looks much brighter and more open.

Our cabin wasn’t quite ready when we boarded. Celebrity made no announcement when everyone’s cabins were ready, but we went back at 2 PM and it was ready.

Our cabin is similarly done in pale, warm gray tones. We especially like the extra-large shower (for a cruise—I’d say it’s about 2 feet by 3 ½ feet), the brightly-lit bathroom mirror, the nightlight under the bathroom sink, and extra electrical outlets in one of the bedside lamps for our growing supply of electronics. We brought an enormous amount of clothes for two weeks in hot, humid weather, and it all fit into the cabinets and cupboards. The only negative is the relatively small cabin size, which of course The Revolution couldn’t change. Most of our cruises have been on Princess or HAL, with the cabins big enough for a couch as well as two beds. This cabin is smaller; there’s an oversized chair instead of the sofa, and no cocktail table. It would be uncomfortable to have room service for two here if the weather keeps us off the balcony.

We strongly prefer a shaded balcony, so we wanted one of the Sweet 16 cabins under the ship infrastructure (the ones behind the big vertical beams). We got one: 6025. The balcony is great: extra-large, very comfortable, with a full overhang one deck up, so we have a lot of shade. The infrastructure beams are on either side of the balcony and don’t really obstruct the view. Because the balconies above us are smaller than ours, part of the balcony isn’t private—people above can see us standing along the rail. But that’s no big deal—we sit back in the shade where it’s completely private.

We were still dealing with jet lag today, so we decided to take it easy on the ship the rest of the day and not go ashore again. Our luggage arrived around 4. After unpacking, we had dinner in the MDR.

We think the meals in the MDR are fine, so we don’t go to specialty restaurants unless we get a dinner in one as a free perk. Tonight my salmon was a bit dry, but DH’s prime rib and everything else was just fine. Breads are served with butter and two dips that vary each night. Tonight they were sun-dried tomato butter and a horseradish dip.

After dinner we saw a lightly-attended 7:45 show by someone who billed himself as a comedian, magician, and juggler. Unfortunately, he wasn’t particularly good at any of those things.

Our cruise fare included free internet, and we got ourselves connected tonight. The good news: it’s unlimited, unlike some other cruise lines that sell internet by the minute. The bad news we found out tonight: it’s limited to one device at a time. Adding a second device would cost us $169, so DH and I will be swapping internet access throughout the cruise. It’s also at a “basic” internet speed, fine for checking e-mail but very slow for, say, downloading movies. A faster speed costs more.

Suskies · March 17, 2019

Day 2: Singapore

We had a really nice day today. After breakfast in the Oceanview Café, we headed out to Singapore to see as much as we could before it got too hot. The MRT subway station is a pleasant half-mile walk from the cruise terminal, under a shaded breezeway. The station attendant advised us that a one-day tourist pass would cost more than simply buying tickets to each stop, so we followed his advice. The machines were easy to use, and signage in the stations was excellent. We first went to Little India, where we walked through the food market, hawker centre, and clothing stalls at Tekka Centre. We bought a bottle of water from one of the vendors who told me, “Eight dollars!” Hawker humor. (It was one dollar.) Then we walked through Little India to the Sri Veeramakaliamman Temple. We had to remove our shoes and socks before entering, and there are faucets to wash one’s feet. It is beautiful and was busy with both tourists and congregants there to worship and distribute donated food. We’d never been in a Hindu temple before, and it was a moving experience.

Then we took the MRT to Chinatown, where we saw the Sri Mariamman Temple, another Hindu temple. There was a wedding inside, so we didn’t go in—didn’t want to disturb them. We then took a break at a café with some Coke Lights and a shared chicken satay snack. Next we went through the Buddha Tooth Relic Temple—another stunningly beautiful, fascinating temple. Then we went to Maxwell Food Centre, another hawker centre, for a lunch of the classic Singapore dish Hainanese chicken: chicken poached in flavorful chicken broth, served with rice also cooked in chicken broth, a bowl of broth, and three dipping sauces: chili, ginger, and soy. All for S$3, 4, or 5, depending on portion size. I asked for an extra spoon for the broth and the vendor said, “Nine dollars! Spoons are very expensive!” More hawker humor. Because it was Sunday, a lot of the stalls were closed and we had no problem finding a table.

After lunch we took the MRT back to the ship, showered, and relaxed the rest of the afternoon. We had dinner in the MDR, sitting next to a lovely couple from New Zealand.

When we boarded, we received a slip of paper noting that we chose anytime dining but asking us to eat around 8-8:30 PM because it’s crowded around 7-7:30. We completely disregarded that—we’d rather eat early. The poor couple from New Zealand, however, had been asked to eat around 5:30-5:45 and were treating it as their assigned time.

Dinner was again good: I had a nice piece of trout while DH had roast chicken. Some of the portions are small, but that’s never bothered us—more room for dessert or maybe a bedtime snack!

After dinner we had about an hour and a half to kill before the show. On past cruises we’ve borrowed board games from the library and played them to fill this time, but there is no more library on the Millie. Board games may now be borrowed from Guest Relations. The selection was limited (clearly not part of The Revolution!) and we ended up with a very old game of Sorry that we played up in the Oceanview Cafe.

Then we saw a really good Stevie Wonder tribute show—one of the best shows we’ve seen on a cruise ship. Before the show, the cruise director welcomed us and gave some statistics on the passengers: 46 countries represented, with 650 Americans and several hundred Canadians and Aussies. They were the exact same figures he gave on the prior cruise, so they’re a little suspect to me!

After the show I crashed and went to bed, while DH went to Beatles trivia in Cosmos. He was surprised that (1) two of the answers given by the staffer were flat-out wrong (and they were not hard questions, one about an album title and one about how a song begins), (2) no one in the room challenged this, and (3) everyone was asked to self-score their papers rather than trading them for scoring. (Someone claimed a perfect paper, which was impossible because of those two wrong answers.) We’ve always wondered who comes up with cruise trivia questions—we’d like a word!

Edited March 17, 2019 by Suskies
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Suskies · March 17, 2019

Day 3: At sea

One thing we really liked about this itinerary was having two days at sea at the start of the cruise to help us get over jet lag. Today was what I call a vacation decompression day—decompress from all the stress of almost a week of travel so far. We ate all our meals today in the MDR and spent most of the day relaxing on our balcony. We picked a port-side cabin because on this cruise that side faces the coast, and we saw some small fishing boats and an occasional hill or mountain off in the distance. In the late morning we went to a lecture on “Dog Talk”—communicating with your dog—that was pretty interesting. In the early afternoon there was a little excitement—the ship stopped briefly near a city in Malaysia where a seriously ill passenger was evacuated by the Malaysian coast guard. The evacuation was on the starboard side, so we didn’t see anything. The captain announced what was happening and assured everyone this wouldn’t affect our arrival time in Thailand.

The dress code this evening was Celebrity Chic. On port-intensive cruises like this, we’ve abandoned the idea of dressing up—too much to pack. Most of the passengers seemed to feel the same way, with the men wearing sport shirts and the women wearing sundresses or low-key cocktail dresses. I brought a somewhat blingy top to wear with black slacks and my nice-looking flat black walking sandals (so I wouldn’t have to pack an extra pair of sandals) and felt a bit overdressed. We did see a small group in tuxes and long gowns at the Martini Bar.

Tonight was the first night the MDR felt crowded. Most of the MDR tables for 2 are in rows of three, separated by only 3 inches or so. We were seated in the middle, and it was noisy and hard for the two of us to have a conversation. (The other couples weren’t interested in talking with us.) The very small number of truly separate MDR tables for 2 was probably our biggest complaint about this cruise.

The food continues to be fine. Tonight I had roast lamb and DH had a remoulade made from beef tenderloin. After dinner we went back to our cabin and sat on the balcony again. The tall barriers on each side really cut the wind.

We turned out the lights just before 10 and, in case you’re curious whether theater productions can be heard in the Deck 6 Sweet 16 cabins, I could just barely hear a bit of sound. The clinking of room service glassware in the hallway was much louder. At any event, the shows end by 10, before most people fall asleep, so no problem.

Suskies · March 17, 2019

Day 4: At sea

This morning the clocks moved ahead an hour…which means everyone descended on the MDR when it opened for breakfast at 7—it felt like 8 to everyone. After breakfast we headed to our secret daytime hideaway: Cosmos! Mostly unused during the day, empty, and quiet—perfect for reading and open views of the sea. There was a meditation session in another part of Cosmos for an hour, but we were in a corner away from it. At 11:15 we went to a lecture on the life of Buddha, then lunch in the MDR, then a quiet afternoon reading and napping. Too warm for the balcony today, sadly.

This afternoon I walked through both sides of Decks 4, 5, and 10, just to see if there was anything we’d been missing. This is a really nicely-sized ship—big enough for plenty of things to do and places to relax, but small enough not to get lost. We continue to be impressed with how bright and pretty it looks after The Revolution. Also, even during two days at sea, the Millie doesn’t feel crowded. We’ve never had to wait in line or scrounge for a seat or table. The only places we’ve felt uncomfortable are those 2-tops in the MDR right next to their neighbors.

Tonight, for a change of pace, we went to the Oceanview Café for dinner. We were very happy with the food selection and quality. There’s always an Indian station with a nice variety, and tonight at the very back of the café was a grill where “minute steaks,” pork chops, chicken, and tilapia are grilled to order. There were baked potatoes back there too, which DH loved.

After dinner we packed for our overnight in Bangkok, then went to bed early. Big day tomorrow!

Suskies · March 17, 2019

Day 5: Bangkok – First Day

When I researched the ports on this cruise, I quickly realized Bangkok would be a hard city to see on our own. The sights are not in a compact area; the weather hot and humid; transportation infrastructure is limited; and traffic can be horrendous. So we started looking at tours. CC members recommended Mr. Chob’s Thai Tour Guide, and we decided to splurge on a private two-day tour. We were so glad we did!

The night before, the ship informed us that all passengers had to present their passports, along with a Thai immigration form that we received the night before, to Thai security after the ship docked at 7 AM. Everyone got a number, 1 through 6, and you had to wait til your group number was called to disembark. If you were going ashore for a day trip, when you disembarked you had to turn your passport in to ship staff, who keep it until Hong Kong to facilitate Vietnam visas. If you were going ashore for an overnight, you had to turn in your passport on your return to the ship.

The ship docked early and began calling Group 1 at 6:45. We were Group 6, the last group, and were called about 7:20. The process was easy and we were on the dock by 7:30. Ms. Lek, our tour guide, was supposed to meet us there at 8 AM, and she and her driver arrived at 7:45. The drive to Bangkok took a couple of hours, mostly through flat, industrialized areas—nothing particularly scenic.

We first went to the Royal Palace compound where Ms. Lek gave us a thorough walking tour past its many buildings including Wat Phra Kaew (Temple of the Emerald Buddha), which we entered after taking off our shoes. (Ms. Lek held them in plastic bags for us.) It was of course very hot and humid—we carried bottles of water with us to stay hydrated. And the complex was full of tourists, mostly Chinese and all taking selfies—this is THE big attraction in Bangkok, after all. But everything was stunningly beautiful.

Then we had a private long-tail boat tour through the canals in Thonburi near Wat Arun, which was a lot of fun and a nice break from walking in the heat. Sadly, we saw a lot of profound poverty in the houses bordering the canals. One of the canals was full of catfish, and Ms. Lek produced a loaf of bread for us to throw to them. Then we had a simple Thai lunch at a small nearby restaurant. After lunch we walked to Wat Pho (Temple of the Reclining Buddha). Then we had a short tuk-tuk ride to Pak Klong Talad, a big flower and vegetable market. There Ms. Lek explained some of the products being sold (such as unusual fruits and huge bowls of several kinds of curry paste). She showed us how to spin a kind of silk from a lotus stem and how to fold lotus flower bud petals to make the bud look like it’s blooming.

We then checked into our hotel, the Shangri La. (Point of information: our tour did not include meals or hotel, and we booked the hotel ourselves.) There was an airport-like security screening at the entrance, which was a bit disconcerting (first time we’ve experienced that in a hotel). Otherwise it was fabulous. We arrived early, and the hotel staff apologized that our room wouldn’t be ready for another 20 minutes, even though that wasn’t their fault. They offered a complementary beverage in the lounge, served with a bowl of spiced peanuts, while we waited. That’s service! Our room was about 8 times the size of our ship cabin, with a balcony with stunning views up and down the river. The river is full of boats: shuttle ferries, private passenger boats, dinner cruises, party boats, and working barges pulled by tugs. Just fascinating. We joked about skipping the rest of the cruise and just sitting and watching the river.

In the evening we took the Loy Nava dinner cruise. We chose it because it has a more Thai atmosphere than the other Bangkok dinner cruises. It’s an old rice barge, and we were served multiple courses of Thai dishes while a woman in costume played Thai music. There were also some Thai dancers. We somehow scored a table for two in the very front of the boat, so we had amazing views. Even though the boat was not air conditioned and the humidity was 96%, the temperature was in the 80s and there was a nice breeze, so we were very comfortable. It was a really nice evening.

The boat docked at a pier a couple of blocks from our hotel. The short walk through a seedy area reinforced what we’d seen the rest of the day: in Bangkok glamorous hotels and temples are often literally across the street from poverty. Despite the many beautiful skyscrapers scattered around, overall Bangkok remains a seedy city.

Suskies · March 17, 2019

Day 6: Bangkok – Second Day

Today we were scheduled to see Maeklong Railway Market and Damnern Saduak Floating Market, both about an hour out of Bangkok, before heading back to the ship. Years ago someone decided to build a railway through Maeklong’s existing market. In what I think is an awesome display of passive aggressiveness, the shopkeepers refused to move their stalls, so whenever the train comes through everyone quickly moves all their wares and awnings off the tracks, and once the train has passed, they immediately put everything back.

Our tour description said that we wouldn’t see the train go through, but Ms. Lek said that, if we left the hotel before 7 AM, we could! So we left at 6:45 AM—too early for breakfast in the hotel restaurant, but the hotel packed “breakfast boxes” for us to take along. We saw salt flats and monkeys during our trip. We made good enough time that we were able to board the train one stop away and ride through the market on the train. Ms. Lek got us in the very back seats of the train, so as the train came through the market, we saw everything being put back in place (plus hundreds of tourists taking photos of us on the train). DH took a video of the whole thing that we’ll regale friends with. Then we walked through the market and Ms. Lek helped us find places to stand right next to the tracks. So when the train came back through the market, we saw the whole process all over again.

Then we drove to Damnern Saduak Floating Market, stopping on the way at a tourist complex that demonstrates some traditional Thai ways, including preparation of coconut sugar, and lets you tour a traditional Thai house. At Damnern Saduak we saw vendors selling food and housewares from boats and canal-side shops. We had another private boat tour of the nearby residential canals. Very peaceful and quiet, and the homes looked nicer than those in Thonburi. We saw a couple of huge lizards the size of small alligators. We had another simple, really good Thai lunch, then headed back to the ship. The drive back took over three hours, but we agreed it was well worth it. It was a fabulous tour, and we can’t believe how much we saw and did in a day and a half.

Once we were back on the ship (and got showers and fresh clothes!), I sat in Café Bacio for a while. I sat on the opposite side of the atrium from the café and quickly realized a design flaw: I could hear both the string duo near the bar and the disco music from the martini bar underneath. Not pleasant! An open atrium like this needs only one source of music at a time! It can be piped to the other floors.

We decided we were too tired to change clothes for the MDR (on this cruise people do tend to dress nicely if casually for MDR dinners), so we headed to the Oceanview Café. On the way, Annabelle, our cabin steward, saw us and said, “I missed you!” She is such a sweetheart!

By the way, for what it’s worth, in our almost 40 years of cruising, we’ve never used the cabin safe and we’ve never had a problem. We try to tuck away electronics, but more to make the cabin steward’s job easier. On this trip I left my laptop on the desk while we were in port.

We ate dinner at the very back of the Oceanview Cafe, where we encountered the same thing I heard in Café Bacio: overhead Muzak conflicting with live music from the Oceanview Bar. Again, not pleasant! After dinner we read on our balcony, watching the Thai coast pass, until bedtime.

Suskies · March 17, 2019

Day 7: At sea

Today, like most mornings, I woke up early before DH and started my morning with a cup of coffee in the Oceanview Café and my laptop. (I love seeing the Oceanview Café come to life.) Now I noticed something odd: unlike recent renovations of hotels and airports, The Revolution did not add charging ports in public areas. Ten years ago when we took a cruise, we turned off our phones and packed them away for the duration. Today, with Celebrity encouraging passengers to use its app, more people using e-readers, better onboard wifi, and more affordable international data plans, we’re using multiple electronic devices throughout cruises, so I wonder if the lack of charging ports will be an issue.

Today’s schedule was eat-relax-eat-relax-eat-nap-eat-relax. We had breakfast in the MDR and this time a lovely Canadian/Scottish couple sat next to us. They’re do-it-yourself people like us, so we had fun comparing notes. They told us the large Asian group next to them was a group of 15 Taiwanese friends who like to travel together. We then moved to Cosmos, which had another meditation session at 9 and was set up for an art show later in the day but otherwise empty and peaceful. We then moved to our balcony, which was lovely, shady, and the perfect temperature, with just a light breeze. After lunch in the Oceanview Café (featuring British fare), we came back to the balcony. A beautiful day, and Deck 10 (pools and Oceanview Café) felt a little more crowded at a result.

Tonight was supposed to be a Celebrity Chic night, but there was no reminder in today’s bulletin (we only realized it when we saw the photographers setting up for portrait photos). Once again most people wore smart casual clothes and I felt overdressed in my blingy top. I won’t wear it again on the last Celebrity Chic night.

This was also the first night we saw people waiting for MDR tables. Dinner was the best one so far: I had a beautifully seasoned ahi tuna and DH had chateaubriand. Both huge portions and delicious. We’re starting to see repeats of some dishes—I’ve already had the lamb entrée on tonight’s menu.

After dinner we went up to Cosmos to read until bedtime. Nothing was scheduled there til after 10 PM—there was just some piped-in upbeat pop music—so it was a good place for an evening conversation.

This evening there was a card in our room offering a stuff-a-bag challenge: fill the laundry bag and get it all cleaned for $49.95. Ironically, we got laundry done just the day before—mostly pants—and pretty much filled the bag and it cost right around $50.

Suskies · March 17, 2019

Day 8: Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon)

Virtually everything we wanted to see in Ho Chi Minh City was in a compact, walkable area (about one square mile), so we booked the ship’s “Saigon on Your Own” shore excursion. We knew it was going to be hot (highs in the mid-90sF), humid, and sunny. Before we disembarked, we bought bottles of water at one of the ship’s bars, and we packed sunscreen and of course our hats. Just as a precaution, we also took ashore in all Vietnam ports paper copies of our passports and the ship’s daily schedule with info on the ship’s port agent. We also applied a long-lasting insect repellent before leaving.

Our Bangkok tour guide warned us that HCMC scooter riders will try to grab our bags and advised us to use a money belt. With the heat, we decided not to do that, but we left spare credit cards and cash back in our cabin. We noticed that most people in HCMC wear either backpacks or bags with long straps hanging diagonally across their chests and the bags placed on their chests. My bag didn’t have straps long enough to do that, so I simply held it in front of me, was alert to my surroundings, and had no problems. There was a LOT of security staff—someone in front of many of the shops.

Our bus left a bit after 9 AM, and the drive took about 1 ½ hours. The guide on the bus distributed small bottles of water and maps with our meet-up time marked. He spoke a little during the drive, but he had a heavy accent so was hard to understand. We were dropped off at the Bitexco Tower, a very visible landmark.

Within a block, a bit of excitement: the rooftop restaurant of a small hotel was on fire. We briefly joined hundreds of Viets who stopped to watch it. It seemed to us that it took the fire department a long time to respond. Eventually we saw a hook and ladder being raised, but no water from the hose for quite a while.

It only took us a couple of hours to see most of the sights I’d marked on my Google Map: Dong Khoi Street, Nguyen Hue Boulevard, Central Post Office, Notre Dame Cathedral (closed for renovation), Opera House, People’s Committee Building (City Hall), HCMC Museum, Reunification Palace (Presidential Palace), Saigon Central Mosque, Ben Thahn Market, and some of the hotels that housed war correspondents: Caravelle, Continental, Rex. We didn’t go in any of the buildings except the Central Post Office. Our overall impression of HCMC was that, while it’s clearly made a lot of progress in recent decades, it’s still a pretty gritty city with a lot of poverty that doesn’t yet have a good tourism infrastructure.

Because of the heat, we opted for two very long air conditioned breaks instead of trying to see everything else I’d marked. Based on Trip Advisor ratings, we had a very leisurely Vietnamese lunch at the Sheraton’s buffet restaurant. The buffet was huge—a great chance to see and sample all kinds of Vietnamese food—and it was fun to see so many large groups of Vietnamese enjoying what were clearly celebratory Saturday lunches.

Our second long break was for cold drinks in the lounge of the Caravelle Hotel, one of the old hotels that housed journalists during the war. It was fun thinking we were in the same place that people like Walter Cronkite and Bob Hope stayed. The setting and service were lovely, and it was a really nice way to end our day before heading back to the bus. The ride back took about two hours (much heavier traffic than in the morning).

Dinner in the MDR was among the best we’ve had: beef bourguignonne for DH and lamb kebabs for me, with chocolate souffle among the desserts. We had a wonderful surprise—the maître d’ stopped by with the chef to introduce the chef and ask how everything has been so far. That’s never happened to us in almost 40 years of cruising. We told them truthfully that the food and service have been wonderful—as I’ve already shared here, especially considering how many thousands of meals are being prepared. This really is a very nice cruise.

Suskies · March 17, 2019

Day 9: At sea

After walking over 16,000 steps in heat and humidity yesterday, today was another eat-relax-eat-relax-repeat day. We mostly rotated between our balcony and Cosmos. We saw more people reading in Cosmos. Our main suggestion to Celebrity is set aside one lounge on at-sea days as a quiet reading room with no music. Clearly we haven’t been the only ones seeking this.

This evening we ate again in the MDR: beef brochette and a shrimp and pasta dish, both excellent. Then some rounds of Sorry in the Oceanview Café before turning in. Another big day tomorrow!

Suskies · March 17, 2019

Day 10: Hue/Danang (Hoi An)

DH had read a book on the Battle of Hue and really wanted to see the city. But when we researched this port, it turned out there isn’t much to see in Hue beyond a historic temple—much of what was mentioned in the book was (duh) destroyed in the war. We hadn’t heard of Hoi An, but we read that it’s a UNESCO World Heritage Site and undamaged in the war(s), and photos on Google Images looked absolutely charming. So we booked the “Hoi An on Your Own” shore excursion.

We had a great day. It was drizzling at the port in Chan May, but as we drove to Hoi An the clouds lifted and the rain stopped. Our bus drive took about an hour and a half plus a 15-minute rest stop at a shop selling stoneware (carved pieces and jewelry). The drive went through Danang including along the waterfront, which was a nice bonus. Outside Hoi An, we saw rice paddies and water buffalo.

The guide distributed water bottles, maps, rain ponchos (which we didn’t need), and tickets needed to enter the historic houses. When we arrived, she told us we had 4 hours rather than the advertised 3½, and she offered to take us on a tour to five of the historic buildings. We struck out on our own. Most of the historic buildings are on two parallel streets so it was an easy walk. Today the high was in the mid-80s rather than the mid-90s, and that helped a lot.

We ate lunch at the Green Mango, recommended by both our tour book and Trip Advisor. It’s in one of the historic homes and has a large menu. We ordered a chicken stir-fry and a beef curry with two Tiger beers, and everything was great. We only realized afterwards that we’d forgotten to order the dishes that Hoi An is famous for: white rose dumplings and chicken rice. We have to come back!

By the way, there was some CC discussion a couple of weeks ago about what Celebrity says about eating ashore in Vietnam. Here’s what our daily schedule said: “Guests are asked to take extra causion when eating & drinking ashore, especially seafood, raw, ready to eat food, ice creams and drinks with ice. Refrain from food sold from sidewalk vendors and drink only bottled beverages. Please take precautions when eating in local establishments. Choose wisely, eat at reputable, clean establishments and drink only bottled water.” That’s exactly what we did, and we had no problem.

After lunch we continued our walking tour, including walking across the bridge to the little island in the river, which has a lot of restaurants with sidewalk cafes overlooking the Hoi An riverfront. We stopped at one of these to relax with a couple of Cokes (in cans, no ice) before heading back to the bus.

Hoi An is really a delightful town, a great place to soak up traditional Vietnamese culture. It’s cleaner and more prosperous than HCMC. There are many clothing shops and a really nice market, so it’s a great place to visit if you like shopping. A very nice day.

Tonight in the MDR DH ordered a fruit plate for his starter, and we realized we do have one complaint about the food: the fresh fruit, mostly melons, has been pretty tasteless. We figure a cruise in a tropical region should have wonderful fresh fruit, so this has been a disappointment.

In the evening we went to the show—singer Monique Dehaney, really good—then Motown trivia in Cosmos. A big crowd there and it’s always fun singing along with everyone. The trivia game morphed seamlessly into the band, singers, and dancers performing a medley of Motown hits, then the dancers started bringing passengers on the dance floor. A really impressive way to kick off a party, although since it was almost midnight we had to turn in.

Suskies · March 17, 2019

Day 11: Ha Long Bay

The ship was scheduled to dock at noon in Ha Long Bay. We decided to do a half-day afternoon tour of Ha Long Bay and then a full-day tour of Hanoi the following day (see next entry for more on that decision). The ship’s “Ha Long Bay by Boat” shore excursion included a stop to climb up and tour a cave. We’re not big on caves, so I contacted several boat tour operators, looking for something without the cave stop. But none offered a tour leaving late enough to accommodate Millie passengers. So we booked the “Ha Long Bay by Boat” shore excursion.

The day was really nice. After breakfast we went up to Cosmos to read, and around 9:30 the first karths (tall monolithic limestone islands) came into view. We watched for a while, then went down to our balcony to continue watching. It was pleasantly cool—we actually wore windbreakers on the balcony. Ha Long Bay City is adorable, with amusement rides including a large ferris wheel. It’s clearly evolved into a tourist destination.

We had to be in the theater at 12 noon for our tour. What about lunch? (Most places onboard don’t start serving lunch until 11:30.) We ordered room service at 11, but by 11:30 it hadn’t arrived, so we went up to the pool grill and grabbed quick burgers and fries. (That evening our room steward told us our order arrived around noon.)

The boat tour of Ha Long Bay was very nice. The boats pulled right next to the ship, so we didn’t need to take a bus anywhere. The guide on the boat spoke with a heavy accent and was hard to understand. The boat went to Dau Go Island, where most people climbed up to see the cave, while about 10 of us stayed on the boat. Then the boat took us through some really stunning parts of Ha Long Bay, including the Kissing Chickens—two karths that, from the right angle, look a bit like two chickens kissing each other. Staff on the boat came through with a variety of souvenirs but were pretty low key. Altogether it was a very beautiful, relaxing afternoon—a nice break from more active sightseeing.

At this point I should note that all our shore excursions in Vietnam were run by SaigonTours, which is a government-run travel agency that runs tours and also owns some of the upscale hotels in Ho Chi Minh City. Tourism in Vietnam only began in the 1990s, and you can tell they’re still getting things going. The buses are a hodgepodge and all somewhat worn, with somewhat uncomfortable seats and no powerports. (The Caravelle, where we stopped for drinks and which SaigonTours owns, was very nice.) I would guess that there are no competitors in Vietnam for the shore excursion business—it’s a Communist country, after all.

Tonight the starters for dinner looked so good that I ordered four of them and skipped the entrée: seafood ceviche, two salads, and spinach artichoke dip. DH had beef brisket pot roast which our server said was very tender, and it was. The maitre d stopped by again to chat. She told us that, while everyone stayed on board and worked during The Revolution renovation, it still took longer than expected, so remaining ships will be pulled for 45 days.

Suskies · March 17, 2019

Day 12: Hanoi

This was our hardest port to plan. We really wanted to spend an overnight in Hanoi on our own, but we were dissuaded by my research. I read that the travel and tourism infrastructure in north Vietnam remains poor; traveling on one’s own from the ship to Hanoi is challenging though doable; sights in Hanoi are too scattered to be walkable; taxis can be disreputable; there’s virtually no subway or light rain; and you take your life in your hands crossing streets with an unending onslaught of motor scooters.

Our impression was reinforced when we noticed that Celebrity doesn’t offer a “Hanoi On Your Own” shore excursion. Indeed, this notice was in today’s daily planner: “Caution in Port: Please leave valuables in your stateroom safe. Avoid wearing expensive jewelry, use discretion when handling cash in public including ATM machines and keep your passport and other belongings secure and out of sight. We encourage you to visit sightseeing and tourism locations in groups, as part of an organized tour. It is not recommended that guests travel alone, or visit any remote locations, especially after dark.”

I tried looking for a private tour, but I found few reputable ones, and most of them do tours outside Hanoi. We considered the ship’s overnight shore excursion, but CC reviews of it were poor. Most of the advice we read online (including CC) was to skip Hanoi and instead do an overnight boat trip on Ha Long Bay. Indeed, many of our fellow passengers on the CC Roll Call were planning exactly that. But we really wanted to see Hanoi—that’s why we booked this cruise!

So we gave up on the idea of an overnight in Hanoi and booked the “Ha Noi Past and Present” one-day shore excursion. To cut to the chase: we had a fabulous day in Hanoi—the most memorable day of the cruise. It helped that the weather was very comfortable—overcast and high in the mid-70s.

The tour description said that the drive to Hanoi is 3 ½ hours each way, which would leave 5 hours in Hanoi. But a new highway completed late last year cut the drive to 2 ½ hours each way. Our guide explained that past tours were very rushed, and our visit would now be at a slower pace.

We started with a drive on electric golf carts through the Old Quarter and around Ho Hoan Kiem Lake. It was amazing seeing all the shops and people and what people carry on motor scooters and bicycles. We’d never seen anything like it. We immediately saw the challenge with walking through the area: As our guide explained, the Hanoi culture is for shopkeepers to display their wares on the sidewalks, plus motor scooters park on the sidewalks. So you can’t walk on the sidewalks. After the golf cart tour, our guide took us on a 30-minute walk through some of the Old Quarter streets, and we had to walk single file. Unlike HCMC, we saw very little uniformed security.

Then we had a Vietnamese lunch at the Movenpick hotel served family-style. We had a dilemma: the ship’s daily planner said to avoid fresh fruit, veggies, and seafood ashore, but the menu included a fish stir-fry plus fresh fruit for dessert. We decided the cruise wouldn’t serve us food on one of their shore excursions that might create tummy trouble, so we ate everything and indeed had no problems.

The passenger seated next to me at lunch was my worst nightmare—talked nonstop about all the things she didn’t like about The Revolution’s changes and how much she hated other cruise lines. DH and I have the attitude that it’s our vacation, we want to enjoy it, nothing is perfect, and we enjoy the many positives and don’t let ourselves be bothered by the negatives.

After lunch we toured the Hoa Lo Museum. Our guide told us in advance that the presentation would be one-sided, and it sure was, but that made it interesting.

Then we had a 30-minute shopping stop at a state-owned handicraft shop, then a walking tour of the Ho Chi Minh complex. We walked past the mausoleum, Presidential Palace, Ho Chi Minh Museum, and One-Pillar Pagoda and peeped through windows of Ho Chi Minh’s home from 1954-1957, his car collection, and his Stilt House.

Altogether it was an amazing day. We thought Hanoi looked a bit cleaner and more prosperous than Ho Chi Minh City, and it was a lot more interesting and in some ways better equipped to serve tourists. In fact, we saw quite a few Westerners who were obviously touring on their own. So if we ever return to this part of the world, we’d consider spending more time in Hanoi.

We later met a couple who took the “Hanoi in a Day” tour. There seemed to be two differences. First, they visited the Temple of Literature instead of the Hoa Lo Museum. Second, they didn’t get the golf-cart ride or walking tour through the Old Quarter, and they didn’t get the handicraft shopping stop. Instead, they were turned loose for about 30 minutes on their own in the Old Quarter. They didn’t like their tour as much as we liked ours. Both our guides talked about life in Vietnam as a Communist country, and we all found that very interesting.

For what it’s worth, we visited three ports in Vietnam and never got or spent any Vietnamese dong. (We tried a couple of ATMS in HCMC, but they weren’t working, so we kind of gave up.) Everyone (restaurants, souvenir vendors) accepted either credit cards or US dollars.

When we got back to the ship and our cabin, we had a surprise: some chocolate-covered strawberries and a bottle of sparkling wine from the room service manager. The note had no explanation, but we assume it was an apology for failing to deliver our lunch in a timely manner the day before. We continue to be impressed with service—the best we’ve seen on any cruise.

Suskies · March 17, 2019

Day 13: At sea

Last day at sea! We are thoroughly spoiled. It’s going to be so hard to return to real life after two weeks of no cooking, no cleaning, no laundry, no making beds, and service at our beck and call. This morning I woke up early and found out the The Revolution isn’t completed on the Millie: staff were sanding the Solarium floor on Deck 10. It looks noticeably brighter.

After a horrible cruise on a very old, very cramped NCL ship many years ago, I’ve chosen ships in part by their tonnage rate: square feet per passenger. But I’m now realizing that’s no longer a good measure, because so many passenger spaces are off-limits to us, either because we’re not elite passengers or because we don’t want to pay extra. The extra-charge sushi restaurant, for example, was carved out of Cellar Masters, leaving fewer seats in CM. (We’ve never sat there because every time we’ve walked through it’s been virtually full.) Similarly, Luminae and Blu have carved space and seats out of the MDR. This is not complaint about Celebrity—every cruise line is doing this—just an observation.

Today was another eat-relax-eat-relax day. This morning the clocks were set to Hong Kong time, so everyone got up slowly. It was overcast, windy, and a bit chilly, so there were more people indoors today. We ate all three meals in the MDR and saw A Star is Born in the afternoon in the theater. Tonight was our last Celebrity Chic night, and the dinner menu included beef wellington and lobster tails, with baked Alaska for dessert. When our server delivered my lobster, he whispered, “Would you like another one?” Of course I did! They were very tender.

Which reminds me…I forgot to note another great example of service about halfway into our cruise. I’ve mentioned our frustration that most of the two-top tables in the MDR are extremely close together. One of us has a hearing loss and wears hearing aids, and with people talking on both sides, it was very hard for us to have a conversation. We finally took our problem to Guest Services, and the staffer there had the perfect solution. She made a note in our record for the MDR hostess (Simona), explaining that we need a quiet table for two. Simona found us a perfect table every night (we never made a reservation). Breakfasts and lunches in the MDR are quieter, so we only asked for a quiet table at dinner.

Tonight we asked at Guest Services about getting HK dollars for a taxi at the pier. The staffer said there is no ATM at the pier, but there is a money changer…or money can be changed at Guest Services onboard. We had no idea the ship offered that service, and we’ll keep that in mind for future cruises.

Suskies · March 17, 2019

Day 14: Hong Kong

Today was our first day with rain—we woke up to gloomy drizzle. Hong Kong wasn’t very picturesque—we could barely see the skyscrapers from the ship. We would be staying in Hong Kong two extra nights, so we decided to stay on the ship in the morning and leave right after an early lunch. We read good reviews of Hong Kong’s Big Bus Tours, and we’ve had good experiences with their tours in other cities, so we bought their two-day package and set out to take their red-line tour of the northern end of Hong Kong Island.

Hong Kong has two cruise ship piers, and the one the Millie was docked at—Kai Tak—is not well located for do-it-yourselfers. For unknown reasons, there’s no bus or shuttle to spots in Hong Kong like the Star Ferry terminal. You can take a shuttle bus to a nearby mall and take the subway from there (changing trains once or twice depending on where you’re going), take a taxi (and they are paid in Hong Kong dollars and don’t like to give much change), or take Uber (which is rare and relatively expensive). We went for option 2, and it wasn’t hard, but it took a long time. We waited about 15 minutes for a taxi to arrive, took it to the Star Ferry Pier, then took the Star Ferry over to Hong Kong Island, then took the Big Bus tour. It was wonderful seeing the skyline from the ferry but, as DH remarked, his photos during the tour were all gray because of the heavy overcast. After the tour, we got a snack at Café 8 on Pier 8, then took the ferry back to Kowloon. We thought about taking the blue-line tour of Kowloon, but decided it was just too gray to be enjoyable. We walked through the Peninsula (right during their high tea—gorgeous!) then took a taxi back to the ship.

The ship seemed quite empty, and after the evening show (a ventriloquist), the cruise director noted that a few hundred guests had already left to catch overnight flights and others were ashore enjoying Hong Kong nightlife.

Suskies · March 17, 2019

Day 15: Disembark in Hong Kong

We’ve been on several delightful cruises whose disembarkation processes left a bad taste in our mouths and, sadly, that happened a bit today. The process for leaving the ship and collecting our luggage was very smooth, but the line for taxis stretched the equivalent of a good two city blocks, and we were in line 45 minutes until we finally got a taxi. I know technically this isn’t Celebrity’s fault (and an NCL ship was disembarking at the same time), but Celebrity had to be aware of this and could have been more proactive in organizing other transportation—something like airport shuttle van services that drop people off at various downtown hotels.

Suskies · March 17, 2019

Hong Kong Post-Cruise

Once we were out of the cruise ship terminal, we had another really nice day. The weather was great—partly sunny and high in the low 70s. After checking our bags at our hotel, we took the ferry over to Hong Kong Island (the skyline was much more impressive than yesterday!) and used our second Big Bus day to take the green-line tour of southern Hong Kong Island: Stanley, Repulse Bay, and Aberdeen. It was really interesting seeing a somewhat suburban part of Hong Kong. At Aberdeen, we got off the bus to have lunch at the Jumbo Floating Restaurant. We knew it was overpriced, but with its huge menu, it was a fun way to try some traditional Hong Kong food. We also had a sampan ride around Aberdeen Harbour (included with our Big Bus ticket). It was really interesting seeing impoverished fishing boats juxtaposed against yachts and skyscrapers.

Then we took the Big Bus back to the ferry, took the ferry back to Kowloon, and walked to our hotel, the Intercontinental on Salisbury Road. We chose the Intercontinental because the harborfront rooms have incredible views of the Hong Kong skyline including the evening Symphony of Lights show. We enjoyed the view so much that we ordered room service for dinner. The light show has an app that plays the music accompanying the show (if you’re on the Tsim Sha Tsui promenade along the harbor, it’s played on speakers). Then we just kept enjoying the view until bedtime.

The next day—Sunday, March 17—was another beautiful day—sunny and high in the 70s. We started with a leisurely breakfast in the Intercontinental’s lobby with its gorgeous view of the skyline. Then we walked along the Avenue of the Stars on Tsim Sha Tsui Promenade, then took the ferry back over to Hong Kong Island, thinking of taking the tram to Victoria Peak. We found that everyone in Hong Kong is out on nice Sundays. There were groups picnicking on sidewalks and steps! We learned later that a lot of them are Filipino housemaids who get together on Sundays, their only day off. Others were clearly school groups. The line for the Peak Tram was at least an hour, so instead of taking it we walked through Hong Kong Park right next door. Then we walked back to the ferry, taking a shortcut through the Landmark mall and stopping for a very pleasant lunch at Café Landmark. It was really fun people-watching in a super-high-end mall.

In the evening we decided we needed a break from Asian food and ate dinner at King Ludwig’s Beer Hall near our hotel. A lot of Westerners there, as you might imagine. Two Chinese women were singing American pop songs to recorded music. We couldn’t tell if they were karaoke or professional, which tells you something! Then we walked up Nathan Road to the Temple Street Night Market, seeing a whole different side of Hong Kong.

After all the walking on Sunday, we took it easy on Monday. Another leisurely breakfast in the Intercontinental lobby, then I walked back up Nathan Road to do a little souvenir shopping at Yue Hwa Chinese Products Emporium. We then relaxed in the hotel’s lovely lobby until a 3 PM taxi to the airport for our flight home, first to Los Angeles, overnight layover at an airport hotel there, then an early morning flight to the East Coast.

We really enjoyed our 3 ½ days in Hong Kong. We saw a lot of different areas and got a good feel for the city and its people. If you are thinking of doing Hong Kong on your own, plan on taking 2-3 times as long as you might think to get anywhere or do anything. It’s a big city and lines are long. A lot of streets and intersections are (sensibly) fenced to keep pedestrians from crossing unsafely, so you sometimes have to walk a couple of blocks out of your way to cross a street. There are overhead pedestrian walkways, but sometimes it’s hard to figure out how to get up to them or where they go. A lot of the intersections don’t have street signs, and my GPS sometimes struggled amid all the skyscrapers. Fortunately there are plenty of visible landmarks in Hong Kong, so it’s hard to get lost.

Suskies · March 17, 2019

Overall Thoughts

Altogether this was one of the two best cruises we’ve ever been on in almost 40 years of cruising. (The other was an eastern Med cruise on Princess.) The ship is lovely, the food mostly very good, and the ports amazing, but what really set this cruise apart was the incredible service—everyone on staff seemed truly anxious to ensure we had an outstanding experience. No, the cruise wasn’t perfect. We wish there was a designated quiet reading room on board, that the fresh fruit was tastier, that the cabins were a bit bigger, and that someone checked the accuracy of the Beatles trivia quiz answers! But those are really small potatoes. This was a trip of a lifetime for us, and we will definitely consider Celebrity along with Princess and HAL for future cruises.

I hope this has been helpful! It’s been fun to write. I’m happy to answer any questions. I’m posting this before we fly home, so it may be a day or two until I can respond.