LIVE/ Celebrity Millennium 4/15-4/21

[maggieq]

@MeganGC1983   Looks like you had a great cruise.  How would you rate the food, drinks and entertainment vs carnival?

 

safe travels home!

[hcat]

11 hours ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Merch and more from Martini Bar

how I wish they had toys fo kids like than on E class..so far EDGE and BEYOND had nothing like that..it is all so CUTE! i could have had a great tine there!

Edited April 21, 2023 by hcat

[kelkel2]

1 hour ago, maggieq said:

@MeganGC1983   Looks like you had a great cruise.  How would you rate the food, drinks and entertainment vs carnival?

 

safe travels home!

I’d also love to know. We really enjoy Carnival but I’d never say never to another line. So I love reading comparisons!

[MeganGC1983]

Just walked in the house. Gonna unload and grab the kids. Thanks for following along amid the hiccups. I’ll have final thoughts and comparisons tomorrow. Thanks again y’all. 

[NutsAboutGolf]

40 minutes ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Just walked in the house. Gonna unload and grab the kids. Thanks for following along amid the hiccups. I’ll have final thoughts and comparisons tomorrow. Thanks again y’all. 

Thanks!  I’d love to hear a balanced list, top 5 hits and top 5 misses

[Saint Greg]

18 hours ago, MeganGC1983 said:

 

 

 

I’ve had crawfish bigger than that! 

[Saint Greg]

On 4/20/2023 at 10:39 AM, Roscoe13 said:

If I had photo shop skills...

glasses wouldn’t fit on the box. 

[KmomChicago]

3 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

glasses wouldn’t fit on the box. 

Knowing Megan is a fashion maven I am glad for her confirmation that gigantic sunglasses are back!

[MeganGC1983]

8 hours ago, Saint Greg said:

I’ve had crawfish bigger than that! 

And that was the largest one we received. 

[Saint Greg]

28 minutes ago, MeganGC1983 said:

And that was the largest one we received. 

I wouldn’t have expected that with celebrity. 

[MeganGC1983]

Wow! Where to begin on this cruise wrap up?!
 

Obviously, it began with a rocky start with the flight issues, but San Juan, even being there a short time, didn’t disappoint. Casa Wilson, for the money, was worth it. The Chinese/sushi restaurant, I will return to. And the Condado area is great. When you’ve “done” Old San Juan so many times that you need a mix up, definitely look there. 

 

My take on Celebrity as a first timer, the crew is stellar. Those of you that have followed other reviews, know that to me, that’s super important. Rohit, Mike, Paula, Rudolfo, and so many more made this cruise. Andrea, the hotel director, is everywhere and fantastic. I really appreciate being invited to the helipad sail away. That was so memorable even though our invite was random. 

 

The ship, is older, definitely some wear and tear, even post upgrades. Our shower had some flooring issues, and other public places, had visible draining issues after rain and one lady got locked in the public bathroom stall. And the internet issues. 😫 But some areas are grand and what you would expect. 

The entertainment wasn’t the best. The musicians were just okay, very short sets, like every time we’d get to one, the next words were “ok we have one more for you in this set”. The production shows were around the same caliber as newer Carnival ships. The entertainment staff wasn’t… long pause here… they weren’t as visible as we are use to. They were around, but almost too low energy. Way too many Lido dances classes, not enough variety. The highlight with them, the water volleyball game with the officers. It was just different. Usually a host, the CD, the DJ or someone on the entertainment team is enduring or you have a connection with… definitely not the case here. The Power of Love show was phenomenal. 

 

The biggest downside was the food. I expected better than banquet style in the dining room, but that’s exactly what I got. When the lobster tails on Carnival are better, there’s definitely an issue. I missed the soups from Carnival and the Galley… really any main from Virgin. Food highlights- Sushi on 5 and the Oceanview Cafe ice cream. La Petit was cute, but again the food wasn't anything to write home about minus the strawberry Chantilly dessert. Oceanview Cafe “lido buffet” had so many choices, but it was hit and miss. Mexican was my preferred option. And breakfast was lousy. I did enjoy the late night snack option of the pasta bar. 

 

Overall, I’m puzzled about Celebrity. Were these issues because of the ship or the reposition sailing? Can we still really say food issues are from cutbacks or supply issues? Great crew and some of my favorite ports, but overall with Celebrity, I’m stumped. We will probably give them another shot on Edge or Beyond and get Aqua Class, to see if that makes a difference. 
Thanks to everyone for following along. Definitely let me know if you have any more questions or thoughts. Next cruise is Virgin Voyages, Resilient Lady from Athens. We leave in 41 days, and I’m jazzed. Booked our dinner reservations on that first sea day from Millie… another thing that worked on the internet when CC didn’t. Y’all have a great weekend! 

[MeganGC1983]

17 minutes ago, Saint Greg said:

I wouldn’t have expected that with celebrity. 

We didn’t either. I really wish I had time to get a picture of the one Mr. Megan sent back. Same size shell as the one pictured but less than two small bites of lobster meat. I can’t imagine how that made it passed anyone in the kitchen or waitstaff. And when another is $15… 

[NutsAboutGolf]

2 minutes ago, MeganGC1983 said:

We didn’t either. I really wish I had time to get a picture of the one Mr. Megan sent back. Same size shell as the one pictured but less than two small bites of lobster meat. I can’t imagine how that made it passed anyone in the kitchen or waitstaff. And when another is $15… 

 

It's baffling, both RCI and CCL switched to a larger Maine tail when they introduced the same additional tail fee

[MeganGC1983]

14 hours ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

Thanks!  I’d love to hear a balanced list, top 5 hits and top 5 misses

Shortened answers:

hits:

1. Bar and service crew

2. sushi on 5

3. Ports of call

4. Power of Love show

5. Venues- the theater, atrium, Lido deck/solarium

misses:

1. Food overall 

2. Entertainment staff/activities 

3. Internet

4. food again

5. That guy opening the beer with his teeth. 😉

[NutsAboutGolf]

6 minutes ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Shortened answers:

hits:

1. Bar and service crew

2. sushi on 5

3. Ports of call

4. Power of Love show

5. Venues- the theater, atrium, Lido deck/solarium

misses:

1. Food overall 

2. Entertainment staff/activities 

3. Internet

4. food again

5. That guy opening the beer with his teeth. 😉

Thanks, you should rate the misses as a “1” on the survey so it gets noticed 

[MeganGC1983]

Just now, NutsAboutGolf said:

Thanks, you should rate the misses as a “1” on the survey so it gets noticed 

I filled out the survey this morning. It always helps me, along with my notes, remember what I should put in my wrap up. 
Now, to shop for a new suitcase. 😆

[cellfree]

1 hour ago, MeganGC1983 said:

I filled out the survey this morning. It always helps me, along with my notes, remember what I should put in my wrap up. 
Now, to shop for a new suitcase. 😆

You always do great with both the long version and short version recaps. So much work for you, very much appreciated. This cruise you made all of us into mystery writers, it was “Where in the World is Megan?” for a few days!

[KmomChicago]

@MeganGC1983 I didn't want to put words in your mouth but all through the live review - or I should say until the interruption of it - I was getting a "meh" vibe.  You liked your bartenders and I always appreciate your appreciation of the crew.  

 

But of course Celebrity is "known" or "expected" to be at least a modest/noticeable upgrade from poor old bargain bin Carnival. . . and I did not get much of a sense that it was for you. I thought your interior cabin was really gorgeous and gave a wonderful first impression. When my mom and I sailed Millennium 21ish years ago of course being new the ship was lovely but I don't remember our stateroom (balcony) being that pretty.  

 

I actually started a whole thread a while back asking people to tell me what exactly you are getting on upgraded lines that is worth the cost, and overall, most of what was mentioned was not the kinds of fine details that appeal to my lowbrow sensibilities. 

 

As we all know, the ship itself can make a huge difference though and as you note, I would kinda assume if you want to really feel some wow factor you would go to Edge class nowadays.  Still, it really sounds like your cruise was basically just a regular RCI cruise on a middle-of-the-road RCI ship.

[MeganGC1983]

Just now, KmomChicago said:

@MeganGC1983 I didn't want to put words in your mouth but all through the live review - or I should say until the interruption of it - I was getting a "meh" vibe.  You liked your bartenders and I always appreciate your appreciation of the crew.  

 

But of course Celebrity is "known" or "expected" to be at least a modest/noticeable upgrade from poor old bargain bin Carnival. . . and I did not get much of a sense that it was for you. I thought your interior cabin was really gorgeous and gave a wonderful first impression. When my mom and I sailed Millennium 21ish years ago of course being new the ship was lovely but I don't remember our stateroom (balcony) being that pretty.  

 

I actually started a whole thread a while back asking people to tell me what exactly you are getting on upgraded lines that is worth the cost, and overall, most of what was mentioned was not the kinds of fine details that appeal to my lowbrow sensibilities. 

 

As we all know, the ship itself can make a huge difference though and as you note, I would kinda assume if you want to really feel some wow factor you would go to Edge class nowadays.  Still, it really sounds like your cruise was basically just a regular RCI cruise on a middle-of-the-road RCI ship.

I agree with that assessment. Edge and Beyond have definite WOW factors and with this ship being older, other than the grand staircase, I wasn’t wowed. 

[Roscoe13]

2 hours ago, MeganGC1983 said:

Shortened answers:

hits:

1. Bar and service crew

2. sushi on 5

3. Ports of call

4. Power of Love show

5. Venues- the theater, atrium, Lido deck/solarium

misses:

1. Food overall 

2. Entertainment staff/activities 

3. Internet

4. food again

5. That guy opening the beer with his teeth. 😉

Interesting...what exactly was it about the Internet that you  didn't like?😆

[NutsAboutGolf]

2 minutes ago, KmomChicago said:

@MeganGC1983 I didn't want to put words in your mouth but all through the live review - or I should say until the interruption of it - I was getting a "meh" vibe.  You liked your bartenders and I always appreciate your appreciation of the crew.  

 

But of course Celebrity is "known" or "expected" to be at least a modest/noticeable upgrade from poor old bargain bin Carnival. . . and I did not get much of a sense that it was for you. I thought your interior cabin was really gorgeous and gave a wonderful first impression. When my mom and I sailed Millennium 21ish years ago of course being new the ship was lovely but I don't remember our stateroom (balcony) being that pretty.  

 

I actually started a whole thread a while back asking people to tell me what exactly you are getting on upgraded lines that is worth the cost, and overall, most of what was mentioned was not the kinds of fine details that appeal to my lowbrow sensibilities. 

 

As we all know, the ship itself can make a huge difference though and as you note, I would kinda assume if you want to really feel some wow factor you would go to Edge class nowadays.  Still, it really sounds like your cruise was basically just a regular RCI cruise on a middle-of-the-road RCI ship.

 

We were on the Millie recently and also on a newer carnival ship last month.  Never thought I'd say this but Carnivals newer ship food is better than X's, perhaps the quality of the shows are about the same yet on carnival you can go to the comedy club

 

It's all about the passengers, on X odds are you'll rarely see kids and in general not many young adults either, you'll see most likely older more affluent passengers compared to carnival

[KmomChicago]

5 minutes ago, NutsAboutGolf said:

 

We were on the Millie recently and also on a newer carnival ship last month.  Never thought I'd say this but Carnivals newer ship food is better than X's, perhaps the quality of the shows are about the same yet on carnival you can go to the comedy club

 

It's all about the passengers, on X odds are you'll rarely see kids and in general not many young adults either, you'll see most likely older more affluent passengers compared to carnival

This is a good point.  We did sail Carnival Vista last year in the spring shoulder season and there were barely any kids aboard so I get where that vibe makes a difference as well, going to have that year round I suppose.  

 

If anything sailing with affluent people would just make me intimidated and self-conscious.

[MeganGC1983]

Just now, KmomChicago said:

This is a good point.  We did sail Carnival Vista last year in the spring shoulder season and there were barely any kids aboard so I get where that vibe makes a difference as well, going to have that year round I suppose.  

 

If anything sailing with affluent people would just make me intimidated and self-conscious.

I didn’t really find anyone that way. Perhaps they were all hidden in Aqua Class. 😆 Most of our fellow passengers were Canadians, lots of girls trips, some anniversaries and honeymoons, and generational: mom with grown kids sailing. No one made me feel less than or that taken aback,  like “they are well to do”… I have had that feeling on Virgin though. 

[hcat]

27 minutes ago, MeganGC1983 said:

I agree with that assessment. Edge and Beyond have definite WOW factors and with this ship being older, other than the grand staircase, I wasn’t wowed. 

i think you should give either a try..they have a brighter,  more lively vibe, great production shows, music, fun events  in the CLUB and at EDEN.. good sushi...great art collections. No complaints about  food.. we  enjoy BLU and the 4 mdr plan..not thrilled with Luminae (for suites) Bars were pretty good...

 

thanjs 4 a great review..

 

[WrittenOnYourHeart]

2 hours ago, MeganGC1983 said:

5. That guy opening the beer with his teeth. 😉

I thought that was someone at a beach bar you went to, not an X employee?