April 9 - Millennium Review - Part IV & V- Entertainment & Parties

[CaribbeanBound]

Part IV - Entertainment

A. Movies

All the movies were shown in the Cinema on Deck 3 throughout the day. Of interest, popcorn is now served. A batch of fresh popcorn is popped for most showings. It's a nice touch. Since only one batch is cooked, get in line early if the movie is well-attended. It will run out.

 

B. Shows

The Celebrity Theater spans 3 decks and is just beautiful. Seating is very comfortable and sight lines are very good. We have not seen a better theater in any of our prior voyages. We were generally not very impressed with the production shows on this cruise. We found the singers and dancers to be quite talented, but the direction/production/choice of songs, arrangements, and some costuming was poor. The use of screens for interludes was not very effective. The bright spot in these productions was that the lighting effects were quite good. The one exception to all this was the new show "I Love The Nightlife" where the production was great, and the use of a screen for the opening Blues number was pretty cool, but the lighting needed some work. The two comedians (Thien Fu and Noodles Levenstein) were very entertaining and family friendly.

 

C. Casino

The Fortunes Casino on (Promenade Deck - 4) is filled with slot machines, one Craps table, two roulette tables, and a few poker and blackjack tables. The casino was open while at sea. Closed while in ports. While smoky, it was not as bad as on the smaller Celebrity ships.

 

D. Spa

It is located Forward on the Resort Deck-10. I enjoyed a one-hour full body massage. My wife booked it for me at a rate 40% off the regular rate. She was in the gym one night and the spa was offering a special to fill a few time slots --- which went fast at the special rate. It was a VERY good massage.

 

E. Outdoor Pools and Hot tubs.

Due to having over 400 children on this cruise, the Millennium made the AquaSpa pool and hot tub off limits to anyone under 18. I applaud them for this. The Riviera Pool and hot tubs were designated for family use. There were a couple of folks that violated the policy, but overall it went very well. We did not use the pool facilities.

 

F. Celebrity Orchestra and Other Ship Bands

The Celebrity Orchestra was very good. The other bands were okay.

 

G. In-room TV

There were a few of closed-circuit ship channels and satellite stations (namely ESPN, CNN, and TBS) available on the TV in the cabin. About a dozen free movies were also available daily on the TV. You can also order room service and check your current account on the TV as well.

 

H. Room Service

You can order from morning to late night. We didn't order anything from room service. We have used room service on prior cruises. They don't just drop the order off at your door --- they come in and set it up for you. Be sure to tip!

 

Part V - Parties

A. Cruise Critic Party

We signed up for the Cruise Critic party on the Celebrity web site. We received an email confirmation that a party would take place. An invitation to the party, set for 10:00am on Monday (our first day at sea) in Michael's Club along with 2 CruiseConnections lapel pins, and name tags, greeted us in our cabin upon arrival. At the appointed time we arrived at Michael's Club. In total, about 20 folks attended. We had a great time meeting and greeting other cruise critics. Light refreshments were provided. The Cruise Director, Simon Weir, and the Captain's Club Host, Justin, were in attendance. Justin was quite impressive at the numerous Captain's Club events. Simon gave us some additional information about all the logistics involved with the Chilean Tragedy and how Celebrity dealt with it. (We also all met informally on Deck 11 after the muster drill on Sunday, and a second informal meeting was scheduled by the ship for later in the week, which I missed).

 

B. Captain's Club Parties

There is a party of some sort happening daily. These included a party for all Captain's Club Members, a party of Elite and Select Captain's Club Members, a Captain's Club Elegant Tea, a party celebrating birthdays and anniversaries, and others. We did not make all of the parties. The Captain's Club events were well attended and top notch. Of note, we have been to events on other ships were you were basically limited to a few selected drinks. The bars at the Millennium Captain's Club cocktail parties were open wide --- there wasn't a drink we couldn't order.

 

C. Captain's Club Wine Blending Seminar

This is a really cool event which took place in the Olympic Restaurant. A sommelier walks you through the finer points of wine growing and tasting, then, with the help of six Kendall-Jackson red wines allows you to craft different blended wines. Once each attendee settled on the blend they personally liked best, we built ourselves a full glass and took it to lunch.

 

Complete review can be seen on one page at: http://www.lavasurfer.com/info/millennium.html

[Andy]

Hi Caribbean !

 

I am truly enjoying your review.

 

I must say, that you REALLY got lucky, as you had Simon Weir as your Cruise Director - He is awesome... AND.... you had not 1 BUT... 2 of my all time favorite Celebrity Comedians. How you got both Noodles Levenstein and Thien Fu, is amazing. You must have had a lot of laughs. Too bad you didnt love the Celebrity Productions shows though. Typically, we have been very happy with them.

 

I always wondered if there would be a Captains Club "HOST", and I see that it has happened. I have not seen a man in that slot before, but Justin seems to be doing a nice job. Good for him !

 

Again, thanks for the awesome review.

[BrooklynGirl2]

Thanks for posting such a detailed review. I enjoy reading it and I appreciate the time it took for you to do so.:)

[jeffpaddlehawaii]

Many, many, many thank you's for the comprehensive review of your family's April 9th Millie cruise. Your super organized recaps and insights are going to be invaluable to us on our April 23rd cruise!!!! Please go on some more cruises soon so that we will be able to glean more splendid information! Mahalo and Aloha, Barby Clarke

[CaribbeanBound]

Barby,

You know me.

Think "ISOH".

Then think "Moved to Charlotte in 2000".