April 9 - Millennium Review - Part VII - Ship Notes

[CaribbeanBound]

Part VII - Ship Notes

A. Ship Crew

We were very impressed with the ship and crew. Very friendly and competent.

 

B. Our Stateroom Attendant

He was very attentive. Kept the beds made and bathroom clean. Upon arrival we requested 14 wire hangers, and later we asked for a foam mattress pad for the bed. Both were handled promptly. Hint: the foam pad took the bed from "hard" to "very comfortable".

 

C. The Shops

Merchandise did not rotate very much. There was something on sale each day. The booze prices on the ship were generally as good as, or better than, shops in the ports, and they will match any printed flyers you bring back from shore. There is a lot of space dedicated to shops on this ship. Most are very high end.

 

D. Internet Service

It was available in abundance in the "Online" room amidships on the Promenade Deck - 4. We did not use the service.

 

E. Kids

Due to Spring Break we had over 400 kids on board. Most were well behaved. Frankly, the only wild behavior we witnessed was while the kids were in their club groups. Thank goodness for the activities coordinators and their talent at keeping the kids grouped and occupied.

 

F. Dress Code

About 15% of men in the Main Seating wore a tux on Formal nights. Most wore coat and tie. Did not see any major violation of the dress code in the dining room, except on Informal Nights where numerous men came dressed without a jacket (as if it were a Casual night). The Second Seating appeared to have closer to 50% in tuxes on Formal nights.

 

G. Customs

We went through customs in Puerto Rico. Basically just got in an hour-long line on the ship at our appointed time to show our passports and cruisecards to customs officials in the Celebrity Theater. We felt this process was very poorly executed. However, we don't have any suggestions to speed the process, except maybe to exempt U.S. Citizens. We really couldn't figure out the necessity of this exercise. In Puerto Rico we received an "exit pass" to disembark. We also passed through customs upon disembarkation as we exited the terminal in Ft. Lauderdale. This was very fast.

 

H. Topless Sun Bathing

I didn't know exactly where to make these notes. There is an unmarked Deck 13! Accessed from the exterior of Deck 12, there is a sign and a stairwell leading to a Deck 13 "Topless Sun Bathing" area. The area is very private. There is no way to see what's going on up there without physically walking up there. The area can not be viewed from any vantage point on the ship. (I found it late one night while exploring the ship).

 

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