Millennium - Just Back from the 23rd September Venice to Barcelona cruise

[excitedofharpenden]

It seems strange to be back from a cruise without the usual nasty bout of jet lag, but my flight this time took two hours and I am (almost) completely clear of thought and happy to report that I had a most wonderful cruise on Millie. I'll do a fuller review when I have my house in order, both literally and metaphorically speaking, but embarkation and debarkation were an absolute breeze, especially getting off the ship today. Very well communicated and organised, I was off the ship at 7am and home in the UK by 2pm.

 

It is good to be able to make myself a cheese sandwich and a cup of tea and, not having the luxury of a suite on the ship, a bath is beckoning very strongly, but perhaps that is TMI. Those are the only good things about being home. I loved the ship, the crew, the Martinis, the ports of call, the food in no particular order. I have just weighed myself and I am one pound lighter than when I left home three weeks ago. It seems as though all the walking on the tours organised both for the cruise and for our 8 day pre-cruise trip proved worthwhile. Joan (Ma Bell) did a great job in this regard and I would like to say a big thank you to her for the excellent work that she did for us. The adage "fail to prepare and prepare to fail" never even entered into the thought process.

 

I think the ship looks and feels great. I really didn't notice anything that made me think she was at all tatty. All the public areas looked spotless and the cabin I had was extremely good and again totally clean and fresh looking.

 

There was very little to complain about on the trip. Being a port intensive cruise, a lot of time was spent off the ship, but on those sea days or when I stayed on the ship I never really found a quiet spot to sit, other than the Promenade deck which became a favourite of me and my iPod. I found more quiet outside space on Mercury and Galaxy.

 

For Arno, the Captain was Zisis Taramas and I'm afraid that I forgot to ask where Dru Pavlov had moved on to. Simon Weir was a very accomplished CD and the rendition of "Old MacDonald Had a Farm" assisted by five audience members was an absolute riot, totally made of course by those poor unsuspecting souls brought up on stage for their 15 minutes of fame.

 

OK, one small rant and it was something I mentioned on my comment card. I would come back from port and have maybe a piece of pizza to tide me over until dinner. Deck 10 aft was a good area outside to sit, but it was always frequented by a small inconsiderate number of cigar smokers who neither knew how to tell the time or which was port and which was starboard. 8pm 'til midnight on the port side only was what it clearly stated in the daily, but the guy I spoke to was completely oblivious to this until I mentioned it to him. Made no difference. He was out there again the next day with more of his pals. I don't understand why the bar staff can't just politely point out the restrictions. Cigar smoke at 5.30pm when you are eating your snack fresh from a long day ashore just isn't pleasant. OK, rant over. I feel better now. At least I mentioned it on the card. Hope Celebrity take notice.

 

Ending on a bright note (pun intended) and it made the trip very special for me. I saw the glow in the toilet bowl at 4am. Life just doesn't get much more exciting than that:)

 

Phil

[mahdnc]

Welcome back, Phil. I am very glad to hear that you had such a terrific time.

[Lois R]

Hi Phil, welcome back and I am glad you had such a wonderful

cruise:) then again, I know you always have a great time.

 

I will be on Millie for the first time in December. Let me know

if there is anyone special I can pass on hellos from you to......

and I am definitely looking forward to sailing her even more now!

 

I am assuming your dining room staff were as top notch

as always? I know your tablemates were friends so that must

have been lovely for you too.

 

You should have some mail as well.

 

Again, glad you are home safe and sound.:)

[uktog]

Welcome back to cold wet old Blighty Phil

Glad you had a good trip - thanks also for your posts when you were away

AJ

[excitedofharpenden]

Lois, search out Jovel from Honduras and Joel from the Philipinnes. They were top notch as waiter and assistant for us. If you see Jovel, ask him Mr Phil's favourite dessert ingredient:) Room steward was Gleno. He was on Galaxy when we were on her in November 2004 and we talked about that. Quiet, but a really nice guy. Now, I don't know the names of anyone who served me drinks because I didn't get to know them well enough. Well, apart from Jimmy, John, Laura.........;) James was on Mercury with us last time in the Mexican Riviera as Activities Staff. He is now Jackpot James on Millie, but I didn't play the bingo, just met him in one of the lounges. Sudi's "brother" was really excellent to watch in the Platinum Bar and mixed a really good Cosmo.

 

David, I'll work on getting the pictures of my cabin at least on Webshots this week. I know there was someone else wanting to see the new bedding.

 

AJ, yep, cold and wet describes Luton airport today. I knew I should have worn my coat and gloves rather than shorts and tee shirt:eek:

 

Phil

[tuggers]

Welcome Home, Phil! Glad you enjoyed the trip and that you will give us more details soon. And pictures!

I snuck in a last minute 9 night Grandeur while you were gone!!:D

[Trixsea]

Welcome home, Phil. Glad to hear you had a great time. I also experienced the glowing toilets on the Constellation.:D

[excitedofharpenden]

Good for you Gail! I see it in your signature. Glad to see you are back cruising again after your illness on the Amazon cruise. That is a good sign I really liked Baltimore when we sailed out of there a few years ago. I hope the weather was ok for you on the trip.

 

Terry, ain't those toilets great? Saves putting the light on:D

 

Phil

[Addict1]

Welcome home, Phil. Glad to hear you had a great time. I also experienced the glowing toilets on the Constellation.:D

 

Hi, I know this might sound silly but what are the glowing toilets? This is the first time I have seen any mention of this. We are on Connie for Xmas and I will have to look out for them!!:D

[excitedofharpenden]

OK, I've quickly downloaded the cabin photos. I couldn't really find any decent pictures of an inside before I went. I didn't use a flash so it may appear a bit blurry, but you get the idea. Click on the thumbnail to see a larger view.

 

 

 

Phil

[Trixsea]

Hi, I know this might sound silly but what are the glowing toilets? This is the first time I have seen any mention of this. We are on Connie for Xmas and I will have to look out for them!!:D

 

Just that. The inside base of the toilets glow. :eek:

[Addict1]

Just that. The inside base of the toilets glow. :eek:

 

Coooool, it just gets better and better:D

[dileep]

Looking forward to reading your detailed report. we are taking this cruise next September from Barcelona to venice and interested in hearing about excursions that you took.

 

We were on the Millie in South America and the crew were great. Simon Weir is a great Cruise Director and his Old McDonald bit is a hoot!

[Karynanne]

Phil, Welcome Back!! It's wonderful to hear of your fantastic cruise. I'm so happy that your trip was everything you had envisioned. So you saw the "glow"...I've seen it, but Bill hasn't. He think it's a myth.

 

Karyn

[CAKER]

For those of us on the 10/17 Millennium Venice to Barcelona, we would appreciate guidance from you guys re transportation from the airport to the hotels, the Celebrity shuttle (cost, where it goes and when, crowded or not), and getting from the hotels to the ship.

 

We have been getting a lot of confusing info from private water taxi services, Alilaguna, ACTV (1 bag limit ? ), etc. about where they can go, luggage handling, getting from customs to the water taxis or Alilaguna, etc.

 

Also, how far is it from the ship to Piazzale Roma (or vice versa), how do you get there (walking, land taxi, water taxi), and the cost ?

 

Also, info about tendering and shuttles in other ports to get from the ship to private tour vehicles.

[tuggers]

Yep, Phil, that's an inside cabin all right! I've seen many of them!

[Texed]

Thanks for the mini-review Phil.:)

[Dorothy & Morty]

Looking forward to reading your detailed report. we are taking this cruise next September from Barcelona to venice and interested in hearing about excursions that you took.

 

We were on the Millie in South America and the crew were great. Simon Weir is a great Cruise Director and his Old McDonald bit is a hoot!

 

Hi Dileep,

We were also on the South American cruise with you and do remember you. We are leaving on Sept. 23rd on the Millie for 14 days in the Mediterranean. Do youhave any excursions you can share? Will you be on this ship too? Hope so!

Dorothy & Morty:) :)

[kitty9]

Lois, if you can, ask for Vlaho as your waiter. In all our cruises, he has been the absolute best. He's located on Deck 5. If you see him, tell him that Ms Darlene, Ms Maryanne and Ms Cindy wish him well.

[Andy]

Hi Phil !

 

Welcome Home. I am glad you had a great time on your Cruise. I look forward to meeting you in March '07 !

[dileep]

Hi Dileep,

We were also on the South American cruise with you and do remember you. We are leaving on Sept. 23rd on the Millie for 14 days in the Mediterranean. Do youhave any excursions you can share? Will you be on this ship too? Hope so!

Dorothy & Morty:) :)

 

We will be on the Sept 10 cruise from Barcelona to Venice. We will be debarking as you embark.

[Offtune Angel]

Welcome Home, Phil! We enjoyed Millennium in the Mediterranean, too. Did you see Brooks Aehron on board? Glad you had a great trip. I know what you mean about the cigar smokers not being clear on starboard vs port. I'm glad you mentioned it on your comment card. Your cabin photos are (as usual) very good. Which cabin was it?

 

Terry

[gacruzr]

Welcome home, Phil, glad you had a great time. Enjoyed your review and pictures.

I am looking forward to the "glow" :eek: on the transatlantic cruise, hope it's still there! And old mcdonald?? Is that a "not to be missed thing"?

Sue

[naples queen]

Those pictures were great. Would you mind telling me the cabin numbers and category if you know them. Thanks.:confused:

[greasyregs]

For those of us on the 10/17 Millennium Venice to Barcelona, we would appreciate guidance from you guys re transportation from the airport to the hotels, the Celebrity shuttle (cost, where it goes and when, crowded or not), and getting from the hotels to the ship.

 

We have been getting a lot of confusing info from private water taxi services, Alilaguna, ACTV (1 bag limit ? ), etc. about where they can go, luggage handling, getting from customs to the water taxis or Alilaguna, etc.

 

Also, how far is it from the ship to Piazzale Roma (or vice versa), how do you get there (walking, land taxi, water taxi), and the cost ?

 

Also, info about tendering and shuttles in other ports to get from the ship to private tour vehicles.

 

Hi Caker - we too just got off the Millie (Venice to Barcelona) and maybe I can shed some light on the shuttle arrangements. We used Alilaguna to get from the airport to San Marcos Square. There was no bag limit fortunately otherwise we would have been the first to be kicked of the boat. We had way too many suitcases. The walk from the terminal to the pier was about 15 minutes and easy but there is a bus shuttle. Of course the water taxi was an option but we were not interested in paying the 90 euros. If you do have alot of bags it is a bit difficult hauling them onto the boat but the boat crew can help. If you need euros there is an ATM in the terminal. The shuttle boat makes about 3 or 4 stops (via Murano) before getting to the square.

 

Since we arrived in Venice a couple of days early we needed to figure out how to get to the ship from our hotel. We took the Alilaguna to the port from SM square. It worked just fine - a direct route to the port terminal. The only hassle for you would be hauling you luggage to the dock from your hotel. If you have bridges to cross it can be a struggle.

 

Shuttles from the ship at various ports usually cost either $10 or $13 per person for the day.