First Cruise Over, My Impressions

[esqted]

Hi Folks,

 

My Wife and I just finished our first cruise (Millennium, 12/17, #7100) and I thought I would share my impressions.

 

OK, first the positives.

 

1. I loved our stateroom. It reminded me of a small hotel room on the Left Bank in Paris, small but in a cozy way. The Balcony was a huge hit and we spent a lot of time sitting out there at night watching the stars and other cruise ships or islands off in the distance. Yes it was small, but there are lots of drawers and cabinets and everything tucked away quite nicely. The bed was a lot more comfortable than we expected, and a request for a few extra pillows was quickly met. Someone had mentioned a tiny bathroom - while ours was definitely on the small side there was plenty of room for all of our things and the adjustable shower head easily accomodated a 6'+ height.

 

2. Activities. I was worried about feeling cooped up or growing bored, especially on sea days. We quickly found that there are a lot of things to do, you just have to wander around a bit to find them. Big hits with us were the Spa Pool, the board game area (backgammon), the goofy but highly entertaining contests at the pool, and the ever popular pulling up a chaise lounge on the 12th level with a good book (I finished Next, 1776 and The Way to Win.) I'd forgotten how much relaxing with a good book can be, especially back home in the world of blackberrys and cell phones (ours were shut off and stowed in the safe.) We also enjoyed the casino :)

 

3. Entertainment. We only went to a few shows but I thought they were quite entertaining. I was not expecting a Las Vegas-quality show, and had I been I think I would have been quite dissapointed. The singing and dancing was all quite good and I am glad we went to the ones we did. Keir, the comedian, was a bit of a let down though he did have his moments.

 

4. The Staff. With the exception of a surly Waiter's Assistant and woefully uninformed Excursion Director I found all the staff in general to be quite helpful, capable and eager to please. While there is definitely room for improvement in some areas, we were for the most part very happy with the service we received.

 

5. The Ship. I was a bit worried after reading of shoddy and worn interior and sewage smells, luckily we found neither. While it is evident the ship is six years old, we found everything to be clean and polished and never encountered any offensive smells. It seemed like there were always people cleaning this or that, and the two calls we made about things in our stateroom (door opening and psychotic smoke alarm) were quickly answered and repaired.

 

6. Embarkation. Getting on the ship was a well planned and carried out as was poorly planned and executed disembarking. We had no lines at any of the steps (Get to terminal, put luggage in luggage carts lining taxi-dropoff, pass through X-ray, see Celebrity agent to give credit card and get packet of info, get cruise credit/ID card, enter ship, drop off stuff in stateroom, go to poolside grill for burgers and french fries) and the whole process from exiting the taxi to sitting poolside with a burger and fries was maybe 20 minutes.

 

OK, the not so good.

 

1. I have never come across so many blatanly and unabashadly rude people in all of my life (and I am in Politics!) It started before we even got on the ship when one older man pushed my wife to the ground to get past her in the line to get onto the ship. Little did we know this was a harbinger of things to come. Without exception there was not a line that people would not shamelessly cut right into, not a doorway that people would not push you aside to get through first, not an elevator people would not shove you aside to get in first or refuse to move to allow you out. Buffet and food lines were merely a suggestion, anything free or complimentary was quickly and efficiently hoarded away leaving nothing for those who had the decency to wait in line. Confronting these folks was out of the question as I quickly learned that it led to nothing but a highly agitated and animated person yelling about how they had paid for this cruise and "how dare you accuse me" and the like. Forget about the special buffet on the next to last night, by the time we got to the front (trying not to be confrontational with the line cutters, some of whom were coming in for seconds) those who had preceeded us had cleaned it out, unnecessarily so judging by the amount of food left on plates. I was truly amazed and have never seen anything like it in my life. There was one particular couple we affectionately called "The Rudes" after watching them both push their way through the Casino unnecessarily jostling and shoving the whole way, and later talk quite loudly through the first part of a show, only to loudly and obviously get up and leave when politely asked to quiet down by a fellow guest. They also comandeered a table every evening on the aft bar/deck, and would guard their four empty chairs with the intensity of a mother bear watching over her cubs. We never did figure out why they needed four empty chairs at the decks busiest time of day, but they, and several others who did this same thing, did this every evening. They did seem to take some sort of perverted glee in telling the seatless that the seat was taken by loudly and repeatedly saying "TAKEN". Curiously enough we found the younger folks and the folks with kids to be in general kind and considerate - exactly the opposite what we would have guessed beforehand.

 

2. The Food at the Metropolitan. We both agreed the food in the Metropolitan was terrible. The service was excellent but the food was never better than meals I've received at hotel conferences, and often worse. We stopped going after the third night instead hitting up the Spa Cafe which had very tasty and healthy choices, the Pool grill which had delicious burgers, chicken and hot dogs, and occasionally the pasta station or other specialty dish at the buffet. In general the food on the ship was good but not great. We did have dinner one night at the Olympia and were verry happy with it. The food was delicious, the service excellent (except the champaign hard sell at the beginning, how many times should you have to say "no thank you we're ordering wine" before the matter is dropped?) and the excellent selection of desert Blue Cheeses unexpected and very welcomed.

 

3. The Shore Excursion Director. If he had a chance to steer us wrong or give us bad advice, he took it. Walking around the town square in downtown La Romana, Dominican Republic is NOT, I repeat NOT something you want to do unless you have a zest for the dangerous. And sorry, but Magan's Bay is not a "lovely isolated beach with world-class snorkelling", it is packed so tightly with bodies you must go to the water to get around to the snack shack, and while there are snorkels for rent, there is nothing but sand and a few rocks at the far ends of the beach. After the Magan's Bay fiasco we played opposite with his advice and against his advice signed up for the Rainbow Reef snorkel tour in Nassau, we had a delightful time. We did have a delightful time walking around old San Juan on our own and found an excellent restaurant recommended by a Park Ranger at the Fort (el Jabarito? on Sol). We also enjoyed walking around Nassau and St. Thomas.

 

4. Information on Ports of Call. The nightly newsletter always had a bit of interesting history but any information of substance seemed to revolve around (1) getting you into the spa for rediculously expensive hot stone massages, (2) getting you to sign up for excursions, or (3) steering you to "Celebrity Approved" stores. It really would have been nice to receive a real tourist type map with attractions and info, and businesses that didn't have a financial relationship with Celebrity. At least make them available at the Guest desk.

 

On whole, our first cruise was quite enjoyable and we would consider doing it again in the Mediterranean. The highpoints I guess were watching the lit-up cruise ships pass by under a sky full of stars on the last night, touring San Juan and lunch at el Jabarito, and the staff. The lowpoint was the rude people, really it so far outpaced any other irritants we had that including anything else would seem unfair.

[poohtaz]

Thanks for your review, I take my first cruise next month:) and one of my pet peeves is rude people cutting in line. If I encounter what you did, it will get interesting;), just truly have no patience for people who have no patience.

So glad that over all you had a great time, I am positive ,like you, should we encounter rude people, it still won't ruin our cruise, I refuse to allow it.

[poohtaz]

Thanks for your review, I take my first cruise next month:) and one of my pet peeves is rude people cutting in line. If I encounter what you did, it will get interesting;), just truly have no patience for people who have no patience.

So glad that over all you had a great time, I am positive ,like you, should we encounter rude people, it still won't ruin our cruise, I refuse to allow it.

[dkjretired]

Thank you for taking the time to post your review. I love the comment about the pyschotic smoke alarm.

[kehlx2]

poohtaz

Looks like we will be on the same cruise..we have cruised 9-10 times but never on Celebrity--our son & DIL are coming along ..this will be their first cruise also..have you checked in with the Roll Call for this cruise? Almost Jan & then hope time passes fast.

[XatSea]

Hi Folks,

My Wife and I just finished our first cruise (Millennium, 12/17, #7100) and I thought I would share my impressions.

On whole, our first cruise was quite enjoyable and we would consider doing it again in the Mediterranean.

 

Thankyou for expressing the high and lows of your first cruise experience.

First, a warning. Cruising becomes very addictive.

Secondly, Cruising in the Mediterranean is even more addictive.

 

We have never had the "rudes" aboard any of our cruises but you are not the first to be amazed by their misbehavior. We have found that longer cruises do not have as many "miscreants" but we might just have been lucky so far.

We seldom take advice from the onboard tour "misguides".

You will find a wealth of information on these boards from other cruise fanatics who've "been there, done that..."

 

and I am in Politics!

was it a supporter of another party that recognized you perhaps?;)

[esqted]

On the rude people, I did take folks to task at first but it really just led to a furious response of "How dare you", "I paid for this cruise and am entitled", and the like. Any appeal to commen courtesy was unfortunately lost on these folks as they had no problem acting this way. After a day or so we just learned to ignore it (except for the buffet part, that was a real dissapointment as we were near the front in line and by the time we got to it, it had literally been picked clean.) Unfortunately while those who acted this way were not the majority, their behavior sure made it seem like it.

 

As for the smoke alarm, we were told that the combination of air conditioning and humidity from warm air coming through an open balcony door will cause the alarm to sound out seemingly at random (in our case, almost every hour on the hour from 3am on.) I finally took out the battery at 5am or so and because we REALLY enjoyed having the door open, replaced it as we disembarked.

 

was it a supporter of another party that recognized you perhaps?

 

I was completely incognito ;)

[poohtaz]

poohtaz

Looks like we will be on the same cruise..we have cruised 9-10 times but never on Celebrity--our son & DIL are coming along ..this will be their first cruise also..have you checked in with the Roll Call for this cruise? Almost Jan & then hope time passes fast.

 

 

Close ;) , we are on the 10-day leaving the 19th, :)

[Nancyquilts]

On most cruise lines nowadays, you will, unfortunately, find that the port information given is usually the easiest way to Diamonds International. I have found that researching the ports to come in the library at home helps a lot in deciding what to do in those ports.

Cruising is addicting - we like the longer cruises. While we occasionally come in contact with rude people, we just avoid them thereafter. It would perhaps be fun to sit with people that are saving places - just say that you will be happy to leave when their party arrives---

[Drew B]

1. I have never come across so many blatanly and unabashadly rude

people in all of my life (and I am in Politics!) It started before we even got on the ship when one older man pushed my wife to the ground to get past her in the line to get onto the ship. Little did we know this was a harbinger of things to come. Without exception there was not a line that people would not shamelessly cut right into, not a doorway that people would not push you aside to get through first, not an elevator people would not shove you aside to get in first or refuse to move to allow you out. Buffet and food lines were merely a suggestion, anything free or complimentary was quickly and efficiently hoarded away leaving nothing for those who had the decency to wait in line. Confronting these folks was out of the question as I quickly learned that it led to nothing but a highly agitated and animated person yelling about how they had paid for this cruise and "how dare you accuse me" and the like. Forget about the special buffet on the next to last night, by the time we got to the front (trying not to be confrontational with the line cutters, some of whom were coming in for seconds) those who had preceeded us had cleaned it out, unnecessarily so judging by the amount of food left on plates. I was truly amazed and have never seen anything like it in my life. There was one particular couple we affectionately called "The Rudes" after watching them both push their way through the Casino unnecessarily jostling and shoving the whole way, and later talk quite loudly through the first part of a show, only to loudly and obviously get up and leave when politely asked to quiet down by a fellow guest. They also comandeered a table every evening on the aft bar/deck, and would guard their four empty chairs with the intensity of a mother bear watching over her cubs. We never did figure out why they needed four empty chairs at the decks busiest time of day, but they, and several others who did this same thing, did this every evening. They did seem to take some sort of perverted glee in telling the seatless that the seat was taken by loudly and repeatedly saying "TAKEN". Curiously enough we found the younger folks and the folks with kids to be in general kind and considerate - exactly the opposite what we would have guessed beforehand.

 

I couldn't agree more. I don't understand why so many people seem anxious to avoid cruises with young passengers and children when (from what I've seen) they are SO much more pleasant than some of the seniors! I didn't experience a large percentage of rude people, but the few I encountered shocked me with their behavior. The worst was a rude old man on a glacier trek with me in Juneau. Now, I'm not particularly patient or accomodating of rude people, and let's just say it is a miracle that this gent made it BACK from the excursion, as I was quite tempted to just push him right off the glacier!

[Marie Stevens]

I got a real kick out of Pootaz who said he really had no patience with people who had no patience. Is that an oxymoron?????

[AnthonyF]

Know i was not in the Aft or near elevators (always took stairs). As for lines in Buffets, especially Midnight, I just gave up waiting at the back and jumped the fish to get some cold cuts when there was an opening... I also heard people loudly complaining and it always amazes me (even my 10 yo commented). There would be a line for omelettes and people ordering 2 at a time and people waiting... If there is a line skip it and return later is my suggestion instead of complaining.:)

 

As for the Metropolitan, you are not far off about the food, but often many choices were much better then others.... not unusual that it can be hit and miss. Point is they are feeding an awful lot of people....

[Captain Cosmo]

Couldn't agree more about the rude people on cruises. The lack of consideration for fellow passengers by not washing up after using the restroom is probably the biggest cause of norovirus, and the rude behavior I've seen onboard is asthonishing. Unfortunately, none of these people think they're being rude - they're just "looking out for #1".

[BettyInToronto]

You should also submit it as a real review so people can find it easily under Cruise Reviews. In time it will get lost here.

[Lois R]

Hi, Esqted, I was on your cruise too:)

 

Food is always such a subjective topic. Sorry your food

in the Metropolitan was so terrible:(

 

We had a wonderful time, both in the Main Dining room

and the Olympic. Tablemates, waitstaff, and food were all excellent.

 

I am glad you enjoyed some of the week though.:)

[Pisces11]

Couldn't agree more about the rude people on cruises. The lack of consideration for fellow passengers by not washing up after using the restroom is probably the biggest cause of norovirus, and the rude behavior I've seen onboard is asthonishing. Unfortunately, none of these people think they're being rude - they're just "looking out for #1".

 

When we were on our last cruise, my dh watched the bartender use the bathroom and not wash his hands. He reported him to the Summit powers that be and also to Celebrity and never heard a word back. As far as rude people, I couldn't agree more that some people have a sense of entitlement that takes over their manners and good judgment. I saw less of this on Celebrity then I did on the other two cruise lines we sailed but it could just be the mix of people on board for each particular cruise.

[Synchro]

First, best to remember that a cruise is what you make of it. Focus on the rude and you will surely find it throughout the vacation. Two percent of the US population make up the criminal element and likewise, the two percent of cruisers being rude stand out like diamonds in the rough.

 

I generally ignore the rude - the chair hogs, the line cutters, the show talkers..... but I have been known to take photos of them... and letting them know why.

 

I still believe you see it more on East Coast outings. Try cutting in line from, say, a San Pedro departure and you get people in your face. Do it in FLL and everyone turns the other way..... Southern hospitality aside, Easterners seem to take it with more resignation.

 

One thing I don't allow is discourteous behavior towards a woman. I remember a fellow at the FLL airport. We were following the woman in charge of busing us to the pier. A man approached saying his wife and baggage were in another spot and he began ordering her, (and our entire group,) to stay right there. He was so condescending and ill mannered that I told him, "That is quite enough." The attendant said, "No, no, it is okay." To which I replied, "No, it is not okay." To me she was a female first and our attendant second.

Of course, he didn't like my remarks and glared when he would spot me on the ship. I believe I did the right thing in stopping him.

 

Please Easterners, take no offense.... MHO only and there are numerous exceptions to any view.

[Pisces11]

I get more upset if someone is rude to the cruise personnel then if they cut in line in front of me. Some people are so arrogant that they treat the staff like they are inhuman. I have little tolerance for that.

[Jarronwood]

OMG - are you saying that some cruisers on this particular line are "rude".

 

Well, some people, please realise, that they are so lower class that they just dont know. Maybe that need to be "taught" how to interact with the "staff".

 

Its not their fault is it?????

 

I and my hubby are British, stiff upper lip and all that, but...... at the end of the day there is NO REASON TO BE RUDE TO THE STAFF.

 

I guess some people just have no idea. What a shame.

[Tricia724]

There are always some rude people around, but it does seem like some cruises have more than their fair share. And that's all cruise lines. Sometimes you get a congenial group and sometimes you don't. I seem to notice rude people more on warm weather cruises.

 

I have only taken two Celebrity cruises....both on Summit....one 7-day southbound from Alaska, and the second a 14-day repositioning cruise from Vancouver to Los Angeles. I remember little about the first cruise, but the second one stands out in my mind because of the people onboard. They were possibly the nicest group of people I have ever encountered on a cruise ship.

 

I understand what you mean that fellow passengers do make a difference in the way you feel about a cruise, but sadly, the cruiselines really can't control who buys their product. I'm sure they don't relish a lot of crabby, grabby passengers either, but the next cruise on the same ship or on the same itinerary could be a completely different experience.

 

Sometimes it's a mystery the way the pieces come together.