Millennium 4/6-4/13 Long Review

[carlat78]

Long review…

 

I am a first time cruiser to Celebrity and this is my second cruise (with the first being 9 yrs ago on NCL) and this cruise was WAY better than I could have ever imagined. First a little about myself me and my boyfriend (BF) decided to take a cruise together after returning from a recent deployment (we are both in the military). I am 29, he is 33. I am a self proclaimed “hotel snob” and work in a hotel part time just for the fun of it. I picked celebrity because of this high expectation I have within the hospitality industry and I felt that Celebrity would provide for me the best luxury and accommodations compared to other ship lines.

 

Embarkation- Was smooth and easy, we arrived by car and parked in the nearby garage for $15 a day (not $12 as indicated in the Celebrity package we received in the mail) we arrived to the security line at 11:45am and were on the ship by 12:10. We were not allowed to go to our rooms until 1pm so we walked around the ship and got something to eat from the buffet.

 

Room -Was WONDERFUL!!! We had a corner AFT FV room, the ones with the extended balcony and it was HUGE and the best part of the entire trip. We had dinner once on the balcony and ordered room service a lot to eat outside and it was perfect for my BF who likes to sunbathe, so we could lounge on our balcony instead of fighting for a chair by the pool.

 

*negative* As mentioned before I am a hospitality snob and after quickly checking the room upon entry, I quickly noticed urine stains on the toilet cover and 3 strands of pubic hair on the seat!!! I quickly notified our stateroom attendant Violetta (A complete sweetheart, she made the room even better with her GREAT GREAT service) she apologized and had it cleaned up by the time we came back to the room. The room is worn..i.e. carpet stains, carpet torn, curtains with long tears but the ship as a whole probably needs a good scrubbing and refurbishing. With this being my first cruise in a sense I quickly dismissed it, plus the service was exceptional especially by our waiter and stateroom attendant so that more than made up for the couple of eye sores.

 

- Also there aren’t irons provided, so please be aware of this when packing. They do have a laundry service that will do it for you but it cost.

 

Service- Was great !! Everyone spoke to you, asked you how you were doing and seemed to want to do whatever it took to want to please you. Every employee we came across seemed happy in good spirits and easy to talk to and that means a lot within this industry.

 

Food- First my BF would like me to mention that the soda card is a rip off..lol.! With gratituty you end up paying $40 and cannot use it in every establishment onboard ( i.e. Room service, Rendezvous-Lounge between certain hours) and he felt a bit misled. I convinced him by the end of the cruise that he did save a bit of money, but be aware that you cannot use it for room service. In general our favorite thing to eat was the pizza, you could get a pizza cooked to order between 11am-11pm and it was a great night cap to add to the additional weight we put on during the cruise..lol.

 

In general I was not impressed by the food provided in the metropolitan restaurant, and turned away more items ordered then consumed. I AM NOT A PICKY EATER!!! Far from it !! I am in the military and have traveled the world and have had to eat my share of MRE’s (meals ready to eat) so I have no room to be a picky with food. With this particular restaurant more times than not I left feeling unsatisfied; please note also that eating here is a 2 hour process with wait times between entrees being 10-15 minutes. We ate at the Olympic on the Informal night and it was WONDERFUL!! The atmosphere, the service and the food absolutely make the Olympic a most for a visit on the Millennium, I couldn’t stop raving about it the rest of the trip it was that great and the goat cheese soufflé!! Was a great entry to an even better meal. Funny thing happened while here, not ha-ha funny more like interesting funny, a woman walks in with a pair of JEANS on and a nice shirt, her husband comes in about 10 minutes later and mentions to the maitre d that he misses the old days when the Olympic was only formal wear and how they should make all men wear jackets everyday (mind you wifey is sitting next to him in JEANS!!) As a first timer and after all the threads I have read about the Olympic I have to admit I did not appreciate the double standard that this restaurant has, she should of never been allowed entry with the jeans on, on informal night no less. Me and BF talked about this a minute or so and quickly moved on to our main course, he had the duck which he now says is the best duck he has had in his ENTIRE life..lol.

 

*Note* If you aren’t a Captain Club member make reservation as Soon as you board, they book up quickly!

 

Ports- Puerto Rico we LOVED, took our own trip to Bacardi Factory and ate a local restaurant El Jabarito which was recommended from the Ports of Call threads and we had a great time. We spent $30 between eating and getting to the Factory

 

St Thomas- Went on the Underwater Boss Excursion, there were 5 ships in port that day and I overheard a local saying over 12,000 cruisers on the island between these ships. The excursion was fun and the crew fun and professional. Went window shopping and went back to the ship, we also had a great time here

 

Dominican Republic- Woke up, went out on our wonderful balcony as part of our morning ritual looked at each other and said at the same time…I think we are should stay on the ship today!! Which we did happily, I have a theory about this port. I think Celebrity throws in this mediocre port so that more people will stay on the ship and spend money. Now I’m sure there are things to do on DR if you do a bit of research but the place we dock combined with time restraints makes it an unappealing stop. I love to travel and I know that if I had a little more energy during this stop I would have been adventures and took to the streets of Caso de Campo…

 

Labadee, Haiti- The tendering was uneventful, easy and surprising QUICK!! We racked out at barefoot beach, rented a floating mat and lazily spent the day soaking up the sun. After 4 hours we decided to check out the shopping. Now this place is not for the faint at heart, my BF was semi arguing with them for bothering us, I mean they borderline attack you when you walk in the bazaar, but this my method. Ignore them all, matter of fact just act like you don’t speak English and they will quickly move on to the next weary consumer. When you see something you like, ask a price make an offer if they don’t sell, walk away, they will find you when they are ready to give it to you for your price. Don’t argue with them, you’re on vacation mon! LOL.

 

Disembarkment- Was the absolute worst, packed, crowded, hot…we were Blue and told to meet in the theatre at 9:35 for departure. I assume so late because we were driving and not flying..no problem completely understandable. But by 10 we were still sitting there with no updates for the cause in delay, communication is key. If they would have kept us informed of estimated time of departure, what colors were left to be disembarked and just talked to us it would of made a difference. When we finally get to the customs areas…they separated your luggage by tag color which is a great idea in theory, however, the set up did not accommodated the 100’s of frustrated passengers anxiously running to their luggage or the rude porters who cut in line and bumped people along the way. This definitely needs to be fixed.

 

Besides that great trip, great cruise line, would I do celebrity again probably, but they have not completely won me over I will try a different cruise line like HAL next time for comparison.

[CruisinNewb]

Thanks for taking the time to post this. It was nice to get a fresh perspective from a new cruiser like myself on Celebrity. Seems like your experience had both positive and negatives without feeling the need to rationalize either. Glad you had a great time. And thank you and your bf for your service.

[Texed]

this cruise was WAY better than I could have ever imagined. First a little about myself me and my boyfriend (BF) decided to take a cruise together after returning from a recent deployment (we are both in the military).

 

Thanks for your review, and thanks to both of you for serving our country.

[MrMugs]

Thanks for the balanced review! We will be on the Millie next month. We sailed on the Infinity when it was brand new and the Summit when it was a few years old. So, thanks to all the posters, we are prepared for a grand lady that is a little tired. The only things that really would bother me are the sticky carpets(ugh!) and moldy bathroom. We have AFT FV cabin 8181. Was that yours?

[wolfganghowell]

Thanks for the review - I'm with you on the goat cheese souffle! heaven. Sorry to hear that the main restaurant wasn't to your liking.

 

And thanks to you both for your service - you are appreciated.

[carlat78]

Thanks for your support we were in AFT 8166 and it was gorgeous to be able to get views from both the side and the back!

[GloBug]

TWe have AFT FV cabin 8181. Was that yours?

 

Mr. Muggs, I'll be in 8181 May 5 - 19, so I'll try to make sure the room is spiffy for you! I'll even leave you a hidden message. Look for it!

 

Carlat, great review. Thanks for the update on the condition of the ship. And thank you to you and your BF for your service.