Millie-Alaska 11 day (5/19) review

[lilant]

i must say this was a very relaxing cruise.

 

there were four of us, my BF and I, and our two friends.

 

US: two guys in our early 40's, with cruises under our belts.

THEM: bit younger, straight couple, 1st cruise EVER.

 

we decided to stay in san francisco over night. very nice hotel(argonaut hotel) on the pier. very easy to get to the ship in the morning. we started out the morning of the cruise at 10am got to the pier like in 10 minutes. there was a TA tour of the ship that morning so there were people already in the terminal. we waited about 35 min and check in opened up. there was a dash to the counters, but because we were concierge there WAS a separate line, and one also for suites. we were checked in and on the ship in 20 minutes. our room, 7212, a aft handicapped balcony was HUGH, and the balcony was HUGH also. pictures to come soon. our friends room was not ready, but did not take more than a hour. they had concierge too, but regular sized. having read all about the extra's included with concierge i right away hit up our room attendant for 2 foam pillows and 2 down body pillows. i also had him unlock the mini fridge and remove all the stuff for the the bottle of grey goose ;-) we also brought 3 bottles of wine and our friends brought 2.

 

the room was nice and clean. to the expert eye i could understand what people are saying about the wear and tear, but i wonder if i had not read it here would i have noticed it. i did not mention it to our friends and they knew no better. the room service breakfast menu is MUCH better then the regular one. VERY NICE. also, i did hand write items NOT listed on the card and received them no problem. the ship like i said is in need of TLC, but in NO way did it affect our cruise. they crew was always cleaning, painting,scrubbing ...

 

we had dinner in the main dinning room all but two nights. we had a couple of special request and the maiter d took care of them for us. our serves were, "walter and marsha" THE BEST !!!!! hands down. the food was good, and a couple of nights really good. the menu could use some work, but overall the mix was good. the lobster tail were good size, not the mini ones. one night we ate in "the olympic" rest. we really liked it. we had dinner served with the "wine pairing". everyone enjoyed it. the other night we ate at the "buffet" area which has sushi, stir fry, salads and pizza. i would have liked a bit more selection for dinner, but i survived. we had lunch most days at the buffet and some breakfast too. the waffles are still yummy. we got waffles and covered them in the orange butter, blueberries, granola and pecans.... OMG!!! back to the breakfast room service for a second. let me tell you about the juice. IT IS FRESH SQUEEZED AND VERY GOOD. there is oj, grapefruit, pineapple and carrot FRESH. they SELL the same juice for breakfast in aqua spa for $2.95 a glass. we learned very quickly, order room service for the juice and bring it up stairs to the buffet. also, the yogurt & granola parfait is VERY good. i really think it is home made granola.

 

ok, fist out ready to punch, but PLEASE, get with the times, NO SMOKING INSIDE !!!! what the hell? the casino was smoky, and the hallways smelled. i know i know, but really cant you smoke on "your side of the ship" outside. you want cancer go ahead i don't care, really. but that's one thing that really stuck out like a sore thumb. the trip to alaska was so nice the FRESH air, and then we would walk back in and it smelled like smoke. not alot, but it did. it just a shame they spend $100's mill(or what ever) on a ship, and it stinks. we were on deck 7 , and the penthouse was below us and they had people come and visit on the deck alot and the smoke just bellowed up. ok sorry, i got off track.

 

we went to the movies twice. there were a few chairs that had been taped off because they were broke. fix'em for god sake!

 

when we got on the ship the first day we went to the spa to book our treatments, i asked if we could buy the persian gardens by the day, and they said NO. but then two days later they were selling day passes. when we were on summit r/t LA to HI we bought the entire cruise pass because there were so many sea days, but here we only had like 4 so it did not make sense to me to pay $99 when i wasn't gonna use it alot. i would have bought a day pass though the first couple of days. the gym is in good condition and the spa too.

 

comparing the summit to millie, I think the aqua spa area looks better on the summit. those great big elephant heads and the jewels really set it off. the millie was quite bare. IMHO. i still sat in the pool though. also, i thought it was funny that on the millie they had put up glass dividers between the pool (aqua spa) area and the walk way. it made it seem closed in, again IMHO. the summit feels more open w/o the dividers.

 

BF and i did NOT go to the shows, just not our style, but our friends seemed to really like them.

 

cova is still a nice place to hang and drink, am or pm.

 

we bought 4 day trips.

1.helicopter, (pilots choice) VERY GOOD. $$$

2. kayaking, around a glacier, nice $$

3. zip line, very fun, $

4. white pass train, fun, $ (take the late train, less people and the ship will wait).

 

hubbard glacier (glacier bay) was just AMAZING !! THE ICE WAS ALL OVER THE PLACE IT REALLY ENCLOSED THE WHOLE SHIP ONCE WE WERE IN THE BAY.

 

 

we had a fantastic time, our friends wore themselves out trying to fit everything in... ahhhh to be a first timers !! they loved it..

yes the ship needs work, but my questions is, what the hell you looking at the floor for? look up and what is outside. i'm sure the cruise line is aware of the condition, and it's in lne for a face lift, but it did not affect the great time we had.

[CatServants]

Thanks for the detailed review. It's clear you and yours have great attitudes and had a great time.

 

Happy cruising!

 

Denise

[Beaniemom59]

Thank you for a wonderful review. We will be on the Millie in September and appreciate your view of the ship. You have a wonderful attitude about the ship and I wish more were like you. We too feel that there is bound to be some wear and tear but nothing that will ruin a cruise -- it takes a lot more than that to ruin 10 days away from work!

[LKN-NC]

Thanks for the review. We are considering the same cruise for 2009 and it sounds like it will suit us well.

[ktcruiser]

Thanks a lot for your review - we'll be on the Millie on June 13th and now I know to always order room service for bkfast for the juices!! The carrot juice will be a HUGE plus for my fiance... maybe I'll get him to want to cruise all the time rather than rough it climbing mountains and stuff. :D

 

-Karyn

[h-TownCruiser]

We were on the same cruise and your review would also describe our experience also.

 

Wasn't the weather in the Alaskan ports just wonderful? I agree that Hubbard Glacier (Glacier Bay) was incredible. I would add that our Captain took us much closer to the Glacier then the HAL ship in front of us.

 

Thanks for the review

[lilant]

Thanks a lot for your review - we'll be on the Millie on June 13th and now I know to always order room service for bkfast for the juices!! The carrot juice will be a HUGE plus for my fiance... maybe I'll get him to want to cruise all the time rather than rough it climbing mountains and stuff. :D

 

-Karyn

 

as long as you are in concierge, it's the "good stuff".;)

 

the weather was great!! i was there 14 yrs ago, and had the same sunshine. just my luck i guess. anyways had a great time.

[Gogetters17]

We too were on that cruise and it was absolutely amazing for us first time cruisers. I had read many negative reports about the Millie on CC beforehand but went with an open mind even about the negatives of our cabin (6030) which I'd read but truly, nothing deterred from the magic of the cruise. The service was brilliant; we found the food pretty good most of the time and well, as for the blue skies in Alaska, that was wonderful. Didn't need our thermals and could've worn shorts in Ketchikan and Juneau!!!

 

The ice surrounding the ship at Hubbard was stunning. I believe the next cruise got even closer to the glacier but our few hours there were lovely, especially having blue skies.

 

I can thoroughly recommend the Millenium.