Massive upgrades to Millennium / May 2009 drydock info

[Lsimon]

I also agree that this might just be a rumor. A press release is always in order when plans are finalized in order to maximize the public's awareness and thereby benefit from related sales and advance bookings. I too have heard of plans from ship staff that never came to fruition or ended up sounding a bit overstated.

 

And if you think of the Cinema and other nearby conference rooms as being non-revenue producing, think again. On most of my cruises we've noticed corporate or business groups that use these rooms for meetings and seminars - a necessary part of a cruise line's ability to attract these types of bookings. We also see them used for lots of other purposes too - including the ship staff's own training sessions. In fact it could be that a "hole" in the schedule is just that - a group charter. And even if it is a drydock the point has been well made that these are primarily mechanical and while there is a lot of interior work done in these times it very seldom approaches a full refurbishment - especially since many items are always replaced on an ongoing basis even while at sea.

[dkjretired]

I also agree that this might just be a rumor. A press release is always in order when plans are finalized in order to maximize the public's awareness and thereby benefit from related sales and advance bookings. I too have heard of plans from ship staff that never came to fruition or ended up sounding a bit overstated.

 

And if you think of the Cinema and other nearby conference rooms as being non-revenue producing, think again. On most of my cruises we've noticed corporate or business groups that use these rooms for meetings and seminars - a necessary part of a cruise line's ability to attract these types of bookings. We also see them used for lots of other purposes too - including the ship staff's own training sessions. In fact it could be that a "hole" in the schedule is just that - a group charter. And even if it is a drydock the point has been well made that these are primarily mechanical and while there is a lot of interior work done in these times it very seldom approaches a full refurbishment - especially since many items are always replaced on an ongoing basis even while at sea.

 

The Press releases usually are announced right around the time of the drydock if history holds true. The rumor mill will move on until next May...

[Lsimon]

The Press releases usually are announced right around the time of the drydock if history holds true. The rumor mill will move on until next May...

 

You're right.

I was thinking it was further ahead as the Century refurbishment was announced a full year ahead of time. But the much smaller Mercury and Galaxy work was announced just before the dry-dock. On the other hand while the Century was considered a true refurbishment, there were still a lot of unhappy cruisers on the Mercury and Galaxy who expected more.

 

Personally, I thought the Millennium, from a year ago, and the Galaxy, last March (just before some refurbishment on its May dry-dock), were just fine. While the ships didn't look brand new I had a fantastic time on both and didn't see anything during the cruise that gave me any reason to be disappointed. I know others don't feel that way. Nothing wrong with having that opinion, but those with it are probably better served going on a ship that is new rather than hoping for like new conditions on an older ship.

[dkjretired]

You're right.

I was thinking it was further ahead as the Century refurbishment was announced a full year ahead of time. But the much smaller Mercury and Galaxy work was announced just before the dry-dock. On the other hand while the Century was considered a true refurbishment, there were still a lot of unhappy cruisers on the Mercury and Galaxy who expected more.

 

Personally, I thought the Millennium, from a year ago, and the Galaxy, last March (just before some refurbishment on its May dry-dock), were just fine. While the ships didn't look brand new I had a fantastic time on both and didn't see anything during the cruise that gave me any reason to be disappointed. I know others don't feel that way. Nothing wrong with having that opinion, but those with it are probably better served going on a ship that is new rather than hoping for like new conditions on an older ship.

 

I agree, much of the regular maintenance can be done while at sea and they only need the drydock to do major things besides normal maintenance. I always thought that not putting specialty restaurants on Galaxy and Mercury was an indication they are gone. I think this thread proves the point about the rumor mill. We have three proposed drydocks for the same ship mentioned in this thread over the next two years and nothing announced by Celebrity. We shall just have to see.

[bububr]

One of our tablemates was an Employee of X/RCL and she stated a few things. First the short itineraries on Century were in response to book corporate meetings onboard and to attract the business client, which in effect failed. They are currently talking about what to do or not to do in this situation as she said and I quote " we were after a certain group of people and have attracted exactly the opposite of what we were looking for."

 

She has worked for X for a decade as an outside sales director and told us stories of how they would have employees wait on staff in the main didningroom or act as cabin attendants to understand the overall experience. We talked about perks and the rumors about the Captains club. She said they were just rumors.

 

If they are truly trying to attract corporate parties as she said I hardly see the elimination of the spaces that would assist in the securing of these ventures.

 

They were nice and gave us a few coupons that are used by employees. All I can say is with the exception of the "free drink at the casino bar", all the others were as worthless as the 'elite' ones they now offer.

 

I would however again emphasize a few things.

 

1. Meeting LoisR in Victoria and doing our oun pub crawl was a HIGHLIGHT of our cruise. For those who have not met Lois, please put that on your short list of things to do. She is an absolute Joy, and we look forward to our continued friendship and a possible future cruise with her.

 

2. Having known a lot of the staff especially Jean, chief housekeeper, Thank you,and the 'Galaxy Girls" for the gift of the great bathrobes for our 12 year anniversary. Its not often that a company appreciates not only your loyalty, but your anniversary...especially if you are two men.

 

3. Thanks to the Captains Club for organizing a "Connections party" on a three day cruise for us. Kudos to them for the effort, and the turnout was great. Something as small as this makes wanting to sail X again worthwhile. We have made so many new friends and put faces on many of the posts here on Cruise Critic.

 

Finally lets hope X can withstand the problems the world is having right now, and not jump to change too much as to alienate those who prefer the traditional way of cruising.

 

Dave:eek:

[dkjretired]

She has worked for X for a decade as an outside sales director and told us stories of how they would have employees wait on staff in the main didningroom or act as cabin attendants to understand the overall experience. We talked about perks and the rumors about the Captains club. She said they were just rumors.

 

 

Dave:eek:

 

That is an interesting comment about the rumors about the Captains club. Cruise critic members were told at the preview that someone had been hired to revamp the CC and they even gave his name. We had several threads on it. Apparently another individual without a lot of knowledge...

[Lois R]

That is an interesting comment about the rumors about the Captains club. Cruise critic members were told at the preview that someone had been hired to revamp the CC and they even gave his name. We had several threads on it. Apparently another individual without a lot of knowledge...

 

Hi Don:) I posted that information after attending the

July Sneak Peek about Solstice. The person's name who gave

out the information is Tommy Plummer.

 

Hi Dave, thanks for the kind words. It was wonderful meeting

you and John as well.:)

[ccletzgo]

Sounds like they are really planning to take some of Solstice's ammenities fleetwide. Hopefully, though, they will allow Millenium to retain the true X livery.

I would imagine that Murano is probably too similar to Olympic. When it was added to Century, it was bascially the same restaurant, just not using the naming scheme of the M-class ships' restaurants.

 

Maybe they will be adding AquaClass to the Millie (I doubt converting some cabins would be a complicated change) and the 2nd restaurant will be Blu? It seems highly likely to me. What does everybody else think?

 

I also think it's likely that her new carpets will be similar to the more modern carpet designs seen on Solstice. Maybe even some of the color schemes and furnishings will be changed to a more Solstice-type design in order to give the fleet a more unified feel once the 5 Solstice ships are in service.

 

I agree, I think it will be Blu... I will really miss the cinema, if thats where they are going to put it. I don't see any other place they could though..Along with flat screen t.v.'s I hope they add in cabin WI-FI.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Looking at the deck plans it seems that if a second specialty restaurant were added on Deck 3 (Plaza) you would either have a long skinny restaurant w/ windows or a windowless interior restaurant w/ an exterior hallway. Either is less than ideal. The only other option would be for the aft stair access on Deck 3 to be emergency only and have a mirror image to the Olympic restaurant.

 

If they went w/ Blu all CC cabins on Sky Deck could be re-categorised as AQ w/ only minor detailing changes - new bed covers, etc. This would net approx 100 AQ cabins - 200 pax total. Sounds about right. All other CC's could remain the same. Would be a good way to sell those Sky Deck cabins that have that horrendous overhang!

 

There would still be 128 or so CC cabins remaining on Penthouse, Vista and Panorama decks after this conversion. Less CC's overall would boost rates in that category and allow Cel to market the AQ at an even higher rate than those remaining CC's - all in a win for the bottom line.

 

Two meeting rooms could be created on the Sunrise deck in the side wings of the Cosmos - areas rarely used to capacity. Guest lecturers could give their talks in Cosmos, the Main theater or the Rendevous lounge rather than in the current cinema. The Main theater could be used for films as well. Would require creative and rather tight scheduling but definitely possible and will better use all spaces in the end. (Princess does it on most of their ships in a similar fashion as they do not have dedicated Cinemas)

 

Now I am not sure if all of this could be completed in a 2 or even 3 week drydock, but it could be possible if work were conducted 24/7. Some prep work could be done on the last cruise prior to drydock as well - removal of furnishings, a/v eqipment, carpets, artwork, etc.

 

Of course as there is no reliable source this is really all conjecture - though fun to think about :D

[marinearchit]

Scottamiller has an idea similar to what I was thinking. I think X realizes the under-utilization of the observation lounge-type venues, and would have no problem dividing a large part into a new area. They took the Port section of Hemispheres on Century and turned it into Xtreme. On Millenium, I'd assume the Stbd. section of Cosmos would be converted and the room would still be pretty large even with only the Port side left.

I'm thinking something like this...

It'd be possible to still have a cinema, just a much smaller one. Also, I think the meeting rooms that high in the ship would allow a much better backdrop with all-glass walls looking out to the ocean, rather than what is currently offered by the meeting rooms/board rooms. The generally higher ceilings in this area of the ship also offer a much more impressive setting.

 

I suppose it's also possible that they could convert the aft Ocean Grill (Not the Ocean Cafe, just the Grill part) to a true specialty restaurant. Silk Harvest or a Tuscan Grille type restaurant might fit wll back there.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

Here is what I was think for Cosmos - 2 Meeting rooms on each side, possibly able to be combined to form larger spaces - could be used in conjuntion w/ Cosmos as "breakout" rooms for larger conferences.

[AtlantaCruiser72]

And here is a quick idea of potential space usage to create a new Specialty venue and still have access to the aft stairs via publicly accesible corridors. Overall potential dining space for BLU would be slightly larger than the Olympic - certainly enough to seat 200 diners over two sittings.

[florisdekort]

Many of the things you hear on ships are rumors, but if you hear them at the Captain's Table I am pretty convinced much if not all of the above is accurate. Time will tell. Most of the crew is already in the know... The staff at Cova is openly telling everybody about Cafe Al Bacio and about people having been on the ship to work on the design. Most of them have seen an artist impression. The Maitre'D at Olympic is openly talking about the new restaurant. He claims it will be a steakhouse... at the Captain's Table however, this was not disclosed.

 

Rumor or not, I think much of it makes sense. After 8 years, an upgrade is much welcome and bringing some of the Solstice enhancements on board seems a smart move to me.

 

Floris

[dkjretired]

Many of the things you hear on ships are rumors, but if you hear them at the Captain's Table I am pretty convinced much if not all of the above is accurate. Time will tell. Most of the crew is already in the know... The staff at Cova is openly telling everybody about Cafe Al Bacio and about people having been on the ship to work on the design. Most of them have seen an artist impression. The Maitre'D at Olympic is openly talking about the new restaurant. He claims it will be a steakhouse... at the Captain's Table however, this was not disclosed.

 

Rumor or not, I think much of it makes sense. After 8 years, an upgrade is much welcome and bringing some of the Solstice enhancements on board seems a smart move to me.

 

Floris

 

I think a lot of what is said does make sense and I thank your for the report. I am skeptical because many of the past rumors that proved untrue came directly from the Captains table. Its fun to speculate but don't be disappointed if nothing happens...

[rolfecms]

I think a lot of what is said does make sense and I thank your for the report. I am skeptical because many of the past rumors that proved untrue came directly from the Captains table. Its fun to speculate but don't be disappointed if nothing happens...

 

You can bet that something will happen and it's just a matter of time before it does. Regardless of the rumor mill, there are certain verities that cannot be ignored. One of them is the m-class ships are aging - the Millennium is 8 years old this year - and they will need major refurbishment/facelifts in the not too distant future. The second is that for cruiselines it's all about incremental revenue - and one of the ways to reach that financial objective is with specialty restaurants. And the third thing is food - what =X= is known for. And fourth, there is a need to maintain competitiveness with the s-class ships as well as the other cruiselines - and that means more dining choices.

 

So while the specifics of what actually happens won't be known until the cruiseline formally announces it, these trends will become reality in one form or another. And it's fun to contemplate the possibilities on this forum.

:)

[dkjretired]

[quote name='rolfecms']You can bet that something will happen and it's just a matter of time before it does. Regardless of the rumor mill, there are certain verities that cannot be ignored. One of them is the m-class ships are aging - the Millennium is 8 years old this year - and they will need major refurbishment/facelifts in the not too distant future. The second is that for cruiselines it's all about incremental revenue - and one of the ways to reach that financial objective is with specialty restaurants. And the third thing is food - what =X= is known for. And fourth, there is a need to maintain competitiveness with the s-class ships as well as the other cruiselines - and that means more dining choices.

So while the specifics of what actually happens won't be known until the cruiseline formally announces it, these trends will become reality in one form or another. And it's fun to contemplate the possibilities on this forum.
:)[/QUOTE]

I agree completely and it is fun to speculate...Just don't go booking a cruise on the ship thinking it will have these things based upon Celebrity rumors...

[rolfecms]

[quote name='dkjretired']I agree completely and it is fun to speculate...Just don't go booking a cruise on the ship thinking it will have these things based upon Celebrity rumors...[/quote]

Don: You are absolutely correct - no one should ever book a cruise based on unofficial speculation. That's something I would never do but now understand some people are more easily influenced! :)

[Gold Coast Cruisers]

[quote name='Rouge Wave'][SIZE=3]I hope so, that ship sorely needs a refurbishment. Very disapointed in her condition. Yep, I got pics of what I speak of, will post on webshots soon. [/SIZE][/quote]

Is she really in that bad repair? We were thinking of maybe booking on her within the next couple of months?

[excitedofharpenden]

[quote name='marinearchit']Scottamiller has an idea similar to what I was thinking. I think X realizes the under-utilization of the observation lounge-type venues, and would have no problem dividing a large part into a new area. They took the Port section of Hemispheres on Century and turned it into Xtreme. On Millenium, I'd assume the Stbd. section of Cosmos would be converted and the room would still be pretty large even with only the Port side left.
I'm thinking something like this...
[IMG]http://i116.photobucket.com/albums/o29/marinearchit/Milleniumrebuild.jpg[/IMG]
It'd be possible to still have a cinema, just a much smaller one. Also, I think the meeting rooms that high in the ship would allow a much better backdrop with all-glass walls looking out to the ocean, rather than what is currently offered by the meeting rooms/board rooms. The generally higher ceilings in this area of the ship also offer a much more impressive setting.
[/quote]
I'm not sure that locale would be a very good idea. It's the part of the ship with the most motion and in roughish seas I don't think I'd be too happy eating a meal up there.

Phil

[rolfecms]

[quote name='excitedofharpenden']I'm not sure that locale would be a very good idea. It's the part of the ship with the most motion and in roughish seas I don't think I'd be too happy eating a meal up there.[/quote]

I believe the illustration was meant to show an alternative area for conference rooms if the ones on the aft plaza deck were eliminated to make room for a restaurant there.

[excitedofharpenden]

[quote name='rolfecms']I believe the illustration was meant to show an alternative area for conference rooms if the ones on the aft plaza deck were eliminated to make room for a restaurant there.[/quote]
Apologies. I read the diagram wrongly and see what is meant now. A re-run of the Poseidon Adventure during a force 8 gale in that cinema could be a new slant on the "Sensoround" experience. Could be fun:)

Phil

[Gold Coast Cruisers]

[quote name='Lois R']Hi Angie:) I see you are on the 4 night cruise in December
on Infinity. We have a roll call started for it~ please come say hello:)
I guess we will find what they did to her after we board the
ship:)[/quote]

Hello Lois,
I am trying to find out when Millie was last refurbished, or hasn't she been refurbished since she was launched??
Someone earlier on this thread said she is in need of refurbishment. Have you sailed on her recently?
We're wondering whether to book on her for Christmas/New Year...I noted your input on that thread, thank you.
So many decisions.:confused:

[Lois R]

[quote name='Gold Coast Cruisers']Hello Lois,
I am trying to find out when Millie was last refurbished, or hasn't she been refurbished since she was launched??
Someone earlier on this thread said she is in need of refurbishment. Have you sailed on her recently?
We're wondering whether to book on her for Christmas/New Year...I noted your input on that thread, thank you.
So many decisions.:confused:[/quote]

Hi,:) wish I could help you but its not to be....I don't want
to give you incorrect information. I have sailed Millennium once,
back in December 2006. So that is almost 2 full years.
The ship was launched in 2000 and I don't know how many dry
docks she has been in since that point. (I had a great time, but
that is not unusual for me).

I would tell you to click on the "review section" and read some
of them. Take the excessive of both sides out of the spectrum
and go from there.

Floris is on the ship now and seems to be having a wonderful
time but Rouge Wave clearly had issues with the ship.
So it really does give you some food for thought.

Sorry I couldn't be more helpful and I hope you have a great cruise:)

[tcdtcd]

Anyone have updates to the above? Still a rumor?

[Texed]

[quote name='wolfganghowell']. We are excited to get back on Millie and extra excited now that she is getting a "facelift" for us. :)[/quote]

[B][COLOR=darkred]So, when are you going? :confused:[/COLOR][/B]