Review of Sydney to Auckland 14 night Millennium Cruise. LONG

[rholbrook]

We were on this cruise also. Had a great time. Spent an extra day in Auckland at the Hilton, which is right next door to the pier. Did a food and winery tour the next day before flying home. Went to Sanfords seafood market, Sabato Deli, Elliott stables which had several small shops within the building then on to the wineries. Went to West Brook Winery, Nobilo Winery and Soijans. Had a delightful meal at Soijans. If you are looking for something to do for a half day tour in Auckland, I would highly recommend this one. I'll be glad to furnish the name to you if you want. Send me a message @ rholbrook@cox.net. Then I will stay out of trouble with the moderators about advertising companies on the site.

 

The biggest problem we had was getting onboard the ship. They had 2 lines that were over a block long to get into the pier. It wasn't until we got down close to the door that we

found the bottleneck was someone from X making sure you had your documents out and ready before you went upstairs for checkin. Once someone figured that out, they sent someone out to tell everybody in the line to find their documents before getting to the door. It was close to 1 hour before we got to the check in stations. Then we were on board in less than 10 minutes.

[bestz5403]

I'm a visitor on this thread, since we are doing B/B/B from Sydney to Vancouver, leaving on 3/29. I had heard some negative comments from a non-CC friend, so I dropped in to check your reports. I did not intend to comment, but the dress code is an issue close to my heart.

 

Celebrity positions itself at the top of the Large Ship cruise lines, and I believe its stated dress code is on target for this market. Ann and I live in Florida and we look forward to dressing up - I like to be able to show her off (so to say). I would insist on Tuxes for the men, since it does make evening a lot more special - considering the cost of the cruise, renting a tux, if you don't have one is not a major increase in cost. In my case, I own a tux, so it means I have 3 nights I don't have to worry about what to wear - same pants, jacket, shirt (I have it washed by Celebrity) tie and shoes. What a deal!

 

If you don't like the funny collar, straight collars with a formal tie or bow tie are in.

 

Back to the code: We just got off a Princess ship, not as strict a code, but they have one. A table of 6 came into dinner one evening, inappropriately dressed. One of the supervisors came over and asked them to leave. I never saw anyone denied entry or asked to leave the dining room on Celebrity, but they should enforce the rules.

[celle]

The biggest problem we had was getting onboard the ship. They had 2 lines that were over a block long to get into the pier. It wasn't until we got down close to the door that we

found the bottleneck was someone from X making sure you had your documents out and ready before you went upstairs for checkin. Once someone figured that out, they sent someone out to tell everybody in the line to find their documents before getting to the door. It was close to 1 hour before we got to the check in stations. Then we were on board in less than 10 minutes.

 

Again, I think that was the luck of the draw! We had intended to travel down the river from Parramatta to Circular Quay on the 12:00 River Cat ferry, but it was full, so we had to wait for the next one, at 1:30 PM. While waiting, we had a leisurely lunch at a nearby cafe.

 

We arrived at the check-in area about 2:45 PM and we were the only passengers checking in at that time. We went straight from one desk to another, and were on board very quickly.

[jewel queen]

We too were onboard the Millennium with Aussie Cruisers, and in fact we were in the cabin above them and often said hello over the balcony...."hello" again to Aussie Cruisers. I hope your little one is feeling better.

 

We had a wonderful holiday and enjoyed the cruise immensely. The staff were very friendly and it was delightful to see waiters carrying trays for older passengers and retrieving food from the buffet for mothers with small children.

 

The other passengers particularly the 1000 or so North Americans were great to travel with, being so polite and courteous in all the correct places and times like getting in and out of elevators, sharing the buffet lines and giving up seats on the shuttle buses for older passengers. They certainly added to the enjoyment of our holiday.

 

We would consider ourselves 'foodies' and love to wine and dine all the time, and as such did not have high expectations for the onboard food experience. We were expecting the buffet standard and were not too disappointed because it is consistent with our experiences on RCCI. The Sushi was a great addition and a very enjoyable pre-dinner snack.

 

I would agree with the previous posts that the inconsistency of the MDR experience was paramount in any list of possible issues that need to be addressed by -X-. Some dishes were excellent and would be worthy of any five star restaurant and then the next would be downright awful and not palatable at all. I am not sure of the reason for the inconsistency, but my guess would be inadequate staffing to meet the demands of a complicated menu and 1000 impatient guests.

 

Having said all that, it is still delightful to be waited upon and be served by willing and helpful staff. If the kitchen could match the MDR staff then –X- would be on a winner!!!

 

Consistent with what everybody else has been saying, the food standards are slipping but so is the price so we only get what we pay for at the end of the day.

 

The dress standard was not enforced which didn’t bother us, but our packing would have been significantly different if we knew beforehand. However, I would not want it to deteriorate too far because the sight of me in Speedos at dinner may put a few people off their food!!

 

2 things to watch if you are cruising in future with –X-;

 

1 The fuel surcharge refund was for us a nightmare. We willingly spent the expected OBC only to be told after many attempts that we would not be getting it back at all because we did not pay it (wrong). Then we were told that it was already paid to our TA on December 8(wrong), and then finally from our TA that it was to be paid at some future date to them and that ‘at some stage’ in the future we would receive it back. I am glad that it will somehow make it back to us, but I would have preferred to know about it before cruising so I could have made different arrangements for its use ie I would have either saved it or spent it onshore and not on the boat. I would check the status of this before sailing because not even –X- seems to know what is going on with the refunds.

 

2 I checked my credit card today to find that - X- had converted my onboard account from USD to AUD before charging my Credit Card even though I told them on three separate occasions that I did not want them to convert the amount before charging my card (on-line, at embarkation and at guest relations before the end of the cruise).

Why would they do this after telling me till they were blue in the face that they were not going to do it? My bank has informed me that they will not credit me the bank charges associated with reversing the charge and getting –X- to do it again so I am left with no option but to let sleeping dogs lie. To make matters worse they have not even used the exchange rate they quoted on my final account slipped under the door of our cabin, but another rate much to my detriment. Please check this, but after my experience you wonder why we even make the effort!!!

 

How can a company be this inadequate at Customer Relations and still make a profit? The mind boggles, or maybe the executive chef is making all the meals in the MDR himself to cut costs....now I am onto something !!!!!!!

 

Hi. We are going on the Mar. 29 cruise to Aust/NZ. I do not know what OBC is. What is the best way to deal with it?

 

Also, I don't understand the problem with converting of USD to AUD before charging your credit card. Can you explain this to me?

Thanks,

jewel queen

[bestz5403]

Hi. We are going on the Mar. 29 cruise to Aust/NZ. I do not know what OBC is. What is the best way to deal with it?

 

Also, I don't understand the problem with converting of USD to AUD before charging your credit card. Can you explain this to me?

Thanks,

jewel queen

 

I am also on the 3/29 sailing SYD>AUK, and have read this thread with great interest. I don't recall seeing you on either the SYD>AUK or the SYD>AUK>HON board, and I hope to see you there.

 

First, On Board Credit (OBC) (aka 'Shipboard Credit) is a credit to your on-board spending account usually put there before you begin the cruise. Normally, it can only be added by the Cruise Line or your travel agent. If you book a trip while on-board, most cruise lines will provide an on-board credit as an incentive. Some travel agents provide an on-board credit as a way of thanking you for doing business with them. Some cruise lines, will give an OBC to stockholders - but you must initiate the process and provide them with proof of your owning stock.

 

OBC's are just like cash - they reduce the total of all charges made on board, and the process is automatic. If you have an OBC, you don't have to do anything to have it applied.

 

Now about the conversion of currency. We won't be effected by this since we are US residents and the cruise line makes the assumption that the credit card we use is based on US Dollars. That is not true with non-US residents. The cruise line assumes that the credit card is based on the currency of your homeland and will convert charges to that currency before charging your card. All RCCL ships use US Dollars as their base currency.

 

I don't know why the Millennium converted the charges after being asked not to by the passenger. It could be that the Credit Card they used only uses Australian Dollars, and to get paid, Celebrity had to convert the charge.

 

Again, OBC is good - Money Conversion is not an issue.

[Ships R Great]

Jewel Queen---BestZ

 

Can you do me a favor? When you are on board, if the Orchestra Director is Jeff hughes could you give him a "hello" from Patty and Ed in Virginia? He is just the nicest person. You will enjoy meeting him.

[Napi's Mom]

HokiePoq, your name reminds me of my very favorite bumper sticker: "What if the Hokey Pokey really IS what it's all about???" :eek: Cathy

My 2nd Grand-daughter I gave the nickname "Hokie Pokes" because she was named Hope....sorry I did she became the pokiest child to do anything with (has since improved and is now 18) Be careful what you nickname anything...might become a self fulfilling prophecy! We didn't have any stand up comedian on this cruise, except the CD who thought he was one (didn't care for him or his jokes...reminded me of Dick Shawn for you old folks like me out there who might recall him..."It's a Mad Mad ...etc World, "I'm coming Mama...":D)

[granparent]

Review of 14 Day Australia and New Zealand Cruise on Millennium

Hi Friends! We’re back, and here is a quick synopsis. I will post later about the ports, but wanted to get this down. I have kept my style informal, so sorry about grammatical errors – I am still on holidays!

 

Overview – We had a wonderful holiday and all issues aside, the ship was lovely and our holiday was enjoyable. Our issues are not with the staff on the ship, but rather the failure of the company to honour its “product,” that is, to enforce rules that are clearly stated in the dailies, and treating noisy passengers who demand things differently as “special” and therefore above the rules. I believe that if Celebrity had faith in its own product, they would stick by it as the silent majority (including us) happily obeyed all rules, no matter how seemingly inconvenient as this is the cruise we wanted. Sadly, we did not have the elegant cruise, but rather a very casual one. I suppose the rumours were true for us, and the Olympic Waiter did tell us that they were no longer intending to enforce rules, as was very clearly shown to us on the last night. More of that to come – sadly.

 

1)Boarding.

Sydney Port Authority tried their best, but sadly the process was drawn out and arduous. It took us an hour to simply get through customs and security (which naturally has nothing to do with Celebrity). My parents who were cruising with us followed us a few hours later and it took them three hours to get on board. There were frayed nerves, but once onboard, we were so glad to see the smiles of the crew.

 

2) Condition of the Ship

As I said above, Milli is lovely. I deliberately looked for flaws and made mental notes. I honestly found so few I feel embarrassed to mention them, but I will. There are many spent light globes in the Platinum Lounge, and the light fittings are very dusty. The carpets are serviceable. The seats are very comfortable, and I really like the décor of the Metropolitan and my favourite place is the Platinum Lounge. The art is excellent and in good order. We were in CC Cabin 6143 amongst the suites. The curtains were new, and the balcony door also looked very new. I know this as I compared the décor with three other cabins I saw. So – as I said, I am embarrassed to mention the minor details, so considering the wear and tear on this ship, it feels very new. However, to give you a different view, I met very briefly an American couple at “Brunch” and they had cruised on NCL, RCCI, HAL and Disney and when I asked about the ship, their exact words were “The ship is shoddy.” I was honestly surprised, but as I had a sick son wriggling next to me and wanting to have a hold, I could not ask for specifics. After this comment I gave it more thought as I wanted to see what they meant. It then dawned on me what they may have meant is that the main carpets are a mixture of peachy apricot colours with dusky blue. A very dated combination that really was not my cup of tea. While the carpet was clean and not worn, it looked old and tacky – which does make the ship look old and ugly in places. This is my idea of why people feel that the ship is in need of repair – some colours are more desirable than others. I may be wrong.

 

3)Food

I have been on two cruises – Infinity and Millie. As we all know, sister ships, so I have a fair comparison. The food on board was hit and miss. Now, in no way am I being ungrateful. I am grateful that I was blessed enough to cruise and the food was decadent and plentiful. What had changed in the years between the cruises however was the temperature of the food and the quality. I noticed that hot food was actually very cool. I even went to the pool grill 10 minutes prior to it being opened and was first in line to see if the food was hot. Well, the hot chips (French fries) were stone cold. They had obviously been sitting there for a while and I assumed that they would be fresh but I ended up throwing them away. This is what happened consistently. Food would be wasted not for the taste, but the poor preparation. Also, I noted that the pastries were not “fresh” but were often two days old, and this makes a big difference to the flavor profile. I believe that if Celebrity simply made sure that food was fresher and not sitting around for 24-48 hours prior to serving, it would have made a very big difference. One last point. The ice-cream. The only thing you could count on is that it was melted before you got it to your table. This is so sad as the waste was making me feel so guilty. I asked for one scoop and after two mouthfuls, it was already liquid. Clearly the fridge was not working. I did ask about it and was told it needed to be replaced. I was not sure as any electrician knows – freezers are so easy to repair. Surely the sparky onboard could have gone ashore in Sydney to get the spare part? Mate – I would have gone to grab it! The waste was heartbreaking. Plus – I loved the icecream – for the few moments I could eat it!

 

The Metropolitan. This was the area of the greatest variance. We ate there at breakfast once and decided to not return. It is hard to put my finger on, only that it didn’t taste very good. I sat there trying to work out why things had slipped, and I can not figure it out. It was not the best, so we stuck to the buffet for breakfast.

Lunch – it was worse than breakfast.

Dinner – hit and miss. The food was well presented (not as good as M.Roux) but was bland and the descriptions were unclear. The desserts were the biggest let down for me. I am a pastry cook buff and cook all our desserts at home, so while I have no idea about cooking mains (entrees) I know a lot about desserts. They were poorly prepared. For example, the NY Cheescake -very poor. Obviously not prepared properly as it was too heavy and the base was awful. Also, I imagined a tall/deep one, but it was not really a NY cheesecake, but rather a regular vanilla cheesecake. May be a minor detail, but any pastry chef worth his salt would not have been proud. I ate a bite and didn’t bother with the rest. Every night I hoped for a winner, and was disappointed.

I went for the “Elegant Tea” with my 14 month old son and wife, and while we had a lovely time, I was very saddened with the experience. The rules for the restaurant dress was clearly stated in the daily as well as on a sign when walking in. For the elegant tea, think back to the “Informal” dress code. Jackets and the like. Well, we spent 20 minutes getting ready and my wife wore a beautiful Summer dress and 4 inch heels. What a sight! Well, we didn’t need to bother. We were the minority. I saw too many to count – people in jeans, flip flops, sandals, sweat pants and sweat shirts (we call them tracksuits in Australia) as well as slightly better. The whole bottom floor was packed and the noise was amazing. Again, I am comparing it to my last elegant Tea on Infinity. A small group of people, plenty of service. I was actually turned away as I was wearing trousers and a tie but I had forgotten my suit jacket and was told to go back and get it. HORRAY FOR THE PAST! Well, I wish all the people who disobeyed last week were sent back as with the restaurant full, the servers were inundated and the service was terrible. They also ran out of food. So, I guess they still cater for a small group, but as they are not enforcing the rules, they need to rethink the catering. I raised the issue with two waiters I was familiar with and they both said that dress codes were no longer to be enforced at all.

 

CC Class Room Service Breakfast. This was hit and miss. The first time it was ordered it was very ordinary and we barely touched anything. I felt awful at the waste, so didn’t think of reordering. After a week into the cruise, we tried again and it was all delicious. We thought it lived up to the hype! Well, we decided to order it for the day of disembarkation. BIG MISTAKE. It was awful. The toast shattered. No, I am not kidding. This is not a problem as we only had to run upstairs, but it was clearly made hours before or even the night before and had been sitting under a heat lamp. Too funny. The freshly squeezed OJ which the time before was the best juice I had had in a very long time, was now so watered down I could not drink it. It was like water with pulp and a bad taste! Not a problem, but talk about inconsistency of product!

 

The Olympic. We went twice. The third and last night of the cruise. Both times were lovely and I have no complaints about the food (I am dreaming about the G.C.S) except for the clear breach of policy. While eating, in walked a family with two children. As I am a teacher, I immediately guessed 10 and 12. I was right (as I was told later). Yes, they were behaved (as they should be for all the people ready to defend children!!!) but this is still wrong. I have a child and yes it would have been nice to have him with us blah blah blah. Rules are rules, and I wanted to dine in an area WITHOUT children. I am not a bad person for this. A few minutes after the children in walked “Lady in Jeans.” Sigh. I spoke at the end with the door man (sorry, I am not sure if he was the MD or not) and he said in relation to “Lady in Jeans” that she told him that they were designer jeans, so as it was the last night of the cruise and it was quiet, it was fine. Well, no one asked me if it was fine. I then said I was very disappointed that children were in the restaurant as it was my understanding … you know the rules – blah blah blah I explained to him very nicely. He said that this particular family had been hounding them all cruise and they had denied them all cruise, but it seemed they had worn them down, and they allowed them on the last night as it was quiet. He then said as they were well behaved and dressed nicely it was all okay. I said (again nicely) that it was not okay, and that I was disappointed.

 

A note on this “special” family. I have three clear instances with them and it is very sad that =X= are sucked in by people like them. When we boarded we headed to the Fun Factory to get a treasure chest of toys for DS. Well, in walked “Mr and Mrs Special with children” who after being told their children didn’t qualify for pagers stated that they wanted one for many reasons. Yeah, they got one. They were “special.” Later on the cruise, I heard about a group of 4 boys terrorizing Deck Seven. My wife and Mum were nearly knocked down by them – heaven forbid they knock over an elderly person or person with a disability. Well, while in their cabin I heard them “Knock and Run” us accompanied by clomping feet down the hall. I put on my teacher voice and followed them. There they were pulling out an emergency door to block the hallway. I spoke with them, only for “Master Special” to tell me it was not him. Are his parents so gullible? Then, in Auckland on the afternoon after disembarking, I was descending the escalators to the Auckland Tower entrance and was looking into the gift shop to see small footballs being tossed high up into the air against the wall, making a huge mess. Guess who? “Master Special.” Well, “Mr Special” went to talk to him, and no, there was no cleaning up or dressing down of “Master Special.” I am so glad that “Master Special” is not in my class as he would be in for a rude shock. Back to the cruise…

 

Cova Café. I really enjoyed this area. The drinks there were excellent and very well priced. Even taking into account that they are more expensive for us (due to currency conversion) they were a little cheaper than drinks in Sydney City. We loved the pastries too.

 

4) Staff.

I found them to be good to excellent. So I was really pleased and they were better than the staff of our last cruise. As DS needed lots of naps, we stayed on the ship a lot (well, our excursions ashore were short) so we got to know Valerie and Ben from the activities staff and they made our cruise. If you see either of them, take the time to chat as they are both wonderful people. Also, Shirley (from Melbourne) who is the HR Manager is lovely and we ran into her in the Cova Café a few times.

 

5) Entertainment

This was AWESOME. I don’t use that word too liberally. My favourite was the couple from Melbourne, STRING FEVER. They received STANDING OVATIONS! Yes, they were so amazing. Also, =X= have a new production of dancers and singers from the UK, and they are terrific as well. I don’t know why they had to put on American accents (as they were awful imitations IMHO) but maybe that is what American cruisers want to hear? I also enjoyed the other smaller groups that are scattered around the ship! My only gripe was that I didn’t get to see enough as I was being a Dad (which is my job after all!) looking after DS. I did enjoy the casino – I am not a gambler, but I enjoyed the “vibe.” DS loved the blinking lights, and I did enjoy the vibe on busy nights.

 

6) Other.

Okay, one small thing (that was rectified – thanks =X= !!!) was that when the cabins were opened, our bathroom was not cleaned. While the towels were new and the amenities were all full, there were tell tale signs of “previous inhabitants” in the shower and toilet. I won’t go into details. Let’s say there were MANY signs! Well, our attendant admitted he didn’t clean it (I love honest people – so refreshing) and we had it scrubbed and bleached from top to bottom – it took one chap 45 minutes to do the job. So, we were chuffed as there is no way that is ‘normal’ for all cabins on changeover. We had a very very clean bathroom!

 

Smoking. We had some lovely neighbours from America and sadly they loved to smoke and they were upwind of us. I don’t feel it is my job to enforce the rules – that is the job of the staff right? Well, we all know where this is going. Sadly we didn’t use the balcony as much as we wanted as it was strong and as DW is pregnant we felt we would be better off staying away from the smell. I didn’t want to complain as they would have known it was me, and they were so lovely! Anyway, it is not my job to enforce it – it would have been obvious to the butler as I knew that he knew – but obviously he didn’t say anything as he would have been told that =X= doesn’t enforce the rules. That is wordy…. Basically it seems the old smoking policy still goes – amongst the suites anyway.

 

I will post about the ports later when I have time!!!

Please post questions!

Mark.

 

 

:(Hello , I am just back from a 14 day cruise on Millenium from Auckland to Sydney and the word to describe it is disappointing. We booked this holiday expecting something special, it was for my husbands 70th so we wanted 5* treatment. Alas we would not give it 3*. The cruise is sold as 5* which I consider mis selling. The food is the worst I have had on any cruise line. The dress code is not enforced on formal nights we saw people in cut offs, jeans and tee shirts.

 

My advice don't cruise on Millenium you WILL be disappointed, in future I will stick with Cunard who know how to look after their passengers.

[Ships R Great]

:(Hello , I am just back from a 14 day cruise on Millenium from Auckland to Sydney and the word to describe it is disappointing. We booked this holiday expecting something special, it was for my husbands 70th so we wanted 5* treatment. Alas we would not give it 3*. The cruise is sold as 5* which I consider mis selling. The food is the worst I have had on any cruise line. The dress code is not enforced on formal nights we saw people in cut offs, jeans and tee shirts.

 

My advice don't cruise on Millenium you WILL be disappointed, in future I will stick with Cunard who know how to look after their passengers.

 

I am so sorry your cruise was not up to expectations. It is disappointing when things fall short. I hope your next cruise, on Cunard, is better.

 

Isn't it interesting when the same cruise strikes people differently? I have seen it happen time and again.

[ikelmay]

Hi all - just wanted to give some input on our recent AKL-SYD 14 day on the Millennium. As we don't 'do' formals and dressing up, we skipped the formal night dining, but were very surprised at the huge percentage of tuxes, suits and smart dresses in evidence around the ship - I really wouldn't have said on our cruise that there was a dressing down - in fact, quite the contrary.

 

Everyone has a different perspective - this is our third cruise with X and although the ship is over 10 years old, it fares much better than our previous X vessels, the Galaxy and the Mercury. I agree that there is some minor wear and tear, but I really liked the layout, the lack of queues at the buffet and the ambience of the ship.

 

As to the food, I would agree that most cruise lines are cutting costs here and the standards overall are dropping. We loved the Olympic restaurant, but goodness, it was a huge meal to have to tackle.

 

We both thought the resident singers and dancers to be excellent - probably one of the best troupes we have seen. We were also fortunate to be entertained by 'String Fever'..... and it was also the first time I've seen a spontaneous standing ovation on a cruise ship for a guest artist. If you get a chance, they really are first class.

 

Overall for us, one of our best cruises - wonderful ports of call, lovely fellow guests and apart from the horrible morning trying to get into Dusky and Doubtful Sound, terrific weather.

 

If anyone wants any more information, feel free to ask.

[haircut4u]

Interesting thread. My mother and I enjoyed a similar cruise (Queen Victoria to Syd. and home to Auck on Sapphire Princess) last year and therefore booked this one. (This time going to Syd. on Queen Mary 2). Your review is disappointing as I have been on numerous liners 'round the world and I really like to try different and good food.!

 

What is concerning me is thay last night I was told that Millenium would be at anchor in the Harbour and that tenders would operate from the bottom of Hickson Road. Did you embark at Circular Quay? Embarkation is always a shambles and patience is the keyword. Just hope March 01 isn't too painful.

 

Garry

[dirt cheap traveler]

I too was on the same cruise (hi Mark and Katy and Max....thanks for taking time for the review). I've been on lots of cruises and if you sit down and make a list you can always find something wrong somewhere. But the positives outweighed the negatives by far. I cruise because it's cheap, I don't have to keep unpacking and repacking, I have the opportunity to get to know lots of people from all over the world, and I see some wonderful places. The ship is not new, neither am I, so we both had some "wrinkles" to deal with. That's life. The food wasn't as great as past X cruises, but I still managed to gain 5 lbs...even with walking 8 flights of stairs a number of times each day. The staff more than made up for the tough steak I had one night, the gorgeous views of the sounds made up for the torn up carpet on the top deck. I'll forget all those negative things before long but I'll be left with a lifetime of wonderful memories....especially of the great senses of humor those Aussies have cultivated.

[weislett]

It is fascinating to read the different reactions to the Millennium cruise experience. We just returned from the 1/18 sailing Auckland to Sydney. Our final impression: mediocre. The ship was worn and shabby and it had nothing to do with color scheme. We were on level 9 in a concierge room. The shower tiles were cracked, the grout filthy, the shower curtain moldy. The metal trim around the sliding doors was rusty. The furniture upholstery was stained (and probably dirty.) The sheets were frayed. There were dust bunnies everywhere. And this was just our cabin. The food ranged from poor to average with the only exception the Olympic (at $30/person) and the alternative dining on Deck 10 for dinner. Service was uneven. Though our waiter in the main dining room worked hard, the beverage person ignored our table. We didn't drink enough. I felt lucky to get a diet soft drink at 9:30 one evening. The spa cafe at lunch and breakfast was okay but the regular buffet was very disappointing. One exception: the sushi at 5:30 , according to everyone was great. As far as the entertainment, I don't get it. We had late seating so our day was more relaxed after visiting a port. Why would the entertainment for us be scheduled at 7:00? The whole point was NOT to be rushed. At the shows I did see, the singers and dancers were talented but the staging and choreography were terrible. I've seen better at high school performances. String Fever? 10 minutes of them was more than enough. I paid a high price for laundry and the clothes had stains and smelled musty when they were returned. On a positive note, I needed to see the ship's doctor at one point and the service was terrific. Only a minor medical issue, but I was seen immediately and she had everything I needed.

 

Celebrity nickels and dimes you at every opportunity. Cost of the internet: outrageous. The steam room: $18, equally outrageous. A manicure, including mandatory gratuity, was $55 US. There was no way it could be worth it. There were no headphones in the fitness center for the equipment. Running for 45 minutes without TV was boring beyond description. $12 for a yoga class in the middle of the busy, noisy fitness center? Whose brilliant idea was that? And tips are now mandatory. On prior cruises we always tipped the suggested rate, AT A MINIMUM. But to have tips put on our bill as another charge, without notification prior to reserving the cruise, was wrong. Celebrity should increase the cost of a cruise to include staff wages and be clear about the total cost.

 

As far as dress codes, most people dressed appropriately and looked fine, but then I don't go on a cruise to compare evening clothes.

 

We met some nice people and enjoyed the ports, though they were rushed. But a large cruise boat is not in our future.

[Napi's Mom]

Hi all - just wanted to give some input on our recent AKL-SYD 14 day on the Millennium. As we don't 'do' formals and dressing up, we skipped the formal night dining, but were very surprised at the huge percentage of tuxes, suits and smart dresses in evidence around the ship - I really wouldn't have said on our cruise that there was a dressing down - in fact, quite the contrary.

 

Everyone has a different perspective - this is our third cruise with X and although the ship is over 10 years old, it fares much better than our previous X vessels, the Galaxy and the Mercury. I agree that there is some minor wear and tear, but I really liked the layout, the lack of queues at the buffet and the ambience of the ship.

 

As to the food, I would agree that most cruise lines are cutting costs here and the standards overall are dropping. We loved the Olympic restaurant, but goodness, it was a huge meal to have to tackle.

 

We both thought the resident singers and dancers to be excellent - probably one of the best troupes we have seen. We were also fortunate to be entertained by 'String Fever'..... and it was also the first time I've seen a spontaneous standing ovation on a cruise ship for a guest artist. If you get a chance, they really are first class.

 

Overall for us, one of our best cruises - wonderful ports of call, lovely fellow guests and apart from the horrible morning trying to get into Dusky and Doubtful Sound, terrific weather.

 

If anyone wants any more information, feel free to ask.

You have about the same reaction as I to some of the entertainment...(the "Troupe" was good...still stand by my estimation that what they did to "Phantom" that last night was a travesty though, you don't sing 2 great songs simultaneously!) String fever and the last singer were very good.

 

About that day trying to enter the "Sounds"...that was MY birthday... and earlier in the day as I tried to balance on my aft balcony to get a decent photo and video of sailing in near hurricane winds (It was VERY spectacular from our deck 7 balcony...my photos don't do it justice!) I said to myself "Happy Birthday"...and went back to bed to read a book, being in an accessible cabin is great for the size, but as I walk with cane, I couldn't balance walking across the room (hallways were easy, you just bounce from side to side:D). But when we got into Milford Sound...I again said "Happy Birthday!", in quite a different tone...it was Awesome...I took about 50 photos, my DH nearly as many. I was hard to believe we were in that close to those towering cliffs. Because of the haze my photos do not really do it justice, but it really took our breath away!

 

All in all with all the shortcomings, it was a very memorable vacation, mostly due to the people we met both onboard and in those two wonderful countries!

[jewel queen]

I am also on the 3/29 sailing SYD>AUK, and have read this thread with great interest. I don't recall seeing you on either the SYD>AUK or the SYD>AUK>HON board, and I hope to see you there.

 

First, On Board Credit (OBC) (aka 'Shipboard Credit) is a credit to your on-board spending account usually put there before you begin the cruise. Normally, it can only be added by the Cruise Line or your travel agent. If you book a trip while on-board, most cruise lines will provide an on-board credit as an incentive. Some travel agents provide an on-board credit as a way of thanking you for doing business with them. Some cruise lines, will give an OBC to stockholders - but you must initiate the process and provide them with proof of your owning stock.

 

OBC's are just like cash - they reduce the total of all charges made on board, and the process is automatic. If you have an OBC, you don't have to do anything to have it applied.

 

Now about the conversion of currency. We won't be effected by this since we are US residents and the cruise line makes the assumption that the credit card we use is based on US Dollars. That is not true with non-US residents. The cruise line assumes that the credit card is based on the currency of your homeland and will convert charges to that currency before charging your card. All RCCL ships use US Dollars as their base currency.

 

I don't know why the Millennium converted the charges after being asked not to by the passenger. It could be that the Credit Card they used only uses Australian Dollars, and to get paid, Celebrity had to convert the charge.

 

Again, OBC is good - Money Conversion is not an issue.

 

Thanks. We don't do the OBC. We just charge on our charge card. So there is no problem with money return.

I haven't registered yet because I'm still not sure how to use this tool. There are so many places that I have gone that I'm not sure how to get back to them to answer questions. I've put them on my favorite list. Is there a better way to do this?

[Napi's Mom]

Thanks. We don't do the OBC. We just charge on our charge card. So there is no problem with money return.

I haven't registered yet because I'm still not sure how to use this tool. There are so many places that I have gone that I'm not sure how to get back to them to answer questions. I've put them on my favorite list. Is there a better way to do this?

On board credit isn't something you "DO", it's a gift essentially, from either the travel agent or cruiseline...which gives you X amount of dollars credit to use toward your onboard account...sometimes as small as 50$ or some many 100$. If you'd paid a fuel supplement up to a certain time, you got it back as OBC. Since your tips, drinks and excursions etc are all added to your account, it can pay for these. Nobody would turn the credit down. I can't believe you'd not "Do" them if you had one coming???:confused:

[jewel queen]

Jewel Queen---BestZ

 

Can you do me a favor? When you are on board, if the Orchestra Director is Jeff hughes could you give him a "hello" from Patty and Ed in Virginia? He is just the nicest person. You will enjoy meeting him.

 

I will try to remember. I wrote a note to myself.

We've cruised a number of times and I've never heard of this! How do I find out about it?

I'm going to try and register but I'm still not sure how to get back to my questions other than putting this page on my favorites!

 

Thanks for the info about OBC. Let me know how to get it!!!!

 

Wendy