Back from refreshed Millenium!

[kk99]

Hi everyone,

I'm just off the May 22, 2009 Millenium sailing, the first one after drydock. I have scanned all of the Celebrity Today dailies, spa menus, internet access, and Captain's Club coupons and events for our sailing. Since it is so much material, I've set up a webpage with the scans in pdf format. I'll try and get pictures posted in the next day or two for you to see. The link to the scans is at https://sites.google.com/site/milleniumalaska/Home

 

My first impressions of the refreshed Millenium(this was my 3rd time on the ship) are that it was clean, with carpet ,bedding, drapes updated in the cabins along with the installation of flat screen tvs in the suites and concierge class cabins. Wifi signal was weak in our cabin, but very good signal strength in the Cova Cafe. The buffet was not changed into stations as it is on Solstice, and probably would take at least 2 more weeks in a drydock to change it. The finished putting the boldt decking outside by the pool and outside areas on the 2nd day of our cruise. The gym and spa got fresh paint and the spa got new massaging pedicure chairs, and the gym got new spin bikes and some other updated equipment.

The new menu now has items that can be ordered every day and on the right hand side of the menu, items for that day's offerings. I think it will improve in the following weeks as service gets it down better. The spa had lots of sales on services by midweek, and the staff is very engaging. The casino still has the old time slot machines which paid little if anything no matter what denomination you were playing, and it only had one poker table which was with an automatic dealer, not a live one. The shows were better than before, but not the big production shows of the Solstice.

The Captain, Zsis Taramas is one of the nicest people you could hope to meet. He went out of his way to talk to the passengers and make everyone feel welcome. The new Captain's Club hostess Anna Duwel is excellent and a fine addition to the Millenium. While onboard, I purchased Next Cruise certificates for both Celebrity and RCCL as the amount for onboard credit is now the same for the two lines. Embarkation and disembarkation were very easy and handled well. If you use US dollars in Canada, they take them but any change is given back in Canadian currency. You must also have your passport with you any time you cross into Canada, including if you travel from Skagway to the Summit(in Canada).

We did whale watching in Juneau and float plane trips in Ketchikan into Tongass National Forest, as well as going to Mendenhall Glacier in Juneau. My new favorite Celebrity expedition was a trip to Jewell Gardens in Skagway where we went to a glass shop, and helped make our own ornaments(which are shipped back to you), walked through the garden and had tea before returning to the ship before noon, which left us time to do another excursion that afternoon. The weather was near perfect, and everyone was so very friendly in all of the ports we visited. The service was very good on the ship and our attendants Gene and Lydia were just great.

We participated in most of the ship activities and made lots of new friends. If you haven't done Alaska yet, the scenery is awe inspiring, and in some respects better than the Fjords and Baltics cruise we took with Celebrity a few years ago. If you have any questions, please ask, and hopefully I'll be able to answer.

Kelcie

[nps001]

Thanks for the review and update. Quick question---were you in a Sky Suite and Gene was your Butler? We sailed on Millie a few years ago and if it's the same Gene, he was incredible---the best we've had!

[sunshine 229]

Did you have any occasion to order room service (other than breakfast) and if so what was the selection on the room service menu like?

[kk99]

Hi, We were in a celebrity Suite, and Gene Ipac was the butler. He is an absolute gem, and a wonderful example of the best of Celebrity. We did order room service for dinner, and we ordered off the regular dinner menu. We also ordered lunch one day from the room service menu in the room, and the selections were good. I ordered a pasta dish, and the other person ordered a hamburger, and chocolate chip cookies. I believe they will accomodate you even if you want something not on the room service menu. They had very fast delivery times once you called for service. Most of the crew has sailed with Millenium for several years, and it is evident on the service. I always got up early to get fresh waffles with raspberries and blueberries from the buffet, so I could sit outside and watch the scenery and the wake from the ship. The weather for May was just about perfect.

Kelcie

[kellyteach]

Thanks a lot for posting this! very informative. I can't wait for my June 12 cruise NB.

[Andy]

Hi Kelcie !

 

Thank you for the update. I'm happy to hear you had a great time on Millennium. Welcome Home !

[sengil]

Thanks! Those are great! We are going on the Infinity on June 19, almost the same itinerary and it gives us a great chance to plan, even if its not exactly the same schedules.:)

[tech-lab]

kelcie: which CS were you in? Also, was there a guest lecturer on board? You got home just in time to enjoy the hot temps here in TX!!

 

Ann

Godley TX

[WNcruiser]

Glad to hear you enjoyed Millie as much as we did, and that was pre-drydock! We were in a SS and had Lydia as our cabin attendant, she was absolutely the best room steward we have ever had.

 

Our room was spotless and Lydia always made sure to say hello whenever she saw us. We wrote her (and Alfred our butler) very nice comments on the guest survey. Alfred was also outstanding, excellent service.

 

I really wish they would have changed the buffet however. We encountered some terrible wait times, and it was unorganized.

 

Steve

[sunshine 229]

Thanks so much for the room service info,kk99.

 

I won't be in a suite but a CC room and I am looking forward to enjoying a few meals on the balcony. Even if it is a bit chilly in Alaska in September, I'll bring a couple of fleece tops so I can enjoy my time outside.

[msd360]

Also, was there a guest lecturer on board?

 

According to the dailies, Graham Sunderland was the naturalist on board as rumored, but it seems he conducted only two formal lectures. Another guest lecturer apparently talked about sports. This was a RT itinerary, and Millie is doing NB and SB for the remainder of the season, so YMMV.

 

I also am curious about Mr. Sunderland's plans for the remaining sailings.

[Solstice23]

Great to hear, My mom and is taking her sister for her 50th birthday this July with a group of 15, they all have CC rooms and we loved the Tv on the Solstice I guess its the same now?

[spencerdrivecruiser]

Thanks for your very informative information.

 

Much Appreciated

 

 

Spencer

[baby]

thanks for the review

 

can you tell us if there was any night life and music and dancing at night???

 

what kind of music was there (band wise) and DJ wise

 

did they put new cushions on the loungers at the pool?

 

thanks Carol

[Texed]

Kelcie,

Thanks for the nice review. :)

[Napi's Mom]

Hi, We were in a celebrity Suite, and Gene Ipac was the butler. He is an absolute gem, and a wonderful example of the best of Celebrity. We did order room service for dinner, and we ordered off the regular dinner menu. We also ordered lunch one day from the room service menu in the room, and the selections were good. I ordered a pasta dish, and the other person ordered a hamburger, and chocolate chip cookies. I believe they will accomodate you even if you want something not on the room service menu. They had very fast delivery times once you called for service. Most of the crew has sailed with Millenium for several years, and it is evident on the service. I always got up early to get fresh waffles with raspberries and blueberries from the buffet, so I could sit outside and watch the scenery and the wake from the ship. The weather for May was just about perfect.

Kelcie

We weren't crazy about the old room service lack of choices (We were quarantined for 2 days and had little choice but to use it!)BUT their special Hamburger was really great and so were the fries. We rarely eat Hamburgers, but this one was great! Coffee was usually cold, and the CC special items didn't do it for us...not as special as everyone claimed !

[kk99]

In response to the questions, we were in Celebrity Suite 6104 which allows views forward to the bridge and some view to the rear. The adjoining cabin only has views to the rear and the window washing equipment ladder is parked outside one of the windows. They did have new cushions on the Solarium deck chairs, and dark blue pads on the pool chairs which appeared to be new. They also had blankets for each chair for those who wanted to sit outside and watch the views. The Concierge class tvs are flat screens but are freestanding and not mounted on the wall. They sit on top of the cabinets. As far as nightlife, Rendez-Vous lounge had waltzes, foxtrots and the like every night. The disco played pop, rock and disco depending on the whim of the dj for the evening. There was also a string quartet who played outside Cova Cafe most evenings who were very good.There was some pretty outrageous dirty dancing by the film crew from South Africa, and everyone seemed to have a good time. We crashed out by 1:30 a.m. or so because we had some early morning tours.

The lecturer Graham Sunderland did his 2 lectures but also did the narration the entire time we were cruising to Hubbard Glacier. I met him on the bridge and got to talk with him. He was very informative and he will be doing some of the Millenium sailings. He also had a great pair of eyes to spot wildlife at Hubbard Glacier.

 

You will not be bored on your cruise, as there are lots of things to do onboard and enough variety for everyone's tastes in my opinion. You definitely should book one night at the Olympic Restaurant as it is worth every penny of the upcharge, fabulous service and food. Dinner lasted three hours, and we still didn't want to leave. It was even better than the last time that I remember.

The two best CC class cabins on the Millenium are 6143 and 6144 which sit in between suite cabins. They have larger balconies with the nice teak decking, although the interior of the rooms are about the same size as other CC cabins. We did get to see one of the two Penthouse cabins, and other than the flat screens, drapes, carpet and bedding, it looked the same as before, enormous!

any other questions, please post. I know everone will have a great time on the Millenium.

Kelcie

[bellebaby]

Hello.

 

Attached are photos that will show the bedding, carpet, and drapes after the drydock. We were in a Royal Suite on the 6th floor.

 

B

[valandjerry]

kk99

Hi would you happen to have a layout of the main dining room table numbers? we are sailing on April 2010 and have a group of us who would like to sit together on the second floor railing and a table number would be great to give to my TA when he makes the request.

[MacThespian]

Hi, We were in a celebrity Suite, and Gene Ipac was the butler. He is an absolute gem, and a wonderful example of the best of Celebrity. We did order room service for dinner, and we ordered off the regular dinner menu. We also ordered lunch one day from the room service menu in the room, and the selections were good. I ordered a pasta dish, and the other person ordered a hamburger, and chocolate chip cookies. I believe they will accomodate you even if you want something not on the room service menu. They had very fast delivery times once you called for service. Most of the crew has sailed with Millenium for several years, and it is evident on the service. I always got up early to get fresh waffles with raspberries and blueberries from the buffet, so I could sit outside and watch the scenery and the wake from the ship. The weather for May was just about perfect.

Kelcie

 

Thanks for the update. We'll be sailing Millennium again in July, and now I'm looking forward to it more than ever.

Do you know if you can get fresh waffles from room service? (We'll be in a CC cabin, if that matters.)

Thanks again!

[kk99]

Hi everyone,

The only fresh waffles on our sailing of the Millenium was on the very back station by the outdoor deck of the buffet. You could get them with room service, but I doubt them would still be extra warm. I always went up early before regular breakfast, got them and took them back to the room to eat. They had butter, whipped cream, fresh raspberries, blueberry mixture, syrups etc to top them with. Never had to wait for them as I went when they opened the station at 7:00 a.m. I am addicted to waffles! I don't have a current seating chart as we were downstairs by the Captain's table on Table number 415. I'll ask my friend's what table they were at, because they were upstairs on the railing. It was still light when we went to dinner at 8:30 p.m. so those who sat by the windows could still see scenery as we were mostly within view of land on most evenings.

Kelcie

[MacThespian]

Hi everyone,

The only fresh waffles on our sailing of the Millenium was on the very back station by the outdoor deck of the buffet. You could get them with room service, but I doubt them would still be extra warm. I always went up early before regular breakfast, got them and took them back to the room to eat. They had butter, whipped cream, fresh raspberries, blueberry mixture, syrups etc to top them with. Never had to wait for them as I went when they opened the station at 7:00 a.m. I am addicted to waffles! I don't have a current seating chart as we were downstairs by the Captain's table on Table number 415. I'll ask my friend's what table they were at, because they were upstairs on the railing. It was still light when we went to dinner at 8:30 p.m. so those who sat by the windows could still see scenery as we were mostly within view of land on most evenings.

Kelcie

 

Thanks for the info--I hadn't even thought about getting warm waffles that way. Now you've got me really hungry! I'm going to get up early just to get them.

I really appreciate your taking the time to post the details.

[Andrew9999]

Thanks for the info--I hadn't even thought about getting warm waffles that way. Now you've got me really hungry! I'm going to get up early just to get them.

I really appreciate your taking the time to post the details.

 

 

You can drop some in to me on the way back to your room. ;)

[MacThespian]

You can drop some in to me on the way back to your room. ;)

 

Be glad to. After all, youth must be served!

[StephenH]

Glad to hear you had a good trip. Can you tell us if they replaced the fake orange trees in the aqua spa pool as they were looking really sad on the Hawaii to Vancouver cruise. thanks!