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Celebrity Millennium--A Review Cruise Date--April 17, 2005 (Seven night Caribbean Cruise) (Millennium ship, Stateroom, Dining, Service, Entertainment, Spa, Kudos/Complaints) The Millennium is the first of the Millennium Class Celebrity ships taking to the seas in June, 2000. After five years, she is beginning to show some wear but is scheduled to go into dry dock for some refurbishing and preparation for the Cirque du Soleil entertainment that is now available aboard the Constellation and Summit. The layout of the ship was a welcome
change from the Queen Mary 2 on which we cruised
in December/2004. No dead end The grand foyer features an onyx staircase (steps are back lighted), and marble floors. The glass elevators to one side, look out to the sea--quite a nice feeling as long as you aren't seasick. We enjoyed the theater seating--cushy pews that are divided with armrests every two/three seats and a table for drinks spaced appropriately.
The conservatory is an interesting room with live and artificial plants. It features floral arrangements in the style of Emilio Robba. A music room, Notes, and the library, Words, are two quiet places to retreat from the outside world especially if you hit a rainy day. We found the Cosmos lounge on the Sunrise Deck was a quiet place during the day as long as there was no afternoon bingo game. It's in the front of the ship and has large windows that look out on the water for a great panoramic view. Online Celebrity gives you a place to
check e-mail and surf if you care to do that at .75/minute. You can rent a The kids' place, Shipmates Fun Factory, was located in the back of the ship on the Sunrise Deck. It seemed well attended. There were still some schools on spring break, so we saw a lot of kids. Art projects were posted on the bulletin board and one day we saw the young troops march up to the Sports Deck with hula hoops. I was tempted to see how they would manage those in the wind. Teens met at various places throughout the ship depending on their planned activity. Our stateroom was quite comfortable. We opted for an inside room this trip since we were taking advantage of a special cruise price--$799/person for a seven nights. Watch for those specials in late March-April. As we have found in all the Celebrity ships we have sailed on, there is plenty of room for clothes, lots of hangers, and a bathroom that is adequate. The room had plenty of space to move around even with the twin beds made into one large queen size. I was disappointed to see the small lotions and shampoos replaced by dispensers--seemed a little cheap, less classy and the lotion smelled bad. The nice lotions were one of the little things that used to set Celebrity apart.
The main dining room, the Metropolitan, is
beautiful. Our table was at the bottom of the grand staircase. The large I was happy to see the dendrobium orchids still gracing the tables and Bob was ecstatic to see the breadsticks still gracing the breadbasket. The food quality was good but not the excellence I remembered from past cruises (this was our 6th cruise with Celebrity). The presentation was not as elegant. It almost seemed like they were trying for more food on the plate rather than a pleasant portion that allowed you to try more courses--one of our dinner companions continually left half of his food on the plate. Someone who looks for quantity over quality would be well pleased though. Desserts were not particularly special. A few nights there were flaming specialties prepared somewhere other than near the table--cherries jubilee, crepes. The traditional Baked Alaska appeared on the second formal night. I think even the waiters are tired of Baked Alaska. Ours commented that not many people really enjoy eating it. Wouldn't it be nice if a cruise line came up with a new and unique "tradition"?
The Olympic restaurant--the specialty
restaurant on board--is spectacular in decor. Upon entering, we saw the
original
The Ocean Cafe/Casual Dining Boulevard was
quite nice. Normally we would eat in the main dining room for breakfast if
time allowed, but the buffet area was so nicely done, and there were so many
choices, that we chose the Cafe for breakfast almost every day.
Made-to-order eggs, omelets, and waffles were a treat. One late departure
night, we For lunch most every day, I chose the Aqua Spa Cafe at one end of the Thalassotherapy Pool. There were not a lot of choices, but it was always delicious. You could also get a fish dish prepared fresh if you wanted to wait about fifteen minutes.
Don't miss the special late night buffets.
There were two. One poolside and one in the Metropolitan. We had the most One thing that has not changed for Celebrity is the service. It is still quality and quantity. From the drink staff, to the waiters, to the cabin stewards, the spa staff, etc., the passenger is treated with the respect and efficient service which has marked Celebrity a notch above many of the other popular lines.
We were treated to four shows featuring the
Celebrity Singers and Dancers. One, I Love the Nightlife, is a new
show (Picture at left is from a backstage tour.) The string quartet collected a following throughout the week as they played in the Cova Cafe and Wine Bar (great cappuccino). Dance music in the Rendez-Vous Lounge before dinner, disco in the Cosmos Nightclub, piano music in Michael's Piano Club (the former cigar room) and the Fusion Band, who kept the music lively poolside, were some of the other entertaining venues along with the casino action. Golf lessons were available using the golf simulator, paddle tennis, dance classes, and lectures from acupuncture to digital photography were just a few of the other activities to keep you busy especially for those days at sea. Bob had a great massage, and I had a manicure and pedicure. They overbooked the salon and my pedicure was done in a makeshift arrangement but handled very nicely by the gal who was told at the last minute she couldn't use the regular setup. One advantage of Millennium's spa is that you don't have to sign up for a spa treatment in order to use the Thalassotherapy Pool. It is a warm pool that is more like a giant hot tub. Be warned though, it is a little treacherous in choppy seas. Kudos for embarkation!. Celebrity allowed us to board the ship as we arrived even though our rooms were not ready. We were asked to stay in the public areas of the ship, enjoy the lunch buffet, and tour the ship. An announcement was made at one o'clock that rooms were ready and we could proceed to them at our leisure--so much nicer than sitting in a cold impersonal waiting room on the dock. I thought the QM2 was expensive at 50 cents/minute for internet service but Celebrity has that beat--75 cents/minute! Thankfully, we got a coupon for 10 free minutes because of our select membership status. TV programming has changed. There were few free channels (although we thoroughly enjoyed the classics like the Andy Griffith Show). Now you must pay $9.95 to see a movie. Also, there are commercial breaks featuring various venues of the ship.
There seems to be a lot more commercialism these days aboard Celebrity. While they did adhere to the policy of not making a lot of announcements, when the noon update came from the captain, the cruise director jumped in with his agenda as well. Tons of paper came to our room each night advertising everything over and over again. I mentioned the pay per view movies and TV commercials. The cruise director's monologue at the end of each show droned on about all the opportunities available--most of which cost extra--the next day. In short, there are things that used to be included that are being separated out and promoted for extra revenue. The question is, is it saving passengers money or costing us more? QUESTIONS? I'd be happy to answer a question if I can. Contact me and I will get back to you as soon as possible. HAPPY CRUISING! ©Karen Robbins 2005 All text and photos on this page are copyrighted in my name. Please obtain permission for use.
Page updated 10/18/2008 05:41 PM -0600
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corridors and twisting hallways that were confusing. Food is at the back
of the ship. Entertainment in the front. And the lounges line the passageway
between the two. 
The Promenade Deck is a misnomer. You can
not "promenade" all the way around. If you want to jog/walk, go to the
Sunrise Deck (11). Once around is equal to about 3/8 of a mile.
window that graces the back of the two tiered restaurant is impressive and
offers a beautiful view but often was covered with a shade because
the sun was too bright. The shade itself was a work of art--a huge mural
of a European cityscape. 
wood
paneling from the Olympic, sister ship of the Titanic. Passing through an archway,
we found ourselves
in a Victorian style room where delicate music from a harpist filled the
room with quiet ambiance. The food that night was excellent. It was the
kind of meal I remembered having on our earlier cruises with
Celebrity--at no extra cost. Another noted change,
however, the specialty restaurant lets you choose only three courses
unless you order their special sampling meal where each course comes with
the proper wine pairing (another additional charge). A "surprise
appetizer" starts your meal which satisfies the advertised "four course
meal."
chose
to eat out on the back deck behind the Cafe. We had sushi from the Sushi
Cafe and then went in and sampled the buffet choices, returning to a
beautiful evening view of Casa de Campo as the sun set. Some evenings,
tables were set for casual dining in the Cafe--no extra charge, but
reservations were required.
delicious Beef Wellington at the Magnifique Gala Buffet--wish they would
have made that for dinner one night.
being
introduced aboard Celebrity ships. One of the others will be retired. All
of the productions were very well done, energetic, and attention
getting--especially with the Aerial Flyers, Gilles and Laure. A comedic
juggler, a magician, and another comedian rounded out the nightly
entertainment for the week in the Celebrity Theater. 
Floral
arrangements throughout the ship are beautiful--including the ones in
the ladies' restrooms. Did I mention the orchids on the tables? (The
orchid pictured on the left is actually from the rainforest in Puerto Rico
and is a phalaenopsis.)