Celebrity Millennium Review And Ship Tour
Tour The Refurbished Celebrity Millennium
According to Celebrity’s marketing department, in February 2019 the Millennium was “revolutionized” as part of a massive $500 million fleet-wide program. I, however, will refrain from using the term “revolution” in favor of “refurbishment” so as not to end up with a Tracy Chapman song stuck in my head for the next three days. “Don’t you know, they’re talkin’ about a revolution.” Crap, too late.
In any case, the Millennium re-emerged with redesigned cabins and 30 entirely new cabins (one of which I stayed in – go here for a complete review and tour of both a refurbished and new cabin), and fully re-imagined public spaces.
Here’s my admittedly low-quality, but thorough and hopefully better-than-nothing cell phone tour of the refurbished Millennium to get you oriented:
Embarkation: Feel Like A VIP As You Board The Celebrity Millennium
Upon being greeted warmly with a complimentary glass of champagne or sparkling wine (I’m not sophisticated enough to understand the difference) as I stepped over the threshold to board the Millennium for my first ever Celebrity cruise and my first b2b, I figured someone had alerted the crew as to my status as a Professor of Cruising and warned of the public review likely forthcoming.
I politely accepted and proceeded to walk back out and re-board three additional times, but felt it my ethical obligation to inform them that my cruising students (N=3) count on me for unbiased information and that I simply can’t be bought. Besides, if they really wanted to grease my pen, a private meeting with the captain and premium chocolates delivered to my stateroom would go a lot further.
But it turns out that every adult receives a complimentary glass of this delightfully carbonated and alcoholic mystery beverage (kids and those who don’t drink are offered orange juice), even inconsequential cruise bloggers booked in the cheapest cabin category who will disembark after 14 days with an account balance of less than $100.
But Then Later Wonder If You Boarded A Spring Break Fun Ship By Mistake
In addition to the free booze, there was another embarkation procedure unique to Celebrity that didn’t leave me feeling pleasantly relaxed and euphoric. Instead of receiving my ship card at the check-in desk and proceeding to ding it in upon embarkation to officially signal the start of my cruise, I boarded with a paper boarding pass and later picked up my ship card from my cabin door. While I’d certainly take the sparkling wine (we’ll call it sparkling wine from now one, because that’s easier to spell) over the ding, the paper boarding pass didn’t seem very official and left me feeling a bit uneasy.
And when I woke early the next morning to take in the views from deck 11 and was greeted with these (that’s an abandoned ice cream cone, a stray slice of pizza, and a wine glass stashed in shrubbery) plus a public restroom with no toilet paper and overflowing trash cans, I thought maybe I’d boarded a spring break fun ship by mistake.
Thankfully, that was an anomaly (perhaps they were short-staffed the night before) and deck 11 was so clean and well attended to from that point forward that one day my “running” hat, stashed under the leg of a lounger (because it kept blowing off my head due to wind) while I barely managed a slow and labored jog around the track, was immediately snatched up by a crew member thinking it was garbage. In fairness, and as expressed in response to her copious apologies as I shouted from across the deck, “wait, that’s my hat!,” it’s covered in sweat stains and has a giant, conspicuous hole in the front panel and a shredded bill.
Now, in an attempt to salvage this review (“it’s not garbage!”) let’s move on to food, as it was meant to be eaten, not off the floor of deck 11 (although I have to admit I did consider it – that was a perfectly good slice of pizza!), but soaked in water and shoveled into my mouth like I’m trying to both win a year’s supply of free ketchup and prove that petite older women can eat way more than you think!
Dining On The Celebrity Millennium
I should mention here that I’m a vegetarian, but also that I was joined on this sailing by Mr. Cruise and “H,” my 6 year-old teaching/travel assistant and son. So this section will include input from a true full-blooded, meat-eating American and a wee one with early onset cruise addiction.
While we didn’t eat at any specialty restaurants on this sailing, I’ll cover the buffet, main dining room for breakfast, lunch, and dinner, The Spa Cafe, the Al Bacio coffee bar, the Pool Grill, and room service. You can also find all menus for the specialty restaurants (as well as the complimentary restaurants and bars) here.
The Oceanview Cafe (Buffet) On The Celebrity Millennium
Let’s start in the Oceanview Cafe, since that’s likely the first place you’ll eat upon embarkation, unless you end up in the medical unit with a broken arm after being shoved out of the way by an overeager Prof. Cruise (my sincere apologies and wishes for a speedy recovery).
I hate to burden you with another grainy video, but well, here:
Things I Loved About The Buffet On The Millennium
- Overall quality and selection. Overall, I found the flavor and quality of most items on the buffet superior to many other lines I’ve sailed. There were a wide variety of items to choose from and, even after 14 days of eating most breakfasts and lunches, and 6 dinners there, I hadn’t tired of the food. See me in the maternity jeans I had to bust out of storage upon my return to Seattle as proof.
- Good for special diets. As a vegetarian who can’t drink cow’s milk, I really appreciated how friendly the Millennium buffet was to those with special diets. There were separate vegetarian and gluten free sections, non-dairy milk easily available to everyone on the breakfast buffet (without having to track someone down to request it), and all items were clearly labeled as to whether they were vegetarian, gluten free, lactose free, or sugar free. The labels were hugely helpful for me when it came to certain items like soups and sauces and set Celebrity apart from many other lines that still aren’t providing similar labeling. I also appreciated vegetable broth and vegetarian sauce being available at the ramen and stir-fry stations.
- Made-To-Order Stations. There were made-to-order omelette and eggs benedict stations at breakfast, a pasta station at lunch and dinner, and one additional rotating station at lunch and dinner (ramen, stir fry, etc). They offered a wide variety of ingredients to customize one’s order and were served hot and fresh. The pasta station was my favorite and I recommend a blend of pesto sauce and alfredo – the pesto because it’s green and you can delude yourself into thinking your dinner is healthy and the alfredo because it’s decidedly indulgent and more appropriate for vacation.
- Pizza. The pizza was quite good for cruise ship pizza and there was always cheese, pepperoni, and two additional rotating options available. There was also delicious, crispy garlic bread (grab some to go with your pasta!) and a calzone available.
- International Entrees And Desserts. With the exception of the Indian food, which I’ll get to shortly, I really enjoyed the international offerings, especially the savory breakfast items and the desserts. After spending six weeks in China over two summers, I developed a love for rice and other vegetable dishes as breakfast fare and really enjoyed those on the Millennium. There was generally either vegetable fried rice or vegetable noodles, congee, and one or two additional rotating items with lots of Asian condiments to customize them.
- Whipped Cream And Butters At Breakfast. While I enjoy savory items for breakfast, I always pair them with a giant stack of something sweet: waffles, pancakes, or french toast. And on the Millennium I topped my carb tower with whipped orange butter, warm maple syrup, and fresh whipped cream. The whipped butters were a delicious touch I’ve never seen on other lines.
- Hard Ice Cream. Homemade hard ice cream and sorbets were a highlight of the Millennium. Rotating flavors (try the cinnamon!) were available in the buffet and were delicious and of high quality. There were also a number of toppings available.
- Afternoon Tea. Tea Time took place every day from 4-5pm in the buffet and, along with a selection of teas, included delicious biscuits with fresh cream and strawberry jam along with donuts and other pastries and light snacks. I kept looking for the queen, but suppose she wouldn’t have approved of the mountain of cream on my biscuits and the way I manhandled the tea I’d clumsily poured into an insulated coffee tumbler and chugged with two hands.
Things I Didn’t Love About The Buffet On The Millennium (aka problems of privilege)
- No Utensils On The Tables. On most other ships/lines I’ve sailed, there are containers on each table containing utensils wrapped in cloth napkins. The containers are constantly refilled by buffet staff and, without trays available, save a circus-like balancing act, an extra trip, or a frosting covered hand (I lack patience while in the company of dessert) when you realize you have four slices of cake, but no fork to eat them with. No biggie, but if given the choice, I’d prefer the utensils already be on the tables.
- Drink Service. While bar servers would immediately descend upon guests – before their expanding rears even tested the sturdiness of the post refurbishment buffet chairs – to sell them a drink, I never saw anyone serving complimentary water, juice, coffee, and tea like I’ve experienced on comparable lines. It’s possible that, had I asked, they would have. But no one ever offered and I didn’t want to burden servers if that wasn’t their responsibility. Again, this isn’t a big deal like, at all, but between the utensils and drinks and with a child to help and manage, I probably burned at least 10 calories going back and forth before shoveling approximately 14,000 into my face.
Prof. Cruise Extra Credit Pro Tip
If you don’t plan on ordering anything from the bar, turn the plastic drink menu sitting on the table onto its side. This indicates that you don’t need bar service and the servers won’t come around and ask you.
- Mild Indian Selections. I grew up in a community with food so bland and boring, that if you showed up to church functions or funerals with anything other than a casserole layered with potatoes, canned soup, and mild cheddar, you’d have kids poking at it with disgust: “ew, what’s this?” So suffice it to say, I don’t have a high tolerance for spice. But somehow as an adult I love ethnic foods, which I typically order at a spice level 2 out of 10, with Indian being a favorite and one of the things I look forward to most when it comes to cruise dining. But I was disappointed in the buffet Indian food on the Millennium (except for the desserts which were excellent), finding it too bland, even for me.
Breakfast In The Main Dining Room On The Millennium
While I wasn’t that impressed with the breakfast selections in the main dining room (I find the breakfast menus on Holland America and NCL so much better) and found it impossible to ever get ketchup (I know, I know), it was nice to enjoy a more relaxed pace.
Prof. Cruise Extra Credit Pro Tip
If you’re looking for an egg dish, I’d skip the frittata and go with the classic french omelette.
Apple Pancakes with Scrambled Eggs and Hash Browns
Classic French Omelette
Greek Yogurt Frittata
Vanilla Flavored French Toast
Lunch In The Main Dining Room On The Millennium
Lunch was only offered from noon-1:30pm in the main dining room on sea days (and was not open on embarkation day), but provided a nice alternative to the buffet. While the menu is limited, the selections I tried were quite good and Mr. Cruise particularly enjoyed the cheeseburger.
Chilled blueberry soup
Southern fried chicken
Wild mushroom polenta
Cheeseburger
Pear yogurt clafoutis
Key lime pie
Dinner In The Metropolitan Main Dining Room On The Millennium
We had Celebrity select dining, meaning we didn’t have a set dinner time and could show up to eat at the Metropolitan Dining Room on deck 4 anytime between 5:30pm-9pm. We stopped by the podium on the first night and made a standing reservation for 5:30pm because Mr. Cruise and I are old, both chronologically and at heart and first assist each other in removing our orthopedic shoes before retiring by 9pm to dream of finally winning at bingo: “BINGO!” However, we publicly assign the blame for our early bedtime to our 6 year-old who has, truth be told, been out-partying us since the cord was cut after he popped out proclaiming: “finally, she’s so boring!”
You can also make a dinner reservation using the Celebrity App or you can just show up without a reservation and stand in line (there are separate lines for those with a reservation and those without).
Prof. Cruise Extra Credit Pro Tip:
The meTROPOLITAN DINING ROOM GENERALLY OPENED 15-20 MINUTES prior to the printed time of 5:30pm. arrive by 5:15pm for prompt seating and to avoid crowds.
Things I Didn’t Love About Dinner In the MDR On The Millennium
We were seated at the same table by a window each evening with the same wait team: Chonwarich, Pavlo, and Andre. While they were professional and friendly and worked extremely hard, service was slow, with most dinners lasting two hours or more with a particularly long wait between the main course and dessert. Once we mentioned to Chonwarich that we were trying to make the early show each night, he tried very hard to speed things up as much as possible. We appreciated this and expressed our understanding and patience when things took a bit longer. Still though, it was a long time for “H,” our 6 year-old to keep Mr. Cruise and I entertained.
Besides a clear shortage of wait and kitchen staff leading to the long waits, these high-backed dining chairs, while very chic looking, were a terrible design choice as they were extremely difficult and awkward to move and made serving to the person sitting in them almost impossible. Celebrity would be wise to ditch them in favor of something more practical. I can only imagine the colorful language probably used to describe these chairs down in staff quarters each night.
Things I Did Love About Dinner In the MDR On The Millennium
But now that we have a few negatives out of the way, there was so much I loved about dinner in the Metropolitan Dining Room (main dining room). Two things stood out that really set Celebrity apart from other lines for me. First, each night the bread basket (standard on all lines) was served with three delicious butters – one was always regular whipped butter and the other two were rotating flavors. Trying “tonight’s butters” always made for a fun start to the meal and is a good topic of conversation if you’ve been married too long (“Is that a new dress, honey?” “No, I’ve been wearing it regularly since 1995.”) or are seated at a table with strangers who are wearing plush cat ears and tails and sporting diamond studded collars for elegant night: “We’re furries!” “Okay….so, how about this garlic butter?”
Second, I appreciated having a separate vegetarian menu available. While there were vegetarian items on the regular menu and I was fully prepared and happy to order from them, once Chonwarich discovered that I was a vegetarian, he provided me with a vegetarian menu each night. The unique thing about the vegetarian menu on Celebrity is that it’s available to anyone (just ask for it), is different every evening, and you do not have to place your order the night before, like on Holland America.
This cemented my impression of Celebrity as being the most vegetarian friendly cruise line I’ve sailed.
Overall, Mr. Cruise, “H,” and I enjoyed the quality and flavor of the food at dinner in the MDR. While it wasn’t hugely better compared to other lines and should still be described as cruise food, I’d rate it slightly higher than any other line I’ve sailed (Carnival, NCL, Holland America, Princess, and Royal Caribbean). Mr. Cruise particularly enjoyed the soups and ordered at least three each night (jeez, no wonder dinner service took so long!), “H” recommends anything with cheese as the main ingredient, and I loved the chocolate lava cake so much, it actually replaced this as one of my favorite cruise desserts.
Here are menus and food pics from our first 7 day sailing (the menus were repeated on the second leg of our b2b):
Millennium Main Dining Room Dinner Day 1
Belgian endive-arugula salad
Roasted carrot cumin salad
Organic roasted red beets
Chilled coconut Thai soup
Cream of wild mushroom soup
Home-style pork chop
Spinach and ricotta ravioli
Cheese plate
Chocolate cherry triffle
Dulche de leche crema catalana
Ice Cream Selection
PB&J sundae (kid’s menu)
Millennium Main Dining Room Dinner Day 2
Chilled pear and honey soup
Yellow corn soup
French onion soup
Stuffed mushroom caps
Classic “Ceasar” salad
Tomato watermelon salad
Leek vegetable tart
Stuff portabello mushroom
Shrimp, scallop, and smoked cod fish cake
Phyllo dough star
Ice cream selection
Warm apple crumble a la mode
Chilled strawberry soup
Millennium Main Dining Room Dinner Day 3
chick pea tomato soup
Wild watercress salad
Barolo braised mushroom ragout
Grilled New York sirloin steak
Vegetarian lasagna
Fried masala potatos
New York cheesecake
Chocolate lava cake
Cherries jubilee
Millennium Main Dining Room Dinner Day 4
Creamy butternut squash soup
Grilled asparagus salad
Shaved fennel and citrus salad
Beans cassoulet
Toasted Israeli couscous cake
Tiramisu
Strawberry shortcake
Ice cream selection
Millennium Main Dining Room Dinner Day 5
Cream of broccoli soup
Creamy truffle polenta
Spaghetti vegetable bolognese
Barolo braised short ribs
Cajun spiced drum fish
Vegetable korma
Olive oil cremeux
Creme brulee
Apple pie a la mode
Millennium Main Dining Room Dinner Day 6
Chilled pea soup
Kale salad
Double baked blue cheese souffle
Scallops Rockefeller
Creamy wild mushroom risotto
Beef wellington
Spaghetti with marinara sauce
Baked Alaska
Millennium Main Dining Room Dinner Day 7
Chilled leek and potato vichyssoise
Chicory salad
Chop chop composed salad
Homemade gnocchi al quattro formaggi
Mac n cheese (kid’s menu)
Spiced Louisiana gumbo
Butternut farrotto
Cannoli “tutti-frutti”
Whipped passion fruit curd
The Spa Cafe On The Millennium
While the Spa Cafe alone can’t replace the International Cafe on Princess as my favorite complimentary fast casual dining spot, combined with Cafe Al Bacio (up next) it would, despite the necessary long walk between deck 10 and deck 5 (I really am as lazy as I sound).
The Spa Cafe is located on deck 10 in the solarium and is open for breakfast (7am-10am) and lunch (noon-2pm). It offers freshly prepared juices and smoothies for an extra charge and complimentary healthy and delicious food options. Most items are served buffet style, but a few are ordered (oatmeal, acai bowl, soup, and vegetable wrap).
Breakfast At The Spa Cafe
Juice/smoothie bar (extra charge)
Energy bars and build your own acai bowl
Breakfast selections
Acai bowl and avocado bruschetta
Lunch At The Spa Cafe
Apple oatmeal cookies and ficelles
Lunch selections
Lunch selections
Spinach salad, lentil and cucumber salad, and sesame udon salad
Vegetable wrap (must order, takes 10 minutes)
Cafe Al Bacio
Cafe Al Bacio, open from 6am-midnight, is a combined coffee bar and bakery with a large selection of espresso drinks, coffee cocktails, and teas for an extra charge and complimentary (even if you don’t order coffee) breakfast pastries and desserts (including several gluten free options) available to eat there or “to-go.” Everything we tried was delicious with the exception of the iced popcorn frappe which was disappointing. I especially liked the almond croissants, coconut macaroons, and German chocolate cake. One day while I was waiting to order, I was introduced to the head pastry chef and momentarily considered how I might kidnap her. But prison has notoriously bad food and a felony conviction would severely limit my ability to cruise, so I thought better of it.
Complimentary breakfast pastries
Gluten free muffins and macaroons
Complimentary desserts
German chocolate cake
Tia cappuccino
Aspen coffee
Pool Grill On The Millennium
Hidden in a corner near the main pool and easily missed, the Pool Grill is open from 11:30am-6pm and is a great place to grab a quick burger or hot dog with a variety of toppings. There is also a vegetarian burger available, but it takes about 10 minutes to cook.
Vegetarian burger with fries
Room Service On The Millennium
We’re all known for something. For me, it’s my equally disturbing and disgusting ability to sweat out all the water in my body (the average adult human body is 60% h2o) in a single one hour gym session and still survive to cuss out my rusting spin bike (“see you tomorrow *******”). And for Celebrity it’s her ability to remain resolute in the face of crushing pressure from her peers to smoke in a ditch behind the school while feasting on stolen cafeteria pizzas. Oh wait, that was also me. But Celebrity has managed to resist peer pressure too, from other lines determined to nickel and dime their way to increasing profits by, for one, charging for room service.
Room service, including hot breakfast items, remains complimentary on Celebrity. And while the selection is fairly limited, the items we tried were delivered hot and fresh and within the specified time frame and were delicious. Take my advice and pick a night to stay in, deadbolting your cabin-mate(s) outside. Wrap yourself in a soft complimentary robe, turn on a complimentary on-demand movie (for which there were 5 or 6 to choose from), and feast on a complimentary room service dinner in bed. Then send me some cruise credit to thank me for the idea.
Hot room service breakfast with coffee, cereal, and soy milk
Mixed green salad
Fruit plate
Penne primavera
Cheese pizza (kid’s menu)
Cheesecake with blueberry sauce
Dark chocolate ganache cake with caramel sauce
Bars, Drinks, And Beverage Packages On The Celebrity Millennium
I lost count after visiting seven bars on the Millennium, with my favorites being the Crush Martini Bar with its ice-covered surfaces, the Al Bacio coffee bar, and the Rendezvous Lounge. And while we didn’t purchase a beverage package for this sailing, we did try a variety of different cocktails.
I loved all the martinis and would highly recommend the martini flight ($26) and also enjoyed the Elderflower Blush that can be ordered in the main dining room or the Rendezvous Lounge.
Mr. Cruise liked the Mexican Firing Squad and Caribbean Cobbler.
The only drink I didn’t like was the Pomegranate Mojito which was very watery.
See below for information about beverage packages and go here to see menus from all the bars on the Millennium.
Prof. Cruise’s Two Favorite Spots To Relax On The Millennium
And by “relax” I mean places I go to hide from my family to read in peace: “aww, quiet!”
The Solarium
With comfortable padded loungers and couches, great views, and no children allowed in the pool and hot tubs outside of designated “family hours” from 4pm-7pm, this is the perfect place to sprint to after dropping your kids off at camp. Plus it’s covered and stays warm if you’re cruising to Alaska where it can get quite chilly on outside decks.
The Sky Observation Lounge AKA The Cosmos Lounge
While many activities take place here, it’s also a great spot to sit and enjoy beautiful views from the front and side of the ship. It’s located on deck 11 forward.
Prof. Cruise’s Three Least Favorite Spots On The Millennium
1. Fitness Center On The Millennium
This well equipped gym was open 24 hours (a first for any ship I’ve ever sailed on) and offered no excuse for missing my dreaded daily workout.
Fitness Class Schedule On The Millennium
2. The “Library” On The Millennium
Not so much a library, but a few shelves with books on them disguised as part of the Rendezvous Lounge. As the daughter of two librarians, I prefer a large, quiet, well stocked library.
3. Outside deck 4
One of my favorite cruise activites is to walk laps on an outside deck while stalking wildlife and listening to an audio book. My favorite ships are the ones that have an outside shaded promenade deck that runs all the way around the ship and is fully open to guests. While deck 4 offered a great spot to sit and watch the scenery, much of it was closed off to guests making walking laps impossible. This was a huge negative of the Millennium for me.
Activities, Entertainment, And Enrichment On The Celebrity Millennium
On Stage, At The Theater
Because we were onboard for a 14 day b2b, we were able to catch every show offered in the main theater (they repeated for the second week). Our favorites included:
- IBroadway: A tribute to the best of Broadway performed by the Millennium Production singers and dancers.
- Yulia and Alan Reva: A husband and wife cirque act that will leave you on the edge of your seat as well as wondering how full-sized organs can fit in a body that skinny.
- American Ballet Theater: Ballet soloists Thomas Forster and Katie Williams along with violinist Katarina Rossa. Lovely.
- A Hard Day’s Night, Beattles Tribute Band: We loved it, yeah, yeah, yeah.
Follow The Music
There were many opportunities each evening to enjoy live music in a number of different venues. Our favorites were the house band, Jeam Beam (pictured above) and solo guitarist Kevin Wagner.
Beyond The Podium Presentations
Naturalist Celia Garland and ship astronomer Dan Benedict presented regular enrichment programming on topics specific to Alaska and of general interest. I particularly enjoyed Celia’s sense of humor and learned a lot about Alaskan wildlife like that bald eagles can projectile poop as a defense mechanism if they feel threatened, annoyed, slighted, or betrayed. Can you imagine how covered in s**t every American politician would be if humans had that ability? I’ll never watch cable news again without imagining it.
Activities On The Millennium
There were numerous activities available on the Millennium appealing to a wide variety of different interests. Trivia, karaoke, spa treatments and presentations, dance classes, art auctions and talks, an archery challenge, casino competitions, sports, wine and liquor tastings, shopping, and board and card games.
The one thing I really missed on Celebrity was a book club, available on both Holland America and Princess, #nerdsunite, and cooking workshops (I love America’s Test Kitchen on Holland).
Movies On The Millennium
In addition to a small selection of free on-demand movies, rotating live movies, and on-demand paid movies available in staterooms, there were also at least two movies shown each day on a giant outdoor screen at the Rooftop Terrace on Deck 12 aft. I loved that this area was seperate from the crowded pool decks and enjoyed the comfy seating. Popcorn would have been a nice touch (I never saw any offered) and more blankets should have been provided (there were a few floating around, but I’m not sure where people found them originally), but otherwise this was one of my favorite activities.
Camp At Sea And Club X On The Celebrity Millennium
Camp at Sea is easily, incontestably, hands down, without a doubt, unquestionably, (you get the picture, right?) my favorite place on the Millennium because it’s where I abandoned my kid for 3-6 hours per day in favor of “me time.” “Bye buddy, I’ll miss you” (not). Thankfully “H” also loved Camp at Sea, mostly because of the Xbox’s, but also for a variety of art, recreational, culinary, and S.T.E.M. activities. And lucky for us, each cruise sees a fresh schedule of activities geared to the interests of the specific group of kids, so the second leg of our b2b was an entirely new experience for “H.”
There were a number of family activities where parents could join their kids at camp. I elected to attend “Meet The Captain” because, as many of you know, my highest goal in life is to marry a cruise ship captain (for some reason Mr. Cruise doesn’t feel at all threatened by this). And while I kept my distance on this particular sailing out of respect for the Captain’s three young daughters who were onboard with him (what? I’m not a monster!), I still jumped at the chance to gaze upon his beautiful smile, learn of our shared love of cruise ship food, and fantasize about shacking up in his quarters for a lifetime of free cruises.
Club X is for teens 13-17 and, while many would argue that I act like a teenager (see above), we didn’t have anyone in our group of the appropriate age to step into Club X without being hauled down to the brig by security. So I took these photos through the closed door and grabbed a schedule from the first day to give you a sense of the kinds of activities offered.
The Celebrity Millennium: The Good, The Bad, And The Ugly
The Good
- Free booze at embarkation
- Vegetarian (and other special diet) friendly
- Beautiful, refurbished cabins and public areas
- Quality entertainment, enrichment, and activities
- Complimentary room service
- The Spa Cafe and Al Bacio
- Camp at Sea
- Smaller sized ship – easy to navigate and not too crowded
- Nice, extra touches: higher quality bath products, cloth towels in public restrooms, robes and umbrellas provided in staterooms, towels on every lounger, life vests available for kids at the pools, homemade hard ice cream, flavored butters at dinner in the MDR
The Bad
- Slow dinner service in the MDR/understaffed areas at times
- No public outside promenade deck that wraps all the way around the ship
- No library or book club
- 24 hour gym
- Foyer was small and not very “grand”
The Ugly
- My facial expression upon running into the Captain’s wife as she picked up her children at Camp at Sea and as I disembarked after 14 beautiful, fun, and delicious days at sea. It looked something akin to this on both occassions:
Final Thoughts On the Millennium
Since I can’t punctulate this review with the trite, yet catchy tagline, “the Millennium, a once in a thousand year experience,” since this was a b2b and, as such, I technically sailed on her twice over the course of just two weeks, I’ll instead close with these Christina Perri lyrics (from “A Thousand Years”) in honor of the Millennium and my new favorite cruise line, Celebrity (although don’t hoist me up into a wobbly liberty stunt just yet, Celebrity cheerleaders, because this seems to change with every cruise, suggesting that my favorite ship/line is always the one I’m on):
And all along I believed, I would find you
Time has brought your heart to me, I have loved you for a thousand years
I’ll love you for a thousand more
And with that…
Class Dismissed.
Homework: Go here to see all Celebrity Millennium restaurant and bar menus, here for my first impressions of Celebrity, and here for my complete reviews of two staterooms on the Millennium.
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