celebrity-millennium2

Note - this page contains multiple reviews.

Name: Russell Gibson
Email: russg140@hotmail.com
Age: 37
Occupation: Training Director
NumberOfCruises: 8
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Millennium
SailingDate: August 25, 2000
Itinerary: Baltic Sea and Russia
Cabin: 9133/1A
FoodDiningRoom: 92
CruiseDirector: 10
CabinComfort: 65
FoodRoomService: 45
CruiseStaff: 40
CabinAmenities: 75
FoodLidoDeck: 85
DiningRoomService: 85
CabinQuietness: 87
FoodMidnightBuffets: 0
CabinSteward: 70
ShoreExcVariety: 82
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 82
ShoreExcValue: 48
GoodForHoneymoon: 40
CasinoStaff: 98
PrivateIsland: 0
GoodForFamilies: 30
LoungeService: 92
TenderService: 0
GoodForSeniors: 25
BeautySalonStaff: 90
EntertainmentLounges: 82
WheelchairAccess: 95
ExerciseFacilities: 98
EntertShowLounge: 40
OverallPortsofCall: 82
BeautySalon: 98
EntertainmentPoolside: 40
CruiseActivities: 20
Casino: 65
AirSeaProgram: 0
MedicalFacilities: 50
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 40
DiscoNightclubs: 78
DeckSpace: 88
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 82
SpaceRatio: 38
OverallCruiseValue: 75
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 12 Sep 2000
Time: 18:03:22
Remote Name: 24-29-135-203.nyc.rr.com
Remote User:

Comments

Millenium is certainly a state of the art ship, with amenities like an on-line room with PC's and Internet
access. The AquaSpa is spectacular in presentation and features, although most people would find
the services fairly expensive (55-minute facial $109). The ship features glass-enclosed elevators on
the outside of the ship, which is quite innovative and unique. Our cabin was smaller than expected,
and somewhat of a disappointment for the value. Our itinerary, 14-day Baltic Sea and Russia, was a
good sampling of Nordic cities and cultures.

The food - Celebrity's claim to fame - was very good and, at times, excellent. The Olypmic restaurant is
fantastic, and a definite must if only for the tableside show that is put on for the guests' enjoyment.
Michel Roux even has his own store in The Emporium shops. Lounges were plentiful, the Platinum
Club (martini bar) being our favorite. However, some clubs went unused during happy hour while
others were overflowing. The casino was a little glitzy, as casinos should be, and most of the staff was
very friendly.

Our 3 main areas of disapointment: Entertainment, Size/Space, and Shore Excursions. The Celebrity
productions were outdated - the first, entitled A Broadway Spectacular, featured such time worn shows
as Grease. On board activities were limited and dull. The standard Bingo, which usually can be jazzed
up by an entertaining staff member, was boring and poorly organized. Shuffleboard in the middle of
the Baltic was a little chilly.

There are roughly 2,100+ passengers on the ship (our cruise was sold out), and there is not enough
space for everyone - impossible to find a seat in the Ocean Grill for buffet breakfast and lunch, and a
good deal of wasted space - a Conference Center and Meeting Rooms? The wonderful
Thalassotherapy Pool, and indoor saltwater heated pool with special features, was always full. After
each excursion we walked the 9 decks (after a full day of walking!) to get back to our cabin so as not
to have to wait for an elevator. There were always lines at the Bank and Guest Relations desk.

The Shore Excursions were varied. We booked ours prior to the trip, spending over $600 per person.
Each excursion usually had 25-30 buses of passengers, so they really pushed you through to get
everyone done and back on board. Another of our disappoinments with the excursions had to deal
with our fellow passengers and their lack of courtesy to each other and the guides. For the value the
excursions were overpriced.

Overall, Celebrity has it's hands full and needs to learn to master the Megaliner before Infinity -
Millenium's sister ship - launches next year. We NEVER saw any Officers mingling with the passengers,
and only saw the captain at the Captain's cocktail reception. What happened to customer service
starting at the top? Millenium is for traveler's who want a larger ship but not as large as the Super
Megaliners. That's not us.

Name: Karen Clark
Email: clark@iinet.net.au
Age: 40
Occupation: House Manager
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Millennium
SailingDate: 26th August 2000
Itinerary: Scandinavia/Baltic
Cabin: 8185 Premium ocean view
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 94
CabinComfort: 85
FoodRoomService: 89
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 75
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 80
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 75
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon: 95
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 75
LoungeService: 90
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 90
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 89
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 100
EntertShowLounge: 95
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs: 75
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 80
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 19 Sep 2000
Time: 02:30:16
Remote Name: retro.iinet.net.au
Remote User:

Comments

My husband and I sailed on the following cruise: Line: Celebrity Ship: Millennium Cruise:
Scandinavia/Baltic Date: August 2000 for 14 days.

This was our first cruise and after reading numerous reviews from this site I made the decision to sail
with Celebrity.

Embarkation:

Anyone who expects no lines or no waiting should not in my mind choose a 2,000-passenger ship. We
waited approximately 30–45 minutes to board. Our bags were at our stateroom on our arrival and our
cabin steward immediately introduced himself.

Stateroom:

Our stateroom (#8185, premium ocean view) was excellent and had plenty of storage space; our
suitcases were easily stored under the bed. The balcony was large enough for about 10 people. After
having this feature I wouldn’t choose a ship that didn’t offer a balcony. The bathroom was small but
functional, always kept clean, and stocked with fresh towels. The bed was extremely comfortable.
Negatives: The sliding door to the balcony creaked when the ship was in motion, this became worse as
the cruise progressed. We experienced shaking in our room whenever the ship turned. Other
passengers confirmed that they also experienced shaking and vibration in their rooms. We did hear
the ship was due in dry dock to fix some problems hopefully this problem will be rectified. These noises
did not spoil our cruise or overly concern us but a light sleeper would have had a problem.

Food:

Certainly there was plenty of it! First the main dinning room: we chose the 2nd sitting and were
pleased with this arrangement. We had a table of 8, which to my mind is exactly the right number. We
joined friends at a table of 10 one night and found this too many people to have a good group
conversation. This also made us aware that our waiter and wine steward were exceptional and could
explain why it is near impossible to have 2,000 people on a ship and have them all rate the service
equally. We had excellent service, never waited overlong for food, and any requests we made were
handled promptly. I can’t complain about the quality of the food it was excellent, when I asked for my
meat cooked medium-rare that’s how I received it. However I would have liked to have more dishes
from the ports we called into. The wine list was excellent and our wine steward excellent.

Negatives: The Dining room orchestra played too loudly and sometimes you had to strain to hear what
was being said. However that is a picky point on what was a lovely experience.

Olympic Restaurant: A US$12.00 surcharge applies per person but don’t let that stop you. The
experience was lovely and the wine list fantastic. My advice would be to book this early in the cruise,
as the food choice is quite similar to the main dining room - only on a grander scale. Book early when
you can still be impressed.

Ocean Grill Café: Beautiful views, excellent food although again more cultural variety would have been
appreciated. Cakes were delicious! Lines could get long at breakfast; we usually ordered room
service.

Aqua Spa Café: Best kept secret! Breakfast and Lunch here were a great low fat alternative. Sushi,
chicken breast, salad and low fat deserts. Loved it!!

Poolside Café: Pizza and Hamburgers poolside were great. Turkey burgers available if you ask. Great
service and great food.

Entertainment:

We saw 3 of the show productions and all were very good, particularly the female comedian. The
variety was very good and friends who attended the other shows said they were also very good.

Night Club: The Onyx Band was not that good; they played a lot of slow songs, which to my mind they
should have played in the lounge, where people slow danced, not the night club. This did irritate me,
but in defense of Celebrity the age group was older and they loved the slow songs.

The harpist they had on board was raved about; unfortunately we were too busy and didn’t get around
to hearing her.

Gym: Excellent, outstanding staff that were friendly and helpful. Classes in step, fat burning and
relaxation were fantastic. The gym equipment was plentiful and fun to use. Above expectation.

Aqua Spa: We used the therapy pool and spa frequently and it was always clean and never crowded. I
didn’t use the other facilities but other passengers I became friendly with did and were very satisfied.
One friend used the Hairdresser on board and her hair was absolutely beautiful.

Excursions:

Being experienced travelers we chose not to use the Celebrity excursions except in St. Petersburg. I
am very glad we did the tours in St. Petersburg and very glad we didn’t do them anywhere else. We
are guidebook readers and really research each place we go to. We enjoy independent touring; we
used the public transport whenever we could and found this particularly easy to use in Scandinavia.
We made our own tours and saw all the same sights and museums as people taking the tours but in
half the time. However for the inexperienced, the unconfident, or older passengers - the tours are the
answer. For those passengers not taking Celebrity organized tours a complimentary shuttle service
was available in all ports. A word of advice for those passengers traveling independently at ports of
call; the Celebrity hand outs clearly have Celebrity Cruises’ interests at heart, especially the shopping
guide and you would be well advised to buy a guidebook and follow that because they omitted to tell
you of many bargains/options. We loved all the ports of call and were thrilled with this itinerary. You will
not be bored with any of the ports of call.

I loved the Libraries; both the book and CD libraries. I never found many people in either and had a
great couple of hours listening to all kinds of music. The variety of CD’s was exceptional. My husband
particularly liked the fact that he could keep up to date with the stock market via the T.V. in our room
and I loved the fact I could order room service the same way.

This was our first cruise and we will definitely cruise again soon. Unless you are hard to please or have
a bad staff experience it would be hard not to be very satisfied with Celebrity. I really enjoyed the
Cruise Director’s talk on Peter the Great and would have loved to have more of these types of talks.
We made some great friends and had a great holiday!

Name: James Uebelacker
Email: uebelackerjw@yahoo.com
Age: 54
Occupation: University administrator
NumberOfCruises: 4
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Millennium
SailingDate: August 12, 2000
Itinerary: Baltic Sea, St. Petersburg
Cabin: 3019/7
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 100
CabinComfort: 88
FoodRoomService: 90
CruiseStaff: 80
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 75
DiningRoomService: 90
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue: 75
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 90
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 90
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 95
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 98
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 80
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 85
DiscoNightclubs: 95
DeckSpace: 85
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 95
SpaceRatio: 92
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 19 Sep 2000
Time: 07:54:17
Remote Name: nok1.newhaven.edu
Remote User:

Comments

Celebrity=s Amsterdam through the Baltic to St. Petersburg trip aboard the new ship Millennium was a
good, but not outstanding, experience overall. Since Celebrity's motto is AExceeding Expectations,@
that standard is an appropriate one for rating various aspects of our experience.

Expectations Exceeded: < The cruise director was excellent. He was not the typical rah-rah, airhead
director who confuses a cruise with a YMCA camp. This director had a Ph.D. in oceanography, gave
intelligent talks about the oceans and the history of the Russian monarchy, and conversed in a
friendly, intelligent manner. He also arranged for some excellent acts. < The two most outstanding
performers were exuberant pianist Brooks Aehron and the very personable a capella group Four
Score. The Celebrity Singers and Dancers were also quite good, with excellent choreography and a
variety of acts. < The port stops, seven of which were at or provided access to country capitals,
allowed for a diverse and interesting view of Northern Europe. An eighth stop was a former capital, St.
Petersburg. What an amazing contrast between the magnificence of the palaces, museums and
churches on the one hand, and the stark reality of living, working and traveling conditions on the
other. While the sightseeing trip to Berlin was worthwhile, it should have been via train and it should
have provided a stop (or at the very least, a photo op) at the Bundestag. < Having a priest on board
who conducted services was an unexpected bonus. < Our waiter was quite personable and did not
hesitate to suggest dishes to try or to avoid. Overall the food was a delight, as it should be.

Expectation Unmet: < Celebrity never provided port information for meeting the ship in Amsterdam.
When I called headquarters in Miami, they gave me a port address which turned out to be the wrong
port. Only by accident did we happen to see the ship. Otherwise, we would have taken a taxi far out of
our way and possibly missed the ship. < Before the end of the cruise, Celebrity changed the
disembarkment port in Amsterdam without adequate or timely notification to the passengers. Some
people were scrambling at the last minute to make contact with those who were supposed to meet
them at the port. < The ship has no card playing room. Also they failed to provide a bridge director. <
The shopping talks and recommendations stressed only pricey, high-end stores. < The grand midnight
buffet was disappointing. The Galaxy had a much more extensive one. < The hamburgs and hot dogs
at the grill were not even warm, rather stale and always overdone. The breakfast buffet was rather
mundane.

Major Shortcomings: < The shore excursion staff was poorly run. There were long lines and sometimes
some of the staff members were not there when there were lines. Sometimes staff members were
knowledgeable, and sometimes not. < The handling of the port stop in Stockholm was awful. While the
brochure claimed a 9-hour stop, the ship arrived late and left early, effectively cutting the shore time to
5 hours. The staff claimed that the time was limited because the ship had to clear the archipelago
during daylight, a fact that should have been reflected in the brochure because it surely would have
been known when the brochure was printed. Furthermore, the shore excursion staff had not arranged
for enough places on the excursions, so they sold out early. Then when the ship arrived late, the
morning excursions were canceled, thus further limiting the available excursions. The staff then
proceeded to ignore the waiting list, telling people to come back to the ship to be added to afternoon
excursions on a first-come-first-served basis, taking no account of the fact that making the trip back to
the ship would further cut down on shore time! Overall the ship=s personnel did not seem to know
what was happening or why and seemed insensitive to serving the passengers.

Overall: While we have had better, this was a good cruise with very interesting and varied port stops. I
do not believe that Celebrity has as yet learned how to seamlessly handle a ship as large as the
Millennium, stuffed with as many passengers as this ship had (2,165). There were too many lines and
not enough on board activities during days at sea. Nonetheless, I would certainly recommend this
itinerary and would expect that Celebrity could

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