We'd go again
Written: Mar 18 '04 (Updated Mar 24 '04)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Being on the Ocean.
Finding food was always easy.
Cons: I'm not in favor of vacations ending
The Bottom Line: Different cruise lines have different personalities-Celebrity is tasteful but not stuffy. A very relaxing get-away.
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| zenlauren's Full Review: Celebrity Millennium |
Ship: It's old enough to show some wear but it's a pretty ship. There were a lot of cool places to hang out. Our favorite was the solarium with the warm salt water pool and hot tubs. It was adult only. Second favorite was our cabin and third was the persian garden in the spa...more about that later. There were so many different common areas to hang out, and the daily newsletter gives you the low-down on what to find where. There were numerous opportunities to hear live music. There was a house Caribbean band, a harpist (which I enjoyed more than expected), jazz, an accapella group, I can't even think of it all there were so many. Cova Cafe is an Italian style coffee bar on one side and had liquours on the opposite. I had their Jasmine green tea and had to buy more to bring home. My husband had their hot chocolate and it was milk with chocolate chunks melting into the milk (this is where we listened to the harpist but she plays all over the ship) There was the casino which has a non-smoking area and a bar. You can also get cash there if you need any-and just charge it to your shipboard account. They had slots, blackjack (starting at a $5 min) and all the other common table games-didn't pay much attention to those. On the TV system there was a channel that gave shipboard info and they had instructions on playing various table games which I thought was clever. The cigar bar (Michaels) had a great atmosphere! This ship was old style...no neon or anything. Classy but not stuffy.
Cabin: we had a cat 1 which I recommend. Big enough, light colored wood with nice decor. Good storage (you can put your luggage under the bed. 3/4 bath with a handle in the shower-came in handy on rough seas) . The shower head was one with a hose so if you just wanted to shave your legs or wash sand off your feet you could do that easily. We were on deck 6 tucked between the suites and so we had a bigger veranda than other non-suites but the downside was that a LOT of salt collected on everything out there so it may not have been that great a trade off. Maybe deck 8 next time. The TV programming was mostly lame but who goes on the ocean to watch the idiot vision?! They're doing you a favor by discouraging TV. There is a VCR in the cabin so if you have kids you could bring videos if you think they'd need them. They had fun things for kids to do so I doubt it would be necessary. LOVED the veranda. Since room service is included (though tipping a couple of bucks for them to bring it to you is a nice thing to do) having meals on the veranda is a definite plus.
Other peoples cabins: Since I'm not a shy person I made a point of letting my neighbors know that I was willing to tour their suite if they felt a need to show it off! And fortunately everone who got my "offer" took me up on it so we got to see a sky suite and the penthouse suite. The sky suite is a bit wider and deeper than a cat 1 cabin. Darker wood, felt very traditional nautical to me. The decor looked much better in real life than in the pictures! This cabin doesn't have a separate bedroom and sitting but it seemed quite comfortable (since we were comfy in a smaller cabin I'd imagine they had no problem) Nice size veranda, with teak furniture, their bathroom had a tub and was much more elegant than the non-suite loo's. There was a small foyer and it was lovely. The Penthouse has a veranda that is half on the back of the ship and half on one side. It's HUGE! There is a teak bar, excercise equipment, and teak furniture (that veranda is the size of the foundation for my house). But that's not all...the penthouse and royal suites have a whirlpool tub on their veranda but the penthouse also has one inside set into some bay windows that jut out only the veranda (with blinds if you want the ship docked behind you in port to look at a different view). The penthouse also had a 3/4 bath so that guests who visit don't need to use the "master bath". A baby grand piano, and two plasma screen TV's, formal dining, and a butlers pantry finish off the suite (the butler cannot enter the penthouse through the "front door"-their key only allows access through the pantry). The penthouse also had a security system with a camera and a monitor so you could see who was at your door if anyone came by (there are no peep holes in the doors) so for someone who has a need for extra security this is the only catagory that offers it. The penthouse has an adjoining door to a sky suite next door so if you needed a two bedroom or if you travel with a security guard or nanny and want them right there...whatever the need the door is there but it seems you need to book early because if someone else has that sky suite you're out of luck (which I thought was lame-there are a ton of sky suites onboard, I'd think they'd try harder to accomodate the penthouse passenger considering the cost). The royal suites (which I peeked into when going to my cabin the first day) had a bedroom and sitting. Much smaller than the penthouse but I kinda liked it better! There is also the Celebrity suite but I can't imagine giving up a veranda! That suite has huge windows but still-I just don't get it. The suites in general...had butler service, fresh fruit and canapes delivered each day, and many other little differences that if the budget is tight aren't enough but if money isn't at all an issue then GO FOR IT! If you have to ask if a suite is worth the extra money...you can't afford it and you won't feel like you got your money's worth. If the cost is not a big deal then they are beautiful cabins. Even after seeing the suites and everything their butlers did...still loved our 1A cabin.
Families: There are family cabins with a separation to allow some privacy. Bigger than the other non-suites and in my opinion better for a family than most suites (except maybe the penthouse with the adjoining sky suite). The corner ones have really big veranda's. You can decide who can and cannot makes charges to the shipboard account. I'd say don't let the kids and get them a soda card-it's a sticker they put on your room key/charge card. It's a set price at the begining of the cruise-buy it at Cova Cafe-don't loose the key because you can't replace the soda card sticker. At guest relations they can punch a hole in the key and you can string it from a cord/necklace (bring your own) so it's harder for to lose.
Food: I'm fussy and I'd heard great things about the food so I wasn't too impressed. We ate enough to be happy but not so much we were stuffed or gained weight. (which is the unexpected plus to not being "wow"ed by the food) But the Olympic was good. I'd go again, kind of good. No shortage of places to eat. Room service was pretty good. Vegetarian options were a little weak but tolerable. I liked the room service pretty well, lazyness may have helped that but even though the menu wasn't very extensive they had a good enough variety to keep most people happily fed. If you drink a lot of soda then get a soda card, it's a flat rate for the entire cruise and covers fountain sodas at any bar or restaurant. Great for kids, then you can put a lock on their card so they can't charge anything to your account.
Shows: Not loving the shows. It turns out I'm kinda spoiled in that area so I admit I'm hard to impress but we tried to go one night and they were doing songs from Phantom of the Opera with this high school play style metal riser standing in for a staircase and I had to leave (we hadn't sat down yet, we just right turned around). We went with our dinner mates another night and saw Fantasea. Oh My...if it had been any longer we might have cried. The talent tries really hard but whoever puts this stuff together should be flogged. I hear that Cirque du Soleil is coming to Celebrity and if it turns out to be true than that would be a different story! I think I heard that summer '04 on the Constellation there would be a "big change that other cruise lines will desperately try to keep up with" so keep your ears open!
Nightlife-I hear it varies a lot from sailing to sailing. The pool party was fun but other than that it was uneventful. Sailings with younger passengers would likely help this! Summer, holidays, I'm not sure when else but I heard that the last Christmas sailing was a good time after dark.
They seemed to have a good kids program. There were more kids than we expected (including infants) but they were never a problem, they seemed to have scavenger hunts and other organized activities.
Spa: Not one of the best I've been to but if you go when in port or look for daily specials then it can be worth it but..... try the Persian Garden: It's kinda modeled after the old Roman and Turkish baths. There are a bunch of different areas with slightly different features so I'll try and get the names and descriptions right...
-Turkish bath-REALLY hot steam room-dimly lit
-The Grotto-steam room-smaller and less hot than the turkish bath
-The Laconium-HOT heated benches and floor/humid but not steamy-I need to sit on a towel it was so hot. Dimly lit with fiber optics changing color in the ceiling.
-Peppermint Shower-two kinds of shower heads-smelled nummy
-"Refreshing Shower"-smelled citrus floral and had even more shower heads-one "monsoon" head which makes it feel like it's raining on you.
-Main room-mildly heated benches and nice atmophere. A crushed ice dispenser if you are getting too warm and there is also a drinking fountain, and nice lighting. What to wear: swim suit-it's co-ed and there will be others using it but they keep it from getting too crowded. The showers hold one (or two really well aquainted) at a time, they are semi open so swim suit there too.
Activities: They had live (good) music, craft classes, computer classes, internet access (extra fee), the gym, pilates, and yoga (both for a small fee), wellness classes, art auctions, wine tasting, lectures on the next port, Golf simulator, movies,organized basketball games, chess tournament, culinary demonstrations, darts, bridge, bingo, karaoke, silly games, afternoon tea (on formal days they had high tea). They even had Christian religious services and if there were a large organized group of another faith there would be related services for them (which usually meant Jewish).
Other: They only rarely interrupt the ambiance with announcements, there may have been 4 announcements on our in cabin PA during the entire week. Muster is mandatory, everyone has to go look silly in their life preserver so consider it an opportunity to see who is too serious.
Chair hogs: These are people who get up early and leave a book on a chair to "mark their territory" on the pool deck. They seem to be worse on some sailings than others. We saw the telltale signs and the cruise lines are trying to find ways to crack down on this inconsiderate practice, in part by placing these belongings into the lost and found. If you settle into a seat and then are accosted by one of these people have a plan. My husband and I were prepared to have me hold my ground while he went and told the nearest crew member that we needed security because someone was threatening his wife (which motivates them to get security). These people tend to be older, and are always very threatening to those who have taken a chair they want. If I find out someone who read my review is a chair hog, I will hunt you down and publicly flog you with a beach chair!
Suggestions:
-If your budget allows...get a veranda.
-Go to cruisecritic.com for message boards where you can ask whatever question comes to mind.
-Find the cruise critic thread on Roll Calls for your sailing and meet some of your new friends early. Also sign up for the cruise critic party so Celebrity will throw you and your new friends and private party.
-Try the Persian Garden.
-Go a day early so you can get to the ship early and be relaxed and ready to go!
-Don't go to the cruise director(at least on this ship-other Cruise Directors may be different) for help with anything. He's one of those irritating ineffective people they promote out of the way instead of firing. Dealing with Edwin Rojas=waste of time.
-Walk all the way around the buffet at each meal to check out the selection because it can vary. There are also places with sushi or omlettes tucked in there so be sure to give it a good look!
-The Goat Cheese Souflee at the Olympic was rich but nummy! I'm going to make some at home soon! The food in the Olympic was memorable-in a really good way!
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
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Epinions.com ID:
zenlauren
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Reviews written: 10
Trusted by: 0 members
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