This was the fifth cruise for my husband and I, fourth on Celebrity. Previous cruises for us: Horizon 6/99, Galaxy 4/00, Voyager of the Seas 5/00, Horizon 6/00. As you can see, we went pretty cruise crazy this year! We booked our own air and arrived in Ft. Lauderdale about 1:00 on Dec. 17. We grabbed a cab to the pier ($10 for the two of us) and found almost no line for embarkation. Each woman was handed a rose upon check-in, courtesy of Port Everglades welcoming the Millennium. We were shown to our cabin, #8048, a category 1b on Panorama deck, fairly far forward. The Millennium Daily was in our room which listed the week’s dress as Casual, Formal, Casual, Informal, Informal, Formal, Casual. We decided on Thursday for the Olympic Restaurant and called by phone, rather than wait in line at the restaurant. Though we asked for 7:30, only 8:30 was available - I was later told that they stagger the seating times so that no waiter is overwhelmed with patrons at any one time. The charge for the Olympic was $25 pp. I also tried booking a shore excursion using the T.V., which didn’t want to take. Instead I went down to the desk and rather than wait in a very long line, I filled out the form and dropped it in the box. We wanted the Xcaret excursion which is a good value at $43 pp. Entrance to the Park alone is $39 pp and for the extra $4, shuttle buses run all day between the ship and the Park. The tickets were in our room that night.

We had lunch and took a walk around the ship. For an excellent description of Millennium’s layout and decor, please read Wayne & Tommie Dobrowski’s review at this site. I will say that I thought the ship was absolutely stunning in medium and light woods, rich fabrics and brushed stainless steel accents. There were beautiful Holiday decorations and pointsettias everywhere.

We returned to our room to begin some unpacking. The cabin was in medium wood tones with green and beige being the predominant colors, and some red accents. I thought it was very pretty, spacious and had lots of storage. Upon entering, the closets, mini bar & T.V., and desk were on the left; bathroom, bed and sofa on the right. I brought along a tiny, three foot tape measure, so I can give some dimensions. The overall length, from corridor door to balcony door, was about 22 ft (this was a hard one to measure). The width was 9 ft. The two part closet contained a space for hanging clothes and a separate drawer unit. The closet rod was 39” long, 20 hangers were provided and there was a tie rack inside one of the two doors. The other section included a six drawer bureau with the safe sitting on top. Each drawer was 15” x 17” inside. The safe was accessed by a six digit code of your own choosing and was 8 3/4” deep, 10” high and 14” wide (inside).

The T.V. sits atop the mini bar, which has a marble top and there is even a small door at the side, hiding some very tiny shelves. I didn’t notice this door until the last day. A wide, full length mirror was opposite the bed. Unfortunately there was really no way to stand back and see yourself properly as there is so little space between the mirror and the foot of the bed. This was the only full length mirror in the cabin. To the left of the desk was a tall niche in the wall containing four shelves, each 13” wide x 6” deep. The desk itself had a marble top and angled doors on either side of the chair space, which hid two shelves. There were no drawers in the desk. Above the desk are four outlets; two are U.S. standard and two are European (round prongs).

Entering the cabin again and beginning on the right is the bathroom, which looked to me identical to that on Galaxy. A rectangular shower was on the left, toilet on the right and sink straight ahead. The overall dimensions were 4 ft. x 6 ft. There were two curved, glass shelves in one corner (above the countertop) and a trash bin and two shelves in undercounter cabinets. The hairdryer was on the wall above the toilet. I have several Celebrity brochures which show the layout of the bathroom differently - even showing a round shower - but that was not the case.

The bed is flanked by two nightstands, each with a reading lamp and two 15” x 19” drawers. The underbed clearance was 11 1/4” at the edge (the metal perimeter bed frame) and 12 1/2” further under the bed. The sofa (sofa bed I assume) had a seating area length (not counting arms) of 4 ft. 8 in. There was an adjustable height, oval coffee table in front of the sofa. A sliding glass door lead to the balcony, which was 4 ft. 6 in. x 9 ft. There were two upright, outdoor chairs there and a small, low table.

The Millennium daily listed a Martini Tasting at 5:00, so we headed over. Unfortunately, a totally surprised bartender wasn’t ready for us and rushed to mix up some samples. The normal price for all “fancy” martinis was $6.25 (4 oz.) and we enjoyed some great ones during the cruise. We had late seating dinner at a table for ten on the lower level of the restaurant, fairly close to the entrance doors. We sat with some very nice people and enjoyed their company very much. That first night listed Main Seating at 6:15 and Late Seating at 8:30. Due to there being 2400 passengers on this cruise, the first seating ran very long and we couldn’t enter until about 9:00. The waiters were still rushing to put new silverware on the tables. I think we finished dinner after 11:00. Eventually the seating times were changed to 6:00 and 8:45 and show times were changed accordingly. I thought things ran pretty well after that I recognized a lot of the crew from the Galaxy and enjoyed talking with them again. We found every crewmember we encountered to be friendly and helpful, despite the extra hard work they surely had with so many passengers.

We thought the dining room food was particularly excellent, even though I’m pretty sure it was exactly the same menu as our other Celebrity cruises. No one at our table ever sent anything back, and often ordered extra and ate all that too! Breakfast and lunch buffets, pizza, pasta, afternoon tea - all typical Celebrity and very enjoyable. There was also a light & healthy breakfast and lunch available at the Aquaspa Cafe, which we did not try. Alternative dining was available in the Ocean Cafe, between 6:30 and 8:30, by reservation only. It was listed in the Millennium Daily only on Tuesday, Wednesday and Thurday. I don’t know if it was offered on other days as well.

The Midnight Buffets were as follows:

Sunday – Italian
Monday - Gourmet Bites
Tuesday - Tex Mex
Wednesday - Gourmet Bites
Thursday - Fruit And Sherbet
Friday - Grand Buffet
Saturday - Gourmet Bites

I thought most people were extremely well dressed on the formal nights. I’d guess almost half tuxedos, half dark suits and a just a handful of sport coats. We spent a very nice half day in Key West on Monday. Millennium docks out by a U.S. military base and a free shuttle runs back and forth to downtown (Mallory Square, I think). It’s a 5 to 10 minute ride. That afternoon we spent out by the pool, though no one was swimming - the water was very cold. In the evening we wandered the ship, had dinner, did a little gambling, hit the bars. The usual, stressful shipboard life!

On Tuesday we arrived in Calica. There really is nothing at the pier here, except for some locals selling souvenirs under a long tent - they are pretty aggressive, but have some interesting things. We headed out on the shuttle to Xcaret, which is very close by. We spent a few hours walking around. Xcaret is huge and there is lots to do; really an all day affair. We saw the botanical gardens, aquarium, turtle farm, beaches and more. We decided to return to the ship for lunch, then come back to do the Underground River and spend some time on the beach.

Unfortunately, the weather became very overcast with some rain showers, so we never made it back. This was a good afternoon to spend in the Aqua Spa. The Thalassotherapy pool is quite large, with water jets all around the perimeter. There are two satinless steel “benches” in the pool where one can lay back. Those who have been on Horizon lately will know what these are. The water in this pool is sort of lukewarm. There is one very powerful water jet at the end of the pool. If someone stands directly in front of it, it shoots water high into the air and over the sides. There was always a lot of water on the floor around the pool; both on the raised deck and the surrounding eating areas. There is a hot tub on either side of the pool. My husband made use of the gym (which everyone agreed was fantastic) and the sauna. On this day the Millennium Daily called for Informal attire (even though the first Daily read Casual) and the next two days would say Informal as well. By Informal night #3, everyone wore what they wanted.

On Wednesday, our stop was Cozumel. A sunny day in the morning, it was also very windy and all watersports excursions were cancelled (as they would also be in Grand Cayman). We walked to the shops at the end of the pier. This area was under construction on our visit in May, but now two small indoor “malls” provided some nice shopping. I bought three pretty Talavera plates which actually made it home in one piece. We took a cab into the town, San Miguel ($5 for the two of us). After more walking and shopping, we made our way back to Millennium. By afternoon it became very cloudy and would remain that way for the rest of the cruise.

Wednesday evening was more of the usual for us. I’m afraid we didn’t catch more than a few minutes of some productions shows, but heard good reviews from our tablemates. Other evening entertainment might include the “Young Duo” in the Rendez-vous Lounge, acousic guitarist John Sargent or pianist Gordon Hayman in the Cosmos, harpist Jacqueline in the Cova Cafe. Of course late in the evening would be Onyx or a D.J. in the Cosmos.

Some examples from the bar menu: Daily drink specials $3.25 (up from the $2.95 of previous cruises)
Glass of white wine $4.50, $5.95 & $6.95
Glass of red wine $4.50 & $7.50
Domestic beer $3.25
Imported beer $3.95
Blender drinks $4.95
Scotch, Bourbon, Gin, Vodka $4.35
Premium brands $4.95
Liquers $4.35
Champagne & champagne cocktails $5.25
Special Champagne cocktails at Cova Cafe $7.75

Thursday was our first at sea day and it dawned cloudy and rainy. For a ship with 2400 passengers (who can’t go outside) I really did not feel particularly crowded anywhere. We did not encounter long lines at any buffet, only at the pizza station when it first opened at 3:00. We had a lot of children and teens onboard, and they were playing in the elevators and crowding the hot tubs, but I can’t say I saw any bad behavior. I know plenty of adults were very unhappy with this situation. I spent an hour on our balcony watching a thunderstorm at sea. It was absolutely fascinating.This evening was the Repeaters Party. One had to give one’s name at the desk ahead of time for this and the Captain’s Club parties. I’m not sure why this information isn’t already in their computer system, but that’s the way it is. The time for the Repeaters Party was listed in the Daily as 5:15 to 6:00, though our invitation read 5:30 to 6:15. It was held in the Cosmos lounge and was extremely crowded. We had a hard time getting one drink.

This was our Olympic Restaurant night, and we were seated at a table for two at 8:30. We began with a champagne cocktail for me, a glass of wine for my husband. A small dish with two marinated mussels was presented. As others have described, you may choose a soup OR salad OR appetizer to start, then main course, selection from a cheese cart, and dessert. I ordered a goat cheese souffle, then sea bass, then a dessert sampler. My husband started with marinated asparagus, chicken en croute and chocolate souffle. My husband was not as happy with his meal as I was with mine, which I thought was perfect We had a nice bottle of wine with dinner. You may choose from a normal (that is, normally priced) wine menu or from the ultra expensive Reserve list. The entire experience was very elegant and relaxing, the service was flawless.

Our day in Grand Cayman was Friday. I assume because of weather/sea conditions, cruise ships were not allowed to anchor in Georgetown harbor and were sent to Spott’s Bay. As there is a protected reef here, ships could not anchor and instead had to maneuver in place. Tenders took us ashore where taxis (small buses, really) waited to take us into town. The charge was $4 pp each way. I thought it would have been nice if Celebrity had arranged free transportation here. Nevertheless, we went into town for some shopping and came away with a cute pin in the shape of a crab, with a pink tourmaline body and a diamond in one claw. We were back on Millennium in plenty of time for afternoon tea. While we usually went to the Ocean Cafe, where small sandwiches and pastries were set out on the buffet, many people enjoyed spending tea time in the Cova Cafe, where beautiful cakes and pastries were served, and Jacqeline played the harp. Teas were $1.75, Espresso & Cappucino, $2.25

This night was the second Formal Night and of course we had the wonderful lobster. As I really wanted to see Karaoke at 10:45, we left before the Baked Alaska parade. After a really fun show, it was time for the Grand Buffet. We got a few small things to eat and sat down at a table on the lower level, all the way aft. Soon after, a VERY strong vibration began - dishes were shaking and clattering loudly. We had noticed some vibration at dinner twice before, but not nearly with such force. The seas were pretty choppy for the better part of this cruise and Millennium was moving along at almost top speed, which certainly must have had something to do with it. Unbeknownst to us, we were racing back to Cozumel to drop off someone with a serious medical emergency. They were transferred off the ship at 4:00 a.m., according to the cruise director.

Saturday was another relaxing day at sea, though no tan for me on this trip! The Captain’s Club party was from 11:30 to 12:00 in the Cosmos - pretty early for cocktails - but they were a lot easier to get than at the Repeaters Party!

We spent some time today in the shopping gallery, The Emporium, which is certainly the best I’ve ever seen on a ship. Let me list the shops: Cova Chocolates, Michel Roux, H.Stern jewelers, DKNY, a logo shop, liquor & sundries, figurines, crystal, jewelry & watches, perfum, cruisewear and eveningwear, and a designer shop which included Hugo Boss, Versace and Coach and Fendi bags. In addition were the kiosks selling “inch of gold”, cocktail rings, watches, etc. I bought a gold charm of Millennium for my charm bracelet, which also includes other cruise momentos: a long tailed bird from Bermuda and a conch shell from St. Thomas.

I wanted also to mention that each cabin received a nice, hardbound book (about the size and shape of one of those Time/Life books) all about the design and building of Millennium. Some of our tablemates had it signed by the Captain. A very nice little extra.

On this last night we handed out the tips and said some goodbyes. One of the couples at our table, who had been on thirteen cruises (including two Crystal and two Seabourn) enjoyed Millennium so much they booked another cruise on her for next year, and received a bottle of Celebrity champagne at dinner as a thank you.

Sunday morning we had breakfast at 8:00 in the dining room, taking our carry-ons with us. We expected to be off pretty early with our Captain’s Club tags. We had a twelve noon flight on USair and were able to check in with the USair rep. onboard. This service was available for all domestic Continental, Delta and Usair flights. We then went to wait in one of the lounges. White tags were called first (I think someone said these were people with very early flights) and at 9:45 an announcement was made that no more would be called for the next fifteen minutes. Surprisingly, a voice came over the intercom a minute later calling gray tags (Captain’s Club). We all dutifully proceeded to the gangway where we stood in a tightly packed crowd for maybe forty minutes without moving. We were told we could not disembark as the ship had not yet been cleared. You can imagine that those people with 11:00 or 11:15 flights were beginning to panic. Finally we were allowed to disembark. There was no Customs check, just a Celebrity rep. collecting our Customs forms. We found our bags quickly and took them to the USair truck parked outside. (In retrospect, I think we may have dawdled too long after our tag color was called - ours were about the only bags left in the gray area, so it seems other Captain’s Club folks got off well ahead of us) The taxi line quickly became a mob of people screaming for taxis, and there were very few to be had. Dispatchers were calling for more cabs and trying to direct people to the cars that were there, but no line was ever formed and it was every man for himself. I saw one man push a woman aside from a cab he clearly thought was “his”. Another man climbed into a still moving taxi as it came through the entrance gate, trying to comandeer it toward the curb where his mound of luggage stood. After watching this scene for fifteen minutes, we walked down the entrance drive and crossed the road where we hailed a cab immediately. I was very glad we had only our carry-ons or we would have been stuck there at the curb. We were in plenty of time for our flight home.

A few comments: I’ve read some pretty scathing remarks about this cruise on the internet, one in particular referred to “rude and pushy foreigners”. I personally prefer a cruise with a mix of nationalities, as this was - it’s so fascinating to hear all the different languages. The only rude and pushy people I saw were waiting for taxis, and they all spoke the same language I do!

While it’s certainly true that some dinners took exceptionaly long, that the many kids didn’t seem to have much to do and that not everything ran smoothly, I have to say we still had a really wonderful time. Surely these problems will be resolved as Millennium makes more of these voyages. We were happy to be on the innaugural U.S. cruise of this beautiful ship.

Susan