In a Class of her own
Written: May 13 '01 (Updated May 13 '01)
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Very Elegant, Excellent Crew, the Olympic Restaurant
Cons: Only one week long
The Bottom Line: I would recommend Celebrity for couples over 25-30. The ship is not a wild and crazy party ship. Its designed to cater to an older elegant crowd.
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| harleyds's Full Review: Celebrity Millennium |
OK, for those of you who follow all my epinions, you guys must think I have a ton of money to spend on cruise ships, or just nutty to the point that I love to be at sea. Well you all partly right. Being 29, this is my 6th cruise. Why so many? I have some friends in the business that gets me really good deals and since I live 20 minutes from the Port Everglades and 45 minutes from the Port of Miami, why wouldn’t I take advantage of my proximity to all these vacation possibilities?
At the time of this writing, there were 5 other epinions written for Celebrities Millennium. I don’t know if the other authors are aware, but Millennium is the first of four new ships Celebrity has ordered that are powered by Gas Turbine engines. Did anyone notice (or not notice) there were no clouds of black smoke billowing from the smoke stack? Royal Caribbean International, which owns Royal Caribbean Cruise Line and also Celebrity Cruise Line, has been pioneering the latest and greatest in new technology when it comes to the cruising industry. BTW, the other ships owned by RCI that are Gas Turbine powered are Infinity and Radiance of the Seas. Radiance even has the first gyro-stabilizing billiard tables at sea. I heard someone say they were $80,000 each.
Our ports of call were, Key West-Florida, Playa de Carmen-Mexico, Cozumel-Mexico, and Grand Caymen. We were originally suppose to visit Calica, Mexico, but a sudden change of plans obviously not under my powers caused us to dock at Playa de Carmen instead. After talking to some of the crew, they told me Playa de Carmen is a much better port anyway.
Key West was one of my main interests since I have never been down to the Keys before. I just don’t relish the idea of driving 4 hours just to be at the Southern Most Tip of the US. It was a typical old fashion town with many shops and several historical sites to visit and see. There is a FREE tram service that will take you from the port into the center of town in 5 minutes. This was very convenient otherwise you would have to deal with a 30-minute walk just to get near the edge of town.
Playa de Carmen? Funny, I didn’t get off the ship that day. I partied late the night before and didn’t wake up until mid afternoon and decided I didn’t want to rush getting off the ship and try to find my friends and then rush back on the ship.
Cozumel is a party city. Since I had done the shopping thing when I was on Splendour, I already knew there was nothing I really wanted so my group decided to just make it a party day. We got some tips from the crew and went to The Reef Club. For $25, we got a private beach and all you could eat or drink. Yes, that’s including alcoholic beverages. We definitely got our money’s worth. If you ever got there, go to the bar in the middle of the beach and ask for a Miguel Special. Miguel hooked us up with his own personal concoction that contained about 7 different liquors and some beer to give it some fuzz. Sounds strange, but it was very tasty and we even convinced some other beach visitors to try it and they all loved it!
Grand Caymen is and will always be my favorite place to shop. The one place you must visit if your looking for a food type of souvenir is the Turtuga Rum Shop. The rum cakes are worth every penny and they even sell liquor at a very reasonable price. I have yet to find other shop in any port to offer the Johnny Walk Collectors Set for a mere $50. It has 4 250ml bottles of Black, Gold, Green(Malt) and the rare Blue Label. The Blue Label is so rare, the bottle has a serial number on it. I have about 3 sets in my closet ready in case I forget someone’s birthday or something..
The ship itself was gorgeous. The subtle difference with service were waiters are ready to carry your tray to your table, or the overall neatness of the main pool deck even during the busiest of times just amazed me. The service was so top notch even I was impressed, and I’m really picky. My room was always spotless and I very rarely saw my cabin attendant which I felt was important. It didn’t matter what time I left my room, they always seemed to know when I left and were ready to jump in there and make up the bed and bathroom. It wasn’t until near the end of the cruise, I would out I had two cabin attendants. One worked the day shift and the other the late afternoon shift. Very nice touch.
Brodaway Shows? Still haven’t gotten around to seeing them. One day I will eventually. We spent most of our time in Michaels Cigar Lounge enjoying a few drinks and a few of my friends took advantage of trying some unique cigars.
Dinner was always delicious. The first night is what threw me over the edge when the menu offered a Filet Mignon and also a Duck Mélange. I could not decide so my waiter, Allin from France suggested I try both. I love steak, but have a hard time passing up Duck. When the order came, I dug into the steak that was absolutely delicious. About half way through I tried a piece of the duck. My mouth instantly started salivating. I had never tasted a duck that had been prepared like this before. I completely forgotten about the Filet Mignon and began devouring the deliciously prepared Mélange. My friend noticed because I stopped talking and completely forgot about them and totally focused on the duck. I was simply delicious. The only reason I could not finish the entire portion was because my pants were starting to protest! I still haven’t forgotten the flavor.
The one feature that is unique only to Millennium that I did not have a chance to enjoy was the Olympic Restaurant. The Olympic is a separate restaurant that if possible provides just slightly better service and in an authentic 5 star setting. It’s called the Olympic because the entire restaurant was built from the original wood from the RMS Olympic, which was built, I think in 1910? If you love historical architecture and especially woodcarvings, your moth will drop when you see these designs. To give you an idea of what the restaurant looks like, rent a copy of the movie Titanic and look at the woodwork in the main dining room. The RMS Olympic is the sister ship to the RMS Titanic!
Overall, the ship is gorgeous. When we were docked in Cozumel, on of Carnival’s smaller ships was docked right next to us. Millennium was by far the prettier and more elegant looking ship. Size is not everything, but the design and style simply stood out. Would I go on another Celebrity ship? In a heartbeat.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
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Epinions.com ID:
harleyds
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Member: David
Location: Sunrise, FL
Reviews written: 39
Trusted by: 33 members
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