Trying to make do with less

Item: Celebrity Millennium
Rating: 3.6
Author: rclooking

Celebrity Millennium Cruise Review to Transpacific

rclooking

Contributor Level: Purser

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 3

Helpful Votes: 166

Overall rating:

3.6 out of 5

Japan & Bering Sea Cruise

Sail date: May 07, 2017

Ship: Celebrity Millennium

Cabin type: Inside

Cabin number: 8044

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 7 years ago

Review summary

This was our fourth trip aboard Millennium in the last 3 years including two other repositioning cruises. It is clear they are cutting back on staff compared to previous cruises. Both in the main dining room and the buffet there was a clear lack of staff to the point where the maitre'd was clearing tables in both locations. The quality of the food has also slipped a notch or two. Still decent meals but not of the same quality as in the past. The ship was kept spotless throughout the voyage. Our room attendant kept the cabin sparkling and addressed us by name every time we saw him which was often. The bright spot was the entertainment. Had excellent shows in the main theater every night. The rest of the onboard bands were also very good. Overall a very good cruise but not as good as it has been in the recent past. Hope the staffing issue was a temporary thing and not a planned reduction by the front office.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

The quality of the food is not as good as it has been in the recent past.

Onboard Activities

5 out of 5

Entertainment

5 out of 5

Best entertainment seen in more than 25 years of cruising.

Service and Staff

3 out of 5

The staff that was onboard worked very hard and were very friendly but the reduction of staff in the dining room and buffet made dining a less pleasant experience.

Ship Quality

5 out of 5

Cabin / Stateroom

5 out of 5

This cabin sits all alone with no cabins on either side so it is very quiet and in a good location.

Ship tip

Not sure why everyone worries about it being an "older" ship. She is in fine shape and is kept very clean by the crew.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Yokohama (Tokyo), Japan

3 out of 5

Hakodate, Japan

3 out of 5

Don't need a shore excursion here. The port provides a free shuttle to downtown and everything is walkable from there. But there are only limited number of things to see.

Thumbs Up 5

Muroran (Sapporo), Japan

3 out of 5

Saying this is a Sapporo stop is almost false advertising. Sapporo is two hours away by bus. Local town isn't much to see. They set up tents on the pier to sample local food and provide souvenirs. One amazing highlight is the FREE tour offered by Japan Steel Works to their swordsmith shop. Just two tours of 24 each are offered so sign up early. You will meet a fourth generation swordsmith who will explain the sword making process and see his actual workshop.

Thumbs Up 4

Petropavlovsk, Russian Federation

2 out of 5

Small town with not a lot to see. Clearly not geared for having cruise ships stop in.

Thumbs Up 1

Cross International Dateline

3 out of 5

Vancouver (Canada Place), British Columbia

3 out of 5

Easy to get to the airport by subway from the cruise terminal. Subway has space for luggage aboard.

Thumbs Up 5

1 Comment

dmbdriver1 7 years ago

I agree with much of what you said but we found the volume at the shows so loud that you left with a headache and the dining went from a 4 coarse meals to only 3 coarse plus we felt rushed. we had 6 at we table and by the time they had handed out the menus they were back at the first person to get their order. we always loved going with celebrity but after getting no response from them after the cruise we have decided to take our business to a different cruise line.

Thumbs Up 0

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Other reviews of this sailing

An older ship that doesn't deliver like their newer ones