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Pangean
Cruiser
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Posted: Wed Sep 24th, 2008 12:20 am | 1st Post |
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By way of background, this was my second cruise on Celebrity and 10th cruise overall in the last 6 years. Initially a reluctant cruiser, I came around fairly quickly and have enjoyed every one of those cruises (Princess x4, NCLx3, HAL x1).
Most of these cruises were firm retreats and I had no say in selecting the line or the ship. Which is likely the only reason I got back on Celebrity since the previous cruise on Celebrity (our group went on the Mercury in 2005 or 2006) was my least favourite cruise of them all. On the Mercury I found the food and ship were unimpressive and the staff were very uptight (professional, but not very communicative). It certainly didn't make for a restful/relaxing cruise. Although I don't think I would have booked another cruise myself on Celebrity I did go into this cruise with an open mind.
In general I found the Millenium ( the cruise was another firm retreat) to be a beautiful, well sized ship that was well cared for and had many touches that made it a good cruise.
Some of the things I liked about the cruise:
1. Ability to bring wine on board for consumption in your cabin.
2. The quality of the wine list.
3. When you ordered a glass of wine in one of the lounges, the bottle was brought to you and your glass was filled from that bottle. Do you see a bit of a trend here?
4. The ship's layout was clean and it was easy to navigate from level to level and from one end of the ship to the other. Although the atrium wasn't that large, the columns and drapes made it feel grand and impressive. The elevators with the outside view gave the ship a very modern feel.
5. The size and layout of the buffet was very good. There never seemed to be a line up or problem with traffic flow.
6. The Olympic Restaurant decor was impressive (unfortunately because we were with a group we didn't get a chance to eat there).
7. The two level library area was interesting.
8. I witnessed (with my own eyes) a real live staff person taking towels off unattended lounges by the pool. Cruise Line 1 - Chair Hogs 0 (though as you'll see below, it could be that they were just running out of towels and needed to send some to the laundry).
9. The tender process where you reported to the main theatre before being escorted in groups to the actual tender went smoothly (though a couple of other members of our group of 24 complained about the length of time it took to get off the ship - for us it went well and smoothly).
10. The tender operators seemed more skilled than those on previous cruises (apparently they didn't attend the binary either full throttle or off school of navigation and instead finessed their way into the dock).
11. The bubbly welcome on embarkation is always nice.
12. On this cruise there was a good and relatively young passenger mix.
13. The cleanliness and upkeep of the room. Our room steward Elsa was very good and the room and particularly the bathroom smelled clean and fresh upon arrival.
14. Use of umbrella while ashore.
15. Room service was prompt and efficient.
16. The indoor hydro-pool area was very nice.
On the other hand, there were several things about the cruise that I didn't like:
1. The mini-bar fridge wasn't working (see item 1 above). Although I brought this to our cabin steward's attention shortly after arrival and again the next day, it was still not working by the time we left the ship.
2. The coffee machines in the Cova Cafe weren't working for 2 of the 3 days. Since the regular "brewed" coffee in the restaurants and room service was like all cruise ship coffee (atrocious, though certainly not as bad as that on Princess) and since there were no kettles or brew-your-own coffee pots in our room, this put a real dent in my morning rituals.
3. On a similar vein, you got charged for lattes/cappuccinos in the DR.
4. The majority of artwork on the ship. Yes, I know that art, like food, is subjective. And, its not that I don't like abstract art. I do have an artist in my family and I have been exposed to some pretty varied stuff. Its just that a lot of the artwork didn't fit with the atmosphere of the ship and well, was downright ugly.
5. The restaurant wasn't open for lunch on embarkation. Off to the buffet.
6. Since we'd been to both Seattle and Victoria many many times, our plan was to stay on the ship and enjoy its comforts and services. However, the restaurant wasn't open for lunch on either of the other two days. Okay, back to the buffet.
7. Didn't see any officers out and about, mingling with the passengers.
8. The entertainment was subpar (better than on the HAL cruise, but not even close to Princess or NCL). There was one guitar soloist that was good, but the acapella (sp?) group wasn't very good and the comedian wasn't funny (after the first five jokes fell flat it was too painful to watch anymore and we scooted out the back - apparently it was a good call, because others in our group said it got even worse).
9. Food selection and quality. A lot of people rave about the food quality on Celebrity. I don't see it. On the Mercury cruise I thought the food was standard mass market cruise ship fare. Although there were many in our group (including my wife) who thought the food on the Millennium was very good, it was like I was being followed around by a culinary black cloud. There wasn't a single meal where I came away impressed. The selection of appy's was limited and unimaginative. Even when I got the same thing as my wife, hers was good and mine was either tough or nothing but fat.
10. I didn't like being rushed out of the DR with the flashing lights. I know this is a function of traditional dining and with the first seating (and really does put substance to my preference for freestyle or anytime dining). However, it could have been handled a little differently, especially since it had been their mixup and delay in getting coffee drinks that pushed us close to the deadline. I think it would have been far better for the waiter or headwaiter to explain the situation and soften the impact of being effectively thrown out on our ear.
11. The experience with the wait staff was mixed. Because we were in a group of 24, we had 3 tables of 8 and were scrambled about. My wife and I ended up eating at all three of our tables. One of the servers, Lorensius, was very good to excellent. He was helpful and responded to requests quickly. One of the other waiters was fairly good, but the third one was below average.
12. They ran out of towels at the pool area. Normally, you could use one of the ones from your room, but the allotment of room towels was very limited (only 1 significant sized towel per person per day).
13. The hot tubs were closed early each evening (9:00'ish). Although the hydro-pool was open later (and as noted above was beautiful), it wasn't that hot and just wasn't the same.
14. Although there were several staff members who were friendly (see comment on Lorensius above), generally the staff on the ship did not go out of their way to be friendly or communicate with the passengers beyond a rudimentary 'hello' or 'good morning'.
15. Over emphasis on rules. Again, this is probably a reflection of having been on three extended NCL cruises over the last 3 years. However, after having cruised freestyle, the overarching sense of rules and regulations was disquieting.
As noted above, the Millennium is a beautiful, well cared for ship, and many in our group thought the food and service was very good. And if someone was to cover the cost of my cruise fare on another Millennium cruise I'd jump at the chance and look forward to it. However, I don't think I'll be booking a Celebrity cruise on my own (especially if we're taking the kids).
P.
PS: My experience on the Millennium illustrates what variability there is in the cruise experience and suggests how much any review or impression can be affected by happenstance. If we had been assigned a room with a working fridge for the white wine, if I didn't dislike cruise coffee so much or if the machine at the coffee bar hadn't broken down, if we'd had Lorensius each of the three nights at dinner, and if the meals I'd chosen had been 'best of show', then I likely would have had a much different impression of Celebrity. And I would have written a much different review. It also shows how two people on the same cruise can have such differing opinions.
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Reunite Pangaea!!!
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hstrybuf
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| Joined: | Sat Jun 17th, 2006 |
| Location: | Kansas |
| Posts: | 21180 |
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Posted: Wed Sep 24th, 2008 12:48 am | 2nd Post |
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| P, thanks for doing this review! I've never cruised Celebrity so the pros and cons are very interesting to me. I find myself comparing them to our experiences on the lines we've sailed: Princess x 2, RCCL x 2, Carnival x 5.
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Deb
"In matters of style, swim with the current; in matters of principle, stand like a rock." - Thomas Jefferson
My pics: http://community.webshots.com/user/hstrycrsr
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