We sailed on the Millenium to Alaska on May 23rd, in Aqua class, cabin 9060. From the embarkation in Vancouver, we missed the normal Celebrity organization and tender care. There were no Celebrity signs to direct us through Canada Place; we just followed the herd. Once through immigration, there was no priority boarding that we noticed. Once on board, we noticed immediately that this was an older ship (we had sailed on the Solstice-class Silhouette last summer). The bathroom in particular was dated and hardly luxurious; there was an ashtray screwed into the wall and a bottle opener screwed into the door jamb, if you needed a clue. Actually, the rectangular shower seemed roomier than the little rounded ones on the newer ships, and the Hansgrohe shower tower was fantastic. It had a rain head on the hand shower, and there were six adjustable jets to be aimed at other spots. It was almost worth the price of Agua class just for that shower. Why they don't put hand showers in all cabins is a mystery. There was a bottle of complementary champagne on arrival, and the steward separated our beds upon request. They are small, as expected, but my husband's bed only had one pillow (for all that there is supposed to be a "pillow menu"); we found another one in the closet eventually. There were no spa amenities in the bathroom, no aroma diffuser; in fact, the bathroom smelled pretty bad when we first arrived. We told the steward and he cleaned it -- much better. We did get the promised tea and water every day, except the tea arrived mid-morning at room temperature while we were usually out on an excursion. The plastic water bottles kept piling up on the desk every day, whether we drank them or not.

Blu Restaurant was wonderful, holding about 100 or so people at small tables in a quiet room. The food was innovative and excellent at dinner; it certainly didn't seem to be low-calorie, and there was a nice selection. Service was also excellent. We ate in the regular restaurant one evening, just to try it, and the food was very pedestrian. Someone ordered chicken and pasta, both of which were tough and dry. And the tables are jammed together. We never went back. When I asked the waiters in Blu about why their food was so much better, they said they have their own kitchen. We tried breakfast at Blu a couple of mornings with mixed reviews. The french toast was wonderful; the blueberry pancakes were nothing special. Good smoothies. We actually preferred grazing up in the Ocean View Cafe. But that, too, seemed to have some staffing difficulties. Some stations were unmanned; at many stations, the staff person didn't speak English at all. When I asked a roving waiter for a latte, he explained that he would have to go down to deck 5 to fetch it. I told him not to bother, that I would just have regular coffee. (Cafe el Bacio was the only place on the ship to get specialty coffee, and it was usually jammed.) Sometimes there was a thermos of hot milk, which was very nice, and sometimes there wasn't. The coffee dispensers were often empty. My first thought was, "Boy, this ship needs a quality control person on board." If this had been our first Celebrity cruise experience, I don't think we would have booked with them again. It was very different from our earlier cruise on Silhouette in the Mediterranean, where we felt very pampered. Bottom line is that Aqua class was great because of Blu and the shower. Otherwise, it was not worth the upgrade from Concierge.