After reading all the negative reviews on this website our level of concern increased in the weeks and months after booking our Asian cruise. However our experience on the Millennium from embarkation in Singapore over the two weeks until we disembarked in HK was really positive overall and beyond our expectations. Comparing our experience to that of some others who have posted here it’s hard to reconcile if we were all on the same voyage. Quality of any experience is related to expectations so I’ve listed a few thoughts to provide a reality check to future cruisers.
Firstly, the Millennium is not a sparkling 5 star hotel in cities like HK or Singapore, it’s not part of Cunard and it’s no secret that the ship is over 14 years old but it is well maintained overall. Sure, if you look hard enough there are scrapes on the paintwork or carpets but the main traffic areas were always being cleaned and there was some rust on the outside, but the ship is constantly exposed to the elements.
Secondly don’t expect the full Michelin gourmet experience with the food, but there is plenty of it in the Oceanview and Metropolitan Dining Room and the quality is much better than average. There was rarely any difficulty in getting a table at the Oceanview Café and our only criticism was that there was little change in buffet the menu over the voyage. They ran out of bananas and pineapple by the end of the cruise, but they had plenty of other fruits. The Metropolitan was very good overall, and our waiter Ryan and his assistant were superb and where else on land can you get a great 4 course meal every night. If you get a choice, I’d recommend the Select Dining option which gives you the flexibility to dine when you want.