I was contacted in the middle of January and invited to attend a seminar at sea aboard Celebrity Millennium Feb 3-10. As I had booked a group aboard the ship in the past but had never sailed on a Millennium class vessel in our 35 cruises, and since it was visiting two ports I had not visited, Campo de Caso in the Dominican Republic, and Labadee, the RCCL/Celebrity day location in Haiti, I looked forward to attending. I had to travel alone, as my wife did could not get the time off on short notice. Flying into Fort Lauderdale, I purchased the Celebrity airport transfers. We picked up luggage at carousel 4, where there was a Celebrity representative, but we were directed to bring our luggage to the carousel 1 area where they were distributing luggage tags and collecting vouchers. The transfer is quick and check-in was reasonably quick. I had only the Xpress Pass for documentation but that was sufficient. As we boarded the ship they distributed red or blue colored champagne depending on whether you declared to be a New England Patriots or NY Giants fan, as it was Super Bowl Sunday. Staff were available to show you to your cabin, if desired. I boarded about 1:30pm and the cabin was ready. Luggage, however, did not arrive until about 5pm, and hour after sailing.

There was a reception for the agents attending the SAS in Michaels Club. Dinner was at assigned tables for the second seating the first night and we "round robin'd the other nights. They did have a Catholic priest aboard, and had mass each day, including the first evening, a Sunday. The entertainment the first night was a Super Bowl Party in the theater with food and beverages, and TV screens in the Casino.

Day two was a sea day, and the seminar was held from 9am-4pm in a conference room, and they managed to cover all the material Celebrity and Azamara wanted to cover on both sea days. In addition to the brand information and updates, they brought in ship staff from Captain's Club, a sommelier, an onboard group coordinator, future cruise sails, spa reps and others as the shipboard schedule permitted to give specific program updates. This was the first formal night, and the evening entertainment was a Broadway-style review at 8:45 and 11pm. 11pm is really too late for a show for those with second dining. I did notice there were ample venues for music and dancing until at least midnight. Read more