May 29th was a glourious day to embark on a cruise to Alaska from Vancouver. Gorgeous sunshine with the outlook for more to come. This was our 4th and 5th cruise with Celebrity as we were putting two 7 day alaska cruise back to back. The ports were Ketchikan, Juneau, Skagway and Icy point straight on the way up to Seward and the same returning to Vancouver.Embarkation for the most part was simple although it had moments of disorganization. Perhaps that can be put down to it being only the 2nd Celebrity cruise out of Vancouver this year and perhaps the Celebrity shore staff noy quite up and running yet. General disorganization in the holding area before actual boarding. Numbers were handed out but not used to board, it was a general free for all. Once aboard everything else seemed less chaotic. Embarkation buffet lunch was the usual fare although the one thing you noticed right away was the ease to find a table and the superior quality of ingredients used in the food compared to Royal carribbean or Princess for example.Having seen the Millenium in drydock for 10 days before this cruise we were expecting that some of the changes would show. However, they didn,t with the exception of what was obviously new carpet. Although rumours had been floating around what this drydock would involve, the Millenium is a tired looking ship that needs a lot of cosmetic refurbishment. Especially in the staterooms.Service remains good but not as exceptional as it once was. I think this is mostly due to were the crew now seems to come from. in the past, a lot of service personnel seemed to come from eastern Europe were english was more easily taught. Now the vast majority seem to come from the phillipines, Indonesia and India. It now resembles a Holland America cruise were we found their main fault was always communication. Having said that, we did have an excellent cabin steward for the first leg, Elsa, and very good wait staff in the dining room with Rolando and Brian. Our asst maitrd Nicholas was the best we have ever had and this made clear on Staff introduction night at 2nd formal dinner as he received the loudest and longest round of applause for any maitr,d.On this cruise we had 2 cabins as this was a back to back cruise. 7 days to Alaska and 7 days back to Vancouver. Both cabins were insides on the Millenium. 7054 and 2080. Both are adequate in size and space. Both however, are begining to show there age. Chips out of mirrors, scrathches on bathroom porcelin and general wear and tear. TV in 7054 needs replacing. 7054 is a very quiet cabin, 2080 can be quite noisy as you can hear water travelling through pipes and general mechanical clatter. Otherwise not too much else to report. Food on the ship was very good taste wise in all areas. It,s downfall was temperature. Food was quite cold in the buffet, warm at best in the dining room and several courses, especially the main course in the Olympic dining room. This due in part to the table side service which although looks good, a hotter meal would be preferred. Having said that, however, the selection was always good from waffles to fried bread and proper english sausages in the buffet at breakfast to the scones and cream at Afternoon tea. Cakes, breads and pastries were always excellent and the selection of drinks in the buffet for lunch was very good. Lemonade, Ice Tea, fruit punch and passion Guava juice always available compared to just Ice Tea on Holland America. Prime Rib, Cornish Game Hen and Lamb in the dining were excellent and the warm Goat Cheese souffle, lobster bisque, Dover Sole and Chocolate souffle for dessert in The Olympic were outstanding.However, outstanding is not the word to describe Celebritys entertainment. The production shows were awful. Shrill and shouted lyrics joined together by the most amatuerish acting were painful yo watch. Audiences must be more sophisticated by now surely! This was the cruise line specialty of the early 1990s. Tried and recycled quizzes, battle of the sexes, and jugglers, magicians and comics ruound out the awful end of a good day. Movies in the cinema were no better as they showed such instant classics as The Women, Love Guru and Baby Mama.The weather on this cruise was sensational. For late May and early June to have 12 days of hot sunshine and only 2 of clouds for Alaska was truly a marvel and made the world of diffence. It made the cruise that much more enjoyable.The cruise was marred by an outbreak of the Norwalk virus. 3 days into the second leg it hit. Although it was announced as a minor outbreak, the reaction to it was overblown in a very knee jerk fashion. Suddenly no one was allowed to touch anything. Hand sanitizing was taken to enourmous extremes. And although some of these actions would have handled the situation, the fact that you were dealing with staff with very limited english comprehension made the whole situation much worse than it should have been.Having said all that, the cruise was enjoyable. I would rate the first 7 days a 9/10 and the second 7 days 6.5/10. We would sail with celebrity again if for no other reason than the food!
On this cruise we had 2 cabins as this was a back to back cruise. 7 days to Alaska and 7 days back to Vancouver. Both cabins were insides on the Millenium. 7054 and 2080. Both are adequate in size and space. Both however, are begining to show there age. Chips out of mirrors, scrathches on bathroom porcelin and general wear and tear. TV in 7054 needs replacing. 7054 is a very quiet cabin, 2080 can be quite noisy as you can hear water travelling through pipes and general mechanical clatter. Otherwise not too much else to report.