First off, I'm shocked at how many people were so very negative regarding Celebrity here on Cruise Critic. Each boat is different, as is each cruise line. Nobody should base a single experience on a cruise as their measure for an entire cruise line.

That being said, I agree that compared to our first experience with Celebrity on the Summit, the Millennium seemed "tired". I had no qualms about sailing on an older ship, as it was advertised as having received "renovations" in 2012. However, there were definitely areas that looked old/worn. Specifics I noticed were mostly exterior handrails that had lost their finish, along with ones that had obviously been removed for repair, replaced with temporary steel supports that were rusty and truly eye-sores. However, it must be very difficult to keep a ship both in excellent repair AND in service to meet customer demand. Crew was obviously working very hard to see to passenger needs.

Our embarkation went smoothly but was slower than some ports in which we've traveled. After a quick lunch in the OceanView Cafe, our rooms were ready. We were in Aqua Class, and we had Aft cabins. Our only disappointment was that one of the only two smoking areas on the entire ship happened to be right under our balconies. People smoked cigars, cigarettes, etc. down there night and day. When the ship was in motion, it wasn't so bad, but in port, it was terrible. This was most unfortunate for my cousin, who is allergic to smoking. I look forward to the day when smoking will be completely BANNED on cruise ships! Our balconies were otherwise very spacious and the chairs are most comfortable for reading. The rooms are also quite sound-proof. There was an outdoor lounge right under us, and I was concerned about the noise level at first. It turned out to be no issue. Read more