This was our first experience on the Millennium, and first Alaska cruise. We have previously sailed on the Summit (sister ship), Equinox, Eclipse and Reflection.

Embarkation: We stayed in Seward the night before the cruise, and had an 11 AM checkout. We left some bags we didn't want to entrust to the baggage handlers at the hotel, and took the rest to the ship via hotel shuttle. We arrived at 10:20 AM, and had to wait about a half hour before we could actually check the bags and take care of the boarding things. Once it all opened up, were were through the check in process and on board in under 10 minutes. My son was the first passenger to walk on the ship. It was great. We had lunch, then caught a hotel shuttle back to town to visit the Sea Life Center and walk around town. There is a free shuttle to get back to town; we gave a hotel shuttle driver $10 and he dropped us off.

Ship: As a sister ship to the Summit, which we've sailed on 4 times, the Millennium comes out on top. I thought it might be a bit newer, but that isn't the case. I've just noticed some wear on the Summit that I didn't notice on the Millenium; perhaps it was refurbished more recently. Anyway, very nice ship, no obvious signs of wear, the elevators worked all of the time, and it was clean and obviously well maintained. In terms of movement, it was the smoothest cruise I've ever done. If you get sea sick on a cruise that smooth, you probably should seek other vacation types. Read more