Celebrity Millennium Review

4.0 / 5.0
1,739 reviews

Interesting ports, great ship, and fantastic staff!

Review for Asia Cruise on Celebrity Millennium
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mkesolo
6-10 Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Feb 2018

We chose this cruise because of the itinerary, interesting ports in Asia, and the multiple overnights in some ports. One of the challenges was the distance many of the ports were to the major sights. Normally we would do excursions on our own or jump in a cab, but we didn't feel able to do that many times. We booked more expensive, ship-offered excursions for 3 of 6 ports. They were extremely long days (one was 14+ hrs), but necessary to get to a city and have any amount of time there.

Although we've cruised over a dozen times between us, neither my partner nor I had ever cruised with Celebrity before. The cruise exceeded our expectations. Despite its age and what some of the other cruisers stated, the Millennium was well-kept and did not feel outdated. It had a lot of different, large areas for music, dancing, and activities. It was a joy to walk through a smoke-free casino without holding my breath.

Captain Alex, was very outgoing and friendly. We met him several times, and he was a significant presence on the ship...even playing pool volleyball with other officer vs. guests. The cruise director, Paul, and his small, but energetic staff (Valentina, Emily, Ashley, and DJ Lenny) were a lot of fun. I can't believe so few people provided plenty of activities like SAFE archery, 80s night, trivia, baggo, etc. Like the captain, Paul was a constant presence and knew us by name. We've never had that experience. Overall, the staff on the Millennium was friendly, accommodating, and one of the most engaged staff we have ever encountered on a cruise ship---from our room steward Edi, to our waiters, to the man who cooked my eggs every morning, to Immy, who brought us drinks a single time and said hi to us when she saw us around the ship.

Cabin Review

Cabin Inside Deck 2

Our inside cabin on deck 2 was as expected. It's bigger than inside cabins on other cruise lines. It was quiet. Our room steward Edi was great. Love that chocolate on the pillow every night!

Port Reviews

Hong Kong

We spent a few nights in Hong Kong at the front of our trip, which helped us acclimate to the time change and city. It was nice to have another day once on the ship. The Kai Tak Cruise Terminal is accessible by green minibus #86. Once checked in, free shuttle buses were available between the terminal and two different mall locations with MRT. Hong Kong is a huge city, but with an extensive and easy-to-use public transit system. We purchased Octopus cards, which could be used on almost all modes of transportation, from MRT, to ferry, to trams, to airport bus. Lots of areas and markets to walk around. The line for the tram to Victoria Peak was long (2.5 hrs), so I'd recommend going early or paying more for tickets that allow you to skip the line. Our favorite thing was taking the Ngong Ping 360 cable car to see the Big Buddha on Lantau Island. We took the local bus back.

Halong Bay

We had 1.5 days in Halong Bay. We had to tender to land. We took a ship-provided shore excursion to Hanoi the first full day. Although it's only 115 miles away, due to road conditions, it takes 4 hours each way. The bus stops at a hospitality center on the way there and back with decent bathrooms and a large handicraft and convenience store. Our excursion included a walking tour of the old quarter, which we found most interesting. Hanoi is a large city--8 million people, 4 million motorbikes--and felt frenetic. We had lunch at a nice hotel with a variety of dishes served family style. Afterward, we went to a temple for Confucius and the Ho Chi Minh complex to see the exterior of the mausoleum, a couple of his houses, and the one-pillar pagada. Then back on the bus for another 4 hours. We arrived after the tenders were supposed to have stopped for the night, but they continued until all the buses were back. We met up for our tour at 7:30am, got on the bus at 8am, to Hanoi by 12pm, tour for 5.5 hrs, 4 hours back to Halong Bay, tender back to ship after 10pm. A LONG Day.

The ship left port at 1pm on the second day in port. We did a ship-arranged 1/2-day boat tour of Halong Bay as we didn't feel we would make it back in time if we booked it on our own. However, if doing it on a full day, it would be very easy to tender ashore and book separately, and probably less expensively. The tour we did book was good. The junk boat pulled right up to the ship and then took us to a couple of caves. We toured one as a group and the second cave was optional. Then the boat piloted through part of the bay, between and around different rock "islands", and back to the boat.

Both days in Hanoi and Halong Bay were cooler than normal for this time of year so we had to wear three light layers of clothing.

Bangkok (Laem Chabang)

We had almost 2 full days near Bangkok. Due to a naval vessel using our berth in Laem Chabang, we actually docked in Sri Racha nearby. This complicated things getting off the ship as many people had booked tours and had to rearrange. Because I've been to Bangkok before, we did this port on our own. In Sri Racha, buses out of the industrial port were provided. There were a bunch of taxis, but seemed to be all the same company so negotiating a lower rate was more challenging. It is cheaper to arrange a round trip than a one-way. Another couple and we shared a cab to Bangkok, about 2 hours away. Our driver agreed to take us to a hotel we had booked, drive us around Bangkok, and take us back for a total of $180 USD ($45pp). I had read cabs were $50 each way, but we were unable to negotiate down...maybe because of the different arrival port. Although the driver would take us around the city, it is so big and congested that it takes forever by car. So we ended up dismissing our driver and using public transit...tuk tuks, river ferry, canal taxi, and MRT, which was faster and more interesting. Because of the timing getting off the ship, the distance to Bangkok, and traffic, we barely missed getting into the Grand Palace, which closes its gates for the last tours at 3:30pm. Also note that there is a dress code for the palace and various temples for both men and women. We were able to get to Wat Pho (the reclining Buddha) and Wat Arun across the river before they closed. We stayed in the Sukhumvit area, which has a happening nightlife and lots of restaurants. Because of our short schedule the next day, we didn't feel we had enough time to get to the palace and back, so we spent the time in Sukhumvit. Our ship repositioned to the Laem Chabang port the afternoon of the first day, so our cab took us back there. There was a cruise terminal, but our ship was not next to it, so I don't know if it had much. While I loved Bangkok on a previous trip, the compressed schedule and distance from the port made it feel very rushed and less fulfilling.

Singapore

This was my third time to Singapore so I know it pretty well. The cruise docked there a full day before disembarkation and we spent an extra night at a hotel in Little India. Since the last time I was there in 2015, the city has completed an MRT station within walking distance to the cruise terminal. The walkway is flat, newly paved, with overhead covering so were were able to pull our luggage to the MRT on the last day with no trouble. MRT tickets are available at machines but small bills are required. The counter can also sell tickets, but they must be topped up. Also, you can by a 1- or 2-day tourist pass, but only at select stations, which does NOT include the Marina South Pier station. So you would have to purchase a regular ticket and get the pass at another station later. Singapore has a lot of different areas to walk around. We went to Chinatown, Little India, Arab Street, the Newton Hawker Center (outdoor food stalls), Boat Quay and Clarke Quay on the waterfront, the colonial district, etc. Note that the popular Raffles Hotel/Long Bar is currently closed for renovation (Feb 2018). We spent some time at the Gardens at the Bay, with its large man-made lighted trees. We intended to buy tickets for the Skyway (22 meters up), but the sold out long before the closing time. So if you're interested in that, get them earlier in the day. There are two shows at 7:45p and 8:45p and they are amazing! Park yourself underneath the main set of trees around 15-30 minutes before the show and enjoy. The gardens are definitely better at night.

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