My husband and I were celebrating our 25th wedding anniversary along with some friends and we chose the Millennium. We picked this cruise for the itinerary not because of the ship. The ports were incredible and the weather was great as well.
We flew from Baltimore to Venice a few extra days before the cruise which was perfect. I loved Venice and although very expensive we had a great time. We stayed at the Sofitel Venezia, which was the hotel the cruise line uses for pre-stays, but we booked it ourselves and saved quite a bit of money. It is not far from the Pizzale Roma which is where land taxis let you off and although we had quite a bit of luggage we managed the short walk. The hotel staff was very helpful and we had a beautiful room with balcony overlooking the canal.
Embarkation was a snap. We were in no hurry to get on the ship since it was a overnight in Venice. We arrived around 3:00 pm and were on the ship in minutes. Celebrity provided free shuttles to St. Marks Square that evening and the next day.