After months of reading past cruise reviews and experiencing built up anticipation, DW and I arrived in Anchorage on Wednesday two days prior to sailing. Leaving Atlanta with temperatures in the mid-90's and arriving with temperatures around 60 was a good start to a great 11 days of touring and cruising. We stayed at the Crowne Plaza near the airport and rented a car from Hertz at their downtown location. We found renting a car allowed us to experience Alaska on our own and at our pace. It rained Wednesday and Thursday but in no way hampered our ability to tour Anchorage and the surrounding area. We breakfasted at Snow City Cafe and lunched at Simon and Seafort. Both were good choices and were listed as must do by DW's travel schedule. We did all of the tourist things to do like petting a sled dog puppy, visiting museums, watching films, seeing bears,moose,reindeer,eagles and attending the Alaska Native Heritage Center, etc.

On Friday morning, we drove down the Seward Highway to Seward. The trip was easy driving and enjoyable. We stopped many times to take pictures, look at animals and just enjoy the scenery. The trip took about two and a half hours and we arrived in Seward around 11:00AM. Drove around Seward for a short time and went to the train depot to check luggage and board the ship. Embarkation took only about 15 minutes and we were on-board the ship. We familiarized our self with the Millennium since this was our first time on the ship and checked with MDR to determine our seating location. We had reserved the 6:00 PM seating at a table for 8. We ate in the Resort deck Ocean Cafe and proceeded to our room after 1:00PM. We were met by our attendant Salome who we determined to be outstanding. She attended to our every need with exceptional service and catered to our personal preferences such as the cheese trays everyday, replacing eaten fruit and fresh linens every time we left the room. The room was a C-3 on the Sky deck and was a great location with easy access to the stairs to the Ocean Cafe where DW feasted on waffles daily and close proximity to the elevators by Words so I could visit Cova Cafe for my morning latte or cappuccino. We found the room to be comfortable with ample storage space. We enjoyed the spectacular views from balcony and even utilized room service once.

The food on the Millennium was very good. Having spent many years in contract management food service and observing the problems of providing thousands of meals at one time, the staff and chefs were outstanding. The quality and selection of the food started off good but improved as the week progressed. I only experienced one meal which was the sirloin steak on the first night that was below standards. The desserts which I noticed were brought into question by some CC were exceptional. If you could not find a dessert that you liked you could not go wrong with Creme Brulee. I would rate the dining both in the Ocean Cafe and the MDR 4+. I also purchased the Classic Non-alcohol beverage package on the second day of the cruise. I highly recommend this package. We attended every show in the Celebrity Theater. While not Broadway quality, the shows were entertaining and enjoyable. The ship was filled with a variety of entertainers. If you could not find the entertainment to meet your needs at one bar, go to another one. From stringed instruments to quartets to solo performers and from swing bands to current music, they provided all. If you wanted to be provide your own entertainment at the gaming tables, Fortunes provided that answer. I used the Fitness Center on a couple of occasions and used the running track on the 11th deck. Both were modern with updated equipment. We had great weather the entire cruise except for a light shower in Ketchikan. The first day of the cruise was Hubbard Glacier. The weather broke as we entered the bay and was perfect. The Captain brought us to within .4 of a mile of the glacier and we even experienced a rocking of the ship when a large piece of ice broke off. We observed between 20-30 calvings. Hubbard could not have been better. Next stop was Juneau where we did the morning at Mendenhall(must visit), afternoon at museums and Mt. Roberts(once is enough)and the rest shopping with DW(not my bag). Skagway was the home of the White Pass Train which was the best excursion of the trip. The ride through the pass and up the mountain provided some of the best and most spectacular views of the whole trip. I feel that it is a must do. Icy Strait provided us with a morning view of a pod of Orca which we observed from our balcony. We saw at least 5 that breached. Ketchikan brought us back to reality as showers made us use our rain gear. Salmon were spawning and the creek was filled. You felt like you could literally walk on top of salmon to cross the creek. Our last day of sailing provided us with a sighting of humpback whales as we were attending the Captains Club party. Lisa, Daniel and all of the other members of the Cruise Directors staff need to be commended for a great cruise. Least I forget, Martin and all of the others at the Cova Cafe deserve a thank you for exceptional service with a smile. Read more