The Royal Suites and Penthouse Suites at the aft of Deck 6 were located at the wider part of the ship but suffered from balconies that were totally exposed to the decks above, and afforded little or no privacy. They were also the 'target' of breadcrumbs and other food stuffs, ostensibly thrown for the birds, from the Ocean Grill outdoor eating area on Deck 10. We feel that the location and different configurations of the top category suites on this ship is deplorable. But the suites weren't the only categories to 'suffer' from the ship's design. The top category balcony staterooms (1A) located on Deck 9 had darker and somewhat dreary interiors due to being in the constant shade of the 15 foot overhang of the Resort Deck above. They also had view impediments caused by the diagonal support beams for the Resort Deck. Thus the exterior design of the ship, although appealing, has caused vast inconsistencies in cabin amenities and views. Although we are not necessarily fond of the exterior look of the some of the newer megaships (i.e. Voyager of the Seas), we now can appreciate that their 'boxy' look at least equates to more equitable interior accommodations.
Well that dragged on a little bit longer than intended, but we still have to cover our steward service while under this topic. Unfortunately, this was worse than we have experienced on other cruises and certainly far worse than our last Celebrity cruise. Rather than the typical unobtrusive and efficient steward you rarely see–who 'magically' makes up your room the minute you leave–ours was always interrupting us. One particular morning when we had a chance to sleep in a bit later after a late night out dancing and no planned shore excursions–with the Do Not Disturb sign on the door–he phoned at 9:00AM to find out when he could make up the room. On the first day of the cruise (as we do on every cruise) we had also requested that our ice bucket be refilled at his leisure sometime between 3:00 and 4:00PM each day, because most had melted by that time. He happily agreed but then only did it for the 1st 3 days and then stopped. Yet it was he who had to subsequently get the ice when we were forced to call room service. Six days into the cruise we also noticed that our balcony had never been cleaned, and both the glass and railing were caked with salt. When we finally complained to the Chief Housekeeper, who happened to be from the Mercury and remembered us from our last cruise, he discovered that our steward (and his assistant) were not cleaning any of the balconies to the cabins they were responsible for as they were supposed to, and directed them–in very harsh language–to do their jobs properly. He then had them clean not only our balcony, but all the other balconies as well (they blamed the lack of the water spigot as the reason they were not washing down the deck and balcony glass and railings).
On the positive side, our butler Rupesh was simply outstanding and definitely made what might have easily become a disappointing cruise into a very memorable and enjoyable one. Unlike our steward, he remembered absolutely every little nuance of our likes and dislikes, quickly attended to any request we made, and even 'filled in' for the steward when he realized certain things weren't being done as they should be. For example, when he came by with tea and pastries every afternoon shortly after 4:00PM he would ask if we had received our requested ice, and take care of it even though it was not his job. There just are not enough accolades for the excellent butler services provided by Celebrity. Our butler Edwin from our last cruise on the Mercury was also here on the Millennium and it was great to see and talk with him again.
Dining and Dining Service
Ocean Café and Ocean Grill
The food in the Ocean Café was okay, but was just the typical buffet fare. Everyday for lunch there was usually a choice of some fish, meat, potatoes, and vegetables plus soup and salad and a freshly carved roast of some kind (beef, pork, ham, etc.). However, at the back of the buffet on both sides of the ship there was a pasta station, freshly cooking a different pasta each day. This was very good. The Ocean Grill pre-cooked all the hamburgers, hot dogs, and daily barbeque specialty items and kept them in warming pans, but they were surprisingly good nonetheless (still moist and warm, which is more than can be said for some of the buffet items). Tommie and I never ate breakfast up here because we preferred to have it in our cabin (room service for suites includes a FULL breakfast, not just the traditional continental fare), so we cannot comment on how the food was for breakfast.
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