Entertainment and Activities
There was a great variety of entertainment during the 13-day cruise, and overall we would have to say that it was all very good. The band Onyx that played during lunch by the pool and in the Cosmos Lounge before dinner was outstanding, and we never tired of listening to them. The A Capella group Four Score was also excellent and could be found at various places throughout the ship, drawing large crowds wherever they sang. The production shows were all very good, but we expected to see more special effects with the latest and greatest state-of-the-art stage available in the Celebrity Theater. Most of the other entertainers were okay, but none stood out as must-see artists. The Cruise Director of course did a Newlywed-type game one evening that was very entertaining, and also a game they called Dream Ticket. The latter was extremely good, as audience members were selected to come on stage and answer trivia questions in a Jeopardy-like fashion. Both of these shows were later re-broadcast on the stateroom TV's so those that missed the actual show could still see the fun.
Ample daily activities, typical of any cruise, were readily available. These of course included Bingo, fitness and exercise, dance lessons, napkin folding, culinary demonstrations, wine tasting, various competitions (basketball, putting, etc.), and the now inevitable art auctions. A few evening activities were also scheduled, but this is where one has to question the logic behind why specific things were arranged when they were? For example, one night from 10:00-midnight there was Tropical Island Nights Celebration followed by a Fruit and Sherbert buffet out on the open pool deck. Rather than schedule such a party when we were in the warmer waters of the Mediterranean, it was held when we were still in the Atlantic off the coast of Spain. The evening was chilly and very windy. Tommie and I went up around 11:00PM and counted less than 50 people, all laying on lounge chairs and wrapped in blankets. The only party-goers where a few Celebrity staff members trying desperately to get some people up to dance. What a dud!
Miscellaneous
Celebrity has an unlimited soft drink program for children that costs $4.50 per day plus 15% gratuity, but the purchase MUST be made for the entire cruise and NOT on a day-by-day basis.
Wine may be taken into the dining room, but is subject to a $6.00 corkage fee (if it isn't a wine that is on their wine list).
Gentlemen are able to rent tuxedos onboard for formal nights.
Computer classes in Windows 98, the Internet, E-Mail, Desktop Publishing, Excel, PowerPoint, and Word were available onboard, but each cost $59.
We were permitted to purchase liquor in one of the Emporium shops and bring it back to the cabin.
Although the daily program stated that "All duty free liquor or cigarettes purchased ashore will be collected at the gangway and delivered to your stateroom during the evening prior to the day of disembarkation," none of our bags was ever searched nor were we ever questioned when re-boarding the ship in any port.
Celebrity is a stickler about requiring BOTH your ship card AND a photo id to re-board the ship. Please save yourself and other passengers the hassle inevitably caused at the bottom of the gangway by people who forgot their photo id.
Differing opinions have been expressed by people about Millennium's vibration problem, that is the cause of the upcoming dry docking in late November. We did not experience any vibrations, either in our cabin or the dining room, that we have not felt on most other ships we have cruised on. Naturally, there is increased vibration while the bow and stern thrusters are being employed when entering and leaving port, but again these did not appear to us to be any different than on other ships. Of course, we were never in the dining room when this occurred, but presume that there could be increased vibration at those times due to its location on lower decks at the very back of the ship, such that "dishes may rattle on the tables." It's just not something we personally experienced.
The Voyage and Ports of Call
Before we describe the cruise itself and the various ports of call, we want to reiterate that this was our 7thcruise in Europe. We had already visited all the ports on this itinerary–some more than once–and done most of the shore excursions on past cruises. Therefore we did not plan to do too much in the way of excursions on this trip.
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