Our Background:
My wife Vicki and I are both in our early 40's, and lead a fairly hectic
lifestyle full of tension, so we board ships with fair regularity bound for
the Caribbean every winter. In addition, this affords us some escape from
Northeast winters. Although not as well traveled as some who write these
reviews (this winter marked our fourth and fifth trips with Celebrity), we
have sailed on all the classes of ships Celebrity has to offer (the Zenith,
Horizon, Galaxy and now Millennium) plus we had the opportunity to stay on
board for back-to-back cruises. I think this adds some veracity to report,
if not a little different spin.
While not money conscious, like most people looking into Celebrity we enjoy
stretching the value of our vacation dollar and hope we can offer some tips
to fellow travelers.
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Arrival:
We book our own airfare to Ft. Lauderdale, saving on airfare and spending
the $8 on a taxi to get to port, so we have nothing to offer about meeting
cruise personnel at the airport. (This regularly saves us some $200 per
trip.) As Captain's Club members we have never had a single problem getting
on board, and this trip I noted the time from cab to getting on board:
twelve minutes. This alone pays for the expense of being a Club member.
About getting onboard: be assured your luggage will take longer than you
expect to get to your cabin! Remove the items you will need to enjoy the
pool, or if you are prone to fretting, have your evening wear with you.
Luggage invariably takes until 5:00 to arrive, and if you don't arrive in
your bathing suit can mean a wasted day of needed sunshine. From the
grumbling of other cruisers, this apparently is not the case on other ships,
although we experienced it once with HAL.
One other thing about arrival: you'll find waiters walking about with
"Celebrity glasses" (ala Tom Collins glasses) filled with Bahama Mama's as
you stroll around the pool. Be aware those are not complementary drinks, and
will cost you $6.95 plus tip.
The Cabin:
Can't say too much about that here. We stayed in inside staterooms, on the
third floor and on the seventh. The little table provided is a bit of a
pain, but the steward took it out for us to give us a little leg room. If
you've sailed the other ships in the line, you'll notice a little less
storage available as they have removed space to put in a useless
refrigerator, presumably as another profit center. But that's really a minor
quibble, as we are both could barely fill the allotted space even over a two
week trip.
They also provide you with bathrobes, which of course will be added to your
bill should you leave with them.
The Ship:
Stunning in most every regard where we were privy to go. Obviously, we could
not go into the more expensive cabins, so I leave you to other reviews. The
beauty of the (mostly modern) artwork provided is subjective, but not the
quantity, which is copious. Personally, I enjoyed it a great deal. The Tower
is place of quiet and reserve, filled with plants and orchids and lined with
glass facing out onto the ocean, with a winding staircase leading to a
wonderful reading area. The main bar, Cosmos, is lit like a NYC bar, with an
ample dance space. But be careful out there dancing...there are some ridges
cut into the dance floor for some ridiculous reason. Again, artwork abounds
even here.
The Extreme Sports bar was home to numerous parties while I was onboard,
especially during the NFL playoffs. Although a bit small, there are enough
TV's to suffice and it feels close. If you enjoy hoops, the basketball court
is behind and one flight up from here. The pool area is delightful, with the
four hot tubs nearly always with someone waiting to talk to you and plenty
of room in the pools. Deck space is a little limited directly around the
pools, but not tragically so. As always, expect 20% of the chairs to be
reserved for use by some idiot that never sits down.
Deck Five is home to the "Galleria" of shopping: DKNY, Versace, expensive
trinkets from H. Stern and the like. Good deals can be had on watches on the
last day of sailing, and although the liquor selection for sale is not
extensive it promises to match any price ashore. Shop there first to save
time. The whole deck is wonderful, full of little niches to sit and watch
the ocean float by (if you can bear to be away from the sun). Especially
nice for me was enjoying a rather nice cappuccino in the Tea room. The
coffee drinks are served with an excellent piece of chocolate with which to
sweeten your beverage.
Also on Deck Five were the art auctions. I regularly spend a bit of time
here, and generally find that Park West offers great deals on fine art. The
auctioneer was particularly good on this cruise (Tamara Cannon),
informative, energetic and passionate about her vocation. I left with three
wonderful pieces. However, Park West is to be chided for cutting back on
their brochures which formerly included detailed information about the
individual pieces of work and now only includes biographies of the artists;
and for cutting back on the amount of art given away gratis.
The Celebrity Theater is on both Decks Four and Five. I'll cover the shows a
bit later, but I found on the two cruises we sailed on that seats up front
were regularly available in this spacious and modern venue. Grab them if
they are, even if there isn't a bad seat in the house, because row 2 will
still be better than row 52. Likewise, the dining room is on both decks, at
the opposite end of the ship. Another beautiful venue, but no better or
worse than the Galaxy. More on this later.
The third deck is the home to the Grand Foyer, and the Olympic Dining Room.
Both wonderful. If you are going to stay on an inside cabin, this is the
place to be!!! It was easy access for us in most every regard.
Dining:
Deck 10:
Fuhgetaboutit...the best dining during the day, outside of the Metropolitan,
is to be had in the wonderful Aquaspa area. The lite and healthy selection,
while sometimes repetitive, gives you the opportunity to eat truly tasteful,
inventive food in a remarkable room without the least hint of guilt.
Whenever possible we ate there and as an added benefit, the room was always
waited on by waiters from the Olympic.
Hotdogs, hamburgers, etc. at the Riveria Grill were not worth the effort to
eat them. If you see fried chicken anywheres, however, go for it. They bread
it on board (and for those of us sick and tired of frozen breaded chicken,
this is a revelation), and mine was moist and crispy. The buffet is okay,
but there is generally alot of delicious fresh fruit and it almost always
features some pretty good meat being sliced off the bone.
Breakfast for me amounted to a croissant, some excellent bacon, and a cup of
coffee from the same buffet line. Coffee here is only fair.
Yes, pizza is offered at nite, and its okay, but not if you are from a place
where pizza is excellent like NYC, Chicago, or (believe it or not) Buffalo.
The Olympic:
Believe the hype, because this is the real deal. If you enjoy the finest
crystal, beautiful music, pampered tableside service, and an immaculate fine
tablecloth the charge will not set you off. As said elsewhere, it is $25 per
diner. There is only four courses, but each course is very large and it is
impossible to leave the room feeling anything less than stuffed.
If your goal is to enjoy this very popular location more than once as we did
(we got in three times in one week), go directly to the Rendezvous lounge
upon entering the ship...even before you get to your cabin. You'll find the
maitre d' at a table, taking reservations 48 hours in advance- in other
words, up to Tuesday on a Sunday sailing. Make reservations for Monday or
Tuesday first; then inquire if Sunday is also booked. You may find (as we
did) that the room is underutilized on Sunday and they'll take you even
though policy seems to be one nite per guest. Pursue other nites with
persistence, and they may let you in again.
We had excellent experiences with Harold and Vladimer, and wound up
requesting them by name. George, the sommelier, is a knowledgable man, but
beware of the expensive selections. Special favorites: Lamb en Croute; steak
Diane; the chocolate souffle (beware...it is large!); and especially the
goat and parmesan cheese appetizer with tomato coulis.
The Metropolitan:
Dining here was about the same as in every other Celebrity main dining room,
and I might not be the best judge anymore because I am getting a little
jaded. Everything was cooked to perfection, but many of dishes seem a little
tired and repetitive from previous cruises. On the positive side, the
breadstuffs have finally improved to a rather good level.
My wife and I regularly dine alone on board, and request a deuce months in
advance. On our last trip, we had to wrangle a bit with the manager to get
the desired table (on the Horizon); but on the first leg of this trip we
were flatly denied our request, with the Maitre d' saying he had 64 requests
for a limited number of tables. It took the special efforts of the Cruise
Director, Jim Cannon, to get us our deuce on the second leg. The upshot for
you: don't take it as written in stone that you will get what you ask for.
Pursue it with vigilance.
(Ultimately, the table we did secure was, in fact, phenomenal...clearly the
best table for two in the place.)
I know it has been a topic hereabouts to review dress code on formal nites.
>From what I saw on both trips, about 40-50% of the guys had on tuxedos, the
rest wore dark suits. We saw one full table dressed completely casually that
nite, and can only assume (hope) their luggage was lost.
Service, for us at least, was simply incredible. Our waiter was Darko, with
Marvin (Enrique) as his busboy, and as a former professional server myself I
can tell you his work was always perfect.
Entertainment:
In the past, I might have suggested that like art this category is open to
the eyes of the beholder. Not on this trip. The production shows were simply
incredible and left my wife and I open mouthed. The shows were so good, we
went back to see them on the second cruise, and in some cases saw them twice
in one nite. The dance routines were energetic and challenging, and done
with great talent, but special praise simply must be held out for the
singers. Bobby Black, Brian, Chris Riggins, and Christine received standing
O's from the first time out and throughout. In fact, even now I can hear
Bobby's rendition of "Maria", with one refrain lasting a full twenty-five
seconds, pulsing through the theater.
We had the opportunity to talk at some length with a dancer during an
excursion, and it seems this is a new direction for Celebrity. They have
apparently hired a former entertainer to choreograph and produce shows for
this ship. In fact, this same new producer happened to be on our (first)
cruise and came out to entertain with an impressive act.
The regular shows were also of fine quality, including the (obligatory)
juggler. Does every ship that sails have one of these? No matter, his was
funny show. Our Boston-based comedian missed the ship in Cozumel, but we
heard him on the last nite. Hilarious...just a riot.
The Engines:
Please...enough with this already. Get in your car, and drive around the
block. Can you hear the engine???What do you think happens when you want to
move 91,000 tons a twenty-five knots? Yes, there is some vibration and it
happens as you enter or leave a port. Unfortunately, that happens at what
time? You got it...6:00 p.m. And where is the dining room? Directly above
the "pods" or engines. So people feel it then. The one night we dined at 6
on the open seas, you couldn't even tell the ship was moving.
Were we moving at a 50% slower rate because the engines weren't working
properly? I don't know. I know I had enough time in port to enjoy myself.
Excursions:
Didn't do too many this time. However, no one ever goes to Sting Ray City in
Grand Cayman without coming home with a huge smile, as we did once again
this trip.
Ports:
The regular stuff, mostly. The private port had a pretty nice bbq, and the
beach there was fine. That stop will mostly rise and set with the weather.
Of Calica, you should realize that if you are not going on an excursion,
there isn't a thing to do at that stop. On the other hand, it seemed most
guests got quite a kick out of the excursion there to XCaret.
Summary:
No vacation is completely perfect, but we enjoyed the hell out of ourselves.
We were blessed with excellent weather. But over the course of two weeks, we
also got to see a very good staff go out of their way to help guests and
take particular cares. Little things, and big things too. I realize that I
paid a premium to sail this ship on its first time in the Caribbean
(especially considering how much the Century was being discounted for the
same itineraries), and I can think of no higher praise than to say it was
worth every penny and I am looking forward to sailing a Millenium class ship
in the future.
