Nancy Norris
Age: Baby Boomer
Occupation:Travel Professional
Number of Cruises: 40+
Cruise Line: Celebrity
Ship: Millennium
Sailing Date: February 19th, 2006
Itinerary: n/a
Celebrity Cruise Line
Millennium Cruise Review
South America
Nancy Norris
Introduction:
Visiting Carnival in Rio has been at the top of my wish list of travel
adventures for a long time. What a rush to be given the opportunity to fulfill
my desire. Cindi, one of my very close friends, and I would be joining a group
of travel professionals on the Celebrity Millennium for a 14 day cruise that
would include 3 days in Rio during Carnival.
--There were 3 formal nights, 4 informal and 7 casual nights. Also, due to the
itinerary, 3 nights (the first night and the 2 in Rio) were Open Seating for
dinner.
--Internet onboard is relatively expensive. Minutes are available at 4 different
rates: $.75 per min. with no package / 100 minutes for $70 / 200 minutes for
$120 / 500 minutes for $250. Package minutes are charged-up front and no refunds
are given for unused time. There is laptop access in each stateroom using your
laptop and a Connect@Sea kit which is $10 per day + the cost for minutes as per
the rate packages already mentioned.
--As a side note to the above mentioned Internet service, it is much more cost
and time efficient to utilize the Internet Cafés in port.
--After having completed this itinerary, I would suggest Celebrity consider a
way to extend the port call in Buzios. This is one port that begs to be explored
at night and an overnight here would definitely be an added bonus.
--The mid-ship elevators are located on the port side of the ship which is a bit
confusing at first, but once you get your bearings they actually provide less
congestion and a good traffic flow.
--Typically the passenger load on cruises of 14 days is an older demographic.
This was not the case on this cruise as there were many passengers in the mid 20
to 40’s age group.
--English speaking passengers were definitely in the minority, but the South
American populous kept the ship moving at a lively pace – they LOVE to dance!
Millennium's Elevators
Overall Impression:
This is one itinerary that I would repeat in an instant. Overnights are
wonderful in any port and the fact that this one stayed in Rio during Carnival
was exceptional. The ship was easy to navigate due to its design, lengthy
promenades and 14 well-positioned elevators. The Millennium has clean, simple
lines, yet is well appointed with rich furnishings and diverse art resulting in
a very resort chic atmosphere that I particularly enjoyed. This Celebrity
experience was one I will remember for a long time. I would not hesitate to
recommend both the ship and the itinerary.