Fantastic Cruise, upgraded ship, outstanding staff

This was our 11th cruise with Celebrity and the second in 18 months on the Millennium. It's a nice sized ship at under 2500 passengers and it was a nice surprise to see that the staterooms had been refurbished since we disembarked in February last year, particularly the fitting of glass shower doors to replace the horrible plastic curtains, and the fitting of power sockets with USB on each side of the bed was most welcome. For some unknown reason, they have not fitted the usual 2 x coat hooks on the stateroom walls, which are now sorely missed. All of the staff were outstanding, and I mean ALL! There was a real personal touch, with all staff in the MDR greeting us by name. The food was really good but having sailed with Celebrity over the past 14 years on 8 different ships, it is high time they change the menus and we can literally predict what will be on the menu, with few exceptions. That said, the MDR did have a daily changing "Chef's Special" as an addition to the menu and these were generally really good. We love Celebrity's flexibility in that they will happily allow you to choose an entree as your starter and vice versa, as well as adding items such as asking for a Lobster Tail along with the Beef Wellington on one of the evening chic nights. If not on a drinks package (we deliberatley chose not to get one this time, as an experiment and also to avoid drinking too much lol!), drinks are for the most part pretty expensive e.g. a single measure of Baileys was $15.61, which is ridiculous! The ship was kept spotless and service was top notch in every venue. The ports for the most part were well worth visiting but as it was the Rainy Season, we did have heavy rain in Nagasaki and Kagoshima, so be sure to bring lightweight, breathable, waterproof jacket, as it is also hot and humid at this time of year, if you choose to cruise in Japan at this time of year (June). The only negative was the so called "Hop on-Hop off" bus in Kagoshima, because the local bus company just used normal city buses, which were packed to the gunnels with cruisers (we were the only ship in port), so we ended up standing in the packed aisle and could not see anything; getting on and off was a nightmare. We self-toured in all ports, with local guides in Kochi and Hiroshima. It was easy to self-tour as the local transport is outstanding and the locals are super friendly and helpful. All ports have English speaking information desks with free maps and advice.

12n Best of Japan

Fantastic cruise. As usual staff were very good, 5* Staff were attending to cleaning the ship in the morning, attention to washy washy in the buffet and restaurant areas. Dining in the buffet was very good, used that more than the Restaurant. Did not use speciality dining, happy with buffet. Entertainment was very good, aerial performers from Moldova were spectacular. Production shows were pretty good, in process of changing to a new cast. Usual guitar man, house band were very good. Very Nice theatre. One thing that was mesmerising was the cost of wine, $12us for merlot and $19us for cab sav was eye watering, luckyi had a few freebies. Beer starts at $12us, when converting to aud that is more than ipay for 2 bottles of the red stuff. Port excursions were great, all guides were very good, Kyoto with lunch and shinkansen probably the stand out. CD Patrick done anexcellent job, guest services very good, no big ques. Not many kids onboard, whichwas another plus.

Absolutely faultless

In 35 plus years of travelling this trip ranked up there with the best. We had time in Tokyo before and after the cruise and Japan absolutely blew us away. The cruise was the icing on the cake. Fantastic staff, lovely food, big shout out to the guys at the martini bar and the entertainment staff who organised so many great evenings like silent discos and 70s and 80s nights. We enjoyed every stop and were blessed to see the cherry blossoms in full bloom in Hakodate. South Korea was also a good stop and another country ticked off the list. We enjoyed the smaller ship after cruising on Royals huge ships for a while and will definitely be switching back to celebrity for our next cruise. Yes she’s an older ship but I’m not going to fret about a bit of rust on the balcony when I’m looking at Mount Fuji in all its glory. Would get on this ship again tomorrow if the opportunity presented itself. For anyone thinking about a Japanese cruise -GO!

Great Ship and Itinerary!

Overall a great ship and One of the most interesting Itineraries We’ve done. Well worth the flight over. We stayed 4 days in Tokyo prior, and took full advantage of the cleanest and friendliest city ever been to. Millennium was in great shape. Updated modern decor and all in great shape. Was there for the cherry blossoms and hit in perfectly. Great private and ship tours. Loved the Beyond the Podium talks. A Japanese-Canadian with great suggestions and just overall entertaining. We went Retreat on this and the Retreat lounge (old Michaels Club) was well appointed and fantastic staff. We met at the Lounge prior to Ship tours and escorted off early. The Luminae dining was the best we’ve had - one night was a Taste of Japan with great local dishes. Great staff. One of our favorite ports was Aomori, and went to a Traditional Pottery factory. Handmade clay pottery was demonstrated and just extremely interesting. Strongly recommend this to all.