On Board the Celebrity Millenium Headed for the Panama Canal Part 3

This is where the age demographic of a two week transoceanic cruise becomes obvious. . .

Bar Services

 

One of two of my only complaints about this cruise concerns the bar service, which was great, and depending on where you got your drinks, they were pretty strong and well made. Despite the great and attentive service, I would've love for there to have been a happy hour (there was one on the previous cruise I took with my family on Princess) with half priced drinks. My guess as to why Celebrity skimps on this is that since they cater to an older crowd who don't really mind spending an extra penny or two, or probably don't imbibe too heavily, they decided to skip the happy hour to turn over a bigger profit.


For a little show with your drink, I definitely recommend stopping by the Crush, their new martini bar complete with an iced over bar surface to cool your drinks and scribble messages into the ice. They bartenders also put on a great show spinning bottles a-la Cocktails style.

Entertainment

"Hi Steve!"

CELEBRITY CASTMATES

 

Barry John

Juggler

On a cruise which is mainly comprised of people 60 years old and over and when you're one of only a handful of younger twenty somethings that sit near the stage you'll almost definitely be called on to participate by the talent on stage. Such was the case of my cousin Nick and Barry John the Juggler, being young and spry he was able to put on a show. It doesn't stop there however, once your time on stage is over, you become a minor celebrity throughout the duration of your cruise. Ranking up adoring elderly fans, my cousin virtually had a wee fan club by the time we docked in San Diego.

 Nick Lewin

 

Kimake

Crew Talent Show

The House Band

Cooking Competition

Other Talents Around the Ship

Overall the cruise ship entertainment for the Celebrity Millennium would be excellent if you're of the baby boomer and older crowd. If you're younger and don't quite dig the musical montages of Doo Wop and oldies with long winded dance numbers like myself, pay a visit to the bar first it'll make it more enjoyable. 

 

On Board the Celebrity Millenium Headed for the Panama Canal Part 2

 Now onto the wonderful world of cruise dining and food comas...

The Metropolitan

The Metropolitan restaurant is where you come for your daily evening food coma and entertainment via our wonderful waiters Zahari and Soner. It's also the place, unless you're an Aqua Class passenger, where you'll come for your formal dining every night unless you chose to visit a specialty restaurant ($$). Included in the price of your ticket, the food here will not disappoint as you are served four courses that will satisfy everyone from the meat eaters to the vegetarians. 

The Ocean View

The Oceanview Cafe is the often bustling buffet, that is unless of course you go during rough seas then it's usually a quasi ghost town, my favorite time to go. There is a wide selection of food available here during the breakfast and lunch hours and with the exception of the scrambled eggs (they were on the runny side, which is not quite my cup of tea) there was something always delicious to chose from.

Something I wish I knew sooner on in the cruise is that the Oceanview turns in a sushi bar at night with all you can eat freshly made sushi that is entirely delicious!

The Olympic Dining Room

A quick bit of back story on the beautiful and elegant Olympic Dining room, its decor you see comes from the dining room of the RMS Olympic, sister ship to the RMS Titanic, which were designed identically with only alteration made on the Olympic. All the beautiful wood work you see and paneling came from the same place where Charlie Chaplin had dinner while making a transatlantic voyage over 100 years ago.

The presentation alone is worth dining at the Olympic, which is artfully prepared right in front of you. I have to admit though that I did feel a little out of my league with the extreme refinement of the dining room which was complete with even a cheese course. Be prepared for a bit of a show as well since they prepare your food before you eyes. When dining here you'll be replete with his a touch of history and some of the most delicious food on board the Celebrity Millennium.

**This is one of three specialty dining areas where you do have to an extra $40.

Cafe Al Bacio & Gelateria

One of my favorite places on board the ship has to be Cafe Al Bacio, complete with large green chairs that you can just sink into and enjoy a good book, specialty coffee ($) small pot of tea ($) and/or finger sandwiches, cookies or small dessert items like some yummy tiramisu or some other delightful concoction that you can either take on the go or eat at your leisure.

Oh and if some peanut butter cookies and tea wasn't enough to satisfy your sweet tooth, you could always stop over at the Gelateria ($), and if you're like me and would have a love affair with gelato if you could, you would stop there often. The mango was definitely the best flavor there in my humble opinion.  

Bistro on Five was also a delicious stop that you must make, but due to the effects of the amazing food there I forgot to take pictures there. Another specialty restaurant you can chose from a wide aray of crepes and soups that are to die for and only for $5. My favorite was definitely the Italian crepe, but fret not you can have all the crepes on the menu in one sitting if you'd like, although I'm not sure if your stomach could handle it.  

~*~

On the next blog post, I'll review the ship's bar service and entertainment.

Happy 4th of July!