Day 6: First Day at Sea!
(Written by Steve W.) After the previous five exhausting days, it was nice to have a day to do absolutely nothing. The Adriatic seas were smooth, the weather pleasant, and the mood relaxed. We started the day with breakfast delivered to our stateroom, which was a treat (although it’s an option available every day to us).
A moment to write about the ship. Millennium made its maiden voyage, appropriately enough, in June of 2000. It’s 965 feet long and approximately 91,000 tons. For those of you who think the glorious days of ocean liners are long past, think again. This ship is as big as the old Queen Mary or Queen Elizabeth, if a few feet shorter. I don’t think most modern-day travelers would be as happy with the cabins on those ships as the ones they enjoy today. You were lucky to have a porthole in your cabin, let alone a window. Private balconies were the enclave of the super rich (the Normandie’s two super-deluxe suites, named Deauville and Trouville, had private decks, but that was the exception). And Millennium now pales in comparison to newer ships that have been launched in the last several years, including the Queen Mary II and Voyager of the Seas. As for Titanic? It would appear a runt next to this behemoth of the seas.
Of course, while gains have been made in passenger space and entertainment, what’s been lost (on this cruise in particular) is food quality. Dinners have started promisingly with interesting appetizers and soups, only to come crashing down at salad time. Wilted lettuce and tired tomatoes seem to be the rule rather than the exception. Then a main course that’s served lukewarm instead of hot. We’ve compared notes with others on the ship, and they’ve made the same observation. Celebrity touts itself as having excellent cuisine, but it’s in this department that we’ve felt the only letdown. But it’s a major one.
We puttered around the ship, checking out the various lounges and public areas. Michael’s Club is probably our favorite spot on the ship: wood paneling, big comfy chairs – very “gentlemen’s club” in feeling. While the exterior of the Millennium class ships aren’t the prettiest things on the high seas, the interiors are extremely well thought out and tastefully decorated. One never gets the feeling of hordes of people, even though it carries nearly 2,000 people. I think sub-dividing the spaces and few “end-to-end” vistas helps.
We had to turn in our passports because our visit to Croatia meant that we had left the European Union and the passports had to be re-processed before our arrival in Greece tomorrow. It is a tad unnerving to be out of the country without one’s passport at hand.
We ran into Tim and Rick, and Tim was fidgety. He’s a real go-see-do kind of person, and hanging around on the ship left him with little to do. But Rick had a wonderful surprise for Tim: breakfast in bed, replete with roses and champagne. Very romantic, those two!
Anyway, the rest of the day was spent catching up on sleep. And I (Steve) was finally starting to feel normal after four days of being ill in one shape or another.
One nice ritual that Michael’s group has been doing is meeting for cocktails an hour before dinner. It gives us a chance to catch up with each other’s daily activities and get in the dining mood.
Tomorrow, the birthplace of democracy: Athens!
A moment to write about the ship. Millennium made its maiden voyage, appropriately enough, in June of 2000. It’s 965 feet long and approximately 91,000 tons. For those of you who think the glorious days of ocean liners are long past, think again. This ship is as big as the old Queen Mary or Queen Elizabeth, if a few feet shorter. I don’t think most modern-day travelers would be as happy with the cabins on those ships as the ones they enjoy today. You were lucky to have a porthole in your cabin, let alone a window. Private balconies were the enclave of the super rich (the Normandie’s two super-deluxe suites, named Deauville and Trouville, had private decks, but that was the exception). And Millennium now pales in comparison to newer ships that have been launched in the last several years, including the Queen Mary II and Voyager of the Seas. As for Titanic? It would appear a runt next to this behemoth of the seas.
Of course, while gains have been made in passenger space and entertainment, what’s been lost (on this cruise in particular) is food quality. Dinners have started promisingly with interesting appetizers and soups, only to come crashing down at salad time. Wilted lettuce and tired tomatoes seem to be the rule rather than the exception. Then a main course that’s served lukewarm instead of hot. We’ve compared notes with others on the ship, and they’ve made the same observation. Celebrity touts itself as having excellent cuisine, but it’s in this department that we’ve felt the only letdown. But it’s a major one.
We puttered around the ship, checking out the various lounges and public areas. Michael’s Club is probably our favorite spot on the ship: wood paneling, big comfy chairs – very “gentlemen’s club” in feeling. While the exterior of the Millennium class ships aren’t the prettiest things on the high seas, the interiors are extremely well thought out and tastefully decorated. One never gets the feeling of hordes of people, even though it carries nearly 2,000 people. I think sub-dividing the spaces and few “end-to-end” vistas helps.
We had to turn in our passports because our visit to Croatia meant that we had left the European Union and the passports had to be re-processed before our arrival in Greece tomorrow. It is a tad unnerving to be out of the country without one’s passport at hand.
We ran into Tim and Rick, and Tim was fidgety. He’s a real go-see-do kind of person, and hanging around on the ship left him with little to do. But Rick had a wonderful surprise for Tim: breakfast in bed, replete with roses and champagne. Very romantic, those two!
Anyway, the rest of the day was spent catching up on sleep. And I (Steve) was finally starting to feel normal after four days of being ill in one shape or another.
One nice ritual that Michael’s group has been doing is meeting for cocktails an hour before dinner. It gives us a chance to catch up with each other’s daily activities and get in the dining mood.
Tomorrow, the birthplace of democracy: Athens!
Comments
Tanks for sharing the travel blog. We enjoy writing ours and it is great to read someone else's adventures of traveling.
I spent time this morning reading the whole blog (of this trip) and wishing that I could have convinced Gary to have gone with you both. I am sure we would have had a GRAND time.
Nonetheless - I look forward to reading the rest of the adventures and see you home soon!
Hugs!
Tony (& Gary)