Celebrity’s Millennium Debuts

Concierge Class

By Bonnie Walling

Since its debut in 2000, Celebrity Cruises’ 91,000-ton Millennium has set the pace for the line. It was the first ship in the fleet to offer a glassed-in florist shop, the first with a reservations-only fine dining restaurant themed after a classic ship and the first to offer an outlet of Cova Café, the internationally famous Milan-based coffeehouse and pasticceria.
Now, the ship, along with the rest of the line’s Millennium class, is continuing to innovate by offering a new class of stateroom that has been described by the line as being between a standard cabin and a suite — Concierge Class.
Concierge Class staterooms are 191-square-feet with a 41-square-foot veranda. Guests in these staterooms are treated to a series of special amenities and services, which starts the moment they set foot on the ship and find a chilled bottle of champagne, a bowl of fruit and fresh flowers in their room. (Guests who opt not to drink the champagne right away can have it sent to their dinner tables without a corkage fee).
Beds have pillow-top mattresses and guests receive a menu of special pillows they can request, including goose down and body pillows.
On their desks, Concierge Class passengers find personalized stationery and a leather key holder. In the closet, there’s an oversized tote bag that they can keep, plus an umbrella that can be used throughout the cruise, as well as Frette terrycloth bathrobes (which many guests chose to employ as bathing suit cover-ups).
Bathrooms include plush bath rugs and large, Egyptian cotton towels. They are stocked with a full line of products, including shampoo, soap, lotion, a sewing kit, breath mints, cotton balls and a shower cap. The shower features a Hansgrohe massaging showerhead and a salon-style hairdryer is available. A fresh rose is placed on the sink and is changed throughout the cruise.
The balcony includes cushioned seats and a table large enough for dining al fresco. Guests are provided with binoculars for observing wildlife and scenery.
Special services available to Concierge Class passengers include early embarkation, disembarkation and luggage delivery, invitations to special events, such as a formal tea, and daily canapés in the stateroom.
If guests have any special needs, a button on their telephones placed is specifically for contacting a concierge.
Guests who stayed in Concierge Class staterooms on the recent cruise on which I sailed, described the experience as well worth the added cost, and something they would do again.
In addition to Concierge Class, Celebrity Cruises offers several categories of suites, as well as standard inside and outside staterooms. Over 80% of the staterooms are ocean view, and 74% have verandas. There are 26 wheelchair-accessible staterooms, including several suites.
Suites have butler service and large screen televisions. The largest, the two Penthouse Suites, are 1,432-square-feet with a 1,098-square-feet wraparound veranda featuring a marble whirlpool tub with separate shower. The suite also offers exercise equipment, two entertainment centers and a baby grand piano.
Other suites are the Royal Suite, 538-square-feet; Celebrity Suite, 467- square-feet; and Sky Suite, 251-square-feet.
Non-Concierge Class balcony cabins are available in two sizes: Family Ocean View, 271-square-feet and Deluxe Ocean View, 170-square-feet. Standard inside and outside cabins are 170-square-feet.
Standard cabin amenities include a refrigerator with minibar, television with some cable channels and pay-per-view movies, hair dryers and a safe.
In addition to its diverse accommodations, the ship offers something for just about every type of cruiser. Millennium is in many ways reminiscent of an earlier era of cruising, with its Art Deco-inspired décor and super-attentive service, however, it is also thoroughly modern — a high-tech photo center lets guests create their own photo CDs, computer classes are held in the Beta Computer Room and guests can reserve shore excursions via their stateroom TVs.
Guests embark on the Plaza Deck, where they are greeted with the impressive sight of the Grand Foyer, highlighted by a staircase that appears to be made of illuminated stained glass bricks. Glass elevators at the side of the foyer take them to their staterooms — the exterior elevators overlook the ocean.
Plaza Deck also hosts a movie theater, a conference center, the shore excursion and guest relations desks and one of the ship’s more extraordinary features — the Olympic Restaurant.
The Olympic is divided into two rooms, the first of which features the original paneling from its namesake, the sister ship to the Titanic. Guests enter through a lobby lined with photos and memorabilia from the ship, while a video screen details its history.
The restaurant features the cuisine of Michel Roux, the line’s executive chef. Many dishes are prepared tableside, and a harpist provides musical accompaniment.
There is a $30 cover charge for dining at the restaurant, and guests who ate there said it was worth much more. Reservations are required, and agents should tell clients to make them early in the cruise, as the restaurant is very popular.
The main dining room, the Metropolitan Restaurant, has two levels (waiters travel between floors via escalator) and is dominated by a grand staircase in the middle of the room. One wall, with nearly floor to ceiling windows, offers panoramic views on non-formal nights (a curtain with a painting of Italian scenery is lowered on formal nights).
Most tables seat six to eight people, although some tables for two are available. Dinners typically include five courses and the menu lists a Michel Roux suggested menu and a healthy dining menu each day.
For those preferring casual dining, the Ocean Café serves three meals a day (reservations are required for dinner, although there is no charge). It features an ice cream parlor, pizza and pasta bar and, in the evenings, a sushi café. Cafeteria-style dining is offered for breakfast and lunch, with waiters available to take guests’ trays to their tables.
Cova Café offers a relaxing place to have a cappuccino and snacks at any time of day — wine is also served in the evenings. Tables overlook the Grand Foyer, and were usually filled with guests. There is an extra charge for offerings at this facility.
The ship has two main lounges, stacked atop each other. Rendez-Vous Lounge, on deck four, is a popular spot for dancing, trivia contests and, on formal nights, karaoke. Above it is the purple and silver-decorated Platinum Club, which is divided into two bars — the Champagne Bar and the Martini Bar, both of which offer multiple variations of their specialty. (The unique glasses used in the Martini Bar are available for purchase in the onboard gift shops.)
The younger crowd tends to flock to Cosmos Nightclub on deck 11, which features light shows and dance music played by DJs. A more sophisticated atmosphere is available at Michael’s Piano Club, designed to look like gentlemen’s clubs of old, with red leather chairs, dark woods and a large fireplace. Cognac and cigars are served, and a white grand piano at the far right side of the room is the source of entertainment.
Sports fans can congregate and watch their favorite teams at the Extreme Sports Bar on Deck 11, which features a big-screen TV and is decorated by suspended statues of athletes in action.
The main show venue is the Celebrity Theater, which is designed to look like an old-time movie palace and hosts Las Vegas-style song and dance reviews by the Celebrity Singers and Dancers Company, as well as musical and comedy performances. Guests sit on cushioned seats with tables, and sight lines are clear throughout.
Fortune’s Casino has a Greco-Roman influenced décor, with Renaissance-style paintings of wood nymphs on the walls and columns that resemble classical statuary.
One deck up from the casino is the Emporium, the ship’s shopping arcade, which resembles a shopping mall in an upscale resort. Central kiosks selling jewelry are surrounded by stores specializing in casual and formal clothing, cosmetics, liquor and Celebrity branded items.
AquaSpa, located on deck 10, offers a full program of treatments, including “rituals,” which are combinations of treatments such as a massage, facial and body wrap.

Guests walk down a corridor lined with photos of fashion shows to get to the gymnasium, which offers classes in yoga, Pilates, kickboxing and stationary cycling, as well as a wide range of exercise equipment.
AquaSpa also features the Thalossotherapy Pool, an indoor pool filled with warm salt water that is open for adults-only swimming until 11 p.m. The sides of the pool have built-in hot tub areas, in which swimmers can momentarily pause and relax in bubbles (in addition to two conventional hot tubs at the side).
At the back of the Thalossotherapy Pool is the Spa Café, which serves healthy fare until the evening.
The rear of deck 10 includes the “Fun Factory” children’s area, which offers programs for different age groups under the line’s X-Club program: Toddler Time (under 3 years old), Ship Mates (ages 3-6), Celebrity Cadets (ages 7-9) and Ensigns (ages 10-12). Activities include arts and crafts, relay races, T-shirt decorating, ice cream parties and talent shows.
Children even have their own little pool in the Fun Factory, which is part of an outdoor play area.
Celebrity also has a teen program, Admiral Ts, including karaoke, sports tournaments, scavenger hunts and theme parties.
Programs are available year-round from 9 a.m. each morning, or half an hour before arriving in each port.
The crowd on a recent 6-day cruise was very much mixed, with seniors, families with children, college students, young singles and family groups all represented. This is a testimony to this ship’s ability to provide something for everyone.
Millennium will be sailing in South America through March, in the Eastern Caribbean throughout April and in the Mediterranean May through November and will return to the Eastern Caribbean to close out the year.