Uncle Lou's love of cruising began back in 1966 when he took his first cruise on the Oceanic for his honeymoon. After raising his children he returned to his favorite pastime in 1986 and since then has taken 20 cruises. He will be sharing his experiences with us as well as ship reviews.

Uncle Lou and his beautiful wife just returned from our 22nd cruise. This time we were aboard Celebrity Cruises "Millennium" for a seven night Eastern Caribbean cruise. We departed Port Everglades in Fort Lauderdale at 4:30pm on Sunday, February 3rd. As usual for a weekend, Port Everglades had many cruise ships in port. Scheduled to depart with us was the Costa Fortuna, Jewel of the Seas, Carnival Miracle, Westerdam and Caribbean Princess. For a cruise ship enthusiast Port Everglades is a wonderland.

This was our 4th cruise with Celebrity, having sailed twice on the Galaxy and once, on Millennium's newer sister, the Constellation. Millennium was the first of the four ships built for Celebrity comprising the "Millennium" Class. Having been built in 2000, Uncle Lou was concerned that the ship would be showing signs of its age. However, with only a couple of minor signs of wear on the deck surface and a couple of fading letters on some bulkhead notices the ship was in excellent condition. All of the furnishings, carpeting, walls and stairwells were in pristine condition. This ship has been very well maintained! The public rooms were tastefully decorated and the Cosmos lounge at the top of the ship facing the bow was particularly beautiful and comfortable. I couldn't say that about the lounge occupying this location on Millennium's sister ship Constellation. When we cruised on that ship in late 2006 the lounge was called "The Bar at the Edge of the Earth" and consisted of some offbeat decorations utilizing bed-like seating in place of lounge chairs. I think I read that, in 2007, Celebrity realized their error and gave "The Bar at the Edge of the Earth" a make over; I hope so.

Being a ship "buff" Uncle Lou thoroughly enjoyed viewing the display of artifacts and the wall paneling from the RMS Olympic, Titanic's sister ship, which are on display in the Olympic Restaurant (the alternative dining venue) aboard Millennium. I commend Celebrity Cruises for helping to preserve some of the history and décor of the great ocean liners. Aboard the other three "Millennium Class" ships can be found memorabilia from the SS United States and the SS Normandie as well as a restaurant called the Ocean Liners Restaurant aboard the Constellation featuring a variety of great ocean liner memorabilia. The walls of the Olympic Restaurant aboard the Millennium feature the actual wood paneling from that great transatlantic liner. And, on the ceiling are the actual light fixtures from the RMS Olympic. Also on view is the Olympic's actual ship's bell and various pieces of silver and china from the A La Carte Dining room aboard Olympic. Continuously running is a video featuring ship historian John Maxtone-Graham giving some insight into the history of the Olympic and the artifacts on display.

As with our previous Celebrity cruises I can say that the food and service were outstanding. We ate every night in the Metropolitan Restaurant and had late seating. Every meal was a delight. There was a wide selection of appetizers, soups, salads, entrees and deserts each night. The quality and variety of food served was excellent. One night the selection of entrees included lobster tail, filet mignon and rack of lamb along with a pasta dish and another dish which I cannot recall. And the service was impeccable from both our waiter and assistant waiter and our assistant maitre'd. The food and service in the buffet area (Ocean Café) was equally delicious. Every day, in addition to a wide variety of meats, vegetables and potatoes, there was freshly made pasta with a variety of "fixings" i.e. chicken, shrimp, mushrooms, peppers, scallops, onions and more served with your choice of at least four pasta sauces. The pizza was also outstanding and if you didn't care for the type of pizza being offered all you had to do is tell them what you would like and in seven minutes the pie was served to you. At breakfast, in addition to the usual array of breakfast items, there was a station for freshly made waffles and pancakes. And I mean freshly made; they didn't make any waffles or pancakes until you ordered them and then you could top them with flavored butter, whipped cream, strawberries or a variety of other toppings.

The entertainment was top drawer. Uncle Lou and his bride always felt that Princess Cruises had the best entertainment but the three production shows featured on Millennium were among the best we had ever seen. The Celebrity Orchestra was also great. In addition we had a comedian one night (Jeff Nease) and a pianist (Antonio Salci) another night who were both excellent. Each day we looked forward to that night's show in the theater.

The itinerary on this cruise consisted of San Juan, P.R.; Tortola, B.V.I.; Casa de Campo, D.R.; and Labadee in Haiti. We got off the ship only once, in San Juan to stroll the streets of Old San Juan. We have visited these ports in the past and chose not to go ashore, but instead we remained onboard to enjoy the quiet of the ship when it is in port. Uncle Lou and his bride take these Caribbean cruises in the winter to escape from the cold of the northeast and to enjoy the beauty and restfulness of a great cruise ship. So, I am sorry, but I cannot offer any port reviews for the Caribbean although from the conversations we have with our table mates you will definitely enjoy the beaches on any Caribbean island.

On this cruise we had an ocean view cabin on deck 2. We found the cabin to be very clean and comfortable and our cabin steward to be very efficient. There was more than adequate storage space; in fact we still had a couple of empty shelves. And, although not spacious by any means, the cabin suited our needs.

So, that's it . . . for a great Caribbean cruise I recommend Celebrity Cruises. You are sure to be pampered, enjoy excellent cuisine, have beautiful and tastefully decorated surroundings and be entertained by quality performers. Happy Cruising!!!