Millennium Comes of Age
by Michael Schrobat
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The “Millennium” is the oldest of the Millennium class of ships by Celebrity, and she has come of age and is more beautiful than ever! We sailed on the second trip after her refurbishing, and some things still need to be completed, but the staff of more than 900 worked for 14 days with contractors, designers, and laborers to convert this lady of the sea to the Grande Dame of the seas. With much pride, the staff showed off the changes and upgrades, and the cabins are some of my favorite on the seas, right up there with all of the modern ships, with clean lines, light colors, great carpet design, and a clean and comfy feeling.
Our Seminar at Sea was fun; we spent time experiencing the ship, staff, and
incredible foods. Our members enjoyed sharing during dinner each night, a fantastic
brunch event and of course the “Starring You” midnight dessert buffet. Can anything
be any better? Our classes on this trip focused on the importance of professionalism
in our industry. We’re the forefront of the industry now, and I’m very proud
to be a “Travel Professional” and love sharing why I made this career choice.
We took time to view an extended slide show on capturing all of the revenue options
and taking advantage of our membership in OSSN, Consortiums, Host Agencies, and
of course all of the training and accreditations that are available to us. We
discussed the many free tools that we should all be taking advantage of, including
video on our Web sites, photo sharing on our sites with Flickr, listing our agencies
in the local ad listings (Google/Yahoo!/MSN), and getting our faces and names
out in our communities as travel professionals.
Our agents took advantage of the great ports of call, along with the spectacular
views from cruising the Inside Passage. Here is a photo of the actual ice that
surrounded our ship as we visited the Hubbard Glacier – and, during our visit,
the glacier calved more than a dozen times! Way too cool, and the sounds and
sights demonstrate the power of Mother Nature.
The excursion we took in Skagway was my personal favorite, as I’m a train
buff. The trestles and drop-offs on this narrow-gauge rail system built for the
Gold Rush makes a great four-hour adventure. (But, don’t worry, you can also
get off the ship and return to it easily or take a short five-minute walk into
town taking in the awesome views of this area.) The train ride is narrated with
tons of facts – hint, ride up on the right side of the train, then once you reach
the summit, you switch seats with the other side and ride back down (after flipping
your seat over) so that you’ll have better opportunities to take the pictures
you want. Here’s one I loved taken right from my seat:
And, can the food get any better or more entertaining? I personally had a
blast doing the food events, cooking demos, wine pairing, foods around the world
event, brunch, and the midnight “Starring You” dessert buffet. (Note that Celebrity’s
staff greets you by name in each lounge and dining room and engages you in conversation – that
makes a big difference to your single cruisers.) On to the bartenders and entertainers
extraordinaire - you can skip the shows on the “Millennium” if you like “Tom
Cruise” style bartending. Our Martini Bartender was very amusing and entertaining,
with a great attitude.
Breakfast in my stateroom was greeted with the most incredible views I’ve ever experienced. Why not take a moment to enjoy Mother Nature while energizing yourself for the upcoming trekking and exploring your port of call?
Alaska rocks, and I can’t wait to do it again! Let’s all go together next time!
Michael Schrobat is the director of the OSSN Seattle Chapter. You can reach him via his listing in the OSSN Chapter Directors Roster.
(Credits: Michael Schrobat)
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