Shorewoods Photography-Boarding Group 2 Travel Blog

We woke early this morning and watched Celebrity Millennium sail into port from our Harbor facing room. It was exciting to anticipate being on board again! 

We relaxed with breakfast on the harbor and talked about how we were looking forwards to walking to the ship; we specifically selected this hotel as it was in walking distance to the cruise terminal. The concierge at this hotel was recommending we take a taxi. If we had a lot of luggage, we could understand needing a taxi, however we have planned to make this a one suitcase/one carryon/one backpack trip, so we are traveling rather light. Plus, we just watched the ship dock within eye shot, so how far could it really be? Walk it is!

We gathered our luggage and headed out to the port. Within 30 minutes we were at the cruise port, having traveled sidewalks and ramps that made rolling our luggage along very easy. The path passed parks and picnic areas, in every way a very pleasant walk along the harbor front. In full disclosure: Art pre walked the way to the ship, so we knew it was doable!

We dropped our luggage at the terminal, went through security, presented our boarding pass and passports, and we were on the ship, all within a matter of 10 minutes. 

The Millenium has been refurbished and our stateroom is clean and very comfortable. We met our stateroom attendant Leslie who is very nice.

Lunch at Ocean View Cafe was a spread of many types of food including Asian, American, Indian and Mexican. We then found Cafe al Bacio where we relaxed with a cappuccino. 

Back to our stateroom we found our luggage had been delivered. We are unpacked and settled in and ready to begin our cruising adventure. 

The port is beautifully decorated with natural elements and it was interesting to watch children playing, and newlyweds having wedding photos taken. It is so much more than just a port, it is a gathering place for the community.  

I was impressed with universal accessibility of the port and the park. The elevation to enter the pier was not a separate, isolated ramp, rather the path was what everyone took. The “ramps” were gentle rises over about 15 feet which then levels off for about 20 feet. The slope was gradual and easy to access with luggage. We watched others with strollers, wheelchairs, canes, and crutches easily negotiate the way into the terminal building.

As the sun moved closer to the horizon, the art elements on the pier lit up, with a striking blanket of lights and colorful flower lights that created an evening meadow.

We had dinner at Blu, one of the restaurants on the ship, and were treated to a view of the illuminated coastline. The tall building on the right is our hotel, and you can see the wheel that we took photos of the night before.

As we came into Blu, our hosts greeted us with “ Welcome Home”. Art and I reflected on our travels with Celebrity and we truly do feel like we have returned to a piece of home. We have travelled to the ABC Islands, Bermuda, Alaska, the Panama Canal, an Asian Immersion cruise to Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam and Hong Kong, a Mediterranean Cruise from Rome throughout Greece and Italy, the Galapagos with pre and post cruise trips where we hiked through Mach Pichu  and several sights in Peru, and now we sail around Southern Japan. 

As we savored our dinner, Millennium departed and the coastline began to shrink from our view.

We are happy to be sailing away again.