25/05/2026
Welcome to our final Cruise Diary, number 8, aboard Celebrity Millennium, as we arrive in Incheon, South Korea, bringing our incredible journey from Tokyo to Seoul to a close.
And honestly? This itinerary exceeded our expectations.
This was not a lazy “sit by the pool for 12 days” kind of cruise. It was port intensive, active, beautiful and immersive. Almost every single stop brought something completely different: futuristic cities, tranquil onsens, a volcano, historic streets, dramatic coastlines, incredible food culture and some genuinely unforgettable locations.
Not every port was a home run, but the vast majority absolutely were. Many were astonishing.
One thing that really surprised us was the type of passenger this cruise attracted. Senior in age, yes, but more active than many traditional Cruises, and that's due to the itinerary. Most ranges from their 40s through to 70s. But regardless of age, people here wanted experiences. Early mornings. Busy shore days. Walking tours. Trains. Food markets. Coastal hikes.
This was very much a “doing” holiday rather than a floating resort vacation.
As for timing, mid May turned out to be perfect. We had pleasant weather throughout, temperatures were comfortable for exploring all day, and while destinations were busy, they never felt overwhelmingly crowded.
If we returned, autumn would probably be our second choice thanks to the colours and pleasant temperatures.
And then there’s the ship itself.
Celebrity Millennium may be Celebrity’s oldest ship, but she has aged well. The 2019 refurbishment clearly made a huge difference. Throughout the cruise, the ship felt elegant and stylish, while retaining a more intimate atmosphere, than some of today’s giant mega ships. We like her.
Food overall was good, although not consistently excellent every single day. There were some standout meals and memorable dining experiences, but also a few misses in both the Main Dining Room & Buffet, that prevented the experience from feeling truly top tier throughout.
We’ll go into much more detail about that very soon.
One of the most fascinating parts of this sailing was the sheer mix of nationalities onboard. This may have been one of the most internationally diverse passenger groups we’ve ever cruised with. Guests from North America, Europe, Australia and across Asia all drawn together by one thing: Japan. There is absolutely no question that Japan is now one of the world’s hottest travel destinations, and after this trip, it’s very easy to understand why.
Over the coming weeks, I’ll be releasing two major videos from this adventure.
The first will be my full Celebrity Millennium ship review. I’ll properly discuss the cabins, food, entertainment, service, atmosphere and the big question many of you keep asking us: do we actually prefer this older Millennium Class experience, or Celebrity’s newer Edge Class ships? They are so different.
The second video will be our full cinematic Cruise Diary series, covering day to day life aboard, the fun we got up to and the destinations themselves, including all the ports we visited across Japan and Korea. And trust me, some of these locations were absolutely stunning.
We’ve filmed everything. The beautiful moments, the surprises, the challenges, the food, the transport chaos, and the hidden gems!
If you’ve been following along during these daily diaries, thank you so much for joining us. This itinerary deserves to be very high on your list, and you'll see why in the upcoming videos!
Our next cruise begins, in 7 weeks. More info on that later.
Our next Youtube video release in 2 weeks will be the disastrous Disney Adventure cruise, we're it all went wrong, for numerous reasons! Make sure you're subscribed to our YouTube channel for that!
Bill & Mrs Ritzy
