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Celebrity Cruises - Celebrity Millennium
As Celebrity Cruises' Millennium makes it way along the eastern coast of South America, I'm surprised to discover half of the passengers are from Latin America. Usually the ship carries predominantly Americans and Europeans who book Millennium's cruises in the Caribbean and Mediterranean. So with Spanish and Portuguese accents flying around like party poppers, this two-week escapade begins in Buenos Aires, touches Uruguay and makes a few other stops in Brazil along the way to Rio de Janeiro for the world-famous Carnaval, hailed "the greatest show on earth".
Despite the dominance of the Spanish-speaking passengers, all crew are fluent in English and notices, newsletters, menus and announcements are in English as well as Spanish.
Another surprise was finding out prior to boarding that we could register from home via the internet. This innovation meant the usually tiresome check-in queue and processing time through customs was reduced to around 30 minutes. What a pleasure to breeze through so quickly and begin exploring the ship and, more importantly, our ocean-view stateroom. While not grand, it is large enough for two people to be comfortable. There is a compact bathroom and plenty of hanging and storage space. There's also an interactive television, direct-dial phone with voice mail, well-stocked mini-bar and our suitcases conveniently slide under the beds.
We sail out of Buenos Aires near midnight, cruising the 300-kilometre long Rio de la Plato for our first port of call the next day in the old Spanish fort of Montevideo, capital of Uruguay. This old city is home to 40 per cent of the country's more than three million inhabitants and boasts impressive public buildings, charming town squares, a lively restaurant-lined old market, narrow cobblestone streets and pockets of magnificent homes.
It is Millennium's first voyage to Rio. Run like a first-class floating hotel, it's difficult to comprehend that there are nearly 2000 passengers and some 950 crew on board for we seem to encounter the same group of guests for much of the time.
There are nine different categories of accommodation on seven levels from inside staterooms on the second level to spacious suites with concierge service on the three top levels, including two penthouse suites with marble mosaic foyers and grand pianos. There's also a seemingly never-ending variety of bars, cafs and places where passengers can enjoy cocktails, quiet times, listening to live entertainment or dancing the night away. Few take advantage of the delightful early mornings at sea to tread the jogging track on the top deck - three times around is one kilometre. But then there are some who pack in as much as possible. Daily activities programs offer everything from tango and cha cha classes to the usual art and wine auctions.
Food plays a major role on any holiday and with four different dining options available the ship doesn't disappoint. Executive chef Pascal Mullier supervises a 24-hour galley brigade of 120 cooks, creating 9000 meals a day. The bakery section produces up to 15 different styles of bread and rolls daily, and some six to eight flavours of ice cream are made for the popular gelati bars.
As with all Celebrity Cruise restaurants the whole dining concept is planned and overseen by renowned UK Michelin-star chef, Michel Roux of the Waterside Inn at Bray. For an extra $40 per head guests can dine in the Olympic restaurant on superb fare including Michel Roux' delectable goat cheese souffl, voted the dish of the year by popular American food magazine Bon Appetit. The wine list is also impressive and the service impeccable.
For elegant dining each night the Metropolitan dining room straddles two floors and offers a five-course menu served with style. For more casual dining, there is a seemingly endless buffet with pasta, pizza, waffle and sushi bars; an outdoor hamburger grill; and a spa outlet for those who are health conscious.
The Milanese-style Cova caf is the spot for a good cup of coffee and an array of luscious pastries - light-as-air croissants and brioche, fresh fruit tarts and deliciously nutty florentines.
With the summer temperature in the low thirties, the outdoor pool and jacuzzis beckon sun lovers to bask and strut their stuff. Some over eager fair-skinned guests turn from white to lobster pink and finally a pale shade of beige over the first few days under tropical sun that renders locals a fabulous sun-kissed bronze.
Our first Brazilian port of call is Porto Belo, 856 nautical miles north of Buenos Aires. This tropical hideaway enjoys an ideal climate, fluctuating by less than 10C throughout the seasons. We transfer to shore by tender and go by local ferry to Porto Belo Island - popular with the locals for its water sports, eco-walking trail and rustic fish restaurant. Another stop is Buzios - an unexpectedly delightful port of call. Made famous by Brigitte Bardot in the 1960s when she sought asylum - with her Brazilian boyfriend or 'boyfriends' according to locals - from the constant attention of the paparazzi. Today it is a postcard-pretty resort town specialising in beachwear and bikini shops - and local lobster. A meandering walkway edges the seashore, taking you into town where restaurants, cafs and arts and crafts shops sit prettily under flowering flame trees and boughs of vivid bougainvillea.
Back on board, days at sea provide a chance to chill out and work on a tan, catch up with emails through an internet centre, take some computer or Adobe Photoshop classes or perhaps learn a little about South America, and particularly about Carnaval itself. From guest lecturer Colonel James W Reid we learn of the religious significance of Carnaval - the word being derived from "carne" and "vale" meaning "goodbye to meat" for Lent, and how 14 different samba schools will perform in Rio's Sambdromo over two nights before Lent.
Nightly showtime programs in the 880-seat Celebrity theatre have broad appeal. They range from the Celebrity singers and dancers, to tango exponents Pampas Devils and the exceptional talents of UK-singer Jacqui Scott who wows the appreciative crowd with her emotive rendition of Don't cry for me Argentina. Meanwhile VIP tickets for the internationally-acclaimed night-time Samba Parade are selling like fresh alfajor - those lovely biscuits that are the Argentineans' national treat. With tickets at the equivalent of $600 each - including a souvenir cushion - they come with a high degree of expectation.
We arrive in Rio in the early hours of the morning and get our first glimpse of Christ Redeemer gazing down from his mountain perch at the vibrant city that is about to reach fever pitch with pre-Lenten revelry. The twin humps of the iconic Sugar Loaf are silhouetted in the morning light and the vast stretches of white sand of Copacabana and Ipanema beaches are silent and uncharacteristically empty.
Excursions show the best of Rio with tours by cog-train up the 710-metre summit of Corcovado to the base of the statue of Christ - the largest art deco sculpture in the world - and then via twin cable cars to the top of Sugar Loaf.
Lunch at a churrascario, a traditional barbecue house at Copacabana, is a highlight and a welcome opportunity to experience a little local colour. But it's Carnaval and the Samba Parade that everyone is looking forward to. And with 700,000 visitors in town it seems we have the best accommodation for there is not a spare hotel room anywhere.
The actual organisation of getting people to the Sambdromo goes like clockwork. Chartered local buses drop us right outside the entrance to our grandstand seats, set either side of the half 500-metre-long Avenue Marqus de Sepuca which becomes the equivalent of Pit Straight at a Grand Prix. Our cushions are welcome on the cement seats but many people don't use them for long. Soon the urgent Samba music and seductive drumming has them joining in the frenzied hip shaking and dancing.
With seven samba schools competing tonight and another seven the following night, the spectacle is a long, loud, once-in-a-lifetime experience. To the encouragement of thousands of wall-to-wall spectators in the stands, each samba school dances, sings and generally writhes its way along the Sambdromo. Some schools comprise more than 4000 participants with 200 to 400 drummers and 300 to 400 different costumes. Each has 80 minutes to complete their performance which is assessed by a panel of judges.
We have been warned not to wear jewellery or to carry anything unnecessary. If only we'd thought to bring an umbrella or plastic raincoats, however, as suddenly the heavens open and rain on our parade. Not that the rain can dampen this parade - the most spectacular in the world!
Written by Tricia Welsh - 24, Winter 2006