Celebrity really shines with the cuisine, service, and ambience offered in the intimate alternative restaurants on the Millennium-class ships. Here, Michel Roux and his impressively high service and food standards make the experience well worth the $30 cover charge. There seem to be more waitstaff than diners in the restaurants, which seat just over 100 passengers; Caesar salads and zabaglione are prepared table side, and an excellent cheese cart is presented at the end of the meal (the fine selection, from blues to sharps and mild goat cheeses, is flown in from Paris). At a dinner in Infinity's elegant SS United States restaurant, the charming maitre d' carved our crispy roasted Long Island duckling with the finesse of a concert pianist. All the maitre d's are highly trained, often by a member of Michel Roux's shore-side restaurant staff, and keep standards way up on the four Millennium-class ships.

Menus are similar throughout the four specialty restaurants, though there's at least one thing on each restaurant's menu that was inspired by a dish served on the venue's namesake, such as Waldorf Pudding in the Olympic restaurant, which is prepared as it was on the original liner. Otherwise, expect very similar dishes; for example, appetizers such as a creamy lobster broth, tartare of salmon garnished with quail eggs, and goat cheese soufflé with tomato coulis, followed by entrees such as sea bass brushed with tapenade, scampi flambéed in Armagnac, steak Diane, and rack of lamb coated with mushroom duxelles and wrapped in a puff pastry. For dessert, you can't go wrong with a chocolate soufflé or a plate of Michel Roux's favorite bite-size desserts. Wines by the glass and bottle are suggested with each dish, and while many are pricey, some are affordable, and Mr. Roux knows how to pick an exquisite wine.

Celebrity Cruises Casual Dining

As on most lines today, alternative casual dining is available in the Lido restaurant on most nights. Waiters serve entrees such as pasta, gourmet pizzas, and chicken between about 6 and 9:30pm by reservation only (although if there's space, walk-ins are accepted, too), unlike Carnival and Royal Caribbean, whose Lido dinner venues remain buffet-style. During dinnertime, Celebrity also offers a sushi bar in one section of the Lido restaurant serving both appetizer-size portions and full meals. Celebrity's breakfast and lunch buffets in the Lido restaurant are on par with lines such as Royal Caribbean and Princess, and include such features as a made-to-order pasta bar and a pizza section with custom-made minipizzas.

Light breakfast eaters or those looking for a pre- or postbreakfast snack, will want to grab an incredibly good croissant from Café Cova (the croissants are free, but you have to pony up a few bucks for an accompanying latte or cappuccino). The ships also have outdoor grills offering burgers and such. Each Millennium-class ship has a Spa Cafe in a corner of the thalassotherapy pool area where you can get low-cal treats for lunch or dinner from noon to 8pm, including raw veggie platters, poached salmon with asparagus tips, vegetarian sushi, and pretty salads with tuna or chicken, or enjoy a quick spa breakfast of items such as bagels and lox, fresh fruit, cereal, and boiled eggs.

Celebrity Cruises Snacks and Extras

A nice touch that appears on all formal nights, plus one other night, is a late-night culinary soiree known as Gourmet Bites, in which a series of upscale canapés and hors d'oeuvres, such as fish tempura and roasted garlic lemon chicken, are served by roving waiters in the ship's public lounges between midnight and 1am. There's a traditional midnight buffet on the final formal night; otherwise, themed buffets, such as Asian, Italian, Tex-Mex, or tropical smorgasbords, are offered at lunch in the Lido restaurant.

At least once per cruise fleetwide, the line offers what it calls Elegant Tea, an impressive little event in which white-gloved waiters serve tea, finger sandwiches, scones, and desserts from rolling carts. You sure won't find this on Carnival. The line's 24-hour room service allows passengers to order off the lunch and dinner menus during those hours. And not only is Celebrity's pizza tasty and available throughout the afternoon fleetwide, but you can also get it delivered to your cabin (in a box and pouch, just like the ones used by your local pizzeria) between 3 and 7pm and 10pm and 1am daily.