Century 10/23/04 review

We arrived in Ft. Lauderdale on Friday afternoon and were checked in the Yankee Clipper by 2:30 The hotel was OK, it was on the beach which is what I wanted and the price through price line was $75.00 so it worked out well. Next time I think we will go back a price the zone for the Renaissance and Embassy. We ate lunch at the hotels beach bar and it was not good, don't eat at this place, expensive and not good.

We were scheduled to meet Greg, Mary, Julie, and Paul at the Pelican bar. The bar is right on the water and was a nice place to meet. We quickly figured out who everyone was and were soon drinking and talking like old friends, which is what we became. We all went somewhere to eat dinner, not sure where, it was also just OK but we all had fun so the food was secondary.

On Saturday we got up about 9:30 packed had coffee and headed to the ship about 11:00 AM. Celebrity has the best boarding procedure in the industry. We checked in quickly, about 10 minutes and I headed for the upgrade station. I was told there were several suites available for upgrade all were the same price. One of them was the Royal and we jumped on it. What a cabin, bedroom, living room, dinning room, walk in closet, etc. We all meet in Gary and Mary's cabin for sail away and had a great little party. We had a table for 10 at dinner. Mary had the idea to switch chairs every night and it really worked out well. We were able to get to know all of our other dinner mates and had a great time. We all ate together every night even though Greg was under the weather a couple nights he hung in there. I think we all agreed the food was fair to good. Some things were good but many more were only fair.

Our first port was Jamaica and we went to Sandals for the day. It was very nice and is as they say, all inclusive. We hung around the pool had some drinks, ate lunch then headed back to the ship. Some of the group went to Dunn's River and it seemed everyone had a good time.

Our next port was Cozumel. We did some shopping and then headed to Senior Frogs 1/2 by the ship. There were 6 cruise ships in port so every bar was packed. We were going to meet the gang at big Frogs but you could not get in. The 1/2 Frogs was fun and close so it worked out well.

On Thursday we had most of the CC group up to our cabin and had another little party. It was also allot of fun as I think everyone was getting to know each other by then. This was another sea day and for me that equals Casino time, for the wife it was reading and getting rid of me for a while. We also worked out in the spa and did the Therapy pool every sea day.

Friday was Key West. WOW it was Fantasy Feast in Key West and it was something I had never seen. From talking with the group it was something most of them had never seen either. There was allot of body paint and in some cases nothing else. As the day went on it was most cases nothing else. We left port at 4:00 PM but there was plenty to talk about at the pool bar that afternoon.

Saturday we were off the ship, had our luggage and on our way to the airport by 8:15 AM. We had booked a latter flight but were able to change to one that left at 10:25 AM. If you are on Celebrity you should be able to make any flight that departs after 10:00 AM

This was our 7th cruise and one of our best. The CC group was small but we had allot of fun together. It was a great group. This was our second Celebrity cruise, here is a quick list of what I like and don't like about Celebrity.

Dislikes

1. Customer Service. Land based is the worst I have ever had to deal with. Let your T/A deal with these people if you have a problem. The ships customer service department was much better. We had to check with them since we had changed cabins regarding our luggage and a bottle of wine our T/A provides. The luggage was taken care of quickly, the bottle of wine was never located.

2. On each of my cruises with Celebrity they have a policy that drinks are poured exactly with one jigger of booze. No big deal but I like hand poured drinks, to me it puts more of a human instead of a corporate element on your experience.

3. Pressure from head waiter, CD and everyone else to mark excellent and only excellent on your comment card. I thought the service was excellent but I do not like to be told you must rate us excellent.

Likes

1. Service on the ship. Celebrity does try to provide excellent service by everyone on the ship. From the time you board the ship you can tell these people want you to have a great vacation. I don't know how they do it week after week, they just get one group off and they are fresh and ready to go again.

2. Boarding process. The best in the industry in my opinion. You are on and off in no time. If you fill your doc's out on line you will be on board almost immediately. I have never seen more then maybe 6 people deep in any line.

3. Upgrade at the pier. Other lines may do this but I am not aware of any. It is nice to check in and then go to the upgrade area at the pier before you get on the ship. I know there are usually none available but at least you know quickly.

4. Room Service. You are given a choice of 1/2 hour time slots for breakfast to be delivered. They always call your cabin and say your meal is on it's way and it is always in the correct time slot.

5. Captains club party. This was the nicest party for repeat customers I have ever attended. We were not going to go but decided to at the last minute. They provided a nice choice of drinks not just one or two, a band and very good appetizers. It was a very classy affair.

6. No cabin announcements. You can nap, sleep in or anything else you want to do without constant announcements about bingo art auctions, etc. You do need to read your planner or you will not know what is happening.

Limbo.

Food. I did not feel the food on this cruise or the Mercury cruise was any better then any other line. Some things were good some were bad and most were just average.

Entertainment. Again it was OK. I have seen better and worse on other cruise lines.

All in all this was a great cruise. We had been to all the ports several times and yet this was still one of our best cruises. I contribute this to our CC group and to the cruise line. After two cruises with Celebrity I agree they are a very good line. They really do want to make you happy and it shows. I would pay a little more to cruise with them as long as they can keep their prices somewhat competitive.

Ho out

Hi Ho. Nice review. The Century is one of my favorite ships. You just can't beat the staff that works on her.:D

Garry

Since you upgraded to a Royal, who was your butler, if you recall?

Thanks

Tbelian,

Good to hear from you. Our butler was David. He did not do much but then again I did not know what he was supposed to do so I did not ask for much. We ordered Breakfast twice and he brought it at the scheduled time, he left those little sandwich snacks in the afternoon. We did not ask him to help unpack or pack so I guess he did what he was supposed to do. The Royal was great but I don't think we needed the butler.

By the way I know you won't believe this but you would have lost your bet. The extra sea day was just that an extra sea day. No happy hour, no future cruise discount, no on board credit. I am sure our CC group will confirm this. Now remember no one in our group ask for or expected anything and I think we all enjoyed the extra day at sea but if you recall I said Celebrity would not offer anything and you assured me and several others they would. Sorry they didn't

Ho

How close to date did you bid? We are returning December 4th and staying in Ft. Lauderdale the night and may try Priceline for a deal.....

Do I bid 10 days inadvance or on the ship?

Thanks,

Anthony

Did they charge you at Sandals?

How was the beach/pool there?

Thanks

Anthony,

I would bid now. I usually try to bid between 30 to 60 days out. If you don't get the price you want the first time you have some time to keep trying. Check the site biddingfortravel.com. They will give you some good information on how much the winning bids are going for in different sections and at which hotels.

Rwethereyet,

Yes they do charge but it is for a day pass. When I called Sandals national number they gave me a price of $90.00 per person but suggested I might want to call the resort direct once I was in port. I called once we got off the ship and was able to get in for $40.00 per person. I think I could have even gotten it cheaper. Apparently it depends on how crowded they are. Make sure you tell them you are on a cruise ship and will only be there for a few hours. I think if you tell them you would like to see the property because you are considering a vacation there in the future you could get it cheaper. You do get more for your money then the excursions offered by the cruise line. This included all of our drinks ( call brand liquor) and food at several restaurants. Snorkel trips if you have time, beach, chair, umbrella, beach equipment like floats, sail boats and water skiing. Not a bad deal for the price.

Let me know if you have any more questions.

Ho

Ho - Thanks for taking the time to post your review, I really enjoyed reading it. The Century is still my favorite, I'll be back on her in a little over 3 weeks, I can't wait.

Terri

Thanks Teedee,

As both you and Gary know she is a great ship. I forgot to mention we were very impressed with Michael's lounge. We did not find this little place until the last night but I would have liked to spend some more time there. For you non smokers this lounge is your place, no smoking allowed. I smoke by the way ( down to about 5 a day) but this was a very nice place to unwind.

Ho

Ho

Can you explain in greater detail about the upgrade desk at the pier.Where was it located? Do you check it at the regular desk BEFORE?

What was available and the approximate cost to upgrade.

Thanks

Friday was Key West. WOW it was Fantasy Feast in Key West and it was something I had never seen. From talking with the group it was something most of them had never seen either. There was allot of body paint and in some cases nothing else. As the day went on it was most cases nothing else.

Ho ~ Can you explain this better?

I ask, because I will be cruising to Key West next Spring...and will have young children with me.

Where did this occur? ..and what exactly was it?

Thanks.

The upgrade desk is located at the far right hand side or the pier. At least that is where it is in Ft. Lauderdale. You must check in first before you go their. After you check in go to the upgrade desk and ask if there is anything available, if there is they will look at your tickets and figure the difference in cost. In our case it was a $700.00 total difference not per person from CC to a suite. It did not make any difference which suite so there was one Royal left and we took that one there were about 3 Sky's left for the same price. From what I understand very seldom is there anything available so I would not count on getting one. I think we got lucky because they had cancelled some ports due to the hurricanes and the people that paid or would pay that much money for a cabin probably decided to wait and go when they would stop at all the ports.

I can't tell you much about Fantasy Feast since this was the first I had ever heard of it. I think it takes place over a couple of weeks. I don't know what they are celebrating but whatever it is, clothes are not necessary. I never saw any kids nor would I bring any. I assume it is about the same time every year which would be the middle of October to the end of the month. They block off several blocks and set up vendor stations for food and just about anything else. Some of the food looked great as they cook it right in front of you. They also have body paint stations right in front of you. Naked women would get painted and then walk around the street. The ship left port at 4:00PM and we started to head back from Sloppy Joe's about 3:00PM. I talked to a couple of people in the bar and they said this is very mild, things did not get crazy until after the sun went down. Sorry, I wish I could tell you more but I don't have any idea what they were celebrating, whatever it was it is not a place to bring young kids. There may be some information on the web under Key West and Fantasy Feast.

Ho out

Boo's Mom Fantasy fest happens only at Holloween. Been to Key West a few times and there is no one walking around like that. You do have to be careful what stores you go in as some have some off color cards and props in them. May not be what you want your kids to see. Key west is beautiful. Go on the conch train and vist Hemmingways house if you like cats. Lots of cats there. They also have a nice museum there also. Pat

Hi, Fantasy Fest takes place around Halloween EVERY YEAR.....it is an annual thing in Key West.

The BIGGEST part of it is a GIANT Parade up and down Duval Street. IT is sort of a "Mini Mardi Gras".....

I went back in the 80s...and had a blast!

For any of you who have been to Mardi Gras in New Orleans, you will have experienced this same type of Party Atmosphere!

 

 

I can't tell you much about Fantasy Feast since this was the first I had ever heard of it. I think it takes place over a couple of weeks. I don't know what they are celebrating but whatever it is, clothes are not necessary. I never saw any kids nor would I bring any.

Ho out

Fantasy Fest is every year it is always the 7-10 days before Halloween. The day that we were there was the Paint day, and there is a contest for the best 'paint' job, so none of the really good 'paint' jobs were around during the day.

The Key West Police have all of the intersections blocked off with barricades . I saw a couple of parents with children walking up to the barricade and heard the police tell them. "on this side of the barricade anything can happen and often does, any thing goes" They also told the parents they would not advise them to take their kids in, but they could not stop them.

Which Sandals did you go to? I think there is more than one in Ocho Rios. How far was it? Did you take a cab from the cruise port.

Thanks for any info you can provide.

Will be on Century in a week! Very excited. We will be making the stop in Grand Cayman according to the Cayman port authority schedule.

RodPat,

"Boo's Mom Fantasy feast happens only at Holloween. Been to Key West a few times and there is no one walking around like that".

I can assure you people were walking around exactly like that. How would you know how they were dressed, you were not there? Pjgavaghan was there and on our cruise, he verified what we saw. I love people like you who were not there but yet can assure others it did not happen. Boo's Mom asked a legitimate question concerning her young children and your answer is no one is walking around like that. You must be a very gifted individual to be able to state as a fact that no one is dressed like this when you were never there. I have also been to Key West, more than a few times and as I said this was the first time I had ever seen this. I of course am not the expert on Key West that you are.

Boo's Mom, Don't take your kids to this, my youngest is 19 now but I would not have wanted them at this event.

Ho out

Ho,

I think you misunderstood RodPat's response. I believe he/she was saying that at times other than Halloween, when you were there, there are not usually painted naked individuals walking the streets.

Your tone was pretty defensive and not really called for in light of your misreading of the post.

Sorry, but I couldn't let this just go by,

Eve

Eve, Rodpat

Sorry, I reread the post and your are correct.

Bererland,

Yes,there are more then one. We went to Dunn's River Sandals. You can see it on the web. We loved it for half a day, I don't know if I would like it for a week. I think I listed all the activities I noticed. If you have any specific questions ask away.

Ho out