Just Back From The Century 7-17-04

Hello everyone! We just returned from an incredible week on the Century. We wanted to thank everyone on these boards because you were so helpful when we were planning this cruise on the Century. This was our first Celebrity cruise, we previously cruised RCI (4 times) and Princess (1 time). We were looking for a more refined cruise with great service and the Century certainly was the right ship for us. HERE'S OUR REVIEW:

SHIP:

The Century is the smallest ship that we ever cruised on and the passengers mingled with other passengers because if its size. We enjoyed meeting people and actually seeing them again. The crew on this ship is so wonderful and friendly that they create an atmosphere where everyone feels welcome. Everywhere you go on this ship they are smiling and cleaning and polishing. The Century is kept immaculate by this terrific crew. Yes, the Century is showing some signs of age, but nevertheless it is an elegant ship. The atrium is beautiful with the changing lights in the ceiling. Upon entering the Century, we were greeted by smiling staff serving champagne and/or orange juice. This was a lovely touch and it set the tone for the entire week. Our first impressions were that this ship was homier, had fewer children, had mixed adult ages (we are in our 50's), and was classier. The buffet in the Islands Cafe has white linen on the trays and food is served to passengers by this terrific crew. At the end of the buffet line a crew member is waiting to carry your tray to a table.

We had an inside room on the panorama (deck 8) deck. The room had much storage space and closet space. The beds in the stateroom were not the most comfortable so I asked my stateroom attendant Syamsul if he could do something about this problem. He said he would either get me a new mattress or make the one I had more comfortable. We left the room and within an hour he made me a "pillow-top" mattress. The bed was fine after that. He just was wonderful and he kept our room immaculate without intruding on our privacy.

DINING:

The Grand Restaurant is the beautiful two tiered dining room. Dinners are 5 courses and every evening the Charade Quartet played while we ate dinner. The food and the service was excellent. The best we have ever had on a cruise. It is also open for lunch and dinner with excellent choices. The eggs benedict served in the dining room was delicious.

The Islands Cafe is on the pool deck and food is served to you on a buffet line for lunch & dinner. There is also an omelette and belguim waffle station outside the pool area for breakfast. The belguim waffles were outstanding. There is a shaded area outside off of the Islands Cafe where guests can eat breakfast & lunch too. It was wonderful eating out there as the ship pulled into a port. The view was gorgeous. There is a grill (hamburgers, hot dogs, & pasta) and sandwich station outside the pool area for lunch. The food was very good here especially the pasta dishes.

Every afternoon there is also an ice cream station set up and served to guests at the Islands Cafe. Yogurt is also served throughout the day. Some evenings a Sushi Bar is set up in the Islands Cafe. The Sushi was delicious and the waiter even taught me how to use the chopsticks. This crew will do anything for the passengers. They even have a "sorbet parade" in the afternoon around the pool & the waiters serve sorbet to the guests. Another nice touch !

ENTERTAINMENT:

These boards had some negative comments about the entertainment on the Century. We were a little concerned about this, but our entertainment was terrific. We especially enjoyed Michael James (the ladder man) and the 3 production shows. The singers and dancers were very talented. There was also a vocal impressionist Sean O'Shea who was very good. In addition to the shows in the theater there were other entertainment options. Each evening we went to Michael's Club and enjoyed Howie Gold playing the piano and singing. Michael's Club is beautiful with its paneled walls. You feel as if you are sitting in someone's living room. The Rendezvous Lounge was great for dancing to the sounds of the Two Hot Duo. This duo was also very talented.

The Cova/Tastings Bar also had the continuous sounds of the "magic piano" which played throughout the day.

PORTS:

In Cozumel we went to Paradise Beach which we learned about on these boards. We took a taxi there for $12.00. The beach is beautiful and chairs, umbrellas, floats, and kayaks are free. There is an "iceberg" that children can climb in the water & a trampoline also. We even met "Paradise Beach Tom" while we were there. This was a terrific afternoon.

In Grand Cayman we went to 7 mile beach.

In Jamaica we went to Margaritaville.

In Key West we went on the trolley tour where you could get on & off the trolley to spend some time in one area. This tour was great because you could get on and off where and when you wanted to.

Celebrity adds another wonderful touch when they greet their passengers at the pier with chilled towels and ice water.

SPA:

We got a weeks pass to use the thalasotherapy pool in the spa. This pool was very relaxing like a complete body massage in the water.

OVERALL EXPERIENCE:

This was our best cruise ever. We met a group of our cruise critics friends at the mast bar and enjoyed their company throughout the cruise. Our tablemates at dinner were so much fun, we really enjoyed their company and hope to see them again! Celebrity really knows how to treat their guests "famously." We met some wonderful people and had a great time on this lovely ship. We would definitely cruise on the Century again!

If you have any questions about the Century you can contact us at d.frasca@cox.net

Many Cruises

So I'm guessing you booked another cruise while onboard?

Many Cruises... I'm glad you had such a wonderful time. Who was your waiter at dinner? :)

Many Cruises... I'm glad you had such a wonderful time. Who was your waiter at dinner? :)

Hi Toni !

My Waiter was Corado and he was Outstanding. Table 508 near the Captains Table.

Regards,

Andy

Hi Host Andy... Do you happen to know how long Captain Terry will be onboard? Sorry, for asking so many questions, but it sure seems to make the time go by faster. :)

is michael's pub still a cigar bar?

We didn't book another cruise onboard, but we received coupons for onboard credits because schedules are not out yet for the caribbean for summer 2005. We have until August 30, 2004 to book if we want to use the coupons. We loved this ship!

Many Cruises

toni1266:

Our waiter was Benny and our assistant waiter was Katarina and we were at table 634 on the upper level looking down on the captains table.

Host Cruise Andy:

A group of us met at the mast bar. So sorry we didn't get to meet you. It sounds like your week was as wonderful as ours.

Pilewski:

Michael's Club is a piano bar. I don't know about cigars...no one was smoking in there. This was a very intimate piano bar & we enjoyed it all week for before & after dinner drinks!

Many Cruises

Many cruises

Thank you so much for posting your review. Although we aren't sailing until Jan 22/05, it really helps us to pass the time.

Toni

We are with Toni (tlm) on the 1/22/05. Cannot wait to meet her, DH and DM and we would like to thank you for your review. Although we have read a few bad reviews recently, it is good to hear the positive ones. It absolutely does help us keep going.

Patti

Michaels Club was my only disappointment on board. I love cigars and this used to be my favorite spot after dinner. You can imagine how enjoyable it was to light up in those surroundings and have a cognac or port. I was on Century in 2002 and that was my memory. Reality...no cigar smoking anywhere inside!!That being said I must admit that when I stuck my head in Michaels Club ( I am boycotting it now that it is No Smoking) there were more people enjoying the space than when it was cigar friendly. I am a realist and know it is all about producing happy sailors and we( cigar smokers) have lost Michaels Club on this ship.

I still love Century I guess even more than I love my Cigars!!! :)

Many cruises,welcome home. Glad to hear that you had a great time on the Century.CLSmith

ManyCruises:

It was truly a pleasure meeting the two of you at the Mast Bar and numerous other times onboard the Century. This was our 3rd Celebrity cruise & we consider it to be our best overall vacation. Perhaps we will all sail together again one day.

I agree with ManyCruises opinions & points. Here are some of our additional points:

We are a family of 3. My wife & I are in the 35-40 range & our duaghter is 11. Our table was 583 loacted by the kitchen but also next to a window. Our waiter Josua & his assistant were fantastic, they were always trying to please everyone at our table of 7. The assistant Maitre'D was Andrew, he was fantastic as well. We were very disappointed with the kid's program. Our past experiences on the Horizon & Millennium were superb, not so this time. The counselors were not very friendly and showed little interest in my daughters group. We understand that there were many kid's in the program, however there was minimal effort made to get the kids involved. Fortunately our daughter made a great friend her age and they stayed together often. We read many of the negative statements regarding the overall condition of the Century, so we were expecting the worst. This ship is by no means in poor condition, the staff keeps this ship very well maintained. If you look for faults (stains) you will find them, but remember that approx 2000 passengers sail this ship every week so wear & stains are to be expected. We were told by the future cruise representative that the Century will be undergoing extensive refurbishing sometime in November but no balconies will be added. The entertainment was also very good. We did not care much for Sean O'Shea but he was not too bad. Also onboard was comedian Louis Johnson, who was very funny and even offered a lecture on comedy that was very interesting on our day at sea.

Ports (for details see the Ports of Call Boards):

Ocho Rios - We booked a private tour with Peat Taylor. He & his son O'Neal were fantastic.

Cozumel - Went to Tulum (Mayan ruins). It was beautiful but very hot & humid.

Grand Cayman - We booked privately with Native Way, for an island tour & stingray city. Almost missed our tender because of them. A very bad experience for us with Native Way, but Grand Cayman people & sights were beautiful.

Key West - Not enough time there. We just walked around. A wonderful place. Want to go back.

We can't wait until the itineraries for summer of 2005 come out so we can plan our next vacation.

Special regards to all of you who we met through these boards, sorry some of you were unable to meet up with us.

Regards,

Peter & Meryl

Hi Peter & Meryl,

So glad you enjoyed Century. Sorry about the kid's program. I know Alexandra had a great time anyway if she made a friend. We do really love this ship and she's really due for an overhaul. We sailed her 3 times, as we'd told you, but the first trip was in 1997 for John & Alisia's honeymoon. We'd sail her again in an instant.

Now we're waiting to see how the air goes for March. It's very high right now so we'll wait a little longer.

How was flying from AC? Where did you go in FLL? Details, Details, Details!!

Hopefully we can give you a call on Saturday, we'll be in Cliffwood. Will you be around?

Welcome home Peter & Meryl. We enjoyed meeting you on the Century. It truly was a wonderful week. Now we're suffering from post cruise depression...you know how it is! The only way to get over this illness is to begin planning your next cruise. We are very interested in the 9 night itineraries for next summer. Keep in touch!

Many Cruises

I was just wondering if anyone had there hair done-up in the salon. Who did you have and were you pleased with the service?

PatC:

Flying out of AC was truly the best airport experience we ever had. Thanks for your advice. Parking was plentiful, well lit & inexpensive compared to Newark. Spirit Air was a good choice. There were no long lines of planes waiting to taxi down the runway, so once we pulled out of the gate we were up quickly. In FLL we stayed at the Embassy Suites. It's great because it's like an apartment & you're not confined to 1 room. We ate dinner the first night at the Bimini Boatyard & the second night at the brewery you suggested. We took the water taxi into downtown FLL & enjoyed window shopping & a visit to the Science Center for an I-Max 3-D movie. I'll contact you with my number about Saturday. We would like to see you guys.

ManyCruises:

We are also looking into booking next summer, maybe we'll be shipmates again. We only wish that they would list the itineraries. We talked to the Henry's this evening, they also had a great time.

Thanks for your review, I'm going to be on this ship in October and really am looking forward to it. After reading several reviews I don't think 7 days will be enough time to enjoy everything.:)

You will love the Century & you're right 7 days isn't enough time to enjoy everything! The week just flies by too fast then you're home thinking & planning your next cruise.

Many Cruises

You will love the Century & you're right 7 days isn't enough time to enjoy everything! The week just flies by too fast then you're home thinking & planning your next cruise.

 

Many Cruises

Hi Many !

I agree about the 7 day sailing. It is just too short ! I guess that is why Century will be doing 9 & 10 night sailings next season. I am glad they made that itinerary decision, but I wish it was an M Class ship (like Summit) doing that itin. I think Century is better suited for 7 night sailings.

We will see what happens next season. I cant wait to see what prices will be like for the new itins.

Regards,

Andy

I have to agree with everything that many cruises and pbk said. We sailed with them on the Century to the Western Caribbean. It was our first cruise and we brought along our 12 year old daughter and 14 year old son. We all had a wonderful time.

We had two outside cabins and they were kept beautiful by our stateroom attendant Jose. There was more than enough storage room for two people, but we were glad we booked two separate staterooms for the 4 of us.

The food was fanastic, and there was a great selection at each meal. At dinner, our waiter Domingos and his assistant Maria were kept on there toes with the kids at our table, but they did a marvelous job.

I agree with pbk about the kids programs, though - a little work needs to go into this area. There were 400 kids on our cruise - they should try and cater to them a little more.

Entertainment, especially the "ladder guy" and the Celebrity singers and dancers were very enjoyable as was the beautiful Celebrity Theatre. We didn't miss a show.

All the ports of call were fantastic, but I do want to put in a plug for the excursion that we booked through the cruise to Passion Island in Cozumel. It was AWESOME. Private beach, open bar and free food. It was great. The tour director was Jorge who worked for Island Adventures. My son left his backpack on the bus, and it was returned later that day to the ship, without even a phone call. Note: the guest relations staff was NOT helpful in this regard - couldn't even find a phone number for the tour company - even thought it was booked by Celebrity!

All in all we had a fantastic time. Peter, Meryl and Ally we really enjoyed the time we spent with you and look forward to seeing you in a few weeks. Cheryl and Dennis - it was so nice meeting you and we look forward to keeping in touch. When you're in Baltimore, let us know - we'd love to meet you for a drink. Our email address is fourhen1@adelphia.net