Just back from Century April 9-16

We had a great time! I am still rocking in my chair - it was quite a rolling voyage and I have no idea how the dancers kept their feet! A few early and random thoughts:

First impressions - beatiful ship. Never crowded, well laid out - I can see why you would love it. Public areas are going to be completely re-done in two weeks so paid little attention to the old and worn spots. Food - great. Service - outstanding. Waiter Augusto, sommelier Amir, room steward Shetty were wonderful. Captain - definitely 'rock star'. Cruise Director Allan King was what a legend should be. Entertainment was great. The Canopy tour in MoBay was great, the snorkel and Stingray City with Soto tours in Grand Cayman was OK and the Chacchoben Ruins with David & Ivan's was fantastic, beyond our expectations.

From RCCL, I truly miss the Solarium - the four hot tubs on the pool deck are small, often in full sun and always full of children. Dining room attire was generally honored, but certainly not enforced - the teens at the table next to us came to dinner on 'informal' night in t-shirts and board shorts; the man a few tables over wore his baseball cap and t-shirt most nights.

The Connections get-together was Monday morning at 10 a.m., with about 20 people attending and it was nice to put names to faces. CD Allan was with us for quite some time explaining the refurb and answering questions. The Activities Staff person heard me ask about getting a tender in Grand Cayman early enough for a private excursion, and had priority tender tickets sent to our cabin.

We had our 12-pack of coke cans stolen from our checked baggage; reported it and had a form in triplicate that we had to fill out, settled for a 6-pack delivered to our cabin (since 50% chance it was the port people who lifted our soda....) and 3 phone calls to ensure we were satisfied. I kept wondering, since they put all this effort into our $4 Coke, why the people with the room safes broken into had so much difficulty! They deserved the service we got.

Embarkation was a breeze - we arrived at 11:15 and we in our cabin at 11:30 - in the Islands Cafe before they started serving and (sadly) before the bar opened. The Westerdam left before we did, pulled out RIGHT behind us with a stiff breeze across them toward us, and they passed within about 20 feet - photos of us on the deck show the whites of their passengers eyes!

Grand Cayman was ridiculous - 6 ships in port (would have been 7 if the Star Princess had been there). The weather was quite breezy and the water choppy. Stingray City was astounding - over 25 boats there of every shape and size and hundreds of people in this very chopppy water. They must have pulled in every boat that would float - fishing boats, dive boats, party boats - everything was out there bringing the hordes to see the poor fleeing stingrays. The headline in the local paper was about the Costa's tour that the boat overturned - no conclusion as to cause yet but the boat was definitely not overloaded. The line to get tenders for the Carnival ships was easily an hour long in the hot sun. We did get our Big Black Dick rum, tasted rum cakes in every shop and got our sea salts, and were on deck to see the last couple run down the dock to catch the last tender.

Oh - we got to DOCK in Cozumel!!!! Oh man, walking past that long line of people being shoved like cattle to go back to the Explorer of the Seas was so great!!

The one bad thing - they are getting as much work done before drydock as they can. Unfortunately, there are still passengers on the ship. The were putting in cable (internet access?) in the ceiling of our hallway....at 8 a.m. on the last sea day....so much for sleeping in. A guy told us they were doing his hallway at 1 a.m.!

Anyway, I have laundry calling me and it's been 4 hours since my last meal so it must be time to eat again :D .....I expect some of the others will have thoughts to add when they finally get home. I hope they had pleasant flights.

Hi Flamingos !

Thanks for the excellent review. We were on Century a month ago, and had a great time. I am glad to see Allan King is back. We had Bruce as the CD last month, and he wasnt bad, but Allan has MUCH more experience than Bruce, and he was missed.

Do you happen to remember the Captain's name ? You probably had the same Captain we had in November. He was fantastic, and very personable. The Captain that was on Century last month, was more like the old guard at Celebrity, and not accessible at all. Not that it is an issue, I know these men have a ton of responsibility, and a million things to do. I just feel it is nice, when the Captain shows an interest in the passengers.

You docked in Cozumel??? I was there two weeks ago.. not a dock in sight except for the tender dock. WOW!

Rock star Captain.. lol... obviously a change of command has taken place in the past two weeks!

Rock star Captain.. lol... obviously a change of command has taken place in the past two weeks!

Hi Ocngypz !

You probably had the same Captain we had a month ago. He was anything but a Rock star.

I know who the OP is talking about, a few people on our November Cruise said he looked like a Rock star. He was pretty young (in his mid 30's) with long hair. Probably why he got the nickname.

Which dock in Cozumel is now partially open? Thanks

The captain was Nicholas Panolis (sp?) from Greece and he looked much to young to be a bridge officer, much less captain, with long black hair, a great tan, smiling eyes. Then we met him - think Mick Jagger. :D We later saw him walk through Senor Frog's in the port in Cozumel - open-necked shirt, snazzy silver designer shades...... rock star all the way. Sat down with his group with guacamole, Coronas and his ever-present radio.

Allan King was great - he ends every night with his 'groaners' or bad jokes. It's just that, with his Scots accent, he pronounces both vowels in 'groan' and I thought he was talking about 'groins' until the middle of the second night, could not figure out how that had anything to do with anything! He did a 'private' show in Michael's Club on the same night as the on-deck Caribbean party and Melons on Parade & buffet. There were perhaps 30 people in there to listen to him play piano & guitar, sing and tell jokes for over 2 hours. Very pleasant.

Which dock in Cozumel is now partially open? Thanks

I'm not sure my north from my south, but the part of the International Pier closest to town, on the left facing the island. The right pier, which IIRC was longer and had a corner in it, hasn't even been hauled away yet. The repaired pier was being patched with concrete - one five-gallon bucket, one wheelbarrow and two workers with trowels. I don't expect it to be finished anytime soon. The tenders for the Explorer were coming to the middle of our pier; the tenders from other two ships at the International Pier went somewhere near the ruined leg, didn't see where. There were two more ships off the downtown area.

The captain was Nicholas Panolis (sp?) from Greece and he looked much to young to be a bridge officer, much less captain, with long black hair, a great tan, smiling eyes. Then we met him - think Mick Jagger. :D We later saw him walk through Senor Frog's in the port in Cozumel - open-necked shirt, snazzy silver designer shades...... rock star all the way. Sat down with his group with guacamole, Coronas and his ever-present radio.

Allan King was great - he ends every night with his 'groaners' or bad jokes. It's just that, with his Scots accent, he pronounces both vowels in 'groan' and I thought he was talking about 'groins' until the middle of the second night, could not figure out how that had anything to do with anything! He did a 'private' show in Michael's Club on the same night as the on-deck Caribbean party and Melons on Parade & buffet. There were perhaps 30 people in there to listen to him play piano & guitar, sing and tell jokes for over 2 hours. Very pleasant.

Hi Flamingos !

Just as an FYI, his name is Captain Nicholas Pagonis. He was the Captain on Century in November, and he was one of the best we ever had. He was very personable, approachable, and very friendly. He spent about 20 minutes speaking with me one-on-one. I was very impressed with him. I was disappointed he was on Vacation last month, but I am sure we will run into him again, as we plan on being on Century at least 2 more times in the next 12 months.

Allan King also did a performance in Michael's for us in November, and he truly is a very talented man. We have sailed with him many times previously. I hope he will be onboard Century next time we are onboard.

Again, I am glad you had a great time !

Booking the Century as I type, we are booking 11/13, when does the ship go into drydock and for how long?

I love the Century have not been on her for 5 years, looking forward to sailing her after all the changes.

Booking the Century as I type, we are booking 11/13, when does the ship go into drydock and for how long?

I love the Century have not been on her for 5 years, looking forward to sailing her after all the changes.

Hi Slot !

Century left Ft Lauderdale (her last day there for the forseeable future) for Barcelona yesterday. Once this sailing is over (4/28), Century will be out of service for roughly 4 weeks, to do the upgrades. Then, she will continue her Europe season, and head back to her new homeport, Miami at the end of October for 4/5 night sailings.

Thanks, Andy, I can always count on you to know the answer. :)

Thanks, Andy, I can always count on you to know the answer. :)

Hi Slot !

Thanks for the compliment. You know I always try my best to get the right answers :)

Booking the Century as I type, we are booking 11/13, when does the ship go into drydock and for how long?

I love the Century have not been on her for 5 years, looking forward to sailing her after all the changes.

You're in for a real treat :) Century has always been a favourite of ours, so we're booking one of those short "taster" cruise on her (http://www.celebritycruises.co.uk/pages/news.php?newsid=14) for late this summer, just so we can see the effects of her refurb...! I can't wait :D

Our tradition on a cruise is to buy a flamingo, name it after the captain and take it around the ship to record our vacation. Here is Nicholas, our newest, enjoying the Century:

Hi Flamingos, first, I just want to say how glad I am you had

a great time:) Did you meet Lisa and her hubby?

You know a while back I was going to sail on that cruise but my

plans changed and I went on Zenith this past week instead.

Anyway, Babette, Zenith docked too but not downtown. But where

Sr Frogs-1/2 is located.

Same place Century has always docked for me. (Prior to the storms).

We were there on the 17th and there were 2 other ships tendered.

Splendour of The Seas and a Carnivial Ship (can't recall the name).

Andy,.......I found out on Zenith that Daniel Elias no longer works

for the company. Thought you might be interested in that tid-bit!

Andy,.......I found out on Zenith that Daniel Elias no longer works

for the company. Thought you might be interested in that tid-bit!

Hi Lois !

I am sorry to hear about our friend Danny. Someone else mentioned it on Century, but he wasnt sure, so I didnt want to bring it up until I was certain. I hope he is doing well.

Did you happen to run into Diego ?

Welcome Home !

Hi Andy, Diego had left for vacation earlier in March.

Thanks for the welcome home:) better scoot....gotta

work tomorrow:eek: :(