I was shocked....

[Sky Sweet]

Unless I can see the results directly, in real time, and can review all the assumptions and criteria, I don't trust any polling done on Cruise Critic either. In fact, I trust it even less than other sources for several reasons.

 

"Statistics are like expert witnesses. They testify for both sides"

- by Roy Rogers, Tex Ritter, or someone like that.

 

LOL...I agree with you. Statistics are meaningless unless they are extracted scientifically from a random sample that is representative of the general population. Any poll based on cruise critic participants would be very skewed for obvious reasons.

[cechase]

Having sailed the Century, we were not at all impressed with the ship's condition, the physical plant left an awful lot to be desired. We felt other cruise line ships are much, much nicer. We're not looking for glitz and don't sail Carnival type lines looking for a party ship. Food and service at dinner were excellent on Celebrity. otherwise we were not impressed.

 

All of you should be aware that sammiedawg has once again appeared to bash Century! Seems to be a vendetta, rather than just state her opinion, forget X and get on with it. In another thread that she started with her negativity - all of the recent pax including us raved about Century. Our collective experiences were just the opposite of hers.

 

Oh Mitch, I think that it is the "Prior of Sion" [grin]

[libramitch]

Could not remember for sure.

[sammiedawg]

To Cechase, I have as much right to post on this board as anyone. I remember starting a couple of threads in December when I learned the Century was one of 7 or 8 ships in the world with failed CDC inspections ( I had never heard of the other failed vessels so they must have really been bad . I think if you had been in my shoes you would have shouted from the housetops. Failing a health and sanitation inspection is nothing to brag about). Otherwise I dont recall starting any recent threads. I read existing threads and post from time to time when I have something to add.

You want to shoot the messenger instead of taking a moment to review facts as posted by other people and myself. I did not start this thread, I did not rate these ships or inspect for health and sanitation. I have never rated a ship either on Travelocity or on the cruise critic review section and I dont work for the CDC.. In this thread I stated I agreed with the fact that Century was rated lower on Travelocity and Cruise Critic than other ships I have sailed.

Whats wrong with saying that?

[Lois R]

Hi:) I believe she has been given a 90+ on all the inspections after that particular one.

I had a FABULOUS MARVELOUS WONDERFUL FANTASTIC cruise on Century last month:D Food, service, ship, EVERYTHING was Marvelous!

 

Oh my goodness, I have been home a month now:eek:.

 

Charlie, did I tell you that Erol rememberd you and Nedra?:)

[House_Atreides]

really-that travel ho of a website is just that.

 

How true it is.......Expedia not any better!!!!!

Mary

[CGTNORMANDIE]

Having sailed on liners for 40 years I would never book with an agent I can't see or meet with. There is no substitute for personal service and a close relationship with an excellent TA. The best part is that my TA always does better for me than Travelocity...my TA consistently finds better deals and secures upgrades...nothing beats the personal touch.

 

ROSS

[cechase]

Hi:) I believe she has been given a 90+ on all the inspections after that particular one.

I had a FABULOUS MARVELOUS WONDERFUL FANTASTIC cruise on Century last month:D Food, service, ship, EVERYTHING was Marvelous!

 

Oh my goodness, I have been home a month now:eek:.

 

Charlie, did I tell you that Erol rememberd you and Nedra?:)

 

Yes you did Lois, and thank you. He really added to our cruise enjoyment, every night before dinner [grin]. Nedra snuck him a very nice tip on our last evening on Century.

[cechase]

Having sailed on liners for 40 years I would never book with an agent I can't see or meet with. There is no substitute for personal service and a close relationship with an excellent TA. The best part is that my TA always does better for me than Travelocity...my TA consistently finds better deals and secures upgrades...nothing beats the personal touch.

 

ROSS

 

We have booked all of our cruises through icruse.com, because we seem to always get a better price and save several hundred dollars per pax over the other web TAs, and on several occasions received free insurance. They are quite prompt with responding to email requests.

[Cinnamon Seahorse]

Had a fabulous cruise on the Millennium in October of 2001. Eagerly awaited a return voyage December 2004, and brought several friends along.

 

Horrible experience (and we were in a Celebrity Suite), we were treated rudely when we inquired about the wine our travel agent sent us (basically accused of trying to scam them, but finally on the LAST day of the cruise, they confirmed THIER error with Miami), our butler certainly DIDN'T know how we liked our tea, and we were missing most of the suite amenities.

 

SO very disappointed. Sent a letter to the company president, only to have some lacky respond to it in a fashion that made it clear either the letter wasn't actually read, or the reader lacked comprehension skills.

 

Really looking forward to sailing the Wind in November, and the Dawn next March (our 25th anniversary:) ).

[Blazerboy]

I've cruised enough to know that I don't need reviews/ratings to unduly influence me. People are calling the QE2 "tatty" and worn, and yet I love it. People say the "M" class is too big, and yet I didn't find it so. Does the entertainment excel/stink on Celebrity? Who knows! While I enjoyed a few lectures on my last trip, I'm not there for the "Broadway" shows or musical entertainment. So it's a very individual thing. Those who like the "treasure hunt" type activities would call a cruise that I might enjoy "boring," and I might find their ideal cruise not to my tastes, but hey, I don't want to have to compete with ALL of you for a stateroom, so isn't it nice that we want different things!:) As far as ships living up to my expectations, I try to have two rules:

 

One, I'm going to make my own fun with the friends I meet, so the activities and food are, to some degree, incidental (well, o.k., the food has to be at least decent:rolleyes: ).

 

And two, if things aren't meeting my expectations, and there's something I can do about it (ie: ask for missing amenites in a suite, or a different entree) I will, politely, but I won't let the process/result affect the overall enjoyment of my cruise too much.

 

Would fresh flowers in my stateroom have improved my cruise significantly enough that I won't sail on a line unless they're guaranteed? No. Would very bad food cause me not to book again? Probably. I still find cruising a good value, and, at the moment enjoy Celebrity enough to continue booking with them if the cruise interests me. For me, it's about relaxing, good company, and being at sea. While I have gotten on my "high horse" a few times, I still try to enjoy the big picture that I'M ON A CRUISE, and how great is that?

 

And Cruisin' Rob, some of us who book in CC or suites still can discern the good from the bad!;) Some might even DARE to call us MORE critical!:D

[katiel53]

I don't necessarily pay much thought to the reviews. I just go by my own experiences. For many years I sailed CCL. I did that because prices were so low. Then I started on Celebrity.(fifteen years of sailing) I did go on a couple of cruises on CCL Pride when it was sailing from Pt. Canaveral. I thought the food was way above what it had been previously. I was kind of disappointed when it moved to the west coast. I think Celebrity is not the same as it was when I first started sailing on the line. Believe me, I have defended Celebrity to the hilt. I still love the line, but I am not sure I want to spend the money they are now asking. I have booked other cruises, as show in my signature. Will I be happy? Who knows, but I am not going to let a cruise line price itself so I have to go in debt to cruise. I feel other lines have things to offer too. Just as I started on Celebrity, loved them, and continued, there might be other lines that are more in my price range. MSC seems to have cruises I might like. I am thrilled that Rick Sasso is heading up that line. I feel he made Celebrity what it was, and now RCI is making it another RCI, albeit maybe a bit more high class. There are cruises for all of us, we just need to find the one that best suits us.

 

Katie

[Sky Sweet]

I called travelocity to ask about a letter I received from AARP, and learned something very interesting. It is not a coincidence that both cruise critic and travelocity lowered their ratings for Celebrity at the same time. Travelocity uses the cruise critic website to determine their ratings.

[Susan-M]

I called travelocity to ask about a letter I received from AARP, and learned something very interesting. It is not a coincidence that both cruise critic and travelocity lowered their ratings for Celebrity at the same time. Travelocity uses the cruise critic website to determine their ratings.

 

When you look at the ratings on Travelocity's website, they actually state that reviews are done by Cruise Critic. If you click on the link, it tells you how the ratings are determined. Nice to see that Travelocity and Cruise Critic have a close relationship. Despite what some people have said here, I have found Travelocity to be very reputable.

[Sky Sweet]

When you look at the ratings on Travelocity's website, they actually state that reviews are done by Cruise Critic. If you click on the link, it tells you how the ratings are determined. Nice to see that Travelocity and Cruise Critic have a close relationship. Despite what some people have said here, I have found Travelocity to be very reputable.

 

I personally will never use travelocity for this reason. If you book directly through Celebrity and Celebrity lowers its price between the initial booking and final payment, they will reduce your price accordingly. In a similar vein, if I book a cruise through a local travel agency and that situation occurs, my travel agent will call Celebrity on my behalf to obtain that lower rate for me. However, when I asked travelocity about their policy they told me that they would not contact Celebrity to obtain a lower rate for me on an existing reservation.

[Susan-M]

I personally will never use travelocity for this reason. If you book directly through Celebrity and Celebrity lowers its price between the initial booking and final payment, they will reduce your price accordingly. In a similar vein, if I book a cruise through a local travel agency and that situation occurs, my travel agent will call Celebrity on my behalf to obtain that lower rate for me. However, when I asked travelocity about their policy they told me that they would not contact Celebrity to obtain a lower rate for me on an existing reservation.

 

I've booked through all three - Celebrity, Travel Agent & Travelocity. So far the price hasn't gone down between the time I've booked and the date of the cruise so I haven't asked any of them for a reduction (and I do watch closely). I book with Travelocity if the price is significantly lower....perhaps that's as low as it gets unless you're willing to settle for a guarantee?

[tabasco]

I also saw Galaxy was downgraded - we have a deposit down on that so I'm hoping we won't be disappointed. We've sailed Grand Princess and Rhapsody of the Seas and really liked both of them, w/ a little preference to Rhapsody. We are ready for maybe a quieter, more relaxing cruise though - we were so busy going to all the activities in the past. I've read the ship needs a little attention here and there. . . so we'll see. We are limited a bit because we like to cruise out of Galveston.

[Sky Sweet]

I also saw Galaxy was downgraded - we have a deposit down on that so I'm hoping we won't be disappointed. We've sailed Grand Princess and Rhapsody of the Seas and really liked both of them, w/ a little preference to Rhapsody. We are ready for maybe a quieter, more relaxing cruise though - we were so busy going to all the activities in the past. I've read the ship needs a little attention here and there. . . so we'll see. We are limited a bit because we like to cruise out of Galveston.

 

I have not been on the Galaxy, but have sailed her sisters Century and Mercury. The Mercury and Century are wonderful ships, so if the Galaxy is anything like her sisters you won't be disappointed :)