Just off the Century

[bpolan]

We just returned from a 12 night Baltic Cruise on the Century. This was our 9th cruise, our first on Celebrity. We were incredibly impressed with the refurbishment of the ship. She is truly beautiful.We've mostly cruised with Royal Carribean, each time a new ship came out. Century proved to be as beautiful as some of the new ships we had previously been on with RCCL. With the exception of the art auctioneer, we never encountered anything but the most courteous, impeccable service, from our cabin steward, assistant cabin steward to our wait staff in the main dining room. The food was the best we've ever had on a ship, but keep in mind that we've mostly cruised Carnival, Royal Carribean and Norwegian. We were very impressed with the desserts, both in the main dining room and in the islands cafe. We did eat at Murano's, and decided it was one of the best meals we have ever had--5 star dining at its best. WE compared it to several Relais and Chateaux inns we've stayed at and eaten at, and it compared incredibly favorably.

Our cabin was concierge class, and we really enjoyed the little touches that come with concierge class. Our friends were upgraded to a suite, and that proved to be a real plus for all of us. Their veranda was huge.

The only negative I saw in the public areas were the hall carpets, which seemed spotted. I am not sure if they were replaced or not, but it didn't seem like they were new.

There were plenty of activities to keep you busy if you wanted at sea, for our cruise, our days at sea were rather cloudy, with showers, so we spent much of the time inside. We thoroughly enjoyed the cruise and would definately book with Celebrity again.

BPolan

Carnival Pride

Carnival Holiday

Soverign of the Seas

Legend of the SEas

Vision of the Seas

Navigator of the SEas

Voyager of the Seas

Norwegian Sun

Century

[C 2 C]

Just off the Century

 

Wonderful that you had a great experience. We'll be on Century in October. Was there any word of a change in Captain/Master of the vessel or of the cruise director?

[bpolan]

not that we are aware of. Allan King was our cruise director and I can't remember the Captain's name, but he is Greek.

By the way, the entertainment was very good, King is an excellent cruise director as well.

bp

[Andy]

Wonderful that you had a great experience. We'll be on Century in October. Was there any word of a change in Captain/Master of the vessel or of the cruise director?

 

Hi C 2 C !

 

If my math is right, I would think Allan King might be on Vacation then. Next time I hear from Allan, I will try to find out for you. As Captain Pagonis is on vacation, I would think he should be back sometime in October. This is just a guess though.

 

I am sailing on Century in Feb '07, and I surely hope both of them will be onboard. They are both outstanding.

[Host Anne]

We just booked Century for Dec. 16. Looking forward to seeing Century's new look! Glad to hear you had such a great time!

[LustforLife]

There are new pictures of Century on Travelocity. I learned this on another thread.

The photos are great and she looks lovely!

 

Can't wait for our back to back next Spring...

 

Tammy

[C 2 C]

Hi C 2 C !

If my math is right, I would think Allan King might be on Vacation then. As Captain Pagonis is on vacation, I would think he should be back sometime in October. This is just a guess though.

 

I am sailing on Century in Feb '07, and I surely hope both of them will be onboard. They are both outstanding.

 

I believe Allan's contract expires just prior to the Oct 27 Transatlantic. At least we will be subjected to a few of his groaners. The math does imply Captain Pagonis returns just in time for our cruises.:)

[cseatrekker7]

Hi,

We and a group of friends will be sailing the Century for New years '06-'07.

I can hardly wait to see the newly remodeled cabins. From what I hear this ship is really spectacular.

[Nancynurse]

Bp,

 

I wonder if you could tell me what your friends were upgraded to. We are in a CC cabin right now, and are considering upgrading to a Century Suite which is an aft cabin. I just can't tell if the balcony is really any bigger. Is this what they were upgraded to? The aft cabins are usually bigger, but you really can't tell from the celebrity site.

 

Thanks in advance for your reply.

 

Nancy

[AnDeNo.UK]

Can anyone tell us the perks that go with the Sky Suites. We will be in 1220, April '07. :D

[Sonrisa7]

We were also on the Aug. 2nd sailing and in general had a great time. We had Sky Suite 1210 and our friends were in 1221. The suites were quite spacious and well appointed, with plenty of storage both in room and bathroom, but the major advantage was the huge balcony, which I miss so much.

 

As far as perks, I honestly didn't notice many. No flowers, priority embarkation and disembarkation don't exist in ports where you dock instead of tender (as was the case for all Baltic ports), and embarkation and disembarkation from Amsterdam was a breeze anyway. I never had problems making dining reservations, so don't know if we actually had priority there or not. No mention of the portrait sitting. We did get a bottle of sparkling wine as a welcome onboard gift, a fruit bowl that was replenished every other day or so, and a nice big canvas tote bag to take home.

 

I think the major perk, besides of course the extra space, is the in suite dining with butler service. One of my favorite memories of the whole cruise was the evening the four of us decided to dine on our verandah. Our 2 butlers set up a big table beautifully, just like in the dining room, and served us course by course with a calm sea and lovely sunset as a backdrop - talk about pampering! Every afternoon the butler brings tea or coffee to the suite, along with a cart full of finger sandwiches and pastries and cookies to choose from. This is the same fare available to everyone downstairs in the buffet, but it's so nice to have it delivered and enjoy it on the very roomy, private verandah. Full hot breakfasts are also delivered and set up nicely, and you can order espresso and cappuchinos, although I'm not sure that they're the same as those served at the Cova cafe. The butler also brings canapes every evening (nothing to get excited about), and takes care of things like laundry and pressing if you need it (at a charge), shore excursions, etc. I should mention that the bed was very comfortable and the suite extremely quiet. We had neighbors on both sides and one side had a baby in the room, but we never heard anything. Oh, and it's a very convenient location, just a walk down the stairs to the buffet. We were mid way between 2 elevators/stairs - took the midship stairway to the waffle station or pool area, and the aft stairway to the omelette station, sushi bar and sunset bar.

 

I plan on writing a full review (good and bad, because there was some bad), when I can find time. If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to answer.

[AnDeNo.UK]

We were also on the Aug. 2nd sailing and in general had a great time. We had Sky Suite 1210 and our friends were in 1221. The suites were quite spacious and well appointed, with plenty of storage both in room and bathroom, but the major advantage was the huge balcony, which I miss so much.

 

As far as perks, I honestly didn't notice many. No flowers, priority embarkation and disembarkation don't exist in ports where you dock instead of tender (as was the case for all Baltic ports), and embarkation and disembarkation from Amsterdam was a breeze anyway. I never had problems making dining reservations, so don't know if we actually had priority there or not. No mention of the portrait sitting. We did get a bottle of sparkling wine as a welcome onboard gift, a fruit bowl that was replenished every other day or so, and a nice big canvas tote bag to take home.

 

I think the major perk, besides of course the extra space, is the in suite dining with butler service. One of my favorite memories of the whole cruise was the evening the four of us decided to dine on our verandah. Our 2 butlers set up a big table beautifully, just like in the dining room, and served us course by course with a calm sea and lovely sunset as a backdrop - talk about pampering! Every afternoon the butler brings tea or coffee to the suite, along with a cart full of finger sandwiches and pastries and cookies to choose from. This is the same fare available to everyone downstairs in the buffet, but it's so nice to have it delivered and enjoy it on the very roomy, private verandah. Full hot breakfasts are also delivered and set up nicely, and you can order espresso and cappuchinos, although I'm not sure that they're the same as those served at the Cova cafe. The butler also brings canapes every evening (nothing to get excited about), and takes care of things like laundry and pressing if you need it (at a charge), shore excursions, etc. I should mention that the bed was very comfortable and the suite extremely quiet. We had neighbors on both sides and one side had a baby in the room, but we never heard anything. Oh, and it's a very convenient location, just a walk down the stairs to the buffet. We were mid way between 2 elevators/stairs - took the midship stairway to the waffle station or pool area, and the aft stairway to the omelette station, sushi bar and sunset bar.

 

I plan on writing a full review (good and bad, because there was some bad), when I can find time. If anyone has any questions, I'd be happy to answer.

 

Thank you so much on the fantastic reply to my question. I'm getting so excited. ;)

 

I look forward to your review.:cool:

[bpolan]

Review of Baltic Cruise

 

We arrived in Amsterdam and spent two nights there. We boarded the ship in Amsterdam, and it was the easiest boarding we have ever had from any port. The passenger terminal is very modern and we were allowed on the ship at noon. No lines, no waiting, very easy. Upon boarding, we were offered a glass of champagne. We were allowed into our cabin around 1pm, and found it to be small, but very well designed. There was plenty of space to store all of our clothes and toiletries for a 12 night cruise. Although the veranda was tiny, it was lovely for breakfast each morning. The table and two chairs was quite comfortable for dining.

We had the late seating for dinner, and had the luck of sitting right in front of the Captain’s table, smack in the middle of the huge back wall of glass in the grand dining room. We had a terrific waiter and assistant waiter who tended to our every dining need.

We were very impressed with dinner that first night (and every night thereafter!).

Had great tablemates as well!

Day 2 was overcast and cool, but we managed to stay busy exploring the ship which is just beautiful. We found it to be very clean, with lovely attention to detail in its refurbishment. The martini bar is just beautiful, Murano’s is exceptional, and the crystal room, hemisphere lounge and rendezvous lounge are lovely places to relax for a drink. Our connections party was held in Michael’s club which is also a lovely place to relax and have a drink.

Day 3 was our first stop, Oslo, and the sun came out and the weather was just perfect. We decided to do it on our own, and went to the Vigeland Sculpture park and the Nordic ski jump. We used the public transit system – it was exceptionally easy to use, and did lunch on our own (very expensive, tho). Poked around in the various sweater shops and trinket shops, but didn’t purchase anything. Although the ship docked at 7am, we took our time and got off around 9am. We had no trouble getting back to the ship in plenty of time to sail at 4pm.

Day 4 was Copenhagen. Once again, the weather was perfect for sightseeing. The ship docked at 8a,. we had breakfast delivered to our cabin, ate on the veranda, and left the ship around 9. WE also did Copenhagen on our own, and went to Tivoli Gardens and the Rosenborg Castle. WE walked all over the city, and enjoyed the scenery, architecture and shopping. Tivoli gardens, for those of you who are not familiar with it, is an amusement park, with lovely gardens surrounding the rides. Although we did not go on any of the rides, (with general admission, you can buy individual ride tickets if you wish) or you can buy an all day ride and admissions ticket, we enjoyed spending time there. Very relaxing. At Rosenborg castle, we toured the public rooms and also went to see the Danish Crown Jewels. Very impressive!

Day 5 was at sea, again, overcast with a few showers. Enjoyed the ship a lot.

Day 6 was in Stockholm and again we had perfect sightseeing weather, the sun was shining brightly as it did in both Oslo and Copenhagen. We again did Stockholm on our own, but this time bought Hop on Hop off bus tickets. We toured the city and stopped at the Vasa museum ( a must see) and the medieval section of Stockholm and the royal palace. Did a bit of shopping in the old city and found Stockholm to be one of our favorite cities along with Copenhagen and St. Petersburg.

Day 6 was in Helsinki and we really didn’t find much to do or see here. We walked around the city, went to the rock church which was beautiful, but frankly would have preferred 3 days in st. Petersburg to one day in Helsinki and 2 in st. Petersburg.

Days 7 and 8 were in st. Petersburg, and this was definitely the highlight of our trip. We went on a private tour with 9 others (total 11) and had a terrific guide and driver. Saw the following in two days: choral synagogue, city highlights auto tour, catherine’s palace and gardens, traditional lunch of Russian peroges, peter and paul fortress, canal cruise and lots of shopping (day 1). Day 2 started out with peterhoff palace and gardens, hydrofoil to Hermitage, 3 hours at hermitage, then to the interiors of church of spilled blood and st. issac’s cathedral(an absolute must see) and we had a bit of time for more shopping. We got back to the ship in plenty of time. Our tour was with Den Rus and we found them to be exceptional.

Next day was in Talinn, and we elected to walk into town and simply shop and sightsee on our own. Prices were much more affordable than st. Petersburg, and their specialty seems to be linen. Went into their Russian orthodox church which also is beautiful.

Once again, the weather in all our ports was sunny and dry and beautiful. No such luck on our last two days at sea, which turned out to be cloudy and showry. Good for resting up for the long trip home.

Needless to say, we were on the ship when the terrorist plot was discovered in the UK, and the ship kept us well informed as to the security updates at the airports. Plus the ship’s tv gets CNN 24/7, so everyone was well informed as to the changes in security.

We disembarked at 7:30 in amsterday and had all day to sightsee once again. In Amsterdam a must see is Anne Frank’s house. Other highlights for us included the Heineken brewery, the Jewish Museum and the Van Gogh museum.

This was definitely the best cruise and trip we’ve been on, having cruised the carribean, Mexican riveria, Alaska and the Mediterranean. There is no way one can see everything there is to see in St. Petersburg, 2 days is just not nearly enough. We do hope to go back someday.

If anyone has any questions, please don’t hesitate to post, I’ll be checking the forums frequently.

bonnie

[hcat]

Glad Century is getting such great reviews--we have two upcoming trips booked for her.. Can you tell me if Murano's has a two tiered option for the specialty dining. I read somewhere you could opt for a three course or larger meal...bet it was fabulous! Did you miss the T pool----

[kellya1]

Thank you for the great review! I'm sailing her in 3 weeks! Can't wait! I have a few questions...what daytime activities were on offer? Any dance classes or off the wall things you wouldn't do at home?

 

And how was booking Murano's? Did you book on the first night? Also, what can you recommend eating there?

 

Thanks

 

Kelly :)

[bpolan]

hi, activities on board included bridge, fitness, bingo, fun activities with the cruise staff, --thats what i can remember, i didn't really partake of many of the activities. There is a computer center with computer classes on the days at sea, and dance classes for ballroom dancing too on the days at sea.

Its best if you do book Murano's the first day on board, although I waited a couple of days and then got an 8pm seating the day we went to Helsinki. The days at sea book very quickly, so if you do want to eat at Murano's on a day at sea, book as early as you can. The dinner consists of 4 courses, appetizer, I recommend the goat cheese souffle, main course, cheese course and dessert. I had the rack of lamb which was incredible, one of our friends ordered the steak diane which is flambe'd table side. The desserts are incredible too! I highly recommend eating at Murano's and I think you'll find all the posts about it very very positive.

hope this helps.

bonnie

[SeaBunny]

Could you explain concierge class to me? It's rather vague on the Celebrity website. Is it just a regular veranda with some extra touches?

 

Thanks!

[mill creek cruisers]

Are all the tables round, or are some of the larger [8 - 10 chairs] oval? We have found it much nicer for conversation at an oval table, and would request such if available.

 

Thank you

[mill creek cruisers]

Are all the tables round, or are some of the larger [8 - 10 chairs] oval? We have found it much nicer for conversation at an oval table, and would request such if available.

 

Thank you

[bpolan]

sea bunny, we were in a CCclass cabin, its a regular sized veranda cabin with a few small perks, fresh flowers, canape's delivered daily, a special breakfast menu, thick frette robes. also you are up on the 9th and 10th floors which is nice. there is no butler service tho, thats reserved only for the suites.

mill creek cruisers, there are tables of various sizes and shapes from tables for 2 to large ovals. we were at a round table for 8, but we saw tables for 12 and higher.

bonnie

[Veevo324]

We went on a private tour with 9 others (total 11) and had a terrific guide and driver. Saw the following in two days: choral synagogue, city highlights auto tour, catherine’s palace and gardens, traditional lunch of Russian peroges, peter and paul fortress, canal cruise and lots of shopping (day 1). Day 2 started out with peterhoff palace and gardens, hydrofoil to Hermitage, 3 hours at hermitage, then to the interiors of church of spilled blood and st. issac’s cathedral(an absolute must see) and we had a bit of time for more shopping. We got back to the ship in plenty of time. Our tour was with Den Rus and we found them to be exceptional.

I booked the Baltic cruise in May of '06 when on the Galaxy for a Med Cruise, but we don't go 'til August 14 2007. I'm very interested in your comments re: St. Petersburg & Den Rus. 10-11 people seems to be perfect; was it manageable? Was your transport a van? What was the total cost? Did you need a visa? Did you find the other 9 people thru Cruise Critic messages?

It sounds like you had a wonderful time, which makes anticipating cruising in 11+ months even better.

Have you heard of ALLA TOURS in St. Petersburg? Someone mentioned it to me.

I truly appreciate you posting all of this great info AFTER you're done.

 

Vic Persico

[joandbun]

Hello Bpolan

Another CC question. Did they provide a compliemtary umbrella ?

We go on Century in 4 weeks time so weather could be dodgy in one or two ports & with all the extra security and baggage restirctions I want to

travel as light as possible.

thanks

jo

[Gitte]

Hi Jo,

There are two umbrellas in the stateroom. But I hope you don't need them.:)

Gitte

[joandbun]

Hi Gitte,

Thanks for the information. I hope we have fine weather too :)

regards to Rene

jo:)

[JTL11968]

My mother and I just returned from the 8/14 sailing of Century and enjoyed every minute. I was concerned after reading Carolyn's experience on her July trip but everything seemed to be running smoothly for our's. One point I do remember she made was the lack of greeting from staff/crew when passing in the corridors. Not so for us! The woman cleaning the mirrors stopped what she was doing, turned with a smile and wished us a pleasant day. Little things like that were typical for most of the staff. Everyone seemed happy to see us.

 

The ship was pristeen and doesn't show her ten years of age, at all.

 

Except for embarkation day in Amsterdam, the weather was perfect. We arrived by taxi about 3PM and were greeted by porters who loaded our bags onto a trolley and escorted us into the terminal where we received instructions on where to go while our bags were taken aboard for us. Remember to tip the porter at that point as you won't see the guy again. Most were high school/college guys trying to earn some money, so help them out, everyone.

 

We were booked in Concierge Class and were allowed to cue up for check-in instead of waiting for a number to be called which was nice. The whole process took about 20 minutes as we arrived at the height of the afternoon. Plenty of staff to assist though. The actual checkin process took only five minutes once we came to the front of the line.

 

Disembarkation was a breeze. Leaving our cabin, going to our meeting point, leaving the ship, collecting our bags and boarding the bus was completed within 15 minutes. Easy!

 

Our cabin was fine. The veranda was small but plenty of space for two chairs and a generous sized table. One thing negative was the sound insulation between cabins. On one side was a woman who coughed late into the night while on the other were a couple who, it seemed, spent the entire cruise in the cabin drinking, smoking, arguing and cussing. Not fun at 2AM and what an expensive way to have a hangover!

 

The food was fantastic both in the dining room as well as Murano's. The $30 was well spent as you will never be able to dine so inexpensively anywhere else. Presentation is a big part of their program and they do it well. Karen, the harpest, is very talented and friendly to chat with. One thing that was mentioned on the boards as a topic: We did tip our waiter and assistant in dining room for the evening we were at Murano's. Someone mentioned they deducted the $3.50 for the one night they didn't dine and I disagree with that. First, it's only $3.50 and second, those guys work their tails off. Enough said.

 

Keeping this short: St Petersburg was a highlight of the trip. We found Alla Tours thru Cruise Critic and couldn't have been happier with the service. Alla, a young woman who owns the business herself, responded to all our questions via email almost immediately and worked to put us in touch with other participants to lower our cost. She accompanied the guide and driver to the port each morning to greet us and make sure we got situated okay. There were eight of us plus our guide and driver which was plenty. I was so impressed with the guide's knowledge and sincere desire for us to learn as much as we could about her beloved city, I emailed Alla afterward to commend her excellent employees. I highly, highly recommend Alla Tours. You tell her what you want to see and do and she puts together the itinerary but does make honest suggestions about what to see and what to skip. She accepts dollars, euros, rubles and traveler checks but does not require a deposit. She asks for payment at the beginning of the second day. http://www.alla-tour.com

 

The other posts have covered the other ports so I won't repeat their words but I do want to mention Helsinki. That was the only excursion we purchased thru Celebrity and was near the top of the list next to Alla Tours. We did the "Archipelago at 40knots" tour. Expensive but such a great way to see the city from the backdoor. We certainly covered more territory in four hours than we could have done by walking on our own. The guide/owner of the tour company thoroughly described what we were seeing and had an answer to all our questions. Lunch on an island with a local family at their summer cottage was nice too. Sunshine, calm waters and 70 degree temps helped.

 

All in all, Celebrity delivered what they promised and we will remember this trip for a long time with pleasure. I'm already looking at their offerings for South America-Fall 2007. Anyone have an opinion on that itinerary?