Just back from the Century - Western

[flyaway]

I'm getting so excited! I'm on the 8/7 Century Eastern Caribbean.

 

My fiance and I are cruising (for free!!!) with his company (just under 50 people), and they took the money for gratuities out of his last paycheck. I wonder how they're going to distribute it to the waitstaff, cabin stewards, etc.

[pjsugg]

Dawn:

 

Thanks for the review. There are four of us on the Roll Call for Century on Jan 22 05 Eastern. Two have already cruised on Century. Two of us have not. After NCL, Carnival and Tahitian Princess, we decided to join friends for the 40th anniversary on Century.

 

We were excited and then recent read some not so kind reviews in June. You may want to take a look at them, as you certainly have eased my mind a bit. We love cruising, and we realized that every cruise has a few flaws, so I am sure we will have a great time.

 

But, it does help when someone like you spends the time to tell us the good things.

 

Thanks again.

 

Patti

[pilewski]

47 days to go til my western caribbean trip aboard century. i can't wait!!!!

[jschutz]

I also was on the July 3rd Century cruise - so let me give you some of my quick impressions:

 

Ship: Very good shape - very clean and the public areas were uncrowded and tastefully done. Much better than NCL.

 

Cabin: We were in a CC cabin (#1137), Penthouse Deck, farthest aft on port side. We heard no noise or chair scrapings from pool deck above - as has been alluded to on other threads. The cabin was very small - no real sitting area except vanity chair and one other small chair and the bed. I would NOT recommend a CC cabin on the Century - just not worth the extra dollars, in my opinion. I did not mind the absence of verandahs in the CC cabins, but I did mind the lack of space. Also, I did not notice any discernable difference in service in the CC catagory, as opposed to service in a normal outside cabin (or inside for that matter). Just not worth it.

 

Food: Definitely several notches above other cruise lines, except breakfast. Breakfast was a bust in both the main dining room and the buffets - but this is usually true on all cruise ships. The sushi cafe was great. The Cova/Tastings bar-cafe was a bust as far as I was concerned. You cannot get lattes or other coffee speciality drinks "to go." You have to drink them in a regular coffee cup right there in the cafe. Many passengers were disappointed and simply did not utilize this cafe, as we did not.

 

Service: Definitely not up to Celebrity standards. The main dining room staff were great, but the service staff in the public areas and around the pool were real hit and miss. Many, many times we had to go the bars and request service, after sitting at a table for 10-15 minutes without service (and the room would be almost empty).

 

We have two more Celebrity cruises booked for this year, and I just hope that this cruise was an anamoly and not the norm.

[teedee]

Dawn - I'm glad you had such a great cruise, I've got just a little over 2 months before my next Century cruise. I'm so excited I just can't wait. Jschutz - sorry yours wasn't as good. It's interesting that different people can have very different experiences on the same cruise. Not that either is wrong, I think it's just maybe a difference in expectations, or even the number of cruises previously taken. Anyway I hope your next cruise is more to your liking. I am sorry you were disapointed in the CC cabin. We're booked in one for our next cruise. The price was just a little more than the regular outside cabin so I'm hoping it will be worth it to us.

 

Terri

[Merrilymeggily]

Ack! I too missed the CC party. But at least I wasn't the only one! This was my third time on the Century, second WC sailing. It was amazing once again. Yes, the ship is starting to show a little wear, but very little, in my opinion. As always, the service in all areas was impeccable. There's not much I can add to Dawn's review -- she was so thorough! I was a little upset at first because we had requested a table of four for our party of three and were seated at a table for 8. We were so lucky in that our table mates were absolutely lovely. We kept running into one of the couples all over the ship, which added to the fun. I know we'll keep in touch, and some of them had pre-existing plans to visit Philadelphia next summer, so we'll be seeing each other again. I wasn't thrilled that our table (593 for late seating) was in the far corner of the dining room next to the kitchen. We weren't able to see the lovely room from where we were, but on the up side it was very private and we wound up having such a good time that it might have been better that we were away from other diners! Our waiter, Hernan from Mexico, and assistant waiter, Barbara, were outstanding. So friendly and attentive.

 

The sommerlier was less so, and I suspect it was because three of the people at our table were nondrinkers. She didn't check up on the rest of us as often as I have come to expect. On the last formal night, I ordered a VERY expensive bottle of champagne and a bottle of nonalcoholic champagne for the table to share and asked her twice to please save the empty champagne bottle for me. It was hand-painted, and I collect glass. But on the last night she told me it was thrown away. She apologized and offered me an empty liquor bottle, but her attitude made me feel like she thought it was a nuisance for her. A small thing, I guess, but as I said, not what I expected from a Century staffer.

 

I found our daily cappuccino at Tastings to be quite a joy. Our server, Serhan from Turkey, was delightful in a dry way and always remembered what each of the three of us were drinking and how we prepared our coffees.

 

The breakfast and lunch buffets were, as always, quite good. Once in a while, something would be cooler than it should be, but that was rare. I found the lunch selections to be diverse and delicious. Breakfast offered the same selections each day, but that's to be expected, and they were always beautifully arranged.

 

Dinners were as wonderful an experience as ever, with just one entree (in my opinion) being less than par. But, as Dawn said, I simply ordered another. By the end of the week, Hernan was reading our minds and bringing us what we ordered and then some, based on previous nights' appetites.

 

I thought the entertainment was top notch. We didn't see the shows this time around, but the singers and performers in the open areas were great, especially Vibz, the pool band; the Too Hot (?) Duo in Rendevouz Square and Rick Stickney, who played most days by the entrance to the AquaSpa. Karaoke was a blast -- the hosts were too funny and really got the audience going. Funny thing is... most of the people who sang were actually very good!

 

Joyce, our room attendant, was a delight. She kept our cabin spotless and well stocked, and even took the time to put my traveling companion's stuffed duck on her pillow every night. (Long story, but that duck sure made the rounds!)

 

I was, however, very disappointed with the spa. On my last two Century trips, you had the option of paying $16 for a whole day in the Thalassotherapy pool (coming and going as much as you pleased), or buying a weeklong pass or visiting the T-pool for half an hour before and half an hour after any spa services. Now, the only way to use it is to pay for a weeklong pass ($60) or pay $20 a session, no matter how long or short your session is. If you pay $20 and stay in for half an hour then go out for lunch and come back, it's another $20. The weekly pass is a great deal, but with so much excursion time, you never know how much time you'll have in the T-pool. The daily option and pre-/post-service use was as nice touch that I'll miss. But no matter what the cost, the T-pool is the ultimate in decadent self-pampering.

 

Plus the spa services have been cut way back. I used to enjoy the long aromatherapy baths and, especially, the private couples Rasul mud session. Now all that's offered are fairly straight-forward massages, along with pedicure and manicures and the like. I hope they ramp up the spa services again. I missed the original spa tour on Saturday afternoon and was offered a private tour, which consisted of nothing more than standing in the hallway and being given an abrupt rundown of what was available. The woman gave me a sheet with services on it and when I inquired about something that wasn't on it, she said, "Oh, I guess we still do that." Not very helpful.

 

Don't get me wrong, I still rate the Century experience a good, solid A. But having been on her three times, it's easy for me to spot where they might be cutting corners. Still, I recommend the Century to anyone, and we're planning another Eastern Caribbean cruise on her -- this time with the kids -- next summer. If anyone has any specific questions, please email me with them: merrilymeggily@aol.com

[Host Walt]

We were in Grand Cayman last week and went by on Tuesday to see the Century, the Disney Magic and the Carnival Inspiration all posing in that beautiful harbour.

 

I will post a photo of your ship and the other two in the next day or so. One of the more interesting things we did was to sit out on the deck at "Breezes" Restaurant at the Landmark Building and people watch (the national pastime of Grand Caymanians). It was fun guessing the ships the folks we saw came from.

 

In any case be happy you arrived on Tuesday along with only 6912 others. Weds had 8838 passengers and Thurs. had 9975 passengers. Friday had only one ship with 3840 people.

[dawnp]

For adding so much good stuff - seems what I missed u did and vice versa...I don't know if thats good or bad as I think it would have been great to meet you :rolleyes: Maybe next summer as we were thinking of doing the Eastern Rt.

 

Host Walt - I was wondering while in GC if you were around :) We lucked out with the amount of cruisers in town but I guess it all caught up with us in Coz the next day as there were 6 ships in port that day, 3 Carnival, 1 Disney, 1 RCCL, and The Century

 

jshutz - wow - that is so weird...we had the total opposite experience in ref. to service. We would barely have our behinds on the seats in any public room and at least one person would be over to see if we needed anything and they were constantly stopping by to see how we were and how our day was, ect. whether we had ordered anything or not....

[nealberk]

Great set of reviews, Dawn. (Now you have to post in the "Tell me about the Century thread" so the lazy people over there will have your info!)

 

Since this is another Century thread I get to (have to?) post my outstanding request. I have received a special request for a picture of a specific painting on the Century. Can one of you who is having an upcoming cruise of the ship take a photo of this painting and e-mail it to me.

 

The picture needed is one to the right of one of the elevators and was a full-length picture of a woman dancing alone. It showed her from behind with her head tossed back and was mostly black and white.

 

Thanks!

 

Neal

[winediva]

Hey pilewski! I'm on board the Century on 8/28. Is that your cruise, too? (too lazy to do the exact math, but it seems right.)

 

Thanks to Meggily regarding the spa reviews. I will definitely consider the weeklong pass to the T pools and check out the spa menu carefully.

 

Hey Nealberk - I'd be willing to get a picture for you, but hopefully you can find someone who is cruising before me. Stay in touch....

[pilewski]

that's the one:D . we'll be the family with two tired parents chasing after a 4 1/2 year old and his 15 month old brother. don't worry, though, the kids are cruise veterans and behave very well.

[tuggers]

Be sure and take an old suit for the tpool! Most people say it fades thier bathing suits! :)

[tbelian]

The Celebrity singers and dancers did 3 shows: Vegas then and now, The Beat goes on and a Tribute to Broadway...all of them excellent but the last one (Broadway) was just spectacular! When they did Lion King at the end I had goose bumps and there was nothng half done about any of these shows...they were done to the hilt as far as lights, special effects and costumes!

 

 

They are STILL doing these three shows? The EXACT SAME ONES THEY HAVE BEEN DOING FOR SIX YEARS!!!

 

The shows darn well better have been good. They have had lots of practice.

 

Sorry, this appears as my only real beef with Celebrity. Repitition Repitition Repetition. I guess the thought is, if it works, don't change it. But the same 3 shows for six years? Come on!

[nealberk]

They are STILL doing these three shows? The EXACT SAME ONES THEY HAVE BEEN DOING FOR SIX YEARS!!!

 

The shows darn well better have been good. They have had lots of practice.

 

Sorry, this appears as my only real beef with Celebrity. Repitition Repitition Repetition. I guess the thought is, if it works, don't change it. But the same 3 shows for six years? Come on!

They keep saying that they will be reworking the shows but so far, only minor changes. They do change the cast every 6 months or so so at least the show is fresh to the performers.

[janemv]

Joyce, our room attendant, was a delight. She kept our cabin spotless and well stocked, and even took the time to put my traveling companion's stuffed duck on her pillow every night. (Long story, but that duck sure made the rounds!)

merrilymeggily@aol.com

Did this duck woman have glasses and brownish hair.....??? I swear I saw a duck riding on somebodies shoulder quite often throughout the ship....????:eek:

[winediva]

Tuggers:Thanks for the tip regarding the swimsuit fading in the T-pools. Now that swim suits seem to cost $75 or more for us chicks, it does make a difference.

 

Pilewski - I've tried to stir up interest on the roll call boards for our cruise, but to little avail. Its been just me and "shark(something)" chatting back and forth and we always seem to be on page 4 or 5 when I check in. The thread was started by what seemed to be a really cool guy from Saudi Arabia. Hoping he checks back in too.

 

I've never been a big fan of the organized "connection" party. I always feel really dorky and they always seem to be at an inconvenient time. There's just something a little too junior high mixer about it for me. If anyone's interested maybe we can just plan to meet on our own - just to say "hi".

[bappo]

Dawn P;

 

Your review of the century was great! Last year, we sailed on her on the eastern caribbean itinerary. She is a beautiful ship!

 

 

The audicity of some people never cease to amaze me. Can not imagine stiffing the wait staff. Those kids work hard and long for a mere $24.50. Last year we had a terrific table staff. Simon was the matre D and Sergi the head waiter. They were super and very attentive to our tables every need. One of our friends is severly allegeric to lemon and Simon and Sergi checked and re-checked everything she ate. Made the cruise very pleasant and relaxing for her.

 

Hopefully, the old adage "what goes around comes around!" and those people will get their just do.

[Merrilymeggily]

Did this duck woman have glasses and brownish hair.....??? I swear I saw a duck riding on somebodies shoulder quite often throughout the ship....????:eek:

 

Yes, that was my friend Diane. The duck belongs to her 2-year-old granddaughter; she brought it along to help her not miss her so much. But we wound up taking pictures of the duck or, as they say in Mexico, el pato, in a lot of different places and she's going to make a scrapbook of duck photos for her granddaughter. It got us a lot of strange looks, but it made people smile. The wait staff was walking up to her and going "quack quack," even when she wasn't carrying it. We choose to believe they were joking with her and not actually "calling" her a quack! LOL

[dawnp]

Hopefully, the old adage "what goes around comes around!" and those people will get their just do.

Hopefully they keep a "file" of this so if they go on another cruise everyone on staff knows whats they did....I think I read on here somewhere that they do, not keeping a file but b/c the staff moves around from ship to ship they remember.....

[nealberk]

Hopefully they keep a "file" of this so if they go on another cruise everyone on staff knows whats they did....I think I read on here somewhere that they do, not keeping a file but b/c the staff moves around from ship to ship they remember.....

And that is the group that will complain about bad service on their next cruise. Sigh.

[dawnp]

I hate it when that happens ;)

[winediva]

I think every teenager or young adult should wait tables for at least one summer. It affects how you treat everyone in customer service for the rest of your life. I was a bartender for many years and you wouldn't beleive the stories I have. Its amazing what otherwise normal folks will say to a server.

 

On another note: Whats all the hoopla I hear about amazing waffles? Tell me more about these fabled breakfast treats!!!

[dawnp]

On another note: Whats all the hoopla I hear about amazing waffles? Tell me more about these fabled breakfast treats!!!

Winediva - the little sandwich shop (outside by the pool) makes waffles to order every morning. They are supposed to be awesome - I don't like waffles so I didn't try em but I'm sure someone else here has.....

[tuggers]

They are small round belgium type waffles that they serve with different butters, berries and syrups (even chocolate) and whipped cream. I'm with you, not much of a waffle eater but everyone else does get into them. It's been that way on every X ship I've been on.

[NYY]

I hope you don't mind my adding my review to your Thread.

 

I'm also sorry for the delay, as my wife had some surgery slated for this week, right after vacation, so its been a tad hectic (she's home and is doing quite well).

 

 

 

We flew in from NJ on Saturday to Ft Lauderdale. No problems at all, except about a 20 minute wait for a transfer. We didn't really mind at all. Getting to the Port was 10 minutes.. if that. Embarkation was quick, we (myself, my wife & our 3 boys) went right to the counter and were on the ship within 5 minutes.

 

Last summer my wife and I were on Zenith to Bermuda (I may compare & contrast a bit here) and drove to the Port of NY & parked up stairs. It made for a much easier travel to the ship as we were onboard less than two hours from leaving our home. The travel this year kinda wiped us out, so we did a quick tour of the ship (including a late lunch) and went back to our rooms for a rest before the always exciting "fire drill."

 

We met Vicente, our room steward, who was exceptional all week. He always had a smile and took care of every need (including getting me into our other room, the kids room, whenever I needed).

 

After the drill we relaxed a bit more, then readied for dinner. We also requested a dinner table for just our family. Last year my wife & I (for our 20th Anniversary) had a table for two and it was wonderful. When we arrived at our table, I was somewhat surprised to see 5 people already seated at our table. At that point who knew how that would work out. Well, I'd have to say it worked out quite well, as they were a very nice family of 5 with 3 daughters in similar ages to my sons. We ended up spending quite a lot of time together all week (at first by strange coincidences, and later in the week by design). Our table arrangement could not have worked out better and wondered all week if Celebrity is that good or if the pairing was just luck. Dinners were excellent all week (with the exception of the soups which were eh, but if any part of the meal was to be sub par, I'd have to have chosen the soup for that honor). Joseph our waiter (a long time veteran according to him) and Clyde, his assistant (serving in just his 2nd month as a Celebrity Employee) were terrific. We NEVER wanted for anything.

 

As for the Shows...

Janine Gardner was the comic on our Zenith Cruise last year. Her routine was similar, yet funny again, none the less. Steven Sorrentino (the musical comedian) was great according to my wife and I, but quite dated for our sons (ages 19,17 & 11). They just didn't know any of the songs he was singing. The Ladder Guy is amazing and if I had to pay extra to see him, it would have been worth it. The singers & dancers were talented and the shows were fair to good.

 

Breakfast & Lunch

I hate to spill the secret, but you have to go out by the pool for Breakfast & Lunch. The buffets inside are good, but the greatness is outside. The Waffles are worth the price of the cruise. The made to order omelettes are terrific as well. For lunch (opposite the grill side, where they serve hamburgers, dogs & pizza) is the place to go. Fresh made sandwiches were out of this world everyday.

 

Off the ship

We chose to skip excursions & go out on our own in each Port.

 

Ocho Rios -

Took a Van to Dunn's River Falls, where were totally by chance met up with our dinner table mates. As is always stated, this is the highlight of this stop & can't be missed. Me & my three boys climbed the Falls and had a wonderful time. My wife (who's battling a bad back - thus the surgery) walked up the side and took plenty of pictures. We had a terrific time and even enjoyed out driver who gave us a taste of the people of Jamaica. We were hassled, but not overly, by the merchants on the way out. A polite no thank you got us past each one.

 

We headed back to the Ship for some lunch, then back out to the Shopping area just a short walk past the Taxi area. We spent a good couple of hours browsing and buying some. On our way back to the ship along the pier were small kids every so often repeating the chant - "Can I have a dollar, can I have a dollar" continually. There was even a kid in the water way out near the ship calling out the same phrase. I didn't notice anyone that complied with their request. A co-worker of mine who is from Jamaica was embarrassed by this information when I told her. They didn't bother me.

 

Grand Cayman Island -

The highlight of the trip for us. It is a beautiful island. We took an inexpensive cab ride to the Public Beach which was breathtaking. The beach was clean and wide, the water was clear and the perfect temperature and the kids had a great time snorkling. They saw a wide variety of fish and really had a great time. I took a short walk to a lunch shack and picked up a couple of Pina Colada's which we sipped on the beach while watching the kids swim.

A beautiful day at the beach for a guy who grew up 3 blocks from the beach at the Jersey Shore. The shops in town were a little nicer (fancier?), and we spent an hour or so there on our way back to the ship.

 

For this Port you need to take a tender boat (one of the ships lifeboats) from the ship to shore. It was a bit af a hassle doing this, a necessary evil. I probably would have walked back to the ship & had some lunch and a shower before shopping, if I could have walked to the ship. As it was we went shopping in our swim wear and then headed back for a late lunch.

 

Our tablemates, later at dinner, told us they went to swim with the Stingrays. Of the 4 that went, 2 said it was one of the greatest experiences of their lives, the other 2 absolutely hated it. Take that however you want.

 

Cozumel -

We planned to hit the beach in Cozumel. A couple of years ago we went to Cancun and saw all the sites we were interested in the area (Xcaret was terrific - it's a really cool Eco-Park). When we woke up the kids were a bit sunburned (not too bad, but they really didn't need anymore baking), so we canned the beach and went shopping at the center right off the pier. It was ok, nothing special. We were told the shopping in town was similar, so we skipped that. My middle son was able to bargain himself a couple of good deals. It was fun watching them in action.

 

After about an hour we headed back to the ship. It was a wonderful afternoon onboard. There were very few people on the ship and we had a nice restful time.

 

Key West -

As was said - it was HOT. Blazing hot. We walked around town and did a bunch of shopping. I really liked Key West, very nice. We got some Tee Shirts and few nick knacks and gifts for some people back home. I would have liked to have been there for sunset.

 

That's actually the biggest difference between the cruise to Bermuda last year and this cruise. In Bermuda, you can venture off the ship at night and see the sights when it's dark. The Zenith was beautiful from afar all lit up. Couldn't see the Century from that vantage point.

 

 

Overall we had an absolutely terrific time. The boys had a great time (actually asked where we would be cruising next year). My wife and I had a terrific time. We gave the boys some space and allowed them to make some choices on there own and I think that made things great for all of us.

 

One complaint the kids had (& I pretty much agree) was with soda. My wife rarely drinks soda so she just did without, but the boys and I all opted for the soda card (a hefty $160.00). It's too darn hard to get a soda. It's impossible in the morning (& I actually usually have a soda in the AM), at lunch there's one place to get one. And there's usually a long line and they give you a small glass filled with ice. At dinner last year on the Zenith, after the first night at dinner the bar waitress knew I liked my diet cokes, so she had one waiting for me when I sat down and never let my glass be empty during the rest of the meal. She was amazing. This year the bar waiter we had came and asked each night (the order was the same - 3 cokes and a diet) every night, but he asked each night. There was a long wait for him to come back to see if anyone needed a refill (I always did) and after one refill, he was never seen the rest of the meal. For the price you pay, especially when multiplied by 4 (in my case), it should be easier to get a coke.

 

In conclusion, I would recommend this cruise to anyone and everyone. The Ship is beautiful, the staff is tremendous, the Ports are varied and great in their own way. The price is reasonable and the food is plentiful and excellent. There is something for everyone on this cruise.

 

If anyone has any questions or comments please feel free to ask or comment. My kids didn't make use of the Kids Programs (although we threatened our 17 year old continually <G>), but if anyone has any questions about kids etc, let me know.

 

Thanks for reading!

 

-John