Century 10/6/06 to 11/9/06, A Work In Progress

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I've been trying to organize my pictures of our recent B2B2B cruises in Century. We have now completed 7 cruises in Century and she continues to be our favorite Celebrity ship. For anyone who has read the different posts on these boards you can conclude that passengers were not uniformly happy with their Century experience.

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After a long and stressful flight from Detroit to Barcelona by way of Paris (an airport to avoid) we breezed through checkin before noon. A wonderful surprise in the Barcelona terminal is a duty free store after you pass through security. :D We shopped there twice to make sure we had sufficient supply for our 34 day voyage.

After our picture was taken for security...I can't think of a nicer welcome....

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Port side picture showing new stern ballast and balconies:

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Rear balconies:

I did not see any of the rear staterooms nor did I have one of the balconies. There were, and I have heard complaints, of the size and soundproofing of certain staterooms.

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My favorite place to eat and just sit (as with another 1,000 guests trying to get my table). The tables were not varnished and I believe stains will prove hard to remove.

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Another favorite source of specialty items ... I cannot resist Celebrity's cold soups.... well most of them (strawberry, Cherry, gazpacho)... and on the Transatlantic the chef ran out of the sweet ingredients... healthy fare is great.... but WATCHOUT for the step leading to the spa entrance!!!!

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I love the finishing touches on the original Century.. the marble at each stair landing is the nicest of any X ship... without all the garish "art" (term used loosely but even the auctions could not get rid of the stuff on the other ships)..

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There's another side to the renovation story.. It's not done and I think cracks are obvious in the planning and implementation of the makeover.

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Too often this sign was posted. In this case the sensor that opened the door to the Island Cafe would not allow guests to sit on the rear deck:

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Those people who had balconies on the starboard side were awakened often by the sound of saws and grinding as balconies were installed...

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I hope Galaxy people see that windows can be replaced...after years of looking "through" nearly opaque windows. On Century a few were replaced:

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Many cabins still did not have the new style bedding. Ours were still rectangular but very comfortable. I've read many people's complaints with the curved replacement but that's the price you pay for being tall. I don't have that problem..:(

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The Cova Cafe was still being renovated. It is the favorite hangout for many who need dessert 4 or 5 times a day or like to go there in the evenings for specialty coffees and live entertainment..

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The Island Cafe had its share of problems with leaks? pipes?

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The stupidest renovation/floor plan was created in the Hemisphere Lounge. The layout looks great and I spent a lot of time there... but it is dangerous. Guests onboard must live in a lot of ranch-style homes or condos because few people look where they walk. The decks on ships have numerous changes in levels and door sills. Well the architects should not put steps in floors where a lot of people do not expect them. I witnessed quite a number of people taking a tumble. The least that could have been done is the use of different color carpet where elevations change... Note the silver band marking the step:

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Cruise Connections.

Over 100 people had signed up for the Transatlantic and half of these showed up. Because of conflicts with a guest lecturer, quite a few people were absent. There was an original meeting prior to lifeboat drill for those who wanted to make plans together. Tables were also reserved for people who wanted to have lunch together.

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The cruise director was Allan King. The activities manager was Halsey. These two people were wonderful in providing us with activities and trivia that were not duplicated for the 34 days we were onboard. No CD has ever been as involved as Allan was in these events (compared to all the X ships in 40 weeks of sailing experience.) Allan was leaving for holidays on the 9th and will be replaced by Dru Pavlov. Halsey filled in for Dru while all X CDs were in Miami for meetings. It was painful to read some of the reviews that Halsey received in her first attempt at hosting CD duties.

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Certain guests have complained about the Captain's Club Hostess and the Cruise Sales Manager on board. I found the staff throughout the ship to be friendly from Captain Pagonis on down to the "lowest" deck hand. It was a sad day when we were forced to get off Century. The crystal lounge was our favorite evening "hangout". The party band Intenz6 is awesome but they departed at the same time we did. I would gladly sail on any vessel where they play just to dance to their music. On formal nights many of the staff stayed to chat with other passengers... to my delight;)

[sivia]

I've been trying to organize my pictures of our recent B2B2B cruises in Century. We have now completed 7 cruises in Century and she continues to be our favorite Celebrity ship. For anyone who has read the different posts on these boards you can conclude that passengers were not uniformly happy with their Century experience.

 

 

Ask 10 people their opinion and get 10 different answers. Cruising, like anything else is what you make of it. We can all find something to complain about in our daily lives if we look hard enough...no daily trivia games...lol. We try to make the best of each and every cruise. A great time to meet new friends like you and Jo-Anne, Rick and Flora and the rest of the CC gang.

 

We had a ball and if we could we'd sail Century in a moment's notice.

 

Thanks for sharing your photos and dialogue with all.

[slotaddict]

Lovely pictures, thank you for sharing. I hope that my review was not taken as me being unhappy, far from it, we thought the ship was lovely. We had a great time, and the Century continues to be one of my favorite ships. We had exceptional service and ate more wonderful food than we care to admit. I did not like Halsey attempting her hand at the CD spot, she was flat and lacked pizzaz, I can not exactly put my finger on it, if I thought about it more perhaps I can come up with exactly what the problem was, most cruise directors are visable around the ship and filled with personality, and she just didn;t fill the bill for me. I'm no stranger to cruising so I enjoy the CD's. We were on a one nighter three weeks ago on the Norwegian Dawn and the CD was great, I saw more of him in one night than I saw of Halsey all week. Perhaps her forte is the activities manager, I just dont; know, maybe some of my fellow cruisers can help me out with their thoughts. I know that everyone has their own opinion and believe me some of the opinions on these boards about certain ships and their shortcomings have never hindered me in sailing a particular ship. I welcome everyones opinion, and if mine is different so be it. Thanks again for the great pictures.

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There were also some serious events on the crossing. The staff mentioned that they had never experienced as many evacuations as on this sailing. In addition we also had an interruption of the nightly theatre performance.

Just after the opening number of a singer, (about 9 pm) the intercom warning bell sounded and Allan King made this announcement:

(I hope I have the details and spelling right) "Will Euwan James of stateroom 8104 please contact guest relations". This message was repeated an hour later. We noticed the doctor and nurse walk through the Crystal Lounge to inspect a storage area (never saw that before). When we went back to our cabin we noticed that it had been marked as "inspected" with a do not disturb sign. At 12:05 am another announcement (3rd or 4th) was made asking for the same passenger to report. The next morning the captain announced that this passenger had not left the ship using his ID card/key and was presumed a suicide.

Seas got rougher several days later and an elderly gentleman tumbled down a flight of stairs and suffered an extreme break... We turned the ship towards the nearest port and the next day we had a rendezvous with an aircraft carrier "WASP'

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You can gather that this was not just another cruise... For 6 hours we watched the transfer of passengers and suitcases that were going to be transported to the Azores by WASP. It was a gorgeous day for watching the activities and Celebrity allowed people to stand and watch by serving:

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Medical transfer:

The opposite side of this picture can be seen at the navy website:

 

http://www.wasp.navy.mil/

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It was truly a magnificent moment as the transfer was complete and cheering could be heard from both ships as they saluted one another.

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This cruise was not perfect but I can't imagine any voyage being more memorable than this one was. The return to Miami was late, nearly 11 rather than 7am. Many people were upset because flights were missed..... Luggage was slow to be unloaded... Another lesson learned... stuff happens and flights not booked through Celebrity (or any cruiseline) are your own problem..

 

I want to end these pictures with a toast to capatain Pagonis... what a ride and a I want to do it again, soon...