Back to Back on Century (An episodic review by Radagast)

[Radagast]

Are the CC balcony cabins big enough?

 

From all that we’d read on CruiseCritic and the Celebrity website, I was concerned that the Concierge Class balcony staterooms on Century would be too for cramped for DW and me on a nine-day cruise . . . and for all my luggage! As we began unpacking that first afternoon, I wondered, “Where am I going to put all these clothes and especially our five empty suitcases?”

 

We were pleasantly surprised at how much storage there was. All of our hanging clothes fit in the two closets. It was a good thing I’d brought all those extra plastic hangers. We used all nine I’d brought, and could even have used a few more! Everything fit nicely into the many drawers. Jan and I kept calling out in surprise as we’d find another storage space. In the end, even with all the junk I’d brought, we had one shelf (under the sink in the bathroom) that remained empty throughout the cruise.

 

The bathroom itself was a bit cramped, but DW and I could both be in there at once, as long as we were willing to be fairly friendly. The ceiling was low, as we had to step up 7 inches to get into the bathroom. I suppose that’s to make room for the plumbing in the floor. The remaining height inside the bath is 6’5.” That was enough for me (I’m 6’3”) but would be uncomfortable for anyone much taller.

 

The shower was a pleasant surprise. It really felt spacious. It was 43 ½ inches wide, 25 inches deep and the same height as the rest of the bathroom, 6’5”.

 

The spacious shower was a nice surprise.

 

43 X 25 inches of shower floor space.

 

I’d read some posts complaining about the new raised sinks. Some people apparently had problems with water splashing all over the mirror and counter. Maybe it was just that I’d been forewarned, but I never had a problem with splashing. And DW and I both loved the look of the sink set off with fresh flowers.

 

With minimal care – no splashes.

 

After reading a tip on CruiseCritic, DW bought a toiletries caddy which she hung from one of the four hooks on the inside of the bathroom door. It was great—it left the counter free for all of my stuff!

 

The cleverly efficient toiletries caddy!

 

Earlier in the day I’d asked our attendant, Anak, to remove all the sodas and mini-booze bottles from the refrigerator. When we got back from dinner that night, everything was gone. It was a mini-fridge like you might see in a hotel. The actual dimensions were 12 inches wide and 8 inches deep in the larger, bottom section. There was no freezer section or icemaker, but Anak kept our ice bucket filled and we didn’t miss being able to freeze our own.

 

The gloriously-empty fridge.

 

[Note: because I have so many pictures in this post, I had to split it into two parts. Post continues below!]

[Radagast]

The stateroom itself is entered through a 30-inch-wide, 7-foot-long hallway with the closet doors on one side and the bathroom door on the other. Emerging from the hall you enter a cabin that is small but has enough curved surfaces to avoid the appearance of a box. The main part of the cabin is 15 feet from the end of the hall to the veranda doorframe. The cabin width is eight feet, ten inches.

 

The main cabin feels roomier than its 9 X 15 measurements.

 

I had been concerned when I read on CC that the beds in the Concierge veranda rooms had curved corners. I’m a big guy (6’3”, 250 lbs.) and was afraid it would feel crowded since DW and I sleep in a king-sized bed at home. When I measured the bed I discovered it was 60 inches wide at the top and 74 inches long down the middle. It did curve toward both sides, to make it easier to walk around it. At the point where the curve ended at the edge of the bed, it was only 64 inches long. So there is a fairly significant 10 inches slices off at the sides. However I found the bed quite comfortable. DW slept near her edge of the bed which allowed me to angle my feet over toward the longer central portion of the bed. We both slept very well throughout the cruise.

 

The curve of the bed posed no problem.

 

We found the pillows provided with the bed quite comfortable, both when propped up to read and for sleeping. We found a pillow menu in the stateroom and considered trying one or two of them. However after a couple of nights with the standard pillows we decided not to mess with success and never asked Anak for any of the other choices. In case you are interested, here were the choices listed on the pillow menu:

 

Conformance Pillow

Conformance is a unique, three-dimensional polyester in a cluster shape with a stick finish. The clusters flow inside much like natural down and feathers, providing the ultimate comfort and support for all sleeping positions. Conformance is the best quality cluster fiber available today.

 

Body Pillow

The feather and down body pillow provides full body comfort when and ordinary pillow just won’t do. It is ideal for guests with body aches, and also is excellent for expectant mothers.

 

Goose Pillow

The white goose down zippered and interlined pillow is made with only the finest European white goose down. The outer cover is woven damask. 100% cotton fabric with a 350-thread count for enhanced softness and comfort.

 

Isotonic© Pillow

Isotonic feels unlike anything you’ve ever felt before. It is slow acting, marshmallow-like foam that reacts to your body temperature and physique to provide true, customized relaxation. With Isotonic, the body’s own weight effortlessly creates forces that sculpt and mold foam contours. Isotonic relaxes and self-adjusts according to your body dynamics, then rejuvenates within seconds.

 

 

Above is how the bed was made up during the day.

 

Below is how the bed was remade each evening at turndown.

 

I was delighted to find a basket of fresh fruit and a bottle of champagne already in our room when we arrived. Anak kept the bottle well iced until it was completely consumed several days later.

The champagne itself was quite tasty, but I do not pretend to be a connoisseur!

 

As many other posters have noted, the after noon hors d’ourves were dried out and not really worth eating. However there was always so much other, better food readily available, I didn’t really miss not having further temptation in my cabin! Speaking of temptation, the first evening there was a knock on our door and cheery lady we’d not seen before, and never saw again, gave us a small plate full of fresh strawberries dipped in chocolate! They disappeared so quickly, I didn’t even snap a picture!

 

However, the very best part of our stateroom was our wonderful veranda. From the inside of the railing to the doorframe was 62 inches. The width was the same as the cabin, 8’10”. So it as essentially a 9 X 5-foot space. It had a very nice teak table and two comfortable metal and plastic chairs. The veranda was not deep enough for a chaise lounge, but several times I leaned back and put my feet up over the railing and was quite comfortable.

 

The best part of our stateroom (with view of Miami harbor).

 

In the next post, How was the food, décor and service in Grand Restaurant?

[Cote d'or]

Thanks again, Radagast. Cruisers who already had a cc-cabin before the renewal will like to compare, and they who are considering one, will love your review as it gives them a detailed idea about it. As usual : looking forward for the next chapter ! :)

[Radagast]

After I’d posted the last installment, I realized I’d failed to answer one of the questions I’d posed, “Where did we put the empty luggage?” Wonderfully, nearly all of it fit under the bed. The bed does not have an innerspring mattress; rather the comfy top mattress is on a metal frame that raises it about two feet off the carpet. That meant four of our five emptied suitcases fit quite comfortably. However, my mondo-case, which is 30 inches thick at its most collapsed, simply wouldn’t go. (My smaller bag, which is 25 inches deep, did slide under, just barely.) After some experimentation, I stood our biggest suitcase in the closet and hung my shortest clothes over it.

 

Before sail away, we gathered in the Rendezvous Lounge for the lifeboat drill. In typical Celebrity fashion, it was handled quickly with a minimum of waiting. During the two drills, this one and the repeat the first day of our second cruise, were the only times when Century ever felt crowded. DW, especially, appreciated the ease with which we could avoid crowds and lines at all other times during our nine days on Century.

 

While we were outside by the lifeboats, I was surprised to see quite a few people still coming up the gangway boarding Century. I suppose they were latecomers whose flights had been delayed by the Miami deluge. I wondered what Celebrity does about the drill for such latecomers. They just miss it, I suppose.

 

The lifeboat drill was quick and efficient.

 

How was the main dining room, the Grand Restaurant?

 

I really liked the ambiance of the Grand Restaurant. For me, the room really lived up to its name!

 

The Grand Restaurant was truly grand!

 

From the inlaid sign at the entrance, to the warm wood paneling throughout the room, to the plush carpet, to the expansive ocean views on every side, this was my idea of what a cruise ship should be like. Most of Century is decorated in a modern style with lots of light and glass and metal. However this room had a sense of traditional elegance about it. Adding to the scale of the place is its two-level design. Linking the two levels is a sweeping staircase, perfect for that grand entrance!

 

The Grand Restaurant Staircase

 

We were initially seated upstairs, under a fairly low ceiling. This proved to be a bit of a problem for DW, as she has impaired hearing in one ear. Even at a table for four it was often difficult for her to follow the conversation. Apparently the low ceiling reflected sound from nearby tables. (I had read other posts on CC that warned about the noise level anywhere the ceiling was low.)

 

Our two waiters were friendly and helpful, but not always entirely accurate. John asked for tea early in the meal and it took so long I was convinced they simply had forgotten. Eventually, however, the tea did put in an appearance. Twice the waiters brought items to the wrong person. On the positive side, that first night I asked for decaf coffee and every night from then on they brought it without my having to ask. That’s the good news. The bad news is that I like to drink a lot of coffee. I’m sad to report my cup sat empty most of the time. Several times I asked for more decaf and it always eventually came, but there was usually a delay of five to fifteen minutes. This simply does not happen in the best land-side restaurants. I’ve been in restaurants, more than once, where a server actually hovered with a coffee pot and never let my cup get more than half empty. I’ll have a lot more to say about Century and coffee in future posts. Let’s just say, coffee was not one of the highlights of my cruise experience.

 

However, the dinner that first night was very good. Several of us tried the tangerine and apple chilled fruit soup which was out of this world; sweet, cold and scrumptious. Between the four of us we ordered entrées of veal, steak, spaghetti, Hake (fish). All were quite good.

 

The wine steward came by at the beginning of the meal, introduced himself in a very friendly manner, not at all pushy. When we said we were not planning to order alcohol with the meal, he removed the wineglasses very politely. A class act.

 

I had read extensive discussion threads on the proper dress for the dining room on Celebrity in general and Century in particular. The first night was casual and a few even showed up in blue jeans. They were served and no one said anything.

 

John and Fay commented that the other ships they’d been on had dining rooms that were more crowded and had limited ocean views. All of us enjoyed being able to look at the water on three sides of dining room.

 

I was quite full by the end of the meal and asked to take a dessert, raspberry cheesecake, back to our cabin. When we were ready to leave, they brought me a plate with metal cover. When I got back to the stateroom, in order to fit the cheesecake in the fridge, I had to transfer the it to one of the smaller plates provided with our fruit basket .

 

After dinner we went up on deck and enjoyed our first Century sunset. A wonderful way to end our inaugural day on the ship.

 

Our first Century sunset

 

In my next post: Sleepy time and DW’s second surprise.

[DrKoob]

Keep it coming. Can't wait to read the rest.

[Radagast]

Keep it coming. Can't wait to read the rest.

Thanks, Dr. Koob! I just finished reading your journal (the one on your website) of your Med-Black-Sea Galaxy cruise. Great job! Istanbul is one of my favorite cities, too.

 

Your experience makes me glad I took our TA's advice and arranged all my own tours. My work often takes me to Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union (including Ukraine) and I've been trapped in some of those endless church-museum tours.:mad:

 

Thanks for sharing your experience with all of us!

[Gonzo70]

So, are we overbudget or underbudget on the word count to this point?

[Radagast]

So, are we overbudget or underbudget on the word count to this point?

Hah! LOL. Way overbudget!;)

 

Actually, it's kind of fun not to have a word limit. For example, an article I'm writing that is due today has a strict word limit of 700-800 words. Often it takes me many rewrites to say what I want to within an editor's constraints.

[Jazzbo]

Actually, it's kind of fun not to have a word limit.

 

Radagast -- I just realized that I've been reading your posts for over a month (and enjoying them), and you've barely made it out of port!:D

[twosit]

Radagast- Thanks for posting such a wonderfully detailed review. I love the detailed description of the pillows. We cruised on the Century back when it first came out. It's a nice ship with an easy flow to it.

 

I do want to mention one thing though--You mentioned that you felt people should work through a travel agent and said that they were restricted by the cruiseline from offering discounts. We have cruised quite a few times and I have found that for those of us who are pretty well informed and know what we want, then an online agent is a great thing.

 

My online agent has saved us a lot of money. Contrary to popular opinion there is a huge difference in what the final price is for a cruise. I am confident that we are spending about $800. less than our friends who are cruising with us and have the same cabin category. We communicate via e-mail only, but I can tell you that I have received responses quicker than both of the couples we are sailing with (one booked through the cruiseline, the other a full service agency).

[Radagast]

Radagast- Thanks for posting such a wonderfully detailed review. I love the detailed description of the pillows. We cruised on the Century back when it first came out. It's a nice ship with an easy flow to it.

 

I do want to mention one thing though--You mentioned that you felt people should work through a travel agent and said that they were restricted by the cruiseline from offering discounts. We have cruised quite a few times and I have found that for those of us who are pretty well informed and know what we want, then an online agent is a great thing.

 

My online agent has saved us a lot of money. Contrary to popular opinion there is a huge difference in what the final price is for a cruise. I am confident that we are spending about $800. less than our friends who are cruising with us and have the same cabin category. We communicate via e-mail only, but I can tell you that I have received responses quicker than both of the couples we are sailing with (one booked through the cruiseline, the other a full service agency).

Thanks for sharing your experience! As I've indicated in my review, this was our first experience in the cruise world. I'm still such a newbie, I'm not sure I understand the difference between an "online agent" and a "full-service agency.":confused: Nor am I sure which kind I used!

 

I'm pleased to hear you are enjoying my review, and especially the pillow descriptions. I almost didn't put that in, but there had been a little controversy about whether Century actually offered the pillows in CC Class. So I thought it might be helpful. Glad you found it so! I hope to post the next episode later today!

[Radagast]

Radagast -- I just realized that I've been reading your posts for over a month (and enjoying them), and you've barely made it out of port!:D

Yeah, I really did expect to be done by now.:o But am enjoying the process of covering all the detail. As a first-time cruiser, I craved that sort of opinion and minutiae, so I'm glad to hear others are enjoying my ramblings.;)

 

Lord willing, you should see the next post later today (Friday).

[rebeljohn]

Thanks for posting this VERY detailed review! Thanks for taking the time to put it together for us.............

[Radagast]

Thanks for posting this VERY detailed review! Thanks for taking the time to put it together for us.............

You're welcome! Below is the next chapter.:)

[Radagast]

Can you get away from the crowds on Century?

One of DW’s greatest concerns about cruising was that there would be crowds of people everywhere and the only place to escape would be a claustrophobic little cabin. I think those fears were greatly assuaged that very first evening.

 

We had a relaxed and enjoyable time after dinner. We had found the card rooms, all three of them, and were surprised to find all of them deserted. In fact throughout our nine days, we only once saw one of the three being used for a meeting and one time our room had a family playing a board game. The rest of the time, at least one of the three rooms was entirely empty and we could play as long as we wanted, with a relaxing view of the Promenade Deck and the ocean beyond. All of the tables have a reversible inlaid center which can either be solid wood or a green-felt playing surface. We always chose the felt side as I had bought new decks of KEM brand pinochle cards. KEM cards are solid plastic and therefore durable and washable but also extra slippery when new. The felt was the perfect surface to prevent the cards from whizzing off on the floor whenever we dealt.

 

The card rooms were a quiet retreat the entire nine days.

 

Like many of the public rooms in the ship, the card rooms had low ceilings. But they were designed with shiny, spaced metal strips that gave a sense of height and reflection without the tacky-bordello effect an actual mirror would have produced.

 

The polish metal strips in the card-room ceiling gave a broken reflection of the room.

 

After the ladies trounced the men, once again, we all retired to our respective staterooms. The next day we heard that John and Fay’s toilet had overflowed (just water, thankfully).

 

What were our next surprises?

 

Our experience was considerably more pleasant. A lady came by with chocolate-covered strawberries—an over-the-top delicious surprise! It was also just before bed that DW discovered her second surprise from me, a card and a small teddy bear.

 

DW's second surprise, a six-inch miniature bear.

 

What she didn’t know is that there were more little bears to come. I bought only the smallest ones I could find through the SunKidStore, which was started in Germany in the 1980’s. This bear is a mere 6.3 inches tall. I ordered all the bears from their website at:

 

http://www.sunkidstore.com/index.php

 

DW turned in at 9:00 pm and was out almost immediately. We had discovered that her Seapass didn’t work in our door, although mine did, so I told her I’d head to the Relations Desk and see if I could get it recoded.

 

How helpful are the Century staff with special requests?

 

What she didn’t know was that I was plotting her next surprise. A month or so before the cruise the idea had struck me to see if I could somehow arrange for her to have her favorite breakfast dish served on our veranda. The catch was that I was certain it would not appear the century menu. In fact, in all our years of marriage I’d only seen it once on any restaurant menu. About a quarter century ago, we stayed in a fancy beach-front hotel in Santa Barbara, California. In the hotel dining room, we’d actually been able to order this dish off the menu. But never before and never since.

 

The dish was special to DW because her mother had made it for the family many times when DW was young. In fact her mom continued to make it from time to time including her last three years on earth when she’d lived in our home. Though quite a humble dish, it is what my wife calls, “comfort food.”

 

The dish is called “Chipped Beef Gravy On Toast.” Here is the recipe I pieced together from several I found on the Internet.

 

Chipped Beef Gravy on Toast

 

Ingredients:

1 jar Armour Dried Beef (4.5 oz.)

1/4 c Butter

1/4 c Flour

2 c Milk

Pepper

White or wheat toast (not buttered)

 

Directions:

Remove beef from jar and cut into thin strips. Fluff the pieces so they do not stick together in layers. Put in a larger lidded jar.

Rinse the beef strips by pouring hot water in the jar with the beef, covering with a lid and shaking. Drain off and repeat.

 

Make a Basic White Sauce:

Heat the butter and flour over medium heat, stirring constantly, until it foams and the flour aroma is gone. Add the milk 1/2 cup at a time, stirring constantly with a wire whisk or wooden spoon until the sauce boils and thickens.

 

Add the damp beef strips, stirring until the sauce is smooth. If too thick, add more milk, and if too thin, keep heating and stirring. Season with pepper to taste. You usually will not need to add salt.

Serve in a jar for pouring or a container with a ladle or large spoon.

 

Allow guests to pour or ladle over toast as desired.

 

But how to get the kitchen to make it for us? I was sure they would have all the ingredients in stock except the jar of Armour Dried Beef. I turned for answers to my reliable TA, Amber. Here is part of our e-mail exchange. I wrote to her:

 

Finally I’d like your advice in planning a little surprise for my wife, Jan. Her favorite breakfast in the whole world is something called “chipped beef gravy over toast.” It might just make her whole cruise (or at least get it off to a very positive start) if I could arrange to have it delivered to our cabin for breakfast one or two mornings. The problem is we have found very few restaurants that have the right ingredients to make it. It’s really not a complex dish, but you have to start with the chipped beef which is sold in small glass jars. From there it’s just warming it in a nice white sauce and serving it over toast. If Century doesn’t stock jars of chipped beef (which I’d be shocked and pleasantly astounded if I discovered they did), do you think I could bring a couple of jars aboard, take them to the chef myself (or have my steward do it for me) and surprise her that way? I could also include a copy of the recipe, it that was helpful. Do you have any idea of who I should contact at Celebrity, or even whether this is worth pursuing at all?

 

Here was Amber’s response:

 

Unfortunately, with the chipped beef, that's difficult (basically impossible) to arrange before you arrive on the ship. Especially with shorter cruises like this which seem like a constant reprovisioning for the crew, any request to the dining room for something so small is more likely than not to be missed. I'd recommend bringing a couple of the jars, talking with your cabin steward immediately when you board, and take it from there. If your steward gets a blank look on his face, the next option would be to have a chat with the maitre 'd in the dining room on boarding afternoon (he has hours set up in the afternoon to deal with dining time change requests) and see if he could help you set it up. This type of request is easy as pie on the true luxury lines such as Crystal, a little less simple on a more mainstream line.

 

After DW was safely asleep, I did look around in the hallway for Anak, our room steward, but didn’t see him. Since I needed to head for Guest Relations to get our key recoded, I decided to try there. It was a fortuitous choice.

 

It was 10:00 pm by the time I reached Guest Relations amidships on deck five. The lady working the desk was named Victoria Lagos. She gave me her card which read “Lead Guest Relations Officer.” She cheerfully re-coded my wife’s Seapass and said it is common for the cards to get de-magnetized.

 

Then I explained the surprise and asked if she’d like to be my co-conspirator. She smiled and said, “Of course!” She took the copy of the recipe I’d brought but told me to hang on to the chipped beef jar. She explained that it was too late to do anything for the next morning but she’d ask the Executive Chef tomorrow and promised she’d follow up with me—impressive.

 

True to her word, she did call the next day and since we were not in the room, she left a message saying she had talked to the Executive Chef and he would be glad to make the Chipped Beef over toast. She said to bring the jar of dried beef to the Guest Relations Desk. There, I asked for Victoria but discovered that she was not on shift until 5:00 pm. However the lady working the desk, Christina Jose, knew all about my request and graciously took the jar and assured me it would be ready in the morning.

 

Satisfied I’d done everything I could to plan for the cruise ahead, I retired and read a bit in Mark Twain’s Innocents Abroad.

 

Is the vibration a problem in an aft cabin?

 

I’ve already mentioned that I found the bed very comfortable. It is quite firm which is my preference. I had also wondered if the movement or vibration would be a deterrent to sleep. But both kinds of motion were subtle. In fact once I woke up during the night and thought we must have already docked because I couldn’t feel any motion. That’s how subtle it was. But I pulled back the curtain and found us still at sea sailing along briskly.

 

I had read some posts warning that in the aft cabins you could feel a vibration when docking. Some had complained that it had awakened them out of a dead sleep. I imagined a loud noise and prolonged shaking. There was a momentary shudder at about 6:30 that first morning. Was like a brief, light earthquake, maybe a 4.0. And there was no sound at all. And that was that—were we docked in Key West.

 

Normally at home, DW is the light sleeper and, since she passed 40, she’s often awakened at 4:00 am and not been able to resume sleep. Consequently her nights are often six hours or less. But the first night on Century she’d fallen asleep at 9:00 and I had to wake her at 6:40 because we’d ordered breakfast on our veranda for 7:00 am. More than nine and a half hours. Astonishing! I don’t know if it was general relaxation from being on vacation or the gentle motion of the ship, but DW slept like this throughout the entire cruise!

 

We opened the curtains to blue water and small craft heading out for a day on the ocean.

 

 

The outer harbor of Key West from our Veranda.

 

In my next post: How was breakfast on the veranda?

[kehlx2]

Hey, I used to make this for dinner alot of the times..it IS good. Now I have to wait to see how breakfast went (if this was THE) breakfast. I seem to just get into your stories & they are done til another time...keep them up--having a great time reading them.

[Tatka]

Hi, Radagast!

 

We had a pleasure to sail with you.. When I get pictures back from my mom, I'll post my picture in Grand restaurant with you in it.. I hope you'll give me a permission to to this in your thread. :)

[Radagast]

Hi, Radagast!

 

We had a pleasure to sail with you.. When I get pictures back from my mom, I'll post my picture in Grand restaurant with you in it.. I hope you'll give me a permission to to this in your thread. :)

Good to hear from you again. I just watched the video from Captian Marvin's and saw you in it. It was so much fun to relive that great day! I'd be glad for you to post any pictures you have on this thread. I'll look forward to seeing them.

[Radagast]

Hey, I used to make this for dinner alot of the times..it IS good. Now I have to wait to see how breakfast went (if this was THE) breakfast. I seem to just get into your stories & they are done til another time...keep them up--having a great time reading them.

The funny thing about Chipped Beef on Toast that I didn't know until I started looking for a recipe on the Internet is that is was a staple in the Army (I suppose because the basic ingredients would keep indefinitely, especially if they used powered milk). The soldiers called it S.O.S. Now I saw one housewife who posted her recipe and said that SOS stood for "Same Old Stuff." However the original Army expression was, as you might imagine, not nearly so polite. Apparently the Army version of SOS was "Shot On a Shingle." (But the first word may have had a somewhat different vowel in it.);)

 

Anyway, while it was apparently a favorite of the WWII soldiers, by the era of the Korean War and Viet Niam the younger soldiers hated it.

 

Neither my DW nor her parents ever served in the military, but they liked it and so do I.:D

[Lois R]

Hi, I was going to post the military definition of that food, but

didn't want to take away from your review.

You are correct it is known as s**t on a shingle. I have heard that for

many years.

Maybe it is because my Dad served in WWII;)

 

Give me some bagels, lox and cream cheese:D

I have never liked Chipped beef on toast.....more for you and your wife:)

[janabelle61]

Radagast,

 

I've been enjoying your wonderful review - especially all of the special things you did for your DW to make it a very special occasion. However, the Chipped Beef Gravy on Toast compelled me to post rather than just read! It was a staple in our home when I was growing up and it brought back wonderful memories. Thanks so much and keep the stories coming!! :)

[kidznp]

This is truly an exceptional story. I keep looking on here waiting for you to post the next installment. You are such a sweetheart with your wife.

 

My mom used to make chipped beef on toast for dinner occasionally during the winter when I was growing up. I had not thought about it in years.

 

Thank you for this review--like everybody else, I will wait for the next installment.:D

[Tatka]

Good to hear from you again. I just watched the video from Captian Marvin's and saw you in it. It was so much fun to relive that great day! I'd be glad for you to post any pictures you have on this thread. I'll look forward to seeing them.

 

Thank you!

 

Formal dinner. Grand restaurant:

[Radagast]

Thank you!

 

Formal dinner. Grand restaurant:

Takta, thanks for posting the picture. I actually don't remember when it was taken! But I was obviously mugging for the camera, so I must have known at the time.:o

[jerseygirl3]

Radagast- Thanks for posting such a wonderfully detailed review. I love the detailed description of the pillows. We cruised on the Century back when it first came out. It's a nice ship with an easy flow to it.

 

I do want to mention one thing though--You mentioned that you felt people should work through a travel agent and said that they were restricted by the cruiseline from offering discounts. We have cruised quite a few times and I have found that for those of us who are pretty well informed and know what we want, then an online agent is a great thing.

 

My online agent has saved us a lot of money. Contrary to popular opinion there is a huge difference in what the final price is for a cruise. I am confident that we are spending about $800. less than our friends who are cruising with us and have the same cabin category. We communicate via e-mail only, but I can tell you that I have received responses quicker than both of the couples we are sailing with (one booked through the cruiseline, the other a full service agency).

 

Just to clarify, TA's are no longer allowed to discount Celebrity cruises. I'm not sure how you are paying $800 less than your friends, unless your friends used a TA who significantly marked up the price of the cruise (which I'm not sure is legal either). If Celebrity is selling a cruise on their website for $1,000.00, most TA's are typically going to sell you that same cruise for the same price, whether they be online or brick and mortar agencies. Gone are the days when they could rebate back part of their commission. However, I do think some TA's (and especially large online consortiums) purchase a block of cabins ahead of time when prices are lower and therefore can pass on the savings to their customers. Maybe that's how you got a better price, but no longer are TA's allowed to discount cruises. I have a TA who specifically blocks aft cabins on Celebrity, so not only am I pretty sure I'll get an aft cabin if that's what we desire, but she purchases the cabins so far in advance that she is able to sell them for less if later on the price has gone up because she paid less when she purchased them.