Anyone Just Off Century's "Extended" Sailing??

[signman]

I found it interesting that X was able to keep the buffet tables supplied, while Disney had to make a stop at Galveston to re-supply. They must have their needs analyzed down to how many toothpicks they will use in 7 days, and not have one extra.

[dmarch@islc.net]

Fishing expedition......how ridiculous!

[buffett010]

Thanks for letting us know how your extended cruising was. If we ever find ourselves in that situation, we now know what to expect. Just another reason why you need to bring more of your routine medications than just enough for your vacation - you never know what might pop up!

[Nliedel]

The question was fair and the response by some that thought the question was too negative.. well for crying out loud! I too wondered if they were running out of food or had enough things for people to do. I think that preparedness makes a stronger product and no implication was made that they expected tghe line to do a bad job. The OP asked fair questions and to slam them for that was appalling. Nothing is perfect and no one should expect something like this to come off without a hitch.. That they did so well says good things about Celebrity. That people are smart enough to question says good things about most of their customers.

[tbelian]

[quote name='RSteele']I, personally, loved hearing what went on those extra 2 days[/QUOTE]

Rsteele, I'm only quoting you to shine a light on something, don't take it personally.

What's truly fascinating here is that only TWO people (ok, maybe 3) actually were able to respond to the question(s). The rest is fluff (yea ya, dont like it don't read, yadda yadda). My point is, a.) There aren't enough 'just off the Century' people reading this, or b.) It ain't that big a deal ... nobody really CARES! except those of us who want to defend our position that says we really DO care?

What did we get from all the 'details'...? not much. 2 posters, both said everything was great (and thats about IT).

This is a snoozer, sorry.

[cruisersdm]

I loved hearing how Celebrity handled the extra days that were not included in the price. I'm relieved that they didn't throw the passengers at the closest port and say "You're on your own". Celebrity sounds like they handled the situation and did a class act. As far as the food getting low, it sounds like they did a great job. Everyone on board must have liked the breadsticks and fruit.

[nealberk]

[quote name='tbelian']Rsteele, I'm only quoting you to shine a light on something, don't take it personally.

What did we get from all the 'details'...? not much. 2 posters, both said everything was great (and thats about IT).

This is a snoozer, sorry.[/QUOTE] Actually I have gotten quite a bit of information from this post over and beyond what you said. I discovered that on the Z the doors stopped working, transatlantic cruises sometimes run low on fresh fruit and veggies and non-typical condiments, there is an additional reason for taking along addition prescriptions (I generally take one extra day's supply, I think 3 might be better), the extra two days in the main dining room were very casual, how much we can be dependent on CNN, and they might run out of breadsticks on second seating.

I also got the feel that the more days on a cruise the better- no matter what and that it might be a good idea to try to plot my cruises with hurricanes in mind- to get them, not avoid them!


Incidentally, did they run out of chocolates?

[tbelian]

[quote name='nealberk']Actually I have gotten quite a bit of information from this post over and beyond what you said. [/QUOTE]

OK, I guess that's true. But in relation to the specific Century sailing (which was the reason for the original questions), we have not heard much about that specific trip.

[sharks48]

nealberk: No, thank goodness, they did not run out of chocolates!! Although we couldn't eat ours because we had second seating!! We saved them up and brought them home. Now, whenever I need a little "shot" of X, I'll just pull one out and savor it - they probably won't last very long, because I'm really missing that cruise!!

Just a note - they seemed to have plenty for us to do for those two extra days. They had a lot of trivia [which we love], which was a lot of fun. We had a game against the social activities crew and beat them [we got to make up some questions for them]. Mostly, it was just very relaxing to do nothing [except eat, of course].

Someone here said something about "dumping" passengers at a port? We had lunch one day with the woman who runs the ship's bridge program and she told us about being on an Alaskan cruise when 9/11 occurred. She said Celebrity kept them on the ship and wouldn't let people leave until they had been able to make arrangements for flights home, however long that took. Whereas she saw other ships "dumping" people off in Anchorage to fend for themselves - with no flights in sight for who-knew-how-long! When people were worrying about what would happen [this was before the decision to stay at sea had been made], she said, "Don't worry - Celebrity would never leave you stranded."

[busybusybusy]

That is too funny! I never thought about that! Guess it kept the stewards hopping! LOL!!

[nealberk]

Now I am getting off topic, but shark did bring up an interesting question. Does anybody know if insurance will handle the days you are away from home waiting to find transportation back to your destination? Would food and lodging be covered in the insurance?

Back on topic, did you notice if some of the usual formalities were relaxed a bit due to the unusual situation? For example, was the captain and crew more accessable than usual? Did they have any special programs on the workings of the ship? (One of my big frustrations these days is that due to security restrictions I can't see all the behind the scenes stuff that totally fascinates me).

[mecb50]

I really enjoyed reading this thread. ( At least I enjoyed the people who were responding to the question). When I first heard about those "extra" days at sea, I told everyone..."I wouldn't be that lucky...I would be on the cruise that would be cancelled, since they couldn't get in to pick us up!). We were on the Summit last year when the hurricane was hitting Virginia. We could get NO information. And the CNN we got was from ASIA so we got NO eastern USA weather. Our tablemates were from VA and they went thru H-ll trying to find if they had damage. ( They did ). So the question about being informed is very valid.

I also liked hearing about what happened during 9-11. That made me feel even more positive towards Celebrity. I will also add, that if a topic bores you WHY do you continue to respond??? I don't understand commenting negatively when nothing "bad" is being said either by the poster or the people responding. Just STOP READING:confused:


Jill, I'm glad you asked the question, and we will see you on our April 2005 cruise...can't wait!!! Mary

[jenyates]

We were on this extended cruise, and since we live in Orlando, we were glad to be onboard those extra 2 days instead of stuck at home with no power! Of course, we were concerned about our house, but we called home while in Key West and some friends came and boarded up our windows for us. Incidentally, we were told that the ship picked up additional supplies (i.e. food) while in Key West, which is why we didn't run out of anything. I didn't notice any shortages at all of anything, but I guess I wasn't really looking that hard for them. I don't really care for sea days, since they're a bit boring, but my husband and I just spent a lot of time in the library doing puzzles or on deck reading. And like I said, it beats being at home with no power! The last day at sea was pretty rough in comparison with the rest of the week, but it didn't bother us at all - I actually think it's kind of fun to stagger around the ship without bumping into walls or other people!! :)

We tipped everyone for 9 days, and a bit more besides, since the crew wouldn't have any other income for that week and they really worked hard for us. Our waiter, Alan, even let us keep the newly printed "Frances" menus, which we had all our table-mates and servers sign as a neat souvenier!

Oh, and for anyone who was onboard with us during second seating, we were the table who showed up in our bath robes for the last dinner! We figured we were all out of clothes anyway, and that bit of craziness was just the tension releaser we needed at the time.

[richsea]

[QUOTE=mecb50 I will also add, that if a topic bores you WHY do you continue to respond??? I don't understand commenting negatively when nothing "bad" is being said either by the poster or the people responding. Just STOP READING. [/QUOTE]

Could not agree more!

Some people enjoy responding like that to threads that they deem boring, yet they will post multiple times to the same thread. Makes you wonder about their motives.

Very strange. :rolleyes:

[LadyDiMD]

Hi!

Yup, I missed the "extended cruise" on Century by 2 weeks (rats!) I see you had Alan as your waiter also! Isn't he the BEST?!?! I was with a group from England and he went out of his way to help locate one of our tablemates that we had feared may have still been in Puerto Rico ( she wasn't). I would have LOVED to have seen his reaction to your "apparel" the last night! By the way...I also like to stagger about the ship in rough seas! (Yes, I have been told that I am a sick puppy!)

Was your home ok when you returned home?

Di

[BocaRoo]

Thanks for the additional responses!

 

jenyates - how did you make out regarding damage from Frances? I hope your home fared well and damage, if any, was minimal. It looks as though Hurricane Ivan is headed more towards the Gulf of Mexico - thank heavens! All our local stations are showing football, so I know there's no threat to us down here! It's nice to know that Celebrity was proactive and brought more supplies/food on board in Key West - thanks for mentioning that.

 

Mary - Looking forward to meeting you and the rest of the group from our Roll Call - April 11th can't get here soon enough!

 

Neal - great question about insurance - I wish someone would answer that one!

 

:) Jill :)

[sunpsyche]

Thanks for filling us in on your exploits everyone. I did wonder how y'all were making out when you were out at sea and unable to return, so it's been very interesting to hear all the details. It sounds like the captain and crew did a fantastic job of keeping the pax not only safe, but very happy.

[hardingk]

Hi everyone,

we were on the Enchantment the time you were on Century (we were docked next to you in Cozumel) I have posted a review on the RCL boards if anyone is interested in it!

 

I have been on Century twice and she is a beautiful ship!

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=78647

[linda47]

they might run out of breadsticks on second seating.

QUOTE]

 

Run out of breadsticks ??? That's awful! I'm always telling people about the breadsticks on Celebrity. Perhaps another reason to switch to early seating!

 

And, before I get comments, I'm not being a smartalec. I really do love their breadsticks as, obviously, does the original poster who thought it worthy to mention.

 

As others have said, I was also curious as to how they and other cruiselines were handling the hurricanes and the extra days at sea. Sounds like they did a great job. I'm impressed that they didn't automatically add the tips in for the extra 2 days. Hopefully, everyone did compensate the crew.

[linda47]

OK, why didn't my 'quote' work like everyone else's does? That's the first time I've attempted to use it! :(

[max1016]

I wish I had been "stuck" on the ship for an extra few days, and personally if they only served bread and water that would be fine too, it's not like you couldn't live off the last 7 days worth of meals they serve anyway.

 

I am glad everyone got off the ship safe and sound, that's the important thing.

[giraffenana]

Personally I found the thread very interesting as I was wondering some of those same things about the extra couple of days of this cruise. I would not mind being so lucky as to get a couple of "free" days on some cruise. 7 days is too short anyway.

 

I have to agree with the attitude of TPKeller. I love details of all kinds, especially pertaining to how cruise ships plan and operate. I think the whole process of planning food for 2000-3000 passengers plus the crew for 7+ days is totally fascinating. When we used to have the galley tours I was always enthralled with all the statistics as to how many chickens, pounds of beef, eggs, lobsters, bananas, etc. that were brought on board each week.

 

I also found it interesting that one poster mentioned running out of several items on an extended cruise, bananas & prune juice being two of them. Found that particularly interesting. :)

 

I guess I don't understand about the wonderful breadsticks on Celebrity, but will have to check that out on our Mercury cruise in February. Then I will know what all of you are talking about. What have I been missing all my life?

[n880ep]

why don't they put washers on the ships? this is how i was at dinner the final night.

[winediva]

For the person who asked about how the insurance companies were handling things:

 

I have a Travel Guard policy that I purchased to cover my cruise and vacation days on either end of the trip. When we arrived in the Keys, I called their service to inform them that I would be on board an extra 2 days and would need to rebook flights etc. I was on hold 18 minutes to speak to someone, but as many ships were effected, I wasn't really offended by the wait. Once I was on the line with an actual person, she took note of my report and informed me that she would transfer me to their travel arrangements and assistance dept. She told me to make all necessary arramgements and then file my claim when I return from my trip, making sure to save all reciepts. The new agent got United Airlines on the phone in less than a minute and they rebooked my flight with no penalty charges. Then, as I had been advised to book a flight for Tues, she asked if i had any preference for hotels for my overnight stay in Ft. Lauderdale. She booked me on my second choice and told me the hotel was closed at the moment, but scheduled to reopen on Monday. If incurred any trouble, I could call her again and she would take care of things. I gave her my credit card # and she handled everything. So, basically you pay for everything upfront, and the travel company reimburses you. Upon my return, I filed a claim by phone and I am waiting for the documents in the mail. It seems that they intend to pay for my hotel, taxi, and meals for that day. I'll let you know how things progress.

[tbelian]

sorry , please disregard