Century 11 Day Mediterranean Cruise Long Review

[wiselindag]

This is a long and detailed description of our 11 days on the Century, sailing on November 10, 2008. For those who prefer shorter comments, let me say at the outset that I'll try to summarize where possible, but this will be long. Feel free to jump around... there is a lot to say. My goal was to give you the entire cruise experience. Perhaps it will help you decide whether this cruise line or this ship is for you.

 

I have cruised 22 times on a variety of cruise ships, but prefer Celebrity for the cruise experience at a good price. A friend and I took this cruise together (my husband draws the line at one cruise a year and we did a Transatlantic last year and are scheduled for a Caribbean cruise together in the near future). It was the first time DF had been on a Celebrity ship, her first Mediterranean cruise, and the first time the two of us had been on a cruise ship together, so I was interested in her reactions from start to finish. We chose this cruise because of the incredible itinerary and because I love the Century.

 

We booked an inexpensive outside cabin and were upgraded one deck for Captains Club. At final payment time, we were offered an upsell to a CC balcony for $290 more per person (one advantage of traveling with a friend instead of a husband!)so we took it. Then a few weeks before our sail date our travel agent told us we had been offered an upsell to a Sky Suite for another $225 per person. You only live once, so we took it. Believe it or not, we were again contacted regarding the Penthouse Suite which would have cost still another $250 per person, but we were happy with the Sky Suite and said "no" to that one.

 

Monday, November 10 - Embarkation

After spending the weekend in Barcelona, we took a cab over to the ship. Embarkation was quick and easy. On line we ran into several people we had been talking to on the Cruise Critics Roll Call -- how nice to already have good friends! At 1:00 p.m. we walked on board and went straight to our cabin (1241), which was ready. We checked out the balcony (big!) and the bathroom (very nice and twice as big as any I’ve ever had on a cruise ship), asked our butler, Paul, for chair pads for the balcony lounges, extra hangers, and a scissors (which I needed to cut off the end of a tube). Then we unpacked, had lunch in the buffet, took a walk around the ship, participated in the boat drill, stopped by the library to take out a book (which I never had time to read!) and met Robin and Diane, who, much to our delight, signed on for our private tours to the Cinqueterre and Provence We went to the Cruise Critic Sailaway in the Sunset Bar. Only a few people showed up, which wasn’t surprising because the boat drill ran right into the time the Early Seating diners had to get ready for dinner. We settled in for drinks with our friends as the ship sailed out of the harbor. It’s not nearly as interesting when we sail in the dark! That is one problem with cruising in November -- it gets dark early.

 

When it was time for dinner we went down to the dining room. We had been assigned to Table 609, a table for eight on the upper level. For dinner on our first night I had shrimp cocktail and the mushroom millefeuille in puff pastry. Since I had two appetizers, I skipped the soup course. Then I had Caesar salad, rare prime rib, and profiteroles. If you want to make me happy, serving profiteroles is a good way to begin. On this night, dinner was as good as always and everyone at the table was pleased with their selections. Although we were seated at a table for eight, only two people joined us for dinner – two friends from New Hampshire. We all wondered if the table would fill on the second night. Our waiter, Reymond, told us the table was listed as complete. Both Reymundo and his assistant, Michael provided very professional and pleasant service on the first night and throughout the cruise. I think on the whole Celebrity still does a very nice job in the dining room. Service is excellent and there are little touches (such as the Assistant Waiter serving salad dressings and sauces from serving dishes and the waiter presenting the desserts on a tray before selections are made) that I think adds to the experience.

 

We went to the first night show – always a sampler, which was fine and "met" our Cruise Director, Matt. I had not encountered Matt before this cruise and found him to be friendly and pleasant throughout our time on the ship.

 

Tuesday – November 11 - Marseilles, France

We dined in our cabin to save time. Although on time, our breakfast was at best lukewarm and we had some things we hadn’t ordered including pastries and extra toast.(I think Paul, who brought us breakfast every morning liked to add some extras). Then we rushed down to the pier to meet with our group (Jeff, Sam, Diane, Robin, DF and I)) and our guide, Catherine. They all were there early (a good sign!) We chose to spend the day in Le Baux and St. Remy with a stop at Van Gogh’s asylum and a wine tasting. We could have skipped lunch and also driven to Avignon, but we decided to go for quality rather than quantity, and although stuffed from our dinner the night before and breakfast, no one wanted to skip lunch.

 

I booked Catherine's services via email (Tour Designer in Provence is her website and her email is tourdesigner@provence-travel.com. This booking was based on favorable reviews from other cruisers and from the first we were thrilled with Catherine, who is a consummate tour guide and an excellent driver with a very comfortable Mercedes van.

 

We had a lovely day with her touring Le Baux, the asylum and St. Remy.

In each location, Catherine told us the history and took us to several spots which offered good vantage points for viewing the surrounding countryside and for taking photographs. We all enjoyed the visits.

 

The wine shop where we had our wine tasting was terrific.

The proprietor turned out to be delightful – very knowledgeable and droll. In the middle of our tasting session a local guy came in with a five litre jug. It was filled with one of the red wines we had tasted by inserting a hose in the bottle! The jug full of red wine cost less than five euros – truly a bargain!

 

The visit to the asylum was wonderful. Here were views quite reminiscent of Van Gogh paintings and there is an interesting historical display describing the various “remedies” used in Van Gogh’s time. Lunch was in St. Remy. Catherine was apologetic because her favorite place was closed, but we were all quite happy with “second best.”

 

Catherine chose to drive us back via a different route so we could see more of the countryside, which was lovely. We all thought she spoke beautifully, was very well versed (she majored in history and art history), and was very flexible. She gave us a number of options and stopped for photographs in all the right places. I would definitely recommend Catherine to anyone docking in Marseilles or coming into the area and looking for a local tour guide… she was great. By the end of the day I felt as though I had made a new friend.

 

When we got back to the ship, we got ready for the evening’s activities. We had a Cruise Critics Party in Michael’s Club, and this was the nicest CC party I have ever attended. They served hors d’oevres, champagne and mimosas. The Cruise Director (Matt), Hotel Director (Fabrizio), Assistant Head of Housekeeping (Anna), the Food and Beverage guy, and the Captains Club hostess (Angela) all attended… which was a great showing from the staff. They told us there would be a second meeting later in the cruise to hear about our impressions and suggestions.

 

The dinner table was full! We discovered we were to be a table of eight ladies (which is a very nice arrangement in my opinion!) Two of the new arrivals had arranged to embark in Marseilles (since they live in Nice), and the other two had missed a connection when their Glasgow-Heathrow flight was delayed for several hours and ended up flying to Marseilles to meet the ship there. Dinner on Night Two for me was crab cocktail, French onion soup, salad, Tournedos Rossini, and chocolate truffle cake. It was all quite good.

 

This was the first formal night and we attended the toast in the theater and the Broadway show montage (which is good and which I saw last year on the Millie). On the way into the theater I was greeted by several of the staff folks from the CC party. I asked Anna about flowers in the Sky Suite (we had to ask for them last year in CC and they had not yet arrived in the SS) and she told me I should also have Elite Captains’ Club flowers.

 

Wednesday, November 12 - Villefranche, France

We had a slightly more relaxed morning since we weren’t taking a tour and had agreed to meet friends at 9. Again breakfast arrived on time, and again, DF's eggs were cold. I decided to order Salmon and Cream Cheese so that wasn’t a problem for me, but I was surprised to also receive a cheese and bacon omelette, which I didn’t order.

 

Villefranche is a tender port so we went to the Martini Bar to get our tender tickets. As elite CC and suite inhabitants we get priority tender tickets, but there didn’t seem to be any problem getting on and we were quickly deposited on the pier. My little tour group walked up the hill to the bus stop and waited for only a few minutes before the 100 bus came along. The fare has been reduced to a euro, so it was a very quick and inexpensive ride to the Gare Routier in Nice. From there we strolled into and through Vieux Nice. We walked down the Rue Droite and stopped to make a reservation for lunch at Acchiardo. Then we wandered around, toured the market on the Cours Saleya and walked to Place Massena and back. After a lovely lunch we walked over to the Ascenseur to the Chateau and rode up to the top. We stopped to take photographs of the harbor and the beach, and considered going up to Eze on the bus. It had started to drizzle, however, so we opted for a bus back to Villefranche and a meandering walk back to the tender. The big disappointment of the day was that Fenocchios was closed. This establishment, which has 96 flavors of fabulous gelato closes for the winter. Since I've always been in Nice when it was open, I was disconsolate to find it closed!

 

We returned to our cabin and found the table filled with goodies for teatime… sliced fruit, cheese and crackers, hors d’oeuvres, and our daily tea plate from Paul, the butler. Every day around 3 p.m. Paul takes a cart laden with goodies from the tea buffet (small sandwiches, cakes, tarts, and cookies) down the hall and knocks on the door of each Sky Suite. Since we were rarely, if ever, “home” at that time, he left us a plate filled with whatever looked good. When we did get back, this table full of lovely food always beckoned. It seemed a shame to go downstairs and fill up on sushi (although we did a few times anyway!), when all that good food would otherwise go to waste, so we nibbled away.

 

In addition to the lovely food, we were thrilled with the bouquet sent by Anna (who had made note of our conversation the previous day). We were glad to relax for a while since we had another big day planned for tomorrow.

 

Tonight’s show (before dinner) was a pianist my husband and I had enjoyed on the Millie last year. He did precisely the same show and it was just as good as ever. For dinner, I enjoyed escargot, mushroom soup, Caprese salad, braised lamb shank with couscous, and apple tart with Ice Cream. We went to bed “early” at 11:45. The lamb shank was Reymond's recommendation and it was a good one... nice and tender.

 

Thursday, November 13 - Livorno, Italy

This morning most of the ship's passengers took off for Florence or Pisa (or both!) We were picked up on the pier by Giovanni Sirabella of Sunflower Tours, bound for the Cinqueterre and Our first stop. Riomaggiore, the first of the five towns, set along the coast. We walked down the steep road and steps to the lovely harbor. Stopping in some of the shops along the way, we then made our way back up to the van, which Giovanni brought down as far as he could to meet us. People often walk to the next town, but we rode because it had been rainy and Giovanni thought it would be too muddy. We decided to skip Manorola (in order to have time to stop in Pisa on the way back), and drove on to Corneglia and then Vernazza. Each charming and different, we enjoyed all three. On and off there was some drizzle and it stayed fairly gray, but at one point we were able to take out our sunglasses and enjoy a few minutes of sunshine.

 

Giovanni suggested lunch in Vernazza, so that is what we did. Off season, the best restaurant was closed, so we opted for another spot on the square. Robin and I ate pizza and Barbara and Diane enjoyed their pasta with pesto, a local specialty.

 

Next we drove to Pisa, a treat for DF and for me since neither of us had ever been there. We drove through the city and Giovanni pointed out various landmarks, stopping briefly in a beautiful square surrounded by lovely, decorative buildings. Then we drove right up to the Field of Miracles, got out and took photographs of the Baptistry, the Duomo, and of course, the tower. Since the rain was stronger here, we were glad to hop back into the van and drive out of town. Giovanni opted to return to the ship via the Via Aurelia (the first road in Italy, built originally by Marcus Aurelius. He pointed out the sights including the huge U.S. military base. I pointed out that along the road outside the base were prostitutes (posed in scanty clothing in the rainy weather!) Giovanni noted that many were transsexuals. That got everyone’s attention in the van – something you don’t see every day (at least we don’t!)

 

Back on the ship we had some sushi and ate some of our tea treats – so much food and so little time! We went to the show before dinner – tonight it was Mark O’Malley, a singer, who was quite good and has done quite a lot of work in London’s West End. For dinner I had crab cakes (I wouldn’t recommend them -- too much pepper; too dry and the taste of crab was overpowered if there was any crab in there to begin with!), cream of broccoli soup, a mixed salad with Roquefort dressing, beef short ribs and polenta and Crepes Suzette with ice cream. Altogether this was one of the weakest meals I had on the ship. Michael has my coffee order down pat – half a cup of decaf so I can add milk and have a latte. Our bar waitress, Tipwan (called Tippy) is completely on the ball and makes sure I stay supplied with diet coke at dinner (I always buy a soda card and make good use of it in the dining room.

 

Friday, November 14 - Civitavecchia, Italy

We docked early this morning. Since we weren’t going to Rome, we had a leisurely start and went down to the buffet to check out the waffles… still excellent! They have redone the buffet since the last time I was on the ship, reorganizing the sections in ways I think make it much easier to find what you want. Now they have American Breakfast on one side (Scrambled eggs, bacon, sausages, and hash browns) and English Breakfast on the other side (Eggs with streaky bacon, baked beans, grilled tomatoes and black pudding). In the middle are the eggs to order (fried and omelettes) and toast station. There’s always cereal, herring and smoked salmon, cream cheese, and fruit and a daily special such as a type of eggs or pancakes… in short, pretty much everything you can think of is available. The tea and coffee stations are now off to the side in the corners as well as in the middle opposite the omelette station. There are wait people everywhere and everything seems to be constantly restocked. Waiters are available to assist with trays and there are still trays with cloth coverings for the trays and cloth napkins.

 

Before we left the cabin, DF asked Paul if he could repair her carry bag (the handles were torn). After breakfast he returned the bag to her, nicely mended. We also asked our Cabin Attendant, Norma, if she would refill our tissue box in the bathroom. We found she had done so and had given us several extra boxes of tissues on our night tables in case we ran low – a nice touch. Norma was efficient and helpful throughout the cruise. All of our cabin staff were excellent – we came to value Paul, Norma and her assistant very much.

 

After breakfast we left the ship and found the bus stop for Tarquinia, our destination for the day. The visit to the Etruscan tombs was very interesting. We strolled around the town, which is a small walled city with some charming shops and interesting cobblestone streets. Opting to eat back on the ship, we walked back to the bus stop. This is an easy day trip and a great alternative for those who have been to Rome and want a more leisurely day.

 

We took the shuttle back to the ship and had lunch in the buffet. We both opted for the pasta station. There is a daily selection of three pastas, three or four sauces, a large selection of veggies which can be cooked with the sauce (including onion, mushroom, eggplant, tomatoes, zucchini, black and green olives, red and green peppers plus ham and nuts. There is also a lovely salad bar with three kinds of greens romaine, spinach and mixed greens plus sunflower seeds, pumpkin seeds, raisins, olives, cucumbers, beets, tomatoes, croutons and more and 6 or 7 dressings. Next to the pasta bar there is also a selection of rolls. Other lunch options include a Stir Fry section with various options, an area with Indian items (papadums and curries), sandwiches, soups, hot foods, and a grill station out near the pool with hamburgers, hot dogs, sausages, fried onion rings, French fries, and chicken. I wouldn’t recommend the hamburgers here – they are not cooked from scratch, but the hamburgers in the dining room on sea days are quite good. There’s always a gorgeous selection of pastries and three flavors of ice cream to round off the buffet lunch.

 

We enjoyed our relaxing afternoon and actually spent some time on our balcony. They brought the lounge pads but explained that the only pads they have fit the pool chairs and are a bit short for those used on the balconies. Why they have two sizes of loungers but only one size of pad I can’t imagine, but it really isn’t a problem.

 

After dinner most of the table group went to hear music of the 50’s and 60’s (where they managed to get starring roles in the Cruise Video). I luxuriated in an unhurried evening and a chance to catch up on my trip report. For dinner I had the seafood ceviche, the New England clam chowder, and excellent salad with endive, nuts and cranberries, Long Island duckling and chocolate cake with raspberry sauce ala mode. I had duck twice on this cruise and neither duckling tasted as good as it used to be on Celebrity. In the future, I think I’ll make another selection... note to Celebrity - better duck, please!

 

Saturday, November 15 - Ajaccio, Corsica

We booked a Celebrity tour for our visit to Corsica since I didn’t find any recommendations for private guides. We had to be in the theater for the 8:15 tour, but they were fairly efficient at getting our group out of the theater and off the ship to the bus. Two of our friends were with us for this trip so we waited for them in the theater to be sure we would be on the same bus (I think actually it was the only bus doing the Prunelli Gorge tour). I opted for this tour because everyone raved about the countryside and this was only three hours, which seemed about right to get a taste of the countryside and not spend too much time on the tour bus. The guide was Claudia, who was very jolly and really loved her island. She had a great sense of humor and we enjoyed her commentary. We got out to take pictures of the gorge, Lake Tallo (a beautiful man-made lake), various villages, flora and fauna and animals in the wild. The tour included a stop for beverages and snacks.

Back in town, we walked around and found nice shopping and a statue of Napoleon in Roman garb located in the Main Square. We tried to find Napoleon’s house, but after asking three different people and getting three different answers, we decided we didn’t need to see it and went back to the ship.

 

We tried the buffet grill (once was enough!) and witnessed an ugly exchange between an impatient passenger and the grill guy (who was clueless and didn’t seem to be able to speak English. This area needs work. There should be a sign where you order explaining that the cheese is located on the other side. Yelling at the hapless short order cook that you ordered a cheeseburger doesn’t work very well when he is incapable of explaining the cheese situation. When we were there the wait was too long and the area was understaffed. In addition to the burger (which I already mentioned wasn’t very good), I walked over to the Asian section and sampled a Chinese pancake with ‘Peking’ Duck (note to Celebrity – this is called Beijing Duck nowadays), a samosa and Thai fried chicken (which tasted just like U.S. fried chicken and was quite tasty. Chocolate cappuccino cheesecake made up for the burger shortcomings.

 

The sun was out, so we headed back to the cabin to enjoy the balcony. A brief nap, some tea snacks, and a chance to watch the sailaway rounded out our afternoon. We stood at the rail of our balcony sipping some cava and eating cheese and crackers… I might be too spoiled to ever sail in a plain outside cabin ever again! When you are at the rail of the Deck 12 Sky Suite cabins people above (if there are any) can see you. When you lie on your chaise (under the overhang) you aren’t visible. It's nice to have both sun and shade on the balcony.

 

Tonight there was a 7 p.m. show featuring Barry Linton, another singer, who was also excellent. His last song, “So Hard to Say Goodbye,” was really beautiful. Then it was off to Murano for our special dinner. We had invited two of our dining companions (who had by this time become good friends) to join us and we were delighted to see they had taken us up on the invitation. I had the goat cheese souffle (I don’t really like goat cheese, but always enjoy this appetizer which tells you how mild the cheese is and how well they prepare the soufflé), the lobster and shrimp entrée (which was delicious), the cheese plate with Compte Gruyere, Brie, and a cheese called Fourme D Ambert along with crackers, waluts, grapes, and celery and apple slices which I enjoyed very much, and the chocolate Souffle. We had coupons for specialty coffees, so we ordered cappuccinos.

 

Dinner was delicious and the service was wonderful. Petar Hrsak is a very funny man in addition to being an excellent Maitre D’. When one of our friends told him she’d like a dancing partner, he asked her which staff member she would like. She told him she needed some music so she could try them out. He responded, “Madam, music must be pre-ordered 24 hours in advance.” With entertainers like this in the restaurant, you hardly need to go to the shows! Engi, Carlos, Darko, and Bekir were terrific. We especially enjoyed chatting with Darko. (By the way the reason I know all their names is that when I asked Petar for the names, he printed out the list and presented it to me!) The meal ends with gorgeous petit fours and other little lovely delights. Completely full after dining in Celebrity specialty restaurants, I have learned to ask for these "to go." In this case, we were four people going to two different cabins. The packages (with extra goodies) were delivered to each cabin by the time we got back from the restaurant! I loved this meal.

 

Sunday, November 16 - At Sea

This morning we went to breakfast in the dining room. I enjoyed stewed figs and excellent Eggs Benedict. It was brisk and sunny out on deck, but we did a few turns to walk off some of the calories devoured at breakfast. Soon it was time for lunch, also in the dining room. Celebrity has gone to a system of dining room lunches only on sea days. On this cruise there were only two sea days, so we had to make sure we took advantage of the opportunity to dine leisurely with table service. I ate Frito Misto, salad, vegetable lasagna (which I didn’t like) and a terrific brownie with hot fudge sauce and vanilla ice cream.

Then it was back to the balcony. The sun was in and out.

 

I thought I would try one round of bingo. I used to go to bingo all the time on ships, but it has been downhill in recent years. This session was the worst ever. First of all they had the bingo machines, which I hate. I always feel constrained to get the machine since it’s hard to compete with the paper sheets against the machines. I had a supplementary paper bingo sheet for the final game (thanks to another coupon) and found that they had deficient paper...very hard to poke without tearing. I know these materials don’t come from Celebrity, but whoever orders the bingo sheets should make sure they don’t get these cheap goods again. Then to make matters worse, the bingo caller started doing TV show tune quizzes while people were trying to poke their bingo numbers. People kept saying “slower please” because they needed more time, but she kept on chattering and didn’t slow up much. The show tune quiz was very distracting. I felt sorry for the many people in the room for whom English was not their first language since all the numbers were called only in English and the whole arrangement made it more difficult than usual. This was my first and last bingo session on this cruise (and I used to play every session).

 

On the way back to the cabin we tried the pizza – not bad. Then it was off to the Captains Club Party where I found more friends. We saw the officers again… this is the most I have ever seen the officers on a cruise with the exception of the cruise where I got to have dinner with the Captain. For dinner I had shrimp cocktail, seafood bisque, salad, and split the fettucine and the duck with one of my tablemates (as mentioned the duck wasn’t very good—it was too tough). For dessert we had Bananas Foster with ice cream. Tonight there was a production show called “Dance Around the World.” I saw this show last year, but enjoyed it again.

 

Monday, November 17 - Gibraltar

We spent the morning on the ship so this was the day they had the brunch in the dining room. This is a new idea and is designed to replace the Midnight Grand Buffet. While I think this is a good idea, in execution the event doesn’t begin to compare with the Grand Buffet. They had Eggs Benedict and chafing dishes with chicken and rice, shisk kebob, roast potatoes, and lo mein. There was also a guy slicing ham, an assortment of salads, omeletes, sushi, Caesar salad and tilapia in a sauce. For dessert they had flan, puddings, brownies, jello, cakes, and fruit. They also sold Bloody Marys and Mimosas. I was underwhelmed. It sounds good now that I’m listing the food, but in actuality I have been to many brunches with a better assortment of food. There were a few decorative touches, but it really didn’t add up to the fantasy world of the grand buffet. Now if they had the old grand buffet as a brunch, that would have been special. This just seemed ordinary, but a step in the right direction since the post-midnight Grand Buffet was too late.

 

Following brunch I was invited to a Senior Officers Party for the Sail-In to Gibraltar. This was another perk for Select and Elite Captains Club. We were told to report to the theater, where we were escorted out to a viewing area which turned out to be a crew recreation deck. There we were just at the point where the front of the ship forms a “V.” and we had a great view of the Sail-In and all the ships filling the harbor waiting to refuel. Once again the bar staff was there passing around champagne... very nice.

 

When we docked at 1, our group of eight got a taxi on the pier and took off for the standard Gibraltar taxi tour. For 25 euros each, we were driven to the Gardens, the Caves, the Siege Tunnels, and the apes. It went like this: First photos and apes, then caves and more apes when you exit the caves. Next, we went to the siege tunnels, where there are more apes. Finally, you get to a spot where there are fantastic views and no apeas. We left the ship at 1:30 and returned at 5 after walking the length of the shopping street. We enjoyed looking in the shops, but avoided buying anything.

On board we were HUNGRY! So, off we went to have some pasta. Today they had wheat fusilli, penne, and spaghetti for pasta and the sauces were spicy tomato, gorgonzola, and napolitano and Alfredo. At 5:30 we were sunning on the balcony.

 

Tonight’s dinner consisted of terrine of seafood, minestrone soup, salad, sesame seared yellowfin tuna with rice and vegetable medley and chocolate cheesecake. This was not a great dinner. I chose the tuna because there wasn’t really anything I felt like eating, but the tuna was dry and tasteless and sounded better in print than it tasted. Others at the table enjoyed the almond crusted turkey breast. It didn’t sound very good, but according to the others, it was quite delicious...live and learn. I didn’t need any dinner at all and could have just had salad and dessert and been fine, so it wasn’t really a problem.

 

Tonight was what two of our friends, who performed and won a prize, called the “No Talent Show.” Various people had been asked to perform and this was the prime time show (not the 4 pm. variety!) Honestly Celebrity Cruises – there should have been some real entertainment. Our friends, who did a Swing Dance, were actually quite good, but the rest of the entertainment could hardly be called that

 

The No Talent Show was followed by a very nice dessert buffet in the Crystal Room. This was small, but elegant with some ice sculptures and fruit dipped in chocolate along with all sorts of chocolate pastries. It’s hard to believe, but I didn’t eat anything… I just looked. Tonight we had to set our clock back (which helped because we had to get up at some ungodly hour in the morning in order to report to the theater at 6:45 for our Marrakesh Tour.

 

Tuesday, November 18 - Casablanca, Morocco

Actually the alarm went off at 5:30 and we breakfasted at 6:05 – it was quite crowded in the buffet at that hour! Then we reported to the theater and sat and waited and waited and waited. I certainly wasn't happy that I got up at 5:30 to wait around the theater… We weren’t sent down to the buses until 7:30 and we didn’t leave until almost 8. I don’t know what the problem was but I think it might have been a delay in clearing the ship.

 

The Marrakesh tour had been recommended by others (but maybe they had better tours than the one provided by Celebrity). I don't know, but I do know that this day was not a success. Our guide was disinterested. He gave us a little information on the ride to Marrakesh and none whatsoever on the way back. We found out that the other bus got to go to the Hassan Mosque in Casablanca, but we didn't. The ride was interesting on the way to Marrakesh, but it was pitch dark on the way back. We had a captive carpet store experience (you can tell I was not happy with this tour!), a visit to the Necropolis, a visit at breakneck speed to the Souk, and a visit to the Behia Palace (which was quite lovely). Lunch turned out to be the best part of the day.

 

We missed our dinner time by half an hour and had to go to buffet (we were told we could go to dinner in the dining room, but we were at less than our best in both dress and mood and decided not to inflict our tardy selves on our fellow diners.) Because so many people arrived so late, the buffet was rather chaotic. I had cauliflower soup, salad, sliced roast beef, beef goulash and rice, chocolate mousse cake and then went straight to bed. We didn’t miss a show, because they didn’t have one this evening.

 

Wednesday, November 19 - Tangier, Morocco

This was our last port and our last tour. Today, we were signed up with the other Cruise Critic members for our tour with Aziz. We met on the ship and went down together. This tour actually turned out to be excellent. Aziz had a van that held 12 plus the driver and guide. First we saw some of the downtown area and then we drove out to a fancy neighborhood with lovely homes. We saw mansions and a private club. Then we drove to Cap Spartel, where the Atlantic and the Mediterranean meet. We went into the Cave of Hercules (and found it filled with vendors… no vending opportunity left open it seems!) Next it was on to the camel riding opportunity. We all took photographs, but only one of our group wanted to ride a camel. Then we drove through the old French neighborhood with lovely Colonial mansions.

 

For lunch we were taken to the Marhaba Palace Restaurant. I had the Pastille (Chicken Pie) and it was terrific. Then the group walked into the Kasbah and we made our way down to the stores, stopping at a community oven (where a guy placed peoples baking and cooking into the oven and placed the cooked/baked goods on shelves for their retrieval – each “package” wrapped differently for easy identification.) We were, of course, brought to Aziz’ favorite store, and then we went out into the streets and I got an opportunity to practice the excellent bargaining techniques I learned in China. Here the vendors were persistent but nicer than those I encountered in Tunis. DF and I made some purchases from a vendor who was very pleasant and not pushy.

 

Dinner on board the Century consisted of phyllo seafood cocktail, corn and chicken chowder, Mediterranean salad, prime rib (again excellent) and baked Alaska. This was the second Formal Night and the food was good. The show was brand new – they said it was the premier – and it was called “Liverpool Knights.” It was excellent. Unfortunately we had to give back the hour we had gained so we turned the clocks ahead before going to sleep.

 

Thursday, November 20 - At Sea

We again headed to the Dining Room for breakfast. Since I had enjoyed the Eggs Benedict every time, I ordered them again. Then it was time for the follow-up Cruise Critics gathering. It was smaller this time. Fabrizzio and the Captains Club Hostess Angela were there along with the Cruise Director, Matt. They took questions for a few minutes but then had to go to the general Q and A in the theater. I went back and did most of my packing before heading down to lunch. It had been sunny in the morning although very windy, but by the time we finished lunch the sun was gone. Then it was cloudy and a little drizzly, which was a shame because we had planned to sit out on the balcony for one last time.

 

For lunch I had fried chicken, salad and a great dessert – chocolate ganache and crispy caramel with ice cream. At four o’clock I went to the Elegant Tea (also for Select and Elite CC). Angela greeted me at the door. By this point Angela felt like a friend – she did an excellent job every time I saw her in making return cruisers feel welcome and valued, which is after all, her job. The tea was lovely. There were tea sandwiches, scones, cakes and tea.

 

This was the evening of the Cocktail Party we had arranged with Paul to hold in our room. Ever the perfect hostess, DF had hand written invitations to the 12 invitees, and we were delighted that all of them showed up. Once again, Paul had outdone himself. He set up trays of small sandwiches, hor d’oeuvres, cheese and crackers, small cakes and fruit tarts, and cocktail shrimp on a table cloth spread over our desk and vanity area. The glasses and bottles which everyone brought of the wine they had bought and not yet drunk, were arrayed on our round table in the sitting area. At 7 we all went down to the show, another sampler with various performers all of whom were very good. We stopped back in the cabin before dinner and noted that Paul and Norma had completely cleaned it up… you would never know we had a party in there!

 

Our last dinner had surprisingly slow service. The appetizer I chose, chicken quesadillas, was not very good. We had a very long wait for the soup course (Reymond said the oven wasn’t hot and the cheese hadn’t melted so they had to wait for the chefs to reheat the soup). After the salad course I had Chicken Kiev. This wasn’t really Chicken Kiev. It was fried chicken with a tiny speck of ham in the middle. It was tough to find the filling and I should know, because I hunted for it. We finished with Floating Islands with coconut ice cream – inexplicably the ice cream seemed to have no flavor – maybe they forgot to add it! We all lingered at the table, loath to say goodbye.

 

Friday, November 21 - Debarkation

We got up in the morning and went to the dining room for our last breakfast. For the road (and because I wasn’t going to eat lunch until at least 2:30) I had salmon and cream cheese and Eggs Benedict. We were pleased to see some of our friends, who came to say another good-bye. Then we went to the theater and found out our color had been called. We walked off the ship shortly after 8:30 a.m. … one of the last people off. Our luggage was easy to find and debarkation was a breeze. There was an organized line for taxis and we took one to the hotel (for 6.75 euros plus whatever it cost for the suitcase). I got out (to spend another weekend in Barcelona) and DF took the cab to the airport for her flight.

 

To sum up, we loved the Sky Suite. It should be noted that I had never been so far aft or so high up. The ship rode well in the Med and sailing was usually smooth, but there is a lot of vibration in the rear when the engines start up and we had extremely loud noise in the mornings when we docked. We really didn't need an alarm clock! Otherwise we both slept well and enjoyed being right above the buffet - handy for getting coffee and tea and sushi and ice cream! Of course, I will miss having a butler on future sailings!

 

The Captains Club is still rewarding frequent cruisers with coupons, only a few of which were usable. I did use the coupons for the extra internet minutes, the bingo card, the specialty coffee in Murano and the laundry coupon (20% off). As many have pointed out it's not so wonderful when you have to buy something to take advantage of the coupon. On the other hand, the Select and Elite perks on this cruise were very nice. I enjoyed the Sail In to Gibraltar and the Elegant Tea very much.

 

I also liked that Matt and the officers made a point of coming to speak with the Cruise Critics and the first CC party was really exceptionally nice. It would seem Celebrity is paying attention to Cruise Critics and that is a very good thing.

 

For her first Celebrity cruise and her first Mediterranean experience, DF loved just about everything. She had previously been on an NCL ship, and while she enjoyed that experience, she thought this ship and this cruise experience were much better. We both had a wonderful time and look forward to cruising together again.

 

This was a terrific cruise. The ship is lovely and looked good I loved the people I met on this cruise, both passengers and staff and the service was generally excellent. The port intensive itinerary was wonderful, but far from relaxing. You really need a vacation from your cruise. That said, I think Celebrity does a fine job for a reasonable price. Is it as good as it used to be? No, sadly there has been some decline in the quality of the food (I used to think every dinner was terrific and that's no longer the case.) On the other hand, there is so much food on the ship that there's always something to eat. I will continue to cruise with Celebrity and am looking forward to comparing this experience with a cruise on the RCL Explorer this winter (my first on RCL in a number of years).

 

Feel free to comment (but not to complain that I wrote too much!) and to ask questions. I look forward to hearing from you.

[JFontaine]

I love to read reviews and yours was great. Thanks so much for taking the time to write it. It would also be a great guide for someone going to those ports in the future.

[nps001]

What a well written review. I really enjoyed reading it. Century was the ship that got me hooked on X. We are sailing her again in February and cant wait.

[wiselindag]

Thanks for the feedback. It's a lot of work to do detailed reviews and trip reports, but I have learned so much from reading what other people have experienced that I think it's important to return the favor.

 

Lucky you, going on the Century. I hope you enjoy it. We first got hooked on the Zenith, but Century was my second Celebrity cruise and with four cruises, Century is clearly my favorite ship. I like the decor and the size. I have also been on the Millie, Constellation, and Galaxy. I hope to try out the Solstice next year if I can work it out.

 

When I get some time I'm going to also post the port reports on the Ports Boards.

 

Linda

[Azulann]

Linda, Thank you for a very detailed report. I was on the Century doing the same cruise in Sept. I too thought the CC connection party in Michaels Club was very nice. I agree that a port intensive cruise with only two sea days, can be hard work. But for me it was a trip of a life time. I like longer cruises too. You really get to know the wonderful staff. thanks again.

 

Patti

[CathyCruises]

It was very interesting to read this report as I did the same cruise last year in a Sky Suite (1233, which squeaked a lot!). I enjoyed most of the same experiences you did on board. Everyone was very nice and those cains and balconys are great. Unfortunately, and inexplicably, on our cruise they decided to forego Casablanca and Tangiers and substituted Gibraltar and Malaga. Since we left from Barcelona and were already stopping in Valencia, this was a little too much focus on Spain for me, but we did have a good time.

 

Our food was about equivalent to yours as well--some meals okay, others very good. Our CC get together was not until the first sea day, about 5 days into the trip, and they held it, of all places, in the theatre! So you could stand in the narrow spaces between the rows, or sit in the seats and face forward--NOT very conducive to a party atmosphere! By then most of us had already met, but I thought they could have found someplace else that would have been more appropriate--and no alcohol was served, just coffee and cookies.

 

Glad you had an overall wonderful time, as we did--it was hard this year to go back to a CC cabin on Summit after the SS last year!

 

Cathy

[wiselindag]

Azulann and Cathy,

 

Thanks for sharing your reactions and comparisons. I know the Century skipped Morocco last year... we kept wondering if the same thing would happen this year and were glad we got to experience the two ports there.

 

Yes, the CC party in Michael's Club was far nicer than others I have experienced and that is, of course, a much better venue than the theater!

 

Poor you in a CC!!! I have to endure a balcony on Explorer of the Seas with my husband and son next month. It's a tough life! Maybe some day I'll get to sail in an SS again.

 

Anulann, that is a good point about getting to know the staff better on a longer cruise. Between the elite Captains Club events and the two Cruise Critics events, I felt as if I'd gotten to know quite a few staff members, and of course, our cabin and restaurant staff were old friends by the end of the cruise.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to comment.

[meow!]

First, we should all be grateful for the effort you have made in writing such a comprehensive report. Having written long reports ourselves (e.g. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=785601&highlight=meow ), we know the amount of work that goes into such a report.

 

It is nice that you have taken a "sky suite" (so did we, as shown in our report on the same ship). If we had gotten the chance of a $250 upgrade to the penthouse suite (double the size of the royal suite and four times the size of the sky suite), we would definitely have taken it, at least for the sake of ever having been in it!

 

The first week of your itinerary was rather similar to our Barcelona to Venice voyage we took aboard Oceania Regatta in 2004, but the later part of your trip to Morocco was more adventurous than our previous voyage. We heard that the security situation in that North African country would be more challenging. We are glad that everything worked out fine for you, and you had a very nice trip!

[cinlo]

Hello, Linda,

I read your review with great interest, as my husband and I are thinking of trying Century at the end of next month. We just returned from our very first cruise on Solstice Nov 11 - Dec. 7 and had an incredible trip.

 

I have a question for you regarding food. I do a lot of research, and on Orbitz, where the restaurants are described, it mentions for Ocean grill, Sushi bar, Cova Cafe and Spa Cafe that beverages, wine and FOOD are offered at current menu prices. This confuses me--I know that alcholic beverages and specialty coffees are extra, but did they really charge for pizza, sushi, and hamburgers?

 

Thanks for writing such an extensive review, and thanks in advance for answering my question! Glad you enjoyed your trip, and someday DH and I hope to take the Med cruise also.

[wiselindag]

Thanks, Meow. I know what you mean about the suite, but given the amount of time we knew we would have available to spend in the cabin (very little!) it just didn't make economic sense. I'd rather put that extra $250 toward my next cruise. I have been in several suites (to visit) and don't see the value. We enjoyed the extra space in the Sky Suite (both in the cabin and on the balcony) and loved having a butler, but I'm back to a balcony cabin on the cruise we are taking in a few weeks.

 

Cinlo - There is no charge for the sushi, pizza, burgers, ice cream (in the Islands Cafe or the Dining Room), food in the Cova, and the Spa Cafe. There are charges for beverages such as alcoholic drinks, sodas, specialty coffees, fresh-squeezed o.j. for non-CC or suite passengers, and even special smoothies in the Spa Cafe. The only food charge on the ship is for Murano, the specialty restaurant ($30) and for certain items ordered through room service (such as shrimp cocktail if I recall correctly). That same shrimp can be ordered for free in the dining room.

 

Hope that helps and that you enjoy your time on the Century and in the Med if you end up taking those cruises. I would highly recommend both.

 

Linda

[cinlo]

Linda, thanks so much for your prompt reply. I'm watching to see if the last minute prices are going to come down a bit more, but will probably be taking that Century cruise on Jan 26. Thanks for helping me come to that decision!

Where are you from, by the way?

[wiselindag]

Wish I could go, too! We are sailing on the Explorer on January 2, but I don't think it will be as much to my liking... we'll see. I chose it with my almost 20 year old son in mind... hundreds of college students will be on this sailing from what I can see on the CC Boards.

 

We live in Nyack, NY, just north of NYC along the Hudson. How about you?

 

Linda

[cinlo]

Poor girl, sailing again so soon! What a life you lead, of luxury! At least you can get warm again in the caribbean for a few days! But really, you better try the Solstice when you get a chance. Although it was our first cruise so we have nothing to compare the ship to, it was absolutely beautiful, and we did go with a Sky Suite for this cruise. You are right, you can get spoiled having a butler!

 

I thought we might be on the same time zone. We live in southwest Virginia, about 10 miles from the Blue Ridge Parkway, in a very small rural community. We can be in Winston-Salem NC in a little over an hour for all the big city stuff when we need it. But we do like our nice quiet town, with one traffic signal! One of the couples at our MDR table was from Long Island on our cruise.

[wiselindag]

Yes, it's a tough life! After the January cruise I have no trips planned (except driving down to Florida for a little road trip in February). I need to come up with something exciting for the next round.

 

I worked extremely hard for 35 years to be able to have the flexibility and resources to travel. It's great to be able to see the world and meet so many terrific people. I hope I can continue to do it for many years to come, but you never know what life has in store, so my philosophy is to live as well as I can for as long as I can.

 

We did a short trip on the Blue Ridge Parkway some years ago. It was part of a trip we did to Georgia, the Carolinas and Virginia over the Christmas holidays. We went down 95 to Georgia, then swung over to Columbia, and then up to Asheville. From there we went through the Shenandoah Valley and then back up north. The reason our drive on the BRP was short was because there was heavy snow on the parkway and in Asheville. Our town is far from a one-light town... we have lots more lights and people but we are about 30 minutes from the George Washington Bridge (45 minutes to the Broadway area so I get to see a lot of theater). I like to think we have the best of both worlds... all that NYC has to offer and a pretty little town with lots of familiar faces.

 

I have been "watching" the Solstice for some time. The friend I traveled with on the Century and I might book a cruise on Solstice next fall that goes to Greece and Turkey. I'll let you know if we do.

 

Please let me know how you like the Century. It may be a bit of a "come-down" since it's quite a bit older and smaller than the Solstice... fewer bells and whistles.