Note - this page contains multiple reviews.

Name: Scott Gautier
Email: sgautier@mwe.com
Age: 31
Occupation: attorney
NumberOfCruises: 2
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: September 10, 1999
Itinerary: Mediteranean
Cabin: Suite Category 1
FoodDiningRoom: 99
CruiseDirector:
CabinComfort: 100
FoodRoomService: 100
CruiseStaff: 99
CabinAmenities: 100
FoodLidoDeck:
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 100
DeckService: 100
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon: 100
CasinoStaff: 99
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 98
TenderService: 95
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff: 95
EntertainmentLounges: 95
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 100
EntertShowLounge: 95
OverallPortsofCall: 100
BeautySalon: 100
EntertainmentPoolside: 100
CruiseActivities:
Casino: 99
AirSeaProgram: 95
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs: 100
DeckSpace: 100
Stabilization: 99
ShopsOnBoard: 99
SpaceRatio: 100
OverallCruiseValue: 100
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 22 Sep 1999
Time: 13:56:10
Remote Name: unknown-106-137.pilot.net
Remote User:

Comments

My wife and I have just returned from a 10-day tour of the Mediteranean aboard the Celebrity Century. In a word, it
was magnificent. The amenities, the service, the food, the entertainment, the crew and the ports could hardly have
been better.

We have only sailed on Carnival in the past and this was a total 360 from our previous experience. While the price was
slightly higher, the value on Celebrity far exceeded what we received on Carnival.

To begin, the cabins are beautifully appointed. We had a Category 1 suite with a verandah, which we received as an
upgrade. The bathroom was marble, with a jacuzzi tub and plenty of storage space. The room had a small sitting area
with a couch and table, plenty of variable lighting, beautiful artwork, floor to ceiling windows leading out onto a
wonderfully spacious verandah. Every day our butler would serve tea and then later return with pre-dinner hor's
deourves. Some of our friends did not get upgraded to a suite, but it didn't matter, they spent plenty of time on ours
and our butler always brought sufficient hor's deourves and extra glasses for wine and champagne!!!

The people on Celebrity are NOT constantly trying to sell you something. Obviously, if you go looking to buy stuff,
you'll find plenty of sales pitches, but unlike other boats we've sailed, every activity on the ship is not punctuated with
sales pitches, we really appreciated that.

Century's public rooms are beautifully appointed. I tried not to get my hopes up too much after looking at all the
pictures in the brochures, but let me tell you, the pictures do not do justice to the beauty of this ship. No trick
photography here!!! This ship is magnificently appointed from Michael's Club, to the Crystal Lounge, to Hemispheres,
and most of all the Grand Dining Room - breathtaking !!!!

The food- Michael Roux was on board for the first three days of the cruise. For those of you Americans, like myself,
who do not know who Michael Roux is, think more popular in Europe then Emeril and the Cajun Cook put together !!!
Anyway, having worked my way through college in a country club banquet hall, I know how difficult it is to serve quality
food to 2,000 guests. Through the brilliance of Michael Roux and the talent of the chefs on the ship, Celebrity serves
up the most tantalizing and fresh steaks, duck, lamb, veal and pasta dishes that you might imagine. And also
remember, we ate alot of excellent cuisine in the ports we visited, all along the french and italian riviera's, so the ship's
galley had a lot of heavy competition. I don't think you can expect the creme de la creme of gourmet cuisine every
meal, but you will not be eating wedding quality meals either. Many of the appetizers (the snails, oh the snails) are
outstanding, the soups are all rich and fresh, and the desserts- hats off to the pastry chef.

We were lucky enough to have Arif Duman as our waiter, a man who will, I am certain, be heralded in history books as
the greatest waiter of all time. I swear if you spilled a pot of steaming coffee on this man and kicked him in the groin he
would smile, wipe himself off and politely ask if he could bring you a fresh cup of tea. Mr. Duman was hands down the
best waiter I have ever met, and I have met some wonderful waiters at the Plaza in New York, the Drake in Chicago,
Hotel du Paris in Monte Carlo, the Oriental in Bangkok, but Mr. Duman tops them all. And praise to our busboy and
Oscar the Sommelier as well.

If you go on a cruise for the late night shows then I am not the person to recommend a cruise to you. Some of the
shows on board were very good. The bands and lounge acts were wonderful and the DJ in the disco was excellent, but
this is all superfluous. There may, in fact, be ships with better production numbers, I wouldn't know and I don't care.
The nights on a ship should be spent in the casino, the cigar-lounge, the martini-bar, the disco, the crystal room
(ballroom dancing), on the verandah, or at the pool deck parties (we had 3), sharing drinks and experiences with all
the wonderful new friends you have met.

Which brings me to the age factor. I am 31, my wife is 28, we were 2 of the youngest on board. However, there were at
least 15 or 20 other couples in our age range and plenty of young 40 and 50 something couples. There were plenty of
very elderly people on board as well and some of them were delightful and interesting, others you just don't talk to. We
met six or seven couples between the ages of 25 to 55 that we spent most of our evenings with and the disco was
always packed and the cigar-bar was busy, but we always got some comfortable chairs and a quiet corner, what more
could you ask for?

The clientele is sophisticated without being stuffy. Nobody was looking for anything for free and you got what you paid
for, although, if you live in a big city like New York or Chicago, I think you will find that the drink prices and certainly the
wine and cigar prices were more than reasonable. We bought rounds for our guests without having heart-attacks and
they did the same for us.

Don't miss the spa-treeatments, which are pricey but as good or as better than any Elizabeth Arden spa or Oak Street
spa that my wife frequents on land. The amenities and the professionals in these spas were fantastic and comforting.
The gym is free and well-endowed with stairmasters, rowing, biking, treadmills, nautilus (I used this really cool bike with
a television screen that lets you mountain bike, or road race, or tour the country-side, the pedalling was tough at
times, but the visuals give you the incentive to get up that next hill!!).

So, what more can I add, except that if sitting on your private verandah with four new friends (who had free use of our
verandah, not having one of their own), the butler bringing caviar and salmon carpacio with champagne and red wine,
the sun setting on the beautiful town of Villefrance in the South of France, having returned from a busy day in Monte
Carlo, the temperature at 80 deg., dressed in your Tux's and gowns, laughing, smiling and enjoying life, waiting for a
five-star five-course meal served by an attentive, attractive and wonderful staff in a magical ballroom with a delightful
orchestra playing in the background is for you, try a Celebrity Cruise. Hopefully we'll meet on our next cruise, next
year.

Thank you Celebrity, for an outstanding experience.

Name: Chareen Lim
Email: chareen.m.lim@yale.edu
Age: 26
Occupation: Student
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: 8/14/99
Itinerary: Scandinavia/Baltic
Cabin: Category 11
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 100
FoodRoomService: 80
CruiseStaff: 100
CabinAmenities: 100
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets: 85
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 100
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 98
GoodForHoneymoon: 90
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 95
TenderService: 100
GoodForSeniors: 100
BeautySalonStaff: 100
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 95
EntertShowLounge: 95
OverallPortsofCall: 100
BeautySalon: 100
EntertainmentPoolside: 95
CruiseActivities: 80
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs: 95
DeckSpace: 100
Stabilization: 98
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 100
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 02 Oct 1999
Time: 14:20:38
Remote Name: somdial47.som.yale.edu
Remote User:

Comments

This was our first cruise ever. My friend and I decided that we wanted to go a classy ship with a great European
itinerary and great value. We both did A LOT of research before we decided to book with Celebrity.

Embarkation - This went extremely smoothly and the whole process took less than 20 minutes. Finding our room
was an easy process since there were crew members all around to guide us. After settling in, my friend and I
explored the entire ship (from Deck 4 to Deck 14). We noticed (and anticipated) that most of the other passengers
were considerably older so no shock there. But, everyone that we met was SO friendly. We really lucked out with
our table assignment - 3 great couples that ended up getting somewhat protective of us because of the age
difference. We have to admit that we were a little skeptical in the beginning about having to make small talk
throughout dinner for 2 weeks but we ended up having so much fun with our table, telling jokes on a daily basis,
playing pranks with our waiter, sharing food, etc.

Cabin - To begin with, we got a free upgrade from Category 12 to Category 11. Though this is not a huge
difference but our room ended up being in a better location (in the middle versus the aft or stern) on the ship. So,
we were pleasantly surprised by that. Let me say that the room was better than expected. I've heard stories about
how small the rooms can be on cruise ships but this was not the case on the Century. There was enough closet
space and one of our favorite things was the in-room safe.

Activities/Entertainment - Well, as I mentioned before, the bulk of the passengers were considerably older than us
and the activities were definitely geared towards them. Neither my friend nor I participated in many events but this
did not matter as much since we spent a lot of time on shore and took the time on the ship for relaxation purposes.
As for the entertainment, we have mixed reviews about this. Some of the "Broadway" type shows were really good
and there was one comedian that had us rolling over in laughter but other acts were pretty dull. Since we were one
of the youngest people on the ship, we frequented the disco often. The DJ was hilarious and had us laughing every
night; he was also very good with our music requests. Oh, I cannot forget to mention the entertainment hosts. Not
an easy job but they definitely tried and we even got to be pretty good friends with some them (not too difficult since
they were close to our age).

Ports/Excursions - One of the biggest reasons we chose this particular cruise was for the itinerary and we have to
say that we chose a GREAT one. Every place we went to was BEAUTIFUL and the weather cooperated for the most
part. The excursions that we booked were worth the money except one (Rostock, Germany). One of the best things
about Celebrity was they provided free shuttle to almost all the cities that we visited (the only one that didn't have it
was St. Petersburg). Since both my friend and I were both on very tight budgets, this news came as a blessing from
above.

Food - Overall, the food was impeccable. I am a great lover of food and I was not disappointed at all. My friend and I
frequented the buffet for breakfast (whenever we did make it) and lunch. The selection was abundant. For dinner,
we dined in the Grand Restaurant. Dinner was ALWAYS good. Though I am not usually a big dessert person, I
couldn't resist trying all different kinds of goodies they placed before us (and our waiter always brought extra for the
table to share).

Service - The dining service was really great. The only thing to complain about was that our table was always one of
the last one to be served. We found all the dining staff to be EXTREMELY friendly and attentive. Our cabin steward
was great (and for some reason, we found him hanging around our area A LOT). Again, the housekeeping staff was
also very efficient and friendly. We requested a couple of things and always got them done right away.

Debarkation - Debarkation went very smoothly but what happened afterwards was a complete nightmare! This is
our ONLY real complaint of the whole trip (and this might not be part of Celebrity's doing). After we left the ship,
there was a bunch of us trying to get a taxi. What a mess!!! There was no real line and people were grabbing at any
taxis that they could. We ended up waiting an hour before we finally got one and the most frustrating part of it was
people who got off the ship after us got taxis before us!

Overall, this was one of the BEST trips of my life. My friend and I are COMPLETELY hooked on cruises. We were
really impressed with what we encountered. Definitely worth the money (and our research paid off)!!!

Name: Nelson de Barros Pereira Jr.
Email: nelsonnet@sol.com.br
Age: 53
Occupation: Civil Engineer
NumberOfCruises: 5
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: July 3rd, 1999
Itinerary: Russia & The Baltic
Cabin: 4124, cat. 7
FoodDiningRoom: 99
CruiseDirector: 80
CabinComfort: 100
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 100
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 99
CabinQuietness: 85
FoodMidnightBuffets: 85
CabinSteward: 10100
ShoreExcVariety: 100
FoodVariety: 100
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 90
LoungeService: 95
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 100
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 70
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 85
EntertShowLounge: 80
OverallPortsofCall: 100
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 80
CruiseActivities: 80
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities: 100
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 30
DiscoNightclubs: 80
DeckSpace: 100
Stabilization: 100
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 100
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 07 Nov 1999
Time: 12:46:01
Remote Name: ch23m45.sol.com.br
Remote User:

Comments

Comments

Embarkation was defined in one word: chaos. It took more than three hours to get to the ship. Staff organized lines and
after some time passengers were oriented to go to another line, then again to a new line, etc. The embarkation tickets
came to the terminal in boxes without any order, staff tried to find passenger tickets seeing one by one and after some
time they gave up and told everybody to get on without the tickets! More excited European passengers fought for better
places in the lines.

Our accommodations (Standard Ocean View) were very clean and comfortable, with minibar-refrigerator, personal safe,
a large window and many cabin amenities (I particularly liked the cotton bathrobe, which I bought at the end of the
cruise). The closets were ample, but there was no place for the small table, which we asked to be removed from the
cabin. The interactive Sony audio and video facilities are disappointing and need much improvement. Our cabin
steward Dominic, from Goa (India) was excellent, keeping cabin impeccably clean and made up, without being noticed.
The Grand Restaurant is beautiful with an elegant Old World atmosphere; the electrically operated blinds featured
outstanding views of the Scandinavian night sun. Our table fellows were delightful adding to make unforgettable dining
experiences. The food was very well presented, had excellent taste and was even more improved when Monsieur Michel
Roux spent five days with us. The desserts were also beautiful, very tasty and very good for chocolate lovers. Our
waiter, the Yugoslavian Goran was outstanding (The best we ever had), but the assistant was unskilled and had no
finesse. The Portuguese Maitre D' Luis Miguel was very efficient and courteous, always trying to guess our desires. Our
French Sommelier Dominique was polite and had a good sense of humor. The Islands Café for breakfast, alternative
lunch & dinner and midnight buffets are very informal. The Pizza served by the pool is surprisingly good. Breakfast was
very good with lots of fresh fruit. The Midnight Buffets were average and alternated with the Gourmet Bites (a few
waiters with trays of appetizers in some public areas). The Grand Buffet was beautiful and delicious but lines were long,
places to sit were hard to find and some waiters were rude and unhelpful. Michael's Club is a very elegant smoking
room with fine art work like an original Picasso by the fireplace. The video-cinema was nice and featured good films.
The shows were the usual Las Vegas style and the musicians of the lounges and bars where the weak part of the
entertainment and we really missed an intimate piano bar. The library is poor, almost always closed and you cannot find
playing cards in the card room. Medical facilities are excellent with very attentive personnel. The ship was very clean,
extremely well maintained and most of the staff was very friendly, exceptions were some waiters of the Grand Buffet and
the Captain's Cocktail Party, who showed great dissatisfaction in serving without receiving tips. Our Captain Mr. Ioannis
Papanikolaou rarely appeared; I did not see him during the whole cruise. He made one single announcement
apologizing for a radical maneuver to avoid fishing nets, made at 2.22 AM of July 13th, causing a strong inclination of
the ship, breaking all the glasses and china, which already had been set for breakfast and scaring the sleeping
passengers. The shore excursions were very good but expensive (tours: A Day in Berlin with Lunch was $ 295 per
person and Grand St. Petersburg with Lunch was $145 each one). Ports of Call: St. Petersburg - A city plenty of
contrasts with outstanding palaces and museums on one side and dark, badly maintained buildings (broken glasses
and windows, weedy gardens, no painting, worn out buses and cars and streets without paved sidewalks on the other
side. Independent sightseeing is not advisable. Do not miss Petrodvorets and Hermitage Museum. Helsinki - Very nice
city at walking distance from the pier. At the beautiful Market Square you will find flowers, fruits, vegetables, handicrafts
and buses and boat tours at the local pier. Tallinn - Beautiful City founded in 1154 and incredibly unchanged. Upper
Town with very well maintained old buildings, ancient walls and tower gates is amazing. Downtown has interesting flower
shops, exclusive boutiques and charming cafes. It is one of the most inexpensive cities in Europe. People are friendly
and very happy about the end of Communist domination. Copenhagen - City with contrasting architectural styles,
interesting museums and good shopping. The Little Mermaid figure is at walking distance from the pier. There is no
necessity of ship tours, you can get rap-on & rap-off buses by the ship. Warnemunde (Germany) - Very nice seashore
village with stores & cafes. The Berlin tour is extremely interesting in spite of being expensive. Gdynia (Poland) - One of
Poland's oldest cities, it has a wonderful collection of restored buildings, displaying a rich heritage of many styles. Very
interesting ship tour. People are also extremely happy of being free of the communists.

Stockholm - The amazing arrival is through the Archipelago, taking more than three more hours and passing hundreds
of beautiful islands. The city is also known as the Venice of the North, and was built on 14 islands between two great
stretches of water. Natural beauty and magnificent buildings. The Vasa Museum should not be missed.

Oslo - The ship docked at walking distance from downtown, where boat and bus tours are available. There are also
beautiful cafés, musicians and people dancing in the streets.

Name: Tina Johnson
Email: tinaj@sprynet.com
Age: 38
Occupation: Homemaker (prev.radio announcer)
NumberOfCruises: 9
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: 10-22-1999
Itinerary: Transatlantic - Westbound
Cabin: 8025 - Cat. 5
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService: 90
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 95
DiningRoomService: 98
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets: 90
CabinSteward: 90
ShoreExcVariety: 85
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 80
ShoreExcValue: 70
GoodForHoneymoon: 80
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 70
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 80
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff: 70
EntertainmentLounges: 80
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 95
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon: 80
EntertainmentPoolside: 95
CruiseActivities: 80
Casino: 80
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 99
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs: 95
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 22 Nov 1999
Time: 16:11:02
Remote Name: user-33qs18m.dialup.mindspring.com
Remote User:

Comments

Cruise Review - Celebrity’s Century Westbound Transatlantic Crossing October 22, 1999-Nov. 6, 1999

Genoa, Italy to Fort Lauderdale

Past Cruise History:

8 Cruises - Celebrity’s Galaxy (x2), Mercury, Century Princess - Sun & Dawn - Commodore: Enchanted Isle (x2) (Western
Caribbean, Southern Caribbean, Alaska, Pacific Coastal) We are 41 & 38 years old, Chemical Engineer & homemaker

This is not a detailed review of the ships facilities as this has been done many times and the Century is a glorious vessel
with comfortable staterooms and classic and airy public space.

This is our second cruise on Century, first was during the inaugural season for our 5th anniversary.

Itinerary: Genoa Italy, Ville Franche, France - Barcelona, Spain - @sea - Tangier, Morocco - @sea - Funchal, Madeira -
@sea x5 - St. Maarten, @sea x2 - Fort Lauderdale.

QUICK SUMMARY: This was our best cruise to date.

We can’t imagine how anyone could have a bad time on this trip. All our arrangements were done independently. We did
our own air and pre-cruise arrangements. PRE CRUISE

We spent a week in Italy before boarding Century. Flew into Rome, Oct. 16/99 - the scaffolding was mostly removed from
the sites after extensive restoration work throughout the City. The weather was cool & rainy, took local transit to many of
the major sites. Spent 2 nights in Rome before heading south.

Took the FS Eurostar Italia train to Naples, transferred to the Circumvesuviana to Sorrento. Had two nights in Sorrento
overlooking the Mediterranean. Visited Pompeii on our anniversary and enjoyed a picnic of local cheeses, bread &
sausage while perched on rubble in the ruins of an ancient wineshop. Delightful, sunny &warm day.

Took the Circumvesuviana train from Sorrento to Naples, went to the National Archaeological Museum and enjoyed a slice
of life visiting an internet café and local markets before boarding our overnight train to Genoa to meet up with Century.
We had a comfortable compartment for 2 on the overnight train, arriving in Genoa at 6:30am. Our hotel graciously allowed
us to check in early in the AM. In Genoa we stayed at the Bristol Palace for one night. It was a charming hotel on a trendy
strip. The weather was very rainy & cold so we spent the time preparing for our transatlantic journey instead of seeing the
sights in the area. We found a laundry service near the port so we were able to board with clean cloths. This is important
since Celebrity does not yet have self-serve laundry on board.

EMBARKATION Due to the rainy & stormy weather we had the day prior to departure, Century was unable to stop at
Livorno, the port for Florence on the previous cruise, so the ship actually arrived in Genoa the night prior to our
departure. Embarkation went very smoothly, arrived at the port not about noon, and we were on the ship before 1:00pm
and were in the first group Zero as we are Captain Club members. We were assigned to cabin 8025, Cat. 5 on Deck 8
Panorama Deck. The cold & rain cleared away for departure and Opus played up on deck. We were late departing due to
the Air/Sea passengers. All accounts we heard said that the passengers that used Celebrity’s air program into Milan did
not have a smooth transition from flight to ship. Delays, lost luggage, etc. - Air France apparently lost ALL the lugggage of
a group of about 50 people, for instance - eventually delivered later in the cruise.

Fellow Passengers were overwhelmingly Floridians - there must have been a push in Florida as there were many from the
sunshine state on this cruise. Ages mostly ranged from 50-60ish. Not many really elderly, frail passengers like you tend to
see in Alaska. There were some Europeans. Most passengers we met had 10+ cruises behind them, many were repeaters
with Celebrity, probably most of the ship were repeaters. Not unusual to find someone who had done the transatlantic a
few times.

PORTS OF CALL

Villefranche, France (for Nice and Monte Carlo) Due to unsettled weather, the seas at Villefranche were not conducive to
tendering and so after our arrival we departed within a couple of hours to head to another port so we could enjoy a day off
the ship. Passengers with arranged tours to Monte Carlo were quite upset and disappointed about missing Monte Carlo
and that night the casino on the ship was crammed full with folks that needed to spend some gambling dollars initially
earmarked for MC no doubt. We left Villefranche and sailed 4 hours down the coast to Toulon, a quaint French town with
a wonderful port. We docked a short walk from town where there were many shops & café’s. The day cleared up by the
time we docked and we had a sunny pleasant day in Toulon. Stephen went into town first and bought me a lovely floral
bouquet and a wine cooler as a vase. (Also, Celebrity now has a florist onboard, never noticed this on other sailings -
used this service to add to my arrangement) I’m sure Toulon will be a port added to future itineraries, it was delightful.
Barcelona, Spain

Century docked a ways from town, but shuttles were provided. Weather was mixed. Sagrada Famillia was a must, we went
there by subway and climbed the stairs to the top of the spires. Did some shopping along the Las Ramblas, and met up
with the shuttle just before it started to rain. Barcelona was really beautiful, and by all accounts has great night life, but we
were gone before it began. Next day was a much needed "day at sea". As we headed west in the Mediterranean the
weather steadily improved, with some fog & rain early in the day, but mostly good weather during the day. A light jacket or
medium weight sweater were needed in the northern most ports, but t-shirts were all that were required after Tangier.

Tangier, Morocco Took the first of 2 tours we booked through the ship. We both enjoyed Tangier tremendously. After our
tour, we had a guide take us shopping, I was insistent I wanted to look for ceramics but we got the "rug show" anyway. Had
mint tea and viewed many lovely carpets. Saw many people bringing them on the ship - boy can the Moroccans pack rugs
compactly! A 9x12 rug becomes a manageable square bundle. I bought some nice pieces of Fez pottery and later bought
a couple of little stone animal figures from the dockside merchants at the ship. This port was exotic but relatively safe.
Probably best to have a guide for this port stop and to keep alert.

Another day at sea - finally Celebrity has offered some good enrichment choices - we had a series of lectures from David
Aikman, a former Time Foreign Correspondent who had lectures throughout the cruise on various recent historical events
and figures. It was delightful and I attended them all.

Funchal, Madeira We were greeted with a double rainbow over the island as we gazed at the scenery from deck 11 - very
photogenic moment. We heard it was considered one of the most beautiful islands in the world. The ship docked near
town, but a shuttle was needed to get from the port area to the centre. Celebrity provided shuttles for this purpose. We
took a local bus #20 up the hillside to a beautiful viewing point at the village of Monte. There was a lovely garden and
path, café & a couple of little shops. Took some photos of the ship WAY down below it looked about this big:
<_________x____> from way up there. Lovely shops along the waterfront which was lined with parks. Bought another
floral bouquet of tropical flowers to bring back to our stateroom and they lasted throughout the crossing of the Atlantic.
Bought a bottle of Madeira wine (15 year old Malmsey) - at a shop right beside the ship. Those on tours said it was a
beautiful trip and everyone came back looking much cheerier than previous days.

The Crossing of the Atlantic - 5 days This was our first time to do it, but those on board who had done it several times said
they had never seen it so calm. It often appeared like we were on a lake, almost mirror-like in the mornings. I never would
have expected this. Had one dramatic thunderstorm that followed us for several hours and illuminated all the windows in
the dining room at times. Up on deck that evening we saw a waterspout - a tornado over the sea - it was mesmerizing.

Each day at sea was a delight. We got into the illusion that this was normal life. It was long enough to develop a routine -
wake up, roll over hit the Cabin Service button on the phone, ask for coffee & croissants for 2 and they’d arrive within 5
minutes each morning! Sometimes filled out the room service card and even hand wrote by the scrambled eggs with
cheddar if possible and lo and behold, it arrived as requested. Check the charts for our location, pick up the daily news at
the front desk around 1pm, have a cappuccino at Tastings, go preview the lunch or dinner menus at the restaurant…..
eat…. pizza…. read… stroll the deck…listen to Opus…enjoy the view from Hemespheres… After leaving Madeira, the
weather was mostly tropical, sunny, warm pool water, Opus played as the sun worshipers lined pool area, ice carving
demonstrations took place, etc.

St. Maarten Hot & Humid - sunny day, took our second of 2 excursions with the ship, Shipwreck Cove snorkeling - saw
some wrecks, fed the fish bread from the morning buffet, had a delightful time. The water was a bit merky probably due to
settling after the hurricane that affected the area a week prior to our arrival. Went into town, accessed the Internet at
Parcels Plus for $5 for ˝ hr. Wrote emails and read up on the news. We lost satellite TV on the ship so for 5 days at sea
we only had a glimpse of the news via the shipboard newspaper. Bought some souvenirs and tendered back to the ship
for our final port departure.

@ Sea for 2 days Choppy seas from St. Maarten to Fort Lauderdale, the roughest of the trip actually. We cruised east of
the Turks & Caicos and the Bahamas before turning west toward Florida. We were bouncing around quite a bit for a
couple of days. Never got bored on the ship, always something to do or enjoy. Celebrity delivered certificates to our
stateroom for each of us saying that we crossed the Atlantic, with our names printed on them, and "suitable for framing".
Nice touch.

Food Being a Celebrity cruise food was, of course, one of the highlights. The cuisine was the best yet, nothing short of
fabulous for the duration. The Grand Restaurant was a splendid setting for some truly spectacular meals. The alternative
dining, situated in the old Sky Bar (deck 12 Aft) was a pleasant venue for casual dinner from 6:30-8:30 (except formal
nights). The menu is always the same - fruit cocktail appetizer, soup of the day, tossed or caesar salad, entree choices of
Salmon, Chicken, Steak, Lasagna or pizza and Black Forest Cake or Key Lime pie for desert. Alternative dining is also not
run on seatings so you may reserve your desired time within the 6:30-8:30 time frame. It was never crowded, and service
was very efficient. Now in all cabin categories dining room meals can be served to your cabin in entirety during restaurant
hours. The only difference is that everything arrives at once from appetizer to dessert. It is wheeled into your cabin on a
drop leaf table. We did this on the 2nd of 3 formal nights of this cruise. Had prime rib & lobster and all.. Room service
breakfast has been expanded to include eggs, bacon, etc. and I really think you could effectively order from the entire
breakfast menu by writing in requests. Room service was generally blazingly fast, and the 24 hour menu has been
expanded a bit to include Chili and Soup of the Day. Soup of the Day even came with Bread Sticks!!

Fort Lauderdale - disembarkation We arrived on time, but were delayed in disembarkation. It was suggested that
inspectors from various agencies were on board because the ship was returning from Europe after a 6 months or so
absence. Health inspectors were also supposedly on board - this may account for the delay of dining room breakfast
service as there was some kind of holdup in the galley. We saw some Holland America ships in port - including the
Volendam which I was surprised to read when I returned was supposed to be leaving on its maiden voyage that day, but
delayed a week. Sea Princess was there also. When they finally started letting people off it was after 9:30 and we were in
the first group being Captains Club. Got off the ship, took a cab to the airport and went home.

Notes: The dining room staff were excellent, so were room attendants and front desk staff. Cruise Director Allan King was
a joy, this was our second time with him as he was on the Mercury’s Inaugural with us. Loved the White Elephant Sale an
auction of unwanted items travelers did not want to have to pack (books, umbrellas, jackets, souvenirs) it was extremely
well attended and Allan made it a hoot - enjoyed the Lectures by David Aikman, there was a full schedule days at sea,
they were well programmed. Entertainment was very good, much better than Celebrity’s past reputation. Movies are now
shown in both the conference room and Celebrity Theater (some projection problems in the Celebrity Theatre) enjoyed
Jokers Wild - an open mic joke session for passengers, got quite raunchy at times & Allan had to step in to tone it down.

Celebrity far exceeded our expectations on this one - Bravo!

Suggestions: Bring some foreign currency, learn their denominations and have a general ideal of the exchange rates.
Take time to learn at least some basic phrases, such as please, thank you, excuse me, how much is this, etc. in the
languages of the ports you plan to visit.

take care,

Tina & Stephen Houston, TX tinaj@sprynet.com

Name: Rose
Email: larosa99@prodigy.net
Age: 45
Occupation: Project Mgr-Communications
NumberOfCruises: 3
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: 11/14/99
Itinerary: Western Carribean
Cabin: 8170
FoodDiningRoom: 98
CruiseDirector: 97
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 95
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 85
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 95
ShoreExcValue: 90
GoodForHoneymoon: 100
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 90
LoungeService: 99
TenderService: 95
GoodForSeniors: 95
BeautySalonStaff: 95
EntertainmentLounges: 99
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 95
EntertShowLounge: 99
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino:
AirSeaProgram: 90
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 85
EmbarkDisembark: 50
DiscoNightclubs: 95
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 05 Dec 1999
Time: 21:01:59
Remote Name: peorb104-31.splitrock.net
Remote User:

Comments

This was our third cruise and decided to come back to Celebrity. RCCL didn't quite measure up to Celebrity.

Embarkation: We waited and waited at the airport. From Ft Lauderdate it's only a 15 cab ride. I would recommend cabbing
on your own. We would have arrived on ship much earlier and avoided the LONG WAIT once we arrived. I had never
experienced such a wait before. Plus you can probably get cheaper airfare on your own.

Cabin was fine no complaints and plenty of storage. We got our luggage early before dinner. But don't forget your carry
on just in case. You don't always get it quickly. Except for the smoke the first nite. We think the A/C was turned off for
some repairs and the smoke built up plus we were close to the casino. It was better later. The smoking should be more
contained and better ventilated throughout the ship. I think a totally non smoking ship is to the extreme but if you have
health problems than that's the way to go.

Dining was excellent. Food was hot and very well prepared. Our waiter Valdo and busboy Tomas were great. The
breakfast buffet was OK but the fresh omeletes were good. The lunch buffet had rich entrees I would have preferred some
lighter fare. Your light choice was salad of your making. Afternoon tea was nice if you missed lunch or had late dinner
seating and were feeling in need of something. The pizza was just OK.

Cozumel - should have had a beach excursion. It seemed like all tours were to the ruins and I'm not a ruins person. We
shopped and had lunch in town and had a good time with local music in an outdoor cafe.

Grand Cayman - we spent a nice day at the beach. But it did get sold out so book early. But you can also do on your own.

Entertainment was also excellent. Don't miss the shows or the formal dinners. There was plenty to do during the day and
lot's of different lounges to go to at nite. If you like to dance this was the ship to be on.

Actually overall I think the smaller the ship the better service. I can't imagine waiting for over 3000 people to get out on
port all at about the same time.

Highlight of the trip was Dunn's Fall climb in Jamaica if you can do stairs you can do it. It was fun with the group. Plus you
got to rest once in a while (waiting for the group) so it wasn't totally non-stop. We didn't get winded. It was a blast. Don't
forget your water shoes you can buy them for what it costs to rent them.

Good overall value and drinks are reasonable if you're from a big city. I'm ready to go again anytime.

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