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Note - this page contains multiple reviews.
Name: Tim Devery
Email: tdevery@hardwoodfloor.com
Age: 40
Occupation: Self Employed
NumberOfCruises: first
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: 02/20/99
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 98
CruiseDirector: 96
CabinComfort: 98
FoodRoomService: 98
CruiseStaff: 98
CabinAmenities: 98
FoodLidoDeck: 95
DiningRoomService: 99
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 97
ShoreExcVariety: 95
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 97
ShoreExcValue: 90
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService:
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 94
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 96
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 96
Casino: 95
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 99
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs: 93
DeckSpace: 94
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 91
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 97
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 07 Mar 1999
Time: 09:23:17
Remote Name: pcache1.netcarrier.net
Remote User:
Comments
This is the first cruise that My Wife and I have taken. We are celebrating our 12th
anniversary. I think it was a big
mistake going with Celebrity Century. We will be forever spoiled and never satisfied with
any other cruise line. We
sailed the Western Caribbean at the recommendation of our Travel agent. The First Island
was Jamaica. This
Island had the best buys of the three; we enjoyed the outdoor markets. You just have to
learn to say NO. I was also
suprised to see 5 to 8 security police on each city block. We felt save but alienated from
the people more here.
This was also the only port that searched your bags before going back to the ship. Later
we went to the beach, as
we did on all islands. The water was always the same, Warm. The ship left port on time and
sailed all night to
Grand Cayman. It is amazing how this ship arrives exactly on time 7am. It is like a wake
up call when the ship
nudges the dock. We had to take tender service to the island. This was one of their
lifeboats. I liked the ride over
to the dock for a change of pace. I think most people enjoy the ride but just complain
about being in line. The
island was fine; all we did was shop, shop, and shop. My credit card is still smoking. The
third island was Cozmel
Mexico. We took the Jeep safari to the other side of the island to see a Myan ruin and
spend 1 1/2 hrs on an empty
beach. The ride was nice and lunch was served by the ocean. I won't go into detail as to
spoil it for you. The Forth
stop was Key West. We have been there 5 time before. I noticed more gift shops and fewer
bars.
As to the ship: Excellent. We did not hear a negative complaint the entire week. I was
amazed how clean they kept
the ship. The cabin attendant had to have been through our room 5 times a day cleaning. We
spoke to seasoned
cruisers (RICH) and they said this is the top cruise line bar none. The food was very
good. In fact I do not think I
could find a restraunt in the Philadelphia area that even comes close. The staff was all
non us-citizens, Greek ship
officers, and I heard thirty other nationalities for the staff. We probable spent $5000
for the entire cruise,
souvenirs, alcohol, and island activities. It was not cheap, but worth every penny. We
might have saved a few
hundred bucks going with another cruise, but why take a chance.
Name: Anne Naylor
Email: aenaylor@tls.net
Age: 49
Occupation: CPA
NumberOfCruises: 6
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: 2/27/99
Itinerary: Eastern
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 95
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 65
FoodMidnightBuffets: 85
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 85
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 85
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 75
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff: 80
EntertainmentLounges: 85
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 75
OverallPortsofCall: 85
BeautySalon: 90
EntertainmentPoolside: 95
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino: 60
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs: 95
DeckSpace: 75
Stabilization: 85
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 07 Mar 1999
Time: 17:13:35
Remote Name: 208.10.219.141
Remote User:
Comments
This is our third Celebrity cruise and second on the Century. We have cruised on other
ships but have returned to
Celebrity because of food, service and value for the money. We were on the Century in
early 1996 and the ship
has aged well despite a few small problems, such as the broken Golf Simulator and Grand
Foyer Waterfall.
The food was very good all week with a nice variety, plenty of it and most times quite
tasty, especially the soups
and desserts. Our waiter and bus boy were delightful and fun but the service was sometimes
disappointing in that
they only had 2 tables to serve and I expected to have more of their attention. Our Maitre
D' Mario was also very
visible and friendly which has not been the case on previous cruises we've taken. The
afternoon pizza and ice
cream was a real hit with our group as it allowed us to enjoy the ports and have a snack
to hold us over to late
sitting dinner. Breakfast buffets were good but it would be nicer if they were open until
10:30am for those days we
slept a little later or were busy exercising. Midnight buffet looked good but we hardly
took advantage of it since we
never finished dinner until nearly 10:30 p.m.
Our cabin was an inside cabin on the 8th floor near the back of the ship with plenty of
storage space and a working
hairdryer that seemed to be a problem to previous cruisers. The idea of bringing an
extension cord is a good one if
you want to plug in a clock and still need to use a curling iron as there is only one
outlet in the room, not the
bathroom. The location of our room was a problem. We were woken several nights by an
intermittent beeping noise
but we could never locate the source and then the sounds of the engines coming into ports
were very loud.
The Aqua spa staff and treatments were good, not terribly overpriced but the sales pitch
needs to be softened
(were too pushy) by some of the staff. It's best to let them know that you would like to
study the material before
making any decision to purchase.
The Cruise Director, Simon Weir, was very friendly and accessible to the guests. However,
the entertainment staff,
except Christian, were not at all outgoing or friendly to the guests. They would walk
right past folks sitting on the
deck without even a smile or hello. The band, Vibz with lead singer Jonathan Hall, was
excellent…they had such
talent and variety in types of music they could play from Caribbean to Country to Pop to
Soft Sounds.
The casino had very tight slots and very few of our group spent much time there. It's not
too much fun when you
never hit a winner! The shops had fairly good selections but the changing room was
"out of order" which
discouraged any serious purchases since the clerk said to buy the item and go to the cabin
to try it on and return if
necessary! The photographs were terribly expensive for the quality.
The ports of call were good except that I would skip Puerto Rico and Nassau. There was too
little time at PR and
too late to see much of the island (we arrived at 4:30pm). Nassau just doesn't have much
to offer with the
exception of seeing the new Atlantis on Paradise Island that is quite awesome and worth
the visit. However, beware
that the Atlantis staff patrol the grounds trying to sell $25 tickets to use the pool,
beach etc. At St Thomas and St
Marten we hired a cab to take us to the beach rather than do an excursion. Our cab driver
in St Marten stopped for
us to buy beer from a local grocery store which was a very economical purchase as compared
to the ship's prices.
The Captain's Club investment for $35 is well worth the money. There were many members on
this trip so when the
embarkation doors opened around 1:30pm, quite a long line had already formed. However, it
only took us 15-20
minutes to check in and get up to our cabin. We were also upgraded one category and up 3
decks, but next time
we'll request a room more in the center or front of the ship. You may need to let Guest
Relations know that you are
a Captain's Club member for disembarking. We got brown tags instead of the early white
tags that were exchanged
without a problem at the front desk.
The evening shows were disappointing with the exception of Tienne Fu, Bad Boy Juggler who
was hilarious and
quite a good juggler too! The quality of the talent was not as good as in previous
cruises. It made it easy for us to
choose another activity during show times, such as a Josephine brandy and a cigar in
Michael's Club.
Overall, we are pleased to be back with Celebrity and are already considering a Panama
Canal trip next year!
Name: Tracy Smith
Email: woodlawn@tznet.com
Age: 40
Occupation: Office Manager
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: February 13, l999
Itinerary: Eastern Carribean
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 80
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 100
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon: 95
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 95
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors: 95
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 75
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 95
CruiseActivities: 80
Casino:
AirSeaProgram: 95
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 99
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs: 95
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 14 Mar 1999
Time: 18:36:05
Remote Name: tmf-159.tznet.com
Remote User:
Comments
This was our first cruise, so we really had no idea how things were going to go. We
checked out Celebrity's
reputation and read alot of the reviews, it was worth the time it took to read them.
Embarkation went alot smoother
than we anticipated. We got our number as we entered the building, and we only waited for
about 30-40 minutes.
We got to our stateroom and I was pleasantly surprised by the roominess. We had an inside
stateroom, 8102. Our
steward was Daniel, he was very pleasant and he always seemed to know when we were in or
out. If I happened to
lay down for just a minute, when we came back the pillows were fluffed again. Fresh towels
were always
replenished, plenty of amenities. I had read that I should bring my own hair dryer but
found that the on on board
was fine. Ladies if you have short hair it will be more than sufficient.
We were also told to bring a plug in for more
outlet use, and an extension cord. These were not used at all. We had plenty of things to
do on board and I found
that just watching the ocean was my favorite! I could not get enough of that beautifull
turquoise water. We wanted
quiet most of the time so we remained aft and found some really nice places to just relax
and enjoy some much
needed sun and rest. We had a late dinner seating and we really enjoyed our tablemates. In
most of the reviews I
read, not much was mentioned about the pitch and roll of the ship, the first night at
dinner we were the only ones at
our table. They were all not feeling well.
We enjoyed our dinner anyway and they all appeared the next night. I was
very apprehensive about the seasickness that I thought I would get. I had the patch along
but I never used it. I did
take Bonine and that took care of the little seasickness that I did experience. We had
some rough seas a few times,
but I found that I could just go outside and take in some fresh air and watch the water.
If it happened at night I slept
through it. The meals that we had were good, presentation was beautiful. Sometimes the
steaks were tough, and
so was the lobster. Everything else was really good. Our waitstaff was fantastic! Collin
was our favorite!!!! I will say
that the other reviews were right about the food at the buffet looking like it was last
nights leftovers, but I just call
that good stewardship! How can you predict what people will choose for dinner so of course
there would be some
items not chosen. They serve 9,000 meals a day! I would be dissappointed if they just
threw it out. Everything was
fresh and very well presented, I never thought of it as leftovers. The chefs are very
artistic! We did not eat at the
midnight buffets, we did enjoy seeing it though.
The Grand Buffet is especially worth staying up for! The Aquaspa,
what I will say about this is that my opinion differs from every other opinion I read on
the reviews! It was
wonderful!!! I signed up for a 25 minute massage and we were told we could come early and
use the hot tub which
was great! Never once did she try to sell me anything!! She was very good at her job and
it was very relaxing and I
would recommend everyone to get one!!! Excursions, our first excursion was at St. Johns,
we ordered through the
ship, even though everyone said it cost more, it was convenient though. I would do it that
way again. We did the
snorkeling adventure at Trunk bay, the beach was gorgeous, the surf was rough and they
gave us the life jackets
for free because of the surf. We couldn't see much because it was very cloudy, but we had
a blast learning to
snorkel.
The ride back was delayed because there were people on the boat that were not supposed
to be on the
boat, so there were a few people who were angry, the man in charge handled himself well
and allowed them to stay
on board even though he was likely going to be chewed out. The other excursion we took was
another snorkeling
adventure in Nassau. The boat was rickety and the people in charge had left some of their
equiptment behind, so
we had to go to the marina to get it and that took about 30-45 minutes off of our
snorkeling time. This time we saw
alot of fish and the water was great, we got back to the ship in time and still had
alittle time left for shopping. We
were hassled a bit when we were shopping but that was to be expected, we had been warned.
I would definetly take
this trip again, but would spend more time on the beaches. I felt we didn't have enough
time at each port, but
understood that we were on a time limit. Maybe less ports would be nice. Disembarkation
was not bad but we were
not as informed about that. We had an early flight so we were 3rd in line to get off the
ship. All in all we had a
wonderful time with some very nice people, and enjoyed ourselves very much.
Name: Lori Hardegree
Email: Westie404@email.msn.com
Age: 27
Occupation: Technical Support Analyst
NumberOfCruises: 2
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: 11-97
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 88
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 85
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 80
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets: 90
CabinSteward: 90
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 85
GoodForHoneymoon: 90
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 90
LoungeService:
TenderService: 80
GoodForSeniors: 90
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 80
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 85
EntertShowLounge: 85
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 99
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs: 80
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 88
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 88
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 20 Mar 1999
Time: 01:36:29
Remote Name: 1cust188.tnt1.atlanta2.ga.da.uu.net
Remote User:
Comments
First of all let me give you some background information on my husband and myself. My
husband we are both in
our late 20's and took this cruise to celebrate our first aniversary. We cruised on Royal
Caribbean's Majesty of the
Seas for our honeymoon and loved every moment of it. We could not have asked for a better
honeymoon and
could not wait to take our second cruise! We decided to sail on the Century on the basis
of a recommendation from
our travel agent who told us that the food and service on Celebrity is even better than
that on Royal Caribbean.
I must say that we were overall quite pleased with our trip but there were things we
wished we had been told in
advance. The most important thing was that there were very few couples our age on the
ship. As a matter of fact
the people closest to our age were a big group of teenagers who were there for a family
reuinon. The average
passenger was probably 60+ years old. At our dinner table we were seated with a couple
celebrating their 60th
wedding anniversary, a couple celebrating his 77th birthday and a couple who spoke next to
no English. Don't get
me wrong, everyone was very pleasant but we did wish we had more in common with our table
mates. After asking
one of the crew members I was told that the average age of passengers is usually early
40's with a good number of
younger passengers on board but that since we travelled on a holiday week (Thanksgiving)
there were far more
older couples---something that I wish our travel agent would have let us in on so we could
choose a different
week).
As far as the overall ship was concerned, it is quite lovely. I did prefer the lobby on
the Majesty as it seemed more
open and airy but had we cruised on Century first, we probably would have preferred her
lay out! The grand
restaraunt was simply stunning! We really enjoyed having lunch near the large window at
the back and seeing the
beautiful Caribbean blue ocean stretch out behind the ship. We also thouroughly enjoyed
the Aqua Spa. The
hydro-massage pool was perfect after a long day of walking in port! I also had a wonderful
massage on one of the
sea days---I would highly recommend this indulgence!
We had booked a gaurantee and were very pleased to discover that we were given an outside
cabin on one of the
higher decks. We had a very nice sized window and I enjoyed being able to look out while
relaxing in the cabin. The
cabin was beautiful, much larger than our cabin on the Majesty of the Seas. We found the
cabin to be very quiet as
well. Our cabin steward did a wonderful job of keeping everything neat and the bathroom
well stocked for us.
We had heard so much about how wonderful the food was on Celebrity ships and were just a
little disapointed. The
food was very good but we both felt it was a bit over-rated. The dining room staff was
really wonderful, very
attentive and anxious to please. They asked if we were feeling alright when we elected to
skip breakfast one
morning. One of our tablemates arranged for an aniversary cake to be brought to our table
on one of the formal
nights and our waiter wrapped it for us and had it sent to our cabin with a half bottle of
champagne. I can not
comment on the quality of food at the midnight buffet as I was always to stuffed after our
late seating dinner to
even try the buffet---but the Gala Buffet was beautiful and not to be missed (my husband
took almost an entire roll
of film of the food).
Our itenerary included San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Maarten and Nassau. I was not too
impressed with San Juan. We
did not arrive until late afternoon and by the time we went into town many stores and
attractions were closing for
the day. So we were left to wander around for a long while since we did not leave until
after midnight. The sail away
was not to be missed though. It was really a sight to see as the ship pulled away and you
watched the lights of the
city disappear. Our favorite stop by far was St. Thomas! We had booked a snorkeling tour
to St. John. The island
of St. John was so beautiful that we almost did not want to go back to the ship! After
snorkeling we returned to the
ship to shower, change, eat and head out to tour St. Thomas on our own. I had a ball
shopping (and truth be told I
think David did too!). We got 'stuck' in the Little Switzerland shop as I discovered that
one of the Waterford cystal
designers was there signing pieces. I went a little nuts here finishing our crystal
pattern and picking up several
pieces for Christmas and wedding gifts for friends (they were short a few pieces of our
crystal pattern and made
arrangements to have the extra peices held for us at their store in St. Maarten so they
would be ready when we
arrived). We also purchased a fair amount of liquor as well as the requisite tee-shirts,
christmas ornaments, and
post cards then began the long haul back to the ship carrying what felt like 75 pounds of
crystal (we sure saved a
bundle over state-side prices though!). One important note---traffic along the main road
to the pier REALLY backs
up so allow extra time to get back to the ship (we cut it close). I'm sure the Century
pulling away is a beautiful site,
but not one I cared to watch! Next we were on to St. Maarten. My biggest complaint here
was the tender process.
Most of my agravation would have been avoided if we had gone to get our tender tickets
earlier. Passengers
booking shore excursions through the cruise line got the first tickets (we did not book an
excursion here and did
fine without one)then it was a first come, first serve basis for tickets. Bottom line was
we waited over and hour and
a half from the time we picked up our ticket. They called you by number but due to
Celebrity's 'no announcements
over the ships PA' policy, we were forced to wait in the theater in order to hear our
number called. Once ashore,
everything was fine. We did some shopping and took a cab ride over to Orient Beach. It was
very relaxing once off
the ship. In Nassau, we booked another snorkeling trip. We were disappointed with this
tour. Angel reef was very
small and they had FAR too many people in the very small area, we were each kicked several
times. The waves
were so rough that I was uncomfortable at times (this had a lot to do with too many people
as well) and I am a very
experienced swimmer. There were times that the waves were so rough that water would splash
into my snorkle
which was quite scarry! Once we cleaned up and headed back out we were not too impressed
with the city either, it
was okay but no where near as nice as St. Thomas and St. Maarten. We skipped the
excursions in San Juan and
St. Maarten and felt very comfortable doing things on our own. If we had it to do over
again I would have skipped
Nassau as well.
The service on the ship was good. The crew was not as outgoing and friendly as the crew on
the Majest of the
Seas but we certainly never wanted for anything! I suppose that some might prefer a more
reserved crew but we
enjoyed getting to know some of the members on our first cruise.
All in all it was a very positve experience. I would recommend that anyone in their mid
twenties or early thirties talk
to thier travel agent about what type of crowd to expect on board (as I said, I was told
it is not normally a strictly
retirement age crowd like we had). There were a few families with young children and the
children always seemed
happy and entertained (as a matter of fact we didn't see them for much of the day when we
were at sea). We are
currently planning cruise #3 and though we decided to go back to RCCL, we definitly
considered Celebrity again!
Happy Cruising!
Name: Linda Cyr
Email: MABEAST2@aol.com
Age: 41
Occupation: Office Manager/RN
NumberOfCruises: 7
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: 03/13/99
Itinerary: Eastern Carribean
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 85
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 95
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 80
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 95
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 85
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 70
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 80
Casino: 70
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs: 90
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 26 Mar 1999
Time: 15:10:28
Remote Name: spider-to033.proxy.aol.com
Remote User:
Comments
This is a wonderful cruise line and was a marvelous cruise, so this review will be mostly
positive, with a few
constructive criticisms. We did our own air and flew to Fort Lauderdale the day before
embarkation, something we
do every time and would highly recommend. A good night's sleep is guaranteed that way, and
you get on board the
ship early, and already in vacation mode.
Embarkation began at 12:45 pm (ignore the brochure that says it begins at 2:00). We were
in a Sky Suite (more
about that later) and suite guests have priority embarkation, so we were about the 5th
couple on the ship!
Embarkation went very smoothly.
The one thing that stuck out so dramatically when we got on board was the absolute
cleanliness of the ship! It is a
beautiful ship, with lots of glass and chrome, and I could not even find one fingerprint
(and I looked!).
Our suite, 1210, was well thought out, with space well planned. There was plenty of room
for the two of us to store
all of our things- and we even had empty drawers. Three people could sleep comfortably in
a Sky Suite- 4 would be
a stretch and I don't think it could be done. The deck is huge, with a table, 2 dining
chairs, and 2 wonderful lounge
chairs.
Our butler and room stewardess were wonderful- prompt with our requests and never
intrusive. One thing to note
is that there are several amenities that come with a suite that are listed in Celebrity's
brochure that are not
advertised once you get there- I think they could inform their passengers better! Another
note is that the bathrobes
they provide with the suite are plenty big and very comfortable- not at all flimsy.
The dining room staff was also outstanding. The food was perfect- we had a variety of
soups, fish, pasta, steak,
lamb, veal, etc- and enjoyed all of it. The desserts were wonderful- and they always had
low fat options in all the
categories that were very tasty and didn't make you think they were low in fat. Even the
filet mignons were done
well! The presentation of the food was also wonderful- they really spare no expense here.
I will not comment about the ports of call or shore excursions- but feel free to e-mail me
with any questions you
have and I will be happy to answer them all.
The pool area was one of the better layouts I have seen- with ample sun and shade. Of note
was that the deck
chairs on the pool deck are padded- a nice touch. Bar waiters are always around but I did
not find them pushy at
all.
The Thalassotherapy pool was the only thing we tried in the spa (it is $10 a day or
complimentary if you are in a
suite) and it was wonderful! The lounges were very nicely decorated and comfortable. My
only complaint here is
that we would have liked a more intimate piano-bar type lounge. Also, the Century has a
wonderful sports bar- but
they did not show any NCAA playoff games (much to my husband's disappointment)- it showed
mostly golf and
soccer. It seemed like a waste of a good room.
One of our favorite places was the martini bar- which is open 5:30-8:30 daily. It's a
great place to try new drinks,
and the bartender there was knowlegeable and fun to talk to.
The only disappointment of the week was the entertainment- Celebrity has not mastered that
at all. I did not attend
any of the production shows, so I cannot comment on that. They did have a juggler we
thought we would enjoy, but
he was not particularly good. Duke Daniels (formerly of the Platters) sang one night and
was wonderful- but he
only sang for 50 minutes or so. They also had marionettes (called Stars on Strings) that
we walked out on.
The casino had a lot of blackjack tables (my husband won $200!!)- but did not have a lot
of video poker machines,
my favorite! Still, I managed to leave a siable donation- the machines were very tight.
All in all, we loved the cruise and would not hesitate to cruise with Celebrity again and
would not hesitate to
recommend the line to anyone.
Name: Scott Penland
Email: scottp@grove.net
Age: 45
Occupation: School Superintendent
NumberOfCruises: 3
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: March 20, 1999
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 80
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 98
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 85
FoodMidnightBuffets: 90
CabinSteward: 98
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 95
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 95
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 100
LoungeService: 95
TenderService: 95
GoodForSeniors: 95
BeautySalonStaff: 98
EntertainmentLounges: 75
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 75
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon: 95
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 85
Casino: 95
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs: 90
DeckSpace: 93
Stabilization: 98
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 98
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 28 Mar 1999
Time: 21:38:33
Remote Name: z1-7.grove.net
Remote User:
Comments
Just got back from a wonderful week in the Western Caribbean. We cruised the Eastern
Caribbean last spring on
the Holland America Westerdam. There were four of us including my wife and two boys ages
13 and 16. Had a
great time. We were in a Cat 3 room on the 8th floor. The room was on the back of the ship
with a window looking
out the very back. On our previous cruises, we had separate rooms for the kids and this
one we were all in the
same room. I was somewhat concerned about this arrangement, but it was no problem at all.
We had ample space
considering that we were not actually in the room all that much.
The ship is very clean and the staff goes overboard trying to serve. Em barkation and
debarkation was great. The
best I have ever seen. Food was excellent in all areas. We always chose the buffet at the
Islands Cafe for
breakfast and lunch and then did the Grand Restaurant at night. Servers were Ante and
Daniel and they were
wonderful.
Ports of Call. As many have said before, I would consider leaving Jamaica off. Dunns River
Falls was great but
thats about it for that country. Grand Cayman was good, but not quite enough time there
considering the time it
takes using the tenders. (also, the tenders were great, hopped right in and in about 5
minutes, you were at the
dock). Cozumel was good and didn't have nearly the hassle that you have in Jamaica with
vendors. Key West was
fantastic. Took the Conch train tour. I highly recommend this just to get a good
understanding of what Key West is
all about and to see the important sights in a short amount of time. (approx 1 & 1/2
hr.).
As with all the cruise industry, there simply seems not enough time at some of the ports.
I think maybe an overnight
stay at one or possibly an 11 PM departure time would help. Last year on the Westerdam, we
arrived in San Juan
at 7:00 AM and left at 11:00 PM. It was great!!
Shows. The shows were good, but I believe they were better on the Westerdam. They pretty
much used their own
entertainers each night and the shows seemed to all be alike. The Westerdam seemed to
bring on board different
kinds of talent each night.
On board activities. There were plenty of things to do alright. The pool area seemed a bit
crowded and made it
hard to be able to enjoy or see what was happening around the pool with certain
activities.
OK, enough rambling. We had a great time and would definitely book with Celebrity Century
again. It is truly a great
ship and would be hard pressed to be surpassed by anyone in the industry.
Name: Harry Johnston
Email: HBJohnst@SouthernCo.com
Age: 46
Occupation: Accounting Manager
NumberOfCruises: 6
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: 3/20/99
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 100
CruiseDirector: 95
CabinComfort: 100
FoodRoomService: 100
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 100
FoodLidoDeck: 95
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets: 90
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 100
DeckService: 95
ShoreExcValue: 90
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 90
LoungeService: 95
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors: 100
BeautySalonStaff: 95
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess: 100
ExerciseFacilities: 100
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon: 100
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 95
AirSeaProgram: 95
MedicalFacilities: 100
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs: 95
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 100
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 98
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 01 Apr 1999
Time: 10:06:48
Remote Name: so.scsnet.com
Remote User:
Comments
Celebrity Century Western Caribbean (Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Key West) March 20
– 27, 1999
By Harry Johnston
My wife, Rebecca, and I, along with another couple, Mike & Wanda, recently cruised on
the Century’s 7-day
Western Caribbean itinerary. Rebecca & I started cruising in ’96; this was my 5th
cruise and her 7th. Our other
Cruises include NCL’s Wind(ward – pre-stretch) & Norway, HAL’s Veendam,
RCI’s Grandeur & Nordic Empress,
and the Royal Majesty, just before NCL took over that ship. Mike and Wanda had cruised
once before, with us on
the Norway last year. We are all aged 46 – 50.
Overall Summary: This was a really great cruise; probably the best we’ve been on
overall. Beautiful ship, great
food and service, and pretty good entertainment. It’s nice that they don’t use
the P/A system to promote their
revenue generating activities like bingo. The passengers were a pleasant, well mannered,
and generally “classy”
group. The age mix was across-the-board, including young couples, families with young
children and teens,
middle-agers like us, and a moderate number of seniors. I’m sure it was spring break
in some places, so the mix
may have been a little younger than average for this ship. There were really no dislikes
on this cruise. In fact, the
closest I can get to a dislike is that it was almost “too perfect”, and had a
certain lack of “personality”. I don’t mean
Cruise Director Simon Weir; he was loaded with personality. But I never came to relate to
the officers or the cruise
line like on some other ships. NCL is the best at this. Their captains give one or more
reports over the P/A each
day, and all their officers circulate and mingle with the passengers. By the end of the
cruise, you feel like you know
them. Maybe the Norwegians just relate better to the passengers than the Greeks.
The Ship: It’s big, but not huge by modern standards, at about 70,000 tons and about
1700 passengers. Relatively
subtle in design; not gaudy at all, with lots of nice wood and a really good art
collection. The central atrium is
impressive but not as awesome as on RCI’s newer ships. It spans decks 5 – 7,
which house the purser’s desk, the
shops, the main dining room, and most of the lounges. Decks 4, 8, 9, & 10 are just
cabins. The pools, spa, and
buffet restaurant are on 11, with the disco on 12. There are three stair towers with great
elevator service. I wish
office buildings had such good elevators. These have a display that, among other things,
tells you where you’re
stopping next and why.
Air/Sea; Embarkation; Disembarkation: We couldn’t find good flight prices at good
times on our own, so we let
Celebrity handle it and everything was fine. The Delta flight from Atlanta was slightly
overbooked, but they
apparently found enough volunteers to wait for the next one. In the gate, Delta was
announcing that they would get
those volunteers to Ft. Lauderdale in plenty of time since most ships don’t sail
until at least 6:00. We sailed
promptly at 4:30. Embarkation was a snap for us. Our flight didn’t arrive until 2:00,
so boarding was well underway.
As we arrived, we were given a boarding number, but when we told them we were in suites,
they took us directly to
the “Suites & Captains Club” registration desk. We were on board within
about 15 minutes. I always try to observe
whether they allow liquor to be carried on board. There was a duty free shop on the pier,
and it appeared that
people were buying liquor there. I didn’t see any being confiscated, but we boarded
so quickly I can’t be sure. They
definitely DID impound liquor purchased at the other ports, and would not allow pick-up of
liquor purchased on
board until the last night. The on-board prices were high, too; I didn’t see anyone
actually buying any.
Disembarkation was fairly painless, too. As suite passengers, we were the second group
called. By the time we
went to late seating breakfast in the dining room, and back to the cabin to collect out
things, it was just a few more
minutes before they called us. The only rough edge was the long line for pre-check-in with
Delta on the ship that
morning before breakfast. We waited over 45 minutes, and probably would have done better
to just wait and check
in at the airport. There were no problems with luggage on either end.
Food; Dining Rooms: The Grand Dining Room on decks 5 & 6 aft is appropriately named;
it’s the most beautiful
and impressive dining room I can imagine on any ship. We had a fantastic table for 8
(#530), right in the center of
the lower level. Our waiter, John from the Dominican Republic, was the best we've ever
had, and that's saying a lot.
Personable, professional, and good-looking (this per the ladies). No solicitation for tips
or ratings; just a reminder
to complete the comment card. Our busboy, Jeronimo from India, was relatively new but also
very good. The food
was the best we’ve had on any cruise, and that’s also saying a lot. It
wasn’t so much that any one thing was that
fantastic; it’s just that everything was very good. The beef and veal were
surprisingly good, though the N.Y. strip
was a little tough (as they tend to be) and the roast the first night was a little fatty.
The lobster and fish were great.
Don’t miss the trout & salmon en croute, an easily overlooked dish that was the
best we had. The much-discussed
vibration was present sometimes in the dining room, but it wasn’t as bad as I had
heard (no dishes rattling off
tables). We had late seating; it may have been worse in the early evening. A career navy
guy told me it was
cavitation, which is bubbles forming and collapsing against the propeller blades due to
pressure. He said it’s worst
during acceleration and at high speed, when the pressure is greatest. He also said that
well-designed props can
minimize it. One night when it was especially noticeable, the dining room manager made a
call and it stopped. They
apparently do work to control it. Up on deck 11, just aft of the pool area, is the huge
Islands Café buffet restaurant.
It has 4 serving areas so the lines are never long. We’re not really into buffets,
but we ate lunch there a couple of
times and it was very good. They appeared to serve mostly the same lunch items as the main
dining room.
Breakfast looked good, though I never actually tried it. They serve ice cream in the
afternoons and pizza late at
night. The buffet is not open for dinner. There’s a nice shaded-but-open area aft of
the café that most people don’t
seem to discover for several days. By the pools are two grill areas, with good hamburgers
and hot dogs, as well as
something else each day like ribs or pasta. They try to close the grills by 3:00, but one
day when lots of people
were coming back from shore excursions around that time, they stayed open until everyone
was served. Nice
service touch. They also serve pizza there in the late afternoons. There’s a drink
station between the two grills,
where you can get lemonade, fruit punch, ice water, coffee, and tea MOST of the time. The
alternative dinner
restaurant I’d been hearing about was NOT open yet. The Sky Bar, on deck 12 aft above
the Islands Café, was
closed for conversion into this restaurant, but little or no progress seemed to have been
made on it.
Lounges; Entertainment: Overall, the lounges were very nice and the entertainment pretty
good. The only problem
for us was that we found ourselves too old for the disco but too young for the Sonny Rose
Band in the Crystal
Room, and we couldn’t find anything in between. I know it’s rare to find such a
“perfect fit” in cruise entertainment,
but we got a little spoiled on the Norway, where they literally had something for
everyone. The Celebrity Theater is
forward on 6 & 7. It’s an attractive room, but the balcony “wings” on
each side don’t have great views and partially
obstruct some of the seats below them. Only the main center section has a really good
view. But we never had a
problem getting a good seat, even when we arrived at the last minute. Seating is
“sofa-row style” with little drink
tables every 8 ft. ft so. The Celebrity Singers & Dancers were as talented as most
we’ve seen, but the staging
didn’t appeal to us as much. It depended heavily on video and pyrotechnics in lieu of
traditional scenery. Some
people might really like it. They had a pretty good juggler/comedian a couple of times.
One night they featured
singer Duke Daniels, formerly of the Platters. You really wanted to like the guy, but he
absolutely doesn’t have the
voice for Platters music any more. He did a little better on other songs. The Crystal
Room, on deck 7 aft, is a fairly
large, beautiful lounge that featured the Sonny Rose band nightly. They were really
versatile and very good, but
definitely a lounge-lizard act. Sonny’s specialty was Frank Sinatra and similar
stuff. But he did a pretty good Elvis
and Chuck Berry on 50s & 60s night. Cruise Director Simon also sang lead on a couple
of those songs and was
amazing. Another night, the horn section of the Celebrity Orchestra sat in with them for a
“Big Band” night.
Rendezvous Square on deck 7 midship is an “open” lounge area used for low-key
entertainment, art auctions, etc.
They usually had a keyboard & string duo in there for dancing in the evening.
“Images” is a smaller lounge, named
for its many TV screens of every size. The casino on deck 6 looked nice and wasn’t
too crowded or smoky. For the
first time, I didn’t place a single bet. The pool band, Vibz (Vibes) from St. Lucia,
was pretty good. But rather than
doing real Caribbean music, they did pop tunes and even some country songs, with a slight
Caribbean accent. I’d
rather have steel drums or reggae. The Horizon Disco up on deck 12 forward is as nice as
any I’ve seen. They
held a showy “Raising the Dome” event (every night?) around midnight to kick off
the action. They literally raise a
hemispherical dome from the dance floor up into the ceiling, accompanied by smoke and
dramatic music & dance.
Most nights they played recorded music aimed at the generation X-ers. Sometimes the pool
band would play,
though we never actually caught their act in there. Possibly that would have provided the
“baby boomer” music we
were looking for.
Pools; Spa: On Deck 11 are the twin pools and 4 hot tubs. Like all ships, the pool area
gets crowded on sea days;
it was really hard to find two lounge chairs together. The lounge chairs are great, with
cushions and cloth covers
that they remove and wash periodically. There were usually chairs available on deck 12
overlooking the pool, but
they don’t have the cushions & covers. The pools and hot tubs are salt water, and
closed shortly after 6:00 each
evening. Unlike the slightly newer Galaxy and Mercury, the Century doesn’t have a
second pool area aft with a
retractable roof. Forward on deck 11 is a really nice spa, with a fabulous
“Thalasotherapy” (sp?) pool. It’s warm
salt/mineral water, with bubbles, currents, and jets designed for massaging and
relaxation. There’s a $10 per day
charge for that pool, sauna, and steam room, but it’s complimentary for suite
passengers. Rebecca found the
Steiners’ personnel there to be the best on any ship (less snooty; more genuinely
helpful). The exercise gym is
free for everyone, and is also exceptionally nice. It wraps around the spa in a
‘U’ shape, with almost every workout
station facing a great ocean view. The ship lacks a full-circuit promenade deck. You can
make a ¾ circuit on a nice
teak deck, but you have to go up and down a set of stairs even for that. There’s a
track on the top deck aft, around
the smokestack, but it’s labeled “No Jogging”, apparently for the benefit
of the suite passengers below (that
included us, so we weren’t complaining). We assumed that track was for walking only.
There’s a similar, but even
smaller, track on the top deck forward above the disco that IS used for jogging.
Cabins: We were in Sky Suites 1200 and 1201, the forward-most in this group of cabins on
each side of the ship,
just behind the pool-overlook deck. We had originally booked aft-facing Category 2 balcony
rooms on a guarantee,
at our T/A’s suggestion. The Century has only those 9 Cat 2’s, and they accept 9
specific reservations plus 9
guarantees. So if you book the guarantee, you’re almost certain to be upgraded. (Many
more Cat 2’s were added
on the newer Galaxy & Mercury.) The Sky Suites are all on Deck 12, and are really
nice. They’re a lot like the P3
suites we had on the Norway, only newer & fresher, and slightly larger. They’re
about 14X18 ft., including very
generous closet & drawer space and a 5X8 ft. marble bath with whirlpool tub. Most have
about 14X10 ft. balconies,
with the inner 7 ft. covered and the outer 3 ft. open above. They have metal partitions
between them, but it’s easy
to see around the partitions when leaning on the rail. People on the walking track above
can also see down into
the uncovered outer portion. The balconies of our two cabins (1200 & 1201) are about 4
ft. shallower (window to
rail) than the others, with that space taken from the covered portion. And their position
adjacent to the
pool-overlook deck, especially with that deck angling outward as it goes forward, makes
them less private than the
others, both from the front and from above. Given our upgrade, we certainly weren’t
complaining. But if I were
paying full price, I’d want one of the other suites. Our location did give us a great
view of a medical evacuation by
helicopter on the last at-sea day (Thursday). It was staged on the pool overlook, just
forward of cabin 1201. The
helicopter came literally within 50 feet of our balcony. They had cleared the outside
decks, but couldn’t really make
us stay inside. We got some great pictures. We were thoroughly impressed with the skill
and professionalism of
both the Century crew and the Coast Guard helicopter crew in carrying out this delicate
operation. They knew
exactly what they were doing. By the way, I’ve often heard this type of
“medivacuation” discussed as the most
important reason to buy cruise insurance, since it’s reported to cost up to $30,000.
But I checked with Blue Cross
HMO (my insurance provider through work), and they told me they cover that and anything
else necessary related
to a medical emergency, no matter where it happens. And this is a pretty standard plan.
Cabin service was
fantastic. Our stewardess, Alexandra from Poland, was pleasant and efficient. But the real
treat was Salvador, our
butler from India (part of the “suite treatment”). He brought our room-service
breakfasts with full white glove, white
linen treatment. The printed breakfast menu was fairly extensive, but we decided to
challenge them by writing in
eggs benedict, and it was “no problem”, just like everything else. Salvador also
brought afternoon tea, early
evening hors d’oevures, and anything else we wanted. We just dialed the cabin service
operator and told her what
we needed, and Salvador would appear with it almost immediately. WELL worth the generous
tip we left him.
Ports: The first stop was Ocho Rios, Jamaica. Commodore’s Enchanted Isle was there
with us. We’d heard how
difficult the locals could be, and Wanda really wanted to see some of the island, so we
booked the highlights tour
through the ship ($35pp). It was pretty good, including the fern gully, the botanical
garden, Dunn’s River Falls, and
a shopping stop at the “Taj Mahal”. It’s amazing how hard it looks to climb
the falls and how easy it really is once
you know where to step. We were looking for Waterford goblets, and agreed to by some at
$41.25 each at the Taj
Mahal (vs. $55+tax here), only to find they were out of stock. The locals were pretty
insistent at their shopping
“arcade” leaving the falls, but not as bad as I had been led to believe. The NCL
Wind and the Regal Empress were
with us in Grand Cayman the next day. We booked our own Stingray City excursion through a
vendor on the pier
($25 pp). “Captain Romell” seemed a little fly-by-night, but that added to the
adventure, and I think we enjoyed it
more than a big boat with lots of people. The Stingrays really are amazing; they look so
fierce and are actually so
gentle. The best deal we could find on the Waterford goblets was $44 (we passed). There
were 8 ships in
Cozumel, including NCL’s Wind & Sea, Royal Olympic’s Stella Solaris,
Carnival’s Ecstasy and Sensation(?), the
Regal Empress, and Celebrity’s Zenith. We could also see the Mercury and a smaller
ship (the Enchanted Isle?)
docked across the water at the mainland (I’m not clear whether that’s Calica,
Roatan, or Playa del Carmen).
Needless to say, Cozumel was crowded. We rented a jeep from Avis for the day ($82.50 w/
tax). We bought the
goblets for $39 each and declared Cozumel the shopping capitol of the Western Caribbean. I
had a merchant
down to $175 on a pair of full alligator boots, but didn’t buy because I
couldn’t get a good fit. Boots like that can
easily cost $1000 here. We had a snack and margaritas at Carlos & Charlies before it
got too crowded, and then
drove around to the beaches on the other side. They are absolutely beautiful and virtually
deserted. It’s amazing to
see miles of magnificent beachfront property with nothing on it. I’ve already
mentioned the excitement of the
air-extraction the next day at sea (see “cabins”, above). On Friday, we were in
Key West, along with the Regal
Empress. We took the Conch Train tour (pretty good @ $18 pp) and went to Mel Fisher’s
Museum (probably not
worth the $7.50 pp) and the Audubon House (worth the $7.00, we thought). We also ate and
drank at Sloppy Joes,
where the food was good and the Key Lime margaritas were great but a little expensive at
$6.50.
Overall, it was a really great cruise and we’d be delighted to cruise again on the
Century or another Celebrity ship.
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