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Name: Richard Mayer
Email: RLM1960@AOL.com
Age: 47
Occupation: lawyer
NumberOfCruises: 4
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: August 30 , 1997
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 80
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets: 90
CabinSteward: 90
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 85
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 95
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors: 95
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 80
OverallPortsofCall: 85
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 80
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs: 80
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 100
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 92
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 07 Sep 1997
Time: 09:06:01
Remote Name: 152.163.197.219
Remote User:
Comments
I have been on four cruises and my experiences on the Century were the best. When we
arrived at the dock in Port
Everglades our luggage was taken from us and we were given a number . Groups were allowed
to get on the ship by number
and although this procedure did take some time it was orderly and there were no major
problems. After the cruise, the
procedure was similar and once our number was called, we were off the ship and had our
luggage within ten minutes. Cabs
and buses were already there. The only problem was that there were no orderly lines and
tempers did heat up. Century
could easily fix this problem and it was minor.
I have been on three other ships which include the Zenith, Imagination and the Monarch.
All of the prior ships were beautiful
and the Century was no exception. The Century was the richest looking ship and beautiful
wood was all over the ship. Marble
was also used quite a bit. The ship was a class act. The Imagination was also beautiful
but it was bold and glitsy and colorful,
while the Century was more elegant .
The ports are the ports and no matter what ship you are on it really does not matter. If
you like to shop St. Thomes and St.
Martin are great. If you like to snorkle you should go over to St. John, which is a short
boat ride from St. Thomas. The
snorkeling was fun and the beaches on St. John were beautiful.
I have heard that the entertainment on Century was poor. I have to disagree. The
entertainment was perfectly geared for the
passengers on the ship. It is an older croud and when I say older although at 47 I do not
consider myself a kid , I was young
on this ship.. There were many people younger than me and in fact we had our three
children with us who are 22,18 and 16.
And there were many other families with children as well, but the majority of passengers
were probably over 50 and many
were over 70. There were two major production shows. The first one was fair and the second
one had alot of energy and was
good. There was a juggler who also did comedy and he was really quite good. There was also
a singer for another show and
a comedi;an for a different show. I thought that both the singer and comedian were very
good. Their humor and singing were
geared towards a older croud and they loved it. In fact they both got standing ovations.
Now I must say that I felt these
entertainers were more opening acts than headliners and I can also say that the production
shows were not of Las Vegas
quality--- not even close. This being said, the entertainment was decent and the older
crowd loved it. I must say that I did not
love the entertainment as much as the seniors did, but it was good entertainment and
certainly worth seeing. Theproduction
show entertainment was not as good as we saw on Carnival or Royal Caribbean, but no bad by
any means.
The other entertaiinment that was in the lounges and other areas of the ship was very
good. Unlike the lounge entertainment
on Carnival, my wife and I were actually able to dance to the music on Century.
Although our childreen were almost to old to be in the kids programs it appeared that the
kids programs were good and I
would recommend this ship to families.
The Century and the Zenith are way ahead of the other ships we sailed on in two
departments and they are service and food.
The overall quality of the food is very good. Maybe not the quality of a fine restaurant
each and every night, but extremely
good when you consider they are feeding 1800 people. There is no question the food was
better than Carnival and a bit
better than Royal Caribbean.
The ship was spotless. I have never seen so many people cleaning, You could eat off the
floor of this ship. I don't know what
else I can say other than the ship rates 100+ in this area.
If you are a family with young kids this ship would be great for you. And if you are a
baby boomer or older this ship would
also be an excellent choice. If you are looking for a a relaxing cruise with mellow music
and great food and service,this cruise
is also for you. If you are looking for some great deck parties this ship is also for you.
But if you are looking for a wild time
every night with lots of neon lights and drunken parties you are probably looking for a
different line. Yes, there are things that
I can complain about, but I won't . The overall cruise experience on this ship was
excellent. I did hear someone complain
because they ran out of coffee cups for 6 minutes and I heard a lady bent out of shape
because on the last day of the cruise
they ran out of a certain kind of fruit. Lets be real people. You go on a cruise to relax
and have fun and be entertained. Other
than minor flaws the Century has it all. Have a great cruise. Century did exceed my
expectations.
Name: Richard Palmiere
Email: rich_palmiere@ey.com
Age: 32
Occupation: Technology Buyer
NumberOfCruises: 5
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: August 30, 1997
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 80
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 90
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 85
DiningRoomService: 90
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets: 85
CabinSteward: 75
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 85
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 85
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 95
EntertShowLounge: 89
OverallPortsofCall: 80
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 80
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs: 85
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 09 Sep 1997
Time: 20:47:42
Remote Name: 199.50.26.6
Remote User:
Comments
Second time aboard Century- she's a beautiful ship that exudes casual elegance. Lounges
for every taste. Stunning dining
room reminiscent of the Normandie. Excellent food for mass market product. Michael's Club
truly beautiful- looks like an
English gentlemen's club with faux fireplace with a Picasso over the mantel. Multi million
dollar Pop-art collection makes you
feel like you're in a folating museum- Warhol, Rauschenberg, Lichtenstein, etc.We booked a
Cat 2 mini-suite- very nice with
small verandah, absolutely stunning view of wake over aft of ship. Large bathroom. Ample
closet space. Butler service was
disappointing-cabin service lacking as well. Extremely unusual for Celebrity.
Entertainment is good, with Sony surround sound
and laser, etc. Would highly recommend this ship...
Name: Michael Crawford
Email: thecrawfords@mindspring.com
Age: 30
Occupation: Sales
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: June 29,1996
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 100
CruiseDirector: 100
CabinComfort: 100
FoodRoomService: 98
CruiseStaff: 98
CabinAmenities: 98
FoodLidoDeck: 98
DiningRoomService: 98
CabinQuietness: 98
FoodMidnightBuffets: 98
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 85
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 95
ShoreExcValue: 85
GoodForHoneymoon: 100
CasinoStaff: 100
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 100
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff: 100
EntertainmentLounges: 95
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 100
EntertShowLounge: 100
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon: 100
EntertainmentPoolside: 95
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino: 100
AirSeaProgram: 100
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs: 100
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 95
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 99
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 01 Oct 1997
Time: 23:54:58
Remote Name: 38.28.43.171
Remote User:
Comments
I read every article-book about cuises before booking Century. I wanted to get the best
value but also have accomodations similar to a Hyatt
hotel. We like to be around people who would order wine with dinner not beer. Celebity
created a ship that is elegant-casual that made us feel
comfortable from the first day.
The food is first rate. We live near San Francisco where there is more restaurants per
capita than anywhere else. So we know what food is
supposed to taste like. This was the best mass produced food event we ever experienced. We
have been to lots of weddings and other events
that could not come close.
The cabins are spacious and comfortable. I really like the convienence of ordering shore
excursions and having the tickets delivered to your
door. Wood everywhere, doors, drawers, even behind the mirror where the safe is. Advice is
to bring your down pilows and hair drier. They
provide standard synthetic pillows and their hair drier made our hands hot.
The shore excursions should be chosen wisely. Our Advice: In Jamaica take the rafting trip
aviod Dunns river falls. When leaving the falls they
force you to walk into a vendor (vulture) area where they grab you to sell you coffee bean
jewelry and sticks. In Grand Cayman take the
stingray or turtle tour, the snorkeling was bad-poor equipment-little to see. In Cozumel
see Tulum but bring lots of water as there is none there.
In Key West avoid the two hour boredom conch train that takes on a tour of all things not
nessesarily historic.
The ship is truely the most relaxing yet fun vacation you will ever take. We are going on
Galaxy in January. We visited the Galaxy on its stop in
S.F. The ship is more contempory feeling, we like the glass domed swiming area.
Name: John Bussiere
Email: jjbbuzzy@aol.com
Age: 47
Occupation: School Facilities Supervisor
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: 3/8/97
Itinerary: Western Carribbean Cruise
FoodDiningRoom: 100
CruiseDirector: 100
CabinComfort: 100
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 98
CabinAmenities: 98
FoodLidoDeck:
DiningRoomService:
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets: 100
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 85
GoodForHoneymoon: 100
CasinoStaff: 90
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 70
LoungeService: 95
TenderService: 100
GoodForSeniors: 100
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 98
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 100
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino: 85
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 98
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 100
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio:
OverallCruiseValue: 99
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 03 Oct 1997
Time: 20:50:17
Remote Name: 198.104.241.205
Remote User:
Comments
My wife and I celebrated our 25th wedding anniversary on this cruise. We had a truly
memorable time. It was our first cruise, but it won't be our
last. The Century is truly the most amazing example of marine architecture and engineering
that I have ever experienced. I was especially
impressed with the ship's ability to leave the dock without the use of tugboats and turn
on a dime and head out to sea on its own. Our personal
needs were met by their professional staff in every way. The energy of the cruise director
was truly impressive. He and his staff did a truly
impressive job of entertaining those on deck during the day and the midnight events at the
poolside were just magnificent. The shows in the
evening offered very good entertainment. We enjoyed swimming with the stingrays at Grand
Cayman Island and visiting the Myan (sp?) ruins
was so interesting we wished we had more time there. In addition, I think they did an
excellent job of matching us with table mates for the Grand
Dining Room. We had a wonderful time with those folks and we will be writing to them all
in the future. We had only minor difficulties with some of
the non-english speeking staff when we first went aboard but they made up for it 'follow
through'. The management of providing for such a
large number of people while meeting their every need was just amazing to me. If you can't
have one of the most wonderful experiences of
your life while taking a cruise on the magnificent vessel - well perhaps you just don't
want to have a good time...
Name: Tom Kanitra
Email: TKANITRA@worldnet.att.net
Age: 46
Occupation: Assoc. Director, Engineering
NumberOfCruises: 3
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: August 9, 1997
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 95
CabinComfort: 99
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 100
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 99
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 99
ShoreExcVariety: 95
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 99
ShoreExcValue: 95
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 85
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 99
LoungeService:
TenderService: 99
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 85
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 82
CruiseActivities: 85
Casino: 85
AirSeaProgram: 90
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 85
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 99
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 95
SpaceRatio: 99
OverallCruiseValue: 100
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 26 Oct 1997
Time: 16:52:21
Remote Name: 12.68.37.196
Remote User:
Comments
The Celebrity Century offers an exceptional luxury cruising experience. It is an upscale
cruise, stylish, not glitzy.
Having said that, it is not for everyone. The passengers on our cruise ranged from young
children to senior
citizens, with the majority of passengers in the 35-50 year old range. Many, or perhaps
most had their children
with them, probably because our cruise was during the summer. It was definitely not a
party crowd. This ship offers
a high degree of refined service, with excellent food on a magnificent vessel. Those
looking for a wild time, non-stop
activities, crazy parties and toga dress up dinners should look elsewhere.
The ship is large. Looking at it from afar, one gets the feeling of a smaller vessel. That
may be because of it's less
traditional, but very dramatic white and dark blue color scheme. But as one gets close,
the large size of the ship
becomes apparent.
Embarkation was a bit slow, given the nearly 2000 passengers, but conducted very orderly.
Upon arrival to the pier,
passengers are given a card with a number. The cards are used for boarding sequence. There
is a large waiting
room where passengers can sit. This process allows the actual ‘standing line' to be
less than 3-4 passengers long,
quite an excellent idea, particularly for families with active children.
Upon boarding the vessel, we were taken to our room by an attendant. Traveling with our
children, ages 10 and 7,
we booked one of the family rooms in the ship's stern. The room had a queen size bed for
my wife and me. There
were also two of the traditional cruise sofa/beds near the panorama window for our
children. The room had a
sliding wood and glass divider in the center, separating the two sleeping areas. It was
quite roomy compared to
other vessels we had been on. Room service was top notch, and interestingly, our cabin
steward, who was always
around, never seemed to be in our room. Yet everything seemed to get done. His timing was
perfect.
Celebrity is famous for its food. Our particular cruise was no exception. All the meals
were tremendous, from those
in the main dining room ‘the Grand Restaurant' to the buffet ‘Islands Cafe.'
Even the pizza was excellent. We really
enjoyed the fresh omelettes in the ‘Islands Cafe' and the desserts after dinner were
spectacular. The service on the
Century was perfect, and without the annoying request for excellent marks on the ‘end
of cruise survey.' Of
particular note is that on other cruise ships, our children had to carry their own trays
from the buffet lines. They've
even had to negotiate down steps to find a table without dirty dishes on it. That just
didn't happen on the Century.
As soon as my kids were near the end of the line there was an attendant helping them with
their tray to a clean
table. And Celebrity does not allow smoking around their food. For me there is nothing
more unappealing than
having people at the next table lighting up while I'm still eating.
Celebrity has an excellent children's program. The councilors on the Century were well
educated and highly
energetic. What was unique was that the program was more than the traditional ‘day
care center' or ‘summer
camp' program. On the Century the kids performed a play for the parents and any other
passengers who wished to
attend. Our 10-year-old son had one of the lead parts and our 7-year-old daughter sang in
the chorus. They held
practice all week and presented the play on the last full day at sea of the cruise.
Approximately 200 people
attended. We all had a great time and even had a few laughs.
Onboard activities were varied. A daily activities sheet was placed under our door each
night. It was refreshing that
no announcements were made. We were not bombarded with the ‘meet us up on the pool
deck in 10 minutes for . .
. ‘ throughout the day. We are all capable of showing up for something if we choose
to. You could do as much or as
little as you wanted. Skeet shooting was a bit distracting, having the sound of gun shots
outside our window.
The ship has a very large pool deck. There were always enough chairs and lounges for
everyone. Even though the
ship holds approximately 2000 passengers, the passenger space ratio is very high. The
restaurants and public
areas also had a lot of space. No place on the ship seemed over crowded.
The pools and hot tubs were supervised. There were no drunks in the hot tubs using profane
language around
children, as I had seen on other ships. Children without parents watching them were not
allowed in the tubs or
pools.
Our cruise was to the Century's Western Caribbean. We had stops at Jamaica, Grand Cayman,
Cozumel and Key
West, and had two days at sea. Grand Cayman and Cozumel are snorkeling paradises.
Snorkeling with sting rays in
3 feet of water on a sand bar 5 miles off Grand Cayman was an unforgettable experience.
And Chankanaab National
Park in Cozumel offers a multitude of fish within 10 feet of shore. In addition, Cozumel
has the famous ‘Carlos' ‘n'
Charlie's' and even a ‘Hard Rock Cafe' for an afternoon thirst quencher. Since we
love snorkeling, Key West and
Jamaica were quite disappointing compared to Grand Cayman and Cozumel. In fact, on our
'end of cruise survey'
we suggested dropping Jamaica and Key West from the itinerary.
A complaint of mine would be about the available refreshments. While lemonade and iced tea
are available for
meals, they are not available all day long. On a premium cruise like Celebrity I felt that
this is not appropriate,
particularly in a hot region like the Caribbean.
Evening entertainment was quite acceptable. But entertainment was not why we were on this
ship. I heard one
complaint that there was no toga dress up dinner. Another passenger complained that the
shows were not up to
par with others cruises such as Royal Caribbean, where he saw Jerry Van Dyke! If you want
Jerry Van Dyke or toga
dinners, then look elsewhere. That is not what the Celebrity Century is about.
The ship is kept in pristine condition. As an example, during our day at Jamaica, the crew
was painting part of the
side. During the evening I noticed some fine paint over spray on the wood railing. Our
cabin steward happened to
notice me looking at it. By the next morning the whole rail had been sanded and
revarnished.
One thing we noticed about the crew was that they seemed to be having fun themselves. They
did not give the
impression of being in constant fear of losing their jobs, as it seemed on other ships.
Crew members were
permitted to eat with the passengers, something we had never seen before. We actually
enjoyed eating lunch with
some of them, and talked about what it was like to live on a ship.
Disembarkation, like embarkation was orderly. We were off the ship by approximately 10:30,
very sad that our
cruise was over. Upon our return home we immediately looked into a Celebrity cruise for
our next summer
vacation.
The Century is for passengers who appreciate luxury service, a sleek and fashionable ship
which is stylish rather
than glitzy, and who enjoy excellent food. But it is not for everyone. Those seeking wild
times would be more happy
elsewhere. But for us, we fully appreciated what the Century had to offer.
Name: Jacobs, Thomas & Kathleen
Email: Jacobs@together net
Age: 43
Occupation: Computer Analyst/Director of Mkting
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: September 1996
Itinerary: Western carribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 100
CruiseDirector: 95
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 100
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 85
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets: 100
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 100
FoodVariety: 100
DeckService: 100
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon: 100
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 100
LoungeService: 85
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 100
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges:
WheelchairAccess: 100
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 100
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities:
Casino: 85
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs: 85
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 100
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 100
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 13 Nov 1997
Time: 21:00:47
Remote Name: 207.41.55.56
Remote User:
Comments
Our first experience on a cruise together, and It was wonderful! We are still talking
about this a year or so later. We took the
western Carribbean cruise at a great time of year. From the first step on board the
personnel affiliated with the Celebrity
Cruise line were more than expected. They were extremly delightful, well trained and most
helpful at any given time. It is
things of this nature that is so appealing for a couple that work hard all week in a job
and save for something so special and it
turns out as pleasant as this cruise was.
The meals gave a good variety for both of us as did the midnight buffets. The state
room was ample room as we are not big people, did not feel clostrophobic at any time. We
had the moments when we needed
to be alone and the times for the association with the people on board. The only port we
would have chosen never to return to
was ocho rios, unfortuately the atmosphere,the neglect, and the economic atmosphere left
us with a depressing feeling. I
would chose to either visit ocho rios in a resort and stay for the day or get to one
destination and return by cab. Don't walk
unless you want company the entire time with the offers of a ride consistantly. For the
rest of the duration it was an ultimate
high.
There was absolutly nothing I could have had any different. My favorite part of the day
is early am having breakfast on the
fan tail. I since the cruise have relived it over and over again in my mind and If there
were a way to keep tabs on all of the
people we praised Celebrity to we would surley be on a cruise weekly by just all the
groups that would be going on board. If I
were 22 again I would seriously think of joining an association as you have aboard the
Century. Being in a marketing capacity
it is very easy for me to remark on a product that so overwhelmed us. Thank you all for a
memory we will relive again
hopefully in a year or so. last remark Very cool,
Name: Ralph Cooley
Email: 11technics@msn.com
Age: 44
Occupation: Computer Consultant
NumberOfCruises: 5
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: November 8, 1997
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 98
CruiseDirector: 87
CabinComfort: 100
FoodRoomService: 95
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 100
FoodLidoDeck: 96
DiningRoomService: 92
CabinQuietness: 96
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 98
ShoreExcVariety: 80
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 88
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 92
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 88
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff: 94
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 100
EntertShowLounge: 95
OverallPortsofCall: 88
BeautySalon: 100
EntertainmentPoolside: 88
CruiseActivities: 88
Casino: 98
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 92
DiscoNightclubs: 85
DeckSpace: 98
Stabilization: 88
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 100
OverallCruiseValue: 96
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 22 Nov 1997
Time: 12:40:58
Remote Name: 153.34.172.112
Remote User:
Comments
*** Background: This was our first cruise on a Celebrity ship. Our previous cruises were
on NCL (each seven days
- Starward once, Seaward twice) and RCI/RCCL (three day - Nordic Empress), taken over the
last seven years. As
you probably know, this cruise originates in Ft. Lauderdale and visits San Juan, St.
Thomas, St. Marten and
Nassau.
*** Highlights: Ship condition, AquaSpa, cabin comfort, headlining show lounge
entertainer, food, lack of crowds,
dining room maitre'd, passenger talent show, cabin price, the last morning
(disembarkation) on ship.
Ship condition - The Century is a beautiful ship which is maintained better than any of
the other ships I've seen.
During the day the crew could occasionally be seen doing maintenance chores (vacuuming,
cleaning chrome,
etc) but they were mostly unseen and totally unobtrusive. I don't know how they keep the
ship so clean, but they
do.
AquaSpa - Despite the reviews that I'd read concerning this feature, I was undecided about
purchasing a package
(starting at $204). After all, who wants to spend more money for on board activities that
could be better spent
elsewhere (e.g. shopping). However, after visiting the facilities on our first hour on
board, my wife and I decided to
split a package (massage, facial, hair styling, manicure, therapy pool). This was one of
the highlights of any of our
cruises. The AquaSpa services (and free use of steam room/sauna/therapy pool/changing room
for the week)
changed the our time on board from being a great vacation to being at a wonderful
resort/spa. I can't say
enough about the facilities. However, I will say that you will be missing out on a great
experience if you don't
participate/purchase some service or package at the AquaSpa. Money well spent.
Cabin comfort - This is very subjective. Our view is that the rooms were relatively large,
well laid out, and had very
large closets and a large bathroom.
Headlining show lounge entertainer - I'd read less than glowing reviews of Celebrity's
entertainment. While the
entertainment overall was better than I expected, the headliner one night was exceptional
for his talent and
ability to work the crowd. His name is Mark Preston, formerly a member of the Lettermen.
Don't miss his show.
Food - Yes, the food lived up to it's billing. Was it what I would expect in the finest
restaurants? Not quite, but
usually very, very close. No matter where or when you eat, the food is exceptional
relative to other cruises we've
taken.
Lack of crowds - My wife and I still can't figure this out. The ship was sold out. (In
fact, we had heard it was
overbooked.) Yet, we rarely encountered other passengers in hallways, on stairs, in out of
the way lounges, etc.
Sure, the casino would get a bit crowded. However, the show lounges and pool decks always
had unused space.
Dining room Maitre'd - I usually tipped the maitre'ds on other ships rather begrudgingly.
They usually show up
once or twice, but are especially apparent on the last night. However, our maitre'd
visited our table every night,
engaged in length personal conversations, saw to our every need, and stopped to talk to us
during the day when
we'd see him around the ship. A personal touch and a highlight of our cruise.
Passenger talent show - Okay, I'll admit I've never gone to one of these before. However,
my brother (who was
also sailing on this ship) likes to sing Mack The Knife at karaoke bars. In response to
the invitation for passengers
to show off their talents, my brother spoke to the cruise director about singing at the
talent show. He was
introduced to the orchestra pianist who spoke little English (French), and had never heard
Bobby Darrin's version
of the song. Nonetheless, my brother sang the song, accompanied by the pianist, on the
stage of the Celebrity
theater (the main show room) before about 250 passengers or so at the Talent show. What
made it particularly
neat was that the Talent show took place just before our last formal night dinner, so my
brother was on stage in
his tux. As it turned out, all the acts were interesting and very good. However, I will
never forget my brother
singing on stage and, I suspect, neither will he. The cruise director and pianist made
this happen.
Cabin price - I've not seen folks talk about specific cabin prices in previous reviews, so
I won't in this one.
However, I will relate that I wanted to see how cheaply I could cruise on a mid-range
premium cruise line and, as
a result, I purchased the bottom of the line inside cabin (if there was a basement in the
ship, this cabin would
have been there) with a 'run of the ship' offer from my wonderful cruise travel agent. The
day before the cruise,
we were upgraded to a category 5, outside cabin four decks up (a perfect spot) at no
additional cost. The bad
news was that my brother, who booked a month after us, did the same thing and did not get
an upgrade. The
good news is that his inside cabin was as spacious and nice as ours was. (However, his was
a bit noisy when
maneuvering in ports.) I could not have stayed at a resort hotel at anywhere near the
(low) cost of this cruise.
The last morning on ship - My memories of past cruises are that we get very little
attention, very little breakfast,
we're rushed and I feel depressed getting shoved off the ship. This was exactly the
opposite of the experience we
had on our disembarkation day on the Celebrity. I felt really good when I left the ship
and I owe it to the attention
and service that we received on this last morning.
*** Lowlights: Excessive ship motion on first day, interactive TV system not working,
embarkation check-in
process problems, short stay in San Juan.
Excessive ship motion - My wife and I each had very queasy stomachs at dinner the first
night and during the
early part of the next day due to excessive ship motion. The weather was very windy as we
headed from Florida
to San Juan, but the seas seemed relatively calm. I don't understand why the ship had so
much motion. Bonine
cured us and the rest of the trip (minus Bonine) was fine.
Interactive TV system not working - Therefore, we couldn't check our account balance,
order movies, order shore
excursions, etc. A real disappointment, but not fatal. These could all be accomplished via
contacting customer
service in person or by phone.
Embarkation check-in process problems - We received only one embarkation form from our
travel agent and
didn't realize it was a problem until we were ready to board. Also, the credit card
readers for setting up our
on-board account was malfunctioning and it took us about 20 minutes to get through this
process. Very
disappointing when others were boarding the ship around us.
Short stay in San Juan - We arrive at 3:30 into San Juan (an hour before the published
time) and did some
excellent shopping in old San Juan. (Check out the Ralph Lauren and Dooney and Burke
stores - outstanding
prices.) However, it was too late in the day to do any more than that. (El Morro closes at
5 pm.) We took a cab
after dinner to a casino, but it was nothing special. If the ship had arrived around 1 pm
it would have been
perfect. On the other hand, we were in port with three other ships and all of the ships
were beautifully lit at night.
*** Miscellaneous: We took no shore excursions. We taxied everywhere. However, on St.
Marten, we rented a car
and drove between the two capitals. We also spent an hour at a wonderful beach at Plum
Bay, past the airport.
Pristine, uncrowded beach with wonderful sand and water that's colored turquoise, just
like in the travel
brochures.
My brother and I played chess and smoked a few cigars in Michael's club. It's a really
nice, uncrowded, out of the
way spot to relax.
There were *no* shipboard announcements. While I liked the serenity, I kind of missed some
of the
announcements on other cruises (e.g. when entering port, or a good morning from the
captain).
I rented a tux from the package offering you get with your cruise tickets. This is the
first time that I've done a
rental, as I usually take a suit. The rental was fantastic. It was in excellent condition
and everything fit well. I felt
wonderful on formal nights.
The seven piece shipboard orchestra, which played at shows and occasionally in the
lounges, was excellent. The
string quartet, which played at dinner, was also very good.
*** Overall comment: This was a wonderful experience. I highly recommend Celebrity, and
this ship in particular.
In fact, it may be hard for me to take a non-Celebrity cruise in the future. Outstanding
service. A cut above other
cruise lines.
Name: Sharon & David Ashton Sharon & David Ashton
Email: mathersdavies.demon.co.uk
Age: 29
Occupation: Engineer and Comms Manager
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: 16th September 1997
Itinerary: Eastern and Western Carribean
FoodDiningRoom: 100
CruiseDirector: 100
CabinComfort: 100
FoodRoomService: 100
CruiseStaff: 100
CabinAmenities: 100
FoodLidoDeck: 100
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets: 100
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 100
FoodVariety: 100
DeckService: 100
ShoreExcValue: 95
GoodForHoneymoon: 100
CasinoStaff: 100
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 100
TenderService: 100
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff: 100
EntertainmentLounges: 100
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 90
EntertShowLounge: 100
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 100
CruiseActivities: 100
Casino: 100
AirSeaProgram: 100
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs: 100
DeckSpace: 100
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 95
SpaceRatio: 100
OverallCruiseValue: 100
Submit:
Date: 26 Nov 1997
Time: 12:24:31
Remote Name: 158.152.251.191
Remote User:
Comments
We went on the Celebrity for our honeymoon and we were treated like royals. Never have we
been on a holiday
like it. Theislands we visited were breathetaking. We cruised for 16 nightsvisiting
Jamaica, Cayman, Cozumel, Quay
West, then Fort Lauderdale. Cayman was the
&127;&127;&127;&127;&127;&127;&127;&127;&127;&127;&127;&127;&127;best,
could have missed out Jamaica.
2nd week visitedPeurto Rico, US Virgin Isles - St Maarten and St Thomas then the Bahamas.
All islands were fab
but on the second week we arrived in all of the islands very late. We didn't get as much
time on each one as we
did on the first week. The first weeks islands were the best. as you docked 7.30am and
didn't leave until 6.00pm.
The ship was cery clean, the staff couldn't do anymore for you, the cabin was far bigger
than expected, upgrade
because we were on honeymoon, food you couldn't fault, theatre had fabulous shows, the
casino was very
professional, the poolside entertainment was well organised, the disco was always full of
different age groups and
the waiter service anywhere on the ship was very good. All tips were included on the ship
and at the end of the
trip you gave your vouchers to the relevant person and they cashed them in for their tip
to be reinbursed. That
was the only thing we didn't like, handing over the envelope with a voucher in but the
tips are already included
when you pay in England. We had a fabulous time, a honeymoon never ever to forget.
&127;&127;&127;&127;&127;Nothing was too much trouble. We felt very
special. I would definitately go again and
most definiately recommend Century and Celebrity Cruises
Name: Jean Lynd
Email: lyndj@slucare1.sluh.edu
Age: 44
Occupation: Financial Analyst
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: 11/01/97
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 92
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 92
CruiseStaff: 98
CabinAmenities: 92
FoodLidoDeck: 92
DiningRoomService: 98
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets: 95
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 92
DeckService: 92
ShoreExcValue: 85
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 85
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 95
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 92
Casino:
AirSeaProgram: 90
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 99
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs: 90
DeckSpace: 92
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 92
SpaceRatio: 99
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 08 Dec 1997
Time: 17:39:53
Remote Name: 165.134.56.193
Remote User:
Comments
Celebrity Century Review - 11/1/97 - 11/8/97
7 Day Western Caribbean
First of all, our reasons for cruising and for cruise selection are a bit unusual. A
friend of ours (Clint McClure - say
Hi for me if you happen to cruise on the Century between now and Mar 21st) is a dancer on
the Century. He left
home at the end of August. From talking to him we were bitten by the cruise bug. My
daughter (Amanda - 17)
and I have talked about taking a cruise since she was about 12. My husband is not at all
interested in cruising -
so - I decided that my daughter and I along with a friend (Danette) and her daughter (Kara
- 13) would take the
cruise if we could find a time and a price that we could deal with. Another friend that is
a travel agent did the
research and on Oct 6th we booked our air/sea package.
Our flight left St. Louis at 7:30am, we arrived in Fort Lauderdale right on schedule, we
were met by the Celebrity
representative and taken right to the bus which went directly to the terminal. It was
great not to have to deal with
our luggage or any arrangements from the time we left home. The Century was at a temporary
terminal because
the Mercury had just arrived for it's maiden voyage and was docked at the nicer terminal.
I was expecting a nice
waiting area and we were met with an air-conditioned warehouse full of folding chairs.
Clint was handing out the
embarkation numbers when we arrived so we got to see him right away. Embarkation began at
noon and we
were in our cabin by 12:40. The published time for embarkation is 1:00. We got acquainted
with our cabin and
read about the activities for the day until Clint got off duty at 1:00. Again our cruise
became un-typical. Clint
needed to go to town to do some shopping so the first thing we ended up doing once we
boarded the ship was to
get off!!! They have a free shuttle to a little shopping mall so we rode to town and back
with a lot of crew from
both the Century and the Mercury. Heard some interesting info about the Mercury. When we
returned to our cabin
our luggage was waiting. We unpacked, went to lifeboat drill and got ready for our 6:00
dinner seating. The girls
ran up on deck to enjoy the Bon Voyage activities and to buy a virgin "Bon
Voyage" drink in the souvenir glass for
$7.19 (at least it is a glass glass). After dinner Clint took us on a tour of the entire
ship including the "crew only"
areas. I'm not going to try to describe this beautiful ship other then to say that she was
unbelievably clean and I
saw no areas of wear and tear. I have read many reviews that describe her much better then
I can. It was very
interesting touring the "crew only" areas. The dancer's quarters reminded me of
a floor in a college dorm except
they have their own cabin steward. We also saw the dressing rooms and backstage areas of
the beautiful
Celebrity Theater and the crew mess, deck and pool areas. After seeing all of this my
daughter has decided to
audition for a stint on a cruise ship when she graduates from High School.
The Cabin- I was very impressed with our cabin. We were category 11 inside (4026). There
was so much storage
space I could not believe it. Two full size closets for hanging clothes. Another closet
with 4 very large shelves and
4 smaller drawers. A desk with 6 more drawers. And two night stands with 3 drawers each.
The vanity in the
bathroom had two shelves that nicely accommodated the toiletries for 4 females. There were
two negatives about
our cabin. One, (I think this may be true with most cruise ships) there was only one
outlet. Luckily I had brought
along a three plug converter that made it possible to accommodate all of the blow dryers
and curling irons that
were necessary to get 4 women ready for dinner on time. The other negative was a constant
vibration in the
headboard wall of the cabin. It didn't bother anyone else in the cabin but I found it to
be very irritating. I am lucky
that I am short because I ended up sleeping with my head a foot away from the wall.
The Food- Dinners in the Grand Dining Room were an "event" everyday. The food
was very good. I'm not a food
expert and some things were a little too exotic for me but I did have escargot for the
first time and I loved it. They
did have one item in each category (appetizer, soup, salad, entree and desert) that was
coded as "light" every
evening. My daughter, who is always watching her weight, ordered all of the light
offerings each evening and
experienced a lot of new foods, most of which she thoroughly enjoyed. Our waiter and
busboy were exceptional.
They, along with the Maitre de, enjoyed teasing the girls every evening and we had a lot
of laughs. Dinner was
always an hour and a half to an hour and forty-five minutes so we never felt rushed but we
never had to wait for a
course to be served either. Here's a cute story about the Maitre de - After dinner the
first night Kara grabbed a
handful of mints as we left the dining room. Amanda yelled at her and told her to take
only one. After Kara
returned the mints to the dish the Maitre de followed her and gave her back a handful of
mints behind Amanda's
back. Room service came in handy a number of times. There was not a lot of selection but
everything we had was
good and the hot food was always hot and the cold food was always cold. We had breakfast
delivered on the
mornings that we had scheduled shore excursions so we could eat while we were getting
ready. We had dinner
delivered on Wed when we got back from Cozumel too late for our dinner seating. We also
ordered sandwiches at
2:00am on Saturday morning. The breakfast and lunch buffets and the grill service at the
pool were also good. We
only frequented these areas on the 2 sea days. Kara especially appreciated being able to
get a burger and fries
since she was going through fast food withdrawal. The midnight buffets were delicious. We
always went to the
buffets during the last half hour because that's when the crew was allowed to eat. There
was always plenty of
good quality food available and no lines to deal with. The Century also had something
called "Gourmet Bites" on
Sun and Fri nights instead of a buffet. The waiters would walk through all of the public
areas with trays of
Horsderves (sp??) and you could help yourself to whatever you wanted. This was nice
because you could
continue whatever activity you were doing at midnight and still get fed. The only
complaint that I have in relation
to the food and drink department was the absence of any free soft drinks after 2:00 in the
afternoon. I would fill a
large travel mug with lemonade or fruit punch before 2:00 so that I had something to drink
at the pool all
afternoon. It would have also been nice if lemonade and fruit punch were available with
the midnight buffets. It
was awkward to go to the bar to get a soda and then get back to your food in the buffet
area.
The Activities & Entertainment- The Island Night and TexMex pool side parties were a
lot of fun and a great way
to burn off a few calories before the midnight buffets. We had a lot of laughs watching
the pool side games and
the "Liar's Club" game. Amanda and Clint danced in the talent show and we
totally enjoyed all of the acts.
Amanda received a T-shirt, a certificate of participation and a handwritten thank you note
which I thought were
very nice. I just wish it had been held at a different time. 5:15 on formal night made
getting ready for our 6:00
dinner seating very difficult and I think that cut down on attendance. We can't very well
critique the production
shows because we are anything but impartial. I think they were very entertaining. The
Celebrity singers and
dancers are a very talented group of young people. The shows had a lot of energy and the
pyrotechnics (sp??)
added a lot. The only complaint that I had was that sometimes there was so much smoke you
couldn't see the
dancers. Other entertainers in the main theater were jugglers, a comedian, and Mark
Preston (formerly of the
Lettermen). Ballroom dancing music was almost always available in the Crystal Room and
there was also a live
band in the disco part of the time. We did get a little tired of the band in the disco and
we enjoyed it more when
the DJ was playing. The Century does have one show that I think may be unique because the
disco is an
observation area during the day and the dance floor is covered by a dome. At 11:45 on
Saturday night there is a
short production to "Raise the Dome". It's a lot of fun and it gives you
something to do while you're waiting for
the midnight buffet. They seem to offer a large selection of activities and entertainment
on the ship. There was
almost always something going on that would appeal to all ages. Again one minor complaint
- the pools and
whirlpools closed at 6:00pm. We would have liked it if they would have stayed open later.
I want to highly
commend the Entertainment Staff on the ship. They were always working and they did an
excellent job keeping
everyone entertained. They were the nicest, most helpful, energetic group of people that I
have come across in a
long time.
The Ports- Ocho Rios, Jamaica - We got a cab ($25 round trip for 5) and went to Dunn's
River Falls. The
admission fee was $6.00 per person and $5.00 each to rent surf shoes (bring old tennis
shoes or your own surf
shoes if you can). It took about an hour and a half to climb the falls and it was a fun
thing to do once in your life.
Once we were back in town the cab driver tried to tell us that our fare was $50 instead of
$25 but I had
specifically asked the dispatcher before we left if the fare he quoted was round-trip so I
refused to pay more then
that. We found the people of Ocho Rios to be rude and obnoxious and because of that I will
not go back to
Jamaica.
Grand Cayman - 10:45 Stingray City Shore Excursion ($38 each). The seas were rough making
snorkeling difficult
but we still enjoyed the trip. The stingrays are fascinating. The people here were very
nice and I would like to go
back someday and see more of the island.
Cozumel, Mexico - We rented a jeep ($60 for the day) and went to the East Coast of the
island. Miles of beautiful
deserted beaches. We relaxed in hammocks, swam, ate nachos, drank sodas and rum punches,
tried to
communicate in Spanish and had an absolutely wonderful time. The people were very friendly
and we had a lot of
laughs having our pictures taken with "Elvis the iguana". We came back to town
around 4:00. We walked through
"Carlos and Charlies" so that we could say that we had been there. We did some
shopping and were back on
board by 6:30. I would definitely go back to Cozumel.
Key West, Florida - 9:00 Catamaran and Snorkeling Shore Excursion ($39 each). This trip
was wonderful. I would
have enjoyed snorkeling longer but I think the 45 minutes was enough for most people and
the catamaran trip
out and back was so relaxing. I had forgotten how great traveling on a sailboat can be.
The crew on the boat
were exceptional. Kara was afraid to snorkel after the rough seas we had experienced at
Stingray City. One of the
crew took her by the hand, made sure that all of her equipment fit right, gave her a raft
to float on and held her
hand until she was comfortable in the water. This extra effort was appreciated and I would
take this trip again.
Key West if a beautiful town that I would like to go back to.
Disembarkation- We were out of our cabin by 8:15. We went to Clint's cabin and visited
with him until 9:30 when
we left the ship. We picked up our luggage, turned in our paperwork and found our bus to
the airport. At the
airport we ran into our first hassle. The cruise line had not confirmed our reservations
for our return flight. We
got on the flight but we were not able to sit together. We arrived home right on schedule.
Comments- As a first time cruiser I can't rate this cruise in relation to others but I
thought it was wonderful. Many
times we would look at each other and ask "where are all of the people??" There
were supposed to be 1,700
passengers but we rarely encountered any crowds. We frequently felt like we had the place
to ourselves. There
were a lot of activities that we would have liked to participate in but there just was not
enough time to do
everything. Every member of the staff and crew that we dealt with were friendly, helpful,
and professional. The
ship was beautiful and we felt like we were being pampered at all times. My next cruise
will just have to be
longer!!!
Sincerely submitted,
Jean Lynd lyndj@slucare1.sluh.edu
Name: Rick Schindler
Email: rick.sch@worldnet.att.net
Age: 56
Occupation: Sales
NumberOfCruises: 7
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: 12/6/97
Itinerary: East. Carib.
FoodDiningRoom: 100
CruiseDirector: 95
CabinComfort: 100
FoodRoomService: 100
CruiseStaff: 100
CabinAmenities: 100
FoodLidoDeck: 100
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 100
DeckService: 95
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon: 100
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 100
LoungeService: 100
TenderService: 100
GoodForSeniors: 100
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges:
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 95
EntertShowLounge: 95
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 95
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 100
Stabilization: 100
ShopsOnBoard: 70
SpaceRatio: 100
OverallCruiseValue: 100
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 14 Dec 1997
Time: 16:09:15
Remote Name: 12.64.96.244
Remote User:
Comments
We just returned yesterday from our best cruise ever.This was our 3rd. time with
Celebrity.We were 2 couples in the least
expensive inside cabins. These cabins are very spacious compared to most other cruise
lines. We had lots of drawer space
that we never used. The ship is kept in immaculate condition. Constantly being polished,
vaccumed, painted and windows
being washed. The Dining room is spactacular. It is elegant yet comfortable, with big
windows on 3 sides. The most dramatic
ones are in the back facing the ships wake. Dining room service was superb with food to
match. Everything is made fresh in
the galley. The food and pastries look great and taste even better than they look. The
constant attention to every detail and
request made us feel very special. The cabin stewardess kept our cabin spotless. The wine
and bar services were very
friendly and very professional. We saw only 3 shows. The 1st night's show was
disappointing. All the routine stock cruise
jokes. The other 2 were Las Vegas type reviews that even though I don't like song and
dance routine, found them to be
nothing short of great. The p/a anouncements were kept to bare minimum. On the negative
side, don't expect to win at the
casino. Also the shopping on board was very disappointing. Overall, what a ship, what
food,what a cruise.
Name: Mark Sirull
Email: sirull@ibm.net
Age: 46
Occupation: software developer
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: December 13, 1997
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck:
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 70
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 50
GoodForHoneymoon: 95
CasinoStaff: 99
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 90
LoungeService: 95
TenderService: 75
GoodForSeniors: 90
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess: 90
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 85
OverallPortsofCall: 85
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 80
CruiseActivities: 80
Casino: 85
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 99
EmbarkDisembark: 85
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 85
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 20 Dec 1997
Time: 23:13:58
Remote Name: 166.72.131.70
Remote User:
Comments
Introduction ============
Over the past couple of months, I've read lots of reviews about Century from both
rec.travel.cruises and www.cruise review.com. I learned
something new from every review, so I promised myself that when we took our cruise, I'd do
my part and write up a mini-review for the benefit
of other first-time cruisers. My goal is to write about things not mentioned in other
reviews. To fill in the gaps. Things that I often wondered
about, and now am happy to share. I'll try real hard to be as objective as possible. Hope
you don't find it boring. :)
Embarkation Process ===================
When you get to the dock where Century is located, you need to give your luggage to the
baggage checkers just outside the big waiting lobby.
Naturally, you need to have your Celebrity-supplied, filled out, luggage tags attached. We
tipped 'em a couple of bucks.
As you walk into the big waiting lobby, they hand you these little cards with an
"Embarkation Priority Number" on them. We only had to wait
about 45 minutes before they called our number. The embarkation process takes only a few
minutes. Before you know it, you're on the ship.
Initial Impressions =============
It's hard to describe how elegant and regal Century is. When you first walk in, you really
think you're in a 5-star hotel. It's that nice. The
stairwells have polished wood banisters. The elevators, though small, are very bright and
mirrored. We used the stairwells most of the time.
Since we were on the 9th floor, it was only a couple of floors up or down to get to the
action.
Rooms =====
Since I work in the travel industry, we really got a fabulous deal on our room. Which
means, inside stateroom. And lemme tell ya, it was really
nice. While the room is quite small, it's really not bad at all. Since Century is so brand
spankin' new, everything was downright gleaming. Teak
finish adorns the furniture. So much drawer and closet space we only used about 60% of it.
Also noteworthy is that in the Celebrity
brochures, they always show a picture of the staterooms with separated twin beds. Guess
they must've picked up on how unromantic that
configuration is, because our twin beds were pushed tightly together.
Can't over-emphasize strongly enough about bringing a multi-outlet extension cord along.
Y'know, like the one you use for your computer
with seven outlets. If you're bringing stuff like an electric toothbrush, electric
rollers, hair dryer, battery charger, etc., you're hosed if you
don't. They only supply ONE outlet. That's it. And it's NOT in the bathroom.
Beds were comfortable. Would have been nice to have more than two, flattened pillows, but
we slept soundly. Maybe too soundly. Be
forewarned, if your room has no windows, it's pitch black at 7 or 8 AM. We brought along
one of those little digital clocks like the ones you
can pick up at Wal-Mart for five bucks. Good thing. No clocks furnished.
Radio/TV.......Wasn't really too interested in watching TV, but if you're a newshound,
they do have CNN, so you can always get the latest
news. What I enjoyed the most was the music channels. Especially the jazz channel.
Outstanding. It was Muzak, or something similar, so no
commercials. A real treat. Nothing like winding down right before bed with some soft jazz.
Bathrooms =========
Like I said, no A/C outlets in the bathrooms. Otherwise, the bathrooms are fine. Gleaming
and shiny. The toilets flush real weird. Instead of a
handle, like a regular toilet, Century's bathrooms have this big button behind the toilet
lid that you press when you're done. It engages this
super-powerful vacuum that sucks down everything in a second or two. The vacuum action is
so strong, you must put the lid down before
pressing the button.
Shower is almost big enough for two people. Works like a regular shower. Oh, btw, be
careful when you use the hot water. It's scalding hot.
And the water pressure in the sink is blasting hard. Great for shaving, but if you're not
careful.....yeouch!! Incidentally, this is not a complaint.
:)
Lifeboat Drill ==========
You do it the very first day. Lasts about an hour. I've read horror stories about high
heat, people fainting, etc. Since we chose December, we
didn't have those problems. Everything went real orderly. A no-brainer. My only complaint
was, at the end, having to listen to all the foreign
langauages after they were done with the English-speaking announcement. You had to stand
around for another ten minutes or so while they
rambled off the long spiel in Spanish, German, and French.
Food ====
I've read lots of reviews over the past month or so about Century, and all the advice
about using Islands Cafe as the primary eating place is
right on target. Unless you're totally against the buffet concept, it's the only way to
go. You don't have to abide by any main/second seating
schedule like you do in the Grand Restaurant. Also, there are obviously more choices at a
buffet. We only went to the GR for dinner. I'm no
connoisseur or anything, but I was quite pleased with the food selection and quality on
Century. Sure seemed like five-star to me. Especially
the desserts. They weren't all great, but some were just heavenly. Oh, don't waste your
time with that "Swan Thingy". After all the talk I've
heard, I expected something that would just make your taste buds jump off your tongue.
Forget it. It's just a dry, little cream puff, that's it.
A couple of tips about drinks...I'm really glad I read all those comments about bringing a
large, insulated beverage container along. You'll
need one for two reasons. First, yes, it's true.....the glasses at Islands Cafe are super
small. Not really sure why they do that. Guess it's to cut
down on waste. But, since they're like six ounce glasses, your big container should help.
Second, you'll definitely need to load up a big drink
container before you head out for the pool. Unless you don't mind paying two dollars for a
can of soda.
Laundry =======
Last year my wife and I went to Hawaii for 8 days. I brought enough clothes for four days.
The fourth night, while we were having dinner at our
hotel, I did a full load of laundry down at the coin-operated washers and dryers. Worked
out great. Only had to pack half as many clothes, so
my suitcase was lighter. Tried doing the same thing on Century. Terrible idea. After three
days I was ready to do a load of laundry. NO
coin-operated laundry on Century. So I had to fork out 14 bucks just to wash three
T-shirts ($2 each), two polo shirts ($2.50 each) and
three pairs of underwear ($1 each). Morale: pack LOTS of clothes. And remember... you can
easily go thru two sets of clothes in one day.
T-shirt and shorts (and/or bathing suit) in the daytime, which get all smelly and horrible
from the salt water, then polo shirt and slacks for
evening wear. Trust me, load up. You'll be glad you did.
Casino ======
The name of the casino is Fortunes. It's kinda small, but so what? Most of the time there
was hardly anyone there. During the day, there was
only one roulette wheel open with only 1-3 players. Blackjack table was also wide open. I
lost about 30 bucks on the slots, then got lucky and
won it back on roulette. I overheard, what must've been some seasoned slots players,
mention how cold the slots were. I agree totally. I rarely
saw anyone hit a jackpot. If you're one of those that's drawn to Vegas' 97% slots payoff
returns, you will most certainly be turned off playing
these slots. The craps table was only operating at night.
Shore Excursions - Overview ===========================
Once of the best tips I ever read about shore excursions was to do it on your own. If you
keep in mind that cruise lines use excursions as a
profit center, you'll understand why you'll come out much better lining up your own
excursions. There's nothing to it. You just go to the
information center (or booth) which is usually located at the end of the pier. You'll be
amazed to see how much the cruise lines have marked
up prices. Snorkeling at Stingray City (described below) is available thru Celebrity for
$38. When we got off in Grand Cayman, two dozen of us
paid $25/pp to a local tour operator for the very same excursion. Do the math. Celebrity
tacked on 50% for this package. Like I said, there's
nothing to it. You can easily arrange things yourself.
Shore Excursion #1 - Ocho Rios ==============================
The weather was lousy when we docked at Ocho Rios, so a really small percentage of guests
actually went sightseeing. Yes, it's true.....there
is definitely a gauntlet to penetrate once you enter Ocho Rios. Every cab driver in town
is at the port once passengers start coming in. And
every one of 'em is yelling and screaming for you to take their cab. I really wanted to go
horseback riding along the beach or up a mountain,
but the rain pretty much deep-sixed that idea. Instead, we braved the vultures and went to
the Taj Mahal shopping center. More vultures.
Everywhere you went, cab drivers were hanging around, bugging you to see if you were ready
to go back to the ship, so they could soak you
and your S.O. for four bucks to take a three block cab ride. My advice, if you're only
going a few blocks from the port, just walk it. Personally, I
think it makes sense to walk around the lagoon to the Grand Jamaican hotel and pay 'em ten
bucks to use their facilities for a day. You get
the same privileges as a regular guest: private beach, pool, lounge chairs, etc. for a
measly ten bucks. Hard to beat.
Shore Excursion #2 - Grand Cayman =================================
Unlike Ocho Rios, which just pulls in to a deep water port, here you must make use of
tenders. We used Century's lifeboats for our tenders.
Each boat holds ninety passengers, and they make use of three or four boats in the loop.
Took less than a half hour to get to shore. Not bad.
Once we got there, a sharp local tour operator was holding up a sign with pictures and
prices for Stingray City. Twenty-five bucks per person.
Great deal. It takes about 30-45mins to get to the actual snorkeling site, so keep an eye
on the time. It was really spectacular. The water
was absolutely, positively crystal clear. Lots of tropical fish. Boo-koos of stingrays all
over the place. And, get this, these guys furnish
mask/fins/snorkel at no extra charge. That really blew me away. Yup, I sure was glad I
dragged along my own mask/fins/snorkel all the way
from Atlanta <grin>.
Georgetown is a pretty small place. There's a few souvenir shops here and there. No
vultures, that I saw, anyway. Supposedly a great place to
buy expensive watches, like a Rolex. I bopped into a store, just for curiosity, and looked
over some guy's shoulder as he was checking out a
Rolex Submarine watch which was priced at about $3000. Overheard him say it was a thousand
bucks more in the U.S.
Shore Excursion #3 - Cozumel ============================
Don't know how often this happens, but when we arrived at Cozumel, there were so many big
cruise ships in port, we weren't allowed to park
at the dock, like we were supposed to. So, instead, we had to tender. But this time,
instead of using Century's lifeboats, we were forced to use
a local outfit. Probably owned/runned by the mayor's cousin. It was definitely bigger,
carrying about 200-250 passengers, but there was only
ONE boat running. Originally, we were supposed to leave the ship around 10AM to go into
town. But now, thanks to this Mexican political BS,
everyone who wanted to go to shore had to go to Celebrity Theater, take a number, and
wait. We went down there a little before 10AM and
got card with a 5 on it. It was after 11AM before they finally called our number. Groups
5,6 and 7 all left in one boat. As we were heading for
the tender boat, I overheard some else say, "We got number 21." I found out
later they left at 12:30!!
If you think there are vultures in Ocho Rios, just wait till you get to Cozumel. Peddlers
were hawking their wares on the tender boat. Same
stuff you see in all the border towns, like Tijuana. Blankets, jewelry, t-shirts. Man,
can't they at least wait till ya get off the ferry?? It was
indeed very crowded that day. San Miguel, the only town, was mobbed. We rented a scooter
($25 for the whole day) and buzzed over to
Chankanaab. The road around Cozumel is just awful. Believe it or not, I would've almost
preferred a smooth dirt road than riding that scooter
(with wife on back) on that lumpy, bumpy asphalt.
Chankanaab was surprisingly pleasant. It's like a public resort. They gouge ya seven bucks
a pop to get in (heard it was only ONE dollar a few
years ago), but once you're inside, it's actually pretty nice. Two restaurants in
Chankanaab. We ate at the bigger one, La Laguna. Eighteen
bucks for lunch for two. That included a round of margaritas, naturally. Nice
surroundings, nice Mexican music, good food. Can't ask for more
than that. The beach area is clean and there are lots of grass huts with 5-6 metal,
comfortable, lounge chairs under each one. The
snorkeling area was good. There are also 4-5 scuba shacks set up. If you're certified,
it's heaven. Chankanaab is definitely a good place to go
to hang out.
Shore Excursion #4 - Key West =============================
No trouble whatsoever getting off or back on at Key West. There's a deep-water dock at Key
West, so no tendering. It's a mile or so into town,
but Celebrity has a steady stream of trams to shuttle everyone back and forth, at no
charge.
Key West is just a quiet, lazy little town. People kinda just hang out and listen to Jimmy
Buffet tunes. Here's a great tip......get your souvenirs
for your friends/family in Key West. Four tee shirts for nine bucks. Sweat shirts for five
bucks. Lots more competition here than at the other
three ports of call. Good ole capitalism hard at work.
Not really a whole lot to do in Key West. The biggest attraction by far is the Conch Train
tour. Fifteen bucks a pop. It runs in and around town
and is narrated. Wife wasn't interested, so we went to Mel Fisher's treasure museum. If
you're intrigued by the legacy of Mel Fisher, as I am,
and especially the 600 million bucks worth of booty they pulled up from the Atocha, then
this place is it. They actually let you pick up a bar of
gold (through a plexiglass case, naturally) that weighs several pounds and must be worth
several hundred grand.
Jimmy Buffet's Margaritaville was suprisingly small inside. If you plan to lunch there,
better get there early. We got there around 11:30. It
wasn't long before it filled up.
I noticed that there are a lot of boating-type things to do in Key West. Lots of charters,
fishing expeditions, Sea-doos for rent, boats for rent,
etc. If this type of activity "floats your boat", then you'll be in heaven in
Key West.
Entertainment =============
Seems like from all the reviews I've read about entertainment on Century, the overall
feeling is mixed. I must agree. But for the most part, I
was pleased with the shows they put on. They had three main acts. Jeff Nease (comedian),
Kirby St. Romaine (impressionist), and Mario
D'Andrea (singer/guitarist). Jeff's routines were pretty typical Tonight Show stuff. No
profanity whatsoever. Guess they figured that it would
be bad for kids. Kirby's routine was good. His Sean Connery was better than Sean Connery
himself! Blew me away! Great voices overall.
Would've been nice to hear a few more though, quite honestly. Mario's rendition of the
William Tell Overture on guitar was quite impressive.
Never heard anyone do that before. The guy's got lightning fingers. And a real strong,
booming voice.
The singers and dancers routines were generally nicely choreographed. Nothing out of this
world, but for a cruise ship, it was definitely
decent. There were even a number of pyrotechic displays scattered here and there. A couple
of the loud ones really woke you up, if you had
started to nod off. :)
The sound and lighting were very good, overall. I did notice one night where one of the
speakers in the center, overhead, started to make an
annoying buzz. It was fixed by the next night. Only once did I hear a problem with a
microphone. Other than that, everything was fine.
Especially liked hearing the band. The band, which was split into two sections, left and
right, was situated on floating platforms which were
raised and lowered as needed. These guys were tight. Mistakes were far and few between.
Good, solid sound. Consequently, we went to all of
the shows.
Days at Sea ===========
If you're doing the Western Caribbean cruise, Sunday and Thursday you're at sea. No ports
of call. Granted, there isn't as much to do, but, it's
really not that bad. My wife was happy to just sit by the pool and read a Grisham novel. I
kept visiting the casino here and there. At the time
of this writing (Thursday, nothing to do but write this review), I'm up fifty bucks. Been
playing nothing but roulette. Passes the time.
They have a library on board where you can check out books. There's a card room where
there's usually a poker game going on. Naturally,
people are playing for money. Then there's the movie theater. This cruise, Contact, Liar
Liar, Air Force One, My Best Friend's Wedding, and
Con Air are playing. Same stuff you can rent at Blockbuster Video, so if you were
wondering about current, first-run hits, the answer is no.
There are other ways to kill time also. Michael's is the cigar place you hear about. Big
deal. Images reminds me a little of a sports booking
room at a Vegas hotel. But on a very small scale. They've got big and little screens all
over Images for viewing sports events. Gambling, too.
But I'm not sure how it works, since I did my gambling at Fortunes.
Tipping =======
Figure seventy-five bucks per person for tips. Here's the breakdown: $25 for your waiter,
$25 for your cabin steward(ess), $15 for your
busboy, $5 for your housekeeper, and $5 for the maitre'd. These are the standard amounts
now. They give you these little envelopes to put
the cash in. We handed the envelopes personally to the restaurant personnel. We left the
remaining envelopes on our bed for the other folks.
Keep in mind these folks are assigned to you for the whole week. You get the same waiter
every day for the whole week. So it's in his best
interest to give you really good service in order to earn the contents of that little
envelope.
For drinks at the bar and out by the pool, they automatically add 15% to every tab, so you
don't have to worry about those guys.
Disembarkation ==============
You disembark from the fifth floor when you get back to Ft. Lauderdale. They leave
embarkation cards on your bed on Friday night. We got
number 13. They start calling numbers Saturday morning around 8:30. We were off the ship
by 9:30. Not bad at all. Here's a tip.....get down
to the one of the lounges by 8:30, or you'll be standing while you wait, rather than
sitting. Remember, everyone is trying to getting off the
ship at the same time. In order to hear your number called, you must wait in one of the
ship's lounges. By 9AM, there's no where to sit. So
make sure you get down there early.
Once they call your number, you walk down the gangplank and you're back in the big waiting
lobby again. The customs stopoff is extremely
brief. Like three seconds. Your luggage is right there waiting for you. Piece of cake.
'Course, it's a freakin' zoo at the terminal, but that's to
be expected. Everything is nicely organized. Before you know it, your luggage is loaded up
and you're on your way back home.
Summary =======
My overall rating for Century is very favorable. My wife and I can both easily recommend
taking a cruise on Century. Even though there were a
few negatives here and there, it was really a memorable vacation that we'd both like to do
again someday. Although, we'd probably do the
Eastern Caribbean next time.
They really try hard at Celebrity to go the extra mile to keep their guests happy. Their
employees seem genuinely interested in making their
cruise ship second to none. I can't tell you how many times I saw maintenance guys
polishing chrome, cleaning windows, vacuuming carpets,
waxing wooden bannisters, etc, etc, etc. A perpetual machine. The ship was always
sparkling and spotless. Their pride shows.
Well, I guess that's it for me. Have a great cruise. Hope you liked reading my review. If
I've left anything out that you want to know about,
please feel free to email me at sirull@ibm.net. No spam, please. :)
Name: Jennifer Newton-Bess
Email: jbess@jetson.uh.edu
Age: 50
Occupation: researcher
NumberOfCruises: 1
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: December 6, 1997
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 98
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 100
FoodLidoDeck: 94
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 88
FoodMidnightBuffets: 95
CabinSteward: 90
ShoreExcVariety: 95
FoodVariety: 100
DeckService: 100
ShoreExcValue: 82
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 90
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService:
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge:
OverallPortsofCall: 88
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 29 Dec 1997
Time: 14:06:08
Remote Name: 129.7.65.167
Remote User:
Comments
Although my husband and I are seasoned travelers, this was our first cruise. It is
difficult to imagine that we would be tempted to try another
cruise line after our wonderful experiences aboard the Century.
Embarkation/Disembarkation: We traveled cruise-only and made our own way
to the port. Arrived around 1pm, were given a number, and waiting for approximately 50
minutes (seated quite comfortably) to board the
ship. Disembarkation too a little longer - mainly because no-one is allowed to disembark
until all foreign passport holders have cleared
immigration, and a few of them hadn't bothered to do so. However, once again, Celebrity
had everything well-organized and once our number
was called disembarkation proceeded smoothly.
Cabins: We booked the cheapest cat.12 inside and were upgraded to an outside (on the same
deck), which was very nice of Celebrity.
However, since the cabins are all very similar we would once again only pay the lead-in
fare. There is no such thing as slumming it on the
Century - so why spend the extra money on a cabin?
Entertainment: Although Celebrity is not cited for its wonderful entertainment, we were
pleasantly surprised at the offerings. We had a very
good comedian; a couple of absolutely hilarious jugglers; and Mark Preston (in an earlier
life one of the original Lettermen) who performed a
marvellous Las Vegas-type act. In addition the Celebrity singers and dancers performed a
couple of song-and-dance style shows.
Food: The famous Celebrity food lived up to its reputation. It was truly superb - and, on
the odd occasion where a dish wasn't quite up to par
(or one's personal taste) another dish quickly appeared. My husband and I ate breakfast
and lunch at the deck buffets and found the variety
and quality very impressive also.
Ports: Probably if you can get a group together, it's more economical to share a taxi to
tour the ports of call. However, we took scheduled
trips - to St. John and the National Park in St. Thomas (which was well worth the money
and effort). However, the tour around St.
Maarten/St.Martin and the Nassau city tour were both hardly worth the effort. But, we
hadn't been to these places before. Next time we will
head out on our own. For most people, of course, the Eastern Caribbean tour is simply for
shopping.
Overall, there is nothing glaringly bad to say of our cruise. It truly exceeded our
expectations - and many of the very experienc ed cruisers
aboard rated the Century (I would say, nine times our of ten) as the best ship they'd been
on. We can't wait to go again!
Name: Natalie Gaul
Email: ngaul@msh.org
Age: 37
Occupation: Accountant
NumberOfCruises: 3
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: 11/01/97
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 99
CabinComfort: 98
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 99
CabinAmenities: 97
FoodLidoDeck: 85
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 97
FoodMidnightBuffets: 95
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 97
FoodVariety: 97
DeckService: 95
ShoreExcValue: 95
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 90
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 93
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff: 92
EntertainmentLounges: 93
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 94
EntertShowLounge: 97
OverallPortsofCall: 94
BeautySalon: 95
EntertainmentPoolside: 96
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 99
EmbarkDisembark: 80
DiscoNightclubs: 96
DeckSpace: 99
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 93
SpaceRatio: 99
OverallCruiseValue: 98
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 02 Jan 1998
Time: 14:09:13
Remote Name: 12.0.157.5
Remote User:
Comments
I sailed on the Century as part of a tour sponsored by Cooking Light Magazine. The tour
aspects of the trip were very well done and enhanced
overall enjoyment of the cruise.
The only real problems involved disembarking from Fort Lauderdale. It was extremely
disorganized. Apparently the new ship Mercury was
preparing for its maiden voyage, so the Century had to use a different dock. Staff was
disorganized and passengers disgruntled, but it
appears that this was an unusual event. Once boarded, it was terrific. The ship is
magnificent - very elegant but not too stuffy. They have a
policy of making very few announcements, which is great. You could relax undisturbed by
announcements about the upcoming bingo game.
Although it is a megaship I did not feel cramped.
Food is wonderful, plentiful and with lots of variety. Several of our meals were specially
prepared low cal fare for the magazine and were well
presented. Our waiter and busboy were such a joy. They kept us well cared for and
entertained. I shared a table with eight other women and
we developed an immediate friendship. Cruises are an easy place to meet new friends. Since
I had late seating I did not enjoy the late night
buffets but generally went to take photos, since the presentations are incredible.
The shows were wonderful and house bands playing poolside and in the lounges were first
rate. Drinks were reasonably priced so it was
possible to enjoy an evening listening to music.
The cabins are surpringly spacious and well appointed. The bathroom was roomy and well
lit. The interactive TV is a great way to get
information and I even succumbed to a little video poker before bed. The casino was fair;
did not seem to be many payouts.
There was a great variety of excursions available in ports. I especially enjoyed the Mayan
ruins in Tulum and Ocho Rios. Key West is great for
exploring on your own, but I did take a Conch Train tour around the island. It was an
inexpensive way to get a feel for the island before hitting
Old Town on foot.
I had booked a spa package. It was very pampering and it was nikce to have my hair and
nails done for formal night. The only draw back is
that there is some sales pressure to by products or additional services. The staff at the
spa apparently work on commission and are a
separate franchise from the cruise line.
To speed up disembarkation I decided to join the Captains Club so I could be in one of the
first groups off. I waited about one hour in the card
lounge after breakfast and within 15 minutes of the announcement being made that it was
clear to leave I had my luggage and was in a taxi.
This was a great pleasure given that embarkation was so disappointing.
Since this was such a wonderful vacation I have already made a reservation to sail on the
Galaxy in November 1998.
Name: Barbara Hoffman
Email: BEH@CSI.COMPUSERVE.COM
Age: 45
Occupation: DIRECT MARKETING
NumberOfCruises: 2
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: 4/12/97
Itinerary: Eastern Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 98
CruiseDirector: 85
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff:
CabinAmenities: 98
FoodLidoDeck: 82
DiningRoomService: 96
CabinQuietness: 99
FoodMidnightBuffets: 95
CabinSteward: 85
ShoreExcVariety: 80
FoodVariety: 89
DeckService: 92
ShoreExcValue: 82
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 95
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 84
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 95
EntertShowLounge: 94
OverallPortsofCall: 96
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 92
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 93
AirSeaProgram: 99
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 97
EmbarkDisembark: 96
DiscoNightclubs: 84
DeckSpace: 99
Stabilization: 99
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 99
OverallCruiseValue: 97
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 22 Jan 1998
Time: 12:27:20
Remote Name: 149.174.73.218
Remote User:
Comments
Our cruise in 4/97 was our second and it had been ten years since our first. We
encountered bad weather on our first
cruise and missed 2 of the 4 scheduled stops completely. We were on what is now a small
ship (about 16 tons!) so there
wasn't much to do but bingo and more bingo. So we approached our second cruise with a bit
of trepidation. Needless to
say we came away awed by the Century in terms of the ship itself, the service, the food,
the activities, etc. We were so
impressed that we are booked to sail on Celebrity's new Mercury in just two weeks.
EXCURSIONS: We stopped in San Juan, St. Thomas, St. Maarten, and Nassau on our Century
cruise. We booked island tours
in San Juan, St. Maarten, and Nassau. We were somewhat disappointed with the tours in that
we didn't learn too much
history of the islands and spent too much time on the bus. From what we did see though we
thought that we might like to
sometime return to a resort on the French side of St. Maarten. In St. Thomas we took a
snorkeling excursion to the island
of St. John and did some shopping. We thoroughly enjoyed the snorkeling and actually
learned a lot from our driver there.
We plan to hire a cab and do our own thing more on our upcoming cruise.
FOOD: Dinner in the main dining room and the midnight buffets were outstanding. The
preparation was excellent and the
presentation delightful in the dining room. Dinners were not overly heavy or fatty. We had
all breakfast and lunch meals at
the Islands Cafe or the Veranda Grill so that we didn't feel so regimented by having to be
available at prescribed times for
those meals. All in all, we felt we ate our way through the week but neither of us gained
a pound! It is a large ship and we
walked round it quite a lot as well as used the treadmills and bikes in the health spa on
occasion.
ROOM: The room was impressive. Very, very clean. The rooms are well thought out and every
nook and cranny is used to
the max. There was plenty of storage space available and we weren't falling all over each
other. I was amazed to find a
good sized bathroom and shower as compared to the broom closet size facilities on our
first cruise.
ENTERTAINMENT: We enjoyed the shows in the main theater although we didn't attend every
one of them. We were
impressed with the state-of-the-art lighting and sound equipment and the stage
itself...every bit as impressive as any
Broadway or Vegas show. The on-board staff entertainers were good but not great. The guest
performer was excellent. She
had played Evita on Broadway for a couple of years and had a superb voice!
Our only disappointment, if you will, were the passengers on our ship. They seemed to
retire to bed at a very early hour.
We're certainly not party animals but I expected to find a decent size audience in the
lounges in the evenings, people
dancing, enjoying the music. I like to dance but my husband won't dance if we're the only
ones on the floor. The lounges
were absolutely dead. The only time we saw what could be described as a crowd in any of
the lounges were for the lifeboat
drill in the Rendevous Lounge and the Captain's Cocktail Party on the first formal night.
After that the evenings were dead.
Very little activity in the casinos either. Go figure!
One tip -- if you want reprints of any photos taken during the week, get them onboard. I
waited until we got home and tried
to order them but they had lost our negative. I had quite a hassle getting the reprints
because you have to get a copyright
release from the photography company and they didn't really have their act together.
All in all it was a very memorable vacation! We came home and joined the Captain's Club
foreseeing many future cruises on
Celebrity!
Name: Elaine Rongers
Email: erongers@mail.icongrp.com
Age: 42
Occupation: homemaker
NumberOfCruises: 3
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: 06/29/96
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 98
CruiseDirector: 85
CabinComfort: 99
FoodRoomService: 80
CruiseStaff: 93
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 93
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets: 97
CabinSteward: 100
ShoreExcVariety: 88
FoodVariety: 96
DeckService: 99
ShoreExcValue: 75
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 99
TenderService: 88
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 96
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 92
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 99
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino:
AirSeaProgram: 99
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 70
DiscoNightclubs: 98
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 98
ShopsOnBoard: 75
SpaceRatio: 99
OverallCruiseValue: 97
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 25 Feb 1998
Time: 02:12:13
Remote Name: 206.150.180.43
Remote User:
Comments
This was our first cruise, and I really didn't know what to expect. I was dead tired ,
having stayed up all the night before, and only napped on the
plane. The United air add-on was on-time and a direct flight, always a nice bonus. The
wait at the port for embarkation seemed unbearable; we
arrived much too early, and so, it seemed, did all the other 1800 passengers. That was the
bad part. Once on-board, we met Yana, our cabin
stewardess, who showed us to our cabin. She was incredible (and magic, I think.) Even if
we were only out of our cabin for a few minutes, we would
come back to find more towels, folded clothes, etc. We rarely saw her, but it was clear to
see that she was doing an outstanding job. Our cabin was
very comfortable and roomy, with a huge picture window. Each cabin has its own safe, and I
really liked that a lot. The Century is a very large ship,
and its interior decor is pleasantly elegant and understated and immaculate. The Grand
Dining Room is truly grand, and it adds to the dining
experience, although the food in the dining room is excellent. Our waiter, Rakesh, took
his responsibilities very seriously, and described each dish on
the menu, as though he had cooked them himself. He did an impeccable job of getting
everyone's order exactly right, and his assistant, Arilean, was
vigilant about clearing away each course. The two of them worked in perfect harmony, and
never lost a beat. The Island Cafe was a nice place to
have buffet breakfast & lunches, and I don't think I ever carried my own tray to a
table. There was a polite and plentiful staff waiting to do that. The
meals in the cafe were quite tasty, and very fresh. All the food on the ship was so
pretty, too, even the daytime buffets. The midnight buffets were
standout, only slightly less wonderful than the dining room. The decorations for each
theme buffet was a real eye-popper. So much work goes into
delighting the passengers, it's really amazing! The itinerary included Key West, which
we've loved for a long time, but the ship left port much too
early. Key West is such a fun night place to visit, and we had to leave before most of
this goofy island was even awake. Maybe we just got a bad first
impression of Grand Caymen, but it didn't thrill us one way or the other. It seemed clean,
but without character, and very commercial without charm.
Ocho Rios has a beautiful rain forest that's worth seeing; it's not far from port. We
passed on climbing Dunns River Falls, figuring we'd enjoy the rest
of our cruise much more without one of us in a cast or a sling. Don't go walking around in
Ocho Rios, though; even the cruise staff advises that it's
not all that safe. Cozumel was a very friendly, charming, not over-developed island. We
went on the mermaid trip (I was afraid to snorkel...SHARKS...
this was our compromise.) We shopped a few blocks off the main road and found bargains and
friendly people, and sat down in Las Palmitas(?)
open-air cafe and had the best marguaritas ever. We took a horse-drawn taxi for a lazy
ride back to the tender boats. We almost missed the last
tender, and we did miss dinner. ( Room service was no comparisson to dinner.) We very much
enjoyed the band "Oaysis." They played caribbean
music during the day by the pools, and they were right at home playing everything from
standards to disco in the Hemisphere Lounge. The name of
the other band that switched off with Oaysis escapes me, and it's a shame, because they
were also very entertaining and versatile. Both bands were
quite accommodating about requests, too, and it was hard to stump them! The only time that
the ship felt a little crowded was days at sea. As this
was a summer cruise, there were more families with children, and more young people than
usual, and everybody was by the pool. Otherwise, we
never felt crowded. (Okay, the embarkation!) Disembarkation was much smoother, and I
wasn't sleep-deprived for that, although I was on the verge
of tears, having to get off that lovely ship, and end the best vacation of my life to that
point. We loved that cruise so much, that we took our two
grown daughters with us to the Deep Caribbean on the Horizon the following February, then
my husband and I cruised the Zenith Trans-Canal in
February of this year. As a graduation gift, I'm taking my younger daughter back with me
on the Century this coming spring. We've never even tried
another cruiseline, because our Celebrity cruises have just been so wonderful.
Name: Scott & Melissa Roe
Email: jhegedus@intrepid.net
Age: 36
Occupation: Management
NumberOfCruises: 2
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: October 4, 1997
Itinerary: Western Carribean
FoodDiningRoom: 97
CruiseDirector: 95
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 99
CruiseStaff: 93
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 95
DiningRoomService: 99
CabinQuietness: 92
FoodMidnightBuffets: 95
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 97
DeckService: 95
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon: 95
CasinoStaff: 95
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 95
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff: 90
EntertainmentLounges: 95
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 97
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon: 90
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 95
AirSeaProgram: 97
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 97
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs: 97
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 27 Feb 1998
Time: 18:23:15
Remote Name: 206.102.68.193
Remote User:
Comments
When we arrived on the ship we were asked to go to the front desk where we were pleasantly
surprised that we had been upgraded to a catergory
one suite. Upon our arrival there was champange and fruit for us and also a butler
Salvador who was exceptionall to anything we needed. Included
with the suite was breakfast every morning , afternoon tea, and before dinner hors
d'oeuvres. Dinner in the dining room was excellent and the food
was delicious. No one should ever go away hungry...We had an excellent table where we met
three other couples who we still keep in contact with
today. We had the honor of being invited to sit at the Captain's table on the second
formal night. Still to this day we are not certain as to why we
were chosen to sit at the table but what an experience meeting other couples . One couple
had sailed with Celebrity over 15 times. The
entertainment including the cruise staff was terrific and always kept us entertained. We
really can't talk about the shore excursions because we
chose this cruise to mainly enjoy ourselves and relax on the ship. Overall, we were very
impressed with the service and the ship and will be sailing
again with Celebrity. In fact when we arrived home we booked our next cruise on the
Mercury in October 1998. Celebrity has definitely exceeded our
expectations!!!
Name: Doug Richards
Email: dkrichards@mailcity.com
Age: 51
Occupation: Business (computer) Applications Analyst
NumberOfCruises: 4
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: 3/7 to 3/14/98
Itinerary: Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, Cozumel, Key West
FoodDiningRoom: 95
CruiseDirector: 75
CabinComfort: 95
FoodRoomService: 95
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 80
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 90
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 95
ShoreExcVariety: 85
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 85
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService:
TenderService: 85
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 85
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 70
EntertShowLounge: 80
OverallPortsofCall: 85
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 70
CruiseActivities: 70
Casino:
AirSeaProgram: 85
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 90
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs: 80
DeckSpace: 85
Stabilization: 85
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 85
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 15 Mar 1998
Time: 12:14:33
Remote Name: 146.18.173.70
Remote User:
Comments
Cruise Line: Celebrity Ship: Century Dates: 7 - 14 March 1998 Itinerary: Western Caribbean
OVERALL Good: Excellent food, excellent dining room service. Outstanding cabin - Large
cabin with large (about 3 by 4 ft 'porthole'). Excellent cabin
attendants, overall cleanliness of ship, itinerary. Large, comfortable ship well
maintained and crewed.
Not So Good: Very small jogging track used by non-joggers, no around-the-ship promenade
deck. Mediocre shore excursions. Bad weather
cancelled several water related shore excursions such as snorkeling, sailing. More small
children than on previous cruises with RCCL and Princess
(but they were well-behaved 98% of the time). Mediocre or poor ship nightclub
entertainment, although ship's band, singers and dancers were very
good. Cruise director was unobtrusive to the point of anonymity.
General Background: My wife and I sailed with another couple we've known for about 8
years. This was our second cruise together. Each couple has
gone on at least 4 cruises on Princess, RCCL, NCL and Carnival. Our groups' ages range
from late 40s and up. I've combined our rankings and
comments.
Both couples took the air-sea option and had good connections and transportation to and
from the ship. The embarkation process went smoothly
except for the lack of information about what was gong to happen until we reached the head
of the line. In one case the lines moved very slowly
simply because we were not told what documents we would need to produce. A simple public
announcement would have saved several minutes for
many of us.
The cruise staff met us at the top of the gangway, expeditiously showed us our room and
told us there was a nice buffet available. We arrived on the
ship an hour or two after noon so were hungry and ready to start feasting!
The Cabin: Our cabin was exceptional. We usually an inside cabin on a lower deck to keep
prices down. However, this was our 30th anniversary, so
we decided to get an outside cabin (although still on the lowest deck). I was amazed at
the size of the cabin and its porthole! The porthole was
about 3 by 4 feet, and I believe the cabin was about 170 square feet. The cabin was nicely
arranged, had plenty of storage for 2 people. The cabin
was well maintained during the week.
The Food and Staff: The dining room on the Century is impressive with all tables having a
nice ocean view. The food quality overall was excellent, as
was the dining room staff and service. The menu was varied except for breakfast that
offered the same very nice selections each day. The lunches
and diners were well prepared and presented, and seemed to be 'healthier' than on other
cruises. We did not sample the midnight buffets but
heard others report than they were very nice. Food was almost always available, which was
important as many of the shore excursions necessitated
a mid-afternoon return. Sometimes in the late afternoon we could not find coffee or
juices, but I think that only happened once.
Entertainment: My wife and I love to go to the 'nightclubs'. The Century's entertainment
was simply poor in our opinion. The Century singers and
dancers were excellent, but the cruise director was not what we'd come to expect from
other ships. He was very low key and did not seem to take
charge and ensure we all had a great time. The solo acts that were booked in our opinion
were pretty lame. Other ships have had 'name brand'
entertainment. Century did not. On our comments card I suggested they simply use the
Century singers and dancers and forget about booking
anyone else! As it was they performed only twice during the week. We were disappointed in
the lack of a nice steel band or similar group when
departing a port. In past cruises on RCCL and Princess we had excellent steel bands that
lent a festive and holiday atmosphere. Century had none,
although their "daily newspaper' said they had one.
Shore Shopping and Excursions: The itinerary was fine: Ocho Rios, Grand Cayman, Cozumel
and Key West. Our group was interested in shopping for
jewelry, as this was our 30th and their 23rd wedding anniversaries. It would have been
nice to know that Ocho Rios had the lowest prices and Grand
Cayman the highest. I understand the cruise lines want to be a little impartial. I don't.
If you want to save money plan on shopping in Jamaica and
looking in Grand Cayman! Several of the water-related shore excursions were cancelled due
to rough weather in Grand Cayman and Cozumel. This
was disappointing to me, as I wanted to snorkel in Grand Cayman or Cozumel. The excursions
offered seemed to have variety and the prices were
typically high. We rarely go on excursions any more unless we are cruising new areas. For
those who care about these things, the arrival/departure
of ports of call was around 7 AM and 5 PM. On some other cruises you sometimes
arrive/depart very early or late.
Other Ship Amenities: I like to jog. I like to job early in the morning (around 0630) to
avoid those who are not jogging. Century has only one place to
jog; a 1/14-mile track on deck 14 forward. This is a very short, windy track. I didn't
like it. On previous cruise ships I've had much longer tracks. Also,
although the track is supposedly for joggers only, I had to bob and weave to avoid running
into walkers and gawkers. There were rarely more than 4
joggers when I was on deck. Century offers another slightly larger track for the walkers,
but apparently they liked my track better! This one irritant will
probably keep me from returning to this ship or her sister ships. We also like to do some
'power walking' from time to time. The Century does not
offer a promenade or other deck where you can walk from stem to stern, port to starboard.
If you wanted a nice circular walk, you had to go up to
deck 14 and use that windy and short walking track. We still walked occasionally, but used
the promenade deck that circled about 90% of the ship's
perimeter. My wife used the treadmill and some of the gym equipment in the much-acclaimed
Aqua-Spa on board. She enjoyed what was there. The
other couple also used some of the massage and other features and found them fine. It was
difficult to get a treadmill, exercise bike or similar
equipment unless you signed up early the day before.
If you have any questions or would like to drop us a line, I'm at dkrichards@mailcity.com
Name: Mike Bush
Email: mbush@flash.net
Age: 47
Occupation: Executive Recruiter
NumberOfCruises: 5
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: 11/23/96
Itinerary: Eastern Caribben
FoodDiningRoom: 94
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 96
FoodRoomService: 87
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 95
FoodLidoDeck: 91
DiningRoomService: 98
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets: 90
CabinSteward: 70
ShoreExcVariety: 86
FoodVariety: 94
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue: 90
GoodForHoneymoon: 96
CasinoStaff: 90
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 80
LoungeService:
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors: 96
BeautySalonStaff: 96
EntertainmentLounges:
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 98
EntertShowLounge: 80
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon: 98
EntertainmentPoolside: 90
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 95
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 95
EmbarkDisembark: 60
DiscoNightclubs: 96
DeckSpace: 90
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 25 May 1998
Time: 13:14:21
Remote Name: 209.30.26.19
Remote User:
Comments
Although it's been over a year and a half since our cruise on the Century, I just found
this page and wanted to share my experience.
First, my wife and I have cruised once a year for the past five years and plan to take at
least one every year for the forseeable future. If anyone is wondering
whether cruising is a good value, if there is enough to do, or if you will have a good
overall experience, the answers to those questions will be yes.
We've been on Celebrity twice; our first cruise was on the Zenith. We were pleasantly
surprised on the day before our cruise to be upgraded to a suite; there
are benefits to being a return guest. The suite, needless to say, was spacious, the
service was attentive, there was plenty of closet space, and my wife especially
liked the whirlpool tub. However, room size on Celebrity is not as spacious as on Princess
(mini-suites or above) or Holland America (mini-suites and above). So
if you like to spend time in your room (we do), take that into consideration.
The food was excellent; however, we've never had bad food on a cruise. If I had to rank
the quality, I'd put Celebrity second to Holland America.
I would think twice before travelling with Celebrity again for the following reasons: 1)
On the final day, when I checked our final invoice(we buy wine, use the
beauty salon and massage services) I noticed that some beverages from the mini-bar were
charged. Since we never opened the mini-bar, I questioned the
origin of these items and was told our room steward noted them. We were shown the original
invoices with her signature. Could she be padding her gratuities?
We'll never know, but this was not some small oversight as the charges amounted to more
than $50.00. 2) On both Celebrity cruises, embarkation and
disembarkation were a PAIN. On the final morning of our cruise, we were herded into a
lounge area where we would be called by number to depart. When our
number was called, we were moved to an area where we stood for no less than 30 minutes;
finally, we were let off ten at a time. Celebrity should check the way
Princess handles both procedures; we literally walked onto the ship after a five minute
stop to fill out paperwork; on departure, we were allowed to remain in our
rooms until our number was called. That's why we're travelling on Princess again this
year.
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