 |
 |
|
Name: Howard Rose
Email: hlrcpa@mediaone.net
Age: 41
Occupation: CPA
NumberOfCruises: 4
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: 05/30/98
Itinerary: Western
FoodDiningRoom: 96
CruiseDirector: 94
CabinComfort: 98
FoodRoomService: 90
CruiseStaff: 96
CabinAmenities: 98
FoodLidoDeck: 94
DiningRoomService: 94
CabinQuietness: 80
FoodMidnightBuffets: 94
CabinSteward: 90
ShoreExcVariety: 94
FoodVariety: 95
DeckService: 95
ShoreExcValue: 90
GoodForHoneymoon: 95
CasinoStaff: 96
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 90
LoungeService: 96
TenderService: 90
GoodForSeniors: 90
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 95
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 96
EntertShowLounge: 96
OverallPortsofCall: 96
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 95
CruiseActivities: 85
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 99
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs: 95
DeckSpace: 92
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 06 Jun 1998
Time: 15:35:43
Remote Name: 24.129.28.45
Remote User:
Comments
I am writing this review after just returning home from the 5/30 sailing of the Century.
Cruising with me were my wife and our 8 year old daughter. We had
previously sailed on the Carnival Ecstasy, Carnival Celebration and the Big Red Boat.
First I want to say that this by far was the nicest of the cruises we have
been on. Celebrity knows how to treat their guests and for seven days, great service,
elegance and luxury are the words of the day! I will try and convey our
experience and make some comparisons to Carnival where I can, as this is all I have to
compare it to.
Embarkation
As we live in Fort Lauderdale we did not need any form of land transportation to Port
Everglades. My parents dropped us off at the port around 12:00 noon.
Celebrity’s embarkation procedure is to hand out priority numbers on a first come
first server basis. Around 1:00 PM they start calling numbers around one
every 5 minutes or so. We were number 15 and boarded the ship around 2:00. At 12:30
however they start boarding suite guests and Captain Club members. If
you can join the Captains Club before you cruise I highly recommend it. I called Celebrity
a week before we cruised and they would not let me join, I was told it
takes about ten weeks to process the application. You can join once on ship and if you do
you are given a priority number to disembark which to me was well
worth the $35 it cost to join. Overall the embarkation process moves smooth and once
onboard a nice lunch buffet is waiting for you.
The Cabin
Once on board you are led to your cabin by a hostess with white gloves. Our hostess must
have been new as we got lost a bit. The cabin itself is very nice. We
had an outside cabin on the Penthouse deck. It was a category 3 room. The cabin was nicely
decorated with a modern look, very spacious closets and lots of
drawer space. Make sure you look behind the mirror as more storage space and a safe are
located there. The bathroom was very spacious and lots of places to
put your toiletries. The water pressure in the shower was great and not any problems
getting hot water. I liked the cabins much more than on Carnival, I do not
recall the storage space or closet space on Carnival being as accommodating as Century.
Our room steward was quickly there to introduce himself to us but he
did not say much. He did not show us where things were. I expected at least for him to
show us where the light switches are, where the closets are located, how
to work the interactive television or even explain what his duties were suppose to be.
Honestly we did not see much of him the rest of the trip. He kept our cabin
very clean but he did not go out of his way for us at all. Compared to Carnival I would
have to give the nod for cabin steward service to Carnival. The interactive
television was not working the first night, but once it was fixed we used it several times
to order room service or shop the excursions. The only complaint we had
about the cabins is that there should be non-smoking floors or blocks of rooms that do not
allow smoking. As soon as we opened the door to the cabin the
smoke was very bad. The people in the room next to us smoked and we breathed in a good
deal of second hand smoke. They also had a crying baby that woke
us up every night and they were extremely loud. Other than them we did not hear our
neighbors on the other side of us or people walking the halls.
The Food
The food on this ship was for the most part excellent. The dining room was beautiful.
Dining for dinner is quite an experience. The dining room was two floors.
We were seated on the bottom floor. Entering the room from the second floor and walking
down the spiral staircase while a string quartet serenaded us was
definitely one of the highlights of the cruising experience. We had the late seating for
dinner which for us was 8:30 PM. We figured this would give us more time
at the ports of call which it did, but it seems that the entertainment of the ship was
scheduled around the early (main) seating. Our daughter was in the kids
program and their activities are all geared towards the main seating. Lunch and breakfast
were open seating. We stuck to the buffets for breakfast and lunch.
We had breakfast in the dining room one morning and the food was just as good at the
buffet served in the Island Café. At 4:00 PM they have an afternoon tea.
You should not miss these as they are really nice. The string quartet plays while you can
relax with some finger sandwiches, pastries or frozen yogurt. They also
serve hot dogs, hamburgers, turkey burgers, pizza and a few other items during the day
outside by the pool. The buffets and other non dining room foods were
fantastic compared to Carnival. I read one review of the Century that someone had written
before we left and he complained there was nothing to eat between
lunch and the late seating dinner. We did not find this to be true. There is more than
enough to eat and what is offered is very good as well. We did not eat at
any of the midnight buffets but did see most of them and they looked pretty good. Dinner
on the late seating is over at around 10:30 and who can eat again at
midnight? Two night s they did not have a buffet, instead they have waiters all over the
ship carrying trays of gourmet foods. I enjoyed this better than buffets.
No lines and lighter food. Room service was pretty good, you can order sandwiches, pizza,
and other light snacks right from your television and in minutes the
food is at your door.
Entertainment
I had read many reviews about the Celebrity line and many complained about the
entertainment. I was very impressed. I thought it was far better than Carnival.
The one thing about Century that I really like was the number of places you could go while
onboard. Several lounges and areas to go to, all with a different
atmosphere. There was plenty of live entertainment on the ship to enjoy. Mirage was a
musical group that played songs from the 70’s and 80’s with some
contemporary selections thrown in. The female vocalist of the band was terrific. The male
vocalist was not as good, but his energy kept the crowd going and he
seemed to be a favorite amongst the younger crowd. The group Prodigy was a steel drum and
reggae style band that played by the pool and up at the disco
lounge. They were also very good. Other performers in the lounge areas included a duo that
was pretty good and the Celebrity orchestra that played some
Dixieland music one night. They also played the live music and scores for the theater
shows. The theater shows were very professional and quite enjoyable. We
went to all the shows except one and we got to hear the featured singer perform at the
final show. They also featured a comedian who was very funny, a
juggling team that were a riot and the Celebrity singers and dancers were excellent. The
cruise director was pretty good. Overall the entertainment was excellent
and like I said far better than what we saw on the Carnival ships we were on. As far as
scheduled activities I guess you could say that Century is somewhat
boring compared to Carnival. I guess that is the reason Carnival use the Fun Ship in their
commercials. Celebrity is much more laid back. They do not try and sell
you bingo, lotto, video tapes, even the drinks, Carnival did not leave us alone, always in
our face trying to sell drinks. Celebrity was luxury and eloquence and
barking at us and selling at us is not their style. The days are much more laid back.
Maybe not as much to do as Carnival, but was perfect for the type of vacation
we wanted. As far as age groups and the people on the ship, I would say most were
30’s, 40’s and 50’s couples and some families. Not a whole lot of kids and
frankly the kid program was horrible. Carnival kept the kids busy doing all sorts of fun
stuff day and night. Century just let them play games. Not a creative
schedule at all and the hours of operation were limited and as I mentioned earlier
designed around the main dinner seating. I would not recommend this cruise
to singles as there were not a whole lot of adult singles onboard. There were some younger
teens and a few in 20’s but if you want to take a fun cruise and you
are single Carnival may be more your liking.
Ports of Call
We did the western itinerary. The ports were all nice and we had a good time at all of
them. We climbed the falls at Dunns River in Ocho Rios. We did the ships
Highlights tour which included a bus ride around Ocho Rios and a tour of the Shaw
Botanical Gardens. Climbing the falls is hard work! I slipped and fell a couple
of times. Careful here folks, this is not a Disney ride! Also be careful of some of the
natives there, they are real aggressive and will take your money right out of
your pockets if you let them. I will not go into what we did in the other ports, but they
were all nice. If anyone wants more information on these ports just send me
an email.
Other Comments
A few weeks before we left my wife suggested we post a message on AOL and see if anyone
was taking the same cruise as us. We met several people that
responded and we all started chatting. We were 13 people in all and 9 of us ended up
sitting at the same dinner table thanks to the efforts of one of our online
net friends. I have to say that being with this group was the highlight of the trip. They
were wonderful and made the experience very enjoyable. If these people
are any indication of the types of people that sail on Century it would be an easy
decision as to what line to sail next time. It is going to be a quiet dinner here
tonight without them!
The Aquaspa was also very nice. My wife and I both enjoyed a massage and time in the
therapy pool. The only thing I did not like about the massage is that the
woman therapist spent most of the hour telling me about the products and then tried to get
me to purchase them. The exercise facilities are good and the view
from the treadmills is fantastic.
I can’t end this review without commenting on the beauty of this ship. The design of
the ship in terms of layout, architecture and color schemes were five stars all
around. I could not understand how some people have their next cruise planned before they
are even unpacked, but now I can. Celebrity is coming out with a
new ship in the year 2000 called the Millennium, and guess what folks???? I am going to be
on it!
I hope this review helps some of you plan your trip. If you have any questions please feel
free to email me at hlrcpa@mediaone.net
Want to book your cruise at a great rate?
Click here.
Questions or comments? Mail to webmaster@cruiseopinion.com.
Copyright ©1996-2001 CruiseOpinion.com. Last modified: January 17, 2000.