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Name: Michael McCormick
Email: mac@wavefront.com
Age: 47
Occupation: Sales Mgr.
NumberOfCruises: 3
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Century
SailingDate: 3/7/98
Itinerary: Western Carribean
FoodDiningRoom: 94
CruiseDirector: 85
CabinComfort: 90
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 91
FoodLidoDeck: 94
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 95
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 80
ShoreExcVariety: 90
FoodVariety: 100
DeckService: 95
ShoreExcValue: 85
GoodForHoneymoon: 95
CasinoStaff: 89
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 86
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 86
GoodForSeniors: 98
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 87
WheelchairAccess: 95
ExerciseFacilities: 95
EntertShowLounge: 80
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon: 97
EntertainmentPoolside: 85
CruiseActivities: 85
Casino: 85
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 95
DiscoNightclubs: 85
DeckSpace: 95
Stabilization: 95
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 95
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 17 Mar 1998
Time: 12:10:10
Remote Name: 206.146.208.171
Remote User:
Comments
Ship/Itinerary: M.V. Century/Western Carribean
Airport to Pier: We flew into Ft. Lauderdale Airport (FLL) and were met at the gate by a
Celebrity agent. We did not purchase a air/sea package,
instead opting to use some of my frequent flyer miles and fly down on our own thus saving
some money. We did, however, purchase a airport to pier
package whereby they bus you from place to place and handle all of your luggage (kinda)
for a $20 round-trip per person fee. My first tip is that if
you’re flying into Miami International (MIA) this is probably a pretty good deal,
since it’s quite a drive from MIA to Port Everglades where the Century
docks. But if you’re flying into FLL, I recommend just grabbing a cab. It’s only
$8 to the pier and I would think, much more convenient. We ended up
having to drag our luggage almost a block after the bus dropped off at the airport after
our cruise. And since it can’t be more than 3 miles from the
airport to the pier, and there were plenty of cabs at the airport and waiting at the pier
when you get off the ship, I look at this as a win-win situation.
Doing a taxi is both more convenient and cheaper.
Embarkation: A breeze. We were a bit early so we had to wait about an hour total, but
it’s great people watching. Enjoy it. (These are all the people
you will be cruising with for the next week.) Once they started the boarding process it
went fairly fast and was well organized. We had #11 and were
on the ship and in our cabin in about a half an hour.
The Ship: Simply said, the Century is beautiful. Starting from a recommendation from our
travel agent, our first 2 cruises were both aboard Celebrity’s
Zenith so that’s all I really have to compare the Century with, but this was one
elegant and well staffed ship. Beautiful artwork adorned most public
places and most all of the staff were friendly and wanting to please. I found the 3 level
Grand Foyer and shopping promenade one of my favorite
places. Sometimes in the afternoons if we were at sea and it was a bit chili outside, I
would just go down on deck 5, grab a chair or sofa by the
window (port hole?) and read. On one afternoon my wife and I checked out a backgammon
board and sat there and played for an hour or so.
(Unbelievably, she won 3 out of 3 games!)
The Cabin: We had a category 9 cabin and as one would expect it was kind of small but I
thought it was well laid out and made good use of space.
Plenty of closet room. I have to say that after booking our cruise and seeing that we were
on deck 10 (cabin 1039), I was a bit concerned about the
potential noise from the deck above which was the pool deck. Bands play there sometimes in
the afternoon and sometimes at night. And on at least
one evening, a Carribean festival takes place at midnight. I was worried that if we wanted
to hit the hay a little early that we’d be kept awake by the
noise. No problem; the room was totally quiet. No noise bleed through at all. I even
checked one evening when I could feel the bass guitar and bass
drum vibrating deck 12 just above the pool. No noise in the cabin at all.
Cabin Steward: Here I was disappointed. We had such good cabin stewards in the past that I
had grown to expect great service from Celebrity in this
area. She was, most of the time, nowhere to be found and on one night had forgotten to
leave us fresh towels for the next morning. But, for the
most part, the room was well cleaned and stocked with towels and ice.
Food: This is why we have always cruised Celebrity. They are known for their food and the
reputation they’ve earned is well deserved. In the main
dining room, most of the food is perfectly prepared, the dishes are creative and
beautifully presented and the service is simply first rate. Again,
having only other Celebrity cruises to compare this with I would have to say that while
the food is utterly fantastic, I may have noticed a slight
let-down in the quality of ingredients. I had veal one night that was so tough I could not
cut it even with the steak knife that was provided. On another
night, three of the other guests at our table complained of very tough steaks. I also had
a pasta dish on the last night that was not to my liking.
However our waiter noticed this right away and I exchanged it for a chicken dish that was
incredible. Please keep in mind that for the most part, the
food is the best. All of the other people at our table had been on other cruise lines
(Carnival, Princess, and Costa) previously, and all said that this
food was at least a step or two above the food on the other cruise lines. Being a
Celebrity 'snob', I am simply nit-picking here.
The food in the Islands Cafe was also excellent. So much to choose from for both breakfast
and lunch that you have to watch yourself so that you
don’t just blow up like a balloon and get whisked away by the wind! Again it’s
beautifully presented with carved fruit and elegant garnishes
everywhere. They also served hamburgers and hot dogs at the grill by the pool everyday
from noon until 2 pm and these are also excellent. Pizza is
also is served everyday from 3 to 7pm. Both of us remarked that it was some of the better
pizza we had tasted. Needless to say there is tea at 4pm
each day and formal dining for all 3 meals if you wish to take advantage of it. (Not to
mention 24 hour room service. So much food, so little time...)
Maitre’d: On our other cruises the maitre’d was usually out of sight, out of
mind. Not so on this cruise. Mario was at our table every night checking on
the quality of our food and service, and giving us tips for the next days ports of call.
He was always available and very friendly, to the point where on
the last night we made sure to include him in our 'going away photo' of the whole table.
He was our best friend for the cruise!
Entertainment: Again, Celebrity is known for this, but for the wrong reasons. While the
duo playing in the Rendezvous Square lounge before dinner
was great, the rest of the entertainment was simply mediocre. There was a juggler/comedian
in the Celebrity Show Lounge on the first night and a
later night (I forget which night) that was GREAT! Very funny and an excellent juggler.
But the rest of the shows in that room were so sappy that we
could hardly stand them. The musicians themselves were not terrible, it’s the shows.
The meaning of the word 'hip' is the exact opposite of what
these shows are. Every song chosen has been done to death a million times. On the other
hand, your grandmother would love it. Maybe I’m biased
but I played most of these songs in show bands 20 years ago and they were old and
over-used then.
The band playing around the pool and in the Hemisphere lounge was 'Prodigy' and we
remembered them from the Zenith last year. They are not
bad. Really, just like the rest of the entertainment on board. None of it is really
terrible but none of it is very good either.
Ports of Call: Ocho Rios - Weather and island are beautiful. However this town is actually
a dump and the people, while friendly, are very pushy when
it comes to selling you their wares. You’ll not ever really feel threatened, but you
will say, ‘No thank you, Mon!’ at least a hundred times before you
get back on the ship if you choose to walk the streets for a time. If you wish, take
advantage of this and bargain with the Jamaicans for some
interesting trinkets. You should almost always get these at less than half the price they
originally quote and be able to get the infamous Jamaican
Blue Mountain coffee for around $10 USD / lb.
Grand Cayman - Here we were going to snorkel at Sting Ray Bay but had to cancel due to
rough seas. In fact, the Century had to drop anchor off
shore instead of dock at the normal port for this reason. Therefore, we had to tender in
in fairly rough seas and then take a taxi into town. ($4 per
person, each way) Nothing really much to shop for here. Rum Cake is the specialty of the
island and I guess everybody that ever visits here buys
some. We did and it’s actually quite good. Tip; buy the Tortuga brand rum cake.
According to Mario, it’s better than the Captain what-his-name
brand.
Cozumel - Taxis from the ship to town are $4 per taxi. Split that with another couple to
save a couple of bucks. Make sure you confirm that price
before taking off with the cabbie. If you’re into shopping, it’s much better
here than the first two islands. Good deals on any silver jewelry. Again all
snorkeling and SCUBA excursions were cancelled due to rough seas. (We did not have good
luck with the weather for this entire cruise. Blame it on
El Niño!). The place to visit on Cozumel is Carlos and Charlie’s; a bar where it
never stops. We stopped in at 2pm and the place was going crazy!
People were partying like there was no tomorrow and the place was packed. The music was
blaring and the alcohol flowing heavily. We went in for
45 minutes or so and had a drink just to take in the atmosphere. Mario (maitre’d) had
told us that on more than one occasion people had lost track
of time while at Carlos and Charlie’s and had missed the boat! I can see where that
could easily happen.
Key West - Well, I thought it felt pretty good to be back in the good old USA. Again the
weather was terrible; windy and cold, but we headed in for a
walk of Duval Street and to learn some history of the island. Key West is a beautiful
island with a lot of wonderful architecture and a laid back feel due
to the artistic community that thrives there. You will have many opportunities to
contribute to the income of the street musicians and artists as they
bang their bongos and other drums for spare change. We took the Conch Train tour and were
very impressed. We were ready for the stock drive
around the island in a stupid gas powered train and were pleasantly surprised. Our driver
(Rick) was extremely knowledgeable and very well spoken.
This guy had the island down pat and knew how to tell a story. We enjoyed ourselves very
much and then later enjoyed some of Key West’s infamous
key lime pie. In spite of the weather, a wonderful afternoon.
Disembarkation: All I can say is, 'smooth as silk'. You are assigned a number and when
it’s called you get off the ship. You walk past the customs
agents who are just standing there talking to each other about their children or the last
book they read, and hand them the card you filled out
declaring your purchases while out of the country. Go get your luggage and head for your
bus or taxi. Your cruise is over, but it is a memory you will
never forget.
Last thoughts: Celebrity knows how to make you feel like you’ve been on the cruise of
your life. If you love good food that’s presented like a painting,
by a wait staff that seems like they’d just as soon jump off the ship as to have you
unhappy; if you want to be surrounded by elegance everywhere
you turn on a ship where someone is always cleaning something somewhere; if you want to
enjoy the flavor of the Carribean, take in some new
cultures and mix with some of the people that inhabit these wonderful islands, then this
is truly a great cruise. One you will cherish for a long time. I
highly recommend the Century and Celebrity cruises.
Please e-mail me if you have any questions about the Century or the Zenith.
Michael McCormick mac@wavefront.com
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