VegasMark

Hi Mark! I was on your cruise too, and originally I had 2208. I was very curious to see what the room looked like because there's not a lot online about those rooms. Once my friend decided to join me, I bumped up to an oceanview but I'll definitely give that 1A a shot if I really do decide to do it again solo. Thanks for the description! :D

Glad you were able to go with a friend! I would have gone solo if my friend couldn't go, but I'm really glad he could. We actually thought we saw you one night, but it wasn't you. I wanted you to meet my friend since he lives in NYC.

Thanks! We sail her (not) soon enough.

 

Can you tell me a little more about the 4-D movies?? I never read much about them. I assume we will get the kids the unlimited pass and maybe use too.

I wouldn't want to give away too much about the 4D theater, as there are some surprises that make it fun. The shows range from Sponge Bob to Planet Earth to roller coaster rides. I think there were 6 or 7 different shows. Both kids and adults seemed to love it. I usually don't pay extra for stuff like this, but it is definitely worth the cost.

Thanks for the post! I am going in April on the Breeze for an 8 day. When you checked in from the airport did you use Carnival transportation or did you just catch a cab?

We caught a cab because there were two of us. Flat rate taxi is $24 for all and Carnival charges $16 each for transfers.

Hello all - Since I know many of you are hungry for reviews much like I was before sailing, I offer my review of the Breeze below. I will keep tabs on this post for a week or so and field any questions you may have. Enjoy your cruise!!

• Background information
  

I took this cruise with a single college friend of mine (I’m married, but I like to cruise more than my wife and she was tied up with work). We are both in our late 30s and have each been on many cruises. This is my 20th cruise and I’ve been on most of the major lines.

• Ship information
  

In short, the ship is outstanding. The crew has done a great job of keeping her in tip-top shape. There are many interesting areas of the ship which I will touch on later. There were more unique sitting areas on this ship than any other I’ve been on. For example, the Deck 5 Lanai area is unusual in that it has hot tubs. There is also the fee-free Serenity adult area complete with its own hot tubs, hammocks, and clam shell seating. The Sports Square area is also very cool with pool tables, foosball, ping pong, bean bag toss, ropes course, and mini-golf.

• Activities
  

In my opinion, Carnival does an excellent job with activities. Although they may not have the same investment into facilities as say Royal Caribbean with ice skating rinks and FlowRiders, they make up for it with exceptionally run activities. For example, Carnival had a social staff person running sports competitions like they were Olympic events. One social host (Regan – totally committed to his job and super nice), was doing play-by-play over a mic during a bean bag toss competition. Dodge ball was closely monitored by Regan or Cruz. As an active guest, I appreciate the organization and dedication. I’ve been on Princess cruises where the daily schedule shows something like “Volleyball with fellow guests”, and a staff member does not even show up. Not so on Carnival. If they advertise an activity, there will be a staff member there to keep it running smoothly. I should also mention that there is a lot of trivia on this ship, so if you like that sort of thing, you are in luck!

• Service
  

It would be really hard to ding Carnival on service. I could go on and on, but in an effort to keep it short, I’ll just say that I really have no complaints. Whenever I needed anything, I was taken care of.

• Port & shore excursions
  

We did not do any excursions planned through the ship, but we did do something at every port. Please see my port reviews for specifics.

• Travel to embarkation Port
  

I’m from the western part of the country, but traveled to Miami after visiting family in the northeast (where my friend also lives). We decided to fly in on the day of the cruise. While I was a little concerned about this given it was December, I just booked the earliest non-stop flight, and it was fine. We really liked the ability to check in for the cruise at the airport. Carnival runs two desks at different baggage claim areas of Miami Airport, and you can obtain your key card and check in there. Once you get to the port, you just show your card and stamped papers and then go through security. You will be able to board at the same time as Zone 1 (those who were earliest to check in at the port). Definitely check in at the airport if you are flying in on the day of sailing.

• Cabin
  

In an effort to save money, we booked a category 1A stateroom. I was careful to make sure that this was not a bunk bed room. Cabin 2207 has a regular bed and a sofa bed. The room is more or less square. It is the second room from the front of the ship. We noticed minimal noise, but there is some vibration when you come into port. Still, I’d book this room again vs. spending a couple hundred more for a regular room on Deck 1 or 2, or even a higher deck. I got plenty of exercise as I only took the elevator once (I had to for a photo scavenger hunt). I was trying to find some information about this specific room, because it is a unique 1A. So to satisfy the next guy who was as curious as I was, here is the room layout. The entry door wall of the room shares wall space with the bathroom. Going clockwise, the next wall has the regular bed. The next wall has the sofa bed. The final wall has the desk, tv, and closets. The sofa bed was not quite as comfortable as the regular bed, but with a foam pad it was pretty close. We liked the open space in the center of this room, and found it to be a great value.

• Dining
  

Dining on this ship was excellent. Try to find a ship with more free options at lunch. Guy’s Burgers were as advertised – outstanding! I had one seven out of eight days. They were heavenly! The Blue Iguana Cantina was also very good with fresh, tasty ingredients. My friend and I would generally order three appetizers, two entrees, and two desserts each at dinner. So over eight nights (we ate in the MDR every night), that makes 56 items that I ordered. I had minor issues with maybe two of those items. I think that is pretty darned good when considering they prepare food for up to 4,000 diners.

• Entertainment
  

I really enjoyed what the ship offered for entertainment. The production shows were very good. The comedy shows were exceptional. Other lines just give you one or two comedians who do a couple shows each. Carnival gives you four comedians who do about four shows each (both family and adult). Another outstanding value! Matt, the cruise director, was one of the best I’ve ever seen. He is very visible on the ship and very well received. We liked that he was dressed casually most of the time, but still very sharp. Some cruise directors are stuffy and wear suits every day. Matt is much more low key and the impression is that he cares more and is more relatable. Any of the shows he hosted were a hoot! We also really liked the 4D Theater. We paid the extra $15 for this option (unlimited shows), and it was so worth it! We saw all of the shows – and all were good – so we definitely got our money’s worth. We also really enjoyed the water slides. They were a blast for kids and adults alike.

• Disembarkation
  

I disembarked relatively early using self-assist. I was off the ship about five minutes after leaving my room, and through Customs after another ten minutes. Very easy!

• Summary
  

I read a number of reviews on this site before sailing (probably well over 100). Everyone is entitled to their opinions, but I will provide you with some of my reflections on where the reviews were right and where they were wrong.

Food – The food was overall a great success. I recall one reviewer saying “the food has no taste”. I don’t know if this reviewer tragically lost his tongue to some especially hot soup or what, but I don’t know how you can make that blanket statement. I love food, and I loved the food on this ship.

Lines – Many reviewers did say that were a lot of lines on this ship, and that is essentially true. I sometimes wondered if I’d encounter a line to get into my cabin at night. Yes there are lines, but it isn’t the end of the world. Carnival is able to offer great pricing because their passenger to space ratio is lower than most other lines. They offer a great product and I personally don’t mind the occasional wait. A lot of people said the comedy club had lines and you couldn’t get in. This is not true. We went to five shows and we only stood up once. Yes, you will need to be there 10-20 minutes early, but you can get a seat. Even if you can’t find a seat, you can still watch while standing in the back or on the side. Moving these shows to the main theater would not be possible due to other events in the theater. I also enjoyed the ambiance of the comedy club.

Production shows – I thought these were pretty good, although a lot of people have negative comments. I thought the singing was generally very good. Yes, you now have eight singer/dancers instead of dedicated singers and dedicated dancers, but they obviously use the best singers to do the lead parts and the others as backup. The use of sets with the high resolution screens was amazing technology. See the Brits show especially, and you will know what I mean. I thought the screens were underused for the Motown show, but otherwise they did a really good job. If nixing the show orchestra and lavish sets/costumes saves us all a few bucks on our cruise fare, I’m all for it.

Pools – Yes, the pools are small and can be crowded. I’m not much of a pool guy, so this didn’t affect me much. Still, I didn’t notice them to be horribly crowded. My friend even swam laps a couple times. There are plenty of hot tubs, and they were generally not full.

As I mentioned, I’ve been on many lines and I’m not loyal to any one. I think they all do different things a little better than others. In short, no one does value better than Carnival. If you want a great product at a great price, the victor is Carnival!

• Ports
  

Grand Turk - Great stop similar to a private island. Go right off the pier for a quieter space. Beach chairs are free and you will not be hassled. You can also access the pool at Margaritaville for free.

San Juan - Lots to do in San Juan. We did the Baccardi Factory tour. Note that as of November 2014, it is no longer a free tour. It is $12 for a basic tour with one drink or $35 for an expanded tour with four drinks. Google how to get there on your own. Cost is $7 total round trip for both the ferry and shared taxi.

St. Maarten - Good port with a little of everything. You can walk to the beach in 15-20 minutes or else take a ferry for unlimited trips for $8ish. Beach sections are individually run by vendors, so you will be charged for chairs.

St. Thomas - This port has just about everything. We rented a Windrider 17 sailboat from West Indies Windsurfing for $80 for one hour. Good guys over there. Taxi was $10 each way per person. From there, you can walk to Ritz or Sapphire Beach.

Awesome - thanks everyone!!

Thank you WindDawn!!

Send the paperwork by email as soon as you have the booking number. It shouldn't be a problem.

 

guestadmin@carnival.com

Thank you, but do you (or does anyone) actually have experience doing this inside of two weeks?

Thanks!!

Hello - I'm looking to book a cruise last minute (7-14 days before sailing). The shareholder benefit instructions say you "should" submit proof of share ownership at least two weeks prior to sailing. I'm wondering how late folks have gone before submitting their shareholder info. Has anyone waited until a week prior and been successful? Thank you!!

the water on our last cruise on the Dream had an aquarium taste to it.

Do you drink from aquariums often? :D

Hello - This post is not specific to this forum, but to the Caribbean in general. A friend of mine and I are planning a cruise in December. He wants to go to a port where you can rent a small sail boat. Is there anyone here who can advise which ports might offer sail boats you can rent off the beach? He is not interested in a large yacht where you don't actually do any of the "work". He wants to lower the jib, raise the sail, or some other "sail speak" that I don't understand ;) Thanks!

I don't think the OP is a cheapskate. He is merely trying to redirect money from one area to another. He may not understand that the tips are spread amongst many positions, but he doesn't deserve to be insulted.

That said, I think it is best to keep the tips as they are and if you feel your steward does an extraordinary job, just leave a $20 on the way out. Have fun!

Views on the Century seem to vary very wildly on food, ship condition, service, entertainment, and maybe everything and anything else! It still boggles my mind that we all sailed on the same ship. On other cruises, it seems like there were a couple outliers who disagreed with the masses on a couple areas, but on this ship there seem to be equal opinions of really good and really bad with a few smatterings of average. I think a lot of people who find the negatives are nitpicking details about scratches and worn surfaces and the positive views are maybe people who sailed Century years ago when they may have offered a better product, or maybe have sailed more recently but are clinging to their past views. The truth probably lies somewhere in the middle.

So can we all at least agree that there are some inconsistencies on this ship?

With no disrespect to the OP. ( who actually may be the first "Negative review reader" to return to his/her thread after their cruise)

I think in the future when ANYONE posts a similar question it should be the duty of the next person to ask the question..

Where did you read those reviews?

 

No one else should carry on any further until that question is answered.

 

Would save some time for a lot of people I think.

 

Or perhaps we should just have a stock answer eg:

 

"Ship" happens sometimes but X ships almost always are in great shape and all those negative reviews are usually wrong. If something is really wrong you will have read about it here in this forum.....

 

I bet posts about all the X ships that are about to leave the fleet sooner or later end up like this one. 4 of the ships I have cruised have gone...they were all in great shape when X finished with them and continue to sail today. There were others also that I did not make it on. The one final cruise I was on did have some issues but not as many as the previously retired one. The issues were as a result of Inventory handling. But the ship was just fine as we all knew it would be.

 

I know this will not work but wouldn't it be nice if for once we got our act together in a common plan. :)

Huh? You want to know where I read the negative reviews? ON CRUISE CRITIC! :) The reason I started the thread was due to the alarmingly high rate of negative reviews written about this ship, specifically in the past few months. The negative reviews of the Century continue to pour in as well. I personally disagree with most of the negative comments, but since this is Cruise CRITIC, everyone is entitled to their opinion. I was merely looking for some reaction to the negative reviews to see if people concurred. Also, there have been threads on the Celebrity forum that have mentioned various problems with the Century. I'm not sure I understand your post.

I read those reviews and have the identical concerns for our upcoming trip. Look forward to your comments after yours!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

See post #44.

We are back from our cruise and as promised I'm back to report on it. I have submitted a review which should post shortly. In the meantime, below is the text from my review. We had a fun trip thanks mostly to the ports. We didn't find Celebrity to excel over other lines in any area, and found them lacking in a few departments. To each their own. I will say, however, that the ship appeared to be in good condition and I didn't notice any signs of unacceptable wear.

Background information

My wife and I traveled on this voyage. We are mid-30s and have each sailed on a variety of different cruise lines. I have been on 19 cruises and my wife has done 8. We went into this cruise knowing that the Century was an older ship and would not have a lot of the amenities of some of the larger Royal or Carnival ships. We booked this sailing based on the itinerary, and knew that we would not be spending a lot of free time on board. Knowing that there have been a number of negative Century reviews lately, I actually started a thread on the Celebrity board asking why. I will provide details below, but in summary, there really isn't anything wrong with the ship itself. It was more an issue of what Celebrity has to offer for us. Keep in mind as you read this review, I am not comparing my experience to my normal life. A cruise on a ship with hardly anything to offer would still be a million times better than a week at work. Maybe that means I need to find a better job, but my point is I'm comparing my experience on this cruise to all other cruises I've been on.

Hotel information

We traveled to LA the day prior to embarkation for some sightseeing. I booked a 3.5 star hotel on Priceline and ended up with the Crowne Plaza LA Harbor for $75, which was a great deal. We rented a car through the LAX Thrifty for $63 which allowed us to return the car at the Long Beach location the next morning. Parking at the Crowne Plaza was free. On the morning of embarkation, I dropped the car off and ran the ten miles back to the hotel. I needed an excuse to eat multiple desserts every night ;) The hotel was perfect for us. We had one little issue at check-in. We were given two keys and a room number, but the keys didn't work. I returned to the desk and was told the keys were actually for a different room. At that point I was given the keys for a third room. Not a biggie, but given that it was 10:30 at night, it wasn't ideal. Otherwise, we had a nice room with a view of the water where we had one of the best sights - our cruise ship in port!

Travel to embarkation Port

Since the Crowne Plaza is only about 8/10ths of a mile from the port, it was an easy walk. The hotel does run a shuttle, but if you are able, I'd recommend the walk. Embarkation was pretty easy. We arrived at about 1pm, and there was hardly a line. As usual, I was told by porters and dock workers that my large bag would not fit through the x-ray. And also as usual, I had no trouble getting it screened and through. I have just had too many first hand baggage issues and heard too many stories to leave my bag out of sight. Also, it allows us to unpack right away and not have to wait until staff delivers the bags.

Ship information

As I had mentioned, there has been a lot of talk on the boards and in the reviews about the state of the Century. This was a concern of mine before boarding, but I wasn't going to let talk of worn carpet and upholstery ruin a cruise. I have never been on a bad cruise and I wasn't about to start now! :) Much to my surprise, I did not see any worn carpet or upholstery. Besides our bed pillows, which had seen better days, there were not any major condition concerns. Sure, there were scuffs and dings here and there, but is that really going to ruin anyone's vacation? Yes, but I feel sorry for those people.

Activities

Well, this was one area of failure. There just weren't a lot of things to do while the ship was sailing. Every day was a port day, but we were still at sea by early evening most nights. I don't recall any trivia sessions in the evening at all. This was also the first cruise I can remember where there wasn't a "Newlyweds" type game show. There really weren't too many options at night other than the evening theater show. There were a couple theme parties, but they were 50s, 60s, and 70s themed, which didn't really appeal to us. There actually was a 60s trivia one night, but it was called something like "Impossible 60s Music Trivia". Being that we weren't born for another decade from the end of the 60s, this didn't sound like much fun. Beatles trivia or some other type of trivia? Sure. But we knew we weren't going to know anything for this particular trivia, and it seemed to be the only one offered at night.

Service

Service was excellent, but this was another area where the Celebrity ***** just wasn't our thing. I will give you a few examples. Much of the hot food on the buffet line had to be served by crew members. This resulted in longer lines and also wasted food. You had to wait for each person in front of you to tell the crew member (where there was usually a language barrier, by the way) to make their selections and be served. Also, there was a large amount of food waste. Sometimes I just want to have a tiny portion of something (say, scrambled eggs). When I asked for a small amount, I was given the same heaping portion as everyone else without fail. Same goes for the waffle bar. I couldn't even get syrup without the server dumping a giant ladle full on my food. This is not better service, it is worse. Furthermore, a couple of the men's and women's bathrooms had restroom attendants. To my wife and I, this was highly unnecessary. As I mentioned, I've been on many cruise ships and never before saw restroom attendants. I don't recall ever using a dirty bathroom on other cruise ships. They probably have a roving person to clean restrooms. To have a person stuck in the bathroom for a large portion of the day seemed demeaning and unnecessary. While overall service from the crew members was very good, it wasn't anything special when compared to other cruise lines. Service from our dining room waiters Roy and Shunny was exceptional.

Cabin

We were very pleased with the cabin overall. We had an inside room on Deck 9 and it had plenty of storage and was kept very clean by our steward Leonardo. There were three full closet sections (two had a rod and hangers and the third had shelves and drawers). There were lots of other drawers in the desk, nightstands, etc. On this ship, there is only one outlet. Not a pair of outlets, just one (well, plus the shaver only outlet in the bathroom). So you might consider bringing a power strip if you have a lot of electronics. The shower was much larger than any other shower I've seen in a standard cabin. The water pressure was also very good. Our toilet did not want to flush one day, but it was fixed while we were ashore and we never had another issue.

Dining

Food was largely very good. I would say it was comparable or a little better in quality than other ships, but only marginally better, if at all. There seemed to be a lack of options at the buffet at times. For example, when the salad bar was open after the normal lunch buffet was closed (usually after 2pm), there were no protein options for vegetarians (i.e. beans). One day we asked one of the supervisors for kidney beans, knowing they had been there before. He never returned to our table after 15 minutes. When I flagged him down, he made up some story that they looked for them but there weren't any. The next day they were there again during normal lunch hours.

Entertainment

The shows in the main theater lacked the grandeur of other ships because of the small size of the stage and the lack of good bass sound. The comedian and comic magician were both very good. The singers/dancers were comparable to other ships. We saw two of the three productions shows, and they were both good. On two of the nights, they used the lounge guitar player as part of the main theater entertainment. I had never seen this before on a ship - a lounge singer who normally performs for 10-20 guests is not suitable for main theater entertainment once, let alone twice. AND, he played the same song on each night. Really? Here again, Celebrity failed to be comparable to other cruise lines. By the way, there has been a lot written about loud music around the ship, but we did not notice this at all.

Disembarkation

Disembarkation was a little flawed. We had bag tags to depart at 9am, but elected to carry our own off, so we did not wait for our number to be called. We were number 20, and at 9am they were only up to about number 14. Customs processing actually took place on the ship. Passengers were told to go to the Rendezvous Lounge to disembark, but not told which elevator to take. When we got off the elevator, we found ourselves "swimming upstream" to get to the end of the line, which was clear into the atrium. The line wasn't too bad though and we were off the ship in plenty of time to get on our SuperShuttle and to LAX on time for our flight.

Summary

While this cruise was a great experience, that was largely due to the ports. This was our first Celebrity cruise, and Celebrity did not show us anything extraordinary. Service policies (not the service itself), entertainment, and activities were all lacking. In the future, we would rather book on Royal, Carnival, or Princess. Each of these lines are comparable to Celebrity in most areas, and superior in others. For this reason, we would only consider a Celebrity cruise in instances of unusual itineraries.

I was on the same sailing, and while we had a good time, that was mostly due to the ports. We weren't impressed with what Celebrity had to offer as compared to other lines. My review has been submitted and should show up shortly. I will also post it to the thread I created a couple weeks ago related to the recent poor reviews. Don't get me wrong, we didn't have a bad experience at all, it just seems that Celebrity isn't for us.

I've been on many cruises and never have had an issue using my cell on board an American embarkation/disembarkation port or even in Alaskan cities. On my upcoming cruise, we are overnighting in San Fran and spending other days in US cities. We will tender in Santa Barbara, Monterey, and Catalina Island. My question is will I be able to use my cell while on the ship in San Fran or while a few miles off shore on the tender days without incurring wireless charges from the ship tower. Thank you so much in advance!!

Hmmm... It seems we've gone a bit off topic. Would anyone like to discuss tipping, smoking, or music volume? ;)

Whew! I feel a lot better now thanks to the mostly positive remarks! I've never been on a bad cruise, and I don't expect that to change. Nine days to go! I will report back the second week of April.

Thanks!!

I booked the Century for a Pacific Coastal cruise back in September. Our sailing is a week from Saturday. When I was looking to book, I did considerable research and read lots of reviews and threads on here. I knew I would be booking an older ship without a lot of the newer bells and whistles, but that was fine. I also knew the ship was rumored to be sold. I've been on about 17 cruises on a wide range of ships, so I've seen most of what is out there. This, however, will be my first Celebrity cruise.

Recently, reviews of the Century have been mostly very poor. And it isn't just comments about the state of the ship itself, but more regarding service issues. Things like staff being rude, longer than expected wait times for different things, lack of knowledge by the crew, etc. These are things mentioned on several reviews and threads. I spend enough time on here to know that people will complain about most anything, but when there is a trend, I take note.

This being my first time on Celebrity, I expect a good product or I will look elsewhere. I can't believe Celebrity has diminished their product so much on this ship that they would risk losing customers. I will cruise with an open mind and report my thoughts when I return.

Happy cruising!!

We booked about six months out and got our assignment about 50 days out for our upcoming cruise. We've booked a lot of guarantees on various lines, and generally the room is assigned well in advance of sailing, although others report waiting until they are at the pier.

This is still an active program on Princess:

https://book.princess.com/BookingSystem/jsp/home/ship_visit/BonVoyageExperience.jsp

I'm not sure if any other lines have similar programs. It is not an issue of security, post 9/11 concerns, yada, yada, yada. It is just a matter of the line's policies. As a previous poster mentioned, I think it is a great idea for lines to offer this type of package. It presents their product to potential new clients, enhances the experience of the current cruiser, and makes a few bucks for the line. Everybody wins!

I booked in September for a 3/29 cruise. Cabin was assigned about 50 days out. I got my doc packet this week. I hope they don't change the cabin on us! We did an inside guarantee and got a nice inside on deck 9 (Century) surrounded by other cabins. We could have been a lot worse off, although time spent in our cabin is pretty minimal.

When I was a kid (about 25 years ago), we made the ship with about one minute to spare. I think we had a flight delay. I have a faint recollection of them pulling the gangway just after we boarded. We would have missed the ship in these times of 90 minute advance boarding.

I usually fly in the day prior so there are no issues and to see the city a bit. I see it as cheap insurance (just a hotel bill).

First off, if you book a guarantee you must be willing to accept the least desirable location and cabin on the ship which is at least the level that your booking guarantees. For some this is no problem as any cabin on the ship is fine for them. Others worry about noisy locations, odd shaped rooms, don't like one location or another for some reason or have other issues.

 

Second, guarantees are generally not offered unless they need to put cabins on sale. You won't see a guarantee for cruises that are far out. They use guarantees to sell remaining cabins when the cruise gets closer. They will just appear either on specials or online when the cruise line needs to put their inventory on sale to close it out. It offers flexibility to the cruise line and has other marketing benefits to the cruise line.

 

Guarantees are good for people booking closer to the sale date that are flexible as far as cabin location. They are not good for everyone.

I agree with most of your message, but I do want to point out that Guarantees are not just available at the last minute. For example, we have a cruise coming up in March that we booked as a Guarantee six months out. I've booked many Guarantees in the past, and I know for sure they were all booked far in advance, as I need extra time to plan my leave and travel.