Yes, Virginia, The "Old" Celebrity Does Still Exist

[greeneg]

Just a brief note as I will be writing a full review in a few days, but we were on the January 31 sailing of the Century and I just want to comment that the ship completely met or exceeded all of our expectations. It was our first trip on the Century and we were treated famously: food, service, crew, and ship were all up to the traditional Celebrity Standards. Not the Newest, but still one of the very Best!

 

Will be glad to answer questions.

[Texed]

Mr. Green,

That is very good news. Thanks for posting. :)

[Lois R]

Just a brief note as I will be writing a full review in a few days, but we were on the January 31 sailing of the Century and I just want to comment that the ship completely met or exceeded all of our expectations. It was our first trip on the Century and we were treated famously: food, service, crew, and ship were all up to the traditional Celebrity Standards. Not the Newest, but still one of the very Best!

 

Will be glad to answer questions.

 

Hi Ed,:) glad things went well for you. I didn't realize you had never

sailed Century before. She was my first;) and I am sailing her again

in May:)

[seacruise9]

Hi,

 

I cruised aboard the Celebrity Century this past November and really liked the ship. I started cruising with Celebrity back in 1991 (on the Horizon) and first cruised aboard the Century in 1997 (when it was less than two years old).

 

I think Celebrity did an excellent job with the Century's major refurbishment in 2006. I had fun comparing my pictures that I took of the Century's interiors in 1997 to my recent pictures of the Century's interiors. They made many positive changes and did a great job of updating the ship. Thankfully, they left the main dining room intact (I think this room is gorgeous).

 

I like the Century's size and its cruing style reminds me of the "old days" (cruises during the 1980s and 1990s). I hope she remains in the Celebrity fleet for many more years.

 

Chuck

[greeneg]

Hi Ed,:) glad things went well for you. I didn't realize you had never

sailed Century before. She was my first;) and I am sailing her again

in May:)

 

Hi Lois, this was our first time on her ( We're old Zenith Loyalists as I'm sure you remember from our dinner in Jacksonville a while back). As you know, I am less than enchanted with the S-Class Ships, so it was great to find out how much we could enjoy Century. My only criticism is that She deserves better itineraries and a refurb, but the latter apparently happens in May and the Australia- New Zealand run will be tempting us next Winter.

[Lois R]

Hi Lois, this was our first time on her ( We're old Zenith Loyalists as I'm sure you remember from our dinner in Jacksonville a while back). As you know, I am less than enchanted with the S-Class Ships, so it was great to find out how much we could enjoy Century. My only criticism is that She deserves better itineraries and a refurb, but the latter apparently happens in May and the Australia- New Zealand run will be tempting us next Winter.

 

She is doing full itneraries starting in May:). My sailing goes from

San Diego up to Vancouver and then she will do Alaska all summer

and yes, then downunder which is one of my dreams but that will have

to wait for a very long time:rolleyes:.....refurb? Are you saying before

May that is happening?

 

And yes, I remember ya'll:D

[jackdiamond]

Ed,

Our first cruise was February of 1999, on the Century in a Sky Suite; and, we were very happy. As you know, we now love the S class, particularly in AQ, but we might again consider the Century if she cruised longer itineraries. Also, we would probably opt for C-1, but I believe that they are much smaller than those on the M class, both in cabin and balcony size. Is the aforesaid assessment correct?

[Mr. Luckytoo]

Just a brief note as I will be writing a full review in a few days, but we were on the January 31 sailing of the Century and I just want to comment that the ship completely met or exceeded all of our expectations. It was our first trip on the Century and we were treated famously: food, service, crew, and ship were all up to the traditional Celebrity Standards. Not the Newest, but still one of the very Best!

 

Will be glad to answer questions.

 

"The ship met or exceeded your expectations..." I'm glad but here's the $64 question: what expectations did you have?

 

Or better yet what did you prefer on the C-Class ship over the S-Class ship?

 

After reading the title of this thread am I to understand there were a lot of senior passengers on your cruise? ;)

[eileen & jay]

Good to hear the news. Looking forward to your review. :)

[reklawr]

Our first cruise was on Century. We fell in love with cruising and we fell in love with Century. :) She's a wonderful ship!

[greeneg]

"The ship met or exceeded your expectations..." I'm glad but here's the $64 question: what expectations did you have?

 

Or better yet what did you prefer on the C-Class ship over the S-Class ship?

 

After reading the title of this thread am I to understand there were a lot of senior passengers on your cruise? ;)

 

I had mixed expectations since I consider the S-Class ships a step down from prior classes in both design and execution. I prefer not to go into more detail here as my opinions are clearly stated in a number of posts on several threads and in reviews that I have written.

 

I'm sorry that you missed the point of the title, it had nothing to do with Seniors on the cruise. As a matter of fact, the mix of ages was pretty broad, and I think that everyone had a good time. Average age ( and this is a guess) was probably less by about 10 years than most of the other Celebrity Cruises that we have been on.

 

"Ed,

Our first cruise was February of 1999, on the Century in a Sky Suite; and, we were very happy. As you know, we now love the S class, particularly in AQ, but we might again consider the Century if she cruised longer itineraries. Also, we would probably opt for C-1, but I believe that they are much smaller than those on the M class, both in cabin and balcony size. Is the aforesaid assessment correct? "

 

Actually, Jack, we were far more comfortable in the 175 sq ft of the Century cabin than we were in the 194 sq ft of the Equinox cabin because the available space is better utilized in the older design. Instead of the useless couch, you have storage in the cabin and still have room for a comfortable love seat to read on if you choose. The verandas on the Century are 42 sq ft, instead of the 54 sq ft of the standard Equinox veranda, but to tell the truth, I could not have told the difference. The Century Bath is smaller than the Equinox, but quite functional and even comes with a clothesline.

 

Even though this was only a 5 night cruise we would have been fine for a much longer itinerary. As far as food, the same dishes on the Century were much better prepared and served than on the Equinox; a function, I think, of the number of meals needing to be prepared and the number of staff available to serve them. Things just seemed to go better on the Century.

 

Just one man's opinion, of course.

[Lois R]

I had mixed expectations since I consider the S-Class ships a step down from prior classes in both design and execution. I prefer not to go into more detail here as my opinions are clearly stated in a number of posts on several threads and in reviews that I have written.

 

I'm sorry that you missed the point of the title, it had nothing to do with Seniors on the cruise. As a matter of fact, the mix of ages was pretty broad, and I think that everyone had a good time. Average age ( and this is a guess) was probably less by about 10 years than most of the other Celebrity Cruises that we have been on.

 

"Ed,

Our first cruise was February of 1999, on the Century in a Sky Suite; and, we were very happy. As you know, we now love the S class, particularly in AQ, but we might again consider the Century if she cruised longer itineraries. Also, we would probably opt for C-1, but I believe that they are much smaller than those on the M class, both in cabin and balcony size. Is the aforesaid assessment correct? "

 

Actually, Jack, we were far more comfortable in the 175 sq ft of the Century cabin than we were in the 194 sq ft of the Equinox cabin because the available space is better utilized in the older design. Instead of the useless couch, you have storage in the cabin and still have room for a comfortable love seat to read on if you choose. The verandas on the Century are 42 sq ft, instead of the 54 sq ft of the standard Equinox veranda, but to tell the truth, I could not have told the difference. The Century Bath is smaller than the Equinox, but quite functional and even comes with a clothesline.

 

Even though this was only a 5 night cruise we would have been fine for a much longer itinerary. As far as food, the same dishes on the Century were much better prepared and served than on the Equinox; a function, I think, of the number of meals needing to be prepared and the number of staff available to serve them. Things just seemed to go better on the Century.

 

Just one man's opinion, of course.

 

Hi Ed:)...I knew exactly what you meant when reading the title.;)

Thanks for the details and I am very much looking forward to sailing

her again. My last Century cruise was April 2009 so its been a couple

of years. I have a normal window cabin and those have always been

fine for me:)...size, shower, etc. Would you recall who the Restaurant

Manager and Hotel Director were?

[Andy]

Hi Ed !

 

I'm happy to hear you had a great time on Century. In another week or so, Century will be the last of her Class. I truly hope Celebrity will keep her around another few years, at least.

 

Thanks for your report, and Welcome Home !

[okbowler]

The DW and I were also on this cruise. Our first on Century, the others were on Meridan, Zenith and two on Horizon. This was the shortest cruise we have taken and could have enjoyed anoyher 5 days. I am not going to do a full review, just a few notes. We drove and got here early, not much of a wait. Champaign on boarding, inside cabin, ready at 1:00 PM. Our steward and dining room servers(Juan Carlos & Arvin) were outstanding as was all of the crew that we came in contact with. It was a pleasure to be on a cruise where the crew seemed to enjoy their jobs. The difference between this cruise and the last two is like night & day. Shows in the main room were standard cruise fare, acapella group in lounges great,guitar player good, others OK. Since we drove to Miami we were the last off ship and OK with that. Baggage retrieval was different than last year, had carosels identified by color, liked this. Customs was pretty brief, would guess that from the time we left ship to get to car in parking garage,45 min. to 1 hour. I would reccomend this ship to any one who enjoys cruising with a crew that wants you to enjoy yourself.

 

This has nothing to do with Celebrity but with the Port Of Miami and I will post it elsewhere also, but the signage directing you to the port is almost non existant, the worst of any of the Florida ports we have sailed. Found pier identification poor as tickets called for #2 but actually the letter F was more prrominent. Opinions in this are all mine. Bill

.

[Mr. Luckytoo]

I'm sorry that you missed the point of the title, it had nothing to do with Seniors on the cruise. As a matter of fact, the mix of ages was pretty broad, and I think that everyone had a good time. Average age ( and this is a guess) was probably less by about 10 years than most of the other Celebrity Cruises that we have been on.

 

I'm sorry you missed my 'wink' at the end of my sentence asking about the passengers age :)

 

On the shorter cruises like the 4-5 nights I would expect a younger demographic. Glad you enjoyed it.

[6502programmer]

It was our first trip on the Century and we were treated famously: food, service, crew, and ship were all up to the traditional Celebrity Standards. Not the Newest, but still one of the very Best!

 

I have to concur with you on this assessment. We have now been on traditional (Infinity), contemporary (Equinox) and old school (Century) Celebrity ships, and the level of service provided across the continuum has been consistently high. I probably wouldn't do Century for a family vacation, but for a getaway for mom and dad, it was just right!

[greeneg]

I'm sorry you missed my 'wink' at the end of my sentence asking about the passengers age :)

 

On the shorter cruises like the 4-5 nights I would expect a younger demographic. Glad you enjoyed it.

Sure did miss it, and my apologies for doing so. Definitely my Bad.

[greeneg]

Hi Lois, sorry to be slow responding but still trying to get caught up; even just a short cruise puts you noticeably behind.

 

The Hotel Director was Naizi Khormaz, the Restaurant Manager was his brother Fatah. We've sailed with both before and both a just very nice gentlemen.

 

Ed

[Mr. Luckytoo]

Hi Ed !

 

I'm happy to hear you had a great time on Century. In another week or so, Century will be the last of her Class. I truly hope Celebrity will keep her around another few years, at least.

 

Thanks for your report, and Welcome Home !

 

Actually I'd be surprised if the Century is still with Celebrity after 2012. By then with all 5 S-Class ships and the four M-Class ships having a C-Class ship in the lineup? If =X= were an airline they would definately mothball the ship (they like to have all the same models - easier for maintenace and repairs).

 

In my opinion, the problem with the Century is that it just doesn't fit. Later this year =X= is moving the Millie up from San Juan to take the place of the Century so the Century can go down under. I believe that if that market can support the Century then Celebrity will keep the ship there (Asia); otherwise she'll be on the sellers block.

[greeneg]

Actually I'd be surprised if the Century is still with Celebrity after 2012. By then with all 5 S-Class ships and the four M-Class ships having a C-Class ship in the lineup? If =X= were an airline they would definately mothball the ship (they like to have all the same models - easier for maintenace and repairs).

 

In my opinion, the problem with the Century is that it just doesn't fit. Later this year =X= is moving the Millie up from San Juan to take the place of the Century so the Century can go down under. I believe that if that market can support the Century then Celebrity will keep the ship there (Asia); otherwise she'll be on the sellers block.

 

For what it's worth, I specifically asked this question while on the ship and was told that Century was going to stay in the Fleet for the foreseeable future. Not that that means that Miami can't change things around at the drop of a hat, but that's at least what the ship's officers told me a couple of weeks ago.

 

As for being the "Odd Man Out" sort of situation, I think Celebrity needs to maintain a little diversity; I'm don't think that I am the only one out there who is less than enchanted with the S-Class ships. If I want the glitz experience, I can do that on RCCL.

[phinn]

Since we drove to Miami we were the last off ship and OK with that. Baggage retrieval was different than last year, had carosels identified by color, liked this. Customs was pretty brief, would guess that from the time we left ship to get to car in parking garage,45 min. to 1 hour. I would reccomend this ship to any one who enjoys cruising with a crew that wants you to enjoy yourself.

 

This has nothing to do with Celebrity but with the Port Of Miami and I will post it elsewhere also, but the signage directing you to the port is almost non existant, the worst of any of the Florida ports we have sailed. Found pier identification poor as tickets called for #2 but actually the letter F was more prrominent. Opinions in this are all mine. Bill

.

 

I found your response interesting. In 2006 sailed Century out of Miami and Port of Miami was a disaster for us. We ended up disembarking at different Pier than we left from causing us a major delay in getting to our car. I have avoided leaving from Miami for this reason. Last month, sailed Century again and it was so different. I missed the entrance to "F" parking (my bad, too busy talking) but parking was easy, short walk to ship, and I agree, we loved the carrousels and color coding. Since I will be back on the Century next week, it's got a lot to do with the improvement.

[okbowler]

phinn: We do not have a GPS so local signage is important to us. If you are using the FL. turnpike to get to Miami I would be interested to get your reaction of directions given from the turnpike gate to the port. Inside the port we could see the ship but were uncertain as which of the piers was #2(on our docs), as I said once we realized that F was right, no problem. Something else was new this year, if you park in the garage you can be picked up and delivered to the garage, baggage, family and all by the shuttle, at no charge. Handicap parking is free at the port. Have a great cruise, ours was the best in several years.:) Bill

[LeftcoastBC]

Hi Lois, this was our first time on her ( We're old Zenith Loyalists as I'm sure you remember from our dinner in Jacksonville a while back). As you know, I am less than enchanted with the S-Class Ships, so it was great to find out how much we could enjoy Century. My only criticism is that She deserves better itineraries and a refurb, but the latter apparently happens in May and the Australia- New Zealand run will be tempting us next Winter.

 

We are of a similar mind on the S class also. Really enjoyed our short jaunt on the Merc and looking forward to AK on the Century. Also missing the H&Z :(

 

Can you confirm the refurbish date for us ??

 

thanks

[Lois R]

We are of a similar mind on the S class also. Really enjoyed our short jaunt on the Merc and looking forward to AK on the Century. Also missing the H&Z :(

 

Can you confirm the refurbish date for us ??

 

thanks

 

Hi,:) I was still wondering about it too. I am sailing Century on May 14th

for 8 nights. The cruise ends in Vancouver on May 22nd. So.....its

either before my cruise or after...unless they are doing some work on

her during the cruise.

[greeneg]

"Can you confirm the refurbish date for us ??"

 

I was told May of this year. I gather that they are going to refurbish the furniture in a lot of the public rooms and, I think that he said, 500 of the cabins. Don't know if that means new furniture or what, but that's what I was told.