Just Back From Century Alaska

[Barrick]

We don't do room service. I prefer to eat in a dining venue not where I sleep. The only place I eat where I sleep is in my little RV :D

 

Our butler never hung around our cabin either, but even though we told him several times that we were not interested in the tea time stuff, he knocked anyway.

 

There were four things I asked for. The first was a cup of espresso in the morning. The first morning he forgot. I waited 20 minutes but had to leave. The next morning he forgot again and delivered me a cappuccino. I had a little chat with him and I got my espresso every morning after that.

 

The other things were daily delivery of clean red wine glasses, a cheese plate with brie, Swiss and jack and two pears every day. Nothing else.

 

 

The one time I was having a little graduation from hula and ukelele class on my veranda, he was not around and the other butler brought glasses and fruit and cheese. Though I had pre-arranged for a specific time he was half an hour late.

 

We never asked for anything else. Made our own reservation for Murano, booked our own excursions and did our own thing.

 

I have to say that the cabin attendant was fabulous. Very friendly and very helpful. We had one of the best assistant waiters ever and the sommalier was awesome.

 

We had a great cruise despite being a little under the weather the last day or two from the upper respiratory thing that was going around.

 

We must have had different butlers. We had him serve us breakfast every morning, and never had an issue. We actually enjoyed breakfast in our room, by the large window doors enjoying the scenery as we sailed along, which of course we can't do from home when not on a cruise holiday. Eating breakfast in the buffet didn't quite appeal to me. Long lines, then hunting for an available table, no thanks.

 

We also made our own reservations for Murano's, and didn't call on our butler for anything other than food delivery.

 

I never saw any indication of an illness going around, so maybe it cleared up by then.

[curtdesilets]

Thank you! From what I have seen of pictures people post it looks as close as you get these days to the old fashioned midnight buffets from days gone by! Just finished packing - not a lot of fun - it was hard packing for all of the possible weather situations! At least I am done now! Suitcase has NO extra room though!:rolleyes:

 

Not to be missed. I like the idea of Mid-Day Brunch much more than the Midnight Buffet of Yesteryear. It's just ridiculous IMO to pound a lot of food at 1 am. 1pm makes more sense! Have a wonderful cruise too. My wife's bag (ironically her name is Gail also) clocked in at 46.5 pounds, just under the flying requirements of 50 pounds without an outrageous fee. If you are slightly over at check in, pack some in your carry on. Century rocks, you'll see! :)

[curtdesilets]

Hi OP,

 

Glad you liked your cruise on Century. We had our first suite, a sky suite, on the top deck, too. Cabin 1235. Lovely veranda! Nice sized cabin and the bathroom was awesome. I could have lived without the butler business.

 

No one on our cruise, April 20 Hawaii, got Noro but a great many people became ill with an upper respiratory illness. Through Cruise Critic boards we discovered that the same ailment occurred with alarming frequency on the two previous cruises, so I was wondering if there was a preponderance of upper respiratory illnesses on your cruise, too.

 

We seriously had a very healthy ship. I didn't even notice any sneezing. Granted, it was packed full of hearty Canadians and retired Royal Mounted Police that apparently were used to this cold weather. I was fearful of getting a cold myself as I did not pack all too well for the cold, and I'm a Southern California native (i.e. thin blood).:(

[curtdesilets]

They must have decided to move it to the last sea day. We were on the week of May 20th and ours was held on the morning of Ketchikan. It makes more sense to have it on the last sea day.

 

The last Sea Day was ideal for such a grand experience. Seems like Celebrity is learning and evolving as they go.

[Kellie Poodle]

We seriously had a very healthy ship. I didn't even notice any sneezing. Granted, it was packed full of hearty Canadians and retired Royal Mounted Police that apparently were used to this cold weather. I was fearful of getting a cold myself as I did not pack all too well for the cold, and I'm a Southern California native (i.e. thin blood).:(

 

Glad to hear that. Maybe the cold weather purged the virus.;)

[curtdesilets]

Glad to hear that. Maybe the cold weather purged the virus.;)

 

I was reading the earlier threads about the respiratory outbreak on the Hawaii cruise. Sounds like it was pretty severe. Sickness and cruises are never a good combination. It did seem like they were keeping everything quite clean on this ship. I was up in the Aqua Spa Locker Room/Sauna area often. There was an attendant almost constantly in there. Also, the hand rail washers and the purell hand squirter guys were everywhere. Maybe they truly wanted to eradicate this thing, whatever it was. But there was no sign whatsoever of it on our cruise, thank goodness.:)

[A Sixth?]

Sounds like your experience with your butler, was vastly different than ours. For starters he was never "hanging" around our suite, and in fact was only there when we needed him, which was really only for room service. Other than that, the only time we really saw him was when he said hello to us when we met in the hallways.

 

Room service through your butler is much better than regular room service. The order is there at the exact time requested, with all the items you asked for, and at the desired temperature. Oh yeah, there was also the afternoon tea service, but if you were in your cabin and didn't want the tea service, you just needed to put up the do not disturb sign, and he left us alone.

 

Great review curtdesilets. It was a lovely cruise wasn't it.

 

Barrick, we were right next door in 1222 and had a different butler, Zenobio who was great as well.

[curtdesilets]

Great review curtdesilets. It was a lovely cruise wasn't it.

 

Barrick, we were right next door in 1222 and had a different butler, Zenobio who was great as well.

 

There's something about a cruise that goes so smoothly, feeds and waters you so well, and that is enjoyed by sharing with such lovely folks as you and your wife. What an awesome experience. Not everyone gets it, but I think you and I do. Hope all is well back home, and say hello to Joni from us.

 

And wish our Kings a victory on Monday!:D

[A Sixth?]

There's something about a cruise that goes so smoothly, feeds and waters you so well, and that is enjoyed by sharing with such lovely folks as you and your wife. What an awesome experience. Not everyone gets it, but I think you and I do. Hope all is well back home, and say hello to Joni from us.

 

And wish our Kings a victory on Monday!:D

 

Count two Kings fans here.

 

When I lived in LA back in the 70's I saw more Montreal Canadians games there than all through the 70's and 80's here in la Belle Provence. :D

[Barrick]

Great review curtdesilets. It was a lovely cruise wasn't it.

 

Barrick, we were right next door in 1222 and had a different butler, Zenobio who was great as well.

 

Yes we were right next door to you! Wish we could have introduced ourselves.

 

I see you're from the Montreal area. I grew up in the West Island and went to high school at PCHS in the mid 1970's.

[A Sixth?]

Yes we were right next door to you! Wish we could have introduced ourselves.

 

I see you're from the Montreal area. I grew up in the West Island and went to high school at PCHS in the mid 1970's.

 

Moved back to Canada in the early 70's, went to John Rennie. Small world eh?

[Lyn2005]

We had Albino too, he was on the quiet side but very efficient. We were a bit disappointed that he didn't come around before we disembarked, he maybe was getting ready for the next group.

 

On our cruise we all remarked that the majority of the passengers seemed to be non-North Americans.

[Barrick]

We had Albino too, he was on the quiet side but very efficient. We were a bit disappointed that he didn't come around before we disembarked, he maybe was getting ready for the next group.

 

On our cruise we all remarked that the majority of the passengers seemed to be non-North Americans.

 

 

Our cruise (the week before yours) had 375 retired RCMP officers, so ours was predominantly North Americans.

There was a few Germans and some Aussies, but by far mostly from Canada and the US.

How was your weather? We had lots of rain, and it was mostly overcast except for a brief time on the Saturday.

[Lyn2005]

We have beautiful weather. Milos, the naturalist, said the day at Hubbard was a once in a lifetime experience. We couldn't get as close as we would have liked but the sun was out and was glistening on the surfaces all around us. We had a little rain in Juneau but were still able to get around ok. Ketchican usually has a lot of rain but the day we were there was lovely. We went out on a crab boat and the water was flat, nice sunny day.

[Tweedy]

Milos, the naturalist, said the day at Hubbard was a once in a lifetime experience.

 

Funny, that's what he said on our cruise the week of May 20th. :eek: :D

[curtdesilets]

Funny, that's what he said on our cruise the week of May 20th. :eek: :D

 

Shocking, but true. But this was the first time we did the "sit and spin". Usually they will pull up on one side and stay about 10 minutes and then reverse course so that the opposite side can see from their balconies. This was much better. One time however when we were leaving Hbbard, we went out on the backside of that Island over by Russell Fjord. That was fun!

[curtdesilets]

We have beautiful weather. Milos, the naturalist, said the day at Hubbard was a once in a lifetime experience. We couldn't get as close as we would have liked but the sun was out and was glistening on the surfaces all around us. We had a little rain in Juneau but were still able to get around ok. Ketchican usually has a lot of rain but the day we were there was lovely. We went out on a crab boat and the water was flat, nice sunny day.

 

And yes, Ketchikan, being the rainiest city in America, is often wet. We had a cloudy day at Hubbard which brought out the bright blues in the glacial Ice.

[CRUZBUDS]

We have beautiful weather. Milos, the naturalist, said the day at Hubbard was a once in a lifetime experience.

 

We had Milos on an Hawaii cruise a couple of years ago. We thought he was terrific.

[curtdesilets]

We had Milos on an Hawaii cruise a couple of years ago. We thought he was terrific.

 

I really enjoyed his company and conversation. He was affiliated with the Long Marine Lab off Monterey Bay, which is affiliated with my Alma Mater, UC Santa Cruz. A sharp guy that loves to share his knowledge. Celebrity is masterful at retaining lecturers that will stimulate the minds of Celebrity Cruisers. I doubt a guy like him is ever on a Carnival ship. :eek:

[A Sixth?]

Shocking, but true. But this was the first time we did the "sit and spin". Usually they will pull up on one side and stay about 10 minutes and then reverse course so that the opposite side can see from their balconies. This was much better. One time however when we were leaving Hbbard, we went out on the backside of that Island over by Russell Fjord. That was fun!

 

That was VERY cool wasn't it.

 

 

I really enjoyed his company and conversation. He was affiliated with the Long Marine Lab off Monterey Bay, which is affiliated with my Alma Mater, UC Santa Cruz. A sharp guy that loves to share his knowledge. Celebrity is masterful at retaining lecturers that will stimulate the minds of Celebrity Cruisers. I doubt a guy like him is ever on a Carnival ship. :eek:

 

Had drinks the last night and breakfast the departure morning with him, very good speaker.

 

 

He and Joni want to buy the same type of sailboat... a Gemini

 

 

[Tweedy]

Shocking, but true. But this was the first time we did the "sit and spin". Usually they will pull up on one side and stay about 10 minutes and then reverse course so that the opposite side can see from their balconies. This was much better. One time however when we were leaving Hbbard, we went out on the backside of that Island over by Russell Fjord. That was fun!

 

Maybe it's just the right year for Hubbard Glacier. :D We also spun around a couple of times. It was announced we were within a mile of the glacier. I don't know if that is close but it sure sounds close to me. Milos just kept saying "Wow wow wow". It was spectacular, IMO.

[curtdesilets]

Maybe it's just the right year for Hubbard Glacier. :D We also spun around a couple of times. It was announced we were within a mile of the glacier. I don't know if that is close but it sure sounds close to me. Milos just kept saying "Wow wow wow". It was spectacular, IMO.

 

We had those bright bright blues which I do not remember form previous times. If it's sunny, the harbor seals will sun themselves on the icebergs.

 

BTW, I checked out your photos. Nicely done!

[curtdesilets]

A Sixth?:

 

Yes, Hubbard and Milos were way cool. I need to invite him down to our Aquarium of The Pacific in Long Beach to speak. That is if he's ever between cruises.

[curtdesilets]

Here's the Link:

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=103862

[Tweedy]

Nicely written