Host Andy - Live From Century (February 2014)

[Andy]

Host Andy,

 

Is the Century offering the Luggage Valet service to FLL?

 

Thanks

 

Hi SeetheSea,

 

My understanding is yes, but will try to confirm for you.

[Andy]

Hi Everyone,

 

A brief update from St Barts, or it's new name for today - St Barthrooms :)

 

We've been advised the water has been turned off on the island, and bathrooms will not be available at the pier, nor in public venues. Yikes !

 

There is some general unhappiness onboard with this news, as many have opted not to tender to the island. However, it should be interesting to hear the comments from the returning guests, later today. I will try to post an update tonight, if the internet cooperates.

 

I also asked about Alaska 2015 deployment, and was told it should be released this week, perhaps as early as today or tomorrow.

 

Arno : Thank you for posting the dailies. Much appreciated !

 

Have a great day everyone !

[Andy]

Host Andy

We are new to Celebrity and our first cruise will be on a three night Century March 3rd. Is there a formal night on a three nighter, we want to pack as light as possible.

 

Hi Oneputt,

 

Yes there was a formal night, on night 2 of the sailing. Hope this helps !

[Andy]

Andy's comments are spot on. Wonderful crew, but training and communication appear lacking in some vital areas. They also didn't know that I was B2B. Guest Relations didn't know that all B2B cruisers were required to register credit card. Went to the desk upon reboarding with a group and told that they didn't need to swipe credit card. Next day we all received a letter telling us to go to Guest Relations to have our cards swiped.

Elaine and Lucy are absolutely wonderful. Lucy is the right choice to make Michael's Club concept work.

The best thing so far was meeting Host Andy and his wonderful family. Glad to see so many posters on this cruise and be able to place a name with a face.

 

Thank you Orator. It's such a pleasure to have finally met you and your wonderful DW. I hope this is the first, of many sailings together in the future.

 

It's so inspiring to be with so many dear cruise critic friends on this sailing, it's definitely making this cruise very special !

[Cruise Raider]

Thanks everyone for the answers regarding the vibration towards the back of the ship. I am going to call to see if I am able to move up a bit towards midship just to be on the safe side. I am an early riser but so need the rest and relaxation. The 'on the floor' comment made me laugh out loud. I don't even so much mind a bit of vibration but if it is something behind the headboard inside the wall, that can be annoying. We had this on the Infinity -- before you knew it, the whole cabin was taken apart and the noise was fixed. It was a pipe or a large wire that came loose from its bracket -- sounded just like someone was knocking on the wall behind our heads.

 

I have just a couple more questions if someone wouldn't mind putting in their 2 cents worth:

 

How are the pillows in the CC cabins? I assume we will get a pillow menu as on the S class ships? Do they have body pillows available and are they the same great pillows as on the S class? Any softer pillows available?

 

Does the balcony furniture on the Century include foot stools? Are the chairs adjustable so that when using a foot stool, you can kind of make them into a lounger?

 

Any more opinions on Murano would be most appreciated.

 

Oh...and if someone could leave a note on the machine(s) in the casino that are paying out....that would also be great. Hahaha:D

[Andy]

Hi Everyone,

 

We're having a very nice time onboard Century. Things have improved considerably over the past couple of days, as the staff appears more comfortable, along with far less misinformation. The officers are quite visable, and I had a nice chat with Captain George yesterday. He's very personable. Our meet and mingle was fantastic - probably the largest meet and mingle I've attended to date. We pretty much filled the Crystal room. Captain George attended the meet and mingle, along with Guest Relations Manager Cameron and several of Century's officers. The icing on the cake, was when Captain George shared a very nice compliment on my hosting efforts - very cool !

 

I'm spending my mornings & afternoons by the pool, getting some much needed rest and relaxation. The onboard entertainment has been great, and we are especially enjoying the rotation of entertainment at the Cova Cafe. Tonight's Dinner was excellent. Everyone at our table raved about their meal. The rib eye steak was outstanding. Our Waiter and Assistant (Maryanto and Vuk) are wonderful, and are no comparison to the folks initially assigned to us, on the first leg of our back to back. Kudos to Maitred's Jayson & Bruno, who have gone out of their way to visit with us - even though they are not assigned to our section on this sailing. They truly care about their guests having a great dining experience. I fully expect both Jayson and Bruno to be MDR managers, hopefully in the not too distant future.

 

As the days tick down on this cruise, and I realize that barring a miracle, this is my last cruise on Century... I'm becoming more saddended with each passing day. I'm disappointed that Celebrity has opted to remove her from the fleet. Of course, we will never know the whole story, and it's possible that it simply was not economically viable to keep her.... but I have to believe they could have spruced her up, and kept her around for a few more years. No question, she will be missed by many Century fans, myself included. She's a very special ship, and we'll always have many wonderful memories. If only Celebrity knew how special Century is ! <sigh>, but I doubt that many in Miami have the connection with this ship, that so many of us are fortunate to have.

 

Our next port of call is St Croix. I hope to share another update tomorrow.

Edited February 19, 2014 by Host Andy

[Andy]

Hi everyone,

 

We are enjoying a picture perfect day in St. Croix. Sunny with a soft breeze. I will try to post another update, later tonight.

 

Have a great day !

[Andy]

Hi Everyone,

 

We are having an enjoyable day in San Juan. I will post an update later tonight !

[Celebrity Cruises]

Happy to hear you are enjoying your trip Andy!

[TheMediaman]

I'm disappointed that Celebrity has opted to remove her from the fleet. Of course, we will never know the whole story, and it's possible that it simply was not economically viable to keep her....

 

I believe the simplest answer may hold the most truth and I agree with you that this may simply be a decision of economics. Cruise lines operate on daily, weekly, yearly and decade long projections and targets.

 

It may not be profitable or as profitable to operate the Century moving it throughout the globe when all things are considered by RCCL. It could be the Century is EOL for what RCCL's projected model of the what the consumer market may be seeking.

 

Long ago and continuing in real time Celebrity will have projected future cost of maintenance, legislation, operating costs on different routes, available market, larger ships, more amenities and options, cheaper or continued affordable fares, lesser operating costs per passenger, health and safety regulations, refit investments and so on. Behind what we cruisers are attracted to and enjoy is still a business.

 

That being said I am on Century for the first Alaska run this May. It will be interesting and, hopefully enjoyable, to cruise the warmth and charm Century offers. Bigger doesn't always mean better especially for ports like Vancouver, BC. For us "bigger and better" may not squeeze under the Lion's Gate Bridge at the entrance to the absolutely beautiful port of Vancouver.

 

Thank you for your reports from the ship.

[Phxazzcruisers]

Thank you Andy and all for your reviews. Century will always have a special place in our hearts, it was our first and got us addicted to cruising. We will look at her schedule and try to book something before she is gone.

Enjoy the rest of your vacation Andy !!

[Andy]

Happy to hear you are enjoying your trip Andy!

 

Thank you for your kind comment Celebrity. It's much appreciated !

[Andy]

Hi Everyone,

 

We had a very enjoyable day today in San Juan, and are enroute to our final port of call - Turks and Caicos.

 

I'd like to share some general observations. Not all of it is positive, but I wish to stress that we are having a very nice time onboard Century. I feel it's always important to note the good, and when it exists... the not so good.

 

-- Entertainment onboard is excellent. I would have said outstanding, but the production shows have been average at best. The solo performers and party bands have been a major highlight of our two sailings.

 

We had a poolside sailaway party this afternoon, featuring Jordan Peterson's tribute to Billy Joel & Elton John. All I can say is... WOW. Jordan had the pool deck rocking ! What a fantastic performance. If you have an opportunity to catch Jordan perform on a future Celebrity sailing, he's not to be missed.

 

-- Captain George Iatrou is very personable, and has a fantastic attitude. He's often seen walking around the ship, and chatting with Guests. He stopped by our table at Dinner last night, to say hello. He loves his work, and it shows.

 

-- While there are many outstanding crew members, there are also many who seem to be brand new to Century, and are either confused, or have minimal training. Hopefully, this will resolve itself in the near future, but it is affecting our cruise experience. Not in a severe way, but it must be noted.

 

-- We attended the Captains Club officers party tonight. We arrived 10 minutes late, could not find a seat and left. Went to the Casino instead, and had a very tough night. Should have waited for a seat at the officers party instead :).

 

-- Cova Cafe : Every staff member at the Cova is fantastic ! (We love Alexandra - what a hoot !), and we are spending a great deal of time there. We are totally enjoying the entertainment at the Cova, along with the added benefit of complimentary Specialty Coffee & Tea for Elite Plus members. Thank you Celebrity & Captains Club, for this welcome benefit.

 

-- Loud Music : My apologies for bringing this up, but loud music is apparant in many venues throughout the ship. We've had instances of loud music at breakfast, lunch & dinner in the MDR, and several other venues. Tonight, the music was blasting in the Casino. Last night, I was chatting with LoisR at the Cova, and the canned music was extremely loud. To Celebrity's credit - they did lower it when requested. Based on my observations on Eclipse in November, I thought this was resolved, but it seems there are different initiatives on each of Celebrity's ships. At the end of the day, if you are not a fan of loud music, it's not a good sign.

 

Internet : VERY slow. At times, takes 5+ minutes to load 1 page. Glad I have the 200 minute package, but tons of it is wasted on extremely slow page loads.

 

Today's Odd items : Rumors of the laundry not working, possibly due to water problems (the pool was closed for the morning and afternoon). Had great difficulty finding forks at the buffet. Couldnt find straws either. Also, no cloth napkins - they were using paper napkins... possibly due to the water issues ? Bad smells were causing frowns in several locations today, but they did not seem to last long - thankfully.

 

Dinner observations :

 

Tonight's Dinner was outstanding. Some meals have been hit and miss, but tonight was special.

 

-- Lobster : The solo lobster tail with drawn butter has returned, sans the melange with shrimp and scallop. The lobster was a large size, and tasty. This is an excellent change !

 

-- Beef Wellington : We ordered 1 for the table, and it was fantastic. Tender, cooked perfectly and delicious !

 

-- Shrimp Skimpy : Number of Shrimp in the Shrimp cocktail reduced from 4 to 3 a few days ago. No explanation as to why, but it seems to be a cutback. Not a big deal, but I'm not sure if this is a wise decision, as many guests were observed ordering extra shrimp cocktails - more than usual.

 

I will try for another update tomorrow or Saturday. Hope you are enjoying my updates !

[lovecruzin]

Thanks Andy for your reports. We board on this Sunday and I am looking forward to being on Century again but it sounds like I should adjust my expectations and not expect the same (almost perfect) experiences we had on her last year!

 

If you see Alexandra again, say hi to her from Danna and Bruce and let her know we'll see her on Sunday.

 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise. :)

[midwestchick]

I hopped on the X forum about an hour or so ago. I saw your thread and read through it.

Sorry to read you are having some "downs" with your "ups"....hope the rest of your cruise goes well.

Enjoy the rest of your cruise and your time with your family. I've enjoyed reading this thread.

 

[excitedofharpenden]

I'm becoming more saddended with each passing day. I'm disappointed that Celebrity has opted to remove her from the fleet. Of course, we will never know the whole story, and it's possible that it simply was not economically viable to keep her.... but I have to believe they could have spruced her up, and kept her around for a few more years.

Andy, I know that Century is well loved by many here and I too having been on her a few years ago thought she was a very pretty ship. However to me it is very clear why they aren't sprucing her up and keeping her a bit longer in the X fleet. She stands out as being the different ship in the line up now. She has an older propulsion system. She has smaller standard cabins than any of the staterooms on the S-Class ships and many if those on M-Class. Staff switches between ships are easier if there is a "standard" class rather than having a vessel that is the odd one out. Maintenance of her must be more difficult. You can't use bulk buys to keep her fit and she's more unique to fix. More of a challenge to carry over skills learned on other ships.

 

Aside from this she is a ship which doesn't follow the "modern luxury" theme that Celebrity promotes (whether or not you agree with it or that they do it). Finally she is easy to re-home within the group. She's not going to be scrapped, but will continue in an altered guise like Galaxy and Mercury. I have fond memories of both of those ships, but it gives me comfort that they are still around albeit in different colours just like Century will be.

 

Phil

[TourDeCruise]

Danna and Bruce, we're sitting in the Cova Cafe. I just gave Alexandra your message. She is thrilled and said you had 4 cruises together. I told her to practice her singing for you! See you Sunday at the Sailaway party.

 

More later on this cruise and also when we are on the next cruise.

 

Kathy

[uktog]

I have fond memories of both of those ships, but it gives me comfort that they are still around albeit in different colours just like Century will be.

 

Phil

 

Me too, Century was our first introduction to Celebrity and for nostalgia reasons we may consider one more trip although for me often holding onto memories from our last trip (which was good but we still saw drops from the early days and I suspect the drops are even more marked now) is probably the right way to go

 

There have been several first time cruisers who have posted that they did not find Century attractive and I am sure X is also looking at the overall feedback from first time cruisers and thinking about how long they can survive filling Century from the current market if new guests are less keen. Better to sell or transfer the vessel now rather than wait until it is so dated they cannot get value.

 

One thought, we do not yet know where she is going - could still be within the RCI family

 

You are right about the issues having a "singleton" will give the cruiseline and I am sure harsh economics has to prevail.

[mkazmer]

Hi Everyone,

 

We had a very enjoyable day today in San Juan, and are enroute to our final port of call - Turks and Caicos.

 

I'd like to share some general observations. Not all of it is positive, but I wish to stress that we are having a very nice time onboard Century. I feel it's always important to note the good, and when it exists... the not so good.

 

-- Entertainment onboard is excellent. I would have said outstanding, but the production shows have been average at best. The solo performers and party bands have been a major highlight of our two sailings.

 

We had a poolside sailaway party this afternoon, featuring Jordan Peterson's tribute to Billy Joel & Elton John. All I can say is... WOW. Jordan had the pool deck rocking ! What a fantastic performance. If you have an opportunity to catch Jordan perform on a future Celebrity sailing, he's not to be missed.

 

-- Captain George Iatrou is very personable, and has a fantastic attitude. He's often seen walking around the ship, and chatting with Guests. He stopped by our table at Dinner last night, to say hello. He loves his work, and it shows.

 

-- While there are many outstanding crew members, there are also many who seem to be brand new to Century, and are either confused, or have minimal training. Hopefully, this will resolve itself in the near future, but it is affecting our cruise experience. Not in a severe way, but it must be noted.

 

-- We attended the Captains Club officers party tonight. We arrived 10 minutes late, could not find a seat and left. Went to the Casino instead, and had a very tough night. Should have waited for a seat at the officers party instead :).

 

-- Cova Cafe : Every staff member at the Cova is fantastic ! (We love Alexandra - what a hoot !), and we are spending a great deal of time there. We are totally enjoying the entertainment at the Cova, along with the added benefit of complimentary Specialty Coffee & Tea for Elite Plus members. Thank you Celebrity & Captains Club, for this welcome benefit.

 

-- Loud Music : My apologies for bringing this up, but loud music is apparant in many venues throughout the ship. We've had instances of loud music at breakfast, lunch & dinner in the MDR, and several other venues. Tonight, the music was blasting in the Casino. Last night, I was chatting with LoisR at the Cova, and the canned music was extremely loud. To Celebrity's credit - they did lower it when requested. Based on my observations on Eclipse in November, I thought this was resolved, but it seems there are different initiatives on each of Celebrity's ships. At the end of the day, if you are not a fan of loud music, it's not a good sign.

 

Internet : VERY slow. At times, takes 5+ minutes to load 1 page. Glad I have the 200 minute package, but tons of it is wasted on extremely slow page loads.

 

Today's Odd items : Rumors of the laundry not working, possibly due to water problems (the pool was closed for the morning and afternoon). Had great difficulty finding forks at the buffet. Couldnt find straws either. Also, no cloth napkins - they were using paper napkins... possibly due to the water issues ? Bad smells were causing frowns in several locations today, but they did not seem to last long - thankfully.

 

Dinner observations :

 

Tonight's Dinner was outstanding. Some meals have been hit and miss, but tonight was special.

 

-- Lobster : The solo lobster tail with drawn butter has returned, sans the melange with shrimp and scallop. The lobster was a large size, and tasty. This is an excellent change !

 

-- Beef Wellington : We ordered 1 for the table, and it was fantastic. Tender, cooked perfectly and delicious !

 

-- Shrimp Skimpy : Number of Shrimp in the Shrimp cocktail reduced from 4 to 3 a few days ago. No explanation as to why, but it seems to be a cutback. Not a big deal, but I'm not sure if this is a wise decision, as many guests were observed ordering extra shrimp cocktails - more than usual.

 

I will try for another update tomorrow or Saturday. Hope you are enjoying my updates !

Andy - thank you so much for the updates, we were supposed to be on this sailing and my husband's health became an issue and we had to cancel. We are devoted Century lovers - but with reading many of your and others comments, we aren't too sad about not making the cruise - we will remember her as our beloved Century - before balconies - our last sailing on her was in Dec of 2003 I believe - we have wonderful memories of this special ship and her sistership, Mercury and the Zenith and the Meridian. We will enjoy this cruise via your updates - thanks again

[Adammara]

Thanks Host Andy for your updates. We have really enjoyed them as you have you reported as you found it.

 

We had issues on Connie with staff who were new on board. We should have been warned when a long file of new staff walked through the departure lounge, and other staff telling us they were leaving mid cruise to join Reflection, which was just being made ready for service. It certainly had an effect on service on the rest of our cruise.

 

Very sad to read about the loud music, we are certainly not fans of it, we much preferring a quiet lounge to relax in. Looks like we will be looking at other cruise lines when we cruise again.

[petesfamily]

 

We had a poolside sailaway party this afternoon, featuring Jordan Peterson's tribute to Billy Joel & Elton John. All I can say is... WOW. Jordan had the pool deck rocking ! What a fantastic performance. If you have an opportunity to catch Jordan perform on a future Celebrity sailing, he's not to be missed.

 

Thanks for the review! We talked to Jordan yesterday and he was REALLY nervous about performing by the poolside. Glad to hear it was a hit!

[lovecruzin]

Danna and Bruce, we're sitting in the Cova Cafe. I just gave Alexandra your message. She is thrilled and said you had 4 cruises together. I told her to practice her singing for you! See you Sunday at the Sailaway party.

 

More later on this cruise and also when we are on the next cruise.

 

Kathy

 

Thanks Kathy!

[cle-guy]

One thought, we do not yet know where she is going - could still be within the RCI family

 

Is this still not the assumed case:

 

CDF Croisieres de France website last year said it would be the new operator of Century. Like Celebrity Cruises, CDF is owned by Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

from http://www.travelweekly.com/Cruise-Travel/Celebrity-Century-to-leave-fleet-in-2015/

 

Also rumors about RCI adding in a smaller ship budget line to be based in Asia or Latin America

 

http://www.usatoday.com/story/cruiselog/2014/02/11/royal-caribbean-cruise-brand/5389423/

 

seem to make sense since they've announced plans to build a home port in Taiwan: http://www.portworld.com/news/noaccess?r=%2Fnews%2Fi127310%2FRoyal_Caribbean_to_develop_Asian_homeport

 

And somewhere I read (but can't find it) that RCII was planning a major announcement later in the year that would make passengers and shareholders very pleased....

 

There's my thoughts ;)

[Andy]

Andy - thank you so much for the updates, we were supposed to be on this sailing and my husband's health became an issue and we had to cancel. We are devoted Century lovers - but with reading many of your and others comments, we aren't too sad about not making the cruise - we will remember her as our beloved Century - before balconies - our last sailing on her was in Dec of 2003 I believe - we have wonderful memories of this special ship and her sistership, Mercury and the Zenith and the Meridian. We will enjoy this cruise via your updates - thanks again

 

Hi Mkazmer,

 

Thank you for your comments. Believe me, the cruise is going well.... just that some things arent up to Celebrity's usual excellence. I hope your husband is doing better, and look forward to meeting you on a future cruise.

[c-legs]

Hi Everyone,

 

Captain George Iatrou is very personable, and has a fantastic attitude. He's often seen walking around the ship, and chatting with Guests. He stopped by our table at Dinner last night, to say hello. He loves his work, and it shows.

 

.

 

-- Loud Music : My apologies for bringing this up, but loud music is apparant in many venues throughout the ship. We've had instances of loud music at breakfast, lunch & dinner in the MDR, and several other venues. Tonight, the music was blasting in the Casino. Last night, I was chatting with LoisR at the Cova, and the canned music was extremely loud. To Celebrity's credit - they did lower it when requested. Based on my observations on Eclipse in November, I thought this was resolved, but it seems there are different initiatives on each of Celebrity's ships. At the end of the day, if you are not a fan of loud music, it's not a good sign.

 

!

 

Thank you,Andy,for your ''on site judgement''. Very appreciated.

Seems the maddening obsession on the part of Celebrity to deteriorate the refined atmosphere on board their ships with loud music ,and at the most surprising venues, perhaps you could try a '' oh,by the way,Capt.George, I'd like your opinion on an annoying topic on the part of a seemingly large ### of guests...:the type and high volume of the music on board'',etc.etc....when you next come accross him;;;;he seems quite approachable and,as the Master, could give you a different ''take'' on the topic.

WE,like what seems like a majority of guests/loyalists, are getting a little bit edgy when facing that trend....I'm now looking forward a little less to our upcoming Solly's voyage in September ( along with 4 friends/clients) and our presence on CENTURY's farewell voyage April 2015 ( again with 4 friends/clients) somehow seems a bit less certain.

hope you enjoy the last few hours of serenity on board.

Cheers