Host Andy - Live From Century (February 2014)

[Andy]

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!

 

Hi Petesfamily,

 

It sure was a hit. Huge turnout, and Jordan's performance was very well received by the guests. It would be awesome if Celebrity did more of this type of event with Jordan, and other Celebrity performers in the future. It worked extremely well, but I'm sure that was due to Jordan's many talents. We hope to see him again on a future Celebrity sailing.

[Andy]

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

 

Hi Claude,

 

Thank you for your comments. I sincerely wish I didn't feel compelled to write about the loud music onboard Century. After it was virtually non-existent on Eclipse in November, and at that time, I was confident this item was put to bed, I must now take that comment back.

 

When I discussed this issue on past occasions, I mentioned that I was repeatedly told by onboard personnel that the loud music could not be lowered or changed, as "it's a Miami decision". Get this - Today, I was waiting online at Guest Relations, and a guest in front of me, was expressing her unhappiness about the extremely loud music at the Martini Bar. When the Guest asked why the bartender refused to lower the music, she was told by the Guest Relations team member that the bartender was unable to do this. Why ? She asked. The exact answer was : "it's a Miami decision". So, it seems we are back to square one. I wish it weren't the case, and I can only hope that Century didn't get the memo to tone down the music.

 

Tonight, at the casino... the music was extremely loud, and skewed towards a younger crowd. We were joking at the table, if anyone knew the names of the songs being played. Some players at our table (not myself - as I knew the request would be denied) asked if the music could be changed or lowered, but the casino management smiled and walked away. Fine by me. I was winning, and had a headache coming on, so I left the casino and called it a night.

[Andy]

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 ;)

 

Hi Cle-Guy,

 

Rumor onboard, is that Pullmantur may be getting Century. We'll see if this proves to be true, or she winds up elsewhere. Whomever gets Century, will be getting a fine ship. With some TLC, there's no question she will be a beauty once again.

Edited February 22, 2014 by Host Andy

[zoncom]

Agree with you on most things Andy. Our cabin guy is worst ever, knows nothing. Rest of staff great. Most ship veterans of 10 years. Ship is cleaner than last Century cruise 3 yrs ago. My forward cabin on 9 looks brand new. Better cabins than S class. Food better than last time too. Maybe they could stretch her and do world cruises. Perfect size.Enjoy your cruise.

[takemewithyou]

I am not very happy to hear that the loud music has returned! We experienced it on our last cruise and stayed away from X for over 1 1/2 years! We got the urge to book another cruise to try Century since we like smaller ships and have never sailed on her, but Host Andy's reports of the loud music are scaring us!

 

I certainly hope that X will rethink this decision since it does seem like a certain percentage of cruisers are disturbed by it....some enough to turn away from X, even though we like many other things about their ships and service. We do have two other future cruises planned on other cruise lines because of this.

[cle-guy]

Hi Cle-Guy,

 

Rumor onboard, is that Pullmantur may be getting Century. We'll see if this proves to be true, or she winds up elsewhere. Whomever gets Century, will be getting a fine ship. With some TLC, there's no question she will be a beauty once again.

 

My thoughts, coming from a public accounting standpoint, is that since Pullmantur has already put out a press release about this happening, and that they have not sent out a retraction of that release, it MUST be happening.

 

As a subsidiary of the publicly traded RCII, they would be accused of putting out false information to its shareholders and possibly manipulating the stock price.

[coldweathergirl]

Hi Cle-Guy,

 

Rumor onboard, is that Pullmantur may be getting Century. We'll see if this proves to be true, or she winds up elsewhere. Whomever gets Century, will be getting a fine ship. With some TLC, there's no question she will be a beauty once again.

 

We were on the Reflection last month and when I was purchasing future cruises for the final sailings of the Century I was told by the corporate head of future sales happened to be on the ship and was handing our booking that it was being sold to Pullmantur.

[Pstcrik]

Hi Claude,

 

Thank you for your comments. I sincerely wish I didn't feel compelled to write about the loud music onboard Century. After it was virtually non-existent on Eclipse in November, and at that time, I was confident this item was put to bed, I must now take that comment back.

 

When I discussed this issue on past occasions, I mentioned that I was repeatedly told by onboard personnel that the loud music could not be lowered or changed, as "it's a Miami decision". Get this - Today, I was waiting online at Guest Relations, and a guest in front of me, was expressing her unhappiness about the extremely loud music at the Martini Bar. When the Guest asked why the bartender refused to lower the music, she was told by the Guest Relations team member that the bartender was unable to do this. Why ? She asked. The exact answer was : "it's a Miami decision". So, it seems we are back to square one. I wish it weren't the case, and I can only hope that Century didn't get the memo to tone down the music.

 

Tonight, at the casino... the music was extremely loud, and skewed towards a younger crowd. We were joking at the table, if anyone knew the names of the songs being played. Some players at our table (not myself - as I knew the request would be denied) asked if the music could be changed or lowered, but the casino management smiled and walked away. Fine by me. I was winning, and had a headache coming on, so I left the casino and called it a night.

 

Thanks Andy for being so upfront and direct about your experience with Load Music on the Century. This is a very frustrating subject for a group of us that normally sail together. We went through a very disappointing cruise about 2 1/2 years ago on the Century when 8 of us were sailing and struggled to find a quiet area on the ship where we could have a conversation without raising our voices. Since then none of us have sailed on Celebrity. Two of us decided to give Century another try but the rest remain unconvinced so we will be on Century shortly and I would really like to be able to enjoy a few drinks and the atmosphere without having our conversations disturbed.

 

I just can not understand how or why head office as some are reporting would be involved in this type of decision and especially when it does not seem to apply to all ships.

 

Maybe our Celebrity contact person who watches the comments on these boards can let head office know how many people seem to be concerned with this subject.

[jagoffee]

Hi Claude,

 

Thank you for your comments. I sincerely wish I didn't feel compelled to write about the loud music onboard Century. After it was virtually non-existent on Eclipse in November, and at that time, I was confident this item was put to bed, I must now take that comment back.

 

When I discussed this issue on past occasions, I mentioned that I was repeatedly told by onboard personnel that the loud music could not be lowered or changed, as "it's a Miami decision". Get this - Today, I was waiting online at Guest Relations, and a guest in front of me, was expressing her unhappiness about the extremely loud music at the Martini Bar. When the Guest asked why the bartender refused to lower the music, she was told by the Guest Relations team member that the bartender was unable to do this. Why ? She asked. The exact answer was : "it's a Miami decision". So, it seems we are back to square one. I wish it weren't the case, and I can only hope that Century didn't get the memo to tone down the music.

 

Tonight, at the casino... the music was extremely loud, and skewed towards a younger crowd. We were joking at the table, if anyone knew the names of the songs being played. Some players at our table (not myself - as I knew the request would be denied) asked if the music could be changed or lowered, but the casino management smiled and walked away. Fine by me. I was winning, and had a headache coming on, so I left the casino and called it a night.

 

Andy, thank you for the live updates. I have enjoyed reading them.

 

We were recently on the Eclipse. One of our favorite places during the day is the Sky Lounge. I thought about you when my DW commented on the odd choice of music during the day. Most of the time is was louder than was necessary when there was not a Trivia session. I could not understand why because very few people are even there. The "loungers" in the bow are great for enjoying the view why reading/relaxing.

 

Thanks again for taking the time to post.

[PatC]

Hi Andy

 

We are sorry to see Century go the way of Horizon, Zenith, Galaxy and Mercury.:(

 

We do like the S Class but not as much as the smaller ships.

 

We simply hate, hate the loud music. :mad: We were fortunate on Silhouette when she first came out, music was muted, but on Eclipse it was awful! We are on Equinox in April and if we cannot find a quiet area we may be done cruising with Celebrity. They have turned off their loyal cruisers with way to many things but that noise throughout the entire ship is the worst.

 

Hopefully those from corporate who read these boards wake up. This has got to be the biggest beef I see on CC about Celebrity.

 

Thanks for posting and give Century a great send off. Sailed her 3 times and from her inaugural year. When the Captains Club was brand new we were invited to NY to tour her the December she first arrived in NY. She is special.

 

PatC

[TourDeCruise]

Our experience has been similar to what Host Andy posted throughout the two cruises including many improvements from the Feb. 12th cruise. We will be on the Feb. 23rd cruise too, so I'll report any changes or if "misses" continue like "Oyster Rockefeller" (singular) versus "oysters" (plural) or paper towels instead of napkins in the Islands Cafe. Most of our "misses" were in the Islands Cafe or cabin, but cabin issues were resolved on the 3-night Feb. 12th cruise.

 

The hits, such as the excellent food and outstanding servers in the MDR and Cova Cafe, certainly made up for the "misses." Some of the crew have been among the best we have had on our over 30 Celebrity cruises. An example of this was our waiter's surprising us by sending our dessert to the cabin after our not having time to enjoy dessert before the show. Cova Cafe servers are particularly attentive and entertaining.

 

We have thoroughly enjoyed the Century (a favorite ship) once again despite some minor problems. Special highlights include seeing Cruise Critic friends from past cruises and meeting so many whom I had only "known" on the boards until this cruise. Other big highlights have been the Elite evening lounge and listening to Jordan Peterson in the Cova Cafe. Dh said to add excellent itinerary, good movies, and extra Elite Plus Internet minutes and speciality tea & coffee, which we enjoyed daily at the Cova Cafe.

 

More updates coming during the Feb. 23rd cruise.

 

Kathy

[Lois R]

Hi,:) I am on the 2/15 cruise and have had a wonderful time:)

My cabin attendant and assistant have been terrific and sorry if some

have not been.....

 

I also have had some issues with the VOLUME of the MUSIC and I wrote

a not to the Hotel Director about it.

 

Overall, my experience has been an A and I booked CENTURY one more~

going to Alaska in August:D

[TommyD3]

Agree with you on most things Andy. Our cabin guy is worst ever, knows nothing. Rest of staff great. Most ship veterans of 10 years. Ship is cleaner than last Century cruise 3 yrs ago. My forward cabin on 9 looks brand new. Better cabins than S class. Food better than last time too. Maybe they could stretch her and do world cruises. Perfect size.Enjoy your cruise.

 

My cabin is on deck 8. The carpet looks like it is as old as the ship (1995). Michaels club VIP lounge has been WONDERFUL. So much better than the Elite lounge there is NO comparison.

 

Sent from my LG-E980 using Forums mobile app

[SrTrPro]

Tommy - what cabin in deck 8 - we are in 8024 for the Mar 6th PC cruise?

 

Thanks,

 

Bruce

[Andy]

Our experience has been similar to what Host Andy posted throughout the two cruises including many improvements from the Feb. 12th cruise. We will be on the Feb. 23rd cruise too, so I'll report any changes or if "misses" continue like "Oyster Rockefeller" (singular) versus "oysters" (plural) or paper towels instead of napkins in the Islands Cafe. Most of our "misses" were in the Islands Cafe or cabin, but cabin issues were resolved on the 3-night Feb. 12th cruise.

 

The hits, such as the excellent food and outstanding servers in the MDR and Cova Cafe, certainly made up for the "misses." Some of the crew have been among the best we have had on our over 30 Celebrity cruises. An example of this was our waiter's surprising us by sending our dessert to the cabin after our not having time to enjoy dessert before the show. Cova Cafe servers are particularly attentive and entertaining.

 

We have thoroughly enjoyed the Century (a favorite ship) once again despite some minor problems. Special highlights include seeing Cruise Critic friends from past cruises and meeting so many whom I had only "known" on the boards until this cruise. Other big highlights have been the Elite evening lounge and listening to Jordan Peterson in the Cova Cafe. Dh said to add excellent itinerary, good movies, and extra Elite Plus Internet minutes and speciality tea & coffee, which we enjoyed daily at the Cova Cafe.

 

More updates coming during the Feb. 23rd cruise.

 

Kathy

 

Hi Kathy,

 

Thanks for sharing your insights. It was great seeing you and your DH again. Have a wonderful time on the next leg of your Century sailing, and I look forward to your updates.

[Andy]

Hi,:) I am on the 2/15 cruise and have had a wonderful time:)

My cabin attendant and assistant have been terrific and sorry if some

have not been.....

 

I also have had some issues with the VOLUME of the MUSIC and I wrote

a not to the Hotel Director about it.

 

Overall, my experience has been an A and I booked CENTURY one more~

going to Alaska in August:D

 

Hi Lois,

 

It was great seeing you again, and I'm glad you had a great cruise. Great to see that you booked Century again.

 

BTW, Our cabin attendant (Jerry) & assistant (Henry) were absolutely fantastic.

 

We hope to see you on another Celebrity sailing in the future !

Edited February 23, 2014 by Host Andy

[Andy]

Hi Everyone,

 

We had an enjoyable Sea Day onboard Century. I spent a great deal of time walking around the ship today, revisiting old memories and creating new ones. I know that when we walk off the gangway tomorrow morning... barring a major schedule change, it will be our final time onboard this beautiful ship.

 

Century will be dearly missed by myself and our family. She has given us many wonderful memories, and we are thankful to Celebrity and their officers and crew for creating the memories.

 

This is my last onboard update for this sailing, but will post some final thoughts, along with insights from an encouraging conversation with Century's officers, within the next day or two.

 

Thank you for your many kind comments and, at last count, over 17,000 visits to my thread. I hope you've enjoyed my insights, and sharing the journey with me.

 

Farewell Century.

[c-legs]

Hi Everyone,

 

 

 

This is my last onboard update for this sailing, but will post some final thoughts, along with insights from an encouraging conversation with Century's officers, within the next day or two.

 

 

 

Farewell Century.

 

Andy, thanks again for your thorough imsights during this sailing. Hopefully, your ''encouraging conversation with (....) officers'' did include some attempts to unveil the ''view from the other side'' as regards the now firmly obvious trend from Celebrity to create an untenable atmosphere with their ''sound volume'' policies.

Still puzzles me as to what exactly their objective is, what goal they are pursuing....

Cheers

Claude

[varoo]

Host Andy, thank you for sharing your thoughts and insights on the Century.

Have been enjoying reading them and look forward to the rest of your comments.

 

There are many who like the smaller-sized ships and will be sad to see her leave the Celebrity fleet.

 

Hope you can have some influence in getting the annoying loud music issue resolved, not only for the Century but for the other ships where it is a problem as well.

 

It is puzzling that the volume of the music on any cruise would be determined by some executives in Miami who are not even on the ship, rather than by the Hotel Director and Cruise Director who are right there on the scene, in position to evaluate the reaction they are getting from the current passengers and adjust the sound levels up or down, as appropriate to the particular audience they have there at the time.

 

[TommyD3]

Tommy - what cabin in deck 8 - we are in 8024 for the Mar 6th PC cruise?

 

Thanks,

 

Bruce

 

One of the mid ship cabins. My experience is that they replaced the carpet in half the cabins, as in every other cabin as you walk down the hall. We have sailed on Century many times in interconnecting cabins and one cabin would have decent carpet while the other would have the old stuff (they have a different pattern to them). As far as I can tell nothing was replaced on the interior of the ship during dry dock (no carpet or furniture).

 

Sent from my LG-E980 using Forums mobile app

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Hi Cruise Raider,

 

I'm not feeling any aft vibration, but it's important to note that our cabin is fairly mid-ship. The only place I've felt anything at all, is in the MDR, and only when the ship is sailing at top speed. At this point, I'd probably advise not to worry about it - but I will ask around. If I notice anything concerning, I will be sure to report on this thread, so please stay tuned !

 

I have not heard any comments on Murano, but the venue seems quiet. We may dine there on the 2nd leg of our B2B. I will advise, in a few days. Wishing you a wonderful cruise !

 

Just off the Century. Definitely a lot of vibration aft when they're using the thrusters. I had cabins just behind the aft elevators.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

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.

 

Hi Andy!

 

Jealous that you got Maryanto and Vuk! We had them on the 3-night cruise and they were fabulous. Wait team on this leg not up to usual Celebrity standards. I would swear the assistant never went to Celebrity waiter school. He tried to get me to use a previously-used fork for the next course. Told him that was not how Celebrity does it. Just one example of many gaffes.

 

It was great to see you and your family again!

[SrTrPro]

We thank all of you Century cruisers for getting the kinks worked out for us. We are on the Mar 6th PC cruise. Hope all of your "training" sticks to the wait staff and cabin stewards.

 

Our last cruise was on the Mercury out of Baltimore in Jan 2011 - though Kathi went on a "girls" cruise on RCCL out of Baltimore last September to Bermuda.

 

Kathi and Bruce

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

I agree with all the loud music comments. I was quite surprised, as I had been on the Reflection in January and the music was not out of control.

 

Playing loud music during dinner just makes an already noisy dining room pretty unbearable. We had lovely tablemates, but it was hard to have a conversation with them. The martini bar was unbelievably awful.

 

I agree with Andy's comments about the Cova Cafe and the two waitresses there. What a pleasant experience! Thanks Celebrity for the new Elite+ free coffees! Great place to hang out.

 

The crew was a mixed bag--many of them were excellent and a pleasure to be around. Some were clueless.

 

I did enjoy meeting new Cruise Critic friends on this cruise (and seeing some old ones again)! Had a wonderful time.

[Lois R]

Hi Andy, good too see you again as well..and your mom, sis and bil:)

 

I actually had a bit of a chat with Rich and I have to say, his replies

were a bit sarcastic and I don't really like him.......:rolleyes:

Glad the CD doesn't make my cruise, that is for sure.:eek: