Will we be disappointed in Century?

[Boatharbour]

My 84 year old mother is a regular cruiser but has never cruised with Celebrity before. We went on our first cruise last year choosing the Solstice and absolutely loved it.

 

Mum now wants to experience Celebrity and has chosen the Century because it departs and returns from Sydney in October. After reading that this will be the ships last season with Celebrity I am concerned that the ship may not be in the best condition by the time she travels.

 

I've read plenty of threads about the ship being clean but having worn carpets and other signs of age. I've heard rumours of a refurbishment but don't know how likely this is given its the ships last season.

 

After raving about Celebrity I'm not sure that mum will come away with the same experience that we had. I realise there is a difference between Solstice and Century but I would hate her to end up on a run down ship.

 

Am I worrying unnecessarily?

[gecko12]

I was on the Mercury just before they announced it was being sold to a different subsidiary of Royal Caribbean. I thought the ship was in great shape. It's not as elegant as the S-class but it's still a wonderful ship with a great layout.

[spookwife]

After raving about Celebrity I'm not sure that mum will come away with the same experience that we had. I realise there is a difference between Solstice and Century but I would hate her to end up on a run down ship.

 

Am I worrying unnecessarily?

 

 

current reports indicate nothing was done to her soft goods.. carpet, linens, furniture etc. so yes the possibility exists that you will be let down.

[Oville]

We were on the 2/12 and 2/15 cruises and had a wonderful time. The carpet in our cabin was not old, worn or stained. We found the food in the MDR to be quite good and never went hungry in the Buffet.

 

There was no let down here. (Actually, listening to people's petty complaints was a bit of a let down;))

[Phxazzcruisers]

It all depends on what she is looking for in her cruise. If she is going to "inspect" the carpets and furniture, she may be disappointed. If she is looking for a great cruise experience, a great friendly staff, and very good food, and doesn't mind a smaller ship than both the M and S Class, showing some wear and tear, she will have a great cruise. We love the Century and have never been disappointed.

[Northern Aurora]

I agree with Oville and Phxazzcruisers -- expectations are so important. But I also want to comment that an 84 woman who has been a regular cruiser may find a traditional ship such as the Century more to her taste than an S-class ship. We have done several cruises on the Century and find the public rooms delightful. We also enjoy the fact that the Century offers a more "traditional" cruise experience.

 

And which October cruise is your mother considering -- we are on the September San Francisco to Sydney crossing, followed by the October 10th South Pacific.

[wwcruisers]

My DH and I are among the group of folks who just got off the first post-dry-dock b2b on Century. She was very clean, and appeared to be in good repair. But, the anticipated dry-dock "spruce-up" seems to have been limited to cleaning and repairs. The major replacement of "soft goods" (upholstry, carpeting, draperies) that was anticipated simply did not happen. However, she is a beautiful, classy ship -- with lots of wood and brass that you will not see on the S-Class ships. Not as many "bells & whistles" either, but she has a first-rate crew. So, I guess if you are the sort of person who is put off by an occasional spot of rust or carpet stain -- Century is probably not the ship for you. But, if you are looking for a one-of-a kind "old-school" cruising experience, you'll be pleasantly surprised. :cool:

[Boatharbour]

Thank you for sharing your experiences on the Century. It sounds as though it has a great deal of old world charm and atmosphere combined with the truly amazing service that we experienced on the Solstice.

 

My mother's cruise departs Sydney on 30 October. She may be 84 but refuses to have a balcony, as she spends so little time in her state room!

[kampinguru]

We have sailed on her 7 times and I think that this ship has the charm of the old liners. Yes she is an older ship but it has been well taken care of and I happen to like the old wood look rather than the stainless steel modern look of the new ships. It is smaller but we like that rather than the large mega ships. The staff are over the top friendly and it seems like the staff take pride in the ship. It is hard to tell if someone will be pleased or disappointed as that is totally based on the attitude of the person going on the cruise. Since we are leaving cold and snow and arriving in a warm sunny climate, I am already ahead of the game and since I love cruising, I would never be disappointed when on a cruise.

[Grandmaanne7]

I will echo the opinions of those who think the Century is a lovely ship. We were on her in January/February of this year just before drydock and loved the experience. We saw very little of what people complained about. As a matter of fact, the carpet in our cabin looked brand new. By day 10 or so, we made it a mission to find some worn furniture and did actually see some but realized that we hadn't noticed when we weren't looking for it. The ship is comfortable! The crew is incredibly amazing! The food and drinks are never ending (we had the complimentary 123Go beverage package). What more could you want???

[R'man]

We just got off Century. The ship has some cosmetic flaws, mostly minor and exterior, and wherever one would expect high traffic. If mother is fastidious, she will find plenty to complain about. Nonetheless, we had what we thought was our best overall cruise experience ever. Did write a review, and it hasn't been cleared and posted yet.

[Boatharbour]

From all the feedback it sounds as though my mother will have a wonderful time.

The Century sounds like her style.

 

The concerns were mine after reading a few other comments on the forum. Thank you to everyone for sharing your experiences.

[Lois R]

I was also on CENTURY recently for 11 nights and I love this ship.

Yes, she is older but her charm shines through. Hope you and your

Mom have a wonderful cruise:)

[jenhicks78]

We just got off the Century and loved it! We love the Solstice class ships, so I was worried we'd be disappointed but were not. The crew is awesome and the entertainment was the best we've experienced on Celebrity. The only minor problem we had was the plumbing in our cabin had some recurring issues. Small potatoes when you're having such a great vacation!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[fusioncruiser]

We were on Century's first cruise post-drydock in February, and she certainly is a beautiful, clean old ship with lots of woodwork and other charming features.

 

However we were fairly disappointed with the general maintenance. Our cabin (a Sky Suite on deck 12) had plumbing and AC issues almost the entire cruise even though we requested they be fixed numerous times. We also noticed shattered glass railing panels, lots of rust, soft spots in the floors, and too many burned-out light bulbs to count. I understand that she'll be leaving the fleet, but that doesn't seem like an excuse to allow her to drop to sub-Celebrity standards. We did a TA on Silhouette in December and we're both very ship (vs. port) oriented, so I'm sure those factors both influence our opinions.

 

The crew, food, and itinerary were great, of course, and we did have an awesome time. It's hard not to when you're on a cruise!

[curtdesilets]

We were on her in May of 2012 for an Alaska Cruise out of Vancouver. It was by far one of our best cruises, for a number of reasons. If interested, here is my review of that cruise:

 

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

 

We are sailing her again in exactly 3 weeks. I hope we again have a similar experience. :)

[Boatharbour]

It sounds as though many of you have a soft spot for the Century.

 

The reason for my question is that I am concerned that Celebrity will not spend the money to maintain the ship to its usual standard, given that this is its last season.

[curtdesilets]

It sounds as though many of you have a soft spot for the Century.

 

The reason for my question is that I am concerned that Celebrity will not spend the money to maintain the ship to its usual standard, given that this is its last season.

 

We Do Have a Soft Spot for Century...

 

And I think it's because this ship and it's elegance and service most resembles the Celebrity product of a decade or so ago. She does not have all of the bells and whistles of the S-class ships, so they make up for it by providing better service, attention to detail, and a more personable experience. It's hard to explain, unless you've been on Century and experienced it for yourself. There are countless CC members that have expressed their preference for Century.

 

As for the idea of not spending money to maintain her, I think the 7 day dry dock was not all that inexpensive, and apparently for the next year, they have some "Celebration of the Century" planned.

 

To celebrate the farewell season of Celebrity Century, the ship will host special events, including a newly introduced “President's 'Celebration of the Century' Cruise,” during a year featuring a record number of ports of call and 17 new cruise destinations for the brand. The farewell season will also feature exclusive onboard programming and special offers for guests. Celebrity Century will leave the fleet in April 2015...

 

http://www.celebritycruises.com/aboutceleb/tabLanding.do?pagename=footer_pages_about_celebrity&tab=footer_pages_about_celebrity_press_room_tab%2Faboutceleb%2FpressRoomDetails.do%3Fevent_date%3D2014-02-13%26event_type%3Dpress_release%26sequence_code%3DA%26pageNumber%3D

[joetop2467]

We were on the second cruise following the dry dock. We got off the Liberty of the Seas and boarded the Century the same day. Wow, what a difference. We knew the Century was an older ship but it was lacking compared to the Liberty in both service, entertainment, and food. Unless you have an emotional attachment to the Century as it seems some do, you would be better booking another ship, assuming the price and itinerary are comparable. If you have kids, don't go on the Century. There would be absolutely nothing for them to do.

[curtdesilets]

We were on the second cruise following the dry dock. We got off the Liberty of the Seas and boarded the Century the same day. Wow, what a difference. We knew the Century was an older ship but it was lacking compared to the Liberty in both service, entertainment, and food. Unless you have an emotional attachment to the Century as it seems some do, you would be better booking another ship, assuming the price and itinerary are comparable. If you have kids, don't go on the Century. There would be absolutely nothing for them to do.

 

Wow. That's a bummer..

 

Has something changed since 2012? Century was really really good last time we were on her. I find it hard to believe it could drop off so precipitously in such a short time.

[joetop2467]

They apparently had a big turnover of personnel during the dry dock. The employees we talked to said all they did during the dry dock was clean and clean. I think they seemed worn out from all the cleaning they did. There were also many new employees that just didn't seem to be trained well. Two big pluses for Celebrity over Royal Caribbean were the delicious homemade ice cream available every day and way better TV selections. If you have not been on a Freedom class RC ship, go on one. It is amazing.

Edited March 8, 2014 by joetop2467