Century poor reviews - what gives?

[VegasMark]

I booked the Century for a Pacific Coastal cruise back in September. Our sailing is a week from Saturday. When I was looking to book, I did considerable research and read lots of reviews and threads on here. I knew I would be booking an older ship without a lot of the newer bells and whistles, but that was fine. I also knew the ship was rumored to be sold. I've been on about 17 cruises on a wide range of ships, so I've seen most of what is out there. This, however, will be my first Celebrity cruise.

Recently, reviews of the Century have been mostly very poor. And it isn't just comments about the state of the ship itself, but more regarding service issues. Things like staff being rude, longer than expected wait times for different things, lack of knowledge by the crew, etc. These are things mentioned on several reviews and threads. I spend enough time on here to know that people will complain about most anything, but when there is a trend, I take note.

This being my first time on Celebrity, I expect a good product or I will look elsewhere. I can't believe Celebrity has diminished their product so much on this ship that they would risk losing customers. I will cruise with an open mind and report my thoughts when I return.

Happy cruising!!

[amster65]

Century is leaving the fleet towards the end of the year. They probably are letting things slip a bit....

[AmberCascades]

Well, that doesn't make sense....they still have to keep their brand image since they have other ships in their fleet. People who have a good experience are more likely to sail on one of their other ships. We were on the Century last August. We loved it. The crew was so friendly and made us feel special. I would hate to think that they are letting things slide. Maybe there are some disgruntled employees who aren't being taken care of properly with the sale. I was hoping I would meet some of my favourite crew members on another ship in future. Please report back and tell us how it went.

[akowilm]

Have friends just off the Century and they loved it. They have cruised several different lines and both M and S class Celebrity ships. They said that while the ship did show a little wear and tear, it had charm and was very comfortable. No issues with service either. Hoping the reviews are an isolated few that we encounter on every ship.....

[C 2 C]

We spent 16 days on Century recently and have never been on a friendlier ship.

 

We found service a bit inconsistent especially in the buffet. I would guess that recent crew rotations during dry dock may have been a factor but the Cova service was awesome.

 

We are booked on Century next year and would not have a problem booking more if the itineraries were more favourable to our location.

[C 2 C]

Century is leaving the fleet towards the end of the year. They probably are letting things slip a bit....

 

April 2015… and we will deliver her to the new owners.

[oneputt18]

We sailed the Century two weeks ago, no problem with service of any sort, they were all very courteous. We had a great MDR waiter and assistant, our cabin steward fulfilled our requests, bartenders were great.

One of our party had an accident getting of the bus and had to be transported to the hospital, the following day in Nassau, customer service let me call to check how she was doing (no charge)

As far as the condition of the ship, there was some minor cosmetic damage but nothing major. Our cabin was spotless and everything worked fine. It was our first cruise on X but not our last.

[Jayneykul]

That's a shame if things have gone downhill! We absolutely loved our cruise on century. The staff were the friendliest we have ever had. The entertainment superb. They had a restaurant manager who did a cookery demo in murano that we still laugh about now and he remembered everyone's name for the rest of the cruise. The ship is lovely. We would go back without hesitation if our schedule permitted

[Podie]

I gave it a great review for my Feb. 15th cruise. The balcony cabins are smaller than those on the S-class ships but the service was stellar.

[elena7seas]

We were on the Century for a back-to-back on the February 12th 3-night Bahamas cruise and the February 15th 8-night Eastern Caribbean cruise, and had a wonderful time. I really like the Century, having been on her 4 times in the last 14 months. I would sail her again in a heartbeat.

 

The Century was coming directly from a dry dock for the 3 night cruise, and I think possibly there were some new staff, plus I think it can take a day or two for everything to develop into a smoothly running machine. Having said that, the only real issue we had was the turnaround process which I don't think was well-handled. But that was really a very small issue.

 

Yes, the ship is older, and no, it is not a Solstice-class ship, but it is a lovely ship with its own special character. The wood and brass are beautiful, the proportions of the public spaces are very nice, the ship is very easy to get around, and we enjoyed her very much. She was very clean and well-maintained. There were a few chairs that had seen better days, but they had an upholsterer on board, and chairs were being replaced on a daily basis. I think there was an issue with the amount of water available on the ship for about a day. They replaced the cloth napkins with paper napkins in the buffet one day, and I heard that it was a water issue in the laundry. On the same day, there were a couple of other small issues that were water-related, but nothing that had any real impact on our convenience or enjoyment.

 

We had a Sky Suite on the 3-night cruise, and a Concierge Class cabin on the 8-day cruise. Elvis, our butler in the Sky Suite, took excellent care of us, and is just a charming person. Our Concierge cabin attendant, "Dee", and his assistant were excellent as well. Room service was very good; everything arrived in a timely way, and all of our orders were correct. The beds were comfortable, although I had to order an 'egg-crate', as I was having back issues during the trip.

 

We found the food in the MDR to be very good, sometimes excellent. We chose Select dining, and had friendly and very attentive service from the waiters and assistant waiters. We were seated in the same area each evening by the lovely and very friendly Select Dining hostess, Tanesha, and we had the same waiters and assistant waiters most nights. The sommelier seemed to be a bit overloaded, but he was really trying to give everyone good service. The bar service, from the wonderful Alexandra, who also served us in the Elite Lounge and the Cova Café, was excellent.

 

The Cova Café was one of my favourite places on board. On the first full day, I don't think they had enough staff assigned to the Café, but by the second day, they seemed to have worked out the numbers. Service was excellent from thereon in, and the staff was exceptional. The complimentary baked goods on offer were some of the best we have ever had on Celebrity ships.

 

Our experience in Murano was very good as well. Service in Murano was excellent, if a bit leisurely, but we were really enjoying our tablemates, and the pace of service was fine with us.

 

We really enjoyed the music of Jordan Peterson, the very talented pianist who played most days in the Cova Café, and we enjoyed the guitarist as well. Because we usually dine around 7:30 pm, it wasn't convenient for either the early or late shows in the theatre, and so we didn't attend any this cruise. I heard that the violinist was excellent, and I am sorry that we did not make her show.

 

There were enough on-board activities to keep us busy, although I didn't attend as many as I normally would, because we met some wonderful people on this cruise, and I always seemed busy just sharing time with them. My DH spends more time around the pool, where he seemed very happy with the ambiance and the service. He had the premium beverage package and was well taken care of by the servers and bartenders.

 

We are Elite Plus, and really, really enjoyed all of our perks. I am one of those people who much prefers the Elite Lounge to the coupons situation, and we so enjoyed meeting some wonderful people on this cruise. There were a lot of Cruise Critic folks on this back-to-back and is was a true pleasure to spend time with them. I used all of my 400 complimentary Internet minutes (and then some) on this cruise and I found the Internet to be better than it usually is at sea. Twice I had issues of not being able to download attachments due to an "insufficiency" of some description. This used up about 10 minutes of my time in total, and I was credited back the time. We were able to use our IPads in our cabin most days.

 

I had excellent service from the Guest Relations staff, and from Sandra, the assistant GR manager, in particular. Everyone in GR went out of their way to be helpful, and were polite and cheerful at all times. I think this was one of the best GR teams that I have ever experienced in over 25 cruises.

 

I have only one really negative comment, and that is such a small point, but I will mention it anyway. Celebrity has replaced the supplier of their non-premium tea on board, and I have to say, it was really, really bad. Weak and totally tasteless, no matter how long I steeped it. I take my tea clear, and don't like it particularly strong, but I just couldn't get a drinkable cup out of one of those tea bags. I tried three types (English Breakfast, Darjeeling and another) before I gave up and just went to the Cova Café for the Tea Forte teas.

 

The Captain and the senior staff were very visible and friendly on this ship. This was my second cruise with Captain George and he really is a charming man. Century seems like a very happy ship, and I would have no hesitation whatsoever in recommending her, as long as people understand she is not brand new, and does not have all the options of the Solstice class ships.

 

I would be on her right now if I could!!

Edited March 18, 2014 by elena7seas

[shrimp56]

I was on the Century for the Feb 23 8 day Eastern Caribbean cruise. It was my first Celebrity cruise and I was impressed. I'm a Holland America fan, but there were some things that were outstanding on Century. I'll vouch for the friendliness of the crew as well as the interactive events.

 

If you want to read my comparison with HAL here it is: http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1996340

[2theship]

I was on the Century a few weeks ago. She wasn't brand spanking new but I did not see any areas of significant wear and tear. In fact, I admired the old world charm that seems to be lacking on the newer ships.

[Grandmaanne7]

I, too, was on Century recently (Jan. 20 - Feb. 4) and absolutely loved it! It was our first Celebrity cruise and we have already booked another as we so truly enjoyed our first experience.

 

We were blown away with the excellent level of service in all areas. Yes, there were minor issues and the cruise was not perfect but we are able to overlook imperfection as we, too, are not perfect. The crew, food, service and entertainment were delightful.

 

Of course, I heard complaints while we were on board (one woman's tea cup was not heated prior to the tea being poured into it!!!!!) so I believe that no matter how great a job the crew does, someone will always find something not to their liking. I would say go and make the best of it. Leave the complainers to their complaints and ignore them!

[VegasMark]

Whew! I feel a lot better now thanks to the mostly positive remarks! I've never been on a bad cruise, and I don't expect that to change. Nine days to go! I will report back the second week of April.

Thanks!!

[Quendryth]

Whew! I feel a lot better now thanks to the mostly positive remarks! I've never been on a bad cruise, and I don't expect that to change. Nine days to go! I will report back the second week of April.

Thanks!!

 

Be certain to visit Deck 12 & the infamous ping pong table! Be sure to visit after 10 p.m. in fact! I loved this ship until I had to walk in water in the bathroom in accessible Suite 1200 cause the tile was eroded under the floor - for 3 years! Try being in a wheelchair & being bombarded by the ping pong balls outside the elevator! As I said I USED to love her!

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Edited March 19, 2014 by Quendryth

[Lois R]

I was also on Century from Feb 12th to the 23rd and also had a

wonderful time:).......those 2 cruises will be my last times sailing

her and I have absolutely awesome memories:).....yes, I read some

of the reviews...I got tired of them. Sorry those folks had such

horrible times:eek:...that has never been my experience.

 

No, she is not new, no she does not have all the bells and whistles.....

but for me? She was my first Celebrity ship back in 2003 and after

sailing her 8 times? She will always be special and I have to thank

her and her staff and crew....Century got me to fall in love with

cruising.:)...April 2015 she will be gone.....thankfully I have my

memories.

[ozziebound]

Love reading these great comments about century... We'll be on her in July.

One question for all of you... Where do you eat after you embark? A common suggestion on cc is going to bistro on five instead of the buffet, but century doesn't have bistro on five, right?

[trabeler]

No bistro on five... for embarkation day lunch, your choices are either the buffet or Aqua Spa cafe.

Edited March 19, 2014 by trabeler

[CoopColbie]

I wouldn't worry too much about comments on this forum. I've been reading the Celebrity forum for about 4 months ... Ever since I thought about booking my first Celebrity cruise. From what I've gathered is that Celebrity is still a very good cruise line ... That includes all of it's ships ... But some long-time Celebrity cruisers are very upset (and vocal) about how things have changed. I think the service may not be like what it used to be, but it is still very good. And that is all that I care about. I hope you take your cruise at face value ... Enjoy the experience ... And don't enter it with pre-conceived ideas.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[curtdesilets]

That's a shame if things have gone downhill! We absolutely loved our cruise on century. The staff were the friendliest we have ever had. The entertainment superb. They had a restaurant manager who did a cookery demo in murano that we still laugh about now and he remembered everyone's name for the rest of the cruise. The ship is lovely. We would go back without hesitation if our schedule permitted

 

I agree...Century was amazing during our Alaska Cruise in 2012. 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

 

I still have high hopes for her during her last year as a Celebrity ship. We will be boarding her again in a couple weeks.

Edited March 19, 2014 by curtdesilets
Clarification

[C 2 C]

I believe that some posters are venting because they were not given special consideration during the transition to the new Captain's Club levels.

 

One cruise being below expectations would not turn us away from our cruise line of choice.

 

The Celebrity threads should be calmer once chronic complainers actually do move on as they have stated. Don't let the door hit you on the way out.. ;)

 

Our Century cruises were not perfect, the iLounge guys below average in providing accurate information and assistance, the service inconsistent, but the smiles, the interaction with senior officers and staff, and connecting with friends on board made for a wonderful cruise.

[wallie5446]

We have been cruising since 1987, 7 diff lines, and the Century is the only ship we have sailed on multiple times. Yes it has been a while since our last visit, things change, some good, some not so. But you won't be sitting at your desk in the office surfing CC :D Wish we had the vacation time to fit in one more sailing on her! Enjoy your sailing.

[riredsox]

We did 19 nights in Feb and March and loved every one of them! Food was excellent in MDR and the ship is very classy and classic. Cova is not to be missed!

[koolforkatz]

We are sailing her for the first time in two days! And then again in June for Alaska. Really looking forward to it. I don't expect the bells and whistles of the S class ships but that's okay. I will be on a cruise!!!!!!

 

If you look for wear and tear, rust, etc. you will find it on just about any ship - if you look hard enough. Me, I have better things to do :)

[LetsGetWet!]

We are sailing her for the first time in two days! And then again in June for Alaska. Really looking forward to it. I don't expect the bells and whistles of the S class ships but that's okay. I will be on a cruise!!!!!!

 

If you look for wear and tear, rust, etc. you will find it on just about any ship - if you look hard enough. Me, I have better things to do :)

Indeed!

 

Enjoy your cruise(s)! We'll be on her in-between! :)