Anyone Back From Century Yet?

[whatsnext]

Okay, after reading some of the other posts, I don't feel bad about my comments. This was our 14th cruise (the 2nd with Celebrity) and it will probably be our last. The areas that were completed were very nice. Unfortunately, for the first five days we had workmen in and out of our room on a daily basis. (They just came and went whenever..... I'm not crazy about unexpected folks coming in my room.) We had one of the new balcony rooms and it had the rounded bed. I'm 5'7" and I slept in the middle of the bed to keep from hanging over the edge. 3 of the 9 days we lost electricity (had to go all one night without it), 2 days the tv didn't work at all, the tv never was fully operational (until the last day when they FINALLY put the room service menu on it), and we had 2 days without AC. While we were on the cruise, my child had a b'day. They didn't provide the room decorations for her birthday, as ordered. They didn't charge me for them, but it was rather disappointing for her. On the first formal night, we went through the entire process of getting dressed and later found out that the memory card in the camera did not work. Hence, no photo. Our cabin steward, Julio, was the most positive aspect of our cruise. He took wonderful care of us and was most apologetic about the problems we had. We waited for room service one morning for an hour and 45 minutes. He finally went down and got our breakfast himself! Our waiter, Charles, was a jewel, too. When we didn't show up for dinner 2 nights in a row, he called the room to make sure everything was okay. (I thought that was a nice personal touch.) As for activities, I read 3 entire, long, books..... that should let you know about the activities on board. I didn't go to any of the shows, so I can't comment there, but the band(s) were tolerable, at best. I was not impressed with the food either. The buffets were the same thing every day. If I had eaten any more fish, I would have grown scales. The main dining rooms food was "just okay." Yes, Michael Roux was on board. I saw him once, but since I couldn't think of anything nice to say about the food, I just didn't speak. I found the servers (in the lounges) to be very inattentive to the customers (not just me). I observed several different passengers have to flag them down to get their order taken. The kids program was outstanding. The staff was wonderful. My child thoroughly enjoyed every minute there. The only negative there was the fact that when you walked down the hall on the 4th deck, you almost had to hold your nose. The smell of mold/mildew was almost overwhelming. It smelled really bad. The tours were great. They offered a wide variety of things to do and we enjoyed every single one of them. Getting on board was a pain. You stood in line to check in and then you stood in line for them to call your group, then you stood in line to get on board. Departing was the same. We were told to be in the theatre at 7:10am (our flight was at 3:40pm) and we didn't get off the ship until almost 10. Overall I was extremely disappointed in the ship. I wasn't miserable, the tours were well worth the problems we had on the ship. However, it was a bad enough experience that I will choose another cruise line for my next trip.

[ocngypz]

Oh boy, I was afraid we'd hear things like this. That's why I never book a maiden sailing or one immediately following a drydock.

 

The rounded off beds, do you know the actual length? We had similar beds on the new Freedom and did not have a problem.

[slackmaster]

Okay, after reading some of the other posts, I don't feel bad about my comments......

 

Just curious...what cabin were you in? Veranda or CC class?

[Andy]

Sorry to hear about your experience. Would you happen to know any of the staff/crew?

 

Captain?

CD ? Alan King

 

How was entertainment? Lounges?

 

Hi C2C !

 

I am pretty sure Allan King is onboard Century right now.

[whatsnext]

We were in cabin #8068. I don't know the exact length of the bed, but I do know that when I was lying in the middle of the bed, there was several inchest between my feet and the end. Maybe 6' or so overall? The curve on both sides took up about 1/4 of the bed space. It was shaped like a big "U". Trust me when I tell you that I only mentioned "some" of the problems we had. Believe it or not, there were more...........

[Eleris]

My friends that returned who are difficult to please knew exactly what they were getting into with a refurbishment still in process. They said the food was wonderful and the service was outstanding. They spent most of their time exploring the wonderful itinerary off the ship and did not focus on limited activities onboard. I am not sure if they have any idea what went on during the day since they were enjoying the variety X planned with very little sea time. They said there were many workers still fixing things all over and they could care less because there was no surprise as to why this was going on. Anyone that was inconvenienced because of non working cabin facilities should try writing a polite and on point letter to the effect that although they did understand it was a work in progress lack of electricity or other in cabin services was more than they bargained for.

 

Overall my friends loved the Century and Celebrity and would cruise again in a heartbeat. I guess they saw the glass half full.:)

[cruiseorbust]

Just wondering since they took out the T-pool, what has replaced it and is it free for Elite members? As an Elite member I really enjoyed the "perk" of the use of the T-pool, I am sad it is no longer available. How about the Saunna,and steam room?

[C 2 C]

Century picture:

 

http://www.traveltrade.com/headline_news.jsp?articleID=7613

[BaltiGator]

Oh boy, I was afraid we'd hear things like this. That's why I never book a maiden sailing or one immediately following a drydock.

 

Your point makes good sense, not that it invalidates the comments of those who did cruise (I know that wasn't your intention anyway). Probably I will never book a maiden sailing or the first one out of dry dock.

 

In this way it sounds similar to new or reopened restaurants. I never go for the first two weeks or so. That's not to say you can't go to a new restaurant on opening night and have a great meal - sometimes that happens. But more often, new restaurants are working out the kinks in the first couple of weeks and not everything is good. And if your opening night meal is lousy, it's often hard to tell how much of the fault lies with logistics that will settle down, versus it just being a restaurant that will never be to your liking. Most people are reluctant to return if they had a bad meal. So I always wait.

[dogsrule]

I find it interesting that one poster reports the food good to excellent and the other okay to horrible-thats pretty conflicting isn't it? :o

Also, there has been no mention of the Murano Restaurant or the Ice Bar-do they exist? Sounds like we are missing some information here. JMHO:(

I realize that food is very subjective, however, for every few negatives, there has to be something positive.....Negativity breeds negativity I guess.

[CGTNORMANDIE]

I found all the above opinions to be informative.

 

HI BABETTE!!! Why are we not surprised...lol??? I think Kreskin could have predicted this one...looks like a rerun to me...LOL...a Shake-Down Cruise within a cruise. Almost every overhaul has been late coming out of the yard...so I guess X solved the problem by continuing the repairs while at sea. I can't wait to sail on Century again...when she is ready for prime time.

 

ROSS

[jlecruiser]

Muranos and Martini/Ice bar open and both beautiful. Entertainment was good, especially Jacqui Scott, a London Broadway headliner. Excellent guitarist/singer who was a James Taylor sound alike at Sunset Bar. This was not the "cruise from Hell" experience for everyone. We actually did not hear many negative comments until we started to read them on this board. We anticipated that there would be some problems and fortunately for us, there weren't any that impacted us in a big way.

[dmarch@islc.net]

the kitchen staff is not used to all the new equipment. My wife and build a new home every five years or so. The biggest adjustment is always the new appliances. It's a matter of trial and error, sometimes taking a few months to learn all their quirks.

[dogsrule]

;) Thanks for a more balanced and fair perspective as I knew there had to be some positives. How did you find the food and service overall? Did you feel like a "fish scale" by the end of the trip?:D (from being served so much fish as others put it) How was the art work on board the ship? I can't imagine the servers not wanting to take drink orders as this is how they make their living. Did you have that problem?

[whatsnext]

I am not offended by anyone thinking I'm a disgruntled cruiser. I usually view things from a positive aspect and there WERE positive aspects to our cruise. However, there were many things that were not positive. I did not list all of the negatives, as they did not belong on this board. Overall, IMO, the ship looked great. They really should have kept it in drydock another week, in order to finish what they started, and not inconvenience the passengers any more than necessary. It was very frustrating to have so many things go wrong. I'm thrilled that not everyone had the experiences we did. Someone had to have them, since the ship wasn't ready, and I guess that someone was me. The lack of electricity was a problem. Traveling with a child, it's difficult when that child has to get up to go to the bathroom at night in a strange place, with no lights. It's also uncomfortable when you wake up during the night, sweating, and have to open the balcony door to get some cool air into the room. As to the food issue: I am not a picky eater, but there are certain foods that I just do not like. Among those foods are sushi and lamb - both of which were regularly offered. I chose to eat fish, as there weren't any other options "that I like" available. But 9 days of fish is a bit much, unless you happen to be a vegetarian, which I am not. I read 3 books because there just really wasn't anything else to do - and - I enjoy reading. I went to the things that were interesting to me, there just wasn't much offered. The activities were geared for relaxing, not entertainment. People take cruises for different reasons. I take them because it is my mode of transportation to different places I want to visit, my room and food are provided, and I meet a lot of interesting people. I don't know of anyone who has traveled, to any extent, who ALWAYS had a perfect trip. That won't stop me from traveling. Another poster asked about the ship and the cruise, I was merely answering their questions - to the best of my ability. Yes, I have written a letter to Celebrity. I feel one is deserved. They cannot correct the problems I had, but maybe they can use the information when making future plans - sort of like, learning from your mistakes. The crew/staff: I understand that "some" of the crew was new, but, for the most part, they were seasoned staff. They were at a point in the cruise where a lot of the staff had completed their contracts and were getting ready to leave the ship. That may have had something to do with their attitudes (the servers). They were just tired and ready to go home. But, when you are in the service industry and you depend on tips for your income, mind over matter sometimes needs to be in control. Will I take another cruise, most assuredly. With Celebrity, I doubt it, but who knows. Will they all be perfect, more than likely not. Will I get over it, of course.

[jlecruiser]

There were so many food options that i can't imagine someone not finding something they liked to eat. Yes, there was lots of fish, which made me very happy, but my husband does not eat anything that swims, and he was quite content. Sandwiches, salads, pizza , pasta & burgers were always available. We loved the waffle, omlette and pancake station in morning. I visited the ice cream counter every day for something new and delicious. Service was outstanding throughout the ship. At one point my husband went in to get a slice of Boston Cream Pie that our friend was raving about and the buffet was closing down. He returned to the sunset bar area and a short while later the ass't maitre D and waiter made an appearance with a slice of Boston Cream Pie and a big grin on their faces. Not even sure how they tracked us down!

[caviargal]

Was the 72 seat sushi bar open? Is it in a totally separate area? And was the sushi better because they now have a separate area for it?

 

Did Aqua Spa serve breakfast and lunch?

 

Is there just one pool on Century now that the T Pool is gone?

 

And, is the new fitness center well equipped and larger than before?

 

thanks!

 

CG

[C 2 C]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=361542

 

Another poster on Century.

[tarheelmjfan]

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=361542

 

Another poster on Century.

 

I didn't see any pictures. :confused:

[C 2 C]

I didn't see any pictures. :confused:

 

Embedded in his/her post

 

http://www.cruisemates.com/gallery/view.php?id=2881

[tarheelmjfan]

Embedded in his/her post

 

http://www.cruisemates.com/gallery/view.php?id=2881

 

Thanks :) The link wasn't there, when I looked earlier. It appears one of the mods created a seperate post for the link. It's there again now.

[Skeezics]

Great pic's! Can hardly wait until 12/03/2007 for our Century cruise. I really do not think I would book an inaugual cruise, or those immediately after. Will probably take a month to get all the "kinks" out, and really finish fine tuning.

[TourDeCruise]

caviargal: I won't be on Century until Sept., but in abbafan's pictures (see link below), it suggests new equipment in the fitness center including LCD TV screens on eliptical trainers and treadmills. I guess I can watch CNN, watch missed Century activities, or make arrangements for shore excursions while on the eliptical trainer? Or maybe they are for monitoring fitness progress. In abbafan's post for pictures, I asked about the purpose of these LCD screens. If you don't get your answer here, you might want to ask on one of abbafan's two posts. Kathy

[Sparkle 123]

Hi

I think the LCD screeens are for watching the ships TV on but they weren't connected at the time when we were on board. The gym is all totally refubished with brand new state of the art equipment.

The aquaspa cafe serves light and healthy breakfasts between 7.30 and 10.00am and healthy choice all day dining between 12 noon and 8.00pm.

The T pool has gone but there is a persian garden steam and sauna area instead. The whole aquaspa is larger with more sea view treatment rooms.

The sushi cafe is at the back of the Island cafe from 6.00pm to 10pm which isnt really totally separate from the rest of the casual dining area although there was more choice and the sushi was excellent.

Glad you liked the pictures, will add more tomorrow, got to unpack now!!

Lisa

[excitedofharpenden]

Lisa, thanks for posting the pictures so quickly. It looked a lovely day in Guernsey yesterday. Glad you enjoyed yourself.:cool:

 

Phil