"dawn of a new century" NOT !

[henry hound]

just took the 2 night taster on the refurbished "century" we had a cc balcony cabin. Boarding was swift, priority for cc guests, welcome glass of sparkling wine also a bottle of sparkling wine in cabin, along with fruit and flowers. We were originally in cabin 9199, which had an adjoining door. Unfortunately our neighbours were very noisy. As the ship was not full we were able to switch cabins.

 

The cabins are nicely appointed, however they are very small. The beds are no good if you are over 6ft as they curve at the edge. The balcony was a nice size with 2 chairs and a table. The bathroom had been semi refurbished, the shower stall was grubby with some ingrained dirt. Often no hot water.

 

Most interior areas of the ship were well maintained, the martini bar was lovely, as was the spa cafe. The new spa area was a lot of wasted space and the hydro pool removed.

 

Food wise, the island buffet was dissapointing, sushi bar excellent, dinner in the grand restaurant very good with excellent service.

 

On the downside, a lot of external areas are filthy, just take a peek at the back of decks 8,9,10 and 11. filthy floors, dirty(oily) towels thrown to the side, wooden decking missing, disgarded cigarette butts, and if you look over the side onto the balconies of the suites on deck 10 they are in need of some tlc. Again filthy floors, rust and just generally neglected. We took photos of these areas to email to the CEO. (the pride of bilbao is better maintained!!!)

 

We had to ask a member of staff to get soap in the public toilets as three we visited were empty.....a sure way to start the spread of the dreaded tummy bugs!

 

The captain made no announcements whatsover, the cruise director was conspicuos by his absence. In guernsey one of the officers was by the tender smoking, not professional.

 

All in all, we did have a pleasant time, but will not be rushing to book a celebrity cruise. will probably stick with HAL

[Karynanne]

Sorry you found your cruise not up to your standards...

 

Was this your first cruise with Celebrity? Were you aware that the ship had just been through a major revitilization?

 

Aside from the esthetics of the ship...did you enjoy your brief respite from your everyday life?

 

Karyn

[Coolcruise02]

I'm sorry to hear about the shower. On our cruise in November the bathroom was not nice (mold/cracked tiles) and I was told they were going to be remodeled. I can't believe they didn't do that. :(

[catmand]

I also am sorry you didn't have an excellent time. I would love to see the pictures, sorry you didn't post a link to them. Someone mentioned the ship just came out of dry dock. We had an opportunity to sail on the NCL Spirit last October, also two day cruise, also just out of dry dock. There were actually a large number of areas on the ship that were still being worked on. Many things on that cruise we had to overlook because of the situation, it just wouldn't have been fair to compare our experience to a "real" cruise. Might this have been the case with yours?

[bplazo]

Just curious on how noisy was the next cabin? It must have been real bad to have to change cabins.

[Ine]

Sorry to read about your complaints on Century.

But as the ship recently was renovated, chances exist not all works are finished...

 

You seem to want to stick to HAL, but since I cannot find any former postings made by you....I wonder how many times you cruised before.

[oceandrive]

I was on the Century Before the refurbishing and it was such a turn off. I wondered why Celebrity would wait so long to refurbish this ship ?? As a result, I now shy away from Celebrity. I just came back from a cruise on HAL Maasdam. Older ship (1993) but recently beautifully refurbished. Holland America won my heart now. If you're looking for a smaller ship, go for HAL !

[BaltiGator]

Let's please not have another HAL vs. Celebrity Smackdown 2006. I'm sure many people would be happy with either line, while others develop a preference. Let's leave it at that.

[caviargal]

I personally do not understand why X would allow Century to go out without so much of the work being completed. Seems to me the pax aboard paid to be aboard and are justified in expecting the ship to be in working order. I would not have been happy with plumbing problems and construction underway:(.

 

Hopefully, these issues will be resolved soon and we will begin to read lots of great reports on this ship. We have 5 cabins booked for November so I am looking forward to lots of positive reviews!

[tbelian]

but will not be rushing to book a celebrity cruise. will probably stick with HAL

 

Absolutely! By all means definitely stick with HAL. They have a far better product, yes?

 

Based upon the circumstances you described you should never sail Celebrity again.

 

Enjoy your next HAL cruise.

 

Let's please not have another HAL vs. Celebrity Smackdown 2006.

 

I think a good ole fashion smackeroonie could be fun

 

:D

[xplrcrzn]

Celebrity had the choice of bringing Century out of drydock still "rough around the edges" but servicable or cancelling the next cruise to finish the work. The latter choice would probably have generated the greatest number of complaints, claims and headaches. Other lines have faced the same problem--last Fall Seabourn brought one of its ships out of drydock with work still ongoing and, sure enough, bad reviews were posted on CC.

[ali-ali-oh]

We returned from the three night cruise at the weekend and I am sorry that you obviously didn't enjoy your trip as much as we did. I did not notice anywhere to be significantly "grubby" or that I felt was in serious need of a clean. Sure there were a few niggles here and there and a few areas that you could tell had not just had a lick of paint, or hadn't been quite finished to perfection, but it certainly didn't detract from our enjoyment in the least. In fact, I was concerned that it would be far worse prior to sailing than it was so was pleasantly surprised. On the whole (IMHO) it looked brand new in the majority of areas. Don't be put off - she looks wonderful!

 

On a final note, the Captain made daily noon announcements on our sailing and was also available on our formal night for the Captain's Club party

[oceandrive]

How about revamping your website as well, Celebrity ? Still showing the AquaSpa as one of the ship highlights...The AquaSpa is GONE ! Honestly, the website should be updated to give the potential clients the chance to have their expectations met ! Advertizing an AquaSpa that doesn't exist is false advertising.

[Sparkle 123]

Ditto, Ali

[caviargal]

How about revamping your website as well, Celebrity ? Still showing the AquaSpa as one of the ship highlights...The AquaSpa is GONE ! Honestly, the website should be updated to give the potential clients the chance to have their expectations met ! Advertizing an AquaSpa that doesn't exist is false advertising.

 

I sat through a Celebrity presentation yesterday given by a sales rep and she did not even have pics of the ship; just the drawings.

 

I told her I would send her a link to the board so she could see what it looks like:rolleyes:.

[katiensb]

We sailed the Century in Jan.2006 we are booked again for Nov.2006. What exactly are the changes that were made and if you know...why. such as the Aqua Spa? i gues i missed it. Is it the same as the Thessotherepy pool?

 

Please forgive my ignorance..

 

katie

[bububr]

From what I've heard there is no more T-pool.

 

Dave:eek:

[katiensb]

Dave...

 

are you kidding..that is one of the things hubby and I are looking forward to... Thanks...anything else????

[caviargal]

Dave...

 

are you kidding..that is one of the things hubby and I are looking forward to... Thanks...anything else????

 

No T pool

New balcony staterooms

Way cool martini bar:) made of ice

Murano specialty restaurant

Aqua Spa Cafe

All new bedding, carpets and furniture

 

Will be aboard in a few months and will share all details when I return!

[campingman]

No T pool

New balcony staterooms

Way cool martini bar:) made of ice

Murano specialty restaurant

Aqua Spa Cafe

All new bedding, carpets and furniture

 

Will be aboard in a few months and will share all details when I return!

 

At least Caviargal will bring us up to date on the refurbishment.Royal,Sky,and mostly the new Aft Family Views and Sunset view cabins.Thank You.

 

The time lapsed since the refurbishment is now passed to the point that Celebrity Marketing is now inefficient and cannot be relied upon.

I have written to them.Recieving a reply that the details will be available very soon.That was 2 weeks ago.

Celebrity know how they refurbished the cabins.They know the dimensions of every cabin and balcony.

This does not not fair well for Celebrity.A line that says, We Treat you Famously.Yes the on board Crew do that so well.That we keep wanting to go back and they dont recieve the salary that the Celebrity Office Marketing Staff do and yet the likes of Celebrity Marketing are letting their team down and of course us their Guests.

[Desertbelle]

I personally do not understand why X would allow Century to go out without so much of the work being completed. Seems to me the pax aboard paid to be aboard and are justified in expecting the ship to be in working order. I would not have been happy with plumbing problems and construction underway:(.

 

Hopefully, these issues will be resolved soon and we will begin to read lots of great reports on this ship. We have 5 cabins booked for November so I am looking forward to lots of positive reviews!

 

It's not just X. We were on the Dawn Princess after it had come off a 20 day dry-dock and it was horrible. Workmen were busy at work every day finishing public areas of the ship. Some of the public places were closed. Some of the ship's amenities weren't working at all, such as the internet....not just the computers but the satellite TV also. The satellite being down also affected other services. We were further disappointed to experience tired, old, bedding, bathrooms in ill repair, toilets not flushing, laundry facilites not working, etc. The real kicker was that the engine that was supposed to have been repaired needed a "breaking in" period, and we missed 3 ports, and got to the other three ports late. :(

 

Fortunately, we still had a lovely time, because we were with family, and whenever we get together we have a great time!! Plus, being on the sea, sunshine and beautiful ports (the ones we did get to see) can make anyone feel better in the middle of winter. :)