First Time Cruiser Needs Advice on Century

[sccaliente]

Hello all.

This site is the most informative thing I have ever found. I was wondering if you all could help me further. My husband and I are in our late 20s and I would like to try cruising. We found a cruise on Century March 10th that looks perfect but I wanted to know some answes first. When we usually stay on vacation we either stay in concierge at hotels or in suites. If we booked a sky suite would our experience be similar? The rooms we have to select from are 1231, 1224, and 1235. Are these good rooms? Also- Do they have activities that my husband would be interested in (other than pina coladas for breakfast) and is the spa worth it? We regularly go for pedicures and massages once a month together and are used to costs associated. Finally the royal and penthouse suites are sold out, would there be an option to upgrade from Sky suite, if so, when?

Thank you in advance for all of your help! My husband is a reluctant cruiser and any and all ammunition I could bring to the table would be most appreciated!!:rolleyes:

[Southern Sailaway]

My wife and I are a bit older than you, but otherwise in almost exactly the same situation. As we are just about to embark on our first cruise, I can't really speak with authority to your questions, but I can tell you that after asking a ton of questions of many people and combing this board carefully, we concluded that a Sky Suite on Century would probably be a good place to experiment with cruising. We also seriously considered some of the more luxury cruise lines (Crystal, Regent, Silverseas), but decided that for the price difference, we'd start with the Century and adjust for the next one if we thought we needed to (assuming we want to do it again). My expectation is that it will be more or less like a Hilton concierge floor, but below the standard of say a Four Seasons. Of course, if you ask me again in three weeks, my views may have changed dramatically. It isn't exactly apples to apples. The cruise has butler service and spectacular views from your veranda, but somewhat smaller rooms that we usually get.

 

In terms of your specific stateroom, the rooms in the 12xx series are on the sports deck and the general consensus is that they are superior to the ones in the 10xx series because they have larger verandas. I'm also told that rooms aft of 1233 and 1226 are ones that were added during the last renovation. My general theory is that newer is better, so I'd think 1235 would be a better bet from the three rooms you have mentioned.

[sccaliente]

Thank you for your response. It is nice to know I am not the only one in this boat- ha!.

I look forward to hearing from the many others of you who have sailed on Century!!

Thanks!!

[Drew B]

Congratulations on being a couple in your 20's who can afford to even CONSIDER a Royal or a Penthouse suite! I think you are making a great choice with the Sky Suite. You will have a wonderful trip, and this should be a very good way to test the waters. In the future, if you want to travel in a more deluxe suite (or on a more luxurious line), you will have plenty of time for that! You still have a very good deal of your whole life ahead of you!

[caviargal]

My friends were in a Sky Suite on Century and November and we visited them often (Deck 12) to enjoy the balcony which was lovely. The room itself was not overly impressive. They liked their butler but felt he had a lot of folks to tend to and was quite busy.

 

Try Murano for an excellent dining experience. We wish we would have gone more than once.

 

I found the spa to be overpriced for the quality of service. I am willing to pay a high price for high quality service (re the Phoenician, Ritz or similar) but the prices are comparable and the quality is not. X's also comes with a sales pitch so if you do opt for services, tell them upfront you'd like to enjoy your massage without a hard sell unless you enjoy such a thing.

 

I would say it is similar to a concierge floor at your standard Marriott, but not even close to a Four Seasons or Ritz. My friends paid $3000 for a four night cruise so I feel the price was high for what they received and they commented that the balcony was the best part of the Suite. They did like the extra privacy as the pool area was very crowded and seats difficult to come by.

 

Michaels Club is a classy spot for some piano music and a cocktail and the Martini Bar is fun. The gym is quite nice. Aqua Spa was our daily choice for breakfast and lunch as it is quiet, small and the food was very good.

 

Century is a nice ship and will give you a taste of cruising so you will be able to decide for yourself if it is your cup of tea.

[sccaliente]

thank you for the kind compliments and feedback. My husband and I are habitual savers and we like to be pampered when we travel so we save up for it and are usually not dissapointed. Thanks for your candor about the spa- I might skip it. My emphasis for the suite lies the balcony space and being able to enjoy the outdoor space. I also enjoy the level of service and the fact that we can have breakfast on our balcony and a cappucino... my husband wants pina coladas for breakfast on his balcony- funny!

If anyone else has anything to add, I will be more than grateful and yes, we will definitely dine at Muranos!!

[Drew B]

My husband and I are habitual savers and we like to be pampered when we travel so we save up for it and are usually not dissapointed.

 

That's even more impressive than if you'd just been born wealthy! ;)

 

Enjoy your first cruise. You've earned it!

[Amanda & Roger]

sccaliente - My wife is in her late twenties and I am in my early thirties and we have been on 10 cruises. We have had several different types of rooms, from balcony suites to inside and we have determined that although the balcony is nice we did not spend alot of time on it. Between sleeping, eating, poolside activities, dancing, the casino, movies, shows, shopping, art auctions, trivia games, the gym and, oh ya, the PORTS (almost forgot about the ports), we spend very little time in the cabin or on the balcony. If you are a more active couple, you too will probably not spend much time in the cabin or on the balcony. We only use the cabin for sleeping and other things that require a little (or alot) of privacy.

 

We both Scuba dive and try to do dive as often as possilbe. Being from SC we found that cruising allows us to dive in many different locations anytime of the year. We kinda use the cruise ship as our own personal dive boat.

 

Roger

[Stock Cop]

Please don't forget the security camera located in your cabin ceiling. All good shots go directly to the bridge.

Enjoy your cruising.!!!!

 

Rich :D

[dkjretired]

I think one of the things you will enjoy will be the Butler Service in the suites but cruising is much different than a land based vacation. Trying the Century for a four or five day cruise is a good idea to see if you like it.

[the2006Junket]

Sccaliente,

 

A few other thoughts, just to help you manage your and your spouse's expectations about how cruising will compare to land-based vacations:

- even your Sky Suite will seem small to you when compared to hotel rooms (except maybe those in some NYC, London and some Asian cities!) and not altogether that luxuriously appointed. Even though the Century has been refurbished very nicely, the linens and furniture will be more on the scale of a nice Marriott, not 4 Seasons and the like. You'll have to remember it's a ship and compared to other ships and compared to an inside standard room (which I'll be in on the Century in April! Just don't want to spend the $$$ this time since it's so short a trip, expecting such good weather and we're going to Vail, Cape Cod and Nantucket for other longer vacations during the same 6 months)-- you'll be living large!

- The service is much more personal and present than in hotels, especially for you in the Sky Suite. Even when I stay on the Concierge floors in very nice hotels, it's rare that you meet your chambermaid and get any sort of personalized service. Usually a concierge floor in a hotel comes down to free appetizers and drinks at cocktail hour and a continental breakfast in a lounge on an upper floor AND some help, if you request it, on things like dinner reservations. Your cabin attendant will gladly provide you with personal service (more towels? that Pina Coloda delivered every day at 10 am, ice at 4 pm...whatever) and twice a day spiffing up of your cabin.

- Spa service: while the big negative on Celebrity is the sales pitch which seems to follow most services, the new spa on the Century is supposed to be lovely. The exercise room/equipment gets very good reviews too. It's possible you'd find that the massage is not as good as one you may have had at Canyon Ranch or somewhere fabulous, but it's more than adequate and sometimes very good AND you can also then enjoy some time in the lovely facilities. Just tell them firmly up front to skip the sales pitch and enjoy it. It's a great way to spend a couple of hours on an at-sea day.

 

Enjoy the planning and get ready for a different type of vacation, but likely positive experience on the Century.

 

Lynne

[sccaliente]

Wow. Thanks so much for all of the information. I am aware that the rooms are smaller and I love the service that a butler will offer- The spa services intruige me as something fun while the husband golfs on deck- what other regular activities on days at sea are there?

What types of gambling are available in the Casino, do they have cards or just slots? Also, does anyone suggest avoiding any rooms in the 1200s?

Finally, in Ocho Rios and Grand Cayman should we book an excursion with Celebrity or "wing it".

Since we are driving to port, approximately what time will we be allowed on ship and are the lines long??

Sorry for all of the questions but of course, if you don't know, ask!!

[Amanda & Roger]

Normally the casinos offer blackjack (my favorite), craps, roulette, some type of stud poker, video poker and slot machines.

 

With Ocho Rios (we have been there 3 times) I would do an excursion with the ship or an independent one. You both would love climbing Dunns River Falls. It is an amazingly beautiful waterfall that climbs at about a 45 degree angle (probably less), you will get wet but it is not really a difficult climb. It is guided.

 

With Grand Cayman, you could definitely go out on your own. If you enjoy snorkling or SCUBA diving, you will love Eden Rock and Devils Grotto which is about 100 yards to the right of where you catch the tender. Here is their website: http://www.edenrockdive.com/3.htm. Between the dive center at eden rock and tender area is a Tortuga Rum Cake shop where you can get free samples and purchase all the liquor, rum cakes and Jamaican beef patties that you can handle. The other notable things that I can remember is Hell (very interesting lava formations) and the Turtle Farm.

 

Of course what Grand Cayman is famous for is its stingray city where you take a large ferry to a sandbar and feed and swim with Southern Stingrays. We did it our first time and loved. Since then we do about three dives at Eden Rock and the spend the rest of the time consuming copious amonts of beef patties and rum cake.

 

As long as you do something at each place, you will enjoy it.

 

Roger