Century – January 13-18, 2007

[Senga]

Here are the positives and negatives of a fantastic vacation that we would repeat in a heartbeat.

 

Custom air arrangements through Celebrity were excellent. We boarded Century at 3 p.m. which is the latest we have ever boarded a ship. The late arrival was due to a one hour delay in Toronto while the plane was deiced and a one hour wait in Miami for the Celebrity shuttle. The end result, however, was no lines at all and we just walked aboard.

 

Our inside cabin, 8107, was beautifully decorated, bright and elegant, with tons of storage space. The new bedding is very comfortable and attractive. The very modern bathroom comes complete with a new hairdryer which doesn’t overheat like the old models did. After sailing on the Millennium class ships for so long we found it very difficult to get our bearings from the Grand Foyer as the elevators are tucked away and we couldn’t figure out Aft and Forward. The Celebrity theatre is poorly designed as the seating in the beautiful balconies offer obstructed views. The downstairs seating is great. The Persian Gardens on Century doesn’t compare to the ones aboard the Millennium class ships. The shops are bright and attractive but with limited space outside the stores it becomes very overcrowded when they feature their special sales and tastings. Photographs are way overpriced at $19.95 each. Much has been made of the ice bar but to us, although nice, it didn’t live up to our expectations which may have been too high. We were disappointed in the Aqua Spa Café as the oatmeal wasn’t hot and the bran muffins stale. Although this is our normal breakfast choice on board Millennium class, we didn’t give it a second try. There was lots of variety offered in Islands Café, including the famous waffles at breakfast, the pizza and pasta station and soup and sandwich station at lunch and the buffet food was appetizing and hot. The french fries were always hot at the grill. Dinners in the Grand Restaurant were exceptional. I ordered beef every night and it was perfectly cooked as requested. Nice to see a few new offerings on the menu and they now actually list what is available every night (shrimp cocktail, salmon,

N.Y. steak). We went to Murano and had a wonderful meal; Chilean Sea Bass and Steak Diane. The steak was prepared tableside by Dominic and I can honestly say I have never had such an incredible cut of beef, it just melted in my mouth.

 

The Cat’s Pajamas were fantastic, we went to all their performances and we really enjoyed the party band, Synergy, and took in their shows poolside and in the Crystal Room. There were three production shows on this five night cruise. As Celebrity production shows are fleet wide and are performed for a number of years we were delighted to see two new shows; Shout and Dance Around The World. However, we were not impressed with the Celebrity singers so after Shout we decided to wait until the Constellation in March to see Dance Around The World in hopes of better performers.

 

In Jamaica we only got off the ship to purchase a lovely tropical bouquet for the cabin for $10 US which was sold right inside the terminal. We spoke with a number of passengers who did the beach excursions (close to $100 p/p) and there was no positive feedback. The main complaint was the travel time (1 ½ hours each way) but one girl told us they were disgusted with the Breezes resort which she said was filthy, the food inedible and they were approached a number of times on the resort to purchase drugs. They intended asking for a refund. Another passenger said that after the travel time they only had 1 hour to spend at the beach and 15 minutes for shopping. My suggestion would be to stay onboard and enjoy the Century.

 

There were six ships tendered in Grand Cayman so Georgetown was really crowded. Pre-hurricane there was a limit of 3 but they are trying to recover lost revenue any way they can. We took a taxi to the Marriott at Seven Mile Beach where we usually rent a chaise lounge for $10. When we arrived we were advised they now charge $120 for cruise ship passengers (post hurricane) although this does include a day room, something we weren’t interested in. Needless to say we gave this a miss, walked along the public beach, deposited our belongings on the sand and went for a swim. It was very fortunate we had our water shoes as the once sandy bottom is now very uneven and rocky. By the time we walked along to the Ritz Carlton we were dry, walked up the public access path and caught a bus ($2.50 p/p) back to town. The buildings have made a tremendous recovery from the hurricane but the beach is disappointing. Next time we’ll stay onboard and enjoy the facilities offered on the ship.

 

Disembarkation was excellent and, for the first time, we cleared customs in the port terminal rather than waking up very early for our “interview” on board ship. Don’t know if this is a permanent change but we sure hope it is! Transportation to the airport was well organized and timely.

 

We thought we might find 5 nights too short but it was very relaxing and we wouldn’t hesitate to repeat this cruise. I have pictures posted at:

http://ca.pg.photos.yahoo.com/ph/sengamilne/my_photos

[Lois R]

Hi,:) thanks for the review and for posting all those

pictures:D. I sail her in 3 months....it will be so nice

to see her all new;) ......last time I sailed Century was

March 2005.

[Dee1161]

Thanks for the review and for the pictures.

I am going on my 1st Celebrity cruise in April aboard the Century - it was great to see the recent pictures. :)

[DancerOT]

I was also on this cruise and also had a wonderful time. We were a group of 19 celebrating my grandmother's birthday. The most important thing of all was that she had a fantastic time. I love Century, but there were definitely some plusses and minuses to this cruise.

 

Embarkation was quick and painless and we were able to go to our staterooms early. We had a variety of different cabins ranging from insides to verandas including a handicap accessible outside cabin. My parent's verbandah room was beautiful and I love the new storage. The stateroom attendants were luck of the draw - my brother's was fantastic, ours was average, and my parents didnt like theirs, but strangely enough they had the same one my aunt and uncle had and they received excellent service - so who knows?

 

The waffles were excellent! The aqua spa at lunch was delicious as were the salads I made at the buffet. The dinners in the dining room were of mixed quality in my opinion - but I also don't eat red meat. Some nights the food was fantastic, while others - not so much. The salmon on this cruise does not compare to the salmon we had on our Alaskan cruise - althugh I am not surprised. Our waiter did an excellent job of taking care of my young cousin's which is always very important.

 

On Montego Bay, we went to Margaritaville and had a fantastic time. The kids had a blast jumping on the trampolines and the slide was lots of fun. In Grand Cayman, 10 of us did a waverunner excursions which was excellent. We took jet skis from a resort to stingray city, where we fed, held, and petted the stingrays. We then took the jetskis to Rum Point Beach - absolutely beautiful breach and not very crowded at all. They also had the best conch fritters I have ever had. We then took the jetskis back to the resort. There were 2 guides for the ten of us (we were on 6 jet skis). This excursion was booked ahead of time and not through Celebrity.

 

The entertainment, IMO, was of mixed quality. The Cat's Pajamas were fantastic! I highly recommend everyone going to see them. We went to as many of their performances as possible and bought their cds. They were also very gracious with my young cousin. The Celebrity singers and dancers appear to have gone down in quality from last year. They just were not together. It was disappointing because many of them had the technique, it just couldn't get pulled together. And the males have got to get their kicks up to the same level.

 

I do think 5 days is too short. I wouldnt hesitate to do another 5 day, but I would want to add the 4 day afterwards. We had thought about booking the Dec. 18 - 22 cruise ahead of time, but ended up not. We did call on the last day of the cruise to see if there were any random cabins available - unfortunately there weren't.

 

If anyone has any questions please feel free to ask.

[Cruise Shmooze]

... for your opinions. The pictures were great. We'll be sailing on Century Feb. 5th. We've been on Holland America, Princess, and Royal Caribbean, and anxious for our first Celebrity cruise. If we can survive Super Bowl weekend in Miami and get to the ship Monday morning, it should be fantastic. Go Bears.

[YOW]

Thanks for the nice review and pics, Senga! Seeing your shot of Dominic preparing the steak makes me want to go back to Murano right now... but for the moment, Tim Horton's will have to suffice. ;)

[FLAgator]

Great review and pics! Thanks for posting!

[lillypad83]

I sail April 16th, thanks so much for the pics! I've read about the enrichment program... Was there a speaker, or some sort of workshop?

[lillypad83]

I'm super-forgetful. Our flight lands at Miami International at 1:45, and the ship departs at 5:00. Did I allow enough time? We booked our airfare separately (we were originally booked on RCCL's Majesty of the Seas, and changed the reservation because the price was comparable, and the Century seemed like a much nicer ship), should I book a transfer from Celebrity, or take a cab to the pier? This is our first cruise... I know people who were super-happy with their RCCL experience, and I know no one who has cruised with Celebrity. Did we make the right choice?

 

Thanks!

[donnaman43]

Senga, that was a awesome review. I loved the pictures. We are doing a b2b on Feb. 10. We will be in room 8204. Do all the rooms have new hair dryers?

[Senga]

lillypad83: There were no enrichment seminars, guess because it was only 5 nights. Arriving at 1:45 will give you plenty of time as long as your flight isn't delayed because of bad weather. We were only held up an hour. I'm sure you'll be happy with Celebrity. We have been on 20 Celebrity, 3 RCL and we enjoyed them all. I think RCL is more geared towards younger, more active guests with their rock climbing walls and ice skating rinks.

 

donnaman43: All the cabins were redone so a new hairdyer is assured.

[Senga]

should I book a transfer from Celebrity, or take a cab to the pier?

Sorry I missed answering this in my reply. If there are 2 of you the taxi cost would be equal to the Celebrity transfer costs. As noted in my review, we had a one hour wait for the Celebrity shuttle. We should have just grabbed a cab which also means you get to see that your luggage has actually arrived at the pier and to me that's worth it.

[slotaddict]

donnaman43: All the cabins were redone so a new hairdyer is assured.

 

I was on the Century in November, my room 9070 did not have a new hairdryer. There were two one in the bathroom the kind that you have to hold the button in for the air to come out. The other was stored under the cabinet, in the bathroom, the power wasn't much better, and there was a bigger problem with a place to plug it in that was convenient to dry your hair. If you are picky about your hair dryer, bring your own.

[lillypad83]

Thanks, Senga! :)

[katscruise]

Senga,

Thanks for all the great pictures. My husband and I cruised on the Century 3 years ago and loved it. Now we are taking my 77 year old mother who has always cruised on Princess on a 5 night in March. I noticed that you had a picture titled Elegant Tea in the Grand Resturant when to they have that and did you have a Grand Buffet like they do on a 7 night. Mom loves desert so we do not want to miss it:)

[WooKeef]

Senga! Thanks for the great review. We sail on her in about 7 months and I can't wait. Of course my itinerary will be so different from yours.

I have a question though, did they upgrade the bathrooms...what I mean is: Did you still have to do what I call the shower curtain waltz or did they fix the shower curtain delimna? I know this sounds ridiculous but I found it annoying:rolleyes:

 

Thanks again!

Woo

[WooKeef]

Senga! Thanks for the great review. We sail on her in about 7 months and I can't wait. Of course my itinerary will be so different from yours.

I have a question though, did they upgrade the bathrooms...what I mean is: Did you still have to do what I call the shower curtain waltz or did they fix the shower curtain delimna? I know this sounds ridiculous but I found it annoying:rolleyes:

 

Thanks again!

Woo

[Tatka]

Hi,:) thanks for the review and for posting all those

pictures:D. I sail her in 3 months....it will be so nice

to see her all new;) ......last time I sailed Century was

March 2005.

 

When????

[Tatka]

I'm super-forgetful. Our flight lands at Miami International at 1:45, and the ship departs at 5:00. Did I allow enough time? We booked our airfare separately (we were originally booked on RCCL's Majesty of the Seas, and changed the reservation because the price was comparable, and the Century seemed like a much nicer ship), should I book a transfer from Celebrity, or take a cab to the pier? This is our first cruise... I know people who were super-happy with their RCCL experience, and I know no one who has cruised with Celebrity. Did we make the right choice?

 

Thanks!

 

Believe me Century is MUCH better than MOS.:)

[Senga]

Katscruise: There is no Grand Buffet on the 4 or 5 night cruises, just gourmet bites every night. Elegant Tea was held in the Grand Restaurant on the last sea day.

Wookeef: The bathrooms have new sinks and hairdryers but I don't know what you mean by a shower curtain dilema. We find the showers to be a decent size and have never had a problem. If you're hoping they enlarged them, no, it didn't happen.

[Lois R]

When????

 

Hello there...nice to see you again:)

 

When did I sail Century? March 2005

[Lois R]

oops...boards are acting up again:eek:

 

Tatka, I was on Century March 12th-19th, 2005

[JackieInGeorgia]

Dancer -- I remember seeing Grandma on board! She was in Hemisphere one of those nights -- she was on the dance floor!!! (all my Hemisphere nights blur together because of the bartender:) )

[Tatka]

oops...boards are acting up again:eek:

 

Tatka, I was on Century March 12th-19th, 2005

 

Oh... no, I meant when are you sailing again. I didn't notice cruise date was April 21st.

 

We are sailing on her on April 16th, 2007 ! :) Thought

we were on the same cruise. That would be cool after 3 years of virtual conversations.

[DancerOT]

Hehe...yup that was my grandmother. We were in Hemisphere a few nights. Who were you? She is still talking about that night :)