Celebrity Century British Isles May 17 - 29

[Silver Pearl]

Meow, thanks for the terrific series comprising your review of the Cats' recent Century cruise. Since I "know you" from Silversea boards, I realize that your standards are similar to my own. And, since I type the occasional review, I also know that it is quite an effort to put together as informative and entertaining a review as you did. I'm grateful.

 

--Rich

[meow!]

Thank you so much Silver Pearl, for your kind encouragement!

[chairwomanandjuicerman]

1066 (sky ste) Rommel was butler-great service

[chairwomanandjuicerman]

We took same itin. the following week(5/29-6/10) and were lucky to have good enough weather to be able to stop in Guernsey (delightful place). We did find the food unimaginative and not tailored to any ports, and on board shopping very poor and coffee just awful! We overheard many complaints about the coffee and shopping. A crew member said they were having trouble w/some new coffee machines.We usually expect to be able to ppick up itinerary related souvenirs on board, but there were none-all Baltic exsept for a basic tshirt. Oh well, delightful vacation otherwise!

[AZjohn]

Rommel was butler-great service

and on board shopping very poor and coffee just awful! We overheard many complaints about the coffee and shopping.

 

I would agree with you 100%;)

[hylasgirl]

I would agree with you 100%;)

 

Do they, at least, have a specialty coffee shop on board the Century? Is this coffee good?

 

Thanks:)

[AZjohn]

Do they, at least, have a specialty coffee shop on board the Century? Is this coffee good?

 

Thanks:)

Hello hylasgirl,

Yes the do, on the 5th deck. I'm a cafe mocha kind of guy and need my fix every morning. Sadly, they do not open until 7:00am and I get up much earlier than that. Sooooo, I had to break the rules and bring my own little espresso maker and make my special little drink to enjoy on the balcony:D

But I did check out Century's cafe durring the day and it was OK. The people who worked back there didn't know a lot about the art of making espresso, but they did the best they could.

I know you have been very excited about your upcoming cruise and I assure you that you will enjoy your cruise very much!;)

John

[hylasgirl]

Hello hylasgirl,

 

Yes the do, on the 5th deck. I'm a cafe mocha kind of guy and need my fix every morning. Sadly, they do not open until 7:00am and I get up much earlier than that. Sooooo, I had to break the rules and bring my own little espresso maker and make my special little drink to enjoy on the balcony:D

 

But I did check out Century's cafe durring the day and it was OK. The people who worked back there didn't know a lot about the art of making espresso, but they did the best they could.

 

I know you have been very excited about your upcoming cruise and I assure you that you will enjoy your cruise very much!;)

John

 

Hey... I am a cafe mocha girl!!! :D And I totally need my fix every morning too! SO... what type of machine do you have? I have a combo machine at home, so there is NO bringing that beast. Oh... last month when we were on the Monarch, I watched the girl at Latte Tudes squirt something in my cup and I said "hey...what are you putting in there?" and she turned around and said "carmel... cafe mochas have chocolate and carmel in them". WHAT??? I said "not in mine please".

 

What?!! ME?? Excited???:D Who have you been talking to?? hee hee. Excitement doesn't even begin to sum it up. It has been one helluva year for us... Hopefully this is just what we need. It sure sounds like it should be!

[librarycin]

Hi meow! I was on the cruise right after you (same itinerary). I just wanted to say that your review has been fun to read - thank you. I did a tour at every port, so it was interesting to read about what you did on your own at each one. And thank you again to AZjohn, who posted updates on our roll call as your cruise was happening.

 

It is too bad you missed St. Peter Port. It was a very pretty place, we had beautiful weather, and Castle Cornet was very cool! (I am partial to castles, though! ;))

[AZjohn]

Hey... I am a cafe mocha girl!!! :D And I totally need my fix every morning too! SO... what type of machine do you have? I have a combo machine at home, so there is NO bringing that beast. Oh... last month when we were on the Monarch, I watched the girl at Latte Tudes squirt something in my cup and I said "hey...what are you putting in there?" and she turned around and said "carmel... cafe mochas have chocolate and carmel in them". WHAT??? I said "not in mine please".

 

What?!! ME?? Excited???:D Who have you been talking to?? hee hee. Excitement doesn't even begin to sum it up. It has been one helluva year for us... Hopefully this is just what we need. It sure sounds like it should be!

Ahhh, you sound like my kind of chick:p .

I bought a Mr. Coffee steam espresso machine. It's not like the top of the line or anything and think it cost $45 but it travels with me everywhere I go (at home I use a Saeco automatic espresso machine that I enjoy very much). It drives my wife nuts that I have to bring it on all our trips, but she also knows if I don’t get my fix first thing in the morning I am not my normal happy-go-luck self.

I like to see someone excited about their cruise, so I know you will have a blast!;)

John

[AZjohn]

Hi meow! I was on the cruise right after you (same itinerary). I just wanted to say that your review has been fun to read - thank you. I did a tour at every port, so it was interesting to read about what you did on your own at each one. And thank you again to AZjohn, who posted updates on our roll call as your cruise was happening.

 

It is too bad you missed St. Peter Port. It was a very pretty place, we had beautiful weather, and Castle Cornet was very cool! (I am partial to castles, though! ;))

I’m really happy to hear you all had a great cruise and the weather was nice for you too (except or day at St. Peter Port:( ). I enjoyed giving you all the updates, and I was honest I wish I could have stayed onboard and joined you all. It’s a drag I have to work for a living:o (lol).

John

[librarycin]

I wish I could have stayed onboard and joined you all. It’s a drag I have to work for a living:o (lol).

John

 

John - I have to agree with you there! ;) I just said to one of my friends today that I wish I was made of money!! That way I wouldn't have to work, and I could do as many cruises as I want to, (and in my case, I wouldn't have to look for a roommate to join me every time because I wouldn't have to worry about the extra cost due to the supplement, but that's a whole separate issue! :eek:)

 

I also meant to say to you that I am jealous that you are taking another cruise coming up so soon... lucky you! :)

[AZjohn]

John - I have to agree with you there! ;) I just said to one of my friends today that I wish I was made of money!! That way I wouldn't have to work, and I could do as many cruises as I want to, (and in my case, I wouldn't have to look for a roommate to join me every time because I wouldn't have to worry about the extra cost due to the supplement, but that's a whole separate issue! :eek:)

 

I also meant to say to you that I am jealous that you are taking another cruise coming up so soon... lucky you! :)

 

Well, I ended up getting the same deal as Meow did and it was just too good to pass on. But it was the spur of the moment thing, only a month and a half before the sail date. Our Alaska cruise has been booked for a year now and had no idea we would be cruising twice in two months (lol).

When is you next cruise?

John

[meow!]

Thank you all, we are so happy to see this thread liven up again!

[librarycin]

When is you next cruise?

John

 

 

Unfortunately, I have just started (well, I did try a little bit before the Scotland/Ireland one) the search for a roommate for the next one. So far, I'm sticking to people I know, or friends of friends (so people only once removed from someone I know).

 

My first cruise was with a (married) co-worker to Alaska last year (on Infinity, actually!). At the time, her husband was not interested in travelling, but once she came back with stories, etc....well - they've already done another (for her) cruise, but I lost my cruise travel buddy :(! Well, in all honesty, that was probably the only one we were going to do together anyway, simply because she probably was going to end up travelling with her hubby instead...sigh... I'm hooked, but it's just too expensive to go alone (as much as I'd love to!).

 

It took me about 6 months to find someone to go with on this cruise. I actually went with 2 friends - a couple - and we shared the one room. I suspect the places I want to go may not be as interesting to some people (most people seem to want to do the hot places, which I'm not as drawn to). I've started the search for Canada/New England for next fall, but I'm not sure anyone will bite for that, so depending on price, I may try for Panama Canal as an alternative, which might be more attractive for the people I know (besides the fact that a lot of people I know are from Eastern Canada or have family there, so it's really not appealing for them to try a cruise there!).

 

Whoops! That got long...more detail than you were probably looking for...:o And apologies to meow! for somewhat highjacking the thread!

[hylasgirl]

Ahhh, you sound like my kind of chick:p .

I bought a Mr. Coffee steam espresso machine. It's not like the top of the line or anything and think it cost $45 but it travels with me everywhere I go (at home I use a Saeco automatic espresso machine that I enjoy very much). It drives my wife nuts that I have to bring it on all our trips, but she also knows if I don’t get my fix first thing in the morning I am not my normal happy-go-luck self.

I like to see someone excited about their cruise, so I know you will have a blast!;)

John

 

I'm going to have to look that one up. That sounds like something I might need:) Sometimes it's worth traveling with something that makes you so happy. We always travel with our own pepper grinder because my husband and I LOVE pepper... and slightly embarrassed to keep someone grinding and grinding... if they would just leave that damn thing on the table so we could do it ourselves but NO... they have absolute power over the pepper. What's up with that?

[AZjohn]

What's up with that?

Yea, what is up with that (lol). Well, us guys just need a few of the simple things in life to keep us happy ;) (lol).

John

[AZjohn]

Whoops! That got long...more detail than you were probably looking for...:o And apologies to meow! for somewhat highjacking the thread!

Highjacking always happens here on CC (lol). Have you looked at HAL? I think sometimes they have a lower single rate for some cruises, but I may be wrong. It's sad that the cruise lines haven't gave some attention to the single cruiser:( . I know my Mom has been wanting to go on a cruise but since my Dad passed away she hasn't found a friend to go with her...

Oh well, hope you find someone to go with you;)

John

[librarycin]

Highjacking always happens here on CC (lol). Have you looked at HAL? I think sometimes they have a lower single rate for some cruises, but I may be wrong. It's sad that the cruise lines haven't gave some attention to the single cruiser:( . I know my Mom has been wanting to go on a cruise but since my Dad passed away she hasn't found a friend to go with her...

Oh well, hope you find someone to go with you;)

John

 

Thanks John. I hope so, too. I haven't looked specifically at HAL. So far, I've been looking at itinerary and price listed (of course the price is pp/double occupancy, but that's where I've been starting). Based on that, I'll contact my TA to find out what it would cost to go alone vs. if I find a roommate. Mostly the ones that have appealed to me are either Celebrity or Royal Caribbean. I don't think I've yet asked about a HAL cruise, but maybe next time I look, I'll check closer into it. I have also not yet found one that I thought I could afford without finding a roommate (even though I keep trying!).

 

It is not easy to find someone who has the time and money, who wants to try a cruise and is interested in the same places. :(

[AZjohn]

Hey, I just checked a web site (I can't say the name but they advertise here that they can save 70% to-go hint-hint) and on the left side of the page there is a link for single cruises. I checked some of them out and the majority is on HAL and the supliment range is between 20-40% (that is a lot better than 100%). There is even one listed for New Englan/Canada (I think that is where you said you wanted to go). The only thing I also noticed was they are all inside cabins, no balcony's:(

Check it out,

John

PS: This thread really got highjacked (lol) Sorry Meow:o

[librarycin]

Hey, I just checked a web site (I can't say the name but they advertise here that they can save 70% to-go hint-hint) and on the left side of the page there is a link for single cruises. I checked some of them out and the majority is on HAL and the supliment range is between 20-40% (that is a lot better than 100%). There is even one listed for New Englan/Canada (I think that is where you said you wanted to go). The only thing I also noticed was they are all inside cabins, no balcony's:(

 

Thank you - as long as I can find the ad, I'll look into it! (I never pay attention to ads, so I'll have to look a bit.) No problem re: inside rooms. I don't need a balcony (nor would I want to pay for it!). I've only ever had 1 outside room and 1 inside room. No question if I have to pay to go alone, it will be an inside room...

[AZjohn]

Thank you - as long as I can find the ad, I'll look into it! (I never pay attention to ads, so I'll have to look a bit.) No problem re: inside rooms. I don't need a balcony (nor would I want to pay for it!). I've only ever had 1 outside room and 1 inside room. No question if I have to pay to go alone, it will be an inside room...

If you want you can e-mail me and I will give you the link

johnseeger at yahoo.com (replace the "at" with @ and group it all together;) )

John

[Blanco-Grande]

We were is SS 1201, it was a great cruise

we had been on since Miami April 28 and ate in Murano every night for 40 nights total

tom

[meow!]

I am glad that you have had a great cruise. You must have crossed the Atlantic, followed by the 5 day shortie, and then our 12 day British Isles. It must be nice to have so many back-to-backs!

[uktog]

We were is SS 1201, it was a great cruise

we had been on since Miami April 28 and ate in Murano every night for 40 nights total

tom

How wonderful to eat for 40 nights in Murano - any crew we should look out for on Deck 12 next month - though we will be on the other side to 1201

A