CENTURY..Sanitation inspection score of 79

[zackiedawg]

[quote name='FreesiaE']Hi again! I would have to disagree with those whose basic feelings are that a 79 is still pretty darn clean.[/quote]I don't think anyone was trying to indicate that 79 is still pretty clean. The way I read into it, most of them were just stating that they would expect these problems to have been an anomaly and expect that they will be fixed promptly. Anyone can admit to a 79 being a failed CDC rating, but they just don't condemn the ship, crew, ownership, and line because of what so far has been a single inspection of a single ship out of dozens of ships and hundreds of inspections.

[quote]So, we can assume that these ships are 100% sterilized. Absoutley not. However, they lack the significant critical violations that Century had.[/quote]Even that cannot be inferred. The only thing that is certain is that the inspector of the Century found violations totalling 21 points on that particular inspection. Whether the other ships at any given time have similar violations or problems isn't known...they may actually share the very same violations, but were lucky enough to not have been caught with them during inspection. If you've never received a speeding ticket, does that mean you've never sped, or just haven't been caught? I would be careful in assuming that the CDC inspection rating is an assurance that another ship doesn't share the same significant violations!

[quote]I feel that Century will have their act together for reinspection, but they have been inspected many times before--what happened between last time and this time to cause such a score descrepancy?[/quote]Very simple things might have occurred between inspections...a new employee handling the chlorine balance of the pool and failing to do it correctly, a lazy or disgruntled employee slacking off or not following rules with food storage or preparation, an infected crate or box of supplies brought in just before the inspector which caused a more prolific presence of insects - or a new hotel manager not properly checking up on his staff.

As with many things, sometimes the discovery and announcement of voilations and problems will prompt staff changes, rules, methods, etc that will achieve compliance and possibly inspire the ship crew to pay strict adherence to all codes and regulations so that they never appear on such a list again.

[quote]They should be watching to see if scores improve read the VSP website to see how the Century is responding and implementing new sanitation methods. That's it for me :) I really am a nice person--I promise![/QUOTE]Exactly...I think that's what most of us are doing. The next inspection will certainly be important for all involved!

[dougnewmanatsea]

[quote name='4 cruisers']Hurray Doug!!!! When are you going???[/QUOTE]Er, well... Maybe not going now. The plan got put on hold literally minutes after I wrote it. That should teach me not to write anything until all is said and done ;) .

If we do go it will be 23 April... So maybe we would see you as we we get on in Ft. Lauderdale ;) .

We should have a final decision by tonight or tomorrow so I will keep you posted. This is a cruise that would be with a (small) family group so there's a bit of logistics involved coordinating everything.

If the family-group thing doesn't work out we'll probably do something that week on our own, but not CENTURY on account of her boring itinerary. Not sure what we'd do, maybe not even a cruise. Or maybe DIAMOND PRINCESS from LA (if you [i]really[/i] want to meet me, you could take an early flight home from FLL to LA and then get on DIAMOND PRINCESS the next week ;) ...) - we've never done the west coast of Mexico - or something in Europe, or... Who knows. There are loads of possibilities out there. If the family group pans out we're pretty much restricted to Ft. Lauderdale on that particular Saturday which gave a choice of CENTURY, CARIBBEAN PRINCESS, or ZUIDERDAM. Easy choice, especially considering that CENTURY was by far the cheapest.

I've wanted to go on this ship since I first got my hands the pre-inaugural brochure as a six-year-old so personally I wouldn't mind going on this cruise, even if it is a dull itinerary. (I'd actually prefer the Eastern itinerary you're getting - wanna trade ;) ? This would be the third cruise in a row to the Western Caribbean for me, so I'd really prefer just about [i]anything[/i] else...)

[quote name='4 cruisers']Interesting about the Japanese standards being so different! Makes sense...not necessarily better or worse, simply "different!" Makes me think about NCL now being Star...and Japanese...hm-m-m-m![/QUOTE]Malaysian, not Japanese. Well, Malaysian-owned at least, their headquarters are in Hong Kong and their main operational base is Singapore. They're very proud of being "international" as you might understand ;) .

They did briefly have a ship based in Japan in their heyday in the late 1990s just before the Asian Economic Crisis though.

[quote name='4 cruisers']Wonder if James Deering is still with NCL? Do you happen to know?[/QUOTE]No, unfortunately I don't. I imagine someone on the NCL board would know though.

From the few hours I've had experiencing it on NORWEGIAN DAWN, I kind of like the "new NCL" (I wasn't a big "old NCL" fan). I'm still more the HAL/Celebrity type but it looks to me like they've pulled together a real quality product.

[quote name='hdawson']Star is not Japanese. It's Malaysian or Indonesian. Not sure which.[/QUOTE]Malaysian. Sort of. As I explained above, Star is one of those companies that's not so easy on paper to pin a nationality on, but in real life it's Malaysian. The company is owned by Mr. Lim, who his money off the [url=http://www.genting.com.my]Genting[/url] megaconglomerate.

[quote name='FreesiaE']Hi again! I would have to disagree with those whose basic feelings are that a 79 is still pretty darn clean.[/QUOTE]Well, no, really it isn't and I don't think anyone is claiming it is. But if the next inspection comes back OK then there's no cause for concern. As I detailed in my first post, lots of ships do fail occasionally - though things are getting much better. 10 years ago nobody would have batted an eye at a score of 79 (I'm sure Celebrity would have been appalled, but I mean among the cruising public it was pretty much accepted that these scores go up and down, and that everyone failed sometimes).

[4 cruisers]

Doug, darn! I'll keep my fingers crossed for you! We've never been to the Eastern Caribbean, so it's really exciting for us, but had the price been right to get the Royal Suite on the Eastern my husband said he wouldn't mind repeating it! Just lucky for us, it was available on the April 16th sailing. Our son's spring break is the week before that so he's especially happy about missing an extra week of school...he's in his last year of middle school, so we figure this is the last time he can actually afford to miss classes (so we can get the great cruise deals!). If you do end up on the Princess out of LA (the one we came VERY close to booking, I might add LOL!), maybe we can meet post cruise! The port is less than an hour from here, so I could possibly be your transportation to where you need to go...that would be a kick!!!!

I am sorry I had the Star line wrong! I think that what I was told by Mr. Deering is that the Superstar Leo was built with the Japanese market in mind(?). Big difference, for sure! I looked on line and it was still foggy, but Malasia did seem to be the correct answer! Once again, sorry about the mis-information and thanks to Doug and HDawson for clearing it up! :o

Happy (upper 90's ;) )sailing, everyone!

[toreilly]

As we are going on the Century for Christmas, I became very concerned to hear about the low sanitation inspection score. As we are based in the UK, I phoned their head office here and they knew nothing about it, so I directed them to the cruisecontrol website to have a look and get back to me. I am still waiting a response. I also spoke to ABTA who protent travellers rights in the UK. I would only be eligible for a refund if the ship is declared unfit to travel. So it looks like I am stuck with it.What with this posting and the stories regarding the breadsticks etc, I am worried we have made the wrong choice, especially as we are paying to fly from London. If anyone hears an update on the re-inspection can they keep me informed.
Thanks.

[4 cruisers]

Toreily, I would venture to guess that when you board that ship, it will have been gone over with a fine tooth comb! With all Cruise Critics eyes alone on how this works out, RCI will take care of this. Have you been on the Century before? We were on her last January and it truly is a first class ship. Please don't worry too much (especially if there's really nothing you can do!). You have every right to be upset and keep abreast of this, but don't let it spoil your vacation anticipation. I hope RCI/Celebrity calls you back with specifics of what they have done to correct the situation because you certainly have the right to know! We'll all keep our eyes and ears open here!

Nanette

[FreesiaE]

I feel certain that those will Century cruises in the future will have very clean cruises if Celebrity takes the suggestions by the VSP. A failing score looks bad--look at all of the neg. PR just from this board! They will have it cleaned/fixed up--they are a great company. If it was that bad, they could prevent the ship from docking-what an expensive proposition for a cruise line. That is something they do not want. I want to thank everyone who responded to my posts from earlier. I am just concerned about this, and hope that everything will work out soon!

[dougnewmanatsea]

[quote name='4 cruisers']We've never been to the Eastern Caribbean, so it's really exciting for us, but had the price been right to get the Royal Suite on the Eastern my husband said he wouldn't mind repeating it![/QUOTE]Royal Suite! Sounds nice. We're looking at Category 10.

Almost 50 years ago, the friend who introduced my grandparents to cruising told my grandfather to always take the cheapest cabin, as everything else on the ship will be the same (on a one-class ship, that is). In my family this is advice we still take religiously ;) .

I'm still waiting for that surprise fifteen-category upgrade. It's happened to use more than once in hotels... Never on ships or airplanes though. (I could write a book: "Behind the Fabric Curtain: Tales of Life in Economy Class"!)

[quote name='4 cruisers']If you do end up on the Princess out of LA (the one we came VERY close to booking, I might add LOL!), maybe we can meet post cruise![/QUOTE]Well... Our schedule would be pretty tight, but who knows.

I'm not sure if there's anything interesting on the Mexican Riviera; at this point the attraction is just having not been there yet. The Caribbean seems so passé now and there are, after all, loads of places we haven't been yet...

In additon to cruises, we're looking at maybe splitting a week between Paris and Amsterdam... Or Rome and Milan... Or maybe a week-long cruise in the Med - maybe on MSC who I would like to try. Or a river cruise in Europe. Who knows. If the Florida constraint is lifted there are loads and loads of possibilities... And while I would like to try CENTURY, destination is important too and I'd take a week in Europe over just about any ship on earth in the Western Caribbean. Floating around aimlessly on a beautiful ship is nice, but seeing and doing things is even nicer, at least at this stage of life!

[quote name='4 cruisers']I am sorry I had the Star line wrong! I think that what I was told by Mr. Deering is that the Superstar Leo was built with the Japanese market in mind(?).[/QUOTE]Ah, well, you're probably not really wrong there. I imagine that Star had designs on Japan - I mean, it's the second-largest economy in the world, and it's in their backyard. Back during the days when those ships were ordered, when they envisioned a huge fleet of mega-liners filling every port in the Far East, no doubt they had plans to put a mega-ship or three in Japan. Initially LEO and VIRGO went to Hong Kong and Singapore, their two main bases, but seeing as they expected to have Meyer churning out big new ships for years on end, I'm sure Japan was in the plans and so no doubt Japanese tastes were considered.

But the company itself is Malaysian.

[4 cruisers]

I just e-mailed Celebrity with my concerns and will let you know what their response (if any) is!

[4 cruisers]

Doug, you are absolutely right about seeing as much as you can at this stage of your life!!! We've been having some stressful family health/family business issues here and my husband just needs to be pampered and "cruise!" Hence, the fancy- shmansy room this trip! But give me an inside cabin to my favorite ports (Kusadasi, Venice, Santorini) ANYDAY!!!!

As for the Med., I've been researching for a friend's family and the Splendour has a great price reduction on the Sept. 3rd sailing out of Barcelona...don't know if that's the ports you had in mind. I personally like the itinerary on the Brilliance that goes to Kusadasi and Santorini among many others, but it's pretty pricey with the greater number of days sailing.

We've thought about the river boats, but have read that it is maybe for when we get a bit older :o

Hope you end up with something great to look forward to, Doug!

[4 cruisers]

I think we posted at the same time, FreesiaE! I agree with you 100% :)

[dougnewmanatsea]

[quote name='4 cruisers']Doug, you are absolutely right about seeing as much as you can at this stage of your life!!! We've been having some stressful family health/family business issues here and my husband just needs to be pampered and "cruise!"[/QUOTE]Actually that was the driving force behind this too. That is, the cruise with the rest of the family (grandparents). We were planning on going away that week anyway, but if the whole-family trip gets postponed (to the summer maybe?) then we'll do something else that week.

[quote name='4 cruisers']As for the Med., I've been researching for a friend's family and the Splendour has a great price reduction on the Sept. 3rd sailing out of Barcelona...don't know if that's the ports you had in mind.[/QUOTE]Not bad ports, but I'm looking at the week of 23 April here, and SPLENDOUR won't be in Europe yet that week.

I don't really have a preference as to Eastern or Western Med - I love the whole region - but would like to work in ports we haven't been to. On the Eastern end, that means any of the Greek Isles and anyplace in Croatia (Dubrovnik sounds wonderful), on the Western, just about anything other than Naples and Livorno would count as "new and different".

Last summer we had to stay home, which is too bad as I really, really liked GALAXY's Eastern Med itinerary (I think it was a 10-day). People were shaky about Turkey so they changed it around to spend loads of time in the Greek Isles which really appeals to me. This year it's back to the old itinerary. That doesn't happen in April anyway, and even if it did we have time for eight nights (Saturday departure, Sunday return) maximum in April.

MARCO POLO has a passable Venice-Civitavecchia itinerary on April 23 - if that's inexpensive enough I could go for that. I absolutely [i]love[/i] Venice - it's probably my favorite place in the world to be a tourist ;) .

And Windstar have a few itineraries that look marginally interesting too. MSC might have something too, will have to examine further (I'll have to get all that info from their [url=http://www.msc-kreuzfahrten.de]German web site[/url] as the US one is awful and not kept up to date).

While we're on the subject of the Med, a couple of years ago - pre 9/11 I think - there were rumors that Celebrity would send a ship (CENTURY was rumored I think) to do Greek Isles cruises. I'd love to do that. Could almost bring back the good old days of Greek cruising!

I even remember in 1998 the running rumor on NORDIC EMPRESS (not that I like the ship, I don't) was that RCI were sending her to Greece in the summer of 1999 to do short cruises in the Greek Isles. This came per her incredibly friendly Greek captain (who could, for all I know, be with Celebrity now) who was positively eccstatic at the idea. Never happened, but I'd have loved to cruise Greece with that captain (whose name I can't recall); he was fantastic.

[4 cruisers]

I'd check out Marco Polo for sure! Even though it's an older crowd, I think Orient has a great product that attracts seasoned travelers who are a lot of fun (I have met some great people on the Orient board). It's too bad there isn't a Golden Odyssey doing the Greek Isles anymore! And then there was the Chandris (wasn't that the one that was taken over by terrorists? :eek: ). I met a lady who's from Barcelona who prefers the MSC line to RCI. But then again, she smokes, and feels that MSC is a better fit for Europeans...back when we traveled on the Royal Viking Line, when you think about it, it was really a more European atmosphere and I thoroughly enjoyed it. I might choose the cruise by the ports and the price these days! If I were you, I'd be stearing your family AWAY from the Mexico cruise...after the Caribbean, it would be a let down! We just considered it because of the ability to drive to the ship for once in our lives!!!! Still might do it on the Star if she's still there in the next couple of years! Shame she isn't back in Hawaii (Fanning Island and all!). Maybe NCL will wise up eventually! :rolleyes:

[dougnewmanatsea]

[quote name='4 cruisers']I'd check out Marco Polo for sure! Even though it's an older crowd, I think Orient has a great product that attracts seasoned travelers who are a lot of fun[/QUOTE]Yes, I'll have to look into that in a bit more depth. My grandparents were on MARCO POLO twice (this is back when she was "new", in the pre-NCL days - they went once to Asia and once to the Med) and were not crazy about her but I wouldn't mind giving her a try and I'm sure the passengers she attracts are an interesting group. (I will forever think of the late Peter Stocker when I think of this ship - I'm sure that he'd be pleased that I'm considering his favorite ship.)

[quote name='4 cruisers']It's too bad there isn't a Golden Odyssey doing the Greek Isles anymore![/QUOTE]CROWN ODYSSEY. But yes, her Greek Isles itineraries were nice. The Venice-Rome itinerary does stop in Greece one day (Corfu I think - I'll have to check) but includes two days in Croatia which has been on my wish list for some time. And Rome which we missed last time in the Med.

GOLDEN ODYSSEY was the first Royal Cruise Line ship, circa 1974, a lovely little thing of about 9,000 GT which carried 400 passengers - exactly the capacity of a chartered 747. The original concept of Royal Cruise Line was to cater exclusively to affluent passengers from Southern California, and so they'd charter a 747 from LAX to wherever the ship was, with all of the ship's passengers being carried on that one aircraft. I'm not sure how long that lasted; they certainly had expanded beyond it not long after. It was an interesting concept though.

Both CROWN and GOLDEN ODYSSEY were designed by Tage Wandborg, the brilliant Danish marine architect who basically invented the modern cruise ship. CROWN ODYSSEY was his last project before retiring, as I recall. Wandborg also handled GOLDEN ODYSSEY's interiors, which resulted in a very Scandinavian-looking Greek ship. CROWN ODYSSEY's interiors were done by Michael Katzourakis who also handled HORIZON and ZENITH, the cabins on all the Celebrity ships (right through the MILLENNIUM-class vessels) and did countless other Greek vessels, some with more success than others. They handled MARCO POLO's interior design too. But I digress...

[quote name='4 cruisers']And then there was the Chandris (wasn't that the one that was taken over by terrorists? :eek: ).[/QUOTE]The terrorist incident was on the ACHILLE LAURO, of Flotta Lauro. This was later bought by Mediterranean Shipping Company - at the time only in the container business - and renamed Starlauro. After ACHILLE LAURO burned and sank in 1994, they renamed the cruise division Mediterranean Shipping Cruises, now MSC Crociere.

Chandris is the company which became Celebrity - originally it was called Chandris Celebrity Cruises and the old "downmarket" divison was Chandris Fantasy Cruises. They later dropped "Chandris" and became just Celebrity and Fantasy. Fantasy eventually dwindled down to one ship and finally bit the dust in 1997, not long before RCI and Celebrity merged. By this time Chandris owned 51% of Celebrity, the other 49% having been sold to Overseas Shipholding Group, the huge New York-based bulk carrier company, to finance the CENTURY-class ships.

My father is a dentist and he had patients who worked for both Chandris and OSG. The former Chandris executive became a long family friend and is now our travel agent. So you see, even though I haven't been on Celebrity since 1995, I grew up in a family of loyal Chandris passengers :) .

John Chandris now owns a fairly large chunk of RCI, and sits on the board of directors.

[quote name='4 cruisers']If I were you, I'd be stearing your family AWAY from the Mexico cruise...after the Caribbean, it would be a let down![/QUOTE]It doesn't sound especially interesting, but at least it would be someplace we've not been before. Also, flying to LA is cheaper than flying to Florida (no, I'm not kidding).

I'd rather do the Med or something like that though, obviously.

What I do like in Mexico is the Sea of Cortez itinerary that HAL were doing with RYNDAM last year. Unfortunately that was axed - but I've always had a desire to go to the Sea of Cortez since reading Steinbeck's wonderful book about it.

This thread sure is way off from sanitation scores now... People will start accusing us of changing the topic ;) .

[mkazmer]

What a difference a year makes is right!!! We sailed Century last December for the third time and had a wonderful time - have always loved that ship - she was the last X ship we booked - sure hope that things get better -------

[pjsugg]

Seriously, How did we get off this subject with you, Host Doug?

This thread was about horrible conditions on a Ship? I have never been an X customer, but do not tell me they did it right?????

Patti

[safein]

I'm sure that everyone on this board will be anxiously awaiting the next inspection report and I am sure that all will be right once again with the Century. I got to see the Century and her sisters and my favorite was always the Century. The only thing that I would do different and that's to do a different itinerary than the Eastern which we did twice.

Hey Host Doug, I would love to know who from OSG was your Dad's patients! Small world which seems to get smaller everyday.

Anita

[GoVolsTB]

Makes me a little uncomfortable to read this report......we just got off the Century a few weeks ago. Even did the tour of the galley..it looked very clean...guess you can't tell just by looking.

[dougnewmanatsea]

[quote name='pjsugg']Seriously, How did we get off this subject with you, Host Doug?[/QUOTE]It just strayed away... You never know what direction a thread will take. I'm sorry if anyone feels I hijacked their thread.

If anyone has anything to say about sanitation scores nobody's keeping you from doing it ;) .

And believe me, there's no conspiracy here to take the topic off negative posts or anything... I, like all our Hosts, am not involved in the cruise industry in any way and am certainly not some sort of RCI "secret agent" trying to deflect negative posts or anything. I'm as disappointed in this score as anyone else.

[quote name='safein']Hey Host Doug, I would love to know who from OSG was your Dad's patients! Small world which seems to get smaller everyday.[/QUOTE]Drop me an e-mail (e-mail address in signature line) - I don't want to start talking about people behind their backs in public ;) . (Is that an oxymoron?)

[zackiedawg]

HOST DOUG, This is partially on topic, but seems more appropriate here than anywhere else, since it is a question pertaining to background which given your extensive liner and cruise history, you'd probably know:

Celebrity/Chandris seems to have been credited with an otherwise stellar record until this report, leading most of us to believe it is an anomaly that will likely be corrected and remain a rare or unique incident.

However, I remember there being a cruise ship, crewed by Greek officers, which began to take on seawater and possibly sink during a cruise. I always thought the cruise was a Chandris, mainly because of the Greek officers...not that I was jumping to any conclusions (Chandris just always made a point of their Greek crews). Anyway, I seem to recall some amount of controversy over the fact that the crew told the passengers not to worry, that everything would be OK. The next morning the ship was listing fairly severely, and the captain and officers had departed the ship in lifeboats...leaving the passengers worried...I seem to recall some ship employees like waitstaff and entertainers still trying to calm and help passengers, and in the end, not only was everyone rescued from the ship, but it didn't even sink for some time (or at all?).

So, do you recall which line and ship this was, why it took on water or sunk, and whether it was true that the captain and crew left the ship? and if so, doesn't that break the cardinal rule of the sea - that the captain is either the last to leave or goes down with the vessel? And did the captain and crew have soem kind of explanation of why they left before the passengers?

If this was indeed Chandris, then that would be slightly on topic, as it would likely be the last significant blemish they had on their record!

Thanks for any knowledge you can impart...and by all means, continue to stay on topic and discuss the poor CDC score of the Century, which for the record was bad!

[pjsugg]

Host Doug,

No problem and thank you for responding. I think that those of us about to take a cruise on Century just feel a bit concerned about the ship we have heard so many positive things about. Our decision was based on a ship that is showing its age but is such a beautiful, clean ship. This inspection surely was a shock and I hope that we will hear quickly how it has been resolved. We kinda think like many on the boards.....glad we are going and didn't just get off. We will more than likely benefit from the inspection.

Thanks again.

Patti

[NiniB]

[font=Comic Sans MS][size=3][color=magenta]my eyes hurt,,, from reading these threads....... :( i even have a headache.... :confused: [/color][/size][/font]

[Lotsacruising]

This is for the poster from Florida that said roaches are a way of life in flforida.
I have lived here all my life and in the same house for 15 years without a single roach ever. So as far as I am concerned, there is no excuse for roaches. They can be irradicated, it just takes time, money and careful treatment.
Janet:)

[4 cruisers]

Just for the record, I e-mailed Celebrity with my booking number and asked for information on what steps were being taken to "fix" the problems on Century concerning the CDC score of 79. The e-mail response was:

"Thank you for contacting us. We are currently reviewing your request. Once we have completed our review, we will get back to you with further details."

I hate to say it, but it looks to me like I'm most likely not going to get a response. I certainly don't want any compensation!!!!!!!...just fix our ship! :(

[TWOFERTWO]

[quote name='NiniB'][font=Comic Sans MS][size=3][color=magenta]my eyes hurt,,, from reading these threads....... :( i even have a headache.... :confused: [/color][/size][/font][/QUOTE]
And yet, you continue to punish yourself.......... :rolleyes:

[tlm]

4 cruisers

I got a response which I have posted twice, once on this thread and once here.

[url]http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=106259[/url]

I have no doubt that Celebrity is taking this problem very seriously and it will be resolved very shortly.

Toni