Century, Destiny or Grandeur of the Seas...

[cruisefan2009]

The DW and I are planning to go on a wknd cruise for our anniversary. Trying to decide between the Celebrity Century, RCL Grandeur of the Seas and Carnival Destiny. Itineraries are identical (Key West and Cozumel), so it all comes down to the boat. We are both in our mid 30s and looking for a relaxing/romantic/fun weekend getaway. Any advice would be appreciated. Thanks!

[mparx]

Our first cruise last year was on Grandeur, and we're going to be on Century Feb.1 - I'll let you know how they compare!

[fgc15527]

Sailed Grandeur twice, Century once and will be sailing again on Century 1/23. If you wish to watch belly flopping, sexy legs contests and have caribbean dance lessons by the pool Grandeur is for you. It is a nice ship. Celebrity is more sedate. Name the Beatle tunes contest was a feature. Century has padded deck chairs. Grandeur does not. I felt the food on Century was better. Wait staff on Grandeur was more personable. Belgium waffles at the buffet on Century. Rooms are comparable. Shows on both cruises were good. Grandeur has the the Love and Marriage show with audience participation as well as the Quest. It all depends on your choices. Hope this helps.

[vplsh]

We've sailed Destiny and Century. While we like Carnival, Destiny was not one of our favorite ships. Century, however, is wonderful!

[beynac]

My dh and I just went on an anniversary cruise on the Century and had a great time. We are also in our mid-30's. I would highly recommend it!! There was a much younger crowd than I had expected from Celebrity, but I think the shorter cruises pull a younger group. We felt that the ship was very classy, and we are fairly mellow people, so it suited us well.

 

Have fun whatever you choose!

[teajak]

Sailed Grandeur twice, Century once and will be sailing again on Century 1/23. If you wish to watch belly flopping, sexy legs contests and have caribbean dance lessons by the pool Grandeur is for you. It is a nice ship. Celebrity is more sedate. Name the Beatle tunes contest was a feature. Century has padded deck chairs. Grandeur does not. I felt the food on Century was better. Wait staff on Grandeur was more personable. Belgium waffles at the buffet on Century. Rooms are comparable. Shows on both cruises were good. Grandeur has the the Love and Marriage show with audience participation as well as the Quest. It all depends on your choices. Hope this helps.

Excellant comparison,I agree and we are of the older persuasion.Grandeur is fun,Century is classier and fun.Wouldn't even consider the Destiny.

[boomonster]

We sailed Destiny last Thanksgiving.It was our first cruise and it was ok. The ship was like walking back into the 70's.Shows were mediocre and the pool area (small pool) always crowded. Buffet food was buffet food nothing spectacular but edible.MDR was nicer better food and great service.Ate there whenever we could .We requested a table for 2 and got it which was nice.Room was very nice (balcony)Didn't really know what to expect but it was a good cruise for the price we paid .Possibly wouldn't do that ship again maybe something a little newer. Oh yeah the ladies who do all the activities /game shows you will be hearing those annoying voices for weeks after your cruise.

[bikinibottom]

I have been on the Destiny and on Mercury (and Galaxy) sister ships to the Century. I have not been on the RCCL ship so I can only give you my opinion on the first two.

With the exception of the food in the MDR we like the Celebrity experience much better than our experience on the Destiny (sorry I know that many on this board will take exception to this statement but I though the food on the Destiny was better in the MDR than X)

The overall ambience on X was was much more calm, the theming much more elegant and subtle on the C class ships than on the Destiny. We found the atmosphere on the Destiny a bit too reminiscent of our college sorority and fraternity days - a non-stop party. Please understand - that can be super fun if it is what you want to experience!

Also on our C class X cruises we found that there were many places to sit and have a quiet moment - never felt overcrowded. Can't say that about the Destiny - it felt like a cattle call at times and always a bit too crowded to me.

We did have a really fun cruise on the Destiny (Southern Caribbean) and then did a very similar itinerary on the Galaxy afterwards. We felt our trip on the Galaxy was excellent and overall a better experience for our family (me, dh and ds age 8). Whatever you decide - have a wonderful and safe journey!

[Rick-cruiser]

Something tells me the advice will be skewed towards the Century on the Celebrity boards.

[fgc15527]

I posted the comparison between Grandeur and Celebrity. Both are nice ships. If you like a lot of action around the pool Grandeur is for you. I loved the fact that you could eat breakfast outdoors on Grandeur near the pool. If you like a quieter experience Century is your ship. The wait staff on Grandeur became special to our family. Went over the top to make cruise special. All of the wait staff sang and danced together after most dinners. On our second cruise on Grandeur, our waiter from the first cruise came over to our table to welcome us back. However, food was of better quality on Century. It all depends on what is important to each guest.

[Minybear]

Just an FYI

 

I just happened to read a post on the Carnival board and I noticed that the Carnival Destiny are having propulsion problems. Go to this post http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1071354

 

Carnival has known about this problem since October 2009 and by January 16th sailing they were still having problems. Unknown when this probem will be fixed.

 

I thought I would bring this to your attention just incase you didn't know about this problem.

[cruisefan2009]

We are leaning towards the Century! Really appreciate the feedback. Happy sailing!