How dated is Century?

[cpgrneyes]

I've cruised on Millie, have an Azamara coming this year, and am booked on Equinox in 2011. The new itineraries to NZ/Australia look fabulous, but I'm very hesistant because of some of the reviews I've read about Century.

 

With these itineraries having a lot of cruising days, the cabin and public areas, not to mention food and service, will carry more importance.

 

For those frequent Celebrity cruisers or recent Century ones, how would you rate the ship and crew? I've read that the crew are the weakest on any X ship, and that concerns me, as well as Mercury being sold off.

 

Appreciate any and all thoughts!

[patty1955]

We thought the crew on the Century was the best yet.

[CanWeGoYet?]

I didn't think the Century seemed "dated" at all, just seemed more classic and I thought it was beautiful. It did not feel small even though it is a smaller ship comparably. I had the best waiter EVER on this cruise. My cabin attendant was fine, not outstanding but I had no complaints service wise on this ship.

[CincyAL]

Just spent a wondertful 2 weeks in the med. Wonderful crew. Ship shines like a well maintained BMW or Mercedes. Very loyal past customers!

[newmexone]

We did a TA in May on Century and will do another in October. We really liked the ship as it seemed very well maintained. There are some things that could use updating like the carpet in the cabins, but overall the ship was very nicely appointed and the crew seemed to be very engaged in keeping everything shipshape. In fact, we also just booked one of the new Australia/New Zealand itineraries. We liked the size of the Century and the fact that it was easy to meet fellow cruisers. While the shows and some of the extras that you get on the mega-monster ships are not available on Century, if you want to cruise and don't have the need to play golf or surf on board, the Century is a good way to go. It did have one of the best cruise directors in the business, Sue Denning. We only hope she will continue on with the Century.

[daydreamcruizer]

Glad to see you are getting positive responses, just came back from sailing her. While she's older, I agree she's well maintained, I didn't notice her age and while I liked a few of the perks on Constellation when we sailed her (second pool for adults, larger more central Martini Bar) I had a very good experience and as a CruiseCritic guest I really felt they went the extra mile (make sure you sign up for and go to the Connections Party). We were given the opportunity to take a Bridge tour and dine at the Captains Table. Our stateroom attendant met every request, the select dining hostess (Lindsay) was very nice and helpful, the cruise director (Sue) is delightful and the Stingray band was very talented! The spa staff was also excellent and Guest Relations very friendly and helpful. Not to leave out Chandru the Captain's Club host, how he remembered my name is still a mystery! I don't get all the negative reviews, but then again, sometimes the negative gets highlighted more than the positive!

[StartrainDD]

For those frequent Celebrity cruisers or recent Century ones, how would you rate the ship and crew? I've read that the crew are the weakest on any X ship, and that concerns me, as well as Mercury being sold off.

 

Appreciate any and all thoughts!

 

While we did NOT find the Summit as run down as some posters on this board have reported, the Summit "Experience" could not hold a candle to the Century. The Century was a much superior experience, IMO. The only thing "Missing" on the Century is an indoor or covered pool.

 

We thought the service on the Century, from our stateroom team to dining to beverage service to the Cova, was far superior to the Summit.

 

Of our 4 recent cruises, we consider the Amsterdam tops, followed very closely by the Century. The Ryndam was a step down and the Summit another step down.

 

Don't know if you are dancers, but the Century has a very nice dance venue with a large floor directly above the MDR.

 

I would not hestitate to book Century!

[TomTN]

We sailed Century to Norwegian fjords last summer. One of our best cruises ever. Wonderful crew.:)

[hcat]

Century is a nice size and has good service & food & is certainly kept quite sparkly & clean BUT it is not our favorite--they should have kept Mercury & updated her instead!!!

 

Century is an older ship with only updates in certain areas like the Martini Bar. It has no T pool like Mercury or any indoor pool area..and has areas where you have to go up and then over & then down to get to some locations..

 

the outdoor pool area was not updated in the refurb...& the small library was dusty & outdated.. our stateroom was updated but I believe they did not change out the showers--(not sure?) Internet was VERY slow...

 

but if it goes where you want to go, it will work out--it was perfect in Europe which was port intensive & not pool or outdoor oriented,,,

 

we have not been on Azamara so can't compare it to that..

[Mrs_Tiki]

We sailed on Century in April and thought the service was top-notch, even on a short 4-day getaway. (We have sometimes noticed in the past that crew seems more stressed on the short cruises when they have to turn the cabins more frequently.)

 

Many areas of the ship have been updated. The only place I thought was very dated-looking were the elevators. There were no glass elevators like on the newer ships. When we boarded, I frowned when I saw that they were completely mirrored, which seemed dated to me. Then I realized that if that were my biggest gripe, we would have a great cruise. It was, and we did! :)

 

I hope that the Century does not go the way of the Mercury and Galaxy ~

[DRWhit]

I will second those that enjoyed the Century. Good service, good food and we found the ship's decor attractive. We liked the smaller size. I got to join a tour of the bridge and the engine control room, which was nice as well.

[sunseeker01]

We did the T/A in May 2010 on Century and enjoyed it thoroughly.

The accent on service from the crew was palpably obvious for all to see.

The entertainment and speakers were excellent beyond expectation, and Sue Denning, the cruise director was an absolute gem...high energy fun all around.

The only reason not to choose Century would be that a person's highest priority is a stylish new ship, because all other areas of concern were top-notch, including cleanliness of the vessel.

[omahod]

We sailed on the Century last October and was very impressed with the ship. As has been stated it is built very much on classic lines. Only hope our cruise on the Eclipse in just over a week is as good.

[JennAngel9]

We sailed the Century on a 3-day weekend cruise out of Miami back in 2008 and were among the "not impressed" category-- but we did not dislike it so much we didn't go back to Celebrity a few months later. I think a big part of it was the rowdy party crowd, but the main dining room also seemed sort of cramped with acoustics that made it hard to hear even at our table of only four people. Hopefully someone who sailed on Century on a non-party cruise can comment. On the other hand, Murano's was delightful and the layout of the Sky Suite was pretty nice. While we would always chose the M-class ships over the Century (t-pool, dining rooms) we would certainly give Century another chance to sail to a destination we liked.

[Shooraq]

I actually liked the classic look of the Century. It was a change of pace from RCCL cruises I've taken. Good staff, well-maintained, quite peaceful. I wish I had the opportunity to take more Celebrity cruises, but at least I'm signed up for another 2-night Century cruise in January!