Celebrity Century vs Star Princess

[Bobed1927]

We are planning on booking a cruise to Hawaii next year and can't decide between Celebrity Century and Star Princess.

 

Century pros-smaller ship, easier for me to get around because I have limited mobility.

cons-older ship,somewhat worn. Will have to fly to San Diego to board.

 

Star Princess pros-newer ship. No flight necessary, 30 minute drive to port.

con-much larger ship. Last time aboard a ship this size had difficulty getting

from place to place.

 

Comments?

[Cruiseorr]

We have sailed on both ships.

The Century is an elegant ship with a very attentive staff and excellent food. The Century still has traditional dining so you do get to know your dining room staff and waiters quite well, and they quickly learn your likes and dislikes and pamper you accordingly. The ship's public areas are beautifully maintained. It is a very easy ship to get around in, and surprisingly has a much larger buffet area than the Star Princess. There are many different stations set up so the lines are minimal. Our stateroom was a concierge class veranda and we were very happy with our accommodations.

The Star is indeed a large ship with nice staterooms and many activities on sea days, which you will have a lot of on a crossing to Hawaiil. The ship was very stable in high seas which we experienced in our trip around Cape Horn. There is a lovely area midship called the Conservatory that was very pleasant on sea days. There are lots of bars and things to do in the evening.

The Princess ships offer the anytime dining which means you get seated at a new table every night. I believe they also offer the traditional dining. We opted for anytime dining but wish we had gone with the traditional dining since we would not have had to wait in line every night to be seated. The ceiling in our MDR was redone after the fire with this metal ceiling rather than one with acoustic baffling. The results were that the noise level in there from all the people talking at once is deafening since the metal ceiling just reflects and amplifies the sounds! We literally could not hear what someone seated across from us at our own table was saying. On a positive note, at least the food was always good.

We have been on other large ships and thought that the buffet in the Star Princess was woefully undersized for (conveniently and efficiently) serving this many passengers. It's set up so that all the entrees and grill are together on one wall, then turn around and there are a few stations with breads, salads, cold cuts, and desserts. The end wall is a station for beverages. But, everything is in one confined place and you have to enter or exit from two narrow portals where attendants are stationed with hand sanitizer. It gets extremely congested in there, even though there is a duplicate setup on both starboard and port sides. I recall there were no trays, just plates, which is rather inconvenient. The setup just lends itself to long lines, which is one of our least favorite memories of this cruise. (Don't even get me started on the lines for boarding, tendering, getting in to the theatre, wating for a table in the MDR)

There is a pool grill of course, and a pizza station and (extra cost) specialty restaurants, as well as a specialty coffee area.

I noticed you had a concern about flying in to San Diego to board the Century. The port here is very conveniently located to many nice hotels where you can easily walk or be wheeled to the cruise terminal. Our airport is just a couple minutes shuttle ride to downtown, so getting around in San Diego pre and post cruise makes it very user friendly compared to other ports.

Hope you enjoy your cruise whichever you choose.

[Bobed1927]

Thanks Cruiseorr for such a thoughtful reply. Your comments on the Star Princess reflect my recent experience on the Caribbean Princess. I hope that my SO would not find the Century too run down.

[Cruiseorr]

As you can see by our signature, we are about to head to the "land down under" for a cruise to Australia and New Zealand on the Century. Before this undertaking, which we knew would involve a lot of time and great expense, this past May we decided to take a week long cruise on the Century to Alaska to see if we liked the ship. We know we like Alaska and have cruised there twice before, so this was not so much itinerary, but to vet out the ship itself.

The answer to did we like the Century is unhesitatingly yes. We are not exactly unbiased since our favorite ship to date was the Celebrity Zenith, now long retired, which did not even offer many balconies but still had that allure of the elegant ocean liner of bygone days. Like the Zenith, on the Century you still feel that you are on a ship at sea, and not a moving resort. If you like being at sea, and appreciate quality and understated elegance, and yes perhaps more laid back and traditional over the go, go, go of a "big" ship with all the bells and whistles, then you will surely love the Century.

She is larger than the Zenith and only slightly smaller than the M Class ships. There are many balcony cabins, and the Sky Suites on Deck 12 have a veranda that's 179 sq. feet. How cool is that!?!

We will have a better sense of her sea worthiness in high seas after our crossing of the Tasman Sea. Stay tuned for more! Our sense is that she will do just fine. At mid ship, the Star was safe as houses, even in high seas. We had an aft stateroom which was really rocking and rolling, so if you are worried about ship movement in high seas, on either ship go for the staterooms midship. It does make a difference.

On the Century, our stateroom did not appear run down and to be honest, the Star only looks a little "fresher" since it had to be rebuilt after it nearly burned down at sea because of the liberal smoking policy then in place with Princess. To their credit, Princess has changed their policy (starting in 2012) to outlaw smoking on balconies. You do need to know that smoking is still allowed inside staterooms on Princess ships. I do not want to start a forum war here, but I'm just pointing out that policy in case it makes a difference to you.

If you want a quality experience and feel a little nostalgic for the glory days of cruising at sea, then you will really love the Century. The crew took so much pride on this ship and they know very well what they are tyring to market, which is similar to a "boutique" hotel on land. Some of us like charm and elegance and personalized service and do not need to be entertained like we were in a Las Vegas or Disneyland resort. On sea days I feel like a three year old again and enjoy sleeping late, lounging on my balcony, and taking afternoon naps. Not for a three year old though is the amazing Martini Bar on the Century. We spent many of our evenings there, and have many fond (or fuzzy) memories of the place.:D

 

The Century fills a niche market of very loyal returning clients, as does Princess. Both have pros and cons, but in the end, you are still out at sea, relaxing and getting pampered and spoiled.

Enjoy!

[Azulann]

Cruiseorr,

 

Thank you so much for your post.The Century was my first cruise, just cruised the Equinox last month.Two different ships but the same great service, attention to details and great food.

 

I will be on the Century for a Panama cruise in 2012. Really looking forward to returning to the Century. Also will have a lot of sea days for a really relaxing cruise.