Just off the Century

[kelmac]

Hi Everyone!

 

Thought I would report the basics concerning our April 12th -- April 19th Celebrity Century cruise. The ship is 25 years old and needs some work, but overall, it's still a wonderful cruise ship. This was our fourth visit to the Century over the years and it's sad to see it leave the fleet next year.

My wife and and loved everything about this cruise!

 

The GOOD:

 

--MDR food was excellent and the service was great (great team of Wayan, our waiter, Lisandro our asst' waiter, and Oliver our Sommelier)

 

--Our outside cabin was in a family area, but the kids were well behaved and not a problem. Loved the fact that the thermostat actually controlled the A/C temperature better than any other cabin we've cruised in. (last December we were up on the 12th deck and didn't have much luck with the A/C). Great Steward crew of Peter and Thomas -- they are the best!

 

--We experienced nothing but the best service all over the ship. The officers were visible and made every attempt to interact with the guests onboard.

 

--Texed would be proud of my consumption of fresh waffles w/blueberry sauce and whipped cream. Love the fact that Celebrity offers "British Back Bacon" on all their ships. Got hooked on that stuff after several visits to the UK. Buffets aren't my favorite, but I found plenty of high quality items.

 

--Loved the itinerary. I played golf in three ports (Santa Barbara, San Francisco, and Monterey). Sandpiper, TPC Harding Park and Bayonet Black Horse course are a great trio of Championship courses. Great weather with the cooler air and clouds coming in at the last two stops of Catalina and Ensenada.

 

--Elite happy hours were always fun with six or seven waiters taking care of our every need (Thanks Curtis, Alexanda, and Tinu). Jonette, the Captain's Club hostess is one of the very best! This was our second cruise with her and we hope to see her again!

 

--Guests onboard were happy and diverse. No crowd issues and only the usual crankiness of a few traumatized disembarkers after a wonderful week onboard. Speaking of embarkation and disembarkation -- I thought it went really well, even though there were three ships in port in San Pedro -- which means Celebrity was the odd man out and had to dock at a pier a mile and a half south of the usual area on the 19th. They did Customs checks onboard the ship (best ever!) and people had to take a shuttle back to the main piers to pick up their autos. Not a big deal for us.

 

--Met some wonderful Cruise Critic folks and it was a nice change of pace to have west coast peeps as the majority. California is a great state.

 

--music volume didn't seem to be a problem anywhere on the ship.

 

--Made another wonderful visit to the Captain's Table; we had early seating, so it was with Chief Engr Stamatios Movrogiannis. Great guy and we had a special menu from Murano which is a nice touch. Great time, and met Zenith members Ginny and Chip who are loads of fun. (many have met this couple on other ships as they have about 6,000 points)

 

The BAD:

 

--our cabin shower always started out luke warm and never got in the hot range. My wife got the worst of it, as I always let her shower first.:roll eyes: Old ship stuff!

 

And the UGLY:

 

--the cost of beef has doubled in a short number of years, with it climbing 35% in the past six months. Celebrity is going with a lower quality of beef and it shows. I've noted this trend over our past five cruises.

 

This is only a micro review, if you have any specific questions, let me know!

 

Kel:)

Edited April 21, 2014 by kelmac

[spookwife]

we'll be aboard on Saturday.

 

what MDR items do you recommend most? which ones to stay away from( other than the beef)

 

how were the shows?

[kelmac]

we'll be aboard on Saturday.

 

what MDR items do you recommend most? which ones to stay away from( other than the beef)

 

how were the shows?

 

Hi sw,

 

Actually, the lower cuts of beef were fine, but the filet is tender, but lacks flavor. All items we tried were great in the MDR. Loved the soups, appetizers and the fresh bread. This was our 50th cruise together, so shows are no longer a priority -- we did catch a few and they were good.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[MaritimeGuy]

Glad you guys had fun! We'll be sailing on the Century for the upcoming transpacific cruise (23 nights - YES)! Can't wait...

 

We've met Chip and Ginny before, what a wonderful couple. Had a blast with them at the Chef's Table on the Century two years ago.

[Lois R]

Hi Kelly, welcome back and glad you and Lauren had a good cruise:)

Sorry about hot water:eek:....or lack of it.

 

Tell Lauren hi from me too:)

[happy cruzer]

Thank you for the report.

 

Could you tell if there was much of a wait for select dining we usually go very early around 6 or fairly late say 8?

 

Also our cabin is at the very back of the ship. On the deck plans it looks like there may be some outside stairs up to the sunset bar? Do you know if those stairs are open to passengers?

 

 

Was the escargot available each night?

 

Thanks again.

[kelmac]

Thank you for the report.

 

Could you tell if there was much of a wait for select dining we usually go very early around 6 or fairly late say 8?

 

Also our cabin is at the very back of the ship. On the deck plans it looks like there may be some outside stairs up to the sunset bar? Do you know if those stairs are open to passengers?

 

 

Was the escargot available each night?

 

Thanks again.

 

Hi HC,

 

We were in traditional seating early, but the select people started an half and hour earlier (5:30pm) and there seemed to be a constant flow up until about 6:30. The 6:30 to 7:30 times would be iffy (I would think?) Loads of tables for two up there which I think helps.

 

The Sunset bar is right outside the back of the buffet area (deck 10). There are port and starboard stairs that lead down to decks 9 and 8. Nobody really uses them, but they could be convenient for those cabins aft on those decks. (they are open to everyone)

 

Escargot was available all nights.

 

Enjoy your cruise!

Kel:)

Edited April 21, 2014 by kelmac

[LetsGetWet!]

Thanks for the report, we'll be aboard in less than 2 weeks, can't wait!

 

Sent from my Galaxy S4 via Tapatalk

[kelmac]

Hi Kelly, welcome back and glad you and Lauren had a good cruise:)

Sorry about hot water:eek:....or lack of it.

 

Tell Lauren hi from me too:)

 

Thanks Lois!

 

We were celebrating our 50th cruise together and we made it fun and special. I gave her a small necklace of a cruise ship with "50 cruises and One Love" engraved on the back.

I know you have a land trip coming up -- any cruises planned?

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[Lois R]

Thanks Lois!

 

We were celebrating our 50th cruise together and we made it fun and special. I gave her a small necklace of a cruise ship with "50 cruises and One Love" engraved on the back.

I know you have a land trip coming up -- any cruises planned?

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

 

Hi Kelly.......Oh how awesome:D sounds like a beautiful gift!

 

I have Reflection booked for November......going to the Western

Caribbean.

[Texed]

--Texed would be proud of my consumption of fresh waffles w/blueberry sauce and whipped cream. Kel:)

 

Kel,

 

Definitely proud of you. ;)

Edited April 22, 2014 by Texed

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Thanks for your review.

 

Interesting comment about the hot water in the shower. I had two different cabins on my B2B in February and the water was a bit too hot if anything. Could never get it to cool down. Maybe those cabins got all your hot water! We were in the Caribbean, so the cooler water would have been appreciated.

[kelmac]

Thanks for your review.

 

Interesting comment about the hot water in the shower. I had two different cabins on my B2B in February and the water was a bit too hot if anything. Could never get it to cool down. Maybe those cabins got all your hot water! We were in the Caribbean, so the cooler water would have been appreciated.

 

Hi HC,

 

The strange thing was that back in December we had hot water and no A/C; this cruise we had luke warm water and extra A/C. Maybe deck 8 has it all?

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[Ahhh]

On the deck plans it looks like there may be some outside stairs up to the sunset bar? Do you know if those stairs are open to passengers?

 

The Sunset bar is right outside the back of the buffet area (deck 10). There are port and starboard stairs that lead down to decks 9 and 8. Nobody really uses them, but they could be convenient for those cabins aft on those decks. (they are open to everyone)

 

Thanks for your review. I was on the same sailing and loved everything about it :D!

 

The buffet is on deck 11 and you can take those aft stairs all the way down to the Promenade deck (which is deck 7 aft, and deck 6 midship). Very few people know about those stairs (which are outside), let alone use them. They are a hidden treasure ;) you will not see on any new ships (too valuable of real estate)! David

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Hi HC,

 

The strange thing was that back in December we had hot water and no A/C; this cruise we had luke warm water and extra A/C. Maybe deck 8 has it all?

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

 

That's funny. Can't comment on deck 8, I was on deck 9 both cruises. Think the whole thing is an old ship quirk as you mentioned originally. Well she may be old, but she certainly has a fabulous crew.

[kelmac]

Thanks for your review. I was on the same sailing and loved everything about it :D!

 

The buffet is on deck 11 and you can take those aft stairs all the way down to the Promenade deck (which is deck 7 aft, and deck 6 midship). Very few people know about those stairs (which are outside), let alone use them. They are a hidden treasure ;) you will not see on any new ships (too valuable of real estate)! David

 

Hi David,

 

Oops, you are 100% correct, the buffet is on deck 11 and the stairs do continue down to the promenade deck. Cool feature for those who figure it out. Today's ships would use this space for aft corner balconies.

 

Enjoy!

Kel:)

[happy cruzer]

OMG, I am soon excited about the aft cabin now, just an inside on 9

but close to the back stairs.

 

Again thanks for all the great info; I have been warned on the beef but love the duck and lamb too. We will try it all and enjoy.

[trabeler]

During the dry dock, they did a major replacement of some of main A/C units. We noticed a significant difference between our December and late February trips, particularly on the upper decks. In December it was often uncomfortably warm on the upper decks and that issue was gone after the dry dock.

 

Water in our cabin, however, was a little too hot both times. We were on decks 4 and 5.

[Northern Aurora]

Thanks for the mini-review. We also are on the September trans-pacific and are already looking forward to that cruise. We were on the Century November 2011 Honolulu to Sydney cruise, and if I had to choose my all-time favorite cruise, that one would be it.

 

And the necklace sounds lovely!

[shanni-shanni]

Thanks for the review.

 

Is the ping pong table still there on the 12th floor?

 

Tom

[kelmac]

Thanks for the review.

 

Is the ping pong table still there on the 12th floor?

 

Tom

 

Tom,

 

I think it's still there.

[TSM AND JP]

thanks for posting this wonderful review. We are going on the Century to Alaska on July 13th. Glad to hear your comments - makes me even more excited to go.

[koolforkatz]

Thanks for the review.

 

 

 

Is the ping pong table still there on the 12th floor?

 

 

 

Tom

 

 

Was definitely there in March

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[Ahhh]

Was definitely there in March

 

It was there as of April 17, 2014 but was not there on April 18. Perhaps they moved it to shampoo the carpet.

[curtdesilets]

..and we loved this cruise. I concur with just about everything you said, except our shower temperature was better. the staff could not have been better and the officers were everywhere. My wife and mother-in-law chatted with the Captain for 20 minutes in the Cova Café.

 

I still cannot believe the 1 star reviews on this ship. I must be missing something. We ranked it 4 1/2 stars. my review is on the Cruise Critic members page if anyone is interested.