Big thumbs up, Century 1/7-1/12 2008

[Leela]

Just cruised on Century's 5 night to Grand Cayman and Key West. I had a great time. My parents were in a Sky Suite on deck 12, and I was in the inside cabin across the hall. We ate in Murano one night and it was absolutely wonderful. I have no complaints about the entire cruise. The only thing 'wrong' was a very minor disappointment -- the "ice bar" in the Martini Bar wasn't working! But the bar was still hoppin' and the drinks were still awesomely mixed by Sudi.

 

If anyone has any specific questions, I'll be more than happy to answer them. This was my 6th Celebrity cruise and I had an entirely delightful and relaxing time.

[kat4097]

Hi Leela...we just got off the same cruise and it was absolutely fantastic! It was so fantastic that right now I'm booking an Alaskan Cruise in August on Celebrity. My only complaint was - it was too short and that BAD Casino ate up all my money (my own fault!!! haha).

 

The food was just great and we had wonderful table-mates. Our suite was gorgeous and totally spotless. The ship was in great shape, and you couldn't ask for more enjoyable and hard-working employees and crew. As an added bonus, the weather was great. The entire cruise was just awesome!

 

Okay...I had one little complaint and it's nothing to do with Celebrity. But having to get up early on Friday and go through that crazy Immigration line because they changed the cruise schedule for Key West! It's not easy getting up at 7:00am when you closed the Casino at 2:30am! Arrrgghhhh.

 

Like you, there's nothing I else that I would change. It was a real nice mix of people also. Glad you enjoyed it as much as we did!

[brandy3415]

Hi Leela,

 

We are sailing on 1/31 in a Sky Suite on Century, deck 12. How did you and your parents like being on that deck? Did they use (and enjoy) any/all of the amenities that go with the suite? How was the butler? I read such conflicting things about service that I do not want to expect too much. We are new to Celebrity but old hands at cruising.

 

Thanks for any information!

[Jade13]

Hi Leela...we just got off the same cruise and it was absolutely fantastic! It was so fantastic that right now I'm booking an Alaskan Cruise in August on Celebrity. My only complaint was - it was too short and that BAD Casino ate up all my money (my own fault!!! haha).

 

The food was just great and we had wonderful table-mates. Our suite was gorgeous and totally spotless. The ship was in great shape, and you couldn't ask for more enjoyable and hard-working employees and crew. As an added bonus, the weather was great. The entire cruise was just awesome!

 

Okay...I had one little complaint and it's nothing to do with Celebrity. But having to get up early on Friday and go through that crazy Immigration line because they changed the cruise schedule for Key West! It's not easy getting up at 7:00am when you closed the Casino at 2:30am! Arrrgghhhh.

 

Like you, there's nothing I else that I would change. It was a real nice mix of people also. Glad you enjoyed it as much as we did!

 

1) How early could you board the ship, 11:00am? How long did it take to get your luggage?

2) What was the change in schedule for Key West? Where did you dock? We have a private excursion booked. Was the date changed?

3) Tell me about the tendering in Grand Cayman? What time did you have to be back for the 5:00pm departure? Was everything on time?

 

Very glad to hear it was a great cruise.

Where did you dock in Key West?

[Jade13]

Just cruised on Century's 5 night to Grand Cayman and Key West. I had a great time. My parents were in a Sky Suite on deck 12, and I was in the inside cabin across the hall. We ate in Murano one night and it was absolutely wonderful. I have no complaints about the entire cruise. The only thing 'wrong' was a very minor disappointment -- the "ice bar" in the Martini Bar wasn't working! But the bar was still hoppin' and the drinks were still awesomely mixed by Sudi.

 

If anyone has any specific questions, I'll be more than happy to answer them. This was my 6th Celebrity cruise and I had an entirely delightful and relaxing time.

 

Can you tell me anything about the schedule change?

 

Aso, what were the amenites in the inside vs Suite? We have a CC and inside. What time could you board the ship and how long did it take to get your luggage?

 

Did you have late dining, and if so, what time were the shows?

[phinn]

Do I need a converter for any outlets and is there an outlet in the bathroom? So glad you had a good time. Nice to hear good things.

[JennAngel9]

Thanks so much for sharing your experience with us! I am sailing on the Century soon with some friends and was worried about the mixed reviews.

 

Would you happen to remember if your parents' sky suite deck was entirely covered or open to the sun or 1/2 and 1/2? Thanks!

[Leela]

We are sailing on 1/31 in a Sky Suite on Century, deck 12. How did you and your parents like being on that deck? Did they use (and enjoy) any/all of the amenities that go with the suite? How was the butler? I read such conflicting things about service that I do not want to expect too much. We are new to Celebrity but old hands at cruising.

We loved being on deck 12. It's "out of the way" so there's barely any traffic through the halls. As far as amenity use goes, we had breakfast on the veranda nearly every morning, and enjoyed the afternoon tea and pre-dinner canapes delivered by the butler, Paul. Paul also made sure our fruit bowl was always full and that we were stocked with ice. There's a DVD player in the Sky Suite along with a list of about 300 DVDs available on board. My dad would leave a note for Paul saying which movies he was interested in, and Paul would get them for us. We've had butlers on different Celebrity ships before, and my mom commented that she thought Paul was the best of a very good bunch. We've never had issues with any of the butlers on Celebrity, so I don't know what 'conflicting things' you might be concerned about, but if you have any specific worries I can try to address them.

 

The steward for our section of that level, Jason, was also excellent. My cabin was kept 100% perfect every day by him and his assistant.

[Leela]

1) How early could you board the ship, 11:00am?

We were picked up at our hotel by the transfer service that Celebrity arranged at around 11:20. We got to the boat around 11:30, and boarded immediately.

 

How long did it take to get your luggage?

We had all our bags by about 2:30.

 

What was the change in schedule for Key West? Where did you dock? We have a private excursion booked. Was the date changed?

Rather than going to Key West on the first full day of the cruise, we were there on the last. The reason for this was that otherwise there would be too many ships in Key West on the day we were going to be there. We docked at the pier behind the Westin. I would call Celebrity and see if your particular trip has been changed so that you can adjust your private tour if needed. Celebrity emailed people about a week before my trip to let them know of the change, so it was not a surprise for me, but many people didn't know until they boarded. So call and check.

 

Tell me about the tendering in Grand Cayman? What time did you have to be back for the 5:00pm departure? Was everything on time?

There's nothing special about the tendering, it's been the same as every other tendering operation that I've experienced with Celebrity. I believe passengers had to be back on board at 4:30. As fas as I remember everything was on time, but then I went down for the tender around 11:30am and was back on board by 1:30pm. I wasn't interested in any of the tours, and the shopping on Grand Cayman held no charms for me, so we basically got off, walked down to the Presbyterian church to look at the beautiful wooden ceiling, and then got back on and had lunch.

 

Where did you dock in Key West?

At the pier behind the Westin.

[Leela]

Do I need a converter for any outlets and is there an outlet in the bathroom?

I didn't notice what was going on in my parents' Sky Suite, but in my inside cabin there was one US-style plug with US-style voltage under the mirror in the main part of the room, and then a "shavers only" outlet up by the upper right-hand corner of the light in the bathroom. If you need to have more than one thing plugged in at a time, bring a power strip. Since all I had to charge was my laptop and my phone, I just took turns with them on that one outlet.

[Leela]

Can you tell me anything about the schedule change?

It was done because there were too many ships scheduled for Key West. I have no idea if it applies to other departure dates. Your best bet would be to call Celebrity and find out. All we did was run our itinerary in reverse: rather than Key West - Sea - Grand Cayman - Sea we did Sea - Grand Cayman - Sea - Key West.

 

Also, what were the amenites in the inside vs Suite? We have a CC and inside.

The amenities for Suites, CC, and regular inside (which is what I had) are all a bit different and are listed under the different cabin categories on Celebrity's web site. This was the first time I had ever sailed in a regular inside cabin, previously I'd always been in CC or a Sky Suite. The one difference that I noticed that you won't see on Celebrity's web site is that the room service breakfast menu is somewhat different between the three. Some people have reported success writing in what they wanted even though it wasn't on the menu, others have not. I simply had breakfast in my parents' cabin and so ordered off of their menu rather than mine. If you look around here on Cruise Critic, you'll probably be able to find links to all three menus -- this question gets asked from time to time around here.

 

What time could you board the ship and how long did it take to get your luggage?

I believe that the Suites get priority baggage delivery -- and I'm guessing to make things simple they just do all of Deck 12 at the same time rather than separating out the inside cabins on Deck 12. We boarded at around 11:30am and had all of our bags by around 2:30pm.

 

Did you have late dining, and if so, what time were the shows?

Yes, I had late dining, although I didn't pay much attention to the shows. Some were before dinner at about 7:00pm, and I think some might have been afterwards at 10:15pm, but I can't say for sure which shows on which nights were at which times.

[Leela]

I am sailing on the Century soon with some friends and was worried about the mixed reviews.

I've been too busy to thoroughly read these boards for about the past three or four months, so I haven't kept up with people's reviews and am not aware of what problems people have reported. If you have any specific concerns, I will do my best to address my experience in those areas. I've definitely had less-than-stellar cruises on Celebrity, but this one was excellent.

 

Would you happen to remember if your parents' sky suite deck was entirely covered or open to the sun or 1/2 and 1/2? Thanks!

It was about 1/2 and 1/2, and at times got full sun due to the direction we were traveling in and the angle of the sun. At other times it was completely shaded.

[Gonzo70]

Do any of the food venues have fruit smoothies? I know they are on the CC menu for room service, but is there a place on board you can actually go and get one?

 

Thanks

[Leela]

I've not seen the fruit smoothies offered elsewhere, but then I don't often eat breakfast outside of my cabin anyway.

[Sea Island Lady]

Do any of the food venues have fruit smoothies? I know they are on the CC menu for room service, but is there a place on board you can actually go and get one?

 

Thanks

I thought I read where the fruit smoothies are in the Aqua Spa cafe area.

 

Leela and kat4097 - Thank you so much for the reviews. They are quite welcoming after the last few we have read. ;) Reviews have mentioned terrible food, poor service, dirty run down ship. Air and plumbing problems, etc.

 

Leaving in 21 days, so I hope the standards that you experience hold up for my cruise. :)

[Leela]

Reviews have mentioned terrible food

From my point of view (live in San Francisco, a real foodie town...am known for being an excellent cook myself) I thought the food was just fine. Murano was wonderful, the Grand Restaurant was excellent considering it is "banquet food" and not cooked-at-order like in a real restaurant. I generally heartily dislike buffets, so I don't go to the ones on board, so I can't speak to them. Ate one breakfast and one lunch in the Aqua Spa Cafe' and it was just fine, ordered breakfast from room service three times and it was just fine.

 

poor service

Not from Paul the Deck 12 port-side butler, not Jason the steward up there, not from Mili our waitress in the Grand Restaurant, definitely not from the staff in Murano, not from Guest Services, not from Diana in the Beauty Salon who gave me and amazing foil job, not from Thomas our wine steward, not from Sudi and Consuelo in the Martini Bar. All service I experienced was very good to excellent.

 

dirty run down ship

Some of the carpeting appeared to have what looked like a bit of water damage, but there were no smells. There was a bit of rust near one of the drains on my parents' veranda. Everything else looked fine to me, my cabin was pristine.

 

Air and plumbing problems, etc.

This is the first Celebrity cruise I've ever taken where I experienced zero plumbing issues. Usually at some point the vaccume flush system gets a little weird and the toilets stop flushing until the engineers can work on them. I once, on Zenith, had the water back up through the drain in my bathtub (it was kind of gross but the ships plumber came right away and fixed it). I did not experience any of this on this cruise. The air conditioning worked great -- in fact I had to turn the AC "up" in my cabin, and wear a wrap to dinner several nights, because the AC is quite strong.

[kat4097]

I thought I read where the fruit smoothies are in the Aqua Spa cafe area.

 

Leela and kat4097 - Thank you so much for the reviews. They are quite welcoming after the last few we have read. ;) Reviews have mentioned terrible food, poor service, dirty run down ship. Air and plumbing problems, etc.

 

Leaving in 21 days, so I hope the standards that you experience hold up for my cruise. :)

 

This was also my first time on Celebrity and although I've never had a bad cruise, this was by far the best!:)

I scanned some of the Daily's and posted them on one of my album sites. Unfortunately I only have from Wed-Fri, but it will give you a good idea of what to expect. I also included some info on disembarkation, ship facts, Grand Cayman and Key West.

They may be a little fuzzy - but I think if you print them out as JPEGS they should be readable.

Try this link...

http://katg.phanfare.com/album/550081#imageID=35926133

 

Have fun!

[barbarah33]

Thank you for the link - makes me want my cruise to get here faster!

[Albert Ross]

I keep asking and so far no one has been able to provide the answer so here goes again.... ;) did anyone go to the alternative dining set up in the buffet in the evening? If so is there still the $2 cover charge and please please please can someone tell me what is on the menu!!!!! I know it changes every 3 days but knowing anything about the menu would be useful!!

[Leela]

Sorry, I've never been to 'alternative dining' so I can't give you any information on that.

[Sea Island Lady]

Leela - Thank you for the comments.

 

kat4097 - And the Daily's

[Beth AC]

This is so exciting to read! Thank you for the link, also! We leave for the same cruise on 3/31 and have a sky suite on 12! Now I REALLY can't wait to leave!!

 

Beth AC

[browneyedpete]

I am sailing on 02/04/08 with 2 children 16 and 10 this time of year are there many children on board? Also are the people on board pretty friendly and easy to talk to or keep to them selves? First time cruiser and single parent might be nice to make some friends.

[kat4097]

I am sailing on 02/04/08 with 2 children 16 and 10 this time of year are there many children on board? Also are the people on board pretty friendly and easy to talk to or keep to them selves? First time cruiser and single parent might be nice to make some friends.

 

There really weren't a lot of children on this particular cruise and I'm thinking it was probably because kids just went back to school after Christmas. The few I did see though were having a blast! I watched a couple little guys about 10 keep running up and down to the basketball court and everytime had a new desert or food item in their hand!

I found there was such a wide range of people onboard. All different ages and actually a younger crowd than I expected. Most people were very sociable and like I mentioned before, we had great tablemates for evening dining. We were going to try Murano's one night, but really were having too good a time in the main dining room. We also found a nice group at one of the Gambling tables and seemed to meet up every night. There were times when my fellow and I were doing different things and we would be waiting for each other at a pool bar or other public place alone and there was no shortage of friendly conversation if you wanted it.

I noticed there was also a great Teen-Lounge. I didn't get to see inside though as it said "Teens Only" haha

Enjoy your cruise...;)

[megsmum611]

Thanks for posting about your positive experience. My husband, 14 year old daughter and I leave on the 2/18 sailing and have a Sky Suite on Deck 12. Can't wait!

 

Linda