Review of Transatlantic on Century

[Gonzo70]

Just back from my 14 night Transatlantic and had an incredible time. Feel free to ask any questions. I will try and post a link to pictures soon:

 

This was my fifth cruise; first on Celebrity and first Transatlantic. I was travelling with my fiance on our pre-marriage honeymoon. We are both in our thirties and we upgraded from an inside cabin to an FV when it became available. The cruise left from Miami, made stops at the Bahamas and Bermuda (overnighter), crossed the pond, and then made calls in Cherbourg France, Le Havre France, Dover England, and finished up in Amsterdam (we also flew to Iceland for a few nights at the end of the cruise).

 

Pre-Cruise: We spent two nights at the Royal Palm Resort in South Beach. The hotel has a great location (right on the beach and very close to lots of fun restaurants and bars). I obtained a cheap rate through an internet travel agency and was placed in a room with a balcony overlooking the beach and ocean. I could see cruise ships as they set sail every afternoon. The hotel was a great deal for the money, but I probably would not have been as happy had a paid full price.

 

Embarkation: The port was a shot cab ride away (approximately 15 minutes). We arrived around 10:20am and began boarding around 20 minutes later. It was extremely fast once we started and were among the first on board. We were greeted with a glass of champagne as we boarded (a nice touch) and set off on our beginning of cruise ritual - booking specialy restaurant reservations, shore excursion reservations, and spa reservations before hitting the buffer lunch (the rooms were not ready until 1pm).

 

The Ship: Although there are not all the activities and venues on Celebrity that Royal Caribbean has (I have cruised three times with Royal), we knew this coming in and were prepared for a more sedate/relaxing cruise. The activities staff were outstanding, very fun enthusiastic people and there was enough to do, even during the six straight sea days. During the day I enjoyed wacky golf as my fiance slept in, then we sometimes did trivia or categories together, after lunch we played battle of the sexes (which ran the entire length of the cruise; the points carried over), after dinner we often hit some bars/lounges - typically with other Cruise Critic members, sometimes saw a show, and sometimes called it an early night. The ship overall was in good shape, but as it is an old ship it did show some signs of wear and tear. My favorite lounge was the martini bar (for just $9.50 plus 15% gratuity you could by a martini sampler which came with six mini martinis in different flavors). There was lots of live music (two guitar players - one playing oldies and one Jimmy Buffet type songs, a party band, a dance band, and an acapella group). The productions shows were just fair.

 

The Crew: The crew made this my favorite cruise so far. They were all very approachable and even the officers roamed about the ship interacting with passengers (sometimes just chatting, sometimes soliciting feedback). The activities crew were especially great and we had wonderful cabin steward/assistant as well as waiter. I give the crew an A.

The Food: The food also was the best of any of my cruises. Both the quality and variety were generally excellent in both the main dining room as well as the buffet. The breakfast and lunch buffets were far better than those I have experienced on Royal Caribbean and Holland America. I especially liked the dim sum area of the buffet for breakfast (especially the steamed pork buns). The almond croissants in the Cova Cafe were very tasty. I enjoyed that the main dining room had a true five course meal (appetizer, soup, salad, entree, dessert). The aqua spa cafe (the healthy choice eating area) was nice for a break from feasting, but the variety was not good enough to eat there daily. Near the pool there was a grill featuring nachos, burgers, bratwurst etc. There was an amazing midnight buffet. There was sushi available each evening at the buffet area that was far better than typical cruise ship fare (but not as good as at a sushi restaurant). I also really enjoyed the pasta station and stir fry station at the buffet and the sandwhich area was also a significant cut above Royal Caribbean and Holland America's (they even had sandwhiches of the day such as a Reuben or Steak Sandwhich). We ate twice at Muranos (the specialty restaurant) and this was well worth the $30 surchagre. We had so much fun there one night the meal last over three hours! They even allowed me to order both the Steak Diane (which I highly recommend) and a Lobster Tail entree (there special that night).

My Stateroom: The FV's are slightly larger than the typical balcony staterooms and can accomodate five poeple (two on a bed, two on a couch, one in a bed that folds out from the wall above the couch). Parties of two can book these rooms if they are still available as sailing date approaches. It was nice having the extra space but the room has some oddities (i.e. the bed has no nightstands and one person is enclosed by three walls and the other person). Plenty of storage. The living room has a door that you can pull that separates it from the bedroom so it is almost like having a mini suite. The balcony (an aft one) was huge (I would estimate 100 to 120 square feet) and has two lounge chairs, a decent size table (large enough to eat on), and two regular deck chairs. My only complaint was the balcony was not cleaned much during the cruise and the furniture was rather cheap looking. Holland America definitely has much nicer balconies. My fiance was not pleased by the vanity (not good lighting for applying make up or space for storing cosmetics). The interactive TV was nice (you can even gamble from your room). The shower was much larger than on Royal Caribbean.

 

The Passengers: Majority from the U.S. but there were a fair number of Europeans. Definitely an older crowd with it being a Transatlantic, but there were a few other couples in their thirties. Everybody seemed to get along well. We had a very active Roll Call board and had several Cruise Critic activities including: Sail-a-way Party, Meet and Greet, Pub Crawl, Wine Tasting (we eventually were kicked out of the room by an Alcoholics Anonymous group who needed the room), post cruise dinner in Amsterdam, and Wine and Cheese Canal Cruise in Amsterdam. We met a lot of fun, nice people.

 

The Weather: We had very stormy seas the first night of the crossing and had waves in excess of 20 feet! Closet doors in the staterooms would open and shut on their own, they had to cancel the dance show due to safety concerns, even spin class at the gym was cancelled (I tried running on a tread mill and was unable to keep my balance)! I kind of enjoyed the high seas, but my fiance was a bit queezy (it was rumored the pries on board even became seasick). The pool was closed for a couple of days because all the water splashed out (the hot tubs remained open). The second half of the crossing was much calmer and in Europe we had outstanding weather throughout.

 

The Ports:

1) Nassau, Bahamas: We arranged for a tour of Nassau with a vendor near the port ($10 cheaper than booking through cruise line). Turned out there was not much worthwhile to see on the tour although Atlantis (the famous hotel there) was nice. If I went back to this port I would just do a beach day or snorkel. Not my favorite port.

2) Bermuda: The ship docked in King's Wharf and you have to take a bus or ferry to Hamilton (the main town in Bermuda). We took the bus there, stopped at the caves, and then shopped in Hamilton. The bus ride was cool; Bermuda is really beautiful and the people much friendlier than the Bahamas (no people soliciting you at the port). There was a nice pub/restaurant near where the ship docked with good locally brewed beer as well as some decent shopping nearby.

3) Cherbourg, France: This was a hidden gem. Cruise ships do not often stop here, so I did not know much about it from the Cruise Critic boards and could not find much about it on the internet. It turned out to be such a fun, quaint town to walk around. We did not do any excursion, but there was a free horse and buggy ride to the city from where the ship docks (short right, definitely walkable). We ate French food in a cafe, found cheap internet, and shopped (the prices were surprisingly cheap for Europe; we found some items to be even cheaper than in the U.S.).

4) Le Havre, France: We did the ship's excursion Paris on Your Own. A bus picks you up at the port, you drive about 2 hours an 20 minutes into Paris and are dropped off at the Eiffel Tower. You have five to five and a half hours to explore Paris on your own (a guide is on the bus ride there to answer questions and provides you with a map). Paris was nice, but we actually preferred Cherbourg (much to our surprise). We climbed 1/2 way up the Eiffel Tower (much shorter line than taking the elevator to the top and still excellent view), shopped a bit, and had food and wine at a cafe. Everything was much pricier in Paris and the people not nearly as friendly as in Cherbourg.

5) Dover, England: There is not a lot to do in Dover itself (there is a small castle and a little bit of shopping) so we did the ship's excursion to Walmer Castle (in the town of Deal) and to Sandwhich (a small quaint town where sandwhiches were rumored to have been invented). The Walmer castle was very nice and had a great cafe right there to enjoy tea or English adult beverages such as Wassail. Sandwhich was very charming, but it was a Sunday morning so unfortunately all the nice looking shops were closed.

6) Amsterdam: Debarkation was very smooth. One thing I liked better on Holland America was you can stay in your stateroom until you leave the ship, but this was not a big deal. We visitied the Van Gogh museum in Amsterdam (get there early if you can to avoid long lines) and did a sunset wine and cheese canal cruise (lots of fun). We stayed at the Bilderberg Garden Hotel overnight which was fair. Amsterdam was very expensive (i.e. hamburgers at a pub we went to were nearly $25 U.S.). The flower market was nice with good cafes nearby.

7) Reykjavik, Iceland: We went on our own after the cruise, but ships sometimes stop here so I will mention it. This was my favorite stop of the trip; I absolutely loved Iceland. Incredible sceneary (it almost seems like you are on another planet) and so much to do (i.e. whale watch, glacier trek, horse-back riding, nature viewing, Blue Lagoon and other hot springs, really fun bars and cafes, and more). Extremely friendly people as well.

 

Closing Comments: This was an incredible vacation. I was very impressed with Celebrity and definitely recommend them and plan to cruise with them again.

[Polydonald]

I'd love to know more about the dismbarking process in Amsterdam. What time did they want people off the ship, was it fairly smooth and was getting transportation at the passenger terminal fairly straightforward? I understand you don't have to go through any kind of passport control process.

 

Also, besides the treadmills, what was the fitness center's exercise equipment like?

 

We're on the Century in about a month and a half.

 

P.S. Thanks for the GREAT review.

[Gonzo70]

I'd love to know more about the dismbarking process in Amsterdam. What time did they want people off the ship, was it fairly smooth and was getting transportation at the passenger terminal fairly straightforward? I understand you don't have to go through any kind of passport control process.

 

Also, besides the treadmills, what was the fitness center's exercise equipment like?

 

We're on the Century in about a month and a half.

 

P.S. Thanks for the GREAT review.

 

Hello,

 

Disembarking was very easy. I believe everybody was off the ship by 9:20am. We got off about an hour before that and there was a short line for cabs (we only had to wait about 5 minutes for the cab). We did not have to go through customs or anything, but just pretty much walked off the ship, grabbed our luggage, and waited in line for a cab.

 

There were pretty good exercise facilities. There was dumbbells, several weight lifting machines, treadmills, stationary bikes, ellipitical machines, and an outdoor running track. The ship also offered spin class, yoga class, and pilates classes for a fee ($10 for one of $25 for three).

 

I hope you have a great cruise! Let me know if you have any more questions.

[Gonzo70]

Here is a link to pictures of our trip:

 

http://www.kodakgallery.com/Slideshow.jsp?Uc=pcy1v8w.bslpvne0&Uy=1zb2zi&Upost_signin=Slideshow.jsp%3Fmode%3Dfromshare&Ux=0&UV=736717071858_762356077208&mode=fromshare&conn_speed=1

[hillgirl20]

Great review. Thanks for posting. Your pictures were wonderful:D

 

Congratulations on your forthcoming marriage!!!

 

Pat.

[marella68]

Thanks for posting your review & the pictures. Looks like a great vacation! I was curious about Amsterdam. Would you recommend anywhere else to eat, besides the $25 hamburger place? Sounds like you were on the Transatlantic that took Century to Amsterdam for our cruise!

 

I know the Euro vs dollar is really bad right now, but do I need to expect to spend that much normally for meals?

 

Thanks again!

 

Maria

[Hootsie]

Thanks for your review! What cabin were you in?

 

We'll be sailing on the Century REALLY soon and I can hardly stand it!

[Dick in Falls Church]

We were on the same cruise, and did a few different things.

 

In Dover, since we were only there for a short time (Sunday, and sailed away at 1:30), we took a taxi up to the castle and went through the tunnels the Brits used first in the 1700s, and enlarged for WWII. Considerable walking, up and down included. One of the four of us had a bum knee, so we didn't go all the way up and through the castle itself. Couple on last year's crossing surmised that the early departure from Dover was due to late arrival, due to canal traffic into Amsterdam, which caused a couple hour late arrival that time.

 

I certainly agree that the food was very good. And the martini bar was a nice place to drop by. The bartender was entertainment in himself, and is likely to be the head bartender in the Martini Bar on the Solstice.

 

While Amsterdam was expensive, it was a bargain compared to Scandinavia.

We had sandwiches and beer at a small cafe on a canal for about $16 for two. One night, had a very nice meal at another restaurant, with beer, for about $60 for the two of us. We skipped the appetizer, skipped desert, but did have rack of lamb/halibut and bread. Quite enough, and excellent.

Our hotel offered continental breakfast for about $20 each (best I recall-we didn't participate).

[hylasgirl]

Gonzo... I was wondering, do you remember if there were any Stairmaster type cardio machines. You know... two foot pedals with handles on each side?? Someone had said that they thought there was a few, but I was wondering if you could tell me since you were just in the gym.

 

Thanks so much! We are sailing on the Century in July! woooo hoooo! We can't wait!

[Gonzo70]

Thanks for posting your review & the pictures. Looks like a great vacation! I was curious about Amsterdam. Would you recommend anywhere else to eat, besides the $25 hamburger place? Sounds like you were on the Transatlantic that took Century to Amsterdam for our cruise!

 

I know the Euro vs dollar is really bad right now, but do I need to expect to spend that much normally for meals?

 

Maria

 

I only spent a little over 24 hours in Amsterdam so I didn't get to check out too many restaurants. The place I had dinner was pricey as was my hotel restaurant. I did have lunch at one cafe and snacks at another that were fairly reasonably priced. There are lots of restaurants in Amsterdam so you should be able to find decent food at a fair price at some of them, but definitely expect to pay more than for comprable food in the U.S.

[Gonzo70]

Thanks for your review! What cabin were you in?

 

We'll be sailing on the Century REALLY soon and I can hardly stand it!

 

I was in cabin #9245. Overall it was a good cabin but it had its pros and cons. The size of the balcony was definitely the best part.

 

I hope you have a great cruise! :)

[Gonzo70]

Gonzo... I was wondering, do you remember if there were any Stairmaster type cardio machines. You know... two foot pedals with handles on each side?? Someone had said that they thought there was a few, but I was wondering if you could tell me since you were just in the gym.

 

Thanks so much! We are sailing on the Century in July! woooo hoooo! We can't wait!

 

Hello,

 

I did not notice any stair masters, but they may very well have been there. Most of my exercise was on the outdoor jogging track, so I was not at the gym a lot and when I was there it was mainly for the weights so I did not check out all the exercise equipment. Maybe someone reading this will know the answer for sure.

 

Have a great vacation. :)

[Deeliteful]

Hi Erick - great review. Glad you enjoyed Iceland so much.

 

Good luck to you and Jen for the future and have a GREAT wedding (and marriage!)

 

Attached link for my Century T/A review

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=41977.

 

Pat

 

xx

[NancyIL]

Thanks for your review. Our first Celebrity cruise will be a Transatlantic - on Constellation in Sept. 2009. It also stops in Le Havre, Cherbourg, and Iceland - plus 5 other ports. Having been to Paris twice, I think we'll visit the D-Day beaches from one of the French ports (probably Cherbourg), and maybe visit Rouen and Giverny from Le Havre.

[marella68]

Hi Erick - great review. Glad you enjoyed Iceland so much.

 

Good luck to you and Jen for the future and have a GREAT wedding (and marriage!)

 

Attached link for my Century T/A review

 

http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=41977.

 

Pat

 

xx

 

Hi, Pat!

 

I was reading your review and you had mentioned you purchased wine and a liquor package. Was that through the ship? Could you describe a bit more? We are sailing on the 29th. Thank you!

 

Maria

[jfried01]

HI-

I was on this transatlantic cruise also, and am a personal trainer (and a gym rat) so can probably answer any questions about the gym. There are no regular stairmasters -- there are elliptical machines-- the ones with pedals that have arms also.

 

The equipment is pretty good and didn't break too much, unlike my trip last year to the Arctic Circle on the Century. Partly, I think, that was because the gym wasn't heavily used this trip-- due to the weather and the demographics of the guests.

 

My only complaint is that the free weight area is a little small, but that is to be expected on a ship. They used a lot of the limited floor space to set up tables with sign up sheets for the classes and promotional materials for profit making services. Last time they set up the tables in the entrance to the gym, which made more sense.

[BEAV]

Thanks for sharing your excellent review. And the photos made you feel like we were traveling with you!

 

We sailed the Summit Transatlantic about four weeks ahead of you and our itinerary also included a stop in Cherbourg. We completely agree Cherbourg is a hidden gem. We also stopped in La Rochelle, which was equally nice. Although Paris is quite the city, we very much loved the smaller towns in France.

 

Congratulations on your upcoming wedding!

[hylasgirl]

HI-

I was on this transatlantic cruise also, and am a personal trainer (and a gym rat) so can probably answer any questions about the gym. There are no regular stairmasters -- there are elliptical machines-- the ones with pedals that have arms also.

 

The equipment is pretty good and didn't break too much, unlike my trip last year to the Arctic Circle on the Century. Partly, I think, that was because the gym wasn't heavily used this trip-- due to the weather and the demographics of the guests.

 

My only complaint is that the free weight area is a little small, but that is to be expected on a ship. They used a lot of the limited floor space to set up tables with sign up sheets for the classes and promotional materials for profit making services. Last time they set up the tables in the entrance to the gym, which made more sense.

 

Very very sad about the stairmaster issue... Yeah... I know the eliptical machines seem to be all the rage now, but I still like my Stairmaster :( I can't read on a eliptical as well, so then I end up not getting in the same workout. Bummer... Thanks for the reply though...

[Ms. J.]

Hi, Erick and Jen.....

Fantastic review! And the questions you've generated are good ones from other CC-ers. It was a pleasure cruising with you guys, and look forward to doing it again oneday. Best of everything for the upcoming wedding!

Jini

[DC2OC]

Thanks for the review.A transatlantic is on our:) list.................Frank