Century Western Caribbean 2/18/08 – (Very Long Review)

[Jade13]

Century Western Caribbean 2/18/08 – (Very Long Review)

 

We were very excited to book our first Celebrity Cruise, a 5 night Western Caribbean, after hearing great things about Celebrity Cruises. Although we have cruised before, this was the first cruise for both our daughter and her friend.

 

This was a short 5 night cruise with stops in Key West and Grand Cayman and two sea days. I wrote a review the day after I returned and decided to wait prior to posting. I normally do not like long reviews, but I also do not like when someone writes a review and states that something was either average or poor and then does not go into any detailed explanation. So, I decided to write a much more detailed review. I also realize if a long review is well organized, it is easy for people to read and also skip to the parts that one is interested in (such as food, entertainment, or excursions) and miss what does not interest them.

 

We did have some issues, mainly pre-cruise customer service and the pre-cruise experience will come first. Other issues included embarkation when our minors did not come up in the system and they were moved to another deck, debarkation when our minors were given tags and a debarkation time over an hour after ours, and three out of four key cards that stopped working for a total of 11 times. The embarkation, debarkation, and key card malfunction alone caused 14 trips to Guest Relations over 4.5 days. This was only a 4 day/5 night cruise. Overall, I would still recommend these short Century cruises that go roundtrip from Miami if you only have time for a short vacation, as I think they are a good value on a very pretty ship.

 

Pre-cruise

Decision– As far as mass market lines, we usually cruise on Holland America Line (HAL), and we have also been on much smaller ships for more remote locations such as the Great Barrier Reef, Galapagos, and Antarctica (future cruise). We were looking for vacation plans for February vacation week and realized that Celebrity Century had 4 and 5 night cruises out of Miami. Century rotates 5 nights with Key West and Grand Cayman with 5 nights Key West and Ocho Rios, Jamaica, and 4 nights Key West and Cozumel, Mexico. The itinerary available the week we wanted to vacation was Key West and Grand Cayman.

 

From what we heard, Celebrity was close to HAL in being on the upper end of the mass market lines. HAL did not offer this 5 night product. Other options for that same week were Grand Princess and HAL Veendam. We have been on the Veendam and wanted to try another ship, and the Grand seemed like it might be too large for us. Ultimately both were more expensive (although 2 more nights), and it was decided if we were going to cruise that week all we could do was a 5 night with one night pre-cruise for a full Sunday to Saturday vacation. This would be an “extra” vacation as we had two other cruises booked this year. Another plus for this Celebrity itinerary was that the two port days were full days from 7:00-5:00pm (vs. the other ships leaving at 3:00pm or earlier), an advantage in Grand Cayman as it would allow us time to see both the Stingrays and Cayman Blue Iguanas.

 

Booking – The inside staterooms were really reasonable, so we booked a 2A balcony (least expensive) and the inside across the hall. When the prices dropped so that a Concierge Class (CC) was only $10.00 more per person, we moved from Deck 8 to Deck 9. We were starboard in stateroom 9230 and our teenagers were booked in an inside 9236. Our stateroom was on the very end and from photos we saw the Verandah appeared to be slightly larger than the other Concierge Class Verandahs (it was) while providing both side and aft views. The inside stateroom door faced the aft/family verandah staterooms.

 

We initially booked the two staterooms directly through Celebrity with one of the Celebrity Vacation Planners, Jackie, and although the booking process went fine in August 2007 and she left her email contact, we could never get in touch with her with any questions. We were later told that she had left the company, and it was Celebrity’s policy not to give us a new contact. So, we had to speak to whoever answered the phones whenever we had a question, had no continuity, and soon learned that these were Sales Reps and the reason we could not get a new agent was because they would not get commission. We also learned that with the exception of Jackie who left, no one who answered the phones was required to give a last name, phone, or e-mail. We have never experienced this on any other cruise line. Apparently the Captains Club acts as a pre-cruise Guest Relations department, but that is no help to first time Celebrity cruisers who would generally have more questions.

 

Vacation Insurance – We booked insurance directly through Celebrity. While we have medical insurance that does have some coverage out of the US, we wanted the $25,000 Medical Evacuation. An added feature is the 75% in cruise credits if you decide for any uncovered reason not to take the cruise. Celebrity’s policy, based on cruise fare was very reasonable at $29.00 and $59.00, and also was not due until final payment. (HAL’s insurance does have to be paid in full at deposit but offers more since it covers pre-existing conditions, $50,000 in medical evacuation, and 90% back in cash if you decide not to go for any reason within 30 days to 24 hours prior to departure and 95% back at 31 days.)

 

Custom Air – The lack of customer service was really evident when we tried to book our entire package with Celebrity Cruises including Custom Air (we always go at least one day early), transfers, and hotels. Since the prices were high during the Presidents Day week, we thought it would be a good idea to book our cruise air through Celebrity since they were advertising a fare that was less than what we could book on our own. We have used cruise air on occasion, but only if custom air is available since we do not want mystery flights. We also planned to come into Miami a day early to ensure that we did not miss our cruise and were willing to pay the $50.00 per person air deviation fee (another nice feature is that if you are a return guest to Celebrity they waive the custom air fee which is a considerable $200.00 for a family of 4).

 

By phone we were given the Custom Air e-mail address but no contact name. I e-mailed our request. Within a few days I did have a response and was excited that what we wanted was available with our preferred airline and times. The only issue was that my husband was missing from the itinerary, so we had 3 out of 4 passengers. Again, the e-mail response was from Celebrity (response from “Custom_Air_Confirmation@RCCL.com”), and without any name or phone number. This is uncomfortable when discussing expensive flights by e-mail and you cannot even respond to a specific person by name, and no phone number is given. It was received in September 2007, a Friday evening after 6:00pm, and I immediately responded that we would accept the flights but needed my husband added. When I did not hear back by the following Wednesday, I phoned the 800 number and this time was given a number to the Custom Air department. Brandi answered and told me no custom air was available for our dates. I never did receive any follow up and still find it hard to believe that in September 2007 Celebrity could not get us into Miami a day early in February 2008. We eventually booked both the airline and hotel on our own.

 

Transfer to Outside Travel Agent - We eventually went to transfer one of our bookings to an outside agent as I thought we may get better service in addition to the pre-paid gratuities. We left the inside stateroom directly with Celebrity as the price was too low to offer any benefit and we risked an agent cancellation fee and booking change fee if my daughters friend decided not to go with us and we had to book someone else. Although we filled out Celebrity’s provided form with correct agency information, our booking somehow got transferred to the wrong agent. This created more problems as Celebrity told me I needed to get this other agent to release our booking and this fiasco took our new agent almost two weeks to straighten out. Note that our paperwork for both bookings (Celebrity and Outside TA), including luggage tags, both arrived directly from Celebrity the same day. There was no problem with either our documents or the online registration process. I do prefer the old fashioned paper luggage tags from HAL. Celebrity’s luggage tags are sticky on the back and have to be stuck to the luggage on the first try as there is no room for error. It is, however, a nice touch that name and stateroom are already printed on the tags.

 

Fuel Surcharge – We found out about the fuel surcharge on Cruise Critic the day it was announced on November 16 and called that morning to try to pay in full and avoid the surcharge. I spoke to Michelle in Miami who said we could not do that but her manager told her to tell Guests that we would be getting OBC in lieu of the fuel surcharge. I e-mailed her for confirmation and never heard from her again. This was just another example of non-customer service. My issue was never the amount but the way it was being implemented, and especially after I found out others had called on the 16th or through their TA’s were able to pay in full and avoid the surcharge. A rep in Kansas named Russell answered when I called, requested that I put everything in writing and did not have the courtesy to at least “confirm receipt” of either my hard copy letter or e-mailed version with letter in PDF format. I did speak to Aziza in Customer Resolutions, she was professional, listened to me but never did call me back either.

 

Update: After our cruise, Celebrity/RCCL announced they were refunding fuel surcharges for those who had a deposit prior to the November 16, 2007 fuel surcharge announcement. Ours was refunded promptly and directly from Celebrity for both the cabin booked directly with them and the one booked through an outside TA.

 

Price Reduction - My cruise fare went down multiple times and Celebrity beats every other cruise line since they refunded my money after final payment. The stateroom booked through Celebrity showed a credit the next day while the one that was transferred over to an outside travel agent took about 4 months to return. Instead of refunding my credit card, the money was sent to the TA who initially did not realize that they had my money.

 

Cruise Critic Party - We never had one. Celebrity refused to put together a “Connections” party for a 5 night cruise, even though a past passenger (Captains Club member) made the effort to phone Celebrity. We never understood the big deal. This cruise has the same 2 sea days as a 10 night Mediterranean cruise. How hard could it be for Celebrity to rope off an area, and provide coffee, tea and cookies? Celebrity should realize that Cruise Critic is a group of people who are writing reviews and posting them of their cruise experience. On our last HAL cruise both the Captain and Hotel Director showed up and spent about half an hour with us. On our roll call someone suggested that we meet in the Hemisphere lounge after the boat drill. Four of us showed up (two couples) and I blame Celebrity that this was a bust.

 

Note to Celebrity: We are on a 3 night HAL cruise and HAL has had no problem in giving our Cruise Critic group (over 80 persons so far) a “Meet & Greet”, including a prime meeting location.

 

Recommendation: I understand if Celebrity only wants a login for a party on a 7 night or longer cruise, but they should have a “please call” for anything shorter. Actually since the customer service is a problem, Celebrity should just offer a “Connections” Party on any cruise so long as they get the required number of participants. If this is such a financial or other issue, why not just add a disclaimer that on less than a 7 night “only tea, coffee and cookies will be provided”?

 

Pre-cruise – Air, Hotel, and Car Rental

 

Air – We ended up booking on our own with two expensive flights and with two $99.00 companion vouchers. When all was done we ended up saving $100.00 from Celebrity’s price including air deviation fee

 

Hotel – Embassy Suites. Celebrity offered a very fair rate for the 3rd and 4th under age 18 in a hotel package ($34.00 each), but since they could not get us into Miami a day prior to our cruise, we just decided to make our own hotel plans. We normally like unique boutique hotels when we travel, but Embassy Suites was a good value for a 2 room Suite for 4 persons (2 teenagers) for $169.00 as they offer a full cooked breakfast as well as a Managers reception from 5:00pm-7:00pm each night. The hotel has an interior courtyard with flowers, birds, fish, glass elevators, heated outdoor pool, and hot tub.

 

Note to Celebrity: We were willing to pay for the entire package from you, find it hard to believe everything was sold out 5 months in advance and felt ignored by your air department, so you lost money on our family and we were willing to pay for you to put together the package.

 

Thrifty Car Rental - We flew into Fort Lauderdale and made arrangements to rent a car from Thrifty. Although we had never used this agency they were highly recommended on the cruise critic boards and besides the best price, also had the added advantage of a free ride to the cruise terminal when we dropped the car off the next day. The pick-up at the Ft Lauderdale airport was easy as was the drop off around the corner from our Miami hotel the next morning. We had a very short wait for the courtesy van to take us to the port.

 

Sawgrass Recreation Park – After researching we chose Sawgrass Recreation Park as it was near both the Ft Lauderdale airport and near our Miami hotel. We decided to take an airboat ride and with an online coupon they were reasonable at $20.00 per person including tax. They also had a very nice animal area that we visited after the boat ride. It was extremely clean filled with creative habitats with all kinds of reptiles including Alligators, Tortoises, Iguanas, Monitors, and other small animals such as bunny rabbits. http://evergladestours.com

 

Dinner in Miami – We decided to try Versailles which we found on Tripadviser as a very reasonable and casual Cubin restaurant. The restaurant was mobbed with a winding line but we were seated very fast as the restaurant is very large. We all ordered variations of the Cubin style chicken and pretty much decided it was probably the worst meal we had all week. This style chicken is very dry and just not to our liking. On the other hand we purchased a couple of pastries at the Versailles bakery next door, took them back to the hotel and they were delicious. If you miss the bakery they have a small location at the Miami airport. The entire meal including tax, tip and take-out desserts was under $50.00 for 4 persons.

 

Embarkation – We thought all the customer service issues were over pre-cruise, resolved to forget about them, but this was impossible upon embarkation where we arrived early at 10:30am. We boarded early but not in the order of arrival. They first took PH and Suite passengers, then Captain Club Elite and Founders, than a wedding party, than Concierge Class (us). So, although we were one of the firsts to arrive we boarded around number 50.

 

There was water or lemonade waiting as we got into the Concierge Class line in the cruise terminal. Even though we made it through the first sign in (where you give your credit card even if you had pre-registered), the two minor teenagers were stopped by Miami authorities upon boarding as they could not be found in the system, even though their stateroom booking was direct with Celebrity and we had confirmed everything just days earlier. We did not book a guarantee. Initially we thought it was procedure since they were minors, but we were never asked for any paperwork (even by Celebrity) even though we had notarized authorization from the friend’s parents. A Celebrity representative than told us the children were in a forward cabin on deck 10 (I believe we were told 1003, the most forward inside on deck 10, and we were aft deck 9) and not even Celebrity’s own policy as we were told children could only be booked near their parents (It appeared they gave us this stateroom while we were waiting).

 

There was sparkling wine upon boarding. I took some but hard to enjoy after being told the children could not be found in the system, and then they were placed in a forward inside cabin on deck 10, and we were sent to Guest Relations to straighten it out. We never received any escort there or to our stateroom later. After waiting in line we were told the girls could have their original stateroom back as it was showing empty. We never found out why this happened, and Guest Relations made another error by issuing two key cards in the same name causing another wait to get a new card. We did not receive our entire luggage until after 6:00pm.

 

Ship - The Century is a very pretty ship with a nice layout that is kept in very clean condition. Century also has very nice lounge areas including the Martini Bar and Michael’s Club. Although we never went to either, we did walk by them every time we went to the Celebrity Theatre. I also liked the layout with the staircase around the Cova Café and onboard shops. One problem is that the shops kept having daily “Sales” with tables of merchandise in the hallway, and since the area is not very wide, they kept blocking the path to get to the Theatre. Westerdam has much better onboard shops with more variety in merchandise.

 

I did see the stains on the carpeting on Deck 9 and that was a bad design decision on the part of the interior decorators to use light colored carpeting in the hallways. They should just redo the halls the same blue that is around the staircases and by the elevators.

 

Update: Someone on cruise critic posted that the carpeting on deck 9 was replaced about a week after our cruise.

 

Life Boat Drill – Unlike every other Ship we had been on, Celebrity has you meet in an inside location and then go out to the life boat stations. This prolongs the entire duration of the drill. I also do not recall them calling our names or staterooms as they have done on every other ship.

 

Stateroom – Our Concierge Class stateroom was clean and looked exactly as it did in photos. However, upon arrival, it was missing some of the amenities. It did have the Champagne, Flowers including a rose bud in the bathroom, fruit, personalized stationary, and the blue tote. I did not see the more expensive CC tote, pillow menu, key card holder, or fuel surcharge gift, nor did I see the CC menus that I had read about. After dinner the first night, we realized we did not have the CC (or any other) breakfast menu. I knew it was missing but thought perhaps it would be brought at turndown. So, I called and got a few and by the next day realized I was missing the entire leather binder with the in-room dining menu, TV programming, ship postcards, and other information. We did not get this until 6:00pm the second night. The girls never received breakfast menus for the door so we gave them the CC extras (which were never an issue since they only ordered standard menu items). They never received the stateroom tote bag which we got from our steward the morning of disembarkation.

 

Stateroom Steward - We had a good stateroom attendant, Frederick (from the Philippines), who called us by first name by the second day. I mentioned the missing items and that when I called the second day (he had the day off in Key West) was told they were out of the key card holders. He said he only gave us what he was given and I believe him. He did find the key card holders and other items; CC Tote and fuel surcharge gift (plaid beach blanket) were delivered later that day.

 

I tried the canapés the first day brought by Frederick and they were horrible and tasted stale. I took the advice on the cruise critic board and had Frederick bring us a cheese platter each afternoon the rest of the week. He also brought us a copy of the dining room menu, as requested, at 6:00pm each night.

 

Cruise Director - Stewart Turnbull - He was your typical cruise director and we thought he was good. We did not like the fact that when you saw him on the TV he was always doing a sales pitch for Celebrity with either an item in the shops or in the spa. We have never been on a ship where the cruise director was trying to sell you something. He told us he was wearing a different pair of socks each day that indicated the day of the week. I checked on our way on the tender to Grand Cayman and, sure enough, his sock said “Thursday”.

 

Celebrity Today! – The Celebrity Today daily brochure has a nice layout I have not seen on any other ship. It has a pullout section that folds (is perforated) with the Activities & Events, Century Musical Menu, & Daily Dining Choices (with times) that can be easily taken about the ship.

 

Pool Area – Celebrity has one pool area where the pool has been separated into two pools (although visually it looks like one). The pool and area was always very crowded on sea days, so we never used the pool. I did notice that a nice area for anyone looking for some peace and quiet is the area around the track (upper deck forward), and I walked up there on both sea days. Other passengers had dragged lounge chairs up there and many were always empty. I consider the Westerdam to have a better pool area as they have two pools (one is aft), and also a retractable roof in case it rains, which never was an issue on this cruise.

 

Art Collection – Century has an American art collection, not a varied collection, and looks like it was selected by one person who has a specific point of view. I decided to do the art tour. Celebrity has the same audio guides that you find in major art museums where you push a certain number to hear about the art work. In order to borrow the guide, you leave a $50.00 deposit on your stateroom account. However, you can keep the guide as long as you like. I was bored really fast as the audio guide offered very general information about the artist and only on a few occasions information about the specific piece of art. I did keep the guide through lunch in case I saw something I wanted to hear about and returned it prior to Sushi on the first sea day. (HAL’s art collection is far superior and it does contain American art as well as its emphasis on Dutch art. You can also download HAL’s tours on your ipod for free prior to going on your cruise.)

 

Key Cards- During our Cruise we had 11 cabin lockouts from key card malfunctions over 4 days. This was three different key cards in two different staterooms. My husband’s card stopped working 4 times, my daughters 4 times and her friends 3 times. My husband had nothing metal in his pocket (no camera, credit card, or phone) and used the CC leather Key Card (whose purpose should be to keep the cards working). Each time I had to wait in line at Guest Relations to have them fixed, and also wait for them to peel and move the cola package sticker.

 

Soda Cards – I give a big plus to Wawan in the dining room because once he knew we wanted cokes and diet cokes, he just brought them to the table the rest of the week He also knew we had the cola package and just brought fresh drinks when glasses were finished.

 

It was impossible to use the Cola Package in the Lido where we went for lunch. We could not get anyone to come over to our table and get us drinks. Waiters would come over look at our cards (which had the soda package sticker) take our order and never come back. If this happened one time I would think the waiter got lost, but this happened all the time to all four of us. The use of the card in the Theatre for both the shows and bingo was mixed on whether anyone came back after we showed our cards and placed our orders. It was apparent that this had to do with their commission as the cruise director clearly stated in his disembarkation talk that the waiters received their 15% as their ID was on the beverage receipts.

 

Comment: Celebrity should not be selling the drink cards if they can not provide the service.

 

Food - Food is very subjective but both my husband and I thought the food was overall very average. We do not go on cruise ships for the food.

 

Specialty Restaurant - I also went to make a reservation at Murano upon boarding (while my husband was trying to straighten out our daughter’s stateroom) and asked Majan who was taking the bookings about the Chateaubriand since we had heard it was great. The previous weekend a couple who wrote about their first Celebrity experience on Cruise Critic had Chateaubriand on their first visit to Murano. To our surprise Marjan told us we could only have it on our third visit to the restaurant. I than asked about another sauce instead of Steak Diane as my husband does not eat mushrooms, and he said they could just make it without the mushrooms (but unwilling to make another sauce). We don’t eat fish and are not interested in paying a surcharge for chicken. He basically said the restaurant was “for us to show us you what we can do” (apparently no interest in the customer), and so we never did get to eat at Murano. It was disappointing that the restaurant could not accommodate us.

 

I did go to the Aqua Spa Café on both sea days and did think the presentation and food was good. I asked if it was the same Chefs as Murano, to which Marjan came running over bowing to me saying “Madam how can I help you”. I just do not go for all of that bowing.

 

The Grand Restaurant - The Grand Restaurant does have a grand staircase leading down to the lower level and a large aft window that you can’t see out of at night but could during the day. We were at table 624, a table overlooking the balcony with a view of the grand staircase. Domy in Miami dining department followed our special request and closed off a table for 6 into a 4 top. Because I was having such a poor pre-cruise experience, I decided to e-mail the dining department to see if they even honored our request for a 4 top. To my surprise Domy actually responded with her phone number, so I called her up. She said we had asked for a 4 top along the balcony (on-line there is a place to put special requests and someone on cruise critic recommended that location) but along the balcony were 6 tops and 8 tops, so she was giving us a “great” location on the lower level which I said was fine. So, we were surprised when we checked with the Matre’D in the dining room and found that Domy had closed off a 6 top for us in a great location along the balcony with a view of the Grand Staircase. We had a good Dining Room Steward, Nyoman (pronounced “Numan” from Bali) and Erol our Assistant Dining Room Steward (from Turkey), and Beverage Steward, Wawan (from Indonesia).

 

Although the dining room is beautiful, the acoustics were not very good on Century and it was very noisy during dinner. We have not had this issue on any other cruise ship, including HAL’s Westerdam which is the closest in size and layout. My daughter, who had never cruised before, felt sick each night at dinner, and had to leave before dessert (with the exception of the night we finally had to tell her to stay because she had a cake coming). Even my husband mentioned that the vibration was something we had never experienced on any other cruise ship.

 

Food in The Grand Restaurant - The plate presentations in the Grand Restaurant were excellent, but the food was average at best. As far as dinner in the Grand Restaurant, I thought the best course was the salad as Century had some interesting salad dressings. I liked the “Celebrity” and “Calypso” dressings. The best appetizer I had all week was the Escargot a la Bourguignon.

 

However, the soups were overall bad (with the exception of the Gazpacho that I had on the first sea day at the Aqua Spa Café, which I thought was excellent). I tried 13 soups including all 5 of my husband’s hot soups, while I had 5 cold soups for dinner, 2 cold soups for lunch in the Aqua Spa Café, and miso soup during Sushi. My husband had French onion soup one night which even he stated was bitter and tasted terrible. Onion soup is supposed to be sweet with caramelized onions. I tried all the cold soups including Chilled Melon and Mint, Chilled Tangerine and Apple, Chilled Avocado Soup and Green Chili Salsa, and Chilled Gazpacho Andalouse (the only one I liked all week although it was still better in the Aqua Spa Café).

 

The New York Strip Streak Maitre D’Hotel was very fatty. We did like the herb butter that they used. I had Prime Rib one night that was overcooked. I had requested medium. The tenderloin (Tournedos Rossini) was a good piece of meat but they ruined it by placing truffled liver pate on top. The lobster tail was actually a surprise and I would rate it as the best entrée that I had all week. The presentation of the lobster was also excellent.

 

Also, on Century there was no distinction in the food served on formal night, while on HAL ships the formal nights always have the more expensive food options such as Alaskan King Crab, Crab Cakes, Prime Rib and/or Lobster, as well as covered chairs on at least one Formal. On Century the menus all looked the same (not the food offered but the size and shape of the menu), were not dated, and just flipped and rotated in the menu folder. On HAL ships the formal nights have had a fancier looking menu.

 

Room Service Breakfast – This was good and I enjoyed a couple of items that were part of the Concierge Class menu including the fried bananas and omega-3 (Soy Milk) and strawberry smoothies. The CC class menu has 8 menu items that are in addition to the standard menu. Four are smoothies and the other four are breakfast entrees including my favorite baked bananas. I did not care for the CC menu asparagus scrambled eggs, since in my opinion they added too much asparagus.

 

Lido Restaurant “Island Café” – This was typical institution food, although my husband thought the Pasta Bar was very good and he is Italian and a Chef. He had pasta made to order for lunch the first sea day, but the line was too long to wait on the second sea day. My husband also went to the Grille for a cheeseburger and here is something most people will understand even if you do not agree with our overall food assessment. My husband is happy to have a cheeseburger for lunch at the outdoor grille on Lido Deck. While the burger was fine, they just placed a cold piece of cheese on the meat rather than melting the cheese on the burger. Celebrity calls itself a “premium” line but this was not a premium cheeseburger. Also note that the times he went to the grille they were out of napkins. One thing we liked on HAL that they do not do on Century is that they leave utensils on all the tables in the Lido. That way you can go to any station, grab a pizza as an example, and there will be utensils rolled up in a napkin on any table.

 

Aqua Spa Café – I had lunch here both sea days and the food was very good and the presentations were beautiful. The Gazpacho that I had the first sea day was the single best food item I had on the ship all week. I also enjoyed finding the bread sticks from dinner available at this café.

 

Sushi Bar - I really like the Sushi bar and was there every night at 5:00pm. Century does this really well with 10 types of Sushi and miso soup. They decorate the aft section of the lido café with Japanese decorations including paper lanterns. It was nice that we had an aft cabin as I could than take the aft outside stairs right down to our cabin after Sushi.

 

Food Best Bets (personal favorites)

 

Drink: Omega-3 Smoothie (with Soy Milk) from the CC menu

Breakfast: Baked Bananas from CC menu (If you do not have access to this menu, try the banana pancakes)

Lunch: Turkey Plate and Gazpacho Soup in the Aqua Spa Café

Pre-dinner snack: Sushi Bar! (My favorite was the shrimp rolls)

Dinner: The Grand Restaurant

Bread: Bread sticks

Appetizer: Escargot a la Bourguignon.

Salad/Dressing: Calypso dressing

(Calypso recipe per our waiter -Tomato Ketchup, Tabasco, Mint, Brown Sugar & Pineapple)

Soup: Gazpacho (although the one in the Aqua Spa Café was better)

Entrée: Lobster Tail (Big surprise, and the presentation was really nice)

Dessert: Crème Brulee

 

Music onboard – Celebrity really excels here. I really liked the live music played throughout the public areas including the band Xstasea that played at Sail Away, poolside and throughout the ship, as well as the Premier String Quartet that played in the Cova Café area as well as in the dining room on some occasions, including the Elegant Tea.

 

Celebrity Theatre – I liked the Century Theatre layout better than the Westerdam. They have a similar layout but Celebrity Century has small tables in front of the seating to place drinks (assuming you can get anyone to bring them).

 

Entertainment in the Celebrity Theatre - Evening shows – We went to all of them - Some shows were better than others, and what we expect on cruise ships. There were two comedians that were pretty good. One was a comedian and one a “Comedy Juggler”, David Deeble. My husband liked both, but I preferred the comedian, Rich Ceisler (from Cambridge, MA). The male lead singer was pretty bad and was irritating to listen to in otherwise OK shows. We notice in general cruise ships have trouble getting a good male lead singer. They seem to be more “dancers than singers”. I did not think the show “Shout” was very good. The last evening was “Dance Around the World” and was the best show with the Celebrity Singers & Dancers. It also featured “Aerial Adage” with Gilles & Laure; a contortionist couple who did a preview the first night and their performance the last night was exceptional. Overall the shows on HAL Westerdam were much better, including the lead singers and more professional appearing costuming and stage sets. I also noticed that this group of dangers and singers on Century geared their routines more to comedy, so overall it was a lot of comedy for a 5 night cruise.

 

Also, we disliked the pre-dinner show time for late seating dinner. With the exception of one night the show was at 7:00pm every night. I had to rush from Sushi to get dressed to the show. Unfortunately it appears HAL is following Celebrity so we may have a 7:00pm show and later dinner no matter which line we choose.

 

Bingo - Bingo was usually held in the Celebrity Theatre. “Mighty Mike” was a good Bingo announcer. We like the old fashioned board. Although we have had the same/similar board on HAL on our last cruise on Westerdam they played electronic Bingo. These are large TV type screens above the theatre, hard to see, but were used in the interest of time as Bingo on HAL was played right before the show. However, a problem with Century’s traditional board was that it was broken so some of the lights would not go out and was confusing to some every time Mike had to explain the bingo pattern. Mike joked that it came from “Carnival”. Unfortunately the last jackpot Bingo ran way over in time and we had to leave before the game ended as it was still going at 8:45p and we had children waiting for us at the Grand Dining Room. I did not like paying for a card we could not complete.

 

Events: Midnight Buffet, BBQ, Cook-off, & Food Carving – The Century 4 & 5 night cruises do not have either a Midnight Buffet or BBQ. We found out about this on Cruise Critic and knew prior to boarding. While I understand not having a Midnight Buffet as a cost saving measure, I do not understand not having a BBQ by the pool. This is a cruise line tradition and sailing out of Key West would be the perfect evening with the beautiful sunset over Key West. Someone on Cruise Critic (actually one of the Hosts) suggested these short cruises are “dumbed down” and I believe that is probably the case. This doesn’t make much sense from a marketing perspective if Celebrity is trying to get guests to book with them again. There was a small fruit carving demo by the pool on the first sea day (two Chefs each made one carving), as well as an ice carving demo the second sea day (which I missed). There was also a cook off between a few passengers on the second sea day. This was held in the Celebrity Theatre with large screens up above. My husband noted that the Chef “Assistants” really did all the cooking while on our last cruise on HAL’s Westerdam the passengers actually did the cooking themselves. Note that HAL has state of the art demonstration kitchens which I do not believe are found on any Celebrity ships.

 

Kitchen Tour - As my husband is a Chef there were a few things that interested us including dinner at Murano and a Galley Tour. I was also interested in Formal Tea. I asked Roxana in Guest Relations and was told they stopped doing Kitchen Tours after 911, which we knew was not true since we know passengers who have had this tour recently and it was confirmed by someone else on the cruise that they were having a tour. Someone had suggested asking our Maitre D’ since they asked just a few weeks before us and went through the kitchen. He told us the same story about tours being halted after 911. It would be better if the staff just told passengers this was by invitation only, verses telling them something they may know is just not the truth and create bad feelings. This really turned me off and I ended up seeing Roxana almost every time I needed to have a new key card made.

 

Note - The Maître D’ knew he was “caught” but he did make it up to us by bringing the girls a birthday cake to share. Originally Guest Relations had wanted $35.00 for this cake, but he did not charge us.

 

Recommendation – If the ship does not wish to give someone a kitchen tour, please don’t use the excuse that this had not been done in 7 years! Even someone else on the ship told me they were having one, so I know that was not true.

 

Formal Tea – “Elegant Tea”. Roxana in Guest Relations took my name for tea but I never did receive a formal invitation, nor did we receive any special invites although we were in a Concierge Class stateroom. This was especially disappointing and she was there for over 10 of my visits to Guest Relations. I did go for tea as I was invited by Andrew, an Assistant Maitre D in the dining room.

 

I happened to go to the Grand Restaurant around lunch time on the second sea day so I could see what the Grand Restaurant looked like with light streaming through the windows and take a photo. On the way out I asked Andrew, an Assistant Matre’D, if on longer cruises all passengers were invited to Formal Tea in the dining room? He said yes it was just on the short cruises that not all passengers were invited and, “Why, do you want to come, we are having tea at 4:00pm today”? I told him I was not Captains Club and certainly not Select or Elite. He said it did not matter as he was inviting me, and besides, they never checked anyone at the door. So, I went to Elegant Tea at 4:00pm and was one of about 18 people that showed up.

 

There were only 6 tables used and lots of servers. Everything thing was very pretty, and it was nice having the cart and white gloved waiters serve me. I am a big tea drinker with all kinds of loose tea in my home, Black, White, Green, and Red (Rooibos, not really tea). Celebrity uses Bigelow tea bags and I realized I do not really like Bigelow tea bags. I tried various tea bags during the week including Darjeeling, Earl Grey, English Breakfast, and others. At one point a server absentminded asked me if I wanted milk. I said yes thinking he was going to leave the small milk server. He was absentminded because he went to pour it into my empty tea cup until I went to stop him. So much for the show!

 

The Captains Club representative, Sue, stopped by to see if I was enjoying myself (not knowing that I was on my first Celebrity cruise). When I said “This is a small turnout”, she stated that she was disappointed. When I said, “Why don’t you invite everyone”, the response was “No, this is just for my Captains Club”. Celebrity has given her this Captains Club position so there is probably no way she would tell them the turnout for tea is poor (others have posted the same on CC) so Celebrity would open formal tea to other passengers. Btw, although all the tea sandwiches and pastries looked good, I thought the taste was very average and I tried a lot of things. On the entire cruise I did not care for the desserts or pastries from the Russian Pastry Chef.

 

Recommendation: Celebrity really needs to open up Formal Tea to all passengers, so at least the tea drinkers can go for their afternoon tea. It’s mostly Americans who drink coffee cruising out of Miami, so why not invite everyone to tea? Formal Tea is a cruising tradition and should be offered to all passengers. Not being able to go to afternoon tea in the main dining room is something that would actually stop me from going on another Celebrity cruise, assuming other similar options and itineraries are available. The tea was poorly attended with less than 20 passengers, so Formal Tea should not be an event for passengers with over 5 cruises (Select and Elite), especially since it is a long standing cruising tradition. Note that I do not mind that they have special invites for repeat guests such as a bridge or engine tour, but strongly believe that afternoon tea in the dining room should be for everyone. HAL invites all cruisers to afternoon tea in the dining room, as well as everyone has an invite to the Kitchen Tour and Back Stage Tour (when offered).

 

Ports

 

Key West – We had a private sail and snorkel scheduled with Floridays and it was canceled. We did not find out until we arrived at the Hyatt where the sailboat is docked and could not find anyone. A dive group was able to tell us they had canceled. I did have a number and called and was told it was canceled. Initially we thought it was perhaps because they did not have enough passengers, but I found out later that the Captain had left a message at my office that they would try to get us out later in the day. Unfortunately this was not conveyed to me when I phoned and I received the message after we were back on the ship. We walked to the Southernmost Point and also went to the top of the Key West Lighthouse and toured the keeper’s quarters. Having been to Key West previously, I had been snorkeling, visited the Hemmingway House, Mel Fisher Museum, and to the old Fort. http://www.kwahs.com/lighthouse.htm

 

After taking the two teenagers back to the ship, my husband and I went to Hogs Breath to have a light lunch. He did not like his fried clams; however, I enjoyed my oysters, conch fritters, and slice of key lime pie. http://www.hogsbreath.com/

 

Grand Cayman:

 

Stingray Excursion: When we wanted information on Celebrity excursions pre-cruise, (Grand Cayman Stingray excursion that we did book directly with Celebrity), we again were given an e-mail and again the response was from a mystery person who did not sign their name (signed “Thank You and Enjoy Your Cruise Shore Excursions & Explorations! Department”). My question had to do with the timing of an excursion if it ran on schedule, and just a note that the excursions department information is really off as they told me the time listed was from ship to ship, but it is actually from the boat launch as it takes 45 minutes each way to get to stingray city by boat and 15 minutes each way by bus from the tender dock. (So tour should be listed on Celebrity web site as 4 hours, instead of 2 hours and 15 minutes). This was only an issue because we had plans to take a taxi to the Blue Iguana Recovery Program after going to Stingray City. Celebrity uses Port Sports Ltd. and the Stingray Excursion was very well organized.

 

We purchased the DVD from the tour operator and were told to go to Celebrity’s Shore Excursion desk once we re-boarded as the DVD’s should be on the ship by about 3:00pm. I waited until I was on my way to Sushi (about 5:00pm) and walked over to ask about the DVD. Two Shore Excursion people in unison barked out at me "Just so you know, Celebrity is not responsible for the DVD's". I am not used to any employees on any ship acting this way and just said I was told to come pick them up. They said they did not have them yet but again wanted me to know they were not responsible. I asked what happened and they said one was missing last cruise and the passenger blamed them. I did receive a call when I returned to my stateroom that they had my DVD and it would be delivered that night.

 

Blue Iguana Recovery Program: We took a cab to the QE II Botanic Park where we had a private tour of the Iguana Recovery Program with one of the Wardens. Note that Celebrity had actually been offering the Iguana tour but has since severed its ties with the program. It was originally one of our reasons for selecting this cruise. Celebrity kept the tour on their web site for months, even though I reminded them they no longer offered it. It’s a shame as the money goes to a good cause to help these endangered species. I know from the Director it is futile for anyone to make money with the excursion as three groups were involved, Celebrity, Iguana Recovery Program, and a transportation company. We negotiated $120.00 for a taxi to bring us roundtrip while we had our private tour. I was told that was actually a very good price. We then paid $10.00pp admission into the Botanic Park and $25.00 each for the tour. So, it worked out to $65.00 per person. We were able to go to the breeding area which is not open to the public. We have an Iguana, so as far as ports the Blue Iguana Recovery Program was our highlight. www.blueiguana.ky/

 

Tendering in Grand Cayman – A disappointment concerned tendering. All we kept hearing on the Cruise Critic boards is that Celebrity does it better than everyone else as they give you a drink while you wait for the tender. In Grand Cayman I was thinking about cold water on the way back to the tender from the Blue Iguana Recovery Program, 45 minutes away, only to find out at 3:30pm (last tender at 4:30pm) Celebrity had run out of both the cold water and juice. My husband was on a tender 20 minutes earlier and they were also out of the water. This was a disappointment as we had heard Celebrity was the only cruise line providing drinks, but I had to sit in the heat thirsty while I waited for the tender to fill up. I understand things happen but good customer service would have been to call the ship and have water waiting when we arrived back on the ship. I did receive a cold towel but I really needed a cold drink. I sat in the tender boat (over 80 degrees) for what seemed like 20 minute before we left. Some nice person in housekeeping on Deck 9 went to a kitchen area on the floor and got me a glass of water (he asked if I wanted juice or anything else). He was Greek and I wish I could remember his name.

 

Disembarkation - We filled out one disembarkation form for our family, clearly marked the two cabins and four passengers, however, the minors were given different tags, a different lounge, and different disembarkation time over an hour after us (I guess because we were in CC class). I made one final trip to Guest Relations and Roxana changed the tags. The actual disembarkation was very smooth as we were sent to the movie theatre and upon arriving overheard someone calling (I assume Guest Relations), and when I asked was told we could walk right of the ship, which we did. We ended up with a lot of time at the airport and had lunch at Burger King where my husband commented that unlike the grille on Century, they actually knew how to make a cheeseburger (with melted cheese).

 

Summary – We had a poor pre-cruise experience and were upset about being stopped by the authorities in Miami and 14 trips to Guest Relations to correct problems. Being continually locked out of our staterooms became a major inconvenience. We filled out the comment card and gave the ship and cleanliness the highest marks. We did give the highest marks for our room steward, Frederick, as well as Waiter, Nyomen, and Assistant Waiter, Erol. Wawan, the Beverage Steward in the dining room also replenished our Colas as he knew we had the package. Domy in Miami dining also gets high marks as she followed our special request for a 4 top by the balcony railing by closing off a 6 top for our family.

 

We aren’t even that concerned with the food as we can always find something. Everyone did what they were supposed to, but nothing above or beyond. Two things I really liked about Century were the Aqua Spa Café and Sushi Bar. The prices for the staterooms were also very reasonable.

 

We could go either way as far as booking another Celebrity cruise and filled out the comment card “Maybe/Maybe not”. I would consider cruising with Celebrity again, am interested in the 4 night weekend on Century to Mexico, but would like to know we would have a better customer service experience from Celebrity Cruises.

 

UPDATE: I wrote a letter to Celebrity and, only a few weeks after the letter went out, received a call from Ms. Martinez in the Executive office in response to my letter. While I appreciated the gesture of contacting me directly to discuss my cruise, I soon found out she was just making a general phone call and while I wanted to discuss specific aspects of my experience, the responses I received were either, “I have never heard of that happening to anyone”, or that she wanted me to be assured that the Executives did read the letters looking for common issues and that my next cruise on Celebrity would be great. I did not ask for anything (was genuinely trying to be helpful as I thought the ship/company deserved my time/input), but I also wasn’t offered anything either. Ms. Martinez did tell me that decisions on activities and who would be invited were actually decided at the ship level. So, the fact that only Captains Club Select and Elite were invited to Formal Tea and not Concierge Class passengers (I think everyone should be invited), may or may not be the case on another Celebrity ship. Unfortunately, it may be enough to keep us from cruising with Celebrity again when there are so many vacation options. After the call my feelings about cruising on Celebrity again are still “Maybe /Maybe not”.

[artlee]

wow. Doesn't sound like you were very pleased. Why would you go back?

[First in Class]

Jade13,

 

Thanks for your review. I can certainly appreciate that, with all of the challenges you encountered, you may not return.

 

There were 3 points I totally agree with:

1. The gazpacho is great, both in the dining room and Aqua Spa Cafe

2. The sushi bar is terrific, also one of our favorites

3. It makes no sense that they serve such poor quality tea (Bigelow) for formal tea...especially when they have much better tea available onboard that they can get from Cova

 

We're hoping our first 2 sailings on Century are better than what you experienced!

[Jade13]

wow. Doesn't sound like you were very pleased. Why would you go back?

 

Well, if you had read my review in detail (perhaps I should add the link with the ratings) you would see that I recommended the cruise as a good value, and stated that our biggest issue was pre-cruise customer service. It should be easy for Celebrity to fix for guests in the future, if they would give you a new Vacation Planner if the one you book with leaves the company prior to your departure. The other major issue appears to plain bad luck that we had three key cards that continually would not open our doors.

 

Celebrity is a bargain compared to every other cruise line that we have been on. I gave the "Rates" a 5+ and the "Value for Money" a 5. We had a problem on embarkation but I can only assume this goes back to the "pre-cruise" if we arrived in Miami and our teenagers were not showing in the system. While I gave "Food" a rating of 3, I stated it is not a consideration at all when we cruise. We can always find something to eat. I stated the ship was very pretty and clean (gave Excellent marks) and I gave our Cabin steward, Waiter and Assistant Waiter the highest ratings as well (Excellent), and stated we got the exact seating that we requested overlooking the balcony and grand staircase.

 

Any other questions?

[Coolcruise02]

Even though we had a great cruise on Century people don't like hearing that you don't get treated any better than you do on other lines. We have been on 2 X cruises and found out for ourselves that the service and food is just as good if not better on other lines.

[joelmarj]

My experiences on Century were not the same, but having said that it's ashame that it was not as good as you had hoped.

 

Just a few comments. First, is it possible that the complication of your daughters cabin was due to the fact that you split up your original reservation between Celebrity and a TA. Frankly, I never would have done that as you would certainly want them both to remain linked, particularly when traveling with minors. The split may have caused some issue for the system, but glad it worked out in the end with them getting the cabin you originally requested.

 

With regard to Murano's, what we have found is that they will indeed bend over backwards during dinner service. I understand them not wanting to make exceptions for all of your requests during the initial discussions because they are truly trying to impress the guests with a wonderful menu. I think had you been a bit more flexible and gone you would have found they could accommodate your needs at dinner. I'm sure you didn't want to take that risk, but frankly when you asked for a different sauce because of a mushroom issue, they offered a choice and that wasn't good enough. Then asking them to make something off the menu because someone else had it is just not quite fair. You may not know all the circumstances that took place.

 

I'm glad to see that you have not taken them off your list of a cruiseline to choose. It is however, why there are so many cruiselines to pick from, everyone can find what they like based on their own requirements.

[Jade13]

[quote name=joelmarj;I think had you been a bit more flexible and gone you would have found they could accommodate your needs at dinner. I'm sure you didn't want to take that risk' date=' but frankly when you asked for a different sauce because of a mushroom issue, they offered a choice and that wasn't good enough. Then asking them to make something off the menu because someone else had it is just not quite fair. You may not know all the circumstances that took place.

 

quote]

 

Re: Muranos, I did not know it was off the menu, as I did not look at a menu when I went in to make a reservation. I just asked if it was being served. The "choice" was to make the steak without any sauce. So my Chef Dh was not impressed and did not think it would be worth $120.00 (4 persons) as he can make a plain steak without any sauce at home. You are right though that if we had went to dinner the actual Chef may have come up with a sauce. I was surprised as some people actually have a mushroom allergy (or other) and they must get some requested changes.

 

Re: the reservation, I understand your point, but no matter how a stateroom is booked I have never heard of a specific cabin reservation suddenly being missing from a system. It was there when I called direct on Saturday (We left town on Sunday). My point was that this was a cabin booked directly with Celebrity and was showing "linked" to the other reservation.