Is the Century right for us?

[Meredith71]

My friends and I are looking to take a short cruise this spring. We have narrowed it down to Carnival Destiny, Enchanment of the Seas and the Century. We are 4 gals in our late 30s. We are not huge partiers but enjoy having fun. What is the age demographic for a short Celebrity cruise? I have been on 3 Princess cruieses and Explorer of the Seas. Another gal has been on RCCL and NCL. The other 2 are new to cruising. I would like this to be a good experience for them. What would we love about Century or should we look elsewhere?

 

I should have added that we are looking for good food, good entertainment, a nice spa and an overall relaxing time from the kids.

 

Thanks,

 

Meredith

[nps001]

Century was the first cruise I took after a long break and really what got me hooked on cruising. It isn't as much a party atmosphere like Carnival but can be fun. It;s service is sophisticated yet friendly and refined.

 

I have cruised both Carnival and NCL and by far prefer X. That being said, different cruisers have different preferences. You said you like to have fun but are not big partiers. The spa is excellent, and for a treat, Murano is fantastic. I think any cruise line will provide a relaxing atmosphere for the most part.

 

X is a line I would certainly recommend, and Century is a great bargain for short cruises. The service on Century is excellent. Give it a try..I think your group will be pleased.

[robtulipe]

We did the Century transatlantic cruise last month. It was a older, mostly retired crowd on board but you can't really compare a 14 night TA to a 4 or 5 night Caribbean cruise. We met another couple (early 40s) on board and did most of our "on our own" shore tours with them either by renting cars or taking taxi tours. We have found shorter cruises tend to attract younger still working type which makes sense if one has limited amount of vacation time.

The Century is in excellent shape and the service from the staff was top notch. Captain Georgios Theodorou was one of the best masters we've ever had on a cruise and even personally gave the bridge tours for the Capt's club members. I take this ship over the Enchantment anytime but can't comment on the Destiny as I have never sailed on her nor on any other Carnival ships.

[tdk1938]

My friends and I are looking to take a short cruise this spring. We have narrowed it down to Carnival Destiny, Enchanment of the Seas and the Century. We are 4 gals in our late 30s. We are not huge partiers but enjoy having fun. What is the age demographic for a short Celebrity cruise? I have been on 3 Princess cruieses and Explorer of the Seas. Another gal has been on RCCL and NCL. The other 2 are new to cruising. I would like this to be a good experience for them. What would we love about Century or should we look elsewhere?

 

I should have added that we are looking for good food, good entertainment, a nice spa and an overall relaxing time from the kids.

 

Thanks,

 

Meredith

Hi Meredith,

We just cruised our family's first cruise with Century. You'll get good food, good entertainment from Century. We went there during winter holiday, so we've seen good share of very well behaved kids on the ship. I didn't use their spa but used their gym for three days and they're fine.

My two college age daughters also enjoyed their cruise, they are not party animals and they had good time. I'm sure you'll like Century.:)

[Schasz]

We just got off our first Celebrity cruise on the Centrury last Monday, and we really enjoyed it. We thought the food was good, and Murano's was the dining highlight for us. Prior to the Century cruise, we had cruised with Carnival and Royal Caribbean.

 

Our first day, we toured the spa and thought they had several intersting treatments one can do, but we did not do any spa treatments.

 

We thought the entertainment was OK but not on a par with either RCI or Carnival. We spent a couple nights in the Martini Bar. The final night we met up with some friends we had made on the cruise and did Karaoke and the disco Hemishphere.

 

We were very please with the Century and thought the crew was exceptionally friendly, and for us the price was right.

 

Shari & John

[Meredith71]

Thanks everyone! This gives me a lot to think about. Anyone else have anything to add?

[iwanabuy]

Meredith,

My family and I will be sailing on the Century in the spring too. My wife and I were on her in 1995 when she was brand new, and many more times since that first time. My wife practically grew up on Celebrity ships as her father worked for the line since the days of Chandris, so she had been on more than her fair share of ships. I'm saying all of this (or typing it all) because of all the other lines we've been on, and we've been on a bunch, it always seemed that we looked forward to our return to the Century. She did have a face life in 06, and it has been a while since we were last on her, but when we board this spring, it'll feel like coming home. We have always had exceptional service, food, and entertainment. Whether we decide to lay by the pool all day, relax in the spa, or explore the ports, we have always enjoyed our time on Century. She's not too big, like the mega ships sailing now, but big enough to find a nook and feel totally alone. We're looking forward to it and I hope you give her a chance. :)

[vplsh]

We'll be trying Century for the first time in December, however we have been on both Enchantment of the Seas (twice) and Carnival Destiny. There are links to my reviews of both in my signature if you're interested.

 

Comparing those 2 ships, there were good and not so good about both. We sailed Destiny at Christmas and Enchantment in the summer, so both ships had a lot of kids. Usually they were well behaved. Since the Destiny was a Christmas cruise, we didn't feel it was too much of a 'party' cruise as it might have been at another time. Lots of family groups.

 

Food on both were good- Carnival's chocolate melting cake is the best dessert ever!

 

Had OV cabins on both and Destiny wins hands down! Great big cabin with lots of storage and a full size shower.

 

Enchantment was our first cruise and got us hooked on cruising. I have to say the food was better on our first cruise on her than our second.

 

Good luck making a choice! I think you'll enjoy whichever you choose!

[Mysteryreader]

We were on the Century last wk/end; it left and returned the port of Miami at the same time as the Carnival Destiny. We happened to be in line at the airport with a family who'd been on the Destiny. They were on that cruise for a Christian music event and said they'd had a great time but thought the ship's overall decor was dark and somewhat depressing.

 

We have nothing but good things to say about the Century. No dark and depressing; really good food; great crew. It might not be quite the party ship as Carnival's, but there's ample activity. Our cruise had several chick groups obviously cruising together. I think you'd fit right in.

 

Good luck.

 

M/R

[mayjo]

The Century is a wonderful ship - redone a year or so ago. We met folks on a cruise, who had been on 40. When asked what their favorite ship of all time is - without hesitation they said the Century. I can tell you the staff is wonderful, food is great and entertainment is also great. Enjoy!

[geoherb]

We sailed on Century for a 4-night cruise right before Christmas. I was afraid the cruise line would cut too many corners. We had sailed some shorter RCI cruises that felt that way. Of course I wish we could have gone for a longer time. But the Century's staff was good.

[ahamill]

We sailed on The Century last weekend and we loved it. We were worried after someone told me that her friend had been on Celebrity and it was all older people, not true at all! We were only on the 4-night and had a great mix, young and old. I was talking to the Cruise Director and the Activities director on the last night at the stir fry bar (great, by the way!) and they said that anything under 7 nights is a good mix, over 7 nights is retired people because no one else can take the days off.

We are in our 30's and felt very comfortable with the ages of people, good mix.

 

The food was so-so, Murano's-worth it! Great breakfast buffet, good pool grill and we liked the pasta bar and the stir fry bar for dinner. We only at in the MDR one night, for formal night, and had no need to go back.

 

I went to the spa for a pedicure and it was really nice, I would have gone back for a massage but we were spending too much money on drinks! The martini bar is fun and the casino is night. The shows are ok, we went to the comedian which was great and peaked into another show one night which looked awful.

 

They had some good music by the pool and some fun poolside activies.

 

I think Century would be a great choice for your girls' vacation!

[Lois R]

Hi,:) it looks like the OP went on Princess this week.

Check the signature in her original post.

Oh my bad...that says March 2008....ooops!

 

Meredith, did you and your girlfriends go on CENTURY?