CENTURY..Sanitation inspection score of 79

[robbie500]

Ahh, after reading the report and seeing the date, now I know why I saw sooooo many maintenance guys around the ship. We sailed 11/13-11/20 on Century, and noticed a lot of little things going on. Now it all makes sense!
My guess would be that this ship will be in Dry Dock fairly soon. I hate to see this ship go downhill. Celebrity needs to take her out and give her some TLC inside and out!

[robbie500]

Little did I know I was on a Fear Factor cruise!!! LOL

[4 cruisers]

Okay Robbie, now what other little things did you notice???? Dry dock soon? What makes you think that?

We're doing the Eastern in April (hopefully!) and I'd love to know what your favorite shore excursions were! It's our first time in the Eastern Caribbean.

[robbie500]

Ok, the things that we had noticed were just little maintenance problems. The TV in the staterooms are "interactive" so that you can view your onboard account, shop in your cabin, in cabin gaming, movie rentals in cabin, book excursions...just a lot of little techy things that I love to play around with. I was told this wasn't working on most of my deck (deck 10, room 1100). When we arrived at our stateroom, the ice bucket for the wine was dripping onto the chair. You could tell this was a recurring thing because the chair had water stains. There were booths at the back of the Island Cafe that had padding showing from the tears in the covers (good size tears of 8" - 12"!!!) These are just small things that should be able to be taken care of. Think about it...the network that runs the TV's is a computer network. I am no computer guru, but troubleshooting a network that has been in place for a number of years is not a difficult thing to do. Water stained chairs...MOVE THE TABLE WHEN YOU PUT OUT THE WINE!!! Torn Booths...These are covered padding, you should be able to call ahead and have them recovered and waiting at Ft.Lauderdale at the first sign of a tear. These you could tell had been around a while. I don't know if you read the CDC report released recently, but in the report they said some of the issues would be taken care of when the ship goes to dry dock. I have not seen when this is to happen. As far as the people go, the employees onboard are GREAT! I would say that ships the size of Century are the best! I will continue to cruise Celebrity, but will not sail the Century again until it sees a little TLC! A two to three week dry dock may help bring the ship back to her glory!
We still feel that for the money this is a Great trip!
Have Fun,
Rob

[robbie500]

I almost forgot...this was our 9th cruise. We have sailed on Celebrity's Millie, Infinity, Galaxy and now Century. Millie class ships are our favorites, mostly due to the size of the spa. Persian Garden on the Millie class ships are Most Excellent!

[robbie500]

Now...as far as shore excursions, we did our own thing. We had spent a week in St.Maarten a few years ago, so we were familiar with that island, so we rented a jeep from Hertz. It was $85 for the day and we went around and visited beaches that we had been to before. On St. Thomas all we did was shop. We docked at Crown Bay which is the opposite direction from where the ships normally dock. We had engine trouble that they told us about while getting on the ship in Ft. Lauderdale so we didn't get to go to San Juan. They did however give us a $250 onboard credit. That was nice. In Nassau we didn't even get off the ship. It was nice to hang out around the pool and not have to fight for a chair! We also had all the bar tenders and pool boys to get anything we wanted or needed.
Make sure you go snorkeling at St.Thomas or St. Maarten both have great excursions. St.Maarten has a jeep excursion that is about $85 per person, whereas you can rent the jeep yourself for $85 total and go where you want to go. St. Maarten they drive on the same side of the road as here in the US. St.Thomas they drive opposite. Make sure if you rent a car you rent from an Avis, Hertz...someone with a known name.

Rob

[hdawson]

When on Cozumel I've always rented from Exectutive Rental. I had never heard of them but always very satisfied. Jeeps for $50.

[jsaadat]

[quote name='hdawson']Serious, but not warrenting hysteria. If it was more serious, it of course would have had more deductions. Also I believe with some of the corrections taken on the spot during the inspection, the ship would have passed inspection, if only they could reinspect before completing the inspection. Afraid I didn't word that very well. Hope you understand what I was thinking. LOL[/QUOTE]

No problem HD, your point is well taken :) I guess I take it pretty seriously becasue we are sailing on her in April and I want everything to be perfect.

J

[4 cruisers]

Thanks for the info, Rob!!! Now if we rent a jeep, is snorkeling equipment available on the beaches or should we plan to take our own?

Oh, I do hope they get the engine problems and the CDC stuff worked out by April!!! We were on the NCL Star before her engine problems going to Fanning Island from Hawaii. It seems that every other trip for a while there, didn't make it to Fanning! Hope San Juan won't turn out to be another Fanning Island!!! Oh well, the $250 credit and extra sea days wouldn't kill us, for sure! ;)

Nanette

[rowmcvie]

I have a question for those of you more seasoned cruisers (meant in the nicest way, of course!). I am thinking of booking a 9 day Western Caribbean cruise on the Century for June 2 - 11. This is a high school graduation "gift" for my son and he is completely jazzed about it. Reading all these posts about the Century, I am becoming concerned about whether it will sail on these dates at all. Could they dry dock it before that time? It sounds kind of iffy. Since this a present for my son and I don't want him to be disappointed, I'm thinking it might be better to go with Princess even though it's only 7 days and they don't go to Aruba or Curacao. One last thing, there are three of us sailing and we really want a stateroom with a good sized balcony. One of my concerns is that we'd find out a month before that she's be dry docked and then not be able to get a good booking on Princess. Any advice? BTW, the Princess ship would be the Caribbean...thanks!

[hdawson]

This is a question best suited for your Travel Agent. If they don't have the dry dock schedule they can get it from Celebrity in a matter of minutes.

[rowmcvie]

Thanks, hdawson. I called - her comment was that they could contact Celebrity but she didn't think they'd be forthcoming. I should say that this was not a comment directed towards Celebrity but all cruise lines. But here's a question - if they already have a dry dock schedule and Century was on it for a specific period of time, they wouldn't then schedule her to be sailing at the same time period, would they?

[hdawson]

Not likely but if they did change the schedule, they would refund what you had paid and probably offer you a very nice discount to rebook. 25% or even 50% depending how close to the cruise date. To change the date it would take a serious mechanical problem. Not a rare sanitation inspection that didn't pass and in most respects didn't offer much threat. As I've said before, if it was serious enough, they would have been charged 5 polints instead of 3 or even prevented from sailing with passengers. I recall the Norway not being allowed to sail because of sprinkler problems about 5 yrs ago.

[robbie500]

Most of the island main beaches have snorkel equipment available. The way to get the best details on who to rent from is to jump on the destination boards. You can get names and directions to vendors that will treat you right! Sometimes it is hard to find a trustworthy vendor when you are a single couple, not involved with the ships excursions.
The engine problem is supposedly fixed, or thats what they told us on our trip.

[robbie500]

After our trip on Century and reading the CDC report, I would go on one of the Millie class ships on Celebrity. The Constellation is to be coming into the Caribbean sometime soon. The Millennium should already be doing the Caribbean. These ships both have many balconies, whereas the Century you pretty much have to get a suite to get a balcony. The Century is Pre-Balcony era! With the Millie class ships you get to dock at the dock and not have to tender in at St. Maarten, or take an extended cab ride in St. Thomas. Bigger ships are getting a few more perks!

[dkjretired]

If you are interested in a veranda, Century would probably not be a good bet since they don't have a lot as others have mentioned.

Your other concern about drydock, I believe is unfounded. The items originally brought up in this thread do not require drydock and none of the complaints I have seen on these boards are anything that would require drydock. Carpets, furniture and things like that can be done during normal sailing times without the need to take the ship out of service. Drydocks are generally done for major renovations and to take care of certain internal systems that must be maintained every couple of years.

Just because people are saying the ship needs to go into drydock, does not make it so. I am sure If Celebrity decides the ship needs a drydock they will announce it but I would seriously doubt they would do it during the summer season especially with their only ship in the Caribbean.

Don

[dougnewmanatsea]

[quote name='dkjretired']Just because people are saying the ship needs to go into drydock, does not make it so. I am sure If Celebrity decides the ship needs a drydock they will announce it[/QUOTE]Unless there is some sort of emergency, drydocks are planned well in advance, and occur roughly every 24 to 30 months.

As you say, cosmetic maintenance such as replacing carpets and seat covers is something that can very easily be done with the ship in service. The main purpose of putting ships in drydock is to allow for various surveys and maintenace required by the ship's classification society.

[dkjretired]

[quote name='Host Doug']Unless there is some sort of emergency, drydocks are planned well in advance, and occur roughly every 24 to 30 months.

As you say, cosmetic maintenance such as replacing carpets and seat covers is something that can very easily be done with the ship in service. The main purpose of putting ships in drydock is to allow for various surveys and maintenace required by the ship's classification society.[/QUOTE]

Doug:

The point I'm trying to make is very similiar to rumors that were going around about Horizon and Zenith getting their balconies and Century being stretched. These were rumors from everywhere including ships crews and Celebrity never announced any changes to these ships and now it appears Horizon will be going out of the fleet. Months from now people will be complaining as to why Century didn't go into drydock as Celebrity promised when in fact posters were almost trying to will the ship into drydock.

Don

[rowmcvie]

Just wanted to thank all of you for your post regarding my question about the chances of Century being dry docked. While I feel better about that chance being unlikely, I realized that if I am going to spend the money I have planned (we were looking at Sky Suites and Penthouse Suites (Princess), I'd probably be happier with a newer ship. Since my son is at the age where being able to sit out in a bathing suit by the pool (and watch girls who are doing the same...:)), being in a sunny place was important to him. Celebrity didn't have any other ships in the Caribbean in June (the only month we can go), so I ended up booking a PS on the Caribbean Princess. Only 6 more months...and I have to sell a house, change jobs, and move from the West coast to the East before the cruise. I'm gonna need it!

[dougnewmanatsea]

[quote name='dkjretired']The point I'm trying to make is very similiar to rumors that were going around about Horizon and Zenith getting their balconies and Century being stretched. These were rumors from everywhere including ships crews and Celebrity never announced any changes to these ships and now it appears Horizon will be going out of the fleet.[/QUOTE]HORIZON leaving the fleet is just another rumor... And one that came about long before any of the other ones, so far as I know. The departure of HORIZON and ZENITH has been imminent for as long as I've been around here - over three years already.

Anyhow, if Celebrity were going to do something like adding balconies or stretching a ship, they'd most likely do that at the same point that the ship would be going into drydock anyway, though of course (and here is where the old CENTURY stretching rumor really fell apart) they'd need to keep the ship in drydock longer. Unless there's something seriously wrong with a ship, ships do not get pulled out of drydock on a whim, or because the carpet is getting worn out or the like. Maintenance to ships is done on a specific, fairly rigid schedule.

[SeaGams]

I sailed Century Thanksgiving week, and I was told by the future cruise consultant that the 2005 drydock has been cancelled. Century will go into drydock some time in 2006, and there were plans to add balconies to some of the cabins, perhaps the CC category.

[olectric]

We have a suite booked on the Century for a cruise in May and I want to know when the next CDC inspection will be. I assume Celebrity can request/insist on a re-inspection and hope they already have done so. I am reconsidering our cruise based on this CDC report. Are you listening Celebrity??

[Ma Bell]

If you look at the CDC reports you will see that many ships have had one bad report. Even Crystal Harmony and QE2. All the other Century scores have been good even as recently as five months ago. Unfortunately any one ship or restaurant can have a bad score. I'm sure any problems have been taken care of. Looking at all Celebrity ships, this is the only poor score I found.

[dkjretired]

[quote name='Host Doug']HORIZON leaving the fleet is just another rumor... And one that came about long before any of the other ones, so far as I know. The departure of HORIZON and ZENITH has been imminent for as long as I've been around here - over three years already.

Anyhow, if Celebrity were going to do something like adding balconies or stretching a ship, they'd most likely do that at the same point that the ship would be going into drydock anyway, though of course (and here is where the old CENTURY stretching rumor really fell apart) they'd need to keep the ship in drydock longer. Unless there's something seriously wrong with a ship, ships do not get pulled out of drydock on a whim, or because the carpet is getting worn out or the like. Maintenance to ships is done on a specific, fairly rigid schedule.[/QUOTE]

That is the whole point I was trying to make, I had been warning people on board for months who were sure these rumors were fact, that Celebrity had not announced any of these changes. I know the whole Horizon thing is still a rumor and it appears that we will see threads and posts on how the Century is going into drydock when nothing has been announced.

The rumors about the balconies are a couple of years old, I think they are well before Horizon leaving the fleet rumors. The Horizon situation is being fueled by the web site only showing cruises up until I believe Oct. 05.

Don

[hdawson]

Two of my favorite rumors from the boards:

The Cruise Director on Carnival Paradise announcing that Carnival was building an additional smokefree ship. LOL

From an Engineering Officer on a RCI ship telling passengers that the rebels had destroyed Labadee, RCI's beach resort.

Neither had an iota of truth.