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Celebrity Cruises
Century
Western Caribbean

Brian F.
Age: 32
Occupation: Engineer
Sailing Date: December 20th, 2007

My family and I just returned from a 4 day western Caribbean cruise on the Century.  This was our fourth cruise, but the first time with Celebrity.  We were pleasantly surprised.

Entering the ship was rather nondescript, as you board on deck 6 at a bank of elevators.  However, we were immediately greeted by the wait staff with complimentary glasses of champagne.  I think this really set the stage for the service that sets Celebrity apart from the other cruise lines we have sailed.

We boarded at 1pm, however because of an outbreak of the norovirus on the previous sailing, the staterooms were closed until 4pm.  In the interim time, we took the kids up to deck 11 for lunch in the Islands Café.  The café is set up with ample seating.  However, for our family (there were 13 of us on this cruise) it was sometimes difficult to sit together.  Also, because of the norovirus outbreak, the staff had to serve our food from the buffet.  This caused some long lines, however the quality of the food more than made up for it.  Don’t get me wrong, this was still cruise ship quality food, but it just seemed that the selection and preparation were slightly better than both Carnival and Royal Caribbean.

The Islands Café has stations for hot lunch, cold lunch, pizza and ice cream.  The drawback we found was that nothing was open 24 hours, and the ice cream was open at very limited times.  The pizza station was only open until 12:30am or so.  There is a nice area in the aft section of the ship, outside of the Islands Café, to eat al fresco if you like.

Forward of the café is the pool area.  The 2 pools are rather small, and it is readily apparent that they do not allow any children under 3 in the pools, even with pool friendly diapers.  Also, one pool is extremely deep (starting at 5’9” and going to about 8’) and the other is moderately deep (starting at 4’ and going to 6’).  Therefore, it was not very kid friendly for our 4 year old.

In the pool area, there are 4 medium sized hot tubs, which were set at a comfortable temperature, and in general there was always room in them throughout the cruise.  This is despite the fact that our cruise was completely booked (as stated by our Maître d' and by a sign at the guest relations desk).  The rest of the pool deck is fairly normal for a cruise ship.  Plenty of lounge chairs, a stage for a band, etc.  Forward of the pools, back inside, is the Aqua Spa.  We walked through here and didn’t notice anything exciting.  We did not get a chance to try the Spa Cafe, nor any of the fitness machines or the Persian Garden.  The view from the fitness machines was very nice, only to be rivaled by the Hemisphere Lounge located one deck above.

In the Hemisphere Lounge, there are quite a few nice seats that look directly forward, in addition, the lounge has a lot of seating that is far away from the dance floor, so you can actually have a conversation and a few drinks before you decide to dance.

As for the rest of the upper decks, there is a table tennis room at the aft section of deck 14, which we enjoyed playing around in after all the teenagers had left for the night (usually after 10pm) and on the mid section of the deck there is a basketball court that was being used constantly.

Below decks, we spent plenty of time in the Grand Restaurant of course, where the service was very efficient.  We had difficulty getting seated together on the first night, but our Maître d' settled everything by the second night.  I will have to say that the food here seemed to be of a slightly better quality than Carnival and Royal Caribbean.  The presentation was nicer and the variety was better as well.  On the last night they offered lobster tail, which we did not have while on Royal Caribbean.  In addition, they didn’t do any hokey dances or sing a longs until the very last night, at which time it was simply a very professional walk through the dining room by the wait staff along with the announcement of the head wait staff by the cruise director.

Speaking of the cruise director, I only saw him once, at the disembarkation talk.  Now this could have been completely our fault.  This being our fourth cruise, we opted out on many of the events where he may have been present.  That means no art auctions, no gold chains by the foot, no bingo, no slots tournament, no belly flop tournament, etc.  However some of the games we try to see also were not available.  No newly wed game, no scavenger hunt, and of all things – no midnight buffet.  Again, the food is good, but it is not available as much and as often as you find on other cruise lines.  They do try to provide “gourmet bites” from 11:30pm to 12:30am in all of the bars around the ship.

Speaking of the bars, we did try to hit every one sometime during the cruise.  The Martini Bar seemed to be the most intriguing, with the white seating and ever-changing colors.  However the bar was not frozen, or even cold for that matter.  Next door in Michael’s Club, I felt it was a great place to read a book, but it was too small and cramped to be a real nightlife hangout.  The Crystal Rooe hosted Karaoke most nights.  And on other cruise lines this is a very raucous and vibrant event.  On the Century they did not put much effort into this, so the Karaoke was mediocre at best, and usually drew minimal crowds.  However the lounge itself is very nice and fairly large.

The Rendezvous Lounge is on deck 6 and we spent a limited amount of time in here.  Unfortunately Century decided to employ a non-English speaking cover band for the entire cruise.  Now I have nothing against anyone who does not speak English as a first language, however when you are trying to sing some oldies from the 50’s and 60’s, you probably don’t want someone that can’t pronounce his r’s or l’s.  Nonetheless, the older crowd enjoyed hanging out here, and the lounge itself is large and spread out, so that you can steal away in a corner if you like to be away from it all.

Further forward on deck 7 is the Fortunes Casino.  Nothing new here, a little cramped only because Century is such a small ship.

There is a central foyer on this ship, however it isn’t very impressive, nor is it very user friendly.  It only extends from deck 5 to deck 7, and the stairways from deck to deck are not interconnected, so you must walk completely around the periphery of the atrium to go up another level.  Needless to say, if you want to do “shopping” this is the place for it.  Liquor, souvenirs, jewelry, etc. are available at cruise ship prices.  It is interesting to note that on deck 6, forward of the atrium, there is a library with extensive books, however it was closed our entire cruise, there are also numerous card tables available, which is also a nice place to hide out.  And believe it or not, there is an escalator on this ship.  I know that there are usually escalators for the staff in the restaurants, but this is the first one I have seen for use by passengers.  Between the library and the card tables is a nice cinema that was playing some second run movies.  It was a nice place to spend a few hours watching a movie outside of your room.

Speaking of the stateroom, we had an ocean view room on deck 4 aft.  Perhaps the closest thing to steerage.  However, we were pleasantly surprised by the size of the room and the size of the bathroom.  There was a small vanity for my wife, with plenty of storage around the mirror and drawers below.  There was a small fridge with storage above it.  There were three (count ‘em) three closets, of which one had a set of drawers.  All of this along with two bunk beds for the boys.  The lower beds were already moved together for my wife and I, and there was a good amount of space to walk around the sides.  As a special note, I was able to go into my brother’s room (4125) and it was TWICE the size of our room.  Room 4120 was identical.  The stateroom attendant said these rooms are probably the best kept secret on Century, as they are listed as the same category as other ocean view rooms, but because of the layout of the ships infrastructure, they actually take up the space of two staterooms.

Back to our room, with it’s storage, and plenty of good lighting.  We found the bathroom to be slightly larger than we expected.  This was the first time that we had a shower where one person could fit comfortably without worrying about hitting the walls or constantly rubbing against the shower curtain.  There was also plenty of storage in the bathroom with three small glass shelves and some countertop space.  A nice touch was the cotton ball jar with q-tips and a hand lotion dispenser.

The last public space on the boat was the Celebrity Theatre, located at the forward end of the ship.  This theatre was not the biggest we have seen however it was the right size for this ship, and there were no obstructed views from either the upper or lower sections.  The stage itself is rather small, but my understanding was that the shows more than made up for it (this is from my other family members who have not cruised before).

I also had the chance to visit a balcony room on deck 8.  This room was the exact same size as our stateroom, however there was the added bonus of the balcony and nothing else.  I’m not sure I would be willing to spend the money for this, even though it was nice for the kids since they could run outside without any fear of falling overboard.

Speaking of the kids, we used the Fun Factory quite extensively.  There were times when our oldest son (4 years) did not want to leave the Fun Factory and would rather stay there all day.  The staff really seemed to have a good time with the kids, and very quickly was able to recognize my son and my wife and I.

This personal touch also extended to the rest of the ship.  Our stateroom steward was the most attentive I have ever met, going out of his way to greet us every morning, afternoon, and night.  Our waiter had meaningful conversations with us after every meal, and took the time to deal with our screaming, food slinging children.  This personal service culminated in the Murano Restaurant located on deck 5.  This restaurant requires reservations, jacket and slacks, and a $30 cover charge per person.  However, I will say that it was probably worth it.  I took my wife as it was her birthday, and although she did not enjoy the food (it is a heavy French cuisine) we both agreed the attention to detail and the level of service was worth every penny.  I personally thought my frog’s legs, roast duck breast (prepared tableside by the Maître d') and raspberry soufflé were outstanding, and rival some (definitely not all) of the better restaurants we have been to.  I would only recommend this restaurant if you are willing to spend the extra money and the time to enjoy the entire experience.

With that being said, I believe that covers everything on the ship.  Since this was a four day cruise, there is very little to speak of concerning the excursions, but since I know some of you like to compare excursions, I will run through them.

Key West – We went to the pirate soul museum.  This isn’t the most extensive and informative museum, but it is interesting, and the kids did kind of enjoy it.  Definitely buy the tickets at the museum and not on the ship, as they are about $2 cheaper.  If you are really cheap, pick up a coupon book in the town square and get another $1 off.  Everyone else in my family took the walking tours.  They liked them.  We have previously taken Lloyd’s Tropical Bike Tour and have found it to be informative, relaxing, and a great way to see the “real” Key West.

Cozumel – We took the boys to the Playa Mia basic beach break.  I thought this was a great value, however I will tell you that you can save about 50% by just walking up to the ticket booth and buying the basic tickets for $15 each.  The taxi ride to Playa Mia was $14, and it was very easy to get since there is a taxi stand right when you get off the boat, and the prices are clearly marked on a big board.  The ride is fairly quick.  Upon arrival, you get an armband and walk past some small trinket shops.  The beach itself is very nice, with calm waters and plenty of seats.  An umbrella can be obtained for a small deposit of $5.  In addition, all the free soft drinks, beer, and mixed drinks make the day go by fast.  We took a paddle boat out to the trampoline, where only my 2 year old would bounce with me.  I took out one of the Hobie cats for about an hour and had a blast while the boys made sand castles with the other kids from the cruise ships.  I took the older boy over to the pool, where there was a nice wading area for the little ones.  Once we were finished, we washed up and took showers in the bathrooms that were very nice and organized.  I would definitely recommend it.  My grandparents took a taxi downtown to do some shopping.  They got some souvenirs but nothing more.  Again, getting them into a taxi and downtown was no problem, and they had no problem getting back, even though they are both over 80, wear hearing aids, and English is not their first language.  The rest of my family went to the Tulum Mayan ruins.  They thought it was worth the trip, and felt it was educational.  They noted that there was a nice beach at the base of the cliffs, and if they had known they would have brought their bathing suits to cool off for a little while.

Overall my wife and I would rate this as a very good experience.  In order for this to become a great experience, they would have to offer more food options at later hours, and more entertainment options geared to the young adult crowd.  However the service and staterooms did exceed our expectations.  In the future, because of the kids, we will probably go back to Carnival, however if you are traveling without children and this is your first cruise, we would recommend Celebrity because of the extra amount of service you get.






 

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