Celebrity Century Reviews

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My wife and I had the most beautiful time on this cruise. The suite: This suite was a bit small, and the balcony was very small. None the less, it was nice and worked well for us. The negatives are few. The jacuzzi jets didn't work, the restroom was pretty small and the couch was very worn. Other than that, we really, really enjoyed the suite. This was a cold weather cruise, and we spent a lot of time there. Service: Service was fantastic. Our butler, Ryan, was just the best. Other than dinner at the captain's table one night, we dined in our suite every night, sometimes on the balcony. He was extremely attentive and friendly. He helped make our vacation wonderful. The ship: The Century was older, but fantastic. They kept her very clean, and everything is very easy to get to. The food: The buffet, was, well, a buffet. The food on the dining room menu was very good. We tried Murano's and it was a bit disappointing. The Spa: My wife has sciatica, and went for accupuncture. The lady, Tanya, was a freak. She loved to talk about herself and actually talked to my wife about the guy she was "hooking up with" on the ship. She didn't go back. We had a fantastic time on the Century, and would sail her again in a heartbeat!

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15 night from San Diego to Hawaii, and return. April 20-May 5, 2012. I consider myself a seasoned cruiser, (20 something) but this was my first Celebrity cruise. I was automatically assigned "Select" with Captain's Club, due to my Royal Caribbean status. I spent a couple days in San Diego pre-cruise at the Holiday Inn Express, downtown.....not much around that area....except hills. I did the Zoo, and some sight seeing. The (free) hotel shuttle service was excellent. I took the shuttle to the port shortly before 11. Upon getting to the intersection at the pier the driver noticed a line of traffic, and that the gates were not open yet. He asked if he could make an airport pickup first, only 10 minutes away...no problem......After the airport pickup, we zoomed right into the port....so you're best off waiting till about 11:30, or so before getting to the port. Embarkation was fairly quick at that time. After check in (Concierge Class 1) I was given number 8, for boarding. When I got to the boarding area, people sitting there told me they were up to number 22, so I walked right on. Mimosas, sparkling wine, or juice were being offered. I wanted to drop off my carry-on, with refrigerated meds, but when I got to deck 9 the corridor doors were secure. I went up to deck 11, and had a great burger, with crispy, and hot fries. I liked the way the buffet was set up, but wasn't real hungry. Finding a seat was a challenge, but always is on embarkation day. They announced that rooms would be ready at 1.....a bit later they announced there would be a slight delay. I think they were available about 1:30. I went to the Cruise Critic gathering at embarkation, but it was too cold, and nasty out there, so I just walked thru, and met some other people inside. The sea day meet was well attended, and we got invited to do a bridge tour, to be announced. When we did the tour, our hostess was a "captain in training", and it was her first tour. She was nervous, and there was a language barrier, but she was gracious, and did her best. Thank you Cruise Critic! (and Celebrity!) My cabin was about what I expected. The bathroom was bigger than other ships I've been on...especially the good sized shower. Lotion, shampoo, conditioner, shower gel, and bar soap...all lightly citrus scented , as well as q-tips, and cotton balls were plentiful, and restocked as needed. Although clean, the grout (caulking) in the shower, and around the raised sink was badly stained black....I don't think it was mold....but was unattractive for sure. The balcony was small, and had only 2 straight back chairs, and a small dining height table...no lounger, or foot stool.....which due to the nasty sea day weather (just about every sea day) turned out not to be an issue. There was a bit of rust, but the railing was gleaming. The glass has a couple of left over stickers residue, and some permanent staining. The balconies were washed down a couple times during the cruise. The cabin carpet was orange, and tan horizontal stripes, (yuck) that was really old, but clean. I noticed many other cabins had new carpeting installed.....which was much more pleasing to the eye. The cabin was well maintained by Malcolm, although at different times of the day. He did a great job, and was very accommodating, and eager to please. Some of the bed linens were stained, or yellowed, and the bedspread was stained. After one change of sheets, the bottom sheet was badly pilled (little bumps). Obviously old. The bed was a bit hard for me. I had a bunch of pillows to choose from. The cabin area was pretty quiet. I loved the no smoking policy. I did talk to someone who "turned in" a balcony smoker.....after sighting the passenger after a few incidents. They were dealt with immediately. The whistle blower said they got a follow up call from Guest Services, the next day, to reaffirm there were no more complaints.....way to go Celebrity! The Century is older....but for the most part well maintained, and kept very clean. I did see somebody walking around checking for dust in obscure places. The public restrooms I used were spotless. My luggage didn't arrive till sometime between 6 and 8PM, while I was at dinner. (Despite Concierge Class priority luggage delivery) The food was better than all the recent ships I've been on, and there was only one evening that I had difficulty finding something that appealed to me. Some table mates weren't too happy with the steak, but I didn't try it. The desserts were always really good.....and a lot of chocolate, too. The breads, and rolls were excellent. I had early seating (6PM).My table mates were a great group, and we had a lot of laughs. The first couple of nights we were served very late, and didn't get out of the dining room till after 8:15....but it improved, and we were getting out about 7:30 most nights. I have impaired hearing, and I found the dining room to be very loud, and it was difficult hearing the conversation, at times. I tried the pizza which was also good, although I found it strange that the BBQ chicken slice had corn kernels, which I mistook for pineapple. The veggie slice was very good. The buffet always had a great selection, and wasn't ever really over crowded. The only issue, as all ships, was that your food wasn't hot by the time you got a beverage, and a seat....but it was pretty good! I was disappointed with the "call-in" room service, in the morning. If I hung out the room service tag it was right on time, but when I called 4 different mornings, about 7AM, for a pot of coffee I was told it would be 45 minutes. One morning I was told 30 to 45 minutes, and I said never mind and was asked if 30 minutes was too long, when I said no, but 45 was....he replied, well I can't guarantee 30 minutes....I didn't understand why he asked. I thought the coffee was fine on board. The couple of mornings I had room service breakfast it arrived hot, and good. The entertainment was good, with the regular array of magicians, jugglers, comedians, and singers. The production shows, although adequate, were somewhat lacking, compared to other lines. The scenery very limited, worn, and falling apart costumes, and weak, thin, sound. The live orchestra was good, but I think reduced to 7 pieces. One of the production shows, the last, maybe, was accompanied by canned music, and vocals, and sadly was better than "live"......and I love live music. The Cirque-type acrobatic couple were excellent, and impressive.....especially on a moving ship. I attended some of the varied topics talks, which were good, and observed many of the ukelele, and hula classes....which had a joint recital on the last sea day before Hawaii.....very entertaining, and well performed! The lounge entertainers were also very good. The weather in Hawaii was much better than the sea days. The last Hawaii day, I had scheduled a helicopter tour for Hilo....my noon time lift off was the first to go up that day due to rainy weather. We were unable to go too far inland, but it was an enjoyable experience, although expensive at $269 for 45 minutes of flight time. The sea days heading to Ensenada were sorta rough, but I like the motion. We were told that we would be docking at 11PM rather than 6, as scheduled , due to the headwinds, and currents. Nobody would be allowed to disembark, that the officials would come on board, do their thing, leave, and so would we. From what I've heard....not much was missed. There was a large bunch of seals loudly barking at us, as we departed. We would still have to go through customs on our return to San Diego.....due to the "Jones Law". Disembarkation was slow going. I was to be out of my cabin at 8, and in the Celebrity Theater to disembark at 9:15....which turned into about 10:20.....but once my number was called, I walked right off, got a porter to gather my luggage, and walked through customs.....no line, no wait, to a cab back to the airport....one of the best I've experienced. I found a new favorite cruise line with Celebrity. The service is unequaled to what I have been experiencing with the other lines. The food was better, too. Now, if they can just get more comfortable furniture on the balcony.......and I'm sure if they could do something about the weather, they would have!

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When I made my notes for this review, I noticed a recurring theme: Whenever there were problems, the service was still excellent. We were on the same cruise as previous reviewers, Lizmit and Kelliepoodle. In fact, our large Cruise Critic contingent on board enriched the overall cruise experience for us. This is only the second Cruise my husband and I have taken on Celebrity, although we have sailed for years on Royal Caribbean. Well, it's hard to break down two weeks in a few paragraphs, but here goes: Embarkation -- the smoothest we've ever encountered in San Diego. After a short wait in the departure lounge, we were on board before 11:30 am. Luggage delivery, however, was another matter. Despite being Elite and sailing in a suite, neither of our bags arrived until after 6:30 pm! Our butler finally had to go track them down for us. Ship's Condition -- I love old ships, and expect some wear-and-tear, but it seems that Celebrity has deliberately let Century run down. That outdated, stained, worn-out carpet has to go! I've heard recently that they are finally getting around to replacing all the leaking/cloudy windows in the Horizons lounge. But that really should have been done a long time ago. It was also hard (but not impossible) to get things that should have been in our Sky Suite when we arrived, like a lighted make-up mirror, blow dryer, and cushions for the (hard as a rock) balcony lounge chairs. Perhaps there is a ship-wide shortage of these things, which needs to be addressed. The first day, we also had to have a burned-out light bulb in the bathroom replaced, along with our TV remote -- which failed to work, even with new batteries. However, you can still tell that the "grand old lady" was spectacularly beautiful in her younger days, and the crew works tirelessly to keep her spotless. Food -- For the most part, the food was excellent, all over the ship. We had a two-top in the MDR, with a great waitstaff and fabulous sommelier. It was a little difficult getting a rare steak the first night, but our waiter was very persistent in his search for one -- and after that, all of MDR meals were perfectly cooked. The AquaSpa Cafe had nice, light alternatives for breakfast and lunch. The poolside grill was a true "guilty pleasure". In the buffet, the stir-fry station was great for lunch, and the evening sushi-bar was delightful. Sadly, the one disappointment was Murano. We found the wine list to be pretentious and over-priced, and the food was not as good as what we had in the MDR. We both ordered the surf-and-turf, and both of our steaks came out over-cooked. With great apologies, our waiter took them back. The new ones were cooked perfectly, but it became quickly apparent that the tiny lobster tails had been stuck in a warmer. They were so dried out and rubbery that you could have played raquet-ball with them! So, we sent those back too, and waited for replacements -- and more apologies. The one thing that Murano does excel at is desserts. Our heavenly Grand Marnier souffles almost made up for the needless waits for a properly prepared main course. Hawaii -- The Islands were beautiful, and we were lucky to have good weather, except for some rain in Hilo. After reading previous reviews, we didn't have much hope for spotting lava on our midnight Kilauea sail-by. However, Captain Patsoulas was determined. He kept looking until some lava was spotted -- glowing faintly in the distance. He slowed down and turned the ship around so everyone would have a viewing opportunity. Tendering -- This is where Celebrity really dropped the ball, and could learn some lessons from her sister-line, Royal Caribbean. Century used the ship's life-boats as tenders, and packed people into them like they really were lifeboats! Long lines to get aboard, and long periods of time spent tightly crammed into the wildly-rocking boats, made it a very unpleasant experience. Despite this, the crew members who participated in the tender process did work very hard to make sure that all the passengers got on and off the tenders safely. Activities On Board -- Were varied and plentiful. Even with all the days at sea, we were never bored. Our Cruise Critic roll-call group also had activities planned, which all of us enjoyed. We used the gym and the Persian Gardens a couple of times, and found them to be pleasant and properly maintained. The pools and hot-tubs were very nice, when it wasn't too cold or windy to use them. Most days, you saw more blankets than beach towels, on the pool deck. Even though we are not big gamblers, the smoke-free casino was a treat. We love Celebrity's new policy of no smoking inside the ship, or on stateroom balconies. For us, it creates a much more pleasant environment, and will be a major factor in our choice of Celebrity for future cruises. Disembarkation -- Since we have had previous problems disembarking in San Diego, we purposely booked a later flight, and were in no big hurry to get off the ship. We did have to make a trip to guest services that morning to get our final bill/invoice. Our butler said that none had been delivered to our floor, as they should have been. After a nice breakfast in the MDR, we found that our group was cleared, and walking off the ship at that point was a breeze! Service -- I saved this topic for last. This is the one thing that keeps us coming back to Celebrity -- despite any problems we've had. Our butler, room steward, and assistant room steward took care of making sure that our cabin was very clean and comfortable -- and that we had whatever we needed. Our butler s was always very helpful in resolving problems that arose -- such as a particular issue we had with the laundry. As mentioned earlier, our MDR staff was outstanding. The Captain's Club hostess and her staff were always very helpful and welcoming. The bartenders in the Martini Bar were fabulous, and we found good bar service in all venues of the ship. Every crew member we met on board had a smile and polite greeting. They all work very hard at making sure that their passengers have an excellent cruise experience.

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Embarkation was great but we've sailed from the port of San Diego before and know that it can be a real mess. It's not the cruise lines fault - blame the city of San Diego. Be sure you go with patience and if you need one, arrange for a wheel chair in advance! This cruise embarkation was great. We walked up to the line at about 12:20pm and was onboard with our glass of sparkling wine before 1. Our cabin was ready so we checked it out. It is larger than a balcony or concierge stateroom and offers plenty of room for two people. We'd been in a grand suite on Allure of the Seas last year and we thought this suite would be comparable - it is NOT! The ship is old and definitely showing it's age although it is very clean. Our bed was very uncomfortable until we got an "egg crate" from our attendant. The pillows are hard and uncomfortable. The bathroom door doesn't open all the way because it hits the toilet. This was annoying. The tub is jetted and comfortable. The sink is nice and deep, but someone had done a terrible caulking job. The bathroom has all of the usual amenities; soaps, shampoo, conditioner, lotion, manicure kit, sewing kit, shower cap. It also has q-tips and cotton balls, a small bottle of hydro-mineral water to spray your face and a tube of lip balm (nice touches) and of course a hair dryer that blew fairly well. A surprise to us was a bathroom scale. Really? Why? But there it was. There's a good sized closet to hang your clothes in and plenty of cabinet space - many of the drawers were shallow but I was able to put everything away easily. Soft-sided suitcases fit easily under the bed, one of our large firm suitcases was stored in the closet - lots of room. There's a flat screen t.v. affixed to the wall, also a dvd player in the room. There was a stocked mini bar which we had emptied and put our own water and drinks in. The butler comes with the suite - would we have booked a room just for a butler? No! The stateroom attendant can do almost anything the butler can, but if you want a larger stateroom on Celebrity you get a butler. Ours was Ryan Vaz, a very pleasant and helpful man. Hubby got sick the last 5 days of the cruise and Ryan brought him spicy lattes and teas to help get better. Speaking of lattes they are part of the suite. Take advantage of them - order them from your butler. I had a plain old black coffee at Cova Cafe one morning and it cost $4.50. Ouch! We ate at Murano's which is very pretty. Service was excellent. $40 is a ridiculous price for onboard specialty dining though. The food was good but we have eaten at the specialty restaurants onboard nearly all of our previous cruises, the most we paid was $30 and the food was just as good or better. I would not dine at Murano again nor would I recommend it without mentioning the above statement. Overall food was fine onboard. With the exception of a coconut pie (think coconut custard) nothing wowed me. Food is a very subjective thing and I'm very picky so don't use my comments to sway you from Celebrity. The ship is really showing her age. Our balcony had rust on it - I HATE to see rust on a ship! The windows throughout the ship need to be replaced as most of them had moisture trapped in them. One rainy day the roof was leaking in Hemisphere (lounge on 12th floor forward). The room stunk of mildew that day. The furniture throughout has a lingering smell of body odor. The movie theater didn't smell good and was packed with people most days. There was no popcorn for the movies. I found that to be really disappointing and noted it on my comment card. A couple brought their own microwave popcorn, had the Cova Cafe workers pop it for them (the passenger said that she always brings her own microwave popcorn). The popcorn burned and it stunk up the whole ship. I could still smell it when we went to our room on the 12th deck. I pointed out in my comment card that if they provided the popcorn they'd avoid the stink of burned microwave popcorn in the future ;). The activities were plentiful and fun. The staff is great - nearly everyone onboard made eye contact with me, smiled and greeted me, including several of the maintenance crew - something I hadn't experienced on other ships. There were a couple of bar staff who needed an attitude adjustment but nothing that ruined my time. Celebrity really goes out of their way to make you happy. Our thermostat wasn't working in our room, we told guest services who immediately had someone fix it. They followed up to be sure we were happy, our butler asked if it worked ok and our cabin attendant asked if it was ok. It may seem like overkill but I really appreciated that they cared. There are only a few shops onboard and they are small. As long as you are aware that this ship is old and will be going into dry dock in 2013 (so I was told), you will enjoy the cruise. Disembarkation at the port of San Diego is a mess. It's not the cruise lines fault, it can be blamed on the city. Bring your patience with you!!! Happy sails ~ Liz

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First off, this was my third cruise so my opinion is not one of a frequent cruiser. We had a great time. I did not think the ship looked old or worn out, except maybe the carpets in front of the elevator in some places. There was a lot of deep red colored wood with brass fittings in the lounges and dining room. The crew was hard working, yet seemed happy. The officers were very visible throughout the ship and always asked how we were doing and were obviously listening to the answers (as opposed to pleasantries.) We were on Deck 5 as we had an accessible room. It was in excellent condition, and the beds were firm (maybe a little too firm for me!) Our shower had plenty of hot water (in fact, it could be too hot so you had to adjust it and give it a minute to reach full temperature (much like it is a home.) The only annoying thing is that Deck five was where the accessible rooms were, and our MDR seating was also on deck five--but the kitchen was inbetween the areas. Therefore, you had to take the elevator up a floor, go to the aft elevator and then take the lift down a floor. The elevators are small compared to the other ships I've been on and were frequently full at dinnertime, so we would just get on when the elevator was going up and then ride it back down. The food was excellent. I tried so many dishes I'd only heard about and everything was beautifully prepared and tasted wonderful. I pretty much had two deserts each night as I tried whatever sounded irresistible plus a little scoop of sorbet, which was a different flavor each night, like guava, kiwi, green apple, tangerine, mango.... Here is a copy of their menu that someone else posted: http://www.megacity.org/scrap/Jan201...te%20Menus.pdf There were a few changes but that was pretty much it. Lobster was served during the final formal night (there were three) and it was delicious. I did not see anyone turned away for how they were dressed on formal night and people at my table were dressed like you would going out to a nice restaurant. Our room steward, Mohammed, was very pleasant and always had our room made up. We had the first seating in the MDR and our attendants could not have been better (Sabu and Nicole.) Complimentary shampoo/conditioner/lotion was refilled daily (citrus scented.) The soap was a bar, not that liquid stuff. We never ate lunch, but instead went to Tea Time at 3:30pm if we thought we couldn't make it until dinner. They also offered a British breakfast which was a welcome treat (loved grilled mushrooms and tomatoes and their bacon.) There was a cruise critic get together on the first day at sea. It was opposite a talk I wanted to see, so I stayed there 20 minutes and left. They had cookies and beverages. I talked to Jamie Petts, the hotel officer and he explained that on the previous cruise the reason the ship slowed down to 6 knots was because there was a low pressure with 18 foot swells ahead and by slowing down they allowed the system to clear before they went into that area. They had three guest speakers and they were excellent. And June, the Hawaiian ambassador, taught us how to make leis and such on four different days. We had a lot of fun with that, and it was fun to see everyone walking around wearing their creations. There was also all sorts of gambling, bingo, trivia games, and competitions with the officiers but we didn't have the time to get to those. There were also movies, one would be shown in the cinema a few times a day, but then it would also be on the tv on certain other days. Films were The War Horse, The Help, Tinker, Tailor, Soldier, Spy, Ides of March, Capt America, and some comedies. John was the cruise director and he was fun. I particularly enjoyed his talk about being a stunt man in Hollywood. Quality was variable in the evening entertainment. The comedians were fairly funny, the magician was very good. I didn't care for the big song and dance nights. One night they had a singer that was pretty good. I skipped a couple of nights, though. The first day at sea was rough, I think the swells were 16 foot with plenty of white caps. A couple of times waves splashed against our window on deck five. I found out a lot of people were laid low with motion sickness. I also asked and found out the ship had 1700 cruisers on board. There was only 2 days where the seas were fairly calm, the rest of the time there was a 6 foot swell which made walking slightly challenging but not bad at all. It was about 61F/16C on deck on most days so the sun worshipers were only the most determined. The day or two before Hawaii, things warmed up enough to be comfortable out there. Honolulu: we rented a car. It was very hot and humid. The car rental angencies sent shuttles to the little park just across from the Aloha Towers. We wanted to go to a shop in Honolulu, but after an hour of heavy traffic like LA on a bad day only to find there was no parking available for blocks around that store, we gave up and drove the circle tour around the island. We stopped at the Pali Lookout, then continued on along the coast. We stopped at Tropical Farms Macadamia Nut Farm and found lots of good things to buy. They had free coffee which was very welcomed and the staff were wonderfully warm and generous people. We continued along the coast to the North Shore. No turtles were at Laniakea, a beach they are known to frequent. We stopped for a shaved ice at Matsumoto, and then drove back through the center of the island to go to a luau at Germaine's. That was a lovely time. Good food and drink, and they demonstrated how the dances were different on different islands. I'd left Mom alone while I got the drinks, only to return to find a handsome young man, a performer, chatting her up. He had the Maori tattoos on this face and I think he'd just noticed her alone and went to keep her company. He was very sweet. Returning to the ship, of course the GPS encouraged us in a wrong off ramp and we ended up at the entrance to the navy base. I had to let them inspect my driver license before they'd let us make a U-turn, and then the guard talked animatedly about Bill and Ted's Excellent Adventure and what a great film that was (San Dimas connection.) For Lahaina, we tendered ashore and went on a whale watching cruise. We did see some whales and heard them, too, thanks to their microphone thing. Then we just stayed around town, ate, and went to Hilo Hatties, where we did our part to support the economy. For Kona, we chickened out and did not tender ashore. It was rougher than the day before and I wasn't too happy about the tender into Lahaina. In Hilo, we rented a car, drove to the Short and Sweet Bakery and bought some food for a picnic which we enjoyed up at Volcanoes National Park. Visiting the volcano was the highlight of the trip for me. On the way back, we stopped at the Mauna Loa Macadamia Nut farm. Then it was five days back to Ensenada. We got there nearly two hours late due to the swell the first two days out of Hawaii slowing us down some. We were back in San Diego by 5:30am (the walkway attached immediately above our cabin. Wakey, wakey!) We needed to be out of our room by 8am, and were instructed to wait in the Rendezvous Lounge. It was SRO so we found seats at the Cova Cafe and we finally disembarked after 10am. We got on the wrong Best Western shuttle, so I had to take a cab to the other one, collect the car and go back for Mom and the luggage. We were home by 2pm to 97 degree heat in the shade. But, you know, it was a dry heat! While Hawaii was lovely and the people were so very nice to us, I just don't do well in the humid heat. I think this has cured me of visiting anywhere else that is tropical! Maybe we'll go back to Fairbanks to see the Northern Lights. I very much enjoyed our time on the Century and was never bored or restless. I'm glad for the experience of sailing to Hawaii at 20 miles an hour! I came down with a bad head cold/chest congestion three days after the end of the cruise. It seems that there were others that were sick with this on our cruise, and that on the cruise after ours, a lot of people came down with it (as mentioned on the BB.) Sue

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