L
lysolqn
Guest
Just returned from Century - Aug. 9 Eastern Caribbean sailing. This was our 15th Celebrity cruise; and second cruise on Century. She remains as beautiful a ship as she was the first time we sailed her seven years ago, although we did notice some minor evidence of wear and tear. Nevertheless, Century is still as elegant and beautifully appointed as one could hope for.
Service was impeccable - the staff and crew were particular friendly, gracious and accommodating. Food was what we've come to expect from Celebrity - very good - though buffet lunches still tend to be rather predictable and a bit lackluster at times.
There were almost 400 children on this sailing. After reading posts about hundreds of kids running wild on Century's Xmas cruise, we were delighted to see that Celebrity did an excellent job of keeping the kids on our cruise entertained and well occupied. In fact, it was a job so well done, that had we not been told the number of kids onboard, we would never have guessed it was as many as 400!
We had a great cruise and can think of only two
negatives, neither of which really impacted on our vacation, but both of which have been recurring issues on our recent Celebrity cruises.
We always choose late seating because we like to take it easy at the end of the day, having no desire to rush back to our cabin to dress for early dinner. Of late, Celebrity has taken to scheduling pre-dinner shows for late seating passengers. That means we have to be ready by 7 PM if we wish to see those pre-dinner shows. Well, if we're going to get ready by 7 for a show, we might as well take early seating and get ready for dinner at 6:30 - the half hour difference in time is virtually no difference at all. Four of the seven shows on our cruise were pre-dinner shows. I can understand perhaps one or two during the week, but I think four is excessive. Even on 10, 11, 12 and 14 night cruises, Celebrity has taken to keeping only the three or four production shows as after-dinner shows for late seating passengers. I hope the powers that be at Celebrity re-think this issue.
I know the subject of dress codes tends to be a rallying call to all those on both sides of the issue, but we've noticed that with each subsequent Celebrity cruise we've taken, the manner of dress continues to deteriorate. On this cruise, passengers who were dressed in shorts, tee shirts, jeans and collarless shirts were routinely permitted in the dining room for dinner, including on formal and informal nights. On one of the informal nights, we followed two couples into the dining room. One "gentleman" was wearing baggy shorts tied at the knees with the ties hanging down to the floor, a sleeveless tee shirt and sneakers. The other "gentleman" was wearing shorts, a tee shirt and a baseball cap. Their "ladies" were dressed in shorts and tank top, and jeans capri pants and a bikini top, repspectively.
On the second formal night, four couples were invited to dine at the captain's table. Only one of the men was wearing a dark suit, but he had his jacket off. The other three men were dressed in sports jackets, but only one of them was wearing a tie. The women were dressed in what I would consider appropriate for a day at the office. Only the officer (hotel manager) and the social hostess were formally dressed.
We had a long conversation with a staff member about the issue of how passengers dress for dinner. We were told this is a very real and very difficult issue for Celebrity. Those in Miami, as well as all the hotel managers onboard the ships feel very strongly about maintaining the dress code throughout Celebrity's fleet. The problem, however, is enforcement. As it stands right now, the maitre d'/assitant maitre d's who greet diners at the door each evening are the only line of defense. Whilte trying to maintain a certain level of civility re the dress code, they have been ignored, verbally assaulted and in a few cases, almost physically assaulted by guests who did not wish to be told they could not enter the dining room dressed as they were. Thus, these staff members no longer wish to get involved. Some have suggested placing security personnel at the entrance to the dining room but that raises its own problems. No one wants to see guards in uniform "policing" the dining room, yet if security personnel is camoflauged in tuxedos, they will be ignored just as the dining room personnel are. So, the problem persists until someone can find a viable solution.
Finally, we were told that Century is sailing into drydock in Germany in December where she will receive a major overhaul, including being stretched almost 100 feet. (Someone in the know said this was only a rumor, yet the officer with whom we spoke, said it was, in fact, true). A specialty restaurant will be added, a la the M-class ships. Suites will be re-done, new public spaces will be added and extra cabins will be added. This is supposed to be completed in six weeks, and is being done in anticipation of the beginning of the second phase of re-branding to begin in 2004. Much of the second phase, we were told, will center around entertainment improvements, inreasing the crew to passenger ratio, improvements in food and service. Celebrity's goal continues to be providing a premium, upscale, luxury, traditional cruise experience at a mainstream cruise pricepoint.
Service was impeccable - the staff and crew were particular friendly, gracious and accommodating. Food was what we've come to expect from Celebrity - very good - though buffet lunches still tend to be rather predictable and a bit lackluster at times.
There were almost 400 children on this sailing. After reading posts about hundreds of kids running wild on Century's Xmas cruise, we were delighted to see that Celebrity did an excellent job of keeping the kids on our cruise entertained and well occupied. In fact, it was a job so well done, that had we not been told the number of kids onboard, we would never have guessed it was as many as 400!
We had a great cruise and can think of only two
negatives, neither of which really impacted on our vacation, but both of which have been recurring issues on our recent Celebrity cruises.
We always choose late seating because we like to take it easy at the end of the day, having no desire to rush back to our cabin to dress for early dinner. Of late, Celebrity has taken to scheduling pre-dinner shows for late seating passengers. That means we have to be ready by 7 PM if we wish to see those pre-dinner shows. Well, if we're going to get ready by 7 for a show, we might as well take early seating and get ready for dinner at 6:30 - the half hour difference in time is virtually no difference at all. Four of the seven shows on our cruise were pre-dinner shows. I can understand perhaps one or two during the week, but I think four is excessive. Even on 10, 11, 12 and 14 night cruises, Celebrity has taken to keeping only the three or four production shows as after-dinner shows for late seating passengers. I hope the powers that be at Celebrity re-think this issue.
I know the subject of dress codes tends to be a rallying call to all those on both sides of the issue, but we've noticed that with each subsequent Celebrity cruise we've taken, the manner of dress continues to deteriorate. On this cruise, passengers who were dressed in shorts, tee shirts, jeans and collarless shirts were routinely permitted in the dining room for dinner, including on formal and informal nights. On one of the informal nights, we followed two couples into the dining room. One "gentleman" was wearing baggy shorts tied at the knees with the ties hanging down to the floor, a sleeveless tee shirt and sneakers. The other "gentleman" was wearing shorts, a tee shirt and a baseball cap. Their "ladies" were dressed in shorts and tank top, and jeans capri pants and a bikini top, repspectively.
On the second formal night, four couples were invited to dine at the captain's table. Only one of the men was wearing a dark suit, but he had his jacket off. The other three men were dressed in sports jackets, but only one of them was wearing a tie. The women were dressed in what I would consider appropriate for a day at the office. Only the officer (hotel manager) and the social hostess were formally dressed.
We had a long conversation with a staff member about the issue of how passengers dress for dinner. We were told this is a very real and very difficult issue for Celebrity. Those in Miami, as well as all the hotel managers onboard the ships feel very strongly about maintaining the dress code throughout Celebrity's fleet. The problem, however, is enforcement. As it stands right now, the maitre d'/assitant maitre d's who greet diners at the door each evening are the only line of defense. Whilte trying to maintain a certain level of civility re the dress code, they have been ignored, verbally assaulted and in a few cases, almost physically assaulted by guests who did not wish to be told they could not enter the dining room dressed as they were. Thus, these staff members no longer wish to get involved. Some have suggested placing security personnel at the entrance to the dining room but that raises its own problems. No one wants to see guards in uniform "policing" the dining room, yet if security personnel is camoflauged in tuxedos, they will be ignored just as the dining room personnel are. So, the problem persists until someone can find a viable solution.
Finally, we were told that Century is sailing into drydock in Germany in December where she will receive a major overhaul, including being stretched almost 100 feet. (Someone in the know said this was only a rumor, yet the officer with whom we spoke, said it was, in fact, true). A specialty restaurant will be added, a la the M-class ships. Suites will be re-done, new public spaces will be added and extra cabins will be added. This is supposed to be completed in six weeks, and is being done in anticipation of the beginning of the second phase of re-branding to begin in 2004. Much of the second phase, we were told, will center around entertainment improvements, inreasing the crew to passenger ratio, improvements in food and service. Celebrity's goal continues to be providing a premium, upscale, luxury, traditional cruise experience at a mainstream cruise pricepoint.
