Celebrity Century
Sail date:
My family and I cruised on the Celebrity Century in July 2002 on their Eastern Caribbean itinerary. The entire trip was awesome. One of my two daughters cried when we had to leave the ship. It was the fastest week EVER. We were pampered from start to finish. Very positive attributes: the delicious food, the service in all dining areas...including the grilled food in the pool area.Other attributes included the available hours for the children to be at the Fun Factory, the professional maturity of the counselors in the Fun Factory, the size of the Royal Suite and the attentive Butler that accompanied the suite, the sweet little chocolates and "goodnight notecard" that were on our beds every evening, the entertainment in the Celebrity Theatre ...dancers, singers...The ship was beautiful....really decent onboard shopping (prices).My areas of slight disappointment: the poor quality of the professional photography, the snacks provided at the fun factory (usually desserts), the language in some of the country music playing at the pools (vulger), the short time at ports...I would prefer dropping two ports and staying longer at the other two ports.Don't let my negative comments discourage you in any way from taking this ship on your cruise. The overall experience was definitely a "5 star." Hint: The ship was scheduled to start boarding at 2:30pm. We were able to board about 11:30 because we were staying at a Best Western (BW Yaught and Marina Inn, Ft. Lauderdale) and apparently the BW has an agreement with the ship to bring its guests over earlier than scheduled. This was a super convenience as we were already so excited to get on board. When we were in-processing, there may have been 50 other people also being processed. Regardless of your "category"...there were no lines.Ports: I personally think San Juan was a waste of time and money. We did get to see Ricky Martin's Condo. Whoopie! Bahamas: We did the Dolphin Excursion at Blue Lagoon Island. Totally awesome. Expensive, but what a thrill to kiss a dolphin, dance with a dolphin, and to hug a dolphin! A delightful memory for my children and us parents. Remember to bring a waterproof camera!St Maarten: go to a beach! .... very close by....take the water ferry..children ride free...adults can go back and forth all day for $5.00. Otherwise, it is $3.00 each way. The shopping is very similar to that in St. Thomas...however, St. Thomas is better!St. Thomas: Plan to shop here! There is shopping within walking distance of the ship, but do plan to take the taxi to the "downtown" area for the real shopping. Check out the tanzanite stone....awesome purple/blue stone...found only in Africa. Shopping Hint: All prices everywhere are subject to "going lower" - everywhere...even at the finest jewelery stores. If I had it to do all over again...what would I do different? 1. I wouldn't bring so many pairs of shoes 2. I would have brought a water camera with me. 3. I would bring more casual (shorts, etc.) clothes for the ports...this was very, very casual...not exactly what the cruise line was recommending. 4. I would bring address labels already completed for postcards....deliver them for mailing on the second day of the cruise.The Century is an awesome ship and you will have an awesome time!!! We're planning an Alaskan Voyage next summer. We're looking at the Celebrity Mercury for this trip. I don't want to leave the Celebrity line. They've got the details down very well.Bon Voyage!!!!