 Expert Review |  | | | | |
| | | | | Overview
Even as Celebrity is boldly moving forward with the construction of the fleet's enormous new 118,000-ton, 2,850-passenger Solstice-class ships (second in size only to sister line Royal Caribbean's Freedom-class ships), the company's recent $55 million makeover of Century heralds a new initiative, too. Widely thought to be a test case for the line -- the success of Century's massive refurbishment will determine whether its siblings Mercury and Galaxy get a new life as well -- this ship returned from five-week dry-dock in early June 2006 with 314 new verandahs. Other new features include the addition of 14 suites and 10 more standard cabins (ranging from inside to verandah); expansion of Celebrity's ConciergeClass concept; and the introduction of Murano, a new specialty restaurant in the tradition of the Millennium-class' elegant alternative eateries. The existing AquaSpa was completely gutted and re-designed, and it's beautiful, one of the most serene spas in cruise-dom. It too got some new features; most notably the industry's first treatment room for folks with disabilities; the line's only stand-alone AquaSpa Cafe (on other ships it's a buffet line tucked into the solarium pool area); a barber shop for men; and a separate but adjacent home for the fleet's burgeoning Acupuncture at Sea program. All over the ship, public rooms have been spiffed up, with gorgeous, lush window treatments and fanciful new carpets. The Martini Bar (also dubbed the ice bar for its shivery color scheme) is easily the most popular lounge onboard -- the only shame is that the room is simply too small to handle the demand. The Islands' Cafe, located on the aft section of the Lido, has gotten the refurbishment treatment and serves as the ship's casual yet elegant restaurant at night (it abuts the exotic sushi cafe, which opens at 6 p.m. and is a favorite onboard). The teens have X-treme, their own dedicated hang-out, and the Fun Factory for the younger set has been expanded as a result of the removal of six passenger cabins. Ultimately, one of the most pleasant new touches is the updating and upgrading of staterooms. Whether inside, outside, verandah or ConciergeClass, the standard staterooms are boutique hotel chic. Instead of simply sticking a new piece of art on the wall and changing bedding, designers have actually given these cabins a whole new vibe. Oak panels cover most of the walls and create an inset into which a new flat-screen television fits perfectly. Above the bed, a dark wood cabinet fixture -- centered by an intriguingly abstract tropical mural in warm colors -- offers a splash of joie de vivre. Bathrooms have the now-popular raised basins. The refurbishment of Celebrity's Century certainly raises the profile of this 11-year old ship. And it now measures up to the more design-forward vessels of today's contemporary era (save, perhaps, for the casino; while it got new curtains and carpet, and have begun to offer the newer table games, its machines are amusingly of the original Century). And while a ship of this size can't always compete with its bigger (but not necessarily better, mind you!) counterparts, where Century can excel is in offering a best-of-both-worlds experience -- one featuring a comfortable blend of today's required amenities (from private balconies to alternative dining) along with the more intimate ambience offered by smaller vessels. To that end, consistency of service on Century is key, and on our trip it wobbled. In some cases, it was excellent -- the staff of Murano is top-notch, the shore excursion department ran the smoothest operation I've encountered, and Celebrity's trademark Michael's Pub is still our favorite cozy bar, in large part because of the sweet (if oft-overwhelmed) bartender who took lovely care of all the patrons. In other cases, service was so bad it bordered on ridiculous. Being seated alone and largely ignored at a table for six in the Grand Dining Room on the first formal night -- one in which the maitre 'd already knew that fellow tablemates were dining elsewhere that evening -- was an inexcusable lapse. And too many times, staffers -- mostly in the food and beverage area, from the main dining room to the Martini Bar -- ignored patrons, seemingly deigning to take a drink order or proffer a plate at the buffet. Cabin stewards you passed in the hallways looked at the floor rather than greet the passenger. These incidents were off-putting and unsettling. If Celebrity can fix the service issues, Century is a ship that this fan of mid-sized vessels would return to in a heartbeat. Fail to address them? Then the home court advantage that this ship should enjoy via a size that encourages warmth and intimacy, will fail to materialize. Even with the fabulous new look. | | |  top | | | | Public Rooms
As expected on a ship this size, Celebrity's three-deck high "plaza" communicates the intimate, rather than grand. Deck 5 is pretty much devoted to the business of your holiday -- with its excursion and purser's desks, and the concierge station. The latter, also a service available to all, proved to be quite helpful to a number of folks. I was eavesdropping when the concierge was helping one lady, concerned that her credit card company had declined her charges. First she figured out the nature of the problem (hint: it's helpful, if you don't travel often, to give your bank a heads up beforehand or they'll assume the charges are fraud-related, which was the case in this situation), then provided the number of her bank and actually put through the call. Murano is located on this deck as well, and there's a very strange shop that sells ultra-luxury goods; it was empty nearly every time I passed it. Decks 6 and 7, the Promenade and Entertainment respectively, are the main gathering places for inside the ship fun. On Deck 6, the anchor is the Cova Cafe; off to various sides include a card room, a generous library (that actually spills over into the game room), Online@Celebrity Internet stations, and a conference room that also serves as a cinema and lecture facility. The Entertainment Deck starts with a handful of shops as its focal point. While the merchandise ranged from the usual duty free and souvenir items you find on most ships, we were pleased to note that they also carried itinerary-specific fashions and collectibles; for the Baltic, this represented a range that veered from Russian nesting dolls to gorgeous Norwegian wool sweaters. This was one area of the ship, however, that noticeably hadn't received much attention during the refurbishment; it was rather cramped and almost impossible to navigate when passengers were moving between the Grand Restaurant and the Celebrity Theater. Also on this deck is Celebrity's High Seas Computing classroom, with rows of terminals and a variety of workshops; options ranged from Adobe Photoshop to Web site design, and from basic Introduction to Windows to Microsoft Excel. Classes are $20 apiece. While the computer stations here aren't typically available to passengers, there are Internet-connected machines scattered in various places -- there's a group right next door, as a matter of fact, and wireless capability exists, though it is temperamental. The price is fairly high these days for cruise ships -- 75 cents per minute -- though packages can reduce the per-minute charge to 50 cents. | | | | top | | | | Cabins
As mentioned in the introduction, the cabins -- whether inside or the Royal Suites -- received a major makeover and truly represented a lovely blend of comfort and contemporary style. All cabins, from insides on up, feature new mattresses, soft Egyptian cotton linens and duvets, flat-screen televisions with cable channels and movies-on-request ($12 apiece, incidentally), new lighting fixtures and furnishings and wireless Internet access. There are colorful plush pillows and lush window treatments (outsides on up) that are actually functional and attractive, closing perfectly to create a dark room during daylight (a blessing on our midnight sun Baltic itinerary). A nice touch are the small, individual lamps attached to the walls above the bed allowing one person to read without disturbing the other. Standard sized cabins (this includes insides, outsides, and those with balconies) are, at 175 square ft., on the small side of industry average. But they were brilliantly decorated and outfitted to maximize space. The shower-only bathrooms in these staterooms have been a bit controversial -- traditional sinks have been replaced with far more trendy raised bowls. I loved the look, but there were some complaints that the bowls were too shallow and the water would splash back out. But I have to say, I loved the roomy shower; it was twice the length of those found on new ships. The balconies measure about 44 square ft. Century has a handful of unique special cabins that are newly added; called "sunset verandah staterooms," they're located on the aft, above the white canvas sail-like tent that hangs over the Sunset Bar. And, like the rest of the fleet, Century has ConciergeClass cabins. Though much the same as the standard balcony staterooms in many ways, these entitle passengers to a few extra perks. Those that stood out -- and made it worth the extra cost of a regular verandah stateroom -- included the Frette bathrobes, fresh flowers (we loved the neat stem-by-stem vase), daily hors d'oeuvres and the aforementioned balcony furnishings that featured a table for dining. The best thing? Passengers in these accommodations can order from a special ConciergeClass breakfast menu where options include the usual Continental fare with a big plus! Pancakes, omelettes, eggs-to-order, fresh-squeezed orange juice and cold cuts were terrific, but even better were some of the ConciergeClass "signature" dishes, such as granola berry parfait, baked bananas and Russian Sevruga caviar (alas, the latter was priced a la carte and cost $44.50). The smoothies were delicious (blueberry-watermelon was a favorite). Also falling in the "very special but it will cost you" category were drinks, like mimosa, bloody mary and champagne. Nice way to celebrate. Some of the other ConciergeClass perks were non-existent; priority luggage delivery didn't seem to apply; no pillow menu was available (though the pillows were excellent anyway); and the fresh flower in a vase promised for the bathroom died a few days into the cruise. I finally threw it out -- and it was never replaced. Small stuff to be sure, but there's no excuse for not following through on such, well, small stuff. At 244 square ft., the Sky Suites are basically just a bigger standard balcony cabin -- but they do have roomier balconies (142 square ft.), a bit more space and a very lovely marble bathroom with a big soaking tub. The elegant marble bathrooms in these suites weren't redone like those in standard categories, but really, there was no reason to. The Celebrity Suite is very much like the Sky Suite, though interestingly, it's slightly smaller (190 square ft. with a 38 square ft. balcony). The big difference? It comes with a DVD player and sumptuous bathroom. The eight Royal Suites are more of what you expect in a suite -- with a separate living and sleeping area (divided by a huge 42-inch flat-screen television on both the living room and bedroom sides), along with DVD and CD players. There's also a small dining room -- part of the L-shaped configuration of the living area. The bathroom is divine, with separate tub (whirlpool) and shower, lots 'o marble, and a walk in-closet with a little vanity. The suites come with a lovely long balcony with plush furnishings, teak instead of the standard metal-mesh stuff, and plump chair cushions. The Penthouse Suite -- there are two -- is the piece d'resistance. At roughly double the size of the Royals, these feature a separate bedroom and living room, huge bathroom, guest powder room, walk-in closet, Bose electronic equipment, a dining room with butler's pantry and wet bar, and, on the verandah ... a whirlpool. Interestingly, while the suites themselves measure a generous 1,101 square ft., the balconies, at 131 square ft., are actually smaller than, er, smaller suites. All suite passengers are entitled to butler service, and while I didn't experience that luxury, I did hear many compliments from those who did. Typically, butlers deliver cruise-sized newspapers, full meals, afternoon tea, shoeshine service, booking assistance in Murano and in the AquaSpa and, get this: "delivery of requested board games." During the refurbishment Celebrity added more facilities for passengers with special needs. Century has seven wheelchair accessible oceanview cabins, one inside stateroom and two Sky Suites. Staterooms are placed on centrally located floors and within close proximity to key destinations, such as guest relations, elevators and reception areas. | | | | top | | | | Entertainment
Daytime activities, particularly on sea days, offered the usual cruise fare -- movies, organized bridge games, champagne or wine tasting, and activities' staff events such as table tennis or "battle of the sexes." The aforementioned Online@Celebrity featured computer classes, and the Fortunes Casino, with table games and slots, was open as long as the ship was at sea. Sure, we all know that most cruise lines offer art auctions, but (and this was new to me) Celebrity is the first to feature wine auctions throughout the fleet. In this case, you can buy lots (cases) of wines that come from boutique wineries from afar (for Americans and Canadians this means Europe, Australia, New Zealand, South Africa). And most, if not all, are simply not available at home. The ship's energy level really geared up as dinner approached, and lounges such as the Martini Bar, part of the redesign, featuring a shivery, ice-like decor, and the elegant Michael's Club, were popular places for aperitifs. Other cocktail venues include Rendez-Vous Square, which has a small platform for musical performers and dancing, the Crystal Room Night Club, a secondary performance venue, and Hemispheres, the top-of-the-ship observation lounge and disco. And let's not forget the Sunset Bar, which wraps around the back of the ship. It's the best place for a sail away cocktail -- and the occasional vocalist or guitarist was a pleasant accompaniment. Post-dinner shows and concerts were primarily held in the Celebrity Theater and were, of course, timed to main and late seating dining. On our voyage, a new production was called "Shout" -- it was mildly entertaining, if a little bit old fashioned. We missed the juggler (heard he was pretty good, though some were affronted when he made fun of people who wandered out during his show). We particularly loved a performance by pianist Tian Jiang. Musical offerings were nicely varied. A dance band for hipsters played in the Crystal Lounge, the Rendez Vous was the scene of more laid-back dance music. Michael's Club was a great spot for sentimental favorites. Other activities throughout the week included a late night country hoe-down and "The Best of Elton John." Particularly appreciated was the effort to match movies in the cinema to the itinerary; on our voyage features such as "Gorky Park" and "Dr. Zhivago" were great complements to our shore outings. The shore excursions offered on our 12-night Baltic cruise featured a pleasing range of traditional sightseeing opportunities (city highlights and such) with more adventurous fare (Stockholm's Ice Bar, Helsinki's "archipelago at 40 knots"). Having already visited St. Petersburg, where a full menu of half- and full-day tours were available, I opted for an exotic one: a day (and night) trip to Moscow. The most complicated tour I'd ever taken through a cruise line, it required bus, air and subway travel, among other logistics. It was superbly organized. | | | | top | | | | Fitness and Recreation
In the main pool area there are two pools. One is more of a family pool; the other, adjacent, was quieter (though this may all change when Century heads to the Caribbean for short cruises this winter). Other features include four whirlpools and a dance floor. Century's completely new spa is truly magnificent. It's true that in the new configuration the thalassotherapy pool in the AquaSpa was eliminated to make room for other features. But the spa was still a lovely retreat, one of the prettiest I've ever seen at sea, with a blue and green color scheme that actually offered a visceral pleasure just walking through. New features include a Persian Garden relaxation room, outfitted with steam showers and heated tile loungers. There's a charge to use it -- I never got around to it. More interesting was the Barber Shop for men and, heralding the mainstreaming of tooth whitening treatments, a dedicated area that included a heated lounger and flat-screen television (if you've ever tried the treatment in a standard spa room it's about the most boring 50 minutes you'll spend -- and roughly as pleasant as a visit to the dentist). There's also a stand-alone acupuncture facility adjacent to the spa. And as I also pointed out in the intro, Century's AquaSpa is the first to offer a treatment room specifically designed for folks with disabilities. Kudos on that one. A full range of treatments is offered from standard massages and beauty treatments to fancier stuff, like an "Egyptian Ceremony of Milk and Ginger" and a "Tahitian Ceremony of Flowers." Prices are, as usual, on the high side, but there are discounts on sea days -- look for them in the "Celebrity Today" daily newsletter or just check with the spa. A warning: numerous passengers complained about a hard sell on products following a treatment. Because this behavior is, sadly, prevalent on any spa operated by Steiner (as is this one and just about every cruise line's facility), I've learned to politely say "no thanks" to the pitch before my treatment gets started. The usual fitness class offerings apply -- things like Pilates and spinning require a fee; stretching and aerobics do not. Golfers can partake of a golf simulator; basketball and ping pong are other recreational options. | | | | top | | | | Family
While there weren't many kids on our Baltic voyage -- admittedly not a cruise itinerary aimed at family travelers -- Century has upgraded its kids' facilities (and will likely attract far more when it switches to four- and five- night Caribbean sailings). The Fun Factory, the actual play facility, has been expanded -- six passenger cabins were sacrificed -- but it's important to note that it's a windowless, mid-ship destination, unlike those found on newer vessels featuring windows and adjacent deck space for splash pools and such. Still, the handful of kids onboard seemed content. Celebrity's program is divided into four age groups: Shipmates (3 - 6), Cadets (7 - 9), Ensigns (10 - 12) and Teens (13 - 17). Activities are held, on sea days anyway, morning, afternoon and evening, and include, for instance, "partycrafts" and "family scavenger hunt" for the Shipmates, "Super Hero Intensive Training" for Cadets, "Scavenger Quest" and a talent show for Ensigns, and "Dodgeball Insanity" for teens. The activities are also held on port days, though for more limited periods of time. Speaking of teens, this group has benefited from the Celebrity refurbishment and now has the X-treme teen facility, carved out of a portion of the top-of-the-ship Hemisphere's. It's beautifully elegant with dark paneled walls and 1960's streamlined couches and chairs. It reminded me of rooms in a James Bond flick, but a ship executive confessed that it was bit too elegant for teens and that it is expected to be modestly redecorated. Indeed, I rarely saw teens hanging out there. | | | | top | | | | Fellow Passengers
On the longer and more exotic Baltic itineraries, passengers fell mostly into the 50-plus demographic and hailed from a variety of places, such as the U.S., Canada, the Netherlands and the United Kingdom. On the ship's planned winter itinerary -- a four- and five-night Caribbean cruise -- expect a younger demographic, more families and a higher percentage of U.S. and Canadian travelers. | | | | top | | | | Dress Code
Country club casual was the buzzword onboard, both day and night -- though of course the evening version of the dress code was a bit more elegant than the daytime one. There were several formal nights, and folks primarily dressed in cocktail garb with men in jackets and ties (only a few sported tuxedos). | | | | top | | | | Gratuity
Celebrity collects gratuities the old-fashioned way. Envelopes are provided for cash tips and recommended amount guidelines are offered. These are $3.50 per day for the room steward and waiter and $2 per day for each of their assistants. You can request the tips to be put on your onboard account. There is also an envelope for the "assistant head housekeeper" with a recommended tip amount of $0.50 per day. There's a spot on room service tickets for including a couple of bucks tip --it's a nice convenience and sure beats fumbling around with dollar bills. Heads up: On our sailing the spa automatically included a 10 percent gratuity on their bills. You could add to it -- or not. --by Carolyn Spencer Brown, Editor | | | | top | | | | | Expert reviews are provided by CruiseCritic.com, an award-winning cruise community. This objective information can help you choose just the right ship for your next cruise vacation. | |  | |
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