Best For People Who Want:
A quality cruise at a bargain price; good food; adult-oriented atmosphere; polite service; quiet times
Should Be Avoided By People Who Prefer:
Lots of children's & sports facilities; many alternative dining venues.
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Onboard Experience:
Century has just emerged from a $55 million refurbishment that added many features found on the Millennium-class vessels. 314 new verandas were added to cabins, and 14 new suites were created out of existing space, 10 new staterooms categories, ranging from inside to veranda, including an expanded number of Concierge Class staterooms and a new specialty restaurant have been added.
The Spa has been expanded, and the deck area nearby now has a Spa Cafe in the style of the Millennium class. It features light, healthy spa cuisine, available for breakfast, lunch or dinner.
The Lido deck now offers a variety of food stations they collectively refer to as "Casual Dining Boulevard." It includes a made-to-order Pasta and Pizza Bar, Sushi Cafe, and a small ice cream parlor. The usual buffet breakfasts will still be served, but they are adding themed lunches, and a casual dress dinner service every night. Other additions to the ship include the Cova Cafe Milano, a champagne bar, martini bar, a new computer/business center and a permanent space dedicated to the "Acupuncture at Sea" program. The children's facilities have been expanded as well.
Decor: One word you could use for this ship is "dramatic" with stark shades of silver against dark mahogany wood. The ship goes from light and bright in the Atrium to dark and brooding in the dining and theater areas. The refurbishment means all the fabrics and finishings have been newly upgraded giving the ship a fresh new look.
Public Rooms:
Century boasts the first "ice bar" concept at sea, similar to the actual Ice Bar in Stockholm and the Ice Hotel in northern Sweden. Within Century's Martini Bar is a liquid wall that freezes to form a sparkling crystalline appearance, and a bar counter that freezes into solid ice, while another solid block of ice will holds bottles of liquor behind the bar.
The Crystal Lounge, Michael's Club jazz/piano bar, Rendezvous Lounge, and Hemispheres observation lounge and disco have all been entirely refurbished.
Teen travelers now have a lounge all their own - Century's new "X-Treme" teen lounge and video arcade. The dedicated space includes a dance floor, video arcade, juice bar, jukebox, and karaoke, along with computers offering Internet access.
The ship has a large casino with slot machines and a full selection of gaming tables. Several areas containing slot machines and a couple of gaming tables are designated non-smoking.
The Boulevard is the new shopping area with four boutiques, a computer room with Internet service and lessons, a card room, and a library (though hours are somewhat limited). An art gallery joins the boutiques, allowing art lovers the chance to purchase one-of-a-kind works, designer beauty products, leather goods, premium gifts, rare gems, and designer accessories, including watches and sunglasses.
Cuisine:
Celebrity Cruises' just ended its 15 year relationship with renowned Michelin-starred French Master Chef Michel Roux, who had hands-on involvement from designing the ship's galleys to creating menus and even sailing aboard the vessels for spot inspections. For now, the menus remain unchanged and Celebrity has not announced a replacement, however it could happen soon. In any case, outstanding cuisine has always been a part of the Celebrity legacy and one would expect the line not to tinker with a good. If a replacement is named, expect it to be someone with a good deal of panache.
Restaurants:
The new "Murano" specialty restaurant in the center of the ship sparkles with magnificent chandeliers handcrafted of Murano glass, named for the island of Murano near Venice, Italy; where glass-blowing has been a fine art and tradition since the 13th century. The menu is designed by long-time Celebrity Chef Michel Roux. A 76-seat Sushi Bar, is one of the largest dedicated sushi bars at sea, embellished with a collection of thematic artifacts and artwork.
The Island Grill is now the Ocean Grill, surrounded by glass walls offering magnificent ocean views, it offers an alternative dining area where guests can select among steaks, chops, salads, antipastos and desserts from a fixed menu. Opposite the Ocean Grill, are fresh, made-to-order omelets and crepes each morning, and large selection of pizzas and made-to-order pastas every afternoon and evening. For the sweet tooth in everyone, just around the corner, there is a station offering homemade ice creams and sorbet.
Century's dramatic, two-level "Grand Restaurant" has been entirely refurbished, though the look is still the same and it is still under the direction of Chef Michel Roux. It has a sweeping staircase at one end and two-deck-high glass windows for natural light and sea views at the stern.
This room, decorated with wide classic columns and cherry wood finishes, offers a more intimate feel than one would expect of a dining room this size. While at the outdoor Sunset Bar guests can enjoy an assortment of fresh tapas and appetizers with cocktails and other beverages.
The ship's coffee bar, Cova Café, the seagoing version of the stylish coffeehouse in the fashion district of Milan, Italy, serves fresh pastries and cookies to complement its coffees, teas, and other beverages every day, while at night, the space transforms to a romantic, lamp-lit wine bar, with live music.
Service: Cabin service is provided by a multinational crew, and dining room staffers are professional yet friendly. A nice Celebrity touch at the buffet is the friendly staff person waiting at the end of the service line to carry your tray to an open table. Throughout the ship, from cabin attendants to bar servers to guest relations desk, service is professional and efficient.
Tipping:
Celebrity suggests a per person per day gratuity of $3.50 for the waiter, butler (Suites only) and stateroom attendant; $4.00 for stateroom attendant in Concierge Class; $2.00 for the Assistant Waiter; $.75 for the Assistant Maitre d'and the Assistant Chief Housekeeper.Children under 12 years tip "half price." Passengers have the option of billing gratuities to their onboard "Sea Pass" account and receiving vouchers to put in the gratuity envelopes at the end of the cruise.
A 15 percent gratuity is automatically added to all beverage tabs. Gratuities for room service, spa, casino and other staff are at your discretion.
Entertainment:
The Celebrity Theater offers the standard cruise ship production show by producer Jean Ann Ryan. It is the usual array of medleys, dance steps, costume changes and an adagio couple doing graceful dance moves. Pleasant enough, but not exactly original.
There is nightly entertainment in Rendezvous Square, where people often meet to dance. Michael's Club, the piano bar, was generally quite full in the evenings as well, of a cigar bar, it is now a no-smoking room. The much larger Crystal Lounge, aft on Deck 7, had a quartet playing most evenings.
There is also a dedicated movie theater for near first-run feature films. This is also the spot for enrichment lectures and computer classes.
Cabins:
Century's cabins just received major upgrades, especially in selection, with more balcony cabins and suites available than ever before. Standard amenities include TV with closed circuit movies, CNN (international), ESPN (international), a "classic" TV channel, and pay-per-view movies. Also included: radio, telephones, bathrobes, mini-refrigerators and personal safes.
Fitness/Spa:
Century's AquaSpa is operated by Steiner's of London, and it has been recently upgraded to include Spa Meals and larger facilities for massage, facials and even thelassotherapy (water under pressure) treatments. The separate fitness are has new machines, all with a sea view, with aerobics and stretching classes scheduled during the day.
Attire: Two formal nights on a seven-night cruise and three on 10-day or longer cruises; most men opted for suits instead of a tux, while women wear pantsuits, or short dresses. Two nights are designated informal; jackets for the men.
