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This was my 5th cruise and my second time on the Celebrity Century. I have cruised with Carnival, Norwegian, Royal Caribbean and of course Celebrity. This was my first cruise with my kids though.
Overall: Let me start by saying that you cannot beat the service that Celebrity offers! They know this is their niche in the market and they play it up big time. Overall the cruise was an A. Check the negatives below to see why it's not an A+.
Positives: - Service: A+ - Rooms: A Albeit small rooms, they were very clean and modern. Beds were comfortable and we were not bothered by any outside noise. Frankly, I slept like a baby (see misc notes). - Kids Club and Teen Club: A I cannot stress enough what a wonderful job the staff did with my kids. I had one kid in the 9-11 group and one kid in the Teen group. When we first boarded the ship, they wanted nothing to do with the groups. I talked them into at least seeing what the groups are about. Once we attended the orientation and saw the activities they had planned, they immediately signed up! From that point on, I had a hard time getting them OUT of the groups. Granted the kids club was inside the ship with no fancy pool, but they spent most of the time on themed scavenger hunts, sports activities and other events outside of the pool. In summary, my kids made some great friends and had a great time! - Food. B+ Some food was really good, some was just okay. Definitely not a negative, but can't think of much to write home about. Like most cruises though, it was a plenty! - Hot Tubs: A Always found room in the group of hot tubs they offered! - Entertainment: A+ The dancers we professional and incredible! The comedian was awesome and I sure wish I could remember his name!! All the profits from his show and CD sales go to help needy children! He is one heck of a musician and comedian! I also liked that they had non-traditional cruise entertainment such as the band D'version. Typically the cruise ship is littered with steel bands and 100% caribbean music (which in fact I do love), but D'version played a great mix of music from Top 40 to tropical. - Boarding: A+ Was very quick and easy. Arrived around 1:30pm. Was just as easy getting off the ship.
Negatives: - Pool: C Two small pools just really didn't seem inviting. No slides or anything.
- Drinks: There was a charge for non-alcoholic drinks, including pop. Granted you could buy a "pop package" for $20 that gave you unlimited soda for the cruise. Just seemed odd that we had to pay to drink non-alcoholic drinks.
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Ports: - Key West: A I agree with other reviewers that there just isn't enough time spent in Key West. I'd rather spend more time there than in Cozumel. Key West is full of tropical tradition both for adults and families!
- Cozumel: C+ Typical cruise ship port ala Jamaica. Rush the passengers in through crowded high-pressure 'markets', load them up with alcohol, and pour them back on the ship. Don't get me wrong, Carlo's and Charlie's and Senior Frog's are great places to party! I have drank many a 'yards' there and darn near missed the boat once! But what you are seeing is not the real Cozumel. Just a tourist front. This time, since I had kids on the ship, I took them into town to experience the madness, grabbed a few quick items, then headed back to the ship. Later, I left the boat and hung out at 1/2 Senior Frog's which is right next to the cruise dock (well, at least the dock we pulled into). Had a great time and was close the ship out of the madness of downtown!
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Misc: I have to note one important incident that happened on this ship and I must give credit to the excellent staff! The first night on the boat, in the middle of the night, my 9 year old wandered out of the room in his sleep. I am still not sure if he was sleep walking or what. A staff member found him crying in front of a cabin door. He couldn't remember our room number but did remember his brother was in the teen club (they stay up until 1am with activities). They tracked his brother down, who brought him back to the room. Needless to say, i was in shock! After that, we blocked the door with a chair and a suitcase. Anyway, the staff did an excellent job handling the situation and following up the next day! My thanks go out to them many times over!!
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