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We booked our cruise with a company that specialises in escorted tours and perhaps that was our first mistake as it is clear now that we did not do enough research. We are sorry to say that it was the most BORING holiday experience we ever had and perhaps we have discovered that cruises are just not for us.
So let's start with our first issue which was the amount of selling, ambushing and downright harassment from the staff on the ship.The photographers seemed to be everywhere and their objective was obviously to take as many snaps a possible which they posted for sale at $16 per photo.If you wanted to sit down and listen to some music or entertainment, or even just read a book, waiters arrived continuously to sell you drinks, even if you told the first, second, third etc waiter that you were ok. Don't get me wrong, we managed to drink more than enough ( as our end of week bill can testify) but they crossed the line between quick and efficient service and sales pressure.
Similarly with the sommelier at dinner, who always had something to sell for the next day, e.g. wine tasting. Of course, he wouldn't even countenance us pouring our own wine as he arrived often enough to try and pour it as quickly as possible.
My wife attended some 'free seminars', such as 'Detoxing' and of course the purpose here was to sell, sell, sell their Spa services and products. In total we spent almost 7 full days at sea (159 hours) out of which we had only 3 stops, totaling 20 hours so we spent a long time at sea.
The stops on this Celebrity Century cruise were disappointing:- ICY STRAIT POINT: an isolated village with little to offer or see except the well known 'Zip Line', which was a nice experience for 60 seconds or so (the time to zip down). JUNEAU:Juneau was ok, we did a nice tour with a local tour operator and we spent the full day here.KETCHIKAN: Just a tourist village with specially constructed tourist shops to take your last dollars! Nice shops but that's all we had time to see.
The food in the Grand Restaurant was excellent but we did wish the waiting staff, Supervisors, Managers, photographers would just allow us to eat it!! Ok, maybe it is nice to have some attention and friendly service but it was OTT (Over The Top) for our tastes. Breakfast and lunch was also very good in the various buffet restaurants and not as overwhelming.
Looking back, we would have preferred a cruise where we would sail at night and then disembark next day, or certainly more often.
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