After cruising 17 times with Royal Caribbean, we decided to try Celebrity. Our research found several "west coast" offerings, which would be so convenient, as we live in Las Vegas; and east coast departures often require preceding-day travel. The 11-Nights Wine Cruise appeared terrific! Celebrity Century is older, smaller, and less "flashy" than the newer ships . In addition, this itinerary included ports such as Astoria, OR and Monterey, CA that we would not necessarily visit otherwise. Unfortunately, with few exceptions, this cruise proved to be the worst of our 18 experiences.

Positives first: Because we normally book junior suits on RCCL, we accepted the fact that our C2 cabin (1025) would be much smaller. However, the cabin was neat, had adequate storage, was very well maintained, and supplied plenty of high-pressured hot water. Our stateroom attendant was excellent, as were the amenities. Secondly, Celebrity is known, supposedly, for a higher-quality dining menu. We found the dinner meals to be different from those on RCCL; but in terms of higher-quality, we saw no difference. However, as compensation, the dining room is beautifully appointed, and our waiter was second to none.

From there, everything was downhill. Cabin 1025 is partially situated just beneath a storage area/cooler for the poolside bar. We were awakened between midnight and 12:30 AM the first two nights by heavy pounding, rolling, and scraping noises from above, which lasted about a half-hour. On the third night, we reported the problem to the concierge, who immediately sent an officer to our cabin. We explained the situation, and all was rectified. The next afternoon we found a bottle of wine in our cabin. On the fifth night, we experienced rougher than normal seas. Something fell from a shelf in that area above us and rolled back and forth for some time. Reluctantly, we just dealt with it. "Morning announcements" were frequently made between 7:00 AM and 8:00 AM--obviously, we missed most of them! Read more