We just returned from a two-night short cruise to Nassau, Bahamas on Celebrity Century. While we had a good time, several aspects of the experience left us largely dissatisfied. I will try to highlight those aspects as specifically as possible, so that a reader can make his or her judgment about Century based on our encounters.

Background: I enjoy reading detailed cruise reviews and I think it's valuable when the author provides his or her background. The more you know about the person, the more you can judge whether those experiences will matter for you. My wife (26) and I (32) have cruised previously just once: last April on a weeklong Eastern Caribbean cruise on the Caribbean Princess as part of our honeymoon (my review of that ship is also on Cruise Critic). We are both employed professionals living in greater Washington, DC. We have no children. Sure, conga lines and hairy back contests are not our thing, but I'd like to think we have a sense of humor about going with the flow. While we often go for mellower pursuits like reading and watching films, we do appreciate various forms entertainment, whether that's listening to a jazz trio in a clubby bar while sipping cocktails, going to see a loud hard-rock band while drinking Pabst in a dive bar, seeing a comedian (bawdy or otherwise) at a club, or going to a Las Vegas show or casino. We are booked on an Alaskan cruise on Infinity for this upcoming summer, and we saw this short cruise as both a nice mid-winter break and a chance to "test out" Celebrity.

Before going straight into the details about our cruise on the Century, I think it's important to contrast it with our experience on the Caribbean Princess. I don't pretend that these reviews are the authoritative sources on these ships—much less their cruise lines—but I think there were enough palpable differences to rank the two "products" somewhat objectively. As a result, the review of this rather short cruise will be long. Read more