We sailed July 21 through Aug 2, 2010. Ship (Century) is older (1995) but was refurbished a few years ago. Room was really great. We stayed in sky suites (rooms 1229 & 1231) and the rooms were big, with full tub/shower and huge balcony. This was my 13th cruise. I've never had a balcony this big. We actually had the same butler we had on a previous cruise, (Wilford) who did a great job. Location of the rooms were really great. One flight down for food/buffets and open air bar located at very back of ship. Very little traffic in hallway outside our rooms. Previous posters on this site complained of joggers making noise and waking them up when staying in these rooms but we did not have any problem. The only floor above us was open deck and had signs posted informing joggers that the jogging track was located elsewhere.

We took several private shore excursions which we booked ourselves on the internet prior to cruising. First with Dream Tours in Villa Franche (our driver was John) and then with Sorrento Limousine Service in Pisa/Florence; Rome; and Naples/Salerno. All private shore excursions included a driver and a nice mercedes van which would seat 7 comfortably, plus the driver. There were only 4 of us, so we had tons of room and it was really nice to be able to go where/when we wanted to and get recommendations for good restaurants, etc. We had a guide in Rome (Patrick) that was set up through Sorrento Limousines and he was really good. Tony is the main man at Sorrento Limos and we set up private trips everywhere in Italy through him. I highly recommend both these companies. They met us at the port with a sign that had our name and we paid cash (euro) at the end of each trip. Well worth the small additional cost over regular shore excursions through the ship.

Food on the ship was good, better than on some other cruises. Service was very good. I especially liked "Gill" the bartender at the bar at the very back of the ship. We purchased drink stickers which allowed us to drink anything we wanted as long as it didn't have a price above $8.00. The stickers cost about $500 each, but on a 12 night cruise, with glasses of wine at dinner and some before/after dinner drinks, I believe those stickers were a good deal. Read more