Celebrity Century Review
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This was our second cruise on the Century; the last in 2005 before the ship underwent major refurbishment. Our last five cruises were on Azamara so it was hard not to draw comparisons with that fabulous cruise line. Boarding in Honolulu on 11/11/11 was hectic was slow. My wife and I had earned "Elite" Captains Club status through our earlier Celebrity and Azamara sailings and this had been confirmed by email from Celebrity some six weeks earlier. Imagine our surprise when our sea-pass said we were "Select" status and were told to sort it out once we were on board. This we did by lining up to see Korina Murphy the Captains Club hostess who could not explain why we were shown as "Select" at check-in. We were both put out by her persistent "don't you understand what I'm saying" line. Hell, all we wanted was to understand why one data base should differ from another!
The ship's highly attentive and pleasant staff and the fun-loving complement of fellow cruisers made it a very enjoyable cruise. The food was generally excellent although on the one occasion we visited Murano's, we thought that the $40 each we paid was far too steep. Sure, the meals were served with great showmanship and elegance but when it came down to flavours, we could do just as well in the Grand Restaurant. As a main course we both ordered our favourite - lobster thermidor, and were disappointed that the sauce completely overwhelmed the taste of the lobster. The appetisers were pleasant and cooked tableside with flair but in the end, they were no more than we could knock up at home.
We attended the one and only sponsored Cruise Critic (CC) connections party early in the cruise. After experiencing two CC meet and greets on each of our Azamara cruises, we were very disappointed. Orange juice and coffee was on tap as opposed to an hour of cocktails and beer turned on by Azamara. The Cruise Director and several of the ships officers made a fleeting appearance but did not circulate amongst the guests. Overall I got the impression that Celebrity couldn't care less about CC members.