something different…

I was delving through my writing archives today and came across a review I wrote for the free cruise we won earlier this year:

Having never sailed Celebrity before, my wife and I were very excited to not only win this amazing 18 night cruise but also the chance to experience a different line. Century is the oldest ship in the Celebrity fleet and rumours flowed aplenty amongst the passengers of her sale and departure from service by the end of the year. Regardless of her age, we thoroughly enjoyed all the ship had to offer. With a pleasant passenger ratio we experienced only one instance of slow tendering. Upon arrival into Sydney, the ticketing process struggled to offload everyone at once and it must be noted vessels were chartered and not the usual ship tenders.

The standout feature of Celebrity Century isn’t the theatre or main dining room or even the simply amazing Murano restaurant, it’s the crew. We have cruised P&O and Princess several times and found both to offer good towards moments of excellent service however Celebrity took this to a new level. Our room steward Jose worked tirelessly, seeming to always be on hand and welcoming with a genuine smile. The towel animals, never asked for, always appeared to brighten our evening.

Our cruise departed Auckland with port days at Tauranga, Akaroa/Christchurch, Dunedin, scenic cruising through the three sounds, Sydney overnight, Melbourne, Adelaide, Albany, Bunbury and concluded into Fremantle. Apart from Adelaide, where we encountered a delay due to the port hosting 3 ships, everything ran like clockwork with arrivals and departures running to time.

We could make many positive comments regarding the various ports however we prefer to compliment the hard working crew, with special mention of the fine dining experience offered by both the split level main dining room and Michelin grade Murano speciality restaurant. We dined twice in Murano, once on our own and again with some fantastic new American friends. The level of service and quality of food proved outstanding, second to none. Well worth the nominal cover charge if you desire a special evening to enhance your cruising experience.

Entertainment during the evenings proved a mixed bag, with Will Martin the standout performer. It must be said at a smidge under 40 we felt young again. The majority of passengers were 60 plus and subsequently many of the acts suited that demographic. Nevertheless we managed to thoroughly enjoy our evenings, never missing a performance of the talented A Capella quartet ‘On Point’ at the Cova café.

18 nights seemed to fly by as we cruised gracefully from port to port. Never once did the crew let us down or fail to impress. That is a wonderful admission and we noticed again and again many of the repeat, loyal passenger felt the same way. Celebrity must be commended on a professional and high level of quality service.

Thank you Cruise Weekly and Celebrity cruises for this amazing holiday.