Extreme makeover: Celebrity's Century

Indeed, the newest additions to Century’s offerings are already enticing passengers to spend more money. The Celebrity line is known for its excellent cuisine, and the addition of the specialty restaurant Murano, a popular feature from the Millennium-class fleet (and a moneymaker because it imposes a cover charge), now enhances that reputation aboard the Century. At Murano, guests can dine on the excellent offerings designed by Celebrity’s longtime food and wine consultant Master Chef Michel Roux. In another change, Century’s Lido Deck was reconfigured to include an expanded Casual Dining Boulevard, offering sushi, pizza and made-to-order pasta dishes and an ice cream bar, as well as buffet breakfasts, themed lunches and casual dining in the evening. The new Spa Cafe, adjacent to the Aqua Spa, offers light, healthy spa cuisine — the poached salmon is not to be missed.

The most popular and coolest addition on board is Century’s Martini Bar, the first “ice bar” concept at sea. The bar features a liquid wall that freezes to form a sparkling facade and a bar counter that freezes like an ice rink. Kinetic lighting throughout the bar constantly changes the room’s color and appearance. The best part is sampling some of Celebrity’s famed menu of more than 30 martinis (the chocolate martinis are to die for). Other new clubs and lounges on the Century include an updated Cova Cafe, the seagoing version of the stylish Milan coffeehouse, where guests enjoy coffee and pastries by day and a romantic, lamp-lit wine bar and live music after dark. Century’s outdoor Sunset Bar offers an assortment of fresh tapas and appetizers with cocktails and other beverages, in addition to sea breezes and panoramic views.

Celebrity generally caters to an adult crowd, but the growing popularity of family travel influenced a major upgrade to Century’s children’s facilities. The “Fun Factory” area was expanded for younger guests, and a new teen center called “X-Treme Lounge” was added, offering a video arcade, dance floor, juice bar, jukebox, karaoke and computers with Internet access.

The fitness center has been enlarged along with the Aqua Spa, which offers Celebrity’s Acupuncture at Sea, the only such program in the industry with licensed doctors of Oriental Medicine. Another change to the spa is receiving mixed reviews: the removal of the thalassotherapy pool, a powerful bubbling mineral massage bath. The pool was dismantled to make way for the new Persian Gardens, a quiet haven that includes a large steam room, saunas, tropical rain-style showers and teak lounge chairs with views of the sea. You’ll have to pay $10 a day for the Gardens; the therapy pool was free.

Extreme Makeover, next edition
Hanrahan says the Century upgrade is a “test” and the company is hopeful that the onboard changes, along with the ship’s new short cruises out of Miami, will be popular among cruisers. There are plenty of opportunities for passengers to experience the new Century as the ship is the only premium cruise ship to offer four- and five-day cruises out of Miami from November to April; in May, the ship returns to Europe for summer Baltic sailings.

I think the new, improved Century is a huge success, and it was a pleasant surprise to find a ship of this size offering many intimate areas to relax. I have just one complaint: The service was spotty. Service ranged from the best I’ve experienced on any ship (the waiters in the Grand Restaurant were terrific, and so was Sudi, the entertaining bartender in the Martini Bar) to the worst (many indifferent waiters at the Islands Café and at the Pool Bar, which had the rudest bartender I’ve ever seen). I’d say with a few facelifts this ship’s makeover would be almost perfect.

Anita Dunham-Potter is a Pittsburgh-based travel journalist specializing in cruise travel. Anita's columns have appeared in major newspapers and many Internet outlets, and she is a contributor to Fodor's "Complete Guide to Caribbean Cruises 2006." E-mail Anita or visit her Web site anitavacation.com.

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