Celebrity Century - Profile, Photo Tour and Interviews

When you speak to the officers of Celebrity Century about their ship, invariably one hears phrases such as a “ship with a soul” or the “ship has a great heart.” What they are referring to is an atmosphere aboard the Century that makes one feel that traveling on this ship is special.

Century is smaller than most major cruise ships. She did not start out that way. When she entered service, she was one of the largest cruise ships in operation. However, over time, cruise ships have become bigger and bigger and so Century has become relatively more intimate. Moreover, the layout of her public rooms somehow adds to this feeling of intimacy. The major rooms flow very well together so there is a feeling that nothing is very far away.

Century’s age also plays a part. She is now 15 years old and while that is less than middle age for a ship, there is a feeling that this ship is tried and true. People have been enjoying her for years. There is no doubt that this ship works.

Overlaid on this is the fact that Celebrity spent $55 million to revitalize the ship in 2006. This included the addition of a fine dining specialty restaurant and numerous balcony cabins. The ship also got a makeover of her public spaces and existing cabins which somehow managed to preserve her pre-existing sophistication.

Century also lends herself well to the modern Celebrity product. Her facilities allow her to present most of the Celebrity Life activities that one encounters on the larger Celebrity ships. In addition, the typical Celebrity passenger appreciates her large contemporary art collection, the elegance of her wood-paneled Michael’s Club, the grandeur of her main dining room as well as quality of her culinary options.

Beyondships’ profile of Celebrity Century is at http://www.beyondships.com/Celebrity-Century-Profile.html The photo tour and commentary begins at http://www.beyondships.com/Celebrity-Century-Tour-1.html
In addition, we have interviews with her hotel director Jan Willem Kuipers http://www.beyondships.com/Celebrity-Century-HD.html
and her cruise director. Sue Denning. http://www.beyondships.com/Celebrity-Century-CD.html

Talking with the Cruise Director and Restaurant Manager of Celebrity Equinox and the Designer of the Carnival Ships

Last week, I wrote about all of Celebrity Equinox’s physical attributes. However, a ship is only the platform for the cruise experience. What the crew does with that platform makes or breaks the guests’ cruise experience. Accordingly, this week I wanted to highlight two interviews in which the crew talks about what they are doing with Celebrity Equinox.

In the first interview, Cruise Director Gary Walker talks about the lifestyle and the entertainment onboard Equinox. My interview with Mr. Walker is at: http://www.beyondships.com/Celebrity-Equinox-art-Walker.html

The second interview is with Restaurant Manager Fatih Korkmaz in which he describes the various dining options on the Equinox. This interview appears at http://www.beyondships.com/Celebrity-Equinox-art-Korkmaz.html

Switching from Celebrity Cruises to Carnival Cruise Lines, guests on the Carnival ships are familiar with their unique interior designs. They are not like what one would typically encounter in a hotel. Rather, they are bold, imaginative and creative.

The man responsible for these designs is architect Joe Farcus. I asked him about the thinking behind these designs, his influences and what he seeks to achieve with his designs. I found his answers thoughtful and interesting. My interview with Mr. Farcus is at http://www.beyondships.com/Carnival-art-Farcus.html

The Inside Story On Celebrity Mercury

This week we continue our look at Celebrity Mercury by talking to two of the people who play a key role in shaping the vacation experience on the ship - - the hotel director and the cruise director. My goal in presenting this type of interview is to let the people who are actually running the ship explain what they are trying to do. One can learn a lot about ships by reading facts and figures but I don’t think one can get a feel for what a ship is like without hearing from the people who actually sail the ship.

Sheldon Thompson is the Hotel Director on the Mercury.. Since he is in charge of all the services and facilities that immediately impact the guests, he is a particularly good position to talk about the experience that they seek to provide on the Mercury. In addition, Mr. Thompson and has worked on nearly every Celebrity ship since before the line was acquired by Royal Caribbean. Thus, he was also able to explain why a between a Celebrity cruise is different from a Royal Caribbean cruise. My interview with Mr. Thompson appears at: http://www.beyondships.com/Celebrity-Mercury-art-HD.html

Lisa Richard did not follow the usual path to becoming a cruise director. She did not come up through the ranks in the cruise line. In fact, she had only been on one cruise before Celebrity hired her. However, she had been a senior executive with a multi-national corporation and thus had the skills and managerial experience to handle the behind-the-scenes administrative and planning aspects of being a cruise director as well as for supervising an array of employees. In addition, she came with theatrical experience including four years in the cast of the hit musical “Mama Mia.” In addition to discussing her career, I asked Ms. Richard to give her views on why Celebrity Mercury is so popular, particularly with repeat passengers and other experienced cruisers. My interview with her appears at: http://www.beyondships.com/Celebrity-Mercury-art-CD.html

While we are on the topic of Celebrity Mercury, I thought I would mention that I traveled from New York to Baltimore, Maryland where Mercury was beginning the cruise via Amtrak. In fact, I have now done several cruises from Baltimore and each time I have traveled by Amtrak. It only takes a little over two hours to get to Baltimore Penn Station from New York and the price is reasonable, particularly if one books in advance and takes the Northeast Regional train. From the train station, it is only a short taxi ride to the cruise ship terminal. If one is traveling light with one or two bags per person, I have found it to be a viable alternative to driving.