Hawai'i cruise on Celebrity Century
I had a few great days in San Diego prior to boarding the Celebrity Century for the cruise to Hawai'i and back to San Diego. During that time I wandered the Gaslamp Quarter and spent time with Neil, Gayle and Abigayle who were luxuriating at the Paradise Point Resort and actively visiting the local attractions like Seaworld. We hung out together, had dinner a couple of times and headed out to Mission Beach Boardwalk. Great times - but the ship called...
Here are the photos from San Diego:
The Celebrity Century is one of the smaller in the Celebrity fleet with 1,800 passengers. The pools were smaller but loads of deck chairs around it and on the upper deck. As for other ships I had use of a fully equipped gym (and I actually used it a fair bit); as well as many bars and of course the casino (which I did not use at all).
Our sub-group was 35 strong but it seem to split right away into 2 camps. Of well, best not to push if some people are more clique'ish. It our main group of 20 we got along real well and enjoyed each other's company. That was important for this cruise as it started with 5 days at sea, before reaching Oahu and the port of Honolulu. The cruise was mostly low 20 knot winds which meant the boat rocked very little (I noticed when I was running on the treadmill); and the water stayed in the pool (more later when I write about the return journey).
The legs of this cruise were: San Diego to Honolulu, Oahu (2,280 nautical miles); to Lahaina, Maui (94 nautical miles); to Kailua Kona, Big Island (95 nautical miles); sail past of the Kilauea volcano at 11:45pm to midnight and reaching Hilo, Big Island (171 nautical miles); returning to Ensenada, Mexico (2,195 nautical miles) and a very short 4 hour stay before carrying on to finish in San Diego (60 nautical miles).
For me on board I really enjoyed the musicians that played sets at various times and venues - all were really good. I also enjoyed 2 other performers: June who led sessions in how to create various Hawai'in arts & crafts; and the magician who entertained both with his magic and his comedy. I was not so much in to the dancers and other productions. Which I guess was good because nothing else fit with running, reading, listening, dining, and sessions with the other guys at the bars. Definitely some bar staff were better, more welcoming, and entertaining that others. We quickly zoomed in on the venues with those staff.
The sail out saw me up early for sunrise most days and I saw some awesome scenes. Time shifted back on 3 occasions until we reached Hawai'i. By then I was back to more normal wake up times, which worked with the shore excursions I booked. (The sail back saw me sleeping in longer as the 3 time shifts went the other way).
The shore excursions were well organized and I enjoyed the rainforests and waterfalls as well as the lava coasts, crashing surf, desert landscapes, and even more so the humpback whales, spinner dolphins and other marine life. The sail past at the Kilauea volcano was great but my photos did not do it justice (so here are a few that remind me of what I saw!)
I definitely felt the Aloha experience in Hawai'i with fantastic excursion guides. All of them were not only knowledgeable but fantastic people persons with great attitudes. I did do a bit of shopping - mostly in the quaint town of Kailua Kona, and supported by products certified to be made in Hawai'i (most tourist traps only sold made in China goods!).
Then we sailed away from the state. And boy did the wind decide to pick up. It started to climb to 50 knots of breeze on a diagonal to the ship which made for tricky walking, splashing pools, and rock a bye baby as you slept. Then ti climbed some more - hitting 95 knots - and causing the captain to revise arrival in Mexico - adding 3 hours to our transit time, and causing the pools to be closed to the public which was OK as it got too chilly to be out there anyway. Things finally calmed down for our last 12 hours into Ensenada and the pool decks once again became crowded.
Other than that it was a typical cruise with group dining, pre-dinner cocktail gatherings with the other guys (a definite highlight that some of us extended to last for a few hours before heading in for dinner), private group gatherings that seem to not quote be up to our informal daily gatherings, and just meeting up at various locations as we wondered the ship.
Here are my Hawai'i photos:
I am now very much looking forward to the cruise from Auckland, New Zealand, around NZ, ending in Sydney, Australia in January 2014!
Here are the photos from San Diego:
The Celebrity Century is one of the smaller in the Celebrity fleet with 1,800 passengers. The pools were smaller but loads of deck chairs around it and on the upper deck. As for other ships I had use of a fully equipped gym (and I actually used it a fair bit); as well as many bars and of course the casino (which I did not use at all).
Our sub-group was 35 strong but it seem to split right away into 2 camps. Of well, best not to push if some people are more clique'ish. It our main group of 20 we got along real well and enjoyed each other's company. That was important for this cruise as it started with 5 days at sea, before reaching Oahu and the port of Honolulu. The cruise was mostly low 20 knot winds which meant the boat rocked very little (I noticed when I was running on the treadmill); and the water stayed in the pool (more later when I write about the return journey).
The legs of this cruise were: San Diego to Honolulu, Oahu (2,280 nautical miles); to Lahaina, Maui (94 nautical miles); to Kailua Kona, Big Island (95 nautical miles); sail past of the Kilauea volcano at 11:45pm to midnight and reaching Hilo, Big Island (171 nautical miles); returning to Ensenada, Mexico (2,195 nautical miles) and a very short 4 hour stay before carrying on to finish in San Diego (60 nautical miles).
For me on board I really enjoyed the musicians that played sets at various times and venues - all were really good. I also enjoyed 2 other performers: June who led sessions in how to create various Hawai'in arts & crafts; and the magician who entertained both with his magic and his comedy. I was not so much in to the dancers and other productions. Which I guess was good because nothing else fit with running, reading, listening, dining, and sessions with the other guys at the bars. Definitely some bar staff were better, more welcoming, and entertaining that others. We quickly zoomed in on the venues with those staff.
The sail out saw me up early for sunrise most days and I saw some awesome scenes. Time shifted back on 3 occasions until we reached Hawai'i. By then I was back to more normal wake up times, which worked with the shore excursions I booked. (The sail back saw me sleeping in longer as the 3 time shifts went the other way).
The shore excursions were well organized and I enjoyed the rainforests and waterfalls as well as the lava coasts, crashing surf, desert landscapes, and even more so the humpback whales, spinner dolphins and other marine life. The sail past at the Kilauea volcano was great but my photos did not do it justice (so here are a few that remind me of what I saw!)
I definitely felt the Aloha experience in Hawai'i with fantastic excursion guides. All of them were not only knowledgeable but fantastic people persons with great attitudes. I did do a bit of shopping - mostly in the quaint town of Kailua Kona, and supported by products certified to be made in Hawai'i (most tourist traps only sold made in China goods!).
Then we sailed away from the state. And boy did the wind decide to pick up. It started to climb to 50 knots of breeze on a diagonal to the ship which made for tricky walking, splashing pools, and rock a bye baby as you slept. Then ti climbed some more - hitting 95 knots - and causing the captain to revise arrival in Mexico - adding 3 hours to our transit time, and causing the pools to be closed to the public which was OK as it got too chilly to be out there anyway. Things finally calmed down for our last 12 hours into Ensenada and the pool decks once again became crowded.
Other than that it was a typical cruise with group dining, pre-dinner cocktail gatherings with the other guys (a definite highlight that some of us extended to last for a few hours before heading in for dinner), private group gatherings that seem to not quote be up to our informal daily gatherings, and just meeting up at various locations as we wondered the ship.
Here are my Hawai'i photos:
I am now very much looking forward to the cruise from Auckland, New Zealand, around NZ, ending in Sydney, Australia in January 2014!
