From the time you step aboard the Century you are made to feel like a Celebrity with the red carpet and welcoming glass of champagne. Century is one of the smaller ships of the fleet at just over 71,000 tonnes. The standards throughout the fleet are as you would expect of a 5 star cruise line with a crew to guests ratio being higher than on some other lines.

One thing that passenger go on a cruise ship for is the food and Celebrity does not disappoint, with a choice of dining venues from the main restaurant to the buffet restaurant, and speciality Murano restaurant (cover charge), to the various bars and coffee shop where you can often get a snack, and if you do not want to leave the pool there is even a grill at the poolside, with a bar of course! The food is the same high quality throughout and if you really don’t feel like conforming to set mealtimes then that’s okay too as you are able to book a ‘my time dining’ or eat in the buffet. A bar you must try is the Martini Bar – where you really must try a superb apple martini, and that was recommended to me by a genuine celebrity! and the relaxed Sunset Bar at the back of the ship where you can see the day drift away.

Being the height of the summer I was concerned about their being too many children but I should not have been concerned as most of the time they were either in the children’s clubs which are fantastic and where they tend to make new friends or by the pool. Families preferred the buffet restaurant where the kids can have exactly what they want and when they want. There were also plenty of sunbeds to go round even though the ship was full.

A daily newsheet delivered to your cabin the night before advises what is going on the following day and helps you plan ahead. Celebrity had a wide choice of shore excursions, but if you had been there before and just wanted to do your own thing then that was okay to. One of the nice little touches I noticed was when you arrived back from an excursion there was always a hospitality tent waiting to greet you where you could get a cold drink and towel to refresh yourself, a nice touch considering the summer temperature. Usually a good idea to book in advance if you want a particular tour otherwise you can book on board either directly with the excursions desk or from the comfort of your cabin on the t.v from where you can also browse your on board account.

Entertainment was varied and in the theatre I can honestly say I did not see the same shown twice as they seem to move their entertainers around. They also had films in the cinema which seemed to be family orientated. But if you wanted a quiet day they also had a card room and library, although I have to say the choice of books in the library was not too good. All ships these days tend to have casinos and Fortunes seemed to be very popular.

My stateroom was an outside with bathroom which had a shower as opposed to bath.The shower cubicle was bigger than many other ships I have been on and the cabin was a reasonable size. Well looked after by our cabin steward who was very helpful, never in your way but always there when needed.

There is so much one can say about a Celebrity cruise but this has to have been one of my best holidays ever because everything went so smoothly. Yes I had to fly to Barcelona and transfer to the ship but again that went well and if you really want to see the Med and the Adriatic then you really have to fly as sailing from Southampton, unless you have 3 - 4 weeks spare does not give you enough time to see this area.

I would be more than happy to choose Celebrity again from the Captain down everyone is there to make you holiday special. My only regret is that I am not able to share my memories with you as although I took many photos my memory card became corrupted and therefore I have no photos! It is a holiday that I will remember for many years.