Bewitched, bothered, and bewildered on Celebrity

After one afternoon and evening on Celebrity’s Century, I find myself bewitched, bothered, and bewildered. Here’s what I mean:

Bewitched: My travel companion and I chose to have our first onboard dinner on Century’s new specialty restaurant, Murano. We actually wanted to dine there later in the cruise but by embarkation day, all reservations were taken. So if you want to eat here (and you really do), ask your travel agent to book you a table when she books your cruise.

The restaurant is beautifully decorated with tiled artwork on the floor, sheer metallic curtains, and abstract but joyful paintings. A harpist played while we dined on exquisitely prepared dishes. My favorite, of course, was the chef’s “surprise” sampler that let me taste miniature versions of six different desserts. There’s a $30 surcharge per person for a four-course a-la-carte menu and $145 for a six-course prix-fixe menu with fine wine pairings. I can’t vouch for the wine, but the meal is certainly worth well more than $30.

Bothered: I have found my cabin to be disappointingly small. I’m in a Concierge-class verandah stateroom, but my suitemate and I keep tripping over each other as we try to pass in the narrow room. What I’m most bothered by is the size of the bed. The bottoms are angled to allow more passageway in the cabin, but my guess is that it also shortens the length of the bed. As a tall woman, I had trouble getting comfortable all night long. I’m tempted to try the bunkbed in our cabin tonight to see if it’s longer.

Bewildered: I’ve been bewildered by the staff’s inability to answer my routine questions. I was sent on several wild goose chases to the dining room to try and change my dinner time before I was told that the assistant maitre d’ was not actually at the restaurant but in the lounge next door. And though I was assured my shore excursion tickets would arrive in my room after dinner, they’re not there and the shore excursion desk was closed when I went to follow up. I have the feeling that my day would have gone more smoothly had someone been able to give me better information.

Today, we’re off to explore Key West, with or without a booked excursion. Check back tomorrow for all the details.