Century (ship)
Encyclopedia
The Celebrity Century, formerly named Century, is the lead ship of the Century-class of cruise ships
Cruise ship
A cruise ship or cruise liner is a passenger ship used for pleasure voyages, where the voyage itself and the ship's amenities are part of the experience, as well as the different destinations along the way...
for Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Cruises
Celebrity Cruises is a cruise line founded in 1988 by the Greek Chandris Group. In 1997, Celebrity Cruises Ltd. merged with Royal Caribbean International to become Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd., which operates Celebrity, Royal Caribbean International, Azamara Club Cruises, Pullmantur Cruises and CDF...
, and the co-flagship of the Celebrity fleet, along with Millennium-class ship Celebrity Constellation, and the newest class of ship the Soltice Celebrity Solstice
Celebrity Solstice
Celebrity Solstice is a owned and operated by Celebrity Cruises. At the time she was launched, she held the record for the largest cruise ship ever built in Germany; however, her record was surpassed when the Disney Dream was launched in 2010....
. Other ships belonging to the Century Class are the Mein Schiff 1 (formerly Celebrity Galaxy) and the Mein Schiff 2 (formerly Celebrity Mercury).
History
Century was launched in 1995 and went into a 5 week drydock in April 2006 whilst undergoing complete refurbishment. Designed to incorporate a variety of Celebrity's MillenniumMillennium (ship)
GTS Millennium is the flagship of the Millennium Class of cruise ships, operated by the Celebrity Cruises line. Her sister ships are Constellation, Infinity, and Summit.She was built at Chantiers de l'Atlantique in St. Nazaire, France...
-Class attributes, the revitalization of Century is the line's most extensive refurbishment to-date, and the largest cruise ship modification completed by Fincantieri
Fincantieri
Fincantieri - Cantieri Navali Italiani S.p.A. is a shipbuilding company based in Trieste, Italy. It was formed in 1959 and is the largest shipbuilder in the Mediterranean, and one of the largest in Europe...
's Palermo, Italy, shipyard.
A total of 314 new verandas have been added to the ship, along with 14 new suites, ten new staterooms ranging from inside to veranda categories, a new specialty restaurant, an expanded spa, and a series of features and amenities that typify the line's Millennium-class fleet.
The new Murano specialty restaurant in the center of the ship has chandeliers handcrafted of Murano glass
Murano glass
Murano glass is a famous product of the Venetian island of Murano. Located off the shore of Venice, Italy, Murano has been a commercial port as far back as the 7th century. By the 10th century, the city had become well known for its glassmakers, who created unique Murano glass...
, named for the island of Murano
Murano
Murano is a series of islands linked by bridges in the Venetian Lagoon, northern Italy. It lies about 1.5 km north of Venice and measures about across with a population of just over 5,000 . It is famous for its glass making, particularly lampworking...
near Venice
Venice
Venice is a city in northern Italy which is renowned for the beauty of its setting, its architecture and its artworks. It is the capital of the Veneto region...
, Italy
Italy
Italy , officially the Italian Republic languages]] under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages. In each of these, Italy's official name is as follows:;;;;;;;;), is a unitary parliamentary republic in South-Central Europe. To the north it borders France, Switzerland, Austria and...
, where glass-blowing has been a fine art and tradition since the 13th century.
Century has the first "ice bar" concept at sea within its Martini Bar featuring a liquid wall that freezes to form a sparkling crystalline appearance, and a bar counter that freezes into ice-cold stone, while a solid block of ice will display bottles of liquor behind the bar.
Featured on TV
At the time the brand new Century (known then before Celebrity was added to the name) was featured on the popular hit TV-show The NannyThe Nanny
Nanny may refer to:* Nanny, a child's caregiver* A grandmother * A Cajun word for godmother * A female goat* Nanny , a 1981–83 British drama series starring Wendy Craig* Nanny of the Maroons...
. The episode was debuted as "Ship of Fran's". Public areas that were featured in the episode were: Crystal Room nightclub, Hemisphere Lounge, Grand Foyer, Fortunes Casino and on-deck pool area. Many officers and staff were giving speaking roles including the then captain of the ship Iakavos Korres.