Cruise Passenger > Reviews > Review: Celebrity Century

Review: Celebrity Century

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19 Nov 2010

What a relief – my laptop has been returned after going missing somewhere at check-in. The staff couldn’t have been more helpful but it was a worry – apart from anything else I would have had to use the icafe (Deck 7) rather than being able to write from the balcony of our deluxe verandah stateroom, where I can’t get enough of the balmy air and wonderful, soothing expanse of ocean. I met my cruise companion, Kim in the Miami Downtown Hilton after a long flight from Sydney via LA (and long queues at the airport for security), to find out there’d been a triple-shooting at the building next door to the hotel that afternoon. An interesting start to our adventure … The following morning we took a cab ($20) to South Beach (SoBe), where we strolled along Ocean Drive photographing the wonderful Art Deco buildings and relishing being total tourists. You can eat a gargantuan breakfast for just a few bucks (no wonder there’s such an obesity problem – mind you, my own is developing rapidly) – we shared a plate of french toast that was lavishly slathered with the thickest cream and about half a pint of maple syrup. The cruise terminal was a mere $15 taxi ride from the Hilton – and finally we met a cab driver who was friendly. The embarkation process was quick and easy (you do it all online before you go to speed things up) and how delicious to sink a late-afternoon cocktail at the Mast Bar before the crowds gathered for the 5pm sailaway.

Americans have drifted to this island for hundreds of years, from pirates in the 1500s to Ernest Hemingway and Tennessee Williams in the early 20^th century, then artists and hippies in the 1970s – the most famous of these being singer Jimmy Buffet. I’ve heard the song ‘Margaritaville’ many times (“It must be five o’clock somewhere”) but had never heard of parrot heads before – dedicated Buffet followers – or realised that the man himself has a cafe and shop in Key West. Kim and I asked a passing pedicab driver directions to the Buffet shop and he obligingly took us there. En route driver Patrick (from Ecuador) pointed out a nude bar, Hemingway’s house and the writer’s favourite bar (Sloppy Joe’s). Key West makes its money from tourism and cruise ships and while the streets near the port are lined with tacky souvenir shops, a few blocks away you see charming old wooden houses with lush, tropical gardens. We noticed one painted in a cool pistachio shade with a perfectly matching Vespa parked in the front yard. It’s a fascinating place with an intriguing history and obviously still a favourite place for eccentrics. As we wandered back to the ship we met a man standing by a postbox with a hairless sphinx cat called Lucky – for a donation to animal rescue (he had 17 rescue animals, including snakes) I posed for a photo with Lucky. “It’s such a shame he hasn’t got his sunglasses on, I ordered him a new pair last week,” said the man. He went on to explain that he buys Doggles – gogs for dogs – for his beloved cat. Back on deck, the band’s pumping out a festive mix of reggae and Jimmy Buffet songs, the sun’s going down and giant frigate birds are wheeling overhead. Now we have to prepare for dinner at the Captain’s Table – what a treat!