PaulnKarl

I wonder if the Sovereign is being sold. There have been rumors since CdF failed that at least one ship would be sold. It is the oldest of the four. Time will tell.

The admin posted on my last posting that they would move it over, so I guess they'll do that to all posts that are current/relevant

Oops - it wasn't an Admin person who responded to my post. Hopefully they'll move the posts tho'.

Thanks for the post ......very comprehensive and up to date bar menu. Can you tell me if the bar staff will make other cocktails that don't appear on the list eg.... long island ice tea ....cosmopolitanan ... to name but two....:cool:

Sorry, didn't ask.

The admin posted on my last posting that they would move it over, so I guess they'll do that to all posts that are current/relevant

Menu key - right column is included in the purchased package ($70). left column is included in the cruise price or the supplement that is charge to your account if you haven't purchased the all-in package.

Good to hear that the Zenith is looking good. We are sailing a european itinerary in october this year. So I hope they don't sell it.

 

What were your impressions generally of the ship/crew/food etc. There have been, in the past, very many pretty poor reviews, but it does seem as though they are trying to improve their offering.

We have sailed twice on the Zenith. The crew are great and many remembered us from our first cruise. The captain holds daily officer meetings in the coffee bar and is always willing to interact with guests. Jefferson the CD will be back on board for the Europe season - he's from Brazil and has a great English conversation.

The food is good. They had the new MD menus which unlike most other ships the majority are available every day, with a much smaller "menu of the day". On Gala night they had a fixed six course meal. The same food is available in the buffet which makes it one of the best around. In addition to standard fare they have a sugar free and gluton free station. Coffee in the buffet is so-so, but is great in the coffee bar and included in the price. There was a new bar menu - the inclusive drinks slightly less and the subsidies for "premiumr brand names" increased from $1 & $2 to $3 & $4 (on board I think $1 = 1eu.) An example: Gordons gin with tonic from a plastic bottle is included, whereas Bombay gin with a can of tonic has a supplement of $3 or is included in the $70 package. Included beer is in a can, whereas premium brands are extra. The selection is still good and you have to drink a lot to justify the $70 all included drinks package.

This ship was about 50% capacity on both itineraries (800-900) which made for a great cruise. It's a 28 year old ship. The vacuum sewage system still has issues but if you report any problem to the room steward they were fixed right away. The inside of the ship was refurbished in 2010 and again 2014. For the price, its the best deal out there.

Just got back from a week on the Zenith. Lots of maintenance, painting, varnishing happening on the decks. Our balcony had also been recently repainted. New towels too. I heard a rumor that Pullmantur was planning to sell the Zenith, so asked the captain who denied it. We sailed last October and the improvements were very noticeable. The ship is getting ready to head to Europe (April 14th). Many of the Entertainment team are going with her including CD Jefferson Cosme who returns in two weeks.

Hi P&K,

 

Did you stay overnight in Santo Domingo then before your cruise? May I ask where you stayed? I've booked on the April 7th cruise on the Zenith out of S.D. and I was wondering if I could just arrive the morning of the cruise ie. flight arrives at 11am, ship departs at 10pm....

 

Thanks, ali

We stayed at the Hotel Europa - not bad and in the colonial district - a friend recommended me not to stay outside of the colonial district. If you stay for more than one day you have to buy a $10 tourist card and pay $20 taxes on boarding the ship. We're returning on March 3rd and going directly from the airport to the port. It's worth pre-paying for a minibus shuttle - there are a number of online companies. Its about 1/2 hour drive and costs around $30-40.

I agree. The first time we booked Pullmantur it was a challenge to find information on CC. We're returning to the Zenith in March

Here's a link to my review - Zenith Oct. 21-28 from Santo Domingo

http://click.email.cruisecritic.com/?qs=d45a3453a18131286c839be59e35025c013b98164eded5ed35a7f118d7d56ef2c94ae627f7911027c5e4cdf95f10902916b84447c6b8ac33

Thank you, I appreciate your taking the time! Looking forward to it.

The most bizarre thing that we didn't think about is that excursions are done in Spanish - bizarre when you're English speaking visiting an English speaking country. However Pullmantur provide a Spanish speaking guide, but most destination hosts were happy to do the tour in English and let the Pullmantor guide translate.:cool: A number of US passengers we spoke with took independent tours and had no problems.

Here's a summary of my review of the Zenith (Oct 21-28) - We were surprised. Gave it 4 stars. The outside of the ship is well weathered. Traces of the old Celebrity wooden loungers are on the top deck. The balconies were ok, but often wet either from weather or swabbing the deck (we were on Deck 11). The only complaint about the cabin was the small shower. The inside of the ship was great. There have been many upgrades. The photo shop has state of the art equipment. The coffee lounge was a favourite of ours.

Buffet food was great plus an outside grill on the rear terrace was open most of the day. Although the buffet is smaller there are great places to sit on the rear tiers (from Deck 11-8). No food is served after 10 p.m. though 2nd dining is at 9.30 p.m., and the one show in the theatre is between 1st and 2nd dining. No specialty restaurants. The included beverages are quite extensive but doesn't include bottled water, sodas and only one beer brand. They sell an all inclusive drinks package for $70, but most supplements are $1 or $2, so you have to drink a lot to get through $70.

Spanish is the primary language though it is translated into English and Portuguese. Many crew speak English. The ambiance was great. Crew of all levels are frequently seen in the public areas. The Animation Team (Entertainment team) were great fun.

We have sailed all major cruise lines, but found this especially relaxed. Maybe it was the small ship, or friendly crew - maybe because there was little hard selling. Not an abundance of activities. We didn't use the casino, but it never seemed busy.

We chose this for the itinerary - more on this in my main review. Sad that Pullmantur will not be returning to Santo Domingo next season. We're thinking about doing the alternate itinerary in March before the ship heads back to Europe. That's how much we loved it.

Received confirmation that Cruise Critic received my review - it will be posted in due course.

I think they wait 24 hours before posting. In summary, this was the best value cruise we have done. One has to accept that Pullmantur ships don't dock in US ports for a reason - they would likely fail CDC standards, but the Zenith was clean and comfortable, and having a smaller crowd (few US travelers) a great sense of ambiance. They will seat English speakers together at dinner if requested. Given the itinerary - the back to back cruise visits 8 islands plus offers excursions in Santo Domingo and most drinks included - no other cruise line comes near in terms of value. I think having to travel to Dominican Republic is the greatest challenge but if you're able bodied and adventurous, the challenge is easily overcome.

Just returned from the Zenith (Oct 21-28). Unlike other posts our experience was great. I've posted a review on the main review page. Thinking about doing this again as Pullmantur will not return to Santo Domingo for the 2018-19 season. Last cruise will be March 31,

Seems you will be on board to zenith very soon, would you please update us the condition of that ship? Because VTG agent keeps reminding me that ship is old...

This is one of celebrity's older ships. The reviews I've read are good, especially when it comes to service. We have good experiences of the older smaller HAL ships, so looking forward to this. Will post a review when we get back

Pulmantur website is updated to show that Zenith sailings out of Santo Domingo (PR) starting Oct. 21 will call at Martinique in place of Roseau (Dominica)

We used vacations to go - found them very helpful.

Just booked Zenith for 10/21 sailing out of Santo Domingo. Cabin #1107. Hoping for something a little different. Have sailed MSC and loved it, but this was a great deal and a new itinerary (for us). I think Vacations to Go are the main US agency.

Just got back from the 3 day Bahamas cruise (1/3-1/6). Mixed feelings. The ship was great - especially considering its age. Had to be the youngest demographic I've ever sailed with, but that was probably due to its length & destination. Very mixed cruise, Spanish, Russian, French. Friendly and efficient staff - especially in the MDR. However, with the exception of the ice show (outstanding) the entertainment was mediocre. The Windjammer café was chaos, probably because the MDR was half empty every night. The only place for late night snacks was the Promenade café - way too crowded and very limited fare. I was surprised to find alcoholic drinks were so expensive compared to other cruise companies I've been on lately. But, we had a great time. We sailed Royal Caribbean ten years ago - first time back (our memories may not be reliable) but disappointed with what we found.

Loved MSC Divina (10/22/16) and hope to sail its sister ship Fantasia in May. It's been a while since we sailed RCCI so going on Navigator on Jan. 3rd. With MSC still in recent memory, I'm looking forward to making a comparison - especially as both ships are similar in size.

Coffee in the MDR was terrible - disappointing as this is an Italian fleet. In the buffet they have hot milk available which made the coffee bearable. To get good coffee you have to go to the coffee bars (Deck 6 & 7)

Definitely one of the best deals. 15 coupons to a book ($28 each). Worth pre-purchasing.

CruiseIreland, thanks for sharing your review and perspective on the Art Auction. Interesting comparison indeed. Ours was very low key - they tried selling some older Peter Max and Dali prints - I don't think there were any takers. Most purchases were $25 - $300. No free cruise raffle, There was a $500 art credit raffle, but it could only be used on new purchases - and the draw was at the end of the last auction - which meant you had 15 minutes to buy while the art was being packed away. I don't drink the champagne but it certainly flowed, but if they hoped it would loosen control on bid cards - it didn't seem to do so :)