Review:Zenith - April 23, 2005

[spalady]

Day 1

Saturday, April 23, 2005

 

Weather: chilly, damp and rainy

Town car from OS to Celebrity Zenith in NJ - Pick up at 9:30a

Arrived at ship before noon – this is a huge, desolate old warehouse area. The directions in the cruise docs were very good – it is easy to find. Limo pulled up to the awning – a porter took our big bags – he was very nice. He pointed out the door for us to enter. Went in – suite and concierge line to the left – only a few people ahead of us. The embarkation was very easy because we were Concierge Class but we realized later we didn’t go through the line for photos. University of Rutgers shuttlebus to ship. (This is a nice service but it is hard for University of Connecticut people to get on a Rutgers bus!! - sorry OneKurt)

At the ships entrance there was a 4 flight set of aluminum stairs. I told DH I could not climb them (I just had a cortisone shot on Wed and still had back pain) I refused to walk them when I saw the handicap entrance was empty and could easily accommodate me. I had to tell the attendants twice that I could not walk the stairs before they would let me on. (Next time we carry the handicap placard). After we did the id photo and received our seapass a very nice young man took us up in the elevator and would have escorted us to 1086 but we knew where it was since we stayed in the one next door in August.

Stateroom ready because this was the first cruise to Bermuda after their Caribbean run which ended on the 20th. We checked everything out – only thing not working was the music system that is in the nightstand – the one in 1084 didn’t work in August either.

Bed was made into one so when the attendant came in we asked her to make it into twins. We find that gives you much more floor space and no one has to climb over in the middle of the night. Room is very comfortable – lots of storage – terrible view from window. When we left from NYC in August we overlooked the Concorde on display. In April we saw what looks like a deserted airfield. Maybe it looks better on a sunny day.

Buffet lunch in Windsurf Café on Marina Deck – DH had a cheeseburger from the Grill – I had buffet. Came back to room and found a couple trying to open our door. I said, laughingly, “Hey, why are you trying to open my door?” They looked at the number on the door, at each other, then at us and said, “oh, dear, we are next door”. We introduced ourselves and I said, “We’re from CT – where are you from?” They said CT, too. I said, I’m from Old Saybrook” – they said “We’re from Niantic” – 20 minutes from OS!! and a friendship was born!!!!! Our DHs must have been separated at birth – they are sooooo much alike – cancer survivors, non-drinkers, own boats, etc – the clincher was they have the exact same watch, right down to the navy blue face. More about them later.

Lifeboat drill was very simple, very easy. Did not see or hear one grumpy person in our muster station. Watched provision loading from aft deck with our new friends. She and I sat on a lounge chair while the men braved the cold at the rail. We laughed ourselves silly listening to our DHs talk about themselves. Except for physical differences, they could be twins. (We have since gone out to dinner post-cruise – they are so nice). Kept checking to see when bags would arrive. (not as quickly as you would expect for CC). However, we had everything we needed in our carryons in case the bags were delayed. One bag arrived shortly after sailing, the other arrived shortly before dinner (6pm).

We arrived at the dining room at the posted time!!! (In our opinion, this is another area that should be addressed by Celebrity). If you say: arrive at 6, doors close at 6:15 – then CLOSE the doors at 6:15!!! There was a young couple with 2 children who showed up at 6:30 EVERY night!! My one comment on the dress code: If they don’t intend to enforce the code: DON’T PRINT IT IN THE NEWSLETTER, PERIOD. I plan my attire according to their words so I am not pleased to see shoooort denim skirts, bare midrifts, and jean jackets on informal or formal nights. (I really don’t like that type of outfit anytime, but…..)

OK, back to good stuff. We were at a table for 8 #124. Our tablemates were very nice young couples, probably in their 30’s. We would have enjoyed spending the whole week with them. However, about 2 months before the cruise date, I requested my TA ask for a table for 2. We have a terrible time hearing people talk at large tables. We miss so much it actually takes away from the pleasure of dinner. So when we were offered a table for 2, #99, Sunday afternoon, we took it. We saw our former tablemates on Sunday and explained it to them. Dinner was wonderful. We are normally food snobs but when we are on a cruise we find we love everything. We love the food and the whole dining room experience. We usually have breakfast, lunch and dinner in the dining room. On the August cruise our waiter was David from the Czech Republic. I spotted him across the room and pointed him out to DH. DH got up and started to walk over to him. When DH was about 10 feet from him David recognized DH. He put out his hand and walked toward DH to shake hands. They spoke and then DH pointed to me. David walked all the way across the room to hug me. How wonderful it felt to be remembered. We saw him a lot during the week and he always had a big smile. He is such a wonderful young man. Several of the waiters went out of their way to be friendly to us. We ended up tipping 3 waiters who were never assigned to us just because they were so friendly. As I told OneKurt, I somehow lost the journal I kept during the week so I can't tell you what we had for dinner most nights but I think only one night was not the best. That was DH's pork chop. Our waiter did not mention it as a recommended dish and DH should have listened to him. One dessert wasn't the best but I had 2 desserts that night so.....

Oh dear, I am rambling – all this is only ½ of a day. Is this the kind of review you all want or, when I continue, should I limit it?

[spalady]

I realized I should not have posted this review here - I am going to jump over to Celebrity cruises - sorry