Anyone back from the Zenith?

[LSM1018]

I am pretty sure our bedspread was new. We were in CC, deck 10. Never having been on Zenith before, I am not sure what was there before. Here is a picture.

 

The Rainbow Room is on deck 8.

[Gypsea]

nitas right as long as they are clean i supppose we will deal with it. still it hardly seems like a major expense when you think of the wow it adds to the room appeal. cosmetics are important. it's the difference between motel six and the wyndham.

[Gypsea]

Imaclay,

 

that room looks TINY!!! I am afraid of what I will be getting. Too funny.

[slotaddict]

We just got back from the cruise in question. Our only complaint was the food was only "luke warm" each evening. Tasted good, but was not hot enough. Don't know if it sat in the kitchen too long or that our waiter was busy. Would suggest eating breakfast at the buffet each day - more choices & the food was warmer.

 

We were on the 6th deck & our bed cover looked new, as did the shower curtain & carpeting.

 

Entertainment was very good.

 

What room were you in on the sixth floor.

[LSM1018]

Imaclay,

 

that room looks TINY!!! I am afraid of what I will be getting. Too funny.

 

Gypsea,

The room WAS tiny. The Celebrity web site shows it as 172 sf, but I swear it didn't seem much bigger than the cabin we had on Sovereign. If they would replace the little loveseat with a chair, there would be more room to move around. One day I smacked my head pretty good on the pullman bed. You only need to do that once. Our last cruise before Zenith, we had a JS on Splendour, which may have made this cabin seem smaller than it really is. No matter, we had a wonderful cruise and have an 11 nighter booked on Zenith for 2007.

[Mysteryreader]

If you'll go to the thread on the Zenith 11/10-11/14 cruise, you'll see my impressions of the post-dry dock. I thought the ship looked great!

 

M/R

[Ships R Great]

Mysteryreader---I can't find your thread. Can you post a link?

[dkjretired]

Wasn't in the roll call threads, was in a review on this board, below is a link.

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=256019

[dogsambam]

Imaclay- I cannot get an answer from anyone on this question, but is concierge class worth the price difference on the Zenith? I am going to surprise my wife and take her and our upcoming infant on the Zenith in March. We want to do a getaway witht he new baby, so this is going to be a holiday present to her. We are big cruisers, and this ship is going to be tiny for my wife, but you cannot beat the deal. My TA and all questions on borads have failed to answer this question, so I was wondering if you could answer for me. Thank you.

 

We got home last night after spending 8 hours at the Ft. Lauderdale airport. Whew, that was a long time. For those who asked about transfers......we got into Ft. Lauderdale about 8:30 pm Thursday night. We were spending 2 nights in South Beach before the cruise. There were not a lot of taxis waiting at that time of night. We found a driver to take us to South Beach, and it was $70 including tip. The taxi from South Beach to the cruise terminal was $19 plus tip. We were put in touch (thanks Vicki and Barb!) with a lady (thanks Leslie!) that had hired a bus for the return to Ft. Lauderdale for $16 per person which included baggage handling and tip. There is a form to complete if you want to take the Celebrity transfer to the Ft. Lauderdale airport. You must turn it in on the first day of the cruise. The cost was $17 per person, plus tip, I assume.

 

We had a CC cabin on deck 10. The bedspread seemed to be new, as did the shower curtain. The towels were not. The sheets must have been about 1000 thread count. They were GREAT!!! The duvet also seemed new. It, also, was great. I didn't lift up the sheets to see if the matress was new. I didn't notice the carpeting. There was a love seat in the cabin that was stained, as was the vanity (desk) chair.

 

On the first night at dinner, Camilla (the Captain's Club hostess) invited us to dine with Captain Margaratis. It was delightful. We had drinks before dinner in the Rendez-Vous lounge and then proceeded to the dining room. When you dine at the Captain's table, they must have special access to the kitchen. We placed our order, and within 2 minutes we began our meal. We had many different wines and each of the women received a rose after dinner. It was one of the high points of the trip. If I could figure out how we were chosen, I would do it every time. I think the main reason was that we were at a table for 2. They can't just ask 2 people from a table of 8 to join the Capitan. 2 of the other couples were also at tables for 2. 2 other ladies were already seated, so I'm not sure if they had been at a table for 2. She had cruised Celebrity at least 22 times. She was retired from the government and cruises a lot. It was weird about the table for 2. I had requested a large table. But it was our anniversary, so maybe that's the reason for out seating arrangement. We were presented with an anniversary cake the first night at dinner, and again on the third night. I'll bet the people around us wondered why we were having 2 anniversaries. I certainly was! Must have been a mistake. The last time were on RCI for an anniversary, they made you pay for the cake. Not here. You get 2 free cakes!

 

Anyway, where I was going with this, we were told that the dry dock was truly a dry dock, where they did a lot of mechanical work. Repainted the bottom of the ship, etc. They must have done work in the dining room, because out assistant waiter told us it was his job to be a "watcher". Many of the workers evidently like to take souvenirs from the ship. Silverware and the like. He did a 2 hour shift of watching each day.

 

It was a great cruise, and I wish I was back on the ship!:D

[LSM1018]

dogsambam,

Here is my take on the CC cabins. I have heard a ton of people say that it isn't worth it unless the price is less than $100 per person difference. When I booked this cruise, I booked as far aft as I could get on deck 9, because the CC cabins were considerably more than the oceanview cabins. Celebrity upgraded us to cabin 1095, which is the last aft cabin on deck 10. 2 steps out our door was the deck area with quite a few lounge chairs. 1 floor up from there is the Windsurf Cafe. Just location alone made this cabin worth the extra cost. I have booked the same cabin again for an 11 nighter.

 

Now for the CC goodies.

Champagne on arrival. It was a 750ml bottle of Bouvet Signature Brut. We didn't drink it and brought it home with us, so I can't really comment on it, other than it was a nice touch.

 

Daily fruit selection. Very nice. Regular fruit bowl consisted of apples, pears, bananas, oranges, and grapes. Anything we ate was replenished.

 

Fresh cut flowers. There were no flowers the first day. On the second day there were miniture roses in a small silver vase in the bathroom. The roses were the same color as the towels. A few days after that, there were flowers on the desk. These were not replenished.

 

Daily hors d'oeuvres. Not very good, but fun! We tried each one.

 

Pillow menu. VERY nice. Especially the Isotonic.

 

Duvets and pillow top matress. VERY, VERY nice. They don't mention the sheets, but I have 550 thread count at home, and these were even nicer. It was like sleeping on a cloud.

 

Leather key holder, personalized stationery, a tote bag and umbrella. The key holder was just a nice souvenir. The stationery was just note cards with your name and cabin number typed on them. The tote bag in the closet was the one everyone gets, but you get another really nice one for completing the CC questionaire. I thought the umbrella was for use on board. Oh, well.

 

Double-thick Frette bathrobes. Really heavy, but nice.

 

Hansgrohe® showerhead. It had 2 settings, both of which were pretty nice.

 

VIP invitations to events. I can't remember which were CC, and which were for Select members. Here is what we received - Invitation to Elegant Tea, Captain's Club cocktail party, behind the scenes tour of the Show area, I can't remember all of them. Everytime we came back to the cabin there was something under the door.

 

Early embarkation and debarkation. Again, VERY nice.

 

Dining and seating preference. Preference on shore excursions. We didn't use this at all.

 

Express luggage delivery. Our bags were at the door way before everyone elses.

 

All in all, I thought it was great fun. A lot of nice surprises. And, as I said, I booked the same cabin again, so I thought it was worth it.

 

If you have enough cruises with Royal Caribbean, you will get the corresponding status on Celebrity. We are Platinum on RCI, which makes us Select on Celebrity.

 

Have a wonderful cruise. Your wife will love the ship. Let me know if you have any other questions.

[newmexicoNita]

I am pretty sure our bedspread was new. We were in CC, deck 10. Never having been on Zenith before, I am not sure what was there before. Here is a picture.

 

The Rainbow Room is on deck 8.

they certainly do not look like the ones on the virtual tour a few months ago. NMnita

[newmexicoNita]

nitas right as long as they are clean i supppose we will deal with it. still it hardly seems like a major expense when you think of the wow it adds to the room appeal. cosmetics are important. it's the difference between motel six and the wyndham.

and you are right; little things like decor can make a big difference. When I think of what we paid for our cruise and the fact it is only a 5 dayer I don't really care, but it would be nice to have it new and shiney. NMNita

[dmarch@islc.net]

what deck were you on? We were told they would re-do the top decks. I will be disappointed as well, but I guess there are other more important things than new bedding. NMNita

 

Deck 10, before and after it went CC. I thought for sure it would be replaced when it went CC, but no. I remember it being darker than the one in lmaclay's picture so maybe they are new now finally. Their still ugly though. LOL

[Cachecara]

I was on Zenith in September on the Europa deck and the above picture is exactly what my room looked like. So if the bedding is new--it's new but same design.

[Luckyroot]

I am pretty sure our bedspread was new. We were in CC, deck 10. Never having been on Zenith before, I am not sure what was there before. Here is a picture.

 

The Rainbow Room is on deck 8.

 

We were on the 11/5/05 sailing (First sailing after drydock) and our cabin on the Europa deck had a different bedspread (it was same colors but entirely different pattern...ours was small checks.) So maybe there ARE new bedspreads.......LOL I just can't tell which is new and which isn't!