back from Zenith 11/10-11/14

[Islandbuoy]

1) everyone grousing about the Port changes(Coz, Key West to Cayman)Celeb made no attempt to explain, and made no adjustment in Port charges.

2) food mediocre especially at lunch,dinner items made to fit everyones taste as a result indistinct (and cold)

3) entertainment --great

4) service generally good

5) bed---bad-- very hard (and old)

 

6) disembark-- a real circus -- everyone had to go to US Immigration--a fact that they buried in the newsletter and not in the disembark instructions---as a result a significant delay--with everyone piling up in the Rendez lounge , while the PA system( not played in your stateroom) pleaded for people to go to immigration.) Meanwhile no one allowed off the boat. Finally bribed US Customs ( I guess)

This whole mess was handled by an ass't cruise director.There was not a staff officer in sight. I was joking when I said we should get on our cell phones and call Royal Carrib HQ (which was right behind our dock) and ask for help. The melee of people in the lounge was a definite safety hazard. Word was that they had this same mess on the earlier cruise in the week. Cap't Margaritis needs to attend to his business ( IMHO)

 

ON THE WHOLE AN ENJOYABLE CRUISE, BUT DISEMBARK AND THE PORT CHANGES SPOILED IT FOR MANY.

[marshabear]

yikes!! doesn't sound like you had a good experience....

 

we are sailing for the 1st time on Celebrity next month...

 

wonder if our itinerary will change too?? that wouldn't bother me though as i have been to both key west and cozumel before and never to grand cayman!! (went there once but weather was too bad to stay)

 

we have learned from past cruises that disembarkation is usually a nightmare so we expect to wait , and wait, and wait....

 

one main reason we cruise is for the food -i realize everyone's taste is different, but have heard alot of "negative" regarding this ship's food...

 

guess we'll form our own opinion next month!!

 

 

Marsha

[Gypsea]

jercal

 

thanks for checking in. we appreciate it. sorry you were not extremely happy upon returning. were you supposed to have three ports? i'm confused about that.

did you have a nice cabin at least? did it look at all updated? you didn't say much about ship condition. could you tell it had been drydocked?

we have a seminar on board this ship soon and I was consoling myself with the fact that at least it would be shiny and newish...maybe not. every report is sort of lacking in enthusiasm and praise. not exactly what those about to sail are looking to hear. bummer

[Islandbuoy]

Lest I forget--other major hiccup was X's failure to tell people that they could not put the tips on their bill, but had to pay cash--People we were with had been on this ship this summer and they were able to add to their bill. No info about this at all in any doc' or newsletter--Just a surprise.

 

Responses:

 

Room good condition except for outdated bed--large and clean, everything worked.

 

Ports were originally to be Coz & Key West... --- Went only to Grand Cayman instead.. no credit offered for the Port Charges associated with 1 less Port.. No explanation why the same ship on it's 5 day run earlier in week was able to go to Key west.

 

Dry dock was apparently for maintaining mechanical systems only.

 

Bars & lounges and other public areas in great shape. Only thing I could knock was the deplorable condition of the metal table tables in outdoor dining next to the buffet.

 

I think the ship's officer's had a half day off (or maybe they knew that the chaos was coming) and abdicated their duty to inform and control crowd(since none of us would see them again)

 

We're going on the Connie transatlantic in Sept and hope that the bed is better!!

[KAJOKG]

JERCAL10 - Thanks for your report --- I think - LOL! Every cruise line I have sailed always refund port charges when they have to skip a port! I would most definitely comlpain, in writing, to the head office.

We are on this cruise in Jan, Hope matters clear up. Regarding disembarkation - I am considering using carryon luggage, We would have a

22" wheeled bag (the type that fit in a plane's overhead) and one small tote each. To avoid the mess you speak of, we would like to carry these on and off ourselves. Do you see this as a problem?

[bsdmhutch]

Ports were originally to be Coz & Key West... --- Went only to Grand Cayman instead.. no credit offered for the Port Charges associated with 1 less Port.. No explanation why the same ship on it's 5 day run earlier in week was able to go to Key west.

 

Celeb website very early last week (or perhaps even before that) stated that Grand Cayman would be subsituted and because of the time needed for travel, Key West would be skipped.

 

Cozumel opened back up for some ships yesterday, so hopefully as the time goes by, all the schedules will be back to normal. It's been a bad weather season.

[Mysteryreader]

We were on the same cruise and came away with a more positive impression.

 

1. Everyone we met was philosophical about the port change. "You can't control Mother Nature." The weather was absolutely perfect, and the seas were calm. Mother Nature taketh away, and Mother Nature giveth. We particularly wanted to see Key West but now have reason to take another cruise. <g> Grand Cayman was a disappointment--we were expecting something more on the line of Bermuda--but now we don't have to wonder if we want to book a wk there. Been there done that. It made for a relaxing cruise, and I needed that more than I realized.

2. We ate almost all meals in the dining rm and thought the food was very good. I heard less positive things about the cafe but except for the first lunch didn't eat there.

3. The entertainment was the best we've seen on a cruise. (Not that our experience is so vast.) The large musical programs (Celebrity singers and dancers) was quite superior to what we saw on Summit in 2004, and we heard rave reviews. The comedian (Don Friessen) was very funny. (But we saw him disembark with luggage in Miami so his contract may be over.) The magician/illusionist had a varied act and was quite funny. Definitely worth our time.

4. Service was good. Our waiter Dervis and wine steward Mike were really excellent. Mike gave two seminars that were well attended. Dh knows a great deal more about wine than I and found them informative. (I now know I have one of the dumbest tongues around.)

5. The bed was great. It was flat, decently firm, and moved gently with the ship's movement. What more could we ask? I had the wall side which was a hassle, but I survived.

6. Disembark. We were told to report to deck 8 at 6:30. (It probably should have been staggered. If that was Celebrity's call, they need to rethink it.) INS didn't show up on time and didn't start checking until 6:50. They wouldn't clear the ship until they had checked everyone's docs. They've had everyone's passport numbers for days so some prescreening should have been possible. (Remember this was brought to us by the Dept of Homeland Security--those same wonderful people who managed FEMA's response to Katrina.) There were some MIA pax who contributed to the problem. The Celebrity people were *very* unhappy. They don't want SRO in the Rendezvous Lounge--they want us off and gone b/c they have another crowd showing up in a few hrs. We had a relatively late flight (thanks to Continental who moved us all over the clock) so it was a choice of spending time in the Rendezvous Lounge vs. time in the Miami and Newark airports. RL beats out that competition! In our corner of the RL I didn't hear any negative comments about Celebrity's role in this but there were a few about INS.

7. Condition of Zenith. I was primed to check this out b/c I knew about drydock. (Dh got annoyed at how thorough my inspection was. <g>) Either Zenith was in great condition before or they did a major overhaul. Carpeting was new everywhere. Upholstered furniture new. New linens. The ship looked almost brand new. If you looked closely they were still doing some cosmetic work. (One of our party brushed up against some wet paint and got some on his shirt sleeve. Guest services took care of it, and the laundry got it out.)

8. Fellow pax. We met a wide variety of people--most from FL but some from as far away as CA. Everyone was so friendly and interesting. It was a pleasure to get acquainted with them. I got a manicure the first day at sea. (I have my priorities straight!) As I left there was a couple making an appt. The three of us as well as half a dozen others got on the elevator; of course, I was holding my fingers a bit stiffly. The woman asked if I'd gotten a manicure. I said yes, turned around and held up my hands. Everyone on the elevator went, "Oooooo." "They're lovely!" etc. Now if I'd done that one the elevator at work, they would have thought I'd lost it! Cruising brings out the nice side of people.

9. Recommendation. If you're considering a cruise on Zenith, GO! A real winner from a number of standpoints.

 

M/R

[Arubalisa]

What is the charge for a manicure? Just so I can prepare dh :)

[BrooklynGirl2]

My experience on 2 cruises on Zenith this past summer are more in line with Mysteryreader. I found the food on Zenith to be quite good. The appetizers are wonderful and the soups are uniformly delicious. My filet mignon was cooked perfectly and the bearnaise sauce was very good. My favorite is the rack of lamb and it was excellent. And I want to add I am picky about food.

 

Perhaps because we sailed r/trip from Bayonne we had absolutely no problem disembarking from Zenith. Our set time was 10:20 and we were in our car by 10:40 a.m. Perhaps as mentioned you should complain about customs/immigration in Miami.

 

The crew on Zenith is warm, professional, efficient and very helpful. I have nothing but praise for this crew that takes much pride in their ship.

 

If there is one complaint that I personally have it is the hard mattress we had on the Florida deck (I have a bad back). After my first cruise I discovered (here on CC) that I could requested an egg crate mattress topper. I did this on my second cruise and it helped quite a bit.

 

The ship itself is in great shape and I loved the smaller size of her. I enjoyed bumping into the same passengers and we became friends with some of them. I don't need lots of glitz and mall-like atriums. I need great service, great food, interesting fellow passengers, and a relaxing atmosphere. All of which I found on Zenith.

 

For those of you with upcoming cruises, I believe you will enjoy yourselves and have a very good time. Remember, any vacation is what YOU make it.:)

[Ships R Great]

Mysteryreader---thanks for the positive thoughts. i was a little woried after the OP's remarks. I am so ready for Zenith to work it's magic on me!

[Islandbuoy]

1)I see that mystery reader commented about the inability to put tips on your bill, on a separate post.

 

2)Regardless of who caused the Immigration delays ( which they had on the 11/5 saling also) point is a total lacl of X personnel to help with the crowd--they were either afraid or had shore leave.

 

3) where I was there was a lot of discussion about the port changes and lack of refunding the port charge. It did X a lot more in the way of ill will than they know.

 

Regarding carrying your bags off : no one gets off til all the people go thru immigration, so it won't help.

 

As I said it was a good cruise, but had a couple of low spots that could be fixed with proper management.

[KAJOKG]

JERCAL & MYSTERY READER - Thanks for your reports on the Zenith. Some differences, but I appreciate both points of view!

[Gypsea]

Diversity is good. We do appreciate your comments.

I hope to go to Key West as Coz and Caymen are done to death. Sea days work for me though. I am going for sun and warmth.

[Islandbuoy]

we were lookinf forward to Key west also, but a tour of Hell and the turtle farm had to take its place.

 

Sea days were good, although the one from cayman to MIAMI was quote windy!

[OCruisers]

jercal10 .... Thanks for your time to give us a report -- very fair and thoughtful!

 

We love Zenith ... but can certainly understand that you had problems on your cruise!!!

 

Glad some things were all right ... and HOPE your next cruise (whatever ship or cruise line) will be better!

 

Thanks again! Happy Sailing! OCruisers :)