Another positive review for Zenith 12/3

[Gypsea]

As you've heard from Barry, slotaddict, Karen and Hal and maybe some I've missed the Zenith sailing on 12/3 was great. The weather and seas were perfection. The ship, service, shows and food left us with little to complain about.

 

One pre night in FLL was spent at the Sheraton on Dania near the airport. This is a great hotel and the shuttle can bring you here to enjoy the pool, hot tubs, bar and dining room until you head back to the airport (VIA

SHERATON SHUTTLE)for shuttle to Miami. Or if you are really lucky you will meet another CC member with a rent-a-car and bum a ride to Miami like us. The sweet sleeper beds are fabulous. This was a great choice.

 

The next day the embarkation was a breeze. After champagne and bag drop in our cabin we headed to the buffet since the dining room is not open. I thought there were some pretty good choices on the buffet but if not the pizza, sandwiches and burgers might be for you. DON'T FORGET THE TEA AT 4 PM EACH DAY.

 

Our cabin was fine on the fourth deck, 4033, no complaints. It was way down there and made me walk many floors which was a good thing. I rarely take the elevator and my scale says this was wise. Of course, I still gained a few pounds, lucky it was only a five nighter, about one per day.

 

Kudos to Pasqual and Salvio our cabin attendants who supplied the egg crate the first day (thanks to the heads up from the BOARD) which I would not have been able to sleep without. Ice was always replenished, cabin neat, clean and service unobtrusive. They were so sweet I cannot convey how pleased we were with them. These people work so hard to please and it shows.

 

Eduardo and his assistant (I am not able to think of his name at the moment, I apologize for that)at table 57 were above expectations also. I took his advice whenever I was in doubt and all my meals were superb. Mushroom bisque and all of the soups were memorable as were most of the appetizers and salads. Sometimes escargot is so salty it is unenjoyable, this was not. By the time the entrees arrived I was so full I should have skipped them entirely to save room for dessert. Only the funny little potato things were disappointing but I always skipped the starches to leave room for the real food! Oh, and there was little in the way of veggies with the entrees but it mattered little to me as I was so full by then. So, you see, I had no complaints with the dining.

 

I was able to have lunch twice in the dining room and one breakfast which were fine but with so many choices in the Windsurf I was not too upset that time did not allow me to do this more often. Port days the dining room may not be open, at least one day we noticed it wasn't.

 

Only one negative would be the coffee (an industry wide problem). I bought cappucino when I needed a good fix so it is available for a fee! I guess when you make a million gallons a day you make it weak.

 

Caymen was fun and I enjoyed the Stingrays much more this time as I was with a great group of people involved in the travel business. Other then that we just shopped around a bit and hit Senore Frogs for a photo op and a quick Margarita.

 

In Key West we went for a jog for about an hour which allowed us to see much of the island without shuttling. Sure we didn't have a tour but we saw alot, Duvall St is really looooong. We shopped around for hours and spent a fun day seeing a port we had never seen before. Thank gooodness we were not denied this day. It really is a great place. Sad that we had to board an hour before the Fun Festival started but I guess it is overrated. I was told it gets pretty crazy with the rowdy drinking crowd. Fine if you are twenty...sadly I'm not.

 

As for people really ignoring the dress code on ship, I didn't notice them. Of course, I was not looking for things to complain about.

 

I never did make it to bingo but the other half did go for the cruise give-a-way. It was reasonably priced unlike some ships.

I did go to one art auction and received a nice piece to take home with a coupon I had.

 

I did not purchase anything from the spa either and the gym was avoided which is unusual for me but I do hate a treadmill. I did see it was small but had the important items if that is essential for you.

 

The shows were great and I liked the Braodway show very much. The illusionist and comedian were also very good.

 

I spent a fair amount of time at the nickel slots and Bill liked the blackjack tables but we are sad to report neither of us were big winners (or losers). Others did seem to be hitting it big around us, though.

 

Disembarkation was easy for us. I slept a bit late and didn't have any breakfast. We went to the show lounge but found about three people there. We thought they must have called our color so we proceeded to deck 5. When we got there about forty people were in line so we joined them. Three minutes later the line started moving and we disembarked. The only bad thing about this was we then waited on the FLL shuttle to load for the next twenty or thirty minutes so I guess I could have had my breakfast after all. My fault for being so lazy!! We left Miami at about 10 am, I think, but that was partly due to those folks that would not respond to the call by the pursers office.

 

I thought the ship looked great and I was in no way disappointed by this cruise. Celebrity has done a great job keeping service, food and the cruise experience something to remember.

 

Do not be put off by negative posters. We were very happy.

[BrooklynGirl2]

Thank you Gypsea for the nice review! I too very much enjoyed the appetizers and all the soups. I hadn't eaten burgers for a long time but enjoyed those on Zenith which seemed to be freshly made. I'm glad you had such a good time and went with a positive attitude. It does make a difference.

[alpal1993]

We will be on Zenith for our first time.Sounds like we will enjoy her like we have all our Celebrity Cruises.Our problem will be fitting in all the ship board activities we like to do plus exploring Bermuda at night.We are going with friends we met on Century in 2000.

Thanks for the positive review.

[southhavenjen]

Great review, thanks for sharing!! These kind of reviews are making me excited to do our trip on Zenith on 2/6!

[momofmeg]

Thanks for the great review-now it is only 2 months to my cruise and you have me excited.

 

So the coffee was not so good? I guess there is no Seattle's Best on Celebrity? That was one of the few things I liked about my Mariner of the Seas cruise back in October. I LOVE good STRONG coffee-while others were complaining about the coffee-I loved it.

 

I guess NM Nita has left for her cruise now-I hope everything goes well for her grand daughter's wedding. I am looking forward tohearing about it when Nita get back home.

[Barry ATL]

Thanks for the great review-now it is only 2 months to my cruise and you have me excited.

 

So the coffee was not so good? I guess there is no Seattle's Best on Celebrity? That was one of the few things I liked about my Mariner of the Seas cruise back in October. I LOVE good STRONG coffee-while others were complaining about the coffee-I loved it.

 

I guess NM Nita has left for her cruise now-I hope everything goes well for her grand daughter's wedding. I am looking forward tohearing about it when Nita get back home.

 

I agree with the others. The coffee does leave a lot to be desired. I know it is because they are using concentrate to make the coffee, but hotels have used it and it tastes better. Are the cruise lines trying to get more of a European coffee taste???

 

The closest thing to good coffee was something from the Cova Cafe. Even there they do not have plain coffee. You would have to order an Americano which is a shot of expresso with hot water.

[PTCruizer]

Thanks for your review Gypsea. It's refreshing to read that someone who has a realistic approach enjoyed themselves. I believe that if you are looking for problems you will undoubtably find them. We have never had a bad cruise and don't expect to on the Zenith. I'm glad you had a good time.

 

By the way,

 

We're next! :D

[Gypsea]

Glad to be of assistance.

 

I am so sad to be back in the land of snow and sub freezing temperatures. I envy all of you who are still looking forward to your trips. Anticipation is half the fun...well maybe not half!

 

Make the most of every minute. I know I did because I am still rocking and trying to catch up on my rest.

[dsue]

That was a good review! We really enjoyed the cruise and being first time Celebrity cruisers we are looking forward to another one. If there was anything lacking, I think it might have been some activities during the late afternoon. We have always sailed on larger ships, so I'm sure that is the difference. It was an extremely relaxing cruise which DH and I definitely needed. We leave for a short Mexico cruise in a couple of weeks on Monarch of the Seas. I was so spoiled on the Zenith I had to go on a cruise again ASAP;)