Back From Zenith, 2-6-06

[Lois R]

:) Hi, normally I write full reviews upon returning home.

But I am not doing that this time.

I will summarize my experience and if anyone has questions

I will try my best to answer them honestly.

This was my first time on Zenith and my first 5 night cruise.

It was most importantly a sailing to celebrate a friend's

50th birthday and we did that and I hope she had a good

time. (Hi Lorraine)!

The ship is smaller than any I have sailed but I enjoyed it

very much. She was built in 1992 so she is quite a bit older

than the other X ships too. She has her own atmosphere

and feel and I had a wonderful week. I am not a person who

has to be occupied with activties so lounging around, napping,

eating, drinking, lounging around, napping were just fine;).

The service (in my opinion) was FANTASTIC. As good as any

cruise to date for me. Our waiter was Milan and Assistant

Juan. They were both attentive and I felt the service was

top notch.

Cabin Attendant was Allen and Asst was Joey.....both kept

the room made up and we did have breadspreads! Cabin

9091 window with an obstructed view but it was just fine.

LOTS and LOTS of closet and drawer space.

As I said, the ship is small and definitely has its own

personality (as do all the ships). The Guest Services area

feels more "Business Like" than on the C or M class ships.

It is set up differently due to the size of the ship. But the

staff was fabulous.

Gueremillo and Elsa at Excursions are wonderful. I didn't do any

shore excursions but met them and visited a bit and they

are 2 great people.

Josie is the Future Cruise Consultant and she is personable,

helpful and a pleasure to deal with!

Anyhow, I would sail Zenith again. Then again, my only

problem has always been I love all the ships...Zenith,

C Class and M Class...I enjoy them all!

Oh, embarkation and disembarking went VERY SMOOTHLY!!!

I had an excellent time and hope any of you going in the future

will enjoy your cruise as well.

[Andy]

:) Hi, normally I write full reviews upon returning home.

But I am not doing that this time.

I will summarize my experience and if anyone has questions

I will try my best to answer them honestly.

This was my first time on Zenith and my first 5 night cruise.

It was most importantly a sailing to celebrate a friend's

50th birthday and we did that and I hope she had a good

time. (Hi Lorraine)!

The ship is smaller than any I have sailed but I enjoyed it

very much. She was built in 1992 so she is quite a bit older

than the other X ships too. She has her own atmosphere

and feel and I had a wonderful week. I am not a person who

has to be occupied with activties so lounging around, napping,

eating, drinking, lounging around, napping were just fine;).

The service (in my opinion) was FANTASTIC. As good as any

cruise to date for me. Our waiter was Milan and Assistant

Juan. They were both attentive and I felt the service was

top notch.

Cabin Attendant was Allen and Asst was Joey.....both kept

the room made up and we did have breadspreads! Cabin

9091 window with an obstructed view but it was just fine.

LOTS and LOTS of closet and drawer space.

As I said, the ship is small and definitely has its own

personality (as do all the ships). The Guest Services area

feels more "Business Like" than on the C or M class ships.

It is set up differently due to the size of the ship. But the

staff was fabulous.

Gueremillo and Elsa at Excursions are wonderful. I didn't do any

shore excursions but met them and visited a bit and they

are 2 great people.

Josie is the Future Cruise Consultant and she is personable,

helpful and a pleasure to deal with!

Anyhow, I would sail Zenith again. Then again, my only

problem has always been I love all the ships...Zenith,

C Class and M Class...I enjoy them all!

Oh, embarkation and disembarking went VERY SMOOTHLY!!!

I had an excellent time and hope any of you going in the future

will enjoy your cruise as well.

 

Hi Lois !

 

I am glad you had a great time on Zenith. Thanks for the great mini-review !

 

3 questions please :

 

1. Who was the Captain ?

2. Who was the Cruise Director ?

3. Was Camilla Sullivan still onboard ? (Captains Club Hostess) She is a fantastic person !

[aloanldy]

Lois - My mom (80) and my step dad (blind and 81) booked Zenith for next February. The only other ship they were on was Legends of the seas. Do you see any reason why they wouldn't love Zenith?

 

They are planning the 11 night Caribbean cruise, as long as their healths hold up.

 

I am of the firm belief that there is no really bad cruises. Although I prefer never to cruise Carnival again.

 

 

Charlie

[DeltaOne]

:) Anyhow, I would sail Zenith again. Then again, my only problem has always been I love all the ships...Zenith,C Class and M Class...I enjoy them all!

 

Isn't that the truth! Woke up to over a foot of snow in central Maryland this morning, I'm wishing I was on a ship right now!

 

Thanks for the review.

[Luckyroot]

3 questions please :

 

1. Who was the Captain ? Captain Metropoulis (spelling?)

2. Who was the Cruise Director ? don't know, never saw him (we were very low key this cruise, didn't do show etc.)

3. Was Camilla Sullivan still onboard ? (Captains Club Hostess) I looked forward to seeing her again, but she was not there. New CC Hostess is Liesle who was just a lovely, charming young lady! Always smiling

[HELENROSE]

Luckyroot, I heard the Zenith, they weren't as dressy as other ships. How did you find Formal nights? We were on the Zenith Oct. 2004 and it was about 1/2 and 1/2. How was it now?

 

aloanldy, when are your parents going in Feb. We are doing a b2b, Jan 29th and Feb. 9th. We love the smaller ships, you get to know your fellow passengers.

[Lois R]

Hi,

 

The Cruise Director was Jeff but I cannot recall his last name.

I was told he just arrived on the ship on Feb 6th. He seemed very

nice though. I didn't meet him personally but did see him at various

shows. And I went to the disembarkation talk on Friday morning (he

led it) and he made it fun and informative. And Many, MANY of the

"regular crew and staff" were introduced at the end so you could

actually see all those workers at once~it was very nice:) and they

got BIG OVATIONS from the crowd too.

Leisel was the Capt Club hostess and she was extremely nice as

well.:)

 

Charlie, I have never sailed the Legend (which one?) Carnival or

Royal? I have never sailed either.

I very much enjoyed Zenith and depending on your parents I would

hope they would like it too. It has no "Glitz"....just an understated

atmosphere.

She is very easy to manuever around and the staff is superb.

[venicecruiser]

I was on the 2/2 and 2/6 sailings.

 

CD on the 2/2 sailing was "invisible" as he was NEVER seen around the ship during the day or evening unless he was introducing a show, etc. Same thing can be said for the CD on the 2/6 sailing.

 

First time on a Celebrity ship that the cruise director was not out and about speaking to pax...Sure made me miss John Howell and a couple other CDs I've sailed with in the past.

 

Claudia

[signman]

Ruth is correct. Captain is Theodore Mitropoulous, CD is Jeff, although his assistant Natalie is the real star. CC hostess is Liesl and she is fantastic and beautiful.

[southhavenjen]

Hi,

 

The Cruise Director was Jeff but I cannot recall his last name.

I was told he just arrived on the ship on Feb 6th. He seemed very

nice though. I didn't meet him personally but did see him at various

shows. And I went to the disembarkation talk on Friday morning (he

led it) and he made it fun and informative. And Many, MANY of the

"regular crew and staff" were introduced at the end so you could

actually see all those workers at once~it was very nice:) and they

got BIG OVATIONS from the crowd too.

Leisel was the Capt Club hostess and she was extremely nice as

well.:)

 

The CD's name was Jeff Potts. I also heard he was new, and I agree with Lois that his disembarkation talk was fun and informative. Overall I would say he did a fine job as CD.

[Luckyroot]

Luckyroot, I heard the Zenith, they weren't as dressy as other ships. How did you find Formal nights? We were on the Zenith Oct. 2004 and it was about 1/2 and 1/2. How was it now?

 

aloanldy, when are your parents going in Feb. We are doing a b2b, Jan 29th and Feb. 9th. We love the smaller ships, you get to know your fellow passengers.

 

I'm not a good one to ask about this, as I don't normally let what others wear to dinner spoil my good time. But here is my observations:

 

I did not think there were as many tuxes as on previous cruises (or again, maybe I just wasn't noticing). I did see a woman walk in the dining room right in front of me wearing jeans on casual night, and the Matre'd said nothing (except good evening). IMO most people who cruise Celebrity follow the dress code, and that is WHY they choose Celebrity. To dress nicely for dinner and enjoy the dining experience.

 

Maybe other's have some input for HelenRose?

[HELENROSE]

Thanks for your response, we always dress according to the ships suggestion. But we don't want to take a tux or a long dress, if no one else is wearing them. A suit and cocktail dress would be fine.

 

Do they still have the GREAT desserts in the Cova?

[Lois R]

Hi Ruth, I don't notice a whole lot either as I am usually having

too much fun enjoying my cruise;) but I did notice a guy a couple

of tables over from us. (on the other side of the food station).

I think on one of the informal nights....one of my tablemates noticed

it first..the guy at the other table was in shorts, sneakers, t-shirt

and that baseball cap stood out too:rolleyes:.

Oh well.....I guess Franco (the Maitr'd) welcomed him in as well.

 

HelenRose, a short dress and regular suit will be fine:)

[Andy]

Hi Everyone !

 

Thanks for responding to my questions. I wonder what happened to Camilla ? I heard she was supposed to be onboard until April or so. Perhaps she was moved to another ship ? I am sailing on Century in a few weeks. It would be awesome if she were there.

[WeBeCruisin']

Hi Lois! Sounds like you had another great trip, although with your positive personality, you'll never have a bad cruise.:)

 

I'm in a situation now where I may have to have you give me tips on the tricks involved in single cruising. It's a whole new, sort of scary, situation, but I love cruising too much to give it up.

 

Allen

[Ships R Great]

Andy, I too will miss Camilla. she was so very nice! Is Jeff potts the guy who was Asst. Cruise Director on Galaxy last fall?

[danalan]

Thanks for the review!

 

Our very first cruise was on the Zenith to Bermuda in 2003, then did the 14 night southern Caribbean on Zenith in 2004. The Zenith is our benchmark we have compared everything to since. You're right, it has its own personality and service that cannot equalled on the larger ships.

[teedee]

Hi Lois! Sounds like you had another great trip' date=' although with your positive personality, you'll [i']never [/i]have a bad cruise.:)

 

I'm in a situation now where I may have to have you give me tips on the tricks involved in single cruising. It's a whole new, sort of scary, situation, but I love cruising too much to give it up.

 

Allen

 

Allen - I had my first cruise as a single cruiser a little over a year ago. I was very nervous about it beforehand but it is wonderful! It's so much more comfortable to have the whole cabin to yourself to spread out in. I've always found folks on rollcalls to sit with at dinner or plan excursions with. I've even talked friends that I used to room with to book their own cabins on cruises we want to take together.

Lois - Glad you had such a good time on Zenith - I'm booked on her for the first time in October.

Terri

[dawne577]

Thank you Lois for your review. After much deliberating(we almost cancelled numerous times) I feel very comfortable with our decision and am now trying to keep a lid on my enthusiasm. Could you answer a couple of questions, please:

1.) Did you go into the hot tubs and how warm were they?

2.) When you go to Cova Cafe do you pay extra for the pastries? Can't wait to try their specialty coffee drinks which I know they charge for.

17 days until we leave for sunny Florida - YEA HAH!!!

[ahoughton]

Lois,

We were on Zenith 1/23/06 in room 9099 and had Allen as our cabin attendant. He went out of his way for us. My wife has medication needing refridgerated and we had read all rooms had a refer so we didn't bring the small one we usually bring. Allen borrowed a cooler from a friend and kept it full of ice for use. We had Milan at our lunch table one day and requested him for breakfast and lunch every day after. Fernando was our dinner waiter and he was wonderful. We enjoyed Zenith very much.

[Lois R]

Hi, Terri good to see you again and hope you are doing well.:)

 

Allen, when you say the situtation has changed...I hope things

at home are ok.:)

 

I have shared a cabin on my last 2 sailings. It was fine on both

and both roomies and I got along but I do know now I prefer

my own space.

I know the prices are always more for singles but as long

as I feel I can afford it I will be sailing solo.

I will be going on Mercury in Oct on my own again.

And I agree with Terri, if there is a good Roll Call going on, you can

always meet folks from there:D

 

Dawn, I never used the spa, hot tubs, or even the pool.

So I can't give you an educated reply. Sorry!

No charge for the pastries!!!

[Andy]

When you go to Cova Cafe do you pay extra for the pastries? Can't wait to try their specialty coffee drinks which I know they charge for.

17 days until we leave for sunny Florida - YEA HAH!!!

 

HI Dawne !

 

The pastries are still free at the Cova !

 

I hope the weather will be much better than what we have in South Florida today.... it's freezing, but at least we do not have a blizzard, so I cant complain.

 

Have a great time on your Cruise !

[Andy]

Do they still have the GREAT desserts in the Cova?

 

Hi Helenrose !

 

You bet they do :). The chocolate croissants and the almond pastry are totally addictive.

[Texed]

Thanks for posting on, Lois.

[caviargal]

Lois - My mom (80) and my step dad (blind and 81) booked Zenith for next February. The only other ship they were on was Legends of the seas. Do you see any reason why they wouldn't love Zenith?

 

They are planning the 11 night Caribbean cruise, as long as their healths hold up.

 

I am of the firm belief that there is no really bad cruises. Although I prefer never to cruise Carnival again.

 

 

Charlie

 

 

I have done both and enjoyed both. Legend is larger and more open, with more activities and public areas. Zenith has larger standard size cabins.

 

Although it has been years since I was on these particular ships, I believe that X has higher standards for food and service.