Zenith vs Summit

[tomatopa]

Just home from our first Celebrity cruise on the Summit. we loved it! we are now looking at a cruise on the Zenith. how disappointed will we be in the ship? i have been reading everything i can about the Zenith. we did not have a balconey on the Summit. anyone who has been on both ships and can help me out, please reply. thanks, Judy

[Lois R]

Good morning:)

I sailed Summit in October and was on Zenith last month.

It depends on your expectations really.

 

They are 2 different fruits......I would go back on either one and

I am sailing Zenith again next month.

 

Summit is much larger with more bells and whistles. It is also newer.

 

I was not disappointed but for some reason I love all the ships:D

 

If you want more choices of dining, remember Zenith is the oldest

ship in the fleet and there is no specialty restaurant and no

aqua spa cafe.

 

I felt the service to be fantastic on both ships.

 

Again, in my opinion it depends on the person and what they

are specifically looking for.

 

Call me nuts......I have yet to be disappointed with any of

my Celebrity sailings:) ;)

 

Zenith is only 46,000 tons...where Summit is in the 90 ton range.

 

Not sure how much my post has helped you~I really think it depends

on the indivdual. If you LOVE large ships, Zenith might not be for you.

I enjoyed the intimacy of Zenith but as I said, I would go back

on any of the ships again!

[tomatopa]

thanks, Lois. your comments are exactly what i am looking for. the things that the Zenith does not have did not make our cruise on the Summit I did enjoy our lunches at the aqua spa cafe...those pretty fruit and veggie plates were a nice change of pace after eating so much. i have liked the smaller ship we have sailed on. i am thinking we will take the Zenith this cruise. i think it is Celebrity that I love and so will love all her ships. thanks, again, Judy

[motherchic]

Hi Tomatopa,

I will be very interested in the responses you get.

We have been on the Summit twice and once each on the other sister ships "M" class. Our next cruise is in Feb, 14 day Panama cruise on the summit.

I like the itinerary of the "C" class ships but i too am afraid of being dissappointed.

With 4 children, and some in college we arent at a point were we can travel very often , so when we do it is an extra special treat... and we hesitate to take a chance. ( might sound silly to others but its the way we feel )

I love the thallo pool, love eating at the aqua spa for lunch and perhaps a late afternoon bite to hold us till late dinning.

Those are two of my most favorite things so..........

Best of luck with your decision.

When and if we ever book a cruise on a "C" class, we will absolutely go with a positive attitude and i know that means allot

Nadine

[Host Anne]

Tomatopa ~ We've sailed Summit twice and she remains amoung our all time favorite ships. We leave next Saturday for our first Zenith cruise. We are very excited as I've always wanted to try Celebrity's smaller ships. We really prefer the smaller ships and I'm fairly certain we are going to love Zenith. We don't sail for the glitz and mall-like feeling you get on many of the megaships. We enjoy getting to know other passengers and crew, great meals, relaxation. If there is one thing Zenith is known for it's her great crew. So I'll be back after March 16 to give you a better comparison.

[Lois R]

Hi Anne:) you will love her!

 

Nadine, nothing wrong with enjoying the M class ships and what

they have to offer. Small ships are not for everyone.

 

In my situtation it was opposite.....I had sailed Century and Mercury

before I tried a bigger ship. I thought the larger ones would be

too large for me, maybe it was going to be "too much".

I found out I love both. (Nice problem to have;) ). I enjoy the aqua

spa cafe too but love the C-Class ships as well and Zenith is in

an even smaller class......and loved my experience on her too.:)

[usha]

I agree with every single thing Lois said. Also,Zenith has a 1-level diningroom and a much smaller, simpler lobby area. The whirlpools are all on the uppermost aft deck in an area all their own; a very nice place to enjoy the sea days. Although there are no balconies, if you get one of the cabins on Atlantic or Bahama decks aft, you can step right out the door onto the aft deck; next best thing to a balcony!

[newmexicoNita]

We have sailed the Zenith and the Connie; yes, they are very different but we would go on either again. I actually liked the Zenith a little better; though the lobby wasn't glitz and glamour it certainly was classy. the entire ship was. Of course there were not all the activities and no specialty dining, but the Connie only had one specialty dining room anyway and it was sold out almost from the moment we got on the ship. As long as you go understanding the 2 ships are very different you will have a wonderful time. Each offers something unique; our biggest complaint about the Zenith, the sound proofing from cabin to cabin was very bad. We actually could talk to the couple in the cabin next to us when we were in the bathroom: luckily they were our friends. LOL

 

NMNita

[ChoirMom]

I watching this thread with interest as our first (ever) cruise was last year on Summit to Alaska, and in June we will be on Zenith to Bermuda. We didn't have anything to compare our Summit experience with at that time, it was a lovely cruise overall. The ship seemed big, but did not have a "crowded" feeling to it. Frankly there were just too many choices of things to do each day, especially port days.

 

I confess that I did love all of the unusual art on the Summit; loved going up and down the open staircases and loved our FV cabin with balcony. This time the four of us are in one ocean-view cabin with fold-down berths. Don't know about the art on Zenith, but unlike Alaska, we do expect to use the outdoor pool on Zenith.

[tomatopa]

Host Anne, i will be really looking forward to reading how much you love this cruise. Judy

[Host Anne]

Judy and everyone else sailing Zenith soon. Unfortunately, we didn't have a typical Celebrity cruise experience this week. There were a number of factors. The first was the fact that the ship had a fair amount of unruly, unkind spreak break students on board (there were great students on board as well but the bad ones were really bad). You won't face this challenge at the time any of you are cruising. Trying to deal with the challenges the crew faced definitely had an overall impact on the entire ship. There was no control and the crew (this was the second cruise in a row that Zenith experienced out-of-control students) just wasn't equipped to handle what was thrown at them. While there were still plenty of friendly crew (Celebrity crew are always terrific), the past two weeks definitely took a toll on all of them....even up to the officers.

 

We did enjoy the smaller size of the ship and I thought the interior lounges of the ship were fantastic. They had all been updated and looked terrific. The Cova could possibly be our favorite spot on any ship (and Nikolina, our server in the Cova, was just outstanding). But unfortunately, we found the exterior areas of the ship (the pools, deck furniture, deck railings, etc) to be in great need of maintenance.

 

ChoirMom ~ I'm sorry to say that the hallways on Zenith are devoid of artwork. I noticed that right away because I, too, enjoy the art on the M-Class ships. There is some art here and there in the lounges and lobby (and plenty at the art auction -- I've never seen so much art at an auction at sea) but not what you saw on Summit.

 

I did post a review (here's a link to it) http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=315694. Keep in mind as you read it that there were many extenuating circumstances this week so in no way do I think it is reflective of what you will find on Zenith at a later date (except for the areas of the ship that need maintenance). Don't let it scare you away.

 

I think it's good to try different ships and we always wanted to sail Zenith (and we are glad we did). And we would LOVE to sail her again if they put some work into her and get her up to the standards of the rest of the Celebrity fleet.