Just Back From Zenith March 11 - A "Different" Kind of Cruise

[TheHappyWanderer]

their accomadation of hordes of rowdy spring breakers when the rules state that there must be an adult in each cabin? I was told that had had a great affect in taming the college party crowds. I guess not. It is too bad.

[DGF]

This ship seems to be a challenge. Hopefully they will have everything repaired by the end of the year when our group is on for the New Years Eve

 

Would you mind telling us what cabin you were in on deck 9 & deck 5; and the condition you found them

[DGF]

Might we ask what cabins you were in on the Zenith?

[DGF]

What an excellent and informative thread you have created!!

 

We were surprised to read that the hosts are volunteers.

 

We hope to have the opportunity of meeting you aboard a cruise one day and repay you for all of your informative work with a few thank you drinks:)

[BrooklynGirl2]

Hi DGF...we had cabin 4037 in June and cabin 4094 in September both Oceanview to Bermuda. We thought 4094 was in somewhat better condition (bathroom mostly) but there were no problems in either room. We used a roll-away bed for my young son and it worked fine with 3 of us in the cabin. We don't spend much time in the room anyway. We love Zenith and her crew and look forward to another cruise on her.

 

I'd be happy to answer any other questions.:)

[Lois R]

Hi,:) when I sailed Zenith last month I was in cabin 9091. It was

in fine condition in my opinion.

LOTS of drawer space! Clean bathroom as well. I did need my cabin

attendant to get me an egg crate for my bed. It was EXTREMELY

hard...but the eggcrate did the trick. Now, I always sleep on a firm

mattress here at home. But without the eggcrate the mattress was

too hard for me.

I will be in cabin 5078 next month. Will be glad to let you know

all about it upon my return.

[skydawg]

Hi!

GiniB, it sure didn't take you long to start gathering info! My question would be: is there a refit planned anytime soon for the Zenith? I'm not too bothered by bad deck chairs, tile issues, etc. I just want a cold cocktail and the company of my best friends! Cheer-O! How many days, Buddy?!

[newmexicoNita]

Hi!

GiniB, it sure didn't take you long to start gathering info! My question would be: is there a refit planned anytime soon for the Zenith? I'm not too bothered by bad deck chairs, tile issues, etc. I just want a cold cocktail and the company of my best friends! Cheer-O! How many days, Buddy?!

and you will get that from your cruise. The ship is fine, of course as has been said, it shows some signs of aging, so do I, but life is what you make of it. Expecting to have a good time with your friends is all that you need. NMnita

[Host Anne]

Dean and Gail ~ thanks so much for your nice note. The hosts here on the boards are a great bunch of people. We are all different (just like the cruise lines we host here on the boards) but we all really enjoy one another whenever we have the chance to cruise together. Hope to be able to meet up with you on a future cruise as well. There's no better place to be.

 

Skye and Nita ~ really....I'm not usually too picky about the condition of things (feel free to read my reviews over the past four years) but once it gets to the point of rust and dirt, it's a turnoff....especially when it's compared to other Celebrity ships. Didn't say we didn't have a good time -- we always have a good time. It was just disappointing in comparison to Celebrity expectations.

[DGF]

I think we will all agree that if we have the choice, being with our friends in a second class surrounding and being with them in a first class surrounding is a simple choice.

 

Those who have experienced the problem Host Anne did might want to send the Celebrity President an e-mail- dhanrahan@celebrity.com

 

You also may want to write a note to Douglas Ward, the Author of Berlitz Ocean Cruising & Cruise Ships, the refence book for the travel industry on ratings of cruise ships. Zenith was rated **** in 2005. Will be interesting to see the Zenith rating in the 2006 edition when it hits the book stores

 

Celebrity prides itself as being a Premium Cruise Ship line.

 

Hopefully the President will spring into action with the positive criticism in this and other threads

[jeffs55]

It seems to get vindictive at this point.

I guess the cheap fare in spring break season brought a bad element on board and I'm sorry folks had to deal with that, but I love Zenith

and our 2/25 5 day cruise was one of the best we've been on.

 

Deck furniture=worn out does not ruin my trip/ Jose from Portugal in the dining room was our best waiter ever. Had a great cruise.

 

Still my favorite ship.

 

Jeff

[DGF]

Glad to hear you had a positive experience experience in Feb.

 

Might I ask your cabin and how was it

 

Dean

[DGF]

Jeff

 

Not being vindictive. My background was with a couple of major canadian companies. We always welcomed constructive criticsm from the customers and attempted to quickly react to correct the problem. We also were sensitive to "trade publications"

 

Celebrity has a great reputation and hopefully this will be the case with Zentih

 

Host Anne

 

We have been closely monitoring several threads and sites, since some of our group booked for New Years Eve 2006 are having concerns

 

From reviewing the many threads on this site and other web sites on the Zenith, cabin and dining room table location appears to be a large factor in how one will enjoy the Zenith cruise. What are your thoughts?

 

One of the cruisers on the same cruise as yours is also providing a balanced detail report. They encountered the same problem with some of the college students but different cabin and table location appears to have made a big difference to their enjoyment aboard ship- Thread is http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=316142

 

Thanks again for your efforts. We have used such threads as yours to plan our cruises and to date they have allowed us to avoid cabin location problems and get the biggest bang for our tepid Canadian Dollars

 

Dean

[Host Anne]

DGF ~ I do think cabin and table location can make a difference in the cruise on Zenith. Part of the table location is dependent upon how full the ship is. On our cruise, there was a long wait list for second seating so they were actually putting 4 people at a table that was designed for two to get as many people as possible in the dining room for second seating. The Maitre 'D told me that when we switched tables. Even some of the tables that were meant for 8 had ten and sometimes 11 people at them. It's a tough call for the dining room staff....listen to people complain because they didn't get late seating or listen to people complain that the dining room is overcrowded. I felt sorry for the wait staff who could barely walk around tables because it was so tight. Made their job all the tougher.

 

The link you provided to Dawn's review was actually from the cruise before ours. Dawne was on March 6 and we were on March 11. The funny thing that several staff members told us that the week of March 6 was worse for them than our cruise. Guess it all depends on your perspective and what each individual has to deal with.

 

Jeff ~ I don't think anyone's getting vindictive here. I try to provide honest and balanced insight from our experience. If you own a business (as I do) it's very important to hear both the positives and the down sides or else you can improve your product. For those that are completely satisfied with a cruise experience like this, terrific. For those who aren't, there isn't anything wrong with letting the company know.

 

Here's the bottom line. People love Zenith (heck, we love the smaller ships). But without keeping her in decent shape comparable to other Celebrity ships, the number of true loyal repeaters is going to decrease. As fewer people sail her (when we booked this cruise back in November, it was empty), the less willing the company is going to be to sink any dollars in her to keep her. For those who really love Zenith, you should all be writing and letting Celebrity know you want her to stay and you want them to take care of her. Additionally, you'd better keep sailing her often and encourage others to do so.

 

DGF ~ I'm glad that you use message boards to gather information before you cruise. That's what we're here for. I tend to throw out totally positive and totally negative reports and focus more on those that are balanced, looking at both the pluses and minuses because that's what I want to know about when I book a cruise, too. Best of luck with your continued planning.

[tomatopa]

we are sailing the Zenith early next year. we had such a wonderful experience on our first X cruise on the Summit. we know that there is a big difference between the 2 ships. we have always liked the smaller ships. so hope we are not disappointed, as we talked friend into going with us next year and we have raved to them so much about our wonderful cruise experience with X. i do thank everyone for their comments about the ship.

 

Judy

[jeffs55]

OK, sorry about the vindictive thing, probably too strong a word. It's just surprising to me that our experience was so different in the space of a couple

of weeks. We were in CC cabin 1040. I don't think it had been refurbished, but it was fine.

Jeff

[newmexicoNita]

OK, sorry about the vindictive thing, probably too strong a word. It's just surprising to me that our experience was so different in the space of a couple

of weeks. We were in CC cabin 1040. I don't think it had been refurbished, but it was fine.

Jeff

Jeff, we were in 1040 in Dec. It has been refurbished, but not to the hilt. I think the spreads are new, the sheets and the carpets. I am not even positive about the spreads. So, I guess we can say, 1/2 new, the other half a bit older, like me. NMNita

[Host Anne]

Hi Jeff ~ in my original review, I stated that our cabin iteself (except for the rusted out wall in the bathroom) was fine. Actually, the cabin was probably better than I expected.

 

I do think that cruises change from cruise to cruise. Different passegner mix, different staff attitude, etc. I had read a lot of varying opinions about the condition of Mercury before we sailed her the first of February. When we got on board, I could understand what everyone was complaining about because she was in terrific shape and where she was showing a little wear (the carpet for example) they were already in the process of replacing it.

 

I'm really glad you enjoyed your cruise so much and I'm very serious about letting Celebrity know how much you enjoyed it and how much you want Zenith to stay around. You may not believe it, but I'd much prefer to be on a ship the size of Zenith with her great crew. For us, it was just a different cruise.

 

Happy sailing!

[ChicagoMermaid]

Hello!

We just booked our second cruise (ever) and our first one on the Zenith. (We are planning to go on the 10 day Western Caribbean on December 29.)

Our TA sent me this cabin number--04-6074 and I was hoping someone here could tell me if this is in fact a preferable cabin in terms of avoiding as much noise as possible. All I know for sure is that is an oceanview and that it actually is a connecting cabin since our kids will be in the other one...

Thanks very much!

[Host Anne]

Hi Chicago Mermaid! I'm not sure I can translate your cabin number....but I'm guessing it is 6074, on the sixth deck, mid-ship. Perhaps Nita can confirm that for you. It's just below the Rendez-Vous Lounge. If that is really your cabin, you could hear some music/noise from the lounge above you (on our cruise they did Karoke here every night). But I'm not sure what it will be like on a ten-day ... much quieter I'm sure.

[cruisebliss]

How many of the spring breaker's had dinner in the dining room? Was the dining room full or half empty? I had dinner with the staff captain last year. He basically told us that Zenith has a fifteen year contract with Bermuda that expires in 2006. Horizon's expired in 2005. I will try to sail on the Zenith one last time this fall before it leaves the fleet. I was told in the fall of 2004 that both ships were already sold.

[Host Anne]

CruiseBliss ~ we had late seating and it was full most evenings. Considering more than half the ship was spring breakers, I'd have to say quite a few ate in the dining room, at least during our dinner. I also have to say that most were dressed well and adhered to the dress code on formal night. There were even some young gentlemen in tuxes.

[DGF]

ChicagoMermaid

 

You might also want to go to following thread for the Dec 29, 06 Zenith cruise/ join the rest of us who are booked on this cruise!!!

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=261757&page=3

 

Our group of eight Canucks is further down the hallway around 6094.

 

Host Anne

 

Thank you for the correction. Now I understand the concern for the crew two weeks in a row

 

Can you recall what part of the Rendezview Lounge they put the Karoke- towards the bow or stern. We chose our cabins below the Restaurant assuming it would be quiet at night

 

Any experience you can pass on to us

 

Thanks

[Host Anne]

DGF ~ Karoke was towards the bow, right at the entrance to the Rendez-Vous, starboard side of the ship. I think you'll be just fine where you are. I'm not sure if Karoke is always there (I think it would actually have been better for people to see if it had been in the Rainbow Room). Maybe someone else who has sailed Zenith recently can answer if Karoke is always in Rendez-Vous.

[DGF]

Host Anne

 

Thanks

 

The standard to which Gayle and I compare all of our cruises todate is the Tahitian Princess- 30,200 tons- small enough no line ups, large enough had all of the amenities of a larger ship, very good to excellent food, outstanding dining room service and what an itinerary = sitting on the aft deck, not crowded, and viewing the Tahitian scenery!!!!!!!

 

If I knew how to attach a photograph to this thread would do so

 

Ship was one of the former defunct Renaissance Cruise ships bought by Princess and they wisely kept the decor package fixing it up only where required.

 

Yes small can be a memorable cruise for that type of itinerary:)

 

Going across the Atlantic, however, in a ship of that size could be challenge in rough seas:confused:

 

DEAN