where is the zenith

[asiadog]

can anyone tell me something i'm going to bermuda 5-22 lets have some news PLEASE

[Guest]

The misses and I are still going Asiadog.
See you soon.

[Pammie]

Asiadog - Zenith is in Bermunda. We sail on her in a week and a half. See you on her.

Pammie & Joe

[asiadog]

nice to hear from you guys again i think we'er the only ones going .i have a final count of 36 you'll know who we are introduse your selfs on sat 5-22 i'll be in my regular cruise kick off atire white JETS shirt #80 say hello

[asiadog]

pammie you guys can see us off on elm and laurel

[jpinct]

Hey Chrebet....um, I mean Asiadog. Have a great trip. I'm off to bermuda on the July 3 sailing. Haven't read anything from pax on the first 2 trips. Perhaps the folks coming back this week will have a lot to say. I'm anxious to hear how things are on Zenith.

J-E-T-S
Jets, Jets, Jets

JPinCT
Red
Right
Return

[undecided]

Yeah, it would be great to hear reviews or
opinions. I'll be on the May 29 sailing-
not long now! [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

I'm French! Why do you think
I have this outrageous accent
you silly king!

[asiadog]

i'll try to get one of or group to write something i'm leaving for fla that day we arrive

[zoom06470]

I just got off of the Zenith today. We had a great time. We heard that it rained the entire week on the May 1 sailing and that is why maybe you have not heard much from these folks. There was not much, if anything, we did not like. I'll provide a little info. and if you have questions, please ask.

Embarkation was quick and painless, we arrived about 1:00 p.m. and were on the ship in about 20 minutes. Once on the ship, were greeted with champagne and were personally escorted to our cabin. We were in 6110, mid/aft ship in an outside cabin. Faced the street in Hamilton a and water in St. George. The room was extremely clean and our room attendant was very efficient and you barely saw him unless you needed him. The rooms are starting to show there age but as mentioned they are clean and comfortable. Ample storage. They provided a Celebrity tote bag, had robes in the room. One negative - the hairdryer was not very efficient. I'd recommend bringing your own. This was our first Celebrity sailing (previously sailed with Carnival (4) and NCL (1)) and were pleased. We cannot say enough about the service. Our 5-year old daughter was treated like a princess in the dining room and not just by our waiter but the nearby waiters and assistants as well. This was the first cruise where I actually met and got to know the assistant maitre' D. Service again was top notch. Food was very good. From all the posts raving over and over again about the food, I believe my expectations were higher but everything was excellent. Portions were ample but not too much. It's not on the menu but shrimp cocktail is available every night. They always brought my daughter two. Desserts were outstanding. The following are some of the food choices available during the cruise that we tried. Appetizers - escargot in garlic & butter, escargot with mushrooms in a puff pastry and shrimp cocktail. Main courses - lamb steak, rack of lamb, lobster tail (southern), filet mignon, seafood in a puff pastry. Soups were very good. Sorry, can't remember what else we ate. Meals in the Windstar were fine but nothing awesome. Typical runny scrambled eggs and no matter how hard you try, still not very hot. Good variety. Omelettes in the morning are available at the grill in the Windstar and are quite good. As were the hamburgers and french fries of all things. You don't really think of having hamburgers on a cruise but have at least one. The Windstar could get very crowded as it became crammed with people eating, people trying to get through to get to other areas of the ship, wait staff, etc. Dress on the formal nights was about 50% evening gowns & tuxes, 40% dark suits and cocktail dresses and 10% other. Even saw jeans one formal night! We had the late seating and spent late afternoon (5:00-7:00) at the whirlpools. Drawback - every now and then black soot could be found on the deck we assumed from the fantail. It was difficult getting seats by the pool early in the day but there is ample deck space in other areas. For those with kids, we did use the children's program for the days at sea and on one of the formal nights. Our daughter thoroughly enjoyed herself and looked forward to going. They do take the kids out of the playroom so it is not like they are crammed in a small area.

We were able to purchase bus passes on the ship and did the 3-day passes. One thing that made the buses a little difficult was that you kind of needed to know where you were going. They do not automatically announce stops and you ring bells to tell them to stop at the upcoming stop. The passes also include the water taxis which we did take one day from the dockyard back to Hamilton. We went to Horseshoe and walked the trails back to Warwick. I would suggest this. It is only 15 minutes or so but the views are breathtaking and you can stop at various beaches and coves along the way. We went to the caves and bought the combination ticket for Crystal and Fantasy caves. We also brought our daughter to the Bermuda Zoo and Aquarium which she enjoyed. While in St. Georges, we walked to Tobacco Bay and the former Club Med Beach. They were about a 15 to 20 minute walk from the ship and passed the unfinished cathedral and Fort St. Catherine's. The snorkeling at Tobacco Bay was great but there is not much beach there at all unlike Horseshoe and Warwick. We only did one shore excursion which was the ultimate water tour while in St. Georges. The tour guide was very humorous and provided a great wealth of information. When departing St. Georges, it was neat to be on deck and watch as you go through the very narrow channel. We watched two of the shows (something Broadway and something about the 60's) and were entertained but not wowed.

I know this was long and apologize but was just trying to be helpful. Please let me know if you have any questions that you would like answered.

[TinLemon]

Thanks Zoom.... great post.

Celebrity Zenith to Bermuda - 9/11/04

[asiadog]

yeah thanks alot glad you enjoyed your cruise never been on a bad one .even last year in bermuda had to leave a day early because of the huricane hope the island is back to normal

[tokathy]

Thanks Zoom, great info.....we sail 9/18 and glad to hear Zenith is still as good as we remember.

Kathy & Skip

NCL Westward 5/91
Monarch of the Seas 4/95
Galaxy 11/98
Disney Magic 9/99,11/00& 9/02
Disney Wonder 9/00 & 2/02
Crown Princess 4/01
Zenith 9/01
Millennium 4/02
Norwegian Dawn 4/5/03
Infinity 9/26/03
Zenith 9/18/04
Infinity 4/17/05

[undecided]

Great review, zoom. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

I'll be on the May 29 sailing, and It's
nice to hear that the food and service
is still excellent. I plan to be at the
dock around 1:00, so I guess that's a
good time to check in.

Thanks for the mini-review about the
ultimate water tour at St. Georges. I
have that as one of my excursions.

I'm French! Why do you think
I have this outrageous accent
you silly king!

[ctknud]

zoom great review. We were on the same sailing and completely agree with your quick review. Bermuda is really beautiful with just wonderful people.

[CaroleV]

How many semi formal nights are there & must you really wear a sports jacket for them or will a really nice Hawaiian print shirt do? What nights are the pool parties? Is the omlette station outside at the grill or inside at the pizza station?
Thank You.

[zoom06470]

asiadog: the island looks as though it recovered quite well. The Sonesta is still closed awaiting repair/refurb. The tour guide explained that the causeway in St. Georges does not open as a result of Fabian and most likely will never be repaired. Only small boats can enter Castle Harbour via the causeway as a result. The island looked healthy and gorgeous as always.

CaroleV: There were 3 casuals, 2 informals and 2 formals. At first I was concerned about semi-formals. My husband has suits but few jackets. He wore shirt and tie on these nights. Many people wore jackets with polos and others did wear tropical print shirts. The majority probably wore jackets but if yours decides to wear a print shirt, he'll be fine. The omelette station is on the inside grill. The ship's Island Night Celebration was on Monday night. Tuesday was Country Line Dancing in the Rainbow Room. Wednesday - 50's & 60's Sock Hop in the Rainbow Room. Thursday was the Formal Night Dance Party in the Rainbow Room.

Keep the questions coming - I'll begin to forget.

Carnival Ecstasy (93)
Carnival Holiday (94)
Carnival Fantasy (96 & 04)
Norwegian Dreamward (96)

[Brandi7240]

Thank you for an excellent review of the Zenith. We have sailed with her three times and our fourth will be on June 19th. It's nice to know that she is still a classy lady. We think she is a wonderful ship and can't wait to board. Could you please tell me about security while onboard? Were you comfortable with the precautions taken by Celebrity to keep its passengers safe? Just wondering.
Thanks again for reminding me how much I have to look forward to in a few weeks. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

[zoom06470]

Brandi7240: In all honesty, I didn't think about it too much. I'm assuming they scan or do something with non-carryons. That's a guess. As far as carry ons, they do scan everything carried on via a machine just like airports and have the passengers pass a metal detector. Everyone has to use their Seapass card to get on and off. When you embark in NYC, they take your picture so they are able to identify you when you get back on. They did seem to be doing this. They actually re-took my daughter's picture in Bermuda because they said it was dark. So, I suppose they are attentive in this area. Hope this helped.

Carnival Ecstasy (9/93)
Carnival Holiday (4/95)
Carnival Fantasy (96 & 1/04)
Norwegian Dreamward (9/96)
Celebrity Zenith (5/04)

[BellaBaci4]

[img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_cool.gif[/img] Hi Zoom,

Thanks for taking the time to write the review. We sail the Zenith on the 12th. I was dying to read any reviews. I have a question, What was the water tempurature at the beaches? Was it comfortable for swimming?
Thanks again,
Bella

[zoom06470]

First off, I'm from Connecticut. Water up here doesn't get too warm even in the heat of the summer. So, I'm pretty used to swimming in cool water. The air temperature was in the high 70's and water was in the high 60's (we were told this). My husband, daughter and I had no problems going in the water. First off, it was a little chilly but you got used to it real quick. The first day at sea seemed a little chilly at first. We didn't even put on our swimsuits and just sat on the deck in our shorts and t-shirts. We got sunburned that day. Our weather couldn't have been better and I'd definitely go this time of year again. It was kind of nice that you could walk around without it being too hot.

Carnival Ecstasy (9/93)
Carnival Holiday (4/95)
Carnival Fantasy (96 & 1/04)
Norwegian Dreamward (9/96)
Celebrity Zenith (5/04)

[dndkmmon]

Thanks so much for the review!

To everyone who will be on with me:

SEE YOU SOON!!!

Man, I really gotta get packing....

Nancy

Fantasy '02
Fascination '03
Zenith '04

[bshabazian]

Great review! Thanks Zoom. We are going on the Zenith on the 29th. Bringing our two "teens" 13 and 14 year old boys. Was there things to keep them busy?

Did you go to the Naval Yard? Any more info about things to do with the kids would be appreciated. Was the water rough? Anyone seasick? I'm worried about this.

Thanks,

[undecided]

Hi zoom-

When was the lifeboat drill? Was it before
leaving NY, or was it the first day out at
sea? Thanks. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

I'm French! Why do you think
I have this outrageous accent
you silly king!

[zoom06470]

BSHBAZIAN: We had our 5 year old and she did do some of the Youth Program activities. They have activities scheduled for each age level so I'm sure there will be something for them to do. There were some other kids on the ship so I am sure they will also meet others. We did go out to the Dockyard briefly. It was after 5:00 and most everything had closed. It was a lot built up since we were there in 1996 and we both thought that we wouldn't mind if we were docked out there now. You're closer to South Shore beaches and you can take a water taxi for $4 or $4.50 to Hamilton.

UNDECIDED: The lifeboat drill was held on the first day as you were leaving NY. I believe it was right at 4:00 p.m. Previous cruises we've been on, we have not actually been taken to our lifeboats but only met at the muster station. Here they grouped you in the muster station and then went to the lifeboats.

Carnival Ecstasy (9/93)
Carnival Holiday (4/95)
Carnival Fantasy (96 & 1/04)
Norwegian Dreamward (9/96)
Celebrity Zenith (5/04)

[B-Anne]

Muster is at 4:00 and lasts about 20 minutes, giving you enough time to return to your room to get ready to sail at 4:30! On our 4/24 sailing aboard Zenith, we were docked near the QM2 and security was all around, in the water (NYPD) and the Coast Guard had boats patrolling also. There were helicopters flying above, all the way out past the Statue of Liberty!
At sailaway, poolside, there were several Coast Guardsmen(?) in full military gear, on board.
this was a little disconcerting, having never seen this before. The ship slowed right before the Verrazano and they jumped off into a Coast Guard cutter....all of this security because of the QM2!!!
Another incident happened our first day in Bermuda when we stepped off the elevator on the ninth deck to find a dog and its handler laying in the corridor near our stateroom!! We never did find out if it was a drug dog or a bomb dog! Nice thought, huh??
p.s. That was the dog who was laying in the corridor, not the handler, FYI!!!
Other than that, the trip was excellent, even though we didn't have great weather. A few people went in the water in Bermuda, not many as the water and air temperature were a little cool.
The staff was excellent, as usual, as was the food!! Our waiter was Goran and his assistant was Carlos, tell them Barbara and her daughter say HI!! B