Zenith Review - A Disappointment

[artvlay]

Jan. 05, 2005 Zenith – A Disappointment

 

We were very disappointed with the Zenith after our cruise This was our 21st cruise, the seventh on Celebrity, and after all of these, there was only one cruise that we were more disappointed with.

 

This was our first short cruise (4 nights) and at first we were nervous to book it, knowing that the lines use the older ships on the 3 and 4 night cruises. This however seemed different. The Zenith is still being used for cruises up to two weeks long and was sent to dry-dock for two weeks in November. I don’t know what they did in drydock, but nothing seemed to have been aesthetically.

 

The cabin was nice, and not cramped. The bathroom showed wear and had quite a bit of mildew in the shower, behind the soap dispenser and in the edges.

 

The lounges around the pool were a disgrace. Most of them were falling apart. I dragged a broken one over to a pool attendant who told me that he just puts the screws back in the stripped holes and returns them back in action. The best way to describe them would be, your neighbor is moving and having a yard-sale. They think that they are worth a fortune, but the next morning, you see them by the curb waiting for the trash man.

 

The food quality was slightly above that of Holland America and Royal Caribbean. Fellow Cruise Critic members have raved about the waffles and the chocolate chip cookies. The waffles were excellent, however the cookies tasted like, well, have you ever had a bad cold? All congested and couldn’t taste anything? Well, when you bit into the cookie, it was as if you had a cold, absolutely no taste.

 

The service and the food in the dining room were very good. The food was fresh, tasted good and was served by very nice staff. This was not the case in the buffet. This was not only the worst laid out buffet style restaurant; it was by far the worst managed. There are two sides to the food area, each one with a lane on each side of the food. The area is extremely cramped, with just about enough room to walk down while you are getting your food. You start off with a tray and then get salads and other cold food, then the hot food and at the end, deserts and boxes of cereal. If you decide to get a box of cereal, you have to fight the foot traffic and go back to where the cold foods are to get a bowl. If they didn’t give you a spoon with the tray (which on most mornings they didn’t) you settled for a teaspoon over by the coffee area.

 

At the end of the area are the areas where they make waffles, and at lunch sandwiches. And guess where the plates are? You have to go back to “Go” where the trays are. This makes no sense, only congests the walk areas. Another smart area is the grill. In most case the line for the burgers were so long, it wasn’t worth waiting. Instead of pre-cooking enough burgers, they put the frozen burgers on the grill, so if you have to wait in the back of the line you may go through one or two intervals of the frozen burgers.

 

My wife and I had an agreement not to wait for the other to eat, because if you waited your food got cold.

 

Another great food incident was running out of cream cheese on the second day. So, if you wanted to have a bagel with smoked salmon, you could have it as the staff suggested with butter. Yummm. This was ridiculous, in that cream cheese has a shelf life of over six months. Someone screwed up ordering or inventorying the food. On the order of bagels, if you wanted toast or a toasted bagel, they were either cold or you had to stand at the end of the hot food, crowding up the area, waiting until they come out with more bread products.

 

We decided to have dinner upstairs one night, so that we could have a quick dinner and then afterwards sit outside on deck. This ran as well as everything else did. Even though this is a buffet area for breakfast and lunch, at dinner a waiter takes your order from a very limited menu. One that has about half the selections of the regular dining room. Well I ordered an iceberg lettuce salad with sliced tomatoes. The waiter came back ten minutes later to inform me that they didn’t have iceberg lettuce upstairs, that he would have to go downstairs to the main dining room if I wanted that salad. I thought it was ridiculous to make him go down there. So I ordered the other salad selection a Caesar salad. Except I asked for sliced tomatoes. He came back five minutes later to inform me that they didn’t have sliced tomatoes, that he would have to go down the four decks and to the forward part of the ship for them. Again, I told him not to worry about it. We then got the Caesar salads, but requested grated cheese on them. Guess what! No grated cheese, you guessed it, he had to go to the main dining room.

 

The service from when we sat down to when we finished desert was one hour and fifty-five minutes. Even though there were only five other tables of people eating there. At one point, while waiting for coffee, a couple walked into the dining room, near where we were sitting. They requested green apples. The manager said that they had none but he would send to the main dining room. They waited about 15 minutes. We still were waiting for our coffee, while not seeing our waiter all this time, we began to wonder, “was our waiter the one who the manager sent down for the green apples?” Our answer came when the waiter walked in out-of-breathe with two apples. HOW COULD THE MANAGER SEND THE WAITER? We could not believe it.

 

In conclusion, the rumors about the Zenith being sold like the sister ship the Horizon was a few months ago, must be true. We asked a few staff members if they heard this and they all said that they heard it was true, but didn’t know when.

 

We were shocked at how Celebrity allowed this management to be in charge of one of their ships. It was like it was a day cruise to the Bahamas.

 

Good luck if you cruise on her.

[cruising with marti]

My guess is, that you won't be going on any more 4 night cruises, Zenith or otherwise.;)

 

 

phil

[tuggers]

Thank you. I intend to. I think I have 6 weeks booked Oct and Nov!

[slotaddict]

Well that was quite a different experience from mine. I thought the food was wonderful. I never waited for a burger more than 3 minutes. The waffles were great, the server had the plates behind the counter, he just picked on up and placed your waffles on them. The service was second to none. Sorry you had such a bad cruise, I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder. We had a fantastic time. :D Also it was't our first cruise, its was our 12th.

[tuggers]

I have to agree that slotaddict's experience is more in line with mine. However, I would hate to have to take a 4 or 5 night cruise because I do fear that the level of service would suffer and that the pax would not be your traditional X pax/

[slotaddict]

Thank you. I intend to. I think I have 6 weeks booked Oct and Nov!

 

Tuggers give me your email address, I want to hear about the other problem. Not with the Zenith but about the onboard bookings.

[slotaddict]

I have to agree that slotaddict's experience is more in line with mine. However, I would hate to have to take a 4 or 5 night cruise because I do fear that the level of service would suffer and that the pax would not be your traditional X pax/

 

I really didn;t find them out of the ordinary. The crew really knocks themselves out trying to please you. I was very satisfied. I thought it was a bargain before we sailed and never expected the level of service that we got. I think a 4 night is too short. I went off the ship kicking and screaming after the 5 nighter. I wish it was longer. It will be next time.

[kruisecat]

I have to agree that slotaddict's experience is more in line with mine. However, I would hate to have to take a 4 or 5 night cruise because I do fear that the level of service would suffer and that the pax would not be your traditional X pax/

 

I have to disagree with you. I think as people become more and more busy the 5 nighter will become more and more popular. Our first 2 were on Century and if I could leave my business for longer I would, but the 5 nighter gives me a great alternative. BTW DH and I are in our mid 30's and are not party people so X is the perfect line for us. We love to dress up and have 5 course meals while talking with fellow pax.

 

We're hoping to book a 5 nighter on Century for next winter.

[BrooklynGirl2]

@Tuggers...you have SIX weeks booked on Zenith? You are one lucky gal. I adore this ship and her crew. They are the best. We spent 14 days on Zenith this summer and it was not nearly enough. The service was outstanding and we had a wonderful time. We still keep in touch with some of the crew we met. They treated my 5 year old like gold.

 

@artvlay...Zenith must have been terribly abused in the 4 months since I sailed her. We had no problems with the chairs by the pool. In fact I was pleased that they had comfortable cushions on them. Yes, some were worn in places but who cares. I just spread my nice clean fluffy towel over top and I was fine. Because we have a young child my husband would fetch a burger for me after hitting the buffet line. It never took him more than a few minutes and the burgers were freshly cooked (which is much better than pre-cooked and sitting there) and very tasty. We never ate dinner at the casual dining option so I can't comment on it but we would never have given up dinner in the formal dining room. It was just tooo good and toooo much fun...a highlight of the cruise.

 

I don't know about the "rumors" of selling Zenith. The crew has been wrong about stuff before. I hope they don't sell her, she is a little jewel and a wonderful ship to take to Bermuda because she can dock in Hamilton and St. George.

 

As for her drydock...that was a mostly mechanical drydock. They are replacing rugs and soft goods, such as bedspreads and linens a little at a time from what I hear. They also put new carpeting in the dining room and around the pool deck.

[slotaddict]

I have to disagree with you. I think as people become more and more busy the 5 nighter will become more and more popular. Our first 2 were on Century and if I could leave my business for longer I would, but the 5 nighter gives me a great alternative. BTW DH and I are in our mid 30's and are not party people so X is the perfect line for us. We love to dress up and have 5 course meals while talking with fellow pax.

 

We're hoping to book a 5 nighter on Century for next winter.

 

Is this after the ship goes into drydock. I love the Century and would like to try her after she is enlarged.

[kruisecat]

Is this after the ship goes into drydock. I love the Century and would like to try her after she is enlarged.

 

I believe the drydock is in May/June of this year and Century will be in the Carrib. next winter so unless something changes it will be post refurb. It's one of the reasons we want to go back. We just loved our cruises on her and can't wait to see what they do!

[FunshineBear]

I'd cruised on both the Horizon and the Zenith when they were doing the NYC to Bermuda cruises a few years back. They weren't in very good shape then either.

 

It doesn't surprise me to read about the things you mentioned such as the mildew in the bathroom and the condition of the lounge chairs.

 

I also agree about the buffet areas. Not only was it extremely crowded the whole mealtimes were odd. It was only open a set number of hours. I particularly remember lunch being a problem while in port. It was only open until 2.

 

So from 2 to 4 if you returned to the ship there wasn't much to eat. Unlike Carnival, Royal Carribean, and Norwegian (which I've all been on). The buffet area was clean. There weren't even sandwiches out.

 

And if you're in one port the entire time, well it gets old fast.

 

Anyway, I wouldn't be too sad to see this ship be sold.

[tuggers]

Yes, I think it's 6 weeks. I think I start with one Bermuda in Oct, then the repo, then a 14 nighter, 10 and 11 night.

 

I really LOVE the smaller ships and I would be VERY unhappy to see this ship go. Just in case, I'm sailing on her as much as I can from Tampa!:D

 

 

tuggers1@mchsi.com

[slotaddict]

I'd cruised on both the Horizon and the Zenith when they were doing the NYC to Bermuda cruises a few years back. They weren't in very good shape then either.

 

It doesn't surprise me to read about the things you mentioned such as the mildew in the bathroom and the condition of the lounge chairs.

 

I also agree about the buffet areas. Not only was it extremely crowded the whole mealtimes were odd. It was only open a set number of hours. I particularly remember lunch being a problem while in port. It was only open until 2.

 

So from 2 to 4 if you returned to the ship there wasn't much to eat. Unlike Carnival, Royal Carribean, and Norwegian (which I've all been on). The buffet area was clean. There weren't even sandwiches out.

 

And if you're in one port the entire time, well it gets old fast.

 

Anyway, I wouldn't be too sad to see this ship be sold.

 

Except for the bathrooms, I saw nothing wrong with this ship, it has just been refurbished, new carpeting, new soft goods in the staterooms. This ship is in great condition for a 13 year old vessel. It is sparkling clean.

I was on the Horizon several years ago, Pa to Bermuda, and it appeared very shabby to me, worn carpeting etc. I really didn;t see anything wrong with the Zenith.

[Ships R Great]

Funshinebear---"So from 2 to 4 if you returned to the ship there wasn't much to eat. Unlike Carnival, Royal Carribean, and Norwegian (which I've all been on). The buffet area was clean. There weren't even sandwiches out."

 

Well, if you have early seating that means you eat at 6:00. If you have late seating there is food somewhere at 4:00? I don't think you are in danger of staving to death in that time. Sorry if I seem unsympathetic but, good grief!

(BTW, the Cova has cookies and stuff out at that time.)

[tuggers]

And there are burgers, hot dogs and pizzas during that time, then tea starts at 4, plus room service. Give me a break!

[mikvie]

I just returned from a five day on the Zenith. I to have sailed Carnival, RCCL and NCL. On the Zenith, there was pleaty to eat. I gained seven pounds. Never had trouble finding food. Zenith is a great ship and the staff is the best.

[slotaddict]

When we came back from ports, there was always food out.

[tuggers]

If you want to starve between 9:30 and noon or after dinner and late night, try MSC Opera! You can actually lose weight on there!!:)

[newmexicoNita]

We did find the bathrooms a little in need of attention and the acoustics a joke, but the food was just fine on our 5 dayer. No, it isn't like a longer cruise, the service wasn't quite as good and the activities a little lacking. I still was not disappointed; we would cruise on her again, anytime if the price was right. Of course the buffet wasn't 5 star, what buffet is? I just think people expect all cruises to be alike and this isn't the case. NMnita

[flashdog_1]

And there is a 24/7 room service menu that is quite extensive. And you don't have to stand in any lines that way.

[FunshineBear]

Perhaps on your cruises there were things out but the crew on the ship was VERY quick to clean everything up, even when you were sitting and eating. So if you go there at ten to 2 there was NOTHING out.

 

This was at breakfast as well. They'd come around cleaning the tables while your sitting and eating.

 

I understand that the ship has to be neat and clean but you don't grab people's plates when they've put their fork down for a minute.

 

Everything felt like a marathon. You couldn't sit and leisurely enjoy unless you got up at the crack of dawn and frankly that isn't much of a vacation.

 

You'd think they'd be a little more lenient with the times considering they're in port and people do leave the ship. We had late seating but had we known this is how Celebrity does things we would've schedueled for earlier seating. Then that would've opened another can of worms with what to do with the eveing since the shows weren't at all good.

 

There wasn't any pizza there were only hot dogs and hamburgers, neither of which I eat.

 

Why should people have to sit in their rooms, wait there for room service?

 

In most parts of the world 2-3 is still considered lunch time.

 

I just thought it was a bit harsh and unnecessary for a cruiseline. But if this is how all their ships work, its nice to know before hand instead of returning from being on shore everyday (after being used to other lines having food out) and finding nothing there.

 

This is just my opinion. I'm sure many people like this about this line.

 

And as far as the condition of both ships, they were both not good. So perhaps it went in for rehab or something since I was on it.

[tuggers]

Sorry, have never seen or experienced that on this ship. And you do know where the pizza is, right? Because it's always there.

[artvlay]

Responding to the comments of others

 

I said the food was slightly better than others and the waffles were excellent.

 

One of you said that the drydock was for mechanical problems and one said that it was for carpeting. I didn't see anything new.

 

 

It is interesting that I just took a last minute cruise on business on the Carnival Fantasy. It was a 3 night trip from Port Canaveral. I never was on Carnival before because of a perception that it wasn't up to the other lines.

 

The Fantasy (about the same age as Zentih) was also recently in drydock, recently and there were numerous updated things onboard. Carpeting, bathrooms, a mini golf course.

 

I was able to see things that were updated unlike that of Zenith.

 

I wrote this to point out my opinion and realize that others see things in a different light and I think its great to offer other opinions. But after 22 cruises I have something to compare good and bad issues to. And think it helps when planning a vacation.

[Ships R Great]

Art and Funshine---maybe you both need to go to other lines. Celebrity may not be for you.