Zenith Suite Upgrade Midway Through the Cruise!

[63galaxie]

We just finished our five day Zenith cruise (3/25-3/30). The most interesting thing that happened to us was that we were unexpectedly visited by the Suite Fairy and we were given a suite mid-way through the cruise. To quote our butler, we were "lucky." Here's what happened.

 

When we entered the oceanview cabin that we booked, there was a 3-4 foot diameter circle of water on the carpet in the cabin! The stateroom attendant pointed it out as we entered and said the last people in the room had caused it (he didn't say how) and that they would bring in a large fan when we weren't in the cabin. Needless to say, it was a pain to deal with. We couldn't walk around barefoot because our feet would get wet (or our socks) nor could the kids sit on the floor (we had two of our four in our cabin and two others in my inlaws cabin down the hall). But, we thought we'd "deal with it" because it would be taken care of by the next day.

The other major problem with this cabin was that we had no hot water in the shower. My husband discovered it the first night when he went to take a shower. There was no hot water! My husband didn't tell me about this until the next morning (unfortunately just before I was ready to take my shower-thanks, honey)! We called Guest Services. A plumber came and "fixed" the problem. I know this sounds goofy, but we didn't check out the hot water in the shower until that night (I know, a mistake on our part). Again, no hot water.

Guest Services said that there WAS hot water but that we weren't operating the shower correctly???? Funny, but our inlaws had the same shower and they were turning it on and off just like ours. But, they sent the plumber again while we were out. We checked it again when we returned, but the water was still cold.

I contacted Guest Services a third time and explained that the water was not hot, and I added that the wet carpet was still wet and that no fan had ever been brought in (at one point the stateroom attendant had put down large beach towels on the floor to soak up some of the water, but the carpet was so wet, it didn't take up all of the water). I also mentioned that the room was starting to smell from the wet rugs.

When I mentioned the smell, the employee seemed to look surprised/concerned and she said she'd contact her manager.

Next thing I know, the manager calls me and says that they have a suite that "might be available the next day." This surprised me because there was a large sign on the counter at Guest Services that the ship was full and that they could not accomodate any room changes. She told me that someone had missed the embarkment in Miami but the person may/may not catch up with the ship in Grand Cayman. I asked if we could see the suite so we could decide if we wanted to change cabins should it become available. She told me she would send someone up to the suite to let us in in five minutes.

At this point, my husband was grumbling to me about having to move all of our stuff. He said he could "deal with a cold shower." I, of course, was dreaming of a chance at "the Suite Life," if only for three days! I knew I couldn't pass it up!!!

Oddly enough, as we stood outside the suite door, waiting for someone to arrive to show us around, an employee opened the door from the inside. He looked totally shocked to see someone standing outside. As he rushed out of the room, I explained why we were there. He did an about face and went back into the room. The t.v. was on to basketball, there was a tray of food (pizza and salad) laying on the bed, the cushions from the sofa bed were on the bed and he began to straighten up the room!! I told him not to bother cleaning up because we just wanted to see the room for a moment. He looked really sheepish and we felt very uncomfortable! I was surpised that employees were allowed to use the rooms when guest weren't in them. I mentioned it to Guest Services later, but she explained that "they were doing repairs in the room!"

To make a long story more boring (lol), the person who had missed the boat never showed up and we were allowed to move into the suite the next day. And, we discovered that the employee who had been watching t.v. and eating pizza in the suite was Ryan and he worked on our floor (either assisting the butler or the stateroom attendant. His name was on our tip envelope but I can't remember which job he had).

Was it worth the move? For me, it was. Having hot water AND a whirlpool tub was great! And no stinky wet carpet was good too! Of course, the decor was nicer and some of the amenities were good, but some were not so good. The room was under the pool deck and we had an early wake up call every day when we heard the deck chairs pounding on the deck above us. The butler was unfriendly, and at times, downright rude, but that's a another story!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I'm very grateful that Celebrity moved us and that another room was available. And I'm glad I got to taste the "Suite Life," if only for three short days.

Thanks Celebrity!

Karen in Kentucky

[rwethereyet]

what was your original cabin number??

[63galaxie]

Our original cabin number was 5048. The suite was 1024.:rolleyes:

[Lois R]

galaxie, I will be in 5078 on April 13th...hope the deck is ok:) :eek:

[elsje]

We just finished our five day Zenith cruise (3/25-3/30). The most interesting thing that happened to us was that we were unexpectedly visited by the Suite Fairy and we were given a suite mid-way through the cruise. To quote our butler, we were "lucky." Here's what happened.

 

When we entered the oceanview cabin that we booked, there was a 3-4 foot diameter circle of water on the carpet in the cabin! The stateroom attendant pointed it out as we entered and said the last people in the room had caused it (he didn't say how) and that they would bring in a large fan when we weren't in the cabin. Needless to say, it was a pain to deal with. We couldn't walk around barefoot because our feet would get wet (or our socks) nor could the kids sit on the floor (we had two of our four in our cabin and two others in my inlaws cabin down the hall). But, we thought we'd "deal with it" because it would be taken care of by the next day.

The other major problem with this cabin was that we had no hot water in the shower. My husband discovered it the first night when he went to take a shower. There was no hot water! My husband didn't tell me about this until the next morning (unfortunately just before I was ready to take my shower-thanks, honey)! We called Guest Services. A plumber came and "fixed" the problem. I know this sounds goofy, but we didn't check out the hot water in the shower until that night (I know, a mistake on our part). Again, no hot water.

Guest Services said that there WAS hot water but that we weren't operating the shower correctly???? Funny, but our inlaws had the same shower and they were turning it on and off just like ours. But, they sent the plumber again while we were out. We checked it again when we returned, but the water was still cold.

I contacted Guest Services a third time and explained that the water was not hot, and I added that the wet carpet was still wet and that no fan had ever been brought in (at one point the stateroom attendant had put down large beach towels on the floor to soak up some of the water, but the carpet was so wet, it didn't take up all of the water). I also mentioned that the room was starting to smell from the wet rugs.

When I mentioned the smell, the employee seemed to look surprised/concerned and she said she'd contact her manager.

Next thing I know, the manager calls me and says that they have a suite that "might be available the next day." This surprised me because there was a large sign on the counter at Guest Services that the ship was full and that they could not accomodate any room changes. She told me that someone had missed the embarkment in Miami but the person may/may not catch up with the ship in Grand Cayman. I asked if we could see the suite so we could decide if we wanted to change cabins should it become available. She told me she would send someone up to the suite to let us in in five minutes.

At this point, my husband was grumbling to me about having to move all of our stuff. He said he could "deal with a cold shower." I, of course, was dreaming of a chance at "the Suite Life," if only for three days! I knew I couldn't pass it up!!!

Oddly enough, as we stood outside the suite door, waiting for someone to arrive to show us around, an employee opened the door from the inside. He looked totally shocked to see someone standing outside. As he rushed out of the room, I explained why we were there. He did an about face and went back into the room. The t.v. was on to basketball, there was a tray of food (pizza and salad) laying on the bed, the cushions from the sofa bed were on the bed and he began to straighten up the room!! I told him not to bother cleaning up because we just wanted to see the room for a moment. He looked really sheepish and we felt very uncomfortable! I was surpised that employees were allowed to use the rooms when guest weren't in them. I mentioned it to Guest Services later, but she explained that "they were doing repairs in the room!"

To make a long story more boring (lol), the person who had missed the boat never showed up and we were allowed to move into the suite the next day. And, we discovered that the employee who had been watching t.v. and eating pizza in the suite was Ryan and he worked on our floor (either assisting the butler or the stateroom attendant. His name was on our tip envelope but I can't remember which job he had).

Was it worth the move? For me, it was. Having hot water AND a whirlpool tub was great! And no stinky wet carpet was good too! Of course, the decor was nicer and some of the amenities were good, but some were not so good. The room was under the pool deck and we had an early wake up call every day when we heard the deck chairs pounding on the deck above us. The butler was unfriendly, and at times, downright rude, but that's a another story!

Don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I'm very grateful that Celebrity moved us and that another room was available. And I'm glad I got to taste the "Suite Life," if only for three short days.

Thanks Celebrity!

Karen in Kentucky

 

Karen, I must say that you and your husband were very patient considering having to deal with a soaken wet floor, no hot water and stinky room. I am glad to read the manager moved you up to a suite. I think you deserved it.

Els ;)

[63galaxie]

Karen, I must say that you and your husband were very patient considering having to deal with a soaken wet floor, no hot water and stinky room. I am glad to read the manager moved you up to a suite. I think you deserved it.

 

Els ;)

Thanks for saying that!

We were so exhausted when we got on the ship we barely had the energy to walk around, much less complain very loudly.

We had a horrible experience at a really nice hotel. There were a group of teenagers who were celebrating their prom. They had booked several rooms on different floors of the hotel and they were going from one room to another partying VERY loudly. We asked them to quiet down but they just got louder. We arrived at the hotel at 12:30 at night, exhausted after flying all day. We called the front desk 4 times. Finally the police arrived and did a floor-to-floor search and ousted the partiers, but we never really got any sleep.

If I had been more rested, I may have been more assertive, but I think because I was so "mellow" with Guest Services, they took pity on me after the third visit! Who knows? I'll just chock it up to the "Suite Fairy."

Karen in Kentucky

[63galaxie]

galaxie, I will be in 5078 on April 13th...hope the deck is ok:) :eek:

Hi Lois.

You won't have any problems. I should have mentioned that my inlaws were in cabin 5060, just down the hall. They didn't have any water problems (on the carpet or getting hot water) whatsoever.

 

I believe the problems were specific to just that cabin and I'm sure Celebrity will get them fixed quickly.

 

By the way, if you're lucky, you'll have Gabriel as your:rolleyes: stateroom attendant! My husband, myself, my inlaws and my children all fell in love with him. Not only is he sweet, kind, and efficient, he is gentle, polite, and unassuming. Let's just say, he got the "lion's share" of the tips (we left tips for the stateroom attendants in both rooms and the butler too).

Gabriel is the only stateroom attendant I've had on three cruises whose name I can even remember. He was THAT good!

If you see him, please let him know that you saw his name on Cruise Critic and the The Howards from Kentucky (cabins 5060 and 5048 on the 3/25/06 Western sailing) say "hello" and "thank you again."

Karen from Kentucky

[Luv4dacruise]

We had a very similar situation to you on the Zenith. Now i am thinking the entire ship should be overhauled after reading this. We were in an outside cabin that had no hot water, claimed they fixed it, but what do ya think happened?......Yep, sure was still broken. We ended up getting upgraded to a concierge class cabin the second day into the cruise. The move was a pain, the original cabin was less than adequate anyway, so it was a welcome change.

[Jeano222]

Oh Boy!! We have cabin 1022 for the April 3 sailing. Guess we should prepare for a less than stellar suite experience. We were so looking forward to our little second honeymoon, oh well!

[63galaxie]

We had a very similar situation to you on the Zenith. Now i am thinking the entire ship should be overhauled after reading this. We were in an outside cabin that had no hot water, claimed they fixed it, but what do ya think happened?......Yep, sure was still broken. We ended up getting upgraded to a concierge class cabin the second day into the cruise. The move was a pain, the original cabin was less than adequate anyway, so it was a welcome change.

Well, at least I'm in good company! Thanks for sharing!!! I'm glad it "wasn't just me" and I'm even happier they had another room available. Cold showers are, well, cold!!!!

Karen in Kentucky

[jacank]

Hmm, I have my family going on 4/29 on Zenith and have rooms 5072, 5080 and 5108 (all inside rooms). Maybe we'll have cold water and get upgraded <wishful thinking>. I think I'll test the showers before we unpack :D. Has anyone stayed in any of those rooms? I'm wondering especially about 5072(mid) and 5108(aft), which are end rooms for their section.

[Deb C.]

Karen in Kentucky:

Did Celebrity arrange your air for you? I noticed it took you all day, with a midnight arrival, to get from Kentucky to Florida. Sounds like you were routed through Europe. ;)

 

Sure hope one of my favorite ships gets its cabins in better shape than they appear to be now. Deb C.

[63galaxie]

Karen in Kentucky:

Did Celebrity arrange your air for you? I noticed it took you all day, with a midnight arrival, to get from Kentucky to Florida. Sounds like you were routed through Europe. ;)

 

Sure hope one of my favorite ships gets its cabins in better shape than they appear to be now. Deb C.

 

It FELT like we flew to Europe too, Deb!

 

No, we arranged our air through Nashville via Atlanta to Fort Lauderdale. We got a very cheap fare (which was important since there were 8 of us). We didn't leave Nashville until 1:30 and we had almost a four hour layover in Atlanta. It didn't help that when we got to the rental car agency they didn't have our eight passenger van ready or that they gave us lousy directions to the hotel in Miami either. If I told you how many problems we encountered on this trip, you would think I was making it all up. We are fortunate. Our other two cruises were smooth as glass! This one was just one crisis after another. But....I STILL HAD FUN!

[Deb C.]

Thanks. Better luck next time on your flights and cruise.

They're bound to improve after your latest experience!! Deb

[murphykputts]

Hey Karen.

 

Sorry I missed you on the cruise. I am still feeling the sway of the ship.

 

Glad you got an upgrade.

 

Overall we had a great trip and planning another family trip for 2008. Spent way too much $$$ in the casino and bingo.

 

 

 

Kathy

[63galaxie]

Hi Kathy!

It's good to hear from you!

I'm sorry we missed you too!

 

We never made it to bingo or the casinos but I really wanted to. Maybe next time.

 

Did you like the ship??? I'm glad you had a great time!

 

Where are you cruising to next?

 

I think we'll be going So. Carib with my husband next time.

 

We met Virginiatravler on the bus to the stingrays. That was fun!

Hope to meet you on a cruise one day!

See ya later.

Karen

[murphykputts]

Karen,

 

We had a very good time. I loved the trivia by the pool.

 

Did you buy the video? I am in it and my sister. (the pool party)

 

Everything went well, the kids had a great time.

 

3 days later, my sisters and I are still feeling the motion of the ship. I think we'll go on a bigger ship next time. I didn't feel this when I got off the Navigator both times. My sister was on Vision and didn't feel this.

 

I am planning the next family cruise for 2008.

 

Kathy

[63galaxie]

Hi again.

No we didn't buy the video but I remember that my husband was out by the pool during the trivia. I wonder if he was in it.

I hope you get over your motion sickness soon. I took pills the entire trip. I think it really helped me.

Well, back to school/work tomorrow.

If you can believe it, we are having a major storm right now with tornado warnings, hail, 65 mph winds, the whole nine yards. My kids are sooo scared. I hope it passes soon.

Karen in Kentucky