Need Your Opinions Please? Crown or Zenith?

[JuniorCruiser]

My friend wants to take a cruise to Bermuda in Oct and she is debating between the NCL Crown or the Celebrity Zenith. Having never sailed the Crown can you please tell me if this would be a good choice for her first cruise? How are the rooms? She's thinking about booking a Cat D. Is the Crown also freestyle? How is the condition of the ship? You guys get the picture any and all info would be greatly appreciated :D

 

Thank You in advance for any replies ;)

 

~~Debbie~~

[Druke I]

Hard choice I think.

 

As I am not a fan of NCL's Freestyle, I would opt for Celebrity, as they are a more traditional line. Downside of Celebrity is that they nornmally are more pricey than NCL.

 

I sailed twice on the Crown Odyssey when she was flagship of the late great Royal Cruise Lines, and she was a lovely ship in her day.

 

Not sure that I would want to go on her now - NCL added cabins, removed the movie theater, took out the indoor (basement) pool, and made other changes increasing the passenger load to increase revenue.

 

Sounds like you need to do some serious homework to see which might be the best fit for your likes.

[hotspur]

One of the key issues in this decision is your dining preferences. Unlike Druke, I much prefer freestyle to the rigid, structured evening dining offered on Celebrity. It makes no sense to me to have to eat when, where, with whom, and wearing attire specified by someone else--in Celebrity's case, the cruise line.

 

Celebrity doesn't even offer an evening buffet if you get back to the ship after your mandated dining time. For a cruise to Bermuda, a lovely place where you'd like to have complete flexibility in exploring the beautiful islands, being required to return to the ship by 5:30pm (were you to have early seating) in order to dress appropriately for that evening's meal just seems absurd to me.

 

Both Zenith and Crown are older ships, with few if any balconies but a traditional older ship decor. Celebrity will have formal nights and informal nights, whereas resort casual attire will always be acceptable evenings on Crown. On Crown you may choose to dress formally if you'd like, but this will not be a requirement.

 

And somehow I don't think you'd miss the (basement) indoor swimming pool on a cruise to a place that has simply marvelous beaches (where's the rolleyes emoticon).

[FIRELT5]

One of the key issues in this decision is your dining preferences. Unlike Druke, I much prefer freestyle to the rigid, structured evening dining offered on Celebrity. It makes no sense to me to have to eat when, where, with whom, and wearing attire specified by someone else--in Celebrity's case, the cruise line.

 

Celebrity doesn't even offer an evening buffet if you get back to the ship after your mandated dining time. For a cruise to Bermuda, a lovely place where you'd like to have complete flexibility in exploring the beautiful islands, being required to return to the ship by 5:30pm (were you to have early seating) in order to dress appropriately for that evening's meal just seems absurd to me.

 

Both Zenith and Crown are older ships, with few if any balconies but a traditional older ship decor. Celebrity will have formal nights and informal nights, whereas resort casual attire will always be acceptable evenings on Crown. On Crown you may choose to dress formally if you'd like, but this will not be a requirement.

 

And somehow I don't think you'd miss the (basement) indoor swimming pool on a cruise to a place that has simply marvelous beaches (where's the rolleyes emoticon).

 

The Celebrity Zenith does offer an alternative Dinning Venue in the Buffet area. They have a modifed sit down menu. You do have to make a reservation for this. They are usually open to 10pm. They also offer Pizza, pasta and salad in the rear of the buffet. On the other side of the Buffet they have a no fee sushi bar which was excellent !!!!

[hotspur]

The Celebrity Zenith does offer an alternative Dinning Venue in the Buffet area. They have a modifed sit down menu. You do have to make a reservation for this. They are usually open to 10pm.

If you're enjoying yourself on the beach--perhaps having a late afternoon cocktail watching the sun dip down--and you decide you'd rather not go back to the ship for your assigned 6:00pm dinner--and you haven't made a reservation for the so-called alternative dining--then you're stuck with either room service or sushi. As I said: rigid and structured. Who needs that on vacation?

[FIRELT5]

If you're enjoying yourself on the beach--perhaps having a late afternoon cocktail watching the sun dip down--and you decide you'd rather not go back to the ship for your assigned 6:00pm dinner--and you haven't made a reservation for the so-called alternative dining--then you're stuck with either room service or sushi. As I said: rigid and structured. Who needs that on vacation?

 

Freestyle is a great thing with NCL if you have dinner before 615pm or after 830pm. If in between be prepared to wait. Or you could resort to the substandard caferteria food in the Buffet area. Not sure if the Crown has the Blue Lagoon which is open 24 Hours. Just back from the from the 3-16 to 3-26 Voyage of the Dawn, Beautiful, Good service, Food was not comparable to Celebrity. NCL Fee Restaurants are what you usually have for Dinner on X.

This was our 29th cruise so we have a fairly good idea on what to expect !!!

[seahorse]

I have sailed Celebrity many times as well as NCL. Went to Bermuda last year on X.

 

If I had to go on an older ship........The Crown hands down. Bermuda is beautiful and you will want to stay off the ship into the evening. So unless you get late seating on X......go with NCL.

 

BTW, IMO.......the food on X is not like it used to be....very, very disappointed.

[electricron]

Everyone has been comparing the cruise lines, it seems the ships don't matter.....So here are some statistics on the ships.......

 

Norwegian Crown

Year Built 1988

Tonnage 34,250 tons

Length 614 feet

Beam 93 feet

Passenger Capacity 1,104

Crew Size 470

Total Inside Cabins 114

Total Outside Cabins 404

Cabins & Suites w/ verandas 16

Suites 90

Maximum Occupancy per room 4

Bar/Lounges 6

Restaurants 6 :Surcharge 1

Dinner Seatings 1

Seating Assignments Open

Dining Room Dress Code Optional formal nights; no jeans, t-shirts or shorts during dinner.

Tipping Guidelines $10.00 per guest, per day automatically charged to onboard account (amount can be adjusted according to quality of service received). 15% tip recommended for beverage orders

 

Celebrity Zenith

Year Built 1992

Tonnage 47,255 tons

Length 682 feet

Beam 95 feet

Passenger Capacity 1,374

Crew Size 670

Total Inside Cabins 145

Total Outside Cabins 537

Cabins & Suites w/ verandas 0

Suites 22

Maximum Occupancy per room 5

Bars/Lounges 9

Restaurants

Dinner Seatings 2

Seating Assignments Assigned

Dining Room Dress Code 7-night cruise: 2 formal, 2 semiformal, 3 casual. No shorts or jeans at night.

Tipping Guidelines Cabin steward/butler, $3.50 per person/day. Chief housekeeper, $0.50 per person/day. Waiter, $3.50 per person/day. Asst. waiter, $2 per person/day. Restaurant manager, $0.75 per person/day

 

Crown Restaurants

Seven Seas Restaurant (Main Dining Room)

Cuisine: Continental

Dress Code: No shorts or jeans after 6:00 p.m. in the dining rooms.

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

Hours: Breakfast: 7:00 a.m. – 9:00 a.m.

Lunch: 12:00 noon – 2:30 p.m.

Dinner: 5:30 p.m. – 12:00 a.m.

Chopsticks

Cuisine: Asian (Sushi, Sashimi, Teppanyaki)

Dress Code: No shorts or jeans after 6:00 p.m. in the dining rooms.

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

Hours: Check onboard

Le Bistro French Restaurant

Cuisine: French

Dress Code: No shorts or jeans after 6:00 p.m. in the dining rooms.

Surcharge: Yes, $15 per person

Reservations Required: No - Reservations recommended: Yes

Hours: Check onboard

Pasta Cafe

Cuisine: Pasta and Tradional Italian

Dress Code: No shorts or jeans

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

Hours: Check onboard

Cafe Italia

Cuisine: Casual Italian

Dress Code: Casual

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

Hours: Check onboard

The Yacht Club

Cuisine: Food Court, Grill

Dress Code: Casual

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

Hours: 24 Hours

 

Zenith Restaurants

Caravelle Restaurant (Main Dining Room)

Cuisine: Continental

Dress Code: Two formal nights; others resort attire. Shorts and swim wear not permitted, jeans not permitted at dinner.

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: Yes

Hours: Breakfast: 7:30 a.m. – 8:45 a.m.

Lunch: 12:00 noon – 1:30 p.m.

Dinner: Early – 6:15 p.m., Late – 8:45 p.m.

Windsurf Café

Cuisine: Casual Café

Dress Code: Casual

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

Hours: Breakfast: 7:00 a.m. - 11:00 a.m.

Lunch: 11:00 a.m. - 2:00 p.m.

Dinner: 6:30 p.m. - 9:00 p.m.

The Grill

Cuisine: Grill food

Dress Code: Casual

Surcharge: No

Reservations Required: No

Hours: All day, check onboard.

[hotspur]

BTW, IMO.......the food on X is not like it used to be....very, very disappointed.

Our opinion exactly. A lot of hype but the dining room food was no better than on our three NCL cruises, plus we had the flexibility to eat where, when, and with whom we wanted on NCL.

 

Celebrity is just another mass-market cruise line, but with some loyal clientele who make themselves feel superior by telling everyone else that Celebrity is "more sophisticated," or has "higher-class" passengers, or other similar nonsense.