Is Zenith THAT bad??

[direfun2000]

Hi Folks

 

I have yet to go on a Celebrity Cruise. My most recent was Caribbean Princess last fall.

 

I got a great offer on a 10 night sailing out of Tampa (Nov. or Dec. 2006) from a large online agent. The price was really great and so were the ports.

 

However, it seems that everyone is complaining about how dirty, old, yuck etc the ship is. It makes me somewhat hesitant but then again there are whiners in every group. My philosophy is that a cruise is what you make of it. We were on Carnival Jubilee a coupla years before she retired and rather enjoyed ourselves. But, if Zenith really is bad, I might reconsider.

 

I am 35yo and my partner is 50. We enjoy cruises, not big partiers but do enjoy a nip of the grape (on occasion, vineyard....;) ).

 

Anyhow, any words of encouragement would be greatly appreciated b/c I want to book this trip. We love our sea days as much as our port days.

 

Please respond.

[alpal1993]

I am going on Zenith in May and I have read many wonderful things about her on the boards.I don't have time or the energy to look for things to complain about.I don't go on a cruise to be an inspector.So go have a great time and enjoy your cruise

[Jessica&Ben]

I was just on the Zenith last month. It is Celebrity's oldest ship - so yes, there are areas that look worn. But for the most part, it is a beautful ship - and a nice size too. In my opinion, the beds were the only things in bad condition - needs a new mattress and linens. The service was the best I've ever had, food was excellent and I had a really good time!

[newmexicoNita]

We cruised her last December and I wouldn't list her as wonderful or yukky and run down. On a scale of 1-10 I would give her a 6. Yes, she is older and even the refurbished rooms show age, but don't we all. The biggest age obviously signs we saw: not the best sound proofing: bathroom sinks were a little nicked in places (we were on deck 10, had cc catagory) and the lack of balconies. Other than that she was in good condition and very clean. The bars and lounge areas were lovely with shinny wood everywhere. The foold was average to a little better than average and the crew very friendly in some situations, ok in others. We would sail her again for the right price. Of course when you see a great price, you don't expect everything to be a 10. In no way would I rate her as bad or ever just so so; Just know what to expect and you will have a great time. NMNita

[BrooklynGirl2]

Zenith is a wonderful ship with an absolutely outstanding crew. They are like a big family. We cruised on her twice last summer to Bermuda. Hubby and I are both very late forties with a 5 year old. We all had a wonderful time. The food was excellent every night and dinner in the dining room was the favorite part of our cruise. We had wonderful waiters (thank you Alan, Melwyn and Keith!:) ) who took excellent care of us and our son as well.

 

Zenith is not glitzy, loud or ostentatious. No mall like atmosphere, no huge atrium no balconies. She is quietly classy and elegant. We were on the Florida deck, midship, ocean view both times. We had no problems with our cabin and were quite comfortable space-wise. The mattress was too hard for me (bad back) so I asked my cabin steward for an egg-crate thingy which helped a great deal. My husband had no problems with the mattress. My son slept on a rollaway and was fine.

 

The bathrooms were adequate with a nice sized shower and good counter space. In one of our cabins the sink was chipped. No biggie for me. Also in one cabin the tile grout was discolored but the bathroom and the room were both spotless and kept that way by Michelle and Isabello and their assistants.

 

The only things I noticed that were worn were the bedspread and curtains. Our rug was fine. The public areas looked very good and the dining room, although only one floor was fine for us. They changed a lot of the rugs and some of the soft goods back in November during drydock. She has since been undergoing continual change of cabin soft-goods and rugs. They put in new carpeting on the pool deck and the sun-deck (top most deck) which wraps around the entire ship. My dh did his running up there every late afternoon.

 

The theater is very comfortable with small tables in front of your couch-like seats. It is a two level theater and the view was good from any spot I sat. The shows were very enjoyable, we saw all of them twice.

 

You mentioned that you like wine. We do too and my dh's family owns a vineyard in Italy so when we say we bring our "own" wine we really mean it:D . We did buy some bottles on board but as I said we also brought a few bottles ourselves and paid the $15 corkage fee. Our sommelier, Fernando, was funny, knowledgeable, efficient and very personable.

 

I love Zenith and we plan to take another cruise on her as soon as we can. I think if you go in with the correct attitude you will have a wonderful time and be very well taken care of by a great crew.

 

If you have any other specific questions I will be more than happy to answer them.

[Chorts]

DH and I sailed her last March on a 14 day Caribbean. We loved her. We both enjoyed the fact that wshe is small, easy to navigate around. We were on Bermuda deck in cabin 9016.....very close to the front. We took the stairs everywhere (I'm 61 and DH is 63).

 

As others have posted, it's not glitzy but soft and warm like an old slipper. I would not hesitate to sail her again. The staff is fabulous. One of my favorite places to be was the Fleet Bar. I could go in there, curl up with a good book and simply relax and it would be very quiet.

 

I also have to agree about the beds. They definately need to be upgraded. Ours was pretty old and hard. The cabin size was just fine with us with lots of hanging and drawer space and the bath was adequate to cover our needs. She's not perfect by any means but as I stated earlier, I would definately sail her again.

 

So, I would suggest that you book and GO! Have a great cruise :D

[direfun2000]

WOW!

 

Thanks for all the great respones so far. Is 35 a reasonable age (of me) for an X cruise? Id hate to be the youngest but then again all of my friends here at home are 10+ years older than me. Guess Im just mature for my age:rolleyes:

[Ships R Great]

Please don't hesitate to sail on Zenith. She is a wonderful old lady with a lot of charm. The crew is fantastic. We have sailed on her 6 times and are planning a cruise out of Tampa also early next year.

[Joanandjoe]

We took the same 10 day itinerary on Horizon, Zenith's sister ship, in 11/03. The ship was then about the age Zenith is now, and it was fine. We actually appreciated the lack of glitz.

 

The itinerary was outstanding. We were the first cruise for X on this itinerary, and they had some difficulties knowing when we would dock, arranging shore excursions, etc. The ports themselves were quite interesting. Hopefully, Cozumel will be mostly resoted by this fall, after the terrible hurricane damage.

 

2006 is the fourth year of the itinerary. They should have all of the bugs worked out, and you should have a great time.

 

Based on our Horizon experience, we'll take Zenith to Bermuda on 5/13.

[karen&kevin]

My husband and I were on Horizon in January 04 and we both thought it was the most beautiful ship we had been on. We are both in our early thirties and thoroughly enjoyed ourselves.

 

We are hoping to book a cruise on Zenith for next year and I can't wait to see her. The ship is wonderfully designed with beautiful lines and it sounds as if her crew are more like a family. We certainly had the best service on Horizon and wanted to take our waiter and cabin steward home with us. The crew were all extremely friendly and warm and knew us by name by the third day. *sigh* I miss Horizon...

 

We are trying HAL's Westerdam this December since the price and itinerary were right but expect to be back to Celebrity next.

enjoy Zenith!

Karen

[BrooklynGirl2]

Ack I just lost my post...

 

As I was saying....on our Bermuda cruise we had people of all ages. Quite a few twenty-somethings, many families sailing together with children, parents and grandparents. I've heard on longer cruises you may get an older demographic but I think you will fit in just fine and have no problems. I wouldn't say Celebrity attracts a very much older crowd (saw very few people in their 80's) but there is a nice mix of all generations.

 

As you will notice there are a lot of diehard, repeat Zenith cruisers on this Board. If there was a problem with this ship she wouldn't inspire such loyalty.

[Lois R]

Hi, seems the negative reviews always take precedence over

the positive ones.

I guess that is life....but I sailed Zenith in Feb and will be going

back on her next week:)..actually next week at this time

I will probably be at the Marina Bar at the pool:D having a

wonderful cocktail, served by a wonderful bartender.:D

 

Yes, she is smaller and older but she is lovely!

 

Have a wonderful time!

[rollie]

I saw other posts complaining about the condition of the deck chairs. Would some of you that are praising Zenith please comment? We are also booked on the Nov. sailing. We booked this cruise for the ports, and we got a very good price. We sail on the Zenith several years and found it everything we could ask for.

 

Rollie

[Jessica&Ben]

I did not notice a problem with the deck chairs. I always took a towel and covered them up anyway. They were comfortable and served their purpose. Nothing will be perfect for everyone - but these were just fine for me!

[newmexicoNita]

WOW!

 

Thanks for all the great respones so far. Is 35 a reasonable age (of me) for an X cruise? Id hate to be the youngest but then again all of my friends here at home are 10+ years older than me. Guess Im just mature for my age:rolleyes:

Age wise you should be fine: our granddaughter got married on the Zenith in December. There were several 20 somethings and 30 somethings sailing her. I don't think as many as a few other lines, especailly singles, but you aren't looking for a pick up obviously. As my last post mentioned, as long as you realize she isn't a newer ship you will be fine. She has lots of character. I will say one thing; as for service, we must have just been unlucky; we did not have outstanding service by any means and a group of young people (bridal party) there were 10 of them; they really didn't get good service. I don't know if the room stewards and wait staff thought the tips wouldn't be good or what, but service wasn't one of the things that impressed us. We may have just hit a bad week; a few others we talked to were not jumping with joy about the dining room staff. NMnita

[mahdnc]

I got a great offer on a 10 night sailing out of Tampa (Nov. or Dec. 2006) from a large online agent. The price was really great and so were the ports.

 

We did the same 10 night sailing out of Tampa on Zenith's older sister, Horizon. The itinerary was great as was the ship!! See my link below in the signature area for pix.

[DGF]

If we might ask, what cabin were you in?

[Jessica&Ben]

We were in #9002! All the way forward - but worked out great!

[Shirley and Les]

Let me think about this for a while.......

Ten nights away from home being continuously pampered?:)

Ten days of high-quality meals without having to lift a finger????:)

Ten days of sun and visiting exotic ports???:)

A chip or two on the bathroom sink that ruins my vacation???:eek:

Hey, give me a paint brush and I will help with getting rid of the rust on the elegant old lady!;)

Les

[jeffs55]

This question seems to come up on about a weekly basis. My partner and I

(me 51 he 48) were on the 2/25 cruise and had a wonderful time.

Great service (particularly Jose' from Portugal our waiter, but no complaints all around.)

I wish they'd replace the darn deck furniture, but that surely

didn't damage our vacation.

The lounge chairs are just weathered.

If you're by the pool where they cover them with the big blue cushions you

won't even notice, otherwise they just look sad.

Put your towel down on them and they function just fine for the most part.

It was my second time on Zenith (and we did sister ship Horizon back in '93.)

I hope to sail her again.

Still my favorite ship.

[BullinOhio]

Loyal Princess cruiser just back from the Zenith here. I really liked it. Hated its sister company Royal Caribbean though. Even though this is their oldest ship, I would not hesitate. The crew is great. Our waitstaff in the dining room was better than any I have had on Princess. Only downsides are no 24 hour buffet and no balconies.

[direfun2000]

Loyal Princess cruiser just back from the Zenith here. I really liked it. Hated its sister company Royal Caribbean though. Even though this is their oldest ship, I would not hesitate. The crew is great. Our waitstaff in the dining room was better than any I have had on Princess. Only downsides are no 24 hour buffet and no balconies.

 

Thanks. I was on the Caribbean Princess last fall and it was nice but not quite what I had hoped for.

[C 2 C]

My only beef... dining always seems crowded... poor design in the buffet, narrow isles, crowded tables.

 

The food is great as is the service. It is my least favorite Celebrity ship but for the right price I would sail again. The prices are generally lower than other sailings and there is a reason. (I've sailed it 4 times for two weeks each)

[Eleris]

DireFun2000 based on your list of cruises you have been on the Carnival Holiday and you ask about a Celebrity ship??? Are you kidding me???? That is the worst garbage barge I have ever seen and should have become a dive wreck next to the Titanic years ago. Put it somewhere that no one has to ever see it again...go to the Carnival boards of late to prove my point but I traveled on it in 91 and swore off cruising for life until I met Celebrity in 99 on the Horizon the sister to the Zenith. It isn't the fanciest ship or the biggest but it is the warmest and friendliest out there. As for your age for a Celebrity cruise 35 ??? are you serious?? you make it sound like you are 21 and shy... you are 35 and 5 years from 40 so get over it. I was in my early 30's when I started cruising Celebrity and there were alot of cupcakes a whole lot younger than me or you. By the way what do you care this is about your vacation and having a good time with your 50 year old husband isn't it???

[Rubinof]

We agree, with Jessica and Ben. We took our fifth Zenith cruise, in October, and could not have been more pleased!

 

This is the most gracious, refined, and smallest, of all the Celebrity fleet. We have been on about 12 Celebrity cruises, and consider those, taken on the Zenith, to have been the nicest!!!

 

We love Celebrity, and, only, jumped ship, once, for HAL!! BIG MISTAKE!!!!

 

The Zenith may be slightly worn, but, for us, it is as close, to perfection, as you are likely to get!!

 

Enjoy your cruise!! Bon Voyage!!