Just off the Zenith

[Eleris]

So sorry to report that is was better than expected. I have done the Bermuda run for the past 8 years and although Bermuda doesn't change much the cruise experience gets better and better. The staff and officers onboard are top notch and so helpful as well as fun to talk to. I was concerned after going on the Galaxy in April and seeing all my friends from the Zenith now on that ship that I wouldn't know anyone. Part of the Celebrity experience is meeting new friends staff and passengers. My DH and I had a blast and didn't get in before 3:00 a.m. any night. Back up at 7:00 a.m. to start the day in Bermuda. We could have stayed docked in Bayonne and we were prepared to have a good time although I would not have gone snorkeling ;) . Zenith is a charming well run ship and if there is anything you require all one needs to do is ask nicely and it will magically be there! If anyone has any questions would be glad to answer.....

[partyboy]

I'm going to get right to the point here....if I mention your name onboard, what will they do to me?:p

 

Thanks for all the info. I'm returning to Celebrity after 7 Princess cruises in a row. Your positive report is like sweet music to my ears!

 

Do you have any "not to miss" things on the ship to recommend?

Thanks!:D

[superjerryw]

If anyone has any questions would be glad to answer.....

 

Did they offer the option of carrying off your own luggage at disembarkation. What time did they actually start to let the passengers disembark.

 

Thanks!:D

[Longboysfan]

Thanks for the positive post.

Glad you had a great time.

Bermuda is my favorite place to cruize to.

[Eleris]

since we were driving and in no particular hurry. We waited in our designated area and they notify the person with the walkie talkie which group can disembark. They do not make announcements to avoid people sneaking off with another group and this does work fairly well without the mad dash of craziness. I am not aware of carryoff luggage other than putting it outside your door at night. One little secret I have found about luggage that has worked for my last ten or so cruises, if you put it out early between 9-10:30 before these workers are exhausted they seem to place it together in the terminal. Maybe I have just been consistantly lucky but more often then not my bags are lined up perfectly. Probably the first ones off as well in the a.m. before they are worn out again. One side note about he Rainbow room for dancing - it doesn't even get going until around 12-12:30 and then the real party goers come out. If you were to mention my name well :eek: it depends on when you will be there and hopefully some of the crew will be on holiday again! You will find most of the crew at the White Horse in St. G's on Wed. night after they finish working around 1:00 a.m. or so. It is a hoot seeing them out of their normal attire and totally casual. Great bunch of people on the Zenith they are all very professional and a blast to talk with. The little ships always have more personal attachment by the end of the cruise. I also went to Elbow beach this time instead of Horseshoe and you can rent water toy type stuff from Blue Waters shack by the Hotel. My son and I went diving for a while but there are lot's of small reefs that you can snorked in shallow water and see fish hiding. Plus about Elbow is less crowds the minus is you need to go up to the hotel to get a cab. There will be no cabs stopping at the public entrance to Elbow. It was very pretty and much quieter than Horseshoe. We also hired a driver in St. G's named Sam. He took us on a 2 hour tour for $35 an hour. He has lived there his whole life and gave us tons of information about the history and little nooks and crannies. We had a great time but definitely need a vacation to rest now. ;)

[Scooby5182003]

Did they offer the option of carrying off your own luggage at disembarkation. What time did they actually start to let the passengers disembark.

 

Thanks!:D

 

 

I came off the Zenith 10 days ago. The cruise director did say you can carry off your own luggage, however, he said it would not get you off the ship any earlier.

We put ours out very late the night before. We have the same brightly colored ribbon on each handle to distinguish our black ones from all the others. The next morning they were lined up together.

You will fill out a form saying whether you will be catching a plane, going to a hotel, driving home, etc.

They will give you tags to put on your luggage. Each group is assigned a different color tag, determined by what time you will be disembarking.

Ex. People catching a plane will be let off first.

We drove home. Our group was called 9:55 (which we were told ahead of time) It gave us plenty of time for a nice breakfast in the dining room.

We went down, our luggage was put on the cart, brought out in front of a numbered space and ready to go in 10 minutes. We called our son from our cell phone, told him we're in front of space #117 and we were home in 20 minutes.

It is so smooth and easy, you can't believe it. And going was just as easy.

Have a great trip.

[Babs-03]

why are you 'so sorry to report' a happy trip? did you expect a horrible time?Attitude is everything.Celebrity/Zenith is a wonderful,wonderful experience for all...even the sceptics I guess

[pattycakes]

with all the previous Zenith bashing I'm interpreting the "so sorry" opener as tongue-in-cheek.

[Eleris]

Since I have sailed Zenith more times than I can count I was being a wise guy :D . The ice cubes in my water were the perfect size so I guess no need to write a letter to the home office. Like I said in my other post, if the ship stayed docked in Bayonne we would have had a blast!

[pattycakes]

aha! beat your post by a mere minute -- so glad to hear about the ice cubes I was prepared for the worst! :)

[karensi]

Eleris, what time did they allow you to board the ship in Bayonne? Hope to be one of the first ones on so as to enjoy every single moment.

[Eleris]

and were aloud to board immediately, however they were asking everyone to wait until 1:00 p.m. to go to their staterooms so they could finish prepping from the last cruise. By the time we got organized, DH forgot to put the visor in the window of the car so I sent him back, it was almost 1:00 p.m. When we got on there were people already in the sun and drinking at the pool bar. We had at least 3 weddings onboard so there was definitely a festive atmosphere. If you print out your express pass this speeds up the process quite a bit. Everything went very smoothly and you will enjoy your vacation from the moment you get onboard. The tension just seems to slip away.

 

The only complaint that I had and will actively protest is the photo gallery. When they take your picture getting on and off the ship for fun the picture is a 5x7 photo that is placed on 8x10 paper. One side is the real picture and the other is filler garbage that says Hamilton or St. G's etc. A 5x7 usuallys costs around $9 or so which is way overpriced but by adding this filler garbage they jack the price to $15 because they call it an 8x10. I took my own pic's and told them it was a rip off. If this is a once in a life time trip then enjoy otherwise buyer be ware! When I asked them to crop the pic they told me I would still have to pay the 8x10 price. :mad: Not nice at all. Other than that everything was great.

[dmarch@islc.net]

I love Zenith too but on my two cruises they pretty much rolled the carpet up at midnight. Who were you partying with, security? lol

[Eleris]

Usually the staff onboard, spa gals, band members etc. show up after work on the sea days. Prior to 12:00 even with the band playing there wasn't anyone around. My DH and I asked the DJ to bag the 80's so tired of hearing Celebration and I will Survive type music and play some Usher and so on. Well the next thing you know the place was jumping and we finally left around 3:30 a.m. It was still going strong but I certainly wasn't! Ah to be young again....:rolleyes:

[Shir Hayam]

We were on the Zenith with Ellen last week and totally agree that the picture prices were a total rip-off. Didn't buy any and told them why. I would think they'd sell many more if the cost were more reasonable. Will just have to live with the ones we took ourselves.

 

Otherwise, it was a fantastic cruise, even for those of us who were in bed by midnite. Perfect weather didn't hurt. And Bermuda was as wonderful as always. Most of the damage from Hurricane Fabian appears to have been fixed (except for Jobson's Cove which we couldn't access directly). We got three day bus passes and made our own excursions. The only down side there was that the busses were much more crowded than I remembered because of all the ships in port. Although I did miss having a balcony, our room was fine. The food and service were as as good as on our previous Connie cruises. Now having to come home to the pouring rain in N.J. is another story.

 

Sheila

[Eleris]

Shelia was leading the conga lines around the ship!!!! Don't try to be coy now, I saw you dancing in the Rendevous and heading right into the Rainbow Room you dirty stay out!!! It was great meeting you and we definitely picked the right week to get the sunshine. Say hi to Harry for me and maybe we will cruise again sometime. :D

[rianvi]

Eleris...thank you for the informative review. We sail August 5 with my parents{their first cruise} and our first time to Bermuda. I was wondering about sea glass. I had read on other threads about being able to gather some. Did you do this? What are some of the things that first timers must do? Thanks again. Peace.....Anna:)

[Eleris]

I was so absolutely surprised regarding the pretty sea glass when I discovered it to be a scam!!! :mad: I may be the one that misunderstood the whole sea glass issue but was thinking that it was something antique that had been there for a very long time. Most of the seaglass you will find is made from everyday bottles we use. The reason I know this is when I was scuba diving we found areas filled with bottles desperately becoming sea glass. They are filled with sand and left to smooth out over time. As far as I know coke bottles and vics nasal rub is the pretty dark blue color. It still looks pretty in a jar but make sure you understand you are not getting anything of value other than broken beer/coke/nasal rub bottles that have been smoothed over by the ocean.

 

Bermuda itself is the true gem. It is a beautiful place with very helpful and friendly people. If you are going to do shopping for something specific, do your homework ahead by searching on the internet. More than likely you will still do better in Bermuda with duty free shopping. If you are going to do a snorkel tour I would book in advance the Restless Native since it sells out quickly. They love to give you info before the snorkel and they feed you cookies on the way out and rum swizzles on the way back! Something for everyone. I am not a golfer so I cannot give advice here. For some reason my DH does not want to hand me a club and tell me to swing! I am a water person so the four days we are there we are always in it or under it. We really enjoyed Elbow on our last trip but Horseshoe is wonderful as well. I am not sure you can go wrong in Bermuda since it is a wonderful place. :rolleyes:

[rianvi]

Thankyou for the insight. I am so looking forward to this cruise and seeing Bermuda that I don't wish to waste my time. We too love the water and plan to take in Bermuda's history as well. Thanks again for responding. I can't wait to go.

This is my parents first cruise and I can't wait to see just how much they will enjoy cruising. Take care.

Peace, Anna:)

[rianvi]

Eleris, Sorry to bother you but I have a question about formal/ informal nights. On your cruise how many of each were there. We have been on 13 day cruises this is our first seven night cruise. And I am trying to help my folks, who have never cruised before, pack. We want to dress within the dress code for each evening, although I don't seen my D.H. nor my Dad wearing tuxes. Thanks again. Peace, Anna:)

[BrooklynGirl2]

Anna...dinner dress code is as follows:

 

Saturday - casual

Sunday -formal Captain's dinner (suit or tux for men)

Monday - casual (Island party at the pool)

Tuesday - Informal (jacket required for men)

Wednesday - casual (50's Sock Hop at the Pool)

Thursday - 2nd formal night, Gala Midnight buffet (suit or tux for men)

Friday - casual

 

So there are 2 formal nights, 1 informal night and 4 casual nights.

 

I got off Zenith June 10th. There were very few dress code violations on our cruise...most being that men either did not know or chose to ignore that a jacket is required on Informal night. I never saw any t-shirts, baseball caps or flipflops in the dining room at any dinner.

 

Have a great cruise Anna. I know you will all love it. Zenith's crew is Simply the Best!! :)

[Eleris]

Saturday casual, Sunday formal, Monday casual, Tuesday is usually informal or semi, Wed. casual, Thursday formal, Friday causual. Tuesday and Wednesday are changable but that is typically the way they do it. Everyone looks so amazing on Formal nights but a suit and tie is acceptable and tuxes are not required. My DH loves to pretend he is Bond "James Bond" but that is a whole other story! ;)

[BratDet]

I just got off the Zenith.

My husband and I donned sneakers and took long walks both days we were in St. George.

We walked to Alexandria Battery from St. George- then went to St. Catherines and Tobacco Bay and then back to St. George...

 

The next day we left earlier and did the same long walk, but reversed the

walk starting at Tobacco Bay.

 

I collected sea glass for fun as there are really no shells to find.

The pieces I got mainly came from pottery, at Alexandria Battery. It was a silly distraction.

 

If my mother-in-law was with us, I would never have walked...nor collected beach glass.

 

The picture prices do seem pretty high. My formal night picture was supposed to be 25$.- it was free due to a package we received from expedia. It was an 8X10, yet they did not have an 8x10 folder or envelope to place it in. They gave us two 5x7 holders...to try to protect it.

They were not open Saturday after 9AM- so we did not get to buy the 2nd formal night picture we wanted.

Hint- they do put on TV many events-

they televised scenes from the anniversary party....

I took a pic of us on the TV and it looks neat that way....

the pics they had taken were not as good....

 

BTW- the coffee cups are small......I can't tell you how many ppl commented they wished they were larger cups...(We brought our own.)

 

 

 

Bernadette

[BratDet]

My husband wore a tux and was totally handsome& hot!!!!!

He wore a dark suit the other formal night and looked fine.

He wishes he had worn the tux a second time.

So do I....

 

Our annirversary fell on an informal night so we just overdressed..:)

 

So funny, I have read posts from women on how many pairs of shoes they bring. Some are down to just two or three.

I had 8 pairs and I wore every pair.

The other 4 ladies at my dinner table pretty much did took the same and all of us were content we took them all with us.

I had a few pairs of pants I did not wear....I chose to wear skirts a few nights to dinner instead.

Bernadette

[rianvi]

Thankyou everyone for all the great tips. Every time we cruise, we are well informed and that is because of people like you. Take care.

Peace, Anna:)