celebrity-zenith11

Note - this page contains multiple reviews.

Name: Rodney Hoots
Email: rhoots@starpower.net
Age: 72
Occupation: Retired
NumberOfCruises: 35
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Zenith
SailingDate: 19 February-2 March 2001
Itinerary: Curacao, Caracas, Barbados, Martinique, St Thomas
Cabin: 1066-1
FoodDiningRoom: 94
CruiseDirector: 95
CabinComfort: 100
FoodRoomService: 91
CruiseStaff: 95
CabinAmenities: 100
FoodLidoDeck: 79
DiningRoomService: 97
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 98
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 94
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 90
TenderService: 100
GoodForSeniors: 95
BeautySalonStaff: 89
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 95
BeautySalon: 79
EntertainmentPoolside:
CruiseActivities: 89
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 98
EmbarkDisembark: 89
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace:
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 89
SpaceRatio:
OverallCruiseValue: 95
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 07 Mar 2001
Time: 19:32:09
Remote Name: cache-1.lnh.md.webcache.rcn.net
Remote User:

Comments

Zenith (Celebrity Cruise Lines) - "Zenith 11 Night Ultimate Caribbean" - Feb 01

This was our first cruise on Celebrity Cruise Lines. We were attracted by the excellent itinerary,
reasonable price, and recommendation of our travel agent. We drove to the port at Fort Lauderdale,
as we had before, and had a problem coordinating parking and boarding because the route was not
properly marked. This could have been resolved by the cruise line including a simple flyer in the
pre-cruise package. We have complained about this before, both about parking in Miami and Fort
Lauderdale, and the cruise lines do not seem to think it is their responsibility to provide information
about parking - we do. The ship was immaculate. Embarkation was excellent and we received a very
pleasant surprise in that we were upgraded from an Ocean View Deluxe Suite (270 square feet) to a
Royal Suite (500 square feet).

We checked out the Deluxe Suite later and it would have been very
satisfactory, but the Royal Suite was awesome. It was a beautiful small apartment with the following
amenities: butler service to include full meal service 24 hours a day, pastries (with espresso or
cappucino) served each day at 4 PM, hors d'oeuvres at 5 PM, complimentary liquor and soft drinks,
shoeshine service, and assistance with packing and unpacking. We had a cocktail party in the suite for
our dining companions and the butler (Pras) took care of everything. Being in the Royal Suite, we were
invited to three special cocktail parties and dinner one night at the Captain's table. Relative to other
ships we have been on, we think that both the Deluxe and Royal Suites are very reasonably priced.
The Royal Suite would be wonderful for a special occasion like a 50th wedding anniversary
celebration. The dining room experience was very nice. We requested late seating at a large table and
were seated with three other compatible couples. Our waiter (Caje) and his assistant were excellent
and the food was excellent.

We lunched at the Windsurf Cafe several times and the food and service
were fair. The average age of passengers on this cruise was older than we have seen on most lines
but there were enough younger people to keep the disco busy until the wee hours. There were only a
handful of children on the ship but school is in full swing in February. The cruise director, his staff, and
the cast dancers were excellent. The cruise director, Alex Marchant, did a good job of organizing the
shows and kept things moving. The individual entertainment acts were excellent. The show room
orchestra was superior. Combos and pianists in the lounges were among the best we have
experienced. We did not take any shore excursions because we had been to all of the islands before,
but went ashore to walk around. We had to tender ashore twice and in one port Zenith had hired a
large, comfortable commercial tender to speed up the process - an excellent idea for all cruise lines.
My wife had a complaint about the beauty salon in that they did not advise customers in advance that
there was a mandatory 10 percent tip - she personally tipped the attendant 20 percent on completion
of the service and then had to pay the extra ten when she paid the cashier. The disembarkation was
efficiently done, but during the disembarkation lecture there was no mention of the procedure for those
driving and we had to ask. All in all, a very pleasant cruise experience and we would recommend this
ship.

Name: Donna Fitzgerald
Email: mrsfitz28@aol.com
Age: 48
Occupation: retired dental assistant
NumberOfCruises: 5
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Zenith
SailingDate: March 12, 2001
Itinerary: Southern Caribbean
Cabin: 1055/cat3
FoodDiningRoom: 100
CruiseDirector: 90
CabinComfort: 85
FoodRoomService:
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 90
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 95
CabinQuietness: 80
FoodMidnightBuffets:
CabinSteward: 85
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 100
DeckService:
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff: 85
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 90
LoungeService: 90
TenderService:
GoodForSeniors: 95
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 95
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities:
EntertShowLounge: 95
OverallPortsofCall: 90
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 95
CruiseActivities: 90
Casino: 90
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 85
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs:
DeckSpace: 85
Stabilization: 85
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 90
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 16 Apr 2001
Time: 10:35:52
Remote Name: spider-te071.proxy.aol.com
Remote User:

Comments

We just returned from the Southern Caribbean on the Zenith. This is our 5th cruise and our 3rd on
Celebrity. Although, as usual, we had a wonderful cruise this was not the best. We first sailed on Zenith
in 1995 when she was new and shinny. Zenith has started to show her age even though she was only
built in 1992. The major problem we experienced was the plumbing system. Not only were numerous
public restrooms closed periodically due to maintenance problem but both our stateroom and my sisters
next door also had a plumbing problem. Both bathrooms also had mildew in the showers, which to me is
unacceptable, but maybe they cannot use Tilex with the water system. I realize the above isn’t a major
problem but it was something we hadn’t experienced on the other 4 cruises.

Our itinerary took us to Curacao, La Guaira, Grenada, Barbados, Martinique and St. Thomas. They
were very diverse ports of call with something to please everyone. I’ll say right at the beginning we
skipped taking all formal tours and just found our way around the Islands on our own. If I had to do it
over again I would probably join a tour as I felt we missed at lot of the Island experience by being on our
own. Curacao is a beautiful Island with picture perfect pastel homes. Except for souvenir shopping it’s
just a nice place to walk around, major purchases should wait till St. Thomas. We took a taxi to the
Seaquarium to use the beach and let me tell you a taxi ride in Curacao can take years off your life. But
the driver was very nice and told us he would come back for us at an assigned time if we would like,
which he did. Our second port was Venezuela and in my opinion a waste of time. There are only two
tours on the ship one to Caracas and one to a mountain village neither appealed to us. All the tour
books recommend not venturing out on your own in La Guaira due to safety so except for visiting the
port shops for souvenirs we just stayed on board and had a lovely day by the pool. Our next port, the
spice island, made up for La Guaira. We took a water taxi to a nice quiet beach then walked around St.
George’s. Don’t bother stopping for the nutmeg ice cream unless you’re into eggnog. A word of warning,
if you buy the spice necklaces to hang in your house, don’t store them in zip lock plastic bags. By the
time we arrived back in Syracuse they were moldy. While coming into Grenada I made the mistake of
standing up on the bow for an hour watching the arrival. Because of the wind I ended up with a bad
sunburn, which didn’t become apparent till after we had walked around St. George’s. Because of this I
missed the beach island, Barbados. We arrived there on Sunday and since downtown was closed and
we hadn’t booked a tour this also became a day a relaxing on the Zenith. I have to admit this day I didn’t
enjoy because I felt I had lost seeing something wonderful due to my stupidity. By Martinique I was ready
to venture out again but with some caution about the sun. We walked around downtown Fort De-France
to do a little shopping then took a water taxi over to Pointe Du Bout to use the beach. Of all the Islands
we visited we found Martinique to be unfriendly. If you didn’t speak French the people especially at
Pointe Du Bout couldn’t be bothered. Martinique is a beautiful Island but not one I ever want to return to.
Out last port of call was St. Thomas. Unfortunately we were only there for half a day. So a choice had to
be made do we shop or go the one of the wonderful beaches. Gold won out and we shopped much to
my husband’s unhappiness. In the opinion of everyone we talked to St. Thomas should always be a full
day there is just too much to do. Well, that takes care of the ports now about the Zenith.

As usual the food was wonderful. We ate all breakfasts and lunch at the buffet and dinner’s in the dining
room. In past reviews there have been complaints about the buffets I thought they were terrific. For
breakfast you can always have eggs or omelets cooked to order and lunch in the same area they have
pasta. I tried the grill once but definitely preferred the pasta. Starting a three every afternoon at the
same station as the eggs and pasta pizza is served. They usually have at least three kinds all of which
are very good. I really shouldn’t have tried it since we had main seating for dinner but who can pass up
pizza. Dinners were fabulous with the only complaint there was just to many good things to choose from.
Our assistant waiter outshined our waiter and there is no doubt he will go far. The headwaiter, Andrew,
was very attentive and kept track of what was going on all over his area.

As usual the pool area was very crowded with chaise lounges being saved. The main problem was with
people who left ship’s towels on the chairs and just walked away. People looking for chairs couldn’t tell if
they were being reserved. It only takes a minute to deposit dirty towels in bin and it’s something
everyone should do. So I guess my advice would be if you see a chaise with a towel and no personal
items figure they’re fair game.

We all thought the entertainment on the ship was very good. Enjoyed the productions shows a lot but
really enjoyed a violinist and a pianist. Also took in the team trivia every night and stayed around for the
Karaoke which was interesting to watch but sometime a little embarrassing because of the lack of talent.
Went to the talent show, which was very good due to three very talented children from Toronto.

To finalize I’ll say the cruise was very enjoyable and we would definitely go on Celebrity again but next
time we will choose one of their newer cruise ships. You’re going on a cruise to be spoiled so why settle
for second best. If you have any questions about our Southern Caribbean cruise or the Zenith please
e-mail me at mrsfitz28@aol.com and I’ll be glad to give any information I have.

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