Opinions about Zenith - from recent cruisers

[Host Kewlguy]

Well actually it wasn't the potty. It was the drain in the shower. Yeah, guest relations corrected all the stateroom issues. The only issue they didn't correct was the inept stateroom attendant. This guy was the absolute worst. We actually thought the room was cursed or something. I feel badly for the person who read my comment card. Their eyes must have been burning.

[DaisyL]

Thank you all, for your input ... I may start a new thread to address this 'plumbing problem' and see if it's really been resolved. Since I will be going right before dry dock (my trip: Oct 15-22, dry dock: Oct 22-Nov5) it really does not help us; our 3 cabins are all on deck 5.

 

I really would like to know what our recourse may be if we have such problems and I will probably contact my TA soon to see what can be done if this is a real issue. If it seems the problem has truly been resolved, there's no need for me to upset everyone. I can put up with worn carpets, shabby furniture, out of date decor, out of date bathrooms, even a little water on the floor from the shower, but NOT plumbing problems.

 

I was on the Horizon to Bermuda before and after refurbishment, (decks 4 & 5, 1999 & 2002) and we loved it both times. Thanks again ...

[Host Kewlguy]

From what we were told, plumbing problems are common on the Florida deck during rough seas. Not sure if this is an issue on the higher decks. We loved the Horizon also.

[Huey]

We took a 14-day cruise on the Zenith over spring break. It was the most relaxing vacation that we've ever had. However, the Zenith is in great need of updating. The room down the hall had toilet issues the entire cruise and the smell was unbelievable! They seemed to be working on it on and off the whole cruise. I felt bad for them - they were not moved. I didn't ask them why - just saw them coming and going. The bedspreads were stained and torn. My shower had lots of mold, however, the room that our boys shared was a lot cleaner.

 

We definately felt very young (35, 37, 14, and 8). The staff would stop us in the hallways just to ask us how we ended up on the cruise. They commented many times that they rarely see a young family on the 14-day cruise. Due to this, the entertainment was a little boring, not to mention the nightlife.

 

We would do it again in a minute though - it was wonderful. The service was superb, the food great as were the ports of calls.

[DaisyL]

The room down the hall had toilet issues the entire cruise and the smell was unbelievable! They seemed to be working on it on and off the whole cruise. I felt bad for them - they were not moved. I didn't ask them why - just saw them coming and going.

Huey, What deck were you on and did you know which cabin had the plumbing problem? Thanks ...

[Krasdude]

OK, Y'all startin to scare me ... I just booked a late Fall '06 cruise on the Zenith ... hopefully crews will address some of these issues during the week or 2 dry dock :confused: :confused:

[Host Kewlguy]

See, I told you. lol

[Host Kewlguy]

I found my original post regarding the cabin from back in May. I copied it below.

 

We arrived in our stateroom after boarding. There was no ice or water in the room. Smoke alarm was chirping (needed battery). The stateroom attendant knew we were in the room as he handed us our daily compass. We felt the room was not prepared for occupancy. Then went to dinner and show, returned to cabin around 11:30 pm to still find no water or ice, beds not turned down. Went to customer relations. Problems fixed. Next evening the stateroom attendant walked into our cabin while my wife and I were getting dressed for dinner. After only three knocks on the door mind you. I would estimate he gave us approximately 5 seconds to answer the door before entering. Add to that the broken dead bolt lock on the door, dirty water coming up from the shower drain on two evenings, our beach towels not being replaced one night. We never received our Celebrity beach bag either. Not one towel animal. Not a big deal but.... I'm assuming this is why we received the captain's table invite on the last formal night. Besides all the stateroom problems we had a great time.

[greeneg]

Most of the plumbing issues relate to passengers not reading the instructions for the toilet and attempting to flush cans, bottles, small goats, Volkswagen microbuses, that sort of thing.

 

These are the kinds of things that create the problems for the other cabins on the line.

[Cherub]

We are leaving on the Zenith in 11 days and we are on the Caribbean deck. Was anyone that had plumbing issues on that deck? Was it on the whole ship? Oh boy...I'm nervous now! :eek:

[Susan-M]

We were in cabin 6061 during the first week of May - and had absolutely no problems. The only person we heard complain of problems that week was Kewlguy -- seems that he got the unlucky cabin :(

 

I think this is getting blown out of proportion and that the problems on Zenith are not that bad, and that for the most part she is a wonderful ship.

 

However, Kewlguy's comment about Florida deck and rough seas is a comment that seems to show up on these boards from time to time. Not sure if it just affects a few cabins or many?

[Huey]

We were in 4049 & 4043 - the room with the toilet problem was about 5 down from us. We also heard from a few other passengers that their water was brownish on occasion. We did not have that problem.

 

My 8 year old also came down with the Norwalk Virus. It hit him incredibly hard (at around 3am) and was relentless for 1 1/2 days. He was so weak after the vomiting stopped. We heard mention of a few others that had it during the 14-days as well. It is very nice that they supply the hand sanitizing stations - however, we had to keep reminding our son to keep his hands off all of the handrails, etc. He was touching everything! He got sick on the 4th day. I felt sorry for our room steward.

[Host Kewlguy]

Just for the record. I said I had problems with my cabin and noticed a few others on Florida deck with plumbing problems. I never said every cabin on the ship had problems. :) We need to hear from others to get a better idea how widespread the problem is. I also said I had a great cruise in spite of the cabin issues. I would sail on Zenith again. I'm a tough critic and never hesitate to state my opinion for better or worse. But I also try to be fair. Susan is probably correct. I just got a bad cabin and attendant. Such is life.

[Host Kewlguy]

Most of the plumbing issues relate to passengers not reading the instructions for the toilet and attempting to flush cans, bottles, small goats, Volkswagen microbuses, that sort of thing.

 

These are the kinds of things that create the problems for the other cabins on the line.

 

I had dirty filthy water coming up from my shower drain. Looked like a health hazard to me. We flushed nothing down the toilet except what's suppose to be flushed. When I told the supervisor about it she stated it happens during rough seas. So that's it.

[chrissieo]

I just wanted to add my two cents. We just returned from the Zenith on Saturday as well (cabin 4090), and although our toilet did stop working twice, we called, had it fixed immediately, and got over it. Two small plumbing stoppages did not ruin our vacation. Contrary to many other posters, I honestly didn't think the crowd was too old. Sure, there were a lot of senior citizens, but so what? They did their thing, we did ours. I just turned 30 and was with my boyfriend who is 27, my brother and his girlfriend who are 25, and our parents, 62 and 57. While it certainly wasn't Spring Break Cancun, we all had a lot of fun. We danced most nights to the DJ and didn't go to bed until after 1 a.m. every night. In fact, it was more like 3 a.m. before we all headed back to the cabins.

 

This was my 10th cruise, so I do have a lot to compare it to, but I'd prefer not to. I just looked at it as a new vacation that was a thoroughly enjoyable time spent away from the doldrums of daily life. You can't beat the weather we had (I thought our seas were perfect) and Bermuda was beautiful. All in all, I'd recommend the ship and the trip to anyone who wants a relaxing getaway without all the glitz -- and thousands of people -- on some of the bigger ships.

[DaisyL]

Laura, thanks so much for getting back to me with your cabin numbers. I am just trying to get an idea which cabins may have problems. So far, it seems to be mainly with the cabins on deck 4. I realize that any cabin can have plumbing problems if they're not used properly.

 

I feel bad that your son was so sick during vacation. As a parent you feel so helpless and you just hope they get over their pain quickly.

 

As I said in several past posts, I had previously cruised on the Horizon (twice) to Bermuda and loved it. I'm really looking looking forward to my cruise on the Zenith this October.

[RiaTM]

We returned from our cruise on the Zenith on 6/4. We traveled with our two daughters (4 and 2) and my husband's parents. We had a rough time with the girls because they were bored!! The little one is too young for the program and my older one didn't want to leave her sister. The crew is SO nice!! They were absolutely great with our girls. Make sure you check any liquor purchases before you disembark. We received the wrong items and are still trying to get a refund. We were also charged extra on our credit card than our final billed showed. When I called to question the charge, I was told that I was charged for 2 beach towels and a robe from the room, which we did not take. The woman at customer service did give me a credit for that. (I guess the room steward was mad that we gave him $20 less than what the cruise line suggests.)

 

We stayed in room 5101 and no problems with the plumbing as others have stated. The bathroom itself did have a moldy smell to it.

 

If anyone is sailing soon and would be willing to give a message to a wonderful crew member that we met I would really appreciate it. Please let me know if anyone can help!! If anyone has any other questions about the ship please ask.

 

Thanks,

Maria

 

I almost forgot - the elevators are slow on the ship. If you only have a few flights to go, you will get there quicker walking the stairs!:)

[Host Kewlguy]

Elevators are extremely slow especially in the back of the ship. Celebrity is really geared more towards adults. The kids would enjoy RCC much more.

[Monthend]

I just wanted to add my two cents. We just returned from the Zenith on Saturday as well (cabin 4090), and although our toilet did stop working twice, we called, had it fixed immediately, and got over it. Two small plumbing stoppages did not ruin our vacation. Contrary to many other posters, I honestly didn't think the crowd was too old. Sure, there were a lot of senior citizens, but so what? They did their thing, we did ours. I just turned 30 and was with my boyfriend who is 27, my brother and his girlfriend who are 25, and our parents, 62 and 57. While it certainly wasn't Spring Break Cancun, we all had a lot of fun. We danced most nights to the DJ and didn't go to bed until after 1 a.m. every night. In fact, it was more like 3 a.m. before we all headed back to the cabins.

 

This was my 10th cruise, so I do have a lot to compare it to, but I'd prefer not to. I just looked at it as a new vacation that was a thoroughly enjoyable time spent away from the doldrums of daily life. You can't beat the weather we had (I thought our seas were perfect) and Bermuda was beautiful. All in all, I'd recommend the ship and the trip to anyone who wants a relaxing getaway without all the glitz -- and thousands of people -- on some of the bigger ships.

 

Hi:

 

We were neighbors. We were in cabin 4094. It was a great cruise and I think the maintenance handled the problems promptly. Seas were so calm. I do think the problem is related to the Florida deck. We were on the Europa deck last year and did not have a problem with plumbing. The seas were very rough then. We were also at the disco to the wee hours of the morning. I really am missing the gourmet bites.

[Cherub]

If anyone is sailing soon and would be willing to give a message to a wonderful crew member that we met I would really appreciate it. Please let me know if anyone can help!! If anyone has any other questions about the ship please ask.

 

 

Hi Maria!

I'm leaving on the zenith on June 25th.

[jmarilyn]

I was on the June 4th Zenith sailing to Bermuda. My husband and I are also in our early 30's. We thought the food and service was excellent! My last cruise was on Carnival and the food & service could not even compare to how good it was on Zenith. They treat you like royalty. We did not have any maintenance problems in our room and when we had a question, our cabin steward came right away to help. Our waiter could not have done a better job, he was really great. We thought the lounges were really beautiful - we especially liked Michael's Club. I do agree, however, that the staterooms need updating - but we didn't spend too much time in our rooms so it wasn't that big of a deal. I also agree that there were A LOT of elderly people on the ship, a lot more than I thought there would be, but we were seated with 2 couples in our age range at dinner and had a great time... if I was a single person, I would have been bored, but I was not looking for a party ship - just a nice sail to Bermuda... which is what we got. And, Bermuda was just wonderful!! Just as beautiful as it was when I was there 15 yrs. ago at 18 yrs. old. So anyone going on the Zenith to Bermuda soon, don't get discouraged by the negative reviews, we had a mostly positive experience. ;)

[jmarilyn]

I also want to add that we thought the shows were great, ESPECIALLY the comedian Louis Johnson. He was so hysterical, I was tearing. And everyone we encountered that worked on the ship was very, very friendly.

[Slyn]

Thank you to the twentysomethings and thirtysomethings who posted about the Zenith. DH and I are going in Sept. (we are 29 and 32) and I am starting to get a little nervous that we will be bored.

 

We chose this ship in the hopes of avoiding a large mass of children, and we wanted a more relaxed trip. But fun is where you make it. This will be DH first cruise, so it will be nice just experiencing it all with him. But I am still crossing my fingers that I can get the DJ to play some good songs too. :)

 

Roselyn

[jmarilyn]

don't worry, I doubt you will be bored. There was always something going on - activities every hour and I noticed a lot of people dancing in the disco at night. You'll have a very good time. I also liked the pool band "equinox"... they played mostly regae/calypso type stuff. :)

[MaryL31]

My DH and I were on the 4/30 sailing also...(Hi, Kewlguy!!)...I would say that, although the Zenith was a lovely ship, I prefer the larger ships...Infinity (my only other cruise experience) spoiled me. The food? Quite good on Zenith, but Infinity has it beat. The service? Top notch on both ships, IMO. We had stateroom 1036...air conditioning was a problem from Day 1 on the Zenith...had to complain twice, and after the second visit by the maintenance staff, things DID improve. We did finally had air, but it was never wonderful. I did miss having a specialty restaurant (none on Zenith). Cabin steward and waiter were great on both sailings. Never encountered a problem with any of the staff on either ship-all were wonderful! There just seemed to be more to do on the Infinity...There is also the Thallasotherapy pool (sp?), and INDOOR hot tubs on the Infinity...These I truly missed on the Zenith. Of course, part of my opinion (admittedly somewhat negative) of the Zenith comes from the fact that I became ill (head cold) by Monday (sail away was Saturday). I rarely get head colds. Was it something on the ship? I don't know, but I spent 3 miserable weeks getting rid of it!

Mary