Never Again On Zenith

[Faith/Hope/Charity]

My husband and I just returned from the Zenith's 5 night western cruise. We had sailed on the Mariner and the Century in the past and knew that this was an older smaller ship. We were fine with that but what we did not expect was the filthy room. I always check out the bed on arrival, and found the mattress pad to be absolutely filthy, with every color of stain imaginable. I told our cabin attendant about it and he placed one thin sheet over the sheet that was already there. It took three more request before he finally placed a blanket and a quilted mattress pad over the dirt. The bedspread was so dirty, we had to leave it off for the entire time. The two pillows that were on the top bunks, which we didn't need, were too dirty to use as extra pillows. We had to fold towels beneath our pillows. The bathroom was also filthy. Urine from the previous passengers all over the toilet seat, wall and side of the vanity. The shower walls were covered with slimy mildew. The drinking glasses were too dirty to drink from. There was dust all over everything, along with dried on creams or lotion on the nighttable, and dresser. There was grease all over the mirror on the inside of the closet door. Two of the blankets in the closet had shiny white stains on them. We went to the lifeboat drill with the two adult lifevest from our closet, only to be told on arrival in the casino that we had to go to two completely different muster stations because our life vest were marked A and B. My husband explained that we were in the same room, and we were told, that it was our responsibility to get the correct life vest when the drill was over. On returning to our room we found a total of 5 lifevest in the closet, 2 adult, and 3 children, marked A,B,B,C,D. Imagine if it were a real emergency, a family with children would have to go in four different directions for a lifeboat. The pool towels had dried crusted material on them 2 days in a row.I ended up washing everything with soap and water, with the towels and facecloths from the room myself. I had such a problem trying to get the bed cleaned that I knew it was just as well to do it myself. I certainly didn't pay hundreds of dollars for a holiday to do the cleaning myself. Zenith may be old, but there is absolutely no need for the dirt. I would never recommend her to anyone. The Century was much better, and the Mariner far superior.

[mlbcruiser]

In such a situation you should have gone to the purser's desk and insisted on speaking to the hotel manager. He/she is the one in charge of your cabin and is the one who should be advised in order to remedy the situation.

[Host Kewlguy]

We can certainly relate to problem cabins on the Zenith. Bad memories. On second thought it was more the stateroom attendant from hell.

[signman]

Gee, and I did a 4 and 5 night B2B in February in 2 different cabins and had no problems in either.

[Host Kewlguy]

Gee, and I did a 4 and 5 night B2B in February in 2 different cabins and had no problems in either.

 

Luck of the draw I guess.

[motherchic]

Thats awful.

That could absolutely ruin a vacation. And, if you have ever taken a microbiology class--those stains could make you even sicker. I hope your next cruise is what it should be.

 

nadine

[crucero-amante]

Gee I didn't know they had hourly cabins on X cruise ships. Next time I cruise X I'll make sure I ask for a weekly cabin.

[tuggers]

I'm finding it hard to believe a seasoned cruiser would not know how to remedy this situation.

[Host Kewlguy]

I'm finding it hard to believe a seasoned cruiser would not know how to remedy this situation.

 

As for our experience: We knew guest relations on a first name basis since we were in contact with them on a daily basis. No alternative cabin was ever offered to us. Our cabin was flooded with filthy water from the shower drain. We did have to stop them from firing the cabin attendant though. Didn't want that on our conscience.

[HurricaneSally]

I'm not buying it.

[BratDet]

I'm sorry, but from reading these boards, an unseasoned cruiser like me knows you can get a FRESH mattress topper upon request & fresh linens...heck even a cabin re-cleaning.

 

It does seem odd the level of filth you are describing.

I hope you took pictures of everything to document to send to the cruise line.

Since there was so much filth, it would be easy to prove with your camera.

 

It also seems odd that noone was sent to your cabin with completely fresh linens.

 

I find it even odder that they were going to fire the cabin attendant & you did not allow that....so you wouldn't have it on your conscience-

YET you do not hesitate to post here publically a situation that if it as bad as you describe to defame an entire ship.

 

If it was THAT bad and it was THEIR fault and it ruined YOUR vacation, why not allow the cruise line to protect itself & it's cruisers from a really bad employee?

 

Regarding the mismatched life vests. It would seem that is why they have DRILLS early- to make passengers ready & to discover any flaws in emergency planning.

b

[Lois R]

wow, were we on the same ship?:eek:

Actually the most recent sailing was a 6 nighter...last one before

the ship sailed with PAX only up to NJ....I was on it.

 

When did you sail?

 

My cabin was in great condition. I did need a new shower curtain.

When I asked my cabin attendant for it, he had a new one for me

the same day.

 

I agree with whoever said you should have gone to Guest Services.

Or at least you should have asked for Head of Housekeeping.

And asked for them again if nobody showed up. There is pretty

much always a chain.......if my toilet had urine all over it?

I would have been seeing someone pronto.

[Lois R]

I meant to say the ship only had "CREW" on her when she sailed

from Miami up to NJ....I want to be back on her too:eek:

I am having a bad case of cruise withdrawl:(

[gwrod]

very interesting.........

[Ships R Great]

My husband and I just returned from the Zenith's 5 night western cruise. We had sailed on the Mariner and the Century in the past and knew that this was an older smaller ship. We were fine with that but what we did not expect was the filthy room. I always check out the bed on arrival, and found the mattress pad to be absolutely filthy, with every color of stain imaginable. I told our cabin attendant about it and he placed one thin sheet over the sheet that was already there. It took three more request before he finally placed a blanket and a quilted mattress pad over the dirt. The bedspread was so dirty, we had to leave it off for the entire time. The two pillows that were on the top bunks, which we didn't need, were too dirty to use as extra pillows. We had to fold towels beneath our pillows. The bathroom was also filthy. Urine from the previous passengers all over the toilet seat, wall and side of the vanity. The shower walls were covered with slimy mildew. The drinking glasses were too dirty to drink from. There was dust all over everything, along with dried on creams or lotion on the nighttable, and dresser. There was grease all over the mirror on the inside of the closet door. Two of the blankets in the closet had shiny white stains on them. We went to the lifeboat drill with the two adult lifevest from our closet, only to be told on arrival in the casino that we had to go to two completely different muster stations because our life vest were marked A and B. My husband explained that we were in the same room, and we were told, that it was our responsibility to get the correct life vest when the drill was over. On returning to our room we found a total of 5 lifevest in the closet, 2 adult, and 3 children, marked A,B,B,C,D. Imagine if it were a real emergency, a family with children would have to go in four different directions for a lifeboat. The pool towels had dried crusted material on them 2 days in a row.I ended up washing everything with soap and water, with the towels and facecloths from the room myself. I had such a problem trying to get the bed cleaned that I knew it was just as well to do it myself. I certainly didn't pay hundreds of dollars for a holiday to do the cleaning myself. Zenith may be old, but there is absolutely no need for the dirt. I would never recommend her to anyone. The Century was much better, and the Mariner far superior.

 

I'm not buying this either. I have sailed on Zenith six times. Every regular reader on this board knows I love this little ship and I will defend her against slander. OTOH, if things were as you say, why in the world would you accept it? A call or visit to guest relations or the Hotel manager would have taken care of the situation. would you accept this on land? Why on the sea?

 

I'll be on Zenith again in october, I hope, and I can't wait!

[Faith/Hope/Charity]

We did call guest relations, even went there to ask if we could pay for an upgrade or another cabin. We were told the ship was full. As for demanding the room be cleaned by our cabin attendant, I decided it would be done best if I did it myself. He met us in the corridor after all the complaints about the dirty bed, and said don't go to guest relations again, come to me with your problems. At that point, he was our problem.

[herb]

We sailed on the Zenith in 2000, and although it's a smaller ship without all the bells and whistles that some of the megaships offer we can say that the ship was always kept clean.

 

I'm not saying that the OP gave a false description of what their cabin looked like, but I have never heard of anyone complaining that their cabin was THAT filthy. The way the cabin was described would be more fitting to No-Tell Motel, not a cruise ship!! :eek:

[BrooklynGirl2]

Gail I thought the same thing when the word "upgrade" was mentioned. Hmm....

 

I sailed Zenith twice and we are booked on her again in June. We never had a problem with either cabin or our cabin stewards. In fact, I was actually surprised at how clean this ship was. The only minor thing I pointed out to my steward was some lint on the carpeting after they pushed our beds together. He came in immediately with the vacumn cleaner and redid the entire room. He also brought me an egg crate immediately when I told him I have back problems. Everyone on that ship that we came in contact with was very accommodating. Of course, we never asked for an upgrade.;)

[bububr]

I just would have asked the room attendant to clean up the cbain while I went to breakfast, or laid by the pool. Its not an unreasonable request. Its quite possible in the scurry to get everything ready for the next cruise that they forgot your cabin....mistakes happen...but a simple "Excuse me, can you give my cabin a quick cleaning" to the attendant isn't painful, nor is it rude, arrogant...or anything else. However trying to circumvent the system is a little suspicious....just to let you know. A few dust balls do not warrent an upgrade...they warrent a vaccuum....

 

 

Dave:eek:

[slotaddict]

We were on the Zenith in January, there were 6 of us, 3 rooms, each one spotless. We were on the 6 th floor. What floor were you on? Not that it should make a difference. But the amount of complaints that you have would have certainly warranted a trip to Guest Relations.

 

On our sailing the ship was supposedly sold out, however, someone complained about their room and Guest Relations somehow found them another one. The Zenith was about as spotless a ship as I have ever been on.

[Michelle1234]

We have also been the unfortunate victims of an unclean cabin. Just because it hasn't happened to you doesn't mean everyone is so fortunate and it is not easy to remedy. Frankly if the cabin attendant knew how to clean the place would have been cleaned.

 

Our problem wasn't on Zenith it was Princess Golden. (BTW, we have sailed on the Golden another time and had a beautiful clean cabin to so don't start posting how you did and yours was clean.) We paid for a mini-suite and got a free upgrade to a suite. Boy weren't we lucky we thought. Until we saw the cabin. It was filthy. Dust on the headboard was visible. You could see greasy children's hand prints on the woodwork when the light hit it just so. There was mildew on the grout in the shower and the floors were dirty. Ok, so the cabin attendant forgot. We asked him to clean and went to lunch. We got back and nothing had changed. We mentioned it to him when we went to dinner, got back and he said he had cleaned, nothing had changed. Guest services was swamped because the cruise had been delayed a day due to a storm and there were alot of complainers. Mind you this was our vacation and being a complainer kind of ruins the mood and we wanted to be happy. After all, we had a full suite. So I collared the cabin attendant, and he, I and my husband cleaned. After about 30 min. he left. My husband and I kept at it for 2 hours. Finally the place was OK to be in but luckily we had free slippers and our feet did not have to touch the floors. The door handles had been nasty and the walls nasty but now since I had cleaned them I was willing to touch them. So I filled the tub for a relaxing bath. Got in, sat down and yuck! It was filled with grit. It seemed the dust had not shown up on the white tub and we were so busy trying to get the food and dirt off the walls and handles we hadn't cleaned it. So for every day during a 14 day cruise we sent a msg to guest services regarding the mildew in the shower. Which, by the way, was very nasty to look at every morning. We came back to notes, the shower tile was fixed (one tile had been broken). The grout was cleaned we were told. The hot water worked we were told (we had never said it didn't). I took the cabin attendant in and showed him the black mold. He said, oh, we can't clean that it is under clear caulk. Mind you I hadn't touched the nastiness yet but on closer inspection he was right. They had used non-mildew resistant clear caulk and of course it had mildewed underneath. On the second to the last day the shower drain stopped up and I was grossing out thinking my feet were soaking in water that touched the mildew grout. It took the next two days to get the drain unstuck. Part of the problem is the language barrier on the ship. We had trouble getting anyone to understand what the problem was. Also, when we cleaned the first day there were red coolaid looking drips on the marble tile in the entryway. I left them there to see if they ever disappeared. The day we check out (2 weeks later) they were still there. Our attendant smiled sheepishly at us whenever he saw us coming since we asked and asked that things get cleaned. So he knew about the problems but just didn't seem to have the skills or time to remedy them. Maybe he had too many cabins to do?

 

I'm not really complaining about this cabin but just couldn't believe the attitude toward the poster who got stuck like we did with a bad situation. Come-on folks, show a little compassion and be glad it hasn't happened to you. Because if it does you may find a call to guest services doesn't do anything at all.

[Hilary]

All I can say is the ONE time we had a problem with an odor and reported it to Guest Relations, not only was the carpet cleaned immediately, but Guest Relations offered a different cabin which when that was turned down, they sent a note with a credit for a free bottle of wine or champagne with dinner, AND offered a free dinner at the alternative restaurant. Then the Head Housekeeper checked in TWICE during the week to make sure the room smelled fresh and everything was okay.

 

Now I understand Zenith doesn't have alternative dining, but I find it hard to believe that you reported an unbelieveably filthy cabin to Guest Relations and not only was it not cleaned, but they never followed up. I also believe that it doesn't matter what your room steward said, if he can't do his job and clean your room properly, then he deserves what he gets from Guest Services or Housekeeping. IMO you dropped the ball and have only yourself to blame for the room not being thoroughly cleaned from top to bottom.

[tbelian]

All I can say is the ONE time we had a problem with an odor and reported it to Guest Relations, not only was the carpet cleaned immediately, but Guest Relations offered a different cabin which when that was turned down, they sent a note with a credit for a free bottle of wine or champagne with dinner, AND offered a free dinner at the alternative restaurant. Then the Head Housekeeper checked in TWICE during the week to make sure the room smelled fresh and everything was okay.

 

 

I don't see how calling em like I see em is being 'nasty'. Our experiences have been much more along the lines of Hilary's as posted.

 

Sorry you had a bad experience, but it is quite 'atypical' of what the normal Celebrity experience is. For other's considering Zenith, or any Celebrity ship for that matter, I wouldn't let this be the deciding factor.

[Faith/Hope/Charity]

Thank you so much for responding the way you did. Unlike your cabin, our mildew wasn't beneath the grout, and could have been easily washed off. I'm glad the other people who have responded with such negative and nasty attitudes have always had the good fortune to have a clean cabin. I hope they never have a cabin like we did, but like you have pointed out it happens.

[Faith/Hope/Charity]

I agree, that this is not the normal Celebrity experience. We have sailed on Century and loved it. CLEAN CABIN AND ALL!