Zenith's 5/27 Cruise to Bermuda

[NextOne]

DH & I & friends just got back from our trip on the Zenith today. I've got to admit that I was a little nervous after reading some of the posts here, but we had a marvelous time! The Zenith is a wonderful lady and I wish Celebrity would invest the $$ in her so she could be the jewel of the fleet. Her size makes her perfect for Bermuda - docking in Hamilton and St. George is so much nicer than out at the Wharf. And the staff is wonderful! We were lucky to get the "famous" Gabriel and Felix as our cabin steward and assistant. We felt very spoiled!!

And our waiter and assistant waiter were Paulo and Kevin - a terrific team! Paulo headed home today for a well-deserved vacation, but if anyone sees Kevin, please let him know he has lots of fans!! And Dixon was the most attentive assistant Maitre D' that we've EVER had.

I'll add more later, but right now I'm washing clothes and trying to deal with reality. I'll post more about our trip in the next few days. But I just wanted to say to Celebrity management - please, please don't sell the Zenith. She's a wonderful lady and we'd love to sail on her again in 2008 and beyond. How about it?????

[Lois R]

Hi, welcome back and glad you had such a good time:)

 

Wow, everyone on here seems to have gotten Gabriel and Felix~

they were terrific for me as well:D

[Eleris]

can you tell me who the Captains Club hostess and CD as well as the Captain, Staff Captain etc. I know I asked on another post but this is the time of year that they change for vacation and I am hoping to see some friends that might be onboard when I sail on the 17th. Thanks!

[AzureLaRoux]

I was going to start my own thread but I think I'll just post in yours instead. :)

 

We had a great time on the Zenith. There were a few hiccups (child's spagehtti came out as an adults pasta dish, toliet had a delay when flushing, messages weren't delivered to Mac (our butler) in a timely fashion) but we also had some very plesant surprises as well (sent a note and t-shirt for a cancelled activity that we had signed up for). Our waiter was Sampson, his asst. was Andres. After the first night they had our drinks ready when we arrived, without needing to be told. They were great about offering other selections when nothing on the menu suited us. Andres will be going home in 3 weeks. Allen, the wine sommilier, was great. We never ordered wine (we're just not wine drinkers). I expected him to stop coming by after we told him that we didn't tend to like wine. But he still came by every night and chatted for a minute or two. He was very friendly.

 

Our room attendent was Nick and his asst. Nielven (spelling). They were awesome. The room was old but clean. My kids slept on the hide away bed and a roll away cot. Their stuffed animals were always arranged in some manner on their beds. After the first day they called us Mr. and Mrs. Walker even when they saw us in other parts of the ship. This took me off guard since I know that they clean several rooms and assumed it would be hard to remember all the names. They made every effort to work while we were not in the room. My husband had to take to reading his book up on the pool deck because otherwise they wouldn't come in to clean. They didn't want to disturbe him. Mac was our butler and he was very informative. At the last minute my husband decided that he wanted to go on an excursion and mentioned this to Mac. Mac was able to get him the tickets even though the excursion desk was closed.

 

The kids club was wonderful. My children loved it so much that my youngest was sour at meals because he wasn't able to stay in the kids club to play. Kirsty and Lorna were great fun and I often found myself hanging around for a few minutes when picking up the kids just to chat. The kids never lacked for things to do. My oldest was able to check himself in and out which worried me at first, but I soon realized that he wouldn't want to check himself out because the activities were age appropriate. The playroom is small but the kids utilitze the entire ship for their activities. The 10-12 yos usually met in a corner of the Windsurf Cafe. The younger kids started out in the playroom but then went on excursions throughout the ship. Even port days were filled with activities, which I didn't really expect. We did leave the kids on board for a few hours and enjoyed a taxi tour of Hamilton.

 

The shows were interesting. Paul Tanner, a singer, had a great voice and the comedian that opened for him was hysterical. There was one production that we nicknamed "Panties on Parade", because all of the costumes were so short that the girls dance pants were visiable in every set. While amusing, I also found it a bit tacky. We made friends with a bar waitress named Vlatka. She was great. She first served us in the Show Lounge were she rattled off the specials and my husband decided to try one. Later he singled for another round of drinks but she misunderstood. We're not exactly sure what she thought he gestured but she gave him the most hilarious "how dare you look". She then came over and he told her that we wanted more drinks. She visibly blushed as she realized that she misunderstood the gesture. I can only imagine the offers she gets but we were really impressed with how she handled herself. We ended up becoming groupies of a sort by making sure to visit the lounges that she was working in each night. At the end we gave her something special to remember us by.

 

If anyone has any questions please let me know and I'll answer to the best that I can.

 

Nan

[AzureLaRoux]

The CD was Jeff Potts and Natalie. Jeff tended to get the breakfast times wrong but was very funny in his presentations. Natalie was very friendly. Being my first cruise I never met the CC hostess. The Capt. was either Martinez or Marguiles. I only saw him once, when he was on stage for the staff introductions.

[Becky_Mac]

HI,

 

I am heading to Bermuda this Saturday!:D How were the seas on the way out and back? What was the water temp. like?

 

Thanks...glad to hear you had a good trip!

[Charles4515]

can you tell me who the Captains Club hostess and CD as well as the Captain, Staff Captain etc. I know I asked on another post but this is the time of year that they change for vacation and I am hoping to see some friends that might be onboard when I sail on the 17th. Thanks!

 

Captain Club hostess was Liesl from Nambia. Captain was Margaritas. Had dinner with him. Staff Captain was Karamaounas.

[Charles4515]

HI,

 

I am heading to Bermuda this Saturday!:D How were the seas on the way out and back? What was the water temp. like?

 

Thanks...glad to hear you had a good trip!

 

The seas were fairly calm. The water temperature was cool.

[NextOne]

Lucky you, fripouns, to be heading to Bermuda - we're sad that the trip is done.

The seas were incredibly smooth both ways. We had a touch of rain on Sunday afternoon while we were sailing and then it rained as we left St. George on Thursday. Very appropriate for our mood!! Otherwise, the weather was partly sunny and temps in the 80s. Very comfortable. The water temp was in the 70s - much too cold for Bermudians, we were told, but fine for tourists!

 

The Capt. was Margaritas.

Nan - we were so glad to meet your family. Your boys are a delight!

 

Edi

[NextOne]

Hi Charles - hope you had a safe trip home. Maybe we'll get to sail with you again - keep us posted!

By the way, Bonnie's fifth grandchild arrived Thursday while we were gone - a little girl. Mom and baby are doing well and grandma is over the moon!

[AzureLaRoux]

Congrats to Bonnie, her daughter and newest family member.

 

The weather was comfortably warm, but the water was deceptively cold. The breeze very effectively hide the fact that we were getting sunburnt. :rolleyes:

 

We found the sailing very smooth. There was about an hour of queasy when we left St. George to come home but other than that we didn't feel a thing. DH did mention that if we were going to have more sea days on the next trip than he would like to be on a bigger ship. Not as much sway. None of us ended up needing seasickness meds, which was pretty cool. Although I'm still trying to find my land legs 2 days later. :)

[Becky_Mac]

Thanks for the info. I really can't wait. I think this will be a very long week at work!

[Longboysfan]

Good to see you had a great time in my favorite port - Bermuda.

[pezarino]

Glad to here such a positive report. Just like Fripouns - we will be leaving this Saturday for Bermuda (Fripouns I'll see you at the CC party!). A friend of mine came back from the same cruise on the 3rd and said the water was chilly. Hope it warms up a little by next week, although the water at the Jersey Shore is usually FREEZING, so anything compared to it would be considered warmer! Can't wait...!

[Charles4515]

Hi Charles - hope you had a safe trip home. Maybe we'll get to sail with you again - keep us posted!

By the way, Bonnie's fifth grandchild arrived Thursday while we were gone - a little girl. Mom and baby are doing well and grandma is over the moon!

 

Hi Edi, it was great meeting all of you on the sailing. Please give Bonnie my congratulations on the new grandchild.

[bilgeboyPa]

I too was on this sailing. I cannot possibly convey how great the crew is. What service!! It definitly rivals Century. Our waiter Eric and asst Paul could not have been better!! Cabin attendant George was great!!

I HAVE to give Kudos to my new favorite Martini makers Ana and Daisy. If you drink martini's seek them out. YUMMMMY!!!

The food in the dining room, in a word,OUTSTANDING!. I had some of the best meals in that room. I didn't have a bad meal all cruise.

The ship may be the oldest in the fleet, but it is well maintained. I didn't see any of the things people complained about in past threads. I loved the ship...Bermuda on the other hand, I prefer the carribean of the Mexican riviera, but that's me. Bermuda is way over priced in my opinion. It was actually cheaper to drink on the ship than on land. The beaches were beautiful, but getting there on the buses with rude drivers put a damper on that.

The "hot spots" like Frog and Onion, Hog Penny, ehhhh..OK food. Not great. The service at Frog and Onion was almost non-exsistant. Definitly wasn't worth the money.

Would I do Zenith again...In a heartbeat...Bermuda, I would need convincing.

 

 

Jeff

[pezarino]

And yet another testimony as to how great the service and food are on the Zenith. I can hardly wait to sail away on Saturday!! tic...toc...tic..:)

[masterbaker]

 

The Capt. was Margaritas.

 

Our captain in Feb. was Mitropoulos. Possibly you misunderstood or otherwise they get the strangest names for captains on X. :D I remember him well, we joked about him being "superman" when I met him. I could have some fun with a captain named Margaritas too. ;)

[Lois R]

Hi Jeff, glad you had a great time:) Anna in the Martini Bar is

definitely special!

 

I want to sail Zenith again too. Maybe the summer of 2007...

hopefully;)

[Charles4515]

Our captain in Feb. was Mitropoulos. Possibly you misunderstood or otherwise they get the strangest names for captains on X. :D I remember him well, we joked about him being "superman" when I met him. I could have some fun with a captain named Margaritas too. ;)

 

We did not misunderstand. I have sailed with Captain Margaritas before. That really is his name. Then Captain's names are not strange! They use Greek crews on Celebrity.

[BellaBaci4]

Welcome Home!

 

So glad that you had a nice trip. We also leave on Saturday. It has been such a long wait. We were on the Zenith two years ago, and it was such a great trip.

The water may be cold in Bermuda, but here on the Jersey Shore, it is beyond cold. I put my foot in this weekend and my eyeballs hurt, yes, it is that cold. Thanks for taking the time to report.

Ciao!

Bella

[NextOne]

A little more on our trip. We were in stateroom 5092, so we were lucky to have Gabriel and Felix as our attendants. We found the size of the room to be adequate, although we asked for the bed to be separated into two singles because when they were joined, one side was up against the wall. Not good when one of us has to get up in the night and the other has a machine that has to be plugged in during the night! The mattresses were pretty hard, but Gabriel produced a pad as soon as I requested one, and that made things a bit better. We loved the size of the shower and the shower curtain didn't stick to us! Yeah!!

We're non-smokers, so the Martini bar itself was a no-go for us. But Nadine in the Rendez-Vous Lounge created some wonderful martinis. Thank you, Tom, for introducing me to the blue Century martini - my new favorite! The Sugar Duo provided some nice entertainment.

We only went to one show - That 60's Show - but thought the entertainers did a great job.

One restaurant I highly recommend in Hamilton is the Port O' Call, directly across Front Street from the cruise terminal. We had a wonderful dinner with local friends there. Try the calamari and the rockfish, if you go!! And the desserts rival those on the ship!

And, I must admit, we got "swizzled" at the Swizzle Inn. What fun!

[hisfirstm8]

Which is the best side of the ship to book a room for the best view when docking in Hamilton. We can choose either side right now.

[SailBadtheSinner]

In Hamilton, starboard side to the dock; in SG, port side to the dock.

 

 

SBtS

[Bongar]

Oops! Posted on the roll call - old habits die hard!!

 

Just wanted to drop by and say how wonderful it was to meet all of the people that chatted before the cruise! It really is a hoot to have a picture in your mind of someone and then actually meet the person!!

 

I had great news when I returned! My daughter had the baby (two weeks early) on June 1! "Carly Faith" is absolutely beautifull! 6 lbs. 10 oz. with lots of hair, long fingers and big blue eyes!! She is sleeping five hours at a stretch! What a break for my daughter as this is NO. 5 for her!

 

Again, it was a pleasure meeting Tom, Charles, Nan, Tim, Random and especially Corwin (such a "gentleman"), Kerry Ann and her husband and friends, Kathy and Charlie (I have filed away your comments regarding Alaska and Princess), Ann and her husband, Jeff and anyone else my "senior moments" did not remember!

 

Wishing all of you a beautiful rest of the summer and "Happy Cruising" in the future! Who knows, maybe our paths will cross again on the open sea!!

 

Enjoy!

 

Bonnie

P.S. Charles and Nan, thanks for the congratulations on my beautiful new grandaughter!