Celebrity Cruise Lines
Zenith Cruise Review
Western Caribbean

Tammy
Age: 28
Occupation: Database Marketing
Number of Cruises: 1
Sailing Date: February 25th, 2006

Overall Experience Good to Great
3.5/5 stars

Ship - 2/5 Average but very clean

Service - 4-4.5 always excellent, friendly, and helpful. The Sommelier's and waiters were great, making you feel like you are the only people that matter in an otherwise very busy dining room.
State room attendants were also very helpful, responsive, and attentive.

I'm not sure of the level of service the children receive through the Kids Program, however everytime I saw them they were involved in engaging activities and seemed totally in to the group leaders.

Food: 4/5 - Overall Good-Excellent
The buffets always offered an excellent selection. The grille is great, made to order items at all meals. The pancake and waffle station at breakfast is also great and the cooks are friendly and talkative.

Dinner service was outstanding in all aspects. The menu is not massive but the selections are diverse enough that there is always something you'll love or something interesting to try out. The baked Alaska night is fantastic. You'll never want to eat another dessert...and I never really cared for it until then.

Also the midnight fruit parade night is a pretty cool deal. Nice carving work, nice atmostphere.

Entertainment: 3.5
The onboard band is great, they have a nice sound seem to enjoy playing and at some point everyone found themselves tapping a toe or singing along. They're sort of infectious and with a drink or two in you they'll get even better.

Singers and Dancers did a nice job. Not up to NY or Vegas standards but still entertaining.
The comedian and illusionist were both outstanding. People you would pay to see on land.

Ports:
Grand Cayman- still recovering from hurricanes but truly friendly people and a truly beautiful island.

Key West: What can you say always fun take the trolly ride and wait for Louie the Lip...hilarious and informative great tour and easiest way around the island in a short time. Unless you have kids skip the Pirate tour it's lame although the outlook provides a great view and a great place to take pictures. For great Conch Fritters hit The Grand Cafe on Duval Street, its perfect for lunch.

Embarkation/Disembarkation: 5
WOW that was quick on and off the boat quickly and easily. Again another advantage of a smaller boat.

Basis for the review:
This was my first cruise and considering the amount of $ spent, the ports, and the ability to get into sunshine during February (obviously I'm not too picky) the cruise was fun, relaxing, entertaining, and overall a great experience.

The Ship Details
If you've found this review you've obviously seen the info on the Zenith. It is a smaller older ship than most which means...its not going to be in perfect condition with a million places to explore and a tons of activities since there is somewhat limited space. However it also means you'll be able find great places to relax, find wonderful service to enjoy (Emilian in the Fleet Deck Bar is superb), and great deals to be had for 5 nights. (Just an overall observation don't go for less than 5 days its not worth it)

The pool deck has two small pools which are intended for a cooling-off dip not a lap pool by any means. The small amount of families on board seemed to enjoy the kid pool which was seperated from the larger adult pool. The three nice whirlpools have awesome views, but are not heated.

Quick Tips:
Take advantage of the wine and food tastings they're between $8-$10 a person and are well worth it.

Also if you like a pre-dinner or post-dinner drink the Fleet Deck Bar is never busy and has the best views.

Do yourself a favor and never eat a breakfast or lunch inside. The back deck offers a number of tables and there is really no better way to treat yourself than to have a relaxing meal and be able to look at the gorgoues surroundings.

Make sure you book roughly a month ahead between 3-5 weeks out they seem to hit their lowest $ points.

Summary:
Zenith is great for relaxing. Its ideal for couples who want to relax and great for groups. If you go have fun and make sure to enjoy the view.

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