"LIVE" from Celebrity Mercury / Jan 2, 2010

[Radio]

Always sad to see those photos of the pilot ships because it means another cruise (or Live report) is coming to a close. Thanks again, Radio, for taking us along with you on another fabulous cruise!

 

Radio, >SNIP<What plan did you get on the ship? Did you always have to use the computers on the ship or did you have your own laptop with you and access in the room (but had to pay the ships rates for access)? Karen

 

 

Hello Karen, Thanks for the comments...

Here is a post that I made from this thread. . . Note: We did not have In Cabin WiFi. . . I had to go to a WiFi Hotspot to connect.

 

 

Radio

;);)

 

My previous Post: " The Internet on board is much faster than I expected.

I have been connecting between 200-250kbps. It’s not the broadband like many have at home, but I have been able to post to this thread with ease.

 

The cost for Internet Access can vary. The rates are:

 

Pay as You Go-.65/min

Occasional-.61/min (29.95) 49 minutes

Standard-.55/min (49.95) 90 minutes

Social-.53/min (79.95) 150 minutes

Power- .42/min (99.95) 237 minutes - My Favorite"

[Lois R]

Another thank you from me too:). I am going on SUMMIT this Saturday and after seeing all your pictures?

I will be sailing Mercury later this year:D..I will put a deposit down while on SUMMIT:)

[reganshamrock]

Hello Karen, Thanks for the comments...

Here is a post that I made from this thread. . . Note: We did not have In Cabin WiFi. . . I had to go to a WiFi Hotspot to connect.

 

 

Radio

;);)

 

My previous Post: " The Internet on board is much faster than I expected.

I have been connecting between 200-250kbps. It’s not the broadband like many have at home, but I have been able to post to this thread with ease.

 

The cost for Internet Access can vary. The rates are:

 

Pay as You Go-.65/min

Occasional-.61/min (29.95) 49 minutes

Standard-.55/min (49.95) 90 minutes

Social-.53/min (79.95) 150 minutes

Power- .42/min (99.95) 237 minutes - My Favorite"

 

 

Radio - thanks. So you paid for access thru Celebrity but were able to find Wifi spots around the ship (not in the cabin) and connect with your laptop - correct? (sorry for the tech ignorance here :))

[JanMD]

Got off the ship this morning and got to work. It only took us 20 minutes from the cabin to the car. It was the fastest ever getting off the ship. There were porters and helped us load the suv.

The food is excellent, Entertainment is great- a little outdated. There is one singer from Baltimore and her parents were cruising this date. She is a James Madison Grad and very talented. The dinning room- slow service main seating. Finally ended up eatting upstairs in the bistro- scallops, salad, sea bass- it was all excellent and very hot! Sam up in the bisto is excellent. The captain circle is Juliana and Laura is the Future Cruise- they were both perfect and helpful.

We really enjoyed the Ravens game and met alot of new people in the lounge for that 3 hour time frame. It was fun- ran upstairs and got some food and shared it with our new friends. The only pools that we saw being used was the aft and the spa pool. I did see people in the hot tubs on the Coco Cay stop. The mother nature water show going down and coming back up was so amazing. Even with rough seas this ship is very, very smooth sailing.

Enjoyed the elite lounge every afternoon the service was excellent from April. We did the tour of the bridge- the captain did that. Was standing beside him on the breakfast line this morning.

 

It was cool to see the Carnival Pride pull into port at Nassau- both ships out of Baltimore. I just wished they stayed longer in Key West and not so long in Nassau. There are warnings on the paperwork for Nassau about crime, drugs. When we got off the ship at 10:00- there were many cops/ and saw some drugs. Charleston was perfect just cold. Key West was excellent- just didn't have enough time. We know it was an odd cruise for it to be that cold but it was adventure. great one.

 

I would highly recommend sailing on Celebrity and wished they sailed year round out of Baltimore- no plane- no fuss. Parking is very easy and easy to get in/out of parking lot.

Met alot of fabulous cruise critic members.

cheers,

Janice

[INLAW]

We have never cruised Celebrity. Before we book we are hoping to get some answers to our questions from people who loved the Mercury. My wife and I enjoy ballroom dancing and have enjoyed our cruises on HAL, NCL and RCL. We just got home from a CCL cruise, with our grown kids, and while the food was great, there was no dancing for us. We don't really enjoy the food on NCL but the dancing makes up for it. Thanks in advance for your answers.

Ralph and Linda

[TourDeCruise]

Ralph & Linda: On the Mercury in October/November there was nighly dancing in the Rendez-Vous Lounge, mainly ballroom dancing. The floor is not huge, but you will certainly be able to dance. I think the name of the quartet we had on our cruise was So Cool Quartet and they were excellent.

 

Janice: Are you saying that the alternate dining in the Palm Spring Cafe had sea bass, scallops, and salad? Every night? I'm looking forward to the sea bass in several weeks on the Mercury, but I thought I could only get it one night in the MDR.

 

reganshamrock: The wi-fi hot spots are the computer center, the area outside the computer center where the pcs are, the Cova Cafe, and I believe Michael's Club. You may be lucky to find access elsewhere but the signal might not be as strong. If there are other hot spots, hopefully someone will add to this and verify about Michael's Club.

 

Kathy

[Toothfairy754]

Dear Radio

I too want to thank you for the wonderful commentary and photos. It so reminded me of my cruise on X last April and of course my upcoming on the Millie.

I hope you don't mind but I shared your photos (by viewing) with some of my work compadres. I knew they would love seeing what sailing on X was like. They were all facinated with the *steam effect*.

Thanks again for your wonderful posts. You are one in a million :)

[DELTABLUE]

re dancing...there are a number of dance floors around the ship and we did see people dancing at various times. Rondez-Vous Square, the Pavilion Lounge and the Navigator Lounge all had live music, at various times, to dance to.

re WIFI...even if you are using a hot-spot on the ship with your personal computer, you will be charged for it. They are not 'free' hot-spots.:(;) I found the connection to be rather slow. It would cost me about $5 before I was connected and at the first site I wanted to visit. I was using my personal laptop. You can also get a good connection on deck 5 in the Grand Foyer, across from Guest Relations.

[shellann]

The wi-fi hot spots are the computer center, the area outside the computer center where the pcs are, the Cova Cafe, and I believe Michael's Club. You may be lucky to find access elsewhere but the signal might not be as strong. If there are other hot spots, hopefully someone will add to this and verify about Michael's Club.

 

Kathy

 

Yup, definitely wi-fi in Michael's! At least there was on the Panama Cruise in Oct/Nov and hopefully again Feb 1st...

[Radio]

Hello everyone. . . Mrs Radio was picking me up from the port, so there was no reason to get off of the ship early.

 

I managed to drag myself off of the ship by about 945AM (There was still abut 400 passengers on the ship. . .14 were B2B Cruisers)

 

The Immigration line was quick and easy. I carried my luggage off, so it took no time to make it through the Cruise Maryland Terminal.

 

I have a lot of scans to do, and will post them throughout the week. It was very nice to meet so many people from the Cruise Critic Roll Calls. . .They were all very friendly, and seemed to enjoy cruising like I do.

 

Thanks for tuning in !

 

 

Radio

;);)

 

 

 

.

[Rjbobalou]

Thanks for taking the time to post,I have followed most of your cruises.Your pics are great.

[Sea and Me]

Radio:

Thanks so much for all the beautiful pictures and your reports. We booked the Mercury for Oct. out of Baltimore. Seeing the pictures makes me feel I know a little about the ship (I'm known to get lost:)) We are looking forward to our 11 day sail on her.

 

You really do a great service to the cruise critic members!! Thank you.

 

Carol

[JanMD]

Yes, you could get the sea bass one night in the dinning room. But, there is a Caribbean Menu that is upstairs that has the scallops, sea bass, steak, etc. Once you have the sea bass downstairs you are going to want it again!! It was excellent.

Janice

[jerseyk]

Hi Radio

 

Your pic's are great! It was nice meeting and chatting with you and hope that someday we are on the same ship again.

 

For us the only downside to the cruise was that it was too short;)

 

Keep well,

Walter

[marvin]

Lois R: Join us on May5th R/T Alaska out of San Pedro: Marvin

[Radio]

>SNIP< The Immigration line was quick and easy. I carried my luggage off, so it took no time to make it through the Cruise Maryland Terminal.

I have a lot of scans to do, and will post them throughout the week. It was very nice to meet so many people from the Cruise Critic Roll Calls. . .They were all very friendly, and seemed to enjoy cruising like I do.

Thanks for tuning in !

Radio

.

 

 

Oooops, I just got home from work and I realized that I forgot to post these pics this morning when I made the post. . Wow ! Just working 1 day has messed my mind up. . . . I need to cruise again ! !

 

 

Here are some pics from my final morning of the Cruise. (and my Cabin location...)

 

 

 

Radio

 

 

 

Early morning waiting for Debarkation

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The action is a little slow for luggage removal

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

My final coffee on Mercury shows no passengers on deck

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

New passengers are starting to arrive for Mercury's next sailing

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I loved the position of my cabin. . . I was right next to the AFT exit door.

It was like my (huge) private Balcony. I rarely saw anyone out there.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

.

[Love2Cruise626]

Hi Radio!

It was great meeting you on the cruise!

Thanks so much for all of the cruise and phone tips you gave

us and for letting our daughter know we were ok.

Your pictures are incredible and your LIVE report is fantastic.

We look forward to reading more of your reports in the future

and hope to sail with you again! :)

~John and Mindy

[monkeyinhat]

Thank you Radio

I really enjoyed your pics and report. And thank you for helping me confirm I made the right choice in cabin.

 

What type of food does the Cova Cafe , room service have, any snacky places have?

Sometimes it is a long time between brunch and a late dinner and we look for late afternoon food. Thanks for the info. I have seen Celebrity menus, but have never seen a room service one. We have on Royal ordered our appetizer from dining room menu room service at 6:00 to tide us over.

 

Did you have deck chairs outside your cabin on the aft? looks like the kids pool was there.

 

Just an FYI for the Charleston and probably Baltimore cruising fans. When I called to make my reservation, I thanked and thanked and thanked the customer service for cruising out of Charleston. That is is fantastic to have a closer port. and they said it was an experiment that seems to be very successful. And he would pass along what I said. I called again anyomously. So please all call Celebrity and tell them you want cruising out of those ports. Can't hurt anything.

[hydrodriver831]

Radio,

 

I really enjoyed following your Live on the Mercury. We have been on the Mercury twice and this brought back fond memories. I especially enjoyed the night aft pictures of the Mercury..Very Nice!. Thanks. :D

[Host Anne]

Radio ~ thanks again for all your wonderful posts and photos. I get ready to start thinking about packing for our upcoming cruise (we leave Thursday), your thread has heightened the excitement! THANKS SO MUCH!

[Radio]

Hello everyone. . . Here is the Room Service Menu. I only tried Room Service once during my 9 Nights, and was sent very quickly.

(And the Double Chocolate Seduction was very good too !):)

 

　

Radio

;);)

 

 

　

　

Room Service Menu

 

Soups

Chicken Noodle Soup

New England Clam Chowder in Bread Bowl

Salads

Chef’s Salad

Caesar Salad

Healthy Salad w/ low Fat Yogurt Dressing

 

Fruit / Cheese Plate

Fruit Plate / Seasonal Fruits w/ Yogurt or Cottage Cheese

Cheese Plate / International and Continental w/Crackers

 

Main Course

Celebrity Hamburger (or Vegetarian Burger)Plain or w/ Bacon,Cheese or Chili

Roasted Vegetable Lasagna

A la Minute Steak with Café de Paris Butter w/ Fries

Avocado- Tomato Quesadillas

 

Sandwiches

Classic Tuna / Sandwhich or Wrap

Celebrity Club w/ Fries

Grilled Chicken w/ Fries

 

Pizza

Pizza Margherita

Traditional Pepperoni Pizza

Pizza Four Seasons (Tomatoes, Mozzerella, Ham, Artichoke Hearts, Mushrooms, Bell Peppers, Anchovies, and Olives)

 

Desserts

Double Chocolate Seduction with Caramel Cream

Raspberry Silk Cheesecake

Apple Pie

Chocolate Chip Cookies

Sugar Free Dessert of the Day

 

 

 

.

[Radio]

Radio ~ thanks again for all your wonderful posts and photos. I get ready to start thinking about packing for our upcoming cruise (we leave Thursday), your thread has heightened the excitement! THANKS SO MUCH!

 

Wow, Thanks Anne !

 

Enjoy you Cruise !

 

 

Radio

:rolleyes::rolleyes:

[Texed]

Radio,

Thanks for posting. :)

[cal516]

Great reviews! My wife & I were on the cruise with you and witnessed you documentation efforts. Well done! Great time was had by all!

[excited to be cruiseing]

Radio I loved your review and all the pictures. Magnifico.