Mercury 3/12/05 Review

[Cruisin Rick]

I just retuned yesterday from the Mercury. I'm not quite ready to post a long review but I do want to mention that I also had read reviews of the sad condition of the Mercury, the poor quality of the shows and other negative remarks.

 

I have to tell you that it was a great cruise, the ship was in very nice condition. ( not new because it simply isn't) I didn't knotice obvious rips and tears. The wood on the elevatoer floor and the wood habdle inside the elevator could stand refinishing but just imagine how many people use them day after day afte day. It simply was not a big deal.

I found the food very very good. I don't recall having a bad meal, the fish dinners were woinderfull and to be honest, the lobster was much bigger than I was expectiong.

There is a waffle bar deck 11 aft in the same area as the indoor pool. Some day for giglles, go give it a try. They are smaller belgium waffles and the have different fruits and whipped cram to top them off. I hope to find out what batter they use as they were simply the lightest waffles I've had the pleasure of eating.

Also, the guy at the omlete bar was truly a master omlete maker... Sushi Bar... I've never has Sushi so I was determined to try it. One night after main dining we were exploring around and found the Sushi Bar. I was far from hungry but they're small bites so I tried a Caifornia Roll and a Shrimp Roll. They has a bowl of green suce which appeard to be guacamoli so I scooped and large portion on my plate. My wife mentioned that the she didn't think it as Guacamoli so I just spead a tiny bit on the California Roll.Gee Beebus Johnson!! That was the spiciest hottest crud I've ever had. So much for my Sushi days. That's a part of my life that will never happen again.

\The shows. They have a new productioin staff of singers and dancers with new shows. I was expection a rather ho-hum unspectacular show after reading reviews here. I coudn't have enjoyed the shows much more than I did. They werer wonderfull. One little blond who was a main singer belted out a rendition of " Midnight Train to Georgia" that brought the house down. We only missed two shows. the first one ( a welcome aboard) and the last one ( some piano player).

One other thing I enjoyed was the way they handle getting people off on tenders who have excursions. On other cruises, we just had to go wait for a tender ticket and hope to find the excursion at the dock. On Mercury, all people going on the same excursion would meet at a designated spot on board ship and when all were accounted for, they would lead you single file past everybody else and load you onto the tender in a group, and when you reached shore, they excorted you to your excursion leader who took over form there. Very well organized.

Montery was nice. We experiance the

aquarium and the Great White Shark had the graciousness to live at least one day longer so we could actually see him. ( he's on his own now:D )

Cabo was... well, Cabo. We went on a Whale Watching excursion and thought it's late in the season, we saw sevral whales and got some good photos. One intersting thing we noticed while out there were the schools of Manta Rays. Every now and then, a Manta Ray would jump about 4-5 feet out of the water and flap his "wings" like a bird taking off. It was the funniest thing. I only wish I had been a little closer and able to get a photo of it. On the return to Cabo, we stopped along Lands End for photo ops of the Arches. I trully got some breataking pictures worth framing.

Back on Cabo, it's pretty much just your tipical shops selling the same second rate goods for prices you could beat at Sears in your local mall at home. We bought nothing there.

Mazatlan, We we there for just a short time. We sailed at 2:: PM as we had a long way to go by Sunday to SF. We had already done a City Tour on athother visit and we have ridden with Randi's Horses on one other occasion. So we opted to just go to the terminal and the wharehouse building down from the terminal for a few souveniers. ( they seem to have the best deals there anyway). At any rate, when we got to the terminal, we ran into Randi! She recognized us from an excursin several yearsa ago. It was really great to see here as as most who have met her, she is like a friend for life.

We had three and a hald sea days home and was very relaxing. The wife and I won a world famouse Celebrity Key Chain in a trivia contest and we also have a nice shot in the cruise video.

We had a grea time and this was out first cruise on Celebrity. We've cruise RCCL and Princess in the past. They were both excellent and I'd cruise them again in a hearbeat but in complete honesty, I found Celebrity to be just a notch above. It was a wonderfull cruise and now I have to start planning the next one. It's a shame they can't be closer together but that's the curse of the working man.

 

Crusing Rick :)

 

_______________

[Karynanne]

Happy to see you have a great cruise! I've cruised on the Mercury a few times before, and expect the ship to be just as you described...a little worn, but gracious. Thanks for the good review!

 

Karyn

[cruisepest]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. It is good to read your report as we sail on the 30th. To bad you did not like the Wasabi ( the green crud)

[encoresue2]

Don't give up on sushi....next time mix a little bit of the green crud with soy and dip the whole piece of sushi in it. Wonderful!!!!!! As you decide you want it hotter and hotter....add more green crud to soy. You'll love it in no time.

Glad you had a good time. Mercury is a wonderful ship.

[tbelian]

That the best way to really find out about the ship, any ship is to actually CRUISE on it! You can't always (hardly) believe what you read here there and anywhere.

 

Glad you enjoyed your trip. We are looking forward to our next stop, 'The Mercury', in the fall.

[excitedofharpenden]

Rick, thanks for taking the time to write your thoughts so promptly. Good to hear that Mercury is in fine fettle. I can't wait for October to arrive.:)

 

Phil

[windermere]

Thank you for taking your time to post! We have been on the fence about our upcoming Sept cruise. With all we have heard lately about the Mercury's condition etc. I am so glad to hear you enjoyed the ship!

[Andy]

Hi Rick !

 

Glad you had a great time on Mercury ! She is an awsome ship. It is great to hear that she is in excellent condition too !

[CruisingChick]

Hi Rick,

 

Thanks for posting. I will be on Mercury in 27 more days. I can't wait.

 

The green crud is called wasabi and my husband and I love it.

 

I'm glad you had a good time.

 

Anne Maria

[eandee]

Hi Rick,

 

Thanks for posting. I will be on Mercury in 27 more days. I can't wait.

 

The green crud is called wasabi and my husband and I love it.

 

I'm glad you had a good time.

 

Anne Maria

 

Was it too cold to be out on deck leaving and returning to SF?

 

Liz

[L11]

I had to laugh at the 'green crud' story. Look at it this way--I'll bet your sinuses have been clear ever since!!

 

Linda

[sassystyxfan]

Thank you for sharing your cruise on the Mercury with us. I am collecting reviews and stuff, as we are boarding on April 24th. If you have a chance I have some questions already posted in this thread under, "attn Mercury cruisers returning to SF". Thanks! Much appreciated. Welcome home!

[Karynanne]

Rick, I also had to laugh about your wasabi incident...years ago we were at dinner with friends and he also hadn't eaten sushi ever...He popped a glob of wasabi into his mouth, before we could stop him...and I swear I saw "steam" coming out of his ears!! He is really quite the macho type, and didn't know whether to cry or scream. We quickly got him a glass of milk! I apologize for the laughing at your story, but it brought up a memory I had long forgotten...Try sushi again. We love it, and have it at least once a week. Again, thanks for the great review!

 

Karyn

[luv2cruise123]

We will be on Alaskan cruise June 3rd on her and it is so good to hear about the better entertainment. the ONLY downfall I could find about our Thanksgiving cruise on sister ship Galaxy was the entertainment. So this relieves my mind alot!

 

No doubt, the food is very very good and I also loved the waffles!

[donnalroe]

Thank you for posting. I am very glad you had a great time...I had the same experience with sushi -my college room mate was Japanese, and she tried to warn me, but I did not understand....needless to say, my sinuses were very very clear for about a week. Love the post and thanxx.

 

Donna

[Lois R]

Hi Rick:) Welcome back. Seems we both had WONDERFUL Cruises:D despite lots of negative posts we had read on here (about both Mercury and Century).

 

Glad you had a great week. Maybe one day we will meet on the seas.:)

[doree]

Welcome Home......

 

We were on her in January and she is showing a little wear (bedspreads and upholstery - no biggie), but all in all she looks GREAT and I still LOVE that ship!!!! We had a GREAT time!!!!! Loved your sushi story!!!!! We love wasabi and you do need to eat it w/ soy sauce...it is an acquired taste, I guess. We left out of San Diego in January and it was cool leaving the first sea day and also coming home the last sea day.......I had to buy an X sweatshirt!!!!!!! LOLOLOL We have a funny picture of all of us w/ "hoodie" sweatshirts on sitting on the deck last day!!!!!

[kabado]

Thanks so much for the info! We are going on Mercury in 20 (TWENTY!!!) days and anxious for those days to disappear! I can't wait to see it for myself.

[JackfromWA]

I was also on the cruise in RS 1029. Other than arriving late to San Francisco due to strong ocean currents, everything was smooth. Food was as good as on the Summit last year. The butler, stateroom attendant and waiter (Savio, Choi and Gama respectively) were as good as I have had anywhere; including Silverseas. The ship was slightly worn, a mirror was cracked in the Royal Suite bathroom, etc. but nothing that significantly detracted from my vacation. Could the ship use a little spiffing up? Sure, but I would go on her again in a minute! The condition isn't bad enough to be a negative factor so for anyone reading and wondering about the Mercury's condition, don't worry. It's fine. And I agree with the original poster about the lobster. It was big! Bigger than I got on Raddison's Seven Seas Mariner! The only thing I dislike about Celebrity is the nickel and diming and pushing of alcohol, and the CHAIR HOGS.

[flakeyboom]

I was also on the March 12 Mercury cruise. It was the first cruise for me and my husband and we both had a great time. I thought the Mercury was a beautiful ship. My favorite places on the ship are the Navigator Club and the Thalassotherapy pool. The food and service were both excellent. I can’t comment too much on the entertainment, although I did go to a show with aerialists, Jean-Claude and Gaby, and comedian, Joe Mulligan. The aerialists were amazing, and the comedian, while not the funniest I’ve seen, was entertaining. I didn’t go on the cruise for the activities and entertainment, though. Mostly, I just enjoyed lounging in the sun with a good book.

 

The only negative part about the trip was the disembarkation. We were an hour and a half late getting into port, which I didn’t really mind since I live in SF so just had to take a taxi home. But they leave such little turnaround time between getting us off the ship and getting the new guests on that it was chaotic at the terminal and people were getting a little ugly and impatient to get off the ship. The whole process could have been better organized. But aside from that, we had a lovely, relaxing vacation. I can’t wait to take another cruise!

[donnalroe]

Flakey mom, which room were you in? The weather was nice for you? I am glad considering all the rain I read about! Can you suggest any extra nice restaurants in SF? We are leaving on the 17th of April, but will be spending a few days preceeding our cruise in SF to see the sights and have some great cuisine. I really want to see the giant red woods and will be taking a tour from our hotel- do you have any recommendations?

 

Thank you

ps I dont think your flakey...lol

Donna and Francis

[catmand]

Rick, I grew up with a Grandmother who made her own horseradish, thought I was ok with that sort of stuff.

I was had by the green crud as well and it was while on Mercury last March.

Glad you had a good time!

[Amagamma]

Thanks for the great review. We will be on the Mercury May 4th. What was your itinerary? We will be in Mazatlan until 5, just wondered why you left so early. Was it a 10 or 11 night? Can't seem to find this cruise in the brochure.

Glad to hear the shows are great, just love to see them. Who was your cruise director?

Thanks again.

[map cruiser]

thanks for repling on the Mercury for shore exc. How do i find Randi's? is it on Stone Island? did you do an exc on your own or from the ship??

[flakeyboom]

We were in 8160, an oceanview room. The weather was really nice in Mexico, windy and a little cloudy on the way back the closer we got to SF, but still enjoyable.

 

There are so many nice restaurants to choose from in SF. The main thing is to get away from Pier 39 and Fisherman's Wharf. Try Boulevard or Hawthorne Lane if you want to still be downtown. If you don't mind trekking into the Mission district, for a unique dining experience, try Foreign Cinema. They have great food and play old movies on the courtyard wall.

 

Since you'll only be in SF a couple of days, I assume the redwoods that you'll have time to see are Muir Woods. Really beautiful, although not as majestic as the redwoods up in Humboldt County. But the drive up Hwy 1 through the Marin Headlands can't be beat! I hope the weather is good then. Today's gorgeous -- clear blue skies, 60 degrees -- one of the many reasons I moved here from Michigan 9 years ago! Anyway, enjoy!

 

 

 

 

Flakey mom, which room were you in? The weather was nice for you? I am glad considering all the rain I read about! Can you suggest any extra nice restaurants in SF? We are leaving on the 17th of April, but will be spending a few days preceeding our cruise in SF to see the sights and have some great cuisine. I really want to see the giant red woods and will be taking a tour from our hotel- do you have any recommendations?

 

Thank you

ps I dont think your flakey...lol

Donna and Francis