back from Mercury- detailed review

[Robrph]

Cruise Review: Celebrity Mercury California Coastal April 17-24 2005

 

About us: My wife and I are in our mid-fifties, from Philadelphia with two grown sons out on their own (all the better for cruising). This was our seventh cruise overall, third with Celebrity. We generally shun the ship’s excursions, preferring to arrange our own trips at the ports we visit. We were immediately drawn to the itinerary as we’ve never visited the west coast. Frequent contributors to Cruise Critics, we hooked up with a great group dubbed the “Mercury Maniacs” and the cruise was all the more enjoyable with all those great people to mingle with.

 

The ship: For its age and usage, Mercury was in very good shape. We saw none of the worn carpets, torn comforters and other items described in earlier reviews and posts. The public areas were in excellent condition and the ship sparkled from stem to stern. Constant maintenance was going on throughout the cruise to the credit of the staff, although one morning paint fumes found their way into the Manhattan dining room, spoiling an otherwise excellent breakfast.

 

Embarkation: We cruised from San Francisco’s Pier 35, entering through what appeared to be a very old warehouse spruced up with potted plants and other Celebrity amenities. The registration line was long but moved briskly. It was necessary to walk up several winding ramps to finally reach the ship. After the usual picture stop and champagne greeting, we were escorted to our cabin, a celebrity touch we always welcome and appreciate.

 

Our cabin: We had cabin 8139, an outside midship on Panorama deck. The location was very convenient as we were right near the elevators and steps. The cabin was layed out very well- bed along one long wall, love seat and desk on either side of the window, wall-length mirrors covering the wall opposite the bed, with plenty of room to walk around the bed.

Bathroom was good size with excellent storage areas and very nice strong showerhead, though temperature of shower fluctuated a few times. The sink had some stains and the grout in the shower could have used a sprucing up. We did have a slight plumbing problem that was cleared up quickly. As mentioned earlier, no signs of worn carpeting orlinens, although one set of sheeets had a small tear- they were replaced immediately without our complaining.

 

Passengers: Roughly half the passengers seemed to be from the immediate San Francisco area. Tired of flying across country to cruise from Florida, they appreciated the opportunity to cruise from home. There was a large Asian population aboard, again probably due to the sailing from California. Many elderly pax, often with walkers or wheelchairs, but we didn't see much of them in the evening as we had late dinner. We saw very few cases of inappropriate behavior- most pax acted like ladies and gentlemen, although on one occasion we saw a man openly berating the buffet staff because there was no Half and Half(didn't seem like something to get worked up over to us). Very few teenagers on board and the many small children were well-behaved.

 

Food: We found the food to be generally up to Celebrity standards- meaning very good to excellent. We preferred breakfasts in the Palm Springs buffet over the Manhattan dining room due to the larger selection and the excellent made-to-order omelet station. Food in the Manhattan Dining room was very good, especially the meats. Prime rib, rack of lamb, NY strip steak, rack of veal and beef tenderloin were all excellent and cooked perfectly as requested. Fish entres were mostly average, although lobster on the second formal night was great. Deserts mostly looked good, but tasted average- nothing special to knock your socks off.

 

Service: Top notch, exactly what we expected from Celebrity. Nearly everyone we had contact with was friendly, hard-working and accommodating. Our cabin steward, Metron, was excellent. He knew we were celebrating our 30th anniversary and constantly left little surprises in our cabin. One evening, he left a bottle of wine and two glasses. He was always available for help and even some conversation, and kept our cabin spotless. Our waiter, Erbay was excellent also. He immediately asked us for our first names and cabin number so he could address us personally. We arranged through my T/A a table for 12 for us "Mercury Maniacs", and he handled all of us in a friendly and confident manner. Other staff we came into contact with were excellent. Guest Relations, bank, shop personnel and future booking agent were helpful and friendly at all times.

 

Entertainment: this was a big dissappointment to us and others we were with. The live pool band was virtually non-existent, playing only for an hour or so at sail-away each afternoon. The rest of the time tapes of "elevator music played at the pool. There was only one evening pool party all week. The pool band, Top Secret, also played in the lounges at night- they were average. The evening shows were the biggest bust. The Celebrity singers and dancers worked hard, but just didn't have the talent we've seen on other Celebrity ships, the Summit in particular. Jacqui Scott, the singer one night was a "screamer" and annoyed many in the audience with her constant name-dropping of stars she had performed with. The "Broadway" show on the last formal night was a disaster with people walking out throughout the performance. There was one excellent act- comedian Don Sherman was hysterical with his very topical observational comedy routine. One annoying thing: the showtimes seemed to change each evening. We had late dinner and the show was scheduled before dinner one night, and after dinner the next night. This was confusing and many nights people complained they had missed the show.

 

Ports: SF: we arrived a day early and stayed at the Sheraton Fisherman's Wharf- great location. Spent the afternoon walkikng the wharf and riding the cable car. Next morning took a bus tour to Muir Woods and Sausilito. Beautiful! Monterey: this was a tender port but things went smoothly and we were off the ship almost immediately. Along with two other couples, we rented 1929 Model A roadsters and drove the 17-mile drive to Carmel and then on to Big Sur. The views were undescribable and driving the cars was such fun- we felt like a tourist attraction ourselves as people waved and took our picture as our caravan went by, honking our "aaoogah" horns.

LA: we went against our usual practice of not using the ship's excursions and took the LA Highlights tour- it was terrific. We rode in a comfortable coach for 5 1/2 hours listening to a fantastic touir guide as he took us throughout the city, making stops at the Kodak Center, Olivera St, Farmer's Market, Beverly Hills, Chinese theatre-walk of fame, Hollywood sign and Rodeo Drive. Great tour for firt-timers in LA. Catalina Island: another tender port-beautiful city of Avalon only one square mile in size- perfect for walking. Lots of cute shops and restaurants. Ensenada,Mexico- the obligatory "foreign" port for this mostly Californian cruise. This is your typical border town with streets full of schlocky shops and mothers and children begging for money. San Diego: took the Old Town Trolley tour that included the Zoo. The trolley stopped at several locations around the city-you get off and on-a trolleyt comes by about every 30 minutes or so. Zoo was fun- take the tour bus- it's so large, one gets tired quickly.

 

Final thoughts: Mercury wasn't the most beautiful ship we've been on and as mentioned, the entertainment was nothing to brag about. That said, the total cruise experience was about the best we've had. The ship was attractive and well-maintained. The food and service were what we've come to expect from Celebrity. The itinerary was just what we were looking forward to after many cruises of the Caribbean. But what really made this cruise for us was being part og the "Mercury Maniacs". These people were such fun and it was very cool to walk around the ship and run into so mant terrific people. Some were old cruisemates from the Summit last year. Others were new friends who met and corresponded on our thread for ten months. We had "mercury Maniac" t-shirts made up and proudly wore them around the ship. For us, being part of this terrific group made this cruise extra special.

[Karynanne]

Thanks for the wonderful review...I too love the Mercury. Next week will be the 4th time on this ship for us. We know what to expect, and know we won't be dissapointed.

 

It sounds like you had a fabulous time, with wonderful CC friends!

 

Thanks again...

 

Karyn

[Lois R]

Hi Rob:) great review. One of these days I would love to cruise with you and your group. Beau and the rest of your friends. Everyone sounds like they are so much fun!

[donnalroe]

My hubby and I were also on this sailing, although we did not catch up with any of you maniacs of the mercury- it was an awesome ship. The string quartet, strolling singers well made up for the shows....the staff in the cova cafe were fabulous as was in the dining room. It is a beautiful ship- we did not see any wear either, and I will admit we looked due to the fact we were fore warned by other posts.

 

All will enjoy this beautiful ship.

 

Donna and Francis

[iancal]

We love the Mercury also. Something about that ship. Just came back from the Sun P. It was great but it was not the Mercury.

[Tatka]

Great review.. Wish I could write this nice.

 

Although I loved dancers and singers... Brodway show was least favourite but first two were nice. (we've never seen real Brodway or Vegas shows yet so I don't have anything to compare. I liked two blond girls, male singer (group manager), and girl singer (Tatyana Ostopovich).

 

Service..what can I say.. Celebrity!!! I (in my early 30ies) had been offered to carry my tray 3-4 times during every meal in buffet, even though they already were busy with large older population. Dining room service is still most professional of all cruises we sailed.( equal to Centrury's)

 

It was nice cruise...and Maniacs were terrific group!

 

Ok...sorry I didn't mean to steal this topic.:o

[catmand]

...........that's easy for you to say!...........:D :D

 

 

A very nice review,I think, living near San Francisco and having sailed Mercury once, we sort of feel like she is "our" ship. We sailed last year March and the ship was spotless, so hard to believe she was 10 years old. These West Coast trips are a nice way for visitors to see our state.

[pzerba]

As a proud fellow Mercury Maniac, I can whole-heartedly concur with Rob's well written review.

 

As a relative young-un (all of 40) I think I have found that Celebrity isn't the cruise line for me ... yet. But the opportunity to sail with fellow "Summiteers" and newly minted "Maniacs" was too great an opportuntiy to resist.

 

Clearly what Celebrity does best is service, service, service. Although that being said, our cabin steward Peter (4027) was average at best. Virtually everyone else we came across was friendly and offered a smile when encountered. The most surprising moment of their excellent service happened when I was walking down the stairs down to steerage, er, my cabin and sneezed while at the landing on the 5th floor, right around the corner was a cabin steward who immediately proferred a "God Bless you" - momentariliy stunned, I had to laugh and then hastily added a "Thank you". To me, that is a very well trained employee - kudos to Celebrity!

 

Also, Celebrity certainly does food right, while there may have been a couple of items I didn't care for, they certainly were well prepared and in most cases, deliciously tasty.

 

The downside for me was the lack of entertainment; as a Gen-X'er (truth be told, I'm neither a boomer or an X'er, as it seems 1965 gets the shaft with labels) I tend to need more stimulation and entertainment than most other Celebrity cruisers and piano music or acapella (sp?), while well done, just doesn't do it for me. I prefer more of an upbeat scenario, and with the demographic it appears Celebrity aims for I wound up on the short side of the stick. Of course, I knew this going in, and for more the most part enjoyed the peace and serendity. I just would've preferred a little more lively evening entertainment, and I agree with Rob, the last seating dinner folk were all over the map as to when our shows would be held making it somewhat difficult to get in a rythym.

 

The ship was wonderful, clean and generally well maintained - the service was formal yet genial and the food, without a doubt, excellent. However, there is that old phrase - "You can take the man out of the trailer park, but..." and it probably applies here. With all of that being said, I would heartily recommend this ship to all who are looking for what it offers, and with the help of the Maniacs, can honestly say I enjoyed it immensely - just don't look for me to be back for a few more years ;)

[Beaufinger]

:cool: Good Evening Maniacs.....Rob, way to go buddy....Very Nice Review.....Let's all give Rob a big Hand...appause,appause......:D Donna, what happened to you and Francis?...We were Worried about you two..Did you get my Note I left on your Stateroom Door? Don't you want your T-Shirts?? Tell us about it....Your're among Friends....:) I agree with my fellow Maniacs. The Ship was very Clean, I did spot some minor wear here and there....Paul, you are young...in time you will find there is more to life than partying...(I don't believe I just said that..):D Service, Service....Like I always say....Celebrity...Does the little things that make a difference....Paul, what are you talking about..What about the shows on the Summit....You didn't like those?.:eek:

[CruisingChick]

I tend to need more stimulation ;)

 

What I could do with that line.....but fearing being banned from this site forever, I will leave it alone.

 

So Paul are you calling us a bunch of "old foggies?" I felt there was more than enough stimulation for me. We hit the disco at least 2 nights, the casino on various nights - especially the last, the Tropical night party on deck, etc. We were disappointed with the Broadway show (not nearly as good as our last 2 Celebrity cruises) and found that the Acapella group, while okay, were not as good as our cruise last April on Inifinty. That being said this did not make or break our cruise.

 

Rob, it was a great review, but you forgot to mention how adorable all of us Maniacs are. How could you forget that?

 

The comedian was very funny. Probably the best part of all the entertainment on board.

 

Donna, we are sorry we did not get to meet you. I can attest that Beau was worried about you the entire cruise!!!!

 

Hey Karynanne, have fun on Mercury if you see Nely or Martinho (waiters on the ship), tell them Anne Maria said hi.

 

Lois, I hope we get the chance to cruise with you soon!!! I know it would be a blast.

 

Tatka, what I wouldn't give to me in my early thirties!!!! Geez, I don't know if I can even remember that far back.

 

Anne Maria

[mari10]

Hi Anne Maria,

 

Glad to hear you had a good time. I watched the Mercury on webcam, and wished I too was aboard. Did you hit any rough weather? The first time I sailed under the Golden Gate and out to Seattle, the weather was so rough I could hardly stand up. The sight was awesoome, so I guess it was worth the sea sickness. Hope you had calm seas. The Pacific is tricky.

You can't really have cruise blues, as you're leaving again in two months!

Still would love to do The Summit, and will jump on it if a TA deal comes along.

Gald your home safe and sound, a hello to Frank and Anthony.

 

Mari

P.S. Age is only a state of mind...

[Tatka]

Hi Anne Maria,

 

Glad to hear you had a good time. I watched the Mercury on webcam, and wished I too was aboard. Did you hit any rough weather? The first time I sailed under the Golden Gate and out to Seattle, the weather was so rough I could hardly stand up. The sight was awesoome, so I guess it was worth the sea sickness. Hope you had calm seas. The Pacific is tricky.

You can't really have cruise blues, as you're leaving again in two months!

Still would love to do The Summit, and will jump on it if a TA deal comes along.

Gald your home safe and sound, a hello to Frank and Anthony.

 

Mari

P.S. Age is only a state of mind...

 

We had a great weather for the most of the cruise.

 

Weather for sailaway from SF was perfect... very sunny.. I wished it was less windy though.

 

However during the dinner all rock-n-rolling started. We never experienced this before, and couldn't understand right away what was happening... It was strange seeing people leaving dining room holding to the walls... Later Captain made an announcment about not going to the open decks. (and they closed doors to the promenade deck). Next day my son told me that he went to the pool area and chair flew over his head!!! Diring the night we had more r'n'rolling.

 

We also had overcast in San Diego with some rain, but this didn't prevent us from having great day. (I was surprised as everybody told me it's sunny there 365 days a year)

 

The only sea day was also cloudy and rainy , but my family was enjoying thalatherapy pool!

 

We were lucky to have beautiful weather in Monterey..also great weather in LA, Catalina and Ensenada, and SF.

[CruisingChick]

Hi Anne Maria,

 

Glad to hear you had a good time. I watched the Mercury on webcam, and wished I too was aboard. Did you hit any rough weather? The first time I sailed under the Golden Gate and out to Seattle, the weather was so rough I could hardly stand up. The sight was awesoome, so I guess it was worth the sea sickness. Hope you had calm seas. The Pacific is tricky.

You can't really have cruise blues, as you're leaving again in two months!

Still would love to do The Summit, and will jump on it if a TA deal comes along.

Gald your home safe and sound, a hello to Frank and Anthony.

 

Mari

P.S. Age is only a state of mind...

 

Hi Mari, yes we had a very good time and I thought about you and Shari while sailing. We did hit VERY ROUGH weather. About an hour or so out of SF it got really rough and stayed that way for a while. Half the ship missed dinner, they cautioned taped all the doors leading to the outside decks, the Captain made an announcement for ladies to wear flat shoes and not heels, there were seasickness bags every 2 feet along the hand rails on all the decks. I saw one lady get sick in the Theater. My son saw another lady get sick in the hallways. It was bad!!!

 

It calmed down a little after second seating dinner but I heard it got really bad again around 3:00 AM. I was sound asleep so I didn't feel or hear a thing.

 

Hope to see you on a cruise ship again soon. We are still up in the air about next year. They don't have Europe released yet, but with they way the prices have been going up, I'm not sure if we can afford it.

 

Talk to you soon.

 

Love,

 

Anne Maria

[mari10]

About an hour after departing Nassau, we were hit by a sudden storm.

I was getting out of the shower, and couldn't stand up straight. At first I thought it was too many drinks at sail away up on the Aft Deck.

We had late seating, and by then the seas were calmer, but I heard that many ladies had to be escorted out of the dining room during early seating. We were having our pictures taken for last formal night, and a lot of people looked green.

My friend brought along a wonderful homeopathic pill for motion sickness (I'll have to get the brand name), and it worked wonders. I think it's better than my ginger and bonine duo.

Anne Maria, I'm also waiting to see the rest of Celebrity's 2006 schedule, but you may be right about the high prices. (yuk).

Talk to you soon,

Mari

[cechase]

Great review! Mercury was our first Celebrity cruise, and my dear Nedra's first cruise ever. We loved our eight days aboard this vessel and loved the cruise. On our three Celebrity cruises in the last year, we really didn't go to the shows so that part of the review is not a big thing to us.

 

We like the Royal Suite on Mercury more than the RS on Century, because they cut off a little bit of the big veranda on Mercury so that you can have a sitting area in the bedroom, and there is a separate door in the bedroom to the veranda.

 

We really like the C-class ships because of their size and ease to get around.

 

Mercury is really special to us, because on our cruise Nedra had a fever of 102-103 and threw her back out in Monterey. Our butler and the rest of the staff did every thing possible with a smile and cheer to make her cruise enjoyable, including wonderful dinners in our suite, opening the cabin door for her [running half way down the hall to beat her to the door], many visits to see how she was and making inquiries about what they could do for her, etc.

 

As you can see below, we will be aboard Mercury again early next year.

[smoothdancer]

Here are my impressions of the 4/17 Mercury cruise...

 

We boarded on the late side, around 1:30, so that I could have thoes cracked crabs just one more time on the SF Wharf... Crab is my favorite seafood and I was in crab heaven. (Beau, we loved SF and Muir woods)

 

Having a suite, we went to the suite line, and were checked in and on our way in about 10 mintues(even with the Celebrity computers being down). We carried on two bottles of wine without a problem. No one escorted us to our cabin... How silly, but I was a tad disappointed...But liked the champagne.

 

My very first thought was "how old is this ship?". I expected to see some wear and tear, and yet I did not. I found the ship to be in excellent shape and was pleasantly suprised as to its condition...

 

We are on the side of the camp that prefers to cruise in a suite. This of course means that we do not cruise as often as others, but to us is worth the wait. We have been in suites on multiple lines yet when we entered the suite, it damn near took my breath away. It FAR exceeded every one of my expectations. The furniture, hard wood floors with area rugs, the fresh flowers and chilled champagne and the high quality stero system was just amazing.... Throughout the week, we enjoyed our digs...

 

During our weeks stay we found the service to be over the top.... Not just as a suite guest, but just about everywhere we went. We did not anticipate that we would have a need for a butler, but found the experience to be cool... It wa quite interesting to see how he picked up on our little habits, and adjusted his service to meet our behavior... I said more than once to Nick.... look at this!! Each evening our dining room table was set with China for breakfast in the AM.... Was fun!.... I was however glad that the bedroom had doors on it, because the butler and the room stewart seemed to come in and out a lot....

 

Brought our new camera with us, and we were having a little trouble with it.... We went to the internet area to inquire about putting our picutres on a CD... The fellow was so great.. I told him the camera was new and he gave us a lesson on how to use the camera... He went over every single menu feature, ect... He gave us great instructions on how to set up an account and how we could view our pictures daily..... A+ for service in our book. Soon we will begin to post pictures... We have about 600!

 

We went to a few shows... I found the costumes to be fantastic, much more elaborate than other cruise shows we have seen.. It was to bad however that there was not talent to match the costumes... Still we enjoyed the two shows we saw. There was 2 or three dancers that I thought were quite good... Being close to Broadway, NYC, I think that I tend to always be disappointed..

 

Both Nick and I enjoyed the music in the lounges, and did dance every night. The bands met our expectations... With so many ports we did not do many real late nights... With more sea days I might of been disappointed. We missed poolbands... They seemed to be close to non-exsistant.... It was cold on this cruise so not an issue...If it was pool weather, would of been a different story.

 

OK... Here is where I dont share the same opinion of the crowd... I didnot think that the food was anything to write home about... I thought the buffet was really lacking in both selection and quality. As a result I think we only went to the buffet once or twice... The dinners were good, but not what I expected either. I had heard so much how Celebrity dining experience was superioir to other lines, and we did not find that to be true... Frankly we thought RCCL far exceeded Celebrity.... No, we did not go hungry, just not what we had anticipated. We did however love the tossed pasta bar, and the coffee bar....

 

We had table mates from England that fit our personality great. We got together many times during the week, and they had me laughing often and was great company... The other couple at our table was pretty unhappy with "X" after the first day, and preferred HAL.... We did not see them much after the first day, and on most nights did not show up for dinner.... Go figure... On the day we left the ship, as a suite perk, we were invited to a priviate breakfast and wait for our color to be called in the dining room... I notced that she was in the dining room and had such a nasty look on her face!!! Her loss, this was a great cruise.

 

Tried the T-pool, and loved it.... Was perfect after chilly San Diego. Had my hair done twice, and appreciated that unlike other ships they never attempted to sell me products that I did not want.

 

After the week was over, both Nick and I agreed that the service, entertainment and our suite made this a very very enjoyable vacation, and would absolutley cruise Celebrity again.... Next up, we would like to try the M class ships, and have our eye on a New Years Eve sailing... 2006, of course, so I can save up for another suite!!

 

This cruise has by far been one of my favorites

[DALSAL]

Smoothdancer,

 

I want to use the cd service on the Mercury.Did you have to pay a fee to upload your pics each day,or was that included in the $15 price? Thanks,Dot

[DALSAL]

We just got back from our Alaska trip on the Mercury June 3rd,2005!

 

It was awesome! We got a late start (about 2 hrs or so) since there was problems on the Mercury before us.The ship looked like it was in great shape to me.I didnt really notice much wear.The carpet in our cabin (9158 & 9160) looked brand new.

 

Food in the dining room was just ok to me.Im a picky eater,so I didnt find a lot on the menu to eat.Although Im not a meat eater,I did eat about 3 different kinds of meats/steak and although I like mine VERY well done,you could cut it with your fork and it was cooked to perfection for me! Everyone else liked their steaks as well..The Filet Mignon was excellent (for everyone).I didnt eat Lobster,but the ones that did liked it.No one at my table of 8 liked the shrimp schampi ( I didnt eat).The said it was like none that they had ever had.The deserts were just ok.I did have one chocolate cake that was to die for.My brother loved all the custards.My hubby loved his escargo....We ate breakfast and lunch in the buffet.It was ok.I like breakfast best.I had a famous hot dog and hamburger,but didnt find either that special.

 

My negatives here are really not meant to sound as bad as they do.But,when I saw something was awesome are great,it probably exceeds my words...

 

We were late arriving in Juneau,so our Helicopter/Glacier Trek was late getting started,but since it was booked thru the ship,we did get to do it.I think some ppl missed theirs.We were to be in port from 1:00-11:00,with our 4 hr glacier trek starting at 2pm.We had planned the Salmon Bake at 6:30 and then the tram afterwards,but missed both of those since we didnt get back to the pier until almost 8pm.So,we just walked to a few shops and then back to the ship.This was a real disappointment because this was our longest port day.But the glacier trip was unbelieveable!

 

Now we are back on track time-wise.Next port was Skagway.We were there from 7am-3pm.We did the White Pass Railway and it was nice.We got some great pictures from the outside area.It was very cold and breezy out there most of the time..fiingers were freezing! Most would come in and warm by the stove and then out again.I had on my layers,jacket,hat and gloves and going thru most parts it was still cold.

 

After the train we walked around town and did a little shopping.We went in the Red Onion Saloon,and no available chairs,buit the ppl were very kind and let us take pictures.All of the eating places were full and you had to wait for your table,and most were the 1st person that could make it there,got the table.We went inside one,I forget the name ..something bar and grill..The waitress was very stressed and running from person to person.She was rude and then tried to make up for it with a smile.My brother ordered an order of Nachos which she said was bean nachos.When they came there were 3 beans in it! We had a good laugh over it,but when we mentioned it to her,she got really mad and said she would take it off the tab.We tried to tell her that was ok and that we planned to pay for it,but she wouldn not even talk to us any longer.She did take it off,but we made it up with her tip.I hope she got a break soon! Ha

 

Next was Hubbard Glacier (cruising).We only had a little calving.After being up close and personal with the glacier,this was not too impressive to us.But it was fun trying to catch the calving on film,which I didnt do! Im sure the ones that didnt go to a glacier probably thought this was great.

 

Last port was Ketchikan.This excursion,Misty Fjords Float Plane trip with Michelle of Island Wings,was the highlight of our trip! She was wonderful and the flight was fantastic! We did a lake landing of 30+mins.It was so beautiful and serene.We saw evidence that a bear had been there recently! I forget what kind,but black,brown,who cares! I would have liked to see it after we lifted off!But he was no where in site.Michelle came with great reviews and I send them along to anyone interested in a Misty Fjord trip.

 

The weather was just beautiful the whole trip! I understand this was not the usual weather.We feel very fortunate!

 

We loved all of the staff.I only came across one person that was not that nice.Our cabin was always spotless and would offer any assistance if needed.One thing that was a ting upsetting was the fact that since we were late getting started,we left many palets of food behind on the pier! So,there was limited lemon for my tea! Horrors! LOL...but,my waiters assistant brought me lemon ade and this worked just fine.I kept being told there was NO lemon,but would look around and see it here and there..

 

The really BAD part of the cruise was having to come home! I would recommend the Mercury to everyone.We didnt find the food nor the service to be as good as we had on the Rhapsody 2 years ago,but really no complaints.

 

If anyone has any questions,I will try to answer..I didnt mention anything about shows because we only saw one.That was Jeff Harner(I believe thats his name)singer..he was ok.I heard the comedian was good.But I was too busy with the scenery to go to shows!

 

Took tons of pics and have them on a website.Actually,the ones Ive put up so far are my brothers,but we did the same excursions.There are a few personal shots,but most are just what we saw..mine will be up later.If anyone is interested in seeing these I have up so far,let me know,and I can send you an invitation to view them.There are around 700 or so,but they view very quickly,only takes a few mins to see them all.Or you can view a few.Just let me know.My email is daltx50@hotmail.com.Put share your pics in the title since I have spam block on.

 

Sorry this is so long! Dot

[Tatka]

We didnt find the food nor the service to be as good as we had on the Rhapsody 2 years ago,but really no complaints.

 

Wow... that is a big surprise for me.

 

While service on our RCI cruise was very friendly it wasn't as professional as on both X cruises (Mercury and Century)... Nobody was asking to help carry my food to the table for example. And food quality? RCI has beautiful ships, but food definitely isn't their strong point.

 

Other than that I am glad you had a great cruise as we also loved Mercury.:)

[Xoe]

I've booked 4 staterooms for a "last hurrah" for elderly frail parents in 90's, 5-day R/T Seattle, end of Alaska season, Oct. 3. 2 Sky Suites and 2 verandah rooms on Sky Deck near rear elevators. We needed adjacent cabins, with at least one large one for the elders.

 

QUESTION: What is the Magrodome? Our rooms, 1233, 1237, 1240 & 1241, are near that, and I want to be certain it's not noisy, or outdoors and therefore possibly cold in the passage from the rooms to the elevators.

 

Can you help?

[DALSAL]

Xoe,the Magrodome is outdoors where they shoot basketball.So,Im sure that it might get noisy from time to time if you have teens onboard who might be shooting hoops.But,I doubt you have to go anywhere near it unless you want to shoot some basketball yourself.More than likely,you wont hear the noise unless you have doors open.But,I really dont know...maybe someone who has stayed there might tell you,or you could call Celebrity and ask them.Dot

[billybob123]

A fellow May27 Mercury cruiser here, and I concur with most of what Dalsal (Dot) has said. The food was considered "ok" but not "great" by my wife and myself, especially in the buffet. The food at dinner time was fairly good but nothing that I would rave about. The deserts were average, often times I wouldn't even bother ordering them! The truly disappointing thing about the buffet was their hours - you could get nothing but breakfast anywhere (except through room service, which I refuse to order!) before 12 noon. I don't eat breakfast, particularly at 11:30! I wonder if this is a usual Celebrity policy or if I just "lucked' into it in Alaska.

 

The other negative I found about the ship was the lineups everywhere - especially on reembarkation in the ports. I strolled around Ketchikan for about 25 minutes after the supposed "all aboard" time before the line thinned out enough that I didn't need to wait more than 3 minutes to get onboard.

 

The positives were great though - the ship is quite nice, and the naturalist (Kate Spencer) was fabulous - especially when you just ran into her on deck. She always took the time to chat with me, even though she usually had somewhere to be.

 

We took the tramway in Juneau, a fabulous trip for those willing to put a little sweat into it - we went up with a pair of fellow cruiscritics and our mentality upon hitting the beautiful overlooks as you hiked/climbed higher and higher was "where else could $25 and a bit of sweat get you views like this!". Going back up in the evening when the port was fogged over was a hoot too - definetly a neat perspective on the port. Did the train in Skagway, lots of fun and definetly worth the price. I spent the entire ride outside -- but i'm used to the cold! We took the city bus to Saxman and strolled around in Ketchikan - and boy there was a lot of stuff for sale in Ketchikan - don't worry if you're looking for el-cheapo Alaska souvenirs (Unfortunately the cheap ones tend to be made in China!) and haven't bought them by Ketchikan - there's tons available there!

 

As for the Magrodome, Dot's not exactly correct - the basketball courts are on the 12th deck, the magrodome is the thing that covers the Palm Springs Buffet terrace/Pizza Station/Pool area. I never heard any music up there but there was always people milling around, so if your rooms are below that you may want to keep that in mind.

 

Hope everyone enjoys their cruise!

-bb123

[DALSAL]

hey there! Im glad you cleared that up,I had the ship layout and I had been there,but when I was looking at the layout couldnt remember anything but the nets for the basketball! I think they are on the outside of the dome,which this op had answered on another thread.I didnt bother coming back to this thread and clearing this up since I saw she/he posted it on the other thread and got the correct answer! But,it needed to be more clear in case someone else wondered!Dot

[becca23]

We are sailing 10/31/05 on the Mercury to the Mexican Riveria. Any info would be helpful..

Happy Sailing

Becky & David (ptownbecky@ aol.com)