Just back from Celebrity Mercury

[Lainey Elizabeth]

Just back from the Celebrity Mercury if anyone has anyone has questions.

 

All in all we had a great trip, I will summarize a few things below but feel free to ask any questions

 

First of all we stayed in a Royal Suite, which was absolutely wonderful. Big very nice cabin and wonderful veranda. We did notice some wear, but nothing that took away from the cruise. We enjoyed the size of the ship much better than our last cruise on the Carnival Pride. The smaller ship was much easier to get around and we liked that. While we enjoyed our trip I will say that we felt this ship was a little too formal for our taste and felt the entertainmen was really lacking compared to Carnival. As one in our party stated, if we didn't make our own fun it would have been boring. Luckily we were with a fun group and created much of our own entertainment. Also the staff was so formal, we missed the casual joking around staff on Carnival. This was especially true in the dining room.

 

 

In Juneau we did the Pilots Choice Helicopter double glacier landing. This was awesome and our pilot Ben was the best. This was breathtaking, worth every cent and the highlight of the trip. We also went to the Red Dog Saloon. Some thought it great, I thought is was just o.k.. We also did the tram which was again o.k. but not great

 

 

In Skagway we did the White Pass Train. This was great and I would highly recommend it for the scenery

 

In Ketchikan we wandered around, shopped and visited Dolly's, which is set up as a museum of an actual former brothel. Dolly's was great and the best $5 we spent on the trip. I highly recommend visiting this.

 

The Hubbard glacier was also wonderful, the sounds are amazing (like thunder) and we saw quite a bit of calving which was great.

 

We had great weather and temperatures were 60-70 during the day, and hardly any rain (only a little in Ketchikan). The first full sea day was somewhat rough and a lot of passengers were complaining of seasickness but most were fine by the next day.

 

All in all a great trip but for our group we would probably try Royal Carribean, Princess or Carnival next time. No flames please, Celebrity was just too formal for our taste.

 

Any questions I will try to answer

[trcori]

Your comments about the Celebrity atmosphere ring true ... exactly why we like this line ... we are a casual family but enjoy a taste of elegance on vacation. Anyway, we're sailing Mercury here out of our hometown in two months and I was wondering if the ship really does leave Skagway and Ketchikan at 3 pm sharp as per the itinerary. Such a shame, if so; we sailed Infinity to Alaska, to the same three ports, two years ago, and the days were long in all three ports, which offered plenty of time for exploration -- TR, 8/26/05 Mercury to AK (sixth Celebrity cruise)

[cadburysmom]

Thanks for your great review. I also love the more formal and elegant atmosphere...very few places you can actually get that these days. Sorry it wasn't your "cup of tea" but I'm glad you still enjoyed the cruise. We're thinking of taking the Jul 25 saililng out of Seattle. Took an Alaskan cruise over 10 years ago, loved it and am definitely ready to return!

 

Thanks again for the wonderful review!

[Lainey Elizabeth]

Yes the ship leaves these ports promptly at 3:00

[msmate]

Thanks for the review. I am in the middle of packing for our cruise on the Mercury this Friday. Can you give me a rundown on the dinner attire? I know there are two formal nights, two informal and three casual. What I would like to know is the exact nights on each. I know that Friday is casual and Saturday is Formal, and I think the last night is casual. I am asking because we won't make dinner Sunday in Juneau and might plan another night to skip and I don't want to pack anything I don't need to.

 

Thanks!!!

[cruiseguy2]

Thanks for the review. I'll be leaving on the Mercury to Alaska on June 24th! Soon to come!!!

 

I have a question though, What time did you arrive at the terminal and what time did you actually board?

 

 

 

Thanks!!

-Chris

[Lainey Elizabeth]

Dress was as follows

 

Friday - casual

Saturday - formal

Sunday - casual

Monday - informal

Tuesday - informal

Wednesday - formal

Thursday - casual

 

I would say formal night was pretty formal. Informal night maybe 70% of men wore jackets as requested and casual nights you saw everything including a few in jeans.

 

 

We came in a day early, were at the pier about 11:45 and on the boat by 12:15. Hardly any line at all to get on.

[msmate]

Thanks for the quick reply! I guess I will be packing that second dress!

 

Jill

[O2B@C]

If you don't mind another detailed question on dress code: On formal nights, was the entire ship formal, or were there any areas where informal would have been OK, either officially or unofficially? Just to clarify, my reason for asking is that although I'm fine with formal and plan to pack a dress, my DH will barely tolerate informal and would rather stay home than dress to formal standards, so I'm wondering if we will have to get room service dinner on formal nights, or can sneak up to the sushi bar. Thanks for any light you can shed on this.

[14A04]

I was on the Mercury the 27th of May, same intinerary. Many people were complaining about the short port times in Ketchikan and Skagway but those were listed before people booked so they knew what they were getting.

 

L-Elizabeth- I also did the White Pass Summit Train tour in Skagway and it was really nice, I took many nice pictures. It was cloudy that day so the pictures from that look sort of grey but still very nice. My best pictures came from Hubbard Glacier, it was nice and bright that morning and the sky was a bright blue, those glaciers look fantastic.

 

That was my first trip to Alaska and my first cruise on Celebrity, overall I was happy.

 

The one thing I did not care for was that two of the nights the "second seating" show was at 7 before dinner and I would have preferred it after dinner but that was my only complaint about the entertainment schedule and it really didn't matter to me.

 

The line itself is a little more formal than other cruise lines, but that is why you have to do your research if you are looking for casual you are probably better off on Carnival or NCL.

 

Before going I had heard people complaining about the condition of the ship, I am one who tends to notice those things myself so after reading the comments I was really paying attention on this cruise. For it being built in 97 it looked to me like it was in pretty good condition, I noticed a few minor things like minimal carpet wear and the end of a handrail missing but overall it was in good shape in my opinion.

[14A04]

If you don't mind another detailed question on dress code: On formal nights, was the entire ship formal, or were there any areas where informal would have been OK, either officially or unofficially? Just to clarify, my reason for asking is that although I'm fine with formal and plan to pack a dress, my DH will barely tolerate informal and would rather stay home than dress to formal standards, so I'm wondering if we will have to get room service dinner on formal nights, or can sneak up to the sushi bar. Thanks for any light you can shed on this.

 

The palm springs cafe switches from buffet to casual sitdown in the evening so you can eat up there on the formal nights. (this was not open the first night and the third night was buffet) In the "Celebrity Today!" it mentioned that reservations were recommended because of limited space. I never ate up there in the evening so I am not sure how full it actually gets.

 

It mentions that the dress code is required in the restaurant and the Celebrity Theater. Most people will usually be following the dress code in the lounges as well. In the casino the later it is in the evening the more people you will see in casual attire however most follow the dress code in there as well.

[Lainey Elizabeth]

We ate in the casual dining area on the second formal night due to not wanting to dress up. It was a very enjoyable experience. The waiters/waitresses are "trainees" and although ours seemed very nervouse was very nice and the person in charge Annette? was extremely nice and talked with us at length. Another advantage to this is all of the tables have very nice views, where as in the dining room many tables are no where close to a window. Our butler made us a reservation, but there was hardly anyone there so I don't think it would have been a problem to get in. The menu is not the same as the dining room but does provide several entree, salads, appetizers etc. similar to the dining room.

 

The sushi bar is in the casual dining area so it is fine to be casual there

 

The Celebrity Today asks to conform to the dress code for the evening in the theatre. We went casually to the casino as well as several of the lounges and never felt out of place, and were definitely not the only ones dressed that way.

[neevakee]

boy i can't wait till i go on the ship. I'm goign to try and do a fairly extensive review when i return. One question how was the weather, was there anything you took that you didn't need. Also what was the food like in the casual dining room quality wise and selection of the dishes. Did you use the pools at all or hot tubs and if so are they salt water?

[Lainey Elizabeth]

I didn't personally use the pools or whirlpools, but there were kids in the indoor pool frequently and people of all ages in the whirlpools every day. The weather was beautiful while we were there. Our two favorite places to hang out were the navigator club, on deck 12 at the front of the ship. It is a bar at night but a great place to hang out with a book or friends during the day. The views are beautiful. The other is deck 11 at the back of the ship. This is where the covered pool is and a great place full of windows with a bar and tables to play cards, etc. Both of these locations also have outside decks right there so it is easy to go in and out if it gets cold.

 

The casual dining had a decent menu. A beef, seafood, pasta and chicken entree choice.

 

I didn't really regret bringing anything, but went back and forth about a winter coat. I am glad I didn't bring it. I definitely didn't need it. Gloves and a hat come in handy if you do glacier landings. As others have said think layers.

 

Enjoy your trip!

[trcori]

I was on the Mercury the 27th of May, same intinerary. Many people were complaining about the short port times in Ketchikan and Skagway but those were listed before people booked so they knew what they were getting.

 

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FWIW Skagway was listed as a 5 pm departure when we booked (onboard a Millennium Caribbean cruise) last December. NOT a big thing for us - since this is our second go-round for all three ports - but just to clarify. And in this case, I'm just glad to be going there at all; Infinity took Skagway off its itinerary this year; it was our favorite port on our Infinity cruise two years ago, because of the ability to drive into the Yukon, which we're doing again this time (with a better rent-a-car :) ...) -- TR