Frist timers - on mercury 12/20 - few questions

[thefourohfive]

Howdy folks,

 

My wife and I are first time cruisers and going on the Mercury this Friday out of San Diego

 

I've been searching through the threads but have not found anything 100% on point (maybe i''m not searching correctly), so please forgive me if these are elementary questions:

 

1) Parking - We're SoCal based so we're driving down to San Diego. Any good inside word for the best deal on parking that does not involve a Shakleton-esque adventure to get to the ship?

 

2) Tipping - I've read the tipping guidelines. Is it a good idea to tip the waiter/MD/rooom attendant early on in the cruise. Does this help with anything or is it considered presumptious? Also, can you tip on the card or is cash required/preferred by the staff?

 

3) When they say "first run" movies, does that mean i'm going to be able to catch the movies currently playing in theaters that I have not had time to see :D?

 

4) OK, suppose it is worst case scenario. I'm in NO WAY expecting this, and am really looking forward to meeting new people, but my wife and I have been wondering. Suppose we're assigned to a table with people that absolutely offend us (I'm thinking belligerent drunks, racists or worse...Red Sox fans ;)) can we ask to be re-assigned under such an extreme circumstance?

 

5) The spa. Seems the only spa treatments that can be booked online from the X website are elaborate packages where you have to book multiple massages. Is there a more "a la carte" type selection once we board?

 

6) And where on the Mercury is this mysterious "waffle station" I keep reading about. I do like waffles.

 

7) How's the gym on board the Mercury?

 

And finally...any other Mercury tips?

 

Cannot wait to go and do nothing but RELAX for 10 days...ooooh man do I need it :)

[Nancynurse]

You will have a wonderful cruise.

 

The CC hostes is Melanie Burger...she is fantastic. Even if you are not CC stop off and say hello.

 

We did not tip ahead of time...we just tipped at the end of the cruise and that was what was expected. Personally I think our staff would have been offended if we had tipped any ealier. We also tipped the recommended amount plus extra on the card. I think we will just take cash out of our account from the casino, as I felt like I would rather see cash than an amount posted to their account. We gave our staff thank you letters, and I think they really appreciated them. We also made several comments about each of them on the comment cards. Those seem to be importent.

 

Our movies were not the best...we left early from two of them as we didn't care for them, and we wondered what we were missing the whole time. I believe they were mostly movies that were coming out on DVD.

 

Our MD was fantastic, Joseph was his name...I am sure if you are not happy in your seating arrangements at dinner time, you will be moved to a more appropriate table. We had lunch in the dining room most days, and many times got our regular wait staff, but every other team that we came by was excellent. Our waiter was Wilson, and his counterpart was Juan. We also had a lot of fun with Carlos. You will be in for a treat if you get them.

 

The waffle bar was to die for, as was the omlette bar. We made full use of them throughout the cruise. Keep in mind that they will not be serving them on the last morning, so make sure you get yours before that.

 

Didn't use the spa...they do have daily specials...gym was great and the track was perfect to walk off some of the extra pounds.

 

You are in for a treat! We made a lot of friends...relax and enjoy your cruise!

 

If you have anyother questions...let me know.

 

Nancy

[jukeboxy]

Howdy folks,

 

My wife and I are first time cruisers and going on the Mercury this Friday out of San Diego

 

I've been searching through the threads but have not found anything 100% on point (maybe i''m not searching correctly), so please forgive me if these are elementary questions:

 

1) Parking - We're SoCal based so we're driving down to San Diego. Any good inside word for the best deal on parking that does not involve a Shakleton-esque adventure to get to the ship?

Accross the street $12 a day. Drop off luggage and wife go park and walk 423.6 yards to terminal.

 

2) Tipping - I've read the tipping guidelines. Is it a good idea to tip the waiter/MD/rooom attendant early on in the cruise. Does this help with anything or is it considered presumptious? Also, can you tip on the card or is cash required/preferred by the staff?

You can tip in many ways so wait and decide late in the cruise. It never hurts to give small tips along the way to people who are not on the suggested tip list.

 

3) When they say "first run" movies, does that mean i'm going to be able to catch the movies currently playing in theaters that I have not had time to see :D?

The term first run is a cloudy term one on our cruise was Phantom of the Opera

 

4) OK, suppose it is worst case scenario. I'm in NO WAY expecting this, and am really looking forward to meeting new people, but my wife and I have been wondering. Suppose we're assigned to a table with people that absolutely offend us (I'm thinking belligerent drunks, racists or worse...Red Sox fans ;)) can we ask to be re-assigned under such an extreme circumstance?

Just talk to the MD and changes will be made.

 

5) The spa. Seems the only spa treatments that can be booked online from the X website are elaborate packages where you have to book multiple massages. Is there a more "a la carte" type selection once we board?

YEs

 

6) And where on the Mercury is this mysterious "waffle station" I keep reading about. I do like waffles.

At the rear of the ship by the indoor pool and it becomes the pasta station later in the day.

 

7) How's the gym on board the Mercury?

 

And finally...any other Mercury tips?

 

Cannot wait to go and do nothing but RELAX for 10 days...ooooh man do I need it :)

BTW the CC hostess is Dialia and the CD is Jeff.

[rubrrick]

Here's a quick reference for parking in San Diego.

http://www.portofsandiego.org/sandiego_maritime/cruise/parking.asp

 

Enjoy your cruise. The Mercury is a wonderful ship and we look forward to cruising on her again. For first timers, you have asked some thoughtful questions. I think most have been answered above.

 

Rick

[mrs66]

You should consider yourself lucky if you have the priviledge of being seated with Red Sox fans! :)

 

On our Mercury Cruise 3 years ago, we were seated with a couple from Southern California who were Red Sox fans ... it was a fun thing to have in common (we're from NH)!

 

Enjoy your cruise. The Mercury is a great ship.

[ML147000]

Our waiter was Wilson, and his counterpart was Juan. We also had a lot of fun with Carlos. You will be in for a treat if you get them.

 

Just had to pop in and mention we too had Wilson and Juan on our last venture on Merc. They were both terrific! We were at table #604 I believe, right in front of the back window, second tier, second seating.