Back from 6/4 Mercury Sailing to Alaska (very long)

[mnwildfan2]

Hi everyone!

Chris and I just wanted to let everyone know about our first cruise, which was the Mercury sailing to Alaska on 6/4. I kept a very detailed journal each day which I will post tomorrow or early next week (because some may find it helpful), but to be very brief we had a very good time. To be less brief here is a general description of how we found different aspects of the trip:

Embarkation (Vancouver): We embarked in Vancouver and even though we arrived well before boarding time the lines appeared very long, the posted signs were minimal (and we saw several people stop at places that ended up being wrong), the terminal was very warm, and there just appeared to be general chaos. In spite of all that, it really only took an hour to get through it all. Once we boarded the Mercury everything ran smoothly. There was a champagne toast once we boarded and staff to quickly guide everyone to their rooms.

Stateroom/Stateroom Attendant:
We stayed in stateroom 8170 which is a deluxe oceanview stateroom (connecting room) in the aft of the ship. It is near the elevator and stairs. We heard no noise through the connecting door (but I think that it was empty) but we did hear the neighbors wake up each morning. The room was large enough for our needs. It had a bed (which is advertised as queen size but I swear it was bigger), love seat sized sofa sleeper, chair, and desk. The closets and bathroom had more than ample space to hold all of our toiletries and clothing. Bringing an extension cord with three outlets definately was necessary. The view from the room was awesome most of the time. Just resting in our room we saw a submarine and a rainbow.

Our stateroom attendant introduced herself within 30 minutes of embarkation. Her name was Lucy and when she introduced herself she told us that whenever we are in our room to put out the do not disturb sign so that she would not interfere with our privacy. We took that to heart because the two or three times that we took it down a few minutes before we were ready to leave she was coming into our room within five minutes. Lucy appeared very apologetic and upset when we saw her (we later heard from Julien, the cruise director, that they're supposed to be invisible), but we didn't really like her being a stranger. The stateroom attendant for the people next door greeted them each morning with news of the day, asked about their needs, etc. and we would have liked that more. In any case, Lucy was extremely aware of our habits and her service was incredible.

Food/Buffets: Come on, everyone goes to eat, and we food the food aboard the Mercury to be plentiful. We ate every dinner but one in the dining room and there was always something good to eat. We did order off of the menu for a few things (like switching to a Caesar salad, switching appetizers, asking for mashed potatoes instead of sweet potatoes, etc.) and nearly all off order requests were accomodated. We really didn't care for the buffet (although we ate from it quite a bit as well). We found the selections to be a little odd and the food not as tasty as from other areas of the ship. When we were looking for something fast we typically ended up at the pool grill eating the pizza, burgers and hot dogs. All were superb! Never tasted a better hot dog! I know, that sounds stupid but they were good. We did not like the pastries AT ALL! We like plain things, like cheesecake, chocolate cake, etc. Almost everything either had fruit or alcohol or both in it and that did not appeal to us. It DID appeal to many, but we probably lost a few pounds on the cruise because we skipped nearly all desserts and did a LOT of walking!

Our waiter Jacob, from India, just got to Mercury after being on the Horizon for the past 4 years. He seemed a little homesick the first couple of days, but he came around toward the end of the week and we were very sad to leave him. Our assistant waiter, Onel, from Jamaica was excellent, excellent, excellent and we cannot say enough good things about him. It was so weird last night having to pour our own water and touch our own silverware. Chris moved his dessert silverware to its spot the other night and told Onel, "See, I did it myself." Onel adjusted it and said, "No sir, your dessert place is *this* wide." We all got a good laugh. The Asst. MaitreD' was Sasha, from Croatia. He was a hard worker, very funny, and very informative. We got all of our daily information from him and when the cruise director spoke at the shows.

Soda Card and Bar Staff: We found the bar staff to be very accomodating when we went to the bar. The waiters in the bars and theater were extremely helpful when we ordered the few cocktails that we did. I learned early on though to not give my soda card to a waiter. They *all* seemed very annoyed to bring you a paid for drink, except for one waiter who was nice about it. I bought the soda card because at home I drink a lot of soda. On the ship, it was not worth it because, frankly, getting soda wasn't very convenient based on the things that we were doing. We didn't use it in port, we drank free things in the dining room because they were right there, and we went to most activities in the theater and as I mentioned earlier, it didn't seem a good idea to ask for pop there. Since we didn't spend much time congregating anywhere except Deck 11 aft and the pool area (near the pizza), we never thought much about getting pop. Next time, we'll just take some with us. That will be plenty.

Entertainment/Shows: We attended the evening entertainment nearly every night. We saw two Celebrity Singers/Dancers shows. We also saw vocalist Jeff Harner, concert pianist Craig Dohn, and comedian Jeff Nease. We enjoyed the shows quite a bit. Some of the singers though really were American Idol flunkies (as Simon likes to call them). The orchestra and dancers made up for that though. The theater was very nice and comfortable. We did find, however, that the theater rocked more than any other area on the ship (at least it seemed to us).

Ports of Call/Shore Excursions: We liked the ports of call and shore excursions that we went on. In Juneau, I went on a whale watch/glacier viewing/salmon bake tour. Chris went on the Helicopter Glacier/Dogsled adventure. He said it was worth every penny of the $420 and words cannot explain how wonderful it was. In Skagway we went on the Skagway Extravaganza. The train ride was awesome, Liarsville was lame, and the Red Onion Saloon tour was kind of neat, but just as easy to do on your own (give them $5 and they'll show you around). In Ketchikan we went on the Wilderness Exploration and Crab Feed and that was awesome as well. Well worth the price. We were disappointed because we spent *very* little time at Hubbard Glacier, but that was because Mercury needed to do a medical evacuation (it had two this week). We were worried about the guest who had a stroke and were happy to learn later that evening that she was going to be fine. Oh well, guess we'll have to do another Alaskan cruise some day. We were also disappointed because they skipped the Inside Passage (we went open sea both ways).

Passengers/Activities: Other than the shows, the on-ship activities did not appeal much to us. We attended some of the seminars. We're not terribly good at trivia, but we went once to meet some people and it was only a staff member reading off twenty questions, going through the answers, distributing a prize and then everyone was gone. Some friends we met said that for a backgammon activity a staff member came in and gave them backgammon boards, some prizes and then left. We also don't drink much and everything from 5-7pm was centered around drinking. Not much fun for us. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif[/img]

The general age of the passengers was 40+. We were able to find 10-12 couples that were in their mid-twenties to mid-thirties and we all started hanging out toward the end of the cruise (that's how long it took us to find one another). Having that companionship did make the cruise more enjoyable. Not that we didn't enjoy passengers of all ages, but it was nice to have a group of people that were really able to discuss all the same milestones in life (getting married, starting family, buying homes, starting careers, taking fist/second vacations as a couple, etc.) We all suggested that Celebrity have some get-togethers so that people our age could connect earlier.

I know some people asked about this before we left. We did see a few teenagers aboard the ship as well (about a dozen). They seemed to enjoy themselves if they had a sibling their age to hang out with or if they bought a friend along. In my experience though, they seemed pretty bored in general. As much as I hate to admit this since I'm 32, but they were probably bored for some of the same reasons that us 30-somethings were bored. The energy level on the ship was low and relaxed and we were looking for something a bit more exciting (but not Carnival level exciting).

Disembarkation: We disembarked in Seattle and it went beautifully. We were in a taxi within 30 minutes of leaving the lounge.

We really did enjoy the cruise overall. It did not, however, convince us that all of our vacations in the future would be cruises. We liked Celebrity and will probably sail with them again although we have not become dedicated Celebrity cruisers either. That said, we are already exploring the California/Mexico tour on the Mercury for next year.

Hope this long post helps and as I mentioned at the beginning, I will be mosting more specifics about different things on the appropriate boards and will also include web page links to our 1000 photos (you only need to look at the ones that you want) and my daily journals.

Jen

1st Cruise on Celebrity Mercury - Alaska 6/4/2004

[sdcruiser]

Jen,

Thanks for you great review. We will be going on this cruise in August and can hardly wait!

One thing you mentioned was not sailing the Inside Passage route in either direction? Was this because of the medical evacuation stuff, or due to some other reason? The Celebrity website shows this ship going through the Inside Passage at least one of the two days at sea...

Thanks
SDCRuiser

[mnwildfan2]

HI SDCRuiser,

We were scheduled to go through the Inside Passage on the way back. We were told that we were not going to go through the Inside Passage on the way back because we didn't have to stop in Prince Rupert, BC for the technical stop. I'm guessing that this wouldn't happen in the cruises originating from Seattle because they would have to stop in Prince Rupert.

Jen

1st Cruise on Celebrity Mercury - Alaska 6/4/2004

[yvrdave]

Jen, excellent report. For your next cruise, try to find one of Celebrity's 4 larger Millennium class ships. Also, I hear that the Infinity will be doing Alaska out of Seattle next year (instead of Vancouver).

Dave

Infinity 06/04
Infinity 12/04
Veendam 11/05

Galaxie 6/97, Mercury 11/97, Rhapsody 2/00, Vision 5/00, Galaxie 6/00, Millennium 9/00, Dawn Princess 9/00, Rhapsody 1/01, Viking Serenade 2/01, Radiance 4/01, Carnival Spirit 5/01, Ocean Princess 9/01, Norwegian Sun 10/01, Golden Princess 11/01, Zaamdam 5/02, Summit 5/03, Infinity 01/04.

[ESquared]

Jen,

Good write up on the cruise! I would only add that we had awesome weather in the ports with no rain. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] Hubbard Glacier was another story--early morning and low clouds. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_frown.gif[/img]

Great to meet you!

Elizabeth

[mnwildfan2]

Hi Elizabeth!

That is true,the weather couldn't have been better! Especially since our flight got diverted in Minnesota for bad storms....seems we've gotten *tons* of rain here since we've been gone. We just traded weather with Alaska!

It was nice to meet you too. And, of course, all of the other Cruise Critic friends. Everyone was very helpful with us learning everything through our new cruise and I couldn't find a friendlier bunch of people anywhere!

Jen

1st Cruise on Celebrity Mercury - Alaska 6/4/2004

[bbeasley]

Hi Jennifer - Thanks for the review!!! We are going on our second cruise (first to Alaska) on August 20th aboard the Celebrity Mercury. My husband and I are booked for the whale watch/glacier viewing/salmon bake tour. How did you enjoy it? We are also in the mid-20's - 40 age range (28/30) - I have really enjoyed the message boards and we have already connected with several people that will be on our cruise.

Beth

[mnwildfan2]

Hi Beth,

I liked the excursion that you mention quite a bit. My only advise: have your husband take one side of the boat and you take the other. That way you won't miss any pictures. My husband was on a different excursion and the first whale that came up was on the other side of the boat than me. I had a hard time getting good pictures past the 100 other people standing there taking pictures. The glacier was nice, but we only had 40 minutes to view it. Most people spent less than that since the bus driver warned us about a 3 mile walk we would have if we missed the bus. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] The food was pretty good at the salmon bake and the scenery was nice. Most people left to go back to the ship pretty quickly though. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] All in all, I'd give it an 8 out of 10 (the excursion). If we ever do another Alaskan cruise I'd like to inquire about hiring someone to take us out whale watching on a boat with just us...or maybe even significantly fewer than 150 people.

I belive that Elizabeth (an earlier poster) was on the first floor of boat on the whale watch. Maybe she had a different experience?

Jen

1st Cruise on Celebrity Mercury - Alaska 6/4/2004

[beeg]

Hi Jen,
It was lovely to meet you and Chris.
Can't wait until your pics are up! I was on the first floor of your whale boat and ran around both sides a bit. I'm thrilled to have seen the whales, but probably would opt for a smaller boat for that excursion next time as well. Also, the Mendenhall glacier was too rushed, would've liked to have time to actually walk to it.
My favorite excursion was the WhitePass Rail road tourin Skagway. That's where I viewed my best scenery of the whole trip.
Like you,I feel like I wasted money on that soda card. It was more convenient to get tea or juice than to find a bar to get the soda. (For instance, couldn't they have set up an attended soda stand where the hotdogs and burgers were?)
Over all I loved this whole experience. Our tablemates thankfully encouraged us to order room service at night... nothing like a huge chocolate chip cookie with milk before bed.
Back to the reality of work today, and struggling with the fact that no one called me "madame" or turns down my bed anymore.
Take care,let us know when the pics are up.
-mary ann

[Screwbit]

Jen: Nice review. We'll be doing Alaska on Princess next year. I do believe(and some others can correct me if I'm wrong) that you'll find the energy level tends to be considerably lower on Alaska itineraries. This is not a negative about Alaska, just a fact about the pax demographics, and the fact that the main focus on an Alaska cruise is the scenery. I think you'd find a much greater level of "zip" in the Caribbean- the weather just lends itself to that, more than it would in Alaska.

[img]http://escati.linkopp.net/cgi-bin/countdown.cgi?trgb=000000&srgb=00ff00&prgb=00bfff&cdt=2004;9;11;16;30;00&timezone=GMT-0500[/img]
'til the cruise of the Century

Celebrity Horizon '97
RCCL Sovereign '98
Grand Princess '99
RCCL Enchantment '00
Ocean Princess '01
RCCL Radiance '02
Golden Princess 4/5/03
RCCL Navigator 1/10/04
Celebrity Century 9/11/04
Diamond Princess-Alaska 9/05

[iamirish]

Jen:

Thanks for the great review.

I have a couple of quick questions about the "soda card". As a person that loves Diet Coke, but only in the can or bottle - are they included in the "soda card" or is it only fountain sodas? Also, what was the cost for the 7-days?

Tom

[bbeasley]

Thanks again for the great information. I have cancelled my excursion with Celebrity and now have booked the whale watching with Captain Larry - they only allow 23 people on the boat and he will drop us off at Mendenhall Glacier where we can take the bus back. In Skagway, would you recommend taking the train both ways or taking the train one way and the bus the other? I can't decide. Thanks again!!

Beth

[ESquared]

Hi Beth,

I would take the bus back from the summit rather than the train. It gives you a different perspective and they do make a couple stops such as at the Alaska border with BC which are great photo stops. Our driver was informative as well.

Keep in mind that the train only goes just inside BC. The train shore excursions offered by Celebrity do not take you to the Yukon. I thought it would. Next time we'll rent a car and drive to the Yukon. The car rental is about $60.

I might be the Elizabeth Jen referred to but unfortunately we did not do a whale watch excursion this trip. We did see whales from the road just north of Ketchikan so we did get to do whale watching--just from a bus. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

The Alaska cruise is great and we're already planning our next Alaska cruise.

Elizabeth

[mnwildfan2]

Hi again everyone!

Sorry it's been a few days...trying to get caught back up at work. I sure do miss Alaska. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img]

I would absolutely do the smaller whale watch tour as Mary Ann and I said (sorry Elizabeth) so I'm glad that whoever asked about it rescheduled. I've never done the train both ways, but I thought it was neat to do the bus down. Although we loved the train and our photos, for the most part, turned out nicely, it is more difficult to shoot photos through glass train windows. The photo stops on the bus down made it much more worth it. The bus ride down also gave us some information about another excursion. Unless you are VERY brave, don't do the bike ride down! The guard rails are VERY low and it all looked VERY scary! I'd rather go on a roller coaster...it seems safer (and I love roller coasters).

OH! The soda card. If you prefer can or bottle then definately don't get a card. They are only for fountain drinks.

Jen

1st Cruise on Celebrity Mercury - Alaska 6/4/2004

[sdcruiser]

I'd still like to know from the most recent Mercury cruise to Seattle (6/11), if anyone knows the sailing route from Seattle through the Inside Passage or not, to the east or west of Vancouver Island in both directions or just in one direction, with a true at sea day...

SDCruiser

[stephy1]

Jen,

Was Colleen the Captains Club Hostess onboard? She was on our April 17th cruise and we had some trouble with her. She rolled her eyes at my mother when she asked a few questions about the changes in the Captains Club program.

We also had Onel and he was wonderful.

Stephanie

1986 Southward, NCL;1987 Holiday, Carnival;1988 Seaward, NCL; 1989 SS Norway, NCL;1990 Starward, NCL;1991 Skyward, NCL;1993 & 1994 Viking Serande, RCL; 1996 & 1997 Westerdam, HAL;1998 Noordam, HAL;1999 Veendam, HAL; 2000 Galaxy, Celebrity; 2001 Ryndam, HAL; 2001 Horizon, Celebrity;2002 Zaandam, HAL;2002 Horizon, Celebrity;2003 Constellation, Celebrity;2004 Mercury, Celebrity

[mnwildfan2]

Hi Stephanie,

We're not Captain's Club members (since this was our first cruise I didn't see much point in joining) so I'm not sure who the hostess on board was. The woman who attended the Cruise Critic gathering was very nice, but I've forgotten her name.

I miss Onel. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_smile.gif[/img] He did a wonderful job and I am reminded of that every piece of silverware or condiment that I forget to put on the dinner table. [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

Jen

1st Cruise on Celebrity Mercury - Alaska 6/4/2004

[BuddyR]

The social hostess on the 6/4/04 Mercury cruise was Linda.

Jen, didn't we have fantastic weather!!

Laura

[tanya42]

GREAT post Jen!

We were on the same cruise, and we had a great time! We probably saw you near the Palm Springs pool -- we swam there almost every day (the water was so warm!) and were there for pretty much the entire day on the last day at sea.

In Juneau we did whale watching with Capt. Larry's company ([url="http://www.orcaenterprises.com/"]Orca Enterprises[/url]), which was so EASY to find at the pier -- it's right across the street! We went out in the smaller boat, the Orca Express, which if I remember correctly is limited to 9 passengers so no crowds! We had Captain Bob and Naturalist Dean. We saw tons of humpback whales and the sea lions fighting over space on the buoy (or 'can', as the Captain calls it)! We heard that hyperactive Naturalist Brent from Mercury (you know what I mean if you went to one of his talks!) went on one of Orca's excursions in Juneau instead of with the company Celebrity contracts with. We also did the Mt. Roberts Tramway, which is a bit pricey at $20 ea. but the view is fabulous!

We've done a bunch of cruises and haven't found the shows to be our cup of tea, so we didn't go to any of them except for the comedian (Jeff Nease). He was good! But I agree with you about the rocking in the theater. Though I'm not prone to seasickness I defintely felt funky (not nauseous, but not well either) after being in there one afternoon when the ship was rocking. (I think the day before Ketchikan.) Part of it I think is that the shades are closed...they always say if you're feeling funky you should look at the horizon, which is impossible in a shuttered room. I kept feeling funky up until I ate something at dinner, which lends creedence to a friend's advice that to combat seasickness you have to keep yor stomach full (very easy to do -- I feel like I ate twice as much as on any other cruise -- eek!).

In Skagway we did the round-trip railroad, which we really enjoyed. My husband, who bikes in the city a lot, contemplated the bike down for about a half a second and then said, "No way!". The best way to do pictures on the train trip is to go outside at either end of the car (which they let you do) so you have a clear view. Beware of the tunnels though, going through the second one we got splashed by some water dripping of the roof. I was outside on the way up and then sat inside on the way down, and the perspectives were pretty different. I also wandered around in town a little bit (it's like the whole town is a museum!) and hubby rented a bike locally for I think $10 for 2 hours.

In Ketchikan we did the [url="http://www.snorkelalaska.com"]Mountain Point Snorkeling Adventure[/url] (booked through Celebrity). It was SO FANTASTIC! This was one of my favorite things from the cruise. It's so different than snorkeling in the Caribbean. We went out with Fred (who started the company), Bill and Kimber. All were *great* guides, fun but very professional, and all of their equipment is high quality. They make sure that you're safe and give you excellent instruction, telling you step by step what to do (for example, they tell you exactly how to put the wetsuit on, which is invaluable to those of us who have never worn one). The excursion is listed as strenuous, which is wise because those with health issues could have some problems, but for me the toughest part was getting on that 1/4" wetsuit! Both I and my husband were worried about the water temperature -- it was 55 degrees the day we went out -- but with the wetsuit, booties and gloves I hardly felt the cold at all, and then only for the first 30 seconds or so. We were in the water for an hour, but I could have stayed in!

I agree that it was a bummer that there was fog at Hubbard Glacier and we had to leave early (but we weren't upset, as it was medical emergency -- I'm glad to hear the person is doing well). But we still really enjoyed our time there, and I fell it was actually a highlight of the cruise because even with the fog it was amazing, and like no other place I've been on earth. The only Celebrity photo we bought was taken here, of me on our balcony from the deck above [img]http://messages.cruisecritic.com/infopop/emoticons/icon_biggrin.gif[/img]

The inside passage was more of a bummer to us, we had no idea that we didn't actually do the whole thing on the way up, we just figured that we had missed it in the overnight sailing -- but I figured we'd catch it on the way back. Unfortunately it was not to be, as you said we didn't do it because we skipped Prince Rupert, doh! Oh well, just another excuse to go back.

As far as the age of passengers/activities, I think (as others have mentioned) that things are more subdued on an Alaska itinerary. (FWIW, we're ages 33 and 44.) If you're looking for more activity, with the same or very close to the level of service, I'd suggest either Celebrity's 'M-class' ships (I saw Summit with us along the way in Alaska; we've sailed on Constellation to the Caribbean which was a blast) or Celebrity's 'sister' line, Royal Caribbean. Their Radiance-class ships are gorgeous!

We had a ConciergeClass cabin, and thought it was well worth the extra cost over a regular balcony (approx. 100pp? I can't remember exactly). Especially since we were able to snag one of the 4 cabins on deck 12 (1240) with larger balconies, woohoo! There was a little noise from the sports stuff right behind us, but nothing that kept us awake so who cares. I LOVED having the expanded breakfast room service menu, which we took advantage of on all but the last morning. You can even get 'eye-openers' for a reasonable price -- $4.25 for a Bloody Mary (my husband disapproved of alcohol so early in the day, but what the heck, I was on vacation!). The canapes were delicious, but for some reason we only got them on 5 of the 7 days.

The dining room service was very good, and we had a 2-person table for the first time which was a nice change (we like to socialize, but after 7 cruises it was a welcome break). Our waiter, Xavier, and Assistant Waiter, Roy, were attentive and professional, no complaints! But we really bonded with our sommelier, Colin Twine from England. If you're into wine you want to be in his section! He made *excellent* suggestions and just could not do enough for us. A couple nights we asked to have a bottle sent to our room, and he personally delivered it while we were still at dinner(!), even ensuring that we had the proper wine glasses in the room.

Whew, I've gone on much longer than I intended! I'm working on a trip report for relatives and I'll post it on the boards here too.

Jen, it was so cool to see your impressions of the same voyage and 'compare notes'!

------------
RCI Radiance: nowhere 4/01 | RCI Sovereign: Bahamas 12/01 | Celeb. Zenith: Bermuda (repos.) 4/02 | Golden Princess: Canada/NE 10/02 | RCI Sovereign: Bahamas 1/03 | Celeb. Constellation: So. Carib. 4/03 | Carnival Victory: nowhere 6/03 | RCI Serenade: Canada 10/03
Coming up: Celeb. Mercury: Alaska 6/04 | RCI Voyager: Carib. (repos.) 10/04 | American Queen: New Orleans 3/05