Just Off Mercury - Feb 3 - 13

[Host Anne]

George ~ I just dropped you an email about booking on board. Let me know if you have questions.

[DesertDiva]

Anne,

 

Just checking to be sure - is this the morning whale watching tour from 10:00 a.m. until 1:00 p.m.? I booked it with four others for our Cabo San Lucas visit sailing on the Oosterdam on March 18th. You made it sound wonderful!

 

Based on some recommendations I read here on Cruise Critic, I booked the catamaran, Rissalena, for a half day whale watching cruise for our group of 12.

[Host Anne]

DesertDiva ~ you are correct....morning whale watching on Rissalena was 10 - 1. Worth every penny! Please give my best to Eduardo!

[Yoopergirl]

Hi Anne, We contacted Eduardo of the Rissalena whale watching trip, and he said that one hour is probably too short to make it for the 10:00 cruise. How did you get "priority" tender tickets?

 

Thanks for answering all my questions. This is my first time arranging for non-cruise ship arranged excursions, and I am unsure about it.

[Host Anne]

Kay & Ted ~ Priority tender tickets are issued to both Captain's Club elite members, Concierge class guests and those in suites. Do you fall into any of those categories? There were others on Rissalena with us that did not have priority tender tickets and they still made it (about 10 minutes late but we didn't care). Let me know and I'll have some suggestions for you. You really should try to do Rissalena -- Eduardo is the best and this was a highlight of our trip. Tell him I recommended him to you!!!! I'll send him a note as well.

[MAN86]

I thoroughly enjoyed your very detailed review. We are taking the 11-day Mexican Riviera cruise in April.

 

I was curious if you could answer this question: As far as dress code which days were which :confused: I understand there are 5 casual, 3 informal, and 3 formal - correct :confused:

 

Also, I have read the boards many times, but since you have actually been on this cruise how casual is casual, informal, and formal. Was going to buy hubby a black suit (which he will probably never wear again) as all he owns are jeans and shorts :o Personally I have a few "nice" dresses and skirts. Should I also buy something more formal? Basically figured we would dress like we were going to a wedding. We would much rather save the $$$ for the cruise itself :)

 

Any help and direction would be greatly appreciated - thanks in advance for your assistance :D

[Host Anne]

MAN86 ~ we were on the ten day so our evenings could differ from yours. All of our formal nights were days at sea, except for the last night which was casual. I think your cruise has an extra stop (Manzanillo, right -- what a BEAUTIFUL place -- vacationed on land there several years ago). So I'm guessing your formal nights will be similar to ours and be on the sea days (except for the last one).

 

I'd say the majority of people on Celebrity dress pretty close to the requested dress for the evening. If you dress as if you were going to a wedding on formal nights, I think you'll be just fine. You'll look terrific. On informal and casual evenings, I'm not sure I noticed much difference. I can't recall anyone in jeans on any night. Informal and casual nights you'd see nice slacks and a button down shirt on men and on casual it might be khakis and a golf shirt but if there were any jeans, it was very few. For the ladies, there would be skirts, capris, etc.

 

My rule is to be comfortable while trying to comply with the requested dress code. I hope this info helps. Best of all...have a WONDERFUL cruise!

[MAN86]

Yes it helps a lot. I have asked this question before and apparently it is a very sensitive area :eek: !

We just did not want to spend money on clothing we will never wear again. We also have a table for 2 so as not to offend anyone in case we are not dressed accordingly :( !

We will just dress as nice as we can and if they won't allow us in we will go somewhere else. It is not like we will starve on a crusie ;)

And I totally agree with you - we are on vacation :D

[Host Anne]

MAN86 ~ I have never seen them turn anyone away from the dining room -- even sometimes when they should. We've cruised Celebrity 8 times now and I think the dress issues get blown much more out of proportion here than they do on the ships. Yes, I like it when people adhere to the dress code as best they can. But what others wear doesn't affect our cruise. You will be fine....and the fact that you were courteous enough to ask is what is important. No need to buy things you'll never use again -- unless you get the cruise bug like we did and cruise every year :) ENJOY!

[Buckeye Geo]

Man86: Hi fellow Mercury Cruiser Host Anne is right, the dress code is very loosely applied. Most people try to adhere to the dress of the day. I would say that more then 50% of the man wear dark suits or even sports jackets on formal nights and a lot of them do not wear jackets on informal night. I know nobody will be pointing fingers. Take it from this 70 year old dirty old man, that anything a younger woman wears on any night looks good to me. That goes for older woman also. Don't worry be happy. Looking forward to meeting you and Mike at sail away on the 17th of April.

[rubrrick]

Man86: Hi fellow Mercury Cruiser Host Anne is right, the dress code is very loosely applied. Most people try to adhere to the dress of the day. I would say that more then 50% of the man wear dark suits or even sports jackets on formal nights and a lot of them do not wear jackets on informal night. I know nobody will be pointing fingers. Take it from this 70 year old dirty old man, that anything a younger woman wears on any night looks good to me. That goes for older woman also. Don't worry be happy. Looking forward to meeting you and Mike at sail away on the 17th of April.

 

Happy to send you a picture of what the captain enjoys looking at across from him.........Well, Captain Salessiotis is single, and the captains hostess makes sure that his eyes stay sharp!! Then again, maybe I retract that statment of sending anything:D

 

Rick

[Yoopergirl]

Priority tender tickets are issued to both Captain's Club elite members, Concierge class guests and those in suites. Do you fall into any of those categories? There were others on Rissalena with us that did not have priority tender tickets and they still made it (about 10 minutes late but we didn't care). Let me know and I'll have some suggestions for you. You really should try to do Rissalena -- Eduardo is the best and this was a highlight of our trip. Tell him I recommended him to you!!!! I'll send him a note as well.

Thanks again, Anne. No, sad to say, we are none of those, just Deluxe Ocean View cabin and Classic CC members. We will try to make the 10 o'clock sailing. I'll drop Edurado an e-mail closer to the trip and mention you.

 

Kay and Ted

[AlaskanBorn]

Hi Anne,

Another question, if you wouldn't mind. This may seem strange coming from an Alaskan, but I want to know about air-conditioning on the ship.

 

When you walk from the outside and 90 degrees, to the rooms on the ship, restaurants, lounges etc, are they chilled to 60 or so? At least that is what it feels like when I go to Malls, restaurants, etc. in the "Lower 48" when we are in Arizona or Texas.

 

I have never gotten adjusted to air conditioning. Do you just carry a light sweater to move in and out, or is the air conditioning at a "reasonable" level for the most part?

Alaskan Born

 

PS it is -30 below here today.:eek: I am looking for Warmth!

[Host Anne]

Alaska ~ it's not 60 on the ship altho I do admit at times it feels pretty chilly at times. But it's hit and miss. The time I notice it most is in the evening for dinner when I'm typically wearing a sleeveless dress. Most of the ship is at a reasonable temperature at all times. Every once in awhile you'll find a spot on the ship that tends to be chillier than the rest of the ship. For example, on Mercury it was the Rendez-Vous lounge. The dining room was perfect (and I wore something sleeveless every night). I do talk a pashmina wrap with me at night just in case. But I didn't even need it on our recent cruise. I'm with you -- I like it warm....all the time! Going from the pool deck to lunch or an inside activity won't be a huge temperature difference (not a 30 degree swing anyway :) ).

 

By the way....we loved Alaska when we were there several summers ago. We look forward to returning some time!