Mercury Travelogue, March 27 Mexican Riviera

[conflexrules!]

mercruiser..........

 

thank you soooo much for your detailed updates...........i've been checking these boards daily to see if you have posted anything!!

 

we are leaving the day you come home..................and all the news about the noro had me worried..............but everything you are writing has calmed my nerves and has me very excited about our upcoming trip!!

[rubrrick]

mercruiser...........love your reports......almost feels like I am back onboard. One interesting note....you mentioned you took a GPS reading Tuesday morning, reporting that you were some 70 miles off of the coast.

Wow.........that's far out to sea, when you are following the coast to Cabo!

 

Rick

[stinsowm]

Thank you yet again for your latest installment. Mom and I are in CC class for the first time on the sky deck for the April 28th sailing. I hear the balconies on the sky deck are the best. I can't wait. Look forward to reading more from you.

 

Walter

[jspivak]

Mercruiser, thank you so much for the updates!

We are scheduled for 4/7 sailing, and have been very upset by the reports form the previous 2 cruises.

How is the current situation with noro virus? Are there still people ill with it, and, if so, how many?

Is there still vigorous sanitization with chlorine? Many pax from the last cruise complained of the wet surfaces, ruined clothes, cancelled activities, and, in some cases, being inadvertently sprayed with the bleach in public areas, including during meals. Is this still happening?

Thank you again for your detailed reports!

[hardingk]

Thanks so much for your update! I really enjoy reading it and you have clamed me down!!!

 

 

Thank you!! I can't wait to read the next posting!

[cruisieparker]

jspivak,

Haven't seen you signed in on our Roll call for 4/7. Come over and join us. We have a great group of people and would love to add you to the list.:D

Sherry

[excitedofharpenden]

Thanks for writing your travelogue Mercruiser. I am enjoying reading them.

 

I concur. Those strawberry smoothies are great. I was in CC cabin 1200 last year and couldn't fault the location.

 

Enjoy the rest of your trip.

 

Phil

[Buckeye Geo]

Hi Phil:

I keep hearing about all the perks that you get in CC cabins. Joyce said she rather get her perks in the form of a nice peice of jewelry. So it's inside cabin for me. It is one or the other, and she prefers the latter. Have a great day and it is always good to hear from you.

[excitedofharpenden]

Hi Phil:

I keep hearing about all the perks that you get in CC cabins. Joyce said she rather get her perks in the form of a nice peice of jewelry.

Hi George. Sounds like it's going to cost you whatever;) The CC perks were nice, but I wouldn't pay a lot extra for them. The larger balcony on the Sky Deck was more of the deal maker.

 

Not long for you now. I know you and Joyce will have a great time:cool:

 

Phil

[Dancing Gal]

If you have the opportunity, can you post the names of your wait staff? also, if you happen to meet up with William, sommelier from Colombia, please give him birthday greetings - he is a delight.

Thanks and ENJOY...I;ll be back on Mercury in less than two months -YEA

Nancy

[Mercruiser]

Wednesday, March 29, 2006 – Cabo San Lucas

When I woke up on Wednesday, we were about 35 miles from Cabo San Lucas. Land was not yet visible. The seas were choppy with white caps. This did not seem to affect Mercury at all. After a while, the Baja coastline was visible on the port side.

We decided to have breakfast in the Manhattan restaurant. Breakfast is open seating. We were placed at a table for 10. I like these open seating breakfast and lunch times. It’s a good opportunity to meet other PAX and talk about your cruising experiences and upcoming plans. Both my wife and I ordered one of our favorite breakfasts – Eggs Benedict. While we waited for the order to arrive, the ship passed El-Arco rocks as it approached the Cabo bay.

Cabo is a tender port. There is no dock for cruise ships. Mercury was the only ship in port. The tenders were scheduled to start operation at 9:00 a.m. Our “Priority Tender Tickets” said to go to the Navigator lounge and wait to be called. We were there for only 10 minutes when we were all instructed to go down to deck 3 for our tender. Once on deck 3, it was another 10 minutes in line before boarding. The tender ride was fun. We were on the Cabo dock at about 9:30 a.m. The whole tender experience was “quick and easy”.

Once we exited the cruise ship tender pier, we were immediately initiated into the Mexico tourist experience. All kinds of people approached us wanting us to buy silver trinkets, tours, ceramic wear, whistles, etc. Other people kept asking if we wanted a water taxi. Warning: The people at the pier offered us a free map, but they are just trying to sell their tour. We never got a map, and they were rude to my wife.

We wanted to go whale watching, so we went straightaway to a place that has Zodiac tours. Their next tour was planned for noon. We had just missed the 10:00 a.m. run. In the mean time, we walked along the waterfront all the way to the beach. The temperature was nice and warm. This was the first time I’ve been hot since last summer. Along the way, we stopped to take photographs of the town, the expensive yachts in the harbor, and the pelicans perched on the fishing boats. The beach had very nice sand. JT Watersports was the vendor we came across when we got to the beach. They have parasailing, kayak rentals, Jet Ski rentals, and a water taxi.

We headed back to the Zodiac office for the noon whale watching tour. Once we got there, the agent told us the noon tour was likely to be cancelled. It had become very windy and it was very hard for the Zodiac to keep up with the whales given the waves. My wife was very disappointed that we could go on a whale watching tour. We will have to try again in Puerto Vallarta. We were impressed that this company cancelled their tour when the conditions warranted it.

Instead of whale watching, we settled on a water taxi trip to El-Arco. The cost was $10 per person for a 45-minute trip. You can probably negotiate down to $7 if you want to. Given that we couldn’t go whale watching, I thought this was a good deal. We saw sea lions, pelicans, Lover’s Beach, El-Arco, and the beach on the Pacific Ocean side. The boat operator didn’t speak any English, but he gestured what we should be looking at. It was very choppy. He would slow the boat down any time he saw I was trying to take a picture.

After the water taxi tour, my wife wanted to go shopping. Cabo has lots and lots of shops. The merchandise all looked like useless junk to me. My idea of shopping is going to Best-Buy or Fry’s Electronics to buy the latest electronic gadget.

At about 2:30 p.m. we headed back to the tender pier for the trip back to Mercury. A lot of other people had the same idea. The line was the length of the pier. The wait was probably about 20 minutes. Once on board, we relaxed on our balcony, which was facing the El-Arco rocks. The temperature was nice and warm.

At about 5:00 p.m. we decided that we didn’t feel like a sit-down dinner at the Manhattan restaurant. Instead, we ate hamburgers poolside and listened to the pool band play for the sail-away party. It was one of those times when a hamburger by the pool seems more appealing than steak in the dining room.

We skipped the evening entertainment, a hammer dulcimer player. It may have been a good choice. Fellow passengers we met today on a tour said they walked out because they didn’t enjoy the performer. (No offense intended for dulcimer lovers out there.)

When we got back to our cabin, we found a note on the pillow. I’ve included the text in its entirety, below. We have been unaffected by any illness. And, we haven’t heard firsthand of anyone who has (other than what’s in this note.)

*********************************

Text from note placed in cabin

“3/29/2006

Dear Mercury Guest:

We are writing to provide you with important information regarding your cruise:

During the last 2 cruises, the ship experienced a few illness cases.

Besides extra caution, we have implemented enhanced cleaning procedures, as recommended by the U.S. Centers for Disease Control & Prevention onboard all ships in the Celebrity fleet. We are taking all the steps necessary to maintain our high health standards. You will likely see some of these activities as sailing proceeds.

We have no reason to believe that any illness will have any unusual impact on our sailing. However, should you experience symptoms such as nausea, vomiting or diarrhea – commonly associated with the gastrointestinal illness – we strongly encourage you to contact the ship’s medical facility for a complimentary consultation and treatment where necessary.

A simple conversation with one of our doctors or nurses may resolve any concerns. As always, our medical staff is available to assist you with any questions. We sincerely appreciate your cooperation and assistance.

We thank you for choosing Celebrity Cruises for your vacation and we wish you a wonderful cruise.

Captain Anastasios P. Salessiotis

Master of Mercury

Celebrity Cruises”

 

Postscript – Friday, March 31, 2006, 5:50 p.m. local time

We just got back from a real fun day in Puerto Vallarta. So far it’s our favorite port on the trip. On the way out of the bay we had a dolphin escort! What a sight.

We are well. I walked past the infirmary a couple of times today. No lines or other unusual sights.

I used the Internet Café at the PV cruise ship terminal to post some new cruise pictures to my photosite bhughes.smugmug.com

[hardingk]

Thanks for the update!!

[edieredmann]

Dear Mercruiser, thanks so much for the log!! My husband and I will be traveling on the Mercury on 4/17, for our first cruise, and you have been a wealth of information!:)

[Buckeye Geo]

Dear Mercruiser, thanks so much for the log!! My husband and I will be traveling on the Mercury on 4/17, for our first cruise, and you have been a wealth of information!:)

 

Thanks Mercuiser for your great review.

 

edieredmann: We have a thread of your fellow 4/17 cruisers. Come join us. http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showt...70#post6211470

[tangerinebunny]

For anyone who wants to view and judge for themselves, this is the television story referred to by the earlier poster:

 

http://www.kusi.com/home/2533356.html

[stinsowm]

grizzair: Sorry to hear that you had a negative cruise experience. I believe Mercruiser's travelogues are "credible" and I'm looking forward to hearing more from him.

 

I do look forward to reading more from mercruiser. Sounds like he is having a wonderful time. Too bad the previous sailing was such a rough one, but sounds like things are gettng back to normal now.

[Joe Beach]

Mercruiser:

 

I'm surprised the letter about the sickness was not on the first night. I see this as not a good sign, as it was distributed after some onset time.

 

Probably the best indicator of whether anything is going on is the buffet line. If things change, there is trouble brewing. Are you able to dish up all your own food (a good sign), if the staff starts dishing up all the food after you could do it before, it is a bad sign, however, if they were dishing up all food from day one it may just be a precautionary measure.

 

Please monitor this activity throughout the cruise and let us know its status.

 

Thanks,

[Mercruiser]

Wednesday, March 30, 2006 – Mazatlan

The overnight trip from Cabo to Mazatlan is only 168 miles – an easy distance for Mercury to make in the available time. This allowed for a more leisurely pace of 19 mph on a straight-line course.

I awoke at 6:00 a.m. and checked my GPS for our current position. We were just 3 miles from Mazatlan. Visible on the port side of the ship was 515 ft high Isla Creston topped by El Faro lighthouse.

We were in the harbor by about 6:30 a.m. It was quite an operation to see Mercury turned around in this narrow channel. There is a turning basin adjacent to the pier. It appeared to me that Mercury took up almost all of the available room. She turned under her own power, but there was a tugboat always near the stern just in case. Mercury tied up to the pier with her bow facing the sea. This would make for a quick departure later in the day.

The weather conditions were very nice. There was a marine layer of clouds, no wind, and mild temperatures. It was “shirt-sleeve” weather. We sat on our balcony and had breakfast. It was a perfect morning. While we were enjoying our balcony, I suddenly had this strange feeling that we were moving. When my brain finally processed what my eyes were seeing, I realized it was not us that were moving. It was another cruise ship passing by. By it’s red whale’s tail funnel, it was obviously a Carnival ship slipping by. In this narrow channel, the Carnival ship was probably about 200 feet away. The Carnival PAX waved to the Mercury PAX as the Carnival Pride slipped by to dock behind us (upstream).

Our day’s activity in Mazatlan was the well-known Mazatlan Frank tour. The tour was the City and Beach tour as described on his web site. There were a total of four Mercury PAX and another 38 people from the Carnival Pride. Frank used two of his open-air trolleys. All of the Mercury PAX were in the trolley with Frank along with about 20 Carnival PAX. The other trolley was hosted by “Tomato”, one of Frank’s assistants. The highlights of the day for me were the interior of the cathedral, lunch at Tony’s, and the beach time. Tony’s is on Sabalo beach between the Fiesta Inn and Caravelle Hotels. My least favorite part was waiting at each stop for three habitually late Carnival PAX who never came back to the trolley at the appointed time. We probably wasted 45 minutes out the day waiting for these guys.

After returning to the Mercury, my wife and I went to the back of deck 11 for sail-away. One of my favorite cruise rituals is to go to the back of the ship to watch the departure from port. A popular place for this is the tables aft of the Palm Springs Pool. During sail-away, the Captain made an announcement on the PA system reminding everyone about the GI illness safety precautions. This was essentially the same information contained in the letter I put in my previous post.

The evening dress code was “informal”. For dinner, I had the scallops on pasta with a saffron sauce. It was really good. My wife had “Tender Beef” braised in Red Burgundy Wine garnished with bacon strips, potatoes, pearl onions and mushrooms. This turned out to be, what we call at home, “pot roast”.

My favorite entertainment of the evening was the Celebrity Orchestra playing big-band music in the Rendez-Vous Square. I used to play alto and baritone sax in the school jazz band. I was never a very good player. But, the experience gave me a good appreciation for those who do play well.

Tonight we set our clocks one-hour forward for Central Time. Tomorrow, our port of call will be Puerto Vallarta.

[WillK]

Has anyone ever cancelled an upcoming cruise due to a norovirus outbreak? I was reading through my travel insurance policy and it doesn't appear that this is a covered benefit. Am sailing on Mercury in a few weeks. I wonder what the threshold is that Celebrity uses to decide whether or not to offer credits for those who choose not to board due to illness counts on current sailings? Even under the best conditions, the crews are faced with very demanding 12 hour work schedules. Can't imagine how they'll be able to continue to function effectively given the onging nature of this problem.

[hardingk]

Thanks for the update Mercruiser! Looks like things are going well! Please keep us updated with the status of the ship...have they wiped down all the bleach every where?

[Rumbear]

In response to Grizzair's post, we are scheduled for the 4/7 cruise and tried to cancel after hearing about the 2nd bad trip. Our TA still hasn't recieved the fax from Celebrity that others have posted; she even contacted her Celebrity rep. A supervisor at Celebrity denies that they offered passengers a refund rather than boarding upon arrival, and trip insurance doesn't cover this (even if it did, you would loose 25% off the top). So cancellation isn't an option unless you just want to throw your money away. They've got you. Besides, I don't want a future cruise credit, I want to take a trip with my family. We're bringing our 3 kids, as I'm sure many other families are, as it is spring break. I find it somewhat comforting that the CDC reports it as "unusual" to have outbreaks on consecutive trips (meaning they usually get it under control). However, it's one thing for adults to be vigilant of what they touch, it's almost impossible for kids, and there should be more kids on the 4/7 trip. We're packing lysol, travel wipes and hand sanitizers. So.... if cancellation isn't an option, we're going to go and try to have a good time!:confused:

[tangerinebunny]

Looking at the CDC records, we future sailors probably don't have anything to worry about.

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/GIlist.htm

 

And we'll surely have the cleanest ship and cleanest hands around!

[Mercruiser]

Saturday, April 1, 2006 – Illness Update

For this travelogue, I have held off on writing directly about the gastrointestinal (GI) illness issue at any length. The main reason has been two-fold. 1) We’ve been having a lot of fun on this cruise and I’d rather write about that. 2) I wanted to wait until we were several days into the cruise to see how this group of passengers (PAX) would do.

To the best I can tell, we do not have an epidemic on this cruise. My wife and I are well. We have not talked to anyone who knows anyone who is sick. The rumor I overheard on the elevator last night (Friday, 3/31) was by two of Celebrity’s “gentlemen hosts” (they had Celebrity name badges with those as titles). The one said to the other that he had talked to the Doctor who told him that there were only two cases. That’s it for the rumors. He further commented that two people seemed like normal for this many people. But, don’t trust my rumors. On Monday, call the CDC Vessel Sanitation Program people and ask them for the specific number crew and PAX that have reported ill. They will give you the straight answer and provide a lot of other helpful information. If you find out the answer, please post it on this thread. I would be interested to know. While you are there, have a look at the illness reports for other ships. You will see that GI Illness has affected lots of ships over the years and several in the last few weeks. This is not a Mercury only problem. The CDC VSP phone number can be found on their web site http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/GIlist.htm

I walked past the infirmary a couple of times yesterday. I didn’t see a line or anything unusual. The early seating for dinner appears to be generally full. The evening shows in the Celebrity Theater have been nearly full or even standing room only. There is nothing that would make me think anything is wrong.

How has this affected the present cruise?

The Bleach Cruise

 

I’m sure that my wife and I will always refer to this as “The Bleach Cruise”. The crew is constantly spraying down all of the surfaces of the ship and wiping them with cleaning rags. When I say constantly, I mean constantly. The smell of bleach is usually faint. This is in contrast to the last cruise for which I get the impression they were practically hosing down the ship with bleach.

The cabin attendants are using this bleach solution in the cabins. When we come back from a meal, there is sometimes a wet surface with a faint bleach scent. They are applying this to the windows, walls, tables, and the bathroom.

I have read a few posts by people on upcoming trips who plan to bring Lysol. Given the constant bleaching by the crew, I think this will be unnecessary. But if you do bring your own cleaner, I’d suggest reading the label to make sure it doesn’t react with chlorine bleach.

Watch for wet surfaces. If the crew has recently bleached an area, you don’t want to lean against the wall or touch it. It might leave a bleach stain on your clothes.

Food Services

 

Here are the things I’ve noticed in the food service area.

· Entrances to all food areas have hand sanitization stations. There is a crewmember there to make sure everyone uses it. (The have these when you get on and off the ship also.)

· All buffet food is placed on the dishes by the kitchen staff. PAX are not allowed to self-serve food from the buffet.

· Salt and pepper shakers are provided on request. They are not left out on the tables.

· The Sushi Café has not been open. All other food services are open normal hours, as far as I can tell.

· So far, there have been no midnight buffets. I don’t know what is normal for this cruise in this regard.

· Some fellow PAX commented that there have been no poolside buffets. Again, I don’t know what they have normally.

· Fruit has been added back to the mixed drinks. On the first couple of day, my virgin pina colada did not have pineapple. Now they are serving them with pineapple, maraschino cherry, and the little umbrella. (I didn’t notice it had been missing until it showed up.)

Other than what has been noted above, the food service seems quite normal. We enjoyed our fist formal night and are looking forward to the second formal night tonight.

On the subject of buffets, I am glad to see that they are not letting PAX serve their own food. I think this should be a permanent hygiene precaution. Remember, GI illness is an oral-fecal transmitted disease. The next time you are in a buffet, ask yourself the question, “The person in front of me who just set down the serving spoon, did he/she wash their hands the last time they used the toilet?” (I know, ew gross.)

Announcements and Notices

 

Announcements and notices abound. Starting with the March 30th issue, the front page of every “Celebrity Today” contains the following notice.

“PLEASE BE ADVISED

%3CP class=MsoNormal style="MARGIN: 3.75pt 7.5pt 0pt">All Guests are advised that due to the enhanced cleaning procedures onboard, we are cleaning with bleach every half hour. Guest are asked to take caution and not lean or rest on walls and other surfaces as they may damage their clothing. We thank you for your attention.</P>Helpful Health Information

Celebrity Cruises, working in conjunction with the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, has instituted enchanced cleaning procedures onboard all its ships. You will likely see some of these activities during your cruise. Medical experts tell us that the best way to prevent colds, flu, and gastrointestinal illnesses is to simply wash your hands thoroughly with soap and hot water after restroom breaks and again before eating anything. Your cooperation and assistance with this matter is appreciated. For your convenience, complementary consultations and treatment in our Medical Facility are available for gastrointestinal illnesses.”

TV channel 33, the safety channel, repeatedly plays a video with similar information. Once a day, the Captain gets on the PA system and makes a GI Illness announcement. He always emphasizes that they want anyone who had GI illness symptoms (stomach cramps, vomiting, diarrhea, fever) to report to the infirmary for free consultation and treatment. Every night at the main show in the Celebrity Theater, the cruise director, includes similar reminders in his closing remarks.

What Does the Ship Look Like?

 

All shiny surfaces (glass, mirrors, chrome, etc.) in public areas have a whitish dull haze from the dried bleach solution. The cabins are being kept clean and shiny. You will see some wet surfaces where the crew has recently spray or wiped down the surface. You will almost always see crew members spraying and cleaning something. Other than this, the ship looks normal to me.

Is the Ship Safe?

 

I’m not qualified to say. Call the CDC and ask them. But personally, I feel very comfortable on this ship. On the morning of March 27, the day we sailed, we talked to a CDC VSP representative who told us they would not have allowed the ship to sail if they thought it was unsafe. CDC had representatives on the last four days of the previous cruise and before we left port. Mercury had to satisfy CDC before we could board. With all the bleaching and hand sanitizing going on, this might be the cleanest cruise ship in the world. If you are thinking about changing ships or cruise lines, another question to ask might be, “Are the other cruise ships and cruise lines safe?” I think Celebrity, or at least Mercury, has (finally) answered their “wake-up call” on this issue.

The gentleman from CDC told us it is a good idea to wash your hands and then use an alcohol-based gel hand sanitizer. (Gel because it needs to be on your hands for 20 seconds.) We bought one for our bathroom, and carry some with us when we leave the ship. He said he even does that on airplanes. That might be a good idea. It certainly doesn’t hurt.

Note: As I write this following section, I am not trying to discount the problems of the last cruise. From what I understand, it was a genuinely bad cruise.

I’m Booked for a Cruise on the Mercury, Will I Have Fun?

 

I know we are having fun. As I write this, we are on a wonderful sea-day between Puerto Vallarta and Acapulco. It is very tropical outside. The seawater temperature is 82F. The air temperature is in the high 80s. The pool area is packed with people who all seem to be having a very good time.

If you get sick, you probably will not have fun. But that applies to any vacation anywhere. Otherwise, it’s entirely up to you whether you will have fun or not.

I expect when we get back, there will be some, “This was the worst cruise ever,” reports about this trip. But, in the last year of monitoring the CC forums, I’ve noticed there are always, “This was the worst cruise ever,” reports about every cruise. There are also, “This was a great cruise,” reports on every cruise.

Summary

 

So far this has been a wonderful cruise. Barring a change in the situation (such as getting sick), I’m not going to spend any more time writing about GI Illness. There is plenty of much more fun stuff to talk about.

Q & A

 

Stinsowm and excitedofharpenden: Shhh, don’t tell anyone about the deck 12 CC cabins. Lets keep it our little secret.

Joe Beach: At no time have the PAX been allowed to dish up their own food in the buffet. I hope they make this a permanent policy. I don’t want to have to trust the personal hygiene habits of all the PAX touching the serving utensils.

Grizzair: Sorry to hear about your illness on the last cruise. I think many of the staff would agree with your choice of words, “hell at sea”. They weren’t having a good time either. I also agree that Celebrity management appears to have been in complete denial mode. I’m still very disappointed that we had to call the CDC to be told the facts. I also agree that the Internet access is very expensive. I’ve been using about 4 minutes per day because I don’t want to lug my notebook computer off the ship. I compose all my email off-line and then send/receive real quick. I haven’t been “surfin the web”. That would be way too expensive. I did use an Internet Café at the PV cruise ship terminal to upload about 10 MB of pictures to my web photo site. I used a USB memory stick to get the photos on the Internet Café’s computer.

Position Update

 

According to my GPS, our position is as follows.

N 17 degrees, 30.7 minutes

W 102 degrees, 10.7 minutes

36 miles West of Ixtapa

157 miles from Acapulco

Heading: ESE

Speed: 13 mph

Sea condition: Some white caps, light swell in ESE direction

Time: 3:30 p.m. ship time, 12:30 p.m. PST

(The ship switched to Central Daylight Savings time a day early.)

[vince4]

Rumbear: We are traveling with our kids on the 4/17 sailing and don't plan on canceling. We enjoy our family vacations and plan on having a lot of quality time together.

 

Mercruiser seems to be enjoying himself and having a good cruise so far.

 

Grizzair wants everyone to "jump to the lifeboats" and I think that may be an exaggeration.

 

Joe Beach: That is a good point...........stay tuned.

[Mercruiser]

Looking at the CDC records, we future sailors probably don't have anything to worry about.

http://www.cdc.gov/nceh/vsp/surv/GIlist.htm

 

And we'll surely have the cleanest ship and cleanest hands around!

 

You might want to call the CDC on Monday. According to their website, they don't post a report unless the infection level exceeds 2% (or something like that).