Advice needed for 'Runaway Mom'-first time celeb cruiser

[bravemom]

i've cruised before (hal, disney, ncl). i am running away from home sans kids, husband-anyone and taking the 3 night pacific northwest cruise on the mercury. i will be in a suite.

 

i've tried to find information about celebrity via these boards and the celebrity website (realy lacking vs. some other line's websites) but i get confused with references to certain classifications of ships and things that are offered on one vs. the other.

 

i would appreciate any information or suggestions to make this an enjoyable and relaxing mini vacation. so if you kind folks could let me know if there are 'must do' things on board a celebrity cruise or must 'take advantage of' offerings in the category i'm in-please pass them on.

 

i do have a few specific questions and if someone could answer them i'de realy appreciate it-

 

how is the entertainment on board-is it worth seeing? i'm not into ventriloquists or magicians but if there's something beyond the usual lounge singer kind of stuff i would be interested to know.

 

in room dining vs. dining room-if i don't want to get dressed up and just opt to eat dinner in the stateroom is this a big mistake (on some lines the atmosphere of the dining room realy enhances the meal).

 

any must try items to eat? (specialty desserts and such)-and what is the thing with some type of appetizer or pre-dinner snack that gets delivered to my room? i'm not clear on this-and is it something that i select or a pre-set item i can opt out of if i don't care for it (i hate to waste food). am i right in understanding there will also be fruit in my room and champagne (and if so since i'm not a big champagne drinker can i just leave it corked to bring home?). i understand there's a sushi place on the mercury-can you get it to go and by any chance do they have sake available (i brought my own on our alaskan cruise to keep warm-could never understand why on even heavily traveled by asian passenger cruiselines sake is not a staple in the bars).

 

smoking-designated areas i assume, do they allow it on verandah's?

 

last but not least-the spa. i understand i get with my category access to some type of water feature-can someone explain what it is? how fast do the spa reservations fill up-on some lines you need to do a dead run to get a decent time/selection. is there anything on celebrity you need or would want to go and sign up for quickly upon embarkation?

 

thanks in advance for any answers and guidance you may provide.

 

brave-aka 'runaway' mom.

[PortCredit]

Hi Runaway/Brave Mom,

 

I did almost exactly the same thing on the June 23 Mercury cruise to Alaska - escaped work, family and all responsibilities for a seven day solo cruise. I'd been on the Mercury to Alaska with my family and have travelled the world on my own for business, but this was my first solo vacation, so I was a bit anxious. It turns out I had no reason to worry!

 

I envy you your suite - THAT would have been a real added luxury. Most of the fun of eating in the dining room, for breakfast and lunch as well as dinner, was in meeting new people. As you probably know, breakfast and lunch in the dining room is open seating, so you meet somebody new at every meal. Although I did find myself running into newly made friends from earlier meals from time to time and that was great too. As for dinner, I really like the Manhattan dining room but haven't had the pleasure of seeing a suite, so I can't compare the ambiance. Eating in the suite may depend on whether you prefer a solo dinner or some company.

 

I loved listening to the string quartet in the Cova Cafe before dinner. And the chocolate croissants, again the Cova Cafe, as a pre or post breakfast treat were just that - a great treat. The martinis in the martini bar were huge, very good and ice cold and made a nice alternative for a pre-dinner drink.

 

I enjoyed the sushi and found that one of the advantages of late seating for dinner was the chance to indulge in a few pieces of sushi at 6:00 or so. I didn't try to take it to go, but can't imagine it would be a problem.

 

Since this is such a short cruise, you may want to book your spa appointments the first day. On a seven day cruise, I was able to book appointments the same day, but not always at the most convenient time. So booking earlier should certainly give you more choice.

 

The Thallasotherapy (I'm sure I've spelled that incorrectly) pool is very relaxing and has the advantage of being in a quieter, indoor space. I found myself nodding off into a nice nap in the lounge chairs every time.

 

As for the champagne in your room, my husband and I travelled Concierge Class on the Constellation to celebrate my 50th in January and, since he doesn't drink, we didn't bother cracking open the bottle. We just took it home and enjoyed it with friends during a post-cruise birthday dinner party.

 

I found travelling alone to be enormously relaxing and I enjoyed the range of reactions from people when I explained that I had decided to come without my husband or even a friend. Having a suite will give you the choice of enjoying private space to relax, watch the ocean go by or read. Of course, one of the great things about a cruise is that, if you get tired of being alone, you can go to the pool deck (if the weather is good) or the Navigator Lounge (my husband's absolute favourite spot on board) to be with people to do the same thing.

 

Enjoy!

 

Adele

[rebeccalouise]

I did the Galaxy, Millenium and the Constellation with just my five year old. So for all intents and purposes, I traveled alone.

 

He was in the Fun Factory doing his thing and I did mine.

 

These 3 voyages, sans friends and family, have been the best of my 17 total cruises. I could do what I wanted, when I wanted and never had to give a second thought about meeting up with people, deciding on excursions with others, etc. and worst of all- listening to them complain about this and that and the other. I love cruising and have never had a bad time on a ship. It is all what you make of it.

 

One thing I am really glad I did do, was go to the main dining room for dinner. I met instant friends there and got to know many more people just traveling around the ship. So don't eat in your cabin- you will meet the nicest people and crew members. Get out and mingle. Take a dance class- they will hook you up with a partner. Dance at night and have fun.

 

I have not sailed on the Mercury but I am sure the food is largely the same as on all the other Celebrity cruises. The food is good (but mass produced of course)- sushi is excellent. Pizza, made to order is just ok. Horizon buffet very good selection and quality. Main dining room- I always went with the waiters selections and it was always good. The desserts- are very pretty but bland overall. Definately go to any parties by the pool at night- so much fun and lovely buffet- I didn't eat anything but the ice and fruit carvings are beautiful. Also, stay up to see the final midnight buffet- again I didn't eat anything because it was too pretty to spoil!

 

As for spa treatments. I have had some good ones and some bad ones. All are expensive. Try the reflexology foot massage! I used to like Swedish but this is much better and you feel it all over your body.

 

I hope that helps with your trip planning. Have a wonderful time.

 

P.S: My son love Celebrity too and he is the best little traveler. He never complains about a thing on Celebrity. We both agree that we could live on ship.

[bravemom]

thanks for the input. i'm glad to hear from someone whose taken a child on board-i figure if i like celebrity AND i can determine they have a good kid's program it might be an option for a future family vacation. we did alaska on hal a couple of years ago and i would never reccommend it for anyone with children-'club hal' was set up such that it discouraged both the kids and the parents from using it. not that hal's overall service was anything to write home about-i never heard so many passenger complaints in my life (one of the oft repeated comments on board was 'someone should consider opening bars on board these ships they'd make a fortune"-if you could find a bartender they had'nt a clue on how to make the most basic mixed drinks). but we loved alaska and would love to do it via another line.

 

i'll likely do dinner in the dining rooms-i do like to talk to people (and since we're not settled on where we will be moving in about a year i can get feedback on different parts of the country).

 

the only reason i popped for a suite was to have a bathtub-long baths are a joy to me, and when we sold our home a couple of months ago i lost my nice bathtub in the master bath-now in a rental i am relegated to the tub the kids use that never seems to stop smelling of 'sponge bob' and 'barbie' bubble bath. speaking of bathing-how are the shampoos and such that they put in the rooms? i find that it makes no rhyme or reason as to the quality of products provided in hotels/on cruises-some of the top end places give out the worst products-and some of the low end place give out great stuff i'de be tempted to buy if the offered it in larger bottles.

 

i def. want to check out what spa treatments they offer-i hate the crazy prices they charge on cruises but the luxury of taking a short walk back to a cabin afterwards and melting into the bed offsets it. usualy we've done longer cruises with some travel before-so my first treatment is a foot massage. since i'll be arriving the day of departure on this one with only a couple of hours of travel time i'll likely be looking at the hot stone massages.

 

any comments on how the in-room tv's are? i know it's not the primary focus on a cruise but i do enjoy having something to listen to-and i've found offerings to vary greatly (on hal we got only cnn bsns and the same half dozen movies-old-that ran over and over, on disney it was as you'de expect, on ncl (this was years ago) we had no tv-only a radio-but it only carried 'canned music', bridge reports-and 'armed forces radio'-which we got a big kick out of,'good morning vietnam' had come out and it was exactly as the movie depicted it-polkas and stuff that sounded like it was from the lawrence welk show!

 

thanks again for any info. people can provide-and i love the personal insights on what you've enjoyed/to avoid.

[hommebronze]

http://www.photoshow.net/watch/yP8Cx2Kq

 

 

i've cruised before (hal, disney, ncl). i am running away from home sans kids, husband-anyone and taking the 3 night pacific northwest cruise on the mercury. i will be in a suite.

 

i've tried to find information about celebrity via these boards and the celebrity website (realy lacking vs. some other line's websites) but i get confused with references to certain classifications of ships and things that are offered on one vs. the other.

 

i would appreciate any information or suggestions to make this an enjoyable and relaxing mini vacation. so if you kind folks could let me know if there are 'must do' things on board a celebrity cruise or must 'take advantage of' offerings in the category i'm in-please pass them on.

 

i do have a few specific questions and if someone could answer them i'de realy appreciate it-

 

how is the entertainment on board-is it worth seeing? i'm not into ventriloquists or magicians but if there's something beyond the usual lounge singer kind of stuff i would be interested to know.

 

in room dining vs. dining room-if i don't want to get dressed up and just opt to eat dinner in the stateroom is this a big mistake (on some lines the atmosphere of the dining room realy enhances the meal).

 

any must try items to eat? (specialty desserts and such)-and what is the thing with some type of appetizer or pre-dinner snack that gets delivered to my room? i'm not clear on this-and is it something that i select or a pre-set item i can opt out of if i don't care for it (i hate to waste food). am i right in understanding there will also be fruit in my room and champagne (and if so since i'm not a big champagne drinker can i just leave it corked to bring home?). i understand there's a sushi place on the mercury-can you get it to go and by any chance do they have sake available (i brought my own on our alaskan cruise to keep warm-could never understand why on even heavily traveled by asian passenger cruiselines sake is not a staple in the bars).

 

smoking-designated areas i assume, do they allow it on verandah's?

 

last but not least-the spa. i understand i get with my category access to some type of water feature-can someone explain what it is? how fast do the spa reservations fill up-on some lines you need to do a dead run to get a decent time/selection. is there anything on celebrity you need or would want to go and sign up for quickly upon embarkation?

 

thanks in advance for any answers and guidance you may provide.

 

brave-aka 'runaway' mom.