About to book Mercury need advice

[Marie-Claude]

I need advice from Celebrity veteran... I've been on the Constellation two years ago and really liked it. Since then, we've returned on 3 Princess cruises that we liked except for the last one in May on the Sun to Alaska. It was overall a good cruise, but the service and food was far from being up to par.

So we're thinking of going back to Celebrity in October on the Mercury to the Mexican Riviera from San Francisco.

Any info on the ship and/or the itinerary would be greatly appreciated. Having been on the COnstellation, we'll we be disappointed by the Mercury??

Thank for everybody's usual feedback :)

 

MC

[MSBYRDY]

The Mercury is our favorite ship of them all. I guess it depends on what you like and don't like. We prefer a bit smaller ship. Much more intimate feel, easy to get around, easy to meet people more than once on a trip. We're booked on her for November Mexican Riviera and can't wait. Anything in particular you'd like to ask, just shout.

Marilyn

[girlcruiser]

HI Marie-Claude, I did the Mercury 2 years ago and loved her my favourite Celebrity ship so far. We are sailing her again on October 3 what date are you looking at booking

[stephy1]

I've been on both ships, and I loved them both. The Mercury is a little older, but it's still a beautiful ship. The crew was great, the food was fabulous.

We did the Pacific Coastal cruise in April and really enjoyed it. Unfortunately we had bad weather until we were in LA.

 

Stephanie

[BeardedGuy]

Did the Alaska Cruise on Mercury 3 years ago - great trip, great ship.

[Lois R]

:) Hi, sailed her in March...had a fabulous week! I have never been on the Connie...but I know Mercury is quite a bit smaller.

Service was wonderful, food fantastic...and the group we had from these boards was awesome:D .

It was small but we all became friends and it really made the cruise very special.

Hope you enjoy it too:)

[morriscats]

Sailed on Mercury last October and are going again October 13th out of S.F. Awesome ship - quite a site sailing under the G.G. Bridge. Catalina Island is a fun stop (we didn't get off in Monterey as we have been there several times). Mazatlan will be Randi's Happy Horses - you will love it. Service is wonderful.

[Tatka]

I've never been on Constellation but it's not like Mercury is twice smaller than Connie.

 

Constellation is 91,000 tons vs Mercury's 77,000.

 

I've been on Century which was 70,000+ and it didn't feel small a bit. I loved Century and wouldn't hesitate to return to her at any time.

 

When we docked near Explorer of the Seas(which is twice as big) I was excpecting from my 11 years old son (who loves everything big) to be disappointed that we were on smaller ship, but he loved our cruise and the ship so much he said "So what , our ship is great!!!".

 

By the way we are doing California Coastal next April on Mercury! Can't wait! :D

 

Q: Is weather in California really bad in April? :eek:

[lstrong]

So Calif weather is unpredictable. I live in San Diego. This last April we had 2 weeks of 100+ weather. Rainy season (such as it is, we had 5" last year) usually ends in March. Have a great cruise.

[vjblk]

Hi, My sister and I just got off the Mercury today. We were on the Constellation last fall. The Mercury is smaller but just as nice. The service was just as good as on Connie. It's a very nice ship. We had a great time on the Mercury in Alaska.

[sueclark]

We have sailed both M-class and C-class often and after sailing our first Princess cruise recently.... the service is MUCH better on Celebrity. For us that is very important - for others it might not rate the same. We book the next-to-top suites on Celebrity and had the Grand suite on Princess - there was no comparison in the service or recognition given to the "top passengers"

[sirgonealot]

Love Mercury!!! Took their first Panama Canal cruise and have been hooked since then! (Have also been on Horizon and Zenith). Did Mercury in Feb. 2003 and March 2003 (Your SFO trip). Loved it. A little rough out of SFO, but manageable. The ship is beautiful. Nothing not to like. Johanna, the Concierge, Christine, the Social Hostess, Tony, the waiter, and I could go on and on!! Because of convenience, I did HAL's Maasdam this April. Never again. Cold and distant crew, shabby ship and generally a huge disappointment. Enjoy the lovely Mercury.

[thedrunkrock]

Hard to beat any Celeb ship, there is a reason they took 7 out of the top 10 spots in the Conde nast traveler poll

[Marie-Claude]

Thanks everyone for your enthusiastic feedback! I think that was enough reassurance for me to book this cruise, especially since we got a great deal on this Oct.24 cruise.

My only worry is about the weather at the end of October beginning of November... will it be cold or stormy??

Also, I was wondering if they have an equivalent to the Aqua Spa area that we so much loved on the Constellation - great teak loungers with thick cushions, alternative healthy lunch option, and the exquisite thalassotherapy pool...

 

MC :)

[stephy1]

The weather can be unpredictable in Northern Ca, especially in spring. There's usually a bit of fog in San Francisco so don't count on seeing the sunset when you sail under the Golden Gate Bridge. (you might get lucky though!) It's definitely going to be chilly in Monterey, probably a little morning fog. As you get further down the coast it will warm up. Just remember layers, if you have a warm sweatshirt over a t shirt you should be fine. I'm always surprised when SF tourists complain about the cold weather in the summer. Mark Twain said the coldest winter he ever had was the summer he spent in San Francisco.

Enjoy your cruise!

 

Stephanie

[Boo's Mom]

Marie-Claude...... We also had a disappointing Princess cruise...and that was 6 months after disembarking The Mercury.

 

The Mercury is a fine ship....and happens to be very well managed...from the top down.

 

A good pick! ;)

[cechase]

We took an eight day cruise on Mercury in March of this year, and it was the first cruise for my dear lady friend. Mercury is still a very large ship, but very well laid out and easy to get around. The staff was superb and the food and service on Mercury was outstanding. The interior of the public areas in the ship are simply awesome - all in all a wonderful ship.

 

However -- we took a seven day cruise on Mercury's sister ship [which is slightly smaller, but of the same class] - Century in May of this year, and what a great experience. I don't how they did it, but the staff, the food and service was even a notch above that on Mercury. The only downside was that we really liked the decor and layout of our royal suite on Mercury more than our royal suite on Century. The latter was still great, but a little dowdy.

 

Oh, we are booked on Century for a 2/19/05 cruise!

[damurph]

We took the Mercury for the first time last fall on a 7-day roundtrip from San Francisco to Cabo, and liked it so much we're taking the 11-night one Oct. 13 that hits some other Mexican ports. The ship is a lot of fun.

 

We live near San Francisco, which makes it easy. I agree with those who said the weather is unpredictable. Spring and fall are usually better in S.F. than summer because it gets so much fog. Last fall, we sailed out on Oct. 19 and it was so foggy and cold going through the Golden Gate that it was tough staying on deck; when we sailed back in a week later, the high that day got over 90 degrees. Go figure.

 

In any case though, the weather should be nice south of Monterey, and warm in Mexico. Can't wait.

 

If anybody has any San Francisco questions, holler.

[morriscats]

DaMurph,

 

We are on the same trip this year and we were boarding last year as you were getting off. You are right about the temps when we boarded - it was so hot. Hope we get great weather this year. Where are you from - we are in Napa.

Karen

[damurph]

Hi Karen,

 

We're in Burlingame. With any luck, we'll have a Cruise Critic reception again this year. Hope so. It's nice getting a chance to hook up with some people.

 

Dave

[cechase]

We were on Mercury in March of this year for an 8 day cruise out of San Francisco, with stops in Monterey, Matzalan and Cabo. At sea, it was chilly until we got past San Diego. But, the weather was great in Monterey - nice and warm - but do suggest bringing a sweater or two. At the Mexican ports, it was very very warm - in the 80's in Matzalan and low 90's in Cabo.

[rogerdm]

I am on the Mercury for the Mexican Riviera Cruise. I have RS Cabin 1045. I hear the Mercury is beautiful and am so looking forward to my trip!

[Boo's Mom]

Rogerdm...... We were in 1045 on the Mercury. You will enjoy! :D

[catmand]

Like many before me, October is summer in San Francisco. You will be on a great ship, visiting a great city, what's not to like?

[hoenichj]

I am concerned about rought seas in March on the 8 day Mercury, Monterey, Cabo Mazatlan: any comments