Aft 2A Deluxe Ocean View cabins on Mercury

[Moeve]

I guess one could call me the sofa expert - since I always end up on one... The bottom one is one of those flip sofas and they are really not bad but do remember they are used quite often and so what I might find comfortable some one a couple of months later may not. Even these matresses need replaceing from time to time and you might just be unlucky and catch its last cruise.

 

Upper beds to are suprisingly comfortable - normally end up in one of those on a RCCL cruise. I do agree they are abit acrobatical to get into. The best tip is also way use the ladder facing the bed never use like a staircase!!

 

Did you say there were 4 of you? well even if the cruises is sold out completetly there are bound to be one or 2 insides left empty and if you are really not able to use the upper bed have a nice talk to the hotel manager and see if he won't offer you one of them for reduced rate. Did you book prior to the renovation? Well then you can point out that you expected to find 2 lower couches and not only one.

[pegpowell]

Still no answer from the Captain's Club. The website says that questions and comments will be responded to in the order they are received. There must be a LOT of questions for it to take 2+ plus working days!!!

[pegpowell]

Just got an email, wonder if she is right...

 

RE: Stateroom

 

Dear Ms. Powell,

 

Thank you for your e-mail. We apologize for any delay in our response. The stateroom you have reserved on the Marcury sailing on April 19, 2008 is a premium ocean view with veranda. The room is 172 square feet plus veranda. It has two lower beds which converts to a king.

 

Ms. Powell, we look forward to seeing you, our valued Classic Captain's Club member, onboard soon.

 

Sincerely,

 

Cheryl Kirschbaum

Celebrity Cruises Captain’s Club

[LHARTWICK]

Just got an email, wonder if she is right...

 

RE: Stateroom

 

Dear Ms. Powell,

 

Thank you for your e-mail. We apologize for any delay in our response. The stateroom you have reserved on the Marcury sailing on April 19, 2008 is a premium ocean view with veranda. The room is 172 square feet plus veranda. It has two lower beds which converts to a king.

 

Ms. Powell, we look forward to seeing you, our valued Classic Captain's Club member, onboard soon.

 

Sincerely,

 

Cheryl Kirschbaum

Celebrity Cruises Captain’s Club

 

 

PegPowell: what category did you book? Ours is a 2A (formerly the FOV category). I haven't received a response to my e-mail yet. The last time I e-mailed them it was several WEEKS before I received a response. By that time, I had found the answers on these boards.

[pegpowell]

Category is SV-cabin #1156.

[LHARTWICK]

Category is SV-cabin #1156.

 

Ours is #1163, just 4 cabins down from you, aft. We sail on 9/14/07. I've looked up deck plans on several different sites, including Celebrity's, and they are all inconsistent. It's becoming quite comical! Someone else on these boards is sailing on July 22, 2007, and they said they would let me know the exact configuration upon return. They are staying in the same cabin we have reserved.

[TeaBag]

From what I have seen on these boards, that answer is incorrect. There are no two beds that make into a king in these aft cabins that have just had balconies added to them.:eek: . It is a double bed up against the wall with a room divider at the bottom of it. (You can see this in the brochures of the original FOV cabins). Then there is the sofa that seems to make into a single bed and the bunk. As has already been said, the second sofa has been removed to make the new deck door accessible. At least that is what I understand. We have 1154 booked. I don't know why Celebrity can't get their stateroom diagrams fixed on their web site. I think the cabin is bigger than 172 sq. ft. too.

[LHARTWICK]

From what I have seen on these boards, that answer is incorrect. There are no two beds that make into a king in these aft cabins that have just had balconies added to them.:eek: . It is a double bed up against the wall with a room divider at the bottom of it. (You can see this in the brochures of the original FOV cabins). Then there is the sofa that seems to make into a single bed and the bunk. As has already been said, the second sofa has been removed to make the new deck door accessible. At least that is what I understand. We have 1154 booked. I don't know why Celebrity can't get their stateroom diagrams fixed on their web site. I think the cabin is bigger than 172 sq. ft. too.

 

 

I'm inclined to go with the posters here, since some have already sailed. CCer's are always right, aren't we??? =)

[Karynanne]

I'm inclined to go with the posters here, since some have already sailed. CCer's are always right, aren't we??? =)

 

I've posted previously, and the information the Celebrity rep gave you is incorrect. Since these cabins were sold as a 2A, that's the information they will give to you....not where the cabin is located, or what changes have taken placed. Just that it's a 2A. And that the specifications for a 2A cabin are 172 sq. ft., and two twin beds, that convert into a king. It's what their computer screen shows them.

 

As we all have read and have come to realize is that there is a severe lack of training. It's frustrating for those that really need to know this information.

 

Karyn

[sradogna]

Here's a link to the official Celebrity Press Release on the subject:

 

http://www.celebritycruises.com/aboutceleb/pressDetails.do;jsessionid=0000tttgdAsykVcw4uBKeNArXli:1051tg60i?pagename=press_room_details&event_date=2007-04-04&event_type=press_release&sequence_code=A

[Cruise Arizona]

Peg & Lynn,

 

It is absolutely ridiculous that this Celebrity rep is giving you this mis-information.

 

This room was an FOV and all they did was remove the 5th bed and add a balcony.

 

The room has a non-convertable double bed (not a king or a queen) pushed up against the wall in the first part of the room.

 

The other room has a day bed style sofa bed and an upper bunk (Basically a set of bunkbeds). The cushion you sit on on the lower bunk when it is a sofa is the cushion you sleep on. It does not convert in any way other than the back sofa cushions that you would lean your back against are removed and the duvet is then removed and the mattress then gets sheets and a blanket. You have to make a special request for egg crate, but with out it I found the bed un-sleepable.

 

Peg, it may be to late for you to change your room, but you absolutely need to print out your letter from the captains club and when you get on board immediately go to guest services if you don't think that you can make a go with the provided sleeping arrangements. These room are bigger than 172 square feet, I think over 200 square feet, but if you need different sleeping arrangements, then they may be able to switch you or compensate you, especially because you have been blatantly giving such mis-information.

 

I would still before the cruise go up a level at Captains Club, and explain that you have talked to people who were just on the Mercury and that they are positive these rooms have different configuration. Celebrity's land based customer service is completely the opposite of what I have experienced on the ship, they are clueless and not very thorough. On the ship everyone bent over backwards to meet any request. I think your Captains Club rep is looking at the same bad information that is one their web site, and it is categorically incorrect.

 

 

Good luck, and don't let this ruin your cruise, we just had a fantastic one in one of these cabins, but we are a family of 4 with younger kids, so it is exactly what we were looking for.

[pegpowell]

I just called the Captain's Club number and asked if there was anyone who could give me a definitive answer. She first said it was an FOV cabin. When I told her of my assurances that it was an SV, she checked further. She says that the ship is going to have another remodel, and the first date that it shows for a sunset verandah is Mar 29, 2008. And so the saga continues. It seems as though those people wanting a family cabin or those wanting the single bed-sofa configuration are going to be in for a surprise. Somebody is going to be disappointed.

[Karynanne]

I just called the Captain's Club number and asked if there was anyone who could give me a definitive answer. She first said it was an FOV cabin. When I told her of my assurances that it was an SV, she checked further. She says that the ship is going to have another remodel, and the first date that it shows for a sunset verandah is Mar 29, 2008. And so the saga continues. It seems as though those people wanting a family cabin or those wanting the single bed-sofa configuration are going to be in for a surprise. Somebody is going to be disappointed.

 

 

Interesting information they gave you...if you check Celebrity's website, you'll see that Mercury gets back from a Hawaii repo on 3/28/08 to Ensenada...then cruises up the coast to San Francisco (without passengers), to another Northwest Coastal cruise on 3/29/08. This is a 7 day cruise.

 

I think what the rep meant was...starting on 3/29/08, the "former" FOV category, would now be SV. Same FOV cabin...just a different classification name.

 

Karyn

[SmartTraveller]

I'm booked in 1161 for the Mar 2 sailing from Auckland. I too have emailed the Captain's Club re the bedding configuration and have been waiting a week...still no response. This is really disgusting service!

[Moeve]

I think their reclassification has gotten them into some "hot water" and they have to fix the problem. Over and above that they have realized their own employees have been helping passengers (doubles) getting around the 5 pax rule costing them some revenue...:rolleyes: while catching them flack from passngers really wanting to sail in those cabins with 4 and who are not able to get them.

[Cruise Arizona]

Moeve, these cabins on the Mercury are really a pretty tight fit for 4 much less five. The similar Cabins, called Family Veranda on the larger ships (Summit, Infinity ect) are bigger and truely set up for 5.

 

With the 5th bed removed to make way for the door instead of the window., they are really best suited for 4 (with two people in the double bed) or 3 (With one person in that doubel bed.

[Moeve]

Cruise Arizona those old FO got reclassified to 2A after a certain date which is now causing a whole lot of trouble......

[Cruise Arizona]

Cruise Arizona those old FO got reclassified to 2A after a certain date which is now causing a whole lot of trouble......

 

 

Yes, the reclassification is the source of the problem, but I seem to remember that the FOV were OK for 4, but the FV on the larger class were supposed to be reserved for the 5.

 

We were on the Merc in Nov when this room was an FOV and when we booked it we just had to call Celebrity direct... no secrete imaginary 5th person or any thing like that. When we booked it for Alaska it was still classified as an FOV and we only had to pay the FOV price, again, this room was booked from the start with no trickery for just 4. It was nice for us when it went into dry dock and got the added balcony at no extra charge to us.

 

But.....the real issue here is that the Employees at Celebrity's land based customer service/sales offices do not have the proper information regarding the lay out of the room and the bedding available.

 

My MIL and her sister shared a regular veranda room on this cruise and they commented that the FOV lay out would not have worked at all for them. They each wanted their own regular bed...not a sofa not a bunk, and they wanted to be able to see the TV from the bed. It is only visable from the sofa and bunk beds.

 

Even for couples there is the issue of having to climb over your spouse to use the potty in the middle of the night when you are sharing the double bed. DH is tall, and I had to be very careful not to squish his feet when going to the potty in the middle of the night.

 

All of that being said, the extra space is much welcome for us and we like the larger room despite the drawbacks.

[Drew B]

and they wanted to be able to see the TV from the bed. It is only visable from the sofa and bunk beds.

 

 

Does that mean there is only one TV? I assumed there were two like in the FV's on the M-Class ships...:confused:

[Cruise Arizona]

Yes just one TV in these rooms.

[Cruise Arizona]

Here's a pictures of the "backroom" of a Delux 2a, previously know as a FOV and soon to be known as a Sunset Veranda.

[Cruise Arizona]

This one you can see more of the balcony reflected in the window.

[Moeve]

Cruise Arizona you already have the new set up but there used to be an addional couch where the door to the veranda is now so that is why this cabin was also set aside for 5 but the foreign Res Agents for X/RCCL direct obviously never got informed that there would be a change for future cruises so even though we wanted one of these for 4 of us (it would have been great since we have already had one in the passed on the Century) we kept being told we could not have one!!! Now those cabins got changed from a FO to a 2A in the course of which they got opened up for 2 passengers.

 

This meant that they were no longer protected for familys who now either cannot go at all since regular cabins are tiny in comparison or have to result to taking 2 cabins. Both options did not work for us since we were already in a booking for 3 and the only way we could add our friend was to get one of those bigger ones. No we cannot cancel and rebook since foreign bookings have hefty cancelation fees from day 1. So end of story due to this screw up my friend cannot join us at all.

[Cruise Arizona]

Cruise Arizona you already have the new set up but there used to be an addional couch where the door to the veranda is now so that is why this cabin was also set aside for 5 but the foreign Res Agents for X/RCCL direct obviously never got informed that there would be a change for future cruises so even though we wanted one of these for 4 of us (it would have been great since we have already had one in the passed on the Century) we kept being told we could not have one!!! Now those cabins got changed from a FO to a 2A in the course of which they got opened up for 2 passengers.

 

This meant that they were no longer protected for familys who now either cannot go at all since regular cabins are tiny in comparison or have to result to taking 2 cabins. Both options did not work for us since we were already in a booking for 3 and the only way we could add our friend was to get one of those bigger ones. No we cannot cancel and rebook since foreign bookings have hefty cancelation fees from day 1. So end of story due to this screw up my friend cannot join us at all.

 

Wow, that is bad!!! I wonder what they are doing for families of 5 that have these rooms booked. I am assuming that they bring in a roll-away bed and that they put it where the bed used to be? I am sure that they must have some of these rooms booked for 5. Such a shame that they are so inconsistent. The Mercury only has a handful of rooms that are even capable of holding 4, so it may be really difficult for families of 4 to find rooms now that they are opening these rooms up for bookings of just 2 and not giving out the correct information as to how they are configured.

[hydrodriver831]

This one you can see more of the balcony reflected in the window.

Cruise Arizona- Thanks for posting the photos. We will have cabin #8226 in August and were very happy when they added the balconies. We will have two of our kids with us, so this cabin will work out great. Also, thanks for the daily blogs on your recent Alaska cruise, it was very interesting and informative. Really enjoyed it.:)

 

Mike and Candi