Mercury AK Review: Positives and Negatives from a HAL Devotee

[SLove]

This is my first time on the Celebrity boards so let me tell you a little about myself: my husband and I are in our thirties and absolutely love cruising. We have cruised several lines including RCI, Carnival, NCL, Princess, and Holland America. We have definitely preferred Holland America in the past but our company decided to sail Celebrity this time around instead of HAL. We had sailed Celebrity years ago and hoped that our experience would be the same.

We had thought that Celebrity was on par with Holland America in most areas of a total cruise experience and that it would surpass our expectations in terms of food, service, and on board “feel” ( some have called this ambiance, and that is what we were expecting: classy ambiance and a quiet and refined experience). My husband and I booked our cabin on the 7 day Alaska cruise on the Mercury and expected to have a great time. We travelled with our company and used a group cruise coordinator that has worked well with us many times in the past.

We booked an room on deck 10 and prepared to have a great time. My thoughts are listed below:

Positives:

1. Our butler (Aswan (sp?) was fantastic! If it hadn’t been for our butler, much of trip would have been a little of a let-down (I’ll go into this more later). He gave us ample attention and went above and beyond the call of duty in assisting us on board. After we had two very disappointing breakfast experiences in both the Palm Springs Café and the Met. Rest., he would bring us whatever breakfast items we desired.

2. Milan, our waiter, was one of the most responsive waiters we have ever had on a ship. He was helpful and accurate (accuracy is something that HAL servers seem to have a problem with). He was charming, attentive and would look at your directly in the eye during our exchanges.

3. The quality of the food on board is probably a half a step above what is served on the other lines. Presentation and taste were good and variety on the menu was excellent throughout the week. I love sushi and the sushi and Japanese dishes served in the evenings was a true treat. However, I would not say that the food is outstanding or even close to what one could find at a resort restaurant or fine hotel. While the meat and fish were prepared well, there seemed to be no real distinctive taste of any of the items. The desserts were varied, but they as well tasted like RCI desserts (not enough sugar used or flavoring).

4. The ambiance on board is beautiful – with one very obvious exception. Even though I found some of the art onboard strange, it all seemed to work. The atrium was the perfect size, big enough to be impressive and beautiful glittering with reflective brass from the rotating earth in the center.

5. The Cova Café serves some of the best specialty coffees of any coffee specific bar that we have visited in all of our cruises. Much better than the Windstar Café on HAL.

6. The ship was incredibly easy to get around in.

Negatives:

1. As I had already said before, we have cruised many cruise lines of different stripes and distinctive. According to what we had heard about Celebrity, we expected an elegant, quiet, refined, and unobtrusive environment.

For whatever reasons beyond my comprehension, the Celebrity Mercury had some sort of Dance/Techno music playing at an incredibly loud level 24/7 at the La Playa Pool. I’ve been on the “party” ships before for the sake of our company (RCI Mariner, Vision, Sovereign, and Carnival Inspiration, Glory) and have never heard any music this loud or this out of touch with the sailing passengers. The low-end bass (they had two huge speakers near the front of the pool) was so incredibly loud that it felt like you were getting punched in the chest if you were anywhere near the pool area. In fact, the music was so loud that you could hear the “thump, thump, thump” caused by the low bass clearly in our cabin all during the day and night. There was no one, and I mean not one soul, that was decided to congregate in the pool area on our 7 day cruise. In fact, everyone seemed to avoid the area.

We had hoped that the music was only a first day anomaly, but when it continued, I approached our group director and asked if there was anything that he could do about it. He stated that he was as well on deck 10 and that almost all of the other people in our group on deck 10 (the CEO was in the Penthouse and others in the Royals) had complained and that he had taken the complaints to the staff. He said that the Cruise Director said that he would turn it down a little but the music style (techno-rave dance style) would stay the same and that the music would continue 24/7. I can’t imagine the reasons for this. If I were to hazard a guess, the average age on the cruise would be around 55 or so and I don’t think any of them would choose that kind of music to listen to. The music continued, even as we entered beautiful Hubbard Glacier and the naturalist guide was speaking, until I went to our group director about the constant loud music. He called whomever and we saw the Cruise Director fumble around until the music was shut off. As soon as we left Hubbard Glacier, the techno dance music came back on louder than ever. Others in my group and I complained again to our group coordinator who went back to the staff. Apparently, he was told that others onboard wanted the music to played and that they can’t please everyone. From what we saw, there was no one “enjoying” the music at the pool – it was pretty much empty during our entire trip. Everyone seemed to retreat to the La Playa indoor pool to relax and read a book. I tried to put my ipod on and sit out at the La Playa in Skagway (it was beautiful and sunny), but the loud bass pounded through no matter how loud I turned up my own choices.

A nice couple from Canada who we had lunch with one day said the same thing about the pool music. They said that it appeared that Celebrity was trying to be clubby and hip without having clubby and hip customers aboard their ships.

I’m sorry to spend so much time on this but it was a problem that was an easy fix and Celebrity chose not to fix it. I’m not sure if the music was just the personal favorite of the Cruise Director and staff or what reasons they might have chosen to play this stuff and at the level of volume it was played at. I guess that Celebrity is hoping that Paris Hilton and Lindsey Lohan will come aboard to appreciate their dance club music?

2. The Guest Relations desk folks were very difficult to deal with. With even the most minor of problems or issues, we knew that we were going to get “no madam” for an answer.

3. The Palm Springs Café servers would close their stations at some of the busiest times of the morning and lunch hours. After waiting in a line for almost 25 minutes on our first morning at sea, we decided to avoid the Palm Springs in the morning. The same problem was apparent during the lunch hours. Maybe we are spoiled from the food court concepts on the Vista Class and Voyager class ships but the easy fix was to just stay open when the lines were long. I said something to one of the staff about the problem and he just shrugged it off.

So, would I sail Celebrity again? Maybe I might try one of the new ships where some of the problems with the lido cafeteria might not be an issue. I guess what I would want to know from some of the Celebrity veterans is whether or not the techno music is blasting away at the pool during the Caribbean sailings on their other ships. I love to lay out at the pool during the sea days and would hope to not be bombarded with the same sort of garbage. If this is normal for Celebrity, then at least on the Voyager ships we do have the solarium to retreat for some peace and quiet.

[DrKoob]

I (as a big-time Celebrity Cruiser and fan) an so sorry about the music but after all our cruises we have never heard that kind of thing on either Infinity (five cruises--more than six weeks aboard) or Galaxy (two weeks in the Med).

 

As to the crowded buffet, you should really try an M-Class ship. On the Galaxy we felt the buffet was a bit crowded but still were able to get food but we hardly ever feel crowded on Infinity. We are sailing on Century next month and will let you know how it is there.

 

Again, give X a try again and try an M-Class ship.

 

Jim

[Davey Interweb]

Good review; I've also cruised on Mercury and will do so again later this month. Funny thing about the odd selection of music, though -- we encountered the same on Zaandam, and I also thought it awkward enough to mention in my review of that sailing.

 

FAKE EDIT: actually, I mention the music in a follow-up post here.

[c-legs]

Good evening, SLove

 

Thanks a lot for your well balanced review.

Strange that Palm Cafe staffers would actually choose to ''close out''their area right in mid-service//mid-lineups....Never witnessed that on previous cruises. There must have been a mix-up in crew assignments and a team HAD to close-out and move on to some other duties. Not Good !!

 

Re; the music; this is disastrous !!! What's worse is the resistance you encountered with the personnel you'd normally expect much better from. This is surprising, as Celebrity shines by its onboard product...and service. I hope they don't start this sort of non-sense as a new policy. I'm sure a lot of grumbling was going on as this is SO SO Not Celebrity-like to have this type of music, this loud and 24/7 !!! It'll be interesting to read from other posters who have been on MERCURY in recent weeks and perhaps witnessed this ''new'' product....hopefully, this was a '' one off'' . Do you remember the name of the Cruise director ?? And the hotel manager's name ??

What you described is, if factual, simply unacceptable, not only from a refined line like ==X==, but from ANY line !!! Even the Carnival folks wouldn't dream of subjecting their guests to a 24/7 dose of excessively loud music, even the tehcno-type that their demographics would no doubt relate to under normal circumstances...

 

Thanks for sharing your experience.

Hopefully, you'll give == X == another chance and beleive the music incident, oppressive as it's been, is an anomaly soon to be addressed, specially if proper complaints have been lodged up the line.

 

Cheers

;)

[amusea]

I have sailed on Celebrity ships since its first year when Chandris was still in operation - soon to sail #12 in South America (total of 57 cruises since 1969). Celebrity made its fame on food which approached cuisine that is served in fine restaurants and with Michel Roux in charge they often were successful and the ambience of their ships reflected this upscale image. However, my last cruise two years ago on an "M" ship had a problem which put me off completely - the very loud music in the pool area, even when nobody was there. It was not techno but rather pop and soul with the usual wailing singers played at high decibels. But even worse, loud music had finally invaded my one oasis of solitude - the Promenade Deck. This is where I read and try to relax away from the hubbub of the large public areas. There are loudspeakers on the open Promenade Deck which are basically used for announcements but the staff decided to pump the music through these speakers. I talked to several people who complained to no avail and my comment card mentioned this first and foremost. I have had similar experiences on other lines and it seems that each ship's staff decides about the selection of music and volume. Twice I have written letters to cruise companies just suggesting that for absolutely no cost someone of authority could control this element of the cruise experience. I have seen waiters and bartenders turn up the volume in a lounge at will. On one ship they played the same CD over and over in the Lido all day long. I am very disappointed that Celebrity has followed this path of unsupervised music selection which seems to coincide with its RCI connection. I hope that somehow the supervisory staff of X begins to acknowledge this problem and attempts to correct it.

[Lois R]

Hi, so sorry about the music fiasco:eek: :confused: :(

 

Question about your waiter, Did Milan happen to mention

if his contract was ending soon? He has been my waiter

3 times before:)...you are correct, great service from him

every time!

[ocngypz]

Now I know they had better music than that available. In fact, durig our July sailing it was so unobtrusive, I can't tell you what it was. But I do remember some of the artists.... the Yellow Jackets.. and Tony Bennett.

[Squirrel's Mom]

Thanks for the review. Most interesting that you should bring up the music issue.

 

We just returned from the Summit (SB / August 24th) and had a very similar experience. The same, sorry old CD played over and over and over and over again on both the aft and pool areas. The volume wasn't that bad but it was soooooooo annoying.

 

Most bothersome however -- and in my opinion almost sacreligious -- was that they never even turned it off during glacier viewing! So that while we had a fabulous view and were able to get very close to Hubbard, the experience of being able to listen to the amazing sounds of a glacier were drowned out by this muzak! (There was that painful interlude one day when something in the sound system went kaflooey and for what seemed like an eternity there was this loud, irritating droning -- however, it did cut the music for a bit.)

 

Honestly, I don't remember music like this on any other Celebrity Cruise. And it was virtually my only negative note on my comment card -- together with what seemed to me to be a lack of variety in flavors of ice cream. (Otherwise Summit was terrific!)

[cruiseacecat]

Slove,

 

Which sailing were you on? I was on the 24 Aug. sailing and the only time I was bothered by the "music" was when the naturalist was speaking. It just seemed incredibly rude not to turn it off at Hubbard when he was speaking. I tend to avoid the pool area when the music is loud, but hard to do when viewing the glacier

 

I have been in cabins that were affected by the base thump before, and really sympathize. Cannot imagine having it 24/7.:eek:

 

I hope this is not something that Celebrity intends to continue. Maybe if they receive enough complaints, they will take another look at it.

 

Anne

[SLove]

Hi CC'ers!

 

Thanks for taking the time to read my concerns. These are some of my irritations with where HAL has started to take things lately, as Davey Interweb eloquently described, and we had hoped that Celebrity would be more of a refined experience.

 

Lois R: Milan stated that he had 2 weeks left on his contract and that he wasn't sure which ship he was going to be on when he returned. He was such a pleasant man who did his job very well.

 

c-legs: The problems with the lines went on through the week regardless of being breakfast or lunch. A lot of us heard the staff arguing with one another before and after closing the lines. I don't want to say that this is the only reason there was a problem, but it did appear as if the Eastern Europeans were arguing constantly with the new Jamaican staff about closing or staying open.

 

amusea: you point out some of the issues that drove our whole group (and a lot of other passengers) crazy. Why play the techno music so incredibly loud 24/7 when there is no one there? I really think that this must be a problem with having a young CD (I think his name was Denny?) on board who doesn't understand the kind of person who chooses Celebrity: a more sophisticated passenger who is looking to get away from all of the constant, cheezy, pre-fabricated fun found on the contemporary lines (Carnival, RCI, NCL). The CD must think that if he plays the stuff that the twentyish crew dances to that we will all break into an instant rave dance club.

I'm in my thirties, and I am not some old-fogey who only wants to listen to Benny Goodman. However, the music should fit the product, and if the product is supposed to be premium, then this rave techno blasting just didn't fit. ESPECIALLY when it was so loud that it was audible in our cabins.

 

cruisecat: So many of us had just avoided the central pool area all together. But when we were pulling into Hubbard Glacier, the front of the ship was jammed and so was the back. There were about 90 in our group and we wanted to be just above the pool deck - but the thumping music was drowning out the naturalist; and thats when we all banded together and went to our group coordinator. I was standing next to him when he called the staff (and it sounded like they argued with him) but then we saw the CD come out and fumble around the are for about 10 minutes until the sub woofers were turned off.

This was my 4th time to Alaska and I had never heard anything like this before. It really has lowered my view of Celebrity.

 

I think we were all in agreement about the muzak in the rest of the ship. It was very tasteful and not intrusive.

 

squirrel's Mom: sounds like you had a similar issue but not quite at the level that we had. Maybe your CD at least had the sense to not blast the music.

 

I really hope that this is not a corporate decision to do this at the pools. Since HAL has been doing this lately all over their ships, I really don't know where we can cruise without going up to a Regent or Crystal product. I don't think that we can afford to do that.

[Lois R]

Thanks for the reply:). Milan should be on his way back to Bosnia

soon then....you sailed 2 weeks ago? Hopefully one day I will

see him on another cruise:D

 

I will be back on Mercury next month for 2 short b2b's......I will

see how/what they do with the music:eek:

I cannot recall that ever happening to me (thankfully!). It definitely

sounds like the wrong music....no music at that time sounds

like it would have been the best thing!

[chessbriar]

Thanks for the well balanced review. I was wondering if you remember the name of the CD. I'd be curious as to if it was a regular CD or a fill in. I would have expected any CD to be a little more responsive.

[SLove]

Hello Chessbriar!

 

My husband tells me that his name is Donnell Davis (sp?). I thought that his name was Dennis. He was a young and good looking African American man who apparently was a former dancer on other cruise lines. seemed really nice and personable. I just think that he might be real out of touch with the Celebrity brand and expectations of Celebrity passengers.

[C 2 C]

Hello Chessbriar!

 

My husband tells me that his name is Donnell Davis (sp?). I just think that he might be real out of touch with the Celebrity brand and expectations of Celebrity passengers.

 

Donnel Davis:

 

I believe he is from Halifax. He was the temp filling in for Dru Pavlov in May on Century. We had a "discussion" with him about some very abrasive cruise activities staff members on the sailing. The discussion was to be a lecture directed at us for our complaints. He is at the bottom of our list of favorite people for his attitude.

There is no excuse for loud music or for any staff member not responding to the requests of passengers. I would have absolutely no problem in having a word with the higher ups on board. When we sailed on board Mercury last year (4 times) we often ran into the captain at lunchtime. Those are perfect moments to discuss "issues".;)

[SLove]

Donnel Davis:

 

I believe he is from Halifax. He was the temp filling in for Dru Pavlov in May on Century. We had a "discussion" with him about some very abrasive cruise activities staff members on the sailing. The discussion was to be a lecture directed at us for our complaints. He is at the bottom of our list of favorite people for his attitude.

There is no excuse for loud music or for any staff member not responding to the requests of passengers. I would have absolutely no problem in having a word with the higher ups on board. When we sailed on board Mercury last year (4 times) we often ran into the captain at lunchtime. Those are perfect moments to discuss "issues".;)

 

 

I believe that our group coordinator had conversations with the staff about a lot of the issues. My husband and I have been on 3 cruises with his company now and could tell that he was not pleased with the staff on board. There was nothing that he came out and said, but I know that he has been a very positive and organized person in our past group cruises. There were many times where there were double-booked events in rooms that were supposed to be booked for our company etc. and I did see him talking to the CD about some of these issues. From what I gathered, the staff seemed to be kinda arrogant and argumentative when talking with him - and I've never seen that before with on the other lines. I think that he has a couple of more groups on the Mercury in October, so I am interested to see if some of these issues are solved by then.

[Lois R]

Hi,:) I will report back after my October cruises too.

 

Mercury has been one of my most favorite ships.....staff and

crew always fabulous in the 3 times I have sailed her.

Really sorry to hear of your less than stellar time.

[sharpie13]

Hi CC'ers!

 

 

So many of us had just avoided the central pool area all together... the thumping music was drowning out the naturalist;...

 

Well that's one way to address the chair hog issue :rolleyes:

[Alaskan Traveler]

Hi Slove,

 

Thanks for your well balanced review of your experiences. Sorry to hear about your experience. We have been hearing more and more about the downturn in the food on Celebrity but the lack of response to your request about the loud music is just unbelievable. Whether it was an old CD or new CD is not the point as there is just no excuse for this kind of inaction by any cruise line employee. If you are thinking about trying a Celebrity cruise again, be sure and read the sticky at the top of this forum about possible problems on some Celebrity ships.

[C 2 C]

If you are thinking about trying a Celebrity cruise again, be sure and read the sticky at the top of this forum about possible problems on some Celebrity ships.

 

What's the sticky have to do with loud music and poor attitude towards customer concerns? The Mercury does not have those "sticky" *** items.

[Drew B]

What's the sticky have to do with loud music and poor attitude towards customer concerns? The Mercury does not have those "sticky" *** items.

 

Don't you know? No thread is complete to some posters without mention of that issue...

[Kathie44]

We were on Merc last Jan to the MR and the only music I remember at the pool was the dance music from Headlines--very nice and not loud. I don't use the pool, but like to find a chair to sit and read. I'm sure I wouldn't have stayed around with loud music like that. We are sailing Merc again next Jan to Aust/NZ and I hope this problem will be eliminated before then.

We ate now and then in the buffet, mostly due to our excursion schedule. Stations were available, except towards the end of the open times. Then it got kind of skimpy. We prefer to eat in the dining room, but it was closed on port days to accomodate an extended buffet at the Palm Springs.

 

1/02 Explorer E. Carib.

1/03 Explorer W. Carib.

8/03 Summit Alaska cruise/tour

2/04 Adventure S. Carib.

2/05 Galaxy Panama Canal

6/06 Jewel Brit. Isles/Nor. Fjords + 3 nights in London

1/07 Mercury Mexican Riviera

1/08 Mercury Aust/NZ

[C 2 C]

Don't you know? No thread is complete to some posters without mention of that issue...

 

Of course but the guillotine was designed for people with axes to grind.:D

[SLove]

We were on Merc last Jan to the MR and the only music I remember at the pool was the dance music from Headlines--very nice and not loud. I don't use the pool, but like to find a chair to sit and read. I'm sure I wouldn't have stayed around with loud music like that. We are sailing Merc again next Jan to Aust/NZ and I hope this problem will be eliminated before then.

We ate now and then in the buffet, mostly due to our excursion schedule. Stations were available, except towards the end of the open times. Then it got kind of skimpy. We prefer to eat in the dining room, but it was closed on port days to accomodate an extended buffet at the Palm Springs.

 

Hi Kathie!

 

My DH and I were on Celebrity years ago and never experienced this sort of problem either. I am hoping that it is just a problem with the Cruise Director that can be fixed.

 

We also never had issues at the lido deck in the past (that I can remember) and figured this is just a problem on the Mercury.

 

I want to repeat that I thought the music and ambiance on the rest of the ship was spectacular. A very relaxed and comfortable ship for the most part. The Navigator Club was rockin' at night (as it should!) and that was the place for that sort of music!

[Lois R]

SLove, glad to read what you just posted:)...not taking anything

away from the music fiasco:( but sounds like you had a good

time otherwise!!!

[SLove]

SLove, glad to read what you just posted:)...not taking anything

away from the music fiasco:( but sounds like you had a good

time otherwise!!!

 

Hi LoisR:

 

I never would write a "cruise from hell" type of post unless the ship actually sank!

 

However...

 

The problems I pointed out in the OP were like a giant boil on the face of Brad Pitt or Angelina Jolie: sure, they are beautiful and elegant but you can't over-look that massive whitehead boil!