Nervous about Mercury

[bugsy1968]

We are sailing to Alaska in July and are booked on the Mercury in a Sky Suite. We selected this ship/sailing because we wanted a roundtrip from Vancouver and after a nightmare experince on the Crown Princess last summer, I wanted to go back to Celebrity as they really impressed me on my first cruise ever back in 1994 on the Zenith.

 

I just read a recent member review from a Xmas salining on Mercury and was mortified by what I read. We are now very nervous.

 

Anyone recently sail on Mercury that can put my mind at ease, or is it as bad as it sounded and I should look at something else?

:confused:

[Lois R]

We are sailing to Alaska in July and are booked on the Mercury in a Sky Suite. We selected this ship/sailing because we wanted a roundtrip from Vancouver and after a nightmare experince on the Crown Princess last summer, I wanted to go back to Celebrity as they really impressed me on my first cruise ever back in 1994 on the Zenith.

 

I just read a recent member review from a Xmas salining on Mercury and was mortified by what I read. We are now very nervous.

 

Anyone recently sail on Mercury that can put my mind at ease, or is it as bad as it sounded and I should look at something else?

:confused:

 

How recent are you wondering about? I sailed her in October

and had a wonderful time:)

You might read Texed's recent review of his sailing downunder

on Mercury. He wrote it over the past few days and it was simply

outstanding:)

I would sail her again in a heartbeat~wish I could go on your

Alaska cruise!

[Texed]

Anyone recently sail on Mercury that can put my mind at ease, or is it as bad as it sounded and I should look at something else?:confused:

 

I was on Mercury at Christmas/New Year's, and I thought it was in good shape. Not new, but nothing that would ruin a cruise, IMO.

[bububr]

Any cruise during a holiday season or school break MAY be less than desirable in many cruisers opinions. Take me for example, I just cruised Century ( second favorite to Mercury ) at the end of winter break...My review was definetly not what we experienced prior to this sailing, However the reviews coming out now seem to be really good.

 

One review doesn't tell it all, and even having been on a NORO cruise on Mercury, she is a fine ship with a great crew and I'd sail her again

in an instant.:D :D :D

 

Dave:eek:

[dkjretired]

We are sailing to Alaska in July and are booked on the Mercury in a Sky Suite. We selected this ship/sailing because we wanted a roundtrip from Vancouver and after a nightmare experince on the Crown Princess last summer, I wanted to go back to Celebrity as they really impressed me on my first cruise ever back in 1994 on the Zenith.

 

I just read a recent member review from a Xmas salining on Mercury and was mortified by what I read. We are now very nervous.

 

Anyone recently sail on Mercury that can put my mind at ease, or is it as bad as it sounded and I should look at something else?

:confused:

 

It might help in the discussion if we knew what the problems on this cruise were according to the reviewer.

[Karynanne]

To the OP...passengers sometimes board a ship with pre-conceived notions that the ship just isn't going to be "perfect" for them. Maybe the person that wrote the negative review, did just that. We never know a specific person's taste or expectations are, so their review may reflect that.

 

Mercury is a lovely ship. It's has an elegant, grand feel to it, and quite truthfully, one of our favorite ships to sail. We're on it next month for 29 days, and have set our expectations realistically, and I know we won't be disappointed. We were on this ship last May, and will extremely pleased.

 

We have a Sky Suite for this trip, and I'll post a review when we return. I wouldn't cancel your cruise because of a negative return. It's one person's opinion, and there may have been other factors to cause it.

[Fisherwoman]

We sailed on the Mercury in August to Alaska. We had a wonderful time. It's not the newest ship but the crew, dining room and entertainment were excellent. We had no complaints and there were 8 of us.

 

Fisherwoman

[wx@sea]

I had similar fears for my recent trip on the Galaxy due to similar reviews. The ship didn't look brand new, but it was very clean. The service and food were great. If you don't let some worn furnishings and other cosmetic wear bother you, I'm sure it will be fine.

 

We were on the Mercury in Jan 2006 and it had bad reviews on its condition then too. We thought it was fine then. People just have different standards of what they think is acceptable. As long as they don't neglect the cleanliness, a little wear does not bother me.

[wx@sea]

Sorry for the double post

[Johanna7]

Now it isn't enough that I have to worry about our flight from Toronto to Chicago on Feb. 15 and then catch the flight from Chicago to San Francisco and then the SFO flight to Sydney, Now I also have to worry about the state of the ship. One is due to weather. The 2nd. isn't clear what is wrong with the ship.

 

We have been on old ships, brand new ones and in between. Large ones, really large and smaller ships that held 400 passengers and we have liked most of them.

 

Even brand new ones aren't always perfect. As long as the place is clean, we are not really too fussy so I hope it was nothing serious. I would like to know what was wrong. Maybe it is something I could care less about. That would be good.

 

So what is really wrong with the Mercury?

[bug_dan]

What's surprising is out of all the reviews for October November and December '07, the only truly negative one seems to have more influence.

We were on the Ensenada to Hawaii leg and found the ship to be in excellent condition. Focus on the positive reviews and also take time to read texed's review.

[Lois R]

I read the review over in the "Member Reviews" section.

 

Click on that link and it will give you many different reviews of

Mercury.

Many give it 4&5 ships (Stars) but this particular person

did not have a good time and did not like the ship.

 

Johanna, what is wrong with the ship? Not a thing in my opinion.

5 sailings on her and I have loved every one of them:)

[hcat]

Could not imagine Mercury being a problem unless you are an ice skater, rock climber, flow rider,, mall lover type of cruiser. It is newer than Galaxy , has a much better layout than Century & is more modern around the pool deck. Has a great T pool, just the right size--for me I'll take your spot!

 

Also enjoy M class & looking forward to Solstice at least once!

[Karynanne]

Now it isn't enough that I have to worry about our flight from Toronto to Chicago on Feb. 15 and then catch the flight from Chicago to San Francisco and then the SFO flight to Sydney, Now I also have to worry about the state of the ship. One is due to weather. The 2nd. isn't clear what is wrong with the ship.

 

We have been on old ships, brand new ones and in between. Large ones, really large and smaller ships that held 400 passengers and we have liked most of them.

 

Even brand new ones aren't always perfect. As long as the place is clean, we are not really too fussy so I hope it was nothing serious. I would like to know what was wrong. Maybe it is something I could care less about. That would be good.

 

So what is really wrong with the Mercury?

 

Johanna, IMHO, there is nothing wrong with Mercury. We're on the same cruise with you, and this will be our 6th time on Mercury. It's a lovely ship, and with an understated elegance. Yes, once in awhile you see something that needs some attention...but in the whole scheme of things, it's a great ship, and we'll all have a wonderful time!

 

See you at the CC meeting.

 

Karyn

[bugsy1968]

Thanks to all for your valuable feedback. I guess I put to much emphasis on the most recent member review as opposed to the overall average of previous reviews.

 

Based on everyones comments, I think that I have made the right choice. I was on a big, new, glitzy cruise on the Crown Princess last summer but what it had in extras, it lacked in food, service, and overall atmosphere.

 

My first cruise ever was on Celebrity's Zenith back in 1994 and I loved it (in fact no cruise has compared since).

 

I appreciate everyones comments. :)

[Johanna7]

I seem to be getting kicked out of this. Maybe it is the time of day. This is High Speed internet but you would never know it.

 

Lois & Karyn, thank you for giving me one less thing to worry about now.

 

All I am concerned about now is the weather on the 15th and whether we will fly out of here and also Chicago.

 

See you on board, Karyn.

 

Johanna

[camstart]

Johanna,

I share your concern over weather and flying out of Chicago. It's all going to work out and we'll be enjoying the warm weather soon!

 

carol

[CRUISENAV8R]

We are sailing to Alaska in July and are booked on the Mercury in a Sky Suite.

 

I just read a recent member review from a Xmas salining on Mercury and was mortified by what I read. We are now very nervous.

 

Anyone recently sail on Mercury that can put my mind at ease, or is it as bad as it sounded and I should look at something else?

:confused:

 

We were on the XMAS cruise as well, and the ship was fine, though not new. Sounds like the 300+ kids were a real bother to the reviewer. My advise, don't do a holiday cruise. There were 30 on the previous, and something like 15 on the following cruise. I will agree the kids were wild, but I heard of nothing other than a dodgeball going overboard. We did XMAS to Hawaii a couple of years ago, and there were 700+ kids!

 

Had a Sky Suite, which was great, except I'm still trying to figure out how I could have put my butler to better use. :eek:

 

Jon

[avalon1025]

The Mercury is my favorite Celebrity ship. Sailed her last fall and really enjoyed the Mercury (more so than the larger ships). The Mercury had a dry dock last year, though our Sky Suite needed a bit more TLC. The bedding was new, but expected more out of a "major" dry dock.

 

Overall the Mercury has provided our best Celebrity experience to date.

[uktog]

Just back from the Mercury - should you be nervous, on balance I would say no, though to be honest last week she was the least well managed of all the X ships we have been on and several of the staff ( ie not crew) were openly critical of their managers which I always think is not a good sign. That said the food was wonderful, it was just the overall service and attention to detail was not there and staff were clearly not being given the guidance and direction they look for.

I know several passengers had to give feedback on things so I would guess by the time you get on board all will be well.

One issue the last few cruises seem to have had huge problems with missing luggage where passengers are flying through LAX and on with Air New Zealand and we had 150 passengers with no luggage for up to 5 days so I would suggest some careful carryon packing just in case!

[Johanna7]

Thank you Carol, for your optimism regarding the flight to Chicago and then from there.

 

Just finished reading the thread from Texed and learned a lot. I now will stuff my deep pockets on my winter jacket with socks and stuff like that. I will also fill my carry on to the brim. Looks like there is quite a problem with missing and delayed luggage.

 

Johanna

[SheilaNC]

I concur with the positive comments about Mercury (one of our favorite ships). Is it perfect? Of course not - I'm not familiar with many things in life that are. Did we have an amazing cruise with our entire family to Alaska on her? Absolutely! The crew made the cruise - the most helpful, friendly and concerned staff we've had. And we were on her before the new bedding and carpet. We, too, will be sailing with Karyn and Johanna for 29 days (leaving in just 22 days) and one of the best things about our trip will be returning to Mercury.

[pierces]

Of all the myriad glowing reviews why would anyone be concerned about a few negative ones?

 

I would chock it up to the mood, mind-set and circumstances of the negative reviewer and wait to form my own opinion. Some people seem to seek disappointment or set expectations so high that disappointment is inevitable. I don't choose to be one of them. When you read a bunch of reviews and about 10% are negative, remember the Elvis Factor: 10% of people surveyed think Elvis still alive, and 8% believe that if you send him a letter, he will get it. You have to consider that, no matter what, 10 percent of people are probably not entirely capable of clear, rational thought. ;)

 

Wonderful Wife and I have sailed twice on the Mercury for a total of 21 days and found it to be a charming and well-kept ship. We are a few weeks away from spending another two weeks on her and looking forward to it with no reservations at all.

 

Well, technically, we have reservations for air travel, a few excursions and late seating for dinner...but none about the ship.

 

Dave

[smtcan]

We are on the same cruise as Host Sheila and Johanna. Apart from the same concerns about weather conditions as Johanna - we fly from Toronto on Feb 11th - we are looking forward to an enjoyable trip. It will be our first visit to Australia and New Zealand and even if it is not absolute perfection we will be on holiday, meeting new people, seeing new places and escaping the winter. Everyone goes with different expectations and we expect to have a good time and not be deflected from enjoying ourselves by minor glitches.

 

Sheila

[Ma Bell]

We're on the cruise too and I'm not the least bit concerned. Nothing is perfect and I'll be too busy enjoying myself to notice small imperfections.