X Leaving Baltimore / Mercury Retiring

I haven't seen a recent thread on this:

Celebrity Cruises: Mercury to leave the fleet in February

Comments

By Gene Sloan, USA TODAY

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In a Friday, February 26, 2010 file photo, the cruise ship Celebrity Mercury is seen docked at the South Carolina State Ports Authority passenger terminal in downtown Charleston S.C.

CAPTION

Celebrity Cruises today announced one of its oldest ship, the Celebrity Mercury, will be leaving the fleet in February.

The 1,898-passenger vessel, a mainstay of the line since 1997, is being transferred to TUI Cruises, a German-focused cruise brand launched in 2008 in a joint venture between Europe-based Tui and Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd.

Royal Caribbean Cruises Ltd. is the parent company of Celebrity Cruises as well its namesake Royal Caribbean brand.

Celebrity says the Celebrity Mercury will be renamed Mein Schiff 2 and join Tui's one existing vessel, Mein Schiff, in sailing in Europe. Mein Schiff also is a former Celebrity ship, the Celebrity Galaxy.

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Popular among many Celebrity regulars for its smaller size, the Mercury is spending this summer sailing in Alaska out of Vancouver. It had been scheduled to spend the coming winter sailing to the Bahamas and Caribbean out of Baltimore and Charleston, S.C., but the Charleston sailings now will be canceled. The ship's departure will leave Celebrity with nine vessels at sea. The line also has two more ships on order for delivery in 2011 and 2012.

"Celebrity Mercury has been a cherished member of the Celebrity family since she entered service in 1997, and has offered countless guests outstanding vacation experiences," Celebrity Cruises President & CEO Dan Hanrahan says in a statement. "We are confident that the ship's future with TUI Cruises is very bright."

Celebrity says the Celebrity Mercury's final sailing as a Celebrity ship will be its scheduled Feb. 14, 2011 departure. Passengers with bookings on Celebrity Mercury on or after Feb. 26, 2011 have the option to either cancel their booking or move to an earlier Celebrity Mercury sailing between Oct. 18 and Feb. 14, with the exception of the December 20, 2010 itinerary.

The line says passengers who make the switch to an earlier sailing will receive an onboard credit of $75 per cabin for inside or ocean-view accommodations; $100 per cabin for veranda or Concierge Class, and $200 per suite.

The line says passengers with reservations affected by the transition will be proactively contacted by Celebrity Cruises. Passengers with questions specific to impacted bookings can 888-281-9343.

Cruise Loggers, how do you feel about the Celebrity Mercury leaving the fleet? Share your thoughts below.

Posted May 27 2010 7:22AM

I'm so depressed over this.:( I LOVED The Mercury and was looking forward to many more cruises on her. There's no way I can convince my DH to book one of her last cruises, since we currently have 2 Carnival cruises booked. He just refuses to miss that much work.:rolleyes: If I had only known...

And to lose Celebrity from Baltimore altogether just compounds my depression. I want more cruising options out of Baltimore, not less!:mad:

Anyone else out there feel my pain?:(:o

Yes, I feel your pain, and love leaving from Baltimore as it is very easy for us to jump on 95. We sail on her in two weeks and looking forward to our cruise. I agree that the port of Balt should be used more, and even Phila should be back up and running. There is also Bayonne.:p

Yes, I feel it. Baltimore is such a convenient & wonderful embarkation port. I am really sad that they are getting rid of the Mercury AND that X will no longer be in Baltimore. After 4 cruises on Mercury in less than a year I have gotten to know some of the crew & they are fantastic. I will miss not going on the ship & seeing my old "friends".

I do have to say that the sales woman on my Oct 29 Mercury cruise DID say that there was a slight chance X would be back sometime in the future & that they'd know by April '11. I won't be holding my breath.

Part of the problem is that I don't think Baltimore spends enough to market their cruise port in the DC area - nor does Celebrity. I read the Washington Post travel section every week and have never noticed any ads promoting either Baltimore cruising or Celebrity from Baltimore. It's kind of weird - here we are in one of the highest income areas of the country with baby boomers galore working for the government and at a stage where there's lots of leave. You'd think everyone selling to the leisure market would be jumping all over us.

j

Hope you are right about another ship sailing out of Balt. I know the new still under construction Sillouette will be sailing out of Bayonne.

Yes, I feel it. Baltimore is such a convenient & wonderful embarkation port. I am really sad that they are getting rid of the Mercury AND that X will no longer be in Baltimore. After 4 cruises on Mercury in less than a year I have gotten to know some of the crew & they are fantastic. I will miss not going on the ship & seeing my old "friends".

 

I do have to say that the sales woman on my Oct 29 Mercury cruise DID say that there was a slight chance X would be back sometime in the future & that they'd know by April '11. I won't be holding my breath.

Although I won't hold my breath, either, you have given me a little glimmer of hope to cling to.

Either way, I'll never sail on Mercury again.:( I admit I actually cried a little about this today.:o I feel so silly crying over what amounts to one less vacation choice. If that's all I've got going on in my life to cry about, I guess I'm pretty blessed.:)

Thanks to all, I needed a little CC support group therapy.:o

Part of the problem is that I don't think Baltimore spends enough to market their cruise port in the DC area - nor does Celebrity. I read the Washington Post travel section every week and have never noticed any ads promoting either Baltimore cruising or Celebrity from Baltimore. It's kind of weird - here we are in one of the highest income areas of the country with baby boomers galore working for the government and at a stage where there's lots of leave. You'd think everyone selling to the leisure market would be jumping all over us.

 

j

I think you're right - I was awfully late to find out X was in Baltimore in the first place, and I was already a cruiser. And now, they'll be gone before it seems they had a chance to really get the attention of what is a great geographical market for them.

We will be on the last sailing of the Mercury-our favorite ship-and will certainly miss her. We are big Celebrity fans (23 cruises) and have only been on one other ship, the Grandeur. We are sailing out of Baltimore on Dec 6th on Enchantment. Wish it was Celebrity, but hopefully it will be OK. The convenience will help.

Susan, you make a valid point about missing a great marketing opportunity. Maybe there is something inherent in sailing from there that runs up the operating cost.

I think there are enough of us Mercury fans to commandeer the ship and keep it in Baltimore. ;)

Happy Sails to You

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl

I've heard so many nice things about the Mercury, now I know we'll have a great time :)

I think there are enough of us Mercury fans to commandeer the ship and keep it in Baltimore. ;)

Count me in!;):p Now, if only I could get on the ship to be involved in said commandeering...

Well CRAP. and here I was trying to plan ahead for a 2012 cruise and out of Baltimore as we are about 30 minutes away. I suppose we could do Bayonne but just wanted to do it out of here so we could juist take a cab to the port and leave the car at home. no way we can go sooner, DH is deployed for all intents and purposes until then.

Although I won't hold my breath, either, you have given me a little glimmer of hope to cling to.

 

Either way, I'll never sail on Mercury again.:( I admit I actually cried a little about this today.:o I feel so silly crying over what amounts to one less vacation choice. If that's all I've got going on in my life to cry about, I guess I'm pretty blessed.:)

 

Thanks to all, I needed a little CC support group therapy.:o

Yea, most of what is very sad to me, like I said, is that I can't go back on the ship & visit the same old crew faces that I've come to know & love. Now they will all be scattered around the world. One told me he's going to Sillhouette, a few others to Century, one to Eclipse & most still don't know (or didn't as of my disembarkation on Nov 8) ... so sad. I'm actually not attached to the ship as I am to the crew!!! :o

I have to say that this little tidbit of info was mentioned at the Captain's Club Party. I'm surprised no one else has brought it up ... probably because no one believes it'll happen. No need to get everyone all worked up & excited! If it does happen I would guess it would HAVE to be the Century that they'd bring back in '12 after its Australia/Hawaii stint.

First of all I have to say that I hate your screename!!! :p I am a vegetarian & shaky beef sounds really gross.

Anyway, my main reason for this post is to ask which sailing you were on in Jan. I was on the Jan 23 Mercury cruise. Were we on the same sailing???

I'm about 15 minutes from the Baltimore terminal, but I just can't bring myself to cruise Carnival. Here's hoping that Celebrity comes back in 2012! :D

First of all I have to say that I hate your screename!!! :p I am a vegetarian & shaky beef sounds really gross.

 

Anyway, my main reason for this post is to ask which sailing you were on in Jan. I was on the Jan 23 Mercury cruise. Were we on the same sailing???

Hi! First of all I have to say that being a vegetarian sounds depressing to me.:p:D

My screen name comes from my favourite Vietnamese dish, bo luc lac, which translates roughly to "shaky beef" (from shaking the pan as it's cooked). It's sooooo good! You're missing out!;):p

No, we were on the January 2nd cruise. I booked it as a birthday surprise for my DH. It was our best cruise, yet.

I, too, loved the crew. Our waiter, Jaeston, and his asst., Iskandar were great. I Made (usually server late nights in the Navigator) was also celebrating his bday on our cruise - he was a blast! Cleyon was another great server, who always remembered it was DH's bday cruise, and wished him happy birthday, every time we saw him, every one of the 9 days! Annie at guest relations was so nice and helpful. There are so many others, but I'm babbling. Sorry.

Man, I'm gonna miss that ship. I'm jealous of you and the others that got to cruise her more than once.:(

I'm about 15 minutes from the Baltimore terminal, but I just can't bring myself to cruise Carnival. Here's hoping that Celebrity comes back in 2012! :D

Canival's not bad, just really different. Now that I've tried X, I know I want to do it again! (Oh, wow, that kinda sounded like I was talking about something else. Oops.):o

Here's me hoping with you for the return of Celebrity to B'more!:)

Dear Celebrity Cruise Line,

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE don't take Mercury away from us!!:eek:

If you keep her in Baltimore, I promise to cruise on her twice a year, every year! (OK, how about thrice?;) But that's my final offer.):o

We will be on the last sailing of the Mercury-our favorite ship-and will certainly miss her. We are big Celebrity fans (23 cruises) and have only been on one other ship, the Grandeur. We are sailing out of Baltimore on Dec 6th on Enchantment. Wish it was Celebrity, but hopefully it will be OK. The convenience will help.

 

Susan, you make a valid point about missing a great marketing opportunity. Maybe there is something inherent in sailing from there that runs up the operating cost.

 

I think there are enough of us Mercury fans to commandeer the ship and keep it in Baltimore. ;)

 

Happy Sails to You

 

OOOEEE :D:D Bob and Phyl

Bob, that's quite an interesting idea, commandeering the ship to keep it here. Tui doesn't need Mercury and we do! :cool:

BTW, the marketing comment was from J, not S. Of course, sharing an id here sometimes is confusing to people. Maybe even to us. :rolleyes:

Someone suggested Silhouette for Baltimore, maybe? I don't think she will fit under the bridges to get to the port. That's why X was considering Century for Baltimore -- she would fit. Except now she's headed for the south Pacific. Sigh.

S

Canival's not bad, just really different. Now that I've tried X, I know I want to do it again! (Oh, wow, that kinda sounded like I was talking about something else. Oops.):o

 

Here's me hoping with you for the return of Celebrity to B'more!:)

Hi Shaky! It was so lovely to spend time on our cruise with you and yours. There is always the port of Bayonne. I took a cruise out of Bayonne on Summit this summer with my daughter and my Dad to Canada/NE and it was fabulous! Dave and I + daughter are booked on a Bermuda cruise out of Bayonne next summer. You should join us! :D

I have never cruised on the Mercury but did a few on the Galaxy. We loved that ship and she went to TUI as well. We enjoyed every cruise on the Galaxy but especially the last one which was also the last cruise for her as a Celebrity vessel. It was an excellent cruise the farewell cruise which had the staff arranging all sorts of different celebrations each evening to give her a glorious send off.

If Mercury is dear to you and you can arrange the final cruise I wouldn't hesitate to do so.

ShakyBeef - I would like to ask you some questions on the excursion you took to the Blue Lagoon on your cruise in January but I don't want to hijake this thread. When you have some time could you possibly email me at llmdrt at verizon dot net. Thanks in advance.

Lucy

Dear Celebrity Cruise Line,

PLEASE, PLEASE, PLEASE don't take Mercury away from us!!:eek:

If you keep her in Baltimore, I promise to cruise on her twice a year, every year! (OK, how about thrice?;) But that's my final offer.):o

We tried the same thing before they took her away from us in San Diego --- I feel your pain :(

Shaky Beef - you can cry on my shoulder. I, too, deplore losing Celebrity from the port of Baltimore. Weren't the original plans to have Century in Baltimore in 2012?

Keep your hopes up! Galaxy left Baltimore and a few years later we got Mercury. Perhaps after a hiatus we'll get Century.

Yup - I'll miss Mercury, and the convenience of sailing from Baltimore, BUT I am already looking at Silhouette's schedule from Bayonne. Depending on where you are on the 'Shore, it might be almost as close as Baltimore.

But I agree that the Port of Baltimore needs to do more marketing.

Would love to see more cruising options out of Baltimore or Norfolk, Va. Both ports seem underused. Driving to Miami with kids is an unfortunate way to start a cruise vacation. And airfare is not always a reasonable option. Let's keep our fingers crossed!

We love the port of Baltimore- even loved the old port at Dundalk. We are trying the Silhouette out of Bayonne. And we will be sailing on RCL and Enchantment OTS a whole lot more.

With this current body scan / pat down thing at the airport - we just say NO!!!