Mercury 2/27 Cruise Review

[Ships R Great]

Pre-Cruise dinner in Mt. Pleasant:

16 of us, from the Cruise Critic boards met at a very nice seafood restaurant about 5 minutes from our hotel in Mt. Pleasant. Three of us stayed there and we drove together to dinner. It was great to put faces with screen names and to prep ourselves with good food before sailing.

 

Embarkation:

We left the hotel to go to the port about 10:00am. At breakfast we had met two couples who were cruising Celerity for the first time and told them that they could check in before the stated 1:00pm time. (That advice came back to haunt us when we saw them later.) When we arrived at the port our driver was told that we could not go into the port and directed us to the Mills House, a very nice hotel in Charleston. We were the first to arrive there. We were met by several different hotel staff who admitted they did not know what was going on but directed us to the ball room where chairs had been set up. We were given numbers, by a transportation representative-Maggie, and told we would be the first group from our location (there was another hotel being used also) to be sent to the port at 2:00pm. We milled around, chatting with others who were arriving by taxi loads. After a couple of hours word came that boarding would be at 5:00pm. We had a very nice lunch at the Mills House, very delicious she-crab soup and a Monte Cristo sandwich. After another couple of hours we were finally told that we would not be sailing and X would put us up at the Marriott for the night. We were in the first shuttle to go over there and got checked in in no time. After such a large lunch we ate crackers for supper. That was wise because the dining room was packed and some who were trying to get in there did not eat for hours, some not at all. The bar was packed, too. The next morning we had a nice breakfast, courtesy of X, and finally were put on a bus to the port at noon. The bus went right to the port but we waited 1 1/2 hours to finally get into the terminal. We were whisked away in a wheel chair (DH has sciatic problems and has trouble standing) and checked in post haste. When we walked on board, the first person to greet us was Juliana (CC hostess). She took us right up to our cabin where we fell onto the bed with sighs of relief. To our surprise she told us we had the most X cruises of those on board (32).

 

CruiseCritic Activities:

Thanks to our CC friends we had several fun activities. We missed sail-away but the CC party brought us together for a lot of pleasant conversations and more putting faces to names. The CabinCrawl---where we saw several different styles of cabins from the Penthouse suite (very sumptuous) to the “petite suite” (our inside) was fun. I drew two aces in the Poker Draw but that was just a teaser against the full house that won! The two Slot Pulls were really fun and netted each of us about $5.

 

Ports of Call:

We missed Key West, which was a shame for those who were looking forward to visiting there. We stayed on board at Costa Maya and Cozumel but we did go ashore in Belize. We had a nice tour that went to Altun Ha, extensive Mayan ruins north of the city. Our tour guide and driver were both of Mayan descent. The tour guide, who was a double for Randy on American Idol, was very informative. These are the ruins where the Jade Head was found, in the 80’s I believe. It happened that the head was on display in the museum in the city but we were so tired after trooping over the ruins that we did not go to see it. They show it only once every 25 years! Our guide was excited that he was going to see it for the first time after he finished our tour.

 

Captain’s Club Hostess:

I have to say a bit about Juliana. She is such a sweet girl and she works so hard! Besides helping Laura (Future Cruise Consultant) because of the influx of questions about booking with the 25% discount they gave us, she parried complaints from ticked off guests about this and that. It seems, even on perfect cruises, there are always some who find something to complain about. Juliana has the perfect personality for this job. She always had a smile on her face, no matter what. This was the third time we had sailed with her and she is always the same.

 

Elite Lounge:

We enjoyed breakfast and happy hour every day in the Elite Lounge. We seemed to gravitate to the same people there each AM and PM. It was pleasant to sit and chat about many varieties of things, catching up on what we did during the day. The service was exemplary, as expected. Breakfast had coffee, tea, specialty morning beverages and coffees, juice, fruit and pastries. Almond croissants every day---yum! Mischa, head chef, and Uttam, Food and Beverage manager, were there most mornings. Juliana was there each AM and most PMs. Happy hour had a selection of drinks but, after the first day, no peanuts or snacks.

 

Activities:

There were assorted trivia games, sporty things, lectures, etc. All well run and fun/interesting. We did not go to Bingo but there were several sessions. We went to a few trivia things and won once! The CC team took most of the prizes!

 

Food:

We had no major complaints about the food. We ate lunch in the Palm Springs Café every day. With one exception we never had to wait more than a few minutes for anything (pasta bar first day). Most times there were only one or two ahead of us, whatever we chose to eat. The stir-fry was wonderful every time we tried it. Pasta and hamburgers were as good as always. The X French fries are really good! DH had pastries for dessert but I usually went for ice cream. X makes their own and it is always very good. Dinner was good, also. There were many selections of course. And you could order onion soup, crème brulee, cheese cake, chicken and steak every night if the day’s selections did not tempt you. The food was tasty. (I had tough beef one night but our server had told me when I ordered it that it was tough. I ordered it anyway and got what he said. He tried to get me to ask for something else but I just ate round the edges.) I mentioned to Uttam that I missed one item from the old menu and was served it the last night (goat cheese potato gratin, very yummy).

 

Dinner Companions:

This was a bit of a problem. We never had the same table more than two nights in a row. We started with three couples and ended with three couples but there were a lot of changes and empty seats in between. But they were all pleasant. We were absent ourselves two nights. We were invited to eat with the Captain the first formal night. This was a problem because we do not like to eat that late, but we did not want to miss the opportunity to dine with him. The second formal night we ate with the Staff Captain, and this was early seating. The other three couples at the table, both times, were very congenial, as is the case almost 100% of the time. The only time that was unpleasant was on the Century when a high muckety-muck guy from RCL ate there. He showed up in bedroom slippers! That should have been a warning to us.

 

Guest Relations:

I always stop by early on and say hello to these folks. They usually only see people who have questions and/or complaints. Romelito was the one I always spoke to. He was always, without fail, smiling and seemingly grateful for a kind word.

 

Bleach Cruise:

This was what some of us call a “bleach cruise”. It was obvious that they were sanitizing everything they could reach all the time. But I did not hear the usual complaining about it. I think everyone realized that they were trying to keep ahead of the Noro. Obviously they did not since many people were ill. But people are so crazy! I saw one-man actually stick his finger into the broccoli bowl at the stir fry station. I saw one woman lift the plastic barrier they had in place to get herself a roll. Stuff like that is why Noro is spread. We stayed well, due to observing sensible sanitary procedures. (I will admit I wiped the cabin down with bleach wipes when we first got there.) But some people just don’t get it. At breakfast, at the Marriott, a lady at our table said, “Well, if I get sick, I won’t tell anyone because I don’t want to be quarantined”. After I picked up my jaw I told her that her Cabin Steward would report her.

 

Disembarkation:

We went to the Elite Departure Lounge (the Cinema) a little earlier than our assigned time. There were a lot of people there waiting for their number to be called. There were no coffee/pastries as there usually are. This was disappointing because we did not eat before going. I went over to Cova and got a coffee. When I got back there was no one there but DH and Juliana. (DH then wanted coffee and sweet Juliana insisted on going to get him one.) More folks dwindled in and we were called shortly. Went out, got on the shuttle, and sat for an hour, waiting for the shuttles ahead of us to get luggage unloaded. The Port of Charleston needs to do a little thinking about making things run more smoothly. We finally got off the shuttle, hiked to the cab spot and were soon on our way to the hotel where we left our car.

 

Overall Cruise Experience:

It was not the smoothest cruise we have taken but overall, I would give it a 9. We do not look for problems and therefore usually do not have any complaints. The Port could have been better organized; there could have been better communication pre-cruise; I could have won the jackpot at Bingo; oh well. We depend on X to give us a good product and they tried to do that on this sailing. Some say the Noro came on board with the South Carolinians. Some say it was the green monkeys. Whatever it was, we feel X did not ask for it and did the best they could under the circumstances.

[Texed]

Ships,

Thanks for posting. :)

[Andy]

Hi Ships !

 

Thanks for your excellent review, and Welcome Home !

[cruisecluestoo]

I can say I was on the same cruise and sure saw things a lot different . This was our 28th cruise and never went through the mess we had . Maybe because you are Elite and we are just select you were treated a lot better . Sitting at the captains table tells me something . I guess I will have to write my review when I am feeling better . We took two days to drive back home because we were all just to sick to drive . I will say we did have a good time and the food was some of the best we have had . Service couldn't have been better . But we sure didn't have the wounderful first day you did . and we were there early too .

 

Diane cruiseclues

[Ships R Great]

I can say I was on the same cruise and sure saw things a lot different . This was our 28th cruise and never went through the mess we had . Maybe because you are Elite and we are just select you were treated a lot better . Sitting at the captains table tells me something . I guess I will have to write my review when I am feeling better . We took two days to drive back home because we were all just to sick to drive . I will say we did have a good time and the food was some of the best we have had . Service couldn't have been better . But we sure didn't have the wounderful first day you did . and we were there early too .

 

Diane cruiseclues

 

Diane, I am sorry the Noro hit you. We were very lucky to miss it. I hope you are all feeling better by now and will soon be back to normal.

 

I sure did not mean to imply our first day was "wonderful". It was hectic and uncomfortable at times but, I guess I tend to give everyone, including X, the benefit of the doubt. Lack of communication was the worst part of it. Were you at the Mills House?

 

I don't think being Elite meant better treatment. There are perks to that level that all Elite enjoy. I hoipe you reach that level soon. Otherwise you had good service and good food, just as we did.

 

We were at the Captain's table, 1st formal night, because we had the most X cruises. The 2nd night, I don't know why.

 

I look forward to your review.

 

Patty

[Ships R Great]

I just realized I did not mention our Cabin Stewards and Dining room staff.

 

Emmanuel and Eddie took very good care of us in the cabin. I asked for, and received, a soft pillow. Emmanuel gave me extra candy when he learned we had grandchildren. He and Eddie were very visible each and every day and evening, always with a smile and a hello and a rush to open the door before we reached it. I was sort of turned off by them taking the water pitcher away the last day but I am sure they were instructed to do so by senior staff as others had the same complaint.

 

Mario (is this your Mario, Gail?) and Allwadin were great in the dining room. They had to deal with a different combination of guests, in different chairs, each night but they always had a smile. They were anxious to correct any problems. Our service was prompt (maybe because we were seated near the kitchen) and always correct.

 

Sorry for omitting these hard-working crew from our initial review.

[Essiesmom]

My TA was on that cruise with a group, and when I stopped in to see her today, I was told she is home with noro! I just hope whe wasn't sick the whole cruise...EM