Murcury's final sailing a less than pleasant trip

[2SeaWithMe]

I'm aware the spa is contracted by an outside company. But the majority of staffing on these ships are ALL done by outside companies.

 

Celebrity still has to train them to their standards. As far as my sailing (feb 6) My best friend and I were some of the youngest on the boat. I would go as far as to say there were possibly 5 other couples in their early thirties. Now don't get me wrong, I pick Celebrity for that reason. We aren't big drinkers, my husband and her husband are both much older than us. But Mercury was a surprising difference, a much, much older crowd.

 

I think possibly the staff was forthright with us about their assignments was because we were seen more as equals than superiors. There was no need to put on that service mask. Our waiters were doing little tricks and quizzes with us.

 

The gentleman we met who opened the Century and was returning to her was carrying a MASSIVE tray of appetizers and we were in the elevator with him, joking about following him. He was doing a private party somewhere (forgot if he said the suites or captains club). He was just more concerned because the Century was so much older than the other ships....I imagine it has a lot to do with your job. The equipment...when they do these refurbishments, I doubt they are doing anything to the crew quarters or internal equipment like stoves/dumbwaiters...

 

 

Did I enjoy my time with my best friend? Absolutely. There were some aspects that were great. But my experience was not what I've been told or should expect from ANY cruise line and just because some parts of my trip were good, doesn't mean it's wrong to talk about what was bad.

[Karynanne]

Was that intentional. Shellfish loaded with mercury on the Mercury:D

 

Does that constitute a theme cruise? "Mercury" on the Mercury! Sorry...that was just plain silly.

[bighairtexan]

Steiner hires, trains and pays their employees that work on the ship under Steiner contracts. Celebrity hires, pays and trains much all the rest of the staff, the officers and all the crew. Many of them have training from other cruise lines before coming to Celebrity, so they are trained to =X='s standards and practices.

 

The spa employee has a contract w/ Steiner. Crew and staff have their contracts w/ Celebrity. Spa staff can get off of a Celebrity ship one contract and be assigned to a Carnival ship the next.

 

The spa employees work much the same way an RN working for a registry works (or a secretary working for a temp agency). That nurse goes to the hospital and works as an agent of the registry, is paid by the registry and can be fired by the registry. The hospital can ask not to have him/her assigned there, but can't "fire" them and doesn't "hire" them.

Nurses who work through the registry, coming to the end of one assignment, often don't know where they'll be going next. That certainly is no fault of the hospital.

 

What I AM curious about is whether these final cruises are at a discounted rate. I've been on one on a Royal Carib ship and it definitely had its problems but i can't remember if it was less expensive than the cruises right before it. It sure should have been. This was before CC and that info was not readily available to a casual cruiser.

[sarahc78]

Stewart is going on the Millie.

 

The comment by sarahc is why I have NEVER before written anything about this. I made an exception because this was the last sailing. My mistake.

 

 

 

I wasnt trying to put you down for that. I think it is great you got to be a part of those things. You have sailed Celebrity several times and deserve those perks.

 

However you do have to admitt you did receive special perks and attention that the average cruiser did not. That is why I agreed that there can be 2 different opinions regarding the same cruise.

[Orator]

Seems to me that we have another first time poster who complains and then vanishes. OP, prove me wrong.

[bighairtexan]

Seems to me that we have another first time poster who complains and then vanishes. OP, prove me wrong.

 

I didn't even notice it was the 1 and only post!! And yet I (and others) still get sucked into it.

NOTE TO SELF: Don't get caught up w/ 1 post controversies! Seriously. :cool:

[LeftcoastBC]

Was on the last sailing of the Zenith with full knowledge of what happened when the Horizon bit the dust. I made everyone... TA and X aware that I did not expect a repeat of the Horizon fiasco.

I agree with Gail it didn't.

 

I was not on this cruise. But little things happen when a ship leaves.

 

As far as the crew goes we were on the Solstice when a former Zenith waiter arrived onboard in San Juan fresh off the Galaxy that left the fleet that day. He was not happy either going to a larger ship. Said it took too long to get to work :)

 

Sounded like a pretty normal issue with any employee and "Change"

[BonnieVA]

My waiter and assistant waiter on the Dec. 11-20th cruise both stated they were going to the new Celebrity SILHOUETTE as well as was my cabin steward, all very, very pleased with their new assignments. One other cabin steward 'down the hall' from my cabin was going to the Celebrity CONSTELLATION but didn't appear to enthusiastic about it.

 

Lots of crew's assignments were changed last minute. So these people might not be where they originally told you. I know 2 stewards who were supposed to return to Mercury after their vacations in Jan but wound up returning to 2 other ships back in Jan (one is on Equinox and he did NOT want to go there). The man who's now on Connie was told - at the beginning of Merc's LAST cruise - that he was going to Summit & then it was changed less than a week before & he's now on Connie ... but he WANTED to go to Century!

[TourDeCruise]

There are a lot of variables for why different cruisers will have a different experience on a ship including ones pertaining directly to the cruise experience itself and ones that have nothing to do with the actual cruise experience such as how we feel coming into the cruise, health during the cruise, personal duties and problems facing us when the cruise is over, etc.

 

This is another example of “different cruisers experiencing different cruises.” We were on this final sailing and found the crew providing the same high level of service as always. Our stateroom attendant and assistant and waiter and assistant were very attentive and among our best. In fact, we had been on Mercury five times from Baltimore in the past year and this was our favorite and most special cruise of the five due largely to the crew. If anything, service was even more prevalent than usual, probably because we know so many crew members who were eager to help and see us for a final time on the Mercury. Most crew members were upbeat, despite the upcoming change facing them, as some routine pressures were minimized, many were joyful to see some favorite past guests, many were going on vacation before their next assignments, and many voiced they were looking forward to their next assignments (yes, some were disappointed they were not going to their first preference). As a way of expressing their emotions about the impending loss of the Mercury, they did comment on how many years they had been on Mercury, how long they had known other crew, who were going on the next ship with them, etc. I absolutely commend them on retaining their high service standards and staying cheerful in spite of the quickly approaching loss of their “home” to TUI; going to different ships from their crew friends, some of whom they worked and socialized with for years; and having to take on additional responsibilities to close the ship.

 

Not to say there weren’t any shortages of food items such as relish, but we did not experience any food shortages except for the MDR substituting halibut with Chilean sea bass at our Cruise Critic lunch (most would agree that was not a big deal and some may have preferred Chilean sea bass anyway). In fact, they must have had a surplus of the chocolates as occasionally we had more than the usual two chocolates on our pillows in the evenings, appetizers were delivered to our cabin some late afternoons although we were not in a suite, and our waiter suggested another entrée to be split between the two of us when we could not make up our minds between one dinner entrée and another (we declined the extra entrees).

 

Our stateroom attendant informed us ahead of time she would be removing the magazine rack, beach towels, and contents of the mini bar. The magazine rack was removed two days before the end of the cruise. They removed the robes on the final night when we were out to dinner and for the night’s entertainment.

 

Like some others on the cruise, I also was a bit disappointed that we did not have a more elaborate farewell extravaganza, but we feel very fortunate to have sailed on the final sailing of the Mercury under the Celebrity flag.

 

Bon voyage, Mercury. May others enjoy you as we have.

 

Kathy

[2SeaWithMe]

I don't blame the op for not posting again. It wasn't the warmest welcome. ;)

 

I think also, I had no "personal attachment" to the Mercury. I wasn't experiencing warm memories that could possibly shade my personal experience. In my own personal experience, I was surprised at the general dinginess of our balcony, and there were little repairs made to the decking that wasn't the same material....but we've been renovating a historical house, so I will full agree I notice things like this that others could care less about.

 

Someone asked about pricing...prices had really dropped for my sailing for inside/outside cabins. I think they were more than 50% lower than the "brochure" fare. We originally booked an outside at a very cheap price (with taxes it was less than our upgraded pp fare in the cc) but I decided that I really wouldn't be happy on that deck so we moved to a c2, one of only two available balconies at the time. I think I paid near full price for that sailing, 1249 pp. They had a regular balcony on a lower deck for 1199. The price difference was worth it to me (at the time) for the extra club credit.

 

Maybe I would have expected less if I stayed in a cheaper cabin. :rolleyes:

 

I kicked myself when I saw the royal suite at 1499 and didn't book it though...

[cherylroslyn]

I wasnt trying to put you down for that. I think it is great you got to be a part of those things. You have sailed Celebrity several times and deserve those perks.

 

However you do have to admitt you did receive special perks and attention that the average cruiser did not. That is why I agreed that there can be 2 different opinions regarding the same cruise.

Sarah...I have seen you post on many threads and you are always warm and friendly and never offensive. I think someone misread your point. I feel like i got your point and that you were not trying to be rude to Tuggers.

 

I know I was once a VIP on a sailing and the way I was trated on that sailing could never be compared to a normal cruise. I was treated like royalty....I enjoyed it but then I went back to being a normal person on the rest of my cruises.....the first cruise after the VIP cruise was great...but it can't compare.....

[sarahc78]

I kicked myself when I saw the royal suite at 1499 and didn't book it though...

ARE YOU KIDDING ME?!?!?!?!??! Now I want to kick you!!!

 

Lol J/J

 

I cant believe that, what an amazing rate.

Sarah...I have seen you post on many threads and you are always warm and friendly and never offensive. I think someone misread your point. I feel like i got your point and that you were not trying to be rude to Tuggers.

 

I know I was once a VIP on a sailing and the way I was trated on that sailing could never be compared to a normal cruise. I was treated like royalty....I enjoyed it but then I went back to being a normal person on the rest of my cruises.....the first cruise after the VIP cruise was great...but it can't compare.....

Thanks :hugs:. You got out exactly what I was trying to say. I didnt mean to offend her at all, just tried to put things into someone elses perspective.

 

I think/hope my parents have the same experience as you did on your VIP cruise & Tuggers B2B Mercury trip. This will be their first Celebrity cruise but because of previous cruises w/ RCL they will be Elite. DH & I will be pearing through the glass while they are in Michaels Club having the Elite breakfast, evening reception, sailing through embarktion lines, etc... even though I will be a little jealous I will be so happy for them!!

 

Their last cruise w/ RCL a few weeks ago was so horrible they said even with the $250 future cruise credit they were given they will never sail with them again. My Dad told me they might have well not wasted their time because that $250 is worthless to us we wont sail them again.

[JEDIKNIGHT]

You have to tell your head-waiter on day 1 that you want the Lobster Package.

 

There's no extra charge, but they need a headcount so that for the rest of the cruise, they know how many 3 pound Maine Lobsters they need to steam for each seating.

 

I loved it the 1st few nights. But after 4 huge lobsters, I figured I needed a change.

 

 

 

 

 

 

;)

[florisdekort]

Stewart is going on the Millie.

 

The comment by sarahc is why I have NEVER before written anything about this. I made an exception because this was the last sailing. My mistake.

 

Absolutely not a mistake Tuggers. I enjoyed every word of your Live From report, and the more stories the better!!!! Thanks for keeping them coming.

[florisdekort]

I talked to the CD. He did not want to go to the Silhouette

 

Even if he indeed said that in a temporary lapse of judgement, which I doubt given that he's going to Millennium, it's a very dumb thing to post here given that X reads these boards. Even cruise directors have bosses and performance reviews. Not sure why you would do such a thing.

[TomCruises]

You have to tell your head-waiter on day 1 that you want the Lobster Package.

 

There's no extra charge, but they need a headcount so that for the rest of the cruise, they know how many 3 pound Maine Lobsters they need to steam for each seating.

 

I loved it the 1st few nights. But after 4 huge lobsters, I figured I needed a change.

 

 

 

 

 

 

;)

 

 

 

We get the lobster package on every Celebrity cruise.Its so wonderful!Yummy!

[derf5585]

Even if he indeed said that in a temporary lapse of judgement, which I doubt given that he's going to Millennium, it's a very dumb thing to post here given that X reads these boards. Even cruise directors have bosses and performance reviews. Not sure why you would do such a thing.

 

It was a lapse of judgement. I should not have posted that.

[LMKohler]

Never knew there was a "lobster package":) Do you just tell our waiter and that's it?

[TMaine]

One negative post and never to be seen nor heard from again...

[ChucktownSteve]

Never knew there was a "lobster package":) Do you just tell our waiter and that's it?

 

I thought you told your waiter you wanted the lobster package and he gave you a trap to throw off your sunset veranda right next to the skier. ;) If you catch something, they'll prepare it.

[2SeaWithMe]

It was a lapse of judgement. I should not have posted that.

 

I don't think it's a lapse of judgement to repeat that someone complained...unless it was told to you in confidence.

[ChucktownSteve]

It was a lapse of judgement. I should not have posted that.

 

Derf,

 

When you said the CD were you referring to Stewart or the Activities Director, Michael, Stewart's Mini-Me?

 

I could see Michael saying something like that since someone else posted that he supposedly said he didn't know if he wanted to take another contract. I observed that Michael had a wierd attitude the last few days on ship kinda like he was a robot saying what he had to. Plus he had one of the activities gals fired before the end of the cruise. She reportedly was restricted to crew areas only and not allowed in passenger areas.

[Orator]

I was on an S Class ship and a number of staff expressed a desire not to be reassigned to the new ship. In some cases a move would mean separation from a boyfriend or girlfriend. The X policy is that only married couples can transfer together. Several told me that being a member of an opening crew is just too much work. To go or not to go is a personal choice.

[rhuntington3]

We get the lobster package on every Celebrity cruise.Its so wonderful!Yummy!

 

Never knew there was a "lobster package":) Do you just tell our waiter and that's it?

 

Yeah, what is this Lobster Package anyway? I loves me some lobster!

[Lois R]

Lobster Package? I will be on Century in May. I will ask if they are

offering one. I have never heard of a "Lobster Package" either.

Please explain how this package works.