Mercury Review

[cruiseguy2]

This is the placeholder for a review of my first cruise ever in my life which starts today. I am so excited. I will be writing an extensive review onboard at night which consists of everything-food, service, room quality, and everything overall.

 

And, I also want to say thank you to everyone who has helped me here on the boards, and I can't wait to meet some of you during our Celebrity Connections party.

 

I'll post my review up here on the 3rd of July. Wish me luck getting an upgrade to a better room (whether I pay or don't pay for it).

 

-Chris

[windermere]

Have a wonderful cruise!! We look forward to your review.

[seapad]

Good luck with your upgrade too. Please le tus know how this goes, also the food....mmmm

I'm going in October for a 5 days one.

Can't wait to hear your input.

Thanks.

[cruiseguy2]

Well, now I am sitting at the airport just touching up the review a bit. The food was great. Every night it was too much, way too much. Our waiters, Catalin and Roldan were very nice and so was our stateroom attendant, Brazinho. Every night I tried to write that day's review. I am finishing up todays, but I guess I will post the first couple of nights. This review was written while I was on the ship and was written the day as said, so it is kind of like a journal.

Friday, June 24th, 2005

Ahhh, the ship is so wonderful!!! I am sitting right now, as I am writing this, in a private little area, where no one is at except me and this other couple. My family is taking a nap (!!!!!!) in the stateroom, which I don’t know why. Yesterday, June 23rd, 2005, we arrived at the Wyndham Summerfield Suites. We had a little trouble regarding getting the wrong room and internet charges. Oh well. The shuttle took us from the hotel right here to Pier 66. Right now, it is 1:40pm Pacific time. A couple more hours till we set sail. I love the ship so far. Before I drone on and on about that, I want to talk about embarkation and everything. We arrived at the pier at 9:30am, which I guess is pretty early. We then had early baggage check at 10am. Then, we secretly found the check-in place without any signs or the help of people. They started checking people in around 10:40am. We then waited just a couple minutes and we were on the ship just a little before 11am. Greeted by champagne and orange juice, we boarded the ship. It was very nice and elegant. It didn’t look hat old actually as some people said on the boards. We then had the welcome aboard buffet, which was very good. The cabin was small for 5 people, but doable for sleeping. I then headed for cocktail and am now writing this. Tomorrow, we have an At-Sea Day, so I should have fun with that. My kids are amazed at the space on-ship and they love the sports area, too. Well, I am going to get another drink and I will write another update tomorrow. By the time you are reading this, I will be done with the cruise, but it will be nice to have a review written while on the cruise.

 

-Chris

 

Saturday, June 25th, 2005

The ship set sail at about 4:20pm, and then we got a call from Guest Services. Before, when we boarded, we asked for an upgrade. They said they’ll give us a call if something is available. So, for $900 we got an extra Inside Stateroom, which isn’t too bad. The kids are staying in there, while we are using the Oceanview Stateroom. We then met our Stateroom Attendant, Brazinho. He is very nice and attentive to your needs. My new favorite place to hang out is the Navigator Lounge, and I love the daily drink specials, and my kids like the nonalcoholic drink specials, too. My kids are making use of their soda cards, they drank over 20 glasses yesterday each. I played shuffleboard with my wife at midnight last night. Haha, we are really bad but we’re still going to play in the tournament today. We kept hitting it into the side, one almost went into the water. We always fought on who was going to get the “puck”, if that’s what its called, from the side because looking over the edge of the boat was terrifying. Dinner was very good, but we didn’t have any tablemates!!! I was actually looking forward to having some, who knows maybe they’ll show up tonight. The schedule for the dinner attire is:

Friday: Casual

Saturday: Formal

Sunday: Casual

Monday: Informal

Tuesday: Informal

Wednesday: Formal

Thursday: Casual

I will update again soon.

 

Sunday, June 26th, 2005

 

We just now arrived in Juneau a couple minutes ago. I am going to wait just a few minutes to disembark into port, so I decided to write this review now. Yesterday, I left off at about 10:00am. Man, my kids love those soda-card thingys. they are hooked! My wife and I had breakfast in-room today. The eggs were very good, but we didn’t care for the breakfast ham. Also, the Rice Krispies Cereal tasted a little stale actually. Yesterday, we played in the shuffleboard tournament and won! Go us! Haha, we still stink though. We then had lunch, which as also good. We then had a before dinner drink at the Navigator Club and then went to our first cruise formal dinner. Everyone looked very nice, about 45% of the men were in tuxedos and 52% in dark suits. 1% had a suit, but it wasn’t dark and 2% were just wearing a shirt and tie or just a jacket over a shirt and khakis. I am probably now going to get off the ship, I have the Tramway excursion to get to.

 

I will post the other ones up as soon as finish them up a bit, and I will post them on here as I leave. Also, I'll be delighted to answer any questions you have about the crew, ship, or anything else that you are curious about Mercury.

 

-Chris

[JulieMac]

Looking forward to hearing more about your experience! My friend's parents were on your same cruise and just disembarked so I will interested to hear both versions. We have booked the Mercury for 7/7/06, and I'm already excited!

 

JulieMac

[Andy]

Hi Chris !

 

Thanks for the GREAT comments so far. I look forward to reading more. Mercury is one of our favorite Celebrity ships. We live on the East Coast, and do not get a chance to sail on her anymore <sigh>.

 

For those of you on the West Coast (or can travel), Mercury is one of the best ships in the Celebrity fleet.

[cruiseguy2]

We chose Mercury for our first cruise because we wanted the best, and from reviews I read and Expedia's rating, we went with Mercury. I am going to post two more reviews up here as I am still stuck at the airport. The only bad thing about the cruise is that I MISSED THE CELEBRITY CONNECTIONS PARTY!!!! :( :( :(

 

Monday, June 27th, 2005

Today we arrived in Skagway right on schedule. The town looked small, and from what I read it is small. The train ride was informative and fun. We liked the tunnels, the old bridge, and all of the other things we saw including the 220-ton boulder that fell on those two workers. We then got back on the ship, had a few drinks, then went to dinner. I was astonished when these kids (they looked 12-15 years old) wore basketball jerseys and T-shirts to dinner on INFORMAL night. We think they should enforce the dress code more often. Our waiters are very funny and entertaining. They spend most of their time by us since we do not have tablemates. Catalin is very nice and proper. Roldan always jokes around about coffee, sushi, and taking a helicopter ride, you wouldn’t understand. Haha, Roldan has us play a game each night at the dinner table since we have no tablemates to talk to. They always keep us entertained.

 

Tuesday, June 28th, 2005

Wow, the Hubbard Glacier was beautiful. We got lots of pictures. We didn’t stay there as long as we were supposed to, so I am glad I woke up early. I absolutely LOVE the hot chocolate that they have in the Cova Café. Is that homemade or is it from the Nestle packets that are upstairs? I think it’s the Nestle packets but with milk instead of water. In case you want the menu to Cova Café, I wrote down the first page. What I call the “main drinks”.

 

 

 

Espresso $2.50

Decaffeinato $2.50

Decaffeinated Espresso

Espresso con panna $2.50

Espresso with whipped cream

Cappuccino $2.50

Cappuccino decaffeinato $2.50

Decaffeinated cappuccino

Latte macchiato $2.50

Hot milk with coffee

Cioccolata $2.50

Hot chocolate

Melange $3.75

Hot chocolate with whipped cream

Cappaccino ghiacciato $3.75

Iced cappuccino (available in decaf)

Cioccolate ghiacciata $3.75

Iced Cioccolata

 

There are many more drinks available from Cova including wine and liquor.

 

 

The comedian, Jeff Nease, was very funny and entertaining. He was just like a mainstream comedian, such as Jerry Seinfeld (my favorite) or George Lopez. That was actually my first time in the Celebrity Theatre, which I though was very nice. Dinner was informal again today. The food was also very good, all the deserts looked very good, so I got three of them. The Flambe was very delicious, as well as the sherbet and cheesecake. Those kids, as I said yesterday were in similar attire, except one of them had just a scruffy T-Shirt and jeans on. That same kid also had a baseball cap on the entire evening. We were following the dress code just as other people were, a sportcoat over a shirt and maybe a tie. Oh well, I think they should of asked them politely to leave or change.

 

 

There's Monday and Tuesday for you. Well, I am pretty bored right now, I've been sitting here at Tully's at Sea-Tac airport waiting for my 11:59PM flight. I booked the flight when I though the process would take very long and that we would buy the Seattle tour and transfer, which we didn't though. So, I am sitting here, thinking I should just go upstairs to the Admirals club with my corporate membership, but I guess I shouldn't, because my company keeps tabs on it and is only for business purposes. Ohhhhhhh welllllllll!!! I am currently in the process of editing all 204+ pictures I took, so I hope you enjoy them when they're on the web.

 

Any questions????

 

-Chris

[cruiseguy2]

Whoops, I forgot to italize the descriptions of the menu items. If it doesn't have a price next to it, that means it is the description of the item above. If it does have a price next to it, it is the name of the item.

 

Enjoy!!!

 

-Chris

[patrioticgirl]

Hi Chris,

I am enjoying reading your review info since I sail on the Mercury in less than a week. This will be my first sailing on a Celebrity C-class ship, so I am excited to see how it compares to the H and M classes. Keep the review info coming!

 

Do you remember who the captain's club hostess and the captain are? I am curious if I will know them from prior sailings.

 

How was your oceanview cabin? I would have liked to have booked a balcony, but I settled for one of the bow oceanview cabins. Did you happen to get a peek at one of these cabins on the front of the ship?

 

I am packing this week; last week I was on the Horizon in Bemuda and I am switching the suitcase items from warm to cooler clothing.... how cold was it actually? Was it cold enough for gloves and a coat at the glacier? I have three sweatshirts and some sweaters pulled out, but I am having some difficulty even thinking about pulling out a cold weather coat since it's been 94 degrees with high humidity the last few days here in Virginia! :D Was it ever warm enough to wear shorts? Any suggestions regarding what I need to pack will be greatly appreciated!:) This is my first Alaska sailing and I have little clue what to expect. I have read on the boards that layering is the key.... but I have been told by people here who have sailed in July that they nearly froze to death ..... and then told by others that a light weight windbreaker type jacket will be sufficient. What did you find most useful on your journey?

[cruiseguy2]

I don't know who the Captain's Club Hostess was or the Captain. But, I will check the captains name when I get home. My luggage is in Chicago right now, but not me!

 

I didn't not get a peek at any forward cabins on the Continental Deck (4), but I am sure they are similar to my cabin, 4088, and the kid's cabin 4100. It was small, but I don't think you'll be spending much time in there.

 

It was cold in the morning all of the days. I was really cold out there when we were at the glacier because all I was wearing was a Polo shirt. Haha, I should've thought better. On our first At-Sea day going from Seattle to Juneau, it was cold during the day outside. Expect 60-75 degree temperatures. I wore everything I packed. I recommend taking a windbreaker jacket, some long pants, maybe even like a North Face type coat. I wore shorts when I went to the gym. My oldest son, wore shorts almost all the time in ports and was fine. I always wore slacks or khakis. Bring a couple of sweaters/sweatshirts and you should be fine. It was raining/drizzling in Ketchikan, and the second at-sea day, but the other days it was cloudy and/or sunny.

 

I have to say I was a little disappointed when there was so much (whatever you call it) "not following attire" people. I felt like we were overdressed.

 

If you have any other questions, I will be happy to answer them.

 

"still waiting at the airport for 15 hours now!"

 

-Chris

[cruiseguy2]

And, I have to say that I will be planning a cruise in the very near future, and will be taking many more on Celebrity.

 

-chris

[johnmag]

Chris,

 

How was disembarkation?

 

We have a 11:56 a.m. flight home in August.

 

Thanks,

 

Sheila

[LV2COOK]

Ditto, my flight after the July 22 trip is at 11:25 am and I am getting a little nervous about not making it. :eek:

[Luckyroot]

Looking forward to hearing more about your experience! My friend's parents were on your same cruise and just disembarked so I will interested to hear both versions. We have booked the Mercury for 7/7/06, and I'm already excited!

 

JulieMac

 

Hi Julie!

 

We're looking at possibly booking the 7/6/06 sailing (or possibly the 7/28/06 sailing, undecided as yet). Do you have a roll call going?

[joeyanddavid]

That was one of the most refreshing reviews, I have had the pleasure of reading in quite awhile .. Thank you.

 

Always

[DeltaOne]

Ditto, my flight after the July 22 trip is at 11:25 am and I am getting a little nervous about not making it. :eek:

If everything goes right you'll make the 11:25 flight. If the ship is delayed, there's a glitch with Customs...you won't.

 

Many say don't book a flight before noon, to be on the safe side. I like flights that leave at 1 or 2 pm even better. Worrying about making a flight is not the way I want to end my cruise vacation.

[JulieMac]

Luckyroot,

 

I didn't think anybody posted roll calls so early! But apparently I was wrong, since I saw many roll calls for 2006 sailings. I added one for the 7/7/06, if you care to join us!

 

JulieMac

[thmpsn]

Looking forward to Prince Rupert. I hope you went to the Grizzly Bear Sanctuary.

Jim

[CindyinSeattle]

Hey Patriotic Girl! We were on board the Horizon with you in April! How did you like Bermuda! We took the Horizon (again!!! - our 4th since last November - yeah, we're addicts!) to Bermuda on 6/12-18, 2005 and we are in love with Bermuda - it is absolutely gorgeous!!

 

We were on the Mercury this past December into the Panama canal. The only complaint we had was excessive vibration in the back of the boat, other than that everything was excellent. We were in Alaska last year (different cruise line) and had a balcony cabin. I lived in Juneau for 5 years, so just for the record I wouldn't pack many shorts if I were you. Bring clothing items you can layer. It just doesn't get that warm in southeastern Alaska (a week or two in May and June is it for over 70 degree temperatures!) I have family that have lived in Juneau since 1962, and I've never hear them complain about it being terribly cold, either! It's usually in the low 60's to high 50's most of the time in the summer months (the best time to go to Alaska is in late April, May or early June. By August it might as well be October, as the highs rarely get above 58!

 

We didn't get to see enough of the Bermuda islands, so we've booked another cruise there on the Zenith 7/9/05 (see, I told you we are hooked! - love Celebrity!!!!). As we will be docking in St. George also this time, we actually might get to see some of it!

[Xoe]

thmpsn -- aka Jim -- please tell us about the Grizzly Bear Sanctuary -- we'll be in Prince Rupert on a 5-day in October. We've never been to that port before, so are all ears! Thanks. Any other ideas will be appreciated as well.

[patrioticgirl]

Hi Cindy! You were leaving the ship in Norfolk when I was getting on it to go to Bermuda for the June 18th sailing! We did make it to St. George, but I do believe if we had been an hour later in arriving at the cut we may have been diverted straight to Hamilton! I will agree with you that Bermuda is absolutely beautiful! even after two trips there, I am ready to go again. Take a look a the pics I posted of our trip in the link below.

I would like to do Bemuda again next summer, but I will hold off booking it again because I am thinking about trying to do the Med. cruise on the Galaxy. Will have to see how things go, though. I have talked some co-workers and friends into trying a cruise and will be on the Zenith for a short 5 day trip in December..... I think that will have to be it for this year. And for spring break in 2006, I am still up in the air about what to do. I have promised my neices a graduation trip, but think they may prefer RCCL or even a Carnival ship..... as much as I love Celebrity, I am not sure there would be enough to do to keep them busy. Just waiting on baby sister for final approval that the girls can go with me before I book something.

Thank you for the packing tip.... I have been gathering stuff tonight and putting clothing on the bed in my spare bedroom. I don't know how I am going to manage getting all of the heavier things in a suitcase and across the country! LOL! I think I am going to put it off until Monday and clean house tonight instead!:D I did just find a copy of MIchener's Alaska on my bookshelf in the basement that I hope to read before I depart..... so that may just take my mind off of packing for awhile tonight! Good to hear from you and keep in touch!

Gina

[cruiseguy2]

Ditto, my flight after the July 22 trip is at 11:25 am and I am getting a little nervous about not making it. :eek:

 

I got right to the airport via a pre-arranged limosuine service at 9:30am. I am sure you guys will make the flight.

 

-Chris

[cruiseguy2]

Yes!!!

I am done with the review....so here goes:

 

Wednesday, June 29th, 2005

We anchored into Ketchikan this morning at about 8:50am. It was very hard waiting for a tender boat. I didn’t want to go into Ketchikan because we didn’t book any excursions. My wife and the kids just went shopping and I went back to the ship. I have to agree that the crossants and danishes are very good in the morning as well as they are in the afternoon, which I am enjoying one right now. I can’t believe there is only ONE MORE DAY after today. As my first cruise, I really enjoyed it. We all did. I think we’ll start taking cruises more often and may even someday come back to Mercury for it’s California Coastal sailing. All the staff have been helpful so far, it is very hard to name them all. I will update today’s dinner and the Le Grand Buffet.

 

Wednesday, June 29th, 2005

Today’s dinner was great. The Baked Alaska Parade was wonderful as well. Everything we ate was so delicious that we can’t name all the things we ate. The Le Grand Buffet was beautiful. We both took tons of pictures. We went through the line for taking pictures three whole times! We ate a lot at dinner, so we were stuffed and couldn’t eat anything at the buffet. I can’t believe there is only one more day.

 

Thursday, June 30th, 2005

I can’t believe that it is the last day. It felt like it flew by just like that (snaps fingers). There are so many people that I have met and talked to this cruise. All the employees were very nice. If you get the waiters Catalin and Roldan, say hello for me. If you are staying on the 4th floor on the starboard side aft, you might just get Brazinho, our stateroom attendant. There were also so many other employees that were helpful throughout the cruise. I hope that I see them on my next cruise also, which I hope to take very soon.

 

Friday, July 1st, 2005

Ohhhhh, I can't believe it's the last day! The cruise just flew by. It was so fun though. I was in the red group number four. We disembarked at about 8:40am and arrived at the Seattle-Tacoma Airport at 9:30am via a limo.

 

 

I hope you enjoyed the review and hope I answered any questions you had. I will also be checking in every now for any other questions for me.

 

-Chris

[patrioticgirl]

Great job, Chris! I have really enjoyed reading your review! It sounds as if you are hooked.... you will be planning that next Celebrity cruise before you know it!:) Thanks again for an outstanding review of the Mercury!

[sunshine 229]

THanks for your review. I'm looking around for ideas of what I might want to do for my next cruise so a first hand description like yours helps give me an idea of how I might enjoy this cruise.:)