Mercury/ Summit opinions and questions

[Sue L]

Hey All,

 

This is the first post for me on the Celebrity site. I am trying to find out about the Mercury either the Mexican Riveria itinerary or the panama canal which depending the date is either Mercury or Summit. Have either of these shipes been refurbished since there original sailing and if so when? Also are they as nice as I hear? We would like a more sophisticated/elegant cruise than our previous ones ( 4 princess and 3 carnival). Will we achieve this on Celebrity? We love to cruise and actually just got home on Sunday. But if sitting around the pool on at sea days means being subjected to the "Hairy Chest Contest" one more time, I think I would rather stay home.( Please don"t tell me they have these on Celebrity) One of the things that does concern me is that everyone says it is an older crowd. Define older,please. My husband is 51 and I am 47. Any info would be appreciated.

 

 

Sue

[RickandAnne]

Hi, Sue,

It sounds like Celebrity is probably a good fit for the kind of cruising you desire. They always seem to have something going on in the ship, but it's more like wine tasting, or the Enrichment Series (we caught the Savor the Caribbean series where chefs of renown would give a cooking seminar on our last cruise). Summit has Cirque du Soleil on board. And Summit has one of the absolute best alternative dining restaurants on the sea (the others being on her sister ships, Millennium, Infinity and Constellation). They make dining an event with incredible food and service.

 

Summit is only about 4 years old and Mercury twice that. But they are both beautiful ships and, unless you are very picky, the age of the ship will not be a factor in your cruise enjoyment. The atmosphere is unobtrusive and we have landed there after Princess and Carnival. Ages range from families with kids to elder statesmen. I'd guess the median age is in the 40's or 50's. Sounds like your demographic.

 

And sounds like you'll enjoy Celebrity.

 

Rick

[ocngypz]

Warning: Celebrity does have a King of Celebrity thing they do at the main pool area complete with Tarzan bellowing and cannonball dives. You just have to pray no one wants to participate and that the activities staff doesn't push it.

 

I prefer the size and layout of Mercury better than I do Summit. I also prefer her decor as well. Mercury also has a real thalassotherapy pool in the spa, the one on Summit just can't compare.

 

Any transcanal sailing will skew older, just because retirees generally have more time on their hands than younger working stiffs. I am a workig stiff..yet I have enjoyed all my transcanal sailings... regardless of age.

[deb18]

Hi. DH and I are also comparing those two cruises. DH and I will be 55 and 50 (Yicks!) by the time we cruise. I have sailed Zenith (x2), Horizon and Century. Century, I understand, is similar to the Mercury. We had a wonderful time on the Century and still keep in touch with pax. we met on the cruise in 04. This is the way we have so far compared them:

 

Mercury: less expensive, smaller, an extra day and port.

Summit: bigger, more alternatives for dinning, the Normandie (which I have been told is wonderful) and the time of year. On the Summit we will have Thanksgiving and Vet. day holiday and for working stiffs, that is a bonus. We are leaning towards the Summit. I would like to experience a large ship. I am aware that there will be many retirees on each of these cruises, which was the same on our 11 day Horizon cruise, but we found many many interesting wonderful, fun loving people on that cruise, some our age, some older ( and a few younger!). Hope my comparison helps you and maybe we will meet onboard on day. good luck. deb

[Marylebone37]

I just returned from the Summit 2/12-2/26 LA-Ft Lauderdale through the Panamal Canal. I've been on 10 cruises and 6 lines (incl Celeb's Galaxy and Infinity, as well as Princess, HAL, Carnaval, Windstar etc.). The Summit was the BEST cruise overall. The food has improved since last year's Infinity cruise and was excellent, the entertainment blew me away - really, it was EXCEPTIONAL (and I'm not really that big of a "show person"). Celebrity is obviously investing big time in this area. The cruise director, John Howell, was incredible. And the overall service was close to perfection for such a big ship. Since I would compare the Mercury to the Galaxy more or less, there is no question in my mind that you should go with the Summit. If you have any more detailed questions, please feel free to ask here or email directly.

[chessbriar]

These are my favorite two X ships. You can't go wrong with either.