On Mercury to Alaska now

[Michelle1234]

Hi All,

 

I really appreciated those before me who posted cruise updates so thought I would return the favor. The Mercury is in good shape, no reports of virus, all the services are working. We are in San Francisco today on our way to our first Alaskan port in 2 days. We started in Ensenada Mexico. I will try to post tour reviews when we get back. For as old as the ship is I think she is in good shape. This is our first time on Celebrity and the food is excellent.

 

Cheers!

Michelle

[Dale&Joan]

Enjoy your trip. We just got off in San Diego. I agree the food is great. The entertainment is very good also I think.

[Lois R]

Hi, thanks so much for the update:) I sail her when you

get back:D

The cruisers who just returned raved about their time:) hope

yours is just as great!!!

[Texed]

Thanks Michelle.:)

[buzzandjulie]

wE WILL BE SAILING TO aLASKA jULY 28TH CAN'T WAIT FOR YOUR REVIEW

[KroozFoolz]

Seems not everyone was having a good time.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=345413

[stinsowm]

Hi Michelle,

 

If you see a Scottish couple on board named Bo and Jan please tell them that Walter says "hello". They were on my sailing and are on yours--lucky couple doing 2 sailings on the wonderful Mercury. Enjoy!!

 

Walter

[Netcouple]

Michelle,

 

If you meet Dragan and Dimce say hello from us! We were Table 600 on the April 28 cruise. They were wonderful!

 

E

[Lois R]

Seems not everyone was having a good time.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=345413

 

Hi, I just read Brian's post...sorry he is having such an awful

time:( :eek:.

It doesn't sound like it was even the same ship as the folks

who just disembarked.

I know there are positives and negatives to every cruise

and hoping it gets better for him...then again all my

Celebrity sailings have been wonderful so I don't know

what it would be like to have such a terrible time.

[lisiamc]

Hi, I just read Brian's post...sorry he is having such an awful

time:( :eek:.

It doesn't sound like it was even the same ship as the folks

who just disembarked.

I know there are positives and negatives to every cruise

and hoping it gets better for him...then again all my

Celebrity sailings have been wonderful so I don't know

what it would be like to have such a terrible time.

 

It's amazing how two people on the same ship at the same time can have entirely different cruises! From reading the comments, you'd never think they were on the same cruise line, let alone the same ship! Different people = different expectations, I guess.

 

Lisa

[Lois R]

Lisa, I re-read his whole review a 2nd time....I think

he got off the ship in SF:eek: ...unless I am totally misunderstanding

it.

Sometimes I know my elevator might not go all the way to

the top:rolleyes: but does it say he is now back home?

[lisiamc]

Hi Lois,

 

You're right, he did get off the ship after two days. I guess he really didn't enjoy his cruise!:(

 

Lisa

[kdonner775]

hahhaha I bet the whole crew was in a fantastic mood after Brian left.. I am sure that rubs off on everyone else.. should be a good time for all now!! I would certainly celebrate... who needs that much negative in their lives??

I am cruising on the Mercury June 9th with 5 other friends.. have cruised it before and it was fantastic... so we cant wait!!

Ken

[Texed]

I am cruising on the Mercury June 9th with 5 other friends.. have cruised it before and it was fantastic... so we cant wait!!

Ken

 

Nice post Ken.:)

[Longboysfan]

Hi, I just read Brian's post...sorry he is having such an awful

time:( :eek:.

It doesn't sound like it was even the same ship as the folks

who just disembarked.

I know there are positives and negatives to every cruise

and hoping it gets better for him...then again all my

Celebrity sailings have been wonderful so I don't know

what it would be like to have such a terrible time.

 

Ditto. As all of mine have been.

[Cruise Arizona]

Sounds wonderful, Glad to hear you are having a great time. I'll be on the Merc in Nov 06 and June 07.

[Michelle1234]

Wow, I just read/skimmed the other review. Quite an unhappy passenger. But I am happy to report we are still very happy with the cruise. We are first time Celebrity cruisers so are making our way. We use room service alot. It is alot easier than the buffet which he is right does not handle the crowds well. But we have a balcony and I enjoy sitting out there watching the coast line and the whale's blow. There is a naturalist on-board and a histor speaker. I like them both. Most like the naturalist better and he is very theatrical but I like the history guy better. However I wouldn't miss either of their talks. We only went to dinner in the dinning room once. It is too late for me to eat so we order the same meal from room service. I have to laugh because not once has our room service order come in right for breakfast, lunch or dinner but we eat what we get and it is generally very good. If we really wanted a particular thing we order it again and they usually bring two of it. We don't care for the dancers but have enjoyed the musicians. But some others like the dancers. We do like the movies being played several times a day. Makes it easier to fit one in. I have read 4 books. This works great for me since I like to read. I agree there is next to no activities on-board. I think this cruise is great for self sufficient people who want to relax. We have mostly sailed on Princess and like them quite a bit also. So far I'm not that thrilled with the paid shore excursions. I will right a full review of my impressions when we get back and I am not paying for the internet access by the minute. I have far prefered the cheaper things we have done on our own. I also like booking things at the dock and that option does seem available (I wish I had left more room for that). The one shore excursion I really wanted to do was cancelled by the ship for lack of participation so that threw a loop in my other plans since I had tried to do different types of excursions and the handy replacement was completely sold out.

 

Michelle

[Lois R]

Hi Michelle, thanks for the update:)

 

A cruise for a self-sufficient cruiser? Sounds like that is

right up my alley:D

 

2 more sleeps and I am outa here:D

[trcori]

I think that's the best description yet of a Celebrity cruise, "for a self-sufficient cruiser who likes to relax." Absolutely fits my entire family, even the 10-year-old. We really enjoyed our Alaska cruise on Mercury last August, and when Mercury starts showing up in "our" bay this Friday and every Friday, it's going to be hard to resist trying to find a way to get on board again before the season ends :) --- TR

[Fblack]

Micdenver:

 

If you get this in time.... say hi to Stephanie in the perfume shop for me.

 

Tell her her friends from San Diego said hi.

[Michelle1234]

The title of the main post is wrong now since we are no longer on Mercury. I thought about putting my review on the main Alaska board but I'll get flamed for sure. So I'll put it here and get flamed by a smaller audience. :-)

 

We had a great cruise. Not our best but not the worst by far. Very enjoyable. The Mercury was in fine shape for an older boat. The fabric on the loveseat in our CC cabin was blue but had ground in black dirt on the arm. There was mildew on the shower curtain at the bottom and the top of the tiles. Not very bad but just a little. The room was tiny and the door to the balcony was the only glass area so the outdoor view was limited. But all of this we knew going in from previous reviews. We thought the public rooms were in fine shape. Not brand new but not bad either. Now, on to Alaska...

 

We had great weather for the entire cruise. Could not have asked for better in any port or while cruising the Hubbard glacier and the inside passage. I was almost always too warm on my shore excursions as I would take clothes in case it was cooler away from the boat. My most useful piece of clothing was a "Windstopper" fleece jacket from North Face. It had an upper pocket for my cruise card, a package of tissues and sun glasses. The two side pockets easily contained a hat and gloves. All three zipped closed so I lost nothing. It was light weight but since it did not allow wind through it worked well in all conditions. We had only 3 suitcases worth of stuff with us but brought a forth that contained hiking boots and a winter coat. I only used the winter coat at the Hubbard glacier but it was worth having since I was very comfortable outside during the entire time. I only used the hiking boots on the Chilcoot (sp?) trail shore excursion but they were worth having also. Now, on to shore excursions....

 

Prior to leaving I read alot on the boards about the shore excursions trying to make up my mind as to what would be good to do. A number of places extolled the value of paying the big bucks and doing the more exotic excursions. I wish I hadn't. The expensive excursions did not add that much to our trip.

 

In Ketchican we did the Misty Fjord's boat cruise for $130. This was available through Alaskan Cruises but not the cruise ship. The ship had their fly and boat option for considerably more money. I did not pre book the boat cruise as it was 6 hrs which I suspected would be too long for me and it was. The tour operator is a first class operation. They gave us excellent pastries and muffins on the way out. Clam chowder and crackers at the turn around and hot tea, cocoa and juice throughout. The bathrooms were clean, the announcer was good (just a little hard to hear but when we asked him to turn the vol up he did). You could ride up top or seated comfortably in the viewing area. We alternated as it could get cold up top. We saw a bald eagle's nest, a couple of eagles and some harbor seals. Also the tail flips and blows from a couple of whales. The wildlife is sparse and they say right up front it is not a wildlife viewing cruise. The disappointment for us is that the ride back is exactly the same as the ride up with the same commentary. This made it fairly dull for the last 3 hours. For those who flew one way and boated the other it was probably better. The scenery was good but not worth the time and money for me. However those who flew raved about that part of it. I think this is an excellent shore excursion for someone who was looking for a no-activity option. One of the bathrooms was wheelchair accessible. I think I would have been happier doing the in-town walking tour. There were brochures that outlined it at the visitor center and dock. We did go to the Southeast Alaska Discovery Center which was ok (the movie wasn’t very good). However I would have liked to go to the Hatchery and Eagle Center as well as the Totem Heritage Center. After our Misty Fjord cruise we ran out of time. We did a little shopping. Generally the things I was interested in were cheaper at later ports. One item I bought then found cheaper by $6 later. Another I didn’t buy but then did when I found it $20 less in Skagway. I also got a pair of beaded moccasins from Native Faces for $150. For some reason the other pairs were $200 or more. I could not see the difference and was lucky that they had a design in my size that I liked that was the cheapest one. They are home tanned and smell like a camp fire. I very much enjoyed having them in the cabin. At other ports I found ones made of commercially tanned hides which don’t have the smoky odor. I also got a glasses case home tanned and beaded in Juneau and was only $55 so you can get the camp smell for less. The best value on moccasins was at the Inside Passage Arts in Skagway. They are at the very end of the main street. Beyond where you think there are stores. The moccasins were not home tanned leather but had excellent beadwork. They had a good selection of sized priced in the $100-$150 range made of commercial hides. They also had some nice native estate items.

 

In Juneau we did the 1 hr Glacier Walkabout with NorthStar Trekking. It was $295 per person booked directly with them. You could book on the ship for a little more. They were a fine outfit. Very well run. However this is one of those expensive excursions I wish we had not done. The walkabout was dull. We never got more than 100 yards from the helicopter. Sort of walked in a pie shaped slice. Away from the helicopter (very short), along a small distance (maybe ¼ of a circle?) and back. The lady giving our tour was enthusiastic. We did not see any crevices. We did not see any ice forms. We walked on the ice and looked at the rocks. It was sort of interesting but not at all worth $600 for the two of us. The flight was nice but short and I recommend booking with an outfit that has helicopters where everyone gets a window seat. If we had window seats then the flight would have been fabulous. When we got back we took the bus to the Mendenhall Glacier. Do not believe the bus that has $5 printed on it. They charge you $6 each way and have an old school bus. Go on the same priced tour buses. I think their name was Frontier. They also ran buses later which was better for us. They will try to sell you tickets both ways when you get on. We bought from one company there and another back so only bought them one way at the time. This allowed us to go with the bus that was available when we were ready to leave. This was because the bus out that we took was only going to have an hour for us to spend at the center and the other company ran their last bus an hour later, leaving us 2 hours of touring time. We loved Mendenhall glacier! We hiked several of their trails. The waterfall near the glacier is spectacular. Far better than any we had seen at Misty Fjords. You could walk right out to the base of it and get hit by the spray. We ran out of time and could not do the Mt Roberts Tram. This is a stop where I wish we had done the bus to Mendenhall and the Mt Roberts Tram and skipped the pricey glacier walk.

 

In Skagway I had booked the Alaska Glacier Point Safari (or some similar name). It was the one I had read the best reviews of so was really looking forward to it. My first two tours had cost us $278 + $590 = $868 and were pretty much a bust so I wasn’t feeling too good about how I had spent my money. I had enjoyed much more the things we had done on our own as part of the general tourist scheme. Then the safari was cancelled due to lack of participation. I was bummed. In a fit of pique we booked the chilcoot trail shore excursion through the ship. Then I panicked. It said it had a 700 ft elevation gain. I was in trouble since I am not in shape. But I did have my wool socks and hiking boots. So I took the ship stairs the day before and hoped for the best. Luckily it turned out to have a 220 foot actual elevation gain. Maybe a little more with the ups and downs. I was glad to have my hiking boots. We did have 3 people who went on it with tennis shoes but I do not advise it. The trail is rocky and there are steep ups and downs. It is also narrow in places. I did get sore muscles but loved this excursion. Our guide was a mountain person. He was friendly and answered all our questions. There were only 5 people in our group. We took frequent breaks where he talked about the trail and the plants. We also had a nice row down the river. However if you get much more than 5 people you will not be able to hear the guide. For this reason I seldom book through the ship as the tours are often too crowded to hear anything. However we lucked out with a small group. They served a cookie at the end with some water, tea or hot chocolate. This was my only complaint about the trip. They hurried you through this part so you barely were able to eat your cookie before being hustled onto the van (after helping lift the boat up). I would have preferred to pause for 5 min. to soak up the out doors while sipping my water and not have to wolf down a cookie and get hustled to the bus with my water still in-hand. The driver offered to drop you off in town or at the ship. We picked town for the shopping. I recommend going to the far end, Inside Passage Arts and working your way back. The visitor center also offered walking tours which we did not take. I heard from others that they enjoyed the train. The weather was great that day so the scenery was excellent. Do bring mosquito repellent. They were buzzing around while we were on the trail but I did not get bit. My husband got one bite. They are huge mosquitoes.

 

Our next stop was Prince Rupert where the majority of shore excursions were cancelled due to the ship ahead of us leaving late. Apparently one person did not change the time on their watch. It was silly to hold the whole ship for that. They could have pulled away and let us pull up. When the late comer came they could have had him boated out. It was a bummer since we lost an hour in a short port. The upside was the town had organized entertainment in the park. We had a whole hour of native dancing by a local native group. It was excellent!!! There were 3 or 4 generations of dancers and you could see the animals in the stories of the dancing. We had booked 2 shore excursions for this port that were cancelled due to lack of participation and then at the last minute had the 3rd cancelled due to the docking delay. Moral of the story, if you book ship shore excursions have a back-up plan. Lots were getting cancelled a couple of days before the port when they closed the bookings.

 

I did a few spa appointments. I booked the ladies special for $99. It is offered late in the cruise and has an exfoliation, massage, scented oil and facial component. It is 1 hr 15 min. I substituted reflexology for the facial. The therapists were a little rough but I am a massage wimp. I then bid on the spa raffle where you can bid ½ the price for any treatment and they draw names to see who gets it. When I put my bid in the box there was only one other paper in there so I was pretty confident I would get my seaweed treatment for $130 and did. I think they pulled the papers out periodically to fill up their schedule. I had this treatment before at a spa and it was heavenly. This one was just OK but I find masseuses to be hit and miss. The two I had on board were less knowledgeable then some others I’ve had but being just average is OK. I am usually surprised and delighted when I find excellent which isn’t too often.

 

We docked in Seattle for our disembarkation. The captain was arrested for drunken ship driving. I only heard one announcement by him that I remember. He told us to look port side at the natural trees. Everyone broke up laughing. He came on the loudspeakers like he was going to say something important. When we were in the inside passage and the water was very calm we seemed to be dipping from side to side quite a bit. I have no idea if it had to do with his drinking but it was very strange at the time and I remarked to my husband if we were going to have a sudden 30 degree list like I had read about on other ships perhaps we should get off an open deck.

 

In summary, the food was excellent, I read 8 books and had a lovely time.

[bonbon663]

Fanatastic review....very informative!! I will be going to Alasaka in July, and it's refreshing to find a review that's balanced, and not so much negativity.

 

Thanks again.:)

[luvthis]

Bob & I also just got off the Mercury repositioning cruise. I don't know what ship Brian was on when he posted his 2-day review of the 11 day cruise, but it wasn't the same ship we were on. I'm glad he decided to get off in San Francisco. If he started out with such a negative view of things, he would have continued to complain no matter what wonderful things stared him in the face during the course of the cruise.

 

I hope he has a happier time the next time he cruises and has to pay for it. It saddens me when I hear someone so unhappy.

 

I enjoyed Mercury very much.

 

--Jean & Bob

[cruzcfi]

Are there blankets for the outside lounge chaises on Mercury? We arew going in Sept. I'm glad evrything is still good on this ship.

[luvthis]

There were stacks of blankets by where the towels are on the pool deck. Many people hid at the back of the ship, where the wind was blocked and actually got sun and warmth. They got a blanket from the pool deck and just carried it to the back of the ship with them. A fellow at our table actually went home red & peeling. The weather was awesome!

 

--Jean & Bob