Mercury May 8-19

[WillK]

The adventure began at the San Diego airport where we boarded a bus for a several hour ride to the pier in Ensenada. While many complained, we enjoyed the ride and it afforded us the opportunity of meeting several charming couples who we continued to socialize with through the duration of the cruise.

I'm glad to report that we dispelled the old notion of, "once a suite cruiser, an ocean-view will never suffice." We had a basic ocean-view on Continental deck. Although snug at 170 sq. ft., the cabin was very well designed and easily accommodated our five suitcases of luggage.

We found the ship to be in very good condition. Of course there are going to be minor wear items on any ship that isn't new. However, these were insignificant and didn't detract in any way from our cruise experience.

I found the interior of the ship to be a very pleasing combination of classic Deco and contemporary design features. The Manhattan restaurant is nothing less than striking with a mesmerizing view of the aft wake.

The service we received was superb. Our waiter, Dayesh, was very attentive and consistently made excellent menu suggestions. Overall, the food was very good. Once I discovered the breakfast waffles, there was no turning back. These usually held me over until dinner so I often skipped lunch service. I did, however, repeatedly hear that the salmon and roast beef wraps served on the Palm Springs deck were delicious.

Celebrity provided a excellent naturalist and historical lecture series. Both of the lecturers were completely brilliant and very informative. The musical entertainment and comedy were both quite good.

The gym was very well equipped and never crowded. We especially enjoyed the T-Poll which is well worth the extra charge. Wonderfully relaxing and soothing.

We were blessed with 10 days of sunshine and moderate temperatures. On the last day of the cruise we were even laying out in the sun on the top deck! Alaska is quite spectacular. Nothing could have really prepared me for it. One dramatic view after another. At one point, a Bald Eagle landed less than eight feet from us. Although we didn't see any whales, we did see a mother bear with cubs and she clearly was annoyed that we were trespassing in her neighborhood.

We were very impressed with the Alaska Museum in Juneau. They had an excellent collection of Native arts.

We had lots of fun wasting money in the Casino and had the pleasure (or misfortune?) of learning how to play Craps. We met some wonderful passengers and crew members who we are looking forward to entertaining in the coming months. The only minor complaint that I had was that the mattress wasn't up to HAL standards. We requested a mattress topper which really did help quite a bit. While HAL is still my favorite, I was very impressed with Celebrity and would gladly sail on the Mercury again.