Current Mercury Alaska cruisers.....

[bububr]

Okay.....

 

I've never done this trip, and I leave in a week. We have a group going and SO MANY are calling me and asking questions that I cannot answer.

So I ask of my fellow CC's, to be patient with me as I post questions for the next few days.

 

The first questions are what are the dress codes of the evenings. Specifically what days are FORMAL, INFORMAL, and CASUAL.....I usually pack for 2, 2, and 3 in the above order...but Once again this is the biggist issue whith members of my group right now.

 

Second....JUNEAU...we get in late....3:00pm (org. 1:00 pm), some have booked tours with the ship....do the tour companies wait because of the delay, or will these be cancelled. I actually have a float plane booked for Juneau, and when I did it it gave me the options of 1:00, 2:00. ad 3:00, of course we don't arrive til 3 so I booked that one....but what about the earlier ones? as well as the canoe and mendenhall glacier that is scheduled for 1:30pm?

 

Third, Whats on the menu for Juneau. Although we are there til 11:00pm and I LOVE fresh seafood.......what were the menu choices for that night? and was it INFORMAL, or CASUAL?

 

Thats all for now....sorry about being a little vague...still getting calls asking about something or another.

 

Thanks in advance for your help!!!

 

Luv u guys!

 

Dave:eek:

[sharpie13]

Okay.....

 

I've never done this trip, and I leave in a week. We have a group going and SO MANY are calling me and asking questions that I cannot answer.

So I ask of my fellow CC's, to be patient with me as I post questions for the next few days.

 

The first questions are what are the dress codes of the evenings. Specifically what days are FORMAL, INFORMAL, and CASUAL.....I usually pack for 2, 2, and 3 in the above order...but Once again this is the biggest issue whith members of my group right now.

 

Dave we (group of 16, three generations including 6 teens) we on the June 30 Mercury cruise. Celebrity continues to put together a great package on the Mercury.

 

Friday - Casual

Saturday- formal

Sunday (Juneau) - Casual (good luck making it to the dining room this evening if you have the early seating)

Monday-Informal

Tuesday-Informal

Wednesday- Formal

Thurdsay-Casual

 

 

 

Second....JUNEAU...we get in late....3:00pm (org. 1:00 pm), some have booked tours with the ship....do the tour companies wait because of the delay, or will these be cancelled. I actually have a float plane booked for Juneau, and when I did it it gave me the options of 1:00, 2:00. ad 3:00, of course we don't arrive til 3 so I booked that one....but what about the earlier ones? as well as the canoe and mendenhall glacier that is scheduled for 1:30pm?

 

The tour companies and more-so Celebrity have accounted for the itinerary change. Have the members of your party check with the shore excursions desk to confirm their new start time. They will have time during th sea day prior to Juneau.

 

Having been to Juneau before we did not book excursions here. Instead we bought ticket for the Mt. Roberts Tramway at tram station right next to the pier(this is a good idea since if often can be cloudy on top and if you purchased you tram ticket on the ship there are no refunds). Afterwords we walked the shops and settled into the Red Dog Saloon for a couple beers and the entertainment of Phineas Poon (great show!)

 

Third, Whats on the menu for Juneau. Although we are there til 11:00pm and I LOVE fresh seafood.......what were the menu choices for that night? and was it INFORMAL, or CASUAL?Dave:eek:

 

The night is Casual. I can't recall the menu selections except everything was excellent! Fresh Alaskan seafood entrées are available each night in the dining room as are beef, poultry, and vegetarian. Also check out the Sushi bar on deck 11 each night from 6:00 PM to 10:00 PM and the free homemade ice cream every afternoon from noon till 4:00. Did I mention the pizza? Best I've had afloat!

 

Lastly, I was the group coordinator for our cruise and I know it can drive you crazy. My only advice is to encourage the members of your group to do what they want and not to depend on you to plan everything. There will be plenty of time at dinner to dicuss the day's happenings.

 

Enjoy the cruise and say hi to Robin for us :)

[SheilaNC]

Okay.....

 

The first questions are what are the dress codes of the evenings. Specifically what days are FORMAL, INFORMAL, and CASUAL.....I usually pack for 2, 2, and 3 in the above order...but Once again this is the biggist issue whith members of my group right now. Dave, I know this is a biggie with you. I don't remember which days were which except for the first and last being casual. Seems like 2, 2, and 3 are correct. Except that many fewer peopl got all gussied up on Formal nights. Hint - don't get formal pix taken by stairway. Go up one deck to the less crowded place there - the photographer did a great job with pictures.

 

Second....JUNEAU...we get in late....3:00pm (org. 1:00 pm), some have booked tours with the ship....do the tour companies wait because of the delay, or will these be cancelled. I actually have a float plane booked for Juneau, and when I did it it gave me the options of 1:00, 2:00. ad 3:00, of course we don't arrive til 3 so I booked that one....but what about the earlier ones? as well as the canoe and mendenhall glacier that is scheduled for 1:30pm? Contact your tour companies - or X if booked with them - we booked the Whale Watching trip with Captain Larry (fantastic) and he rebooked us on a later tour without a problem. You will dock right in downtown Juneau so access to tour buses is a piece of cake. They changed this time in July so the tour companies are well aware of the time change. Good luck

 

Third, Whats on the menu for Juneau. Although we are there til 11:00pm and I LOVE fresh seafood.......what were the menu choices for that night? and was it INFORMAL, or CASUAL? sorry, don't remember. The food was very good the whole cruise - more like the 'old' X and we had dinner on board all nights. But in Juneau we ate at the Pizza/Pasta bar so that we didn't have to rush to dress and miss Juneau or our tour. Sorry not to be more specific re: your questions.

See below if you want to email me with more questions....

 

Hope your cruise is as great as ours was. :)

[Lois R]

Hi Dave, I hope all of you have a wonderful time:)

I went on Mercury back in May. I posted a review and it

is now on the Member's Review Page if you want to read it.

 

The scenery is absolutely breathtaking.

 

We were late into our ports and some of the excursions

were delayed while others were cancelled. You will have

to check each day prior to your arrivals.

 

As for the dress for each night, sorry I cannot recall

which was which. I did have a wonderful table and

excellent waiter and asst.

If Zafer is still on the ship please tell him hello from

me. (He was our Asst Maitr'd):)

 

Thanks, Lois

[SheilaNC]

Dave,

Agree with Lois, Zafer is wonderful. Tell him hello from me as well...he gave me his email address so we could request our table for the Down Under cruises. Also our waiter Osman and his Asst Tony were great as well. If you can request them, do it!

[sharpie13]

We had an excellent wait staff too

 

Asst M'd Timothy

Waiter Ralph

Asst Waiter Ermundo

[bububr]

I'm sure I will have a few more questions that need to be answered........

 

"Lastly, I was the group coordinator for our cruise and I know it can drive you crazy"

 

Actually Sharpie, I'm having a nervous breakdown. For all the times I've cruised, all the trips I've taken, I'm actually losing it.

 

With 14 of us going.....everyone is depending on me which is a nice gesture I suppose.....

 

The real problem is my sister, who is NOT coming nor is she contributing to the cost of my parents for their anniversary. She was a TA prior to getting married, and has been to Alaska twice. Once with Home lines the other with RCCL. She keeps filling my mothers head with stuff, then my mother calls everybody else, then the phones start ringing here off the hook. After I posted yesterday, I actually got into a big fight with my mother..... My sister told her that she shouldn't have to get a cab from the Seattle Airport to the Hotel we are staying at. Unfortunately it is a small hotel and there is no shuttle, I told my parents this from the beginning. Well, apparently my sister KNOWS for a fact that there is, so my mom started arranging with others to wait and meet at the shuttle....

 

So I once again, called the hotel, NO shuttle.....and waited for five minutes, the phones began to ring.......

 

Fed up I simply called my mother and asked her what the hell she thought she was doing, brought up some old dirt about my sister, ventured into family problems, and told my mother if my sister wants to do something constructive she could write me a check to pay for half of their cruise, or simply shut up. Its called sibling rivalry....

 

So I spent the rest of the night with a couple of martinis feeling bad about yelling at my mother and making her upset. Which BTW I will most likely hear about today once it hits the grape vine.

 

Anyone got any extra prosac around????

 

Sorry about the rant, thanks for the answers they were VERY helpful.

 

Now I sit and wait for the phone to ring........:o

 

Dave:eek:

[ParrotTops]

What time did you arrive back in Seattle the day of disembarkation? We would love to take a tour of Seattle but it leaves at 9:00 am from the hotels and I wonder if we can make it in time? I know what time the ship is scheduled to dock but what time does it actually dock and what is the earlliest you can get off the ship and catch a cab? Thanks!

[SheilaNC]

We were off of the ship about 8:45 but some disembarked earlier. Depends on how you completed the form indicating when you needed to disembark (based primarily on flight schedules). Suggest you contact the tour company (they usually include cruise passengers on their tours) to see about pick-up at cruise terminal and whether you could make the 9 AM tour. We did notice some tour buses at the dock. Good luck!

[Lois R]

I'm sure I will have a few more questions that need to be answered........

 

"Lastly, I was the group coordinator for our cruise and I know it can drive you crazy"

 

Actually Sharpie, I'm having a nervous breakdown. For all the times I've cruised, all the trips I've taken, I'm actually losing it.

 

With 14 of us going.....everyone is depending on me which is a nice gesture I suppose.....

 

The real problem is my sister, who is NOT coming nor is she contributing to the cost of my parents for their anniversary. She was a TA prior to getting married, and has been to Alaska twice. Once with Home lines the other with RCCL. She keeps filling my mothers head with stuff, then my mother calls everybody else, then the phones start ringing here off the hook. After I posted yesterday, I actually got into a big fight with my mother..... My sister told her that she shouldn't have to get a cab from the Seattle Airport to the Hotel we are staying at. Unfortunately it is a small hotel and there is no shuttle, I told my parents this from the beginning. Well, apparently my sister KNOWS for a fact that there is, so my mom started arranging with others to wait and meet at the shuttle....

 

So I once again, called the hotel, NO shuttle.....and waited for five minutes, the phones began to ring.......

 

Fed up I simply called my mother and asked her what the hell she thought she was doing, brought up some old dirt about my sister, ventured into family problems, and told my mother if my sister wants to do something constructive she could write me a check to pay for half of their cruise, or simply shut up. Its called sibling rivalry....

 

So I spent the rest of the night with a couple of martinis feeling bad about yelling at my mother and making her upset. Which BTW I will most likely hear about today once it hits the grape vine.

 

Anyone got any extra prosac around????

 

Sorry about the rant, thanks for the answers they were VERY helpful.

 

Now I sit and wait for the phone to ring........:o

 

Dave:eek:

 

Dave, I am truely sorry for the stress your family is putting you

through:( it doesn't sound very fun at all.

I don't know if this is usual for you and your sister or not...

I guess I am blessed..both of my sisters and I get along very

well. They both live out of the country but we have always

gotten along well.

Seems to me (hope I am not out of line here) but if your

sister is not sailing nor helping with anything else, well maybe

she should stay out of everything.

 

Hope things work out for you:)

[Lois R]

What time did you arrive back in Seattle the day of disembarkation? We would love to take a tour of Seattle but it leaves at 9:00 am from the hotels and I wonder if we can make it in time? I know what time the ship is scheduled to dock but what time does it actually dock and what is the earlliest you can get off the ship and catch a cab? Thanks!

 

Hi, we were late getting back to Seattle. It didn't affect me at all

because I was taking the red eye back home to Florida (flight didn't

leave till 11:30pm). I didn't get off the ship till after 10...closer

to 11 if memory serves. I walked over to Pikes Market and had a

wonderful lunch:)

My cruise was back in May so maybe some much more recent

cruisers can give you a better update.

[JuneauWhatIMean]

Hi Dave! Sorry you have to put up with all this c*ap Sweetie, but that's what you get for volunteering. :p I'm having a tough enough time with our party of 4! But let me know if there is anything I can help you with. ;)

 

We're going with Shuttle Express to/from the airport. For $70 each way + tip you can rent a private 10-seat van. I don't know how scattered your flights are, but this might be worth looking into. :confused:

 

See you soon!

 

Ali

{~*~Doing the Happy Dance 'cause I'm cruising with Dave next week!!~*~}

[bububr]

Thanks guys for all the positive reinforcement.

 

Sorry to be such a pill....I'm just having a nervous breakdown...thats all.

 

Its nice to know I've got friends here.

 

Ali...can't wait to meet in person.......

 

Dave:eek:

[mctrekkie]

Dave, things WILL get better!

 

Got to love a know-it-all who knows nothing at all!