Just Back From Alaska on Mercury- FABULOUS!!!

[JuneauWhatIMean]

I love you King of The B.F. w/Speedo! (Think reeaal hard ;) )

 

I just booked 1203 for May 25, 2007! Sign up and let's start the CC party and see if they can screw it up again!

 

Ali

(Furiously shaking her pom poms)

[erms]

Well, I'm the OP on this thread and I was writing about my experiences, not yours ParrotTops.

 

A couple more notations.......

 

I found our bed to be perfectly fine. We were in 1209 and I had my gun loaded and ready to fire "Bring me two egg crate mattress toppers ASAP!" but the bed seemed fine so I waited until the first night was over. It was the best sleep I've had outside my own room, ever. There were four pillows, two of which were down, and the mattress was pleasantly firm. The gentle rocking of the ship is just the best thing imaginable. And our bedspread and sofa were spotless.

 

We never once touched the thermostat, keeping it at 60 degrees. This allows you to keep the balcony doors open without guilt. (Us 50 YO ladies don't mind 60 degrees while sleeping. ;) ) But you will get an amazing swirling dervish with howling sound effects and a vacuum at the front door that won't let you open it. Not easy to sleep with.:eek:

 

I measured the balcony for our Suite 1209. It is an astounding 13.3 x 15 feet! I just can't express to you how much larger this made the room seem. :D

 

I am really enjoying the review but I have to ask... did you really take a measuring tape with you? Should I pack one for my future cruise as well?

 

esther

[bububr]

I would love to book on that cruise as we really enjoyed meeting both you and Marty as well as the other CC members. We had such a GREAT time!

 

Unfortunately, We have already booked all of Johns vacation time for next year with trips in January (RCCL Mex. Cruise), February (Las Vegas), March ( 10 night Caribbean), June ( Rancho Cucamonga ) and September ( A surprise Anniversary trip????? Not sure where I'm headed, He won't tell).

 

I do hope your trip is as wonderful as this last one. And it looks like there is now more time at the ports with the Vancouver departures.

 

Still working on my review. I like to do the narrative and I've got 14 pages so I think I should whittle it down a bit.. Plus I'd like to add some photo links.( You can blame Chester H for that. Every since reading his book I've been inspired.:cool: ).

 

MAybe if you guys are around the latter part of June we could get together and you could tell us all about it? We'll talk.

 

Gotta go. I still haven't quite gotten everything off to the cleaners, or vaccuumed all the hidden hair up from the furry creatures that live with us.

 

Be well!

 

Dave:eek:

[bububr]

September is not a surprise anymore.....Its on Galaxy from Rome to the Greek isles and Turkey.....

 

Dave:eek:

[SheilaNC]

Dave,

way to go....have a blast on Galaxy in Med. AND on all of your other travels...and we thought that we had a busy 2007 planned!! Ours starts with 2 weeks in Hawaii in Feb (Oahu and Kauai) followed by Bermuda end of May, trip to Orlando - Sea World and Discovery Cove - with 2 grandsons in July and still unsure of Fall since we're blowing the budget in Feb/March 2008 Down Under. Life is grand :)

[bobhesse]

I just booked a three-peat of the Merc Mexico cruise, I am wondering if there has been any menu changes this year. We had the exact same menu 2 years in a row and I wonder if it will be the same again this year. You help will be appreciated. Thanks.

[C 2 C]

September is not a surprise anymore.....Its on Galaxy from Rome to the Greek isles and Turkey.....

 

Dave:eek:

 

September will still be a surprise. I would not be at all surprised for Turkey cancellations and a new hot war between Crusaders and Jihadists.... with the tourists in the middle.:(

[JuneauWhatIMean]

I can't answer your question Bob, but Dave should be able to.

 

Yes, Esther, I did bring a cloth measuring tape. I was curious about the size of the large balcony and just had to solve the riddle. :o I'm not sure what you would need one for but they don't take up much space. It's more important to pack a large travel mug, alarm clock, and extension cord.

 

OMG Dave! You're doing the Med??? I'm so JEALOUS!

 

As far as I know we will be around in June and would love to get togeher with you. :D

[bububr]

Pre-face

 

This was our first cruise to Alaska. We are Elite members of the Captains Club,

and although we have sailed other lines Celebrity is our line of choice.

 

This cruise was special for many reasons. We had been planning it for nearly a year.

It would be a 10 year anniversary of John and I, along with the anniversary of our

marriage last year in Nanaimo, BC while on the Mercury PNW cruise. In addition it

would be the 50th anniversary of Johns parents, my parents 44th as well as my fathers

65th birthday .so we had a lot of celebrating to do. Coming along with us would

be my parents best friends from childhood who we later found out were also celebrating

their anniversary. We had slyly kept the fact that five of Johns parents family

and friends were also to join us in this celebration; they were supposed to be a

surprise at dinner the first night. With the exception of John and I, for most this

was only their first or second cruise experience.

 

We all anticipated a great time as we flew in from Hartford, D.C, Norfolk, Long

Island, Florida, and Chicago. Our small sub group ( John and I , Johns parents,

my parents, and their friends) were to fly in the day before and spend the night.

 

With the new elevated security measures, we had decided to pack a separate checked

bag with our shaving and toiletry items. This worked out just fine. We left out

from Chicago/Midway on time without problems and arrived as scheduled in Seattle.

 

We had reservations at the Marqueen hotel. The hotel itself is a three story brick

building originally built for workers of Ford Motor Company as a residence in 1918.

The hotel retains much of its charm today, including the absence of an elevator.

The lobby is elegantly furnished , and the staff eager and knowledgeable. There

is a spa located within the building, as well as a coffee house that rivals Starbucks.

The blocks that surround the hotel are filled with a hodge podge of eateries from

all you can eat Indian, to English style pubs, to Mexican, sushi, Chinese, burgers,

fondue and of course fine dining establishments. A block away are convenient grocery,

drug, and liquor stores. A bit further is the Space Needle and Worlds Fair

location.

 

The standard rooms in the hotel are really not, they are more like suites. Each

has a separate sitting room/area, a large tiled bath, a separate kitchen, large

windows, 12' ceilings, hardwood floors and area rugs Its the equivalent

of staying in a small one bedroom apartment. The evening we were there they had

a wine reception in the lobby which was a really nice touch and we met some folks

who were also on our cruise. My folks and their friends opted for some sight seeing,

John and his parents opted to relax a little.

 

We decided to start at the Space Needle. It was a good 10 minute walk on a beautiful

night. On the way we happened across a gallery opening and stuck our heads in for

a look. There was much to see and the complimentary wine and cheese wasn't bad

either. We ended up purchasing some small pieces before continuing our trek to the

SN.

 

Tickets to the top ran $14.00 each ( $12.00 for seniors) and we made our way. I

had been previously a number of times, but am always awed by the view. After spending

about an hour on top, we made our way down to the gift shop, spent some money and

headed off to dinner. We had decided on ˜10 Mercer ˜ which is affiliated with

the hotel. We were not disappointed. Our food tasty, served hot and delivered timely.

Returning to the hotel we stopped at the grocery store and picked up some bottled

water, and Snicker bars and a bottle of wine.

 

Our first day of vacation was coming to an end. So far so good..

 

 

Like I said Just a taste. I've got some editing and refining to do before I post it in its entirety. Besides John hasn't posted the pics to our web site yet, and I'd like to have some photo links to go along with it.

 

Patience is a virtue!

 

Can you believe its been a week already since we got back:(

 

Dave:eek:

[Host Walt]

Consider this a warning to PLEASE keep comments directed at other persons OUT of your responses on the board.

 

Pay attention. She (and I) mean it.

 

Opinions are like noses. Everyone has one but none are ever alike.

 

Criticizing someone's opinion is like criticizing someone's nose. It's not appropriate at any time.

 

Expressing one's own opinion about a cruise experience is always fine and can always be 180 degrees at variance with someone else's.

 

A large number of posts directed at Cruise Critic members and not to the experience have been removed from this thread.

 

From our Guidelines:

 

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[JuneauWhatIMean]

Thank you for bringing my thread back on track, kind Sir Walt. :D

[mctrekkie]

Thanks for the impressions of Mercury! DH and I sail her next week, and you can bet I'll be scampering up the gangway to SS 1205 as fast as they let me!

 

Aren't those Sky Deck verandahs the BEST? Bigger is better! As a fellow "hot flasher", the tip about leaving the door open is appreciated!

[JuneauWhatIMean]

You're quite welcome, mctrekkie. And lucky you, living and boarding in Seattle eh? Smoooooth........;)

 

Another tip: If you only leave the balcony door open about a foot you will still get the breeze and sounds of the ocean without the howling dervish in your suite. Have a wonderful cruise! :p

 

So are you a Star Trek fan? DH and I attend Comic-Con every year in San Diego. We're not trekkies, but there's lots of other stuff we love. :o

[Host Anne]

Folks ~ I'm going to try one more time to reiterate what is and isn't acceptable for posting. Detailing why your cruise was a good experience or a bad experience IS acceptable. Both positive and negatives are welcome and Cruise Critic members do want to hear the good and the bad. What is NOT acceptable is to respond in a personal, negative, attacking manner to another poster when an experience or an opinion differs from yours. Is it OK to disagree? YES But it's NOT OK to start a personal attack in responses.

 

I had an less than stellar cruise on Zenith back in March. I reported it here on the Celebrity boards and in the REVIEWS section of Cruise Critic. There were certainly people who agreed and disagreed with me and that's fine as it was my experience and differed from others. That's part of Cruise Critic....we aren't always all going to agree. However, we do need to remember that when we respond, posting needs to remain friendly and on topic - not personal and attacking.

 

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Let's get back on topic keeping these things in mind!

 

Thanks!

[mctrekkie]

Juneau, DH and I both like Star Trek. No conventions or costumes, but we own every DVD out there!

 

Thanks for the tip about the door. Don't need a dervish in the room!

 

Anne, thanks for pointing out AGAIN that opinions are neither right nor wrong. Everyone has a right to their own opinion, and it's OK to agree to disagree!

[C 2 C]

, DH and I both like Star Trek. No conventions or costumes, but we own every DVD out there!

 

Have you ever cruised on USS Excelsior?

[cruiser2004]

Pay attention. She (and I) mean it.

 

Opinions are like noses. Everyone has one but none are ever alike.

 

Criticizing someone's opinion is like criticizing someone's nose. It's not appropriate at any time.

 

Expressing one's own opinion about a cruise experience is always fine and can always be 180 degrees at variance with someone else's.

 

A large number of posts directed at Cruise Critic members and not to the experience have been removed from this thread.

 

From our Guidelines:

 

Thanks to our Host Walt for taking action and cleaning up this thread. You are correct, there were a large number of posts, on this thread, that were in very poor taste.

Thanks again for all that you do, in trying to make this a place for posters to feel that they will not be attacked or intimidated for posting about any disappointing experience that they may have had.