Just back from Mercury Seattle to Ensenada cruise

[digitaldan1]

Hi all,

 

disembarked in Ensenada Friday, spent the night in San Diego and got home yesterday. Now back at work (Internet access down at home) and finally have a chance for a quick note on how our cruise went.

 

Lisa and I had a wonderful time. We stayed in a Royal Suite and received incredible treatment from our butler (Lawrence) and room steward (Carlos) and fell in love with the Celebrity experience. Our suite was fantastic and Lawrence did everything in his power to make our experience terrific.

 

I'll post a more detailed review in a few days (still getting caught up at work. I shot 49 marching band performances yesterday in a 13-hour day and am now grading mid-terms at school).

 

Here are a few highlights:

 

Lawrence, Lawrence, Lawrence (from helping me dress for dinner -- and loaning me a pair of his suspenders -- to obtaining "things" that weren't supposed to be available, to serving us dinner, to fixing my coffee and more) he never said no to a request and did everything he could to make our trip memorable.

 

T-pool - loved it, looking for a spa in the Philly area that has one

 

Hot tubs -- never had to wait to use one

 

Food -- best we've had on a cruise

 

Silence -- very very few announcements

 

Suite -- huge and comfortable

 

More later. (Oh yeah, I already have the wife's okay to start planning another trip! Usually I have to wait about six months for that.)

 

Dan

[bobhesse]

Were the pools heated and confortable?

[digitaldan1]

We didn't use either of the swimming pools so I can't really say. The small indoor pool might have been heated, but I'm sure the larger outdoor pool wasn't.

 

The T-pool was definitely heated (but at a comfortable temperature).

 

Dan

[reklawr]

Dan, Thanks for the info.

I'm glad you had such a great time on Mercury.

 

We're really looking forward to our Mercury cruise.

[4 cruisers]

Dan, glad to hear Lawrence is still great! We had him on the Century a couple years back...he dressed our then 12 year old when he couldn't figure out his tux after telling me "he could do it himself!" LOL!

 

Which Royal were you in? We have 1045 booked for April. Did Lawrence tell you when he'll be on vacation? Hope we have him again!!!! How were the beds?

 

SO glad to hear the food was great! Very important to us!

[Desertbelle]

As if I wasn't already excited about our cruise on the Mercury next month, you have made it even more so. :)

 

I do love those T-pools too!

 

Did you have any spa treatments? I love those hot stone massages, and I am really looking forward to it. It's my one big indulgence on every cruise. :)

[ozland]

Thanks for the great report on the Mercury. Our voyage is still over a year away but I'm reading everything I can . . . and just love the positive reviews.

[USNDiver]

Good to see another positive review on my beloved Mercury, but I get the impression that there must be two Merc's on the sea;

 

The "GOOD" Mercury and the "EVIL" Mercury.

 

 

The Good Mercury is a fine ship, with a wonderful crew, great food and ambrosia-like martini's.

 

 

The Bad mercury has a worn carpet and a coffee stain on one of the chairs in the Cova.

 

:D

[2Canucks]

Hello there!!

 

Can anyone on this cruise tell us if they tried and succeeded in bringing liquor aboard the Mercury at any of the ports?

 

Also, was there anyone in cabin 9185 (balcony) during this cruise? I'd like any available info on this cabin if possible. We are booked into this cabin for the Jan 29/07 cruise to the Mexican Riviera.

 

Thanks in advance for any info, on the above. Pat :)

[becksterh]

We were also on this cruise and absolutely loved it. We were in a sky suite and our butler Ewin was wonderful.

 

From a very simple embarkation in Seattle to an orderly disembarkation in Ensenada - the trip was more than we had hoped for. Hubby was already asking about our next trip at dinner 2 nights before we were to get off the boat!

 

We were at guest relations at 11pm the first night to ask about booking the transfer from Ensenada to San Diego. (why yes of course we could! Why their customer service wouldn't let me do it before we sailed I don't know) Next to us was a very, very unhappy couple. They did not like the ship at all, it was too old, their fellow travellers were too old (this couple was older than us!) He had worked for another cruise line for years, and just wanted off the ship right now! - Crazy. I thought, good, more ship for us!

 

The comedian was very funny. We didn't attend any other shows, so I cannot comment on them.

 

The meals were fabulous. A few rough edges in the buffet, but it was a buffet, it was much better than I expected it to be. The waffle station seemed to be an undiscovered area, where there was never any line! We only had breakfast and dinner in our room once. Very romantic, but on port days we wanted a quick bite, and on sea days we didn't want to commit to a time to get up!

 

Our waiter and asst. waiter, Matthew and Sonnel, were wonderful. Fussing over us and very confused as to why we didn't want any lobster! Are we sure?

 

We enjoyed all of our ports, even the very, very wet day in Vancouver.

 

All this cruise did was whet our appetite for more cruises. I have never seen my Hubby so relaxed! That was more than worth any price!

[cruisie]

Hi All,

 

We had a wonderful time, two couples in Sky Suites 1202 and 1204. Ewin was our butler. He brought our morning breakfast almost every day in suite! We even had eggs benedict. The butlers will bring almost anything you want, just ask.

 

We definitely sailed the "Good Mercury" our fourth on her so far. She is showing some very slight wear and tear now, but nothing to detract from your cruise. The beds are very comfortable, linens are bright white and crisp. Our stateroom was polished and clean. Towels and robes very plush. The public rooms are beautifully maintained. Probably the best thing about the Mercury is the crew. We always have such positive experiences. We had alot of fun talking with Nimsey and Alecsander, in the Cova. Our dinner waiter was Andrea (a woman) and assistant waiter was Rosario. Table 535 for four, deck five.

 

The T-pool is fabulous, water is warm, not hot, very soothing - followed by a nice nap in one of the lounge chairs. The entertainment was wonderful, lots to chose from every night. The comedian was especially hilarious. Fred was his name.

 

I'm home now, a self-service port, no butler, no waiter, no lobster night.

 

Cruisie

[Lois R]

Good to see another positive review on my beloved Mercury, but I get the impression that there must be two Merc's on the sea;

 

The "GOOD" Mercury and the "EVIL" Mercury.

 

 

The Good Mercury is a fine ship, with a wonderful crew, great food and ambrosia-like martini's.

 

 

The Bad mercury has a worn carpet and a coffee stain on one of the chairs in the Cova.

 

:D

 

Hi Dave, I was on the "GOOD ship too:D

 

DigitalDan and Becksterh, I am glad ya'll enjoyed your

cruise.

Originally I booked this one and was going to go with

you but ended up on Mercury to Alaska back in May.

Maybe one day our paths will cross.

 

Again, glad you had such a good week:)

[digitaldan1]

We were in 1037. Unfortunately I can't say when Lawrence will be on vacation.

 

I did try a foot and ankle massage and found it to be very relaxing. (I found myself regretting not getting a full body massage.) I booked the morning of the last day at sea and had no trouble getting an appointment, which I found surprising, but for this kind of itinerary, maybe not. (I've found on Alaskan and Canada New England cruises that spa services are also not as heavily in demand.)

 

Regarding the "Good" Mercury versus the "Evil" Mercury, I've found that many of the ships I've sailed on have had "Evil" twins. (The Norwegian Sea and the Delta Queen were perhaps the most pronounced examples.) I guess a lot of it depends on your outlook on things. I could have found ways to ruin my vacation if I wanted to, but instead prefer not to let little things bother me. A few scrapes on the back of the chairs or a slightly worn appearance to the furniture doesn't ruin my cruise.

 

Oh yeah, someone asked about the bed in the royal suite. First off, it was a real king (not two twins placed side by side) which was wonderful. I found the mattress a touch firmer than I prefer, but Lisa thought it was perfect. I toyed with the idea of asking for an egg crate foam mattress topper, but decided not to since she was happy with it.

 

We didn't try to bring booze on board (we're not big drinkers). Between us I think we ordered four drinks the whole cruise.

 

We had breakfast in the suite about half the time, lunch two or three times (kudos to Celebrity for some nice room service choices) and dinner twice served by Lawrence.

 

If I had to indicate dissappointment with any part of the whole experience, then I would say disembarkation was a downer (woke us up way early, kicked us out of the suite early and made us wait in a lounge too long). Of course, my feelings are probably colored by the fact that they cruise had come to an end too.

 

We stayed in the Seattle Westin on the way out and the LaJolla Hilton when in San Diego (both through priceline). Enjoyed both hotels, but the Hilton was a $45 cab ride from the airport and everything there was expensive. Still, it was a lovely hotel.

 

Dan

[bncschneider1]

Great to hear everyone had a great trip. We will be sailing Monday 10/30 We have Sky Suite 1208 and I hope Ewin is our Butler:D!!. It sounds like he did a great job!!!

 

Claudia

[poohtaz]

:) We have Sky Suite 1202 in january 07, now even more excited knowing the suite is in fact, in good condition, with a lovely butler currently assigned.

[bunnybear]

We were having a lovely time on the Mercury until late Monday evening when we received a call that my father-in-law had passed away. We went first thing Tuesday morning to meet with David who is the Conceirge on the Mercury. David was wonderful and assisted us with all the paperwork and arrangements to assist us to bet back to Houston. We had to file an "Interruption of Cruise" form with the Cruiseline. We also had to present ourselves to the Port Authority and Customs Department upon our arrival in San Francisco. They could have fined us for leaving the cruise early but the fine was waived due to the cause being a death in the family. A Celebrity Rep had to escort us off the ship to an awaiting cab. It was painful due to the reason, but Celebrity attempted to assist us anyway they could.

 

I will post my review for the first four days of our trip. I do want to state that Room 1118 is not a great location. It is located under the small kitchen where the waffle station on the 11th floor. During the night there was a lot of noise as they moved carts in and out. My sister and her husband were in 1108 and they never heard a thing. The room itself was fine but I would not suggest this cabin due to being woke up every night with noises from above.

[Lois R]

Hi Karen, so sorry to hear about your Father-In-Law:( hope

your family is doing ok.

 

Hope those 1st few days were enjoyable for you.

 

Did you have insurance to help with anything?

 

Take care and my sympathies to you and your hubby.

 

Lois

[bunnybear]

We have to wait until we get a copy of the Death Certificate before we can claim on the insurance. I hope it will be an easy process but we will see. I hope to be able to report that it is great and will give them a huge recommendation on these boards.

 

My review will be following:

[bunnybear]

We flew into Seattle on Thursday and arrived around noon. We had booked Seattle Town Cars to pick us up and they arrived shortly after we stepped outside of the baggage claim area. We stayed downtown at the La Quinta due to using points that my brother –in-law had accumulated. We arrived and quickly checked in, dropped off our baggage and headed back out the door to explore. We walked the mile or so to the Pike’s Place Market. We had a wonderful time exploring the market, eating at a great restaurant and then walked to the Space Needle. I would love to return to Seattle to explore sometime. It was a very interesting city to visit.

 

On Friday we had arranged to have a Town Car take us to the port at around 11:30. It was a very short ride from the hotel to the port. We unloaded our baggage from the Town Car and wheeled them ourselves into the port terminal. (Porters attempted to assist us but we declined.) Once inside the terminal we showed our passports and our Cruise Documents and they quickly took our luggage and sent us to the second floor of the terminal to complete the check in. We waited only a minute or two and were checked in and sent to the gangway to board the ship. We were informed that our rooms would not be ready until 1:00 but that lunch was being served at the buffet. We went up to 11 and ate lunch and then explored the ship until we were allowed into our rooms. Promptly at 1:00 a message was broadcast that the rooms were ready.

 

We were on the Penthouse Floor in Cabin 1118. The room had adequate storage space, a decent sized balcony and the bathroom seemed larger than on the Summit. We received our luggage by 3:00 and were totally unpacked and settled in before the Muster Drill at 4:15. We found the bed to be comfortable except it is very low to the ground. The first night I nearly fell into the bed because I didn’t realize how low it really was.

 

(A note here: I wouldn’t recommend this cabin. Evidently it is located directly under the kitchen area to the waffle station on 11. During the night there were scrapping noises that sounded like carts being moved. My sister’s cabin was in 1108 and they never heard a thing so it must have been isolated to this cabin.)

 

We never met our cabin steward. He/She did a great job of keeping our room clean, ice and water filled, etc. but I felt cheated to not every had a conversation with him/her.

 

We stayed on our balcony during the Sail Away and it was a lovely sight to pull out of beautiful Seattle on a sunny afternoon. We had selected early seating so it was time to get ready for dinner about the time we cleared the harbor.

 

We were traveling with my sister and her husband but had requested a large table. When we reported to our designated table we discovered it was a table for six. I was slightly disappointed because I have always enjoyed a large group. But as things turned out, six was exactly the right number for this trip. When our tablemates arrived we all introduced ourselves and met Ken and Terri from Michigan. They were the perfect couple to join the four of us and we had the most delightful and insightful conversations through out our time on the cruise.

 

Our waiter was Jesso and our assistant waiter was Yan. It was Yan’s first time on a ship. He did well for his first week and we loved his big smile. Jesso was very formal and handled his duties well but I wish he would have let down his formal demeanor a bit. The food was good. There was a good selection of entrees and I was always pleased with my choices.

 

We did attend the shows all nights, except for the night with the comedian. The Celebrity Singer and Dancers did a great job during their respective shows. We were impressed with their versatility, especially the night we were cruising away from Astoria, Oregon and hit some pretty rough seas. They didn’t miss a beat and put on a great show.

 

I will continue my review soon. We were only on the ship from Friday to early Wednesday morning due to the death of my father in law. But for the days we were onboard we found the Mercury a lovely ship with just a few signs of age or wear.