Mercury - new gal with questions

[1337mom]

I'm sailing alone to Alaska in the fall. First time on Celebrity. 8086.

1. Does anyone know anything about rooms 8152, 8175 and 8086? It this a good deck?

and is a room with a window a good idea for September because of weather?

2. Is a table for 6 a good choice for a single woman?

3. Any suggestions for great excursions?

4. How is tipping handled? I've been on several Princess ships, but never Celebrity

5. How's the food?

and if that is not enough -- does anyone have any great ideas for dining in Vancouver?

[Cruise Arizona]

Hi 1337Mom,

 

1. Does anyone know anything about rooms 8152, 8175 and 8086? It this a good deck?

and is a room with a window a good idea for September because of weather?

 

These rooms seem like they'd be fine. We stayed in one of the aft FOV cabins on our last cruise which are now 2A's. It was on the same deck 8, Panorama Deck. We liked deck 8 because it was two (or three) floors down to the dining room, and three up for the buffet area. It may indeed be too cold to enjoy a balcony in September, so it may be a good money saver not to get a balcony. I never noticed this, but you might want to be away from the Michaels Club as they allow smoking and some people say they could smell it in their hall or room. But the rooms you are talking about are a bit down the hall.

2. Is a table for 6 a good choice for a single woman? Lois R, would be a great person to help you with this one as she often cruises by herself.

3. Any suggestions for great excursions? Last time I was in Alaska we did the Helicopter Ride to the Mendenhall Glacier in Junea, I thougth it was great, and the Travel Channel picks this a the #1 must do in Alaska

4. How is tipping handled? I've been on several Princess ships, but never Celebrity

 

You can choose to auto tip the suggested amount to the shipboard account. Or you can do envelopes with cash in the amount of your choice. If you do the auto tipping you can still use envelopes so that you can give your servers a personal thank you should you choose.

 

5. How's the food?

 

 

I like the food, I found it fresh and well presented. We almost always do the dining room for breakfast and lunch, as we would rather relax than battle the buffet line. There were always several choices that were of interest on all three meals of the day.

and if that is not enough -- does anyone have any great ideas for dining in Vancouver?

 

Hopefully a Vancouver expert can help you on this one.

 

 

Have a great cruise.

[1337mom]

WOW! Thanks very much - all good tips. Especially about the smoking thing.

[Lois R]

1337Mom...a 6 or 8 top is what I would recommend.

Yes, I do sail solo quite often and I actually prefer an 8 top

but had a 6 last cruise and it worked out wonderfully too.

 

Tipping.....I don't tip for 2 people but I do tip more

than what would be the suggested 1 person. I bring cash

and tip each person individually (it works for me). Many

people use their on board account for it. Whatever works

for you. The staff and crew are always top notch for me.

I bring my own Thank You cards and put the cash inside

the card.

 

Food, it is usually wonderful:) Have I ever sent anything back?

Yes. Was it fixed for me? Yes.

The service and food (for me) have always been top notch.

 

Cabins, I usually cruise inside and the Panaroma Deck has

been fine for me.

Mercury of late has become my favorite ship:)

 

Hope I helped a bit and please enjoy your cruise:)

 

Hi Suzanne, good to see you.

[Kapricorn]

1. Does anyone know anything about rooms 8152, 8175 and 8086? It this a good deck?

and is a room with a window a good idea for September because of weather?

A room with a window is a good idea for September in Alaska. It's nice to have natural light come into the cabin. I always book cabins on the lowest deck, and then never use the elevators, to force me to ascend and descend the seven decks of stairs to the buffet and pool area. It helps to keep my weight down. :)

 

2. Is a table for 6 a good choice for a single woman?

I've traveled extensively by myself, and prefer a table for eight. This gives a much more variety of table companions. I suppose that six also would be fine ... it's possible that you could be seated with two couples and an interesting gentleman? ;)

 

3. Any suggestions for great excursions?

I enjoyed a helicopter ride to a glacier in Skagway. We were fitted with special boots and got off to walk around on the glacier. Also, I enjoyed a float plane tour in Ketchikan, where a pilot in his two-seat plane gave me his undivided attention. We landed on the shore of a lake, and he showed me wolf tracks along the water. He landed the plane on another lake full of leaping salmon around us. Tours purchased on shore are about $20 cheaper than those purchased on the ship.

 

Have a great time!

Donald.

[Rev22:17]

1337mom,

 

1. Does anyone know anything about rooms 8152, 8175 and 8086? It this a good deck?

 

Yes, it's a good deck. Any cabin on that deck should be fine for a solo traveller. If you have a choice, get a cabin that does not have third and fourth berths.

 

and is a room with a window a good idea for September because of weather?

 

Sure, if you want to spend the money for a window. I never spend enough time in my cabin to care whether it has a window or not.

 

2. Is a table for 6 a good choice for a single woman?

 

As a frequent solo traveller, I always request a table for six to eight. That way, I have enough tablemates so I'm not left alone if somebody decides not to come to dinner.

 

3. Any suggestions for great excursions?

 

Be sure to do one or another of the excursions on the White Pass & Yukon Route in Skagway. It's a historic narrow gauge railroad built to haul prospectors, equipment, and supplies into the Yukon during the "Days of '98" (Yukon Gold Rush of 1897-1899). Built in a matter of months with pick and shovel through some of the most rugged -- and scenically spectacular -- terrain anywhere in the world, it's still an absolute marvel of civil engineering. The narration on the ride points out many sites of historical significance, including the foot trail that the miners used before completion of the railroad.

 

Also, if you are cruising aboard GTS Summit, be sure to book the "Grandview Rail Transfer" between Anchorage and Seward. This segment of the Alaska Railroad has absolutely spectacular scenery, so it's well worth the extra cost. You also will be a lot more comfortable on the railcar with more comfortable and roomier seats, room to get up and move around, and food and beverage service than cooped up in a "motorcoach" for the transfer, which takes about four hours.

 

4. How is tipping handled? I've been on several Princess ships, but never Celebrity

 

Somewhat differently than on Princess, but the same basics apply. On Celebrity, you'll get a form to fill out and turn a couple das before the end of the cruise in if you wish to charge your tips to your shipboard account. If you prefer, you can tip in cash. If you opt to bill the tips to your account, you'll get tip envelopes with cards in them to hand to the staff. Otherwise, you'll get empty envelopes for your cash tips. Either way, you give the envelopes to your dining staff after dinner on the last evening and to your cabin staff when you vacate your cabin before disembarkation.

 

There's one kink in Celebrity's system for billing tips to your shipboard account. It does not let you reduce any of the tips below the suggested amount, and the suggested tips include a gratuity to an "assistant chief housekeeper" whom you probably will never meet. This tip is NOT customary in the industry (I have posted in the past asking if anybody was aware of another line that suggested a similar gratuity, and have yet to receive a reply), so I think that Celebrity is out of line in suggesting it. I also will not use Celebrity's tip charging system until there's a provision to eliminate this tip.

 

Tips for bar services and spa and salon services are added to the bill automatically, in the customary amount of 15%. Much to the line's discredit, Celebrity now prints a line for "additional tip amount" on all bar receipts. This is a major breach of etiquette, so I recommend just putting a big "X" through it.

 

There is one other difference between Celebrity and other lines of which you should be aware, as it may affect your decisions regarding tipping. On Celebrity, every cabin has both a steward and an assistant steward. Celebrity's guidelines do not include a gratuity for the assistant steward, but I always tip the assistant cabin steward in the same manner as the assistant waiter.

 

5. How's the food?

 

Excellent, if you like French cuisine. If you are not fond of French cuisine, you may find that Celebrity's dinner menus grow old pretty quickly.

 

Whenever you see pork or lamb on the menu, go for it!

Have a great cruise!

 

Norm.

[bububr]

Heres my review to start : http://www.cruisecritic.com/memberreviews/memberreview.cfm?EntryID=21540

 

Now a couple of answers to your questions.

 

1. have to agree with Norm on the Cabin. If there are uppers which you don't need they stick out of the wall and can be annoying.

 

2.We love windows, verandas even more, but our friends travelled in an iside room and were hardly ever there except to sleep and change. We used our veranda a few times but not as much as we could have because we were always out doing something.

 

3. A big table is great! we always request one and make great friends.

 

4.Excursions are personal, but we loved the whitepass railway, I loved snorkelling, and the float plane excursion, and john and I both loved the nature hikes.

 

5. tipping can be charged to your cabin automatically, or we like to pay cash and hand the envelopes out personally.

 

6. The food......The best we have had on a ship.

 

Hope that helps a bit!

 

Dave:eek:

[tom_uk]

Here's a link to some images of Galaxy, including (#'s 2 & 3) the interior of cabin 8086 (ignore the rest).

 

http://www.*****/travelpage/aspgallery/view_ad.asp?Ad_ID=2512

 

I would imagine that 8086 on Mercury wold be similar. The decor might be different, but the general layout ought to be similar.

[Tatka]

I like the food, I found it fresh and well presented. We almost always do the dining room for breakfast and lunch, as we would rather relax than battle the buffet line.

 

May be we were lucky, but after sailing twice on Century and once on Mercury I can't remember lines in the buffets. Even my husband who teased me about Celebrity a lot (X was my first cruise line and I was a bit bias) commented on it.:)

[1337mom]

Thank you all for such great tips. Especially about the upper berths (never would have thought of it) and for the great ideas on excursions. I'm really looking forward to this trip.