Mercury Sept 28 - Oct 1 (today!)

[momthecruisedirector]

We just got off the ship a couple hours ago - enough time to run to the grocery store and throw a load of laundry in!

 

Here's a quick review....but first a little background. Husband and I have been on 12 cruises - ranging from 1 day to 9 day on Carnival, RCCL, Holland America and Princess. In the past we have taken our kids (started when they were 9 and 13) - now one is in college and the other was actually celebrating his one year anniv on a Caribbean Cruise - they've been well trained! We live in Seattle so cruising out of here is nice - no airfare and next to nothing for a cab ride. We booked this cruise February 2007 and then kind of put it aside in our minds until the date got closer.

 

It was so nice on Friday to go to Pier 66 and be able to walk past the rope to go up the escalator - we go down to the pier during cruise season 3 or 4 times a month, go to Anthony's for clam chowder in a bread bowl and watch the ship load and the passengers find their way. We got to the pier around 11:45 and were on board by 12:05. No kidding! No other cruise line has ever met us at the door with champagne...I was sold at that moment. Our rooms wouldn't be ready until 1:00 so we walked around the ship then got some lunch. I thought the food was very good in the buffet area. Husband visited the sandwich bar and I got li'l samples of everything. No complaints from me. Then we found the ice cream bar - I was sure I'd be able to pass on that but all the server had to do was say, ma'am would you like some ice cream? Well, didn't want to hurt his feelings!

 

We had booked an interior guarantee. A week before the cruise we were upgraded to an outside view cabin. We loved our little porthole though we were in cabin 5005 and you should know that the cabin shakes, rattles and..well, it doesn't roll, but it's a pretty obvious wake up call when you dock at 6:00 in the morning. We noticed the shaking in the dining room during dinner when we left Vancouver too.

 

Thanks to cruisecritic we spent a lot of time in the penthouse deck area at the aft of the ship - loungechairs in a covered balcony area. We had it to ourselves everytime we went out there.

 

We had late seating for dinner and on the first night we went to see the juggler - we liked his act. All the cruiselines do such a good job at matching tablemates for dinner. We sat a table for four and met our new friend. As we were visiting we learned we were the same age, lived in Seattle, had cruised previously and in fact unknowingly had cruised on the exact same one day cruise this last May....then we brought up cruisecritic and she was in our rollcall! How funny. Neither of us made it there because we were still eating dinner when 10:00 came and went.

 

The meals were all very good - I had the seafood with risotto for the main course, on the first night. I thought it was very good though needed a pinch of salt. Husband had prime rib and said it was very good. We enjoyed our salads, soups and desserts each night. The only meal I wasn't crazy about and it was personal choice was the stuffed flounder. Luckily I had ordered a surf and turf kind of dinner - ordered the strip steak too and it was tender and delicious. The antipasta platter is very good, as is the shrimp cocktail and the crab cocktail. I am sure there is more to say about it but I have shiplag!

 

I tried the waffles and they are very good. I had one with the strawberry sauce and had one plain so I could put a dab of whipcream on it and fresh blueberries. Yum.

 

The weather wasn't great but we were able to miss most of the rain. No one used the pools so the hottubs were full most of the time. We did get lucky on the last day, after Nanaimo, and sat in the upper hot tub - it has very powerful jets and when it first comes on the water comes out cold. You want to lift ourself off the seat for the first minute or so!

 

We took the hop on/off tour in Vancouver. It's easy to catch, you can buy tickets right out of the Pan Pacific Hotel. There is a concierge that will point you in the right direction. It was a good opportunity to see a good portion of Vancouver, through Stanley Park and around. We stopped at Granville Island and had a great time - their market is great and if we were on a land vacation instead of having all our meals prepaid on board (you know what I mean) we would have had all our meals there. This was on a Saturday and there were two other ships in port so it was busy but not shoulder to shoulder. We were going to go to Chinatown but it didn't look very appealing so we returned to the ship.

 

In Nanaimo we took off on our own for a little self guided tour, we followed the blue route markers on the sidewalk for a brief history tour until we got tired of walking then headed back to the pier. We took a free shuttle to the old town area for a little shopping - this was on Sunday and nothing much was open for a while except the bakeries! We had a nanaimo bar, well half a bar because they are so rich. We made it back to the waterfront at noon to watch the cannons being lit, which they do everyday at noon. It was interesting and LOUD and I'd do it again.

 

We went back on board for lunch - husband had been looking for the pretzels we saw on the first day of the cruise at lunch and found them, he was a happy camper! (the sushi is very good and they served it from 5 - 10:00 p.m. so plenty of time, don't have to wait in a long line right at 5:00) Oh, they had casual tea, the finger sandwiches were very good.

 

We....well I....had won $90 on a quarter slots machine in the casino, donated six quarters back in the machine and then got the heck out of there with my winnings! We went to the art auction and bid/won on a print. What fun - we were the ones that won the 'most enthusiastic' prize - a bottle of champagne.

 

Disembarkation was very easy - they just send you to a lounge at a specific time with no loud announcements. We were off the ship by 9:15 and home by 9:40.

 

We would certainly sail Celebrity again. EVERY staff member was friendly and polite, the ship was clean, the food was good, the layout of the ship was easy to figure out. We'll sail the other lines again too - but when we were very impressed.

 

Any questions?????

[curiouscat]

Is there an indoor pool?

 

Thanks

 

CuriousCat

[Cruisenouvelle]

What a great review! Your enjoyment comes across on the screen. Glad you had a great time...

[momthecruisedirector]

There is an indoor pool in the back, but surrounded by lunch tables. There is a nice double outdoor pool in the middle of the pool and four hot tubs.

[wa.mama]

Can you tell me more about the "hop on, hop off" tour of Vancouver? We want to go to Granville Island - is this the easiest way?

 

Thanks!

[Luxuriate]

Thank you so much for the review.

 

We too are Seattle area people and will be on this cruise on October 29th. Your review is getting me excited about our little trip. We have never cruised for less than 10 days at a time and were a bit apprehensive about such a short cruise in, admittedly, pretty dreary Northwest weather.

 

Thanks again!

[Texed]

I tried the waffles and they are very good. I had one with the strawberry sauce and had one plain so I could put a dab of whipcream on it and fresh blueberries. Yum.Any questions?????

 

Thanks for the waffle review. :D

[momthecruisedirector]

While the hop off/on tour did give a good narrative of the area and you got to see a lot of Vancouver, we personally wouldn't do it again. You can buy tickets anywhere - which is convenient - but it is a pain for those already on the trolley. It was pretty excrutiating waiting for everyone to ask questions and pay for their tickets and get them while you want to get to to your stop....patience is a trait I am still working on!

 

I probably would take a cab or city bus - if there is one - to get there so as not to waste so much time. There are so many shops - we didn't get to see hardly any of it. I felt bad that we hurried away to see Chinatown, it was so run down and seedy, we could have stayed for a few more hours on the Island.

 

We have done a couple one day cruises and we didn't like them (though one put as at the next level for Princess so it was worth it). The three night cruise was nice, gave you enough time to relax and feel like you were on a vacation.

[Rstamper]

Enjoyed reading your review. I was on the Mercury on Sept 21. Which one-day cruise were you on in May? We did a one-day Holland America cruise on May 17. Just curious if this was the cruise you were on. We did it for our anniversary and hope to do it or one like it next year.

[momthecruisedirector]

We did the Holland America cruise on Mother's Day weekend, the Princess one the weekend before! It was crazy - you know how the first day is...travel, wait, board, eat, muster, show.....but in this case it ended there and we were off the ship the next morning.

[Sailorgirlseattle]

Sounds wonderful! I'm not sure if I want to know the dinner menu in advance or not! One brain cell says YUM! while another says, Hey wait a minute! :D So the cannons in Nanaimo? I've never heard of this ... something to definitely witness? We were thinking of maybe finding a bar and watching the Hawks game ... 10 a.m. kick in Pittsburgh this Sunday. I know, I know ... priorities.

 

WaMama, if you want to see Granville Island and have never been there, then I'd suggest a cab over there too, and plan that to be your main event of the day. Lots and lots to do there, you will LOVE it.

[wa.mama]

Thanks for the info - cab to Granville it is.

 

Momthe cruisedirector - one last question (thanks so much, you must be just swamped) - several people have mentioned the parking problem at the Bell St garage - any info on how to get around that? Is there alternate parking that you would suggest? We have to *gasp* work on Monday and want to get going as soon as possible on debarkation.

[Sailorgirlseattle]

WaMama, you list your location as Seattle ... how close are you to downtown? We're just planning to cab (from Ballard) to the pier. About 15 bucks or so, which is sure gonna beat parking charges AND get us door-to-door quickly. Can you consider doing it that way too? My hubby will be going to work right when we get back on Monday too.

[Angel]

Hi All,

We are taking this 3 day cruise also. Did the 4 day last year with another couple, it was great.. Going with all of our adult children and spouses for a nice family weekend. Parked in the pier garage last year and had no trouble leaving at about 9.00 and got home about 9.30 . This time got shuttle express to take all 15 of us to pier and pickup after the cruise.

Sailorgirl, I hope we can get the hawks game on board.

[parrothead1]

Thanks for the waffle review. :D

 

Hey Ed!! I knew you would like this part of the review!! Tell Jacquie and Sean Hi for us!!

[momthecruisedirector]

We live in West Seattle - right off Admiral Way. We had considered taking the water taxi over but I didn't want to drag my suitcase down the ramp and down the street! We had thought, too, about parking but for the price of the cab it was worth not having to park. You can do early disembarkation and carry your luggage off, they will give you a form to fill out and hand in to the pursers desk on the first day. There are cabs lined up right as you walk out the terminal. And exiting the ship was so quick, you don't go through the customs lines, just flash your passport as your walking down the ramp off the ship. Not sure why you don't have to have your passport scanned like in Long Beach????? To make a short answer longer then necessary....I'd take a cab too!

 

 

I don't know where you could park there, long term. I haven't read anything about the situation - good or bad - because, to be honest, it didn't affect me! As long as the ship gets in on time and there is no customs problems it seems like they have a great system for getting people off the ship early so even if getting out of the parking garage was slow you'd still be on the road pretty early. It stinks having to go back to work the same day though!

[Rstamper]

SailorgirlSeattle,

 

We cruised on the Mercury Sept 21 and my sister found a place in Nanaimo to watch the Seahawks game. She watched it at the same place last year. If you want, I can ask her the name. My dad was told it would be broadcast somewhere on the ship, but he never found the place.

[Eeyoregon]

Can you tell me more about the "hop on, hop off" tour of Vancouver? We want to go to Granville Island - is this the easiest way?

 

Thanks!

 

We purchased our "Big Bus" tickets online in advance which saved us 20%. We really enjoyed this form of transportation as we could go at our own pace. Just be aware that most of their buses have open-air seating in 70% of the bus...cold and wet so plan accordingly!

 

gina

 

p.s. And you get a free 1/4 lb of fudge or an ice cream cone at their visitor center!! Yum!

 

p.p.s If you are looking for some adventure in Nanaimo, check out Wildplay Parks for zipline, bungee and more! Great prices, awesome staff and wonderful free roundtrip shuttle to/from the Port!

[Eeyoregon]

Thanks for the info - cab to Granville it is.

 

Momthe cruisedirector - one last question (thanks so much, you must be just swamped) - several people have mentioned the parking problem at the Bell St garage - any info on how to get around that? Is there alternate parking that you would suggest? We have to *gasp* work on Monday and want to get going as soon as possible on debarkation.

 

We used the parking garage across from the pier and it was great. When we arrived (10:40am) we drove right in, turned over our car to valet, gave our luggage to the attendant and took the skybridge to the port. On debarkation day, we left the ship at 9:20am, headed for the garage, paid our fee ($48), waited about 5-7 minutes for our car, hopped in and were out of the garage within 10 minutes. It was extremely efficient and well organized.

[Sailorgirlseattle]

Angel and RStamper, we're hoping to catch the Hawks game too ... thinking of finding somewhere in Nanaimo to do that ... any bars open up at 10 a.m.? LOL :D

 

If ya want, meet us up at the Navigator at 3 on Friday for the Roll-Call board meet-up. Maybe we can make plans to watch the game together. We are BIG Hawk fans, defintely part of the 12th Man. ;)

[ezcheezy]

Are there umbrellas for our use on the Mercury? We're going this weekend and it looks like a good chance of rain.

 

Thanks!

[CatServants]

Really enjoyed your review! I could hear (OK, read) the 'cruise high' still in your voice (OK, words)! I'm so glad you had a wonderful time!

 

Happy cruising!:)

 

Denise

[Drew B]

Are there umbrellas for our use on the Mercury? We're going this weekend and it looks like a good chance of rain.

 

Thanks!

 

Yes. Every cabin comes with an umbrella, and I'm sure your steward can get you more if you need them. When I was in Ketchikan a couple of weeks ago, the town was filled with X umbrellas!

[momthecruisedirector]

There were two umbrellas in our cabin - above the 'mini-bar'/refrigerator.

 

Like other ships - I would take a power strip if you need to charge more then one thing at a time. And the safe is behind the mirror....there is a little placard that tells you that but I spent many minutes searching for the safe thinking it was odd there wasn't one....when low and behold. Lots of storage too.

 

I am still in a good mood from this cruise - and it's already Wednesday....that says something.

[Eeyoregon]

Are there umbrellas for our use on the Mercury? We're going this weekend and it looks like a good chance of rain.

 

Thanks!

 

Yep, they provide umbrella's in your cabin...just don't lose it or you will have to pay $11 for an umbrella you no longer have, LOL!!!