Mercury 9-28 Pacific Northwest cruise review

[masdolphin]

We just returned home from this cruise and were glad to finally be home once again. First of all we have taken several cruises in the past to compare this one to and we were not impressed. Embarkation was fantastic, very quick, basically we showed our ID and boarding passes, we were given our room keys and onto the ship we went, no waiting, this was very nice and unexpected, we boarded about 12:15. When we arrived on the ship we were looking for the "wow" we have had on previous ships, we still never found it. To us this ship was bland, plain and boring, no glitz, fanciness etc of others ships we have sailed.

 

Cabin, we had an inside cabin, aft of the ship, very nice cabin, well laid out and very clean and in good shape. Our cabin steward was very good we only saw him a few times but he kept everything clean and tidy for us. Being at the aft of the ship and level 4 was very noisy, I think they had generators or something below us, at certain times it was very noisy. I was kind of surpised we never got any towel animals on our bed, we saw other rooms had them.

 

Dining room, the food was good and plenty of it, our waiter was very pleasant and helpful. We had requested a large table but we got a table for 4, since there were 3 of us sailing together it was just the 3 of us at the table.

 

Other food, the buffet was horrible, terrible food for the most part, hot foods were cold, very little selection and what was there tasted horrible. I have never had hash browns that tasted as bad as theirs. Many times they ran out of items, one morning at breakfast a fellow passenger asked for scrambled eggs and was told it would be 5 to 10 minutes before they would be ready. Hamburgers and hot dogs were good, pizza and pasta was good as well. The thing that amazed us was food was only available at certain times of the day, late in the evening there was nothing to eat at all, also most of the drink stations were closed or had no cups.

 

Staff on this ship were very good, never had any issues with any of them, they all seemed quite friendly and helpful.

 

Entertainment was great, first night was a juggler who was fantastic, second night was a comedian who was very funny, 3rd night was the Celbrity dancers and singers, wow they put on an awesome show, very well done and entertaining.

 

Bars and clubs were ok, drinks were grossly overpriced, $8 for a well drink is way out of line, this also included tax and gratuity but still is way over priced in my opinion.

 

Cruise director was a young african american guy, he was very pleasant and funny at times.

 

Getting off the ship was easy as can be.

 

Over all we werent impressed with the ship. Had we never gone on any other cruises or ships we may have liked it better. Dont get me wrong we did enjoy it but we would elect not to do this cruise or ship again. Way too plain of a ship, way overpriced drinks, poor food in the buffets were huge minus for us.

[Karynanne]

We just returned home from this cruise and were glad to finally be home once again. First of all we have taken several cruises in the past to compare this one to and we were not impressed. Embarkation was fantastic, very quick, basically we showed our ID and boarding passes, we were given our room keys and onto the ship we went, no waiting, this was very nice and unexpected, we boarded about 12:15. When we arrived on the ship we were looking for the "wow" we have had on previous ships, we still never found it. To us this ship was bland, plain and boring, no glitz, fanciness etc of others ships we have sailed.

 

Cabin, we had an inside cabin, aft of the ship, very nice cabin, well laid out and very clean and in good shape. Our cabin steward was very good we only saw him a few times but he kept everything clean and tidy for us. Being at the aft of the ship and level 4 was very noisy, I think they had generators or something below us, at certain times it was very noisy. I was kind of surpised we never got any towel animals on our bed, we saw other rooms had them.

 

Dining room, the food was good and plenty of it, our waiter was very pleasant and helpful. We had requested a large table but we got a table for 4, since there were 3 of us sailing together it was just the 3 of us at the table.

 

Other food, the buffet was horrible, terrible food for the most part, hot foods were cold, very little selection and what was there tasted horrible. I have never had hash browns that tasted as bad as theirs. Many times they ran out of items, one morning at breakfast a fellow passenger asked for scrambled eggs and was told it would be 5 to 10 minutes before they would be ready. Hamburgers and hot dogs were good, pizza and pasta was good as well. The thing that amazed us was food was only available at certain times of the day, late in the evening there was nothing to eat at all, also most of the drink stations were closed or had no cups.

 

Staff on this ship were very good, never had any issues with any of them, they all seemed quite friendly and helpful.

 

Entertainment was great, first night was a juggler who was fantastic, second night was a comedian who was very funny, 3rd night was the Celbrity dancers and singers, wow they put on an awesome show, very well done and entertaining.

 

Bars and clubs were ok, drinks were grossly overpriced, $8 for a well drink is way out of line, this also included tax and gratuity but still is way over priced in my opinion.

 

Cruise director was a young african american guy, he was very pleasant and funny at times.

 

Getting off the ship was easy as can be.

 

Over all we werent impressed with the ship. Had we never gone on any other cruises or ships we may have liked it better. Dont get me wrong we did enjoy it but we would elect not to do this cruise or ship again. Way too plain of a ship, way overpriced drinks, poor food in the buffets were huge minus for us.

 

Sorry to hear that you didn't enjoy your experience on Mercury. We enjoy this ship because of it's understated elegance. Glitz and neon isn't what we look for in a ship.

 

Food is always so subjective. Each ship has it's own chefs and staff, so you never know what to expect. During the late evening hours, there is always room service 24/7 available. You could have taken advantage of this service.

 

Towel animals are usually never done on Celebrity. Maybe there was a cabin steward that happened to do this for his passengers. We've never had them...and really wouldn't want them.

 

We've found that the price of drinks are comparable to any upscale, land based restaurant. Actually the Martini's in the Martini Bar are quite large, and feel that the price is quite fair.

 

We're looking forward to being on Mercury in Feb./Mar. for a B2B. Hopefully you'll want to return to Celebrity again.

 

Karyn

[mlmagic]

Wow...

 

Different strokes for different folks...I just returned from the PNW 4 dayer and thought is was wonderful. I will agree that the ship does not have the "flash" like other ships. Compared to Princess, it did seem a bit low-key. But we really liked the understated elegance as well...I thought was very tastefully done and classy. It reminded me of a classy boutique hotel, as I felt while walking about. I am surprised on the comment about the food. We thought ALL the food everywhere was fantastic! I am not a huge experienced cruiser, but do like the "finer" things in life. My experience on the Mercury was fabulous. we had a suite/butler and it was amazing. Food, service...everything. Could care less about the towel critters, we like a more sophisticated atmosphere, which our sky suite certainly had...Sorry you did not like some of what Celebrity offered on your trip. I will definately cruise X again and would not hesitate to board the Mercury...I enjoyed her...:)

[Lois R]

Hi Michael and Steven, sorry you didn't enjoy yourselves.

 

Mercury is one of my most favorite ships....for many of the

same reasons Karyn mentioned.

I guess understated to one person is boring to another.She is 10 years

old and this class of ship doesn't have all the bells and whistles

of newer ones. You might enjoy the M-class....bigger ships with more

of the wow factor...but still more of an understated elegance.

 

I will be back on her Oct 12th-19th:D for the 4th and 5th time

and cannot wait:)

 

Again, sorry you didn't have a good 3 days!

[trvlcarib]

We also just returned from the 4 nighter PNW and had a great time. I do agree with you on the food. It seems Celebrity has slipped a bit on food, I think with the cheap cruise prices today they have cut back on quality somewhere. The ship is in good shape you can see all the new carpeting in public areas however our stateroom on deck 5 really was need of some new carpets/curtains and bed fabrics. I don't know what the nasty smell is outside the dinning room on deck 6 next to the martini bar, but boy did it stink every day. Smelled like rotten cheese. I did notice that the drinks have gone up since our last cruise, but thats why I always enjoy local craft beer in our stateroom. Nobody said anything while boarding I just carried it on in our backpack. Except for a large group of rude TA's having their annual conference the other passengers were great people, seems most of them where from the Seattle area. For the price we paid we can't complain. Looking forward to our next cruise.

[PescadoAmarillo]

I will be back on her Oct 12th-19th:D for the 4th and 5th time and cannot wait:)

Still sorry we won't meet up!

 

Thanks to all for posting reviews of the PNW cruise on the Mercury. We board on October 19th for a week, and I can't wait! I've cruised 8 weeks so far on the Mercury, 2 on the Century and 5 on the Galaxy and know that I love the quiet elegance of those ships. No bells and whistles, just great ships on which to sit back and enjoy a bit of fall sunshine(hopefully) and scenery and the Celebrity service that has always made me feel like...a celebrity!

[Lois R]

Pescado, maybe one day our paths will cross on the high seas:)

[Drew B]

I agree with you wholeheartedly about the regular buffet. The food is simply awful! And I also agree that the specialty stations (pizza/pasta, grill, etc.) are better. However, you don't mention the dining room. If I were advising somebody about to sail Celebrity, I would tell them to eat EVERY MEAL in the dining room. The buffet simply doesn't compare.

 

If you want more glitz and towel animals, Celebrity probably isn't the line for you. I've sailed Carnival, and they have plenty of glitz and a constant menagerie of towel animals. I like Carnival and you may, too.

 

I'm fine with glitzy decor as well as subdued. I'm fine with towel animals or none. I'm even fine with bad buffet food if the dining room food is excellent. Perhaps I'm just too easy to please...:D