Mercury PNW 10/1 4 smoke filled nights.

[Pinot]

We have six cruises under our belts. HAL-2, Celebrity-1, Oceania-2 and Regent-1. On boarding in Seattle, cabin 9020, we were met with the stench of stale smoke in the cabin carpets, drapes, pillows, shower curtain and other soft goods. It was especially strong at the closet door area. Guest relations was advised and said there are no "Non Smoking Cabins" on the ship despite the published policy of No Smoking on the starboard side. They were not able to move us to another cabin. Housekeeping went to work and replaced drapes, pillows, linens and other soft goods. Room AC was to be kept at below 60 degrees for several days to vent the odor. It was a partial success.

Other odors were noticed on board including sewer smells midships on deck nine and vomit smells at the enterance to the Manhattan Restaurant, starboard deck five. Not a good way to start a cruise.

Celebrity: Clean up your act. Tighten up your smoking policy and you will increase your business, not decrease it. We are booked on Azamarta Quest for 14 days in the spring and expect you to enforce the tough smoking regulations. Failure to do so will result in a lot of cancellations and new business going to Oceania.

On a positive note, the Manhattan Restaurant was terrific. Our table #517 has a great staff and we enjoyed our table mates who returned from Nanaimo with the Official Nanaimo Bar recipe on the Mayor's Letterhead. Yum....

[Lois R]

Hi, 517? Great table location:D

 

Sorry about the smoke......hope you otherwise had a nice

few days.:)

[billsbrowneyedgirl]

We have six cruises under our belts. HAL-2, Celebrity-1, Oceania-2 and Regent-1. On boarding in Seattle, cabin 9020, we were met with the stench of stale smoke in the cabin carpets, drapes, pillows, shower curtain and other soft goods. .

 

 

 

GREAT :(

[Gold Coast Cruisers]

GREAT :(

 

 

 

Don't be put off by those comments billsbrowneyedgirl. Unfortunately the world isn't a perfect place. There's 780000 tons of ship to enjoy and I'm sure any problems will be rectified before you embark on your first cruise.

Enjoy, have fun and don't forget to report back to those of us still counting down until our cruises on Mercury.

We're sure Celebrity and Mercury will be the beginning of many more cruises to come for you.......it's quite addictive you know!;)

 

Jillybean:)

[LovetheSea]

I have asthma and I would have been very sick with all the smoke smells. It is good that Celebrity tried hard to fix the problem. :) I had a hotel room like that. Nice hotel, pre cruise. The room was supposedly a non smoking room but as soon as you walked in the smell hit you like a ton of bricks. My Mother and I were dying all night. They would no nothing at all for us. All booked up there and in the area.

Did you enjoy the ports? We leave in the morning for our 4 nighter on the Mercury.

At least the ship is in good running order. I have been on her 7 times and a couple times one of her engines was out and we missed ports.

[GinaJ]

I posted a review earlier, however since I had never sailed Celebrity, I tried to not bring up the real negative stuff. Now that someone else has, I will confirm their version.

 

I cannot comment on the smoke smell.( Except in the casino and I personally can deal with the smoke). The vomit smell for us was on the 6th floor (Rondezvous lounge) (sp) on Tuesday afternoon (Nanaimo day) right outside Manhattan restaurant. We were all enjoying cocktails as that was one of the only places to hang out with nothing open (no bars, casino, shops) and we had to move to the other side of the lounge to avoid the smell!

 

On Sea Day (many passengers did not know this) but for almost 2 hours the entire ships toilets could not be flushed as their was a problem with the main line. Imagine me (someone who was sick from both ends at the same time). That is why I obtained the info above, by calling the front desk. (sorry to be gross, but it was very stressful for me). All I wanted to do was go HOME!--I am not blaming the ship for my illness in anyway--I obviously just had some individual virus.

 

On the same Sea Day we had no hot water in our sink and/or shower. We called the front desk and they sent someone up right away. They said it was the whole 10th floor and a main pipe was clogged. My roommate laughed and said what causes a water pipe to clog...water??? I don't know. Anyway we had hot water within a few hours.

 

I have had similiar problems on other ships so I am not blaming Celebrity however these problems have accumulated on 7 day cruises, not on 4.

 

I would still sail Celebrity again, but the experience was a little weird. Again sorry to tell you about my illness but I have never felt so uncomfortable and wanting to go home in the middle of my vacation in my whole life.

 

Happy Sailing. I know that you will all have great cruises. Gina J

[newbiefromvancouver]

Its possible that someone flushed a feminine product and it plugged the pipe.

 

Must have been so stressful Gina. Your review sure sounds like you've tried to focus on the positive rather than the negatives of your trip. Hope you're feeling better.

[newbiefromvancouver]

Sorry, my previous post didn't come out right....

 

#1 - I wanted to thank Gina for taking the time to post her positive review after such a stressful cruise.

 

(Also, I didn't mean for the comment about the pipe to be so blunt. sorry)

 

thanks again Gina

[LovetheSea]

GinaJ... It sounds like Norwalk (Noro virus to me). I am so sorry you got sick. The coming out at both ends sounds very familiar. Are you better now? I got very sick staying in a resort in Mexico. A lot of the people there were sick as well. (NOT Montesuma's revenge.) I thought I was going to die. Sick for many days.

When my hubby and I were on the Mercury in Mexico a lot of passengers got Norwalk. :(

I hope you are all better now. Thanks you for the nice review. But we can take the good with the bad.

[tbelian]

Guest relations was advised and said there are no "Non Smoking Cabins" on the ship despite the published policy of No Smoking on the starboard side.

 

Sorry you had troubles.

 

The information that Guest Relations provided to you, however, is accurate as it pertains to mercury. The 'no smoking on the starboard side' rule pertains to public areas, not the staterooms.

[Drew B]

Gosh, I can't believe that vomit smell is still plaguing the Starboard side of decks 5 and 6... It's been almost a month! I hope they figure it out and take care of it soon...

[Shirley and Les]

...Tighten up your smoking policy and you will increase your business, not decrease it. We are booked on Azamarta Quest for 14 days in the spring and expect you to enforce the tough smoking regulations...

Since they couldn't move you from the smoke-filled cabin, I guess Celebrity's business is about as good as it can get (at least on that cruise).

Are the smoking regulations tougher on Azamarta than they are on the mainline Celebrity ships? Or is it the same as the standard Celebrity policy of no smoking in public areas on the starboard side of the ship?

Les

[DaveFr]

Les,

 

Azamara's smoking policy is the same as Oceania's smoking policy. It is much more restrictive than Celebrity's policy. The FAQ on the smoking policy states:

 

"Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest have two designated smoking areas. These areas are located in the aft section of the Looking Glass Lounge on the port side, and on the starboard forward section of the Pool Deck. Smoking areas have signs indicating that smoking is permitted there. All other areas of the ships are non-smoking. This includes Public Rooms, Restaurants, Pool Deck, Staterooms and Suites, Verandas and Halls. For the comfort of all of our guests, we request strict adherence to this policy, and thank all of our guests for their cooperation."

[woodofpine]

This is a really Smelly thread! :eek:

 

Too bad odor impaired the cruise.

 

Maintanence...

 

My only other comment is Azamara is a 'separate cruise line'... don't cha know... really... I meant that's what they said, you know... ;)

[windermere]

I was on the Sept. 28 PNW cruise I can confirm Yes, The Martini Bar smelled like vomit. Other than that the ship was wonderful! It is a great shorty cruise.

[Bakincakes]

GREAT :(

 

 

I've never had the experience that the Pax described.

 

When I see posts like that I tend to think it is a merely an attempt by a firm non-smoker to create "panic" among other non-smoking pax.

[Lois R]

I sail on Friday:) ....if there is a bad odor in the Martini Bar I will

be drinking mine in Cova instead:D :eek:

[Drew B]

I sail on Friday:) ....if there is a bad odor in the Martini Bar I will

be drinking mine in Cova instead:D :eek:

 

Lois, you'll be fine. The odor is seriously only on the starboard side. If it's still there (and it seems it will be), just sit on the other side of the bar, and you won't notice it.

[GinaJ]

Or just have more cocktails te he he.

 

Gina J

[Shirley and Les]

Les,

Azamara's smoking policy is the same as Oceania's smoking policy. It is much more restrictive than Celebrity's policy. The FAQ on the smoking policy states:

"Azamara Journey and Azamara Quest have two designated smoking areas. These areas are located in the aft section of the Looking Glass Lounge on the port side, and on the starboard forward section of the Pool Deck. Smoking areas have signs indicating that smoking is permitted there. All other areas of the ships are non-smoking. This includes Public Rooms, Restaurants, Pool Deck, Staterooms and Suites, Verandas and Halls. For the comfort of all of our guests, we request strict adherence to this policy, and thank all of our guests for their cooperation."

Thanks for the info. I am a bit surprised at the restrictiveness (is that a word?) of their policy. Since Celebrity has replaced the Zenith with an Azamara ship on their Bermuda run, I assumed the policy would be very similar to Celebrity for their mainline ships.

I am not a smoker anymore but I think this policy would dramatically hurt their casino and bar business, but what do I know?

Les

[marsda]

I was on the Sept. 28 PNW cruise I can confirm Yes, The Martini Bar smelled like vomit. Other than that the ship was wonderful! It is a great shorty cruise.

We took the Sept 21 cruise and experienced the same. Since it was our first Celebrity cruise (coming from RCI) we took the ship tour given by the CD. He called attention to the smell outside the main dining room before anyone could comment on it. Celebrity officially calls it a "feta cheese smell" . He said they cannot locate the source of it.. they have cleaned, shampooed, replaced, etc with no success. Makes you think twice about ordering a Greek salad with feta cheese...:eek:

Other than that I loved the Mercury. We had a great time and just avoided that entrance to the DR.

Marsha

[rucruizin]

In 16 previous cruises, I have never once had a problem with smoke in my cabin. I too am asthmatic, I suffered a pulmonary embolism, and have an area of my lung that is dead, and will not regenerate. Smoke causes me all kinds of serious health problems.

 

Two years ago a friend of mine had an experience such as this. It took 3-4 days to get the problem totally resolved. Since I had recently suffered the embolism, I wrote to Carnival guest relations. I told them that I had never had a problem with smoke from a previous cruiser on a ship, ever. I told them that because of my friends' experience, I was very worried. I told them that I would NEVER be able to stay in such a room for even 5 minutes, let alone overnight. I warned them of my health realted concerns, and issues, and I asked what I should do. I told them I had no problem getting a physician to support my health concerns in writing if need be.

 

The letter I received back said this...We will notify the house keeping supervisor of your concern, and health conditions. In the even that the cabin is occupied by a smoker on the cruise before your departure date, steps will be taken immediately to remove, and replace all furnishings in the stateroom.

(I can't think of the name) but was told that as soon as the cabin was empty they would put (whatever machine it was) in the room to eliminate ANY smoke particles remaining in the air.

 

I'm not sure if all that was necessary, or if I just got real lucky. Either way, I truly appreciated the piece of mind it gave me to know that they were aware that I COULD NOT be in a room with residual smoke particles.

 

Now that I have just jinxed myself for my upcoming cruise, I better start on that letter to Celebrity.

[Norcal Cruiser]

We sailed on the Mercury Sept.1-7.We had a balcony stateroom.We toured the kitchen.We tend to walk all over the ship every day.We're both kind of restless.We like our exercise.We were in Alaska so we spent a lot of time walking the decks indoors.We didn't notice any foul odors.This was our 5th Celebrity cruise and we've never had a problem with that.We even experienced a cruise in April where our toilet didn't work for 12 hours and still didn't have a problem with odor.I know there are people on these boards that just like to slam certain cruise lines.I hope this isn't the case here but so many negative posts make me wonder.I personally can't wait to get on the Mercury again.Unfortunately that will be in almost 13 months.I wish I could get onboard tomorrow! Kathy

[GinaJ]

Just a side note...

 

Carnival once had a non-smoking ship (Carnival Paradise). This only lasted a few years.

 

Rumors were that people so against smoking that they would only go on a non-smoking ship did not gamble and/or drink much, if at all, and that is how the ship makes a lot of their money. Carnival discontinued it and moved it to LA. This is NOT my opinion, just rumors I have heard in the travel industry.

 

I quit smoking 4 years ago (which I never should have started, I am 37 now) however I can easily be around it because I was there once. I also can understand how people who are allergic, do not want it to affect their health, clothes, cabins etc feel. I can see both sides.

 

I just found it interesting that the smoke free ship did not last. Does anyone have any more info or opinions on that.

 

Being on the West Coast I think that I am always one of the last ones to post at night. Feels lonely sometimes he he.

 

Thanks again everyone for all your advice and thoughts.

 

Gina J

[GlenandVal]

we were on the Mercury Oct 1 to 5

there was a vomit smell in some areas, and heavy smoke smell in otehr, I jsut moved quickly out of those areas

 

as well one night late, the sea day we I could not flushed the toilet, asked DH to try no luck he said he d call the front desk in the morning but in the morning it was fine,

 

and the pools were not heated when we have taken a RCCL cruise out of los angeles they was heated

 

even the kids on board said the pool was cold.,

 

otherwise the service and food was superb