Winning isn’t Everything – Celebrity Mercury, 5/8 Mexico to Alaska [Archive]

View Full Version : Winning isn’t Everything – Celebrity Mercury, 5/8 Mexico to Alaska

bepsf

May 10th, 2006, 10:37 PM

Thanks to everyone who wished Scotty and I well as we left for Ensenada last weekend for some pre-Mercury R&R.

As some of you may recall, I won this cruise from Travelocity and Celebrity back in June of last year - you can search back for the "I Won?" threads for some background.

Had a great flight on Southwest Airlines – I was one of the last to board and I was still able to slide into an aisle seat! I enjoyed more legroom than United standard Economy for nearly $300 less! I may be flying SA more often…

Hotel Coral in Ensenada www.hotelcoral.com is on the main highway just before you pull into town. The resort is still relatively new and well maintained. Anyone who knows me will recall that I have a bit of a bathroom fetish, and this one scores fairly well: it was very spacious, with venetian stucco and limestone tile walls, and a super-deep soaking tub! The staff were gracious and friendly, the prices were very reasonable, the food was good – lots of open and enclosed pools and Jacuzzis, a spa and great scenery beautiful gardens and manicured grounds - it’s simply the best hotel in Ensenada (which is a simple feat, considering…)

Celebrity arranged for pre-boarding check-in at the Hotel Coral – which made it super-convenient for us, as there are no facilities at the pier. As we enjoyed a late breakfast in the dining room, we saw several folks in blue-blazers enter: these were the folks who were bussed down from SD that am to check us in. Very nice personable ladies – just seemed a shame that they had to pay for their own meals out of their pockets (they were on RCCL time, after all) Meanwhile, we learned (from a very loud man shouting into his cellphone at an adjacent table) that the computers were delayed in being brought down to the hotel (you’d think that this would have been taken care of – oh, the night before?) So although busses began arriving from SD airport, their cruise passengers were forced to sit inside and wait before being allowed to enter the hotel to check in. Lines in the check-in room (one of the ballrooms of the hotel) were extremely short, as they never let anyone off busses before the previous group was pretty much done. The ship didn’t pull into Ensenada harbor until well after 2pm (as scheduled) tho RCCL did not discourage pax from boarding busses and being forced to wait at the cruise pier for sometimes nearly 3 hours! Scotty and I sat in the lobby talking to folks and looking out the windows at the harbor to see when the ship would arrive – other pax took off running for the busses to the pier when they saw Mercury arrive in the harbor – they too would have to wait until after 4pm to begin boarding her.

Since we had luggage w/ us, Scotty and I took a taxi to the pier - $6+tip. After a short wait in line, we finally boarded where there were trays of 1/2 full champagne glasses
(An RCCL cost-cutting measure?) We were shown to our stateroom - #9234 is a Category 4 outside stateroom on Vista Deck near the stern (and the Kids Fun Factory) Tiny isn’t the word for it: less than 200 sf contain two hanging closets flanking a central closet w/ shelves and shallow drawers opposite a bathroom that couldn’t have been more than 3 1/2 feet by 6 1/2 feet – shower only. Lots of nice white tile – but it must have the highest threshold known to man – like mounting a steep staircase to enter the bathroom. Of course, the thresholds say “Watch Your Step” – that helps a lot when your hands are full of toiletries or the room is dark… No medicine cabinet, just a couple corner glass shelves and a super-shallow cabinet built-in beneath the sink. Tiny TV is in a corner above a recalcitrant electro-safe and a perma-locked minibar at the end of the wardrobes. Two concave sub-twin beds are side by side, and what would call we at home a chair-and-a-half contains a fold-out futon. A filthy glass window admits dim sunlight, but can be covered by floor to ceiling draperies. Floor to ceiling mirrors are on the wall opposite the beds to help convince you that you’re not sleeping in a walk-in closet. The first order of business was to tell the steward to put some mattress pads on the beds (why we should have to do this on a ‘premium’ line is a mystery to me) Socorro is a great room steward – always smiling and friendly. The room is clean and neat, if shabbier than a second-rate Mexican hotelroom…

I had heard horror stories about the Maitre’d – so when I saw him and his entourage in the Palm Springs Café (Lido Café equivalent for HAL-ers) – I walked up, introduced myself and told him that I needed to make some table arrangements. Without a greeting or addressing me personally, he told one of his minions to take me downstairs to another room where his ass’t was efficiently making dinner-seating arrangements. (“Nice to meet you too”)

Incidentally, the Palm Springs Café is a miserable place to attempt to find friends during lunch/breakfast. The seating areas are divided into several mirrored window-bays rather than rows of tables - resulting in not everyone getting a view of the ocean and finding friends near impossible. The buffet lines are loooong, the drinks stations are crowded because of the lack of space between the buffet lines – then the Palm Springs Terrace is aft, under a magro-dome and holding a pasta/pizza bar and an indoor pool with some sort of volcano-water-feature that doesn’t work and is always roped-off.

The only Jacuzzis are located amidships in the pool area – which has no magrodome and is therefore only usable in temperate weather. The four outdoor jacuzzis are on strange pedestal-type stages – where the cold Pacific layer made it very uncomfortable to stay for long. When you’d push the button to make the tub Jacuzzi, Coooold airbubbles made the already luke-warm water colder. I guess this is to encourage folks to pay the $20/day to use the T-pool – which is located in the spa complex under a steel roof that looks like it may have had an interesting indirect lighting arrangement at one time, but it doesn’t work anymore and several other downlights were burnt-out and lenses broken… The changing areas are a bit small – lockers have no keys (but a large “we’re not responsible” sign makes everything better) - a single open shower means no privacy to rinse off post-massage/sauna/etc, but a B&W photograph of a nude woman’s behind makes it pretty. The whole spa/gym area is tattered and worn, w/ torn seats on the Nautilus machinery, broken/missing faucets in the steamroom, dingy cushions on the chaises – but a few rosepetals on the floors, large faux-floral arrangements a piece of “artwork” from the auction (one of those pseudo-chalkdrawings of nude lovers mating in a gilded frame – Perfect!)– and tons of jasmine aroma enliven the atmosphere, except in the T-pool where the water smells neither like seawater, nor clean – it smells musty and so do you when you get out.

As we sailed north, I realized that I’d never felt so claustrophobic or bored on any ship ever. For a sea day, there were no published activities that didn’t involve spending money, being told how to spend money, or arranging to drink yourself silly. It wasn’t till we arrived in SF that the daily schedule included ping-pong tournaments and various trivia/quizzes for a day in port. We did witness one droning acupuncture seminar in the Navigators Club – enlivened by real live whales breaching outside the windows (much to the apparent chagrin of the speaker – how dare she be interrupted by an audience distracted by nature?!?) There was no evening show after dinner on our day at sea, the smaller lounges were largely empty, the few ‘entertainers’ there would never have made it to the screen on American Idol (maybe not even Lithuanian Idol…)

Of the few places to gather or sit to read a book, the seats are uncomfortable – barstools have low backs making it impossible to sit back comfortably & chairs have upright backs that make you sit upright as if you were in granny’s parlor (the “wears-like-iron” Herculon upholstery also reminds you of that suite of furniture she bought in the late 40’s and never got rid of…) The Cova Café in the Atrium, has a stranger layout – barstools separated by either columns or so much space that it’s impossible to have an intimate conversation at the counter. A few massive sofas ring the atrium, swamping little oldsters with their excessive scale – another sits in the middle of the atrium looking like something that was fashionable in the early 90’s, but has found a third home after being dragged in off a sidewalk and the doghair vacuumed off it – nobody dares sit on/in it anymore either….

Ths ship has a very strange layout – with lots of dead areas between parallel walls adjacent to overcrowded passageways between unappealing public rooms and staircases to nowhere. The Navigators Club (Crow’s Nest/Observation Lounge) is a high ceiling-ed space – with an open disco floor in the middle, and raised/lowered floors around the edges. Disco plays day and night – even while folks try to engage in quiet conversation or read a book (unless there’s an acupuncture lecture of course) The bar is front and center and where smaller quieter rooms could be there are a kids playroom to port, and the Acupuncture clinic Starboard with a video-gameroom behind a pair of glass walls center-aft. There must be nearly 30 feet of open deck area ahead of the spa/lounge deckhouse, which is an amazing amount of wasted space, considering the rooms on these levels from bow to stern are so constricted and jumbled.

Boat Drill was held Tuesday at 10am – first we were to gather in one of four lounges for a long talk and a brief demo of how to put on a lifevest (which you have already figured out – these are simpler than HAL’s vests) Then we are all told where are boats are, but these might not actually be the boats we are directed to in case Mercury becomes a flaming inferno because someone used an iron, coffee warmer, candle, etc in their stateroom. (they did discuss this and the other guidelines about not leaving flammable items on balconies during this drill – so they were up-to date in their info) Then we are forced to tromp up to Promenade deck and stand at attention under a lifeboat, which may or may not be the one we could be directed to in case of an emergency. Our CruiseCritic meeting, which was scheduled for 10-10.45 am was therefore postponed till Thurs am because of the Boat Drill.

I was simply amazed and dazzled at how beautiful the dining room looked at on Formal Night – Call me a snob, but Tuxedo’s and Evening Gowns Rule! Shame that the food is as bad as HAL’s was 3 years ago – someone really needs to slap Michel Roux around a bit and rip the Rotisseurs Blah-Blah, Etc placards off the walls. In two dinners, don’t think I saw a person at our table of 8 finish a single course. Yes, the Filet mignon was superbly done (tho you had no idea from the menu that is was in fact a Filet Mignon - it had some absurd name that nobody understood) but the onion soup was dishwater w/ onions, there was something called Soup Carolina (Who is Carolina and what is she doing in my soup? Oh, it’s just cream of chicken and corn….) The sorbet tasted of sweetened jasmine soap from the spa, and there were no vinagrette salad dressing options for the one salad of the evening – you could choose from Thousand Island, Blue Cheese, or something watery and bland… Cheesecake was also bland (did they use any flavorings at all?) except for the two fresh berries on top (“Can I just have a bowl of those?” “No Sir…”) Cherries Jubilee was delicious vanilla ice cream w/ cherry sauce from a can (“Can I just have a bowl of the ice cream?” "In the Palm Springs Café, Sir”) Then of course, there was the Crème Brule Test: It was at least not a watery flan like HAL – but the sugar crust that makes it Crème Brule was clearly done years ago because the sugar had melted into a slimy mess on top – and the custard itself was oversweetened. (“You don’t like it, Sir?” “This isn’t Crème Brulee” “Oh, but I made it myself!” “Hmph…”)

Good thing I had Sushi earlier that evening. I had always heard/read about how wonderful it is that Celebrity has an onboard Sushi Bar! So of course, being a self-proclaimed Sushi-connoisseur, I had to try some: It’s nothing more than what you can purchase from Ralph’s at the take-out counter. They don’t actually cook the rice and cut the fish on board – X have Japanese-looking guys don pseudo-ethnic head wraps and take trays of stuff that was made in LA a few weeks ago from the freezers, and place the dried-out freezer-burnt tidbits on decorative trays on the buffet. I feel bad for these guys – if they really are Japanese, who did they p***-off at home to be exiled to a life of crimes against innocent fish and rice?

There were a couple things that I enjoyed – the Barrista at the Cova Café is a winner – went down the counter and took everyone’s order and then made superb cups of coffee/mocha, etc and delivered them to the right persons - perfect. He gets kudos - tho RCCL doesn’t, as you can’t get anything but plain coffee in the dining room after dinner. Cappuccino after dinner? “Oh, you have to go to the Cova Café, Sir…”

The Mercury Show lounge is a fairly well-designed room – nice shallow sloped main floor and nary a column in sight. The ceiling is oppressively low though – feels like one is peeking out from under a balcony, although there isn’t one. It was there that the Captain had his Champagne reception after dinner at @11 pm. It was sparsely attended (another great way to save $$$ on champagne and chocolates) and dull.

Afterward was the much-hyped entertainment. If you thought HAL’s quality of entertainment was sad, welcome to the Gong Show. Singers who can’t hold notes, dancers who can’t keep time (but do manage to maintain creepy & unchanging Joker-esque grins – must have Botox-ed just prior to the show). When a soloist came out to do her ill-advised rendition of a Celine Dion ballad, there soon entered a pair of dancers in white on the other side of the stage doing some poorly-contrived ‘Dance of Love’ – Well, Love needs to lay off her desserts, because the poor guy nearly dropped her twice within a single verse, and was barely able to support her Ruben-esque tonnage as he was forced to flail her around the stage…

X is renowned for their collection of artworks aboard – yet I wonder why? B&W photographs of children's smiling faces are hung as a freize at the top of one staircase, while another has what appears to be a massive mirrored moth suspended upside-down below a mirrored ceiling. Lots of photography – like a bullet ripping through an apple, or a troupe of tired and sweaty dancers, and another group of artistic/kinky-types dressed as fuzzy animals. A couple of trees that have been cored like apples are lying in the atrium lobby next to the pastry buffet – and revolving at the base of the atrium is the sinister Ming's planetary weapon of destruction straight off the set of Flash Gordon – ready to blast anyone who dares question the taste of the “artwork”. Our deck is festooned w/ hand drawings the caliber of a Fisherman’s Wharf caricaturist, including an acrylic case of cutouts of said genre arranged as a hand-drawn carousel. As in the spa, a few artsy floral arrangements with lots of willow branches and underwater fruit – flowers are either fake and wilting or real and wilting. Nothing remotely nautical here – mustn’t remind the passengers that they are actually on a ship at sea…

Obviously by now, dear reader, you must realize that I am no longer on Mercury...

I disembarked from my 11-day cruise before noon of the second morning in our first port-call of San Francisco, and I was never more happy to leave a ship and return home. I realized that I'd actually prefer to go to work than stay aboard for a week. After two sleepless nights on a bed that was less comfortable than the one I endured for USAF Basic Training, endlessly tripping over furniture in my stateroom (and luggage that wouldn’t fit under the beds), being threatened the night prior w/ Customs Clearance starting at 5.30 am, (but the nagging announcements didn’t start till 6.30 am – and instead of calling us by deck, they just called EVERYONE) I enjoyed one more nauseating breakfast in the overcrowded Café (after doing two laps to find a free table), and one more alternatingly scalding/frigid shower (must be a mechanism to save RCCL on fuel to power the desalinators) before making my way down to the front desk to check out – where I was informed that 1) they didn’t have my credit card on file (Um, yeah - you do - look in the computers you left in Mexico) and that 2) I’d have to go through Customs at SFO. (Excuse me, Diedre – I don’t think so…)

…and never did anyone in the staff or crew ever bother to ask why I was leaving early.

Tricia724

May 10th, 2006, 11:16 PM

Wow, Brian....I was captivated by your travelogue....laughed out loud a couple of times....but thought you would find something to hang onto and would ultimately enjoy yourself. I followed your trials and tribulations associated with winning the trip, and was happy when you finally received what you were promised. I'm so sorry that it worked out this way. After all you went through, you deserved a great trip. Apparently being a "winner" isn't always what it's cracked up to be.

Sunshine91

May 10th, 2006, 11:26 PM

Brian.....This was the most amusing read. I had tears of laughter pouring out of my eyes & had to stop to breathe several times. I read the whole thing to John. Throughout the entire essay I could hear your voice. You have such a gift for writing. :)

And then I got to the end. We're both so sorry for you that in reality you had such a miserable time. What about Scotty? Is he still aboard or did he disembark in SF with you?

as41shots

May 10th, 2006, 11:49 PM

Don't hold back... tell us what you really thought. :D

avalon1025

May 11th, 2006, 12:05 AM

What a day of ships here in SF today, the poor Mercury was docked next to the newer Zuiderdam and looked a bit worse for wear in comparison to the newer HAL ship.

Had lunch with a dear friend who happened to be your piano player onboard and said the ship was in need of a refurbishment and that is was almost embarassing....

It looked pretty sailing out of SF harbor....

dakrewser

May 11th, 2006, 12:38 AM

Sounds like you're a convert, Brian!

But was it worth what you paid for it??

mim100

May 11th, 2006, 01:58 AM

wow, Brian, what a frustrating, disappointing experience for you.....are you going to write to the cruiseline or just let it go? thanks for the detailed review....that's one ship I'll definitely stay away from....I hope you hung out in San Fran for a while and enjoyed yourselves...

Aussie Gal

May 11th, 2006, 02:50 AM

Brian,

It must have been woeful on the Mercury for you to disembark two days later. What a disappointment not to have the 11 day cruise especially after all you had gone through getting the prize.

I have always wanted to try Celebrity. After reading your funny post I think I will give that thought away for now and concentrate on trying Crystal instead.

Jennie

grannynurse

May 11th, 2006, 06:20 AM

Brian,
It just goes to show that "Free (sic) is just another word for nothing left to lose"
I would have loved to be a mouse in the woodwork listening to your play by play comments.

I just can't imagine.....
Everything you own must be offended,
Welcome back home to HAL!
Love,
Grannynurse

caviargal

May 11th, 2006, 06:33 AM

I was on Mercury in October and my experience was very similar to Brian's.

It was my fourth X cruise and the absolute worst. Mercury needs a major overhaul. IMO, it is for all the reasons detailed that she is priced as she is.

FlorenceItaly

May 11th, 2006, 07:08 AM

Brian, you were my last hope, and now I have none..............

Marie

travellady

May 11th, 2006, 08:47 AM

I sailed Celebrity once, the Mercury, and possibly the reason I don't consider sailing Celebrity when I plan cruises. The bed was so bad, in fact it was concave, that I needed an Excedrin PM to sleep. Why on earth have they not updated their bedding? And, our service was so attentive in the dining room, my in-laws wanted to eat at the casual restaurant the next night. Our waiter didn't stop talking to us and we really wanted to just enjoy our dinner and chat amongst ourselves.

We much prefer HAL for the smaller, more-refined, cruising experience.

Sayyadina

May 11th, 2006, 09:10 AM

…and never did anyone in the staff or crew ever bother to ask why I was leaving early.

That really gets me. wow.

This must have been a major culture shock for you. While it was funny to read, the whole time I was comparing it to my one and only experience on a HAL ship and my mind was reeling. :D

I'm curious to see if you're going to add it to your sig, and how you will word it....:eek:

arzz

May 11th, 2006, 09:22 AM

So much for the old adage "any day at sea is better than...."

Incredible review -- good read but I am really sorry that you lost the cruise that you worked so hard to win.

shipcafe

May 11th, 2006, 09:29 AM

Just "wow". I always hear such good about Celebrity. I had to laugh out loud in regard to your comments on the onboard art, though, as I've seen it for myself - ha!

jhannah

May 11th, 2006, 09:35 AM

Great read, Brian! Thanks for sharing your experience. We saw the Mercury in San Diego recently, and just from the outside she looked to be a very tired vessel.

What a shame that this cruise (that you had to jump through hoops to claim) was such a disappointing experience.

Bramcruiser

May 11th, 2006, 09:38 AM

I saw the Mercury tied up beside our ship, the Oosterdam, last September in Victoria, B.C. Both ships were doing coastal runs with ours heading south down to San Diego. It looked fine on the outside but I preferred the look of our HAL ship even if it is one of those Vista class ships. Anyway, all I ever heard from several passengers was that HAL wasn't as good as Celebrity especially when it came time to discuss food.

Then I joined Cruise Critic and have heard both good and bad about that line but have heard nothing but bad about the Mercury. Now this report. Makes me appreciate even more the fact I choose the Oosterdam last fall.

Me thinks its time that RCCL/Celebrity spent some money on upgrading or retire the Mercury. It always seems to have some well priced coastal trips and now we know why.

johnlcruise

May 11th, 2006, 09:47 AM

I was on the Mercury a year ago.
Although not up to HAL standers, I found it to be a nice ship.(I like the small old ships)
Our bed was very nice and the service was outstanding. And the food was not too bad eather.
I do at least 2 cruise's a year and I have never had a bad one.
I guess it goes to show you, "That A Cruise Is WHAT YOU Make It To Be"

kryos

May 11th, 2006, 10:17 AM

I sailed Celebrity once, the Mercury, and possibly the reason I don't consider sailing Celebrity when I plan cruises. The bed was so bad, in fact it was concave, that I needed an Excedrin PM to sleep.
I sailed Celebrity only one time ... the Zenith ... for a five-day cruise. My cabin was much as Brian described, including a bed that felt like sleeping on a rock. But, in my case, I got the cruise dirt cheap ... was traveling as a guest of a TA group who were taking courses onboard and the rate I got was sinful. So, I didn't question the lack of stateroom ammenities. Figured I was getting exactly what I paid for. Not only was the bed hard as a rock, but there was another bed recessed into the ceiling, and everytime I would lean over to put on my shoes, I would have to be very careful coming up, or I would conk my head but good on that upper berth. There was no refrigerator, rather just a thin ice bucket that wouldn't even keep the ice solid for very long. The steward would fill it during his nightly rounds, but by midnight it was all just water.

The cabin was absolutely tiny ... and the bathroom was unbelieveably small.

But, I guess I was lucky in other respects. I found the ship wonderful ... intimate ... and the food delicious (maybe even a slight edge over HAL). I found the dining room to be absolutely beautiful, the waiters very friendly and accommodating, and a good selection of food. I honestly had no complaints whatsoever on that score.

As for the entertainment, I honestly can't comment because I didn't go to one production show. As part of the deal for my super cheap fare, I had to sit in on the TA classes offered as well, and on sea days those classes could go six hours. At night, I much preferred to sit in a lounge after dinner or maybe up on deck.

In Brian's case, though, I think it stinks that they give him a cruise as a prize, and then provided such substandard accommodations. That's really not fair. I wouldn't expect him to get a luxurious suite, but the least they could have done was given him a decent stateroom.

Remind me to be very wary of "win a free cruise" promotions ... because it would seem that the best things in life are not always free ... at least not as far as cruises go.

Sorry Brian had such a bad experience. It shouldn't have been like that. If I were him, I'd be firing off a very, very nasty letter ... not just to Celebrity, but primarily to Travelocity, the sponsors of this contest.

Blue skies ...

--rita

K&RCurt

May 11th, 2006, 10:19 AM

Hi Brian:

I am so sorry this cruise was so disappointing. i know how hard you had to work to get you "prize" and to have it be such a negative experience is sad.

You are taking quite a beating over on the "X" board. I guess it's the same on each board, when someone has a bad experience the loyalists have to come and put down the OP.

Your post has us re-thinking our Feb '07 Century cruise. Even though the ship will be fairly fresh out of the refit it's now undergoing, it sounds like other aspects anre at work also.

ASue

May 11th, 2006, 10:33 AM

I was also on the Mercury a year ago. I agree with the beds not being to comfy but we got a egg crate put on ours the next day. Yes the cabins were smaller than we are used to but we don't spend that much time in there so it didn't bother me. I loved the ship. The food was outstanding and the service was alot better than we had on the 3 HAL cruises we had taken. We had read about the ship being in bad shape. We didn't feel that way at all. But then again the ship is small and older than any of the HAL ships we had taken.

Sorry you didn't have a good time. I think a cruise is what you make it. We also tried Princess and it was a very nice cruise but no as good as Celebrity.

The one nice thing for us is the ships leave out of San Francisco which is close to home so saves us alot on airfares, hotels and transfers.

I would sail her again in a minute.

longtimecruiser

May 11th, 2006, 11:10 AM

Brian,
Thanks for the very honest review. I can't imaqgine leaving a cruise after just two days. I agree with you about Celebrity ships being shabby. I was on the Galaxy, in a suite and the furniture was torn, carpeting badly stained, overall appearance of a second rate run down motel. This was several years ago. Galaxy is the sister ship to the Merecury. Celebrity just doesn't have the well maintained ships that Hal has and they are lacking with the extra touches that Hal has become so well known for with their passengers. Adele:p

Pudgesmom

May 11th, 2006, 11:15 AM

Brian,

What a review!!!!! I was almost holding my breath waiting for your free cruise experience to improve. You have a gift for writing, and for this HAL cruiser the compare/contrast was done exceptionally well.

Will/have you posted this on the Celebrity board? It would be interesting to hear from some over there that prefer Celebrity to HAL.

I'm sorry you didn't have a better time.

Beth

LHC

May 11th, 2006, 11:30 AM

To schedule the time off, get it together, pack and plan, then only do 2 days....it must have been horrific. I am so sorry Brian. Happier Sailing back on HAL
Linda

Nancyquilts

May 11th, 2006, 11:46 AM

Altho' Prinsendam is our all-time favorite ship, we've been on Mercury twice in the last few years, and enjoyed it both times. We accept it for what it is, not what it isn't (because even HAL ships aren't all Prinsendam!). Nancy

patval

May 11th, 2006, 12:00 PM

I feel sorry for you Brian that your cruise was bad.

Over on the Celebrity Board they are ripping you apart.

People should not be flamed for expressing their own personal opinion.

Paul

patval

May 11th, 2006, 12:26 PM

Brian I forgot to ask did you choose this ship or did Travelocity tell you this is what they are giving you.

If that is not the case why did you notr try a M-Class ship because i would of thought you would of enjoyed it better just not the Millinium because people say it has a sewage smell.

I do find the M-Class ships aft look funky to me and I am not sure how to explain it maybe follow this link adn see what I mean.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=342812

Paul

Bramcruiser

May 11th, 2006, 12:29 PM

trubey

May 11th, 2006, 12:36 PM

Great Review! At first I couldn't imagine how I could not only have missed your bon voyage, but then not noticed that you hadn't posted for 11 days. I figured it was more of my recurring internet computer problems (you might have noticed that I had to remove my yahoo messenger a while back).

Just think, now you never have to wonder if you'd be happier on a Celebrity ship. BEPSF will always be enough celebrity for me. So, welcome back. susana.

caviargal

May 11th, 2006, 12:44 PM

I can see how some would defend Celebrity - it has a big following and I really would expect that over on the Celebrity board. However, if someone has the honesty to say that Mercury is shabby and in need of updating I can't see why the attack has to be so vicious over on the other board. Its one person's opinion and not something that will sink the line.

Honestly, I am not sure I would agree with everything that Brian has said but he is articulate about the ins and outs of the voyage and there have been bad comments on this particular ship before from others. Thus there is a case history. Should someone walk off a ship just two days into an 11 day voyage then there really has got to be something wrong somewhere?

We all have different wants and tastes especially when it comes to cruising but vicious attacks are just not warranted. I guess the mistake Brian made was telling the Celebrity people that their ship was the pits. He might have been brutally honest but never came across as mean-spirited.

My first reaction was that he should just remain quiet on the subject but now I believe he should write a letter to Travelocity and Celebrity. Not a nasty letter but just one saying he felt the Mercury was not up to par with the Celebrity image, state all the reasons why, and mention that he walked away 2 days into the voyage.He'll never be recompensated for a freebie but Travelocity will know the prize wasn't worth it and that Celebrity may want to listen to how they can do something about the Mercury. If no one listens at least he got it off his chest.

I was also surprised at some of the nastiness displayed on the X board in reply to Brian's post. That particular ship often gets poor ratings, even by X devotees.

I was on her in October and, quite frankly, was very surprised at the condition of the ship. Was it awful? No. But it unequivocally is NOT up to X standards considering they are a premium line.

We had problems with elevators working intermittently, snotty housekeeping staff, A/C not working properly, and, yes, the gym is every bit as awful as he describes it. I was on for a TA seminar so was not very vocal while on board, but, had I paid full fare, X would have received a long letter. The beds were awful, the bedding and window coverings stained and the sink cracked in the poorly maintained bathroom. I was in a Deluxe Oceanview and the size was just fine for the two of us so that was an issue for me.

If I had not previously had good experiences on X, I would not have ever chosen them again based on Mercury.

As for food, I though it was very good in the dining room. And I preferred the ships layout to the ZUI.

I think it is unkind and in bad taste to dispute in a nasty or condescending manner the experience of the individual cruiser who takes the time to post. I also find it annoying when posters respond with "a cruise is that you make it" or "there is no such thing as a bad cruise." I do not agree.

Ine

May 11th, 2006, 01:14 PM

At first I didnot want to react to this postings, as english isnot my 1st language and sometimes it can be difficult to find the correct words to express what I think....
I agree anybody can give his reactions/views about his cruise be it negative or positive. But..I really get the impression that Brian was for whatever reason disappointed even before the cruise started and after that couldnot or wouldnot be happy or neutral enough to see pre's or contras.
Like writing about 1/2 glass of champagne when getting on the ship....was that really that important to you?
Embarkation sounded awful, but things can go wrong for various reasons.

Yes Mercury isnot a new ship and to compare e.g. Mercury with Oosterdam like somebody did is absolutely incorrect. They are of different age and seize.
Size of cabins can be found in websites, be it Celebrity, HAL or any other company, so you can know how big/small cabins are. There might be some difference in seize between X and HAL in the same category, but not that much I think, apart from the bathroom, they are smaller on Mercury as it often is shower (no tub) only.
There is a difference in cabinsizes on some "Concierge Class", maybe Brian was disappointed not getting one of those cabins.?
I really donot want to give my reactions on every item Brian is writing about, but some of them I think sound rather childish and are just made for having laughs about that. (Be it the buffet-area, the navigatorsclub, you name it.)

Cruise-lines have different ways of doing muster-drill. I agree on HAL it is done on a "serious"way. Celebrity does it different and as far as I know also Princess does it like celebrity.

We sailed Mercury over 2 years ago, we liked it that much, that we made another Celebrity Cruise on Summit to Hawaii last March.
We saw some places on Summit that needed new paint, maybe some chairs needed replacement, but that was not important enough to us to not enjoy that cruise.
We made cruises on HAL before, so I think I can compare too.
Yes I agree with Brian the onionsoup is awful, apart from that we had real good meals served by a fantastic waiter, a very nice maitr d".

Please also be aware that the price for a cruise can be another reason for choosing a cruiseline/ship etc.
On our Summit cruise we had a balcony-cabin, but if we sailed on "Amsterdam" during almost the same date, for that price it would have been an outside cabin...

No plans yet, but our next cruise could be with HAL or maybe again on Celebrity...

venicecruiser

May 11th, 2006, 01:59 PM

The reaction to Byran's post on the X board is exactly why I rarely post anything there and haven't for a long time. I had a very poor experience on Zenith a couple years ago and posted the "shortcomings" as I saw them. I was flamed in pretty much the same way that Bryan is being flamed now.

I used to sail X almost exclusively, now I avoid them. The Celebrity experience of the present doesn't even begin to come close to the Celebrity experience of a few years ago.

There will always be some devotees of any cruiseline who will defend their line of choice to the death-whether that cruiseline deserves their loyalty or not. I'm not that way. If I love something I will say so, if I am less satisfied with another aspect- I'll say that too.

And by the way - that stuff X passes off as "champagne" when passengers are boarding is in fact a very cheap sparkling wine-NOT champagne.

Claudia

mrblack

May 11th, 2006, 02:09 PM

Too bad Brian your cruise was a great disappointment. Like Bramcruiser I think you should write an objective letter expressing your disappointment in the quality of the ship.

I sailed Mercury a few years ago and loved it Thought it was super. After that we sailed Carnival with our family. I was disappointed with Carnival at first because my frame of reference was based on my positive experience on Celebrity but it was really unfair of me to be comparing the two. They were different products. Once i recognized that I reallly enjoyed the Carnival ship cruise. I wouldn't likely do it again because it doesn't provide the experience that I'm interested in.

I think if you really like HAL, every other ship is going to fall short in terms of meeting expectations. Although in this case seems it was worse than just falling short:D

Mel

SDHALFAN

May 11th, 2006, 03:01 PM

Brian,

I am so sorry that you had such a miserable time and I don't blame you for abandoning ship, I would have done the same thing myself.

Valerie:)

SDHALFAN

May 11th, 2006, 03:24 PM

I just checked out the Celebrity board re: Brian's post and I have to say that I don't think that they were particularly hard on him. Oh sure there were a few nastyish posts but on the whole most people were fairly polite.

Have you seen some of the flaming that goes on on this board when someone has the temerity to criticise HAL? I have probably been guilty of that myself:o.

I am a dedicated HAL cruiser. I've only tried one other cruiseline, which incidentally has since gone out of business (gee, I wonder why?), and I briefly considered a Crystal cruise but just couldn't give up my HAL addiction.

Valerie:)

ger_77

May 11th, 2006, 03:24 PM

You left a cruise to return to work - willingly????? Yikes! :eek:

Your writing was very entertaining; I kept waiting for things to improve - I'm sorry for you and Scotty that they didn't. I hope there weren't many first-time cruisers onboard who now think that's the standard for all cruise ships. I guess, though, that it can only get better on their next trips.:rolleyes:

Smooth Sailing! :) :) :)

sail7seas

May 11th, 2006, 05:25 PM

I'm so sorry you had such a bad experience, Brian, but I have to admit I was roaring with laughter at some places in your review.

Of course you should write your true opinion of your experience. Too bad if someone doesn't agree. They don't have to. You know what you experienced and you know how you were treated.

It is shocking to think they did not ask why you were leaving after only two days aboard. It's inconceivable they had no interest in inquiring. Maybe they actually know what a lousy experience that ship is offering??!!?@ and perhaps they have some number of dissatisified pax who leave each cruise??!@??

cutelittle

May 11th, 2006, 05:36 PM

carole52m

May 11th, 2006, 05:48 PM

What a horrible experience. Too bad it had to happen. But as they say good experience comes from bad experience.

You hit the nail on the head describing you cruise experience on the Mercury. We sailed the Mercury to Alaska a few years ago and found it tired. We had the worst ship experiences - someone elses food left in my husbands napkin, cold uninspired food, a ripped bedspread and torn carpet. When people tell me how much they like Celebrity - I look at them in amazement.

I almost prefer Carnival (not that I would go on Carnival again - did it when we were young) to Celebrity - at least on Carnival you have low expectations and get what you expect. On Celebrity, I had high expectations and didnt get what they advertised. Certainly not a queen.

We are doing our second cruise on HAL and looking forward to it.

caviargal

May 11th, 2006, 06:56 PM

The really tough part will probably come later unless it already has. The full retail value of the cruise will be reported to the IRS as taxable income, and Brian will have to pay taxes based on his "increased income." That's a big hit for a 2 day cruise. Bummer...

Remember the hoo-haw when Oprah gave her staff new cars, and some of them returned them to her because they didn't want the increased tax liability?

I have been fortunate to have won many incentive trips during my career in the tech industry and even more fortunate that the companies always picked up the tax bill as well :)

iceman93

May 11th, 2006, 07:08 PM

Brian, thank you so much for taking the time to post your review. You did compliment X for some things, and your criticisms were absolutely hilarious.

I guess that for a free cruise you kind of have to expect the worst of what a provider has to offer--their smallest cabin on their oldest ship. But when I think back to my cruise on the old Noordam less than a year from leaving the HAL fleet, I have wonderful memories. The cabins were small, yes, but the ship itself was as magical as any others we're been on. If X has a ship that isn't up to their standards, then it shouldn't be in the fleet.

If you do write a letter, I would be totally up front and honest. The tone should be, "Look, I don't want another free cruise or any other kind of compensation. I just want you to know why your I thought your company provided such a poor experience that I left two days into an eleven day cruise." Personally, I probably wouldn't bother and just wouldn't ever cruise them again, free or otherwise.

kryos

May 11th, 2006, 07:26 PM

I guess that for a free cruise you kind of have to expect the worst of what a provider has to offer--their smallest cabin on their oldest ship.
But isn't this really just crappy public relations? If I were the contest sponsor, I would sooner offer as a prize a shorter cruise, but in nicer accommodations on a nicer ship ... leave the winner with a great impression of that cruise/cruiseline. Then my contest has also become a great marketing tool. Perhaps the winner will want to sail that ship again ... next time on his own nickel.

Just my opinion.

Blue skies ...

--rita

Slinkiecat

May 11th, 2006, 08:51 PM

Glad you're back home, Brian, and even if that cruise wasn't up to your usual expectations, at least you saw what happens to older ships on Celebrity.

We had our honeymoon cruise on a Celebrity ship which was new, and while it was one of the big ones that I now shun, our experience was great. The food, entertainment and service were wonderful.

We went on the world cruise on an older HAL ship, Prinsendam, and it was really a better place to call home for 113 days than the new X ship. We've booked two more cruises on Prinsendam as well as a couple more on HAL ships, mainly because they make you feel at home and your stewards, waiters, salon attendants, etc., are happy to be working there and it shows.

We look forward to sailing with you on Westerdam this fall.

Slinkie

NancyIL

May 11th, 2006, 08:58 PM

I read Brian's review on the Celebrity board, then followed the link someone posted there to see what HAL cruisers had to say. I've never sailed on Celebrity, so I'm not defending the cruiseline. But to leave a cruise to ALASKA on day 2? All I could think of while reading his review was, "what a whiner"!

bepsf

May 11th, 2006, 09:30 PM

Thanks for your comments everyone -
A couple things to note:

A Category 4 (which we were in) is the "best" and "largest" outside category stateroom. The interior designer in me kept thinking that if we could just rearrange the furniture, we'd have some walking room. Even the steward said that he didn't want to separate the beds (putting the nightstand in the middle) as there would either be no room to walk in the front door or the desk would block you from the window...

As far as selecting the ship/stateroom, I'd requested one of the Infinity Mexico cruises from SF: I was told by my Travelocity contact that the "Revenue Department" offered me this trip on Mercury. I'd inquired after an upgrade to a balcony, but all they had left at that time was a single Sky Suite.

Embarcation/check-in was not a bad thing for Scotty and I personally - we just sat in the hotel lobby enjoying a few cocktails and trying to warn folks not to go rushing off to the ship right away, 'cause they'd just be sitting at the pier for hours (up to 3 hours it turns out). Once we did arrive at the pier, we dropped the luggage at the cargo gangway at the stern, then joined the embarcation line which lasted only a few minutes before crossing the passenger gangway. Arriving at the port of embarcation beforehand is always a good thing...

I was not the only person to leave the ship that day - there was an Asian family leaving, and my friend Don who was traveling w/ us left too (his first cruise!)

As we chatted w/ some others who were aboard (lots of TA's - I think there was a CruiseOne group aboard) we spoke of other lines. One of the things we laughed about was how one can order the HAL beds - wouldn't it be a hoot to call HAL Shipservices and have them express a mattress/sheets/pillows/etc. and have it on the pier in SF waiting for us?!?

Scotty is still aboard - he hates the ship too, but he feels like he needed the time off worse than I, the ship will carry him home at the end (and he'll get the cabin to himself) He said he wants to lose 10-15 lbs anyway, so he's gonna use the spa and eat light (not a problem on that boat...)

I cannot tell you if the ship had stopped at Astoria or some other port on the Pacific Coast if I would be still aboard, tho one thing is for sure: Before I went to bed last night, I was feeling run-down and headachy. This morning I had a 100.5 temp and all that goes w/ it (I wonder if this is what Norovirus feels like?) so I'd have probably ended up locked-up & unhappy in the hovel anyways...

iceman93

May 12th, 2006, 07:21 AM

But isn't this really just crappy public relations? If I were the contest sponsor, I would sooner offer as a prize a shorter cruise, but in nicer accommodations on a nicer ship ... leave the winner with a great impression of that cruise/cruiseline. Then my contest has also become a great marketing tool. Perhaps the winner will want to sail that ship again ... next time on his own nickel.

I completely agree with you! But so few companies, even in the hospitality industry, take that kind of long-term view. My experience has been that they will often short-change things in the short term, sacrificing whatever long-term goodwill they could have built up. I guess the reasoning is that they got all kinds of free press from advertising the contest, and pissing off the contest winner is a small price to pay.

Vic The Parrot

May 12th, 2006, 07:44 AM

Hi Brian

I was shocked reading your review. Not a good intro to what Celeb has to offer. Me thinks you picked the wrong ship, at the wrong time.
(Maybe that noro thing had something to do with it ... lots of queries and thoughts on that in many previous items on the "X" board ...)

I think you should give Celebrity a chance. The Zenith is a popular ship, and altho she's 'old' (so is the Statendam .... same exact vintage ..) you should try her. I sailed Zenith once, and I'm dying to do it again! Very comfortable, and feels "clubby"

You can't go wrong on that ship ... trust me

:cool:

FoxyTerrier

May 12th, 2006, 08:02 AM

patval

May 12th, 2006, 08:17 AM

Cheers Brian fro your repsonse on the Celebrity Board you have some of them with their foot in their mouth but the hardcore folks will still think you are evil.

Paul

Tatka

May 12th, 2006, 08:28 AM

I can't imagine horrible experience on Mercury... Sorry you didn't like her that much.

We sailed on her right after our cruise on Zuiderdam ...

Zuiderdam definitely has larger cabins, but Mercury's was adequate. (both insides)

Zuiderdam had better selections in lunch buffet.

Mercury provided us with much better service from stateroom attendant and wait team. Much more professional and white glove.

On Z our room wasn't made after 12 PM 3 times during one week.

Celebrity was much quicker when responding to the problems... On Z. we had to wait 1.5 days for somebody to fix our safe!!!

When I booked Mercury, I made a mistake of booking 3 of us in double room (in this case they use roll away beds)... It was really uncomfortable, but they found different room couple of days later(ship was sold out) and sent us shampagne, even though it was my mistake.

Food in the DR was fine on both ships, although I prefer French style of Celebrity.

I will gladly sail on both lines .

caviargal

May 12th, 2006, 09:37 AM

Cheers Brian fro your repsonse on the Celebrity Board you have some of them with their foot in their mouth but the hardcore folks will still think you are evil.

Paul

I noticed that. The sarcasm abounds. Apparently, some folks do not know where the high road is located :cool::cool:.

HeatherInFlorida

May 12th, 2006, 12:22 PM

Tatka

May 12th, 2006, 12:33 PM

caviargal

May 12th, 2006, 12:44 PM

I'm surprised they charged for the T-pool. On the Millennium class ships, the T-pool is free. The ships are spotless and magnificent. The cabins are far prettier than HAL's with far more storage space (at least in the Verandah cabins). And I never tripped once.

I've never been on the Mercury so I can't comment. But personally I find the Lifeboat drill far superior to the HAL drill. I think it's a good thing for them to point out the fact that all may not go according to plan, because it just might not. The lifeboat drill is one of the most important moments on your cruise. When people complain about the HAL drill, everyone posts in support of this important event and criticizes the OP for complaining it takes too long or it's too hot.

If I had a less sophisticated taste in food, I'd be concerned by your criticism of your dining experience. But I've cruised Celebrity 3 times ... twice recently. The food is lightyears ahead of HAL in the dining room although I still prefer the HAL Lido. I could always order anything I wanted even when it wasn't on the menu. We loved the Creme Brulee so much, they made it especially on a second night.

So I continue to love HAL and I continue to love Celebrity. But when I read a review that seems to voice only one or two positives, I have to be suspect. Sorry ... go ahead a flame me.

I'd sure hate to see anyone planning a Celebrity cruise be put off by this review.

Heather, no flames here, just my personal opinion of Mercury. I have been on 4 X cruises, the last one on Mercury. IMO, as an experienced cruiser who really enjoys X, Mercury is a very poor representation of the line.

She is worn down way beyond her years. I have always been impressed by how spiffy RCI keeps their older ships; X needs to take lessons. Our beds were concave, the spreads nasty and the sink cracked in the bathroom. "Shabby" is the word that comes to mind. The gym was run down with broken equipment. Being a fitness buff, this was an issue for me. There were problems with the A/C and also the elevators.

Compared to Horizon and Zenith in their heyday and Inifinity a few years ago, there is simply no comparison, except in the main dining room where I personally found the food to be very good.

If Mercury had been my first X cruise, I truly would not have been back for more. The caliber of service and maintenance left much to be desired, IMRE. I would never cruise on her again.

bepsf

May 12th, 2006, 01:54 PM

It's interesting that when someone posts a review as negative as this one on the HAL board about another cruise line everyone rejoices and roars with laughter.

If you posted a review like this about a HAL ship (and people have) on this board, you would be torn to shreds.

Heather--

I totally knew that I would be persona non grata on the X boards after my review. It's kinda like knowing that your best friends' sister is a slut, but when you mention it to her brother, he'll beat the crap outta you.

But it's an honest recollection and it needed to be told. I simply choose not to limit it to a laundry-list litany of compliants that we so often see here, but to help readers feel like they were there with me. I know it's not everyone's style, but so be it.

I'm sorry your cruise was so disappointing because I hate it when a person has a rotten time. But the fact is you got a huge kick out of tearing apart this cruise. Complaining, for instance, about the rise into the bathroom is just silly. It's an older ship. You should be my age and sailed on some of the ships I have before ramps, etc.

Thanks Dear, I appreciate that --

I guess I was thinking that a ship of a "premium" line, the same general age as Amsterdam would have been maintained as well - and the thresholds would be similarly low-ish. Call me a goof, but I was always falling into the bathroom (it got to be a running joke)

Yes, I did get some satisfaction out of telling it like it is - after 2 sleepless nights and the great disappointment in my surroundings and food, and coming down w/ the flu (Norovirus?) I felt the need to tell it in my own style. I also feel that my criticisms were balanced - after all, I noted in a couple areas that HAL doesn't do everything perfectly either (tho from my experience, they seem to be trying awfully hard these days - look at the improvements in Food and Bedding over the past 3 years)

I could have been bitter and harangued on little disappointments, like the countless dents in the corridors & how there were always vacuum cleaners and cargo trolleys in those narrow corridors, how the telephone in our stateroom didn't work for the first day and a half, how ridiculously expensive the martini's are ($9.95 +15% Auto-tip, plus a big space for "an additional gratuity for exceptional service" on every bar-bill) & how I didn't get a slice of apple in my Apple-tini (and I was lied to - he said that they were out and we'd get apples in SF, but there was an apple in my drink the following night :mad: ), how we had to ask for nuts/nibblies in the bars instead of being offered them, how the hawkers in the Palm Springs Cafe walked around with trays calling out "Drinks of the Day" as if we were at a ballgame, how there were never any spoons to be found for cereal or yogurt - we always had to ask for one, how we were always spoken to in a directive tone "You have to do this" or "You have to go there for that" as opposed to a helpful/service style "This is how it's done, Sir" or "This is where it's located, Sir", etc., how the curtains in the dining room are closed so you can't view at the ship's wake at dinner, how un-soft the towels are, etc. (Little stuff adds up...)

As I posted on the X board - I expected a premium experience, and got something sub-par. Whenever I step off HAL, I feel like the people in X's "I was a King/I was a Queen" commercials - but X provided neither that experience nor the facilities to do so.

Anyways, I'm feeling somewhat more human today: My temp is down to almost normal and I'm not in as nearly much stomach-wrenching pain as I was yesterday or the afternoon post-leaving the ship.
:)

TedC

May 12th, 2006, 02:18 PM

Brain, I hope you realize you've probably lost any chance of writing the new Celebrity brochures.

But have you thought about critiquing executions?

Bramcruiser

May 12th, 2006, 03:04 PM

Brian wrote his opinions and we should leave it at that. Yes its too easy, as Heather mentioned, for HAL fans to dance and rejoice and let the Celebrity people tear him apart. Sure there were some biased opinions in the review but then again every critque ever written is biased. We can always choose to diasagree and politely balance the story if one should have a better experience.

What I find sad is that sometimes the reactions are well - over the top - on both sides. I can tell you this, that if I ever did go on a cruise (no matter which line or ship) where I felt the experience disappointing I would really refrain from saying a word about it on any of these boards. Brian, I may not agree 100% with your critique but I think you have guts for saying it as it is as you see it and withstand the bombardment. Its silly not to have to say anything negative.

Thankfully, I can now honestly say that the two cruises I had to date have been pleasant experiences.

Tatka

May 12th, 2006, 03:05 PM

Brian, I hope you recover fully...

I understand that Vista ships of Hal are much different than previous classes, so I can't speak of Amsterdam etc, but sailing Zuiderdam in 2004 I found 2 years old ship in less than great condition... I liked it but can go on and on about things that could be better ... Writing on the walls in ellevators, bad A/C in Lido area... broken A/C in our room (it was so cold, my husband was sick after day #1)

... but specially service.

Our waiters were the worst out of Celebrity, RCCL and Carnival!!!!

They were so unprofessional, like high school kids working after hours. Plus they had to wait on so many tables it took forever to get food!

I seriously can't say my HAL experience was step up from X.

sail7seas

May 12th, 2006, 03:43 PM

Brian......

I'm happy to hear you are starting to feel better.

Thank you for posting your comments here re: "X". I was interested to read them.

sammiedawg

May 12th, 2006, 04:20 PM

We tried Celebrity Century once, it seemed like a really good deal compared to the competition. We were shocked how run down and drab it was, very very very very overrated. In dire need of refurb I have to laugh about leaving the ship early, I wanted to jump off and swim over to either Princess HAL or RCI tied up next to us. Carnival would have been fine.

HeatherInFlorida

May 12th, 2006, 05:18 PM

Brian, I hope you understand I totally respect your right to review your 2 day cruise as you experienced it and in any way you desire.

I can't say my reaction is so much a criticism of your review as it was a reaction to the applause and jabbing each other in the gut saying "yuck yuck Celebrity is obviously a lousy cruise line and HAL is perfect" when we know from so many accolades here that it's simply not true. There are many of us who crossover between the two and give Celebrity extremely high marks.

Some of your comments almost suggest that we've got to be crazy or inexperienced to love Celebrity. You didn't always express an opinion as much as saying that 2 days on the ship and now you know how terrible Celebrity is. It's just not, certainly not my experiences on the Millennium class.

That said, I've never been on Mercury so what do I know?:) Absolutely nothing. And if Celebrity has let one of their ships go so badly downhill, that's inexcusable.

I was just so grateful to feel an emotion other than sadness today. So I turned a lot of emotion into my reaction.

Somehow I missed that you were ill, but I'm so glad to hear you're on the mend.

thomasale

May 12th, 2006, 05:52 PM

I feel sorry for you Brian that your cruise was bad.

Over on the Celebrity Board they are ripping you apart.

People should not be flamed for expressing their own personal opinion.

Paul

No offense but in reading the referenced posting I did not see Brian "ripped apart" I did see SOME people complaining about his review. That would be expected. We love Celebrity. Some of us (I'm ashamed to say) are not very tolerant of other peoples opinions'. I bet the same is true here on the HAL board.

My point still stands. I loved Brians' review. My experiences on Celebrity have NOT been the same. His experience will not change my memories. In the sales business perception is reality. His review is outstanding. His wit is entertaining. His writing style is commendable.

It really is too bad that things weren't better for him. We however would have been cheated out of this great diversion. Kudos Brian, very well done!

bepsf

May 12th, 2006, 10:49 PM

Thanks S7S, Heather, etc.---

Doing much better today - had some Sizzling Rice soup and Fried Rice today w/ a little Egg Foo Young (Thank Goodness for Chinese delivery!) :)

Ted, you have me one heck of a laugh.
:D

Heather--

You have a very good point there - just as Tatka's and many others not-so-hot experiences on Zuiderdam aren't necessarily indicative of HAL as a whole (Graffiti? UGH!), it's probably fair to say that my experience on Mercury may not be indicative of Celebrity as a whole. But I feel incredibly sad for the folks who may have never read these boards stepping onto Mercury for the first time thinking that "if this is as good as it gets, cruising must not be for me".

BTW - I find it terribly interesting that X announced yesterday that they are sending Mercury to the Aussies - the weather will surely be much more appropriate for her open decks. I just wonder if she will get a (much needed) drydock before then?

Paul & Tom - it's been a real learning experience being "the nail that sticks up" this week - I don't think I'll be quite so quick to question other's motives, etc. when reading negative postings on the boards. I realize following such as post w/ something along the lines of "Well, I was on that ship 2 years ago and we had a great time" doesn't really help - and can be read as a subtle undermining of the OP's credibility.

I also have a new appreciation for the feelings of the poor folks who get Norovirus on cruises. I can totally see now why they might feel that they should get some kind of consideration for being holed up in their stateroom for 2 or 3 days (particularly if they don't have a Verandah Suite w/ a Jacuzzi Tub!) Does anyone know if travel insurance has some sort of Norovirus clause? I'm just thankful that I had the option of leaving the ship and doing my penance alone in my own apartment...

...plus it's given me something to think of besides my nausea - Thanks, Folks! ;)

HeatherInFlorida

May 13th, 2006, 10:42 AM

Brian, your post just above mine is awesome! I just loved reading it because you completely "got" my point. I just finished an email to a friend trying to explain that what I was trying to express was more about human behavior than anything else.

You know that if you wrote this exact same review about the Maasdam (for instance), these same folks would have been all over you! So I found it interesting and it really was a wake-up call for me to try to be a bit more understanding when someone posts a negative review of their experience. As so many say, it's their experience ... not ours:) .

In the end, we should all try to remember that you can really have a bad experience on any cruise on any ship. I know that I will have a different reaction the next time someone slams HAL.

I am so glad you are feeling better. Keep having soup!

mim100

May 13th, 2006, 11:47 AM

Hi Brian....glad you're feeling better....and I hope you continue to give us your detailed, objective reviews about your cruises....I agree with you that all those little things add up....we're paying a premium price and have the right to expect a premium cruise...and like you, I would not be willing to put up with 3rd rate anything ....everything you mentioned were things that IMO are important to know and help us with our decisions regardings choices of ships and cruiselines....so keep on giving us the benefit of your experience....thanks !!! :)

Aussie Gal

May 13th, 2006, 07:11 PM

Thanks S7S, Heather, etc.---

Doing much better today - had some Sizzling Rice soup and Fried Rice today w/ a little Egg Foo Young (Thank Goodness for Chinese delivery!) :)

BTW - I find it terribly interesting that X announced yesterday that they are sending Mercury to the Aussies - the weather will surely be much more appropriate for her open decks. I just wonder if she will get a (much needed) drydock before then?

Brian,

We have never had Celebrity down here before. Why do the big cruise lines always send us the ships that need doing up or are past their use by date. Princess has been doing it for years, renaming them and then trying to sell them to us as the most modern and up to date ships.

I am not talking about the Statendam or Sapphire Princess which are marketed to the U.S. whilst here but the ships that are marketed solely to Aussies.

It would be nice to have a newer Celebrity ship down here so that we could get the total experience. :)

Jennie

Tatka

May 13th, 2006, 07:56 PM

Aussie Gal

May 13th, 2006, 08:17 PM

Tatka,

I cannot believe after reading the posts that the Mercury was only built in 1998.

We sailed on the old Noordam in 2001 and she was built in the 80's and yet she was in fantastic condition. I was expecting a run down ship when we boarded and she was like new inside. In fact they were putting down new carpet in the passages.

I can only assume that X doesn't keep up the maintenance like HAL and Princess. We were on the Regal in January and she was also kept like a new pin and she was built in the early 90's.

Jennie

bepsf

May 13th, 2006, 08:25 PM

Brian,

We have never had Celebrity down here before. Why do the big cruise lines always send us the ships that need doing up or are past their use by date. Princess has been doing it for years, renaming them and then trying to sell them to us as the most modern and up to date ships.

I am not talking about the Statendam or Sapphire Princess which are marketed to the U.S. whilst here but the ships that are marketed solely to Aussies.

It would be nice to have a newer Celebrity ship down here so that we could get the total experience. :)

Jennie

Jennie--

I don't rightly know - it seems a practice that goes back post WWII when the JVO was sent to Australia/New Zealand for the Nederland Line.

P&O has pretty much always used new tonnage until fairly recently when they've taken old tonnage and made them profitable again (what's old is new again)

I say we write a couple checks, order ourselves some new mid-size ships and start our own Australia/Pacific Line.
;)

kryos

May 13th, 2006, 08:27 PM

I think you should give Celebrity a chance. The Zenith is a popular ship, and altho she's 'old' (so is the Statendam .... same exact vintage ..) you should try her. I sailed Zenith once, and I'm dying to do it again! Very comfortable, and feels "clubby"

You can't go wrong on that ship ... trust me

I wholeheartedly agree. The Zenith ... yes, she is older and you will notice chipped countertops in the bathrooms, tight cabins (lower categories at least), some worn spots on carpets, etc. ... she is a beautiful ship. I thoroughly enjoyed my five-day sailing on her. But, then ... I have to admit ... I went into the trip with very low expectations (based on the ridiculously low fare I paid), so maybe that had something to do with it. But, I will also say that given the opportunity to sail her again, for a price anywhere in the range of what I paid the first time, I'd jump at it.

It's a shame Brian seems to have gotten stuck on the wrong ship. :(

Blue skies ...

--rita

Aussie Gal

May 13th, 2006, 08:30 PM

Jennie--

I don't rightly know - it seems a practice that goes back post WWII when the JVO was sent to Australia/New Zealand for the Nederland Line.

P&O has pretty much always used new tonnage until fairly recently when they've taken old tonnage and made them profitable again (what's old is new again)

I say we write a couple checks, order ourselves some new mid-size ships and start our own Australia/Pacific Line.
;)

Brian,

What fun! I know exactly what sort of ship I would like to build and how to market them. Yes, lets go ahead and do it! :) :)

Jennie

julia

May 14th, 2006, 12:17 AM

OMG!! Your review is just a riot.... I love your descriptive phrases and I felt as claustrophobic and disillusioned as you did while exploring the ship!

Good move Brian, to disembark early and cut your losses.... who KNOWS what you'd be writing after 11 days?! (Provided you could still write and atrophy hadn't already set in and then you'da had to dictate to Scotty in small and simple sentences.... you get my drift?)

Whew!

RevNeal

May 14th, 2006, 01:01 AM

Brian,

I'm not sure how I missed reading this thread before now, but I just finished it. As I said via e-mail, I'm so sorry you got sick and had to leave the ship. I can certainly understand how that colored your entire experience.

My friend, take care of yourself.

Tricia724

May 14th, 2006, 11:08 AM

There were so many negatives surrounding this trip, I think it would have been surprising if you had a great time.

First of all, you "won" the trip, and then didn't get any prize....to say nothing about all the rounds you went through with Travelocity and Celebrity to even get their attention.

Then, it appears you didn't get any options....if you had been able to sail Infinity to Mexico as you requested, I'm sure you would have felt better about the whole trip going in.

And this was probably the worst time to sail Mercury. She just came off a couple of really bad weeks with the norovirus. There are numerous posts from passengers stating that the crew was spraying disinfectant everywhere and the ship was suffering because of it. If the passengers were sick, probably some of the crew were sick, too....so some of them may still be trying to get back to normal.

I really think most of the people on the Celebrity board have been decent about your review. It could have been much worse. I think most of us realize that any cruise can be great or awful depending on our own individual experiences. Obviously, your experience is not the norm for Celebrity....they wouldn't have the success and following otherwise. Like others here, I've enjoyed my Celebrity cruises.

Let's hope your next trip is a good one.

safein

May 14th, 2006, 02:30 PM

Brian,

I am very sorry that you had a bad time on the Mercury. Of the 3 in her class, I liked her the least. I do agree with you about the layout of the beds. On the Galaxy, the beds are laid out the exact same way. Not a good use of the space in the room. The Century is better laid out IMHO. Even with the wear and tear on the ship, I don't think I would sail on Mercury because of her layout.

I do not agree with you on something you wrote in the CC thread:

RCCL/X: It's a well known fact that RCCL owns X. Apparently, X was running into cashflow issues while Mercury was being built - and Richard Fain was still P.O.'d from CCL "stealing" Costa from them, so they bought/bailed out X and immediately made drastic changes to management and severe cost-reductions. Now, RCCL pretty much runs X in its own style, therefore my comments referring to RCCL as the corporate entity.

I worked for Overseas Shipholding Group who was the minority shareholder (49%) of Celebrity. It was our company who put up the money to have the Century Class built. At that time, only the state of the art, top of the line were put into this class. Each vessel was made to be different from the sister ships. If you know anyone who has been on the Millie class, they are cookie cutter identical as far as layout and design. Our management was very much in the design and layout. I got to see the entire Century class on their inaugural open houses.

None of the downhill condition happened until RCCI took over Celebrity. The original agreement was that Celebrity was supposed to run itself with the parent only overseeing operations from afar. This has not been the case. The entire fault lies with RCCI. I do not know the exact reasons why Chandris sold their share, and subsequently we had to as well, but I think they made a bad deal.

Please do not let your experience on the Mercury sour you to Celebrity. Try one of the Millie class ships. You will find a marked difference. Oh, about the champagne glasses. The Captain's Cocktail party, you are seated when being served, so they can give out a more generous portion. The glasses at embarkation are being given to passengers who walk around with the glasses. Therefore, less spillage could occur that way. My husband would never be able to walk around with a full glass since his hand shakes, and guess who would be carrying both, looking like a lush! :D

Anita

johnsfo

May 14th, 2006, 04:08 PM

Brian--I believe that we had the pleasure to met you at a SF bar with some other Bay Area cruisers. Most importantly, I am happy to hear that you are feeling better. I cannot imagine that any 172 square foot cabin could be considered a prize while making the obsurd assumption that two people in such a small cabin can be made to feel comfortable. Considering that you became ill on the cruise in a 'terribly small' cabin, I don't blame you for leaving the ship. Prior to RCCL taking over Celebrity, I suspect that alot of ammenities on the Celebrity ships were better. However, I think that elminating this and that on all the cruise lines to save money is now the norm--especially now that the cruise lines are paying much more for fuel. We noticed a difference in the Celebrity experience between our first cruise on Mercury (2003) vs. our second cruise on Mercury (2004)--some differences small and some not so small--but noticable. On both cruises, we booked a Sky Suite on the Penthouse Deck. They are beautiful cabins with about 250 square feet and balcony. Mercury has a particurarly beautiful space (perhaps the nicest public space on the ship) at the front and top of the ship which in 2003 was used for a pianist with a beautiful grand piano in the evening which we truly enjoyed. In 2004, this great space was turned into a disco. This was a great dissappointment to us. In the past, my partner and I have sailed on Mercury (twice), Prinsendam (once), and Harmony (twice). I think that the damage caused by the constant 'beaching' due to Mercury's recent Norovorius problem cannot have helped the ship. Mercury, like Prinsendam, and Harmony (now gone to the Japanese market) are smaller ships that the current larger ships on HAL and Celebrity. Frankly, I like these 'smaller' ships even thou I have not yet been on the larger Celebrity or HAL larger ships. Frankly, I we had the money to do so, I would sail Crystal exclusively--our experience on Crystal did more than meet our expectations--however, that is probably another post. I also loved the intimate nature of Prinsendam. However, on our cruise (SF/Alaska/SF) there were serious elevator problems including some of which are out for a large number of days during our voyage. Vacation, being vacation, my partner and I have had the good fortune to enjoy--in this order--Crystal, Celebrity, and HAL. However, I do hope that RCCL is able to do the 'right thing' by Mercury--refurbish it to meet Celebrity standards or say goodbye to the formerly beautiful ship.

HeatherInFlorida

May 14th, 2006, 05:19 PM

............. I cannot imagine that any 172 square foot cabin could be considered a prize while making the obsurd assumption that two people in such a small cabin can be made to feel comfortable. .............

Why not? My husband and I have enjoyed many a cruise in cabins about this size. Am I missing something here? I haven't been on the Mercury, but our cabin on the Summit was about 170 sq. ft. excluding the verandah and we had plenty of space.

And we paid for it!!! So why would it not be considered a prize?:confused:

kelmac

May 14th, 2006, 07:33 PM

In the last three years we have sailed on the Century(twice), Millennium, Veendam, Summit, Volendam, Mercury, Zuiderdam, and the Galaxy. The very best food served on all these cruises was on the Mercury.
Yes I prefer the bedding on Holland America and the Lido is hard to beat, but these two lines are our cruise lines of choice.
Like Heather, we feel very comfortable on either X or HAL.
We have four cruises coming up, two with HAL and two with Celebrity. I'm not sure why people need to "square off" and trash one over the other?
I truely believe Brian's experience was an anomaly! Of all the cruises listed above, our least positive experience was on the Veendam. I'm sure it had more to do with my frame of mind than the short comings of the ship.
Maybe if I went on a Carnival ship I might get worked up into a gasket blowing, hissy fit, oh no you didn't, drama parade, and storm off the ship --then again, it might be okay? :rolleyes: :) You never know?

Kel

Bramcruiser

May 14th, 2006, 08:31 PM

Why not? My husband and I have enjoyed many a cruise in cabins about this size. Am I missing something here? I haven't been on the Mercury, but our cabin on the Summit was about 170 sq. ft. excluding the verandah and we had plenty of space.

And we paid for it!!! So why would it not be considered a prize?:confused:

I thought exactly the same thing when I read the comment about cabin size although I don't think it was written to put anyone down. I have only travelled in outside cabins of that size or slightly larger (HAL's 197 sq. ft. on Ooosterdam was the latest) to date. I have enjoyed each and everyone one of my cruises despite not being able to travel without a suite of a large size or a balcony.:)

LAFFNVEGAS

May 15th, 2006, 05:08 PM

Brian, OMG:eek: I just now got a chance to read this thread from having just gotten home last night. I feel so very bad for you:( You missed some great colder but sunny weather in Southern Alaskan. Tom too got a touch of the Norovirus. It started for him late Saturday night while we were packing to disembark. So it was miserable for him flying home all day yesterday and not wanting to eat anything for fear he would have to run to the bathroom on the plane and not make it. He tried to eat last night but he could not keep that down so he did not go into work today. I suppose if he had to get it it was better the very last night rather than the first night.

I too enjoyed your comments and relate it too when we went to Kauai and hated it. We could not wait to get off that Island. We were looking for any way we could to get over to the Big Island which we love. It was good that your first stop was in San Franciso so you had no travel expenses to get home since you were already there. Hope you are feeling much better, I will be anxious to hear Scotty's feelings of the over all cruise on his return.

Tatka

May 15th, 2006, 08:25 PM

Why not? My husband and I have enjoyed many a cruise in cabins about this size. Am I missing something here? I haven't been on the Mercury, but our cabin on the Summit was about 170 sq. ft. excluding the verandah and we had plenty of space.

And we paid for it!!! So why would it not be considered a prize?:confused:

+1

I made huge mistake and booked 3 of us (13 yo son) into the cabin for 2. We didn't have a pullman bed, so every night steward was bringing roll-away bad. Our room looked like one big bed.:D But if we didn't have that rollaway bed, size of that room was completely adequate.

Pete Jackson

May 16th, 2006, 09:39 AM

Enter our sweepstakes and win a free cruise!

First Prize: A two day cruise on the fabulous Celebrity Mercury:)

Second Prize: An eleven day cruise on the fabulous Celebrity Mercury:mad:

HeatherInFlorida

May 16th, 2006, 10:15 AM

+1

I made huge mistake and booked 3 of us (13 yo son) into the cabin for 2. We didn't have a pullman bed, so every night steward was bringing roll-away bad. Our room looked like one big bed.:D But if we didn't have that rollaway bed, size of that room was completely adequate.

Natalia, I'm with you there:) . Although I have heard of people with children in cabins this size and they're fine with it. Not for me, though.

But my post really referred back to the JohnM who didn't consider Brian's winning this cruise in this size cabin a prize. I was a bit taken aback considering many of us actually pay for a cabin this size fairly regularly and we're very happy.

One of my least favorite things on this board are people who don't appreciate that not all of us are fortunate enough to cruise deluxe suite level or higher. And some of us choose not to so we can cruise more often.

His statement was that 2 people could not possibly be made comfortable in a 172 sq. ft. cabin and how could anyone consider that a prize. I strongly disagree.

ArtM

May 16th, 2006, 12:49 PM

If you want another opinion of the Mercury, go over to the X boards and read the strings from people who can't wait to sign up for the 2007-08 Mercury itineraries to Australia and New Zealand.

Apparently, if someone spends a lot of money to sail on her, the Mercury is not a bad ship.

Art

dougnewmanatsea

May 17th, 2006, 11:22 PM

I don't know how I missed this thread before!

I have to say, reading this review was a lot of fun. I have this perverse sense of humor that takes great pleasure in reading really bad reviews of things.

That said, while I'm sorry to hear Brian had such an awful time, it's important to remember that this is not a typical experience. I haven't been on Celebrity in over a decade, but the fact is that if most of their passengers came away as dissatisfied as Brian did, they'd have gone out of business years ago.

Mollynme

May 27th, 2006, 12:59 PM

So far, my only recent cruise experience has been on HAL. I think I'll keep it that way! :cool:

Alexborngal

May 29th, 2006, 08:13 PM

So far, my only recent cruise experience has been on HAL. I think I'll keep it that way! :cool:

I've cruised on NCL, Carnival, Princess, Royal Caribbean and took my first HAL Cruise to Hawaii last December. Within days of getting off the Amsterdam I was on the phone with my TA for more HAL cruises. We are going to the Mexican Riviera in October and, would you believe it, I've already booked the same Hawaii cruise for December 2007 - no typo, 2007 - again to Hawaii, this time on the Zaandam. Of all the cruise lines HAL is now my absolute favorite. We had great times on NCL in the 80s, loved the Carnival Mexican Riviera Cruise, had great cruises with Princess and Royal Caribbean but the extra touches on HAL won us over. I really enjoyed the comfortable bed since I have a bad back. Having a bath tub in my cabin is such a treat. Loved the fresh fruit in the room, the DVD in our room. Popcorn in the movie theatre. The shows were the best we've seen on a cruise. The food was outstanding as was the service. We were never hustled to buy drinks, not even at the shows. I could go on and on. Don't get me wrong, the other lines were fine but HAL was just "more fine." Happy cruising.

YYC F/A

May 29th, 2006, 11:13 PM

I was on the same Celebrity Mercury cruise as Brian. I actually met Scotty on the trip (he made me laugh so much, he's got a great sense of humour)...

I guess I got something different out of the whole trip. I posted a detailed review over in the Celebrity forum (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=352537) but in essence, I had a great time.

Undoubtedly, there were a few 'niggles' and I felt that on a more general level, Celebrity has become very penny pinching (everything from welcome champagne - or lack of it, the strict measuring of drinks in the bars, no flowers provided in the suites... the list goes on).

However, the Mercury is a nice ship, and a 'real ship' rather than a floating shopping mall at sea... great teak decking wrapping all round the aft, lots of hidden outside deck areas to find some peace and solitude, great service in the dining room.

Some of my expectations might not have been quite met, maybe this was because I had such an 'exceptional' experience on the Constellation last year... but certainly I still had a good time and not even close to feeling like I wanted to get off the ship!

I *did* find it surprising that no one from Celebrity even enquired as to why you wanted to get off after just 2 days... I think that's a real indicator of the lack of interest from Celebrity in customer service at that higher level.

With all the 'mass market' lines, there seems to be an increasing onus on cost saving, coupled with an ever more demanding and clientele, yet prices have steadily fallen in real terms over the years.

My next trip is slated for HAL, most likely the Oosterdam... will be interesting to see how HAL stacks up against Celebrity.

ORDPLATAA

May 30th, 2006, 09:53 AM

I have been reading the various threads revolving Brian's trip on the Mercury and the responses from both HAL and X cruisers with great interest. We are heading off on the Infinity June 4th to Alaska. This will be our first cruise on X and our only recent experience was last year on the Zuiderdam. While our cruise this Sunday is a charter (and a lot of things may be different from the usual X cruise), I am curious as to how the nuts and bolts compare between the two lines. Basics like cabins, public areas and general service provided by staff will be interesting to compare.

Just leading up to the cruise, I can say that both X (for this cruise) and HAL (for last year's cruise) have met my expectations in terms of pre-registering, booking shore excursions and the availability of general information and the helpfulness of their customer service folks. I have spent the last 16 years in the hospitality business (Hyatt Hotels for 8 years, Starwood Hotels {Westin/Sheraton/W/St. Regis/Luxury Collection} for 7 years and now a major convention destination in the South Central US for the past 1 1/2) and I think I have a relatively good handle on customer service from a supplier standpoint. It is, for me , a bit of a double edged swaord - I have higher expectations because of the environments in which I have worked and the level of service I have given to my clients. I also have a better understanding that sometimes "stuff happens" and tend to be a little more forgiving when it occurs.

Anyway, we are 3 days away from heading off to YVR for a little pre-cruise fun and then setting sail on the 4th. I be sure to post my thoughts - the good, the hopefully not too bad and the please don't let it be ugly!:D

scott in maine

May 30th, 2006, 01:10 PM

Reading through this thread is a little depressing since it is obvious that far too many of us set up immediate camps when it comes to discussing other lines. This seems ridiculous to me. The reality is, of course, that when you put 1000 folks on a ship, you'll get about 1000 opinions of the total experience when it's over.

We sailed this year on Mercury (on the Mex 10 nt run) and truly had the best cruise of our lives -- even topping several European sailings that had been our favorites. Our primary complaint about Mercury, at the time, was that the soft goods and the quality of the bedding had been allowed to go too long without replacement. That point was valid, but I simply am not willing to place too much stock in others' reports that they had a nearly miserable experience on this or any other mainline ship. If that was the case, I blame virtually all of it on the person doing the complaining.

Just my $00.02.

sail7seas

May 30th, 2006, 02:14 PM

Brian.......

Has the "X" Billing Department reversed the erroneous charge yet?

I certainly hope so.

caviargal

May 30th, 2006, 03:41 PM

Brian.......

Has the "X" Billing Department reversed the erroneous charge yet?

I certainly hope so.

I hope so, too.

I had a billing issue when on Infinity five years ago. The original documentation was "lost" by customer service and then the person that approved the credit was no longer there.

I never received my $500 back and it was a long time before I set foot on an X ship again. Their customer service was a hige disappointment.

bepsf

May 30th, 2006, 03:59 PM

S7S and CG--

Thanks for asking, but nope - have a look at the "X Strikes Again" thread for the update...
:mad:

xpcdoojk

May 30th, 2006, 05:25 PM

Brian you are insane, but in a nice way. :D Seriously, you would rather work than cruise? ;) I have had 2 nice cruises in the past with X, and other than the bedding on RCI and X being inferior to HAL I can't imagine the cruise would be so bad that I would get off after two days. BTW, I know RCI is doing a bedding upgrade and I assume X will as well. The benefits of the Captain's club are much greater than HALs Mariner program. While the food on any ship may or may not be as good as you are used to, as an experienced cruiser you never order based on what is written, but based on what the waiter tells you are good choices on any menu. Some things on all ships menus are simply not very good. Ordering the duck without asking the waiter what is good is never a good idea just because you like duck(for example).

I hope you get your account issues resolved.

I like the Ritz Carlton, but sometimes I get stuck at Red Roof Inn. You make it sound like the Mercury was a youth hostel in Rome. While it makes for entertaining reading it seems a tad over the top.

jc

AirGorilla

May 31st, 2006, 11:14 AM

dakrewser

May 31st, 2006, 11:54 AM

Good thoughtful post. For the life of me, I can't figure out why the OP posted this thread on the Holland America board. By comparison, you just don't see threads dealing with supposed "bad cruises" on Oceana posted on the Crystal board, etc.

I've seen plenty of postings on the Celebrity boards about supposedly "bad" cruises on HAL...

AirGorilla

May 31st, 2006, 12:13 PM

I've seen plenty of postings on the Celebrity boards about supposedly "bad" cruises on HAL...

I must have missed those!! I still think they should have been posted here, though!!

HeatherInFlorida

May 31st, 2006, 03:09 PM

Hmmm ... I don't see anything wrong with posting an experience on another cruise line on the HAL board when you generally cruise on HAL as Brian does. I know I posted a review about my Celebrity cruise both here and on the Celebrity board.

Actually what I did was post a link here to my review on the Celebrity board. But I think it's good to read a HAL cruiser's review of another line. I like reading Celebrity cruisers reviews of HAL as well.

xpcdoojk

May 31st, 2006, 03:21 PM

I must have missed those!! I still think they should have been posted here, though!!

It is called competition. For some reason fans of cruiselines are in a constant competition to prove to everyone else that their personal preferences for a cruiseline are superior to others choices. Honestly, people do this kind of stuff all of the time for all sorts of odd reasons. You should see the Carnival RCI spats where each group tries to label the other snobs or trailer trash.

I think as far as why Brian posted it here is because he is frustrated and he is sharing his frustrations with people who will support him, unlike the X forum. Brian clearly has a good grasp of humor, but what he is doing is a bit unfair as it is his word against an entity that doesn't post in these forums. Doesn't make what he says any less authentic, but the over the top comparisons do hurt his cause. JMHO. This points out one of the many problems of these forums where people post stuff with an agenda. I have a problem with agendas in general as I don't think that is the purpose of these forums, again, JMHO.

I have cruised HAL, RCI, X, and CCL and I enjoyed each and every cruise. Some folks are not very flexible and that is ok they find a niche in which they find comfort. I like to try new things, and some are better and some are not, but how do you ever find your true niche without experiencing the other options?

jc