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Mercury-Did I make a mistake?


sherree

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We have been on all of the M-class ships, and love them. We thought we would try the smaller ones. We are booked for April 07 on Mercury- Mexico. With everything I have read and the recent virus outbreak- did I make a mistake? Does anyone know if it is scheduled for an update? I have read more than few times that the carpet, bedspreads are very dirty. That is something I don't look forward to paying for.... also the Captain arrested? Help with advise, please.

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The Mercury is a nice ship but,, it AINT the Millie by anymeans.

 

You will have a nice time if you dont compare it to the M Class.

 

I did miss the Olympic when sailing in May on the Mercury.

 

Don

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I had a fantastic time on the May 6th sailing and would go again.The staff treated us famously.The public areas seemed fine exept the elavators showed some wear that could be expected for a ship its age.Our room was fine,but out tablemates found their bed uncomfortable which they said was corrected when their steward brought them a mattress pad.We enjoyed the main dinong room,our table 606 was next to the window which they would open for sunsets or close if the sun was nasty...............................................Frank:)

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I was in a Celebrity seminar yesterday and asked about Mercury as I was disappointed in her condition when I was aboard. She is not scheduled for any major refurb at all, just a standard drydock.

 

I do not know what is important to you but I found the gym to be very small and two pieces of the very limited equipment offered was broken; I missed the AquaSpa cafe and was underwhelmed with the buffet on deck. Unlike my 4 previous X experiences, no one ever offered to take my tray nor the trays of anyone we were travelling with over the course of the trip; the cabins we had (Deluxe Ocean Views) need updating, the A/C was not working in parts of the ship (like the Martini Bar).

 

We ordered wine with lunch one day and were finished by the time it showed up. I really think the sommelier was overworked for some reason as wine service in general was not up to snuff.

 

Excellent service and food in main dining room.

 

Just my personal experience and these things might be unimportant to you. I just had higher expectations after 4 previous cruises that were consistently of high quality in all areas.

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I just got off Mercury, June 2-9 cruise. I thought it was a wonderful ship. Yes, there was a little wear and tear, but that was it. The gym was just fine with me, several cardio machines of each basic type, free weights and nautilus machines. The food was great, above and beyond my expectations. I agree that the wine sommeliers were a bit ridiculous, but that was more in their knowledge than in their service. Trays were often cleared for us at the buffet, and all we had to was get up and walk a few steps and we could find a staff person to help us.

 

I would get on the Mercury again in a second, and I think everyone in my group agreed.

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I have read more than few times that the carpet, bedspreads are very dirty.

 

I wouldn't use what I read here as the final decision making factor. Only a guideline. Among many other considerations.

 

Granted, it's been a while since we sailed Mercury, but I enjoyed that Mexican cruise very much.

 

C-class and M-class are quite different. We have been on both classes (Infinity was our M-class experience). They all have plus and minus considerations.

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We sailed on Mercury for three consecutive cruises starting Feb 2nd. We enjoyed the ship. I actually like Century class ships better than M-class. I found the furniture on Summit in the Rendezvous in worse shape than on Mercury. Prices on Mercury are normally discounted so Celebrity recognizes the wear and tear. The captain onboard in Feb stood in line with guests for lunch every day. We enjoyed the Mercury and I hope to sail on her again in February.

 

The absence of waiters to help guests with their trays is troubling but that might be a Celebrity cutback because it happened on Galaxy last month as well. The bedding will be replaced fleetwide by Celebrity but I don't know by what date.

 

Mercury has been picked by Celebrity to inaugurate cruises to NZ and Australia.

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Celebrity has the tendancy to let all of thier ship's get very run down before they refurbish them.We found out first hand when we first sailed with them on the Horizon.The public area's were dirty, the furniture very worn and the carpet's in the hallway's were filthy.Part of the reason the hall carpet's and the cabin carpet was so dirty was that the sewer over flowed and soaked the carpet's. It happened to us the second night out on a 7 day cruise.When we got the cabin steward to come to the cabin we found out that it was a whole string of cabin's on that deck.He told us then that it happened all the time and he was used to it.The smell was with us the rest of the trip, though the toilet's worked o.k. They gave us a nice discount for another cruise, so we tried the Century. It was quite nice the first time we went, the ship was only 4 or 5 year's old at that time.We went on the Century 2 more time's after that and it got progressively worse.From what I understand it was very, very rough before they refitted her this spring.I have talked to other people that have sailed with them and they say this started after Royal Carribean bought them out.Prior to that they were a top notch line.We will not sail with them again, they charge a premium price for an inferior product.We will go elsewhere.If you read this and other board's it's alway's the same, Celebrity is not maintaining thier ship's the way they should.And it is not just a few disgruntled passenger's, it is a fair amount of people.TLS

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And it is not just a few disgruntled passenger's, it is a fair amount of people.TLS

 

Things happen... pipes break on many ships and unfortunately they affect the people who sail when they do fail.

 

At any given time you will probably find 20% of the passengers upset with their last cruise. They all rotate to the next cruiseline where 20% of the passengers went to the cruiseline they just left.

 

We cruised on Century in May of 2005 for 4 weeks and loved every minute of it. The ship parts that could be cleaned were being cleaned and it was spotless. All ships wear down because they have nearly 2000 guests using the facilities every week. Some people only cruise new ships before they can get that worn look. I have found fault with many ships but the negatives are never as serious as the enjoyment I get sailing on them. The only serious flaws I find in Celebrity's fleet is the Galaxy... but others still loved their cruise and never saw what I found troubling. There are cruiselines and ships for every pocket book. I am sure you found one to satisfy your tastes.

 

By the way... 20% of the population also think Elvis is still alive and that no-one has ever been to the moon. The other 80% are content with their own reality...:cool:

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I have never been on Mercury so I cannot speak to her. However, I can speak to Century - I sailed on her in December for the Christmas New Years cruise (which Celebrity needs to bring back!). Century was beautiful just a few months before her refurb. Yes she showed some wear and tear - bed spreads werent on beds anymore, the windows in the disco were water logged, and a variety of other things. But the one thing that is most important is who you go with. My entire group had an amazing time because we were together - it truly had nothing to do with the bedspread or windows or carpet. And just one note - the 12 year old thought the waiter carrying his tray for him from the buffet at lunch was the coolest thing ever! So whatever you decide - pay close attention to who you go with because often that is what impacts your cruise the most.

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Tis630, agree with your comments on the Century before the redo, very very rough is an accurate description. Our cabin and common areas such as the buffet seating area and open decks were very rundown. People will immediately post and say our statements are untrue based on their own experiences. I'm 100 % truthful when I saw there were cabins on that ship that were truly in bad shape. Cleanliness is important to me, health and sanitation are important. They say its not what you see in the front of the house, its what you dont see in the back of the house. I dont expect perfection. I would rather stay home than have rundown conditions.

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Sherree ~ I tried to post yesterday from an airport but just as I hit reply, I lot my post :( so I'll try again.

 

Everyone has differing opinions and you'll hear from everyone here on the boards with various thoughts. We were on Mercury for ten days in February and then on Zenith in March. This was our second cruise on Mercury (we sailed her a couple of years ago). I can't speak for the condition of Mercury today after her servere bleaching bouts to fight norovirus, she was in darn good shape when we were on her in February. We didn't run into any public areas that were in disrepair, in fact, they were replacing carpet in the buffet area at night during our cruise. Our cabin was in extremely good condition and our cabin attendent kept it spotless. That doesn't mean that others haven't had a different experience. I'm sure the ship was not in her usual condition during the recent bouts with norovirus.

 

If you read both reviews from my Mercury and Zenith cruises, I hope you'd see that I try to present an honest and fair view of the ship and our cruise. When things aren't great, I write about it in my review. Zenith was actually in less than stellar condition and I detail this in depth in that review. But we did not experience poor ship conditions on Mercury in February.

 

Go to the reviews section of Cruise Critic and read up on reviews from different folks....many don't regularly post on the message boards. Get a good overview from a lot of different people. I wouldn't worry at this point.

 

One additional item, while we really like the M-class ships, we like the C-class (Mercury among them) just as much. We like smaller ships with fewer people.

 

Whatever you decide....enjoy!

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Everyone has differing opinions and you'll hear from everyone here on the boards with various thoughts.

I never was much in tactful responses.....

Shoot from the hip (lip):) and all that..

 

But I enjoyed Mercury while Anne was onboard... especially the trivia ;)

 

they were replacing carpet in the buffet area
and the next day a passenger dumped a plate of pasta on the carpet. It took two days of cleaning to get rid of the red stain.
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Well I just got off the Mercury Yesterday and had a fanastic time... everything was beautiful... some messy mirrors ect with the sanitizing going on from the previous cruise... but the service was super and the overall trip was a fun fun time...

Not a complaint one will come from my team of 6 adults that went... we were very pleased!!!

Dont worry .... Be Happy!!

 

Ken

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Well I just got off the Mercury Yesterday and had a fanastic time... everything was beautiful... some messy mirrors ect with the sanitizing going on from the previous cruise... but the service was super and the overall trip was a fun fun time...

Not a complaint one will come from my team of 6 adults that went... we were very pleased!!!

Dont worry .... Be Happy!!

 

Ken

 

Thank you kdonner, thats good enough for me!:D

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We love the Mercury! Have been on her twice. Our very first cruise seven years ago and again last October. We felt like we were coming home. The only thing we missed was a specialty restaurant. We took a Mexican Riviera

cruise four years ago on RC (Vision of the Sea). I remember my husband and I looked longly at the Mercury when we arrived in Cabo and wished we were on her. We found the Vision to be old and dirty . . .and I believe she is still the same ship RC uses in Mexico.

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We love the Mercury! Have been on her twice. Our very first cruise seven years ago and again last October. We felt like we were coming home. The only thing we missed was a specialty restaurant. We took a Mexican Riviera

cruise four years ago on RC (Vision of the Sea). I remember my husband and I looked longly at the Mercury when we arrived in Cabo and wished we were on her. We found the Vision to be old and dirty . . .and I believe she is still the same ship RC uses in Mexico.

 

Wow, I was on Vision in 2003 for a C&A member cruise and she was lovely! In much better shape that the Mercury last October, although the food was amongst the worst of any of my RCI cruises. And Capt. George was a wonderful captain in all aspects. Could not even tell you who the Captain was on Mercury.:confused:

 

Just proves again that one man's ceiling is another man's floor.:)

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Wow, I was on Vision in 2003 for a C&A member cruise and she was lovely! In much better shape that the Mercury last October, although the food was amongst the worst of any of my RCI cruises. And Capt. George was a wonderful captain in all aspects. Could not even tell you who the Captain was on Mercury.

 

Just proves again that one man's ceiling is another man's floor.

 

 

You're right on with your last sentence!

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We Are Cruising On The Mercury In September. I Noticed They Just Changed The Time We Dock In Juneau. Did This Have A Big Effect On The Excursions? Some Of Them Are Scheduled Before The Ship Docks.

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RRacing, I dont believe it had a major affect on excursions, but then we didnt take any excursions in Juneau... we were fortunate enough to have a very good friend of one of the people we were traveling with come and tour us around that day... He picked us up at the Red Dog Saloon and off we went to the Mendenhall Glacier.. then off to a big family picnic (Indian Family) they were catching Salmon and barbequing salmon and chicken... it was great!!

I know you will have a good time no matter what..if you go to the Mendenhall glacier I hope you get the time to hike back to the big waterfall there... its cool

Ken

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We Are Cruising On The Mercury In September. I Noticed They Just Changed The Time We Dock In Juneau. Did This Have A Big Effect On The Excursions? Some Of Them Are Scheduled Before The Ship Docks.

 

If you book your excursions through the cruise line, all excursion departure times will be adjusted according to the arrival of the ship. If you book your excursions on your own, who knows what may happen if it tour is scheduled to leave before the ship arrives.

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