Live From the Decks of the Mercury The Final Two! 2/5/11 & 2/14/11

[TourDeCruise]

Gail,

 

Thanks for the Live report. The excitement for the February 14th cruise continues to build!

 

Have fun eating crab cakes & spending time with your friends and on the cruise(s)!

 

See you on February 14th at the sailaway in the Navigator or on February 15th in the Elite lounge for breakfast and/or the Connections Party.

 

Kathy

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Hi Gail!

Have a wonderful cruise and say goodbye to the Mercury for me.

I've lost your e-mail address. When you get back, send me an e-mail at

lajessen at yahoo dot com

with your address and I'll send you an envelope so you can send me the Mercury magnet you got for me the last time you were on the Mercury.

Thanks!

[tuggers]

Just back from G & M's for dinner and returning the rental car.

Picked up Cil and Roger at the airport at 10:45. Went back again with Roger to pick up JoAn at 1:15. Very light traffic at the airport for both trips. I don't think many people were flying today. Sure made it easy for me!

Weather is still nice here. Sunny and cold but no snow. Roads are all clear.

Took a short nap this afternoon, watched a little TV and got to chill. Bed sure is comfy!

Dinner was late as we got a little lost on the way there but the crabcakes were worth the wait. Jay and Carla deviated since they had crabcakes last night. Jay had the scallops and Carla had the trout. Everything was wonderful. I had crabcakes both nights! What can I tell you? I'm just a glutton!:rolleyes: We did all skip dessert. :)

We booked the 10 AM hotel shuttle. We can have a leisurely breakfast and get our luggage down to the lobby by 9:45. No need to rush. We'll probably end up sitting at the terminal for a while but at least we won't have to worry about the snow getting too heavy and travel being a problem.

It's almost here. The Mercury's last two cruises. How sad. But I am happy that I will be there for her last hurrah. I don't believe there will ever be a Celebrity ship more special than the Horizon. The Zenith. The Galaxy. The Mercury. All good and faithful friends. The memories of them all will be with me forever.

Bye For Now!

[Andy]

Hi Gail !

 

Thanks again for your wonderful updates. Please send my goodbyes to Mercury, and their fantastic Crew. I hope they all will find homes on other Celebrity ships.

 

We too, have many beautiful memories of Mercury, which will never be forgotten. I hope she will have a great future as Mein Schiff 2. Boy, have I got a pun for my last sentence, but I'm going to let it pass :)

 

Bon Voayge !

[tuggers]

Thanks, Andy!:)

Just peeked out the curtains before I get ready for bed. Weather channel says 'wintry mix' right now changing to showers by 3 AM. Looks like snow coming down to me! I guess we will have to postpone the snow man building onboard to another cruise. After 4 AM its just showing rain and freezing rain till late afternoon.

Night everyone!

[RodPat]

Gail, Glad you got to Baltimore just fine. There is nothing better than a Maryland crab cake. We have driven over 2 hours to get to the inner harbor just for lunch and some of those crab cakes. Enjoy your time on Mercury. Rod and I fell in love with Celebrity because of the Mercury. It was our first Celebrity cruise sailing to Hawaii. We have fond memories of her and sure will miss Mercury in the fleet.

 

Pat

[choochoocruiser]

Gail, Carla and I had a ball with you at dinner last night and the night before. You know how much we would love to be on this cruise with you and all of the others we have sailed on the Mercury with in the past. As I told you last night, be sure to tell Roger and Anca thanks for all they have done for us. We look forward to sailing with you many times in the future. Jay

[GREG781]

Hey Tuggers, Have a great curise. We did the last 9 night on Jan 15th. We had a wonderful cruise as usual with Celebrity. It was sad saying good bye to the Mercury on the 24th. Have a great time!

[bellybutton530]

To the Celebrity Mercury: Farewell. Give my regards to Galaxy....

 

 

[mcmarya]

So sorry the Mercury will be leaving the fleet. We also loved the Horizon and the Mercury maybe even more. Pretty soon there will nothing left but behemoths.

[derf5585]

So sorry the Mercury will be leaving the fleet. We also loved the Horizon and the Mercury maybe even more. Pretty soon there will nothing left but behemoths.

 

Celebrity Cruises 76,522 gt MV CELEBRITY MERCURY (ex MERCURY) will join former sister MEIN SCHIFF (ex GALAXY, CELEBRITY GALAXY) in the TUI Cruises fleet as MEIN SCHIFF 2. Built in 1997, the 1,898 passenger vessel was the third in the CENTURY class of ships constructed by Meyer Werft of Papenburg, Germany for Celebrity Cruises. In May of 2011, she will take on her new name for cruise service in the German market following a refit that will see the addition of more verandah cabins, a dark blue hull with TUI’s distinctive markings and new decor.

from

http://maritimematters.com/2010/05/mein-mercury/

 

Don't forget the videos of the Mercury in my signature.

[LeftcoastBC]

I hope that your Merc's last cruise goes a bit better than the medical Issue's we had on the Zenith's

 

I also wish that the noisy table that was around the corner to your left on the Zenith was there with you on this one.

 

Was on the Merc for a very short 3 dayer and loved it also.

 

Have fun and go easy on the Trivia guys.:D

[derf5585]

I hope that your Merc's last cruise goes a bit better than the medical Issue's we had on the Zenith's

 

 

Inquiring mimes want to know

What happened?

[LeftcoastBC]

Inquiring mimes want to know

What happened?

 

It was a "Noro" cruise just not nice... but didn't spoil the cruise for those that had no problems with the illness.

 

Sorry I was unable to "Mime" it for those folks that need translation. :D

[eileen & jay]

Looking forward to your reports. Have a wonderful time!:)

[BonnieVA]

Hi, Gail. I am still very envious of you, being on Merc again.

 

Who are your cabin attendants? Are you staying in the same cabin for both cruises?

 

Thanks,

Bonnie

[riredsox]

Hi, Gail. I am still very envious of you, being on Merc again.

 

Who are your cabin attendants? Are you staying in the same cabin for both cruises?

 

Thanks,

Bonnie

 

Hi Bonnie, wish you were with us! I'll give everybody a big hug good bye from you! Jill

[cruzeluver]

Thanks for starting another "live" thread Gail. Happy sails to you and everyone. We really wanted to be on Mercury's final sailing, but couldn't work it out.

 

We too will miss her. He comfortable size and exceptional crew made her very special indeed. Wonder where Stewart Turnbull is heading? I know Mercury has always been his favorite and was like "going home" for him.

[TourDeCruise]

cruzeluver: On our January 3rd Mercury cruise, Stewart told dh and me that he will be going on the Millennium on May 13th, but he has asked to go earlier on May 3rd. Maybe Gail can confirm in case things changed or to verify which date. We will be on the February 14th cruise, and we will ask Stewart again if he is going to the Millennium and when. We told him that we are booked on the May 3rd Millennium "Wine" cruise, and that is when he told us this information. I'll report back here during the February 14th cruise unless Gail confirms.

 

Hi Bonnie. Yes, it would be nice if you could join us.

 

Kathy

[Mary Ellen]

Thank you for sharing your experience with us.

[cruzeluver]

Thanks Kathy! I guess it was too much to hope for that Stewart would be on Connie for our cruise end of March. Usually I could not care less who the CD is but Stewart is the best!

[tuggers]

Mercury Feb 5, 2011 Day One

And so it begins…

We were supposed to have snow during boarding hours today but, except for a few flakes between 1 AM and 2AM, we had freezing rain. I had signed us up for the first shuttle at 10 AM because I didn’t think we wanted to be sliding around on ice. The time worked out well.

We had 10 people plus luggage on the hotel shuttle. It was quite comfortable and between the driver and the porters at the pier we never had to touch our luggage once we got it to the hotel lobby.

Our hotel was only 3 miles from the pier so we were there in less than 10 minutes. I would definitely use this hotel again if we were cruising out of Baltimore. The beds were comfy, breakfast good and the free shuttle was excellent. Only down side is no airport shuttle. They do have that Inner Harbor shuttle from 7 to 10 each evening which is a plus.

We were checked in and onboard by a few minutes after 11. Everyone who works the pier is very nice. Most of the people who have checked me in are cruisers so they know what needs to be done from both sides of the desk. I missed Howard again. I am going to run into him if I have to hunt him down! Be forewarned, Howard! J

Lunch was being served when we boarded and cabins were ready at 12:35. It was cold and rainy and they did a superb job of getting us onboard and comfortable. The Mercury crew works well together. What a shame to be breaking them up!

I went up to the buffet late and had a tuna on rye. Had a little too much mayo but other than that it was pretty good. I found a seat without too much trouble, which was a surprise. With none of the outside tables being used I was afraid I would have to bring my food back to my cabin.

Talked to some ladies who had come on a bus from a retirement community in Virginia. One lady came with only her driver’s license. They told me she was denied boarding! The trip was booked through a travel agent but apparently she never went over with the group what documents they needed. Most had cruised before but I guess that lady was not familiar with what to bring! I felt bad and I didn’t even know her!

Took a very short nap and met Cil, Roger and Jackie for a drink in the Martini Bar. I had a Bacardi Lemon Martini, which is my favorite! We drank about half and then carried them into 8:30 dinner. I need to work up to those giant martinis!

We have a table for the four of us plus JoAn. I was very tired and forgot to pick up menus from Mario but I can tell you what I had. (Chef Walter is still onboard and everything was great.) I had the Goat Cheese Tart (very rich), Cream of Mushroom Soup (very good) and Prime Rib with a Baked Potato. Dessert was Crème Brule. Typical first night menu and one of my favorites!

We were exhausted so after dinner we all headed back to our cabins. I read for 10 minutes before I turned out the light. Then I was dead to the world until 8 the next morning.

In the morning we will have our first Elite breakfast. I am looking forward to Almond Croissants and Mimosas!

Bye For Now!

[BonnieVA]

Hi Bonnie, wish you were with us! I'll give everybody a big hug good bye from you! Jill

 

Hey, Jill. I didn't realize you were doing another b2b too. Oohhh ... I wish I was there. I would like to say hi to a couple cabin attds. If you have Herme, Judas, Xavier or Bras Maximo please tell them Bonnie says "hi". They might need to be reminded that I was the one on for 3 weeks in Oct on deck 5.

 

Thanks!! Wish I was with you!

[MiamiSky66]

how come Gail hasn't written, LIVE?

[tuggers]

Same cabin both cruises. New cabin stewards (not the one who kept opening the door on me!). Will get names.

Info on Stewart is still the same. He wants to come 5/3 as passenger, take over on 5/13.

Internet is slow, slow, slow today!