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

[sarahc78]

Thanks. I was originally in the hospital because I have McArdle's Disease (a type of MD) which can cause kidney failure if I don't monitor it basically. It produces proteins when I exercise that are harmful.

 

I can do almost anything anyone else can do, with careful planning. Someone previously made a comment about how basically I shouldn't be cruising or vacationing anymore..I've done primitive camping vacations with careful planning and packing. I just need to know what's available to me and not available with truthful honestly.

 

I was in the infirmary parts of two days getting injectable medicine because of that sauna bench. I basically haven't been "told" anything but the people stateside said that the info from customer service backs up everything I've stated and they have stated everything is their fault.

 

I am sure that Celebrity will take care of you. Glad to hear that you can still travel w/ your condition. I couldnt imagine not cruising or vacationing.

[drk]

We just got off the Mercury last Monday and I was surprised that there was very little in the way of Mercury specific t-shirts, etc. I do have one from a previous sailing. Very bittersweet getting of that great ship!

[jfe724]

It was never my intent to "hijack" a thread by another member. I assumed as I was also live from the decks, I was able to participate, as any member can participate in any thread on cruise critic.

 

I didn't feel as I was off topic, as I was relating my experiences related to my personal vacation, occurring on the same ship, at the same time. I was honestly hoping the helpful nature I had previously experienced on the boards would have been extended by the many cc'ers on our cruise that not only were familiar with Mercury itself, but also with crew contacts as they've sailed multiple times with the line itself.

 

I honestly expected something along the lines of "call this number, email this person, ask for this person at the concierge" rather than being accused of making events up.

 

It's unfortunate that I feel I cannot relay any information about my personal experience because it does not line up with someone else's own experience.

 

I appreciate those cc members who approached us who are "lurkers" and offered assistance. It was a pleasure meeting the few of you we did and your advice was invaluable.

 

 

 

 

Now concerning the sales, I was surprised at the complete different "types" of shops they had on the mercury vs. the Eclipse. There were $20,000 necklaces on the Eclipse...an abundance of them. Now, there were some of those as well on the Mercury, but a great amount of jewelry was under $200 and well priced for what it was. We ended up picking up a lot of stuff on board, which I never do!

 

They had mercury photo books for .50 which were flying fast. Celebrity T-Shirts were 2 for $20. I thought the liquor prices seemed lower than any trip I'd been on, and my best friend took advantage of the 4 bottles of Crown Royal for $65 with a free travel bag offer. I let myself be persuaded into two bottles of the Amarula fruit liquor (quite easily). lol.

 

I also will agree the standard of the dining room service & food was outstanding. The best of any ship I've ever been on and easily comparable to zagat rated restaurants in my area.

 

I'm not sure I'll be sailing Celebrity any time in the future, however.

 

I hope you continue to enjoy the remainder of your sailing, Tuggers. I thought I'd track you down to say hi while on-board hoping for some insight.

 

Ignore them, you didnt hijack her thread.

 

So what ended up happening? Did they take care of you at all? What were you in the hospital for originally?

 

 

I agree with sarahc - you did not hijack Tuggers' Thread. You provided your thoughts on the topic at hand. You were a cruiser on that particular cruise, providing your thoughts, observations, and posing your questions. It seems to me that you were a more legitimate contributor to this "Live From" Thread than others. I am baffled by those who believe that this Thread "belongs to Tuggers" and that any other contributors are hijackers or interlopers. There was even a suggestion made to one of the Hosts, that certain comments should be "removed" from the thread because a particular comment, in his/her opinion was "irrelevant" or inappropriate for some reason. I note that there have been/are many other contributors to this "Live From" thread who are not on this cruise - but they apparently are not considered hijackers. Those who read the comments on Cruise Critic hoping to obtain valuable info for the purpose of helping them determine if a certain Ship or Cruise Line is for them, hopefully will recognize that many people are afraid to provide comments or opinions for which they may get flamed - or accused of hijacking, etc. Many of these threads remind me of high school cliques. :confused:

[jfe724]

I hope you continue to enjoy the remainder of your sailing, Tuggers. I thought I'd track you down to say hi while on-board hoping for some insight.

 

 

@2SeaWithMe - I noted that you communicated via Cruise Critic with Tuggers while you were on the ship hoping to speak with her. Were you able to speak with her before your cruise ended ?

[rogerbear]

I"m looking forward to read your daily posting till the end of the cruise.

 

Take care and have a great time. ENJOY this last cruise on the Celebrity Mercury.

[BonnieVA]

There was even a suggestion made to one of the Hosts, that certain comments should be "removed" from the thread because a particular comment, in his/her opinion was "irrelevant" or inappropriate for some reason. I note that there have been/are many other contributors to this "Live From" thread who are not on this cruise - but they apparently are not considered hijackers. Those who read the comments on Cruise Critic hoping to obtain valuable info for the purpose of helping them determine if a certain Ship or Cruise Line is for them, hopefully will recognize that many people are afraid to provide comments or opinions for which they may get flamed - or accused of hijacking, etc. Many of these threads remind me of high school cliques. :confused:

 

That was me & the reason I wanted a particular post removed was because the poster I responded to was inferring that some pax hate Carnival, etc. I didn't want THAT post to become one that would cause bickering between posters ... I wasn't asking that any of 2seawithme's posts be removed. I think she does have a right to post her experiences on this sailing.

 

Regardless, I don't want this to become a bickering thread so I will not post anymore here except on topics having to do with the current sailing.

[tuggers]

Mercury February 14, 2011 Day Three of the Final Voyage

Almost every day begins the same but that is by no means a bad thing! Where will I find someone to fix these wonderful things for me once I get home?? Chef Walter does such a great job with this food (as he does with all food on Mercury) that I think we should all follow him to his new ship! Seriously, the food on this ship reminds me of food that we had on X when I took that first Horizon sailing in October of 2003. You MUST go on a ship where Chef Walter is in charge! You will not be disappointed!

Okay, I know you don’t want to hear about my wonderful fruit, pastries and Mimosa’s so suffice it to say it is the ONLY way to start a shipboard day! So if you are not Elite, get booking because the breakfast alone is worth it! Plus you get Mellissa (or another great CCH) greeting you with a smile at 8 AM!

We were planning to do the Slot Pull at 11 but we all forgot!!! They are a lot of fun so we really meant to be there, however, once we heard they all put up $15 and got back $4.50, we felt much better!! J Win or lose, they are a blast!

Still a little cold and windy to be out by the pool in a bathing suit, or even shorts, but there were people out there, wrapped in towels and blankets. I guess if I had come from several feet of snow I might have been out there, too. Hopeful that tomorrow will be better. We got warm weather sooner on the last cruise because we went south right by the coast to Miami. Our route this trip is more east/southeast so it is taking a little longer. But believe me, once it’s warmer I will be out there every chance I get!

I have not even been to the gift shops but I understand they have been striped of all things ‘Mercury’!

We decided to have lunch in the dining room today. Cil wanted the spaghetti with a red meat sauce and I wanted the smoked pork with sauerkraut. As it turned out, everyone but me had the pasta. Sauerkraut was good, smoked pork was ham. Cil, Roger and JoAn had the crème brulee with bananas. I had the pineapple fritters.

Bill Miller spoke today on The Last Atlantic Liners. He is very well attended and much talked about. They call him Mr Oceanliner and if you have an interest in the history of the great oceanliners, try to see him if he’s on your cruise.

Can’t stress enough how much the scooter has helped JoAn. If you need one, rent one! Seeing her smiling and laughing instead of dreading another long walk across the ship with her walker is just short of miraculous!

Elite Social Hour (remember, get booking if you’re not yet Elite!) was fun. We had Gaye, Shelly, JoAn, Cil, Roger and myself at our table. Cal and Sal came late. Of course, the servers absolutely contribute to the fun! We love them all but especially LaMy (I’m going to find out how to spell that today!).

Formal night tonight so it took us all a little longer than normal to get ready. Had to get all gussied up to have our table picture taken tonight!

Menu was the one with the Chilean Sea Bass (which we all had). It was wonderful but I must remember to ask for it with the sauce on the side next time. I also had the Shrimp Cocktail and ice cream for dessert. Everyone else had Cherries Jubilee. Some even had salads! I figure I can have lettuce at home (and will need to after all this grand food)!

I was extremely tired (not really getting much sleep) so my head hit the pillow and I was gone! Woke up during the night and we were rockin’ and rollin’. I think some people had a hard time with it but it just rocked me back to sleep!

Once more I say, I wish you all could be here on this Final Voyage of the Mercury! I have closed several ships and, while sad, there are memories I will always have with me.

People worry about the service not being good but I can assure you, if anything, the service is better.

Bye For Now!

[tuggers]

Glad to see people posting! I thought I was all alone for a while!

Lee and Liz, told Cecep you sent regards and he giggled that wonderful way he does! He was so happy you remembered him!

Going in to see Karen Grainger!

[hancock]

Gail, That's Lamai Buapitak. You have to smile when you say her name. On the Jan. 3 cruise, she wasn't scheduled to be in the Eilte Lounge. We were very disappointed. I went down to say 'hello' to Mellissa and mentioned how disappointed we were. She arranged to have Lamai for an hour each afternoon. After a couple of days, she was there for the whole time. She is absolutely wonderful. Please say 'hello' from Mr.&Mrs. Shields.

 

Nancy

[2SeaWithMe]

Thank you for the encouragement, everyone. It is GREATLY appreciated.

 

@2SeaWithMe - I noted that you communicated via Cruise Critic with Tuggers while you were on the ship hoping to speak with her. Were you able to speak with her before your cruise ended ?

 

No, I journeyed into the library to check for her but there was one lady and she seemed to be reading and as it was later than I realized I didn't want to interrupt a total stranger. :) I figured I posted what I was wearing and if it was her they'd grab my attention. I just assumed she'd turned in already.

 

Kelly and I missed the sail-away and the meet & greet, so I didn't actually get to meet as many people from the roll call as I thought I would.

[DancingDuo]

We were on Mercury holiday cruise and we loved Lamai......everyday when I walked in she would say, "What's my name?" because she enjoyed you saying it with a big smile!

 

Tell her Eddie (lady) and Ron (husband) will always remember her.....tell her I was the lady that gave her my nail-polish, when she couldn't get what she wanted in St. Thomas!

 

Gail, your reports are super.....we read them before we sailed and we spoke to many cruisers on our trip who knew you from your prior cruises. Everyone had wonderful things to say about you......keep cruising!!

[Texed]

Texed, she's still on board and will do another full show before she leaves. I plan to see that one.

 

Great! I hope you enjoy her as much as we did. :)

[tuggers]

Mercury February 14, 2011 Day Four of the Final Voyage

I slept a little late today but headed up to the Pavilion with high hopes of sun. Unfortunately, it was looking pretty foggy out. Roger assured me it was warmer than it had been so I’m still going to look for sun after breakfast.

Had a Cappuccino, Almond Croissants and two Mimosas. We chatted for a while, read the newspaper and checked for sun. Still looking foggy.

I went back to my cabin and got hit with a terrible headache. I turned out the lights and went back to bed. Woke up at 1, no better so I went back to sleep. I tend to have migraines but thank goodness this one never got that bad. Woke at 2:30 and felt better but a little nauseous from the meds so I ordered a Club Sandwich from room service. To me that’s one of the best things on the room service menu. Lots of turkey and bacon. I managed to eat half.

Realized I had missed the Brunch! Love the food, but there is just so much of it! Hated to miss it but probably best for me that I did. Cil, Roger and JoAn went and they said it was wonderful!

After I was up and out I discovered it had started a misty rain and then turned into a pretty good downpour! If I had to miss a day of sun, at least I got some good sleep!

No Elite Social Hour tonight, instead we had the Senior Officers Cocktail Party for Select and Elite. The Pavilion was packed. There are 240 Elites onboard and I have no idea how many Select. Service was good, canapés were good, drinks were good. The band (Sixty to Eighty or whatever it is) was there. J I told Stewart tonight that they had murdered Bob Marley and assassinated Jimmy Buffett and I had given up on them. BTW, I said they were a five piece band but I realized tonight there are six of them. Still nothing to write home about!

We had lots of Officers in attendance and they walked around talking to everyone. I think they are starting to feel the loss of the ship and the close working relationships they have with each other. Some have been part of this team for a very long time. It must be hard to give that up, split up and have to start on another ship. When the Zenith closed I remember the a/c guy coming to my cabin to fix something. We talked about losing the ship and he got very teary. He said ‘this ship is my home. I’ve been here for so long that it is like losing a marriage’. I think some on here are feeling the same things.

We stayed in the Pavilion until time to walk down to the theater to see Karen Grainger. I must say, she was younger than I had thought she would be with a strong voice. She came out as Cher and did a very good job with that. We stayed until we really had to leave to go to dinner. She is very good and I would definitely go to see her again. And I don’t go to many shows! Two this trip is kind of a record for me!

Dinner was great. It is such a joy to have Mario as a waiter! I am going to miss him when he goes on the bigger ships! I was not very hungry so I had a Shrimp Cocktail and the Turkey Parmiggiano Reggiano followed by a scoop each of Lemon-Raspberry Sorbet and Vanilla Ice Cream. I may not be very hungry but there’s always room for ice cream!

Roger and I had this dish before and tonight we talked Cil into it. JoAn had the Blackened Ribeye Steak. They all had the Crepes Suzette with Ice Cream. A very nice dinner!

Should mention that we asked the Captain at the cocktail party how the weather would be tomorrow in St Thomas (docking in Havensight) and he said the good news was that the ship has umbrellas and the bad news was that we would have some rain. I’m hoping for the best and by best I mean sun!

The crew told me the only place that has Wi-Fi at Havensight is Hooter’s??? I swear I have NEVER seen a Hooter’s at this port but I guess I’ll go looking. I need to get rid of some emails. Even with reminding everyone that I’m away, when I checked yesterday I had 1300 emails. I need to scroll through and purge but not at the prices of the Internet onboard.

Speaking of the Internet onboard, I ran into some people today who have also had issues with the manager there. That’s the same one who argued with me about the time the office was unattended when it was supposed to be staffed. I then asked some other people I knew were using their minutes through Wi-Fi (this seems to be more of a problem for him) and got much the same story. Comments about his attitude and knowledge ranged from ‘he was snippy’ and ‘he was not even close to polite’ to ‘really doesn’t know his stuff’. Maybe he will get some more training before his next assignment. Or he will go to the BIG ships where I won’t be!!

Bye For Now!

[tuggers]

Texed, I saw her and she was great! Surprised she was so young!

Dancingduo, thanks for the kind words. I will tell Lamai this afternoon.

hancock, will tell her today!

rogerbear, I'll keep posting!

jfe, I would have liked that. Don't know what 'insight' I have but I do love being on the ships!

To the rest of you, thanks for reading!

And I was right, there is not one thing left in the shops that say 'Mercury'. Guess we missed our chance!:(

[Dave's Florida Girl]

No Mercury momento's? Now that's a real Bummer.

Thanks for the new link, Gail! It works fine!!!!

I haven't had internet coverage for a few days. My cable modem needed to be rewired from the outside in and they just finished that today. I hated trying to type on that little smart phone keyboard and figure out how to put in all the little symbols and all.

You're posts are turning me green with envy. :D I am going to the neurologist and I'll ask him if there's anything new for this horrible MS inspired vertigo. Now wouldn't that be nice - ready to go and the Mercury is no more. Oh well, which ship is next? Don't forget - it has to float like a floating city. LOL

Girl, you are so blessed to be having so much fun!!! ;)

[dmwnc1959]

From the Paradise Point webcam today:

 

 

[PatC]

Hi Gail, glad you're having such a great time on one of our most favorite Celebrity ships.

 

Question, if by chance you're in the casino;) is Vincent still the bartender there? Boy, can he pour a heavy drink!

 

We were on Mercury last March and just love her. So sad about her leaving. Zenith was our very first Celebrity cruise in 1992 and we've sailed on all the C class and have only missed Infinity on the M class. We're trying Silhouette next March, hopefully, so that will be a big change!

 

Have a great time. Hope those headaches don't return and give the crew the best from all of her former passengers. She will be missed and so will they as a team. They were one of the best as sea.

 

Pat C

[Deb C.]

Hi Gail!

I have been following along with you since the beginning of your cruise. Love hearing about all of it as usual, and wish I could be along with you again.

Sure wish I was docking at Haversight. I love that location and especially the jewelry shopping in St. Thomas!!:D

Happy to hear you are dining on the shrimp cocktail (for me!). Have you tried any trivia yet?

Keep up the postings and keep enjoying your cruise (as I know you will try really hard!!)

Deb C.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

And I was right, there is not one thing left in the shops that say 'Mercury'. Guess we missed our chance!:(

 

 

 

 

Well that's the pits! You would expect a chance to pick up great stuff on the last sailing like you do at the end of the Alaska season. Wonder what they did with it all??? So glad you got me a Mercury magnet on your other sailing!

Hope you pick up some sunshine!

[celebrity cruiser]

Hi Gail

Sure wish we were with you!!

I was thinking...I wonder if any of the crew, not only will be closing the ship, but would there be some in fact who were on board when she came into service. Certainly dont go out of your way to find out...just wondering.

CHeers,

Mark & Randi

[tuggers]

Mercury February 14, 2011 Day Five of the Final Voyage

We arrived in St Thomas (Havensight Mall) and the ship was cleared around 7 AM. That was much earlier than we had been scheduled to arrive. I had noticed when I got up once during the night that we were going very fast. In fact I almost fell on the way to the bathroom. Stewart came on about 9 AM and made an announcement that we had come in early to accommodate a passenger with a medical emergency. Never did hear any more so no idea who it was or what their condition.

As we sat having breakfast, JoAn offered Cil the use of her scooter to go into the Havensight area and see how it worked for her. After a short lesson in the halls and empty casino, Cil and Roger took off for shopping. I helped JoAn back to her cabin to get her walker and then met her on deck 11 for the first sunshine we have seen on this cruise. Monday through Friday morning we had first cold, then cool with wind, cool with wind and rain and then almost sun turning into misting rain. Until today. We were up at the pool when Roger brought the scooter back. He, JoAn and I stayed by the pool until we ate lunch, then I got another half hour of sun before JoAn and I headed out.

JoAn went to shop and I went to find Internet. After a bit of walking I found Havensight Café, not free but $2 for 15 minutes, $6 per hour. It’s DSL, not as fast as my broadband at home but seems incredibly fast when compared to what we have on the ship! I deleted 1593 emails that had come in since I left home and kept 3! Can you imagine how many I would have if I hadn’t emailed everyone that I would be away and to please hold my emails???

After the Internet I started walking, looking for JoAn. It soon be came apparent that my knee and back were not going to get me back on the ship unless I went then! Knowing JoAn would figure out I had gone back, I returned to the ship at 3:20 and proceeded to drain the hot water supply on Mercury! The shower and meds helped but I still had to spend some time in bed with my knees on pillows. My knee and back are apparently much older than the rest of me because they sure can hurt!

Made it upstairs for sailaway but not for much else. Sat some in the Pavilion with JoAn, Roger, Cil, Cal and Sal. Then had to go back to my cabin and lie down again before dinner.

We had pushed our dinner time to 8 PM so that we could have Mellissa, Angela and Elliott have dinner with us. The menu was the one with the Blackened Drumfish and Braised Short Ribs. I think we all had the Ribs. They were good and went well with the Cabernet. We had great conversation and really enjoyed getting to know them all a little bit better. Angela is going to Infinity but will be gone by the time we sail in September.

Too bad because I would really like to see her after this cruise. She’s a super Future Cruise person.

Only down side was that when I tried to get up from the table I could barely walk. Finally made it back to my cabin to meds and bed, in that order. Tomorrow is St Croix and JoAn had wanted to go to a beach or an all inclusive but I think she will be doing that by herself. I have a feeling I’m going to have to take it easy for a couple of days. Really want to go to at least one beach this trip so hope I can be walking enough to get off the ship and into a cab in a couple of days! Wish me luck and say a little prayer. Please.

Bye For Now!

[dakacz]

hope you recover quickly so you can enjoy the rest of your cruise

[florisdekort]

Hope you feel better soon! Please keep the great reports coming :)

[TourDeCruise]

Posting from St Kitts on our Mercury cruise. Message to Ocean Dancer Vicki: I spoke to Carl William a few nights ago and gave him your message regarding the January 3rd cruise - what I wrote in my note to him during the January cruise. He sends his regards and was sorry to hear you could not make the January cruise. He was pleased to hear how much you enjoyed dancing to his music.

 

Kathy

[Ocean Dancer]

tuggers, hope you feel better and keep on posting.....you are being followed and enjoyed more than you know.....:)

 

kathy, what a nice surprise................thank you so very much for getting our message to carl.........my cast is off, but wrist is very weak, still can't do much, trying theapy this week............this is going on much longer than i ever expected, but am going in the right direction..........

 

to everyone on this cruise, enjoy the final days on the mercury, what a special ship...........:)

vicki