Tell me all about Mercury ...

[high seas gal]

Favorite hangouts (or hideouts), best entrees in the dining room, best cabins, recent classes or seminars, show reviews, best speciality restaurant entree and dessert (hope my spelling refers to things to eat and not the Sahara), favorite Mercury story, most embarassing Mercury moment, favorite crew member & why, best drink, best casino activity ... anything and everything about Mercury!

[Lois R]

Hi....I wrote a 7 part review of my March sailing.....its somewhere over on the old boards:eek: . I didn't keep a copy....sorry!

We had a fantastic group from these boards on the cruise...it made for an absolulety FANTASTIC week:D .

Mercury doesn't have a "Specialty Restaurant". Those are only on the M Class ships. The dining room is wonderful though. If you want to eat somewhere else, you can have Sushi up at the Palm Springs Buffet area...served from 6-10 pm.

Or 6-8 cannot recall!

That area of the ship was one of my favorite spots though.....There is the Palm Springs area.....and even further aft you can go outside and sit at tables with umbrellas and look out of the waters:) fabulous view....and great for sailaway too.

We had the best waiter..his nicname is Tweety and he was always there when we arrived at the table..with a big hug for me...and a compliment about how I looked too;)

Lets see, Navigator Lounge is very nice too.....that is way forward....and has glass all around...what a view!

Most embarrasing story...wish you could read my review! First night was Martini tasting......I had them all...then decided to have a "BIG CHOCOLATE MARTINI" on top of all the small ones.......then I had wine with dinner......well, I had to leave the table before dessert was served:o thankfully I didn't get sick at the table....that happened back at my cabin.

Thankfully my tablemates were very understanding! If you know Phil and Marti..they are 2 of the best people in the world! 2 of my tablemates and now friends for life!

Lets see......favorite crew member, besides our waiter......probably Sonja and Michelle....bartenders in Cova...great gals......click on my pictures below...you can see Mercury and the staff too!!

[tuggers]

I've told you girl, before you cruise with me you've got to get that alcohol tolerance up. It's one or two Martinis before dinner, wine with dinner, chocolate martini after dinner in dining room and then again in show! Come on now, you can do it! And we're bound to be on the same cruise eventually! DonnaW says she doesn't know if X would survive if we ever were on the same ship! :D Oh, and especially if we went to Costa Maya and got in the big pool with yard long margaritas or Ocho Rios Margaritaville pool with mango ritas!! Good times!

[Lois R]

....I know you are trying to be funny.....and now that I look back I can smile, but it was not fun, I felt stupid and being sick on the first evening of a cruise made me cry. ( Never told my friends that).

I thought at first I was going to be seasick for the whole week and that made me more upset. Then Phil told me, the ship really wasn't rocking...so at least I had a good time the rest of the week.

[catmand]

OK, I'll play.................best entree', all of them.

best dessert, all of them

Great ship, great time, don't drink, didn't get sick!:D

[Dorothy]

I will tell you what I remember about Mercury. I also wrote a brief review a couple days ago, you may want to look for. I think that all of the lounges were nice. I liked the seating and the coziness of each lounge. I enjoyed the Cova Cafe for latte's and pastries. It had nice little tables there too. The piano singer in the atrium area was very good. Sounded very much like Sinatra. The Navigator lounge was nice for having drinks, because of all the windows, you can look out at the scenery. The Pavillion was a get down and boogie lounge. The band Axis was there and they were great.

 

My favorite crew members are of course the ones I had interaction with. Our Waiter Saby, Assistant Waiter Gede and I really enjoyed the Social Hostess, Winnie Hung. It was Winnie's first cruise on Mercury and she was a delight. She even sent a bottle of champagne to our cabin for our anniversary. Oh, I don't want to forget Alexandre, the Somellier. He was a doll and spoke French with me even though I hadn't spoken in years, he was very patient and helpful, with the language. I never encountered a bad apple in the bunch. Everyone is so polite and helpful.

 

There are no specialty restaurants. There is only one dining room called the Manhattan. It is two levels. Food was always excellent. We enjoyed the Cream soups, my husband and daughter enjoyed the escargo, everyone raved about the lobster, which is served on the 2nd formal night. I enjoyed the duck, rack of lamb and prime rib. The desserts were very good. My favorites were the creme brulee and baked Alaska. In the buffet, I enjoyed most everything for breakfast and lunch except the Italian food buffet. Sorry, but my cooking is better in that catagory. Dont' miss the waffle bar. They were the best waffles I ever had. Sushi was also good and I know, because I am Japanese-American. I grew up with Sushi.

 

If you are interested in drinks, try the Martini Bar. The first night on the ship they do a special tasting. For about 8 dollars, you can sample several different Martini's. My favorites are the French Martini and the Martini Delight.

 

I can't really think of a favorite story, except that because we had such good weather we were able to get very close to Hubbard Glacier. At one point, the ship was inching closer still, and then it was announced that the Captain was also taking pictures because of the good weather and wanted better shots. It was fun to know that he was like the rest of us with a camera snapping away.

 

I didn't have any luck in the casino, but my daughter did. She found a favorite slot machine with frogs. She kept winning with that one. Not huge money, but she had plenty of spending money in the ports.

 

Lastly, we had a family cabin at the back of the ship. The pro's, there was a deck just behind us that was nearly private. The cabin was very roomy. The cons, the thrusters are directly below and you have what feels like an earthquake whenever they start or slow down the engine. The last night, we were so close to Seattle, that they slowed the ship way down and it was a constant 3.0 earthquake all night long and none of us got any sleep the last night. It was the only time I really minded the vibration.

 

If you are going on the Alaskan cruise, then check out the pictures I just posted at: http://photos.yahoo.com/dorothymonette

 

Overall, it was one of the best cruises ever. I loved the Mercury and would not hesitate to sail her again. I would just get a balcony cabin midship, next time.

 

Hope this answers your questions.

[morriscats]

Can't wait till the 13th!! I think it was neat that even though my DH and I were cruising alone, there were people from all around our area - everyone seemed to know where this was and that! Our waiter HR (can't pronounce his real name) was so funny and early on figured out what all his customers liked. We stood on the top deck facing forward as she sailed under the GG Bridge - what a thrill. Then there was the "boat making contest". Our tablemates made one out of cork and it won! They presented it to HR on the final night. HR loved to sing "Who Let The Dog Out" as he went by and all his tables would respond. You ready HighSeasGal??

[high seas gal]

Morriscats,

 

I'm just watching those days tick off my countdown clock, and doing lots of internet surfing to lots of different cruise sites. Re-checking Celebrity's site regularly to see about shore excursions. Last check, yesterday or the day before, they still were not accepting bookings for the excursions in October. Have you read the negative Mercury reviews recently posted here on CC. At the home page, click on "Reviews" then select Mercury. There's are a couple of pretty bad reviews, though one is very poorly written, and another sounds like folks who would be happier with NCL's freestyle cruising.

 

I am so looking forward to this cruise! And, the time just isn't passing quickly enough!

[doree]

We love the Mercury...she is our favorite!!!! Cant wait to sail her again 1/7/05!!!!!

[donnaw]

Tugger and Lois,

 

I would pay to see you two together! I think I might even bring DH along just so he can see that I am not the only one that can get into trouble just by existing! That aside, Gail, next time you sail out of Jacksonville, be sure to look Lois up! I know both of you and think you could probably be great friends! I think I would even go back to Ocho to see you two together!

 

High Seas Gal,

 

You'll have a great time! 3 years on these boards and I have learned that reviews are from a personal perspective and should be taken with a grain of salt. Plan on the best cruise ever and that is exactly what you have!

[morriscats]

HighSeasGal,

Yes I read them but having been on Mercury I know what kind of ship she is. We are going on Carnival with the kids and I have read up on that and know what to expect - same with Mercury. It is more "upscale" but having said that, she is not "stuffy". My DH and I dress up when going to a nice restaurant and we do the same on board. Maybe someday the cruising experience will change and become more "casual" but you know the old saying "when in Rome...". We love the ship and can't wait to get back onboard. I think when taking teens they need to be supervised - there are creeps everywhere, even on a cruise ship. When we went on the Disney cruise in 1999, my teens came up on some staff, after hours, naked in a hot tub. You just never know!

[jdlewis]

Lois

The mercury was our first cruise last september. The DH decided he would also try Martini's for the first time.(usually a beer drinker) I warned him that even though they are tasty you cannot drink them like beer. He had two before dinner and one with dinner. (as well as wine) After dinner a storm came up and the ship really started swaying. As we weaved our way back to our cabin he said "Wow those Martinis are strong I can hardly keep my balance, I don't ever remember being unable to walk straight" It was all I could do not to break out laughing.(I was sober and the ship was rocking so much I could hardly walk) When we got to our cabin we spent the next hour watching the waves breaking against the ship. So we learned a few new things .

 

1. Cruising is addictive.

 

2. Martini's are wonderful, when you remember to limit.

 

3. There is nothing more romantic than watching a storm at sea late at night

with your honey through your cabin port hole on the Mercury.

[high seas gal]

JD,

Enjoyed your story of DH, martinis, and the rocking ship. I would have enjoyed that evening as well! Personally, I'm not a martini drinker,but DH is, and perhaps I'll convert after trying some samples on the Mercury!

[jdlewis]

High seas gal,

Remember...... the martini's all have "4" ounces of booze!!!!!!

But if you can't have fun experimenting on a cruise, then when can you???

The Mercury still ranks as one of the best ever holidays!!!