Mercury new 2A cabins vs. CC cabins

[ekeberg]

We are booked in cabin 1201 for a Alaska cruise this summer, but have heard they are adding verandas on the old FO cabins and selling them as 2A.

The cabins will be 210 square feet instead of the 172 and I'm sure the verandas should be larger than the average size.

 

My question is do you think we should switch to the 2A and save $200 or keep cabin 1201 on the sky deck?

 

Thanks for any input

 

Lynn

[Cruise Arizona]

Lynn,

 

We were on Merc in November in a FO. We are booked in the same cabin for Alaska in June and thrilled to learn that we will have a veranda for this cruise.

 

There are pros and cons to the aft cabins.

 

Pro: Larger Size!!!! More closet and storage place and a separate sitting area. Also you get to see where you have been and see both sides of the ship.

 

Con: More noise from the thrusters than mid ship, sometimes early in the morning.

More vibrations from the thrusters than mid ship.

More motion from waves than mid ship.

 

So I would say that if you are near the aft already and get one of the aft 2a's it might be a good move. Or if you don't mind the extra motion ect, then you might enjoy the larger cabin.

 

We travel with our two kids, so the larger cabin is such a help to us with 4 in a cabin, and worth putting up with the extra motion.

[chessbriar]

The balcony you have not is huge. I wouldn't risk hoping to get one of the aft FO, they will not have as big of a balcony. On Deck 10 they will be about 6' deep, on deck 8 about 4'. We just stayed in one of the FOs on Galaxy and I took a good look. Plus the vibrations of the ships thrusters are felt the strongest on the aft. If you like waking up 2 hours before the ship docks grab one.

 

The balcony on 1201 is about 12' deep and a nice smooth ride and a quiet location. To me it's not worth $200. If it were $1000, I might consider it.

[ekeberg]

In 2004 we stayed in one of the FO cabins and I did not mind the motion or noise. Cabin 1201 that we have booked is on the Sky deck and has the extra large balcony but is only 172 square feet and is a CC cabin so it has those extra perks. I guess I'm trying to figure out if it is worth the extra perks to keep 1201 or switch to one of the new 2A cabins that is larger.

 

Since they are putting in veranda's do you think they will redo the entire cabin. I remember the one side of the bed was against the wall which was a hassel in the middle of the night when you wanted to use the restroom.

 

Thanks

 

Lynn

[cruisinjudy]

I believe the only way they could change that bed around is to get rid of the desk and drawer space there. We also really liked that FO and thought how great it would be if it opened to the back deck. I tried to get one of those cabins on our Mercury cruise next year, but they were not available.

[ekeberg]

crusinjudy,

You might want to try again and see if one is available. When I first looked at them they were not available, but today all 5 FO cabins on the Penthouse Deck are open for our cruise in July.

I have my agent holding 2 of them and we all ready have a deposit on 1201 so we will need to make a decision soon.

 

I really like the idea of a bigger cabin and a aft balcony especially for Alaska.

It seems like the only thing we will be giving up are the CC benefits which some say are not that great anyway and maybe a slightly smaller balcony.

 

Lynn

[Holly2]

We stayed in the FO this past December and were surprised NOT to be awakened by any vibrations. We kept waiting for them but nothing. The only drawback for us was that people could possibly see in from the deck -- now that's no longer a problem. The FO was really like having a suite. Either cabin sounds great.

[c-legs]

:) Good afternoon,

 

IMO, hang on to #1201.....Huge balcony, mid-ship, very little motion if any ( surprisingly so, since you're on the top deck, up high), CC perks ( for whatever they mean to you ).

If the FO you're considering is on deck #10, the comparison is almost a dead heat, as you lose out on balcony size, gain a lot on stateroom size, and are sufficiently higher up to make the ''aft noise'' almost negligeable. If you're sensitive to motion, there's more at that end....and then there's the little matter of $200....

IMO, an FO on deck #8 is a definite step down from what you're holding.

Happy sailings

Cheers

;)

[Cruise Arizona]

Lynn how many in your cabin??? I find the 172 sq ftl cabins to be just fine for 2 people, but we had 4 of us in that size cabin on the Infinity last year. We had booked a room with two uppers and two lowers no balcony, and then we got up graded to a room with a balcony.

 

The only problem was we only have one upper, so we had to put the 4th person on the single sleeper sofa. The room was just way to clutterd when we had that 3rd bed out.

 

But we did the Merc 3 years ago in a regular room, for two people it was just fine.

 

Weigh the pros and cons, and make your decision. It might be moot question as it could be sold out now.

 

Also I am not sure if they are selling these for 2 people, or if you have to have atleast 4 to grab one. It seems they are selling them just like 2A, but I'm not sure.

[chessbriar]

Another thing to consider it he bedding arrangement. In the FO cabins, the full size bed only has one exit. If you are the one sleeping against the wall, be prepared to crawl over your partner to get our of be to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. There are walls on three sides of the bed. Not easy to get out in the middle of the night

[Cruise Arizona]

I forgot about that part. Yes, it was so much fun climbing over DH in the middle of the night:p. The worst part was that his gout was acting up in his foot, so even when I tried to just crawl by his feet, If I even touched one he got gout pains.

 

But again, those FO cabins worked best for us on the Mercury because we are so limited in our choice outside cabins on that ship. There are not a lot of outsides that will accomodate 4, and most are on lower decks. Even the sky suites don't really do a good job of accomodating 4.

 

so we love the extra space, and put up with the other problems. Thats why I think that they don't charge extra for these cabins.

[Lsimon]

Another thing to consider it he bedding arrangement. In the FO cabins, the full size bed only has one exit. If you are the one sleeping against the wall, be prepared to crawl over your partner to get our of be to go to the bathroom in the middle of the night. There are walls on three sides of the bed. Not easy to get out in the middle of the night

 

We were about to book one of these for our Galaxy cruise last month, but didn't for the reason stated above. Also heard that there isn't a table next to bed and that you can't easily see the TV from the bed. We decided to stick with our original 1241 cabin, even though it was much more expensive (the FO's and outsides were discounted quite a bit, but not the standard veranda or CC rooms). 1241 was great, we have have a bunch of pictures "click here" We loved the location and the balcony. The only CC room that would be better is 1201 (and identical even # cabin) with the larger veranda (not angled off) and location just inside the Sky Deck doors.

 

However, the original poster said they had stayed in an FO room. If they've been in one and liked it they might feel it is right for them. I also presume someone who has stayed in one of those rooms would be familiar with a balcony, as I'd guess they are just going to close off the walkway aft of those rooms and put in doors. I wonder if they will put in an overhead covering to provide a little privacy from the decks above or not?

[dkjretired]

:) Good afternoon,

 

IMO, hang on to #1201.....Huge balcony, mid-ship, very little motion if any ( surprisingly so, since you're on the top deck, up high), CC perks ( for whatever they mean to you ).

If the FO you're considering is on deck #10, the comparison is almost a dead heat, as you lose out on balcony size, gain a lot on stateroom size, and are sufficiently higher up to make the ''aft noise'' almost negligeable. If you're sensitive to motion, there's more at that end....and then there's the little matter of $200....

IMO, an FO on deck #8 is a definite step down from what you're holding.

Happy sailings

Cheers

;)

 

Agree, keep 1201 for all the above reasons and I will add one more. The cabins on the sky deck are some of the most convienent cabins on the ship. Short walk to pool, buffet area and a quick ride down the back elevator to the restaurant. For $200 I wouldn't take the chance on an unknown at this point.

[ekeberg]

Thanks for much for all the advice, but I left it up to my girlfriend who is celebrating her 50th birthday on the trip and she wanted to change to the new 2A cabins, we have given up cabins 1200, 1201, and 1241 and now have 3 cabins next to each other on the aft of the Penthouse Deck.

 

Hopefully the Mercury will survive Patti turning 50!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! She is a wild one.

 

Thanks again

 

Lynn

[chessbriar]

I hope you got the ones on deck 10. The ones on deck 8 will have a much smaller balcony. I would not have changed what you had, but then again it's not my vacation.

 

You'll have a great time.

[LHARTWICK]

I'm confused. Just how big are the 2A rooms & balconys (aft) on the Mercury? I'm considering one for Alaska in September. I read through this post but couldn't determine if 2A is good or bad!

[chessbriar]

I'm confused. Just how big are the 2A rooms & balconys (aft) on the Mercury? I'm considering one for Alaska in September. I read through this post but couldn't determine if 2A is good or bad!

They are taking the old FO cabins on the aft of the ship and adding balconies. They are going to try to hold these for families, but will release them if they are going unneeded. The ones on deck 10 will be decent sized. The ones on deck 8 will be normal sized balconies. The aft on the Mercury gets a good bit of vibration first thing in the morning. We just had one on the Galaxy and were awake each morning between 5 and 6 as the thrusters were turned on to slow the ship coming into port.