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Name: barry jereb
Email: ldjereb@ix.netcom.com
Age: 40
Occupation: Marketing Communications Mgr
NumberOfCruises: 3
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Mercury
SailingDate: 3/22/98
Itinerary: western carribean
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 80
CabinComfort: 100
FoodRoomService: 80
CruiseStaff: 85
CabinAmenities: 98
FoodLidoDeck: 90
DiningRoomService: 85
CabinQuietness: 100
FoodMidnightBuffets: 90
CabinSteward: 85
ShoreExcVariety: 80
FoodVariety: 90
DeckService: 85
ShoreExcValue: 80
GoodForHoneymoon: 100
CasinoStaff: 100
PrivateIsland: 00
GoodForFamilies: 100
LoungeService: 100
TenderService: 00
GoodForSeniors: 90
BeautySalonStaff: 00
EntertainmentLounges: 75
WheelchairAccess: 100
ExerciseFacilities: 100
EntertShowLounge: 90
OverallPortsofCall: 80
BeautySalon: 100
EntertainmentPoolside: 83
CruiseActivities: 80
Casino: 100
AirSeaProgram: 00
MedicalFacilities: 00
ShipCleanliness: 99
EmbarkDisembark: 90
DiscoNightclubs: 80
DeckSpace: 1100
Stabilization: 90
ShopsOnBoard: 80
SpaceRatio: 90
OverallCruiseValue: 91
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 26 Mar 1998
Time: 21:05:27
Remote Name: 192.94.123.19
Remote User:
Comments
I am a Marcom Mgr in a technical company and my wife is in Advertising. We are 40 and 36
respectively. Our number
one priority was to find a boat that was KID FRIENDLY. We had been on a couple of cruises
without our daughter but
decided to take her on one at the age of 4. I am writing this review because when I was
researching the cruise, i couldn't
find anything about upscale family friendly cruises so in case there is someone like me
out there now, hopefully this will
help. We chose Mercury because our last cruise was on Celebrity's Century (which was
great). We booked Mercury when
we learned it had a kids program and a 3000 square foot kids area. So here is the scoop if
you want to take a 4 year
old.
The SHIPMATES program (kids) was Great. Note that this was just our experience and others
might feel differently
although the parents on the boat seemed to agree. There were a 2 to 3 young ladies running
it. Our 4 year old WANTED
to go to SHIPMATES everyday after her first night in the program. It runs from 9 to 12
then from 2 to 5pm and then from
7:30 or 8:00 till 10:00. And on three nites, they had a slumber party where you could
leave kids there until 1:00am. When
dropping my daughter off, she'd ask us to leave because she wanted to play with the kids.
The kids area has a gym-like
thing you'll find in McDonalds (a small one but the kids loved it. they have computers
with video games. They do art.
They eat cookies. When in port they swin in their own kids pool and play on jungle jim
type stuff. At first as some parents
might, we felt guilty dropping hwe off but she just ended up loving being in the program!
So my wife and I had tons of
time to go dancing, go to the shows, etc. And enjoyed watching my daughter enjoy her
cruise. She didn't want to get off
the boat. We even took her to the disco (before 11:00pm you can take kids there) and she
danced with a little boy her
age. The ladies running the program had varying personalities. The one doing most of the 4
year old work was very
quiet and not real bubbly. At first it concerned me but my daughter like her. One night, I
checked on my daughter at 8:00
and this counselor was holding a little kid who as crying for his daddy. And when I
returned an hour later, she was still
holding him because he was still crying for his daddy. I was impressed. BTW, they know
your room number and will call
you if you expect some separation anxiety and want to come back to check on your child.
The staff on the boat were
great to my daughter. Whether in a buffet line or at dinner or wherever, a staff member
almost always acknowledged her
with a smile and hellos. i.e. hello princess.
OK so what about the adult stuff. Here it is quick: Food: Very good to excellent; no
complaints. Rack of lamb was great.
Celebrity is known for their food and it is good Ship: Nice and New. Flashy plus Classy.
We feel that the Century is a nicer
looking boat. More understated than the Merc. Also the Mercury has much cheaper art than
the century which is more of
a modern art museum afloat. But we forgave the Mercury because the kid thing worked out
great. Dining Staff: Bus Boy
was fantastic; Waiter, just good. Bar Staff: friendly. skilled. go to the martini bar and
ask for a french martini. Shore Exc
(western carrib). We had a great time in Cozumel. Just take a cab for a ferw bucks to
Chunkanaab. It is a mexican park
with a sandy beach, rocky shore, palm trees, and mayan ruins and artifacts. And polite
waiters who bring you cold beer
for $2 ea. OK snorkling. But its a nice place. DONT MISS XCARET at Calica. This place is
awesome as I believe other
reviews have pointed out. An ecological park with nice beaches, coves, mayan ruins,
dolphins (the ship tells you you can
swin with dolphins there but your odds of doing it are small since the dolphin part sells
out. But Xcaret is great. You can
float down a subterranean river (it takes like a half hour). We heard a lady remark: gee I
got off the boat at Calica and
there was nothing to do. Well she didn't dgo to Xcaret which is less than 5 minutes from
the dock. Sure it costs like $35
each but worth it. Oh, and they have polite waiters serving beer too. Grand Caymen is an
Ok place (been there before).
Some line the turtle farm. Key West is not bad if you've never been there. In spite of its
touristy elements, it has nice
parts like the truman annex. For a locals bar, go to the green parrot. a real dump. but it
has local flavor. and buy a tshirt
that says SEE THE KEYS ON YOUR HANDS AND KNEES. The place is actually on the national
register of historic places.
Discos: The DJ on the boat has no clue. You probably have a better music collection. The
Bands were fair to good
depending on what they were playing.
So the bottom line: We had an excellent time. Met some great people. Our 4 year old loved
and the kids program
worked. While I could pick on the program here or there, the bottom line was my four year
old had a great time and now
wears her SHIPMATES backpack to preschool. So if you have a young one, and want a celeb.
cruise, the merc might work
(get a cabin with a queen and an xtra berth) and you'll be fine. IF YOU DON'T HAVE KIDS,
we'd recommend CENTURY
(both boats have class but century is classier, and when we were on it had better service
than the Merc although staffs
change on boats.
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