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Name: Chris Kirchdoerffer
Email: Cruisechic@hotmail.com
Age: 29
Occupation: Information Systems Auditor
NumberOfCruises: 8
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Mercury
SailingDate: 4/19/98
Itinerary: Western Caribbean
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 70
CabinComfort: 96
FoodRoomService: 80
CruiseStaff: 70
CabinAmenities: 96
FoodLidoDeck: 85
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 91
FoodMidnightBuffets: 85
CabinSteward: 92
ShoreExcVariety:
FoodVariety: 85
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon:
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies:
LoungeService: 94
TenderService: 93
GoodForSeniors:
BeautySalonStaff: 92
EntertainmentLounges: 90
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 91
EntertShowLounge: 85
OverallPortsofCall: 96
BeautySalon: 94
EntertainmentPoolside: 81
CruiseActivities: 75
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities:
ShipCleanliness: 99
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs: 85
DeckSpace: 100
Stabilization: 100
ShopsOnBoard: 85
SpaceRatio: 100
OverallCruiseValue: 87
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 29 Apr 1998
Time: 18:32:50
Remote Name: 207.172.199.101
Remote User:
Comments
This was my 8th cruise and my first on Celebrity. Prior to the Mercury, I've been on 3
Carnival, 1 NCL and 3 Royal Caribbean ships. I did all my homework
prior to this cruise even checking out this site many times. I travelled with a Singles
group. There were 15 of us in total. Besides us, there were about 6
other singles on board. I was really hoping that this was going to be a great cruise,
however, I must say, that I was extremely disappointed in my first
celebrity experience. Before I go any further, let me tell you what I really look for in a
cruise: energetic passengers, friendly cruise staff, good food and
service and lots of activities.
The ship itself is beautiful. You can read all the other reviews for the details about the
ship appearance. I had an outside stateroom on deck 4 (steerage in
titanic days). Our cabin was a nice size for 2 women and we never bumped into each other.
I was impressed by the overall size of the cabin and the
bathroom. It was nice to have a shower that was bigger than a coffin!
My dining room service was EXCELLENT! Unfortunately for me, I got very sick (not sea
sick)on this cruise and my waiter was always there to bring me hot
water, honey and lemon for my sore throat. Our table also like to endulge in wine and
champagne during dinner and our wine steward always picked a
great bottle for us. All of our waiters had great personalities. I was also very impressed
by their overall appearance. Very clean cut, nice looking and had a
great command of english ( more than i've seen on other ships).
My other positive was the itinerary. This is my 4th time doing the western and each time
it gets better. My singles group had our own shore excursions, so I
can't speak to celebrity's. I will recommend this...one stop is Calica. Forget the tulum
ruins and the Cancun excursions, go to XCaret! This place is beautiful!
You can spend a whole day there and still not get through it all. Admission is $40 ($36 if
you buy on the ship). It's an Eco Park that words cannot
describe. The highlight of XCaret is the Dolphin Paddock. Three times a day, 14 lucky
individuals can spend an hour swimming and playing with 6 bottle
nose dolphins. But a word to those who want to do this...1) it's an additional $80 and
2)get off on the first tender and when you get to the park, RUN! Run
as fast as you can, by the time the ship arrives, there are probably only 5-10 spots left.
I was very lucky and got THE last ticket. It's a truly wonderful
experience and if you don't mind the $$ and the foot race, do it.
Now for my negatives...
I was not overly impressed with the food: which surprised me. After reading all the
reviews I was expecting to salivate at every meal. Quite frankly it tasted
the same as on my RCCL ships. I didn't dine in the dining room for breakfast and lunch.
The casual dining was so so. The daily pizza and ice cream at 3pm
is perfect timing!
The cruise staff, in my opinion was horrific. They could not care about anyone except for
themselves. When I found out that 2 were from my home town,
they couldn't care less. They all walked around with blank stares on their faces. they
looked like they weren't having any fun at all!
The cruise director, Allan King, is no prize either. He had no talent at all. His attempts
at humor were pathetic and I was convinced he was drunk the entire
week.
There did not seem to be enough activities during the sea days. We had 2.5 sea days and
only 4 pool games. What's up with that? Evenings lacked
activites also. You either went to the show or hung out in one of the lounges. I'm kind of
glad I was so sick, I just went to bed early instead of going out and
I don't think I missed anything.
One day I ordered room service: never came.
I was really surprised that there was no steal drum band on board. They had a lounge band
playing on the sun deck during sea days. They played the
exact same sets each day! I don't even want to tell you how many times I heard the Titanic
theme last week!
I would not recommend this for the under 35 club and especially if you are single.
Overall, I'm very disappointed in my Celebrity experience, it's a shame,
because I was really looking forward to it.
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