celebrity-mercuryrm040598

Name: R.A. Mathews
Email: mathewsr@sarda.army.mil
Age: 44
Occupation: Government Employee
NumberOfCruises: 4
TravelAgent: No
Ship: Celebrity-Mercury
SailingDate: April 5 1998
Itinerary: w. Carribean
FoodDiningRoom: 90
CruiseDirector: 75
CabinComfort: 100
FoodRoomService: 100
CruiseStaff: 90
CabinAmenities: 100
FoodLidoDeck: 100
DiningRoomService: 100
CabinQuietness: 50
FoodMidnightBuffets: 90
CabinSteward: 90
ShoreExcVariety: 80
FoodVariety: 100
DeckService: 90
ShoreExcValue:
GoodForHoneymoon: 100
CasinoStaff:
PrivateIsland:
GoodForFamilies: 100
LoungeService:
TenderService: 100
GoodForSeniors: 100
BeautySalonStaff:
EntertainmentLounges: 100
WheelchairAccess:
ExerciseFacilities: 100
EntertShowLounge: 100
OverallPortsofCall: 70
BeautySalon:
EntertainmentPoolside: 70
CruiseActivities: 70
Casino:
AirSeaProgram:
MedicalFacilities: 100
ShipCleanliness: 100
EmbarkDisembark: 100
DiscoNightclubs: 90
DeckSpace: 100
Stabilization: 100
ShopsOnBoard: 90
SpaceRatio: 100
OverallCruiseValue: 98
Submit: Submit Review
Date: 18 May 1998
Time: 08:57:57
Remote Name: 204.149.70.34
Remote User:

Comments

Overview: Beautiful new ship (still has the "new car" smell!), immaculately maintained, great food, wonderful children's programs, very good amenities and
facilities, good shows, unobtrusive service, so-so itinerary.

Specifics: We found this to be a very pleasant cruise, with many highlights and "best-evers," a couple of small irritations, but overall a definite do-again.
Embarkation was well-organized and smooth, with numbers assigned as one enters into the hall. Groups of numbers are called forward for the "welcome
aboard" photo and to finalize their paperwork. While I had some personal irritation over a large number of people who feigned misunderstanding the numbers
called (the English "numbers 4 and 5" must sound a bit like the Spanish "numeros 12 y 13!"), yet who immediately checked their embarkation cards when the
English announcement to "ensure the backs of the cards are signed, nevertheless, the process was nearly painless. I was particularly pleased that the children
were enrolled in the kids' club and banded with a color-coded bracelet before even boarding. White-gloved escorts took us from the Grand Foyer to our cabin,
and while they didn't offer to carry the bags, it was still a good start. I will dispense with the descriptions of the décor, the fabrics, woods and carpets, as this
information is available in other, more detailed reviews. What I will comment upon are the things, which we thought were exceptional or less than satisfactory.

The cabin, our first-ever inside, was nicely arranged and quite spacious. Of particular note is the large amount of closet and bathroom space. We had a quad
cabin, and thus merited an additional closet over those in doubles or triples. Nice to spread out. Even with all our gear and two kids, we had some empty
drawers! The stewardess introduced herself, and asked our preference for how the beds were to be made up (twin or king). We asked for "twins during the day
and king at night." Oh no, can't be done! We never convinced her to make this concession to roominess, as we had on RCI, but the cabin was large enough to
really make it a small point. Mini-refrigerator tucked away in a corner was a lifesaver to cool down the drinks I eventually got around to buying at our first port
call. Good lighting and convenient shelves all around.

We proceeded with our tour of the ship and another nice surprise-great food at the embarkation buffet! This was the first of may very good meals at the Palm
Springs Café, a tastefully appointed area with LOTS of great views out the "bay" (or is it ocean?!) windows. The four stations kept lines down to a minimum, and
the ever-present waiters swept in to carry your tray to a seat. This is a nice touch, particularly when traveling with small kids. The food at this location was
uniformly good, and rates head and shoulders above any of our previous experiences with other cruise lines' "lido deck" type restaurants. This was also the
venue for the afternoon teas (chocolate chip cookies-mmmmm). It is adjacent to both the Palm Springs pool (an indoor/outdoor pool which quickly became the
alternate "kiddie pool") with its separate Palm Springs Grill (burgers, 'dogs and pizza) and the main pool area with yet another grill (same fare). We explored a
while, then found it time to don lifejackets for what was one of the most civilized emergency drills I have ever seen. We all put on our swell jackets (I restrained
my impulse to blow the whistle!), trooped to the theater for a multilingual "how to put on the jacket you are already wearing" demonstration, and then were
escorted in groups to our lifeboat station, where yet another multilingual explanation was presented. We were done in half an hour, and it was one of the most
orderly and sane drills I have witnessed.

We sailed immediately thereafter, and then it was time for dinner. With our little ones, main seating is to our advantage, so we had our first of six excellent
dinners there. Six because one night not only didn't "exceed expectations," it was just poor. Our tablemates, a retired couple and two single women traveling
together, were a wonderful group. At first we were concerned that there weren't kids at the table to offset ours, or that the others might be overpowered by our
crew, but this was not the case. We had wonderful conversations, everyone paid sufficient attention to the kids to keep them happy (our entire table, bless their
hearts, even attended the kids' program talent show on the last sea day!). We couldn't have picked a more compatible and pleasant group ourselves. I don't
know what kind of Ouija board these maitre'd types use to come up with seatings, but we have always been pleasantly surprised at how well things work out.
Dinner was excellent, all courses nicely presented and hot or cold as appropriate. I can only comment on dinner fare in the Manhattan Restaurant, as we took
lunch and breakfast elsewhere. The dinners were (mostly) excellent, although not that much different than RCI. The soups were very good, the salads
uninspired, and all seafood excellent. The one bad experience was with a New York sirloin that was tough and tasteless, even though I got it medium rare. I
steered away from beef after that, but others at the table raved over the subsequent filet mignon. Desserts were uniformly great. The table service was very
good, quick and unobtrusive. During the entire week there was no "waiter entertainment" except the parade of the baked Alaska on the last formal night. There
was also no free soda a la RCI. As a confirmed consumer of carbonated beverages, I really missed this! Our waiter, Tan Kamal, was very pleasant, if formal, and
somehow materialized whenever we were breakfasting in the Palm Springs to carry our daughter's tray. She (a 4-year old flirt) became quite enamored of him,
and was quite delighted to see him on every occasion. He even gave her a stuffed animal fish as a going-away present.

The shows, in the beautiful Celebrity Theater, were very good. All of the seats were good, and the production numbers were spectacular (except this lame "Bond
Voyage" show, which was so full of special effects that it left everyone cold as to content and artistry). Michael James (the ladder man) was hilarious, and the
acapella group "Grand Slam" was a hit every time they appeared. Mark Preston ("formerly of the Lettermen") was the lounge-lizard headliner. We didn't get to
the disco, so I can't comment on the band there, but the Navigator is a great room, with daytime views that are unbelievable. The sounds, lasers, pyrotechnics,
et cetera were very exciting, and LOUD! Our cabin was over the theater, and we could re-live our 8:45 show every night at 10:45 courtesy of the powerful
speakers. Fortunately, the shows were over by midnight, and our kids seemed to sleep through the reprise. We were disappointed to find that Onyx, of whom we
had heard so many good reviews, was replaced with Opus as the pool/night band. They had loud amplifiers, and played a good repertoire for a couple of hours
each afternoon. I missed hearing steel drums-even on Caribbean night (hey, this IS the Caribbean, isn't it?), but again this was a small point.

The exercise facilities were outstanding, although my wife was surprised that there were only one aerobics class, and a stretching/toning class per day. We
played the "frequent fitness" card game, but didn't accumulate enough points for the really cool stuff (it's hard to do your "walk-a-thon with a 4-year old perched
on your shoulders each morning!). I think Celebrity plays this down more than other lines we have encountered. The pools were nice, and good sized. The real
kiddie pool, in the kid's club area, is only open in port (it sloshes the tots out at sea!), so most kids (and hence us parents) ended up in the smaller Palm Springs
pool. This worked out well, as it let the more exuberant people carry on at the other two outdoor pools. There were pool games, belly flop contest, and
volleyball/basketball in the main pools. The lounge chairs on the resort (pool) deck all had very nice upholstered covers, and were very popular. So popular that
some people apparently got up before 8:00am and swam a bit before breakfast-or so it seemed from the number of towels draped over the chairs closest to the
pool by that time! The at-sea days were crowded by the outdoor pool, but there were plenty of deck chairs in other spots in and out of the sun. There was a
whole platoon of bar waiters circulating, but after the first day's bum rush for Bahamas Mamas, they didn't push drinks, but waited politely for you to look at
them.

The children's program merits particular praise. Not only does this ship have an amazing, large, and well-quipped Fun Factory for the kids; it is organized with
activities for ages 3-17, in several age groups. There were activities from 9:00am to 1:00am each day-port or sea! Notwithstanding this, we heard some parents
grousing that the program didn't feed the kids lunch! Our children (4 and 8) were in two separate groups, and begged to go to their daily activities. They thought
that the shore trips we had planned cut into their fun time! There were 385 kids aboard this cruise, but the organization and size of the ship made it seem like
38. The counselors were very good, as a matter of fact we talked to a few of them brought on for the Spring Break rush, and found them to be school teachers
and counselors! Very well done, and they keep the kids happy as well as busy. At the end of the cruise, the kids put on a cute talent/floor show for the parents
(and any nice tablemates who come!). They had counselors who spoke all of the languages, which might be encountered. The Fun Factory (where most of the
youngest kids' activities took place0 had several Sony Playstations, a ball pit with slide, craft areas, TVs and a kiddie pool. All very well done.

Port calls were okay. Key West is a very short stop-ship leaves at 1:30-but then that's probably enough time to do whatever there is there. We looked around,
saw the Shipwreck historium, and ate frozen key line pie on a stick (dipped in dark chocolate-double yummy!). I gave in to the "take drinks on board" folks, and
bought a couple of six packs of Diet Dr. Pepper, which for some unknown reason were not stocked by the good bartenders aboard! That mini-frige came in
handy! Cozumel was great. We took a taxi to Chakanaab Park, and had a wonderful day of snorkeling and beach activity. We saw a lot of iguanas, and had a
fun time on a HOT day! The total bill for the lot of us, drinks included, was only $40. They have these drinks served in hollowed-out pineapples, upon which they
make faces with fruit, for less than $5. The entertainment value of the "glass" for the kids was worth the price alone! Calica, our third stop, was the jumping-off
point for Xcaret Park. Much has been written about this wonderful park in other reviews, but I would add the suggestion that 1) you use the ship's shore tour (it
was actually cheaper!) and 2) make your reservations to swim with the dolphins at the museum in the entry pavilion, rather than endure the endless line at the
dolphin area. This is a great place, especially if you have children. The Tulum or Chichen Itza tours would likely not hold a young one's interest for the day. Grand
Cayman was the highlight for us. Our children are too young for the ship's snorkeling adventures, so we opted for a self-directed trip with Captain Crosby
Eubanks (http://www.cayman.org/crosby/). This was a great choice, as after a $3pp taxi ride to his place, Crosby took 12 of us out on his 47-foot sailboat to two
separate areas. We dropped anchor at the first and dove for conch, which he subsequently prepared along with a wonderful spiced fish and rice lunch for us
aboard. They we sailed over to the reef and Stingray City (not the sandbar-the deeper place). We had the time of our lives swimming among these BIG things,
feeding them the entrails from the conch we had picked up, and looking at tall the fish and coral on the reef. It was beautiful, but not as clear as the waters in
Cozumel. Captain Crosby said this is a result of the El Nino, but then I have heard our network administrators make the same claim! He played the guitar and
sang us songs on the way back in (he even yodels!). He dropped us off at the pier with half an hour to spare before the last tender. We really got our money's
worth ($30pp) for five-and-a-half hours of non-stop fun.

In conclusion, this was a wonderful trip, and a beautiful ship.

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