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Celebrity Cruise Line

MV Mercury

Your Rating:
Reviewed by:Linda Haugh
# previous cruises: 1
Date of Trip: April 18, 1999
Itinerary: Caribbean - Western

Our first cruise was on Celebrity's Mercury. We found it absolutely wonderful and high class. The food was excellent, room was excellent and service was excellent all the way around. We are taking our next cruise on March 18, 2001 on the Millenium and if this new ship compares to Mercury, we intend to always sail with this line - as the saying goes, why fix something if it isn't broken? This ship was beautiful and affordable - we are in our late 40's and found it to be absolutely peaceful but also with plenty of activity if you wanted it. I highly recommend this cruise line.

We did not use the pool or the casino - the pool area was crowded on the days at sea and we are not "crowd people", however, it was a matter of personal choice. We tended to just sit on deck in the more secluded areas of the ship and believe me, you can easily be alone or with a crowd, depending on your preference. We also do not gamble so cannot comment on the casino. We found all the public areas to be very comfortable.

Food in the dining room was superior and also the Ocean Grill Cafe for lunch and breakfast was equally as excellent as the dining room food. The waiters were immediately at your side in the Cafe to escort you to a table, without being overbearing or obtrusive.

We were upgraded to an outside with ocean view at the front of the ship and had plenty of room. It was very quiet and yes, a full size person could fit nicely in the shower. I am overweight and had no problem whatsoever. Plenty of closet room for my husband who tends to over pack.

Attended most of the shows on board and found them to be excellent. Only complaint here was on one particular night, children "reserving" entire rows of seats and constantly changing their minds about where to sit and reserve the next batch of seats. Views can easily be obstructed as well, but we managed. The key is getting to the shows early. The staff and entertainers were high class.

Our first stop was Fort Lauderdale. We did not particularly enjoy this port and would likely stay on board next time; however, there was an option of swimming at a beach you could walk to from the pier. We took the trolley for a tour of the city and did not particularly enjoy it but some of our fellow travelers seemed to have a nice time - there is an opportunity to do some leisurely shopping in Key West as well. Our next stop was Cozumel. We enjoyed the Fat Tuesday's bar for a drink and lunch after disembarking - the bar is very close to the pier. We then took a cab out to San Francisco Beach. The cab driver charged us the amount asked for but on the return trip, he suddenly needed more money to get us back. We had to pay, obviously. He also conveniently did not have any bills to make change for our $20. If memory serves me, he ended up paying about $29 for a $12 trip which he initially said would be $7 round trip!!! Be sure to take small bills with you so you can give exact change. Our next stop was Calica. We went to the Xcaret Ecological Park and it was absolutely beautiful. Lots of wildlife, lagoons to swim in, beaches to lounge around on, etc. We loved it. You will be required to use the sun screen the park sells, however, as it is environmentally friendly. It was a little pricey but we didn't mind and still have some left for our upcoming trip if we need it. I would recommend this trip. Our final port of call was Grand Cayman and we went to 7-Mile Beach. Absolutely beautiful - we went around 10 a.m. - gets very crowded by noon but the water is wonderful and the scenery is beautiful. This excursion only cost us $12 pp and included use of the Colony Beach Club house for changing with a complimentary drink. There is an outside restaurant on the beach as well with very good food and quality service. We thoroughly enjoyed this trip as well. On the days at sea, we usually sat outside near the back of the boat, shopped a little or just walked around the boat taking in all the amenities it offered.

We had very good fellow passengers and found them all to be very considerate. One one occasion, some pre teens were left running loose and playing in the elevators but that was only one incident and didn't in any way ruin our vacation - we never ran into any children after that at all. Our dinner mates were wonderful and yes, I would invite them to my home at any time. We were very fortunate to have such good dinner mates.