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Ship Statistics
Sail to exotic ports on the stylish, high-tech Celebrity Mercury, a vessel that exudes elegance. Discover rich wood finishes, etched glass, stone, and marble. Enjoy museum-worthy artwork at every turn. Further exploration reveals the exclusive Navigator Club, with its amazing views, the melodic crooning of the piano player in Michael's Club, and the Martini and Champagne bars. Melt away stress and rejuvenate your soul at the luxurious AquaSpa. Your experience is enhanced by regional specialties and the fresh gourmet cuisine of Master Chef Michel Roux. Dining options range from the grandeur of the two-story dining room to an alfresco setting on your private veranda.
Ship Highlights
Overview Mercury Public rooms Besides piquing passenger interest, Mercury's wide spectrum of design approaches serves to satisfy different preferences in different people, and, after a few days, most everyone finds a destination which appeals most to his or her individual tastes, which spreads passenger load across the whole ship. We found little overcrowding and few. At one extreme are Mercury's dramatic, large public rooms, the Celebrity Theater (showroom) and Sky Deck (Deck 12) s spectacular Navigator Club, her top-of-the-ship, forward-looking observation lounge. There is an elevated bar and additional seating area in the center, so that even those who don't stake out window side tables aren't deprived of an unobstructed view. We found our niche in the smaller, intimate lounges peppered around the main public gathering areas of the vessel. One such area fronts the two-deck entrances to the to the Manhattan Dining Room. Our favorite was the Martini Bar on Deck 6, which sits dramatically on a mezzanine overlooking its sister, the Champagne Bar. A huge, colorful wall sculpture connects the two lounges through the vertical space between them. Along with another nearby lounge, Rendezvous Square, they make excellent pre-dinner cocktail and meeting spots. Decor Modern yet sophisticated, Mercury has modern art spread throughout, elegant settings for "Michael's Club" (the ship's piano bar) and très chic are the martini and champagne/caviar bars. You'll find top quality brass, marble, fabrics and live tropical plants throughout. Overall, the milieu is warm and relaxing with distinctive touches that ensure one is aboard a very special ship. Activities During your cruise aboard Celebrity's Mercury, you're guaranteed to have the ideal cruising experience. This vessel is equip to accommodate each and every activity that you possibly want to get into. Whether you're in the mood for a morning swim or taking a dip in the whirlpools. Maybe you have a passion for the Full Relaxation treatment in the full service Spa and Sauna, your wish shall be granted with ease. Also, you'll have the opportunity to capture you're exciting moments in the Photo Gallery and Photo Shop.
Entertainment
Celebrity Theater, Mercury's two-level main show lounge, is one of the most intelligently designed we've seen. The absence of obstructing columns combined with a fairly steeply raked floor; create a room with no bad seats. The ornate second level balconies, broken into separate units descending along the sides of the room, reminded us of the private boxes of classic opera houses, becoming part of the decor as well as being functional. The stage has adequate bells and whistles, though the constant use of the video wall system as a background scenic element began to get distracting after a while. The production shows, though improved over prior seasons, are still basically bread and butter cruise fare. The ship did have, however, an extensive slate of individual performers and lounge acts, including two comedians, two pianists (with very different repertoires), individual singers, a local entertainer from Skagway and an a capella group. I also liked the presence of the Cantabile String Quartet, which provided the soothing counterpoint of classical music at various times and places throughout the ship Fortunes Casino is quite small for a ship this size, having a few blackjack tables, one craps and one roulette table, plus the ubiquitous video poker and slot machines. However, during our cruise there seemed to be little crowding. This may be due in part to the fact that, on shore excursion-intensive itineraries like Alaska, onboard casinos get less traffic. Another factor may be the ability to gamble in-cabin through Mercury's interactive TV system. As the sun sets, the moon will be your guide to light your path in indulging in our many entertainment options. Allow our crew about Celebrity's Mercury to keep you well entertained for the duration of your cruise. If you're a movie or film fan you'll find interest in either the Cinema for first running movies or the 2-story Celebrity Theatre for the full production shows. No matter how you plan on spending your nights, you're guaranteed to experience the utmost of satisfaction.
Fitness and Recreation Another of Celebrity's signature element is the AquaSpa, a huge fitness/spa facility found on all the Century class ships. Though operated by Steiner's of London, these facilities are far larger in area and offer a far more extensive array of services than Steiner's typical shipboard fitness/beauty/massage center. The centerpiece of the fitness area is the giant Thalassotherapy pool, a kind of massive, saltwater. This airy room is highly atmospheric, relaxing, and gives the sense of having retreated into a different world altogether. There are numerous smaller rooms for Rasul, facials, seaweed wraps, massage, etc. positioned along the side of the Thalassotherapy pool. But, in order to accommodate those elements of the spa, space had to be taken from somewhere, and it is the gym on Mercury that got short shrift. There are too few treadmills, Stairmasters and other exercise machines for a ship of nearly two thousand guests. And, though the equipment was all up-to-date and state of the art (I particularly liked the combination recumbent Lifecycle/video game), maintenance was lackluster. Three out of the four Lifecycles were out of order or iffy for the entire cruise. Family Celebrity offers organized kids and teens activity programs for children aged three through seventeen, broken into four groups, Ship Mates (3-6), Celebrity Cadets (7-9), Ensigns (10-12) and Admiral Ts (13-17). Children have their own facility called the Fun Factory, also used by the teen groups since the facility includes those great unifiers of toddlers, tots and teens, Sony Playstations. Teens have a room of their own off to the side of the Navigator Club on Sky Deck (12). This teen area includes a second room with video machines. The designers must have teens of their own, since the teen room has its own entrance from the outside deck, so they can enter and leave without having to suffer the embarrassment of having to pass through a room populated by (gasp) adults. There is no official baby-sitting service, though off-duty workers from the catering department can be booked twenty-four hours in advance for in-cabin sitting through guest relations at a rate of $8.00 per hour. Fellow passengers Here you can expect a true mix of old and youthful, families and singles. This is a refined crowd, but, by no means, sticks-in-the-mud. And, for the Alaska market, this would be an excellent choice for families and younger couples. Dress Standard designations of Formal, Informal and Casual. On our sailing there were two each Formal and Informal and three Casual evenings. About 50% of the men wore tuxes. Gratuity Recommended amount is $10.25 per person per day as follows: Stateroom Attendant: $3.50 pp/pd; Dining Room Waiter: $3.50 pp/pd; Assistant Waiter: $2.00 pp/pd; Dining Room Manager: $0.75 pp/pd; Chief Housekeeper: $0.50 pp/pd. The last two items receive a lot of negative comment from passengers, and understandably so. Dining room head honchos are usually singled out for tipping on ships when they have provided unusual service, and asking passengers to tip the Chief Housekeeper, an invisible manager, has a grating effect. Given the fact that the total outlay to the cruise line amounts to $3.50 per person for the entire cruise, Celebrity would be well advised to consider simply upping the fare by $3.50 per person, which would be totally unnoticeable, but would avoid the negative PR fallout this tip request generates. |
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is the third and last in Celebrity's Century Class of ships, following Century in 1995 and Galaxy in 1996. Each ship in the series has improved design details and passenger flow over her predecessor.