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Itineraries and Ports of Call: Bahamas • Caribbean - Eastern • Caribbean - Southern • Caribbean - Western
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Celebrity Mercury Review
 Come Aboard: My Pacific Coastal Cruise on Celebrity's Mercury
"Like a little town that moves," is how a passenger from Vancouver affectionately describes Celebrity Mercury, which has spent more than 10 seasons in Alaska. This is a little town with an impressive contemporary art collection, fine dining and personal service. In early May, following a quick refurbishment, my father Jack and I sailed a seven-night itinerary out from Vancouver with stops at Juneau, Skagway, Hubbard Glacier and Ketchikan.
What's interesting about Mercury, third in Celebrity's mid-sized Century-class of ships, is its continued appeal, given its age and old-school traditions. Newer ships can have their umpteen specialty restaurants and glitzy bars -- Mercury passengers are perfectly happy to dine in one main venue, the elegant Manhattan Restaurant. Bucking the trend toward casual attire, the ship's weeklong itineraries feature two traditional formal dinners and two informal dinners requiring men to wear jackets.
Perhaps the reason no one's complaining is that the food is excellent and the service is truly noteworthy. A fellow passenger raved about how her waiter produced the homemade ginger ice cream she'd enjoyed on her last Mercury cruise, even though it wasn't on the dinner menu. The Internet center manager left me a phone message -- my favorite jacket was waiting at lost and found. One afternoon at sea, a typo in the daily bulletin caused us to miss our Pilates class. Rather than disappoint us, the fitness instructor repeated the class.
Another pleasant surprise is Mercury's naturalist program. Initially, I wasn't sure if the crowd would forgo bingo for whale watching. But folks turned out with binoculars and cameras, four rows deep, to marvel at humpbacks the size of greyhound buses navigating the silvery Chatham Strait, and to ogle at the jaw-dropping Hubbard Glacier. Though it took me a little while to adjust to the dramatic style of onboard naturalist Brent Nixon, his wildlife talks definitely added to my experiences off the ship. Of surviving a grizzly bear attack in his 20's, Nixon says, "At that moment, you either become afraid of nature or you learn to embrace it. The bear did nothing wrong."
As part of its mini-makeover, all Mercury's staterooms have comfortable new mattresses and soft Egyptian cotton duvets and sheets. The ship's fitness center sports brand-new equipment with individual TV's. New carpeting and decking is installed in most public areas and poolside. Large connecting balconies have been added to 14 wake-facing staterooms.
 Read Complete Celebrity Mercury Review
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Celebrity Ships: Celebrity Century • Celebrity Constellation • Celebrity Eclipse • Celebrity Equinox • Celebrity Galaxy • Celebrity Infinity • Celebrity Mercury • Celebrity Millennium • Celebrity Solstice • Celebrity Summit • Celebrity Xpedition
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