In June, we will be cruising to Alaska on board the Celebrity Mercury. It’s been 14 years since we have cruise to Alaska, so it will be nice to go back. When we last cruised to Alaska, I don’t think we ever had more than our ship in port. A cruise to Alaska was not nearly as popular back then as it is now. We are expecting much more jam packed ports than our previous cruise. Several of my family will also be on the cruise, so it’s a mini-reunion of sorts.
When we cruised on Mercury to Mexico last Thanksgiving, word of a Mercury refurbishment was just making the rounds. At that time, it was unclear whether only public areas would be getting an upgrade. During the recent refurbishment of the Celebrity Century, they also replaced all the family ocean view staterooms on the back of the boat with extra large verandas. The rooms remained the same large 210 sq foot cabins, but over sized decks replaced the ocean view windows. The Cruise Director on Mercury during the Mexico cruise did not think the cabins would be getting an upgrade during this refurbishment. We were hoping so since we had one of those cabins booked for Alaska.
Recently, Celebrity confirmed that the cabins were indeed going to be upgraded. Last week they released a press release with more details about the Mercury Refurbishment that would be occurring in the next couple of weeks. Read the Celebrity Mercury Refurbishment Press Release that we posted over at Cruise Talk Central.
I am thinking about taking the family on a cruise. Not sure where to start. Any pointers on good starter cruises?
That’s a great thought! We know of no better way to spend a family vacation!
I should let Suzanne answer this, but a few things…
Where would you want to go? Being that you lived in Destin, you probably enjoy beach and sun, so maybe the Caribbean would be a good start.
If you want to reduce costs, look at a cruise that departs out of Philadelphia, New York or Norfolk since you could easily drive there. Might be a few other Eastern shoreboard departures too.
What kind of atmosphere do you want? Do you want a bunch of young folks and kids or an older crowd? That might help choose which cruise line. Do you want tons of shipboard activities with lots of folks or more secluded?
How do you want to dress up on the cruise? always casual or would find fun in dressing up for dinner?
Obviously, our favorite cruise line is Celebrity, but it all depends on what you are looking for…
Send me an email (or post back here) and I will get Suzanne involved. She loves doing this kind of stuff. My expansion of www.cruisetalk.org for here will include more chances for her to share. She is also thinking about offering cruise travel services, but thats quite a ways off.
Sent the following to your e-mail:
I am thinking Caribbean and have no problems departing from Cape Canveral or further north. I had heard that further north, the seas are rougher. Not sure if this is true or just a bunch of hooey! I have plenty of air miles if we need to fly somewhere. I am thinking younger folks with kids since we would have our kids, and I wouldn’t want to be the ones that the older fogeys are cursing for having kids on board. I think we would be more comfortable in a casual atmosphere…after all, I grew up on a farm! We don’t really enjoy getting all dolled up, but can if forced :). Secluded is nice, but I would prefer to have things to do rather than just sit around (and eat)! The kids would likely be interested in having activities, although they are happy with a pool. Not sure if I will ever convince Karen to get on a boat….she hates the water! But, I think it would be fun.
got it… replied back via email….
We recently travelled to Alaska aboard the Celebrity Mercury, first time on this line. On the last day we paid off our expenses on our visas ( one each) when returning home and receiving our visa bills we noticed that mine was billed again in he amount of $68.41, we hav tried to contact the ship about this mistake without success. We have always paid off our bill on all other ships with nom problem. Was wondering if this would help, I’m sure they must keep records of this. Thank -you
Hi Patrick,
Did you try contacting Celebrity’s customer care? In general, I have not found them very helpful, so you most likely will have to make multiple calls and do lots of follow up. Their number is listed on this web page:
www.celebritycruises.com/contactus/home.do;jsessionid=0000EcYxUAUXuS-I-xr-__-h_8L:12hdebdrn?pagename=contact_us
Post-cruise questions and comments: 1-800-256-6649
Another approach is to call your credit card company and dispute the charge if Celebrity doesn’t resolve it right away.
I’m sure it is just clerical error, so hopefully you will get it resolved quickly.