| Journal: TWUK | Section: |
| Title: | Issue Date: 02/10/00 |
| Author: | Page Number: 39 |
| Copyright: Other |
Celebrity Cruises caters for all tastes
The first-time cruiser is never sure exactly what to expect from the experience. Liz Bird gives a first-hand account of being all at sea in Alaska
AS A first-time cruiser I had certain misconceptions about our trip.
We had expected to be the youngest on-board Celebrity Cruises’ ship Mercury by at least 25 years, but we weren’t.
There were other young couples and a large number of families with young children.
With 2,000 passengers and nearly 1,000 staff I also expected the ship to feel overcrowded. But the only time I felt there were lots of people was queuing for breakfast.
Whenever we felt overwhelmed by people we simply retired to our suite to enjoy the views from our balcony.
As residents of a suite on the Penthouse Deck, we also had the option of enjoying breakfast, lunch and dinner in our room, served by our own butler who also brought afternoon tea, cakes and hors d’oeuvres.
We were fascinated by the in-house television which told you such things as the best buys and shops in each port of call.
The amount of food on offer on the ship was amazing. If you wanted to you could eat continuously from 6.30am in the morning to 1am.
After lunch, pizza, cakes and frozen yoghurt were on hand before a five-course dinner at either 6.15pm or 8.30pm followed by the midnight buffet. One night the food came to us, literally. Waiters carried great trays of food around the ship’s nightspots but we had to conceded defeat.
The nightlife on board is not wild but very extensive. Entertainment includes gambling at Fortunes Casino, karaoke in the Rendez-Vous bar, West End shows in the Celebrity Theatre and a ’70s and ’80s disco held in the Navigator Bar.
But most people tend to have gone to their beds by 1am.
On returning to our cabins at night we would scan a copy of the Mercury Daily, which previewed the next port of call and detail its history and main attractions.
Extensive: the Mercury can carry 2,000 passengers and employs 1,000 staff to cater for them