alan64

I'm trying to plan a intergenerational trip to Alaska. The group of 9 includes parents (active late 60's), brother, wife & 3 kids (adults 40-45, kids 9-14), & my wife and I (young 40's). Brother's family are in Seattle and the rest of us are in CA.

Our thought for a one week cruise on somewhat of a budget is that a Vancouver round-trip would be best. Seattle RT would be easy, but less time in Alaska. Cruises between Vancouver & Anchorage (or nearby) would mean lots of flights ($!), but the Seattle group can get to Vancouver by car/ferry easily.

Because of the kids, we're limited to June or July, and one of the few Vancouver RT cruises I found in that time period (and our budget of around $800-$1000 plus excursions) is Celebrity on the Mercury.

What are people's thoughts about this Celebrity cruise? Good food? Enough for the kids to do on the boat? Not too much nickel & diming?

We want a fun family experience, with a chance to see glaciers and port excursions that are more than buying trinkets at tourist shops. We won't be doing helicopter/plane tours, but like the idea of hikes, whale watching boats, kayaking, and other active events. We don't do fishing, but we do love eating fish!

I looked at Princess, but they don't seem to have Vancouver RT in the months that we need to travel. Same with Celebrity. The smaller cruise ships/lines are 3x the cost, which unfortunately is out of the question.

Thoughts? Ideas? Suggestions? It'll be the first cruise for some. The oldest kid's very mature and acts more like a young adult. All of us are very in to nature talks, nature hikes, etc. That and glaciers are our main interest in the trip, besides simply enjoying time together.

Thanks for any input!

helsylucy

Hi alan,
we did the Mercury Cruise in August 2004 and thoroughly enjoyed the experience. As we are Australians, the sight of glaciers, bears and ice was wonderful.
The ship's guest naturalist was Brent Nixon who's daily talks on Alaska, bears, whales and wildlife were funny, informative and motivating for young and old.
At each town we visited, there were plenty of opportunities to take the ship's (expensive) excursions, or trust the locals who had plenty of adventure walks, fishing and sightseeing to recommend.
I suggest you look up some of the ports on the net and see if any local tours are advertised and could be arranged before you arrive. (to save wandering around the jetty finding the best excursion)
The ship was comfortable, the food a never-ending feast and the crew was excellent.
We are in our 60's and were never bored. I noticed there was plenty of entertainment for the younger passengers to participate in as well as kid's clubs for organized recreation.
Hope this is of some help and have a great trip.

gail

"not too much nickel and diming" depends on what you mean. Most cruiselines other than some top dollar lines make you pay on-board for the same stuff - that is sodas, alcohol, tips, specialty restaurants - as well as the obvious gambling, shore excursions, purchases.

Rhea58

a thought - have you contacted
www.cruisecompete.com?
a bunch of agencies will send you
quotes from which you can select.

I recently used; got 8 quotes &
narrowed it down to 1 w/whom I booked - agency has been quite
responsive to e-mail & phone
queries.

BudgetQueen

"but the Seattle group can get to Vancouver by car/ferry easily."

One of the better ways for transfer is Amtrak, there also will be a cruise contracted bus, independent bus, and one way car rentals. You don't take a ferry, Seattle/Vancouver, unless you are doing touring and have several days.

Allow plenty of time for border crossings, they are only getting worse. They need to come in the day prior and book no flights before 4pm day of disembarkment.

kfusto

Mercury was the worst of my 6 cruises with Celebrity. The ship was downright shabby and though she supposedly has been updated in certain aspects, the bathrooms themselves were not and a good enough reason to stay away IMO.

alan64

Thanks for the feedback, everyone. I now remember that we did the ferry from Seattle when going to Vancouver ISLAND, not the city of Vancouver.

Kfusto, when was it that you were on the Mercury?

kfusto

October 2005. She received a refresher but I know the bathrooms were not done (our sink and shower were awful), elevators worn and other signs of real neglect elsewhere. This is apparently a real issue with X these days though many fans of the line are not bothered.

For me, a premium cruise implies a high level of maintenance.

irecommend

If you have not cruised before and are looking to stay in a budget, the Mercury will be fine.
I just got back from a Mercury cruise and in general it was not lacking. Our bathroom and the public ones were no problem. Many looked updated actually. The entertainment was good and food was pretty good so Im sure that you will like it.