More than a decade old, Mercury is still one of the loveliest megaships at sea, a testament to the vision of Celebrity's original owners and management, who designed her to be way ahead of her time. Thoroughly modern, both then and now, she boasts a clean, minimalist design and one of the most astonishing art collections aboard any ship, anywhere, with works by such modern masters as Richard Serra, Sol Le Witt, Robert Rauschenberg and Richard Long. In 2007, she received a multi-million-dollar renovation that upgraded the pool deck, added new bedding in all cabins, added new shops, added balconies to 14 stern-facing cabins, installed new fitness equipment in the gym, and replaced carpeting in most of the public rooms.
Mercury was built in 1997 at the Meyer Werft Shipyard in Papenburg, Germany, and was the last of the five newbuilds planned and executed for Celebrity by its original owners, the Chandris shipping family. Just before her launch, the Chandris Group sold Celebrity to Royal Caribbean, under whose ownership it remains today.
The 77,713-ton Mercury carries 1,886 passengers, or up to 2,204 with all berths sold. Her cruising speed is 21.5 knots. She's registered in Malta, and has Greek officers and an international crew.
Celebrity attracts a wide swath of cruisers, from younger honeymooners and families with kids through retired couples. The average passenger age is 45. About 60 to 80% of passengers are Americans, with a mix of nationalities making up the difference. Announcements are typically made in English, along with other languages represented in sufficient numbers aboard each cruise.
Mercury currently offers among the most diverse sailing schedules in the Celebrity fleet, with itineraries in 2008 to Hawaii, Alaska, British Columbia, the U.S. Pacific Coast and the Pacific Northwest, the Panama Canal, and Australia and New Zealand. In Alaska, Celebrity offers an extensive series of cruise tours in conjunction with sister line Royal Caribbean, letting travelers get inland to visit sites like Denali National Park. Onboard, Celebrity employs lecturers in many regions to give passengers a deeper understanding of the locale.
Celebrity has a long partnership with The Wedding Experience, through which it has offered onboard vow renewals at sea and in-port wedding ceremonies. Now that seven of the eight Celebrity ships—and the two Azamara ships—have been re-registered to Malta, the captains have the jurisdiction to perform legal marriages at sea while the cruises are underway.
Visually, Mercury is a stunner, her dynamic design and upscale style belying her relaxed and informal ambience. Among the eye-poppers is the dramatically lit four-story atrium with its spiral staircase and distinctive contemporary artwork—and there are dozens of pieces around the ship that make up one of the best art collections at sea. (Interested passengers can check out free handheld audio art tours from the guest-relations desk and tour at their own pace.) Up top, the elegant Navigator Club has a clean modern design and offers two-deck-high windows for soaking up scenic wonders. Most other public rooms are on the Promenade and Entertainment decks. In the bow, the two-deck Celebrity Theatre offers seating at wide banquettes on the sloping floor level, or in balconies to either side. Entertainment includes so-so song-and-dance reviews and guest comedians.
Spanning the Promenade and Plaza Decks, Rendezvous Square is a stunning, high-style champagne and martini bar with a sweeping, rounded wooden wall and a two-story mural by painter Sol Le Witt, created specifically for the vessel. Farther forward on Promenade, passengers can snack from an all-day sandwich and dessert cart or get a jolt of extra-cost specialty java. A library, card room, cinema-conference center, and Internet center round out the deck's offerings. On Entertainment Deck, the Pavilion Nightclub is a fantasy space for small-scale entertainment, decorated in an elegant, futuristic style. Next door, Fortunes Casino offers a forest of gaming tables and slots, through which one must pass to get to the Rialto Galleries shopping complex, just forward.
On Panorama deck, the U-shaped Michael's Club piano lounge wraps around the Atrium but has a decidedly non-atrium atmosphere, all dark woods and high-back leather chairs, with a cocktail bar at its rounded end.
Out on deck, Mercury's central pool area offers two pools, a kids' wading pool, and three whirlpools, plus a vast acreage of sunning space. In the stern, aft of the buffet restaurant, the small Palm Springs pool has a retractable roof for inclement weather. One of the ship's focal points ever since her launch has been her large AquaSpa, which is centered on a 115,000-gallon thalassotherapy pool full of bubbling jets and underwater lounging chairs. Passengers can buy a day or weeklong pass to use the pool, or can use it free if they book a package of spa treatments—massages, mud rituals, facials, etc. Clustered in this same area are a sizeable gym and aerobics area; an elegantly furnished beauty salon; and an elaborate steam room with beautiful tile work.
Kids can do their thing at the ShipMates Fun Factory, a secluded, stern-facing room on Vista Deck, with an outdoor wading pool and play area, and supervised activities for several age groups. Teens get to leave the younger kids behind at their own lounge, located right next to the top-deck nightclub. A video game room is attached.
For dining, all three meals are served at the handsome, two-level Manhattan Restaurant. It features elegant, minimalist detailing and grand floor-to-ceiling stern-view window, shaded with a screen depicting New York's famous Flatiron Building. The Continental-meets-American-meets-international cuisine here is on a par with Celebrity's mainstream rivals, but service goes above and beyond—as is true for all service on the ship. There's also a buffet restaurant that serves breakfast and lunch, along with a casual option for dinner, with wait service. A self-serve sushi counter is also available.
Mercury's cabins are simple yet elegant. Standard inside and outside cabins are larger than the norm at 170 to 175 sq ft, and offer two lower beds convertible to queens, vanities that double as desks, stocked minifridges, private safes, baths with showers, and hair dryers. Closet and storage space is roomy. Suites range from the 246-sq-ft Sky Suites with their enormous verandas to the 537-sq-ft Royal Suites and 1,101-sq-ft Penthouse Suites. All of the suite baths have tubs with whirlpools. Concierge-Class staterooms occupy a niche between regular cabins and suites—they're essentially the same as standard balcony cabins, but offer a lot of the cushy amenities of the suites, including express luggage delivery, welcome champagne, a pillow menu, invitations to VIP events, etc.
All told, Mercury is a wonderful ship offering great style, exceptional service, and a full menu of activities. If guests have a complaint, it's that Celebrity rarely misses an opportunity to make an extra buck, from hawking $10 souvenir coffee mugs on deck during Alaska cruises to making passengers run a gauntlet of sales tables to get from one end of the Entertainment deck to another. This is the price guests pay for the line's relatively low rates.
