Today is the big day. We’re off to Alaska on the Celebrity Cruiseship Mercury. We leave Vancouver Canada Place and return next Friday after 2,200 miles to the same place. No airports or issues getting to the port. Couldn’t be easier. I went to work for a few hours and Linda and the kids drove to my mom and dads and got a lift to the port by cousin Susan. I brought my big heavy bag on the bus and train with me to work. Would have been too much for Linda. The boat said we don’t need to be there until 1PM for our 5PM sailing. We got there at 10:45AM and were sure glad we did. We were first in line to board the ship. We waited about 20 minutes at customs and then another 10 minutes by the ship and were the first ones on. Glad we did because everyone goes to the buffet for lunch right away so being first, we had no wait or problems getting a table. We were really hoping being first to board meant an upgrade or some bonus but that didn’t happen.

Our room was great. It was a quad room on the lowest level near the front but had a great window and the bonus of being lower was that there was very little motion or rocking. The beds were bunk beds which folded down from the side of the walls and the kids slept up top and had their own little ladders. There was storage under the bed and lots of closet space so the room was more than adequate for us.

We sailed out of Vancouver under warm blue skies and enjoyed a nice prime rib dinner in the dining room. I brought a 6 pack of beer in my carry on and Linda brought 2 bottles of champagne and we had no questions or even anyone look at them for a matter of fact. Our Steward put the champagne on ice which even had some extra room for my beers. Beers are only $5 each but my 6 Pack was $6 so I enjoy saving a few bucks here and there to splurge on other items – and I get to have my MGD which they don’t have on board. I otherwise drink Corona, Amstel or Bud. John and I were outside later in the evening as we passed through Campbell River and enjoyed the peaceful sail. Didn’t sleep very good – not relaxed yet.
Ship Details:
Celebrity Mercury
77,713 Tonnes
866 Feet Long
105 Feet Wide
10 Decks – 10 Elevators
1870 Guests
845 Crew
944 Staterooms

Sample of how much food is consumed during the cruise – not all by me:
38,000 pounds of beef
14,000 pounds of chicken
45,000 pounds of vegetables
50,000 pounds of fruit
900 pounds of ice cream – our family accounted for 50 of those pounds
1,600 pounds of cookies
12,000 fresh eggs
2,700 bottles of wine
200 bottles of champagne
180 bottles of vodka
8,000 cans of beer