Cruising the Hawaiian Islands
 | Oahu - The Night Prior |
| Embarkation - The Mercury |
| The Islands and the Ship |
| Oahu - The Night Prior | |
| We stayed the JW Marriott on Oahu the day before we had to embark on Mercury. Its always a great idea to be near the port the day prior to sailing so you can be relaxed and rested when you arrive at the ship.. We were very relaxed ! I wanted to stay at a beautiful resort on Oahu the night before, the JW Marriott is not in Honolulu or Waikiki but on the west coast, north of the Airport about a half hour. It was spectacular. Once again, we got a convertible from Budget at the airport. We dropped it off the next day in Waikiki at the Hyatt location because they had a courtesy shuttle to take us to the pier once we dropped it off. It was very convenient.
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Wow we walked into our room and this was the view from the Balcony! |
We were really looking forward to the sunset since we had a westerly view! |
We got set up for the show with a bottle of wine and some snacks. |
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Embarkation - The Mercury |
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| October 10, 2001 Embarkation
Day We woke up at the JW Marriott and went for a morning swim in the lagoon prior to departing. The hotel was incredible, a lovely golf course on site, the room was magnificent very large, luxurious and a view almost beyond belief. It was a great transition toward getting on the ship. After we left the hotel we drove to the pier, we got off of our directions and ended up having to circle around a bit before we pulled up to the terminal. Alas, due to the Sept. 11 attacks, the security was not as usual. We were unable to just drop our bags off curb-side as we usually do, so we had to park and accompany our luggage through security. We were at the port early so we did not have a long wait, others that came in mid-afternoon had the longest lines, through the terminal and way out the door. Also those arriving late breezed through. The ship was to sail at 11:59 pm. After going through security our bags were whisked away and we approached the counter for embarkation. We were on board in minutes, escorted to our Royal Suite on the Penthouse Deck 10. Our cabin number was 1026. |
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We departed from the Aloha Tower Cruise Terminal in Honolulu. This is a shopping complex with restaurants beside the pier. We watched the Aloha Tower complex from our cabin's balcony as we began our departure for our first port of call, Lahina, Maui. |
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A View of the living and dining room area of our Royal Suite taken from the balcony. |
Time for our first nights rest onboard Mercury. |
The Islands and the Ship Arriving in Maui |
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The Mercury in Maui This is a beautiful island and I hope to come back one day and spend more time. Many of the Maui photos I took are still to be developed, I didn't take the digital to the beach, so check back again for more Maui shots. |
The ship docked in Maui in the morning
of Oct. 11 and we were docked overnight until the next evening. We decided a few
months before to book tickets for "Ulalena" a show in Maui that was recommended
to us. It was truly delightful.. somewhat like Cirque de Soliel but about the
history of the Hawaiian people.
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We used the ship's tenders in Maui. Security was tighter than usual to return to the ship, all our bags were searched and we both got the wand treatment. Its all for the safety of the passengers and was only a minor inconvenience except at rush times like just before lunch or sail away. |
We spent the night onboard Mercury. The next day, we took a cab to the beaches up the coast and did some snorkeling. Also, we met up with Fandar and Punche, and family .. some friends we have only known from playing Everquest online and they live in Maui - that was a highlight for us ! |
Lahina had some very nice shops and shopping, be sure to have a tote I'm sure you'd find nice things here too! |
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Kauai Well I had a lot of fun at the beach in Maui and got a sunburn, despite using the 30 spf block.. so I took it easy in Kauai and enjoyed the ship. Stephen ventured out ashore to have a taste of this lush island, alas he's the videographer, but I will post a few picks I took that day from the ship. |
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A view of the Port area. |
All the lifeboats were deployed for a crew exercise at the port at Kauai. This was a deep harbour and we were able to dock and not have to tender. |
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A view of the bridge from our balcony as we sail out of Kauai for our next port of Kona. |
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 Time for a nice bath in the jetted tub ! |
| We returned to the Big Island .. a day
in Kona and then back to Hilo -- since we already spent several days on the Big Island we
took this time to get well acquainted with the ship, go ashore and check email and do some
laundry since it was stacking up (Celebrity does not have passenger-access laundry
facilities, but you can send them out for cleaning) we had time so we got this done. We picked up some lovely flowers in Hilo to brighten up our dining area in the cabin as we prepared for 5 days at sea. |
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Lots of storage in the suite for sure ! Even the bathroom was well appointed. |
Off of the bedroom is a walk-in closet with vanity on the left, and on the right is the bath with jetted tub, separate shower, separate commode and double sinks - all floors, walls and counters are marble. |
Stephen enjoyed the living room area a lot, a great place to relax and have a read. |
Time to leave our happy cabin for a look around the ship! |
The art on Mercury is quite modern, at the elevator lobby near our cabin on Deck 10 are pictures of children yelling at the top of their lungs ! Its quite funny actually since the area is sooo quiet. |
Pic of us off the Elevator |
Just outside the Cinema/Conference Centre by the board games room. |
At the centre atrium, by Tastings Cova Cafe |
 Atrium on Mercury |
Tastings ! Cappuccino Yay! (and a piece of Cova chocolate with each cup) |
The Manhattan Dining Room View from top of the stairs |
A view of the wake out the back of the restaurant. |
Manhattan Dining room from bottom of the stairs
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Our table #504 - best place on the ship for breakfast, lunch and dinner ! |
Each day we'd check the menu outside the Manhattan to see what culinary treats we would have to choose from at the next meal. |
Goofy pictures are fun! Haha Stephen isn't impressed, but I'm having fun! |
 Alas, the secret is out - this IS where I got the name for my Everquest Character "Vistadeck" - deck 9 |
This was the floor map near our Cabin |
 Our Cabin # is 1026 |
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This is the view from our balcony - it won't change much for the 5 days of our crossing. We get a bit of a swell at sea due to a tropical storm that has broken up, but all in all, the seas were much calmer than I expected. |
One of my many yummy lunches in the Manhattan Dining Room |
Hoho! Looks like Stephen is enjoying his lunch too! |
Once again we were fortunate to have an excellent waiter on a Celebrity Cruise. |
Back to the suite for an afternoon nap. The Royal Suite has a door out to the balcony from both the Bedroom and living room, and windows all along the sea view side of the suite. |
Everyday our butler, Andi would bring us cappuccino's on request, usually a couple of times a day at least, between our visits to Tastings. |
The balcony on the Royal Suite is spacious and comfortable. |
Back inside, from the bedroom we have a TV with safe above it, and a door out to the living room. |
"I had lunch and a nap, and cappuccino .. what should I do now?" |
In the living room area there is a sofa, 2 chairs, coffee table, and a bunch of our stuff. |
As I turn to the left, you can view the dining area and the cabin door on the left. We had several meals served to us in the suite by our butler, Andi at the dining room table. It was very nice to have that convenience, especially when I was sunburned and wasn't up to going out much. |
The seas were very calm for a lot of our journey across the Pacific from Hawaii to Ensenada, Mexico. |
A toast in our suite as we prepare to go out for a formal night dinner. |
Having another drink as we celebrate our 10th anniversary onboard. |
I thought the salon onboard did a very nice job with my hair. I love getting my hair done onboard a ship! |
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| NEXT: More Pictures onboard the Mercury on "Mercury at Sea" page | |
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