Jim Laflamme

Age: 41 to 50
Occupation: Clerk
Number of Cruises: First Cruise
Ship: Mercury
Sailing Date: August 11th, 2000
Itinerary: Vancouver, BC to Seward, AK

  This was my first cruise and will not be my last. I sailed with my sister and her family making a group of six that checked in at Vancouver, BC (a wonderful city). Check-in was rather long and tedious. That was understandable considering the number of passangers. Once aboard, however, every minute was special. We were pampered by staff, fed well, entertained, and enjoyed the Alaska experience. The positives were many, mostly relating to the marvelous ship and crew. The negatives were few, but I will cite some. The logistics of handling crowds were at times lacking. 

The Italian night buffet, for example, was crowded and popular with most people lining up for the good pizza. No one told us that we needed to line up and obtain plates and utensils before getting in the pizza line. As a result, many people had no plate to put the pizza on or would return from the plate line insisting to cut to the front of the pizza line. It was very chaotic and surprising, assuming that staff had done this before. Another instace of chaos came when people who had late seating for dinner would eat at the Palm Springs Cafe or the buffet line and then attend the early stage show. This resulted in a shortage of seats at the show for those of us who had the early dinner seating. We had to stand in the back or do something else. Late seating people should not be allowed to attend the early show. 

But these small criticisms certainly do not diminish the overall enjoyment we experienced. We had good weather and a full moon. It was enchanting! We even the Northern Lights one night. Our cabin was very comfortable and quiet. The passageways were long and the elevators slow, so we didn't do any aerobics to stretch our legs. There were abundant options to fill our time and were never bored. The ship was spotless. I can't wait to join the Captain's Club and cruise again. Maybe through the Panama Canal next time!

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