8 Mercury the

a third largest |
S cruise ship

IT’S easy to get blasé
about cruising when
‘you look out of your
cabin window and sec

two other ships bigger
‘than Dreadnoughts
standing off the
Mexican port of
Cozumel and convoys
‘of tenders bearing

” down on the white-
washed shoreside T-
shirt shops (“One
tequila, two tequila,
_, three-tequila ...

i floor!”).

; oA knock at the cabin -
door brings the ship’s daily,
less'a newspaper than a run-
down on where we are and
what’s.on. The newspaper,
in about a dozen versions

_ including Canadian,
‘American and British, will

- arrive by satellite at about

10am.

Inthe meantime there’s a

- =~ Ieisurely breakfast to be

enjoyed on my private
veranda, one of 220 cabins
and suites with these whim-

. sical terraces over the bortle-

7 green Caribbean.

Here the pampered cruis-

er can compare his lot with

- Christopher Columbus, who
came this way in 1492 in
considerably different cir-
cumstances.

For a start, Columbus

~ thought he was landing on
the eastern coast of Asia, a
belief he held till he died in

'.1606. He had three ships
with a cotal of 90 men; the
Mercury has a crew of 900
including dedicated souls

- who not only make fresh
pizza on board but deliver it

to cabins —— in cardboard

boxes!

After 70 days at sea and
with a near-mutinous crew,
Columbus was understand-
ably happy to reach land.

A cruise on the Mercury,
on the other hand, is just a

buile in Germany, and when
cruising at 21 knots you can
pour 2 martini to the brim
and not lose a drop.

The handsome ship has
15 decks with showrooms,
bars and cabins plusher than
anything Queen Isabella
could have imagined i ina-
Spanish castle, and it’s all
done elegantly, such as
Tastings, a rendezvous mod-
cled on Milan's Cova
Patisserie, founded in 1817
by a soldier of Napoleon’s
arnw.

The two-level dining
room, with food orchestrat-
ed by three-star Michelin
chef Michel Roux and deliv-
ered by European waiters
who know their stuff, rises
above the mediocrity of pre-
tenders who shovel heaped
plates in front of sequined
masses.

Later there’s a lively casi-
no, three places to dance
{and where else can you
dance these days?) and
showroom entertainment
fed by Allan King, onc of
the most experienced and

Sunday, December 28, 1997 — North Shore News - #3

: a Bavid Wishari photo
MERCURY at anchor off Cozumel as passengers relax after lunch. The new cruise ship s the latest vessel of

Celebrity Cruises, and at 77,713 tons the third biggest passesiger ship in the world.

ralented cruise directors
afloat, and band leader Jeff
Hughes, ex-Glen Miller
pianist. Both are backed by
nifty innovations such as an
onstage video wall.

Mercury sparkles with
gadgets to enthrall kids,
such as a video alley,
Teenage Room with disco
and programs for four age
groups. Cabin TVs have
interactive features chat
allow passengers to order
roum service, select wine for
diene: free and pay-per-
view movies (including the
hottest adult scorchers
afloat) and even gamble.

If this is not enough and

Fiorida by
land and sea.

ONE thing not to
overlook if you’re
going all the way to
Florida is that you also
have the option of
combining a land-
based vacation with
your cruise.

After all, your cruise cost
includes the air fare, and a
travel agent will gladly adjust
your flights to suit.

As ic is, in order to be in
Ft. Lauderdale to catch the
Sunday departure of Mercury
you have to travel on a
Saturday and overnight.
Once again, your travel
agent will take care of all
thar.

My flight got me to my
hotel, the Embassy Suites, ac

about 7 p.m., and I later
found a Thai restaurant just
up the street. This part of Fr.
Lauderdale is thronged with
restaurants, including the
popular Boatyard Gnill.

Mast of Sunday is free, so
what about golf? Hillerest
Golf Club is not too far, and

- at less than $50 a round one

of the best bargains in
Florida. For reservations call
954-987-5000, email: info-
hillcrest@hillcrestgolfclub.co

Ifyou want a ride out
there, or want a tour of the
area, a character called Dave
has a van and a sense of
humor. He’s at (954) 222-
5466.

Otherwise call Florida
Tourism at 1-800-268-3791.

— David Wishart

youre tempted to go ashore
you can preview excursions
and make bookings without
having to line up.

I liked the wide, finer-like
teak decks and the jogging
track up top (12 times
round is a mile), the five
pools including one with a
sliding roof, golf simulator,
the quiet of the aft deck
which could be a yacht of F
St. Tropez, and the
AquaSpa, 10,000 sq. ft. of
pure luxury,

The design and 20 trear-

See Mercury page 16

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