zaxanon6

Day 5 - Grand Turk This was our beach port. I’d seen videos online about the area right by the ship and it seemed wonderful. So after a quick room service breakfast, we headed for the gangway. Grand Turk was traditionally a Carnival Corporation port, so it was nice to go someplace new with Celebrity. Like Bimini, the pier extends out into the water, and you can see pretty much the entire island from the ship. You have to go down the pier and through the duty free shop to get to anything, including the meeting points for shore excursions, so leave yourself walking time. If you just want to relax in the sand, there are lounge chairs on both sides of the pier. If you want a chair with an umbrella, it’s $35 for the day (including WiFi and drinks from the bar). A cabana (a tent instead of an umbrella) was $60, and there were also clam shells available (didn't catch the price, sorry). Very close to the pier, the sand has lots of little white rocks in it, but if you keep going further down the beach (left of the pier), it gets nice and smooth. The water was a great temperature and very clear, though the bottom was mostly big smooth stones instead of sand. The stones were at varying heights so you needed to be careful walking around and water shoes were advisable. Several people had snorkeling gear, though there were no fish. The area was roped off to keep you from swimming too close to the cruise ships, but the water inside the area got plenty deep enough to swim around without touching the bottom. There was a little bit of a current pulling you toward deeper waters; I spent some time chatting with a fellow passenger while treading water and we unexpectedly ended up right next to the rope. It was pretty quiet and relaxing at the beach early in the morning; we docked at about 8:30. Later on, Carnival Legend docked beside Infinity and people started streaming into the area. We headed back to the ship for showers and lunch before afternoon spa appointments. There was a very good foot washing station at the edge of the beach before going back through the duty free shop. Dinner was in the main dining room again. We departed Grand Turk around 5:45pm, right after the Carnival ship. It was pretty to watch us pull away from the island through the large aft windows. After dinner, Steve Marshall, a comedian/magician, performed in the theatre. His act was a mix of good tricks, Dad jokes, and life lessons. And no one from the audience got pulled up on stage to be sawed in half. 😊 Having some WiFi struggles again today, so I'm going to save Puerto Plata (it will be a long post) and the last day at sea for once we're back in the US. For those embarking tomorrow, I hope you have a wonderful cruise!

@TrueCruiseaholic beat me to it, but I had the same answer. I usually used the app to check my account even when on a Revolutionized ship; the TV could be buggy sometimes.

Day 4 - At Sea Again started the day with a sunrise walk. Breakfast was from the Spa Cafe, an attempt to save calories for lunch. 🙂 While getting help with a little juice problem (the labels for the apple juice and iced tea were swapped on the dispenser), I found a familiar face. The crewmember that came to my rescue had been my MDR sommelier on Silhouette in December 2021. He was fantastic, so it was great to see him again. He was good at remembering faces, if not names, and happily came over to chat about what he’d been doing this year and how the cruise had been so far. We had planned to go on the free galley tour that morning, but enjoyed sitting in the Solarium so much that we instead went to get bathing suits and spent more time in the Thalassotherapy pool. Lunch was at the Mast Grill, which was just as good as I remembered. The grilled onions or mushrooms and bacon are still served by the crew, but all the other toppings were self-serve again. Afterward, we joined about a dozen other guests for a beginner Spanish lesson in the Constellation Lounge. It was led by a member of the activities team, who was from Mexico. The class was good and it was interesting to see some regional differences in words or grammar compared to how Spanish is taught in (Northeastern US) schools. It would have been nice to receive a sheet with the terms to practice or reference, but I guess they’re assuming everyone has translation apps on their phones these days. So far, it seems like the Concierge Class afternoon nibbles have improved. Three combinations have been repeated: • chicken salad, potato salad, pita chips, and red velvet cake bites • mini pita pockets with tomato/watermelon salad, mushy peas, and meringues • chocolate cake bites, olive salad, mozzarella and tomatoes in pesto, and mini breadsticks with sausage slices There hasn’t been anything unidentifiable (like the purple gelatin cubes), though the items still may not suit everyone's tastes. On the other hand, dinner had one of those dishes where it tastes good, but you have no idea what you just ate. The description of the chicken saltimbocca didn't really match what came on the plate, but it was yummy. I'm not sure where either the prosciutto or the cheese were, but… I’d probably eat it again. I was looking for a green flash at sunset but didn't see it. But there's still no such thing as a bad sunset at sea.

Thank you! The jogging track doesn't close; it is also the walkway on deck 11 from mid ship to the front of the ship (Constellation Lounge). If you're out there before ~6:30, it may be wet/slick if it rained overnight. The crew usually tries to clean up as they set up the pool and lounges. There are lights around the track and around the pool, so seeing shouldn't be a problem (though it might be a little darker up by the windows to the Solarium). Sorry, I haven't been up there when there's no light in the sky at all. I just looked at the dailies I've gotten so far. Today Cafe Al Baccio opened at 6 (we docked at 7). Yesterday it was 6:30 (we docked at 9). On the sea day it opened at 6:30. So it will probably vary based on what's happening that day.

Hi, Harry. The WiFi is better when in port than when moving at sea, so I got most of my photos uploaded yesterday while in Grand Turk. I did the remainder at 1am this morning, so low load on the WiFi. It usually takes multiple tries to get a long post to actually send; my first post in this thread took 3 attempts. I have all my text and photos saved in a separate file so I won't lose anything if there's hiccups sending (though I've almost lost that file 4 times as it corrupted while trying to back up to Google docs on the WiFi). Today's been the best WiFi so far. On Tuesday, I got so frustrated with it that I turned mobile data back on. International is included in my phone plan and we spent a few hours sailing close enough to San Salvador, Bahamas that there were 3/5 bars of signal.

I hope you have a fabulous time!

Thank you! I hope you enjoy your cruise and everything goes smoothly.

Day 3 - Bimini, Bahamas We docked at the pier before the sun rose. I was up reading and barely noticed we were spinning around to back in. Motion of the ship was always quite smooth, with just quick turns (leaning) or reversing (vibrations) being noticeable. Breakfast was a quick stop at Oceanview. There was a large variety of dishes, just like any other (newer or bigger) ship. We saw our sommelier from the MDR and he gave us a warning about jellyfish in the water at the beaches. But we'd just planned to wander a little and go to the beach later at another port. The tram around Bimini picked up passengers at the end of the pier (in the picture above, that is where the big square part ends behind the ship). The free tram goes to Resort World Beach Club (excursions start at $44 for entry and cost more to include food or drinks), Paradise Beach (the free beach), and Fisherman's Village (Resort World's little collection of shops and restaurants). From the entrance, Resort World looked really nice, and a fellow passenger later told me it was fantastic. I'll have to try it some time in the future. If you want to check out Fisherman's Village, you can walk to it from the pier. It’s basically just on the opposite side of the very skinny island. From there, you can rent a golf cart ($80-100 for the day) or get a taxi into town ($5pp). Most of the shops and restaurants in the Village didn't open until 10a. It was very pretty and peaceful walking around. We had post-lunch massage appointments, so decided renting a golf cart wasn't worth it. We probably could have haggled on price for just a couple hours use, but didn't try. We got lunch back aboard at Oceanview, then headed to the spa. Note: For those with mobility issues, if you can't walk from the ship to the tram pickup, there is a golf cart ferrying passengers there from the gangway. However, it can only hold about 6 people at a time, and a lengthy line can form at peak times. There were no seats available/offered while waiting, so you may want to be an early bird. Before dinner, we went to Rendezvous to listen to the string duo, Coda. They were VERY good, playing different types of music from Sinatra to Alicia Keys. A few couples from the audience treated us to their fancy dance moves. When the bartender brought my drink out (a Miami Vice), a couple nearby heads were on swivels. 😁 And then the bartender had to go make more of them. I'm not a big sushi fan, but my travel buddy is. I wanted to try the lobster ramen after seeing rave reviews on this site. It did not disappoint. Neither did the lobster and shrimp wontons or the chicken gyoza (both aren't listed in the menu on the Celebrity app). The wasabi gelato was one of the strangest things I've ever tasted, but the ginger bread (not to be confused with gingerbread) was very good. After dinner, there was a wonderful vocalist in the theatre, Cheaza, performing a tribute to Whitney Houston. She was very talented and very funny. We weren't sure if the gentleman in the audience that she evaluated for husband material was an innocent bystander or a plant, but he played along very well and had the whole theatre rolling laughing.

Day 2 - Key West Did some laps around the track before a room service breakfast. Infinity does not have a Retreat Sundeck since it has not been Revolutionized. That forward upper deck area is still available to all passengers (it's filled with loungers) and was a nice place to watch us sail in. We decided not to get off the ship (been there before) and instead had a relaxing morning at the Thalassotherapy pool and Persian Garden. The Solarium is basically the same temperature as outside, but having the windows open gives a nice breeze. The non-Revolutionized Persian Garden is kind of cave-like (dark tiles, very low lighting) but the heated tile benches felt more comfortable than the heated tile lounges on E or S-class. If only the room had a view! When we got to the main dining room for dinner, the crew member who escorted us to our table couldn't find it! 😁 We walked to the area and he was checking every table tag. He found 240, 241, 238, 237, but not 239. None of the other crew in the vicinity seemed to know where it was, either. Finally he realized it had been there next to 240 all along. We thought it was pretty funny, and another sign that everyone is still figuring things out onboard. Everything else about the meal went off without a hitch.

Day 1 - Embarkation Got in a sunrise walk on the beach and a light breakfast before checking out. The hotel staff arranged a shuttle to the port for us; 2 people for $25. It was a little pricier than the shuttle from Bahia Mar or the Hilton, but we got to set our own departure time. We arrived at Port Everglades at about 10:40 (the shuttle let 4 others off at Allure of the Seas first). The port staff were waving everyone in as they approached. No one was paying attention to the time-marked lines. Before going into the terminal, they wanted to see passports and boarding passes. Inside, we went through security, and then they needed your boarding pass, passport, and test results to check in. No one asked about vaccine cards. The waiting area was packed - it didn't appear anyone was adhering to arrival times nor did the port staff care. They started allowing people onto the ship at about 11:10. The concierge class lunch was nice, as usual. I've found it amusing that the chicken paillard is prepared differently on every ship. Afterwards, we headed up to the entrance of Oceanview to see if there were going to be any special meals offered during the cruise (burger lunch, seafood lunch, Indian dinner, etc.). We were told that since they're still figuring things out on Infinity (two months after startup), they are not offering anything like that. Maybe in the future. Concierge class offered a sail away party on the helicopter pad as the ship departed Port Everglades, but it was supposed to feel like 104F by that point in the day, so we passed. Departure was very smooth, despite the large number of little boats around on a summer Saturday afternoon; no one did anything stupid. Dinner onboard started at 5:15p; I can't recall it being open so early on any other Celebrity ship, but maybe that was their solution to prevent the extended meal times reported on cruises earlier in the summer. Anyway, after arriving at 5:30, we got a table right at the big aft windows. It was interesting to watch the other ships coming from Port Everglades or Miami scattering in different directions behind us. Our waiter, assistant waiter, bartender, and sommelier were great. Three courses took just over an hour. I can't speak for those dining later in the evening, but at least at 5:30 everything was very smooth. I very much appreciated our sommelier going the extra mile to get a wine I'd like. They didn't have what I wanted available by the glass (not sure if it was supply chain or be policy), and I didn't like the taste of the alternative, but he mixed up something closer to what I was looking for. No idea what it was, but it was a nice gesture.

Day 0 - Fort Lauderdale Flew into FLL on Southwest. The plane was a bit late departing because it was completely full - so full that the 2 off-duty pilots riding along were called up to the cockpit so there would be enough seats for passengers. Our pilot commented that since we were running a little late, there was a chance we would be able to see that day's SpaceX launch from the air. We ended up being about 10 minutes too early for it, but still got a really nice view of NASA’s Kennedy Space Center. In the image, the two circles near the coast are the larger launch pads, and the big line was the runway for the Space Shuttle to land on. Saw this in the airport and had to agree with the headline. 😉 We stayed at the Hotel Maren in Fort Lauderdale Beach. It's a beautiful newer hotel (Hilton Curio Collection) and they always treat you very well.

Better late than never? I'm posting towards the end of my 8/20-8/27 cruise on Infinity. I decided not to start a live thread at the beginning of the cruise for two reasons: 1) I wanted to be able to take a breath before posting if any issues arose. 2) I quickly discovered after boarding that the internet onboard is terrible. More on that later. I booked a concierge cabin at a price so good that my travel buddy and I decided to each get our own (connecting) cabin. We tried to temper our expectations knowing that the ship is old, the crew is new, costs are up, and the global supply chain has issues. Overall, while a couple things are not quite up to the standard expected from Celebrity, it has been a great cruise so far. We were on the Eastern Caribbean itinerary, so I'll post daily reports that will cover Bimini, Grand Turk, and Puerto Plata (we stayed on the ship in Key West). General Notes Walking around the ship, it's obvious that it wasn't built yesterday (both in style and a bit of wear) but she's still a grand lady. We haven't seen any egregious problems in the public areas. I know there were bigger issues earlier in the summer, but at this point, I think the most obvious signs of her age in the public areas are the crazy mismatched carpeting and the number of patches in the walking/jogging track. These are not the types of things that ruin vacations. 😉 The staterooms are where you'll notice the ship's age and time out of service the most. My A/C worked wonderfully (thank God), though the unit was loud and less powerful in my travel buddy's cabin next door. We heard others in the hall say they'd been moved to a new cabin due to problems in their original one, so it's not all smooth sailing yet. My bathroom’s tile floor had separated from the subflooring; water pooled between and leaked out whenever I stepped on certain spots. My stateroom attendant already knew about it and thought it couldn't be fixed at the moment. I then mentioned it on the comment card to guest services, as I was concerned about potential damage to the ship or mold under the surface. They offered a cabin upgrade to AQ (I declined; I liked my location) and scheduled maintenance to come work on it the next day. So... use your comment cards, y’all. If the right people don't know about the issues onboard, they can't fix them. I really appreciated how quickly they tried to make things right. Other than the bathroom issue, the stateroom was in pretty good shape. I believe the carpet is new and some of the soft goods have been updated like the Revolutionized ships. That isn't universal, though; I had a new pink drape on my bed, but my buddy next door had an old gray/red one. The closets still have the old two-piece hangers. The only easily accessed power outlets are at the desk/vanity (2 American, 2 European). There was a free Celebrity bag waiting on the bed. My safe (one of the old white ones) was totally dead; they tried to replace the battery but ended up replacing the whole thing with a small black unit like those found on Revolutionized ships. The TV is the smaller kind, and doesn't have interactive features like the room service menu or checking your account, but otherwise it works fine. For anyone who has been on an S-class or Revolutionized M-class ship recently, be careful with the balcony doors on Infinity. Unlike all those vessels, there is no handle on the outside to unlock the door. One day, I accidentally locked my travel buddy outside 😳 and then 45 minutes later, our stateroom attendant almost locked us both out there (but caught herself and quickly unlocked it). It's very much habit from the other ships to turn the handle whenever you close the door. To us, the food onboard has been very good, though I understand that everyone's tastes and standards vary. Most dinners have been in the main dining room, with one night at Sushi on Five; breakfasts have been room service, Spa Café, or Oceanview; and lunches have been Oceanview or Mast Grill. I'll talk more about specific meals with the reports from each day, but a few notes on Oceanview now: it's almost entirely self-serve at this point (except desserts). There is a good variety of food. Pizza, pasta, and a sandwich bar are at the back; those are easy to miss if you don't walk all the way around. There is no daily afternoon tea in Oceanview, but Concierge Class has one scheduled in Tuscan on the last sea day. The crew has been just as friendly, welcoming, and helpful as expected with Celebrity. We have gone to a few shows and music performances; all were good and will be detailed more with the reports from each day. According to guest services, there are about 1300 passengers onboard (~60% of capacity). It definitely doesn't feel full, but the ship does feel lively (instead of the eerie private yacht feeling from 2021 cruises). There are a lot of Gen X and Y couples and families. The only real negative has been the WiFi. If you're planning to use it, it’s really bad compared to other Celebrity ships. You truly do have to follow the phone/tablet configuration instructions on the little paper with your Seapass card or you won't be able to connect at all. The WiFi frequently doesn't have internet access or the network just disappears altogether for a minute or two. A crewmember from the iLounge tried to blame all of this on how far my stateroom is from a router (as if there were never any issues in the public areas), but when pressed, he admitted that Infinity has problems the other Celebrity ships don’t have. Don't count on being able to stream video, make intelligible WiFi calls, or back up/send photos in a timely fashion when at sea. If anybody has questions while I'm still onboard, let me know. Day by day reports will be posted soon (assuming the WiFi cooperates).

I am sailing on Infinity in August in concierge and the menu for the concierge class lunch is under the regular dining room (Celebrity select) on day 1. I've previously only seen it as a separate thing, like @dream2cruisesaid. When I switched the app over to your sailing, I didn't see the menu in either of these locations. I don't think you should worry, though, since Celebrity isn't known for their fantastic IT department. It may just be a glitch. I attached as much of the menu as I could fit in one screenshot; there's also a whole wheat pasta entree. Hope that helps.

If you don't have an issue with climbing stairs, you can make it a little longer by going up the steps to the rooftop terrace (deck 12 aft), looping around behind all the lounges, and coming back down the steps on the other side of the ship.

I think every Celebrity cruise I've been on has had a spa raffle at 4pm on day 1. I generally don't go because it's the same time as sail away.

The solarium pool and hot tubs have steps to enter. Hope you have a speedy recovery!