johhnnyt

I would like to add my thanks too for posting these photos. We are on the Eclipse in February 2019 so this is so illuminating. It would be good if you could add to this post about the voyage as a whole, what excursions you took in places you visited etc.

 

There was a previous post about issues on the Infinity because of engine problems and storms so they missed ports etc. I am guessing it was an earlier voyage than the one you are on.

 

Best wishes, Lee

I'd be happy to Lee, More so than any other cruise, this one has some great tips to pass forward. I've started to compile a review and will include the tips to share, as it was really helpful that others shared their ideas with me as well.

Wonderful pictures.

Thanks for sharing.

Very happy to do so

Great! So happy you are seeing what the January 21- February 4 cruise did not see! Let us know if you make it to the Falklands on that crippled ship.

Yes, luckily we didn't run into the bad weather as you did on the Jan 21st sailing

Lucky you!

Thanks for posting your wonderful pictures.

Fab pics.

Love the penguin photos-you're so lucky! Thanks for posting them.

I am so thrilled that you shared these photos! They are so up close and personal!

Thanks for all the kind words, right place, right time I guess. Was so lucky to be up close to them, although they gave me a strange look since I was noticeably taller than the rest of my waddle

And you can see the baby penguins in this one (little all brown things), and you can see I blended right in with the crowd since I told them I was tall for my age, and my fur collar on the jacket I was wearing was molting

A few more from Port Stanley in the Falkands

I know this may sound provocative and that's certainly not my intent but I do have what I feel is a very legitimate question. So often on these boards you will read complaints about Celebrity's (all lines really) attempt to up sell drink packages, peddle photograph packages, auction art, sell Botox, learn to make martinis, take a glass blowing class..etc. etc..all for an additional fee. But isn't that what for profit is all about? That's capitalism at its finest IMHO. When I go to McDonalds and order a burger they ask if I want fries with that...that's an up sell attempt. I bought a computer at Best Buy and they offered me an additional warranty...for a fee. I'd call that an attempt at an up sell. Recently, I called my cable provider to ask a question and while they had me on the line...guess what? They offered me a special rate on HBO and Showtime. That's an up sell. Why should it be any different on a cruise ship? I have found that if I am not interested in what is being offered, a simple, "no thank you" is all it takes. Help me understand why this is so infuriating to some who frequent the cruise industry.

I would agree with you. It's part of the game to offer, but I've never really been bombarded by anyone on a ship. I think it was much worse a dozen or so years ago when you would literally have a half dozen flyers on your door or on your bed waiting for you. Spa used to be the worst with people pushing $45+ moisturizers that they really to tried to upsell you with.

Awesome!

I booked for next year but will be on the Eclipse

You'll be vert lucky as MickeyLive said he just signed up for next years commentary on those sailings

Just sharing some pictures from todays cruise around Paradise Bay and Gerlache Strait, crew ship and service been excellent (although I think I am addicted to Tuscan Grill)

Mr. Johhnny,

 

Thanks for posting. :)

Glad to share them

Fantastic pics!

 

 

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Thanks, we actually arrive in Antarctica in about 15 hours, so hoping to have some good ICE and arctic creatures pictures in a few days

Beautiful pics, shore x or private tour? Enjoy your cruise.

 

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We're scheduled to be in Ushuaia in December and we'd love to know if you were on a ship excursion or a private one. I'll never be able to match your pictures!

Thanks for the nice words about the pictures, I wish I could say it was talent, but it's easy to photograph something so naturally picturesque

It was a simple ships tour. It was it was called US05 - Journey to the Sea Wolves and Penguins for $159pp for 4.5hrs, they also have one that visits a local ranch (in addition) for $229pp. Our tour went from about 230-7pm, so still had time to look around the city after the tour, so glad I didn't book one with ranch stop

One suggestion though which someone had suggested to me was if you have a DSLR camera buy a wide angle lens for it. I've a fairly inexpensive Nikon DLSR and best investment I made for the trip was a 10-20mm wide angle Nikon lens for $310. Been so many opportunities to photograph things on a grand scale, so having a wide angle lens is a nice luxury to enhance your pictures.

Where is this?

Where is this?

Wonderful pictures, thanks for posting! This cruise is on my bucket list for sure.

 

Wow, i just looked at your cruise & saw that you have Micky Live on your ship, lucky guy, he's terrific!

Hope that Mickey Live is on your cruise..these are great pics! We were there in December, can never see enough of these amazing animals

 

 

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Some very cool wildlife from yesterday

On Infinity now in a CC3

and see all the standard fare available for free

bacon, eggs, ham, sausage, coffee tea, milk, juices cereals, eggs, fruits

One of my favorite stories was on a TA, I had gotten upgraded from SS to CS at last minute, for only a few hundred $$ so I was thrilled.

Butler was terrific and eagerly awaited any requests, I really didn't have any other than the 3rd day he was kind enough to bring me breakfast . 4th and 5th day comes and each day (sometimes more than once) he'd ask me if I needed anything, and I really didn't, so I would thank him for asking and we'd part ways.

Celebrity meanwhile was nice enough to drop off bottles of Champagne and Wine (From Miami Office, HD, GRM, and F&B manager), so I had accumulated 4 bottles and I don't drink alcohol.

So we were going to do a CC cabin crawl and I volunteered my CS, and had an idea. so the day before I asked the butler if maybe he could get some extra glasses and would offer the people on the cabin crawl the wine and champagne as they shuffled through. He was really thrilled to help. It was funny as I remember on day 4 of the cruise he had said "Mr John, there must be something I can help you with", but really couldn't think of anything I needed help with.

So day of the cabin crawl, I get up around 9 and head up on deck since the cabin crawl was going to be coming through around 1, so figured I would get back around 12 to my room, and get cleaned up before I started. When I returned at noon what a transformation.

The wine and champagne was iced in their buckets, and glasses were set up in a pyramid shape on a table with linens . Trays of shrimp, cheeses, crudités, and snacks were set up among the fresh flowers that were also brought in.

He stayed the entire time and poured wine and champagne until every guest had been served. I couldn't of been happier and either could he. He knew he did an allstar performance and so did I. I usually give $100/week ($200/14 days) for butlers in addition to the normal gratuity, but gave him an extra $100,because he really put on a great service, and was very grateful to him.

Ok, rant coming. I think our upcoming first cruise with Celebrity may be our last and we haven't even set foot on the ship. We have been on many cruises on about 8 different cruiselines and never, never have we had so much trouble just trying to get it set up! What the heck is up with their website. Really??? In 2018 they don't have any tech people that can make a website that consistently works? There are probably high school kids that could do a better job. I can get into the website about 30% of the time.

 

We booked a Panama Canal tour over a year and a half ago. In November of 2016 we booked the one shore excursion we really wanted to do, the dome car train ride. A couple of months ago they cancelled it with no explanation. On the phone they said they just weren't doing it anymore. It is still available on other cruiselines. Major disappointment.

 

Then of course, they cancelled the whole cruise. I do understand that these things happen but how they have handled it is the biggest disappointment. The lack of informed employees and the total lack of follow up is driving me crazy. The only official notification was a phone call where the woman told me we would receive a refund and a 50% future cruise credit. Also offered was $250 towards airline change fees. Sounds good, right? She also said the future cruise credit would not have an expiration date, wrong. It must be used within a year. Not a biggie, but the people calling should have the correct information.

 

The refund eventually came thru and we booked a new cruise for the same time. We were told when the future cruise credit certificate came, we would be refunded the 50% we had to pay upfront because it was past final payment. It came, I called and a week later, no refund. I have actually called 3 times.

 

As far as the $250 for airline cancellation fees (even though our cost is $400 ea), they keep promising they will take care of it, but I have called and emailed 3 times and each time nothing. They promise they will let me know that they got my emails, but they don't.

 

I really don't think taking a cruise should be this frustrating. I do know this is an unusual circumstance, but when someone tells me they will follow up, I don't think it is unreasonable to expect that they do so. Rant over.

Not a rant at all, those are 100% valid concerns

Hope you'll give Celebrity a chance though, as several have mentioned once you experience the ships and the teams onboard, it's usually a well oiled organization and a fantastic time

Available in Murano

After much anticipation, we are finally on our Viking ocean cruise in the Caribbean. We decided to try Viking after reading all of the great reviews and seeing their numerous awards. Like many of you, we to get tired of jewelry sales, photographers, and the push to upsell.With that being said, after one week so far on the Viking Sea,my husband and I Are booking our next cruise again with celebrity. We have only taken one celebrity cruise in the past, on the silhouette, and we really enjoyed it. We are 58 and 70, and have found the average age on Viking to be higher than what we expected. I think the Viking product is great if you love to read, love classical music or quiet piano music. The evening entertainment is decent with a collection of singers, and the band excellent. But the songs so far have definitely appealed more to a older generation. Not really a club for dancing if you enjoy that. The pool is definitely quiet, no games, but no music either. Things we miss from Celebrity - Martini and Sunset bars. There was more activity, and more of a “vacation vibe”. I’m not looking for a raucous party, but I like to feel some sort of “hey, we’re on vacation!” spirit. It seems most everyone on Viking is retired, so maybe coming from a different perspective. We stayed in Aqua on celebrity, and I think our room was just as nice as what we have here on Viking. Balcony is just the same. A lot of people have talked about how good the Viking food is an over all it is good. However, there’s just nothing special about going to dinner on Viking. It’s almost too casual, And although some people like the clean Scandinavian design, I think it is rather cold. We felt that our dinners in blu and especially Murano were just as good as what we’ve had On board here. If anyone has more questions, I’d be glad to answer them but for now it’s off to one of our excursions here in Aruba!

Thank You for writing that, had toyed with the idea with Viking as some friends asked me to join them on a cruise this year. Didn't realize the demographics on Viking was that much different and even slower retired paced.

I love seeing good energy onboard as always find it refreshing to hear new music, and that vacation vibe like you mentioned.

Never felt pestered by photographers, a simple no thank you and they fade into the background.

I had the same question, as Choice Air booked me for an 11:15 flight from FCO--->EWR, so I called choice air and asked them about it.

They told me their cutoff is 10:15, anything after that they consider it a go, since ship scheduled to get in about 6AM (which usually means 5AM). If I remember right it's about 70 minutes to airport from port, so we (4 of us) plan on leaving the port at 7AM with car service from Rome that transported us last time.

Really?? If we’d not been having propulsion problems we could have gone to Falkland Islands??And you know this because you’ve studied at a maritime school, or you understand navigation maps, or you were on the bridge seeing all of the readouts, technology etc and made that pronouncement. And you understand where another port is and whether their schedule would allow us to dock and the ripple effect that would have on arriving on time for disembarkation?

 

Very tired of reading these disparaging comments.

 

I was on this cruise, and the one before it (back-to-back). Let me shed some light on this.

 

* We were told in advance, while on the first cruise, as were those who would board for The Antarctica Cruise, that there were propulsion problems and Port Madryn would therefore be cancelled. A) There was never a safety issue; B) we would still have a good speed but, over the longer haul, the small change in speed mounts up so we would not go to Port Madryn; and C) Celebrity was refunding us for one day and for any shore excursion we’d booked there, because this change was due to the ship itself.

 

* This was primarily an Antarctica cruise and people booked it to visit the 7th continent and go around Cape Horn. Celebrity delivered and did so fantastically. Micky-Live, their naturalist was amazing and spoke live, piped in to areas around the ship and all cabins over ship tv as we did these amazing places. Captain went slowly around Cape Horn insuring all areas of ship could see it by his turning the ship. Paradise Island in Antarctica was incredible - Captain did two slow doughnuts (turn arounds) enabling everyone in all areas of the ship to have close-up views. Weather was great (not always the case). When we arrived at Elephant Island (where Shackleford’s men were stranded) it was so foggy we could see nothing. Captain waited and waited and waited....and fog lifted slowly and he waited..and then lifted completely. Agin, two slow doughnuts so everyone could see. It was amazing, And understand here, this was the purpose of the cruise - to see Antarctica.

 

* Yes - we were late to Ushuaia and people set out on excursions at 4:30 and some returned at 11. My understanding was currents and winds were against the ship going there, affecting the arrival. I know of two people who cancelled their excursions when they learned of the late arrival, and were refunded.

 

* Falkland Islands — gale-force winds (not just “because of winds”) and “extremely rough seas”- and in good conditions this port is a 45 minute tender. Captain sent letters to every cabin, announced, and showed maps etc on tv station. Those with private excursions booked were given a free phone call from Guest Services to alert them. Those who booked excursions with Celebrity were refunded in the manner they were booked: if you booked it before the cruise using ship board credit, you were refunded in ship board credit or if before the cruise by credit card, your credit card was refunded. If you reserved on board, you got an onboard credit. This was a very large and extremely dangerous weather system that was becoming apparent as we sailed...and indeed, we still had some rough seas as we skirted it. To assume that we would have missed the storm if we’d had full propulsion is not factual.

 

* I was in the library where the head of Concierge class was at his desk. As with Guest Relations, Celebrity assumed people would want to vent and had their desks staffed early. I witnessed people being belligerent to staff, sometimes as many as 20 at a time crowded in the library with voices raised. Same thing at Guest Services. Our wonderful cabin attendant was yelled at and had a door slammed in his face.

 

And let me be clear — which is not what you’re reading in these threads, people were angry because they did not see penguins. Penguins. Not because they wanted one more land stop...They are angry and threatening class action suits, because they did not see penguins. Staff are on 10 month contracts, away from their families, so we can cruise....missing their family...always smiling....and people were furious because they didn’t see penguins. Antarctica was the billing and main reason for the cruise....our safety, excellent and always pleasant service....and people are yelling because they didn’t see penguins??? Let’s have some perspective here. I understand disappointment. We’ve all been disappointed at times — but this kind of vitriolic anger because an Antarctic cruise didn’t have penguins up close?

 

*Last point: crew were incredible through the entire cruise. Added shows in afternoons and evenings with amazing performers who put together extra performances...orchestra members, singers, etc who learned new shows on the fly, practiced extra so they could deliver...more activities, more of everything on board while many people were rude and belligerant.

 

I for one commend Celebrity for their service, their commitment to safety, commitment to the environment, support of non-profits, training program and support of their staff, visibility of officers all over the ship, every day and evening, visibility of staff continually cleaning the ship...etc etc etc.

 

We will continue to sail Celebrity and are so grateful for our wonderful Antarctica cruise.

Thanks for sharing that and putting some light on the facts. I'm on the February 18th sailing and looking forward to seeing Antarctica, as that was the whole point of booking the tour, to see the 7th continent up close and personal.

It sucks about the weather, but it happens, One of the Captains I spoke with last year mentioned that weather/visibility is always a tricky issue with the Antarctic voyages, that's one of the reasons they do them so infrequently and always have double or triple the amount of lookouts on the bridge during those voyages, as conditions can change very quickly.

Couple of years ago on a TA on Silhouette weather was awful and gale force winds and high seas kept everyone inside for 4 days, sadly no one can predict when or where.

We received the note about them cancelling Port Madryn on our upcoming voyage, hoping we don't get any other cancellations, but anything is possible especially in that area of the world.

Also they spell out the uncertainties possible in cruise contract (below)that we all agree to

Luckily they don't deviate too often of the the iteneraries, but it does happen on some of these more exotic voyages..

As long as they keep me safe and have the positive attitude that you mention, I know we'll enjoy it as much as you did, and thanks again for sharing your thoughts on the voyage, and can't wait till ours.

6. Carrier may for any reason, at any time and without prior notice, cancel, advance, postpone or deviate from any scheduled sailing or port of call, or substitute another vessel or port of call, and shall not be liable for any loss whatsoever to Passenger by reason of such cancellation, advancement, postponement, substitution or deviation.

In connection with a CruiseTour, Carrier may for any reason, at any time and without prior notice, cancel, advance,postpone or deviate from any scheduled departure or destination, or substitute another railcar or bus or destination or lodging or other component of the CruiseTour, and shall not be liable for any loss whatsoever to Passenger by reason of such cancellation, advancement, postponement, substitution or deviation. By way of example, and not limitation, Carrier may deviate from any scheduled sailing and may otherwise land Passenger and his property at any port if Carrier believes that the voyage or any Passenger or property may be adversely affected as a result of hostilities, blockages, prevailing weather conditions, labor conflicts, strikes onboard or ashore, breakdown of Vessel, congestion, docking difficulties or any other cause whatsoever.

Similarly, by way of example, and not limitation, Carrier may at its discretion elect not to visit a location shown on your itinerary. Carrier reserves the right to substitute a hotel for the planned hotel, provided that Carrier shall make commercially reasonable efforts to provide a comparable hotel.

Wow!! We were on the cruise prior when the issues developed. Far from “dragging out” the schedule at the expense of passengers as has been said, I felt X were trying their best to have as many cruisers plans met as possible. I’ve seen some amazing photos of the icebergs sighted on the subsequent cruise and getting to Antarctica was surely a highlight? FWIW I’m also married to an attorney.. his advice - don’t waste your time and anyone else’s money.

 

 

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I felt the same way when I saw those awesome photos from the blog during the current cruise. I can only hope we get some as nice in mid February

Yes, you can. It will show up in your reservation and can use it for excursions, dining, internet etc

You folk might be interested to see what is required by Qantas in Australia for the carriage of service dogs in their planes.

 

http://www.qantas.com./infodetail/flying/beforeYouTravel/specialNeeds/qantas-application-form-service-dog.pdf

I'm hopeful someday we can amend our ADA to allow the same procedures

The concern with animals who are not trained as service dogs is that they can become a danger to other passengers. There have been incidents, including one on a recent flight, where an "emotional assistance dog" bit and seriously injured a passenger.

 

A friend is fostering a dog training to be a service dog for amputees. Two full years of training are required, with tests at certain milestones in order to stay in the program. For example, the dog is trained not to bark or bite . . . and a host of other things to enable it to be around humans in all sorts of situations and not cause issues.

 

The problem with "emotional support" animals is that the definition runs the gamut. There are probably some who suffer PTSD or other serious mental issues and need the animal to function. But there are also folks who say, "my dog provides emotional support." Mine does. However, the fact that my dog makes me happier or comforts me when I have a bad stretch doesn't mean that I need my dog in order to function.

 

I'm a HUGE dog lover and would love nothing more than to take my dog on a cruise. [WHAT A BLAST!!!] However, I am sickened by those who are in my position and come up with fake certificates, etc. just so they can do that. It's not fair to the rest of us and it does a tremendous disservice to those who really need assistance -- by making it harder for them to be accepted. IOW, once you have scammers, there's a presumption that everyone is scamming.

100% correct in every part of your statement

Happy to see something good come out of the nutty person with the peacock

https://www.nbcnewyork.com/news/local/United-Airlines-Emotional-Support-Animal-Change-Policy-Peacock-Newark-Flight-472207423.html

We board Infinity in Buenos Aires on Feb 4th but do not leave port till the evening of the 5th. I read that Rolls Royce is coming to Buenos Aires to do some repairs while we are in port. Perhaps that will be sufficient until April.

That's good to know, thanks for the info

Have a relative on the January 21, 2018 Infinity. Propulsion issues,

 

"Huge problems. The 1st port had been changed from 9am arrival to 2pm, the week before leaving – did not arrive until 4.30pm due to the slowness of the ship with its propulsion problems. The end of the 6 hour excursion was done in darkness. Falkland Island stop was cancelled due to wind conditions. In spite of having extra time, no alternate stop is planned, again due to the ship travelling at reduced speed. One more stop at Montevideo which is near Buenos Aires, cruise not really needed to visit this port. Of the 4 port stops, 2 cancelled, 1 severely delayed and shortened, and Montevideo, the least desirable on an Antarctic cruise, should be OK".

 

From what I understand there has been little in terms of update from the Captain regarding propulsion issues, to the point it is a non-issue.

 

For many people on this cruise and the next number of similar cruises, passengers will or are taking a once in their lifetime cruise, there is and will be further disappointment. It appears that Celebrity is trying to literally drag out the cruises until April dry dock at the expense of the passengers.

I don't agree, If they are able to maintain 18 knots, that's close to normal.

I'm not sure what the expectation is for the Captain, since both the current guests and upcoming guests were already made aware of the propulsion issue, if something has changed yes, but otherwise why would he bring it up?

From the facts posted it the weather was the issue that ultimately changed the schedule for the last two port changes unless I'm missing something.

As a passenger on the February 18 sailing , I'm hoping they don't change the schedule as it stands now, seems like it would accomplish nothing since biggest issue has been bad weather

Hi Everyone,

 

Hoping someone knows the inner workings well enough to know if it would reflect badly on the original butler if I asked not to be assigned to him on my upcoming trip? I don't want to cause problems for anyone, but I would like better service this time around. Any insights?

 

Thanks!

 

Neda

Just a guess but the odds are fairly strong you wouldn't get the same one twice

We are on the Infinity at the moment and on a 14 day to Antarctica. Have missed a port due to propulsion problem then not in Ushuia until 4.30 in the afternoon had bypass Falklands islands due to large storm and heading to Montivedio for our last day just put me on land somewhere. I get the safety aspect no problem with that but 1 1/2 days in port for 14 days is not acceptable..

I agree, that's a lot of sea days, so unfortunate that the bad weather knocked out a second port. At least from the pictures I've seen, you've had some amazing scenery/photo ops anyway

Most definetly. We are just relieved we survived many many complaints on board poor staff working so hard to keep passengers happy.

It has to be terribly hard on the crew, BRAVO to those men and women who haven't caught a break for most all of this voyage, they have got to be pooped with so little port time