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It’s mia culpa time….some things have changed. We arrived back after our short visit to the Falklands a bit hungry….so we went to the buffet to see if anything appealed. I am very please to report that the pasta bar is now open (I have no idea why it was closed at about the same time of day when I passed by the first time). I am also pleased that today there was a pear tart, a mixed fruit pastry as well as the sheet cake stuff. Perhaps someone from Celebrity is reading this thread J and giving feedback. The made to order pasta was very good. Unfortunately, the stir fry to order station is now only in the evenings from 5:30-9:30 (similar to the sushi bar).

With a broad international passenger base, blu is having it’s problems and there is a wait if you arrive anywhere between 6:45 and 7:45. The wait has been 10-20 minutes. This is unusual..hasn’t been the case on any of our other cruises…it varies by who is on board. They are a bit crowded at breakfast, but if you are willing to dine with others at a larger table, there’s been no wait.

We were given a $30 credit for the sparkling wine towards a very nice white wine. The food in blu has been good and the service excellent.

For those asking about the new aqua cabins…yes, there is a 12th deck above, but if someone is on 12 and looks down, they can only actually see someone in a deck 11 cabin if that person is leaning on the rail. They can’t see where you sit, etc. Having said that, there is not much cover as those cabins on 9.

The casino continues to loan me more money….I am sure that they will want the money back before the end of the cruise and being the nice person I am, I’m sure I will repay it with interest. Last night there was one table in the entire casino with people…the $6 minimum blackjack table where I was. I feel sorry for the dealers/etc who have to stand there all night, just in case. Tough job.

Priority tendering is still in effect, although it’s not shown as an elite/suite perk (not sure if suites get it). Meeting point is Qsine. Elite breakfast is in the United States.

As is the norm with Celebrity, a very friendly crew…everyone says hello, they offer to help and so on. Having said that, the officers are not as visible as on the last cruise on the Infinity. I think the difference is the captain’s style. It doesn’t effect this cruise…just an observation.

So happy to hear it is open again one of my favorites & we sail next month

on the Classic beverage package are there any Martini's you can get on the Infinity?

 

just wondering if I have to upgrade to get a Martini on our upcoming cruse in March.

Previous post answered this question disregard

on the Classic beverage package are there any Martini's you can get on the Infinity?

just wondering if I have to upgrade to get a Martini on our upcoming cruse in March.

17) I feel as if I am in a bit of a time warp. Many of the changes and reported issues in the main forum have warped....for example the loud music in the martini bar…isn’t..as a matter of fact, last night there was no music at all in martini bar but the atrium was filled with wonderful live guitar music. The martini bar, by the way, had maybe three couples. I just passed it again…3:30pm and no music at all.

18) music around the pool is loud because it’s a live band. When the band breaks, the canned music is at the same volume…but….it only plays around the pool…not in the solarium, etc.

Now some surprising pluses and minuses.

19) The made to order pasta bar and stir fry are gone in the buffet….they only do that now for dinner

20) no tarts…the only desserts are puddings of sheet cakes of varying types

21) all hot dishes are served…but cold salads and trays of mixed salads are do it yourself

The only things I used to eat in the buffet were the stir fry and pasta….so not happy

22) now the cleanliness/health issues…and yes, there are issues. The only servers who wear gloves are the folks that make sandwiches. Everyone else behind the counters aren’t wearing gloves.

23) no one is at the doors suggesting (strongly) that you use sanitizer, in fact on one side the dispenser is standing against the wall instead of in the middle.

24) remember those trays of mixed salad that you serve yourself….the servers use the same spoons that everyone has touched to make the trays look good..then they do something else like roll napkins or put plates out. Clearly, no attempt at real hygene.

25) assorted cheese which used to have only a few common cheeses now has chunks of American cheese….that’s it.

I am not happy with the downgrade from our transatlantic just three months ago on the same ship

But….all is not lost…and this one is strange.

26) on the transatlantic, the aqua spa café had the new format with very limited cook to order and was mainly a salad bar…with the other side trying to sell expensive smoothies and yoghurt. Much to my surprise, shock and frankly glee, the aqua spa café has been converted back to what it was before the SPE debacle…and you can get custom grilled tuna/salmon/chicken or pork and they have four or five small plates of cold cuts and equivalent….and the other side now serves some free desserts including fruit tarts (the one’s that aren’t in the buffet any more).

27) The explanation from the hotel director who happened to be there when I was there was….they couldn’t get the ingredients in south America so they went back to the old format until the ship reaches Miami. Personally, I find that almost impossible to believe, but that’s what I was told.

28) so I’ve lost the buffet, but shockingly gained the aqua spa café back.

I am also going to be unhappy if the pasta bar @ lunch time is gone. It is one of the favorite things I look forward to.

they always did such a great job and with a side salad perfect lunch meal for me.

How easy is it to set up? Driving to Miami & I know there are roll roads not from that area so only need toll pass for the one day we drive into Miami.

Or is it easy to just pay @ each toll booth? Just trying to figure out what will be easier & what can I do in advance?

Also coat estimate for pass?

Thanks

We did the train last year. It was interesting, but not so much that we would do it again. We were in the domed car train. There was a lot of overgrowth outside so our view was restricted at times. This year we are doing a partial transit for a different viewpoint.

Which side best to find seat? Right or left?

Cartagena City, La Popa Hill, Folkloric Show

Cartagena, Columbia CA01 Cartagena City, La Popa Hill, Folkloric Show

All of our tours met in the theater where you go up on stage and they give you a sticker corresponding to your tour and designates you to the correct group and bus. Only one person has to go up if you are on the same tour. Then you are seated until they call your sticker color and number and you go to the gangway. Then on to the designated bus which was very nice with a very informative guide.

The first stop is at the Fort just for pictures. All of the vendors, people selling stuff, are VERY AGGRESSIVE! You have to be firm in your NO and keep walking. The only thing I could mention about the Fort is that if you are on a tour in it there must be an awful lot of strenuous walking-it is huge—and hot. The drive up the hill to La Popa took us past a very poor part of the city (slums). We walked through the chapel and had a bathroom break.

Next stop was a shopping area the “dungeons” Just all small rooms with people selling things. My sister and I did buy very nice tablecloths . Then it was the Folkloric show which was only about 20 min of singing and dancing. A beverage was included water-soda and I think beer. The stairs and walkway to this were long and very steep. Then we did a walking tour of some of the streets in the Walled City. There was another bathroom stop in a emerald jewelry store. Then back to the ship. Friends of ours did the horse carriage ride and were happy with it. We enjoyed the tour and felt it gave a good cross section visit to Cartagena. On some of the side streets we did see some donkeys with the little 2 wheel cart (like Juan Valdez from the old coffee commercials) these were working as I saw one hauling windows.

I really enjoy writing this as it takes me back there.

Did you feel safe during the tour? @ this,port?

We're BIG fans of the Celebrity drink packages, but are quite happy with the Classic. Upgraded to the Premium once (when we were paying for the package, not getting it for free) and wouldn't do it again.

 

You do realize that you CAN get a martini without the premium package, right? You just have to accept that you'll get a smaller one, and it won't be one of the cutesy cocktails. But it's still a damn fine martini, IMHO.

Do not care if it is smaller but can I get a Cosmo?

Is there a discount coupon for Elite? If so how much of a discount?

Might be cheaper to wait till we board to purchase package if there is an Elite discount?

From an former post on cc

 

Worst Cabins?

 

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

 

I started to make a list: Here is what I found so far, and please correct me if I am in error: (M class)

8108 8102, 9100 9094 7136 7142 extra small balconies

8100 ?

9096 Noise from above

 

I just read on another post that cabins 8043 and 8041 both had obstructed views due to the window washing platform being parked there. This was on the Infinity.

 

 

Anything immediately under the pool grill area

Aft cabins on the Sky Deck (unless you like being observed by patrons using the cocktail bar above you)

8108 - There's a picture of the miniscule balcony somewhere on CC

8039 - Obstructed view from window washing device

8041 - Same

8043 - Same

9125

 

 

9151

9173 and possibly other cabins nearby - Horrible noise from cafe setup in the wee hours of the morning

7163 - Absolutely no privacy on this deck, completely visable from balconies above

7161 - Same

7159 - Same

9185 - Obstructed View from window washing device

9189 - Same

9193 - Same

Any balcony cabin midships on deck 6 - Amazing view of the lifeboats.

We had a cabin over the lifeboat used as the tender on this deck. It was terrible. When they lowered it for launch in tendered ports it was loud in the early am. When they didn't use it they cleaned it (also loud) and you'd better not open your curtains unless you are fully dressed.

 

 

Each of the following cabins on the Millennium Class ships (Millennium, Infinity, Constellation, Summit) has some particular benefit over its peers of the same class -- most often an oversized veranda, sometimes larger cabin or nicer decor. Not all of these differences are accurately reflected in any known deck plans.

 

SS-6131,6132,6145,6146

 

CC-9043,9038,9201,9164,9162,9160

CC-8045,8046,8185,8176,8172,8170

CC-7203,7212,7208,7206

CC-6135,6136,6143,6144

 

2A-8161,8146,9173,9138

2B-7049,7080,7163,7166,7171,7173,7175,7177,7174,7176, 7178,7180

2C- 6016,6018,6020,6021,6022,6023,6024,6025,6026,6027, 6029,6030,6031,6033,6035,6053,6048

 

Since the Infinity, Constellation, Millenium & Summit are all the same configuration, these cabins will apply to your cruise.

 

In addition, have you heard the term "POSH" which stands for: Port side out, Starboard home. This term came about when the British were sailing from England to India (sunny vs shady side). Look at your itinerary to determine the direction the ship is traveling, this will help you decide on the side of the ship you may prefer. However, please realize when the ship docks, it may make a complete 180 turn before docking.

Any info on cabin 9140 on the infinity!

Thanks

Is there a molecular bar on the infinity?

What do you mean by ordering off menu? Do you want to just go there and order food not offered? Generally speaking, no, they don't do off menu ordering. They MAY do some simple things, with 24 hour notice so they can see if they have the required ingredients, but something last minute, I've not seen that happen, and we dine in the specialties every night.

 

For security reasons, they may limit photos.

I meant do you order from the menu or is it a fixed meal they select to serve?

The Behind The Scenes ship tour was offered on our 15n 11/22/13 Infinity Panama Canal cruise. When we first boarded we went straight to Guest Relations and put our names on the list. The tour was on the second to the last day which was a sea day. We really enjoyed this tour and had a wonderful lunch in the SS United States following it. It is $150pp but we felt it was well worth it. For us, one of those "do once" things.

Thanks for the info. We are doing Panama cruise in March on that same ship

Did the ship tour fill up pretty fast? How many will they take on a tour?

SS United States were you able to order off menu? Also could you take your camera & take photos on the tour? Was the captain on the bridge?

if your purchase all the photos no CD do you still get a release form???

We will sail in March and would like to take this tour.

is it offered on infinity? 14 night cruise and how to you sign up for it.

It's been awhile since we have sailed celebrity back then it was a free tour.

I realize they now charge for the tour.

has anyone done the Pacific train, boat, & bus tour adventure (we are sailing Celebrity in March) listed as CR25 on Celebrity shore excursions.

Wondering how the train ride was??? comfort? safety of the rails??

sights? any information would be appreciated.

you can contact them by phone 1800 772 3470 M-F 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. EST

http://timstafford.net/panama-canal-cruise.htm

 

Hope you enjoy

great photos do you have any recommendatons on tours to take in Panama or Costa Rica?

There is an Avis rental car @ SE 1st Ave very near POM but does not offer free shuttle

to the port. but my understanding is that it is very close to port.

we went on the Dec 28 Eclipse 14 night cruise and purchased the unlimited digital + prints for $299.95 on the mycruisephotos.com website before we left. This was for our family 4 (staying in one cabin) so we thought that on our 14 night cruise, we should easily get our money's worth.

 

The unlimited digital package was not offered. Too bad, personally I would have preferred that.

 

Here is our experience:

 

You get a CD at the end of the cruise from the ship's photo gallery. The bad news is that the CD does not have the actual photo files on there. Instead you are supposed to load the software on the CD onto your personal computer and then it will download your photos thru the internet (presumably after you get home). Well our CD did not work. None of our PCs could run the .exe file on the CD. I contacted mycruisephotos.com by phone and they are transmitting a request to the Eclipse to mail us another disc. And so I am waiting for that right now.

 

The general procedure on board for working with the unlimited photo package was that every night or two, we would drop by the photo gallery to look at the photo prints--hard copies--placed on the wall (the old traditional way), find and retrieve our photos and give them to the ship's photo gallery employees to put in a large envelope that was used to collect all our prints during the cruise. The envelope was then given to you on the last evening of the cruise.

 

During the visits to the photo gallery, we would then go to one of the many photo kiosks that were there. You swipe your Celebrity Sea Pass card in the machine and it would bring up on the LCD screen all the pictures that it had on file up to that point in the cruise. The ship uses face recognition software to identify your digital photos and those are the ones that you saw on the kiosk.

 

 

We could also see the same photos in our stateroom through the television although looking at the photos in our stateroom was not useful when you have to talk to the photo gallery people to make corrections (see next paragraph).

 

Now I will tell you that on our cruise, about 20% of our photos that we found on the wall did not have a corresponding digital print in the electronic kiosk. So we would have to flag that photo with a photo gallery employee and they would put

in a request for the digital image of the photograph to be added to our account. Sometimes the opposite was true--we would see an electronic photo or two that we could not find the hard copy on the wall. The photo gallery people would be alerted to it and they would put a print request in.

 

All in all, it was a lot more work than I expected. Part of the reason is that when you get the unlimited package, you become very motivated to stop to have your photo taken. That in turn means that there are alot of photos to wade through

each night (at least for 4 of us). On the other hand, at the end of our 14 night cruise, we had 111 photographs taken (less than $3 per photo)!!

 

One other thing to point out. mycruisephotos.com is a company located in Grand Cayman. So be sure to use a credit card that does not charge you a foreign transaction fee!

 

All in all, I was glad that we did it since, as a family, we rarely have professional

photos taken of us. In other words, I felt we got our money's worth and then some! Of course I will be disappointed if they are not able to resolve my CD problem.....

Thanks for your input, so much good information.

Getting close to cruise so I went to purchase photo but have a few questions

All digital photos=$249.95

All digital photos plus prints =$349.85

So for anyone who has purchase either of these packages pros & cons not sure which one to purchase. I am not very tech savvy so how difficult to get/view photos from digital process? Do they give you a CD?

Thanks

There is an Avis rental car @ SE 1st Ave very near POM but does not offer free shuttle

to the port. but my understanding is that it is very close to port.

yes, I bring one black small bag to put camera , lipstick , seapass etc., I also carry one of those handbag clips that hook on to the table so that my small bag which has a thin chain can hang from it and not take up any table space works great.

So when how to do make reservations @ Bistro on Five?

Do you do that when you board ? Or can you do it online?