Photo_Traveler
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Hello,
First, This thread is subject to be moved to the Photo Threads.
At this link are photos of the Fair Princess in 1990/91 (Fairsea), Star Princess (1991) and the prior Pacific Princess (1982). The Viking Serenade is also shown as they paralleled our Mexican Riviera cruise in 1990.
Of these ships, I believe they are all operational except the Fair Princess (Scrapped..sad history). There may be some interior photos to scan of the Fairsea.
Here is the link: https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-k8JLgf/
Note: Slideshow mode is the best way to view the Pix. (Right facing arrow)
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We took the Infinity in 2014. If the ship goes "Code Red" with Noro. My best advice is to make the best of it. As long as you and your traveling partners follow common sense processes and use their special blend of Purell (frequently) life will be good and only slightly inconvenient.
In Puerto Vallarta, the tour to Mama Lucia's Tequila Distillery was quite entertaining and educational. Their Leyva brand Tequilla was very good. So good, that it could be part of a new food group. :) You might only be able to reach this via a cab or private tour. The Leyva Tequila is pricey. It was easy to see why.
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Photo_Traveler....I just got home from that sailing and we over-nighted in Barbados not Aruba. But I've seen some itineraries that o'nite in Aruba or Curacao....maybe it depends on how many ships are due in a particular port. Barbados was a great o'niter though and Harrison's Cave is definitely a must see. Most beautiful cave I've ever seen and I've been to too many to count.
I agree... The overnights vary from cruise to cruise. It's important to verify the itineraries. It's a win-win regardless of whether the ship overnights in Aruba, Curacao, Barbados or St Maarten.
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The Infinity is sailing out of San Diego today heading to Fort Lauderdale via the canal, if anyone onboard could update us on tours they take while sailing and rate them we would appreciate their suggestions and ratings. We will be on the return trip back to San Diego on 4-26. Any reviews of excursions or programs on board looking forward to hearing from you.
We took the Infinity in 2014. If the ship goes "Code Red" with Noro. My best advice is to make the best of it. As long as you and your traveling partners follow common sense processes and use their special blend of Purell (frequently) life will be good and only slightly inconvenient.
With that out of the way, you are sailing on a fantastic itinerary!!! As another photographer, I enjoyed:
Panama Canal transit on the Infinity: https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-X7vbp9/
Celebrity Panama Canal Ferry Tour from Colon ($$$): https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-S5qwRM/
Cartagena - Dora The Explorer was our independent Tour Guide. Marelvy Pena-Hall is another great guide.
PIX: https://www.smugmug.com/gallery/n-ZcGJNv/
Costa Rica: The Celebrity Poas Volcano tour out of Puntarenas was very good. However, the mountain was obscured. The Ox cart factory was a fun side trip on the tour. Beautiful grounds and colorful ox carts.
The tour up to Antigua, Guatemala was fabulous. Like Cartagena, there are a lot of street vendors. The streets of Antigua are cobblestone. The sidewalks are very narrow. It is not a good environment for motorized chairs or wheelchairs.
Enjoy!!
(Another) Mike
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Nice! I think with all the talk about Zika, they are being most generous with moving people to other cruises. Glad to hear it worked out and hope your wife is feeling better in no time.
We are on that cruise you just canceled. Heading to the airport in a couple hours. Enjoy your Nov cruise.
I was looking forward to meeting the CC members on tomorrow's departure. Have a great cruise!!! Hope that the weather is sunny at all of the ports. And, that the sea is smooth at Grand Cayman for tenders.
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So you're saying you had the Celebrity insurance then? Glad it worked out for you and hope you didn't have to pay for airfare change fees.
It couldn't have worked out better. We had independent travel insurance. This was an internal Celebrity action. We had SW Air tickets and were booked as Seniors. I'll be rebooking those seats as soon as they open up for booking.
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We took the Constellation in 2012 and the Eclipse in 2013.
They have updated the itinerary a bit. I think the 19-March departure stops in Aruba an extra night.
Another option is the back to back on the Equinox. That provides a great taste of the Western, Southern and Easter Caribbean. Also, you have access to the Panama Canal and beautiful Cartagena, Columbia.
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It's time for more Kudos to Celebrity
We were booked on the 4 April Equinox Cruise
My wife came down with a sudden bug that would make travel both difficult and potentially unpleasant. (not Noro or a Flu)
Celebrity reviewed our insurance forms before they went to the insurer. As long time customers (2012, 2013 and 2014) We were then offered an equivalent stateroom for a November sailing. We accepted the offer.
Needless to say, we were very impressed with both our TA and Celebrity's handling of this situation.
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Depending on your comps and packages, if you are paying for internet by the minute, it's best to compose the messages in a "Notes" application. Then save the content.
When ready to logon, copy the previously created content into emails and send it normally.
For the CC reviews, I write them onboard, copy them to email, email the daily notes to my other ID and then combine the content at home to create the review.
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Hello,
I purchased a Citizen Men's JY0010-50E Eco-Drive Skyhawk A-T Titanium Watch for about 60% of MSRP value on the Eclipse in 2013. It's a fantastic watch. I guess the new ones even figure out what time zone you're in.
Anyway, I used my personal visa (and not the shipboard account) to purchase the watch. Strangely, after the ship arrived in Europe from it's TA, charges from electronics, flower shops and upscale stores in Belgium started to appear on my account. :eek: No harm was done as the charges were caught early. My recommendation would be to use the shipboard account or cash. :cool:
Mike
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I appreciate the input
We saw the South American Wine Tasting offered on the
April 2012 Connie 14 Day Exotic Caribbean
March 2013 Eclipse 14 Day Exotic Caribbean
April 2014 Infinity 15 day San Diego to Miami Trans Canal cruises.
Maybe, it has been discontinued?
This might be good news as red wine averages twenty five calories per ounce while white wine averages just over 20 calories per ounce. :D
Take Care!
Mike
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Does Celebrity offer the SA Wine Tasting on the Equinox? I tried it on the Eclipse (2013) and Infinity (2014). It was a great introduction to South American Wines.
The selection of wines to try was vast.
Thank You!!!
Mike
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It's odd the Osterdam is delayed. Hopefully we will get some news.
As to WIN10, the upgrade is easy. Microsoft downloads the Software. All the user needs to do is reply to a few prompts during the upgrade. I found that WIN10 adds a beefed up interface to the PC and provides better access to existing programs. I like it better than WIN8. It also adds additional MS utilities for photos, video, music... I already have Software for all of those functions. So, the added features take up hard drive space.
Well, back to the Ft Lauderdale camera...
Take Care
Mike
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Just finished 15 days cruise San Diego to Fort Lauderdale Nov 20th to Dec 5th. We were alerted by text message on the 20th by Celebrity of GI bug on board and late boarding d/t extra sanitizing of the ship.
During our cruise people were getting sick, as well, salt & pepper shakers were removed, and we were not allowed to self serve in the buffet. As the cruise con't they removed items from the cabins. All decorative pillows,magazines,and glasses were replaced by paper cups they even removed our bathrobes from our Aqua class cabin. They did attempt to control the virus, they were constantly cleaning,although people were defeating the purpose by reaching under the food guards and touching the food handles and food.
The Same thing happened on the Infinity's 15-day April 2014 San Diego to Miami cruise. When we arrived in Cabo, menus were on the tables and all was normal. The next day, when we arrived back from Puerto Vallarta tours, the ship had gone into a full Code Red stance for Noro. We stayed in that status for the rest of the cruise. The Infinity will soon head out on the South American and Antarctic cruises. Based on past posts to Cruise Critic, the Infinity may turn into a giant petri dish on those cruises as passengers disregard dining guidelines to sample local cuisine.
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We have sampled the tastings on the Constellation, Eclipse and Infinity. I have two sets of the Vinum series within easy fill up range. We had it shipped home.
One wine tasting not to miss is the sampling of South American wines. There were about twelve wines to sample in an hours time. Some of the Sommeliers are very generous with their servings. There was a wine from Uruguay that was outstanding! The Captain's doing the "driving"..So, enjoy. :)
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Hello Fred
The Equinox is too large to cruise in the canal. There are Ferry, Bus and Train tours offered through the Canal Zone by Celebrity. The Ferry gets you right into the canal. The Ferry tour also gives you an idea of the scale of the locks. It's expensive. But, it's worth the money.
The Port is Colon. In Colon, one does not venture from the shopping area unless they are in a cab or on a tour bus. It's a very rough District. In 2014, Rick the CD advised us that on the prior cruise an Infinity crew member came back stripped to his shorts. He had underwent quite a mugging.
Consult the YOUTUBE videos on Colon. Oh yes, drivers in Colon drive by the "Whomever Blinks First" principle. Traffic control near the port is almost non-existent.
We re taking the April 4th Equinox Itinerary.
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As we were in the process of moving from Denver to Metro Boise,
We cancelled an Eclipse cruise Last March as well as a B2B on the OASIS during March of 2016.
Part of the reason we didn't follow through was twelve days under Code Red on a fifteen day Infinity Canal cruise in April of 2014. The best times were had off the ship with CC folks on tours.
Mike
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I have been on a few Celebrity cruises and try to avoid the buffet but I heard how great the pizza was and decided to try it. There were a few people ahead of me and I patiently waited in line. The woman ahead of me grabbed the last few pieces and continued to wait for the next batch. She told me how great it was and continued on about it and then preceded to inhale the two pieces while waiting. The pizzas finally came and she unloaded all three of them on her plate and waddled away. I was not surprised as things similar to this has happened three times before.
I walked away without having any and it reinforced my desire to avoid the buffet.
Still haven't tried the pizza and doubt that I will. I guess the best way would be through room service but I don't like hanging around waiting for something that should be easy to get.
Good luck
happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞
I bet that same person was on the Infinity ahead of me. There was about a 20% success rate getting pizza. But, she saved me at least 4,000 calories. :) :)
Mike
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Looks like the current is taking NA in the wrong direction...
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We just cancelled the Eclipse on 3/29 and the Allure B2b in 2016.
We have a lot of other travel and move related financial outflow in 2015. However, if we were still rabid fans of Celebrity and cruising, nothing would have kept us off the Eclipse on March 29th. I've always been able to make lemonade out of lemons. But, it's not as easy to make apple cider from "road Apples" :). We are also giving up significant cruise credit.
We will rebook once the dust settles from 2015 travel.
Happy Cruising. Hope to be back as an active member in the latter part of 2015.
Take Care
Mike
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We enjoyed the ship itself on our April Panama Canal cruise. The ship and itinerary were outstanding. Our only issues were with 'human factors" such as MDR service and quality as well as sick passengers not coming forward for Noro-quarantine. Being under "Code Red" for twelve days out of a fifteen day cruise creates a tired crew. My blood alcohol must have been above the legal limit just from Purell skin absorption. 😀
I would do the same trip again in an instant. My wife does not want to step on board the Infinity regardless of where it's going. Now, there is a classic difference of opinion.
My guess is the passengers on the Infinity will pick up Noro again on the yearly SA/ Antarctic tours. The ship will be sanitized in FL before the Panama Canal cruises... It's just the nature of that route. Lots of adventurous dining off the ship.
Enjoy!
Mike
Sent from my iPad using Forums
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About 20 months prior, we booked this years April Panama Canal cruise. Back then, I remember the Infinity was rated at or above 80%. In reading the current reviews (again, all reviews must be taken with a grain of salt), it looks like nothing has changed on the Infinity since the San Diego to Miami cruise.
The Infinity has dropped to 77%. That is significant. It proves that negative and "so-so" reviews are beginning to outweigh the positive reviews from CC members
It might be a good business decision to pull the Infinity out of service before it heads to South America/Antarctica and freshen it up. There is obviously something that needs addressed by management. Based on the reviews, I would think that onboard hotel/restaurant management may not be quite up to par as compared with other Celebrity ships. Considering the wonderful and pricey itineraries the Infinity serves, it should score higher than Eclipse and reflection in all categories.
On another subject, one positive thing I noticed in reading the reviews. Ambrose is still on Deck eight. He was an A plus cabin steward on our canal cruise. We had a forward Starboard side verandah.
To sum up, typically when smoke exists, there is fire somewhere.
Mike
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We were on Infinity in April. Deserts did not change. Apple pie ala mode always finished my MDR meal.
Mike
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You will love the cruise! Be sure to Look up Dora the Explorer on Trip advisor for a quick concise tour of Cartagena.
Also, please read the Infinity reviews for March and April. We enjoyed the ship and the wonderful itinerary. However, there were issues. Please read my review and the Swansforever review for two different viewpoints.
As a Photographer, it really doesn't matter that much which direction you go through the canal. The canal goes North to South or South to North. We liked starting at Panama City.
We had lots of issues about food. But, our complaints were based on luck. We had select dining. If you find the right pair of servers, all is usually OK.
The twelve day Noro-virus lockdown was a huge problem. Lines were created. One could not enter a shop without at least one squirt of Purell. On the good side, the spread was contained (even though the sick passengers would not self identify).
Enjoy!
Mike
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Princess history
in Princess Cruises
Posted
Great Info! Thank You! I hadn't researched that ship. On first glance, it looked like the class of ship that might have been picked up by Thompson or another cruise line. The Star was just picked up by a British cruise line and is set to sail this season...