Panama Canal on Infinity (VERY LONG) Part 2

This morning I posted a quick summary of what we thought were the worst part of our cruise from Ft. Lauderdale through the canal to San Diego. I promised the flip side later today and here it is. What we loved about X and the Infinity.

1) The service:

There is nothing quite like it. Everyone who complains that X is not a premier cruise line has never sailed on others and then on X and gotten the service we got. We are sold. We loved so much of our cruise but were most impressed with how we were served. From the moment we stepped on board we were pampered beyond belief. From our room steward, attendant, whatever Caetano (we don’t care what his title was, he just took great care of us, to our waiter Elves (beyond compare), his assistant, Wilhem from South Africa who basically cooked our dinner in the United States dining room to Randy who made us so many superb martinis in the Martini Bar. They were all excellent and truly the place that X shines.

2) Some of the food.

Certainly the appetizers and desserts. As I mentioned in the other review (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=102670) where I listed the very few negatives, the salads and entrees left a lot to be desired but the appetizers, soups and desserts were fantastic.

3) The Martini Bar

Our new downfall. My God do they know how to make a martini there or what. We tried so many kinds and really loved the vanilla, the blueberry, the cosmo, the gimlet and I am sure a whole bunch more. We spent way too much money there but it was well worth it. And Randy, our regular cocktail shaker was the best! Plus you get those great breadsticks.

4) Embarkation and Disembarkation

WOW! That’s all I can say. After two previous cruises on other lines (HAL and Carnival) we had experienced the worst of both getting on and off a ship. This was heaven comparatively. We were literally the first ones on at exactly 11:00 am. And we were almost the first ones off two weeks later at 7:30 am in San Diego. In both terminals we were treated well especially in Ft. Lauderdale where the porters (you don’t have to tip them but you might want to make sure your luggage get’s there quickly) to the greeters in the terminal. It was a wonderful experience.

5) Having an Aft cabin

Somehow we were lucky enough to have our TA score us an aft cabin (9162). I will be honest because I had not been on these board before but I was worried that we might run into some sea sickness problems with an aft cabin. If you are new to cruising and at all prone to sea sickness always take a mid-ships cabin. My bride has been prone to it in the past so I was a little worried. But it wasn’t a big deal. Even in some rough seas, we felt little or no movement that bothered us. And we loved the cabin. Unfortunately, the word is out and now those cabins are impossible (or at least very difficult) to get. We know, we booked a Hawaii cruise for April of 2006 while we were on Infinity and even though it was 18 months in advance, we could not get another.

If you ever get the chance to score one, do it. The biggest reason is the verandah. It is about the size of small football field. No seriously, it is at least the size of our cabin. It came with two full size lounge chairs, two regular chairs, two small tables and a large dining table. If it hadn’t of been so damn humid every night of the cruise (and the mornings too) we probably would have had many meals on that verandah. As it was, we got some incredible pics from it and it was really great as we went through the canal.

CC (Concierge Class)

We have heard lots of people say that they don’t think this is worth the value but we would not cruise any other way. All the little perks really added up for us. The flowers and fruit in the cabin, the special towels, the robes, a pitcher ice water that never seemed to empty (not sure how Caetano did that), the pillow menu, priority embarkation, tendering and disembarkation and other things we can’t remember but we would want to be without.

The Persian Garden, T-Pool and AquaSpa Cafe

I almost hesitate to write about this since I don’t want it to become any more popular that it already is. On the other hand if a few more people don’t sign up for the gardens, the might remove it.

On the first day of the cruise my bride talked me into a spa tour. She wanted to go on the tour and book her spa appointments then as they offer discounts if you book during the tour. I wanted to see the gym and workout spaces so I said I would go along. Boy, was I glad I did.

I am not much of a spa kind of guy. Do to a skin condition, I can’t be massaged so there is really not a lot to interest me in a spa, or so I thought. Then we went into the Persian Gardens. Once we took a seat on the big “hot bench” it was all over. I think I shocked my bride when I said, let’s buy the entire Persian Garden package for the whole cruise. And we did and we used it each and every day. It became the before the Martini Bar, 4:00pm routine. Soak in the T-Pool (that’s free on Millie class ships), sit on the hot bench, steam in at least two or three of the Garden’s steam rooms, hit at least 2 of their specialty showers and then back to the room to change for dinner. My bride said that she had never seen me relax like I did on Infinity and I would have to agree with her. I am a pretty workaholic type guy but I would buy into a place like the Persian Garden, T-Pool and AquaSpa Cafe anytime.

I almost forgot to mention the T-Pool and the AquaSpa Cafe. If you haven’t done X before you probably have no idea what a T-Pool is. The T stands for some long word that comes before the work therapy. I am just too lazy to go look it up right now. Suffice it to say, it is a large pool in the shape of a greek cross. (Equal arms on all sides) and it has jets much like a jacuzzi. They use a combo of fresh water and salt water and there is even a set of stainless steel lounges on two sides that you can lay on in the water while you soak. The best days to do the pool are any days when the sea is rough. Then you not only get the benefit of the jets but also the wonderful wave action of the ship. Yahoo!

The AquaSpa Cafe is located right next to the T-pool. We had lunch there a number of times. Great healthy (but really good) choices. I had some great seafood ceviche one day, my bride had some superb salmon. And you don’t even have to leave the pool area. It is wonderful. And the desserts there (though healthy) were also great.

Shotover Jet Boats in Acapulco

This was the best shore excursion we did. BAR NONE! We loved it so much that we are thinking of doing only cruises and vacations where there are Shotover Jets (besides Acapulco they are in Cancun, Fiji and New Zealand). Imagine a Disney thrill ride that lasted 30 minutes and you have an idea of what a shotover jet boat ride is like. The only thing I can say for sure is that if you want to have some great fun, do this shore excursion. It is well worth it. And you get a nice tour of Acapulco as you head down to the jet boats which are at the completely opposite end of the city from where the ship docks.

United State Dining Room

We have seen a lot of posts from people saying that the alternative dining rooms on the Millie class ships are not worth the extra $30 you have to pay. To that we say “BALONEY!” Tell me where they could get that kind of food, that level of service and that kind of ambience anywhere in the world for only $30? We do realize that we have already paid for the dinner upstairs but to be honest I only know of two land based restaurants in the world that have better service and serve better food. The goat cheese souffle to start and the grand marnier souffle to finish were the best ever but I have tipped more than $30 in land restaurants that weren’t anywhere near as good. Besides we got almost watch our entire meal cooked at the table and the cheese course alone was an education in itself. Much of our great experience was due to our incredible waiter Wilhem from South Africa. He was wonderful. We liked the United States so much that we organized a group of friends to join us there for another wonderful evening later in the cruise. We are planning to have dinner there in August to celebrate our anniversary (on a Pacific NW cruise from Vancouver to SF). If you love food as we do, go to the United States--a bunch!

Snorkel & Sail Fiesta in Cabo

This was our second favorite shore excursion. We went into Cabo first and walked around for awhile and then at noon jumped on a beautiful catamaran with 45 other folks from the cruise and were off. First we went out to the famous Cabo rocks and spent an hour snorkeling and then they took us out about 1/2 mile into the ocean and turned off the engine, put up the sail and took us sailing for about an hour. Beautiful weather and great sailing.

Renting a jeep in Aruba

We didn’t do a shore excursion in Aruba because we had read on the boards that it was easy to get around on Aruba if you rented your own car. So we jumped off the ship and found a car rental agency (or they found us as we got off) and rented jeep. We really recommend that you get something four wheel if you are going to drive the coast. We saw a couple of two wheel drive cars stuck in places they should not have been. We also suggest that you get an Aruba map before you go. AAA has a good one believe it or not. Then just tour the island at your own pace. But no matter where you go, make sure to see the Natural Bridge and from their you can drive along the beach/shore to the lighthouse at the eastern tip of the island. It was the most fun we had ever had four wheeling.

Being able to drop off our carry-ons

I wanted to write about this because even with all the things we read about on the boards before we went, no one mentioned this. We learned about it from a wonderful couple we met soon after boarding. You see, we boarded at 11:30 am. We were literally the first on board. Really. And we were carrying three really heavy carryons. My computer bag, my bride’s carryon, a rolling 22” suitcase with emergency clothes and her purse. Once we got on we were pretty much stuck (or so we thought) until we could get into our cabin at 1:30. Then we ran into these wonderful, long-time cruisers from Texas who told us we could take our bags up and drop them in our room and no one would care. And you know, they were right. So if you have carryons that are big and heavy and you get on early, just head up to your cabin and have your steward stick them in your closet for you.

Waffles and omelettes

I think even more than the dinners, these were our food downfall. The waffle bar located in the Oceanview Grille at the aft of the ship and the omelette station just around the corner. Every morning after discovering it, we would go up and try and decide which one to go to for breakfast, My bride would make the argument for the eggs since we needed our protein and are trying to cut back on carbs. I would argue that we were on vacation and should be able to eat like it. So since we couldn’t decide, we did the typical cruise solution when it comes to food, we had both. And you should too. Watch out for the blueberry topping on the waffles though, it is addicting. And when they ran out of it on the last day of the cruise, the withdrawal was horrible.

Well that about does it. There was certainly more that we loved but I can sum it all up that I am not just a customer of X but a raving fan. I have a few products in my life that I am fanatic about. They include Apple Computer, Subaru, Les Schwab tires, TIVO, Tom Douglas restaurants, Nick Stellino cookbooks, Starbucks coffee and now Celebrity.

Wonderful review- thank you so much! You say it all so well.

Wonder if there was a problem with the A/C in the gym on your cruise- as we were on Infinity in December and it was always TOO cold. So agree with you about the salads- hard to complain tho when most everything else is so tasty.

And yeah- the waffles!!! The pancreas must go into shock after 15 days ingesting those addictive little treasures. Darn they are delicious- and yes, have to have waffles AND the omelette.

Thanks again- very enjoyable reading! :)

Hi,

Loved the review! It just about sums up our long-time Celebrity loyalty, as well.

Ah, the venerable Les Schwab Tire Centers!! Only someone from the west, and particularly the Pacific Northwest (their home base), can truly understand the extraordinary level of service they offer. Now, if we could only get Celebrity to emulate that in their call centers and customer service representative, all would be right with the cruising world. ;)

Thanks again, Dr. K. We'll be on Infinity, May 1-16, 2005, FLL to SFO. Care to come along?

Happy Sailings!

CM (A fellow Washingtonian)

Thanks VERY much for this great review and for all the links. My wife and I will be on this cruise in April 2006, though our end point is SFO. It will be our 2nd Celebrity cruise. I wish all reviews were this in depth and full of great information. I hope after our cruise to post a similar review

You are all very welcome. If you need any questions answered, just ask.

If you missed the first half of this review with all the links to the pics and my journal see

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?p=3124480#post3124480

Jim

Thanks so much for the review. We will be on the Infinity this coming May to Alaska r/t from San Francisco . I can't hardly wait. Again thanks

Marilyn

Great review, info and pictures too boot! Thanks for taking the time to

provide the info for all of us. We do this cruise on March 13 and your efforts have been very helpful. We have done the other M class ships. This will be our first Infinity. Your info on Persian Gardens has me really pumped up. If you don't mind me asking, what were the charges for the Persian Garden use/pass. Thanks again.

Geoff

Great review! Believe it or not you have helped me on my next two cruises. I'm cruising the Panama Canal in April so your port information helped there, and I'm cruising the Infinity to Alaska in September so your ship info helped as well. I have a couple of questions please.........

Regarding the Shotover... I have read that the water that this excursion takes place in smells horrible. We really were interested in the shotover until I read this. What did you experience? Did you notice any smell? Did you get wet?

Persain gardens... another interest of mine. I have heard that the aromatherapy scents are no longer available in the showers. Were they?

Thanks so much for you help and review!

Very informative Review! We also are interested in the Persian Garden prices. You mentioned a discount if you book through the tour. Regarding the Martini Bar, you already know my thoughts on this as we will be meeting you and your bride there on our Infinity Cruise on the 28th of August!

Thanks again, I think we picked a good ship for our first Celebrity Cruise. :)

Great review, info and pictures too boot! Thanks for taking the time to

provide the info for all of us. We do this cruise on March 13 and your efforts have been very helpful. We have done the other M class ships. This will be our first Infinity. Your info on Persian Gardens has me really pumped up. If you don't mind me asking, what were the charges for the Persian Garden use/pass. Thanks again.

 

Geoff

Geoff,

My bride thinks it was a little over $200 for the two of us for the full two weeks. We got a special price because we booked it on the first spa tour of the cruise. They only allow a small number of folks to buy the Persian Garden package so it's not too crowded.

jim

Regarding the Shotover... I have read that the water that this excursion takes place in smells horrible. We really were interested in the shotover until I read this. What did you experience? Did you notice any smell? Did you get wet?

 

Persain gardens... another interest of mine. I have heard that the aromatherapy scents are no longer available in the showers. Were they?

 

Yes, the mangrove swamps do smell. It is a totally natural smell and I would live in that mangrove swamp if I could ride the Shotover Jets every day. Walter (or whoever drives your boat) will explain about the smell. Go do the boats. They are OUTSTANDING.

 

When we were on the Infinity there was still an herbal steam room. My favorite.

 

Hope this helps. And never EVER go horseback riding in Hualtuco.

 

Jim