Celebrity Infinity 10/28/11 Review

[ackieboy]

First, let me say I know that this is a bit late in coming, but it has been a very busy few weeks, since returning from our cruise, so I figured better late than never.

 

Embarkation: We flew in from JFK on Delta the day the cruise departed, which is retrospect is probably not the best idea, but our flight was on time and went very smoothly. Once in San Diego, we found the Celebrity Representative in the baggage claim area and she instructed us to claim our luggage, check in with the representative outside the terminal, and then have a seat, as the previous cruise was delayed in disembarking and they were not sending the transfer buses over to the airport to bring us to the ship yet. So, we ended up having about a two hour wait at the airport, but I am a very flexible traveler, and know that sometimes things happen which are beyond anyone's control. Once they started sending buses over to the airport everything moved very quickly. Upon arriving on at the pier, everything was very organized and we were on the ship within about fifteen or twenty minutes. Once onboard, we went directly to our stateroom (handicapped accessible Sky Suite 9123, more on this later) deposited our carry-ons and headed to the Ocean View Cafe for a bite of long awaited lunch. The food at the Ocean View as good as I remember it on Celebrity, with a nice variety, although I am generally not a fan of buffets.

 

Stateroom: First let me tell you a bit about myself. I am a travel agent and having cruised a great deal feel that I am usually a bit more critical than someone outside the travel industry might be. I am also physically challenged, and walk with the aid of crutches and leg braces, so I am extra cognizant of how well things are set up for people with disabilities. This being said, I am very mobile and do not let my disability limit me. I was accompanied on this trip, by my mom, who is a great travel companion. We originally booked a Category 8 outside guarantee cabin and through a series of price reductions and persistence on my part, ended up in an accessible Sky Suite. I found the suite to be very comfortable, with ample closet space and an extremely well laid out bathroom and a large veranda with two loungers with ottomans. Also, because I requested the use of a wheelchair for embarkation and disembarkation, Celebrity took the liberty of leaving a wheelchair in my cabin, which I could use whenever I needed it. This did come in handy for some shore excursions and for disembarking at the end of the cruise. The only downside, was that water from the show tended to get on the bathroom floor. However, this is a a problem I have found with other handicapped accessible cabins, both on Celebrity and other lines and wonder if this is not something that could be addressed in the construction of these cabins. That being said our suite, 9123 on Vista Deck, was in an extremely convenient location, only steps away from the midship elevators. Our cabin steward whose name escapes me at the moment was extremely nice and accommodating, and our butler Felipe made sure we had everything we needed to make our trip memorable.

 

The Ship: This was the Infinity's last trip prior to going into dry dock for a three week Solsticization refurbishment. That being the case, I was a bit concerned about the condition of the vessel. However, being an avid cruiser, I must say that The Infinity was in very good condition. Our cabin in particular was well maintained. Now, if you looked closely, there were areas of the ship which needed a bit of TLC, however, nothing which would greatly detract from the overall experience. I have previously sailed on The Constellation, which is a somewhat newer sister ship to the Infinity, and did not find the condition of the Infinity to be drastically different from that of her younger sister.

 

Onboard Life and Activities: I am one who likes to get involved in the various activities offered and in this way, The Infinity did not disappoint. There was a great abundance of games and trivia contests (a personal favorite activity of mine). I was also pleased to see the return of "Battle of the Sexes", which was conspicuously missing from last year's back to back cruise on the Celebrity Solstice. Kudos to Keith, Lindy, Valeria, and Andres of the activities staff, and cruise director Steve Gayda, who did a great job of running the various events and were unfailingly pleasant and good humored in all situations. Nighttime entertainment was generally of a very high quality. The production shows presented by the Celebrity Singers and Dancers were very well executed, and the majority of the headliners were very entertaining as well. We also enjoyed The High C's acapella group very much. One slight disappointment was Michael's Club. While I have great memories of spending many evenings there on the Constellation, listening to Perry Grant and on the Solstice with Max DiFaz, I found that the entertainer in Michael's on this sailing, Tammy Rafferty, while quite talented, did not draw a very large crowd and did not have a strong connection with her audience.

 

Food: This is a very subjective area. However, I have always felt that Celebrity does a superior job in regard to food preparation and presentation. We ate most of our breakfasts in the Trellis Dining room and found the food to be very good and the service excellent For Lunch, most of the time we went to the Ocean View Cafe and always found something to satisfy our cravings. For dinner, with the exception of two nights, we dined in the Trellis Restaurant. The food, by and large was very good to excellent. Only on one occasion, did I have to send back a fish entree which was not to my liking. However, it was quickly and cheerfully replaced with something which was more to my liking. A word about the service. Our waiter Karnady, was wonderful. He really gave 200 percent to make sure that everyone at our table for six was well taken care of. A word about the dining room service. It seems as though our original assistant waiter, whose name escapes me, did not work well with Karnady. However, a few days into the cruise, we were introduced to our new assistant waiter, Mike, who was terrific, and from that time on, everything flowed well. On the first evening of the voyage, as suite guests, we were invited to dine compliments of Celebrity in the S/S United States Speciality Restaurant, an opportunity which we did not pass up. The food and service were wonderful and made for a memorable way to start the cruise. Prior to leaving on this trip, I had pre-booked two nights at the S/S United States. However, because we ate there on the first night of the trip, we cancelled on of our other reservations. On our second visit we shared the experience with two of our table mates from the main dining room and had another wonderful evening. For anyone interested I would highly recommend the lobster tail, the rack of lamb or the surf and turf in the S/S United States.

 

Ports of Call: I had never been to any of these ports, so we decided to go with the ship's tours in all locations. Highlights included Cabo San Lucas (special thanks to our tour guide Libby for a wonderful tour) Puntarenas, Costa Rica (the aerial tram over the rain forest was spectacular), Cartagena, Colombia and of course the amazing transit through the Panama Canal. The weather was for the most part beautiful, with the exception of our arrival in Colon, Panama, where it was raining sideways. However, by the time our tour got to Panama City, the weather improved markedly. If anyone would like more specific information about the tours I took, please let me know and I will be glad to answer any questions I can.

 

Disembarkation: Alas, fifteen nights go by much too quickly and before I looked around it was time for us to go back to reality. For disembarkation, we took advantage of the Celebrity Luggage Valet Program, where for a small fee ($20.00 per person, plus any airline incurred luggage fees), Celebrity checks your luggage straight through to your final destination. This makes it a lot easier to maneuver through the airport with only your carry-ons in tow. We had a 2:10 pm departure from Ft. Lauderdale and were off the ship by about 9:30 am and at the airport by about 10:00 am This was one of the smoothest disembarkations, I have ever experienced. We were advised by Celebrity to ignore the disembarkation letter which had been sent to our cabin, and to go to the Shore Excursions desk right after breakfast, they would have a wheelchair waiting for me and would escort us off the trip. Once we got to the Shore Excursions desk, we were immediately escorted off the ship. A great way to end a spectacular trip.

 

In closing, we experienced a most memorable Panama Canal Transit aboard the Infinity, a trip I would not hesitate to repeat or recommend to anyone. If anyone has any other questions about anything I did not cover, please feel free to ask and I will do my best to answer them.

 

Happy Travels To All,

 

Dean

[Azulann]

Thank you fro a very detailed review of your cruise.

We will be on the Century for full transit of Panama Canal in late 2012.

 

Interested in you ship tour of Panama City when you were in Colon Port.What did it include? We want to see the old part of city and have not decided if we should do ship tour or private tour.

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review.

[ackieboy]

Thank you fro a very detailed review of your cruise.

We will be on the Century for full transit of Panama Canal in late 2012.

 

Interested in you ship tour of Panama City when you were in Colon Port.What did it include? We want to see the old part of city and have not decided if we should do ship tour or private tour.

I believe the name of the tour was Building Panama. It began with a very long drive to Panama City through flooded roads (it should only take about an hour, but our drive was closer to two hours due to the weather). We then made a brief shopping stop and then into the center of Panama City for a walking tour. Finally, the low point of the tour was our lunch stop, which was at a restaurant called Al Dente (a downgraded version of Olive Garden). All in all it was very nice tour, except for the weather getting into Panama City and the lunch. If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to ask and I will do my best to answer them. Happy Sailing!

 

Regards,

 

Dean

[judygund]

We were also on this cruise and agree with everything Dean said. It was a great cruise.

 

Judy

[big"o"]

please tell us about your tours/ports and what you thought of the ports

[ackieboy]

Hi,

 

The ports we visited were Cabo San Lucas and Puerto Vallarta in Mexico, Puerto Quetzal,Guatemala, Puntarenas, Costa Rica, Colon, Panama, and Cartegena, Columbia. In Cabo San Lucas, we did the Cabo San Lucas Panoramic Sightseeing, where we had a great guide and were taken to the glass blowing factory for a demonstration then on a scenic drive of the area and to a cactus plantation before heading back to the ship. In Puerto Vallarta we did the Mexican Fiesta, where we were taken to a traditional Mexican Hacienda, shown how Agave grows and how it is made into Tequila, and then given a Tequila tasting, followed by a buffet lunch and folkloric dancing and traditional Mexican Entertainment. In Guatamala, we took the Easy Antigua Sightseeing, where we were taken on a scenic drive past the volcanoes into the old historic town of Antigua. Here we visited the jade factory and then went into the town square, where we had time to wander on our own. It was a very nice tour, but the area was extremely poor and I think most of us were somewhat unprepared for the hard sell we were given by the natives to buy their wares. In Costa Rica, we did the Rainforest Aerial Tram. It was a beautiful tour, on which after about a 40 minute drive, we boarded trams which took us above the rainforest for some truly spectacular views. Afterward, we were given a walking tour of the rainforest. Here is one of the only times I was glad I had taken a wheelchair with me from the ship (I do not usually use one). The walk involved walking on winding paths and uneven terrain and would have been difficult even in the chair, had it not been for the kindness of one of my fellow passengers, who very graciously wheeled the chair (with me in it of course) up, around and over the various obstacles, allowing me to fully experience this truly breathtaking place. I do not remember the name of the man who did the pushing, but I will be eternally grateful for the help he provided me. In Colon, we did a tour called Building Panama (I believe that was the name of the tour). We took what should have been a one hour ride from Colon to Panama City (it took more like two hours because of the torrential rain), where we had a short shopping stop, followed by a very interesting walking tour. This was followed by the low point in the tour, lunch, at a horrible restaurant called Al Dente.

After lunch it was back to the ship and consequently, back to the rain in Colon. In Cartagena, I do not remember the name of the tour we took, but it was more or less a panoramic tour which included stops at the Naval Museum, a walking tour and then a brief shopping stop.

 

All in all, the tours were quite good and the guides were excellent. While I know that some people say that it is less expensive and better to do your own thing when in the various ports of call, My experience has taught me that the first time you are in a particular place, it is usually better to stick with someone who knows the area and speaks the language. This was especially true in Panama, where, due to the weather conditions and some of the roads being flooded, had we gone on our own, we could have risked missing the ship.

 

I hope this information helps, and I would be happy to answer any other questions you might have.

 

Regards,

 

Dean