Celebrity Infinity from Buenos Aires to Valparaiso

[pier]

We're considering taking a cruise on the Infinity from Barcelona to Valparaiso because we like the itinerary. It would be our first Celebrity cruise (we've been on Oceania & Azamara). We'd appreciate hearing comments from anyone who has taken this cruise. Thank you.

[ghstudio]

We're considering taking a cruise on the Infinity from Barcelona to Valparaiso because we like the itinerary. It would be our first Celebrity cruise (we've been on Oceania & Azamara). We'd appreciate hearing comments from anyone who has taken this cruise. Thank you.

 

I'm going to take a leap of faith that you meant to say Buenos Aires to Valpariso...not Barcelona....although that might be an interesting cruise.

 

If you are used to the oceania/azamera sized ships and amenities, you may be disappointed in the Infiniti where you may feel a bit nickeled and dimed and you will be on a larger ship with perhaps more activities, but also more people. Interesting question though....

[pier]

This is embarrassing! I did mean Buenos Aires. We recently spent 5 wonderful days in Barcelona after an Oceania cruise. It's still on my mind; it's such a fabulous city.

 

I appreciate your comments. We do like the pampering that's given on Oceania. Still, people speak well of Celebrity. We've only been on one "large" ship--the Coral Princess--which may not be as nice as the Celebrity Infinity.

[rogfam]

We have cruised Oceania and loved the experience. That said, we are sailing on Infinity next month from BA to Valparaiso, so I'll let you know when I return.

[bestmom1]

We did this on Infinity in 2008 and loved it. We were able to get a corner FV and for this cruise, it was the best decision ever. We could see both sides of the ship and sailing through the Beagle Channel and the Chilean fjords was beautiful.

 

Don't miss the Magellanic Penguins. Only caveat is take both warm weather and cold weather clothes. Very hot in BA and very cold in

Ushuaia.

 

You won't get the same product as Oceania, but the price should be less than half. Depends on what you want to spend the money on. We don't drink, so we prefer to not pay for an all inclusive product. I bought the Premium non alcoholic package on our recent Transatlantic and got everything I wanted. That cost a whole lot less than Oceania. IMHO.

 

Liz

[Aussieflyer]

We took this cruise almost exactly 12 months ago (boarded on 2 Jan 2011). The itinerary was great - a couple of sea days to "recover". We arranged our own tours at the different ports - including Peninsula Valdes, kayaking, visiting penguin island near Estancia Harberton to walk with the penguins. We pretty much did our own thing in Montevideo and Punta del Este. As for the Infinity, this was before the makeover and the ship was still in pretty good condition. We have cruised with Azamara and Silversea before and it is true that the more intimate (as in smaller ship) ambience is not there but we very much enjoyed the options provided by the larger vessel. We had a great suite - 6146 - at the rear of the ship and as such had priority tender tickets which was helpful. Staff was generally excellent (with the exception of security when rejoining the ship - the way they asked passengers to do things was basically rude in many cases. The quality of meals was pretty good - not outstanding and I would be interested to hear what the new venues are like. Everyone in our group (4) felt the specialty restaurant (USS United States) was pretty ordinary. We would be quite happy to cruise on the Infinity again. Hope this is of use.

[pier]

We took this cruise almost exactly 12 months ago (boarded on 2 Jan 2011). The itinerary was great - a couple of sea days to "recover". We arranged our own tours at the different ports - including Peninsula Valdes, kayaking, visiting penguin island near Estancia Harberton to walk with the penguins. We pretty much did our own thing in Montevideo and Punta del Este.

 

We feel the same about the itinerary. If you still have information regarding the tours you arranged, it would be much appreciated. We've arranged our own tours for the last three cruises we've taken, and they've been less expensive and far superior to the ship excursions. We want to walk with the penguins!

[pier]

We did this on Infinity in 2008 and loved it. We were able to get a corner FV and for this cruise, it was the best decision ever. We could see both sides of the ship and sailing through the Beagle Channel and the Chilean fjords was beautiful.

 

Don't miss the Magellanic Penguins. Only caveat is take both warm weather and cold weather clothes. Very hot in BA and very cold in

Ushuaia.

 

You won't get the same product as Oceania, but the price should be less than half. Depends on what you want to spend the money on. We don't drink, so we prefer to not pay for an all inclusive product. I bought the Premium non alcoholic package on our recent Transatlantic and got everything I wanted. That cost a whole lot less than Oceania. IMHO.

 

Liz

 

Thanks for your help. The packing will be a challenge.

 

Oceania isn't all inclusive. They charge for alcoholic drinks, and they are still considerably more expensive than Celebrity. In this particular case, we like the Celebrity itinerary and the price much better.

[Aussieflyer]

Hi Pier

We used Pira Tours in Ushuaia to visit the penguins on a small island. It was not a private tour but in a minibus with a maximum of 20 (as that is all that are allowed on the island at the one time). From memory it is about 40kms from Ushuaia but 20+ are on gravel road and the going was very slow so the whole trip to the estancia where we boarded the small boat took about an hour. When we arrived on the island we saw a larger boat from Ushuaia where the passengers were not allowed to get off. Our tour was much better. Google Tripadvisor for reviews and also have a look at the Pira Tours site. I will try to find the other tour operators we used - I know one company did tours both in Punta Arenas and Puerto Madryn so we used them for both. We took a wine tour back from Valparaiso to Santiago which was OK but our guide spent too much time in Valparaiso and we then were running late. It was cold at Cape Horn! If you have not done it before I would also recommend a side trip from BA for a couple of days to Iguazu Falls - they were amazing.

[pier]

Hi Pier

We used Pira Tours in Ushuaia to visit the penguins on a small island. It was not a private tour but in a minibus with a maximum of 20 (as that is all that are allowed on the island at the one time). From memory it is about 40kms from Ushuaia but 20+ are on gravel road and the going was very slow so the whole trip to the estancia where we boarded the small boat took about an hour. When we arrived on the island we saw a larger boat from Ushuaia where the passengers were not allowed to get off. Our tour was much better. Google Tripadvisor for reviews and also have a look at the Pira Tours site. I will try to find the other tour operators we used - I know one company did tours both in Punta Arenas and Puerto Madryn so we used them for both. We took a wine tour back from Valparaiso to Santiago which was OK but our guide spent too much time in Valparaiso and we then were running late. It was cold at Cape Horn! If you have not done it before I would also recommend a side trip from BA for a couple of days to Iguazu Falls - they were amazing.

 

This is a great help. On the ship excursion passengers aren't allowed to walk with the penguins, which was disappointing to me when I read it.

 

We're planning on spending 3 days in Buenos Aires before we board the ship. We would probably need 2 more days if we go to Iguazu Falls. We used to live near Niagara Falls so we've been undecided about that extra side trip. Now you've made me want to see it! Who did you use for your arrangements to Iguazu Falls?

[luv2travel90266]

Thanks all for the posts. I guess I was supposed to post under the Celebrity Infinity Roll Call. Hopefully the administrator can move the the string of emails.

[Aussieflyer]

I think because Pier does not have a date or booking yet but is looking for general information it would not have an actual roll call to go under. There is a section for destinations which will give good information - look under South America. I remember using it a lot when we were planning the trip.

For Pier - I booked Iguazu myself - directly with the hotel and with LAN. It worked well. The falls boat ride was fabulous where we went right up to the falls (and got very wet!).

[pier]

I think because Pier does not have a date or booking yet but is looking for general information it would not have an actual roll call to go under. There is a section for destinations which will give good information - look under South America. I remember using it a lot when we were planning the trip.

For Pier - I booked Iguazu myself - directly with the hotel and with LAN. It worked well. The falls boat ride was fabulous where we went right up to the falls (and got very wet!).

 

To Aussieflyer: You're right--I don't have a date for booking yet, but I plan on getting it soon. We're sold on the intinerary, but we wanted to make sure Celebrity was a good choice, especially since we're used to smaller ships. Thank you for your help. This board seems a lot like what I think is so great about the Oceania board: I've asked all kinds of questions, such as suggestions for hotels, guides in various places, privately arranged transfers, etc., and the people on the Oceania board have always come through. This Celebrity board seems similar in that respect. I think of it as the internet at its best, people generously helping each other.