Live from the infinity - 10/24 transatlantic

[ghstudio]

Jenny is disembarking at Cartaghena, Columbia, her hometown, this weekend and will be reunited with her toddler daughter.

 

Jenny will be doing the two panama canal cruises (without child) and then her child will join her on board for the south america repositioning cruise.

[bakcd]

We were one table away from that window when it shattered. It was not broken by a wave or as some suggested, by a chair....I asked the captain specifically about the window and he said it broke due to flexing of the ship...a spontaneous shatter, not caused by anything hitting it. They apparently carry replacement panes on board and it will be fixed in some port.

 

The captain and staff captain responded at various times to the question of how high the waves were and I also heard the 40' comment. Prior to that, they said 9 meters and indicated the second bad night would be about 2 meters less. I don't believe we were in anything close to 40' seas....

 

I was unaware of the death...

 

We had a veranda door replaced because of the ship movement that caused it to have large cracks. When we returned from breakfast we were greeted by 3 or 4 supervisors waiting for the door unit to be delivered. The room steward discovered the cracks when adjusting the curtains. Evidently they replaced several door units that morning and are prepared for such events. This was a HAL ship but I am certain other lines are prepared for such repairs.

[gold1953]

Nice to get the proper story about the broken window.

 

We did personally hear the Captain say that the waves were 40 ft. feet (12 meters) though.

AS for the death a large group of the entertainers went to Atlantis for a beach day. One guy tried to rescue Will . He was in the band who were supposed to play the sail away party on the pool deck. We found out at the 4:15 trivia which Rachel normally does. She had the day off and was at the beach as well. Chelsie had just found out and was in tears . It was so sad

 

 

We were one table away from that window when it shattered. It was not broken by a wave or as some suggested, by a chair....I asked the captain specifically about the window and he said it broke due to flexing of the ship...a spontaneous shatter, not caused by anything hitting it. They apparently carry replacement panes on board and it will be fixed in some port.

 

The captain and staff captain responded at various times to the question of how high the waves were and I also heard the 40' comment. Prior to that, they said 9 meters and indicated the second bad night would be about 2 meters less. I don't believe we were in anything close to 40' seas....

 

I was unaware of the death...

[Kwenz]

Hoping that Jenny renews her contract and is still on board in April. You're right she is the best CC hostess we've encountered.

 

Great review. I really enjoyed it.

[deelastcre]

Hoping that Jenny renews her contract and is still on board in April. You're right she is the best CC hostess we've encountered.

 

Great review. I really enjoyed it.

Jenny is amazing! I sailed on Infinity prior to the crossing. I woke up in South Beach this week and Infinity was docked in my view. It brought back lovely memories of the Wine Immersive Cruise and Alaska.

[Sparkle 123]

We met Jenny on the 30th September wine cruise, she was a great Capt Club hostess. Her little daughter, sister and mother were on-board from Panama, she was very excited to see them.

She told us her contract ends in January.

She also told us she used to be a singer and dancer on Royal Caribbean which explains why she did such a great job singing at the Captains Club party!

[fb0075]

Wow, Jenny must be great!!

 

Garry--what was the name of the CC host that we liked so well:)

 

Frank

 

leave next week for a S/A repo on HAL

 

cya in FEB!!

[upwarduk]

One of the highlights (for me) was being able to view the partial Eclipse of the sun, early on Sunday 3rd November. Living in the UK, we don't often get the opportunity. I was very fortunate to capture some reflections in the sea, more by good luck than judgement, as I didn't have tinted glasses or a filter for my camera to capture the sun.The image below was taken with an iPad, when I was trying to focus on a hawk, who we think was living on the ship.

 

 

The highlight for my husband, was singing in the Celebrity choir, run by Tina, the Infinity band director. This was her first attempt at running a choir, due to the number of sea days available and she did a very good job.

They performed on the last sea day, after only 5 rehearsals. This is the 3rd time that he has performed in a Celebrity choir ( previously Eclipse x2) He is on the extreme left of the image.

 

Edited November 9, 2013 by upwarduk

[lemons]

GHSTUDIO:

 

Great info!! Thanks for review/tips/insight.

[traveler55]

We are nearing Nassau and we are rocking and rolling....unfortunately I am not talking about the music. We've apparently had some falls and crushed fingers already and walking, even with reasonable sea legs is not exactly a straight line. Cloudy as well....not our best day.

 

Grand brunch today. All the usual stuff with shrimp, sushi, gravlox (which only seems to be served at the brunch), omelette stations, etc. yes there were swans with whipped cream inside in back of the dessert table (as always hard to reach). A number of small fruit tarts. It was a very nice spread. It's not so nice watching folks put the tongs down on top of the food instead of on a plate provided for the tongs....however in fairness, the smoked fish had tongs on top of the platter of fish and there was no place to put the tongs except back on the fish. The celebrity food handlers wear gloves....but passengers don't so it's no wonder that norovirus spreads so easily on ships (as far as I know, we don't have any problems on the infinity).

 

There are reports that two cabins flooded for some reason. Presumably they moved the folks to other cabins.

 

I tried the "bloody Scotsman" craft drink and as strange as the drink sounds, it was a very good drink. Try one.

 

The last two nights, we have had a wait at blu....if it's full, there's not much they can do. We waited in the rendezvous lounge and the maitre d' came out to get us. Sometimes the show schedule causes everyone to eat early or there is some other cause. It really didn't bother us. I don't think it's caused by suite passengers dining in blu.

 

I have to say a few words about service in blu. Everyone is friendly and they cover for each other, but as we talk with folks there are more complaints about asking for something and it never appearing..or no one is passing around the sweet pastries..or no coffee server in the morning. (The sommelier, Nash, in blu is, however, terrific and somehow handles the entire room alone). I chalk it all up to staffing and I'm sure that's a hq decision, not a ship decision. I think the ship does as well as it can with the personnel it has.

 

It's not just a blu problem. The worst example of this was actually the night they had the select/elite officers reception (which we skipped since we hate mobs) Since there was a huge group expected at the event, they pulled bar waiters from the other bars so there was almost no service in the almost full rendezvous lounge...and coupons don't help if there are no waiters to get a drink.

 

Comment on lobsters...they are warm water lobster tails, not Maine lobsters. They are perhaps elegant to some but my advice is to pass on the lobster and order something else. I know you won't listen to me, but after you order the lobster meal, you might just agree with me.

 

GH

 

You're 100% correct about the difference between Maine lobsters and warm water lobsters. I'm from New Hampshire and was on your transatlantic cruise. I thought I'd try the warm water lobster tail that was offered. I took two bites and ate the beef wellington instead. There is no comparison. The warm water lobsters are awful after one is used to regularly eating New England lobsters.

[rayjames7]

Depends on where you are from... Born & raised in Florida, we much prefer Florida lobster tail over Maine anyday.... It's just a matter of preference.

[Howie999]

GHStudio, I'd like to also thank you for this constant review. I wish I had known about it during the cruise, but then again we would have burned through our free Elite minutes even quicker if we saw it. :)

 

We thoroughly enjoyed this cruise and the people on board, but I must say that we consistently waited for everything in Blu - to get our order taken, between courses, etc. All the staff in Blu was WONDERFUL, don't get me wrong - but I don't know why things just took so darn long. Maybe it was European style (where you have the table for the night). The food was always hot out of the kitchen, so I'm not sure what was going on, but it always seemed to us like the service was managed chaos. For example, one couple seated next to us actually had their table CLEARED between their appetizers and the entree. EVERYTHING, including salt/pepper, candle, was removed from their table until they finally spoke up and said that they hadn't even had their meal yet. :eek:

 

Again, the personnel in Blu (as well as everywhere else) was just spectacular. Stateroom attendants were great, and we had the shower door issue in our Aqua cabin as well. We just got used to it, I guess.

 

It was pretty fun to see many of us dressed up for Halloween, too! All in all, a wonderful cruise.

Edited November 11, 2013 by Howie999

[traveler55]

Depends on where you are from... Born & raised in Florida, we much prefer Florida lobster tail over Maine anyday.... It's just a matter of preference.

 

 

Good point. sorry, you are correct. it is a matter of preference.

[upwarduk]

Howie 999,

It sounds as though your food was cooked to order in Blu!

Cannot explain the clearing of the table between courses though.

[ghstudio]

Howie 999,

It sounds as though your food was cooked to order in Blu!

Cannot explain the clearing of the table between courses though.

 

not howie999, but my impression is that food is modified, finished and plated to order. Two nights they offered a salad with something I liked on top...veal scallopini or lamb chops. Those nights I asked if they could serve the veal or lamb as a regular dinner...with vegetables instead of on a salad. No problem at all. Meat is finished as you request it (rare, medium,....). One of the biggest differences we noticed was that the food in blu on the infinity was hot when it arrived (ship dependent...it wasn't on the millennium).

[lilghallinsf]

Wonderful review. Do you happen to have the dailies from this trip?

[Cassicruiser]

Excellent review - I read it prior to our cruise a few weeks ago on Millennium, and I was a little apprehensive from many of the reviews, and a couple of your comments, about the condition of the Millennium. I can only say they must have spruced the ship up during the unscheduled dry dock in September to fix the broken propellor, as the ship was gleaming. There were no broken elevator buttons, everything had been painted, and the ship was in magnificent condition. Apparently they also used the time to brush up on staff training as well. The visibility of the officers on Millennium was amazing, just as you describe on the Infinity. The entertainment staff, particularly the Cruise Director was wonderful, they were everywhere, all the time, chatting and interacting with guests.

 

Anyone who is still concerned regarding the condition of the Millennium, don't be. She is looking fabulous!

[hapicruisin]

Excellent review - I read it prior to our cruise a few weeks ago on Millennium, and I was a little apprehensive from many of the reviews, and a couple of your comments, about the condition of the Millennium. I can only say they must have spruced the ship up during the unscheduled dry dock in September to fix the broken propellor, as the ship was gleaming. There were no broken elevator buttons, everything had been painted, and the ship was in magnificent condition. Apparently they also used the time to brush up on staff training as well. The visibility of the officers on Millennium was amazing, just as you describe on the Infinity. The entertainment staff, particularly the Cruise Director was wonderful, they were everywhere, all the time, chatting and interacting with guests.

 

Anyone who is still concerned regarding the condition of the Millennium, don't be. She is looking fabulous!

 

Hi Cassicruiser, Have been reading through DH's wonderful review of Infinity and was horrified to hear of his reports of Millenium, which we are on later this year. So glad I read to the end and found your post. Makes me feel much happier about our upcoming cruise. My brother and sil were

on Milly late last year and said how wonderful it was. So thanks for the

confirmation. Hapicruisin

[ghstudio]

Hi Cassicruiser, Have been reading through DH's wonderful review of Infinity and was horrified to hear of his reports of Millenium, which we are on later this year. So glad I read to the end and found your post. Makes me feel much happier about our upcoming cruise. My brother and sil were

on Milly late last year and said how wonderful it was. So thanks for the

confirmation. Hapicruisin

 

Although now out of date, I did a "live from the millenium" thread on our B2B in Asia last year. I wouldn't be at all concerned about sailing on the Millenium again (now that it's fixed, of course) and we will be on the infinity again in February (watch for another of my "live from" threads).

Edited January 27, 2014 by ghstudio

[hapicruisin]

Although now out of date, I did a "live from the millenium" thread on our B2B in Asia last year. I wouldn't be at all concerned about sailing on the Millenium again (now that it's fixed, of course) and we will be on the infinity again in February (watch for another of my "live from" threads).

 

Hi ghstudio,

 

Excellent review, many thanks. We were on the Asian cruise with you

last year - did two wonderful tours with you both and two other couples. And spent a few pre dinner Elite drink sessions with a large party of friends, including yourselves. I hadn't seen your review of that cruise but will look for it.

Thank you for picking up on my concern with our Milly trip to Japan. The

itinerary will be awsome enough but glad that the ship is back to its proper

state. hapicruisin