Live from the infinity - Antarctica

[TommyD3]

So the Blu bill still isn't settled. First they charged us $90....then when I reitereated that we were elite plus in the restaurant, they credited the $90 back and charged the correct $77. Then, the next morning they reversed the $77 and charged us $90. I went to guest services and at this point they reversed the $90 charge (again) so for at least the moment, we seem to have eaten there for free. Likely that will change again.

 

Are you sure it was Blu? Blu is only for Aquaclass and Suites (with $5 gratuity). Are they now letting anyone goto Blu for $45 pp on the Infinity?

 

Sent from my LG-E980 using Forums mobile app

[ghstudio]

Are you sure it was Blu? Blu is only for Aquaclass and Suites (with $5 gratuity). Are they now letting anyone goto Blu for $45 pp on the Infinity?

 

Sent from my LG-E980 using Forums mobile app

 

Tired.... It was qsine

[ghstudio]

Montevideo: Nice architecture, nice cathedral, but not much to do if you are going to just walk around. We probably should have booked some tour but we’re ready to go home….we came to see Antarctica/falklands/ushuia….this is just an extra stop. Easy to walk to the center of town and a large eating mall (restaurants) very near the port. If you are looking for internet, stay around the port..the food mall because once you start to walk to the center, there appear to be no internet cafes at all. There are also few outdoor cafes. Prices are not inexpensive but women will have no problem finding (expensive) shoe stores.

Celebrity seems to be doing a complete restock of the ship here. Perhaps it’s easier or likely cheaper than doing that in Buenos aires.

Dirty little Celebrity secret: the expresso menus all say made with Lavaza coffee….but the expresso they are loading on the ship isn’t Lavaza. Now you know.

We used our free gelato coupons today and the gelato is very good. Not sure it’s worth $4, but then again I guess that’s almost what it costs at home.

Tonight, the dreaded packing. Not that we bought anything on this trip…it’s just a pain to pack and figure out what we want to wear tomorrow and so on. We leave Montevideo at 5PM and you could almost swim to Buenos Aires so either we will just drift there, the captain will go out to sea for a number of hours or we’ll be tied up in Buenos Aires by 10PM. I’ll bet on going to sea since Celebrity now runs the casino itself (no longer a franchise) and the $ often creates the cruise route.

As I said on a previous post, we leave without booking another cruise onboard although I do want to do Norway/Iceland…but the schedule isn’t out. Given celebrity’s recent pricing, not sure we’ll be doing this with celebrity. I guess we like old fashion luxury….not this new, not sure what it is supposed to be “modern luxury” which seems to be marketing speak for “if you pay more for less, you are getting “modern luxury”.

And I almost forgot….today there is a separate boarding line on the dock for suites and zenith passengers, complete with red carpet (about 10’ long) and gold stanchions with bright red connectors. It feeds directly into the same entrance as everyone else is using and I have not seen a single person use that special line (watching from our balcony).

Celebrity has been very helpful in arranging our disembarkation. A couple of days ago we received two envelopes, both with our names on them with luggage tags….different luggage tags and different disembarkation times (we only filled out one form….could this be a new program that lets you pick your time…nah). Last night we reviewed where to go to wait to be called and we have one note inviting us to the constellation lounge on deck 11, another telling us that we should go to the celebrity theater on deck 4 and a third note inviting us to go to the SS united states on deck 3. SS united states is for elite plus (and probably all elites)…the other two are a mystery.

And finally, I don’t seem to be making any progress on my request for a refund for port charges for the port we didn’t visit (or replace) or getting our bill at qsine corrected. They keep billing $90 and I keep showing them that I am elite plus and get their agreement that I should get a 15% discount…..and then they bill me $90. Clearly, someone on this ship does not understand the new captain’s club benefits. I’ve now spoken to the manager of all specialty restaurants and he said he will make sure it is corrected. I’m hopeful, but at this point a bit unconvinced. As far as the port charges….not sure how that will play out. If it’s not refunded, I’d at least like an explanation.

[grayjay]

 

As I said on a previous post, we leave without booking another cruise onboard although I do want to do Norway/Iceland…but the schedule isn’t out. Given celebrity’s recent pricing, not sure we’ll be doing this with celebrity. I guess we like old fashion luxury….not this new, not sure what it is supposed to be “modern luxury” which seems to be marketing speak for “if you pay more for less, you are getting “modern luxury”.

 

After reading your report on not booking anything this time onboard , I checked myself and found out that balcony cabins for the South America repo cruises in 2015 and 2016 through the Panama canal have tripled (!!) in price compared to what we booked and paid for this year's cruise from Valparaiso to Miami. If it's not a computer glitch I just can't see any experienced cruiser booking this kind of robbery. With or without a "free" beverage package or whatever promo offered we won't book but look elsewhere.

Thank you again for taking the trouble to keep us informed about your experiences on board "Infinity" and a safe journey home.

[Biker19]

It just occurred to me - is Celebrity banking on the fact that since the Century is leaving the fleet they'll have fewer cabins to sell and they can command higher prices? :rolleyes:

[ghstudio]

Brace yourself for this one…..

We didn’t stop in Puerto Madryn and I have been inquiring if there would be a refund of port taxes for that port since we did not replace it with another port. The guest service manager said she would check with HQ in Miami to see how it would be handled.

Here’s the response from Miami….they sent the ship a list of passengers who had been charged a port charge for Port Madryn so that the ship could credit those accounts correctly. According to Miami, not all passengers were charged the correct port charges. Read that again if you are a stockholder. Our name, of course, was not on the list. The guest services manager agreed with us that Miami’s position was non comprehensible…..so she gave us the credit. I suspect that about ½ the ship will not get any credit because Miami claims they were not charged the port charge…and people just don’t realize that they need to ask..

I hope that Michael Bayley actually reads this post….if it’s true which IMHO is almost impossible to believe, he has some serious people housekeeping to do in Miami. If Miami just made up some excuse, then Celebrity owes over 1000 people who weren’t on the “list” the port charges…..and is possibly violating some laws by charging a separate fee/tax that Celebrity did not have to pay. According to others who have missed stops in the past, celebrity has always very quickly adjusted the on board accounts. I’m not sure what really happened on this cruise…but celebrity has to find out and fix it.

We have, once again had the qsine charges corrected….it took a face to face discussion with the head of speciality restaurants and the captain’s club hostess. I say there is a 50/50 chance it will not be changed again before we get our OBC refund. There are 11 entries on our bill pertaining to the cover charge for our one meal in qsine..

We are in full noro lockdown…..B2B cruisers are being given a free all day tour tomorrow and they must leave the ship during the day. I have no idea how many have come down with the problem….but clearly there has been a change in blu….no wait for a table last night or tonight. That is not a good sign….but I think they are pretty ready and know how to clean things up prior to the next cruise tomorrow night. I have been told the casino has already sterilized their chips and probably will do so again after the ship is emptied tomorrow.

[OCruisers]

We are in full noro lockdown…..B2B cruisers are being given a free all day tour tomorrow and they must leave the ship during the day.

 

Our friends, Garry & Bob, are doing a B2B but will decline the free all day tour tomorrow. They came down with Noro toward the end of the cruise and are planning to find a comfortable place in port to rest since they have to get off the ship.

 

LuLu

~~~

[upwarduk]

If it’s not refunded, I’d at least like an explanation.

 

Maybe a future certificate?

 

Last year on Eclipse, we missed Curaçao. I didn't realise you could claim missed port charges, but I did write to Celebrity, telling them that there was no one on shore, to direct us to our waiting coach to transport us to our day hotel and we were given no information re pick up time from the hotel to the airport. The driver of the coach just dropped us outside our hotel, together with our luggage.

 

I was amazed to be given £75 p.p. Future Cruise Certificate, so maybe it was missed port charges??

[BEAV]

Brace yourself for this one…..

We didn’t stop in Puerto Madryn and I have been inquiring if there would be a refund of port taxes for that port since we did not replace it with another port. The guest service manager said she would check with HQ in Miami to see how it would be handled.

Here’s the response from Miami….they sent the ship a list of passengers who had been charged a port charge for Port Madryn so that the ship could credit those accounts correctly. According to Miami, not all passengers were charged the correct port charges. Read that again if you are a stockholder. Our name, of course, was not on the list. The guest services manager agreed with us that Miami’s position was non comprehensible…..so she gave us the credit. I suspect that about ½ the ship will not get any credit because Miami claims they were not charged the port charge…and people just don’t realize that they need to ask..

I hope that Michael Bayley actually reads this post….if it’s true which IMHO is almost impossible to believe, he has some serious people housekeeping to do in Miami. If Miami just made up some excuse, then Celebrity owes over 1000 people who weren’t on the “list” the port charges…..and is possibly violating some laws by charging a separate fee/tax that Celebrity did not have to pay. According to others who have missed stops in the past, celebrity has always very quickly adjusted the on board accounts. I’m not sure what really happened on this cruise…but celebrity has to find out and fix it.

We have, once again had the qsine charges corrected….it took a face to face discussion with the head of speciality restaurants and the captain’s club hostess. I say there is a 50/50 chance it will not be changed again before we get our OBC refund. There are 11 entries on our bill pertaining to the cover charge for our one meal in qsine..

We are in full noro lockdown…..B2B cruisers are being given a free all day tour tomorrow and they must leave the ship during the day. I have no idea how many have come down with the problem….but clearly there has been a change in blu….no wait for a table last night or tonight. That is not a good sign….but I think they are pretty ready and know how to clean things up prior to the next cruise tomorrow night. I have been told the casino has already sterilized their chips and probably will do so again after the ship is emptied tomorrow.

 

We disembarked Solstice last week from an 18 night Aussie sailing. Toward the end of the cruise, we noticed a credit of $20-something per person on our account for refund of port fees. Although we didn't miss any ports, I believe it was an adjustment from when we had earlier booked (nearly two years in advance) when the itinerary at that time included a stop in Albany, Australia. Long before we sailed, the Albany stop was dropped from the itinerary. I assume the Albany port fees were still included when we made our final payment even though the stop had been dropped, and we were refunded accordingly. It certainly sounds like Miami screwed a lot of folks on your sailing out of some port charges.

[bob278]

We got $5.73 back for the port charges (or something within a few cents of that).

 

I think the size of the outbreak dictated a less than full-on lock-down as I have seen much more severe restrictions. The MDR still had salt shakers on the table for instance and I have seen boxes of wipes at casino tables and the dealer would not proceed until each new person used one. That did not happen here. On Solstice last spring there were around 300 afflicted. I haven't heard a number here but I am sure it was far less than that since the restrictions were nowhere near as severe.

 

I agree with George that they know how to do this and I am confident that things should be OK for the next cruise.

 

We chose not to take the free tour because we didn't want to sit on a bus for 4 hours (plus we stayed on board for at least an hour longer and slept in a little). I decided to try to return to our pre-cruise hotel and see if they would let us use the wi-fi in the lobby (I would have paid) but they gave it to us for free. Nice move Sheraton! :D

[LadyDivot]

Bob - I'm really impressed with your website(s). Great information. Welcome back and I hope you enjoyed your cruise despite the changes. We were on the 2/1/14 cruise before you.

 

Pam

[ghstudio]

According to two different sources 2% of the passengers caught the virus...or reported getting sick.

 

Disembarkation was quick and smooth. We found a very flooded hallway carpet this morning on deck 9 between the midship and rear elevators on the port side which will require some serious drying....I feel sorry for whoever had the problem in their cabin.

 

We saw the crew starting to wipe down everything as we left. Some days off we're postponed...they are doing the right things to avoid a real outbreak.

[claimers]

According to two different sources 2% of the passengers caught the virus...or reported getting sick.

 

Disembarkation was quick and smooth. We found a very flooded hallway carpet this morning on deck 9 between the midship and rear elevators on the port side which will require some serious drying....I feel sorry for whoever had the problem in their cabin.

 

We saw the crew starting to wipe down everything as we left. Some days off we're postponed...they are doing the right things to avoid a real outbreak.

 

Dear ghstudio,

We will be sailing in February of 2015, but I read your report daily. THANK YOU for taking the time to do this. I have enjoyed your humor, suffered with your frustrations, learned a lot from you (port charge credit, etc.) and some days wished I were there with you RIGHT NOW - not one year from now.

 

If I may, I would like to ask a very serious question. Knowing all that you now know and experiencing what you have just experienced, would you have taken this cruise? Would you recommend this cruise to friends? I so want to see the wildlife…the penguins, the whales, and Antarctica. Did you see enough to make the challenges worth it? You have mentioned a lot of the negatives - which we all need to hear, but did the positives outweigh them? Hope so!

 

Stay healthy and enjoy the next leg of your cruise!

 

I look forward to an HONEST response,

Claudia

[ghstudio]

Dear ghstudio,

We will be sailing in February of 2015, but I read your report daily. THANK YOU for taking the time to do this. I have enjoyed your humor, suffered with your frustrations, learned a lot from you (port charge credit, etc.) and some days wished I were there with you RIGHT NOW - not one year from now.

 

If I may, I would like to ask a very serious question. Knowing all that you now know and experiencing what you have just experienced, would you have taken this cruise? Would you recommend this cruise to friends? I so want to see the wildlife…the penguins, the whales, and Antarctica. Did you see enough to make the challenges worth it? You have mentioned a lot of the negatives - which we all need to hear, but did the positives outweigh them? Hope so!

 

Stay healthy and enjoy the next leg of your cruise!

 

I look forward to an HONEST response,

Claudia

 

The cruise is scenic with many sea days...and scenic is subject to weather including rain, snow, fog....the Antarctic is rarely sunny with blue skies. As you know, our itinerary changed due to weather but we had great visibility when it counted....with some strong very cold wind. Often the Falklands are too windy to tender and the southern ocean can be very rough. On the other hand, we had good weather, light seas, once the schedule was changed, and we saw many whale spouts, a school of orcas, icebergs and glaciers. If you think about it, it's actually very hard to see a whale. We saw penguins swimming in groups.

 

For wildlife, it's imperative that you book tours yourself...do not use celebrity excursions. Pira tours in Ushuaia takes a small group to a penguin rookery where you are walking with the penguins. Similar comment on Patrick watts in the Falklands...even though there was another ship the day we arrived and they had booked all the jeeps, so those on the infinity couldn't go. We missed puerto madryn so I can't really comment on that one, but I had another small group tour planned. In exchange for the missed port, we sailed drake passage in both directions which was very nice.

 

I have mixed feelings on whether I would recommend the cruise to new cruisers...although we met some who were on their first cruise. I think for experienced cruisers, it offers a different experience which celebrity does quite well.

 

Not sure I answered your question...IMHO it's not a must do cruise, but it's an interesting cruise. Which definitely is improved with small group or private excursions in the few ports....but that applies to most celebrity cruises. For wildlife, the Galapagos is far and away the best cruise and should be on everyone's bucket list.

Edited March 3, 2014 by ghstudio

[Turtles06]

Dear ghstudio,

We will be sailing in February of 2015, but I read your report daily. THANK YOU for taking the time to do this. I have enjoyed your humor, suffered with your frustrations, learned a lot from you (port charge credit, etc.) and some days wished I were there with you RIGHT NOW - not one year from now.

 

If I may, I would like to ask a very serious question. Knowing all that you now know and experiencing what you have just experienced, would you have taken this cruise? Would you recommend this cruise to friends? I so want to see the wildlife…the penguins, the whales, and Antarctica. Did you see enough to make the challenges worth it? You have mentioned a lot of the negatives - which we all need to hear, but did the positives outweigh them? Hope so!

 

Stay healthy and enjoy the next leg of your cruise!

 

I look forward to an HONEST response,

Claudia

 

Claudia, given what you would like to see, have you considered at all whether a small-ship trip to Antarctica with landings on the continent is something you would have the resources to do? I realize not everyone can manage this, but if you could do it, you would have a completely different and extraordinary experience.

[ghstudio]

Here's a quick look at a very few of the many pictures I took.....unsorted:

 

http://www.23hq.com/receive/15559914/D50E878E67BAF5186

[jonzara]

Dear ghstudio,

We will be sailing in February of 2015, but I read your report daily. THANK YOU for taking the time to do this. I have enjoyed your humor, suffered with your frustrations, learned a lot from you (port charge credit, etc.) and some days wished I were there with you RIGHT NOW - not one year from now.

 

If I may, I would like to ask a very serious question. Knowing all that you now know and experiencing what you have just experienced, would you have taken this cruise? Would you recommend this cruise to friends? I so want to see the wildlife…the penguins, the whales, and Antarctica. Did you see enough to make the challenges worth it? You have mentioned a lot of the negatives - which we all need to hear, but did the positives outweigh them? Hope so!

 

 

rStay healthy and enjoy the next leg of your cruise!

 

I look forward to an HONEST response,

Claudia

 

 

I was wondering the same question as you! How to travel more than half of the world, spend some money, of course, and not know how it works out?

As we all know weather can be somewhat unpredictable. A journey to Antarctica is allways some kind of lottery. Some get, others unfortunately lose. I was among the first (lucky me), on the same cruise last year (17th of February 2013). Our cruise director called it "Golden Cruise". We were truly blessed with plenty of sunshine, blue skies and calm sees. Did all ports as scheduled, on the Falkland Islands (was a bit windy and cloudy in the morning) we finished our day almost in short sleeves. While cruising on Antarctic peninsula it was warmer than I thought it would be. So, I even didn't use all my clothing (just 2-3 layers needed). Great naturalist who was on board and was already on his thirteenth cruise to Antarctica said, that is the first time he sees the entire, most impressive Endurance glacier on Elephant Island.

White magic everywhere you look, what a scenery, unspoiled nature in all it's glory, silence, silence and then suddenly echo of the scottish pipes (we have listen to), seals and penguins on a floating ice - take a deep breath, it's unforgetable.

The entire cruise was wonderful experience (although it was just drive or pass by and at this point I totaly agree with Turtles 06), we saw a lot of wild life out there. Have to say Celebrity did a very good job on this one, excellent chef capitan and the crew, nice and friendly staff, very good food (in the MDR), entertainment etc. We were like one biiiiig familiy and really there was nothing to complaine about (but maybe I'm just not that picky).

Because this is probably the closest I'll ever get to Antarctica (oh, I would really love to do the landings, but pockets are not deep enough for now), I'll keep this beautiful memories for a life time.

 

I would say: Go and hope for the best, there is nothing else to do.

Good luck and enjoy!!!

[digitl]

I so want to see the wildlife…the penguins, the whales, and Antarctica.

If you are serious about those wants then you really should be considering an expedition ship that will provide you with landings.

[digitl]

...this is probably the closest I'll ever get to Antarctica (oh, I would really love to do the landings, but pockets are not deep enough for now)...

Look at a ship like Hurtigruten's Fram, do the maths, and you may well be surprised at the cost of an expedition ship with landings compared with a drive-by on a large ship.

Edited March 3, 2014 by digitl

[digitl]

....the Antarctic is rarely sunny with blue skies.

We've had two trips to Antarctica, amounting to almost three weeks and going as far south as 68°, and all but two days featured sunny blue skies.

[ghstudio]

Let me paint a picture here....seas of 20' plus, wind of 60 mph, water temperature 32 degrees and you are climbing into a zodiac for a fun ride to shore where you will slide off into the water to get on shore. Waves are breaking and the spray from the waves is blowing horizontally in the wind..directly at you.

 

This is not fictional...this is what we saw on a smaller expedition ship which used zodiacs to put passengers on board at cape horn to see the monument and get their passports stamped.

 

I agree, going ashore would be a much better adventure...and it's what I wanted to do...but my wife is saner than I am so we compromised on the drive by with tours to penguins. Price was not the issue....

[claimers]

The cruise is scenic with many sea days...and scenic is subject to weather including rain, snow, fog....the Antarctic is rarely sunny with blue skies. As you know, our itinerary changed due to weather but we had great visibility when it counted....with some strong very cold wind. Often the Falklands are too windy to tender and the southern ocean can be very rough. On the other hand, we had good weather, light seas, once the schedule was changed, and we saw many whale spouts, a school of orcas, icebergs and glaciers. If you think about it, it's actually very hard to see a whale. We saw penguins swimming in groups.

 

For wildlife, it's imperative that you book tours yourself...do not use celebrity excursions. Pira tours in Ushuaia takes a small group to a penguin rookery where you are walking with the penguins. Similar comment on Patrick watts in the Falklands...even though there was another ship the day we arrived and they had booked all the jeeps, so those on the infinity couldn't go. We missed puerto madryn so I can't really comment on that one, but I had another small group tour planned. In exchange for the missed port, we sailed drake passage in both directions which was very nice.

 

I have mixed feelings on whether I would recommend the cruise to new cruisers...although we met some who were on their first cruise. I think for experienced cruisers, it offers a different experience which celebrity does quite well.

 

Not sure I answered your question...IMHO it's not a must do cruise, but it's an interesting cruise. Which definitely is improved with small group or private excursions in the few ports....but that applies to most celebrity cruises. For wildlife, the Galapagos is far and away the best cruise and should be on everyone's bucket list.

 

THANK YOU! I really appreciate your candid response. And thank you for taking the time to respond.

 

We always try to avoid the excursions sponsored by the ships. We have already reserved with Patrick Watts and working on Ushuaia. We HAVE been on Celebrity's Xpedition to the Galapagos - an AMAZING trip and I totally agree with you - a MUST DO - I think that is why I got a little nervous reading your minute-by-minute reviews; I didn't want to be disappointed.

 

We will give this trip some serious consideration before booking our non-refundable airfare.

 

Safe, healthy travels the rest of your journey,

Claudia

[claimers]

Claudia, given what you would like to see, have you considered at all whether a small-ship trip to Antarctica with landings on the continent is something you would have the resources to do? I realize not everyone can manage this, but if you could do it, you would have a completely different and extraordinary experience.

 

Thank you Turtles 06!

I will definitely check out your National Geographic photo album.

[claimers]

Here's a quick look at a very few of the many pictures I took.....unsorted:

 

http://www.23hq.com/receive/15559914/D50E878E67BAF5186

 

THANKS!

Great photos

I trust you will have many fond memories of your trip.

[claimers]

I was wondering the same question as you! How to travel more than half of the world, spend some money, of course, and not know how it works out?

As we all know weather can be somewhat unpredictable. A journey to Antarctica is allways some kind of lottery. Some get, others unfortunately lose. I was among the first (lucky me), on the same cruise last year (17th of February 2013). Our cruise director called it "Golden Cruise". We were truly blessed with plenty of sunshine, blue skies and calm sees. Did all ports as scheduled, on the Falkland Islands (was a bit windy and cloudy in the morning) we finished our day almost in short sleeves. While cruising on Antarctic peninsula it was warmer than I thought it would be. So, I even didn't use all my clothing (just 2-3 layers needed). Great naturalist who was on board and was already on his thirteenth cruise to Antarctica said, that is the first time he sees the entire, most impressive Endurance glacier on Elephant Island.

White magic everywhere you look, what a scenery, unspoiled nature in all it's glory, silence, silence and then suddenly echo of the scottish pipes (we have listen to), seals and penguins on a floating ice - take a deep breath, it's unforgetable.

The entire cruise was wonderful experience (although it was just drive or pass by and at this point I totaly agree with Turtles 06), we saw a lot of wild life out there. Have to say Celebrity did a very good job on this one, excellent chef capitan and the crew, nice and friendly staff, very good food (in the MDR), entertainment etc. We were like one biiiiig familiy and really there was nothing to complaine about (but maybe I'm just not that picky).

Because this is probably the closest I'll ever get to Antarctica (oh, I would really love to do the landings, but pockets are not deep enough for now), I'll keep this beautiful memories for a life time.

 

I would say: Go and hope for the best, there is nothing else to do.

Good luck and enjoy!!!

 

THANK YOU Jonzara,

You made me want to hop on the plane tonight!