Celebrity Infinity

[Wayfairers]

Last time we cruised with Celebrity it was 2009 on the Galaxy.  We really enjoyed the ship, the staff and the afternoon sushi bar.  We are considering booking Celebrity Infinity for July 4, 2021 out of Rome sailing to Venice.   We book based on the itinerary, not the ship and we have done more HAL cruises than any other line and been very happy with them.  Unfortunately, their cruises don’t work with our timeline for this cruise.   We’ve also cruised with Princess, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and NCL.    This time we are going with another couple and their 17 year old son - none of them have ever cruised.  Wondering if there is anything I need to know about the ship or Celebrity before booking?  Any chance the Infinity has that afternoon sushi bar?

[mahdnc]

I am surprised that you have not received any answers yet.  

 

One big difference between Galaxy and Infinity is the large variability in balcony sizes aboard Infinity even within the same cabin category--not necessarily obvious from the deck plan.  On Galaxy, balconies tended to be uniform in size within the same cabin category.

 

Coronavirus aside, things have changed with Celebrity since 2009 which is another subject in of itself.....

 

  

[jelayne]

No sushi at the buffet in the early evening as there was when we first sailed Celebrity., there is now a restaurant Sushi on 5 that is a la carte.

[Loracpin2]

6 hours ago, mahdnc said:

I am surprised that you have not received any answers yet.  

 

One big difference between Galaxy and Infinity is the large variability in balcony sizes aboard Infinity even within the same cabin category--not necessarily obvious from the deck plan.  On Galaxy, balconies tended to be uniform in size within the same cabin category.

 

Coronavirus aside, things have changed with Celebrity since 2009 which is another subject in of itself.....

 

  

Responding to your last statement. Listing the Celebrity changes since 2009 would probably result in 100's of posts!!!!! 

[Wayfairers]

6 hours ago, mahdnc said:

I am surprised that you have not received any answers yet.  

 

One big difference between Galaxy and Infinity is the large variability in balcony sizes aboard Infinity even within the same cabin category--not necessarily obvious from the deck plan.  On Galaxy, balconies tended to be uniform in size within the same cabin category.

 

Coronavirus aside, things have changed with Celebrity since 2009 which is another subject in of itself.....

 

  

Thanks for the info about balcony sizes.  We always book inside because the room isn’t important to us, but our friends are considering either ocean view or balcony.  I never would have considered checking the balcony size!

[Wayfairers]

6 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

Coronavirus aside, things have changed with Celebrity since 2009 which is another subject in of itself.....

 

  

 

22 minutes ago, Loracpin2 said:

Responding to your last statement. Listing the Celebrity changes since 2009 would probably result in 100's of posts!!!!! 

I have no doubt things have changed significantly!  I know they have on HAL since 2009.  But, even with the changes, do you still enjoy Celebrity?

[dabear]

Yes, we enjoy all of the m class ships(includes Infinity). We prefer their size and have no interest in cruising on ships today that have 5,000 or more pax. They are about  the size of Zuiderdam sized ships , which we also sailed on, but have better food and entertainment. 

Edited June 26, 2020 by dabear

[Germancruiser]

8 hours ago, mahdnc said:

 

Coronavirus aside, things have changed with Celebrity since 2009 which is another subject in of itself.....

 

  

Oh yes - they have- AND NOT ALL FOR THE BETTER! Still a wonderful cruisel line though!

[mahdnc]

1 hour ago, Wayfairers said:

 

I have no doubt things have changed significantly!  I know they have on HAL since 2009.  But, even with the changes, do you still enjoy Celebrity?

 

Yes!

[alcpa1]

We did one HAL cruise and although we are in our later years we still think we are too young for HAL.

All that aside, We were to have sailed again on the Infinity in May and were looking forward to being back on the M class ship which we find most comfortable.

• I would encourage your friends to book an outside. With three having the window adds more light and airiness to the small cabin. There are cabin comparison charts which you all should peruse. Even the inside cabins have differing configurations. If your friends want to go for a balcony then have them try for one of the Sweet Sixteen cabins. Or you can suggest they do the beginners choice and go for a low and center cabin for stability. 
• Who knows how cruising will resume but I am assuming that the stewards will still have fewer cabins on Celebrity than HAL. I also think the dining room service and cuisine is better on Celebrity.
• Your friends 17 year old son might also be more comfortable on Celebrity. While the line is not known extensively for it's youth programs there will be other teens he can meet and enjoy. 
• On your itinerary do try to book your own tours. The Ports of Call/Destinations boards for Europe are a marvelous resource and small tours beat bus tours hands down and with five in your party save you money.
• The Infinity was to have been renovated but that will not happen before your sailing. It will be clean just not shiny new. Enjoy!

[ldubs]

We were on Celebrity Infinity in 2018.  About all I can offer is at the time we thought it was in pretty decent shape cosmetically.  It did experience some type of engine issues just prior to our 2018 cruise which, if I recall correctly, resulted in reduced speeds.  We didn't notice any issues on our cruise.    We were booked again on Infinity for this coming Sept, but decided to cancel account of pandemic concerns.   That aside, I enjoyed Infinity and the other Millennium class ships we have experienced.  

 

Like ALCPA says,  I thought Infinity was set for renovations/updates later this year or early next year.  With everything happening now who knows.  

[Wayfairers]

12 hours ago, alcpa1 said:

We did one HAL cruise and although we are in our later years we still think we are too young for HAL.

All that aside, We were to have sailed again on the Infinity in May and were looking forward to being back on the M class ship which we find most comfortable.

• I would encourage your friends to book an outside. With three having the window adds more light and airiness to the small cabin. There are cabin comparison charts which you all should peruse. Even the inside cabins have differing configurations. If your friends want to go for a balcony then have them try for one of the Sweet Sixteen cabins. Or you can suggest they do the beginners choice and go for a low and center cabin for stability. 
• Who knows how cruising will resume but I am assuming that the stewards will still have fewer cabins on Celebrity than HAL. I also think the dining room service and cuisine is better on Celebrity.
• Your friends 17 year old son might also be more comfortable on Celebrity. While the line is not known extensively for it's youth programs there will be other teens he can meet and enjoy. 
• On your itinerary do try to book your own tours. The Ports of Call/Destinations boards for Europe are a marvelous resource and small tours beat bus tours hands down and with five in your party save you money.
• The Infinity was to have been renovated but that will not happen before your sailing. It will be clean just not shiny new. Enjoy!

The first time we cruised with HAL we were 40 and we felt comfortable on board.  Now we are 54 and surprisingly finding that we are seeing more people in their 30s on HAL even on the longer cruises.    I’ve talked with others that, like you,  felt the atmosphere was too old for them.  I guess it just depends on the person and probably the cruise too.  The shortest cruise we have done on HAL was 18 days that was the first half of a 36 day cruise and everyone was staying on except those of us that were using the cruise for transport to Europe.  I’ve found that longer cruises have a different atmosphere. 
 

I almost always design and book my own excursions.  The only time we go with the ship is if there is some reason we might miss the ship or if I cannot book it any other way.  I agree with 5 people and in Europe these will all be private tours.  For us this is part of a 3 month trip and part of a 2 week trip for them.   Because I love to plan and because they are still working I’m doing the planning and not used to planning for a 17 year old so should be interesting!!  
 

thanks for the info you posted....I agree I doubt the ship will be refurbished before we sail.  IF we get to sail. 

[DENIE]

In 2017, the Infinity was in very good shape.  We were on sister ship Constellation in November 2019 and found it to be in nearly identical condition as the Infinity.  Just missing an "update" and a couple bells and whistles that the new ships have, however absolutely NOTHING that detracted from a very enjoyable cruise.  Update or not, you can expect a very clean, well cared for ship!

 

We were on HAL (Oosterdam) around 2010 on a Mexican Riviera cruise when we were in our "40's".  Though we were youngsters on board, we really loved the quiet atmosphere.  Age isn't a factor...we just want to enjoy the ship, the food, the service, the ports, and hopefully meet a few new friends.

[George C]

 

On 6/25/2020 at 11:09 AM, Wayfairers said:

Last time we cruised with Celebrity it was 2009 on the Galaxy.  We really enjoyed the ship, the staff and the afternoon sushi bar.  We are considering booking Celebrity Infinity for July 4, 2021 out of Rome sailing to Venice.   We book based on the itinerary, not the ship and we have done more HAL cruises than any other line and been very happy with them.  Unfortunately, their cruises don’t work with our timeline for this cruise.   We’ve also cruised with Princess, Carnival, Royal Caribbean and NCL.    This time we are going with another couple and their 17 year old son - none of them have ever cruised.  Wondering if there is anything I need to know about the ship or Celebrity before booking?  Any chance the Infinity has that afternoon sushi bar?

Infinity has a very nice sushi restaurant open for lunch and dinner , not free but reasonable prices, its on deck 6. It is scheduled for a retrofit this year not sure if that will happen we were on in February and enjoyed it . Suite perks and restaurants and lounge are great if it’s in your budget. 

[hcat]

We had 2 cruises on  the Infinity a few yrs ago.  ABC Islands from Fl and a Pacific Coastal..both in AQ cabins some months apart.    Ship and cabins were very dated. 

 

No issues on one of the cruises but on the other the A/C in our room and hallway broke down constantly,  we had bad  mildew issues in our bathroom and stinky sewage smell in hallway.  WIth a balcony we could open  it and air things out or escape the cabin,. With an inside, if you had any issues, no escape!

 

BLU was fine and the Celeb  activities, music and  excursions were also  good.

 

Just be sure you can be happy with an older ship.. We are booked on Connie which now will not be refurbed  and having second thoughts.

[terrydtx]

We sailed exclusively on HAL for the last 10 years however we are switching to Celebrity Infinity for our two cruises next year. Our last cruise in 2019 on the Noordam turned us off probably forever with HAL Celebrity has added so many more perks for the higher class of cabins, something that HAL has not nor will match. We are booked in Aqua class cabins for both cruises next year which provides us with exclusive use of the Blu restaurant for all of our dinners. Much smaller venue without the huge crowds and slow service of the MDR. Last year we booked a Signature suite on the Noordam and other than a larger cabin and bathroom we got zero perks or amenities over what any other balcony cabin received. We got great deals on both of our Infinity cruises with the 4 Perks package that is now less cost than the current cabins without the 4 perks. Our cruises will now be almost totally inclusive without the terrible Nickle and diming that HAL has done to us in the past. 

[Wayfairers]

11 hours ago, George C said:

 

Infinity has a very nice sushi restaurant open for lunch and dinner , not free but reasonable prices, its on deck 6. It is scheduled for a retrofit this year not sure if that will happen we were on in February and enjoyed it . Suite perks and restaurants and lounge are great if it’s in your budget. 

Good to know sushi is available if we want it...even if it is no longer included for free.  I would have been very surprised if it was still free!   I agree Suite perks, restaurants and lounge are great!  We’ve had good friends in the best suite on the ship and yes, those perks are very very very nice.  We retired at 40 by living frugally after college and it is difficult to break those habits....but we are getting there....on our last cruise we ate at the pay restaurants several times and ate all the chef dinners and tastings.  Still can’t make ourselves book anything but an inside though as we are rarely in the room unless we are sleeping or getting ready to go out...even on our longest cruise which was 90 days .....even when we got a great upgrade to a balcony.