“LIVE” from the Infinity, MAY 15-24 Portugal & Spain from a first timer on the Celebrity board 🤗

[niksmom630]

Greetings, CC Celebrity fans! I’m pretty excited to be starting my journey to Lisbon today, and hope to be able to share a LIVE report of our travels.

 

Niksmom630, a.k.a. Chris, traveling with a dear friend of mine on our second European adventure.  Last May was Rome and Greek Isles on the Celebrity Edge. And my first time on Celebrity . As my signature reveals, I have spent the last few decades working my way up the ranks of the RCI C & A society, and have finally reached the milestone points number that lies between Diamond Plus and Pinnacle. Officially half of a pinnacle ….only 350 more points to go….. 😩

 

if you have ever followed any of my reviews on the RC board, you’ll know that my reviews follow the same format….mostly photos, some commentary and observations, tips and tricks, and sometimes random musings…..expect a few “comparison” comments, as a long time Royal loyalist. 😉 

 

 

[Barwick Cruiser]

Looking forward to following along. Welcome to the Celebrity boards too! 

[Mark.Jules]

We are excited to follow along. Happy cruising. 

[niksmom630]

It was an early start to the day with last minute packing  / rearranging, 

but I managed to make it into one suitcase, one carry on, and one “  personal “ item. 
 

All are definitely what you would call “oversized” , including the main suitcase which weighed in at 61 pounds. United premier silver status came in handy. 
 

Because we are extending our stay a few days post cruise in Barcelona, I quickly learned its nothing like picking for 7 days in the Caribbean. 

[niksmom630]

25 minutes ago, Barwick Cruiser said:

Looking forward to following along. Welcome to the Celebrity boards too! 

thanks! Happy to be here 

[niksmom630]

After we wrapped up our fabulous cruise on the Edge last year, I stated looking at itinerary’s and sailings from Barcelona. 
 

this sailing specifically caught my eye because of the extra days and Portugal! 
 

 

 

 

 

[niksmom630]

I wasn’t familiar with the Infinity, but did a google search of cabin photos when this popped up 😳 

 

 

I’ve heard she’s been “refreshed”  which is good to know because I don’t think I could look at that bed spread for 9 straight days ☺️ do people even have bed spreads any more? 🤔 probably dating myself by virtue of the fact that I know what it’s called….. 

 

In any event, this sailing was all about the itinerary. This is also my first sailing with an overnight port stay. Will seem strange to not have the traditional sail away on boarding day, but the good news is it means extra time in Lisbon ♥️ 

 

 

 

 

 

[Azulann]

I did  a 15 day  cruise on Celebrity Constellation around the Iberian Peninsula a number of years ago. It was amazing.Did a lot of private tours organized by folks on my roll call.  We had an aft veranda that was huge. 

Look forward to your trip report.

Edited May 13, 2023 by Azulann

[niksmom630]

6 minutes ago, Azulann said:

I did  a 15 day  cruise on Celebrity Constellation around the Iberian Peninsula a number of years ago. It was amazing.Did a lot of private tours organized by folks on my roll call.  We had an aft veranda that was huge. 

Look forward to your trip report.

Ugh, I was tempted to bid  on one of those aft verandas! I bet that was an amazing location to have for that sailing 

[Azulann]

1 minute ago, niksmom630 said:

Ugh, I was tempted to bid  on one of those aft verandas! I bet that was an amazing location to have for that sailing 

Yes,  it had a proper table with 4 chairs and two loungers.  In evening you could hear the guitarist  from the sunset bar while we watched the wake.   We had some of our new friends up for a cocktail party. Everyone brought some wine and ordered room service cheese/cracker plates. The was in the" olden days" of Celebrity when they did not charge for any room service.

 Your ports of call  are some of my favorite in all of Europe. I love everything about Spain and Portugal.

[niksmom630]

We are currently parked outside the gate at Newark because we arrived early. Nothing wrong with that. Our flight to Lisbon doesn’t leave for another 3 hours…..

 

United club here we come 🥳 

 

I tried very hard to pack strategically for this cruise, but with the extra days, the varying temperatures, it became almost as big a project as trying to pre~book dining and entertainment on Royal 🤦🏼‍♀️

 

during one of my random late night Instagram scrolling sessions, I stumbled upon this…..

 

 

turns out these entrepreneurs were on Shark Tank….and rightly so had a bunch of interested investors…because this….

 

transforms into this 

 

 

this stashed nicely in my carry on, and if the shopping Gods cooperate, will house all my Portuguese and Spanish treasures as a second “free” checked bag on the way home ♥️

 

 

Edited May 13, 2023 by niksmom630

[theopup]

Looks like a great itinerary, will look forward to following along

[Norwaylady]

Have a wonderful journey! 
we did this sailing before covid, it’s a nice itinerary😎

Keep her well, I’m checking in when you leave😉

[niksmom630]

We really were impressed with Celebrity and the Edge class following our May 2022 Greek isles sailing.
 

I highly recommend that route, and with an extra few days post cruise in Rome, we got extra time for exploring. We used Rome tours travel and our guide was Sabino Pagano. We enjoyed 4 days worth of private tours. 

 

https://rometourstravel.com

 

 

just some random photos from our last sailing ☺️ some Italy, some Greece, some from the Edge. 

 

Santorini is even more beautiful in person if that’s possible ♥️

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[niksmom630]

Woops…. Technical difficulties on that last post. PHOTO OVERLOAD error. 
 

The United Club at Newark is huge! And with a view. 😎 Another hour til our flight so snacks and beverages are up next 

 

 

 

 

[maggieq]

36 minutes ago, niksmom630 said:

Woops…. Technical difficulties on that last post. PHOTO OVERLOAD error. 
 

The United Club at Newark is huge! And with a view. 😎 Another hour til our flight so snacks and beverages are up next 

 

 

 

 

Have a wonderful cruise.  Would love to hear about your Greek island cruise. We cruised in the edge as first cruise back after Covid in 9/2021 and loved the ship. 
 

The new United club is awesome.    EWR is our go to airport fortunately and unfortunately 😊 

[niksmom630]

47 minutes ago, maggieq said:

Have a wonderful cruise.  Would love to hear about your Greek island cruise. We cruised in the edge as first cruise back after Covid in 9/2021 and loved the ship. 
 

The new United club is awesome.    EWR is our go to airport fortunately and unfortunately 😊 

Lol, ORD is ours….the United clubs there are not nearly as nice, and pretty crowded. 
 

All I can say about the Greek isles cruise is “do it”. Covid was still pretty hot when we sailed in may 2022. We had to test 3x! Boarding INTL flight out of Chicago, then before boarding the cruise, then to fly home. Very stressful!!!!!

[niksmom630]

I have settled into my pod. Not sure this was worth the price of admission, but it’s a one way splurge. Might actually be fresh as a daisy when we land 😉 

 

we have a one night stay booked at:

 

https://www.casabalthazarlisbon.com/m/en/

 

they have been super accommodating and great communication. They arranged a private car pick up for us at the airport. Could I booked an Uber or taxi? Probably. But this is only my second time traveling aboard and fairly certain I’m already sleep deprived. For 40 euro there will be someone there holding a sign with my name on it…. Easy peasy 

 

 

 

[niksmom630]

Fairly uneventful flight. 
 

There was no gate/jet bridge available when we landed around 8 am, so we got off the flight via stairs onto the tarmac, then into shuttle bus to take us back to the terminal. 
 

not sure if this is a rarity, or usual event here, but had a known I would have checked my carry on. It was a LONG walk thru the terminal and the baggage claim area. There are luggage carts available, in retrospect I should have grabbed one 🤗
 

The driver that the hotel was supposed to send  never showed up, so we grabbed a taxi instead. There were signs as soon as you exited the terminal. It was about a 20 minute drive, at a cost of 25 euro. 
 

complimentary breakfast

 

 

 

a few photos of the lobby area

 

 

 

 

[cruisegal415]

14 hours ago, niksmom630 said:

It was an early start to the day with last minute packing  / rearranging, 

but I managed to make it into one suitcase, one carry on, and one “  personal “ item. 
 

All are definitely what you would call “oversized” , including the main suitcase which weighed in at 61 pounds. United premier silver status came in handy. 
 

Because we are extending our stay a few days post cruise in Barcelona, I quickly learned its nothing like picking for 7 days in the Caribbean. 

We are on this cruise and also were on your plane from EWR! Packing for this trip was as tricky as when we went to the British Isles in late August/early September. My husband and I also traveled with one large suitcase each, one carry on each and one personal item each. I tried very hard to limit what I brought but I kept checking the extended forecast and it kept changing so I kept adding items of clothing!

[niksmom630]

We were able to get in our room at 12 pm. Woohoo!!!! Lovely room and gorgeous views. Very boutiquey 😎 We are dragging but slammed a Coke down and heading out for our TUK TUK tour 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[niksmom630]

Wow, what can I say! What feels like just a glimpse of Lisbon was amazing. ♥️

 

Confession 😉( because it’s

the catholic upbringing in me)…..

 

I am just awed by churches . The detail, the history, the sense of calm

that fills you when you walk into one….. it’s hard to describe …..

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[niksmom630]

 

 

 

 

 

 

[dani negreanu]

Chris, wishing you a very enjoyable cruise.

 

After reading your post, I was also intrigued about your quite special itinerary, and went to check out cruises.

 

Found one which really interest me (October 21st), but, how shall I say it politely, the reviews about Infinity aren't quite "appealing"...

 

I hope that the itinerary more than makes up for it.

[niksmom630]

9 hours ago, dani negreanu said:

Chris, wishing you a very enjoyable cruise.

 

After reading your post, I was also intrigued about your quite special itinerary, and went to check out cruises.

 

Found one which really interest me (October 21st), but, how shall I say it politely, the reviews about Infinity aren't quite "appealing"...

 

I hope that the itinerary more than makes up for it.

thanks @dani negreanu confession #2..,..as you know I predominately hang out on the Royal boards, so since I had little experience with celebrity, I’m pretty sure I read some of the same  Infinity reviews. 😔 I’m reserving judgement and going in with an open mind…I only have the Edge to compare to, which was wonderful, actually ☺️ so much so that I have the Apex booked for later this year and the Ascent in 2024