Thoughts on Infinity 11 Night Mexican Riviera 4/17

[mluzzy1]

Rather than I full blown review...I figured I'd just give some of our thoughts about the ship,crew,food etc.

 

First off....this my third X cruise...all on Millie class ships. First time doing the Mexican Riviera.

 

We stayed at the Hilton San Francisco for 5 nights - pre cruise. Through priceline - 470.00 for 5 nights. For that price...a great deal with relatively easy access to the city's more interesting locations.

 

We arrived early to the pier 10:30am ish. Camille was the Celebrity rep who was watching the door and quickly asked me to fill in for her when she had to step away for a moment. She was very personable and I gladly obliged. She sent a botle of wine to my stateroom later...very nice. We were let in around 11:30 am and started embarkation within a few minutes. Despite the computers being down, we were on the ship within 15 minutes. I scored the only sky suite upgrade available for 770.00 from the CC class we had. Not a steal...but considering we were in a CC Balcony for 2400.00 for two...the 3100.00 total for two on an 11 night cruise was a good deal. I was glad I didn't pull the trigger on a suite before we left....they were 5000.00.

 

The Infinity looked fresh from her Drydock....carpets new or looking like it just about everywhere. Generally she was in great shape...I was surprised and dissappointed to see the acupuncture area where there had been a sports bar on other Millie class ships....bummer.

 

The crew was friendly and we had a outstanding Butler(John Morales)and a good room steward(fernando) with a great assistant(jason). Our waiter and assistant (Akiki and Alexander) were very good and friendly as well.

 

The food was a disappointment...especially in the dining room. It seemed to be the general consensus among some of the more experienced cruisers. We had just a couple items off the menu that were better than average...otherwise....my RCCL cruises have been better. We ate dinner with the Hotel Director , Hubert, who came to the Infinity 3 mos ago from Crystal Cruises. He told us the former head Chef for the Infinity left 2 months ago and they had someone new in....he also said that the former..is coming back in a month. That should help as others have had good experiences food wise on this ship in the past. The SS United States Restaurant was outstanding and well worth the 30.00pp. We had the goat cheese souffle(a must eat) and the steak diane(filet mignon) among other things. The breakfast buffet and lunch buffet were ok...nothing special. Again , i thought RCCL seems to have more variety. The waffle and omelette stations were good...I also liked the sandwhich station for lunch. Friends we met on the cruise ate exclusively at the casual dining option for dinner (located in the aft area on deck 10) after 3 days in the dining room. They raved about it.

 

The itinerary was beautiful. Catalina,Cabo and Puerto Vallarta were the highlights. Manzanillo was nice as well....we spent the day at Santiago Bay Beach. Mazatlan...the "golden zone" was a real dissappointment. After 45 minutes of being there....we took the Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay timeshare tour. They paid cab fare from downtown to the resort and the resort back to the ship. They gave us a card for all the drinks we wanted and paid for our lunch as well and let us use the facilities after the tour. The tour was about 60 minutes and resort is quite nice...so we actually enjoyed it. The salesmen was very nice....no pressure. We declined the deal they offered and they gave us vouchers for our cab ride. Emerald Bay is probably 25 minutes from the ship and on the more remote part of Manzanillo...if you get stuck downtown...Pueblo Bonito Emerald Bay is a nice"excursion" if you can rsist the urge to drop 12k on the timeshare.

 

Lover's Beach in Cabo was awesome...get a water taxi and get there early...you'll have the place to yourself for a few hours. Don't miss the shrimp Factory(if you like to eat seafood). In Vallarta...we walked outside the gates where you come in and found a cab to take us to the Don Crispin Tequila Factory in the mountains then to Playa Msmaloya for an hour and then back to the ship for 50.00.(about 3 hours)

 

One more thing....if you do this in March or April...bring a camera with a telephoto lens. We spotted and got pics of a humpback,blue, and killer whales as well as many dolphins and sea lions...all from out balcony.

[dcc617]

I'd like to add a few additional comments. We were also in a Sky Suite and were a bit disappointed with our Butler, Ezio. While he was efficient, he did the minimum unlike other butlers we've had. (where's Roderic when we need him?)

 

Unfortunately, we had neighbor problems with the Penthouse and Royal Suites which appeared to be from the same party. TONS of children and screaming babies at all hours of the day and night. Everyone was running from cabin to cabin - children and adults alike. Actually, the teenagers seemed the best behaved of the lot. And...there were even dirty diaphers left in the hallway. While this was a passenger problem (at least for us), Celebrity didn't seem to jump on the problem given the questions of virus concerns. But...I digress.

 

While we saw worn carpet in the Martini Bar, the rest of the ship looked pretty fresh. Food? I have to agree that it didn't meet it's normal mark. But our server Farra and Alexander and Maitre'D Mario were spectacular. SS United States - all hail the souffle! We ate there twice and booked the wine cellar for the last time. WOW! If you have 6 in your party - it makes the night really special.

 

We had a great time overall and already booked our next cruise before leaving port.