Just off Infinity to Hubbard Glacier

I am not going to do a full review but please feel free to ask me any questions you have.

We were on the Infinity June 4th sailing out of Vancouver on the Hubbard Glacier itinerary.

This was my 2nd Celebrity cruise after sailing Alaska last year on the Solstice. I expected the Infinity would not compare to Solstice due to age and I was right but overall the ship was still in decent shape although it could certainly use some work in certain areas, new paint and such.

The biggest shock for me was the difference in the crew. The crew on the Solstice were just amazing. Went out of their way to make sure we had the best cruise and they are the entire reason we made sure to book this cruise on Celebrity. The crew on Infinity can not even begin to compare. With some exceptions, they were very rude and did not seem happy to be there. The exceptions were a couple of bartenders at the Martini Bar and our room steward. The other bartenders (for the most part) were extremely rude and the servers in the MDR (with one exception) were just awful. It was so embarrassing because we talked up Celebrity for a full year to all of our friends going on the cruise and the very first experience we have is eating dinner and having our servers stand over us staring at their watches asking us if we planned on eating or just sitting there all night. We had not even received our drinks yet and they were mad we weren't rushing to put in our order (and no, there was no one eating after us, we took the latest reservation). I know they want to get done and have other work to do but we just wanted to chat and get our drinks before ordering.

This seemed to be the theme for the cruise. Bars not opened when they should have been, bartenders saying they aren't supposed to make a certain drink even though they had everything they needed, no one taking drink orders (not necessarily alcoholic, just for a diet coke) at the buffet and having to walk to a bar to get something to drink. Service was HORRIBLE.

We were concierge class and we were not given a pillow menu and when asked, we were told they were all on the bed anyway. That was not true because there was no body pillow on the bed. The evening savories were only delivered to our room 2 nights out of 7. When we didn't touch the fruit, they just put it back on the table. I called on day 2 and specifically asked for a cheese plate every night since we drink wine. Did not get it a single time.

I will compliment our room steward, he was awesome. We had one great server in the MDR who was exceptional but we were only able to get his section the one night. The entertainment crew was just awesome, always super friendly.

The embarkation and disembarkation process was a breeze, even with having to go through customs. Celebrity was great at this in Seattle and now Vancouver. They have Carnival beat hands down. It makes me wonder why in the world Carnival can't do better. It can clearly be done.

After this sailing I am no longer going to assume Celebrity is the best out there. Solstice had me sold and now Infinity has scared me away. I will still sail Celebrity depending on price and itinerary but I will NEVER sail Infinity again. Oddly enough, we ran into a crew member who was on our Solstice cruise last year and she remembered us. We asked which ship she preferred and she was nice in her answer but said she missed the Solstice. We totally understood why. She is a friendly and talkative person, I don't think the crew, for the most part, are the same.

Oh, and entertainment was great. They do a wonderful job. The aerialists put on a new show that was amazing and the guest singers were so good.

I still prefer Celebrity over Carnival but Carnival has very consistent service from ship to ship. I can't help but wonder why things are so different on the Solstice and Infinity. Who is in charge and letting things slip on one ship but not the other? This is something Celebrity needs to work on.

I'm sorry you found the crew to be less than great. We spent 28 nights on the Infinity in Feb/March and found the crew to be awesome. 1st 14 nights we were in a Suite and 2nd 14 nights were in a FV dining in the MDR- in both we had excellent service.

Thank you for your feedback!

I'm sorry you found the crew to be less than great. We spent 28 nights on the Infinity in Feb/March and found the crew to be awesome. 1st 14 nights we were in a Suite and 2nd 14 nights were in a FV dining in the MDR- in both we had excellent service.

I am glad to hear you had a better experience.

I wonder if many of the crew were at the end of their contracts and getting tired and ready to go home? Maybe something was going on behind the scenes that we were not aware of. It did not ruin our cruise, it just stood in stark contrast to last year on the Solstice.

We have been on the Infinity three times and truly believe it starts with the Captain. Different captains different experiences from top to bottom.

I totally understand......

A lot of the crew morale is set by the tone from the ship's management team - Captan, Hotel Director, Bar Manager, Dining room Maitre'd etc. I've done cruises before where there was a change in shipboard management personnel mid cruise and it was like night and day.

When people are built up and feel supported and appreciated by their management team they perform well and display enthusiasm. When people are constantly demoralized or talked down to by management they become dispirited and downtrodden.

To me it sounds like there is an issue with how either the Captain or more likely the Hotel Director (and his or her extended management team) are are treating the front line staff that resulted in the inconsistent and oft poor service delivery on this cruise.

I was Infinity to Alaska several years ago and it was a wonderful cruise. So I'm saddened to hear this. Solstice, on the other hand, was just "meh" in my opinion. The highlight for us was Brent Nixon. Alaska is gorgeous- that didn't change, but I really didn't have fun on Solstice.

Amazing how a ship can change in a month. I got off the Infinity on May 28th and it was a fabulous cruise. We had no issues with any of the crew and thought the ones we came into contact with all did a great job. Excellent food, excellent service in the bars, friendly staff everywhere.

In no way am I minimizing the OP's experience but unless there was a huge turnover in staff it's hard to figure.

Yes, the Infinity is showing it's age. What is it, 15, 16, years old? If you look for it you'll find a lot of things you could pick about it, but I guess we were just enjoying our trip too much to worry about the paint scraped off on the side of the ship, after all it had just been through the Panama Canal a few times prior to our cruise.

The biggest issue I have with the ship is the "Solsticization" updates that have taken away a big part of the original charm of the M class ships.

Could you post the dailes? Thanks!

I am not going to do a full review but please feel free to ask me any questions you have.

 

We were on the Infinity June 4th sailing out of Vancouver on the Hubbard Glacier itinerary.

 

This was my 2nd Celebrity cruise after sailing Alaska last year on the Solstice. I expected the Infinity would not compare to Solstice due to age and I was right but overall the ship was still in decent shape although it could certainly use some work in certain areas, new paint and such.

 

The biggest shock for me was the difference in the crew. The crew on the Solstice were just amazing. Went out of their way to make sure we had the best cruise and they are the entire reason we made sure to book this cruise on Celebrity. The crew on Infinity can not even begin to compare. With some exceptions, they were very rude and did not seem happy to be there. The exceptions were a couple of bartenders at the Martini Bar and our room steward. The other bartenders (for the most part) were extremely rude and the servers in the MDR (with one exception) were just awful. It was so embarrassing because we talked up Celebrity for a full year to all of our friends going on the cruise and the very first experience we have is eating dinner and having our servers stand over us staring at their watches asking us if we planned on eating or just sitting there all night. We had not even received our drinks yet and they were mad we weren't rushing to put in our order (and no, there was no one eating after us, we took the latest reservation). I know they want to get done and have other work to do but we just wanted to chat and get our drinks before ordering.

 

This seemed to be the theme for the cruise. Bars not opened when they should have been, bartenders saying they aren't supposed to make a certain drink even though they had everything they needed, no one taking drink orders (not necessarily alcoholic, just for a diet coke) at the buffet and having to walk to a bar to get something to drink. Service was HORRIBLE.

 

We were concierge class and we were not given a pillow menu and when asked, we were told they were all on the bed anyway. That was not true because there was no body pillow on the bed. The evening savories were only delivered to our room 2 nights out of 7. When we didn't touch the fruit, they just put it back on the table. I called on day 2 and specifically asked for a cheese plate every night since we drink wine. Did not get it a single time.

 

I will compliment our room steward, he was awesome. We had one great server in the MDR who was exceptional but we were only able to get his section the one night. The entertainment crew was just awesome, always super friendly.

 

The embarkation and disembarkation process was a breeze, even with having to go through customs. Celebrity was great at this in Seattle and now Vancouver. They have Carnival beat hands down. It makes me wonder why in the world Carnival can't do better. It can clearly be done.

 

After this sailing I am no longer going to assume Celebrity is the best out there. Solstice had me sold and now Infinity has scared me away. I will still sail Celebrity depending on price and itinerary but I will NEVER sail Infinity again. Oddly enough, we ran into a crew member who was on our Solstice cruise last year and she remembered us. We asked which ship she preferred and she was nice in her answer but said she missed the Solstice. We totally understood why. She is a friendly and talkative person, I don't think the crew, for the most part, are the same.

 

Oh, and entertainment was great. They do a wonderful job. The aerialists put on a new show that was amazing and the guest singers were so good.

 

I still prefer Celebrity over Carnival but Carnival has very consistent service from ship to ship. I can't help but wonder why things are so different on the Solstice and Infinity. Who is in charge and letting things slip on one ship but not the other? This is something Celebrity needs to work on.

We were on what I believe was the cruise before yours on Infinity and found the crew to be just fine...some variance in levels of enthusiasm for service, but certainly fine. This was our 12th Celebrity cruise and we found service to be up there with the best. About the same level as we experienced on the Solstice late last year and the Eclipse earlier this year.

It seems like if you are looking for a good experience you will find one due to your outlook. However, sometimes it is difficult. I have only had one poor experience and it was in a suite; however, we were upgraded, so I had no complaints. Our room steward forgot to make up our room several times, but we just laughed it off. We actually became friends with another room steward down the hallway. He was fantastic, so we wrote an excellent review for him. Also, our butler was very inept at everything, so we just didn't use him. However, we were happy with our suite and everything worked out for the better!

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It seems like if you are looking for a good experience you will find one due to your outlook. However, sometimes it is difficult. I have only had one poor experience and it was in a suite; however, we were upgraded, so I had no complaints. Our room steward forgot to make up our room several times, but we just laughed it off. We actually became friends with another room steward down the hallway. He was fantastic, so we wrote an excellent review for him. Also, our butler was very inept at everything, so we just didn't use him. However, we were happy with our suite and everything worked out for the better!

 

It is just sad when you get excited for a cruise only to realize that not everyone who works onboard isn't doing their best to make you, the customer, happy[emoji844]

 

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Thanks to OP for the review.

We sailed on Infinity in Oct..ABC Islands.. Most everything was just a bit off...from timing and organization of events, lack of security staff to clear folks back on at ports , and especially BLU whch had inadequate and untrained staff, very slow service, overcooked food, etc. We ate out from BLU more nights than usual and as a result enjoyed Tuscan, Q sine, MDR and the buffet.

The store had no postcards or shirts relating to our ports...our cruise seemed to be filler between Alaska and canal cruises

Our AQ stateroom attendant was awesome so houskeeping gets high marks. Live music on board was also very good,

The Solarium pool was kept at same temps as hot tubs which rendered it useless; and spa staff generlly tried to reneg on agreed prices,,,luckily I always get my appt times and prices in writing, The spa services themselves were very good but alot of Steiner has crept into Canyon Ranch,,

We did enjoy our ports....We will be back on Inf in Oct for a Pacific Coastal itin so we are hoping that BLU and everything else is back up to usual standards. Probably would not book Infin again...Connie was much better all around...

Disappointed, I was expecting to read about how the Hubbard Glacier viewing was in this thread, not the conditions of the ship and it's crew???

Jimbo:)

I hope the crew cheers up by October when I'm on it. We had a similar experience on the Eclipse last Nov. Al of our previous Celebrity cruises have had awesome crews. Not so much on the Eclipse. In several of the bars the staff just seemed really upset all the time. Not helpful, not willing to make drinks that we wanted, ignoring people, just awful. Thankfully our Equinox cruise last week was much better and the bar staff were all great.

Hoping for a HAPPY SHIP..... officers, crew and Cruisers!

We were also on this sailing, and as the saying goes, "your mileage may vary". We had a great cruise, and found the staff to be amazing. One crew member made a reservation for our family in Tuscan, and remembered each of our family's names every time we saw him. We are not that memorable. Our Select Dining wait staff couldn't have been more helpful or outgoing. We found the bar staff to be very accessible, and the hot tubs to be warmer than the Solarium pool.

Our balcony (FV9156) could have used some varnish on the railings, and more water pressure in the shower, but so what.

Sorry your experience was less than you hoped for.

I'm sorry you found the crew to be less than great. We spent 28 nights on the Infinity in Feb/March and found the crew to be awesome. 1st 14 nights we were in a Suite and 2nd 14 nights were in a FV dining in the MDR- in both we had excellent service.

And we spent 15 nights in April and also found the crew to be awesome. Also felt the ship was overall in very good condition. Not sure what happened in-between or just personal perspective. I am not trying to be argumentative - everyone's experience is their own - just want upcoming cruisers to know not everyone felt the same.

Could you please post the Dailies? Thanks!

We were also on this sailing, and as the saying goes, "your mileage may vary". We had a great cruise, and found the staff to be amazing. One crew member made a reservation for our family in Tuscan, and remembered each of our family's names every time we saw him. We are not that memorable. Our Select Dining wait staff couldn't have been more helpful or outgoing. We found the bar staff to be very accessible, and the hot tubs to be warmer than the Solarium pool.

 

Our balcony (FV9156) could have used some varnish on the railings, and more water pressure in the shower, but so what.

 

Sorry your experience was less than you hoped for.

I'm sorry to hear that service was not that great on your cruise. Good service and good food are so important to us, and that is why we love cruising. We were on Infinity in March and while happy with the service in general, we were a little disappointed with the food. We are going back in August but booked Aqua Class in order to try Blu restaurant. It will be our first time in Alaska and we did not decide on any tours so far. Which port was your favorite? Did you take ships tours? Thanks for your help!

Ouch, my wife just booked Infinity for early 2018. The reviews vary considerably but mixed reviews at best are not encouraging. I think I've read enough to want to look for other options. Thanks to all for sharing (and doing so in such a helpful manner).

Looking forward to our September 2017 Infinity cruise. We would never book or not book a cruise (ship or itinerary) based on someone else's opinion or experience.

Please give us feedback on ports, and Hubbard. Was it calving? Were you able to get close?

Leaving in less than 2 weeks for same cruise.

We are one week off the Infinity and had an amazing time. Our dining staff and room steward were very friendly and warm. The Martini Bar guys were amazing and Mickey Live was terrific.

We felt that some other bartenders and coffee shop servers were very professional and efficient but not that warm and friendly, but we ran into other lovely crew members all over the ship. Overall it was a fantastic cruise and we loved every minute of it.

We had a gloriously sunny day at Hubbard and got within 3 miles. Very active calving. You could hear the ice cracking before each big ice fall. So cool.

I would go again in a heartbeat.

Thank you 👍😀, we join the ship on Sunday for our Alaska trip. Looking forward to it very much. We sailed on the Infinity a couple of years ago (Panama Canal) and had a great time. The Martini Bar staff were fabulous. We also attended a talk about Alaska by MickeyLive whilst on the Connie recently, he made it come alive and so can't wait for his talks on board. The weather isn't looking too promising - rain forecast, but never mind, we will go prepared 🙀. Hope we manage to get close enough to the Hubbard Glacier to see and hear something.