Home from Alaska-Infinity 5/28-6/9

Where to start?

The weather was beautiful, rain just one day while in Juneau. We had three or four days of midnight twilight with sunrise around 3am. Very mystical, magical and beautiful to walk out on the deck and see pink tinged sky at midnight.

Infinity is in wonderful shape. She is a truly comfortable ship with so many little areas we were finding new places to play in up through and including the last day of all twelve aboard. We loved the glass midship elevators and would sometimes just sit and watch them deliver their passengers to all their stops. Watching the ocean water rush by at 24 knots while riding down a glass walled elevator was indeed a real treat. The ships decor was varied and interesting, it seemed every wall had a work of art and every table a sculpture worth taking the time to view.

The staff was everywhere and nowhere. It seemed they would step out of a wall to assist you with a tray, a direction or even a key to open your cabin door if your hands were full. There was one fellow who seemed to live in the entry to the buffet, always a smile and a greeting. The food was good and the selections abundant. As if three meals a day was not enough, pizza, pasta a sand which and sushi bar, grilled dogs and burgers, bread stix and french fries, ice cream and cookies just to name a few might tempt you throughout the day.

Alaska was breathtaking. This was our second trip and Wanda and I are so glad we did them in this order. While a cruise should never be a disappointment had the trips been reversed, well not much could outdo this one. Icy Point Strait is a new port, developed by R.C.L. and they and the native people have done one hell of a job. Next year they should have the dock completed and have every intention of staying to the one ship a day schedule. Hoonah is about a two mile walk and is about as native as you could hope to see. It must be the home of the Bald Eagle as we saw so many they were like X-mas ornaments in the pine trees. We have some great pictures which I hope to have linked by week end. Eagles, deer, and whales we spotted from the shore. We also were lucky enough to see some whales from the ship while outside Victoria.

I really hope this does not start a "dress code war" but want to mention this as so many of us have our thoughts and feelings about it. I spoke in depth with one of the Métier d's about dining room dress and was told "all we can do is suggest, when they say "I'm going in anyway" what are we going to do? fight with them?" I would guess 90% of the men (almost all the ladies) did adhere to the suggested dress of the evening. It is interesting, everyday in Celebrity Today it gives the evening dress and also six different casual alternatives for those that wish it and states the dress code is casual every day (in all these areas)....."Although in all other areas of the ship the dress code of the evening applies. We kindly ask your cooperation and consideration for your fellow guests."

The two tables next to ours had a large family that wore at times, jeans, t-shirts, ball caps and various assortments of clothing. One of the guys I referred to as The Head Zeke would show up at times 30 minutes after the start of the meal, order something and fork the contents to the other table for "tastes." We always were entertained and wondered what would happen next. Did this in any way "ruin" or "spoil" our cruise, of course not, but it certainly did bring down the ambiance of the evening. There were 16 people who all paid for a cruise, if they didn't feel the need to be considerate of their fellow passengers, what could the staff do, really! I think my days of attempting to convince anyone a tux is so much nicer then a short sleeve shirt are over. I will wear what I am comfortable in and just let the guy in the t-shirt look like the schlub that he is.

Debarkation was a mess. I think Celebrity shot themselves in the foot with their no announcement policy today. We were running over an hour behind schedule due to late immigration set up and twp cabins that thought all this paper work was for everyone else but them. Two cabins held up an entire ship for well over an hour but since no one was aware of that we all kept going on down to the starboard side of the Celebrity Theater to pass muster. Usually you go and wait a few minutes and that is it. This morning it was so bad the line that started at the deck four theater entry would back through the entire ship and started to double back on itself at the doors to the Trellis restaurant. We were in line for well over an hour but no one knew what was going on. People started to disembark around 10 and there was a lot of grumbling you can be sure. That sad thing is it really was no fault of Celebrity, they could have kept us better informed but unfortunately, the last thing many of these folks will remember is what a horrid morning we all had.

I am sure I will think of some other things I wanted to share with you all and will add them later. If you have any questions, fire away and I will get to them in the morning. Chuck

So much of what I read made so much more sense when I actually got on the ship! :-)

Yes, disembarkation was the worst part, but unfortunately also the last impression of our trip... unless you count the chaotic wait for the taxi, which took another hour! I heard that immigration arrived late, then there were the two rooms that didn't show up on time (they can't let anyone off the ship until everyone has checked in with the staff and immigration, a two step process), topped off with an incident of "angry" passengers who decided to push their way out of the ship instead of waiting for their turn, but of course they met their fate in baggage claim because they still had to wait for their luggage, which came out according to color! I overheard one person say that one of the passenger shoved a female staff member in order to get her out of the way!

There were at least three things the staff could have done better though. One problem I had was that on the second to last night, I received an 8 1/2" x 11" note that stated the time and location as 8:45 a.m. at the Celebrity Theatre and on last night, I received the note that stated I needed to go to the Celebrity Theatre at 9:45 a.m. Now I can read English, but in my hurry, I assumed that there was a time change but didn't think too much about it. There were a lot of words on both papers that were very similar (and honestly, I still haven't read both in detail), but after questioning my family members, I figured it out that at 8:45 a.m. I was to go to the theatre to check out and show immigration related info and at 9:45 I was to gather there to wait for my turn to disembark. I felt that having two similar paperwork stating approximate the same things that came on two different night would definitely confuse people, especially for those who didn't use English as their first language (and there were a lot of people from non-English speaking countries). The second thing was that as I went into the Celebrity theatre, I input my keycard, so they knew I had "checked in" and was told to proceed around the corner to the other entrance (now used as an exit) to check in with immigration. They checked my passport and then I was asked to leave the theatre, so now I'm outside of the theatre, wondering (1) why there were so many people INSIDE the theatre (2) where I was now supposed to go, and when I figured out that EVERYONE was supposed to go to the theatre to check out, but some of us was supposed to stay there, (3) how was I going to get back into the theatre without having to wait in the same long line again!!! It was so crowded and noisy, and the younger grownups in our group were shepherding my 8 year old and two elderly parents, along with all their (and our) carryon luggage without losing anyone, so it was really hard to figure things out. That process could have been better, although I can't offer any suggestions. The third is that although an announcement was made around 9:45 about the situation, no other comments came for at least another 30-40 minutes. I felt that the crowd was quite cooperative for being stuck for so long without info. The people behind me said they wouldn't cruise w/Celebrity anymore because of the experience. Others tried to make jokes (I'm hungry!), and of course, we all eventually got off.

I'm planning to post a review but it may be a few days from now. In general, the highlights were the ports and the fanfare of the the formal nights. I didn't get to see the "real" Alaska (sort of hard to go dog mushing with two over-70's with a variety of health issues), I was in awe of the beautiful Alaska that I did see. See the parade of beautiful dresses on formal nights was great. I had three intense personal training sessions at the gym and in total, used the gym everyday except for one. All I have to say is that I'm glad I discovered the gym on day one and the yummy croissants on day 13 rather than the other way around. I didn't fully have my first cheeseburger until day 11, which led to another cheeseburger on day 12. In the end, I gained 10.5 lbs. (I weighed right before leaving that morning and once I got home this afternoon). I hate to see what I would have weighed if I didn't make full use of the gym. My hubby along with my brother-in-law, unfortunately, discovered the wonders of the grill on the first few days and the gym on day 10, but of course since they don't have a weight issue like me, they didn't gain as much (hubby 7.5 lbs, BIL unknown). My SIL and BIL feed schedule was as follows:

room service breakfast at 8:30

breakfast with us at 10:30

lunch with us at 1:00

hamburgers, hotdogs, and fries at the grill at 3:30

sushi with us at 6:00

dinner with us at 8:30

The Aqua Spa was very nice with many services, although I'm a little skeptical about some of them. I had two massages (just wait for the specials, don't pay full price); the thing I didn't like was having to be captive audience to a sales pitch. Before the first massage, I filled out a consultation form. Using information on the form, she went through several items I could buy, "you have a lot of stress, and stress causes toxins in your body, for $287, you can buy ..." After my personal training sessions, there was a final consulation, and she took the opportunity to go through a series of products with me (aromatherapy items, massage oils, detox products, etc.). I've used the spa services on a different cruise line and don't remember this at all.

I'm a little worn out, so I'm signing off. I'll check back in the next few days.

Well, I guess there isn't much information left unsaid. Again, if anyone has any questions or comments I am starting to feel like someone in quarantine.

Boltnut55: Yes, I heard the "I'll never sail Celebrity again" comments. When ever someone has a perceived problem that is the first thing they think they need to tell anyone within earshot. I couldn't help but hear some man complaining to anyone that would listen, I just wanted to get a great big sock full of horse manure and tell him to shove it in his noise maker. Sure things could have been better but it just was not the lines fault. We had the same paperwork as you but because we had sailed with X before the instructions were not difficult to understand, but I can see where you had the problems.

A few other thoughts. I was very happy to see in room free movies which was not the case on Mercury in March of last year. I don't know if this is fleet wide? There was a selection of three every day and not that we spent much time watching, it was nice to tune in while getting ready for dinner etc.

It was also the first room on a ship where I felt the thermostat actually worked. When we turned up the heat it actually did get warmer and likewise the air conditioner.

I know some folks have asked about the teeth whitening procedures. According to my dentist worker DW, AkaWanda it is a pretty good deal. The land based prices are a few hundred dollars higher. I can not say the same for the Acupuncture at Sea. The treatment prices are: first visit $125, second visit $100. Package of three $295 and package of five $475. They also do private consults which cover various health issues and are 30 minutes for $100. As an R.N. I have worked with a few therapists whose credentials are as strong as the people at sea. This is only my opinion but I do feel a relationship is needed for successful therapy and one is not going to get that while on a cruise. The prices are also about 20% higher then what I have seen, land based.

Hi everyone! Wonderful trip! Just got home at 6:00am today and went straight to bed for a few hours.

Regarding the teeth whitening....being a "dental worker" myself, I was intrigued that they would offer this service onboard, but didn't get the opportunity to check it out more. What were they charging for this? and what procedure were they using? Was it similar to Zoom?

We also sat close to the "Head Zeke" and family...quite a group! Did anyone see the flashing earrings and matching flashing shoes on formal night? All I can say is they were definitely having a good time!

We were also on the same cruise as Catmand and Hard to choose. This was my first Celebrity cruise as we have always sailed Princess and we picked this cruise for the itiniery. I cannot say enough about the stops we made. The weather was terrific, the food was fine, the staff were super. Sure there was problems with disinbarkation because of about 5 people who chose to not go through immigration and made the whole ship of 1950 passengers left standing around not to mention the next cruise after us was no doubt delayed. I also saw alot of jeans being worn on casual and informal evenings, but most of the people adhered to the dress code. All in all we had a great cruise and I would sail with Celebrity again if the price and the itiniery were right.

Marilyn

tnx, Catmand, for your review. believe-it-or-not, I've been watching for it;) We luv Celebrity and are always looking for a good deal to Alaska. What we can't figure out: why do so many cruise ships have debarkation challenges? (it can get to riot-levels at times!) - The best debarkation we've experienced is with NCL - they give passengers the opportunity to sign up for "off at 7AM if you drag your own luggage" - we loved it!!! Being the 1st ones off the ship meant we were first in line for the taxi, first in line at the airport, etc.etc. I think all ships would be well advised to look into this. The "first off" is limited to the first 300 (???) to sign up. I don't know how they do this, but for us, it worked. Your review reminded us of how elegant Celebrity is - Head Zeke and his clan probably thoroughly enjoyed their week; I say if you want to go formal, do it! and if not, well, what-the-heck.....(probably why we appreciate Freestyle)

Hard2.................yes it is like zoom according to AkaWanda, I THINK she said it was 2 or 3 sessions? and the price was $295.

I am sure the "Zeke" clan had a great time but honestly the young Zeke who decided he would rather put his entire face in his plate to eat as opposed to using utensils I could have lived without. He must have been around 12..................also thought Grandma pushing HIM in her wheelchair around Buchart Gardens because he "didn't want to walk" was really funny. They were everywhere we went! Yes, we couldn't miss the "flashy things, a nice touch."

We have had two out of four very decent disembarkations, I have heard the "drag your own stuff works well, but at my age and with what it seems we pack, I ain't totting' that stuff.

HEY, is there anyone else that has any comments here?

Catmand -

Thanks so much for your review and additional comments. We are going on the Infinity SF RT to Alaska on 9/3. Have been looking forward to reviews from those that went on the two May cruises. This is our first cruise and we hope we are in for as much enjoyment as you obviously had (although we can do without the "Zeke" amusement). Please continue to post more as you reflect on your experiences. Did you have 3 formal nights? Also, do they

post the dinner menu day before the dining room opens? Did they have a naturalist on board? Thanks again.

Hi kira, this is Mrs. Catmand. There were 3 formal nights. the dinner menu was posted the same day, after lunch. The restaurant does their best to accommodate you, the couple who dined with us had shrimp cocktail every night for their appetizer even when it was not on the menu, we ordered Caesar salads instead of what was offered a few times.

The naturalist on board was Brent Nixon, extremely knowledgeable AND entertaining.

Anyway my brain is having trouble making thoughts, I am still moving a little, maybe I should take a Dramamine:D

Chuck will be back later to tell you about our glacier experience, it was really cool:rolleyes: , Wanda

I'll add a few comments before writing up a full review. Mostly just emphasizing what has already been reported.

I found the ship to be in excellent condition, the housekeeping and maintenance staff were constantly working on cleaning and painting to keep the ship looking brand new. I noticed a couple of minor areas that showed some wear, but they were both addressed during the cruise. I only list these items to point out how diligent the Infinity crew is in keeping their ship in top condition:

* The T-Pool had some areas of rust and flaking paint which was to be expected in due to the salt water/chlorine content of the pool. During the sea day between Ketchikan and Victoria, the pool was drained and then scrubbed down and painted. I wonder why this wasn't taken care of during a port day, but the pool was back in service the next day.

* During one of the port stops, I noticed some areas on the outside of deck 10 that had paint flaking off. At the next stop all of the spots had been painted over.

The Infinity crew is really outstanding. Everyone seemed to go out of their way to greet you and make you feel welcome. Something I'm certainly not accustomed to. The crew really made it clear they were proud to be working for Celebrity and especially the Infinity - or they are a bunch of great actors.

We found most of the people seated near us in the dining room followed the dress code. I did notice one gentleman at a nearby table who was dressed casually every night regardless of the dress code. On formal nights there were quite a few empty seats near us and even some entire tables that decided to skip formal night altogether. We were in the late seating for dinner.

The food in the main dining room was fine and the buffet was ok. Having the additional options such as the waffle and omelet stations at breakfast and the hamburgers, hot dogs, and pizza in the PM made up for the perceived lack of variety in the buffet lines. We never did get to try the main dining room for breakfast or lunch. We dined in the S.S.United States twice and found the food and service to be outstanding. One visit was enough for me since a 2 1/2 hour commitment to dinner seems a bit much, but I was overruled. :)

As Wanda mentioned, the naturalist Brent Nixon was great throughout the entire trip. Some people may find him a little "over the top", but you can't deny his enthusiasm and knowledge of the wildlife, geology, and history of Alaska. As an added bonus, Brent was the naturalist onboard our whale watching expedition with Captain Larry. If you're in Juneau when the Infinity is in port this summer, try to get on one of Captain Larry's expeditions where Brent is onboard.

Yes, the immigrations/disemabarkation process seemed a bit of a fisaco. I can't blame Celebrity completely for the whole mess, but one has to think if they announced the names and staterooms of the people who had to report to immigration sooner and in multiple languages, we all would have been off the ship a bit sooner. My main frustration was the number of people cutting in the line while we got our complimentary tour of deck four. We observed one group of people get off the forward elevators and cut in the line at the entrance to the Celebrity theater. All in all, it wasn't that bad as we got off the ship in plenty of time for our 1:55PM flight out of SFO. I think a little patience and sense of humor goes a long way in these situations. I wasn't going to let it ruin an otherwise outstanding cruise.

This was our first cruise in 14 years, so we don't have any of the "modern era" cruise ships or lines to compare to. Overall, we thoroughly enjoyed our first Celebrity experience and we're really looking forward to going to Hawaii on the Summit next March.

Last, but not least. Meeting everyone from Cruise Critic onboard was one of the highlights of our cruise and it really made the whole experience that much more enjoyable. Now that I have one cruise under my belt, I'll get out of lurk mode and begin to contribute more here.

So much more to say, but I'll save it for another time.

Chris

Wanda, Chuck and Chris - thanks and keep the comments coming! We really studied which ship would be best for us and the parents and it sounds like we made the right choice. Hopefully everything will be as great on our cruise. As I said, we are first time cruisers, parents have taken one on Princess years ago. We wanted out of SF as we live in the Bay Area and the Infinity had a great itinerary and looks like a lovely ship. We watched you go out under the Golden Gate on 5/28. I'm glad to hear there is a naturalist. We have made final payment and reserved shore excursions and can't wait!

Thanks again.

As we are doing the Reunion Cruise 5/20/06 to Alaska on Summit, who we cruise Transcanal in November '05. AFT CC on both, as usual, Our first Princess cruise in 1995 was Alaska on Dawn. We thought that was heaven with a balcony to film from. But with the carved hull as a balcony, we learned what a true one was last year on Infinity on a CC AFT with 200 sq ft of verandah!!! So now that is all we cruise on, unless it is close to FREE.

So we are returning to see our humback whales we play with every February in Maui, who do not eat for the 6 month vacation, and return to Alaska to PIG OUT! The videos we watched from naturalists that work in Maui & then goto Alska to follow up with everyone (whales) just amazed us with the huge mouths that suck in their favorites after they construct a bubble net to trap them. So we want to see this live..........

The other favorite spot was Ketchikan with the salmon jumping into the waterfall, when they have a bridge to climb, and when they get to the top they die???? They live just to enjoy mating, laying eggs & that is life, so sad.

We learned that disembarkation is time to stay in our stateroom til 9AM then take the back elevator down to get in line which is less than half. Tho CC is to have early disembarkation, our tags were middle range since our flight wasn't til 2PM. So the lounge we got the notice to meet in & have a continental breakfast had -0- food or beverage. They told us we were to be off the ship by 9AM???? Yeah, sure. We refuse to follow the instructions in the stateroom last night stating to use midshipp elevator to find th eend of the line 3 lengths of the ship back........

Hey Chris, are you following us?

Kira, wanted to mention the SS United States as well. Four of us ate there one evening, it was an experience for sure. The food was first class, the service beyond words. This was a first for me: four waiters brought our entrées under silver cover and with the nod of a head, removed them all together. Foi Gra may be just duck liver but it sure beat the heck out of my Grandmas chopped chicken liver. We will be forever spoiled and thank full to Pat and Marilyn for taking us "out" to dinner.

Yes, Bret Nixon, the naturalist, is a don't miss. I am sure he spent a few too many years alone in Alaska. His impressions of wild animals is just a little to realistic. :D

Also, may anyone going experience half of what we saw in Hubbard Glacier. The thundering cracks of the ice sounded like a mid western electrical storm, and watching small pieces f ice begin to crack off and fall into the water only to be followed by pieces building up to house size and larger was a spectacle I will not soon forget. The glacier is 6 miles wide and 300' thick, awesome.

Do not miss Mendenhall Glacier.

Oh, I need to add:

There were some complaints as well, so not everything was excellent. One day Wanda and I came back from lunch and the room steward forgot to make the little point on the toilet paper. Also, for some reason the oatmeal was very, very soupy? Now it may have been because we were almost always some of the first folks through the line and it thickened later? or not.

We were waiting for the elevators once and one of them passed right by us without stopping.

I was a little upset that the midnight buffet, (they had three of them) was at midnight. We are very early risers so it was really difficult to go to them. Maybe they could have had just one of them at noon, as the noonday buffet?

Great reviews - I can hardly wait - we board 6/19 and from the sounds of it the ship is in great shape. Can anyone tell me how the temps were inside the ship - warm enough in the evenings to be in sleeveless tops or formal dress?

DId they serve hot chocolate and such in Hubbard Glacier? How was the tendering process do they have it down?

Catmand your last comments cracked me up - what a great attitude - it's the one I usually take on vacation - never had a bad cruise - it's vacation!

Also how dressy were most women on formal night? Long, short or both?

Kathy

I would love to see a video of "The Zekes At Play."

We just decided to book the Infinity for July 17 to Alaska. I am excited to see such great reviews. This will be our first Celebrity cruise. Can anyone tell me about the teen programs. Our kids are 13 and 16. Also, what is the cover charge for the specialty restaurant? Is there only one, and do they have specials, i.e. two for one during the cruise? Thanks

Thanks for the great review :)

We're going to Alaska on the Infinity 7-24-05 and I can't wait.

Chuck - thanks for the additional info (and "complaints") we got a good chuckle out of that (although my father WILL complain if the oatmeal is soupy) I was surprised to hear that there were 3 midnight buffets, somehow I got the impression there is only one per trip. Now I have even higher expectations though, as I will be checking for the pointed toilet paper as soon as we get into our SS. We are still working on the parents re a reservation at the specialty restaurant (why eat there when the regular dining is perfectly fine, they say...) Certainly we'll be able to do it once in 12 nights, I'm sure. Hubbard Glacier will hopefully be a highlight. When my parents went on Princess years back, Glacier Bay was totally fogged in and they had to sail past it. They have been talking about that dissapointment for years, so I'm hoping they'll be wowed by Hubbard. Thanks again!

from what y'all have written, I can't imagine crusing with TheZekes:eek:...yes, where's the video? (haha) - Chuck, I always eat too much chopped chicken liver - I'll take your word on the foi gra;) We just booked the Sovereign of the Seas today...a senior deal we couldn't resist & the air was 'affordable' (no bargains these days!) - this will be our 4th cruise on SOS & I'm hoping it will be satisfactory. SOS was our 1st and we were so impressed, but this was way back when SOS was new - she's not so new anymore; your Infinity experience sounds wonderful - would love to see your most fantastic eagle pix! did anyone go fishing????

Not to start a long tirade of responses (I asked this before and never quite got an answer) but if anyone played the slot machines can you tell me if they have the handle to pull down or are all just push the button?

Thanks,

Kathy

Hi all, regarding the slots, same as gamblin' towns , buttons or handles to pull down, good luck !

The specialty restaurant was for us (Chris and wife too) an expeience not to miss. The cost is 30 dollars per person. You are treated like royalty and the food is wonderful. I highly recommend the goat cheese souffle', yum. I got up once to use the restroom and immediately there was a waiter there offering his arm to escort me. Anyway it as a treat. To answer other your other question, there is only one specialty restaurant and no specials.

Hot chocolate was served at Hubbard and at the ports upon return.

The ships temp was comfortable. I wore sandels, capris and shirt or sweatshirt most days. At night sleeveless was comfortable, but you may want to carry a wrap/shawl thingie.

Formal night, long or short dresses or dressy pant suits, Chuck wore a short sequined off the shoulder cocktail dress (just kidding):D

My kyboard is wacking out, I better go an change the batteries before I lose everything, Wanda

Hi all, I did NOT wear a sequin dress, it was rhinestones.

The tender process is no problem.......they have been doing it forever, go early......at least for us our tender was only about a third full

There were several groups of kids on board, they always looked like they were busy and havingfun.

I can not show you a video of the Zeke's but I can tell you that I had the misfortune of seeing the Head Zeke and several little Zekes in the hot tub, a vision that burned it's way onto my retina and will forever live in my cerebral cortex.

We did not do any fishing.

The midnight buffets were; chocolate, something called last frontier (think it was the last frontier for the food) and Le' Gran' Buffet on the last formal night. We finished eating around 10:30pm so didn't eat much at midnight.

We are thinking of a cruise to Alaska next year. Where did you guys go out of and did you return to the same port?

Welcome back Chuck and Wanda. Sounds like you had such a good time. I think the Infinity is the best. Glad you went to the SS United States. I enjoyed your review and wish we had been with you. Did either of you try the chocolate souffle in the United States?