Infinity to Alaska REVIEW AND PHOTOS

Here is my review of our Infinity cruise to Alaska: July 30-Aug 6. This was our sixth cruise, first with Celebrity... I am breaking the thread up in several posts for easier reading.

Day 0: Seattle.

We enjoyed a day in Seattle before our cruise. Driving into Seattle, we stopped at Snoqualmie falls - it was worth the stop for us, as we enjoy nature.

In Seattle, we went to the Kerry Park Overlook - great views of Seattle and the bay!

We went to the Seattle Locks too. We found it very interesting and the gardens are beautiful!

We spent the night in the Comfort Suites Downtown/Seattle Center. It was walking distance from the space needle and a comfortable stay for our family. The shuttle from the hotel to Pier 66 (which they arrange) was $5 per person.

Day 1: Departure

We arrived at the port around 10:45 a.m. and were on the ship by 11:10 a.m. Check-in was very easy. It actually took us a bit longer due to my parents being from South Africa. They kept their passports for the duration of the cruise - standard protocol. (We did need to pick them up for Skagway, as we rented a car to enter Canada)

We were greeted with champagne, orange juice and photographers.

We had a nice lunch in the Oceanview Cafe. I can really recommend the bread pudding! It is served every day for lunch, with minor variations in the recipe. After lunch, we talked to the Maitre D’ to make sure we were seated with my parents... sure enough, they had taken care of this and had given us an oceanview table!

The muster drill was done before departure - easiest ever! We did not need our life vests, and just sat in the Celebrity theater for about 15 minutes, watching a presentation about life vests.

We left Seattle an hour late due to supplies being loaded. We missed Brent Nixon’s first talk on Alaska - DON’T! Fortunately, they repeated this on the second sea day thanks to high interest. Many people had missed it due to sail-off. We did attend it on the second sea day and acquired a lot of very helpful information. By all means, do not miss this talk on the first day!

For information on our cabins (6025 and 7080), visit this link:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1251749

DAY 2: First day at sea

You can see the daily schedule for at sea days at:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1254477

Look through the whole Buffet area before getting food. *Infinity is set up with several stations - e.g. waffle station, eggs benedict station, omelet station, etc. *If you assume all food counters are the same you may miss out on a favorite dish. *For dinner they have a curry station in the buffet area. :)

For lunch they have a fish and chips station, etc. Look for more details on the link with “dailies” listed above....

Every day at breakfast, they offer fresh waffles and delicious cheese blintz. They do provide instant coffee - packets of Taster's Choice (regular and decaf). Since taste for coffee is so diverse, I’m not going to add my opinion. The Cova Cafe had cappuccino, but you only get about 6 ounces - small cups, lots of foam ...

SIDE NOTE ON ROOM SERVICE:

Room service for breakfast only starts at about 6:30 a.m. You can also order room service from the regular diningroom menu. You have to get that menu from your stateroom attendant. We did order room service 3 times. Two times, we used the TV system - like they recommend. Once we did not receive our order, even though it stated that our order would be delivered between 7 and 7:30 a.m. When we called, they denied receiving our order. The next time, it stated that our order would be delivered shortly. After 40 minutes, I called guest relations, and they said they did not receive an order, then they put me on hold, then she returned and read my order to me. So, they really did receive my order, it was just never communicated to room service. So, my advice would be NOT to use the TV order system, or call to confirm right after you order. This is just a minor glitch in our opinion.

On our first sea day, we attended the Cruise Critic Connections party at 10:30 a.m. It consisted of basic drinks (coffee, tea, lemonade) and pastries. The cruise director (Damian) welcomed us and gave us time for questions. This time interfered with the galley tour, but another galley tour was scheduled for the last day of the cruise.

We attended another Brent Nixon talk - again, excellent. We spent time at the T-Pool, which is open for children (with adult supervision) on the Alaska cruise. We did not run into any rowdy children. The pool was a bit on the warm side, and we only stayed in for about 20 minutes.

We attended the Great Alaskan Lumberjack Show. It was a bit expensive, but the show was entertaining and fun. However, I enjoy cheesy comedy :D and would not recommend it for the serious or those who expect a Broadway presentation. The athletes in the show are very talented!

The trolley tour was not as interesting as expected. Seeing the bald eagles made the tour worthwhile. I think the excellent tour in St Augustine, FL has ruined all future trolley tours for me. I came expecting the same and was significantly disappointed, especially in the Juneau trolley tour. I will not pay that much money again for a cruise excursion trolley tour.

We walked through Creek Street and up along the river to the Salmon Ladder. It was peak time for this and fun to watch! We also walked up 96 stairs (our son counted for us) instead of taking the funicular. The views are somewhat blocked by trees, but it is a fun place to walk.

Day 4: Sawyer Glacier (First part of the day)

Tracy Arm Fjord was definitely the highlight of the cruise! The captain did an excellent job of navigating the ship in order for both sides of the ship to get good views and photo shots of the glacier. Tip... if you want to experience the fjord from the Constellation lounge - get there early. The front row seats were all taken by 5 a.m. on our cruise. I preferred the experience from our cabin to get better photographs... a great justification for our splurge on the balcony cabin. I could easily watch from inside and step out for a fantastic picture.

My parents had a GREAT cabin! They were in 7080 and the balcony is angled. It afforded shelter from the cold wind and it was significantly warmer than ours (6025). On my next Millie-ship cruise I will definitely opt for one of those forward, angled balconies... Contrary to what I believed, this angled balcony does not block your view - we just had to lean over slightly to see ahead, but it did not interfere with our Tracy Arm Fjord experience.

On the way back from the glacier, we were fortunate enough to see Orca Whales! I am so thankful for this special treat.

Juneau is one of my least favorite ports. *It offers one jewelry shop after another, and it has more of a Grand Cayman/Georgetown atmosphere than small town Alaska. This observation may have to do with the fact that we only had a short amount of time to explore.

We did the trolley tour (I definitely would not recommend it) and we went to Mendenhall Glacier. The shuttles take you for $14 roundtrip. There are several companies to choose from and we chose the wrong one. Don't use Juneau tours. They did not plan for the amount of people they needed to pick up for return from the glacier and it was pretty much a stampede :eek: to get onto the bus. A large group of people was left behind to wait an additional 25 minutes for another bus. I should have listened to the advice on these boards :rolleyes: and used the blue bus. They always seemed to have room and a bus running.

Mendenhall glacier was worth the trip for me because we got to see a black bear. Unfortunately, I had the wrong lens on my camera and did not get a good picture... I did not want to miss the bear sighting for a 'better' picture by changing lenses. Mendenhall glacier was beautiful, but not as impressive as Sawyer Glacier. I hope in future I would be able to get closer with a kayak. That would be a better way to see it. In this picture, you an see a tiny kayak...

Thank you for your excellent review and photos.

In Skagway we rented a car from Avis. It was one of the best decisions of the trip. We purchased Murray's guide - it was worth every penny. There are so many interesting things on the Klondike highway that are pointed out in the guide. I will not give too much away, since I would really like to encourage you to purchase the guide for the full experience of the Skagway-Carcross route. Renting a car was much cheaper and much more efficient than a rail or bus tour. We stopped A LOT more than the buses and still got our tour done in about 4 hours. We saw buses drive right past the waterfalls and the Welcome to Alaska sign...

Here is our view of Emerald Lake, our turnaround point.

More beautiful scenery on the Klondike Highway:

Day 6: At Sea

On our second sea day I woke up to a beautiful sunrise from our balcony.

To top it off, we started seeing multiple blows from humpback whales at about 7:15 a.m. We were in the perfect spot from our cabin to see a whale tail! Finally, after five days of searching the ocean, we got our photo. We saw humpback whales many times before, but they were too far off in the ocean to take a good photo.

Do you recommend port or starboard side of ship???

Thank you for sharing your photos/experience.

Day 7: Victoria

Most of the day was spent at sea - foggy day. In Victoria, I walked briskly to get downtown in 25 minutes. I took a few pictures, watched some street performers, and returned to the ship.

I quickly picked up my last frozen yoghurt for the cruise and got a cup of sour patch kids (they will give this to you separate from your ice cream, if you ask).

Day 8: Back to Seattle

We ate our last breakfast in the MDR, since the buffet area is usually chaotic on the last day of the cruise. For disembarkation, we only waited about 15 minutes in our designated spot for departure, and left the ship at 9:15 a.m. This experience with customs was the easiest ever! We took Shuttle Express to the airport ($53 for 5 of us).

IN SUMMARY:

I loved our cruise! However, I am easy to please and am not picky about the normal wear and tear of a ship. The Celebrity staff members were very professional and I loved every person serving us. Guest relations allowed my parents to share their onboard credit with us to help offset gratuity costs. The Wifi attendant gave us a $7 credit - even though it was our fault for not logging off properly. Celebrity truly did go the extra mile to make our experience unforgettable. On the first day, I thought, ‘this is no different than other cruises’. My mind was quickly changed, however, with the superior service we received. Overall, I would rate this cruise experience number 1 of the 6 we have taken!

Any questions are welcome...

Do you recommend port or starboard side of ship???

 

Thank you for sharing your photos/experience.

We had a port side cabin, my parents had a starboard side cabin. It really did not make a difference. Sailing out of Seattle affords slightly better views on starboard side, but there is really no other difference. I would definitely recommend one of the following cabins for an Alaskan cruise, due to the wind shelter:

6048, 6053, 7049, 7080, 8045, or 8046

These are angled right to block wind, but still afford beautiful views!

Beautiful photos!

We had a port side cabin, my parents had a starboard side cabin. It really did not make a difference. Sailing out of Seattle affords slightly better views on starboard side, but there is really no other difference. I would definitely recommend one of the following cabins for an Alaskan cruise, due to the wind shelter:

 

6048, 6053, 7049, 7080, 8045, or 8046

 

These are angled right to block wind, but still afford beautiful views!

Thank you:)

Wonderful pictures. Thanks for posting them along with your thoughts of your cruise.....:):):)

Bob

Thanks so much for your review and beautiful photographs.

I am off to Alaska for the first time in a few weeks, and you have really helped to ramp up the excitement!

I loved it. Thanks for sharing.

Day 7: Victoria

 

Most of the day was spent at sea - foggy day. In Victoria, I walked briskly to get downtown in 25 minutes. I took a few pictures, watched some street performers, and returned to the ship.

 

I quickly picked up my last frozen yoghurt for the cruise and got a cup of sour patch kids (they will give this to you separate from your ice cream, if you ask).

 

Day 8: Back to Seattle

 

We ate our last breakfast in the MDR, since the buffet area is usually chaotic on the last day of the cruise. For disembarkation, we only waited about 15 minutes in our designated spot for departure, and left the ship at 9:15 a.m. This experience with customs was the easiest ever! We took Shuttle Express to the airport ($53 for 5 of us).

 

 

IN SUMMARY:

 

I loved our cruise! However, I am easy to please and am not picky about the normal wear and tear of a ship. The Celebrity staff members were very professional and I loved every person serving us. Guest relations allowed my parents to share their onboard credit with us to help offset gratuity costs. The Wifi attendant gave us a $7 credit - even though it was our fault for not logging off properly. Celebrity truly did go the extra mile to make our experience unforgettable. On the first day, I thought, ‘this is no different than other cruises’. My mind was quickly changed, however, with the superior service we received. Overall, I would rate this cruise experience number 1 of the 6 we have taken!

 

Any questions are welcome...

Your review is terrifc and the pictures are outstanding:):D

Glad you and the family had such a good time and nice to read

Celebrity came through for you in such a positive manner:) oh...

great looking family on the balcony too;)

Add my thanks for your review and beautiful photos- the sunrise and the whale tail especially- outstanding!! We'll be on Millennium for her last Alaska cruise of the season in a few weeks...thanks for the insights.

Hi all!

Thanks so much for posting your review & those lovely photos, it helped me remember

my Infinity cruise in May. The colours & clarity of your photos is amazing! I have to agree,

do NOT miss any Brent Nixon talks, they're exceptional. I bought the DVDs & just watched one last week (we missed the bear one).

The Infinity is a beautiful ship with excellent crew & very good food IMHO.

Glad you had such a good time.

~Jo~ :)

Thank you for your fantastic review. Only 51 weeks and counting until our first ever cruise to Alaska, and I'm happy to say, we booked one of those angled balcony cabins you mentioned !! Woooo hooooo !!! Also we are now thinking of renting a car in Skagway because of your recommendation. Thank you.

Thank you for your fantastic review. Only 51 weeks and counting until our first ever cruise to Alaska, and I'm happy to say, we booked one of those angled balcony cabins you mentioned !! Woooo hooooo !!! Also we are now thinking of renting a car in Skagway because of your recommendation. Thank you.

Glad to hear! Just make sure the angled balcony you have is in the front of the ship. The angled ones in the back would have the opposite effect with the wind... :)

Enjoy planning and dreaming!

Yes, it's at the front. Thanks for clarifying that....it will help future cruisers book their cabin.:)

Thank you for sharing your pictures. I enjoyed reading your illustrated review!

Thanks so much for the review and the dailies!

Did most people dress up on formal night? How about the other nights in the dining room? Did you see a lot of jeans in the dining room?

Trying to cut down on luggage! :D

Thanks!