Celebrity Infinity 24 Oct 2010 EB Panama Canal

[SoCal Cal]

Thought I'd start a thread. There are at least 2 gay couples on this cruise. Anyone else?

[rycal]

The two of us just got our reservations all done. Look forward to the cruise.

[SoCal Cal]

welcome to the board. i see you've found the other thread, also. maybe you'll be joining us on some of our excursions.

[rycal]

Yes will get into all the excursions sooner than later.

Stephen

[rycal]

Finally getting back to the boards...I posted on the main board our hopes of getting in on the Acapulco, Huatulco, Puntarenas and Cartagena tours...do you think we will be able to get in or are they getting pretty full up?

 

Stephen

[SoCal Cal]

Finally getting back to the boards...I posted on the main board our hopes of getting in on the Acapulco, Huatulco, Puntarenas and Cartagena tours...do you think we will be able to get in or are they getting pretty full up?

 

Stephen

 

You won't have a problem with the Huatulco tour with us, and I'm sure the rest of the excursions will be able to accommodate, as well. It's just a matter of the rate you'll be charged based on the group size, if the van for each particular group is already filled.

[rycal]

You won't have a problem with the Huatulco tour with us, and I'm sure the rest of the excursions will be able to accommodate, as well. It's just a matter of the rate you'll be charged based on the group size, if the van for each particular group is already filled.

 

You're right. I got us on the Puntarenas and Cartagena tours as well as your Huatulco tour. We are still thinking about Acapulco. We were there some years back and Michael enjoyed just walking around and we may do that again. I guess there is a Fort right across from the pier and the Malecon is right there.

[SoCal Cal]

You're right. I got us on the Puntarenas and Cartagena tours as well as your Huatulco tour. We are still thinking about Acapulco. We were there some years back and Michael enjoyed just walking around and we may do that again. I guess there is a Fort right across from the pier and the Malecon is right there.

 

I'm not sure about Acapulco as I've never been before, but I checked the Huatulco tour and I think I'll go ahead and book because there is a boat that takes up to 6 and another that takes 7-13. The total price goes up for the 7-13, but it doesn't look like there will be any other takers. The prices are $241 for 1-6 (~$40/person) and $275 for 7-13. You can see info here:

 

http://www.bestday.com/Huatulco/Tours/

 

I tried to book for 10/29, but the website kept defaulting to 9/20. I have an email to them and will keep you posted on how it goes. The private tour is 7 hours versus the 6 hours for the 7 Bays & Snorkeling Tour. I think we'll have them duplicate the 7 Bays & Snorkeling tour on our private tour, if that's okay with you guys. Thanks!

[rycal]

I'm not sure about Acapulco as I've never been before, but I checked the Huatulco tour and I think I'll go ahead and book because there is a boat that takes up to 6 and another that takes 7-13. The total price goes up for the 7-13, but it doesn't look like there will be any other takers. The prices are $241 for 1-6 (~$40/person) and $275 for 7-13. You can see info here:

 

http://www.bestday.com/Huatulco/Tours/

 

I tried to book for 10/29, but the website kept defaulting to 9/20. I have an email to them and will keep you posted on how it goes. The private tour is 7 hours versus the 6 hours for the 7 Bays & Snorkeling Tour. I think we'll have them duplicate the 7 Bays & Snorkeling tour on our private tour, if that's okay with you guys. Thanks!

 

That sounds great. Thanks for doing all the legwork.

[rycal]

I notice that we are in port at Huatulco from 8AM to 4PM. Even if we get away on time and early, 7 hours would be cutting it really thin. If we leave at 8:30 and assume all goes well 6 hours would get us back around 2:30 which sounds a bit more reasonable.

[SoCal Cal]

I notice that we are in port at Huatulco from 8AM to 4PM. Even if we get away on time and early, 7 hours would be cutting it really thin. If we leave at 8:30 and assume all goes well 6 hours would get us back around 2:30 which sounds a bit more reasonable.

 

Since it's a private tour, I'm sure they can bring us back whenever we want. I haven't booked this yet, as I'll see if anyone else wants to come along.

[rycal]

Since it's a private tour, I'm sure they can bring us back whenever we want. I haven't booked this yet, as I'll see if anyone else wants to come along.

 

Absolutely. These things are always changeable aren't they?

PS: Congrats to all 4 of you on your second anniversaries...Prop 8 is a definite downer. The next few months(or years) will be interesting to watch. Marriage has been legal up here for about 5 years and surprisingly the world has not come to an end!!!

 

S

[SoCal Cal]

Absolutely. These things are always changeable aren't they?

PS: Congrats to all 4 of you on your second anniversaries...Prop 8 is a definite downer. The next few months(or years) will be interesting to watch. Marriage has been legal up here for about 5 years and surprisingly the world has not come to an end!!!

 

S

 

thanks for the kind words. fortunately, we all got married before prop 8 passed, so we are still married. dave and i have been together for 13 years and row and dave have been together for 12, so it's not like we're newlyweds, although we really are. =)

[rycal]

thanks for the kind words. fortunately, we all got married before prop 8 passed, so we are still married. dave and i have been together for 13 years and row and dave have been together for 12, so it's not like we're newlyweds, although we really are. =)

 

Stay "newlyweds" forever, it's the best way. Michael and I have been together for 27.5 years now. Haven't chosen the marriage route though. Sounds like we must be ancient!!! Well, I'm 59 and a professional actor and Michael is 53 and has his own Personal Gardening company, so we are both very active and refuse to get old!

[SoCal Cal]

Stay "newlyweds" forever, it's the best way. Michael and I have been together for 27.5 years now. Haven't chosen the marriage route though. Sounds like we must be ancient!!! Well, I'm 59 and a professional actor and Michael is 53 and has his own Personal Gardening company, so we are both very active and refuse to get old!

 

Congrats on the longevity of your relationship! That's quite inspiring. =) I'm 38 and Dave's 52. I work as a transportation engineer and Dave is a director with a national trade association. Our friends Row & Dave are 40 and 46. Row works for an entertainment company and Dave works for a large nursery company. Sounds like you two have some things in common with them!

 

I think it's great that you two are still very active. That's the way to keep young!

[rycal]

Congrats on the longevity of your relationship! That's quite inspiring. =) I'm 38 and Dave's 52. I work as a transportation engineer and Dave is a director with a national trade association. Our friends Row & Dave are 40 and 46. Row works for an entertainment company and Dave works for a large nursery company. Sounds like you two have some things in common with them!

 

I think it's great that you two are still very active. That's the way to keep young!

 

We really look forward to meeting you guys. We have no intention of imposing us on you 24 hours a day, but it's always interesting to meet and yak once in a while. We actually hated( Michael hated more than me LOL) our one and only other cruise (also with "X") because it was our first, we had no idea what we were doing and it seemed non-stop busy with cruise line excursions every day...always go go go...we had a Royal Suite which was an oasis, but we did it all wrong apparently. This cruise looks a bit more unstructured and more days at sea to unwind which we both need. On that first cruise, Galaxy was going into dry dock immediately after we ended and it really was in pretty poor condition. Fingers crossed for this one.

[SoCal Cal]

We really look forward to meeting you guys. We have no intention of imposing us on you 24 hours a day, but it's always interesting to meet and yak once in a while. We actually hated( Michael hated more than me LOL) our one and only other cruise (also with "X") because it was our first, we had no idea what we were doing and it seemed non-stop busy with cruise line excursions every day...always go go go...we had a Royal Suite which was an oasis, but we did it all wrong apparently. This cruise looks a bit more unstructured and more days at sea to unwind which we both need. On that first cruise, Galaxy was going into dry dock immediately after we ended and it really was in pretty poor condition. Fingers crossed for this one.

 

This will be Row's third cruise, I believe, and his Dave's (we call him Davey to distinguish) fourth cruise. This will be my ninth cruise and Dave's who knows how many. He cruised quite a bit before we got together, so I'm sure he's lost count.

 

Once you get the hang of cruising, it's a great way to vacation. Don't try to do too much, since all of the options can sometimes get overwhelming. Our favorite cruises are the transatlantic repositionings where there are 7 consecutive days at sea. Lots of time to just relax (and play trivia!). Two week cruises are also nicer in our opinion because it allows us to really get to know other people on the ship.

 

Celebrity is my favorite line out of the ones I've experienced (NCL, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity), but I have noticed that the earlier cruises seemed to be nicer. We were on the Mercury for an Alaskan cruise a few years back and it was in pretty sad shape. The layout was horrible and I think they've either just sold it or in the process of. I think that might be the same class as the Galaxy. We cruised on the Constellation right after it was introduced in the Mediterranean and that was a fantastic ship. I think the Infinity is the same class, so it should be nice, as well.

[rycal]

This will be Row's third cruise, I believe, and his Dave's (we call him Davey to distinguish) fourth cruise. This will be my ninth cruise and Dave's who knows how many. He cruised quite a bit before we got together, so I'm sure he's lost count.

 

Once you get the hang of cruising, it's a great way to vacation. Don't try to do too much, since all of the options can sometimes get overwhelming. Our favorite cruises are the transatlantic repositionings where there are 7 consecutive days at sea. Lots of time to just relax (and play trivia!). Two week cruises are also nicer in our opinion because it allows us to really get to know other people on the ship.

 

Celebrity is my favorite line out of the ones I've experienced (NCL, Royal Caribbean and Celebrity), but I have noticed that the earlier cruises seemed to be nicer. We were on the Mercury for an Alaskan cruise a few years back and it was in pretty sad shape. The layout was horrible and I think they've either just sold it or in the process of. I think that might be the same class as the Galaxy. We cruised on the Constellation right after it was introduced in the Mediterranean and that was a fantastic ship. I think the Infinity is the same class, so it should be nice, as well.

 

Thanks for the insights. This will probably be a make it or break cruise as far as whether we go on others, although we are both actually getting pretty jazzed about it. The Canal and Alaska are the only 2 cruises we had ever wanted to do, so it was great that this one showed up at just the right time. Would love to do Alaska.

 

You are right about Galaxy and Mercury being the same class, so after what you said, I am looking forward to a happier time on Infinity.

[SoCal Cal]

Thanks for the insights. This will probably be a make it or break cruise as far as whether we go on others, although we are both actually getting pretty jazzed about it. The Canal and Alaska are the only 2 cruises we had ever wanted to do, so it was great that this one showed up at just the right time. Would love to do Alaska.

 

You are right about Galaxy and Mercury being the same class, so after what you said, I am looking forward to a happier time on Infinity.

 

I think once you realize you don't have to do EVERYTHING offered and that it's really about balancing excursions and relaxing, then you'll really enjoy cruising. I thought I might be bored on a transatlantic cruise with so many consecutive days at sea, but there were a variety of activities to keep me busy. I also discovered that it was quite relaxing to just sit on a lounge chair on deck and watch the waves.

 

We'll probably do Alaska again at some point because our trip was rained on the entire week. Quite disappointing when everyone else who has ever gone to Alaska talks about how wonderful the scenery is and all we saw was gloom and dreariness. One of Dave's co-workers went on the same cruise the week after us and there was not a cloud in the sky. Hope you guys have better luck when you choose to go!

[rycal]

I think once you realize you don't have to do EVERYTHING offered and that it's really about balancing excursions and relaxing, then you'll really enjoy cruising. I thought I might be bored on a transatlantic cruise with so many consecutive days at sea, but there were a variety of activities to keep me busy. I also discovered that it was quite relaxing to just sit on a lounge chair on deck and watch the waves.

 

We'll probably do Alaska again at some point because our trip was rained on the entire week. Quite disappointing when everyone else who has ever gone to Alaska talks about how wonderful the scenery is and all we saw was gloom and dreariness. One of Dave's co-workers went on the same cruise the week after us and there was not a cloud in the sky. Hope you guys have better luck when you choose to go!

 

I agree about just sitting and watching the water. I also really enjoy watching the arrival and departure activities in ports.

 

We actually did a 7 day tour(I hesitate to call it a cruise since the boat was like a small tug with cabins!!) the first time we went to Fiji and it was incredible in many ways. We stopped at 2 different islands, most deserted , every day and stayed for meals on shore mostly. It was supposed to hold 50 people but a plane of German tourists didn't show so there were only 25 of us and it was at New Year's so we had lots of extra champagne. They set off fireworks from the deck!!