"Semi-Live" Aboard the Celebrity Infinity - Panama Canal Nov 21 - Dec 5, 2010 W/Pics

[sayvan]

After our stroll around it was about time to get back on the ship. We were to be on-board by 3:45 and it was around 3:30. Both Vanda and I both enjoyed the cold towels you receive each time you went back on-board. A nice touch that we have never experienced before on Carnival or Holland America.

 

Once on-board we went right up to Deck 10 to get ready for the sail out of Huatulco. The ship was scheduled to depart at 4 pm but we would be delayed as a result of a medical emergency that occurred on Deck 11 by the pool. An older woman unfortunately collapsed and her and her husband were taken by ambulance off the ship. This of course, delayed our departure and for one passenger this would be a positive because around 4:15 we would see her taking a leisurely stroll along the dock as this clueless passenger had no idea what time it was. Had the ship not been waiting on an ambulance, we would have already been on our way out to sea.

 

Here are a few more pictures of our afternoon on Deck 11 and 10 while waiting to leave port.

 

 

Craig and Vicki:

 

 

I am starting to realize as I look at these pictures that as the Photographer I am never in the pictures!

 

Aft on Infinity from Deck 11:

 

Sailing out:

 

[sayvan]

So we were now on our way to our next Port of Call. However, the night was still before us. The show this evening was a duel show that started with Comedian Glenn Hirsch and ended with singer Jack Walker.

 

Hirsch was much better tonight then he was on his previous performance. Jack Walker was a Tenor with a booming opera type voice. He mainly sang classical type songs and of course this was not our thing so we left the show after his first song. He was a very good singer but just not our thing. Tonight we would visit the Martini Bar before dinner.

 

The day at the beach and the late night after Acapulco had caught up with us. The Theme Party for tonight was Live @ sky which featured the Celebrity Orchestra, the Activity Staff and the Celebrity Cast performers. The Music for the night was Jump and Jive which was fun and fast paced. Vanda and I did not stay to late tonight and really for us had an early night.

 

Tomorrow would be a day of relaxation, as we would have our third sea day.

 

I close out this day with a few shots of a Huatuclo Sunset.

 

Thanks again for reading and following along with us on this wonderful vacation. I will have more to come over the next few days. If anyone has any questions please ask away! I also kept all of the "Celebrity Today" papers as well, if anyone wants to know about some of the daily activities.

 

 

[Sheila1969]

Keep the updates coming, we are hanging in suspense!

 

Tracy & reg :p

[lakim]

Keep the updates coming, we are hanging in suspense!

 

Tracy & reg :p

 

Hi Tracy & Reg! It's Lisa & Larry from New Orleans. We very much enjoyed the Champagne High Tea in the SS United States with you and our other new friends on the last sea day of the cruise!

 

Welcome to Cruise Critic!

[Tom47]

After our day at the beach we then headed back to the port and walked around the shops a bit before boarding Infinity again. As I said earlier, the port was small compared to others I have visited. However, This was a very clean port.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Beach area near the dock:

Thanks for a great travelogue. Tom

[sayvan]

Keep the updates coming, we are hanging in suspense!

 

Tracy & reg :p

 

Hey you guys... hope you had a great time in Miami... those other Ba@#%&ds are still on vacation and about to board their second cruise....

[sayvan]

Well today was another Day at Sea... The perfect rest we needed after two full days in port. The sky was perfectly blue and the waters were as calm as could be.

 

Around 7:30 today, I was in the oceanview café enjoying the view as we cruised along. The more I think about it, I really do enjoy the day at sea the best. I think there is something special about being out on the ocean, no land in sight and just taking it all in. We even had the luck to see more Dolphins today. By the way... breakfast was the usual: Scrambled eggs, Corned beef hash (if only they served those hash brownies in the afternoon) and a bowl of oatmeal and all washed down with a nutritious Bloody Mary.

 

By 9 am, we were once again in our familiar spot to the right of the Mast Bar on Deck 11. There seemed to be more walkers out this morning then I have noticed in the past. Probably a product of the buffet. Throughout the day I would somehow find my way to a few more Bloody Mary's, a couple of Lava Flows and a bucket a beer... there was a special by 5 get the 6th for free. I mean who passes up a good bargain! Needless to say I did not manage to get many pictures today!

 

We stayed on deck until around 5 pm. It was a full and complete day in the sun. The evening awaited us... after a nap that is!

 

 

I love the sunsets on a sea day.

[sayvan]

Tonight was our second of three formal night on this cruise. DW (Vanda) looked stunning... continues to take my breath away!

 

 

We met our friends, Vicki and Craig in the Rendezvous lounge and had our regular pre-dinner drinks while watching our fellow passengers dance to the music of Baires Quartet. This group played regularly in the Rendezvous and the lady who was the lead singer was very good. They performed mostly traditional ballroom style music. The group was made up of a sax player, drummer and guitarist.

 

 

picture of me.. clearly looking like a guy who had his share of drinks on this sea day

 

After some time in the Rendezvous we headed for our formal dinner. It was another great evening at dinner.

 

Vanda and Vicki

 

Craig, Reg and Tracy

[sayvan]

Some of our other Dinner companions:

Greg, Beverly and Tracy

 

 

Dale and Beth (Margaret, Dale's wife and Beth's mom, was not feeling well this evening and missed the dinner)

 

As I have said in past post's I think we had the very best table. Everyone got along, we hung out with each other before and after the dinners. It was just an overall great experience and lots of fun

 

The show tonight was scheduled for different times again. We had enjoyed going to the show at 7 before our dinner but tonight the shows were at 8:45 and 10:45. We decided to pass up the show tonight. The Celebrity Cast would be performing "Boogie Wonderland", the original seventies musical from London's West End. I heard from others the show was very well done.

 

In the Constellation Lounge, the Formal Night Dance party would be taking place tonight as well. This ship was not short on entertainment!

 

Tomorrow we would be in Puntarenus, Costa Rica.

[docandbabe]

I know it is actually over, but our BEST port was Puntarenas. Why? That is where we took our best "tour" AND on our own. We zip lined over 11 waterfalls and 25 zip lines. Unbelievable!!! We even rode 1/2 Arabian horses up to the top of the canopy to being our "adventure." Just the best. See it on http://finca-daniel.com. Say hello to Barbara and Dietmar if you take it. They're the best!

 

What did you guys do there?

 

Don & Erica

[sayvan]

Today we pulled into Puntarenas, Costa Rica. Another ship in port today was the Norwegian Star. I have never been on an NCL ship but I must admit they are very adventurous when it comes to the exterior paint design. The Norwegian Star was in Los Angeles the day we arrived for the cruise and they were on a 15 day Panama Canal tour. This was the first time we had caught up with them again since we left over a week ago.

There was one other ship in port today as well and it was a Princess ship but I am not sure which one. It was located at a different dock on the other side of the bay.

 

Today was the first day, that we had an actual excursion planned with Celebrity. We had struggled with what to do in this port. This area of Costa Rica was known for its zip lining and tropical jungle retreats and we have zip lined before in Alaska so we just didn't feel that for this stop. We opted for the a leisure river boat tour on the Torcoles River.

 

Our excursion meeting place was in the Celebrity Theater at 7:55 am. The early night we had previous paid off with the early start. The weather today was a bit cloudy and the temperature was 85 and very humid. As the excursion went on we would feel the humidity at its best!

 

The pier in Puntarenas is very long. If you were going into town there was a shuttle you could take if you wished. The port itself is not really anything spectacular. In fact, I heard many passengers wonder why we even stopped at this location. I will touch a little on the port in a bit.

 

The tour buses pulled right up to the cruise ships along the pier. We boarded our bus, which was rather small and the entire group was no more then 20 I would say. Then the adventure began....

 

Our tour guide (can't remember her name)

 

The bus ride to the river was supposed to take about 45 minutes to an hour depending on traffic. Not so bad or so we thought.... About 20 minutes into the ride the air conditioning on the bus started to break down and came on and off for the remainder of the trip to the river. Of course, there were no windows to open so it became a little stuffy as the humidity began to rise. There was an opening in the roof (emergency hatch), so we were able to get some air flowing albeit warm air. By the time we arrived at the river, the air conditioning was back on.

 

After the air conditioning issue, our next problem arrived. Apparently we had a new bus driver who was not familiar with the route or something and well... we were lost. Yeah that's right.... he couldn't find his way to the River. So we drove.. and drove... and turned... and turned...we even ended up at the actual spot we were supposed to get the boat at and then turned around and left because both he (the driver) and the host didn't think we were at the right spot. After another 20 minutes or so, we again turned around and went right back to the previous spot we had left.

 

The route along our very long drive was nice and we did get to see alot of the landscape, fields, waterways and jungle of this area of Costa Rica. These are not my best pictures but give a little idea of the landscape as we traveled on our long bus ride.

 

Princess Ship:

 

 

 

 

[sayvan]

Once we finally arrived at our destination we got off the bus and headed for the River boat. As you get off the bus there was a small market where you could by some local souvenirs etc and there was also fruit and tea coffee or water that was provided to us.

 

 

The river boat tour was actually very interesting. We spent about an hour to hour and an half on the boat as we slowly moved along the the Tarcoles River. This Mangrove area was abundant with wild life from birds and crocodiles to monkeys swinging through the trees.

 

There had recently been some major flooding along this river and the banks of the river had been torn away by the rushing water during the floods.

 

As we made our away down the River, on either side, the banks were green with the natural landscape of the a tropical rain forest.

 

 

 

 

[sayvan]

The boats moved extremely slow as we etched our way along the murky almost chocolate brown water. The guide was speaking to the vegetation we were seeing as well as the different types of birds of which there were many. They actually provided us with a chart with all the different species of birds.

 

 

In this picture you can get a feel for the width of the river as we wind our way through this beautiful Eco system.

 

Banana trees were a natural sight along the river:

 

Tall trees line the shoreline:

 

 

Note the natural colour of the water:

[sayvan]

As I have said previous there was no shortage of wildlife on the river.

 

 

 

 

 

A pair of Toucans sit in a tree blending with the background:

 

Only a dark Shadow but a Sloth moves from branch to branch

[sayvan]

Then we came upon the most fearsome of the animal life in the area, the Crocodile. After touring the river for a bit, our boat driver headed for a small bank in the middle of the river. He then pulled the boat up onto the sand and proceeded to get out onto the bank. Once on the bank, he began to slap the water with some meat. Within a matter of seconds, less then 10 feet away from us, was a crocodile moving up onto the bank. This was an incredible sight, we had a great view and I am not sure whether this driver was full of courage or simply crazy... in any case the cameras were in full action!

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sayvan]

The Croc took the meat from the driver and then quickly turned and headed back into the water... This was a definite highlight of this tour.

 

 

 

 

 

We also saw other Crocs sunning on the sand and shoreline:

 

 

[sayvan]

Here are a few more shots from this great river tour and I would highly recommend this tour (minus the bus ride of course).

 

 

Iguana perched on a tree

 

 

 

 

 

Once back on shore we would begin the third part of our disastrous bus ride. As we were heading back to the ship about 5 minutes in the air conditioning broke for good. The humidity and heat from outside combined with a bus load of 20 or so adults became unbearable. By the time we were back at the ship..close to an hour later we were drenched in sweat and it was actually becoming hard for some of the elderly folks on the bus to breathe. When we arrived back at the Port everyone wanted off the bus, however the regulations said the the bus had to actually drop us off where they picked us up along the pier. This caused numerous complaints as people just wanted off this furnace of a bus. Finally, the bus driver just pulled over and let everyone out and we made our own way down the pier to the ship. Now, I have mentioned about the wet towels you are always greeted with when returning to the ship, right? We actually took so many and squeezed every ounce of coolness out of them as they were so refreshing. This we appreciated more today then any other.

 

In the end, aside from the mechanical problems with the bus, this was a great tour and well worth the money we paid which was around $56, I think.

[ORV]

Amazing

[sayvan]

After returning to the ship and enjoying a sponge bath with the cold wet towels they hand you as you walk in, we headed straight for the Oceanview grill and some lunch.

 

After lunch, we ventured back out to explore the port area. Now I must say, there was not much to this port in my opinion. The town that surrounds it was, well for lack of a better way to explain, run down. Not much really to see at all.

 

As you come to the end of this long pier you will find a beach on either side. The sand on this beach was a grey/black sand that my research tells me is extremely common in this area. Clearly Volcanic and reminded me of the beaches we experienced in both Hawaii and Santorini. Although, the latter were much more intriguing.

 

 

The beaches to the Starboard side of Infinity were filled with debris from the recent flooding that had occurred in the area and you could see the workers doing their best to clear and clean the beach up.

 

On the port side of the pier, the beach was packed with many local families who were all enjoying a warm and pleasant Sunday.

 

As mentioned before, the pier stretched a fair distance from the beach to where the ships were docked. You can get a feel for this in the picture below.

 

Unique paintings on the NCL ship:

 

 

The two ship at the pier:

[sayvan]

Once you make your way past the beach there are a number of vendors set up along the sidewalk which backed onto the beach. This area seemed to be where most of the action was and the many cruisers were shopping in the tarp covered shops. This actually reminded me of being in a flea market. We never bought anything and found most of the vendors were all selling the same things. Outside of T-shirts, what do you really do with the souvenir type things you buy in these places? I find much of it to be a bit 'tacky'... I prefer my souvenir to be the experience of being there and of course the pictures I take. I am sure many would disagree with me on this and I can respect that for sure.

 

As the day progressed the clouds started to roll in:

 

 

As you walked toward the road, above the beach area, the street was lined with many restaurants and smaller ice cream shops.

 

Here are a few more pictures of the port area:

 

 

 

 

[blade8]

Sayvan,

 

Thanks for sharing your adventure. I'm enjoying the pics as well. It sounds like you had a blast!

 

Michael :cool:

[sayvan]

I do want to say that I was pleasantly surprised that despite the number of vendors along the beach no one was hounding or harassing you to buy whatever it was they were selling. In fact, the people were very polite and pleasant to talk with.

 

Just a few more pics from our stroll around the port.

 

 

 

 

Infinity

 

 

[sayvan]

After returning to the ship, Vanda decided she would go back to the room and rest for a bit. We were very lucky on this day because just after we arrived back on the ship the sky opened up and the rain began to fall.

 

Infinity was not leaving until 8 pm today but I wanted to be on deck 11 when the sun was going down so while Vanda was resting I headed for Deck 11. Once on deck, the first thing that happened was I ran into my favourite bar guy, Donovan, who had actually spotted me first and brought over a refreshing Lava Flow for me. I then took a stroll around the deck (my exercise program... you remember 1 drink -1 lap!).

 

As I was walking I was also taking a few snap shots here and there. I also noticed that the NCL ship was getting ready to leave so I strolled over to the railing to watch for 'runners'. I love to watch for these people arriving late. On a couple of cruises, we actually had the ship begin to move away from the dock and then reverse back in to pick up the late arrivals. I can never understand how people manage to miss departure time. I would be horrified!

 

A few pictures from my adventures on deck 11:

 

 

 

NCL Ship:

 

Infinity Deck 10 looking down from Deck 11:

 

The sun begins to close the day:

 

Looking across Deck 11 on Infinity as the clouds reflect the sunset:

[sayvan]

Another shot across Deck 11 as the sun reflects on the clouds.

 

 

The Norwegian Star leaves the port of Puntarenas, Costa Rica

 

Infinity after the sun has rested.

 

Norwegian Star passes behind Infinity (illusion that it may hit us):

 

However it doesn't and off it goes on the other side:

 

 

After getting ready for dinner, we went to see the 7 pm show. Tonight's show was a variety with the group Ontap, the acrobat duo and two female singers from the Dance Troop. Once again, I have to say that Celebrity left a great impression on me regarding the shows. Although the group Ontap is very good (Acappella group), I can really only take a few songs from them as IMHO I felt there sound was very repetitive and only the words changed. I am sure however, many would disagree with that assessment. The two singers from the dance troop were fabulous. One was a bit dramatic, but had a booming voice and the other was also very good. The acrobatic duo of Charlie and Viola are amazing. The performance they give is something to see. Overall, another big hit for me on the entertainment side of things. A very enjoyable show.

 

After our cocktails in the the Rendezvous with the sounds of the Baires Quartet and then dinner, we again ended the night in the Constellation Lounge on Deck 11 with the evening theme party called 'Sizzle". The theme for tonight was Salsa and once again the the party band "Fusion Wave" did not fail to impress. If these guys sold a CD I would have bought it.

 

Tomorrow is another sea day. I wonder it that will hold for us!

 

Thanks again for your patience with me as I continue this long review, I hope you are enjoying and I will get more up as soon as I can.

[lovecruzing]

Sayvan, from another fellow Canadian, I am really enjoying your review, more so because I am considering a cruise on celebrity sometime next year but is still on the fence. Having tried a few cruise lines, I really enjoy Carnival cruises. Not sure how it will be cruising with a 5 and 8 year old on celebrity so I am doing my research now.

 

As you said earlier, you will not really be doing a comparison between carnival and celebrity but I really would like to get your thoughts on the food between the two lines, understanding that food is subjective. I have done 3 carnival cruises and definitely enjoyed their food much more than on Princess or RCCL.

 

Bevie