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

[sayvan]

My next stop on this tour was the Tea\Cards room and the Cova Café. We spent a few afternoons in the Cova enjoying some specialty coffee (Aspen Coffee) as well as some other specialty teas etc. I am always amazed at how cruise ships have so many people on board but it is always possible to find a little spot that never has a big crowd. This was one of them.

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sayvan]

More shots of the Café:

As you can see it was a very good size.

 

 

 

 

[sayvan]

As you continue along the Entertainment deck you come across the Emporium with its shops. The shop's were nice and the prices seemed ok. Although, Vanda ended up with a bit of a cold and we had to pay over $15 for some cough syrup. Oh well... I guess they have the market cornered while your at sea...

 

 

 

 

 

 

[sayvan]

As I had finished most of the areas along Deck 5, I then made my way up to the Library. This Library is located on two levels, the Panorama and the Sky deck. The location is mid ship.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

This was all I had explored for today. By this time it was around lunch and so we met up with our friends and headed to Deck 10 to enjoy some lunch on the outside deck (it had stopped raining) of the oceanview grill. This would be the aft bar. More details on the rest of the day in a bit.

[docandbabe]

I can't tell you how much I am appreciating your pictures and their overall quality. Having been on this cruise about one year ago (but we went from Ft. Lauderdale westward), they bring back many great memories! I particularly liked your picture of the Martini Bar as we tended to meet a group of folks there almost EVERY night (and my bar bill showed it!!!). The bartender was a true showman!!!

We are booked on the Infinity's sister ship, the Millennium, for a southern Caribbean cruise embarking on 2/25/2011. Can't wait!

Don

[sayvan]

I can't tell you how much I am appreciating your pictures and their overall quality. Having been on this cruise about one year ago (but we went from Ft. Lauderdale westward), they bring back many great memories! I particularly liked your picture of the Martini Bar as we tended to meet a group of folks there almost EVERY night (and my bar bill showed it!!!). The bartender was a true showman!!!

 

We are booked on the Infinity's sister ship, the Millennium, for a southern Caribbean cruise embarking on 2/25/2011. Can't wait!

 

Don

 

Thanks Don... I am glad you are enjoying this. Makes it worth putting the time in posting knowing folks are getting something out of the adventure.

[sayvan]

As I said earlier, after we were finished our exploring we grabbed some lunch. Our afternoon was spent in the shops looking around and then we headed back up to the Constellation Lounge to meet up with Craig and Vicki for a drink. Actually, ended up going back to the Deck 10 aft bar for a few beers and then we decided to head back down to Deck 5 and see about a drink or two in the Martini Bar. That plan quickly ended when the bar was empty and of course closed. Martini Bar did not open until 5 pm.

 

Plan 'B' was to then head down a deck to the Rendezvous. By this time, it was just Myself, Vanda and Vicki as Craig had left us to attend the Sabering at Sea event for some saber lessons for Champagne and sparkling wines (something about how to cork it). As it turned out, our timing was perfect for the Rendezvous, as the "name that tune" game was about to begin. The topic for today's game was Elvis Presley. Right up my alley... I've been to Graceland twice and well have always been a fan!

 

As we were waiting for the game to start Vanda noticed a fellow cruise critic member (who we had talked with on the roll call and met at the connections party) sitting alone and asked him if he would join us. So over came Bobswf to join us for a few more wobbly pops and the trivia.

 

Well the game went our way, there were 15 questions and we had every one right! A perfect score... The entertainment person announced that this was the first time in his career that anyone had ever got all the questions correct (I think it may have been his first cruise!).

 

Our prize was a Celebrity Hat. We then spent the next few hours sitting, laughing and chatting. Before we know it, the time was 5 pm and it was time to get ready for the night ahead. By the way, it was at this spot we began talking about organizing a pub crawl for the next sea day. Stay tuned for more on that later:D

 

The evening show was Lazlo and Claudia a violin duet. We skipped this show.... nuff said on that!

 

Instead, we headed for the Martini Bar for some pre-pre dinner drinks. After a bit of time here, we then went for the pre-dinner drinks in the Rendezvous lounge. Tonight, all of our table mates showed up so our evening fun started early. Dinner was once again fabulous and on this night I opted for a very good New York Steak!

 

The day ended much like the others...back up to the Constellation Lounge. Tonight was theme party was "Dancing with the Stripes", sorry I forgot my camera in the room so didn't get any pictures of this. After the Dancing with the Stripes was over, Fusion Wave took the stage and the dancing began. We called it a night around 1:30 am.

 

Our next Port would be the last port of call on this long adventure. The cruise was now officially in the home stretch. :( I really hate that feeling. I am even getting a bit of the feeling writing this now. Nine pages ago it seemed like my cruise was just starting. ;)

 

Stay tuned for more from Cartagena, Columbia.

 

I will try and get this up as soon as I can but of course it tis the holiday season and well the next few days may be very busy... Hope you hang around for the home stretch!

 

Steve

 

Here are a few more shots from the sitting area just outside the Celebrity Theatre

 

 

[jamesnnb]

We're really enjoying sailing with you. We'll be on her out of Ft. Lauderdale to Seattle, Washington in April/May 2011. Great review. Speaking of People Watching -- on Embarkation Day we always like to sit & sip while watching people board. Where would be a good spot for that activity? The Rendezvous? Or?

[c-legs]

Hi,

From a fellow Canuck: you're making us proud !!

Your review is fantastic, your photographic skills are phenomenal and your writing style makes the whole thing smooth and brilliant.

We've been on Infinity once ( among 17 cruises) and enjoyed her ( and her siblings Millie and Summit ) tremendously. Not only does your review bring back lovely memories, it also helps our community on this forum to have a much better understanding of what a full canal Transit 16+/- days sailing onboard an '' M '' class ship can provide all guests , wherever they come from and no matter how often they've already sailed before and since. We have done that very itinerary twice, both on MERCURY ( the last one in October) and your review is making it easy for us to turn back the clock to December '06 and October '10 as if it were ...now !!

 

WELL DONE

 

Thank you

Cheers

[pumpkinlady]

Many thanks for the wonderful pictures and your daily travelogue. I liked seeing the canal as you moved through it, and the pictures of the different ports in Mexico. DH & I will be on the Constellation in January with the same itinerary, so it's great to see what's in store for us :) You also went on one of the tours we're going on, the Tarcoles River cruise.

 

We were on the Infinity 5 yrs ago (to Alaska), and it was nice to see some of the "familiar places". Glad you liked the ship. Looking forward to seeing whatever else I can before we leave for our trip. Happy holidays!

[sayvan]

We're really enjoying sailing with you. We'll be on her out of Ft. Lauderdale to Seattle, Washington in April/May 2011. Great review. Speaking of People Watching -- on Embarkation Day we always like to sit & sip while watching people board. Where would be a good spot for that activity? The Rendezvous? Or?

 

I guess the answer would really depend what entrance they were using to embark. The oceanview café I would say is where most folks head on the first day. Perhaps Deck 4 would also be a good spot there were a number of sitting areas there and this is the level that we embarked on. Here you would be able to see folks coming on board and getting there champagne etc.

 

You can see folks sitting on Deck 4 in this shot.

 

[sayvan]

Many thanks for the wonderful pictures and your daily travelogue. I liked seeing the canal as you moved through it, and the pictures of the different ports in Mexico. DH & I will be on the Constellation in January with the same itinerary, so it's great to see what's in store for us :) You also went on one of the tours we're going on, the Tarcoles River cruise.

 

We were on the Infinity 5 yrs ago (to Alaska), and it was nice to see some of the "familiar places". Glad you liked the ship. Looking forward to seeing whatever else I can before we leave for our trip. Happy holidays!

 

Thanks and I am glad you are enjoying this. I hope you have better success with the air conditioning on your bus when you head to the River in Costa Rica!;)

[sayvan]

Hope everyone had a great Christmas ..... I now have an opportunity to continue the review.

 

Today, we would be arriving in our final Port on this Journey. We had looked forward to Cartagena from the start. This was an area the DW (Vanda) had visited years before with her father and had predicted we would not be disappointed. She would be right, especially for those that love to take pictures.

 

The shipped pulled into Port around 8 am. The Port is a working port for sure. Many vessels, crates and cranes all over. As we sailed into the port you could see on the one side the new city of Cartagena with its skyscrapers and buildings which back dropped beaches along the ocean front. As you turned to look around to the other side, you are hit by the colours of the old city off in the distance and just to right of this view, you then get a vision of Coastal Cartagena and its abundance of trees and beaches. Before we even beagn to prepare for the day, it was obvious this city had much to offer.

 

 

 

 

[sayvan]

We had nothing really planned for this day. We wanted to simply see the sights. Walk around the old city and enjoy as much as we could. Our plan was to meet up with Craig and Vicki around 8:30 am just off the gangway. The weather today was extremely hot, it was overcast and extremely humid. Rain was in the forecast but our fingers were crossed and hopefully we would be able to escape any downpours.

 

As you leave the ship in this port you have the option to walk quite a distance or to take the shuttle bus that is provided. Cartagena has a very long pier...we opted for the shuttle bus. As you disembark the shuttle bus you arrive at a number of shops and waiting taxis. We had been told by some fellow cruise passengers that when looking for a taxi there will be two types. Drivers that wear Blue shirts and those that wear white shirts. The recommendation was to stay away from the blue shirts as they seldom spoke English and well we would eventually find this to be true. As we came out of the shops we found a white shirt driver who would take us around for the day ...$20 per person. We then embarked our taxi and headed for the Old Fortress.

 

 

[phinn]

Love reading your review..

 

"As you can see from my signature tags, I have cruised Holland America and Carnival (are you allowed to say that word on the Celebrity page?). This was our first cruise with Celebrity. I will not do comparison's. My thoughts on this are simple. Any cruise is a great cruise, all lines have something unique to offer that is different from others. In many cases it's like comparing Apples to Oranges. Some days I feel like an Apple and on other days I feel like an Orange...either way they're both fruit and offer you something good just like cruise lines. Each offer benefits that the other doesn't. "

 

I also love your attitude about cruising. I've been on old ships, new ships, small, large, good and bad. Each one of them gave me something unique, and I've learned that a cruise is what you make it.

Thanks again!

[sayvan]

The actual title of the fortress is "Castillo San Felipe de Barajas" and construction on the fortress began in 1536 but was not fully completed until 1657. There were later additions made to the fortress dating as late as 1763. The stone blocks used to build the castle were said to be splattered with the blood of slaves. Cartagena was a port of the black slave trade. The guns of the castle commanded the whole bay, so that any suspicious vessel attempting to dock could be attacked.The castle is well preserved. In 1984 the castle became a World Heritage Site. The castle is striking for its grand entrance and its complex maze of tunnels. We spent well over an hour at this location exploring the tunnels and and climbing to the highest levels of the this fortress.

 

 

The climb up to the fortress:

 

The view from the entrance to the fortress:

 

 

Entrance:

 

A Soldier greets you at the entrance to the Fortress:

[sayvan]

Here are a few more shots from around the fortress:

 

Craig and Vanda greet the Spanish Army:

 

Vanda gets a blast from the trumpet:

 

 

 

 

[sayvan]

 

 

 

 

 

[sayvan]

 

 

Section of the old fortress with a backdrop of the new city:

 

 

 

[sayvan]

As we made our way through the fortress we came upon the section that led us to the underground tunnels. The tunnels were built to allow movement from one battery to another within the fortress and also to allow for supply's to be delivered and also evacuation from the fortress.

 

 

 

 

 

You can see the height of the tunnel was very low. Vanda is about 5'5".

 

[sayvan]

 

 

View from the top of the fortress:

 

 

 

Craig and Vicki study the fortress map:

 

[sayvan]

Some shots from the grounds around the Fortress:

 

 

 

Some vendors sharing a laugh:

 

 

 

We thoroughly enjoyed our time at the fortress. I also enjoyed the fact that we could take our time as we walked through the tunnels and fortress and were not rushed in anyway. When we were ready to move on we made our way back down to the bottom of the hill and met up with our cab driver. In case you were wondering, I think we paid about 10 dollars each to go through the fortress. I will also mention that there are are number of vendors at the bottom of the fortress trying to sell you their products. Some were more pushy then others but the key was to simply say no and move on.

 

When we met up with our cab driver we did get a bit of a surprise. The cab driver (who was a white shirt if you recall) was now standing with a blue shirt cabby. The guy in the blue shirt he claimed was his brother in law, and he was now passing us off to him. This was a bit unexpected to say the least and sure enough our new cabby spoke zero English. However, as the day went on, we did manage to communicate very well with him and he actually was a very good guide and with the use of a map we saw everything we wanted as you shall see.... He also stuck right with us and tried his best to explain different sites we were seeing. It is amazing how easy it does become to communicate with the use of your hands....

 

Our next stop on this tour of Cartagena was to enter the walled city.

[sayvan]

After we had switched up taxi drivers we then made our way back to the car and began the journey from the fortress to the walled city. Cartagena is a city filled with history. The city is connected by a number of bridges and by walls which were built in the 17th century. These walls have come to be known as the "Historic old city".

 

The old walled city has changed very little over the years. It features many winding streets filled with colorfully painted buildings that in my opinion are simply delightful. Our first stop in the walled city would be the Dungeons.

 

Alongside the ramparts, this long building consists of 23 deep rooms, or dungeons, which originally served as military barracks. Built toward the end of the 18th century, these barracks were the last major structure to be built within the walled city during the Colonial era.

 

 

 

Colors of some of the homes around the Dungeons:

 

 

 

A view of the University across from the Dungeons. This shot was taken while on top of the dungeons:

[sayvan]

As we walked through the Dungeons which are now a number of shops, the views were spectacular.

 

Here are some fellow passengers on a carriage ride through the old city.

 

 

 

Heading down from the roof of the Dungeons:

 

 

[sayvan]

Here are a few more shots from around the dungeons: