Back from Infinity 12/18/2011 Sailing - Anybody have any questions?

[thejman]

If anybody has any questions about post dry dock Infinity or the South America itinerary, I'm happy to answer them.

[Host Jazzbeau]

Thanks!

 

I'll be on Summit for her first post-refurb cruise later this month, so my main concern is: what areas weren't ready on Day 1, and how did that affect your cruise experience?

[thejman]

Thanks!

 

I'll be on Summit for her first post-refurb cruise later this month, so my main concern is: what areas weren't ready on Day 1, and how did that affect your cruise experience?

I was one the second cruise after the refurb, so I can't comment on that. I heard from other passengers that were on the first cruise and some didn't mind it, while other did.

 

Some complained that all the artwork wasn't back up and they were still finishing cleaning up. Additionally, there was still work going on to finish the newly installed rooms.

 

On my cruise the only thing that wasn't working was the ship clocks. Apparently they were broken during the dry dock and still weren't fixed by the end of my cruise almost 1 month later.

 

Also on my cruise, the embarkation key cards issued for your room at the port did not work on the ship. Everybody had to wait in line at the front desk to get a new card before getting into the staterooms. This line lasted until midnight on embarkation day. Also, the printers used to print the dailies were out of service for the majority of the cruise so we were issued shortened versions. I am not sure whether these two issues were related to the dry dock or not.

[Andy]

Hi Thejman,

 

-- Other than the addition of BLU, did you notice any significant changes to the Main Dining Room ? more tables ? crowding or service issues ? Many of us are curious to hear if the addition of BLU affects the MDR negatively.

 

-- Any comments on the Wi-Fi Service ? Was it enabled throughout the ship ?

 

-- Were the Aft Aqua Class verandas covered either partially or fully ?

 

Thanks in advance !

[thejman]

Hi Thejman,

 

-- Other than the addition of BLU, did you notice any significant changes to the Main Dining Room ? more tables ? crowding or service issues ? Many of us are curious to hear if the addition of BLU affects the MDR negatively.

 

-- Any comments on the Wi-Fi Service ? Was it enabled throughout the ship ?

 

-- Were the Aft Aqua Class verandas covered either partially or fully ?

 

Thanks in advance !

 

My cruise was very unique so my comments on the MDR might not be representative of these ships going forward. About 2/3rds of my cruise was native Spanish speakers, and this demographic preferred to eat late. The late seating was full and most select diners also showed up late. I also preferred to eat late. With that said, the MDR was completely overwhelmed and I received very poor MDR service about half of the nights I ate there. Examples:

1.) Could not get a refill on my water one night to save my life. Our table was completely ignored for about 45 minutes until finally the maitre'd came by and asked if we needed anything. Strangely enough, this same night, 5 (yes 5) different waiters came by to take out dessert order. It seems like nobody knew who was supposed to be servicing our table.

 

2.) Waited 1 hour before our bar order was taken one night. And even then it was taken by the head waiter who had stopped by to ask if we needed anything. It took him another 15 minutes to track down somebody to take our bar order.

 

3.) Ordered 1 GLASS of wine one night, and was brought an entire BOTTLE of a completely different wine. As it was already opened we agreed to keep it. 30 minutes later we were brought somebody's else's Seapass card with a receipt for a completely different bottle of wine. 30 minutes later our Seapass card was returned to us and we were assured the charges would show up correctly. Not surprising, we were charged for two bottles of wine which required a trip to the front desk the next day. The man at the front desk was very unwilling to reverse the charges. "Is it possible you don't remember drinking two bottles of wine, sir?"

 

4.) Ordered a Leffe beer one night and was brought an opened and poured Stella Artois instead by the same wine guy who mixed things up above. He assured me I would like it since it "was made by the same company." Nevermind that one is an ale and one is a lager, one is a pilsner, one is a Belgian, etc. He then proceeded to drop a glass full of ice onto my partner which subsequently shattered all over the floor and table. Since my preference was for him to remove the shards of glass from my table, I told him to put the beer down and I would keep it. I really don't understand the logic of bringing the customer an OPENED substitute product when one product is unavailable?

 

5.) When ordering new wine or when retrieving a bottle from the prior night, it was usually unlikely that the wine would arrive before the entree course.

 

Towards the end of the cruise we would stop in at one of the other bars on the ship and take with us to the MDR anything we wished to drink. I suppose my biggest grip was with beverage service. The waiters generally got everything correct and the food arrived in a timely fashion. The waiters did seem extremely rushed, however. There was generally never any introduction or pleasantries as they didn't seem to have the time for it.

 

Again, I don't know if the issues I experienced were related to all select diners showing up at the same time, or if the addition of BLU has caused the MDR to be understaffed. Others on the same cruise who ate earlier did not experience the same problems that I did.

 

One thing I found strange was that the greeters at select dining never knew where the table numbers were at. They carried maps with them and we were seated multiple times at one table only to be later asked to move to another table because we were accidentally "seated at the wrong number." I suspect the addition of BLU caused them to re-number the tables and they are still learning where everything is.

 

The WI-FI service was always very strong in my stateroom and everywhere else on the ship that I tried it. Unfortunately, I think the ship is running on limited bandwidth and increasing the accessibility of the WI-FI signal has led to a greater burden on the bandwidth and thus lower speeds for everybody. Whether using my iPad or using the computers in the iLounge, it would take me 8-10 minutes to logon to my web-based email, much less read and respond, or do anything else online. The speeds were slightly better late at night or early in the morning, but not by much. I think the crew also has expanded wi-fi access and they are probably using it at various odd hours too, thus why I didn't see much improvement during slow times of passenger use.

 

As far as the aft aqua class verandas, I can't remember if they are covered, but I do not think that they are, or they might be very partially covered. The two end rooms have no privacy from the aft bar. They look directly down onto it. The other rooms look directly down onto the shade that covers the aft bar, and you can not see them. All of these verandas are set back fairly far from the ocean so I'm not sure the view will be that great, and of course there will be the noise and smoke issue from the aft bar as well. I'm sure some people will like these balconies for one reason or another, but I would classify them as probably being the worst ones on the entire ship.

[ghstudio]

Obviously, the cruise from hell....a dining room staffed with people with no management, because they likely had no plan and alot of new staff and management inventing and learning on the fly. Unfortunately, not a surprise with Celebrity because they just dump all difficulties on the ship and says "work it out yourselves". It's the typical "no one in charge" syndrome.

 

I imagine that in a few more cruises they'll figure out some routine for select dining and all will once again be well...but your trip was clearly a horror in the dining room. We'll probably see this on each ship as they go thru their solstilization.

[thejman]

Obviously, the cruise from hell....a dining room staffed with people with no management, because they likely had no plan and alot of new staff and management inventing and learning on the fly. Unfortunately, not a surprise with Celebrity because they just dump all difficulties on the ship and says "work it out yourselves". It's the typical "no one in charge" syndrome.

 

I imagine that in a few more cruises they'll figure out some routine for select dining and all will once again be well...but your trip was clearly a horror in the dining room. We'll probably see this on each ship as they go thru their solstilization.

MDR from hell, perhaps, but the rest of the cruise was fine. My stateroom attendant was very good, and I had no problems with the rest of the service staff aside from some erroneous mini bar charges, which were hell to get reversed.

 

For posterity's sake and the benefit of the search engine, I will also mention that anybody considering this particular holiday cruise (Valparaiso to Buenos Aires on the Infinity over Christmas and New Year's holidays) should know that it is a theme cruise. The theme is "Spanish Speakers Holiday Cruise." All announcements were bilingual. All shows aside from the production shows were also bilingual with a slant towards Spanish. 90% of the on board music and entertainment was hispanic and Spanish themed. There was no comedian on the entire cruise. The cruise director staff was very formal and stiff. I did not participate in them, but I heard that some of the shore excursions that were supposed to be in English were bilingual instead. If the staff was unsure which language you spoke, they defaulted to Spanish. English speaking passengers were essentially ignored on this cruise. Since it IS South America, I didn't mind so much, but other passengers were upset about all the issues described above. While I didn't really mind it, I was surprised from a business standpoint that Celebrity would ignore (and risk losing future business) from its core repeat customers (English speakers) to cater to one group for a single annual cruise. Although reading the forums, this seems to be a trend with this company? I.E. the American Girl cruise? Who knows... It is my understanding that the other South American cruises on the Infinity do not operate the same way as the holiday cruise.

[madcitymaven]

If anybody has any questions about post dry dock Infinity or the South America itinerary, I'm happy to answer them.

 

We're sailing on the Infinity in March and wondering if you had the opportunity to see any of the AQ cabins on deck 9. Also, did you have the opportunity to sample any of the new specialty restaurants (Bistro on 5, Qsine, etc) and what were your impressions?

 

Thanks in advance for your input!

[thejman]

We're sailing on the Infinity in March and wondering if you had the opportunity to see any of the AQ cabins on deck 9. Also, did you have the opportunity to sample any of the new specialty restaurants (Bistro on 5, Qsine, etc) and what were your impressions?

 

Thanks in advance for your input!

 

I did not go in the Aqua class cabins on 9, but I did see inside them walking by. I don't think they are any different than any other balcony cabin. The bathrooms might be a bit different, though, but I did not see inside one.

 

Bistro on 5 is very good. I went there 4 times. The service was the best I experienced on the whole ship, and the food quality could not be better.

 

I had intended to try Qsine but could not bring myself to spend $40 per person once I was on the ship with so much other "free" food all over the place. The restaurant itself looks neat, though, albeit a bit smaller than I was expecting.

 

Cafe al Bacio coffee drinks are just ok. A notch below Starbucks quality. The little pastries and snacks they have are free and decent, although some of the desserts are re-branded leftovers from the main dining room the night before (a good thing if there was a dessert you really liked and want more of). The gelateria was very good. To me, it is light years ahead of the ice cream in the Oceanview Cafe, but the $3-$5 charge for a small serving is a bit aggressive.

 

The martini bar is a well executed design with some interesting (albeit a very poor value) drinks. The ice feature on top of the bar is neat, but really just becomes a place for the kids to write their names.

 

Cellarmasters is a nice place to sit and the wine machines are a good idea in concept but horrible in execution. They do not accept your Seapass card. Instead, you must purchase a separate card to use in these machines in $25 increments. I didn't see a single person using the machines for this reason. They also have a tapas menu in Cellarmasters, but I did not try it.

 

Michael's club is indeed a sports and craft beer bar now. It's still a very classy place. The sports aspect of it is really just that they put football games on the TV. With the TV off it does not feel like a sports bar, but there is no piano. The craft beer portion is very well-executed. I think they have about 50 craft beers, and they even attempt to chill them at proper serving temperatures, and out of proper glassware. The prices, however, are outrageous. There is a much larger markup on these beers than there is on wine or virtually anything else you might buy on the ship. For example, an 11.3 ounce Delirium Tremens is $14 plus gratuity. A Dogfish Head 90 minute is $9 per beer. Since this ship spends a lot of time out of the United States where these beers are not available, I am not sure how they plan to keep up stock. I would guess they have purchased huge quantities of these beers to store on board, but for items like IPA's that go downhill 1 month after bottling, this is a problem, so just ask to check the bottle before you order a date sensitive beer here.

 

As far as the refurbished staterooms go, I had a standard balcony cabin. It had new carpet, new bed, new drapes, new decorative pillows and new solstice class balcony furniture. In the bathroom, I think only the shower curtain was new, and possibly the shower head. Nothing else in the bathroom was updated. In my room, the bed sheets, pillows and comforter were not new. Given that all the bed dressings were not new, and the pillows were as thin as a paper towel, it is hard for me to evaluate the overall comfort of the new beds. It's not something I personally care too much about. I'm sure they are much better than the old beds, but I suspect many will still not like them, and they are far from industry leading. It feels like the goal in replacing the beds was simply because the old ones were old, not to increase the overall quality and comfort of the beds.

[emileg]

We're sailing on the Infinity in March and wondering if you had the opportunity to see any of the AQ cabins on deck 9. Also, did you have the opportunity to sample any of the new specialty restaurants (Bistro on 5, Qsine, etc) and what were your impressions?

 

Thanks in advance for your input!

TheJMan: Thanks for posting your information. I too wonder about what kind of refurbishment the converted Concierge to AQ class cabins on Deck 9 had. Did they just add aqua amenities or did they refurbish the cabins as well? Thanks.

[coldweathergirl]

We're sailing on the Jan 29th sailing of Infiinity in AQ on 9.

 

I was lead to believe from their press release that all the bedding would be new but maybe not. I hope there is a pillow menu like they advertise as I have a hard time with pillows.

 

We'll be in Blu so hopefully the service will be much better than you describe in the MDR. I can't believe that it is so disorganized. I'm so glad I never booked an earlier sailing. We sailed on the inaugural of the Carnival Magic in Europe this spring and I was afraid that it would be as you described but service was flawless. I thought for the likes of a company like Celebrity they would have their best people on board and plans in place to ensure that service went smoothly.

[Andy]

Hi Thejman,

 

Thanks for your information. Sorry to hear your confirmation of the Piano being removed in Michaels Club. It's what I suspected, and confirms recent rumors. This is one of the few changes I'm not pleased with at all.

[JetAway]

We were on the "Solsticized" Infinity "inaugural" cruise (Panama Canal & western S. America) and in 9th deck Aqua Class. The bathrooms were extensively renovated, including new tile, spa-style shower fixtures and swinging glass shower doors. The beds seemed to be typical cruise ship summer camp style beds with new sheets, spreads, etc. Fairly comfortable but not nearly as good as at a high end hotel. We ate in Blu, where the service was outstanding. The only issues we had were noise issues--from the pool deck above and from equipment that was not properly secured after dry dock. Otherwise, for us at least, everything ran smoothly.

[Lady Jane]

TheJMan: Thanks for posting your information. I too wonder about what kind of refurbishment the converted Concierge to AQ class cabins on Deck 9 had. Did they just add aqua amenities or did they refurbish the cabins as well? Thanks.

 

From what I've heard (and partially seen), the AQ cabins are the same as Concierge Class but with Aqua Spa amenities and, I believe, an extra side shower head in the shower (at least on the Eclipse).

 

Jane

[Loracpin2]

Do the CC bathrooms have shower doors as well AC. Now that we've been spoiled with Solstice class showers, I just can't go back to a shower curtain.

 

Thanks.

[thejman]

Hi Thejman,

 

Thanks for your information. Sorry to hear your confirmation of the Piano being removed in Michaels Club. It's what I suspected, and confirms recent rumors. This is one of the few changes I'm not pleased with at all.

There is a piano now at Cafe al Bacio. Not sure if that was there before? I had never sailed this class of ship before.

[emileg]

Thank you "thejman" and "Lady Jane" for your input on the Aqua cabins on Deck 9. One other question: Do Elite members still get free cocktails at Michael's Club or has that been switched to another venue? Thanks. - Emile

[Andy]

There is a piano now at Cafe al Bacio. Not sure if that was there before? I had never sailed this class of ship before.

 

Hi Thejman,

 

Thank you for the info. There has been a Piano at Cafe al Bacio for a while, at least on Constellation. I do not believe it's a new addition.

[Project_gal]

On my cruise the only thing that wasn't working was the ship clocks. Apparently they were broken during the dry dock and still weren't fixed by the end of my cruise almost 1 month later.

 

Still not working!!!

 

Also on my cruise, the embarkation key cards issued for your room at the port did not work on the ship. Everybody had to wait in line at the front desk to get a new card before getting into the staterooms. This line lasted until midnight on embarkation day. Also, the printers used to print the dailies were out of service for the majority of the cruise so we were issued shortened versions. I am not sure whether these two issues were related to the dry dock or not.

 

Neither of these were problems on the first cruise after drydock.

 

Sue

[ljk76]

"and new solstice class balcony furniture. In the bathroom, I think only the shower curtain was new"

 

Thanks for all the updates! I was afraid the awful strap balcony furniture would remain...I think it did on the first redo. We are on the Summit a few weeks after her drydock in an aft balcony. Sounds like some showers got glass doors, maybe just aqua class?

 

This will be our third Summit cruise and it will be so much fun to see the updates. I look forward to bistro on 5, CellarMasters, the new Martini bar...And revisiting our favorite aft bar!

 

Is the pool or T pool solarium updated or refreshed at all? Thanks!

[Grumpy100]

We are on the infinity in may. Hopefully they will have their act together by then. I always just go with the flow.

[whizkidcat]

We were on the "Solsticized" Infinity "inaugural" cruise (Panama Canal & western S. America) and in 9th deck Aqua Class. The bathrooms were extensively renovated, including new tile, spa-style shower fixtures and swinging glass shower doors. The beds seemed to be typical cruise ship summer camp style beds with new sheets, spreads, etc. Fairly comfortable but not nearly as good as at a high end hotel. We ate in Blu, where the service was outstanding. The only issues we had were noise issues--from the pool deck above and from equipment that was not properly secured after dry dock. Otherwise, for us at least, everything ran smoothly.

 

If you have time, could you upload some pictures for us to see?? :) Thanks!

[CelebrityMan]

Since Café al Bacio is the replacement for the former Cova Café di Milano, there has always been a piano there in the midship alcove over the Grand Staircase.

 

I, too, am very sorry to have it confirmed that the piano is gone from Michael's Club. This had been told to us last April aboard Infinity, by the Hotel Director, as their post-refurbishment plans. While I'm very glad to hear that the lounge is still quite classy it does take it down a notch IMHO.

 

I'll be anxious to see photos of the new incarnation of Michael's and to experience it firsthand on our next sailing.

 

 

CM