Rare Zoey1 Posted July 1, 2012 #1 Share Posted July 1, 2012 We just got back late Friday evening. What a great cruise. A little about us. We are in our 50's have sailed many times with RCCL & Princess to the Caribbean, last year we took our first Alaskan cruise in HAL (we would not sail HAL again) the weather had been so bad (not just rain but heavy fog) that all or our excursions were canceled and we saw nadda/zip/zero as for wildlife we have seen way more in our backyard so we decided to bite the bullet and try again this year with Celebrity. We had friends cruising with us this year who have also sailed many times but this was both couples 2nd time on Celebrity the first being in January on the Eclipse) We arrived very late Thursday evening and spent the night at the Seattle Airport Marriott(same as last year except last year we got upgraded to a fabulous wrap around room/suite think that was called king executive) this year we had regular room but with our late arrival it was more than adequate and served it's purpose. Hotel is very clean and accommodating, rooms & bathrooms well appointed. We had pre booked Already there Limo for our ride to the pier. (used them last year at the recommendation of several people on these boards) They are wonderful to deal with, came promptly and all our luggage fit well in the SUV that came. I would highly recommend this company! We had an 11am pick up from the hotel, took us to the pier where check in was fast and easy. We went to the Oceanview cafe for lunch as the rooms are not ready until after 1pm. Lunch was not great we were very unimpressed so decided to book a specialty restaurant for evening. We were in a Celebrity suite and our friends had a Sky suite so we had one complimentary specialty dinner which our butler informed us had to be on the first night (on the Eclipse it was any night we chose) We dined at the SS United States and had an EXCELLENT meal, I would highly recommend trying it out. I am not usually too big on the Broadway type shows but have to say the welcome show was really enjoyable! We went to the casino after the show and made our deposit :-) The 2nd day is a sea day which was a pleasure to be able to relax and not have to rush anywhere. My memory of days/activities is a bit fuzzy so I may not be correct about which days was what :-) We wanted to do the i workshop for learning about organizing photos for our iPads, they did not have enough people signed up so we were told we could do this class on the 2nd sea day 2 for 1!! We had heard how great Brent Nixon (their Naturalist onboard) was, it really is not "my thing" but I knew hubby would really enjoy it and went to his lecture (really almost more of a show) I was really glad I went! It was not only informative but highly entertaining, I went to 2 of his shows my hubby went to almost all of them and I would recommend you see him at least once or twice, he is terrific! He also lists times where you are more likely to see some wildlife. We had heard (we did not know this was an option while sailing on the Eclipse but learned about this option on these boards) that as suite guests we could eat at Blu (based on availability) for a $5 p/p fee. We were only able to get an early reservation as it was the first formal night. They seemed rather unorganized but we got our table and had a waiter that was a bit over the top. We were very disappointed in both the food and the service. The Matr'd really wanted us to return another evening but we did not come back. As an FYI we had dined at Qsine on the Eclipse and while we really liked our dishes the service was SO slow (we were a party of 6 and were there over 3 hours) I would have liked to have tried it again and asked them to pick up the pace but our friends were not "in" for trying such a looong dining experience> The rest of the evenings we dined in the main dining room and once our waiters realized we were returning each night were really very good and accommodating. Food ranged from okay to very good. The rest of my thoughts are probably random and perhaps unorganized but perhaps there is something that might be useful for others. You never want for food on these ships, a bit disappointing was at breakfast, they stop serving waffles/french toast (oceanview cafe) after 9:30am but on Thursday they did have them later, they are both amazing, don't miss it :-) Plenty of choices at all meals, the early days in port we ordered room service and like on the Eclipse they call before coming so it was a nice heads up, we used the card put on the door the night prior and service was always there at the top of the 1/2 hour (9-9:30am came at 9 on the button) Do NOT miss the big brunch they have ( I think it was on the 2nd sea day) it is listed under restaurants on the Today program but I would have missed it had our waiter not mentioned it. It was really not to be missed, wonderful huge/meaty king crab legs, shrimp, every imaginable breakfast food and 2 tables of desserts)I think it was between 10-1pm. I would also recommend taking a high lighter pen to mark your today program for things you want to do the next day. It is hard to remember all the things that go on. My friend and I went to the spa on one of the port days that returned early afternoon and did the 20/20/20 (treatments are 20 mins each you chose from a menu and can add on if you like as well) I always write on the info form they give you "no sales pitch" I don't like appearing rude but this really has worked for us in not having to deal with it. I actually had a terrific gal whom I realized I had had on the Allure of the Seas, this was her last week on this ship and I hope I have her on another. What a fab relaxing time! Don't miss the soft serve frozen yogurt and/or ice cream available at the buffet daily! If you like you can add various toppings. As with Royal Caribbean their bran muffins are terrific! If you are not in a suite, (they bring the cart to your room at tea time) you can get afternoon tea & finger sandwiches, scones & desserts at the buffet everyday. They serve you everyday at the buffet (I prefer this as I think it helps eliminate the passing of germs, noro virus etc) hubby does not care for this however as he feels uncomfortable if he would like extra turkey or something asking for extra but the waiters are happy to give you as much/little of anything that you would like. Loved the "T" pool in the solarium. As for excursions we were booked in Ketchikan to take the floatplane to Misty Fjord Glaciers, I am a bit of a wuss about flying so was rather nervous about it. I am glad we did it however it was sort of a bucket list thing that I have crossed off and would not do again, it got a bit long for both of us and the choppiness of some of the ride was not my favorite but the sites were beautiful and I loved the landing on the water where we got to get out, very serene. In Juneau the weather was rainy and VERY windy & foggy, we were sort of hoping the helicopter (Mendenhall glacier & dog sledding) would not go as we were not looking fwd to getting up there with all that wind, it was canceled and we were okay with it. we walked around a bit then came back to the ship. In Skagway our excursion was the highlight of our trip we did SK13 which was very unlike us but it had come highly recommended and did not disappoint. It was the float (raft) along the river eagle preserve) dress warmly if you do this (they provide extra jacket/gloves/hats and recommend you bring extra socks to keep your feet warm and we were glad we did) we saw many many bald eagles up close & personal, our guide was "CP" and he was wonderful, it was a really fun and great experience, I can't say enough good things about it and we would do this again in a heart beat! I think I covered most everything, sorry if I rambled abit but I know before we sailed, I was so excited to hear any and every tidbit about the ship/experiences of others, if you have any questions, please feel free to ask. It was a great trip! Wendy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Phxazzcruisers Posted July 1, 2012 #2 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Great review. Thanks. I am, however, very sorry that you did not enjoy your meal in Blu. It is one of our all time favorite restaurants and we always stay in Aqua Class or the penthouse just to be Abel to eat there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
vivavegas Posted July 1, 2012 #3 Share Posted July 1, 2012 Welcome Back! Great review! Thanks for taking the time to write your review and share with us!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Northern Aurora Posted July 2, 2012 #4 Share Posted July 2, 2012 We recently spent thirty-one nights on the Infinity in an Aqua Class cabin. We thoroughly enjoyed Blu -- the food, the ambience and the staff. Had you posted your disappointment with Blu during the cruise itself, I would have urged you to try it again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brassyjan Posted July 2, 2012 #5 Share Posted July 2, 2012 thanks for the wonderful review...we leave in 2 wks for Alaska! Which limo company did you use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Zoey1 Posted July 2, 2012 Author #6 Share Posted July 2, 2012 thanks for the wonderful review...we leave in 2 wks for Alaska!Which limo company did you use? Already There Town Car Service they were recommended from these boards, we used them last year and again this year, very reliable and we were really happy with their service. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Zoey1 Posted July 2, 2012 Author #7 Share Posted July 2, 2012 We recently spent thirty-one nights on the Infinity in an Aqua Class cabin. We thoroughly enjoyed Blu -- the food, the ambience and the staff. Had you posted your disappointment with Blu during the cruise itself, I would have urged you to try it again. I will give them a try again the next time we sail with Celebrity, we had heard nothing but good things about Blu and were really disappointed but sounds like we were the exception not the rule. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Zoey1 Posted July 2, 2012 Author #8 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Another thing I forgot to mention was the luggage valet service..they do not advertise it that well and in fact, our friends had gotten a notice about it (we did not) we have used luggage valet with RCCL and were thrilled with how easy it was. When we were on the Eclipse we asked about it and signed up but they said they had a minimum number of people ( I forget if it was like 25 or 50?) and because they did not have enough people sign up, it got cancelled ( we believe they did not have enough people as they do not promote it enough). On the Infinity, they did not have a minimum, only the usual requirements (airline, flight times etc) it is only $20p/p and it is the best money you will have ever spent. We were given the luggage tags the next day, told to report to the Celebrity theatre at 8:20am and when we went down we were able to "just literally walk off the ship", you put your luggage out the night prior and do not even see it until you arrive at your home city..so easy... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
redhot1 Posted July 2, 2012 #9 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Great review, we were on the innguaral sailing of the Infinity and were on her least Aug to Alaska and had a cruise on her this year also but went on HAL instead. I agree wholeheartedly with you on Already there. Charolettl is great and all the drivers we have had the past 3 years and this year also are very good, prompt and take care of everything in getting you from the airport to the Fairmont and to the ship. We would highly reccomend them to anyone. Again thaqnk you for an informative review. we are going again next yezar for our 50th but on Century this time.:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
d4m Posted July 2, 2012 #10 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Zoey~~ Nice, thorough review. Thanks for discussing so many areas of the cruise that you took. Loved hearing about the floatplane! Somepeople love Blu and some don't. Not my cuppa tea, but am glad others enjoy it so much. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
portofrome Posted July 2, 2012 #11 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Thanks for your review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
erewhon Posted July 2, 2012 #12 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Thank you for taking the time to write and post your review. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LandHopper Posted July 2, 2012 #13 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Great review, Thank you for taking time to write it! So, how was the Celebrity Suite? We are booked in 9096 for the Feb 3 Antarctica sailing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare Zoey1 Posted July 2, 2012 Author #14 Share Posted July 2, 2012 Great review, Thank you for taking time to write it! So, how was the Celebrity Suite? We are booked in 9096 for the Feb 3 Antarctica sailing. The celebrity suite was fabulous (our first X cruise was on the Eclipse and we had booked a CS and a couple of weeks they had a huge price drop on the Royal suite so we were able to upgrade for the same price as what we had paid for the CS..and THAT was really amazing!) Anyway, the CS on the infinity was lovely it has a fairly decent sized livng/dining room area (round table for 4) large flat screen TV and bar and desk, all the walls are mirrored which makes the room appear even larger. The balcony is not deep but it is long (entire length of living room quarters) it had to 2 sitting chairs that did recline but I had asked if our butler could bring us foot stools as well. If you have any specific questions please feel free to ask away. Also I would recommend taking an outlet extention as there are not too many outlets. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cruiseclues Posted May 10, 2013 #15 Share Posted May 10, 2013 Thanks for your review...didn't seem that long...just right. :):):):) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dln929 Posted May 10, 2013 #16 Share Posted May 10, 2013 I liked your comment about attending Brent Nixon's lecture. When we were on the Equinox over Christmas, there was a lecturer who was speaking on the topic of Caribbean music. Not my thing, but like you, I went because my husband was interested. What a surprise! I was hooked. ;) After that I give all Celebrity speakers the benefit of the doubt because in every case I've really enjoyed learning new things! I'm glad you had such a good cruise. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
0
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.