Live from infinity TA - October 13-27

[upwarduk]

Roughly 50 passengers were supposed to board in Lisbon….and 50 crew members were supposed to leave (and be replaced) as well. The ship was supposed to take on a large load of fruits and vegetables and meat as well as fuel. Now that we are going to Ponta Delgado, no one knows how (or if) those people or provisions will reach the ship.

 

I had wondered about Madeira- so you won't be too far away.

There was a similar situation when we couldn't get into Curacao ( Eclipse March 2013)

The staff /entertainers who were due to transfer had to wait a few days until we visited Aruba, to get on revised flights. One was the deputy manager of Customer Relations. He was due to fly out to Australia to take over the Managers role of Customer relations on Solstice and take her up to Alaska.

These decisions obviously aren't taken lightly.

Sue Denning told us when we spoke to her in Aruba, that she had been woken at 5am and warned that she might have to plan a revised schedule for the day- and passengers complained that there was nothing for them to do at 9am!

[pixiedust777]

Wow...definitely has me reconsidering a TA cruise.

Following along as we will be boarding her when you arrive in FLL on 10/27.

I will be sure to bring a couple bungee cords and some tape for our AQ cabin 1136;)

[pammi44]

I will be on Infinity in 6 months so your review is a nice introduction to the ship. Last summer on the Silhouette there was an assistant CD named Alesandro (from Argentina I believe) who was wonderful. Liked him better than the CD. I wonder if this the same gentleman and if so, I hope he is still there in April. Thanks for your time here!

[Tangocherie]

OP,

With your description of drawers and doors banging because of the rough seas, I will most definitely bring some duct tape when I sail sail the Summit in room 1140.:eek:

[richsea]

Thanks for your reports. As of now, Bermuda is expecting a direct hit from Gonzalo at cat. 3 strength at 8pm Friday. I would think that it remains to be seen whether or not they will be in shape to receive Infinity.

 

Pixiedust777, I know what you mean. We have been hesitant in booking an early fall crossing, particularly one leaving from GB. Chance of storms in the N Atlantic at this time of year is too great. You may be better off considering one that takes a more southerly route, perhaps sailing from Rome to FL, or a spring sailing.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

We were in an A1 on the Infinity and experienced the creaking and groaning in the walls. That ship was not originally designed to have cabins there. Think it has made her a bit top heavy; thus the creaking and groaning. Fortunately, we had no issue with drawers and doors opening and closing at will.

[h20cruzer]

I know this isnt the norm, but this is my kind of cruise. Rocking and rolling and bad weather, I love it. We were in a hurricane on a Brillance TA some years back, one onf my most fondest memories.

Keep up the detailed reports please.

Norma

[TeaBag]

Your description of things is awesome. It's like being there ourselves. I hope you get your banging drawers and doors fixed. Would Guest services have some duct tape?

[Turtles06]

Your description of things is awesome. It's like being there ourselves. I hope you get your banging drawers and doors fixed. Would Guest services have some duct tape?

 

We never travel without this:

 

[cruisehome]

hope the weather improves

[Sloop-JohnB]

Thanks for the Updates.

 

Some points were quite interesting from my perspective (upcoming cruise on The Constellation):

 

Continuing….

 

25) I believe they have changed smoked salmon suppliers….today’s was a bit saltier and grainier than I recall. Bagels have not changed…they are still rolls with holes in the middle. Bread and breadsticks, however are outstanding as usual.

26) normal breakfast in blu…no surprises. I didn’t ask if they do eggs benedict…they do on some ships as an off menu items.

 

Not the best news... I love having Smoked Salmon on a Cruise for Breakfast... With Bagels & Cream Cheese, or on Eggs Benny

 

29) Iced Tea appeared this AM with ice (we asked for ice every day). We still have the three green apples. I’m going to ask for something besides apples. We’ve already told our cabin steward no canapes…we may have sushi on our balcony and go to the elite drinks at 6.

 

Noon: Blue sky…I am typing this sitting on our balcony looking at the long white wake from the ship…which looks like we’re just driving on a superhighway in the sea…very relaxing. Enjoying a glass of the wine we brought on board with cheese and crackers and fresh fruit from the buffet one deck below..

 

Ahhh, this is someone who knows how to enjoy balcony prime real estate !! Ice, Water & Fruit are necessities for us too (yet to try the Ice Tea... We shall see). Not crazy about the Canapés... But heard they had hanged them (but again... We will see). Green Apples could come in handy... They evidently can help if someone has an upset tummy / seasickness.

 

32) Very comfortable bed…cabin has its moans and groans but nothing that kept us awake.

 

Clearly unless their are rough waters... We will hope for the best, and restock our Cruise Kit's Duct Tape

 

 

33) 23 of 59 daytime activities today are events run by the concessions on board or by the excursion or specialty restaurant areas…..so while the activity page looks like it has rich content, there really seem to be less real events. 6 of the 23 are casino related; 7 are emporium or shopping, 7 are spa/fitness center sales oriented events and 3 are shore excursion/shopping guide events. I don’t consider “unhosted bridge tables reserved in the MDR” as an activity.

 

Cut backs on Activity Staff therefore clearly obvious

 

38) It’s cool out, so finding a seat at café B’accio is impossible….folks sit by the window (camp out and read, they take tables and play cards…pretty much makes it impossible to actually sit and have a cup of good coffee or tea unless you sit at one of the tables in the walking area.

 

Ya drives me crazy too. Coffee Chair Hogs

 

39) If you have the classic drink package, they will serve you a choice of three martini’s (cosmo and two others) at the martini bar….in the smaller glass of course. Knew that. There are a few Regular Martinis available at most / all bars

 

43) Lunch is offered today in Blu….no idea of the price, but I’ve never seen lunch in blu offered before. Interesting

 

46) Last night was formal night. I only noticed one gentleman in blu without a jacket of some sort. What are the odds? That would be 1 in how many hundred? But if you read the CC Boards the jacket-less are in the midst of overthrowing the masses, lol.

 

48) Another wait at Blu at 7PM…..about 20 minutes for our table of 4. Again, they gave us the buzzer and the opportunity for 50% off if we wanted to dine in a specialty restaurant. I asked and they are not allowing suite guests to dine in blu…it’s just aqua passengers all wanting to eat early.

49) Onion soup was as usual great. Caesar salad with anchovies was excellent, my crab/morel mushroom risotto was tasteless, apple crumb for dessert was good with after eight ice cream. Everyone else had the rack of lamb (lamb chops) which lacked seasoning…it was xxx

 

Sounds like it is well organized, and considerate to Pax in regards to the wait. Cannot wait to check Blu out !!

 

51) Note in Celebrity Today about deck chairs: “Personal items will be removed from chairs after half an hour and taken to the Kiosk on Deck 10 for your collection” AWESOME !!

 

55) I am used to a 15% tip on Celebrity ships. Noticed this morning that the new spa says “for your convenience an 18% service charge will be added to the cost of all treatments automatically.”

 

Believe it has been 18% for quite awhile... As I often use the Spa & Salon. Pretty sure I paid 18% Mandatory Grat as long ago as my first Celebrity Cruise on The Solstice in 2012

 

 

Sorry to hear about the current conditions / rough water. Hoping that things even out sooner than later for you.

 

Cheers!

[stjames]

Who is the current host in Blu?

[ghstudio]

I wonder if they would miss us if we just got off in the Azores and just flew home…. Yes, another night of rocking and rolling, creaking, drawers hitting the door of the closet and so on. Enough already…. I know this isn’t celebrity’s fault, but it’s our first cruise with bad seas this long….three nighs and two days. We are hopeful that when docked in the Azores we will have a few hours of non rocking shaking solid feeling ground.

 

Enough of our mental state….back to the cruise. I have to agree with those who say food quality has gone down. I had a rib eye steak last night in blu and it was thin. Amazingly, it was cooked medium rare as I wanted and still had a nice sauce, but it was like a thin slice of roast beef….not a steak. The everyday Cheese Cake was supurb. I suspect the weather is helping reduce waits at Blu and crowding at the elite cocktail hour….or we’ve changed to better times to arrive. We noticed last night that at about 6:30, the waiters at the cocktail event go into clean up mode and you have to tackle one of them to place an order.

 

We received two chocolate covered oreos on Formal night (we have not received any chocolates on the pillows). I guess that’s the replacement for the chocolates. There are three formal nights…maybe we’ll luck out and get three oreos.

 

Our friends just three doors down the hall from us are elites and they received a rose from the captain’s club two days ago. We are elite plus….no rose. I asked last night and was told (you decide if this sounds right)….housekeeping decided to deliver the roses in three batches rather than distributing them all at once. To me, that sounds just a little strange….

 

Weather has really kept us from going on deck…haven’t even been to the solarium/aqua spa café yet..but I’ll report on that soon.

GH

[Tangocherie]

On our recent cruise aboard the Century, there were two formal nights. We only got the chocolate covered Oreos on the first. Sorry about this letdown.:(

Edited October 17, 2014 by Tangocherie

[TeaBag]

I haven't read back over your posts again, ghstudio, but I believe you said they were supposed to take on meat and fruits and veggies at Lisbon which you skipped. Maybe they had to slice all the steaks in half horizontally to make the meat last to the next port!:eek:

 

I am so sorry the seas are impairing your trip. I am a light sleeper and if drawers were banging all night, I would be a wreck after the same number of days you have been on the ship. I appreciate your posts even more because of the situation.

 

I do hope you enjoy the Azores. Frankly I would enjoy that port more than Lisbon having been to both.

[curtdesilets]

I remember this from last time we cruised Celebrity...

 

25) I believe they have changed smoked salmon suppliers….today’s was a bit saltier and grainier than I recall. Bagels have not changed…they are still rolls with holes in the middle. Bread and breadsticks, however are outstanding as usual.

 

Seriously, how expensive is it to get a decent bagel? :eek:

[ghstudio]

sorry about error in item 43...that was lunch qsine...not blu.

 

beautiful day in Ponta Delgada...but no loading of provisions at all......I suspect berries will become a figment of our imagination.

[SheriffJoe]

I wonder if they would miss us if we just got off in the Azores and just flew home…. Yes, another night of rocking and rolling, creaking, drawers hitting the door of the closet and so on. Enough already…. I know this isn’t celebrity’s fault, but it’s our first cruise with bad seas this long….three nighs and two days. We are hopeful that when docked in the Azores we will have a few hours of non rocking shaking solid feeling ground.

 

Enough of our mental state….back to the cruise. I have to agree with those who say food quality has gone down. I had a rib eye steak last night in blu and it was thin. Amazingly, it was cooked medium rare as I wanted and still had a nice sauce, but it was like a thin slice of roast beef….not a steak. The everyday Cheese Cake was supurb. I suspect the weather is helping reduce waits at Blu and crowding at the elite cocktail hour….or we’ve changed to better times to arrive. We noticed last night that at about 6:30, the waiters at the cocktail event go into clean up mode and you have to tackle one of them to place an order.

 

We received two chocolate covered oreos on Formal night (we have not received any chocolates on the pillows). I guess that’s the replacement for the chocolates. There are three formal nights…maybe we’ll luck out and get three oreos.

 

Our friends just three doors down the hall from us are elites and they received a rose from the captain’s club two days ago. We are elite plus….no rose. I asked last night and was told (you decide if this sounds right)….housekeeping decided to deliver the roses in three batches rather than distributing them all at once. To me, that sounds just a little strange….

 

Weather has really kept us from going on deck…haven’t even been to the solarium/aqua spa café yet..but I’ll report on that soon.

GH

 

regarding your "thin steak" I thought the entire purpose of Blu was to offer "lighter and healthier" offerings....If I was served a 1 and a half inch ribeye in Blu I would wonder where the "lighter" theme went.....BUT I only eat THICK steaks which is one of the reasons Blu bears no interest to me..."lighter and healthier" on a cruise just does not compute with me! :D

[bossy_01]

Hi ghstudio...Hope the weather is not getting you down too much! Do you know if Andres is your activity host? He is a Spanish chap, slightly loopy (you will know if you have met him). He left equinox 2 days before our last cruise ended apparently heading for Infinity - if so please say that Chris and Sammy say hi - he will know who we are as we were lucky to spend a lot of time exploring places with him during his free time.

 

Thanks in advance..

[Loracpin2]

Thanks ghstudio for posting live. Sorry you're experiencing such bad weather.

 

We got off the Infinity on Oct. 1 after a 12 night wine immersion cruise. This was our 20th Celebrity cruise, first one as Elite-Plus. We were also in Aqua on Deck 9 midship (didn't take the upgrade to A1 because I was afraid of motion in the Bay of Biscaye). I agree with you completely about the changes and they're not for the good. To say our Aqua/Blu experience was a complete 180 from the one this past March, would be putting it mildly. It appears that Celebrity no longer sees the need for quality control. Guess the Senior Officers are too busy being part of the ship's nightly entertainment.

 

Our room staff and wait staff were fantastic. The Blu Manager went above and beyond to make things right. But there's just so many times you can apologize for inferior cuts of beef. As for the room, I can do without chocolates and flowers. I was disappointed when I discovered Celebrity decided made to remove the Frette towels from CC, AQ, and suites but, would have been OK with that if the replacement towels didn't have the terry part seperating from the border. Also didn't appreciate getting a Frette robe with a freyed collar. Certainly not the standards we've become accustomed to.

 

If this is what Celebrity call Modern Luxury, I'd rather have Traditional Luxury back.

[shoesonfire]

Thanks ghstudio for posting live. Sorry you're experiencing such bad weather.

 

We got off the Infinity on Oct. 1 after a 12 night wine immersion cruise. This was our 20th Celebrity cruise, first one as Elite-Plus. We were also in Aqua on Deck 9 midship (didn't take the upgrade to A1 because I was afraid of motion in the Bay of Biscaye). I agree with you completely about the changes and they're not for the good. To say our Aqua/Blu experience was a complete 180 from the one this past March, would be putting it mildly. It appears that Celebrity no longer sees the need for quality control. Guess the Senior Officers are too busy being part of the ship's nightly entertainment.

 

Our room staff and wait staff were fantastic. The Blu Manager went above and beyond to make things right. But there's just so many times you can apologize for inferior cuts of beef. As for the room, I can do without chocolates and flowers. I was disappointed when I discovered Celebrity decided made to remove the Frette towels from CC, AQ, and suites but, would have been OK with that if the replacement towels didn't have the terry part seperating from the border. Also didn't appreciate getting a Frette robe with a freyed collar. Certainly not the standards we've become accustomed to.

 

If this is what Celebrity call Modern Luxury, I'd rather have Traditional Luxury back.

 

We are sailing the Infinity when it arrives back in the USA returning to an Aqua cabin and hope your experiences with beef and modern luxury items are not the norm! Just wondering, since we previously enjoyed and now expect the luxury oversized towels and Frette robes without freyed edges, can we request that they be replaced? Has anyone done so?

[Sloop-JohnB]

Thanks for your recent update...

 

I wonder if they would miss us if we just got off in the Azores and just flew home…. Yes, another night of rocking and rolling, creaking, drawers hitting the door of the closet and so on. Enough already…. I know this isn’t celebrity’s fault, but it’s our first cruise with bad seas this long….three nighs and two days. We are hopeful that when docked in the Azores we will have a few hours of non rocking shaking solid feeling ground.

 

Enough of our mental state….back to the cruise. I have to agree with those who say food quality has gone down. I had a rib eye steak last night in blu and it was thin. Amazingly, it was cooked medium rare as I wanted and still had a nice sauce, but it was like a thin slice of roast beef….not a steak. The everyday Cheese Cake was supurb. I suspect the weather is helping reduce waits at Blu and crowding at the elite cocktail hour….or we’ve changed to better times to arrive. We noticed last night that at about 6:30, the waiters at the cocktail event go into clean up mode and you have to tackle one of them to place an order.

 

We received two chocolate covered oreos on Formal night (we have not received any chocolates on the pillows). I guess that’s the replacement for the chocolates. There are three formal nights…maybe we’ll luck out and get three oreos.

 

Our friends just three doors down the hall from us are elites and they received a rose from the captain’s club two days ago. We are elite plus….no rose. I asked last night and was told (you decide if this sounds right)….housekeeping decided to deliver the roses in three batches rather than distributing them all at once. To me, that sounds just a little strange….

 

Weather has really kept us from going on deck…haven’t even been to the solarium/aqua spa café yet..but I’ll report on that soon.

GH

 

Sorry to hear that the bouncing & banging continues (lol, and not in a good way ;) )

 

Hopefully it will end soon as you travel further south...

 

Assume you guys are still stopping in Bermuda 5 Days from now... Will be interesting to get your perspective post Gonzalo... First Celebrity Pax to stop there

 

As for the Elite Roses, that is quite the excuse... As one would presume that delivering earlier (and thereby fresher) would make the most sense

 

Here's hoping you have a quieter nigh sailing this evening

 

Cheers!

Edited October 17, 2014 by Sloop-JohnB

[hcat]

We are sailing the Infinity when it arrives back in the USA returning to an Aqua cabin and hope your experiences with beef and modern luxury items are not the norm! Just wondering, since we previously enjoyed and now expect the luxury oversized towels and Frette robes without freyed edges, can we request that they be replaced? Has anyone done so?

 

Never heard of changes in the towels in AQ..is that on all ships including S class or just M class? Wonder what we'll have on Connie and Reflection?

 

Have been following this thread...thanks GH, we appreciate your comments.. Hope food, weather, seas and quiet in your stateroom improve ...what towels do you now have in AQ.? Any word on Bermuda post Gonzalo or an alt plan? Probably too soon to know as storm has not fully passed there yet...hoping for the best!

[Loracpin2]

When I asked our room steward what happened to the Frette towels for AQ, he told me a decision was made to change them out fleet wide for CC, Aqua, and even suites. I looked in the Celebrity web site when we returned and Freet towels were no longer listed as an AQ ammenity. Didn't check CC or suites.

[hcat]

Thanks....don't want to digress much more on this thread but will see what's up on main board...the upgraded towels were so nice and plush....I can live without the rose.......but it is a nice touch in fairly spartan staterooms..