Onboard the NEW Infinity

[julia]

Greetings upon our return from the new Infinity. Sorry for the delay, but we spent five days enjoying the wonderful FL Keys following our cruise. I will post further when I get a chance to get caught up with myself.

 

I can say though, that the new TV screen up on deck 12 took some navigating skills to even find... and, I was pleasantly surprised by the improvements on the deck. The screen itself is nowhere near the size of MUTS on Princess, and it's location is totally unobtrusive to the rest of the ship. Will it impact the cabins below on deck 11? Obviously, that will depend on the sound level, but my initial feeling is that it won't. As mentioned, there was no furniture as of yet, and that may actually be a bigger factor than the TV sound level for those cabins below. Hopefully, Celebrity will be wise enough to not place heavy teak loungers (think Solarium) that may cause lots of noise if passengers or crew drag them around.... :eek:

 

More to follow..... :)

[kitegirl]

Thanks for the update on the lack of lift to get up up deck 12... I sure hope Celebrity takes note that those of us with mobility issues would like to use this area and install a chair lift for getting up the steps....

[GottaKnowWhen]

We watched embarkation from Fort Lauderdale yesterday via several webcams. The TV was on but we couldn't zoom in enough to see what was playing. People walked around in the area, seeming oblivious to the TV.

 

 

I noticed that also. Maybe a feed from the bow cam?

 

Stan

[wendyatpml]

We are just off the Infinity after Dry Dock. We went to the Tuscan Grill one night. It was an anniversary gift from a friend. It was one of the best dinners we've ever had. We were with another couple. Yes the portions are large but it was great trying lots of dishes.

As for the ship itself, I would not go back on it again. The bathroom shower had rust on the bottom. The water in the shower had an odor. There was dirt in the corners of the bathroom.

The

Glass on the Veranda was filthy. The ship really looks old even after dry dock. The service was not up to Celebrity standards. We've been on Celebrity before and always thought it was a step above RCCL but no longer. Would we go on Celebrity again, maybe but only on an S class ship. I am going to post a review in a few days. We are not complainers but this ship left something to be desired,.

[DebbieMacG]

Please tell me they haven't had Infinity in dry dock and not sorted out all that dirty and marked glass? :eek:

 

I like the ship and when we cruised on her last year the glass was the only fault i could see :)

[wendyatpml]

The day we boarded the ship, it had just come out of Dry Dock in Nassau. It was filthy. I am not going to write a review. You can check it out.

[FloridaGirlLovesToCruise]

We are just off the Infinity after Dry Dock. We went to the Tuscan Grill one night. It was an anniversary gift from a friend. It was one of the best dinners we've ever had. We were with another couple. Yes the portions are large but it was great trying lots of dishes.

 

As for the ship itself, I would not go back on it again. The bathroom shower had rust on the bottom. The water in the shower had an odor. There was dirt in the corners of the bathroom.

 

The

 

Glass on the Veranda was filthy. The ship really looks old even after dry dock. The service was not up to Celebrity standards. We've been on Celebrity before and always thought it was a step above RCCL but no longer. Would we go on Celebrity again, maybe but only on an S class ship. I am going to post a review in a few days. We are not complainers but this ship left something to be desired,.

 

 

Did they do anything to the cabins at all? New bedding, carpet, etc? I know they did a lot to the suites. We have only been on the S class ships...Reflection, Silhouette, Eclipse & Solstice. We are on the Infinity in S. America in January.

[wendyatpml]

Sorry my previous post said I was not going to do a review. I meant I am now going to do a review which I did yesterday. It won't post until a few days from now.

 

In answer to your question, we were in 7160 a balcony cabin. In my opinion nothing was done to update these cabins. The bathroom shower had rust on the tiles near the floor. That tells me nothing was done. The carpet may have been cleaned but that is all I could see.

[hcat]

Hoping the AQ cabins are updated to AQ standard on Infinity...esp the shower!

 

The AQ cabin was fine on Connie....but oddly some parts of the ship were pretty much as they had been previously...BLU was nicely done!

 

As long as plumbing is good, we'll be happy!

 

Our Infinity cruise is for the ABC ports...hope they don't cancel it.

[julia]

Some observations on Infinity:

 

Cabin: We had a C3 cabin (guarantee) 8149, located just forward of the aft elevators. This cabin was assigned immediately after booking, and I was a bit worried that it may be across from a service door, but that was not the case. It was a nice location. The cabin was fine with us, clean upon entry. The bathroom had the "solstice night light", and new shower fixtures (with different controls). We noticed a distinct decrease in water pressure from previous cruises. Our small sofa was quite saggy though. I liked the new balcony furniture, it had rubber-like feet and therefore moved quietly. The balconies had new dividers... gone were the solid metal, replaced with the opaque striped glass dividers. All of the dividers were TIED shut (no locks yet), and so they moved and banged (think deep timpani-like sounds along each deck). We stopped ours from banging by wedging a chair against each divider at night. I do like the closet system (with drawers!) better on M class than S class, but the desk area is better on S.

 

Canapes in CC: We declined these each day, but many cabins had them. How do I know? Because the afternoon hallway was ALWAYS lined with the dirty plates that people would stick outside when done with canapes. I have never seen that before on Celebrity, and found it disgusting. Please people... leave plates in your cabin or call room service for pick up!

 

MDR: Generally enjoyed our meals, but definitely noticed the crowding of tables. There are tables crammed everywhere... along the entry, at the foot of the stairs, etc. The wine service was fairly good, but, we joined some friends at their table on two nights, and had a rather disagreeable wine stewardess (NOT a sommelier). The food in the MDR was quite good, especially the salmon dishes.

 

Buffet: We ate here often, and could always find something to like, but the food was ALWAYS barely lukewarm. As mentioned, the lower sneeze guards, along with tongs that don't close, make for difficult plating. It was comical at times. I did observe tables going un-bussed for long periods of time. The wine service in the buffet was prompt though.

 

Drink package: Would not sail without one, but would not pay extra for one. We upgraded our comped package, but still found a lack of wines that we felt were "premium". They really push their own brand "Celebrity Cellars", which was rather mediocre. Mixed drinks were small, as were most wine pours. Biggest pet peeve is that they do NOT have decent glassware in MDR. All wines are served in the same small glass. We had a nice port served in a silly thin, thimble-type glass. Is it so hard to have a snifter for port??

 

Entertainment: We passed on the production shows, but REALLY liked the others. Diva's, comedian, and balancing act were wonderful. Patty the CD very good.

 

Pool - New mesh loungers have no arms, were very hard, and packed in tight. We spent little time on deck 10, but did hang out on deck 11 a bit, where you could at least spread out a bit.

 

Music: Loud at martini bar. Really loud. Silly loud. Shouting over it to your friends loud.

 

We enjoyed this cruise, and had been to most of the W. Caribbean ports before. We had good weather all week. With that said, I'm not sure we'll continue with Celebrity. I plan to check ALL lines in the future, and go with the best (1) deal (2) itinerary. IMHO, There just isn't enough to set a Celebrity cruise apart from most of the others anymore.

[jan-n-john]

Oh, Curt, we pay, and dearly at that...freeloader, not so much.

 

As far as the up-charge for the steaks, if their true, USDA Prime dry age steaks they would justify the price, big difference between that and what was previously being served.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

I suspect that those who are complaining about the upcharge in Tuscan either didn't notice or don't grasp the significance of the fact those are USDA Prime steaks. "Prime" is not marketing hype -- it is a specific and legally-defined term. USDA Prime beef will cost significantly more than the normal beef on the rest of the menu, which is Australian and which would grade at the equivalent of USDA Choice at best. Nothing wrong with that, but the better stuff just costs more and that's how life is.

 

I would add that 18oz. is way to big for me, but maybe my sweetie and I could share one on our up-coming trip on Infinity, and maybe that's what X thought a lot of folks were likely to do, which satisfies them while preserving the chance to pull a little extra revenue from the big eaters.

Edited November 12, 2015 by jan-n-john

[julia]

Hi Julia!

Bummer about the sunset! Hopefully it will open some time during your cruise. Thanks for the updates! Scott and I will be on Infinity in 8 weeks for a South Amercia cruise and are anxious to hear about the changes. Especially the Deck 12 lounge/movie area as we are in a deck 11 aft cabin.

 

Have a great cruise and keep us updated with your discoveries!

 

Cheers!

Tammy

 

Hi Tammy:

 

I didn't see your post until now.... so nice to hear from you! As mentioned, it will to be hard to know if the movie area will impact the aft deck 11 cabins. The decking above is all new, and will hopefully absorb any sound of moving furniture. I don't think you'd hear much while the ship is sailing, but again, that will depend on the audio level. Stay tuned, girlfriend, as we'll get some answers in a few weeks!

 

BTW... you have some GREAT cruises lined up! Wow! :)

Edited November 13, 2015 by julia

[cle-guy]

The decking above is all new, and will hopefully absorb any sound of moving furniture.

 

If you look at the rendering's the furniture going up there is more of a lounge sort, it isn't really meant to move around. It's not normal deck chairs or side chairs, its lounge sofa and big chairs. so yes it may move some, in general practice, it's not going to be a lot.

[Germancruiser]

I don´t care about the new Tuscany - liked the SS United States much better! What a shame- curious what they will do with the Olympic Restaurant- with all then nice paneling from Olympic´s Ala Carte Restaurant- i wonder how that would fit into the Casino entry way... ! Well not all changes are for the best- they are just " changes " !

[scottam]

Hi Tammy:

 

I didn't see your post until now.... so nice to hear from you! As mentioned, it will to be hard to know if the movie area will impact the aft deck 11 cabins. The decking above is all new, and will hopefully absorb any sound of moving furniture. I don't think you'd hear much while the ship is sailing, but again, that will depend on the audio level. Stay tuned, girlfriend, as we'll get some answers in a few weeks!

 

BTW... you have some GREAT cruises lined up! Wow! :)

 

Hi Julia,

Thanks for the review - good info and all nice to know ahead of our upcoming cruise! Would love to meet up with you again on a future cruise!

 

I am hopeful that the furniture is indeed the stationary type as shown in the artist rendering photos, and agree with cle-guy, that it doesn't appear to be the type that will get moved and scooted around a lot, like traditional pool loungers would. Fingers crossed!

[buchananglasgow]

Any idea why she has not sailed yet.

[need2bespoiled]

They have not told us anything, but everything was delayed, boarding, lunch opening, cabins ready, they said due to inspections. It sounds like they were late loading supplies too. No longshoreman at the lines yet so still a bit until we sail.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

Sent from my iPad using fat fingers and Tapatalk

[buchananglasgow]

Maybe she had to pass her new refit/dry dock changes. Or customs are doing a sweep of her. Sail away will be pitch dark now 😕

[buchananglasgow]

She departed at 7.10 pm, safe sailing, enjoy.

[GottaKnowWhen]

Hi Julia,

Thanks for the review - good info and all nice to know ahead of our upcoming cruise! Would love to meet up with you again on a future cruise!

 

I am hopeful that the furniture is indeed the stationary type as shown in the artist rendering photos, and agree with cle-guy, that it doesn't appear to be the type that will get moved and scooted around a lot, like traditional pool loungers would. Fingers crossed!

 

The furniture is attractive and definitely the type to be scooted around. I was on deck 12 (in the rain) watching other ships depart, and also watching a crew remove cushions, remove plants, and scoot all furniture forward snugged up under the new large screen, and then tied down. Similar routine as with deck chairs in inclement weather in a way. But "scooting" the lounges around seemed very smooth, standing there I could hear nothing, and I doubt if anyone below would have noticed a thing.

[MicCanberra]

The furniture is attractive and definitely the type to be scooted around. I was on deck 12 (in the rain) watching other ships depart, and also watching a crew remove cushions, remove plants, and scoot all furniture forward snugged up under the new large screen, and then tied down. Similar routine as with deck chairs in inclement weather in a way. But "scooting" the lounges around seemed very smooth, standing there I could hear nothing, and I doubt if anyone below would have noticed a thing.

 

It is good to know that there wouldn't be noise if your cabin was directly below.

[benjoon]

Here's a quick shot of the Royal suite bathroom.

[seadancer]

Here is the new Tuscan Grill menu from the first post drydock cruise on the Infinity:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

DH and I are really disappointed in the menu changes. We sailed on the Silhouette and it was our favorite restaurant!!! We had done the unlimited special dining package (each night in a specialty DR) and loved it. We went to the Tuscan Grille 4 nights). We were looking forward to the Tuscan Grille on the Infinity but didn't realize they were going to change the menu! He loved the lasagna, onion soup and is surprised we have to pay an up charge IN an up charge restaurant!

 

We loved the Bistro on five with all of the choices of more than 5 crepes for the entree. The new menu is not the same. We went on the summit and once we saw the menu, we decided not to even go once.

 

Is there any chance that they would add the soup and lasagna to the Tuscan Grille if enough people ask? Add the different crepes back to the Bistro?

 

If anyone knows, I'd be willing to email the company. We are sailing to Alaska in 2017 so I plan to follow the topics too.

[MicCanberra]

Not sure I would pay for the steak after paying the surcharge either. It is becoming a bit like RCI's MDR in that regard except they are hitting you twice.:(

[seadancer]

Not sure I would pay for the steak after paying the surcharge either. It is becoming a bit like RCI's MDR in that regard except they are hitting you twice.:(

 

 

Thank you for this information. I didn't know what it was.

 

Thanks to everyone else who has suggested the individual companies. Please continue posting if you have others.