Celebrity: Hits and Misses, but a Contender

[fshagan]

This is a review of our first Celebrity Cruise on the Infinity, in Alaska, early September, 2017

 

This was a "comparison cruise" for us as we try (and retry) different lines to see how we like the experience. We have cruised Disney, NCL and Princess in the past, and wanted to try Celebrity. We found a very good deal for a balcony cabin without any of the perks ($1,040 per person for a 7 day Alaska Cruise). We booked two cabins, one starboard and the other port, both in the "sweet sixteen" cabins with the huge balcony.

 

 

Embarkation day: Vancouver's contingent of US Customs agents lived up to their curt reputation, and were the most unpleasant part of the embarkation process. This is a universal complaint about the customs officers there and not related to any cruise line.

 

Once on board we missed being able to have a nice sit down lunch, as we don't like the buffet when it's crowded. I understand Celebrity has a restaurant open for lunch on embarkation days for Concierge class passengers, and that's something we will consider for our next cruise with them. We ended up eating at the grill on the pool deck and experienced our first negative encounter. Our friends ordered a Coke and the waiter pushed, and pushed, and pushed for us to buy the drinks package. On the fourth or fifth "no, we just want to buy the Coke" he finally relented. Up-selling is common on cruises, and if you normally have a beverage package you probably have never had this experience. The food was OK (we had hamburgers). We had to travel back into the buffet to get water, as the drink station on the pool deck was closed. And we were "scared" to order something from the pushy waiter!

 

I have to say that without a sail away party we thought embarkation day was a little lack luster. The night life was very low key throughout this cruise, and this may have been because it was the last Alaskan cruise of the season. We didn't see as many young families as we do on NCL, and we missed that. It could be a function of the time of year (kids back in school), or the demographic on X is older and more sedate.

 

Cabins: The balcony cabins were in good condition, much better than our last NCL cruise. The cleanliness on board seems quite a bit higher than NCL, and second only to Disney in our experience. We were very pleased with both our cabins (with those giant balconies) and the public areas on board.

 

 

Muster: Cruise lines have improved this process a lot over the years, and Celebrity handles this as well as anyone I think. Not Celebrity's fault, but by the end of the muster drill we had felt like we were herded all day ... through Canada Place, US Customs, to the buffet for lunch (but we were able to escape to be "nickle and dimed" by the waiter at the pool grill) and finally to the muster drill.

 

Dinner: My wife reserved Tuscan Grille for dinner. I'm critical of the extra charge venues on NCL, as the food isn't that much better than the regular main dining rooms. But all four of us agreed that the service and food was spectacular here. Not "spectacular for a cruise ship" but spectacular for anywhere. Our waiter, who swore his name was "Johnny Walker", and his team were very attentive. Celebrity definitely has a wininer with this restaurant (we dined there again later in the cruise and enjoyed it just as much.)

 

Breakfast: it just isn't very good on this ship. The food was cold, and odd ... two of us ordered french toast and were greeted with three half slices of thin bread with very little egg wash. The second day was no better, and we had room service for the remainer of the breakfasts.

 

The waiter served syrup to us, just like in a fancy place. But the fancy places have good food too. This was a precursor to what we noticed in the main dining room throughout the cruise: There's a pretentiousness that isn't supported by the actual food quality, in our opinion.

 

This is the main dining room's place settings for a 7 course meal (but you really are normally eating a three course meal). This place setting is also used for lunch and breakfast:

 

 

And here's the place setting for Tuscan Grille, where the food is very, very good (and you are eating a 7 course meal):

 

 

By the end of the cruise we were laughing every time the waiter came by and started scooping up all the unused flatware to take it back to wash it. Its silly.

 

Lunch and dinners had better food than breakfast, but I wouldn't place the quality of the main dining room food any higher than NCL. About equal in this respect, with NCL taking the lead because of better options with more free eating venues. We consider Disney a step above both of these; it's been several years since we sailed Princess so I can't make a good comparison until after our next Princess cruise.

 

Anytime dining is popular, but Celebrity still doesn't have it down quite yet. We are used to never waiting on NCL, while we almost always had at least a 20 minute wait for seating in the MDR. The arrangment of the main dining room also had a lot of room for improvement, with layout that had servers swinging trays over our heads to serve others, and leading other guests conga-line style winding between tables where there really should be a clear aisle. It's not the waiters fault .... I think the move to anytime dining has X playing catch up.

 

On MDR meals we would place Celebrity third because of the dining room layout and bad breakfast food, behind Disney and NCL. The experience for guests choosing Aqua class may be quite different, as they have a different main dining room (Blu). But we were comparing apples to apples, with the same basic fare without perks that we normally choose.

 

Entertainment: This was a surprise for us. We had always heard that the entertainment on Celebrity was a step below NCL, but we have noticed the quality on NCL slipping. On this cruise the shows were very good. The singers did well, and while the dancing on the first night's show struck me as a little cheesy, everyone else liked it. The other shows we saw were very good as well. Based on our recent NCL cruises on similar sized ships, and the entertainment on Infinity on this trip, I would give the edge to Celebrity in this area. We really enjoyed this.

 

Itinerary: We went from Vancouver, had a sea day, to Icy Strait Point (Hoonah), Hubbard Glacier, Juneau and Ketchikan. It was our first time to Icy Stait Point, and the first time seeing Hubbard Glacier. The glacier was spectacular, and our port and starboard cabins allows us to move across to whatever side was facing the glacier as the ship turned around slowly.

 

Glacier calving video (link in case the video won't show):

 

 

 

The itinerary had us out of sight of land most of the time. On prior Alaskan cruises we sailed up the inside passage to Skagway, then back to Juneau and then Ketchikan, with land and a TON of sealife during the sea days. This itinerary didn't have the same feel. We're glad we took it, as Hubbard Glacier was certainly a high point, but when we cruise Alaska again we'll pick an itinerary that has more days in the narrower part of the Inside Passage.

 

Overall, our verdict is that Celebrity is a good cruise line, and will be on our radar for cruises where the price and itinerary appeal to us. I would sail NCL if price and itinerary was better, and Celebrity if they had a better offering. We'll pay a 25 - 50% premium for Disney for the right cruise. Our plans are to cruise on Princess again in the near future to see if they have changed in the last ten years (and I'm pretty sure they, like all the cruise lines, have evolved.)

[easyboy]

Thanks for sharing your objective feedback.

 

 

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[Mayo21]

Thanks for sharing your objective feedback.

 

 

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Very interesting, as we’re taking our first X cruise on Infinity through the Panama Canal to San Diego in 2 weeks! We too have sailed on NCL in the Greek Islands and Princess in Alaska! Both were wonderful experiences. This will be interesting ......thanks for the input....we’re again sailing on the Regal Princess on a TA (25 days) in April! The daunting Celebrity website has me underwhelmed....hoping for a great cruise, though!

 

 

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[miched]

Thanks for taking the time to give your opinion. It is always beneficial to get a review comparing cruise lines from someone that isn’t a X cheerleader.

 

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

[H2OH!]

really appreciate the comparison. Thank you.

 

Amy

[helen haywood]

For some reason the pictures in your review other than balcony shots don't seem to be appearing...

[fshagan]

Very interesting, as we’re taking our first X cruise on Infinity through the Panama Canal to San Diego in 2 weeks! We too have sailed on NCL in the Greek Islands and Princess in Alaska! Both were wonderful experiences. This will be interesting ......thanks for the input....we’re again sailing on the Regal Princess on a TA (25 days) in April! The daunting Celebrity website has me underwhelmed....hoping for a great cruise, though!

 

The cruise experience is much, much better than the website!

[fshagan]

For some reason the pictures in your review other than balcony shots don't seem to be appearing...

 

Sorry ... I'm using Google Photos and I must not have gotten those made public correctly. Let's see if this works .... the place setting in the MDR I'm calling pretentious:

 

 

And the one in the actual fancy restaurant, Tucson Grille:

 

[miched]

We have gotten a good laugh many times in restaurants. You sit down and there are place setting, plates, glasses and etc. After you order they start playing musical chairs with the plates, glasses and silverware. Take away the plates, rearrange the sliverware, take some, leave some, bring different ones. Remove the glasses and maybe change for a different size.

 

 

I guess it is all about presentation.

 

 

I remember years ago in the MDR on other cruise lines the napkins would be folded differently every night. Now the napkins are folded the same every night and it may be because we have only been in Blu., or select dining.

 

Happy cruising 🌊🚢🇺🇸🌞

[fshagan]

We have gotten a good laugh many times in restaurants. You sit down and there are place setting, plates, glasses and etc. After you order they start playing musical chairs with the plates, glasses and silverware. Take away the plates, rearrange the sliverware, take some, leave some, bring different ones. Remove the glasses and maybe change for a different size.

 

I kept thinking it was wasteful. All of that unused flatware having to be washed over and over. I never once saw anyone use the spoons and forks intended for the appetizers at the top of the place setting.

[Hydrokitty]

Very interesting, as we’re taking our first X cruise on Infinity through the Panama Canal to San Diego in 2 weeks! We too have sailed on NCL in the Greek Islands and Princess in Alaska! Both were wonderful experiences. This will be interesting ......thanks for the input....we’re again sailing on the Regal Princess on a TA (25 days) in April! The daunting Celebrity website has me underwhelmed....hoping for a great cruise, though!

 

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Panama Canal on Infinity was our first X cruise and it was wonderful. we've done several with them since then and have noticed a slight slip in the service in the MDR but not enough to make us look elsewhere. The food is still very good, but it used to be outstanding....again I wouldn't change lines because of it, but as a vegetarian I did ask the DR manager if they ever served anything besides Thai food....I like Thai food but not every night...and that was the last time it was on the menu so apparently he talked to the chef! We went from San Diego to FLL because we live on the East coast and decided to make the time zone adjustments on board. It's an amazing trip and I'm sure you'll love it.

[Ma Bell]

I kept thinking it was wasteful. All of that unused flatware having to be washed over and over. I never once saw anyone use the spoons and forks intended for the appetizers at the top of the place setting.

 

The silverware at the top is intended for coffee and desert.

[Hydrokitty]

The silverware at the top is intended for coffee and desert.

 

Yup..that's what they're supposed to be used for...BUT do you usually eat creme brulee with a serving spoon? I find most of the time I take the spoon out of my coffee cup to eat my creme brulee, ice-cream or anything else with a soft consistency. That's something I don't get....why the super big spoon unless they think you'll eat faster and get out!! :D

[Mayo21]

Panama Canal on Infinity was our first X cruise and it was wonderful. we've done several with them since then and have noticed a slight slip in the service in the MDR but not enough to make us look elsewhere. The food is still very good, but it used to be outstanding....again I wouldn't change lines because of it, but as a vegetarian I did ask the DR manager if they ever served anything besides Thai food....I like Thai food but not every night...and that was the last time it was on the menu so apparently he talked to the chef! We went from San Diego to FLL because we live on the East coast and decided to make the time zone adjustments on board. It's an amazing trip and I'm sure you'll love it.

 

 

 

Awwww.....thanks for the post! I’m an optimist, so I know we’ll enjoy the trip! I appreciate you taking the time to tell me your experience!!

 

 

 

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[Ma Bell]

Yup..that's what they're supposed to be used for...BUT do you usually eat creme brulee with a serving spoon? I find most of the time I take the spoon out of my coffee cup to eat my creme brulee, ice-cream or anything else with a soft consistency. That's something I don't get....why the super big spoon unless they think you'll eat faster and get out!! :D

 

It is a big spoon but it's not necessary to put the whole thing in your mouth. LOL;) Since both the spoons are there we have a choice.:D

[Hydrokitty]

It is a big spoon but it's not necessary to put the whole thing in your mouth. LOL;) Since both the spoons are there we have a choice.:D

 

:D I know I have a big mouth...it's just not THAT big!! ;p

[cachouonacruise]

This is a review of our first Celebrity Cruise on the Infinity, in Alaska, early September, 2017

 

 

 

This was a "comparison cruise" for us as we try (and retry) different lines to see how we like the experience. We have cruised Disney, NCL and Princess in the past, and wanted to try Celebrity. We found a very good deal for a balcony cabin without any of the perks ($1,040 per person for a 7 day Alaska Cruise). We booked two cabins, one starboard and the other port, both in the "sweet sixteen" cabins with the huge balcony.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Embarkation day: Vancouver's contingent of US Customs agents lived up to their curt reputation, and were the most unpleasant part of the embarkation process. This is a universal complaint about the customs officers there and not related to any cruise line.

 

 

 

Once on board we missed being able to have a nice sit down lunch, as we don't like the buffet when it's crowded. I understand Celebrity has a restaurant open for lunch on embarkation days for Concierge class passengers, and that's something we will consider for our next cruise with them. We ended up eating at the grill on the pool deck and experienced our first negative encounter. Our friends ordered a Coke and the waiter pushed, and pushed, and pushed for us to buy the drinks package. On the fourth or fifth "no, we just want to buy the Coke" he finally relented. Up-selling is common on cruises, and if you normally have a beverage package you probably have never had this experience. The food was OK (we had hamburgers). We had to travel back into the buffet to get water, as the drink station on the pool deck was closed. And we were "scared" to order something from the pushy waiter!

 

 

 

I have to say that without a sail away party we thought embarkation day was a little lack luster. The night life was very low key throughout this cruise, and this may have been because it was the last Alaskan cruise of the season. We didn't see as many young families as we do on NCL, and we missed that. It could be a function of the time of year (kids back in school), or the demographic on X is older and more sedate.

 

 

 

Cabins: The balcony cabins were in good condition, much better than our last NCL cruise. The cleanliness on board seems quite a bit higher than NCL, and second only to Disney in our experience. We were very pleased with both our cabins (with those giant balconies) and the public areas on board.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Muster: Cruise lines have improved this process a lot over the years, and Celebrity handles this as well as anyone I think. Not Celebrity's fault, but by the end of the muster drill we had felt like we were herded all day ... through Canada Place, US Customs, to the buffet for lunch (but we were able to escape to be "nickle and dimed" by the waiter at the pool grill) and finally to the muster drill.

 

 

 

Dinner: My wife reserved Tuscan Grille for dinner. I'm critical of the extra charge venues on NCL, as the food isn't that much better than the regular main dining rooms. But all four of us agreed that the service and food was spectacular here. Not "spectacular for a cruise ship" but spectacular for anywhere. Our waiter, who swore his name was "Johnny Walker", and his team were very attentive. Celebrity definitely has a wininer with this restaurant (we dined there again later in the cruise and enjoyed it just as much.)

 

 

 

Breakfast: it just isn't very good on this ship. The food was cold, and odd ... two of us ordered french toast and were greeted with three half slices of thin bread with very little egg wash. The second day was no better, and we had room service for the remainer of the breakfasts.

 

 

 

The waiter served syrup to us, just like in a fancy place. But the fancy places have good food too. This was a precursor to what we noticed in the main dining room throughout the cruise: There's a pretentiousness that isn't supported by the actual food quality, in our opinion.

 

 

 

This is the main dining room's place settings for a 7 course meal (but you really are normally eating a three course meal). This place setting is also used for lunch and breakfast:

 

 

 

 

 

 

And here's the place setting for Tuscan Grille, where the food is very, very good (and you are eating a 7 course meal):

 

 

 

 

 

 

By the end of the cruise we were laughing every time the waiter came by and started scooping up all the unused flatware to take it back to wash it. Its silly.

 

 

 

Lunch and dinners had better food than breakfast, but I wouldn't place the quality of the main dining room food any higher than NCL. About equal in this respect, with NCL taking the lead because of better options with more free eating venues. We consider Disney a step above both of these; it's been several years since we sailed Princess so I can't make a good comparison until after our next Princess cruise.

 

 

 

Anytime dining is popular, but Celebrity still doesn't have it down quite yet. We are used to never waiting on NCL, while we almost always had at least a 20 minute wait for seating in the MDR. The arrangment of the main dining room also had a lot of room for improvement, with layout that had servers swinging trays over our heads to serve others, and leading other guests conga-line style winding between tables where there really should be a clear aisle. It's not the waiters fault .... I think the move to anytime dining has X playing catch up.

 

 

 

On MDR meals we would place Celebrity third because of the dining room layout and bad breakfast food, behind Disney and NCL. The experience for guests choosing Aqua class may be quite different, as they have a different main dining room (Blu). But we were comparing apples to apples, with the same basic fare without perks that we normally choose.

 

 

 

Entertainment: This was a surprise for us. We had always heard that the entertainment on Celebrity was a step below NCL, but we have noticed the quality on NCL slipping. On this cruise the shows were very good. The singers did well, and while the dancing on the first night's show struck me as a little cheesy, everyone else liked it. The other shows we saw were very good as well. Based on our recent NCL cruises on similar sized ships, and the entertainment on Infinity on this trip, I would give the edge to Celebrity in this area. We really enjoyed this.

 

 

 

Itinerary: We went from Vancouver, had a sea day, to Icy Strait Point (Hoonah), Hubbard Glacier, Juneau and Ketchikan. It was our first time to Icy Stait Point, and the first time seeing Hubbard Glacier. The glacier was spectacular, and our port and starboard cabins allows us to move across to whatever side was facing the glacier as the ship turned around slowly.

 

 

 

Glacier calving video (link in case the video won't show):

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The itinerary had us out of sight of land most of the time. On prior Alaskan cruises we sailed up the inside passage to Skagway, then back to Juneau and then Ketchikan, with land and a TON of sealife during the sea days. This itinerary didn't have the same feel. We're glad we took it, as Hubbard Glacier was certainly a high point, but when we cruise Alaska again we'll pick an itinerary that has more days in the narrower part of the Inside Passage.

 

 

 

Overall, our verdict is that Celebrity is a good cruise line, and will be on our radar for cruises where the price and itinerary appeal to us. I would sail NCL if price and itinerary was better, and Celebrity if they had a better offering. We'll pay a 25 - 50% premium for Disney for the right cruise. Our plans are to cruise on Princess again in the near future to see if they have changed in the last ten years (and I'm pretty sure they, like all the cruise lines, have evolved.)

 

 

 

Thank-you very much for the very interesting review and for taking the time to post beautiful pictures/clips. My wife and I will be taking our first cruise to Alaska next summer and will be stopping in the same three ports: Icy Strait Point, Juneau and Ketchikan. If you came across any"must see" or "must do" activities on any of these ports, or if you have any shore excursions suggestions, I would really like it, if you could share your experiences. Thank-you in advance!

 

 

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[lisiamc]

Yup..that's what they're supposed to be used for...BUT do you usually eat creme brulee with a serving spoon? I find most of the time I take the spoon out of my coffee cup to eat my creme brulee, ice-cream or anything else with a soft consistency. That's something I don't get....why the super big spoon unless they think you'll eat faster and get out!! :D

 

I think they’re going for European style, which includes a big dessert spoon, and also why the dessert utensils are above the plate area. The smaller-size spoons that American restaurants use are rare in Europe. I normally only see the small tea and coffee spoons and the larger dessert spoons.

[Oceangoer2]

Yup..that's what they're supposed to be used for...BUT do you usually eat creme brulee with a serving spoon? I find most of the time I take the spoon out of my coffee cup to eat my creme brulee, ice-cream or anything else with a soft consistency. That's something I don't get....why the super big spoon unless they think you'll eat faster and get out!! :D

 

The set up is the 'just in case' syndrome...they don't know in advance what you will order and running back to get the appropriate flatwear is time wasting. BTW...I set our table every night in the same pattern with utensils for whatever we'll be having that evening (dessert spoon/fork set above the plate). Don't mind this presentation at all. Suggests you're not dining in a fast food cafe. Re the Tuscan setting.... it's under set IMHO...but they will bring what you will need at the right time so all is good either way. Guess it's all what you're used to. Re the teaspoon for dessert after being used...'nuff said.

[Bo1953]

The set up is the 'just in case' syndrome...they don't know in advance what you will order and running back to get the appropriate flatwear is time wasting. BTW...I set our table every night in the same pattern with utensils for whatever we'll be having that evening (dessert spoon/fork set above the plate). Don't mind this presentation at all. Suggests you're not dining in a fast food cafe. Re the Tuscan setting.... it's under set IMHO...but they will bring what you will need at the right time so all is good either way. Guess it's all what you're used to. Re the teaspoon for dessert after being used...'nuff said.

 

I agree. Yet I find that many of my friends who I sail with do not mind using the same setting for each course.. at which point I just smile and expect a clean setting for each course or plate, which usually occurs at my home... and not restaurants, how odd...LOL I have to train them going forward!

 

bon voyage

[TeeRick]

Thanks very much for your review. We sailed Infinity Miami to San Diego last year through the Panama Canal and we truly enjoyed the ship and service.

[Zoedokey]

Thank-you very much for the very interesting review and for taking the time to post beautiful pictures/clips. My wife and I will be taking our first cruise to Alaska next summer and will be stopping in the same three ports: Icy Strait Point, Juneau and Ketchikan. If you came across any"must see" or "must do" activities on any of these ports, or if you have any shore excursions suggestions, I would really like it, if you could share your experiences. Thank-you in advance!

 

 

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We did this itinerary this year and had two GREAT excursions.

 

 

In Juneau we did the Tracy Arm small boat excursion through Adventure Bound. It is a long day but so very worth it. Read some reviews on Trip Advisor.

 

In Ketchikan we did the float plane with Island Wings, another fantastic trip. Highly recommend both.

[serendipity1499]

I think they’re going for European style, which includes a big dessert spoon, and also why the dessert utensils are above the plate area. The smaller-size spoons that American restaurants use are rare in Europe. I normally only see the small tea and coffee spoons and the larger dessert spoons.

 

That is exactly what it is! These are European place settings & technically the large spoon is a desert spoon..

 

Many years ago, (early 60's) when I worked in an international Airline I went to Europe on my first vacation..DH & I went to an expensive hotel, outside of London to celebrate our first anniversary.. I believe it was in Penzance, but can't remember that far back, as we drove through the South of Great Britian..We decided to have dinner in a very fancy restaurant in our hotel..I was in my early 20's.. We had never seen so many place settings at dinner..

 

Unfortunately, I failed to use the proper dessert spoon for my dessert & the French waiter made a big deal of removing it with a "Tch Tch, Americano's" when he took away my dessert plate..I was so embarrassed & started to tear up! :o That made my DH very upset & we left the restaurant instead of enjoying our after dinner coffee..

 

After that I vowed to never let a waiter embarrass me again! :eek: But learned quickly to use the proper utensil for the food I was eating..LOL

Edited November 8, 2017 by serendipity1499

[Hydrokitty]

I agree. Yet I find that many of my friends who I sail with do not mind using the same setting for each course.. at which point I just smile and expect a clean setting for each course or plate, which usually occurs at my home... and not restaurants, how odd...LOL I have to train them going forward!

 

bon voyage

 

I love your posts Bo but I have to say the only way I would put out a clean setting for each course or plate in MY house is if someone else were doing the dishes. :D

[cachouonacruise]

We did this itinerary this year and had two GREAT excursions.

 

 

 

 

 

In Juneau we did the Tracy Arm small boat excursion through Adventure Bound. It is a long day but so very worth it. Read some reviews on Trip Advisor.

 

 

 

In Ketchikan we did the float plane with Island Wings, another fantastic trip. Highly recommend both.

 

 

 

Thank you very much for the suggestions. I will definitely look them up as you suggested.

 

 

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