Infinity 2/12 - 2/19: Any Reviews?

[USSFRef]

Curious to see any reviews from this sailing. Specifically, what shape is the ship in? She's going to dry dock in a few weeks, so I'm wondering if she's going to limp in.

[more mangos please]

She is cruising at full speed.

 

worn carpet and linens will be replaced. There might be a few more rust spots such as the T-pool than you would normally see. There is a broken shade in the exercise area.

 

In general, you will not notice anything different than if it just came out of drydock.

[juliusmom]

Just returned from our 7 night EC cruise aboard the Celebrity Infinity. Traveled with my husband and our 13 year old son.

Embarkation. Absolutely flawless. Due to an early flight we showed up at about 11:00 - although boarding time wasn't until 1:00 - and were onboard in minutes. Our room wasn't ready yet, so we ran about checking out our new home and scouting out our table assignment. Lunch was available by noon, and our room shortly thereafter. We were concierge class, but I'm not sure that made a difference. Everything was just very efficient.

The Room. The room was nicely appointed with a King and a sofa bed for our son. The comfy robes and down pillows and duvets were outstanding. The balcony was a little disappointing. I thought it was very small in comparison to our last cruise ship and since we were on the deck below the pool, there was an overhang that blocked the sun and sometimes the sunset. The bathroom was much better than expected though so I guess it all works out.

The Emporium & Casino & Spa/Gym. We found the jewelry and perfume in the ship store to be cheaper than in St. Martin. My husband picked me up a little Valentine's bauble and we saw the exact same item in St. Thomas...but the lowest I could get the salesperson to was $200 more than on the ship! While we don't use a lot of money, my husband and I love the blackjack tables. We had a great time in the casino. Everyone was friendly and we FOR ONCE ended up winning more than we lost, not a ton, but enough to feel good about it. I had a pedicure in the spa on the second day. Probably the worst $60 pedicure on record. The spa services in general are way overpriced. Wish I'd taken care of those toes before we'd left. I don't mind paying more for a fabulous experience...it wasn't. The Persian Gardens was neat though. For $18, you get a real sensory experience in the steam, sauna and shower paradise. Much better than the pedicure! My husband spent time most mornings in the gym and felt it was well appointed. The ship is decorated beautifully with artwork, and the art auction is worth attending.

The Dining. Upscale- big shrimp, thick cuts of prime rib, fabulous lobster tails and very personal service - the whole dining experience is like going to the opera. It is very rehearsed, and felt special. The specialty restaurant(SS United States) was an absolute dream. When you meet the maitre de, ask for the wine room....we did for our second night and it was so special. You are sitting at a table in the wine room attended to hand and foot. Unreal! We actually ate there two nights, once on Valentine's with our son and then again on the last evening by ourselves in the wine room. On Valentines they had a special 7 course menu that was great, but I think we enjoyed the regular menu as much or more. The cheese course was really fun. We had fun dressing up on this cruise and even our son was in a tuxedo. In the dining room, we were seated with another threesome and they were delightful. The buffet was great at lunch although a bit repetitive. Salad bar, pasta bar, pizza bar, burgers every single day. The breakfast was the only part of the trip that I almost dreaded! The worst eggs, raw bacon yuck. I stuck with bagels. They had salmon on everything possible which I thought was interesting...omelets, pizza, pasta. The sushi bar was a wonderful treat in the evening. The room service was great too - our favorites, the petite steak, tomato and avocado quesadilla and the burgers! We ordered several times for lunch. We had the late seating so I loved having a nibble at 6:00. We brought several bottles of wine aboard and don't mind paying the corkage fee to do so. The wine on board is rarely less than $30 for the worst bottle.....and I love wine too much to limit myself to the worst bottle.

The Ports. We visited Caso de Campo where we did a snorkle excursion that was very nice. There is also a little artist village that was a nice visit. San Juan was a great place. We'd never been and were very impressed with the people, the beaches and the shopping. St. Thomas was a great day. We started off by going to the beach (wish we'd done that in San Juan before the afternoon clouds). We went to Magen's Bay for a few hours and then took the bus back into town to shop. Fabulous shopping! We were only in Nassau for a few ours so we shopped there too....seeing a trend? Got a great deal on a watch for my hubby. He'd been dying for one since Puerto Rico and I finally caved. Picked up some yummy rum cakes.

Debarkation. We were assigned to leave the ship at 8:50am and found that too to be very efficient. I found the tipping procedure to be a little bit of a hassle. We had to run all over the ship chasing folks down with the little envelopes since we didn't eat in the dining room on the last night. It was awkward.

Couple of other things.... We felt (in our mid-30s) that we were about the youngest people on the Infinity by about 25 years. It didn't bother us, but it was notable. The jewelry show by the pool was also interesting. I don't mean jewelry for sale, I mean women are wearing tens of thousands of dollars worth of jewelry to lounge by the pool! I found that odd. I'm a little less glitzy of a gal than that. There were also very few children on the cruise. My son did finally find a couple of boys to play basketball/table tennis with. I knew it wouldn't be packed with kids like Carnival, but I'd hoped there would be a few more so that he could have enjoyed more freedom. Without a pack around him, we didn't feel comfortable having him leave us very often - to his chagrin.

This is only my second cruise, and I don't pretend to be an expert, these are only my personal observations. In selecting my next cruise, if I want relaxation - I probably won't choose Celebrity. I'll go with a more casual line like Princess or Norwegian. However, if I'm in the mood for glamour - I'd rebook with Celebrity in a second. I think it just really depends on what you are looking for each time. It was a fabulous trip and made me feel like a princess.

[fsr44]

I'm just back from this cruise and my husband and I had a WONDERFUL time. I truly hated to go home.

Here's my review, for what it's worth:

The Ship - we had previously cruised on the Millenium so this was very much a known quantity for us. We loved the Millenium and we loved the Infinity. She's in very good shape. Little things here and there show some wear but nothing that would interfere with your enjoyment of the ship in the slightest. I think she's lovely.

Our Cabin - we were in Concierge Class, 9057. We sailed the same class on the Milly, so again, we knew what we were getting and we were quite happy. I was impressed with how well laid-out the cabin was, and I actually like the overhang over the balcony. There's still plenty of sun and plenty of view, but you're able to sit out even if it's raining.

The Food - all in all, terrific. Fair warning, we're sort of food snobs (cooking is a hobby of mine) so our standards are very high. Things that may not appeal to me are probably quite popular with other folks and that's cool, so don't take my nitpicking as anything more than that. I would have liked to see the occasional hot appetizer in the dining room, but it's limited to pretty much cold stuff, and some of it is uninspired. Most dishes were very good, if not all that adventurous, but I found the Beef Daube sort of funky...strange texture owing to the cut (beef cheeks) and peas and corn...not something found in a French daube. We avoided the lunch buffet in the Oceanview in favor of the AquaSpa Cafe. The cooked to order entrees (two different items each day, usually a chicken and a fish) beat hands down anything you'd find on a steam table. And the cold salads and fruit soups were terrific. Greatest improvement since my last cruise? The bread. The fresh bread in the AquaSpa was fabulous, and the assorted bread basket in the dining room was a huge improvement over the big doughy breadsticks.

Entertainment - Again, I'm tougher in this category than many people would be. I do this for a living, so I generally just skip the production shows since it amounts to a busman's holiday for me. Connexion, the band by the pool is a little below average. The duo that plays in the Rendez-Vous lounge has a decent singer but the synthesizer was annoying. The Serenada String Quartet was the class of the cruise...absolutely top notch. The pianist in Michael's club plays well, but doesn't have much in the way of patter/stage presence. Plays mostly pop stuff rather than standards and unfortunately uses a synthesized rhythm track. That was a shame, because she plays well enough that she didn't need it.

Service - Outstanding across the board. In fact, I'll wager that Ioan in the Terrace Dining Room is the most charming, sweet, fun waiter ANYWHERE. We never dined in the specialty restaurant because we hated to miss out on an evening with him.

Spa - I had a nice pedicure...not outstanding, but not bad. The facial was a different story. Facial itself was fine. The phony-baloney sales pitch was just ridiculous. The aesthetician made claims that were completely ridiculous (this cream will strengthen broken capillaries and push them further down below the skin) and downright laughable. Next time I'll get a massage and skip the sales pitch.

Again, it was a wonderful cruise on a lovely ship. Not perfect, but then, nothing is. I would sail it again in a New York minute.

[MandyGirl]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise! :) In our Captain's Club magazine from 2005, there was a small article about the "Savor the Caribbean" series. Was there anything that stood out on your cruise?

[SANDY BEACH]

We also were on the Feb 12th Infinity cruise.

 

Embarkation: DH dropped me off with our luggage at the door and went to park the car. He was back in about 15 minutes and we were on the ship within another 10 minutes. Very smooth. We were greeted with champagne as we entered the ship. I thought the ship was in great shape. I saw a few worn chairs or spots, a little rust but nothing out of the ordinary. This ship has a wonderful flow to it. Easy to navigate.

 

Cabin: We were luck enough to have CC6143. We were right in the middle of suite land. This cabin is about 1 ft wider than your normal CC and has a balcony that is approximately 3 X's deeper. We requested a lounge to be added to our balcony. It was done within 5 minutes. The cabin was always kept clean and all our requests were handled immediately; however, there were few. We received afternoon canapes around 4 or 5. Our location was extremely quiet during the day but I thought a little nosier in the evening due to engine noise. Since it was located in the back of the ship, our walk was much longer to most locations. We tried to think of it as a plus after eating so much during the week. We would definitely book this cabin again. The balcony is awesome!!

 

Food: The food IMO was outstanding during the cruise in the dining room. Everything except the salads were very good. Salads I would say were average. Aqua Spa cafe was my choice for lunch on most days. I found the food interesting and quite tasty. The buffet was better than I remember but much of the time it was hard to find a table which we never experienced in the past. My only complaint with food would be the pool grille. The fries were very good but I didn't like the hamburgers. Buns were left out in the open air and were hard. We dined in the United States on Wednesday evening. An excellent meal and great service; however, when we left we weren't sure it was worth the extra $$. We never felt this way before and can't quite pinpoint why we felt this way this time. It will probably be a long time until we dine in a specialty restaurant again. I ordered room service one afternoon over the phone and my order was delivered within 10 minutes.

 

Service: Celebrity is great. Both dining and cabin service was delivered with a smile. How they do it week after week amazes me.

 

Entertainment: We only saw two shows. Both were very entertaining and I would classify them in the same category as other ships we have been on.

 

It was great to have Nick Weir as the Cruise Director. He is the BEST! We met some cruise critic friends and Celebrity presented us with a nice get together. No real disappointments except I still wish they would get an out island for a beach day. We will definitely sail with Celebrity again. Any questions, please ask away.

[DrKoob]

Glad you enjoyed your cruise! :) In our Captain's Club magazine from 2005, there was a small article about the "Savor the Caribbean" series. Was there anything that stood out on your cruise?

 

I did a really long review of this cruise at http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=301250

 

The Savor the Caribbean program was the BEST part of this cruise for me. WOW! Brian Katz was outstanding. Showed his love of food, had his science down and was an excellent speaker. We did the one our class each day and then did the three hour+ shore excursion to his restaurant in St. Thomas. The food was to die for.

 

They did not actually make any of Brian's food in the dining room. They did put two of his dishes on the buffet and they disappeared pretty quick but Caribbean food is probably not everyone's cup of tea.