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Buckeye94 as LIVE as I can be: Infinity 2 Jan 2023 Patagonia and Argentina

Buckeye94

By Buckeye94,
in Celebrity Cruises

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Buckeye94

Buckeye94

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Posted

Okay, here goes! My first (hopefully) live review! I’ve learned so much from Jim, Chicago Paul, GenX, and others, so now it’s my turn to pay it back and forward. 

 

A little about me...I’m almost always a solo traveler. A couple of times, I’ve traveled with friends, but often, I’m adventuring on my own. Due to that pesky solo supplement, you won’t find me enjoying the suite life of The Retreat and Luminae. I did spoil myself on my first cruise with a balcony, and I can’t bring myself to go Oceanview or Inside. I’ve sailed Edge and Beyond, and the IV is as close to an Oceanview as I want to get! IYKYK 😉 I’ve been cruising since 2009, and all but one was on Celebrity and that was a New England Coastal on Royal Caribbean. Haven’t felt the urge to try other lines, and I want to make the most of my loyalty points. Although Elite+ seems so far away.  

 

I am very excited about this Patagonia sailing. I booked it as soon as I got my first COVID-19 vaccine. The pandemic slowed down my travel which allowed me to save up the $$ and vacation days to take this trip of a lifetime. Twelve nights is a long time to be away from the office, home, the cat, and family, but YOLO, right? I am spending a couple nights in Santiago pre-cruise, and I'm taking a day trip out to Iguazu Falls from Buenos Aires. I wish I was staying on for the Antarctic B2B, but alas, work! Sailing on the Infinity. I’ve read here that she’s looking a little tired and worn around the edges, buy you know what, so am I! I have a soft spot for Infinity since that was the ship for my first cruise ever. I am excited to see her again. 

 

I’m sitting in the Admirals Club at DCA awaiting my next leg to Miami then on to Santiago. Looking forward to celebrating NYE in Santiago, exploring the city for a day, and then sharing a ride with a new CC friend from the Roll Call over to Valparaiso. 

 

A few notes:  

1. I have no idea how good the wifi is going to be. I’ve been following a recent thread on this board about it, but won’t know until I know! So, my posts are partly dependent on my ability to connect. Yes, I’ve upgraded, more on that later. 

2. The other dependency is time and living in the moment which puts the “live” part of the review at risk. I’m not going to sacrifice my full enjoyment of this trip to stress over posting an update. My intent is to try to keep up with any questions and post daily. 

3. If some unforeseen interruption (or 1 or 2 above) delays me or renders me unable to post, I will make it up with a full review post-cruise. I really do appreciate the first-hand accounts from other travelers. 

 

I hope you'll join me on this adventure. For now, I’m going to sip my glass of wine, tie up some loose ends at work, call Dad, and try to ease into vacation mode! 

 

Cheers, 

Julie

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mahdnc "Live from...." Rare

mahdnc

Posted
Posted
1 minute ago, Buckeye94 said:

Okay, here goes! My first (hopefully) live review! I’ve learned so much from Jim, Chicago Paul, GenX, and others, so now it’s my turn to pay it back and forward. 

 

A little about me...I’m almost always a solo traveler. A couple of times, I’ve traveled with friends, but often, I’m adventuring on my own. Due to that pesky solo supplement, you won’t find me enjoying the suite life of The Retreat and Luminae. I did spoil myself on my first cruise with a balcony, and I can’t bring myself to go Oceanview or Inside. I’ve sailed Edge and Beyond, and the IV is as close to an Oceanview as I want to get! IYKYK 😉 I’ve been cruising since 2009, and all but one was on Celebrity and that was a New England Coastal on Royal Caribbean. Haven’t felt the urge to try other lines, and I want to make the most of my loyalty points. Although Elite+ seems so far away.  

 

I am very excited about this Patagonia sailing. I booked it as soon as I got my first COVID-19 vaccine. The pandemic slowed down my travel which allowed me to save up the $$ and vacation days to take this trip of a lifetime. Twelve nights is a long time to be away from the office, home, the cat, and family, but YOLO, right? I am spending a couple nights in Santiago pre-cruise, and I'm taking a day trip out to Iguazu Falls from Buenos Aires. I wish I was staying on for the Antarctic B2B, but alas, work! Sailing on the Infinity. I’ve read here that she’s looking a little tired and worn around the edges, buy you know what, so am I! I have a soft spot for Infinity since that was the ship for my first cruise ever. I am excited to see her again. 

 

I’m sitting in the Admirals Club at DCA awaiting my next leg to Miami then on to Santiago. Looking forward to celebrating NYE in Santiago, exploring the city for a day, and then sharing a ride with a new CC friend from the Roll Call over to Valparaiso. 

 

A few notes:  

1. I have no idea how good the wifi is going to be. I’ve been following a recent thread on this board about it, but won’t know until I know! So, my posts are partly dependent on my ability to connect. Yes, I’ve upgraded, more on that later. 

2. The other dependency is time and living in the moment which puts the “live” part of the review at risk. I’m not going to sacrifice my full enjoyment of this trip to stress over posting an update. My intent is to try to keep up with any questions and post daily. 

3. If some unforeseen interruption (or 1 or 2 above) delays me or renders me unable to post, I will make it up with a full review post-cruise. I really do appreciate the first-hand accounts from other travelers. 

 

I hope you'll join me on this adventure. For now, I’m going to sip my glass of wine, tie up some loose ends at work, call Dad, and try to ease into vacation mode! 

 

Cheers, 

Julie

 

We took this Infinity cruise six years ago over Christmas and enjoyed it immensely. 

 

None of us on this board expect you to sacrifice your enjoyment of the cruise because of live posting responsibilities. 

 

Have fun. 

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Beachlover1989

Beachlover1989

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Hi Julie!  Thank you so much for doing this! I'm looking forward to following along as we will be boarding on February 11.  We were on Infinity in November and she's still a grand lady!  Although she hasn't been revolutionized, they have definitely kept her up to date and she looks great!  They were even replacing a lot of carpeting while we were onboard.  Hope you have a fabulous time!  Cheers!  Lisa

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Jim_Iain "Live from...." Rare

Jim_Iain

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Julie -  Look forward to following on.    We have done the cruise around the horn and Internet was mostly ok but did loose it for about 1 day.

 

I have to say it was one of our most memorable cruise and I'm sure you will love every minute of it.

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$hip to $hore

$hip to $hore

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Greetings!

Really looking forward to following your review. I'll be on the same sailing in March, so any insights regarding ports etc. will be amazing. Thank you for sharing this and I hope you have a wonderful New Year!!! Enjoy!!!

 

3 hours ago, Buckeye94 said:

Okay, here goes! My first (hopefully) live review! I’ve learned so much from Jim, Chicago Paul, GenX, and others, so now it’s my turn to pay it back and forward. 

 

A little about me...I’m almost always a solo traveler. A couple of times, I’ve traveled with friends, but often, I’m adventuring on my own. Due to that pesky solo supplement, you won’t find me enjoying the suite life of The Retreat and Luminae. I did spoil myself on my first cruise with a balcony, and I can’t bring myself to go Oceanview or Inside. I’ve sailed Edge and Beyond, and the IV is as close to an Oceanview as I want to get! IYKYK 😉 I’ve been cruising since 2009, and all but one was on Celebrity and that was a New England Coastal on Royal Caribbean. Haven’t felt the urge to try other lines, and I want to make the most of my loyalty points. Although Elite+ seems so far away.  

 

I am very excited about this Patagonia sailing. I booked it as soon as I got my first COVID-19 vaccine. The pandemic slowed down my travel which allowed me to save up the $$ and vacation days to take this trip of a lifetime. Twelve nights is a long time to be away from the office, home, the cat, and family, but YOLO, right? I am spending a couple nights in Santiago pre-cruise, and I'm taking a day trip out to Iguazu Falls from Buenos Aires. I wish I was staying on for the Antarctic B2B, but alas, work! Sailing on the Infinity. I’ve read here that she’s looking a little tired and worn around the edges, buy you know what, so am I! I have a soft spot for Infinity since that was the ship for my first cruise ever. I am excited to see her again. 

 

I’m sitting in the Admirals Club at DCA awaiting my next leg to Miami then on to Santiago. Looking forward to celebrating NYE in Santiago, exploring the city for a day, and then sharing a ride with a new CC friend from the Roll Call over to Valparaiso. 

 

A few notes:  

1. I have no idea how good the wifi is going to be. I’ve been following a recent thread on this board about it, but won’t know until I know! So, my posts are partly dependent on my ability to connect. Yes, I’ve upgraded, more on that later. 

2. The other dependency is time and living in the moment which puts the “live” part of the review at risk. I’m not going to sacrifice my full enjoyment of this trip to stress over posting an update. My intent is to try to keep up with any questions and post daily. 

3. If some unforeseen interruption (or 1 or 2 above) delays me or renders me unable to post, I will make it up with a full review post-cruise. I really do appreciate the first-hand accounts from other travelers. 

 

I hope you'll join me on this adventure. For now, I’m going to sip my glass of wine, tie up some loose ends at work, call Dad, and try to ease into vacation mode! 

 

Cheers, 

Julie

 

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Grandmaanne7

Grandmaanne7

Posted
Posted

Hi Julie, 

Thanks for doing this live review. We will be getting on as you disembark. It will be our first M class ship and first cruise in this part of the world so really excited. Enjoy your cruise and post when convenient for you. We'll appreciate all your efforts. 

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Buckeye94

Buckeye94

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Re: shore excursions

 

For this cruise, I am sticking with Celebrity excursions for a few reasons. 1) I'm traveling alone really far from home and my Spanish is iffy. 2) Lots of tender ports. 3) Important sailing days between ports. I'd hate to miss the Chilean Fjords and Strait of Magellan because I missed the last tender at Puerto Montt, or sailing around Cape Horn because I was delayed in Ushuaia.

 

I know many people who do independent, and in the Med where ports are close and less meaningful sea days, I do independent. Here, they got me with the peace of mind.

 

More expensive, you bet. Maybe next time. 😀

 

But, yes, I will share my perspective on the excursions. Penguins, 

sea lions, toninas, on my! 😀

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mahdnc "Live from...." Rare

mahdnc

Posted
Posted (edited)
2 hours ago, Buckeye94 said:

Re: shore excursions

 

For this cruise, I am sticking with Celebrity excursions for a few reasons. 1) I'm traveling alone really far from home and my Spanish is iffy. 2) Lots of tender ports. 3) Important sailing days between ports. I'd hate to miss the Chilean Fjords and Strait of Magellan because I missed the last tender at Puerto Montt, or sailing around Cape Horn because I was delayed in Ushuaia.

 

I know many people who do independent, and in the Med where ports are close and less meaningful sea days, I do independent. Here, they got me with the peace of mind.

 

More expensive, you bet. Maybe next time. 😀

 

But, yes, I will share my perspective on the excursions. Penguins, 

sea lions, toninas, on my! 😀

 

I found it difficult to arrange for independent tours for this cruise and so we bought several of our shorexes thru Celebrity (Puerto Montt, Ushuaia, Puerto Madryn) back in 2016.

 

Be sure to read your Celebrity Today (Ushuaia) to see the exact early morning schedule for when Infinity passes the glaciers along the Beagle Channel.

 

image.thumb.jpeg.1a1f31e318c9bf3c9674dda5a3aa10cf.jpeg

Edited by mahdnc
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JintyGirl

JintyGirl

Posted
Posted

I’m looking forward to this! We’re contemplating South America for March 24. If anyone has done this cruise in March before, can you let me know what to expect weather wise? Will it be jackets, hats and gloves at the Cape? And shorts  and T-shirts in Buenos Aries? 

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mahdnc "Live from...." Rare

mahdnc

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2 hours ago, JintyGirl said:

I’m looking forward to this! We’re contemplating South America for March 24. If anyone has done this cruise in March before, can you let me know what to expect weather wise? Will it be jackets, hats and gloves at the Cape? And shorts  and T-shirts in Buenos Aries? 

 

When we went on this trip in Dec 2016-Jan 2017, it was cool at Cape Horn, Ushuaia, and Puerto Madryn.  Pretty warm at Punta del Este, Montevideo, Valparaiso, and Buenos Aires.  Here is my trip review which has links to the Celebrity Today which had the weather temperatures printed on it.

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