Just got off Infinity 1/20/08

[Cotty]

We just finished a cruise that began in Buenos Aires 1/6/08 and ended in Santiago on 1/20/08. This cruise exceeded our expectations in every aspect. Due to gale weather, we were not able to embark in the Falkland Islands (we waved at the land as we sailed past), but that is always problematic and not unexpected. The Captain made up for that by docking at Ushuaia overnight. We were able to sail around the Horn in delightful weather and through the Beagle Channel to Ushuaia during daylight. Beautiful!

We have just one gripe - one that applies to all of the Celebrity cruises we've made: the midnight Grand Buffet is on the last formal night when they also have the Baked Alaska parade after dinner. Those events should be on separate nights - no one in the second dining seating wants to partake of the Grand Buffet after finishing dinner at 11 PM. It's just too much!

Even worse, on our Infinity cruise, the last formal night was in the evening after the longest shore excursions of the cruise for most of the passengers (at Puerto Montt.) Everyone was tired and many in the first seating had less than an hour to prepare for dinner. We were in the second seating and were not served our entree until after the Baked Alaska parade - a real snafu that the Maitre'd made up to us by serving us complimentary wines the next evening. We really couldn't ask for more.

Celebrity generously threw two Cruise Connection parties (thanks to Allen) and those who attended were delightful people.

Disembarkation in Valparaiso was fast, efficient, and problem free for us.

Cotty (Sandy)

[Jan08Bride]

I agree with the buffet/baked alaska gripe. We wound up just taking pictures at the buffet on our trip and not eating anything. We were just too stuffed!

 

I want to hear about the ports ! What a great itinerary!

[cabo de hornos]

So much so, that we are doing it a second time (Mercury first, now Infinity)next month!!

 

Just curious - Sandy, when were your other formal nights - aren't they usually on sea days?

 

Cabo

[Andy]

We have just one gripe - one that applies to all of the Celebrity cruises we've made: the midnight Grand Buffet is on the last formal night when they also have the Baked Alaska parade after dinner. Those events should be on separate nights - no one in the second dining seating wants to partake of the Grand Buffet after finishing dinner at 11 PM. It's just too much!

 

Hi Cotty !

 

Thank you for your review. It is nice to hear that you had a great Cruise !

 

BTW, I totally agree with your comment above. I'd love to see Celebrity have the Grand Buffet at another time, other than the last Formal night. Many crew members have told me that a tremendous amount of food goes to waste.

 

Frankly, I wouldnt mind if Celebrity held the Grand Buffet as a Lunch during a Sea Day, so that it could be the meal, instead of an event after your Dinner. For the Late Seating passengers, I ask you..... who can eat another meal 60-90 minutes after Dinner ? I bet the crew would like this idea quite a bit more as well. They tell me that it is such a back-breaker, to have to handle 2 Dinners, then rush to do the Grand Buffet.

 

I am sure there may be fellow passengers who may not like my idea, but it seems to make a lot of sense for both passengers and crew.

[CajunLiner]

Sandy,

Will you be posting a longer review on this cruise? I would love to hear about your shore excursions, weather, ship experience, ....... really everything.

 

Also what about photos? Do you upload them to an internet site that can be viewed by others? Would really love to see them. If not, maybe you can email them to me?

 

We are considering this cruise for next January, so you can understand my curiosity.

 

Thanks!

Donna

[CathyK2]

Cotty,

 

You don't know what a breath of fresh air this was to hear. We are taking this cruise in March and the reveiws haven't been looking very good even remotely. THANK YOU!!!!!! As others have said, we would love to hear more details if you get the chance.

 

Cathy

[shipshape sam]

Thanks for the update.

 

We have heard that many ships cannot tender at the Falkland Islands due to high winds or seas.

 

Looking forward to sailing Infinity in 2009 through the Panama Canal! :)

[Cotty]

Sorry to take so long to get back to you. I wrote out a long reply and my connection crashed just as I was submitting it. I lost everything.

First, this is the first time we’ve ever had a formal night on a port day and it was only for Puerto Montt.

We only took Celebrity excursions. We had table mates who booked at every port independently and they were not disappointed. I don’t know who they booked with, mostly it was done with other Cruise Connection members going on this trip.

We had non-Celebrity arrangements before and after the cruise. It included 2 ½ days in Iguazu Falls with tours to the Brazilian and Argentinian sides of the falls. We elected to take the Zodiac raft ride through the falls and are very glad we did. We took the trip from the Argentine side because we were told it cost $80 each in Brazil vs the $35 each we paid that also included a nature ride through the park at the end of the river part. Taking this trip means that you have to negotiate steep and uneven steps down and back from the top level of the falls and endure tons of water pouring around you and soaking everything not in the provided waterproof bags. It’s a thrilling experience and reallu worth doing if you can. We bought the video because there is no way you can take photos during the ride.

 

The Celebrity Excursions we took wer:

Montevideo: City Highlights (very good)

Puerto Madryn: Punto Lombo and Welsh Tea at Gaiman (excellent goodies at tea and choir) Celebrity provides a free shuttle into Puerto Madryn for those who don’t go on excursions or who end theirs there to shop.

Ushuiaa: Beagle Channel Navigation & National Park (sea lions & birds on small islands withing sight of Ushuaia, rabbits & beavers in the park woods) Wish we had done the Penguin Rookery instead.

Puenta Arenas: Fort Bullnes and Port Famine ( I wanted to see this because I had read a lot about the early history of the Strait of Magellen)

Puerto Montt: Cruising Lake Llanquihue & Towns of Frutillar and Puerto Varas ( wonderful, especially the sailing part with great views of Osorno and Cavabuco? Volcanoes as the weather cleared. We had very pleasant weather here.

 

We had independent arrangements for post-tour. The disembarkation was very efficient, despite the fact that you are bussed from the ship to the terminal where you see your ship-transported luggage again. We had a tour of Vina del Mar with an expensive and good lunch at the Arabian Club, then a tour of Santiago and a final dinner at Como Agua Para Chocolate in the district at the foot of the hill with the statue of the Virgin.

 

I know I’ve left things out, but ask a question and I’ll check back again,.

Sandy

[j2ink]

Cotty,

 

You indicated that you took a post-cruise independent tour from Valparaiso. I only recently began planning my trip, and I haven't seen anything about post-cruise tours. Which tour company did you use? Are there tour companies that have specific tours for post-cruise passengers? In other words, do they pick you up at the dock along with your luggage, take you on a tour, and then take you to the airport in Santiago?

 

I have an 8:00 pm flight out of Santiago, and I would much rather see Valparaiso or Santiago than go directly to the airport and sit there all day.

 

Thanks,

Joe

[Cruise Cat]

Cotty - A friend of mine who was on another ship (NCL) said they heard your cruise was going to divert around the storm but then they decided to press on to the Falklans anyway. He heard something about damage to railings on the front of the ship as the result of waves. Is that true?

[Cotty]

People from the Norwegian Dream were told by their Captain that Infinity would not be landing at the Falkland Islands and that the ship had suffered some interior damage. We did not see any damage to the ship interior or otherwise and were not advised of any by our Captain. We had a medical emergency on board that had the Captain returning to Puerto Madryn three hours after to departure to transfer one passenger with heart problems. We had many sea sick passengers due to high winds and seas on the passage to the Falklands. About 30% of the crew was sick as well. The waves were hitting the portholes on the second level of the ship. I think the Captain would have tried to get into the bay near Port Stanley for tendering but he announced that a gale was expected that would make passenger pick-up dangerous. We were told that Infinity had made it into Port Stanley only twice in the last five trips (make that out of six with ours).

We purchased our trip as a package with Travel of America, a southern California travel agency, and they contracted with the airlines, hotels, and local tourist companies to arrange an attractive itinerary. We have booked ten cruise/tours with T of A and have always been satisfied with the quality and the price of the trips. The local companies they used were Argentina Inside for Buenos Aires and Iguazu Falls, and Adsmundo in Valparaiso/Santiago. We flew LAN Peru through Lima both ways and used Aerolineas Argentina for the flights to Iguazu Falls. We were lodged at the Emperador Hotel in BA and Cataratas Hotel in Iguazu.

One thing that I left out about our experience on the cruise was how much we enjoyed listening to lectures given by Colonel James Reid, expert on the history and politics of the countries and cities on the tour (we bought his book on the ship) and Dr. Milos Radakovicz, a knowledgeable naturalist with a great sense of humor.

Sandy

[themirsk]

Ushuiaa: Beagle Channel Navigation & National Park (sea lions & birds on small islands withing sight of Ushuaia, rabbits & beavers in the park woods) Wish we had done the Penguin Rookery instead.

Sandy

Hi Sandy,

Thanks for your review. We're taking this cruise in March and really looking forward. Just curious....as we're ready to book our tours. Why did you say you would rather have done the Penguin Rookery than the Beagle Channel & Nat'l Park tour ?

Thanks in advance......

M&M's

[mtwsew]

We just took the BA to Valparaiso trip (Jan 6, 08 dep) as well. There was exterior damage to the ship due to the high winds we encountered at the Falklands. It was repaired quickly.

We booked all of our tours independently and they were very good and considerably less than the ship's tours. We did a hiking and canoing tour in P. Montt that was wonderful, but very strenuous; a 4x4 tour in Ushushia; Otway Sound to see the penguins; a tour of Valparaiso & Vinas del Mar and a transfer to Santiago;

This was our first time cruising with Celebrity. We've taken about 25 cruises; the last 4 with Oceania. We found the food on Celebrity to be "uneven" at best. And unimaginative. We ate in the specialty restaurant 6 times to avoid the dining room food. The food in the specialty restaurant was much better and the service was wonderful. However it was $60/couple additional for each meal. I guess we got used to the gourmet food on Oceania and expected the same level on Celebrity. We were disappointed.

The glaciers were amazing. However the announcement that we were passing through the area was never made in the main dining room and many people missed seeing them. We were in the specialty restaurant that night so we were lucky and heard the announcement. People were justifiably upset about missing them, as they were a highlight of the trip.

[Cotty]

Thanks mtwsew, we didn't know about the damage to the ship. To others interested in this trip, the glaciers are on the north side of the Beagle Channel and are named after countries. They are small compared to glaciers seen in Alaska and you sail past one right after the other after leaving Ushuaia in the evening, sailing west. The German glacier is the most spectacular with a gushing waterfall at its foot. We knew about the glaciers because we were alerted at the Col. Reid and Milos Radakovicz lectures on the sea day before Ushuaia.

 

To themirsk, my wish to have booked a tour of the Penguin rookery is based on the fact that here in Southern California we have the opportunity to see sea lion colonies, cormorants/other sea birds, and dolphins quite often. This tour might have more appeal to those who don't get to see these animals. We don't have penguins except in the aquariums and zoos. The catamaran tour takes you only into the middle of the channel where you see small islands with a light signal, birds, and sea lion families. The catamaran then takes you west down the Beagle Channel to a landing in the national park where you board buses to tour the wooded landscape. There is a brief snack and bathroom stop in the park.

Sandy

[Provogirl]

My husband and I just returned from the South American cruise on the Infinity, leaving Buenos Aires on January 6 and disembarking at Valparaiso Chile on January 20. We thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. We booked our pre and post cruise hotels with Infinity and were very pleased with both the hotels and the transportation at both ports. We arrived in Buenos Aires on January 3 after an overnight flight from Miami on Lan Argentina. We were met at the airport by a Celebrity representative who took us to the waiting van which took us to the Panamericano Hotel. Our only complaint would be that we were unable to get much information about the flights before the cruise, other than the flight number and times. We would have liked to have the reservation number to look into changing our seats. We flew back to Miami on American Airlines, the second last seat from the back of the plane. It was a long 8 hours, cramped in the seats. The service and food on the American Airlines flight was not up to the standard of Lan Argentina. The wine was complimentary with the dinner on the Lan Argentina flight. They also provided the passengers with earplugs, eye masks and headphones, something American airlines did not do. It is impossible to be comfortable in the "cheap seats" on such a flight but Lan Argentina did their best. The food served for dinner and breakfasts on the Lan Argentina flight were superior to American's offerings. By the time the American's flight attendants got to the back of the plane there was no chicken left, only pasta. Lan Argentina provided us with a proper breakfast while American Airlines offered a bun, juice, and watermelon slices. The two men in the seats directly in front of us left their seats in the reclining position for landing as the flight attendants did not bother to ensure the proper instructions were followed. We had to ask them to raise their seats so we could get our stuff out from under the seat, we could hardly move. The people directly behind us were very upset as they could not even put their seats back, imagine 8 hours in that position. The television screens were left on until after midnight and with no eye masks it was difficult to sleep. At 3:00 a.m. two ladies decided to loudly chat while we were trying to sleep.

As mentioned in another review, the disembarkation in Valparaiso was very well organized. We had about an hour and half bus ride to Santiago. We were very pleased with the Intercontinental Hotel, the beds were so comfy.

 

We took a couple of tours which we arranged at the courtesy desk set up by Celebrity in the hotel lobby in Buenos Aires. We went on a city tour, tango dinner, and a historical show and dinner. We particularly enjoyed touring the Recoleta cemetery and the tango dinner. We were not as successful with our post cruise tours in Santiago. The city cruise arranged by Celebrity was not available the afternoon we arrived so we took a tour arranged by the conceirge. It turned out to be a bilingual history tour, difficult to follow. We were not overly pleased either with the cultural dinner and show that evening arranged by Celebrity. The guide was excellent but the music was so loud you could hardly talk. We enjoyed the next day's tour which was a drive through the Andes to the Portillo lodge. That was quite an adventure, as the highway switch backed up the mountain,nd there were lots of transport trucks. The lunch was spectacular though and the view at the lodge breathtaking. The next day we were booked on a wine tour but neither the Celebrity rep nor the tour guide showed. We waited in the hotel lobby for 45 minutes past the scheduled time. Our transfer from the hotel to the airport was great. We really enjoyed the Santiago airport, with lots of stores and places to eat and have coffee/tea.

 

We arranged our tours through Celebrity as we didn't want to risk missing the ship after any tours. We booked the Estancia tour in Montevideo and thoroughly enjoyed that day. It was very well organized. We booked the San Lorenzo Estancia and Valdes National Park tour in Puerto Madryn. The penguins were amazing, as we literally walked among them. We watched sea lions and sea elephants from a distance, good to have binoculars. The drive there was long and dusty but it was worth the drive. We had trouble boarding the ship on our return, as it was very windy and the crew could only take a few people on the gangplank at once. The weather in Patagonia changes quickly. I think that is why the captain made the decision to cruise to Port Stanley, when the Norwegian ship decided not to venture there. He was hoping the weather would change as many people were really looking forward to that port. He did his best. We also heard there was damage to the ship by the winds. It was very rough, heard the seas were 25 ft. The cruise around Cape Horn was amazing and we were very lucky with the weather that day. I took a picture of a rainbow over the Cape. We sat on our balcony and drank hot chocolate while we cruised around the Horn. We were in the first seating in the dining room when the Captain made an annoucement that we would be cruising through glaciers in 20 minutes. We quickly rushed back to our room so we could take photos and drink in the beauty. We booked the Ushuaia In Depth tour and also enjoyed that day. Unfortunately it rained on one of our stops and we had to sit in a lodge for about 45 minutes. It was planned that we walk around outside but of course we couldn't do that. We did not bother booking a tour of Punta Arenas, Chile, as the ones offered did not appeal to us. We thought we might take the tender and wander around but it was so cold we opted to stay on board. We were happy we made that decision as some people had to wait over two hours in the cold for the tenders. The sea was too rough and they couldn't accommodate too many passengers in the tenders at one time. The question was raised as to why they just didn't send out more tenders and we heard they had problems with one or two of them, don't know if that is true or not. We took the Osorno Volcano tour and thoroughly enjoyed that day as well. We were able to take the ski lift up the side of the mountain and were above the clouds. I agree with comments made about the formal night. We had the early dinner seating and were late for dinner. Our tour was very long and we did not get on board until after 6:30. That didn't give us much time to get ready.

 

On the whole, we were extremely pleased with the service, food and entertainment on the ship. It was a momentous, wonderful vacation and I would highly recommend it to everyone who wants a different adventure.

[j2ink]

Provogirl,

 

You wrote that you took the San Lorenzo Estancia and Valdes National Park tour in Puerto Madryn. After talking to the other passengers, how do you think this tour compared to the Punta Tombo Penguin Rookery tour?

 

We need to see at least one large group of penguins (for my nine year old daughter) at one of the ports, and I was leaning toward the Punta Tombo tour. However, it is a two hour drive each way, with only a short time to actually spend with the penguins.

 

Does anyone else have any advice concerning this? There are also tours to see penguins at Ushuaia and Punta Arenas, and I was considering the Otway Bay/Island tour at Punta Arenas.

 

Thanks,

Joe

[insidevoicemp]

Hi all

 

heard last night that Infinity did arrive to wrong port instance of Valparaiso she arrived to 180NM wrong port? and no one noticed before they called local pilot?

 

Is that true?

[hampshirelad]

Having been on this cruise and just come back from South America I will add my thoughts as well.

 

The major disappointment was not being able to land at the Falklands for those of us from the UK. I had made enquiries from the Falklands tourist board before the cruise and was told that during the previous winter only 3 ships did not make it, I now find this difficult to believe. Damage was caused to the ship, several glass panels were smashed due to deck chairs on deck not being properly secured during the storm. If the next ship to come by saw our deck chairs floating in the sea they must have feared the worst for us.

 

Good things

 

The cabin was kept absolutely spotless and the cabin attendant Lourdes was excellent.

 

All the dining room staff and our waiter were excellent and in fact everyone we met was clearly doing their very best to give outstanding service.

 

The rounding of Cape Horn on a brilliant sunny day was an experience not to forget.

 

The lectures were good, but someone needs to tell Col Reid that he does not need to mention in every sentence that he has a book for sale on the ship.

 

Overall the ports of Call were excellent and you certainly get a good flavour of South America

 

Not so good

 

All our table drawn from various countries were very disappointed with the quality of the food. Meat was often tough, meals very not very hot, the presentation especially the sweets was poor. This is very noticeable since our last cruise on Celebrity about 8 years ago, where the food was outstanding. I guess the company has to produce a cruise at a price to compete, so standards suffer.

 

Tendering - This cruise has lots of tender ports which presents problems. It has already been reported that at Punta Arenas we waited nearly two hours in a terrible wind to board. Whatever the sea conditions, which was the excuse, they could have put on more tenders. I feel the real problem was that they only had one Xray machine to scan returning passengers so this was bound to slow the boarding process. Hence they kept everyone waiting. There is no priority tendering on South American cruises as is spelt out in the daily news sheet. I do feel that the elderly and those with young children could have been better looked after.

 

Alcohol -They were determined to confiscate any wine and spirits brought back at the ports. I did not see anyone trying to tough it out with them on this point.

 

Doing you own thing at the ports - There are plenty of companies offering tours at half the ship price. The problem you have is getting off the ship in time at the tender ports. The best solution is to follow the roll call for your cruise on this site forum and form a group.

 

Overall we enjoyed the cruise, but I am not sure if I would choose Celebrity again.