Panama Canal on the Infinity
Written: Mar 19 '05
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Product Rating:
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Pros: Everything but especially the service, the martinis and the United States Dining room
Cons: Hot in the gym, one shore excursion, salads, the Celebrity at Sea computer lab,
The Bottom Line: If you cruise, cruise with X (Celebrity)!
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| DrKoob's Full Review: Celebrity Infinity |
Greetings fellow Cruise Critics,
I have promised to get his online ever since we returned from the cruise on November 14. I wanted to do it right. So it took forever. I still don't have it exactly the way I want it but it is close.
I just wish I had it all in the same place but if you want to see everything you will have to go to four different places.
First, I this is my critique/review of the cruise. It will probably take two posts to fit in all in.
Second, I have posted my entire cruise journal at
http://www.koobraey.com/cruisediary.html
Third, you can see a majority of our photos at
http://homepage.mac.com/jimbellomo/PhotoAlbum20.html
Lastly, I have posted all the dailies for the entire 14 day cruise at
http://www.koobraey.com/cruisedailies
Warning! They are big files and take quite a while to download.
Without further ado, here starts the review.
This first part was originally posted on November 21. The second part has not been posted before.
Exactly a week ago (almost to the minute) my wonderful bride and I disembarked off the GTS Infinity in San Diego after a 14 day cruise from Ft. Lauderdale through the Canal. We stopped in Aruba, Panama, Costa Rica and Hualtuco, Acapulco and Cabo San Lucas, Mexico. I promised myself that by today I would post a mini-commentary on this site.
First I want to thank all the incredible experts (that would be you) that regularly post on this site. Without your valuable insight and knowledge, our cruise would not have been half (or even a quarter) as good. The secrets we learned here were worth as much as any five guide books on cruising. So in way of repayment here are my reflections on the down side of our cruise.
I firmly believe that everything can’t be positive so my bride and I really thought about it to see if we could find anything that X did that we thought needed improvement. I mean we really had to think hard. So hard it was almost impossible to come up with anything but we eventually did. Here are the four things we feel X could have improved on this cruise. In another post later today or early tomorrow I will do a much longer piece on what we liked. But I know this one will provoke some thoughtful responses.
1) Salads.
Face it folks, X does a lousy job with salads. In fact our feeling was that the dining room started with incredible appetizers, had superb soups, lousy salads, mediocre entree’s and wonderful desserts. So here is a hot tip about salads. We had read before our cruise that you could ask for and get a shrimp cocktail instead of your appetizer course every night. Sure you can, but the appetizers were usually the most inventive course and almost always superb. We even got escargot on TWO nights. So just get the appetizer you want, order soup (the cold fruit soups are wonderful) and then ask your waiter to bring you that shrimp cocktail INSTEAD of YOUR SALAD! It worked every night. And yes, you can order a caesar salad every night but compare it to the caesar in the United States Dining Room downstairs and it is just lettuce with dressing.
2) Entrees.
They weren’t bad. Just not great. Everything else on board was great but the entrees were only slightly better than the salads and totally unremarkable. The only other food on board that we could possibly complain about was the lunch buffet. X (or I firmly believe, any other cruise line) can just not do justice to ethnic food. I fully understand why. They are catering to such a broad cross-section of people that if they made something ethnic as hot as I like it they would have killed everyone from the Midwest on the cruise. (Midwest folks who like hot food please don’t flame me, I know you exist--or at least I think you do.)
On another thread I commented that we had three views on the food in the dining room in general. First, it is comparative to high end catered food at a really good convention hotel EXCEPT try getting shrimp cocktail or salmon or steak anytime you want. Second, in comparison to the two other cruise lines we have been on, it was SUPERB! Third, in the final analysis, we asked ourselves, if this was a good restaurant in Seattle would we go back again? For the service, yes. For the food, no.
3) Horseback riding in Hualtuco. Suffice it to say that this shore excursion was the low point of an otherwise wonderful cruise. Should you be going to Hualtuco we would tell you NEVER to sign up for this one. I will promise to provide more info on this when I do a real long review.
4) Now to my biggest complaints (which may not affect many of you.) We are exercise people. We work out every other day (lift weights) and I run 5 miles on the other days (on a treadmill) when we are at home. We wanted to be able to continue this routine on the ship so we could eat all the great food. When we got on and saw the gym, we were suitably impressed. Plenty of treadmills and pretty good weight machines. But that was in theory and not in practice. Lifting weights was just fine and running may have worked well on an Alaskan cruise but it was just too damn hot to run more than about three miles on the treadmills. The first day the temp in the gym at 7:30 am must have been around 85. But in the front of the gym where the treadmills are and with the ship heading directly into the sun, the temp must have been in the 90s. Not good running weather for this Seattle guy. And of all of this could be fixed with the additions of some fans. There was just no air movement at all. I know this is a little thing but man it was the lowlight of my cruise. Please give us some fans in the gym, PLEASE!
5) The joke that is the Celebrity at Sea computer lab or at least the people who work there and their ridiculous prices. OK, first off, I am a tech kind of guy. I have been using computers for more than 20 years and I currently own seven that are up and running in my house (I work out of a home office) and I know them. That was the problem, the guys in the lab didn’t. On our best shore excursion (the Shotover Jets in Acapulco) the jet folks took a bunch (20) pictures of us in the boats and then offered us either a print or a CD with all the pics. We took the CD. I was going to copy it for safe keeping as I had my laptop with me but I could not get it to run on my Mac laptop. So I went down to the PC computer lab on the ship and took them a blank CD and asked them if they could copy it for me. First, the tech guy I talked to could not get it to mount. While he was asking someone how to do that, I got it up and mounted in about 5 seconds. Then we check the pics and I asked them if they could just copy them to my blank CD for me as insurance. They said sure, it would cost $20. $20??!!!!! I had the 50¢ CD. All they had to do was let me copy it. They didn’t have to do a thing. My total time on their computer would have been less than two minutes but no, (and I would have paid for the computer time) but no, they still wanted $20. So let me see, I have teach them how to mount my CD, then they want $20 bucks for me to copy my CD to my blank CD? I don’t think so. Also, while sitting in the back of the room a class was going on in Photoshop Elements. As a graphic design professional I would guess that about half what I overheard taught in that class was wrong.
And that’s it. I kept a journal each day and those five things are the only things I can find to complain about. This cruise was magnificent! Now what did I like?
This morning I posted a quick summary of what we thought were the worst part of our cruise from Ft. Lauderdale through the canal to San Diego. I promised the flip side later today and here it is. What we loved about X and the Infinity.
1) The service:
There is nothing quite like it. Everyone who complains that X is not a premier cruise line has never sailed on others and then on X and gotten the service we got. We are sold. We loved so much of our cruise but were most impressed with how we were served. From the moment we stepped on board we were pampered beyond belief. From our room steward, attendant, whatever Caetano (we don’t care what his title was, he just took great care of us, to our waiter Elves (beyond compare), his assistant, Wilhem from South Africa who basically cooked our dinner in the United States dining room to Randy who made us so many superb martinis in the Martini Bar. They were all excellent and truly the place that X shines.
2) Some of the food.
Certainly the appetizers and desserts. As I mentioned in the other review (http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=102670) where I listed the very few negatives, the salads and entrees left a lot to be desired but the appetizers, soups and desserts were fantastic.
3) The Martini Bar
Our new downfall. My God do they know how to make a martini there or what. We tried so many kinds and really loved the vanilla, the blueberry, the cosmo, the gimlet and I am sure a whole bunch more. We spent way too much money there but it was well worth it. And Randy, our regular cocktail shaker was the best! Plus you get those great breadsticks.
4) Embarkation and Disembarkation
WOW! That’s all I can say. After two previous cruises on other lines (HAL and Carnival) we had experienced the worst of both getting on and off a ship. This was heaven comparatively. We were literally the first ones on at exactly 11:00 am. And we were almost the first ones off two weeks later at 7:30 am in San Diego. In both terminals we were treated well especially in Ft. Lauderdale where the porters (you don’t have to tip them but you might want to make sure your luggage get’s there quickly) to the greeters in the terminal. It was a wonderful experience.
5) Having an Aft cabin
Somehow we were lucky enough to have our TA score us an aft cabin (9162). I will be honest because I had not been on these board before but I was worried that we might run into some sea sickness problems with an aft cabin. If you are new to cruising and at all prone to sea sickness always take a mid-ships cabin. My bride has been prone to it in the past so I was a little worried. But it wasn’t a big deal. Even in some rough seas, we felt little or no movement that bothered us. And we loved the cabin. Unfortunately, the word is out and now those cabins are impossible (or at least very difficult) to get. We know, we booked a Hawaii cruise for April of 2006 while we were on Infinity and even though it was 18 months in advance, we could not get another.
If you ever get the chance to score one, do it. The biggest reason is the verandah. It is about the size of small football field. No seriously, it is at least the size of our cabin. It came with two full size lounge chairs, two regular chairs, two small tables and a large dining table. If it hadn’t of been so damn humid every night of the cruise (and the mornings too) we probably would have had many meals on that verandah. As it was, we got some incredible pics from it and it was really great as we went through the canal.
CC (Concierge Class)
We have heard lots of people say that they don’t think this is worth the value but we would not cruise any other way. All the little perks really added up for us. The flowers and fruit in the cabin, the special towels, the robes, a pitcher ice water that never seemed to empty (not sure how Caetano did that), the pillow menu, priority embarkation, tendering and disembarkation and other things we can’t remember but we would want to be without.
The Persian Garden, T-Pool and AquaSpa Cafe
I almost hesitate to write about this since I don’t want it to become any more popular that it already is. On the other hand if a few more people don’t sign up for the gardens, the might remove it.
On the first day of the cruise my bride talked me into a spa tour. She wanted to go on the tour and book her spa appointments then as they offer discounts if you book during the tour. I wanted to see the gym and workout spaces so I said I would go along. Boy, was I glad I did.
I am not much of a spa kind of guy. Do to a skin condition, I can’t be massaged so there is really not a lot to interest me in a spa, or so I thought. Then we went into the Persian Gardens. Once we took a seat on the big “hot bench” it was all over. I think I shocked my bride when I said, let’s buy the entire Persian Garden package for the whole cruise. And we did and we used it each and every day. It became the before the Martini Bar, 4:00pm routine. Soak in the T-Pool (that’s free on Millie class ships), sit on the hot bench, steam in at least two or three of the Garden’s steam rooms, hit at least 2 of their specialty showers and then back to the room to change for dinner. My bride said that she had never seen me relax like I did on Infinity and I would have to agree with her. I am a pretty workaholic type guy but I would buy into a place like the Persian Garden, T-Pool and AquaSpa Cafe anytime.
I almost forgot to mention the T-Pool and the AquaSpa Cafe. If you haven’t done X before you probably have no idea what a T-Pool is. The T stands for some long word that comes before the work therapy. I am just too lazy to go look it up right now. Suffice it to say, it is a large pool in the shape of a greek cross. (Equal arms on all sides) and it has jets much like a jacuzzi. They use a combo of fresh water and salt water and there is even a set of stainless steel lounges on two sides that you can lay on in the water while you soak. The best days to do the pool are any days when the sea is rough. Then you not only get the benefit of the jets but also the wonderful wave action of the ship. Yahoo!
The AquaSpa Cafe is located right next to the T-pool. We had lunch there a number of times. Great healthy (but really good) choices. I had some great seafood ceviche one day, my bride had some superb salmon. And you don’t even have to leave the pool area. It is wonderful. And the desserts there (though healthy) were also great.
Shotover Jet Boats in Acapulco
This was the best shore excursion we did. BAR NONE! We loved it so much that we are thinking of doing only cruises and vacations where there are Shotover Jets (besides Acapulco they are in Cancun, Fiji and New Zealand). Imagine a Disney thrill ride that lasted 30 minutes and you have an idea of what a shotover jet boat ride is like. The only thing I can say for sure is that if you want to have some great fun, do this shore excursion. It is well worth it. And you get a nice tour of Acapulco as you head down to the jet boats which are at the completely opposite end of the city from where the ship docks.
United State Dining Room
We have seen a lot of posts from people saying that the alternative dining rooms on the Millie class ships are not worth the extra $30 you have to pay. To that we say “BALONEY!” Tell me where they could get that kind of food, that level of service and that kind of ambience anywhere in the world for only $30? We do realize that we have already paid for the dinner upstairs but to be honest I only know of two land based restaurants in the world that have better service and serve better food. The goat cheese souffle to start and the grand marnier souffle to finish were the best ever but I have tipped more than $30 in land restaurants that weren’t anywhere near as good. Besides we got almost watch our entire meal cooked at the table and the cheese course alone was an education in itself. Much of our great experience was due to our incredible waiter Wilhem from South Africa. He was wonderful. We liked the United States so much that we organized a group of friends to join us there for another wonderful evening later in the cruise. We are planning to have dinner there in August to celebrate our anniversary (on a Pacific NW cruise from Vancouver to SF). If you love food as we do, go to the United States--a bunch!
Snorkel & Sail Fiesta in Cabo
This was our second favorite shore excursion. We went into Cabo first and walked around for awhile and then at noon jumped on a beautiful catamaran with 45 other folks from the cruise and were off. First we went out to the famous Cabo rocks and spent an hour snorkeling and then they took us out about 1/2 mile into the ocean and turned off the engine, put up the sail and took us sailing for about an hour. Beautiful weather and great sailing.
Renting a jeep in Aruba
We didn’t do a shore excursion in Aruba because we had read on the boards that it was easy to get around on Aruba if you rented your own car. So we jumped off the ship and found a car rental agency (or they found us as we got off) and rented jeep. We really recommend that you get something four wheel if you are going to drive the coast. We saw a couple of two wheel drive cars stuck in places they should not have been. We also suggest that you get an Aruba map before you go. AAA has a good one believe it or not. Then just tour the island at your own pace. But no matter where you go, make sure to see the Natural Bridge and from their you can drive along the beach/shore to the lighthouse at the eastern tip of the island. It was the most fun we had ever had four wheeling.
Being able to drop off our carry-ons
I wanted to write about this because even with all the things we read about on the boards before we went, no one mentioned this. We learned about it from a wonderful couple we met soon after boarding. You see, we boarded at 11:30 am. We were literally the first on board. Really. And we were carrying three really heavy carryons. My computer bag, my bride’s carryon, a rolling 22” suitcase with emergency clothes and her purse. Once we got on we were pretty much stuck (or so we thought) until we could get into our cabin at 1:30. Then we ran into these wonderful, long-time cruisers from Texas who told us we could take our bags up and drop them in our room and no one would care. And you know, they were right. So if you have carryons that are big and heavy and you get on early, just head up to your cabin and have your steward stick them in your closet for you.
Waffles and omelettes
I think even more than the dinners, these were our food downfall. The waffle bar located in the Oceanview Grille at the aft of the ship and the omelette station just around the corner. Every morning after discovering it, we would go up and try and decide which one to go to for breakfast, My bride would make the argument for the eggs since we needed our protein and are trying to cut back on carbs. I would argue that we were on vacation and should be able to eat like it. So since we couldn’t decide, we did the typical cruise solution when it comes to food, we had both. And you should too. Watch out for the blueberry topping on the waffles though, it is addicting. And when they ran out of it on the last day of the cruise, the withdrawal was horrible.
Well that about does it. There was certainly more that we loved but I can sum it all up that I am not just a customer of X but a raving fan. I have a few products in my life that I am fanatic about. They include Apple Computer, Subaru, Les Schwab tires, TIVO, Tom Douglas restaurants, Nick Stellino cookbooks, Starbucks coffee and now Celebrity.
Recommended:
Yes
Best Suited For: Couples
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Epinions.com ID:
DrKoob
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Location: Redmond, WA
Reviews written: 19
Trusted by: 0 members
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