Searching for summer - LIVE from the newly refurbished Infinity 12/5/15

Jenna

 

I noticed in your list of entertainers on board there was no string quartet, trio or even duo.

 

Sitting with a drink and listening to the strings before dinner was a favorite activity of ours.

 

Is it totally gone now? :(

I think entertainers vary by ship, one ship has a duo, another strings, we have a duo (see above again) and a pianist who is doing the music before dinner, instead of a strings. I like the variety.

Jenna,

 

Great to hear Godfrey is working out so well. I hear you about the minor things, but they start to add up especially when one realizes the cost of the suite.

 

We finally were able to persuade Jan, HD, to add a couple of power strips. How are the interior doors? Do you have small blocks of wood as door stops?

 

Godfrey did keep our pantry well stocked. Loved it.

 

I used the hot tub on the deck all the time. It was great, but my wife has mobility issues and the tub is not designed to include same.

 

Did they fix/enable the player piano or is it still only manual?

 

Thanks and enjoy!

 

Phil

We have sand bags at every door doing the work keeping them open, though we're often shutting them trying to get the bedroom cold enough. Your right about the little things, the floor has lots of spots the varnish is damaged, but it just came out of Drydock? :rolleyes:

I haven't tried the piano yet, but we will.

There are a ton of outlets under one side of the bed, and under the entertainment center in the living room and I brought a three outlet surge protector I'm using under the desk. I also brought an ac converter that has usb that I plugged in on the other side of the bed, and then plugged the lamp back into that and then ran the sub cords out the door to get charging by the bed so it all works out and I can hide the cords when not in use, still close the door, but not what a modern hotel has, and again, this was supposedly just refurbished.

Happy sailing,

Jenna

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At 11am ish there were plenty of seats by the pool, nice to see the chair hogs aren't onboard. We're spending our time pretty much doing this:

Lumimae continues to be excellent. Crew is definitely getting into rhythm post inspection stress.

Happy sailing,

Jenna

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Thanks for all the info....enjoy your cruise!

The cruise director has been very visible but our only entertainment so far was the martini bar.

 

 

Hi Jenna,

Thanks for the photos. Celebrity also hosted a media event on the embark day, so that might have added to the embark delay. Too bad the weather did not cooperate.

Is the Cruise Director new in this position ? She looks very familiar from past sailings, but not as a CD.

Thanks and enjoy your cruise !

Yes, we saw the media event, it was very visible and a bit annoying with picture taking. Mostly it was provisioning it seems but I'm sure it added.

Sara has been an activity director mostly but also a CD previously.

Piano is not working. Supposedly going to be replaced.

Happy sailing,

Jenna

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Really enjoying your review and pictures...

Surprised that there are issues with the room when it has just been re done! No excuse for the piano not to be working. I have to say as non players but lovers of the piano sound we would not be best pleased. It is a big piece of furniture to just put a box of chocolates on.

Shame about the towel rail too, great place for drying swimwear and odd items I would not trust to laundry services!

Interested to see how Michael's works out now that there are more guests with access both in terms of ambience and service!

Although we have two RS (S class) cruises first I really cannot wait now for my next PH (M class) cruise in 2017. Your pictures have reminded me of what a great room it is and that balcony.......

We had dinner in Tuscan grill last night which was the debut of Chic nights on Infinity and Celebrity I believe as I think Reflection debuted it as well last night. I don't have much to report on dress across the ship. We saw a few tuxes, not many at all, a few long gowns, not many, cocktail dresses, pants on men, some jackets, and general casual dress. Dress didn't seem much difference from other smart casual nights, but I didn't really get out much last night. We only had a short walk to Michael's Club, the wine cellar and then Tuscan Grill so I can't report on the MDR or Luminae

We ate in Tuscan Grill at one of the first, official, intimate tables. These have been happening to some extent at officer's discretion previously, but this official version replaced the "Captain's Table" with what is now called an "Officer's Table". It started in Cellar Masters but was held in Tuscan Grill in the wine cellar room. The standard restaurant menu was used and most guests ordered 4 courses as the concept was described by the waiter. Service was lackluster at best, but if I was a professional critic they would be slammed. The starters were good enough, but it deteriorated from there. Examples included, but are far from limited to pouring white wine in the red wine glasses and red in the white glasses, not providing silverware before the main course was served, and not giving any silverware to the Captain until requested. This was ok :rolleyes: because they didn't bring one of the meals for quite a while after everyone else was served, so he graciously wouldn't eat until she was served anyway. Since my food was luke warm (main) and cold (sides), his must of been totally cold by the time he ate. The restaurant was far from full so I am not sure what happened. I ordered one of the dry aged steaks, the porterhouse medium rare. It was over and unevenly cooked for my liking and the quality was not what I expected, but I'm a bit spoiled. We grow our own beef, and while our steaks are not dry aged for a month, we do get very high quality meat at home.

Service was far from the usual we've received when previously invited to dine with an officer. The lack of service and food quality was made up by excellent company in a much more intimate setting with a smaller group allowing great conversation. Much better in many respects to the huge table in the main dining room. The only comment with respect to the service was a soft request by one woman to "please don't fire him" but nothing else said and no one responded.

I will try and see if the large table in the MDR has been removed to allow additional seating and space.

There was was no captains toast in the theater. It is being replaced by something but I'm not sure what the format will be yet.

A few pics:

On a separate note, the only listed programs on the roof top terrace so far have been the football games yesterday and this evening there is a documentary on the Panama Canal at 6pm. The same movie is being shown in the theater this morning at 9am. There was a post in the news section of Cruise Critic that Celebrity will be doing a movie / dining event on the terrace once on 7 day cruises, so we look forward to trying that out.

Happy sailing,

Jenna

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Really enjoying your review and pictures...

 

 

 

Surprised that there are issues with the room when it has just been re done! No excuse for the piano not to be working. I have to say as non players but lovers of the piano sound we would not be best pleased. It is a big piece of furniture to just put a box of chocolates on.

 

 

 

Shame about the towel rail too, great place for drying swimwear and odd items I would not trust to laundry services!

 

 

 

Interested to see how Michael's works out now that there are more guests with access both in terms of ambience and service!

 

 

 

Although we have two RS (S class) cruises first I really cannot wait now for my next PH (M class) cruise in 2017. Your pictures have reminded me of what a great room it is and that balcony.......

While I've read Reflection has allowed Sky Suites in Michael's Club already, they are not being admitted on Infinity until December 20 cruise which we will not be on as we want to be home from the holidays and I am cruising to Cuba on 1/1. The MC Concierge is nervous about being able to provide the level of service he is scud time but they are expecting the butlers to provide some of the same help as they have previously such as making dinner reservations and such. The butlers do work for / with the MC Concierge so it should work out. Michael's Club has plenty of room in our opinion.

The suite is spoiling us rotten. We've booked another already and are planning s free more. Who needs to retire anyway :rolleyes: and I can't take it with me ;)

Happy sailing,

Jenna

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The new stairs to the sunset bar aren't open yet. Presumably with no bar at the terrace this is how they'll bring drinks up?

 

What new stairs?? are they continuations of the current stairs to deck 11 or is there a new stairway being put in? Where is the stairway...how does it get from deck 10 to deck 12? Do the new stairs block any of the views from the 5 rear cabins on deck 11 or other cabins on deck 11?

What new stairs?? are they continuations of the current stairs to deck 11 or is there a new stairway being put in? Do the new stairs block any of the views from the 5 rear cabins on deck 11?

I'll try and get pics. There is a stairway (see pic above, under tarp) on the starboard side, going down from the rooftop terrace. I believe they are outside of the cabins so not blocking any views.

Happy sailing,

Jenna

Thanks enjoying

We are really happy with the Royal suite. A few hiccups. The lock on the toilet door broke while our daughter was inside. Godfrey was there quickly & managed to get her out. The other thing that is really annoying is the toilet flusher every couple of times stops working. There has been no solution to that yet.

A few pics from benjoon's cabin she was so nice it let me take. No changes to the "seating" in the suites as far as I could tell.

Wood floors replaced with tile, completely new everything in the bathroom, and this is where the biggest changes are, nothing was done on the deck. The dining area was redone, but looks unfinished. The only artwork on the wall was a map benjoon brought with her. There Is a new table top, which is oval and thinner but looks a little out of place. The chairs in the dining area have been refinished, and one sofa has been replaced by two new chairs. The deck and tub on the deck were left untouched, and their tub was sorely in need to cleaning and / or replacement. They had not used it, as weather has been windy but suffice to say, I wouldn't have used it in the best of conditions.

Happy sailing,

Jenna

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Thank you, Jenna and Benjoon, for the photos of the Royal Suite. :)

What new stairs?? are they continuations of the current stairs to deck 11 or is there a new stairway being put in? Where is the stairway...how does it get from deck 10 to deck 12? Do the new stairs block any of the views from the 5 rear cabins on deck 11 or other cabins on deck 11?

It does not block any views...

There is no access besides the stairs yet, but I was told they are going to be adding a lift of some type.

Happy sailing,

Jenna

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It does not block any views...

 

 

 

 

 

 

There is no access besides the stairs yet, but I was told they are going to be adding a lift of some type.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

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Hi Jenna,

Wow! Thank you so much for all the info and photos. One question about the stairs that you just posted pics of. Does the door access to those stairs from deck 11 still exist? I can't tell if it's still there or if it's just a landing on the way up to 12.

Thanks!

Tammy

Hi Jenna,

 

Wow! Thank you so much for all the info and photos. One question about the stairs that you just posted pics of. Does the door access to those stairs from deck 11 still exist? I can't tell if it's still there or if it's just a landing on the way up to 12.

 

 

 

Thanks!

 

Tammy

Yes, you can still access deck 11 and the same stairway goes up to 12 or down to 10. There are plans to eventually add a pantry for food and a Satelite bar. I wish the space was more permanent, it feels a bit unfinished. We're in Peru late and they plan to show the first movie with food that night, hopefully the weather is good.

Tonight it was not, the 6pm movie was obviously not going to happen, when I went to check it out, this is what I found:

Here is what the screen looks like, not sure how this will post. I am standing at the back of the deck, just in front of the cabana frames. It was not loud and I suspect any wind will block sound from traveling.

https://vimeo.com/148182800

Part of the sports court is closed as they are still adding scrubbers to clean the emissions:

Tonight was my first night visiting the casino, not too busy, not too lucky, blech!

I did hear a few of the entertainers tonight and everyone sounded great to me. We missed iBroadway last night and the singer tonight. I have not looked at the daily for tomorrow yet to see the show.

We do plan on eating breakfast in Luminae as it is a port day, though usually we do breakfast in he cabin, I'm not sure what we were thinking when we decide that at an earlier port, we might need to change it to a later port stop.

In the morning we'll be in Cartagena, Colombia and touring with fellow roll call members. It's my first time in South America. The next day we're in Colon, Panama and then we transit the canal before heading south on the west side of South America to Ecuador, Peru and Chile.

Happy sailing,

Jenna

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One more post, on Luminae.

We feel the food is seasoned much better, meaning not over salted. They made adjustments where needed. Huge portions are smaller than in April, they listened to comments and we're impressed in general with the changes in 7 months or so. They've been offering items off the MDR menu but I'm not fussy. Dee has been ordering soups off menu (consume) and they're accommodating graciously. Sure, they're are some service misses, it's not Michelin star worthy but by far, it continues to be excellent and far better than other experiences we've had onboard.

I kiboshed breakfast in Luminae in the morning as we need to be ready to get off by 8am so we're having room service. We'll get to Luminae for breakfast eventually :rolleyes:

Happy sailing,

Jenna

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Good morning from the big city of Cartagena, we're off to tour, I guess and old city tour, the surprise to me should be fun regardless. It is HOT (90+), HUMID (100%?) and HAZY!

From the sounds and sites (mostly the bow cam) we look to be in a container port, common from my experience in less cruised parts of the world and even some busy Caribbean ports were berths are multi-use for cruise and cargo.

Happy sailing,

Jenna

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Yes, you can still access deck 11 and the same stairway goes up to 12 or down to 10. There are plans to eventually add a pantry for food and a Satelite bar. I wish the space was more permanent, it feels a bit unfinished. We're in Peru late and they plan to show the first movie with food that night, hopefully the weather is good.

 

Tonight it was not, the 6pm movie was obviously not going to happen, when I went to check it out, this is what I found:

 

 

 

 

 

Here is what the screen looks like, not sure how this will post. I am standing at the back of the deck, just in front of the cabana frames. It was not loud and I suspect any wind will block sound from traveling.

 

https://vimeo.com/148182800

 

Part of the sports court is closed as they are still adding scrubbers to clean the emissions:

 

 

Tonight was my first night visiting the casino, not too busy, not too lucky, blech!

 

I did hear a few of the entertainers tonight and everyone sounded great to me. We missed iBroadway last night and the singer tonight. I have not looked at the daily for tomorrow yet to see the show.

 

We do plan on eating breakfast in Luminae as it is a port day, though usually we do breakfast in he cabin, I'm not sure what we were thinking when we decide that at an earlier port, we might need to change it to a later port stop.

 

In the morning we'll be in Cartagena, Colombia and touring with fellow roll call members. It's my first time in South America. The next day we're in Colon, Panama and then we transit the canal before heading south on the west side of South America to Ecuador, Peru and Chile.

 

Happy sailing,

Jenna

 

 

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Thanks Jenna! I was worried they might have closed it and blocked our easy access from our aft deck 11 cabin down to the sunset bar! :)

Now we just have to hope they've insulated below the deck 12 flooring so as to not hear all that furniture moving in the cabins below. They seem to be moving it around a lot. I wonder, likely due to the bad weather or is it a nightly routine to tie it down and then set it up again in the morning?

 

It is HOT (90+), HUMID (100%?) and HAZY!

 

 

 

I guess you found summer! :)

 

Beautiful photo of Cartagena. Thanks for all your great pictures and commentary - looking forward to the rest of the journey!

 

What hotel did you stay at in Ft. Lauderdale?

 

Enjoying your review.

Hi Jenna. Thanks for the great review! We were on the last cruise and Godfrey was our buthler. Great service. If you get the chance, please tell Godfrey that Gerald and Linda from RS 6141 send their regards.

Linda

Really enjoying the review. We were supposed to be on the cruise, but work commitments nixed that :(, so I'm "living vicariously"!

Thanks Jenna! I was worried they might have closed it and blocked our easy access from our aft deck 11 cabin down to the sunset bar! :)

 

 

 

Now we just have to hope they've insulated below the deck 12 flooring so as to not hear all that furniture moving in the cabins below. They seem to be moving it around a lot. I wonder, likely due to the bad weather or is it a nightly routine to tie it down and then set it up again in the morning?

Looks like it was due to wind. The furniture is not heavy and slides easily. Not sure if it creates noise or if they insulated well.

Happy sailing,

Jenna

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