Will I like the Infinity?

[silkhair1]

Ok, I have never been on a Celebrity cruise. I have mostly done NCL (for my kids) and we just did a Carnival. Carnival had things I loved and didn't love..................as does any cruise line.

 

My family (mom, dad, sister, and I) (NO KIDS) were thinnking of going to Alaska. We went there on Princess. We really enjoy the anytime dining option. I think that and the casual dress is why we love NCL so much.

 

My sister went on a Celebrity cruise and loved it. I have been doing a little research on the line and I think I may too.

 

How does the anytime dining work? How dressy is the dining rooms every night. I know fancy nights are dressy, but how about the other nights? Will capris and a shirt work for that?

 

What can you tell me about the ship? I know it is going in for refurbishment so that is good. Are there a lot of activities during the day?

 

We want to get a balcony room, and the classes were confusing to me. Can anyone explain them to me and the differences? Is there a better area on the ship or floor we would want? We would like 2 cabins next to each other.

 

Any information you can give me on the ship would be great! Thank you!!!!!

[ClaudiaB]

Wow, so many questions! Relax, you'll love it. We've only sailed Celebrity (and probably always will if for no other reason than the basically smoke-free atmosphere and NO loudspeaker announcements).

Formal nights are formal but you'll see dark suits and sport coats and other things less than formal -- but there are many, many threads about dress so I suggest you look for those there! There is certainly no shortage of opinions on whether or not to try and "break" the formal rules. Part of the whole cruise experience for many people is that formal night. If you don't want to do formal, there are alternatives. Select dining (go anytime) is an option - as is early seating or late seating. I highly recommend eating at each specialty restaurant at least once!

There won't be announcements and the cruise director hawking activities all day long. Thank goodness!! There are more than enough things to do -- the assumption is made that one can read the paper that is delivered nightly to the room. There are so many places to sit and relax or listen to music or people watch or have a drink. There are trivia games and ping pong tournaments and bingo and pool games and a beautiful spa and you can treadmill your heart out while your husband plays Texas Hold 'Em! What I really think would be most helpful would be to check out the specific ships' threads and read all about them. We love the food and service on Celebrity - most people seem to think it's better than on other lines. We love to sit and have a glass of wine and listen to music pre-dinner, meet other people and just relax.

[ClaudiaB]

I can only speak for me, but we prefer aft cabins - corner aft if we're sailing in a sky suite, or direct center in a concierge class balcony. We spend time on the balcony a lot.

Capris and a nice top should be just fine. I tend to wear maybe a step up from that for dinner - that sounds more like my day wear (I'm not a shorts person). You'll see slacks and skirts and sun dresses for dinner on non-formal nights. My husband wears khakis or polo slacks and a Hawaiian short or golf shirt or long sleeve buttondown on regular evenings. (I wear a lot of clothes from Chicos and Ann Taylor Loft to dinner, mix and match and I repeat things)

Hope some of that helps. Most of all, don't worry, just go and have fun. Don't try and figure it all out ahead of time either -- part of the fun is the discovery of a new ship. You'll be fine!

[silkhair1]

How does the anytime dining work? How dressy is the dining rooms every night. I know fancy nights are dressy, but how about the other nights? Will capris and a shirt work for that?

 

Any information you can give me on the ship would be great! Thank you!!!!!

 

 

Any help would be great on this. I am nervous trying a new line.

[gracecarmo]

We just got back from the Infinity, Alaska. For the first time, we had Anytime dining, aka Select Dining.

We made advance reservations via the website on My Celebrity reservations, at 6:45 for the first two evenings.

Then, we just walked up and were seated on other evenings. We also ate in the Specialty 2 evenings.

The good thing about Select Dining is that you can choose when you want to go, however, there may be a wait during the "rush" hour, like 7:00. If there is not space, you will be directed to the Martini bar to wait.

 

Clothing: Alaska seems to be a bit more casual than other voyages. Clothing seemed to be more for cooler weather, at least on our voyage (July 1). Think slacks, crewneck tees, fleece vests etc.

Formal: We did not see many men in tuxes for the formal evenings. We were invited to the Captain's Table the first formal night and no one at the table had a tux. My husband brought a dark suit and he was fine. Looking around the room not many tuxes, and this was at the second seating.

[silkhair1]

Thank you! Now if I can find out about the Aqua vs. Concierge class I will be more ready to book. If the main reason for booking Aqua class is just for booking spa appointments, I may not need to be there. But if there are any other things that that class get, it may be worth the extra $$$$. The website has confused me some.

[CelebrityMan]

Silkhair1,

 

Jus' to whet the cruise appetite, and start you off on familiarity with Infinity, here's a link to a photo album from our spring 2011 cruise:

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/580305277bEQbLX

 

Since [it sounds as though] you will be doing Alaska next summer, there will be come changes with the 'Solsticization' that is being done to Infinity this fall. But the basic components will remain the same.

 

Enjoy your trip. Infinity is a beautiful vessel!

 

 

CM

[cherylroslyn]

Silkhair1,

 

Jus' to whet the cruise appetite, and start you off on familiarity with Infinity, here's a link to a photo album from our spring 2011 cruise:

 

http://travel.webshots.com/album/580305277bEQbLX

 

Since [it sounds as though] you will be doing Alaska next summer, there will be come changes with the 'Solsticization' that is being done to Infinity this fall. But the basic components will remain the same.

 

Enjoy your trip. Infinity is a beautiful vessel!

 

 

CM

Celebrity Man your pictures are so beautiful....you have a gift!!!!!

 

I really enjoyed going through your photo album......your shots of the ship are very artistic.....I love the piture through the glass floor of the bridge....and many many more. You must wake up very early to be able to get the ship looking so pristine and without any other passengers...by the time I get out there it looks like Grand Central Station......

 

 

Thanks again looking forward to sailing her myself in September in Alaska.......hopefully they will have the blankets ready!!!!!!

[CelebrityMan]

Thanks, Cherlyroslyn, very glad you're enjoying the photos..., always glad to share.

 

 

CM

[rjwex]

This is my third Alaska trip, back on the Infinity, on which I had my original trip. The Aqua class are balcony rooms tied to the spa, and you generally have access to the persian garden, which would be a relaxation area. Haven't visited for a while, so others could be more descriptive. You should also have preference to the dining area linked to the spa. Aqua class is a Solstice intro, so this class is probably being carved out after the retrofit. I looked at a deckplan website, and it had aqua class on sky (9), but the restaurant updates will be part of the retrofit.

 

Concierge class is in a regular balcony cabin, in the more 'desirable' locations, more mid to aft. There also are 4 hard to get on the penthouse floor, generally requested as they are larger and nicely outfitted. You have more services and options in this level than a regular balcony.

 

There's a group of cabins referred to as the sweet sixteen - I think they are forward. They have larger than normal balconies. If you do a search, you can get the actual cabin numbers.

 

I'm doing select dining for the first time this trip. Sounds like it has worked well for others.