Now Live From The Infinity

[What A Market]

Starting a new thread to reflect that we are on the Infinity. Sorry already that I'm falling behind with posting.

 

Here's some more:

 

 

Continuation of Day One

 

This portion of my daily thoughts will be full of first impressions, but some final notes on the trip to Harwich and the boarding process.

 

The drive from London Center to Harwich was uneventful. Traffic out of London was the usual crush, but the traffic on the A road and M road we took to port were light. Even so the journey took a good two hours.

 

Arrived in port at 12:30. Porters were readily available to grab your bags right at the car. A very short walk from the car to the terminal, and we were quickly in line for the check in process. Although DW and I have a Royal Suite, there was no need to use the dedicated line for suite passengers because both lines were equally short. In a matter of a couple minutes we were being checked in. If not for the need to check in eleven people into seven rooms the whole process would have taken only a few minutes. Nevertheless, we were quickly through check in, which was followed by a security screening for carry on bags and onto the ship.

[Keith1010]

Have a wonderful cruise.

 

Keith

[What A Market]

Embarkation

 

So up the gangway and onto the ship. Security photo taken, greetings by staff, and the offering of something sparklie to drink. Definitely a log jam right at the point of entry, but everyone is excited and the mood is contagious. If you've never been on a ship before this stage of your adventure might seem daunting. There is no one to assist you with your carry on bags or provide even basic directions. Unlike me, DW has no problem chasing down someone to find out which deck we're all on. With that information in hand, we drag the grandmas, my brother, and the kids, and make our way to the cabins.

 

We have quite the range of cabins. The kids are in inside rooms, the grandmas and my brother and wife have verandas, and as noted earlier, DW and I have an RS. The game plan is for everyone to deposit their bags and head to Deck 10 and the Oceanview Cafe for lunch. As I suspected from before, I realize I'm not going to be in control of everything on this trip. No one shows up for lunch right away and the Oceanview Cafe is a crush of people. (DW was quick to point out that I'm not supposed to be in control of every single detail of this trip.)

 

From my earlier readings of Celebrity's Cruise Critic threads, I was forewarned that the entire contingent of boarding passengers would converge on the Cafe for the lunch. This proved to be true. It is definitely feeding time at the zoo, and by all appearances, the "animals" have not been fed for days. :)

 

And yes, as is frequently noted in these threads, if you go to Cafe al Bacio, you can relax and dine like a human being. No crowds, no hustle and bustle. All very civilized. The downside? Eventually, you need to confront the "madness" of the Cafe. Ha!

 

If you take a deep breath and remember you're on vacation, then this chance to stuff your face is not so bad. No, a table may not be available in thirty seconds, but in three to five minutes time it is easy to come up with a table. If you relax and don't get stressed by people jumping in front of you in the food line or standing still in line looking at the food, then dining in the Cafe is very acceptable.

 

(Side note. Things that are NOT acceptable: (a) coughing or sneezing while in the food line, (b) grabbing food with your hands instead of using the tongs, © pushing children out of your way to get at food. I will admit that my OCD can make me a bit edgy with things like this, but come on people, we're talking basic common sense or showing basic courtesy to your fellow man!)

 

Time to head back to our cabin and begin process of unwinding. No more flights, no more checking in and out of hotels, no more transportation to the ship. The family is all on board. Time to enjoy the vacation.

 

More to follow.

[Flo71]

Loving your live reports, we are on the Infinity in Aug and will be an avid reader of this thread.:)

[Literary Lynne]

Please keep posting. I love your detailed reports and it helps me enjoy a cruise before the cruise! We are coming on board Infinity next Friday (14th).:)

[vermonter16]

Thanks for the reports. Very entertaining. Keep them coming.

[drarill]

Looking forward to your report!!! have a great cruise!! :):)

[jules57]

We have RS 6138 sailing on the 24th. What RS are you in? Keep the reports coming.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Good luck on your live thread. Just off 33 days on Infinity and internet service was dreadful!

 

We had Gene as our butler in our royal suite. He was great! Hope you are as lucky.

[BosoxI]

Embarkation

 

 

 

 

 

(Side note. Things that are NOT acceptable: (a) coughing or sneezing while in the food line, (b) grabbing food with your hands instead of using the tongs, © pushing children out of your way to get at food. I will admit that my OCD can make me a bit edgy with things like this, but come on people, we're talking basic common sense or showing basic courtesy to your fellow man!)

 

 

.

I don't want to hijack your nice thread, but as a corollary, why do people place the serving implements on top of the food being served?

Have a great trip. Good luck with the food in the MDR

[dobes3kh]

Appreciate the detail of your posts.

[uktog]

Good luck on your live thread. Just off 33 days on Infinity and internet service was dreadful!

 

.

 

Oh no we are on at the end of the month and the only reason we can take the trip is if we can have regular access to our business emails. I had hoped to sightsee in the Faroe Islands and Iceland and not spend the days hunting on shore wifi

[What A Market]

Here's some more. Internet from my iPad works well in many parts of the ship.

 

 

Day One -- Main Dining Room

 

With a party of eleven, it seemed to make sense to elect Select dining for the group. I think the Fixed dining times were set for 6:00PM and 8:30PM. Too early and too late in my opinion, but regardless, there is no way I would successfully corral all eleven people in my group into some kind of fixed dining schedule.

 

DW made a call to someone that handles dining reservations and managed to score a table for eleven for 7:00PM. When you arrive at the Main Dining Room you are instructed to go to the Deck Five entrance if you have Select dining. The people with fixed dining enter the dining room on Deck Four. At the entrance people are divided into two lines -- those with a reservation and those without a reservation.

 

This set up has been reported frequently in Celebrity's Cruise Critic Forum. From my recollection what was reported on the forum and what I experienced worked somewhat differently. I thought people we reporting that the staff alternated back and forth between the two lines to take people into the dining room. From what I experienced, there were two podiums to check in at. Each podium was staffed with its own person greeting you and taking you to a table. Now it should be noted this was my first experience and I had a reservation. At the moment, I have no idea what would happen if you didn't have a reservation. Anyway, it worked very efficiently and we were seated immediately.

 

(Side note: Yes, a party of eleven can be seated at one table comfortably. Maybe you could get twelve people at this table, but that would be the max.)

 

So the first experience in the Main Dining Room. First it is a marvel to think of the logistics to serve a meal to this many people. Things are clearly orchestrated to move food and people through the dining process as orderly as possible. From past cruise experiences, it always seems the first night is the most chaotic. As such, the dining "machine" has some kinks in it. In our case, the machine took over three hours to spit us out the back end. Now for me this is not an issue because dining is about more than eating. Good company, good conversation, and a lot of good wine are all important parts of the total experience.

 

Highlights: Wine service, all courses came out correctly, most of the hot dishes came out hot or at least warm.

 

Lowlights: Getting water served (yes, all non-US citizens may now collectively roll their eyes) and getting coffee served at the conclusion of the meal. Weird about both issues. There does not seem to be enough bussers to assist the waiters. Water had to be requested continuously and repeatedly. At meals end we requested coffee three different times from three different people.

 

Update: We dined on the third night in the main dining rom for Formal Night. No problems with either water or coffee service. I guess I'll chalk up the issues to the first night "kinks."

[sginva]

Here's some more. Internet from my iPad works well in many parts of the ship.

 

 

Day One -- Main Dining Room

 

With a party of eleven, it seemed to make sense to elect Select dining for the group. I think the Fixed dining times were set for 6:00PM and 8:30PM. Too early and too late in my opinion, but regardless, there is no way I would successfully corral all eleven people in my group into some kind of fixed dining schedule.

 

DW made a call to someone that handles dining reservations and managed to score a table for eleven for 7:00PM. When you arrive at the Main Dining Room you are instructed to go to the Deck Five entrance if you have Select dining. The people with fixed dining enter the dining room on Deck Four. At the entrance people are divided into two lines -- those with a reservation and those without a reservation.

 

This set up has been reported frequently in Celebrity's Cruise Critic Forum. From my recollection what was reported on the forum and what I experienced worked somewhat differently. I thought people we reporting that the staff alternated back and forth between the two lines to take people into the dining room. From what I experienced, there were two podiums to check in at. Each podium was staffed with its own person greeting you and taking you to a table. Now it should be noted this was my first experience and I had a reservation. At the moment, I have no idea what would happen if you didn't have a reservation. Anyway, it worked very efficiently and we were seated immediately.

 

(Side note: Yes, a party of eleven can be seated at one table comfortably. Maybe you could get twelve people at this table, but that would be the max.)

 

So the first experience in the Main Dining Room. First it is a marvel to think of the logistics to serve a meal to this many people. Things are clearly orchestrated to move food and people through the dining process as orderly as possible. From past cruise experiences, it always seems the first night is the most chaotic. As such, the dining "machine" has some kinks in it. In our case, the machine took over three hours to spit us out the back end. Now for me this is not an issue because dining is about more than eating. Good company, good conversation, and a lot of good wine are all important parts of the total experience.

 

Highlights: Wine service, all courses came out correctly, most of the hot dishes came out hot or at least warm.

 

Lowlights: Getting water served (yes, all non-US citizens may now collectively roll their eyes) and getting coffee served at the conclusion of the meal. Weird about both issues. There does not seem to be enough bussers to assist the waiters. Water had to be requested continuously and repeatedly. At meals end we requested coffee three different times from three different people.

 

Update: We dined on the third night in the main dining rom for Formal Night. No problems with either water or coffee service. I guess I'll chalk up the issues to the first night "kinks."

This is new

Just returned from 33 days on ship and there was one staff member at one podium for two lines at Select Dining

One line with reservations and one without

[What A Market]

Good afternoon everyone!

Sitting outdoors in Cobh, Ireland enjoying a local stout. We were here three years ago on the Oceania Marina. At that time it was pouring rain. Today it is sunny and mild. The locals probably think it's a heatwave.

 

Happy Cruiser: We are in Royal Suite 6139. We have Godfrey for our butler. Very sweet and helpful. We hosted a small get together in the suite last night. He brought in extra mixers for cocktails, switched out a bottle of whiskey for a bottle of rum, also brought extra snacks. We don't make many demands on him despite his frequents requests to help with anything we need.

 

Spent a couple of hours in Martini's last night. Sheldon behind the bar is quite the showman. The bottle flair is a load of fun.

 

Sorry for not posting more details on the ship. I'll try to catch up.

 

So long for now.

[uktog]

Oh I do hope Sheldon is there when we get onboard. He is lovely. Enjoying your posts. I think looking at the forecasts you may well have a few more sunny days - enjoy!

[Flo71]

Enjoying your live reports. :)

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Good afternoon everyone!

Sitting outdoors in Cobh, Ireland enjoying a local stout. We were here three years ago on the Oceania Marina. At that time it was pouring rain. Today it is sunny and mild. The locals probably think it's a heatwave.

 

Happy Cruiser: We are in Royal Suite 6139. We have Godfrey for our butler. Very sweet and helpful. We hosted a small get together in the suite last night. He brought in extra mixers for cocktails, switched out a bottle of whiskey for a bottle of rum, also brought extra snacks. We don't make many demands on him despite his frequents requests to help with anything we need.

 

Spent a couple of hours in Martini's last night. Sheldon behind the bar is quite the showman. The bottle flair is a load of fun.

 

Sorry for not posting more details on the ship. I'll try to catch up.

 

So long for now.

 

They will switch your two bottles for anything you like. Also change the assortment of mixers provided. We had people in for drinks and Gene provided a platter of shrimp and a lovely cheese and crackers platter. We also chose to have him serve dinner to us and two friends one evening when we were getting back from a late shore excursion. Worked out very well and was very relaxing. Enjoy!

 

P.S. On our third leg, we were in select. Only one maitre d' to handle both those with reservations and those without.

[hayward]

Did you order the liquor on board or bring it on....

 

We have a suite on the same cruise in July....just want to know because our group loves to parteeeeeeee

 

 

Good afternoon everyone!

Sitting outdoors in Cobh, Ireland enjoying a local stout. We were here three years ago on the Oceania Marina. At that time it was pouring rain. Today it is sunny and mild. The locals probably think it's a heatwave.

 

Happy Cruiser: We are in Royal Suite 6139. We have Godfrey for our butler. Very sweet and helpful. We hosted a small get together in the suite last night. He brought in extra mixers for cocktails, switched out a bottle of whiskey for a bottle of rum, also brought extra snacks. We don't make many demands on him despite his frequents requests to help with anything we need.

 

Spent a couple of hours in Martini's last night. Sheldon behind the bar is quite the showman. The bottle flair is a load of fun.

 

Sorry for not posting more details on the ship. I'll try to catch up.

 

So long for now.

[BosoxI]

This is new

Just returned from 33 days on ship and there was one staff member at one podium for two lines at Select Dining

One line with reservations and one without

 

Yes, but the woman on the T/A in May was simply marvelous. She handled the toughest job on the ship extremely well. After the second night she even addressed DW and me by name I've never tipped a hostess before, but I did with her.

[What A Market]

The Royal Suite

 

OK, what does one say when confronted with such extravagance. This is the second summer in a row where I scored a large suite (after multiple upsells). Last year I stayed in an Owners Suite on Oceania's Riviera. I doubt many suites on any ship can compete with that level of luxury. Regardless, this is a beautiful room in its own right.

 

The suite has a decent sized living room with adjoining dining room. The dining table is round and seats four people. The living room furniture consists of a hide-a-bed couch, a love seat, and an upholstered chair with ottoman. The couch and love seat are oddly firm, surprisingly so when you first sit in them. There is also a large flat screen Samsung TV. The bedroom is in a separate room and may be closed off from the living area. There is a nice vanity in the bedroom with its own chair and another large flat screen TV at the foot of the bed.

 

The bathroom is of good size. There are two sinks, a very nice jetted soaking tub, separate shower (with double swinging glass doors), and plenty of glass shelves for storage. There is a bit of a squeeze between the swinging shower doors and the toilet. This is a ship after all, so space has to be sacrificed somewhere.

 

There is a "walk in" closet. I put this in quotes because "walking in" consists of being able to take one half step into the closet. There are floor to ceiling open shelves lining one side of the closet and space for hanging clothes on the other side. The front of the closet has more shelves, some drawers, and a safe. The rod for hanging clothes is maybe a bit longer than three feet. After DW gets her clothes unpacked and into the closet, I remind her that we only have this one closet. Stressing over where and how to hang up your clothes is definitely a first-world problem. :)

 

The size of the outdoor balcony in the RS is definitely a luxury. There is plenty of room for a table with four chairs, two loungers, and a jacuzzi.

 

The quality/condition of all the furnishings and finishes in the suite are very good. Sure, if you look for issues you can find some condition issues. Given the ongoing wear and tear the suite must experience over successive cruises, it's surprising that everything looks fairly fresh. I know the Infinity was somewhat recently Solsticized, so I'm sure this is a contributing factor to this freshness.

 

Since I'm posting on Cruise CRITIC (emphasis added), I'll proceed with noting some condition issues. A lot of the grout in the shower is peeling away or missing altogether, some chips and nicks in the main suite door, a leg of the balcony table is supported by a gross folded up piece of paper, the mattress is a bit tired (still comfortable enough for sleeping), and the sham around the bed has some small tears and stains. I am particularly picky about my bedding. I wish the mattress, the sheets and the duvet were of better quality and/or newer. Nevertheless, that's it for condition issues. My DW would tell you that I have a pretty severe case of OCD, so if this is all I can come up with then things are in fantastic shape!

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

The Royal Suite

 

 

There is a "walk in" closet. I put this in quotes because "walking in" consists of being able to take one half step into the closet. There are floor to ceiling open shelves lining one side of the closet and space for hanging clothes on the other side. The front of the closet has more shelves, some drawers, and a safe. The rod for hanging clothes is maybe a bit longer than three feet. After DW gets her clothes unpacked and into the closet, I remind her that we only have this one closet. Stressing over where and how to hang up your clothes is definitely a first-world problem. :)

 

Psst! There's another closet in the living room. As you face the balcony, it's on the left. Just after the dining room. We too felt the walk-in closet was inadequate.

[Happy Cruiser 6143]

Did you order the liquor on board or bring it on....

 

We have a suite on the same cruise in July....just want to know because our group loves to parteeeeeeee

 

The two bottles of liquor come with a royal suite or a penthouse. You cannot bring liquor on board.

[brazilgirl]

Great review so far!

[cknic]

Did you order the liquor on board or bring it on....

 

We have a suite on the same cruise in July....just want to know because our group loves to parteeeeeeee

 

Can you bring wine on board? Would like to at embarkation and Paris.