My review of our Pacific Coastal on Infinity

[Max Bet]

I'll start by saying we are loyal Celebrity cruisers for several reasons. We are Blue Chip Club VIPs and as such they take very good care of us. This was our 6th X cruise and our first Pacific Coastal. We chose this trip based on the itinerary and not so much on the ship. We have done Alaska on Infinity and had no complaints.

 

Embarkation in San Diego went smoothly and we were onboard at about 12:00pm and went straight to Bistro on 5 for a quiet lunch. We were very disappointed to see that the daily specials were gone and our paninis were just OK. At about 2:00 pm the rooms were ready and we went to check out OV 3072. We have always had a veranda or better so this was our first time trying an Oceanview and it really was fine although I do miss having coffee on the balcony or just being able to open the door and get some fresh air.

 

All of our port stops went fine but I would not bother getting off the ship in Astoria next time. Nothing to see or do there. San Francisco was crazy busy with an onshore event but we had fun anyways. In general, I would have to agree with many others that MDR food quality and selection has gone down but not enough for me to leave X. We dined in the MDR most nights as well as once in Tuscan and twice in Qsine. We enjoyed the specialties the most. Many people have said that in Qsine you should go with at least 6 people but we found them very adaptable for a 2 top. We tried 5 dishes the first time and another 5 the next. It's easy, push the plate away when you've had enough! Lots of fun! The only negative there was that the servers and Maitre'd checked on us so often it was a little intrusive. We only really ate in the buffet for a light breakfast and it was always good. Excellent eggs benny! If we were on the ship for lunch we ate at the pool grill. Awesome burgers! Huge thanks to Ramesh our waiter in the casino bar. He was fantastic! Another star for us was Heston, our assistant waiter in the MDR. He should be a head waiter, everyone loved him.

 

The Thalassotherapy pool was great and we enjoyed all of the shows we attended.

 

We only had one truly bad experience on the cruise and that was Siraz, our sommelier. He was rude and spoke down to us. :mad:

Edited May 26, 2016 by Max Bet

[PNW Traveler]

Thanks for posting. Very helpful review. We enjoy sailing on the Infinity and have been considering this itinerary.

[Phxazzcruisers]

Thanks for posting. We board the 29th for Alaska. We are looking forward to eating in Luminae. It is one of our most favorite restaurants !!!!

[DrivesLikeMario]

Thank you for your review of this itinerary. You don't see many of them. I stayed on the ship in Astoria as well but wished I had gotten off. Now I'm thinking I probably didn't miss much. ;)

[afto]

Thanks for your review. I am sorry that you were disappointed with Astoria. I thought that there was plenty to do, even on a rainy day, such as the historic Flavel house and the modern and interesting Columbia River Maritime Museum. The views from the Astoria column are breathtaking. The people in Astoria go out of their way to be friendly; there were volunteers at the port and a local arts/crafts market alongside the ship when we were there. It's not a long walk into town, but there is a trolley and a shuttle bus to get up to the column on top of the hill. It's an easy and inexpensive DIY port and I enjoyed it quite a bit, so I am just putting in my two cents worth in Astoria's defence. :)

[portofrome]

Thanks for your report.

[Clarea]

Appreciate the feedback.

[Keith1010]

Thank you for your review.

 

Keith

[wendychloecruiser]

Isn't a "light breakfast" and "eggs bennie" a contradiction of terms?:D:D

[TeeRick]

I'll start by saying we are loyal Celebrity cruisers for several reasons. We are Blue Chip Club VIPs and as such they take very good care of us. This was our 6th X cruise and our first Pacific Coastal. We chose this trip based on the itinerary and not so much on the ship. We have done Alaska on Infinity and had no complaints.

 

Embarkation in San Diego went smoothly and we were onboard at about 12:00pm and went straight to Bistro on 5 for a quiet lunch. We were very disappointed to see that the daily specials were gone and our paninis were just OK. At about 2:00 pm the rooms were ready and we went to check out OV 3072. We have always had a veranda or better so this was our first time trying an Oceanview and it really was fine although I do miss having coffee on the balcony or just being able to open the door and get some fresh air.

 

All of our port stops went fine but I would not bother getting off the ship in Astoria next time. Nothing to see or do there. San Francisco was crazy busy with an onshore event but we had fun anyways. In general, I would have to agree with many others that MDR food quality and selection has gone down but not enough for me to leave X. We dined in the MDR most nights as well as once in Tuscan and twice in Qsine. We enjoyed the specialties the most. Many people have said that in Qsine you should go with at least 6 people but we found them very adaptable for a 2 top. We tried 5 dishes the first time and another 5 the next. It's easy, push the plate away when you've had enough! Lots of fun! The only negative there was that the servers and Maitre'd checked on us so often it was a little intrusive. We only really ate in the buffet for a light breakfast and it was always good. Excellent eggs benny! If we were on the ship for lunch we ate at the pool grill. Awesome burgers! Huge thanks to Ramesh our waiter in the casino bar. He was fantastic! Another star for us was Heston, our assistant waiter in the MDR. He should be a head waiter, everyone loved him.

 

The Thalassotherapy pool was great and we enjoyed all of the shows we attended.

 

We only had one truly bad experience on the cruise and that was Siraz, our sommelier. He was rude and spoke down to us. :mad:

 

Thanks for your review. We truly enjoyed Infinity on the cruise just before your cruise. I agree about the fresh eggs benny and it was a nice touch to have a station dedicated to it in the Oceanview Cafe.

[El Crucero]

All of our port stops went fine but I would not bother getting off the ship in Astoria next time. Nothing to see or do there.

 

San Francisco was crazy busy with an onshore event but we had fun anyways.

 

In general, I would have to agree with many others that MDR food quality and selection has gone down but not enough for me to leave X.

 

The only negative there was that the servers and Maitre'd checked on us so often it was a little intrusive.

 

If we were on the ship for lunch we ate at the pool grill. Awesome burgers!

 

We only had one truly bad experience on the cruise and that was Siraz, our sommelier. He was rude and spoke down to us. :mad:

 

WE were on the same cruise and had a fabulous time - first time on Infinity and first time on Pacific Coastal.

 

We wondered why we were stopping at Astoria, nothing to do there. It turned out to be the highlight of our trip! The night before stopping at Astoria, we ate at Qsine (we always eat at Qsine at least once on a cruise). Staff members Milan and Christian gave us a hot tip about an ethnic restaurant in downtown Astoria run by a Bosnian woman who served Eastern European food. The restaurant is called Drina Daisy!

 

My wife's ancestors originally came from the Ukraine 150 years ago and we could not pass up the opportunity for some of her soul food. We went to the restaurant around noon and were disappointed by a sign that said, "closed for a private party." We started to turn away when two of the ships staff walked up and said, "we are the private party, come on in!" WOW! The restaurant was clean and elegant. The food was inexpensive and fabulous - ethnic food that I haven't had since my wife's mother passed away - cabbage rolls (sarma), pork dumplings (burek), baked cheese and lots more. We were joined by other ship's staff and passengers from the ship and it turned into one big party with staff and pax doing ethnic dances in the aisles and all of us drinking shot after shot of Bosnian plum brandy! :eek: It was like a brief visit to Bosnia and nothing but fun! Drina Daisy is a must stop for us on our next cruise to Astoria in May, 2017.

 

San Francisco is ALWAYS crazy busy, but that weekend was the Bay to Breakers Run. It wasn't so busy that everyone on the ship couldn't have fun.

 

We had an Aqua stateroom and ate in Blu. The food and service were outstanding! Not one complaint.

 

Yes, the maitre 'd in Qsine, Milan, did check on us frequently but not enough to intrude. We welcomed his visits to chat and joke briefly.

 

We live in Southern California where a grilled hamburger from In-n-Out Burger or The Habit is a way of life. I agree, the burgers and fries at the Pool Grill are outstanding and equal to the best in SoCal. Get a plate of those fries, have them put some of those grilled onions on top, and then garnish with catsup and mayo. We call them Gorilla Fries in SoCal. DO NOT TELL YOUR CARDIOLOGIST WHAT YOU DID!

 

Our Sommelier in Blu, Dennis, maitre 'd Jorge, hostess, Kateryena were the best. We couldn't ask for better treatment.

 

Although we have been to most of these ports hundreds of times by auto, we enjoyed this cruise so much that we booked again for May, 2017, with a B2B to Alaska thrown in. Great ship, great itinerary, great staff, great service.

Edited May 27, 2016 by El Crucero

[Cruise Arizona]

Thank you both for amazing reviews. We are booked on the Infinity in September for the RT Vancouver Pacific Coastal Cruise.

 

We are very excited just to have a relaxing cruise on the Infinity whom we haven't sailed in over 10 years. Our daughter is going off to college and this was a good time for us to get away after she leaves.

 

We are most excited about San Francisco as my husband and I both visited but never together.

 

Our original itinerary was to stop in Astoria, which I had been excited about, but it got changed to Nanaimo and then overnight in SFO.

 

I am surprised to hear that the original poster was un-happy with his sommelier, hopefully just a one off or personalities that didn't match up. We cruise Celebrity primarily because the excellent sommelier service over Princess and Royal Caribbean, so hopefully just a one-off.

[Max Bet]

Isn't a "light breakfast" and "eggs bennie" a contradiction of terms?:D:D

 

Quite correct lol! We usually start our day with fresh fruit and yoghurt but a least twice per cruise I allow myself their wonderful eggs benny. My wife is much more disciplined than me.;)

[Max Bet]

Thank you both for amazing reviews. We are booked on the Infinity in September for the RT Vancouver Pacific Coastal Cruise.

 

We are very excited just to have a relaxing cruise on the Infinity whom we haven't sailed in over 10 years. Our daughter is going off to college and this was a good time for us to get away after she leaves.

 

We are most excited about San Francisco as my husband and I both visited but never together.

 

Our original itinerary was to stop in Astoria, which I had been excited about, but it got changed to Nanaimo and then overnight in SFO.

 

I am surprised to hear that the original poster was un-happy with his sommelier, hopefully just a one off or personalities that didn't match up. We cruise Celebrity primarily because the excellent sommelier service over Princess and Royal Caribbean, so hopefully just a one-off.

 

I was also surprised by the behavior of our sommelier as we've never had a bad one. I can "get along" with anyone but when I'm leaving a table with half a glass of wine in hand and he says "you're not going to pour that out are you, because I won't pour you as much next time" that was enough for me. That's just one example of Siraz rudeness.:eek:

[neverbeenhere]

I'm leaving a table with half a glass of wine in hand and he says "you're not going to pour that out are you, because I won't pour you as much next time" that was enough for me.

 

 

First thing to say, I wasn't there. Second thing to say, sometimes the written word can't express the true nature of a situation. Third, the above statement seems like he was trying to be helpful, not demeaning. Please see first and second things.

[Cruise Arizona]

I was also surprised by the behavior of our sommelier as we've never had a bad one. I can "get along" with anyone but when I'm leaving a table with half a glass of wine in hand and he says "you're not going to pour that out are you, because I won't pour you as much next time" that was enough for me. That's just one example of Siraz rudeness.:eek:

 

Well that is odd, i think I would find that off putting too.

[OCA REP]

Thanks for taking the time to post this. We were also on this cruise, but work has been killer since our return, so I have not written any type of review. I will post my thoughts below...

 

Embarkation in San Diego went smoothly and we were onboard at about 12:00pm.

 

We thought the embarkation went smoothly as well. We waited until around Noon to arrive at the port and the only delay was the significant security line. We knew it was peak time, so we did not let it ruin anything... plus, the line was laid out well and it did not really take that long! Once through security, there was no wait for Suite Class and we were quickly aboard.

 

went straight to Bistro on 5 for a quiet lunch. We were very disappointed to see that the daily specials were gone and our paninis were just OK.

 

Later in the cruise, we dined at Bistro on Five and there were daily specials. Maybe they just do not offer them on embarkation day?

 

As soon as we boarded, we went straight to Luminae and our pampering for the next 12 days began. I just cannot say enough good things about the food and service we were provided in that venue. This was our first cruise since Luminae was added for suites... and it and Michael's Club were both great experiences.

 

All of our port stops went fine but I would not bother getting off the ship in Astoria next time. Nothing to see or do there. San Francisco was crazy busy with an onshore event but we had fun anyways.

 

Too funny, we actually really enjoyed both Astoria and Nanaimo... neither of which did we have any type of organized tour or plans. Both of these ports were charming and laid back. The Liberty Theatre was open for tours in Astoria and it was a lot of fun to view the renovations and great style in the theatre. Someone previously mentioned the local volunteers and yes, they were superb. They were so friendly and energetic about our ship being in port. I guess you make your own fun at any port, I just didn't want anyone to sell a port short without experiencing it yourself.

 

We dined in the MDR most nights as well as once in Tuscan and twice in Qsine. We enjoyed the specialties the most.

 

We stuck to Luminae for all dinners except for a Wine Pairing Dinner in Tuscan Grill which was just fantastic. It clocked in at 3 hours 41 minutes and time certainly flew. I guess that is what happens when the wine/food/company are all fantastic!

 

We only really ate in the buffet for a light breakfast and it was always good. Excellent eggs benny!

 

When you're on holiday, Eggs Benedict certainly qualifies as a light breakfast! IMHO.

 

We did a late lunch one afternoon in the Oceanview Cafe and it was fine; no complaints.

 

Another star for us was Heston, our assistant waiter in the MDR. He should be a head waiter, everyone loved him.

 

Felix and his crew in Luminae were outstanding for us! He served us for embarkation lunch and we all bonded well... therefore we requested him going forward, and a window view. A couple of times when it was a pretty departure view outside, we settled into Michael's Club and our concierge, Erick, coordinated our seating in Luminae and advised us when our desired table was ready. Good job all around!

 

 

The Thalassotherapy pool was great.

 

Yes... it was. I really liked the new furniture in the Solarium. I'm glad those awkwardly curved wooden loungers are history. The news ones were much more comfortable to us.

 

we enjoyed all of the shows we attended.

 

We did not make it to all of the shows, but did attend all of the production shows and thought they were good... with the final one being the weak link. Do not recall the name of that particular show, but it was not as good as the previous two.

 

We only had one truly bad experience on the cruise and that was Siraz, our sommelier. He was rude and spoke down to us.

 

We lucked out beyond belief with the young lady serving as sommelier in Luminae. She was so sweet and did a good job of pairing the wines with whatever we might be having as a main course. Very attentive and just as nice as can be.

[Northern Aurora]

We've done two Pacific Coastal cruises -- one on the Mercury with the other on the Century -- so we are long due for a third.

 

If the OP ever has the opportunity to re-visit Astoria I hope they leave the ship. In addition to some of the attractions found in this lovely community mentioned in prior posts, my husband has always enjoyed local craft beers while in Astoria.

[neverbeenhere]

Astoria: 1st trip: Climb the Astoria/Astor column, Live very dangerously and bike the bridge, Head to Fort George or the Wet Dog.

 

2nd trip: Head straight to Fort George.

[getaway101]

Thanks for your review. I am sorry that you were disappointed with Astoria. I thought that there was plenty to do, even on a rainy day, such as the historic Flavel house and the modern and interesting Columbia River Maritime Museum. The views from the Astoria column are breathtaking. The people in Astoria go out of their way to be friendly; there were volunteers at the port and a local arts/crafts market alongside the ship when we were there. It's not a long walk into town, but there is a trolley and a shuttle bus to get up to the column on top of the hill. It's an easy and inexpensive DIY port and I enjoyed it quite a bit, so I am just putting in my two cents worth in Astoria's defence. :)

 

I totally agree.....we loved Astoria all 3 times we have been there. As a matter of fact where we live out town was voted Coolest Small Town in America......Astoria was 2nd.

[thebutlerdidit]

We were on this Pacific coastal cruise. Our must-see in Astoria was the sea lions that have taken over the docks. I could have watched them all day.

 

I'd also like to put in a good word for Siraz. We had a great rapport with him (as well as Vergie). He got a shout-out on our post-cruise survey.

[earlydiner]

We too are on the September Vancouver R/T. Hope to see some of you on that cruise.

We also love Astoria. Flavel House and the restored Liberty Theater are great.

Spend a lot of time in Seaside (south of Astoria) so we see a lot of the quaint little seaport.