Inifinty Hawaii November 20, 2005

[speakertosuits]

Celebrity Infinity 14 Day Hawaii

November 20, 2005

Summary: This was our first trip to Hawaii and we enjoyed it greatly. We visited five ports on four islands which provided a good introduction to the different islands. The pacing of the cruise is similar to an extended Caribbean cruise with four days at sea, five consecutive port days and the four more days at sea.

Background: Mary and I are a mid 50s couple, white collar professional types with no kids. This is our 22nd cruise, mostly Holland America and Celebrity with a few Princess and NCL thrown in. We booked this cruise about a year in advance and got one of the last Sky Suites. Had we booked a few months earlier, there would have been more choices and lower prices. Hawaii cruises do seem to sell out quickly.

The Ship: The Infinity is a Millennium class ship which is 91,000 Gross Register Tons and holds about 2,000 pax. Much has been written elsewhere about the M-class ships so suffice it to say that we enjoy them since we have cruised on three of them (Millennium, Constellation and Infinity).

Pre-cruise: We arranged air separately using JetBlue direct from JFK to SAN. Celebrity uses American, United and Delta and their connections were not convenient. JetBlue has good seat pitch and LCD displays for in-flight entertainment. While they provide drinks and snacks, you have to provide your own meals on board or beforehand which can be done once you clear security at JFK and SAN. SAN is a nice airport and the taxi stand is just across the dropoff/arrival roadway from the baggage area. Taxi fare to the port is about $10-12 with tip. We arrived two days early to tour the city and avoid last minute baggage hassles.

We also booked hotel separately since Celebrity will book the airport hotels on Harbor Court which are far away from downtown San Diego and the port. We stayed at the Holiday Inn on the Bay on North Harbor Drive which is right across from the cruise port. The HI on the Bay is about a mile walk from downtown and about 3 miles from Balboa Park. A free shuttle service is provided to both areas four times daily. We had dinner in Old Town which is the precursor to modern San Diego. On Saturday evening, we met with six other couples we met through Cruise critics. Thanks to the advise of several San Diego residents (thanks Cauvet and LuAnn) who were also on the cruise, we had a great time and we will certainly consider another cruise out of San Diego in the future (Aloha anyone?)

If your hotel is either the HI or the BW behind it on Ash Street, you can walk your luggage to the port as we did. There is a Rite Aid drugstore two blocks away on Ash Street and they sell liquor as well. While we did not use it, there is a cybercafe in the Horton Plaza development on Broadway. San Diego has a trolley system that runs behind the HI on the Bay and connects to Tijuana, Mexico. We used it to go to Old Town which is fast and convenient. For a San Diego portcam go to this URL http://live6.truelook.com/face/newface.jsp?zoom=2.5&imagemap.x=12&imagemap.y=215&name=%2Fecodb%2Fsandiego%2Foneamerica2&skin=default&pan=-92.045715&panfov=19.214195&tiltfov=14.976375&tilt=-13.534282&oldimage=1133745354082232&width=640&height=480&oldscale=0.75&useapplet=false&vfadjust=0.44444445.

The Cabin: We booked a sky suite which is about 260 sq feet with a 60 sq foot veranda. This is about a third larger than the Concierge cabins on the M-class ships and comes with a butler (extra tip). Cabin has a kingsize bed with TV/VCR (no DVD), a mini-fridge and bar, love seat, coffee table, desk and two chairs. There is a walk in closet but the layout was not that efficient. There is no tie rack in the closet and the metal pants holders take up too much space that could be used for hanging clothes. The closet in the penthouse suites on the Norwegian Dawn were better set up with access from both sides. The bathroom has a bathtub/shower combo and several storage shelves. It also has a small window into the bed area with electrically closable blinds (great for watching TV from the throne but little else). The cabin stewardess quickly cued into our morning schedule and had our cabin cleaned up by 9 am on most days.

Our butler was efficient and provided tea service between 3 and 4 PM (leaving tea sandwiches and cookies if we were out) and canapés at 5 PM which was overkill since we had main seating (6 PM). The offering of the canapés became a source of amusement for both of us as he offered with a wink and a smile and we declined also with a smile. He also made sure we got our formal clothes pressed (for a fee) and back in time for formal night. He also helped set up our cabin for an impromptu “house tour” we set up on cruise critic. The additional canapés required an extra charge (36 cold canapés for $28 with service). Having a butler is nice and the extra space in the sky suite was definitely worthwhile. We would do a suite in the future if the price spread above the Concierge class cabin is small enough (not hardly likely, but you never know).

The Itinerary: The Infinity sailed roundtrip from San Diego to Nawiliwili, Kauai (Friday); Honolulu, Oahu; Hilo, Hawaii (the big Island); Kailua Kona, Hawaii and Lahiana, Maui. Kailua Kona and Lahaina required tendering into the ports; the ship was docked at the other ports. Time in port varied from about 14 hours for Honolulu to about 6 hours for Lahaina. Most times ran about 8-10 hours in port. The Pacific crossing took four days each way (2,300 nautical miles) and the first two and last two days, the water temperatures were in the 60s. For information on water temperatures and sea conditions, see the following URL http://www.oceanweather.com/data/.

We pre-booked two tours, the helicopter tour of Kauai and the Mauna Kea summit tour. The other ports, we did on our own with mixed results. The helo tour on Kauai included Waimea canyon which is a scaled down version of the Grand Canyon but just a spectacular looking. We overflew the waterfall that you see at the beginning of Jurassic Park as well. We also flew above the Na Pali coast on the north shore of Kauai, another spectacular vista on top of what we had already seen. This is well worth the cost. We also had lunch at Duke’s at the Marriot Hotel which is a nice if pricy hangout, and it had a great view of the harbor and the low mountains beyond. There are shuttle buses to the local Hilo Hattie’s (Hawaiian themed goods) and to Wal-mart. There are two small strip malls about a half mile outside the port for odds and ends. There are sidewalks so it is easy to get there and to Duke’s. There are shuttle buses available to Hilo Hattie’s and some other shopping venues was well.

For Honolulu, we took the local bus to the Arizona memorial, but the line was so long that we fell back to plan B which was the swap meet at Aloha Stadium a few blocks away. We got some souvenirs and got a good walk as well with occasional rain bursts. The swap meet has a lot of the usual tourist stuff at more reasonable prices. We took a bus back to Honolulu’s Chinatown for dim sum at Legends in the Chinese Cultural Center. It is highly recommended if you like dim sum. We would have gone down to Waikiki but it was raining on and off so we hung out near the port in the afternoon.

We docked at Hilo on Sunday and took the tour to the top of Mauna Kea which is 13,700 feet high and has about 12 different telescopes (optical, infrared and radio). There is a visitor information center at the 9,200 foot level where we stopped for lunch (and also to acclimate to the reduced O2 level, 60% of normal). Hint, bring some mayo or mustard as the sandwiches they provide are dry. The visitor center has interesting presentation and books on the astronomical observatories atop Mauna Kea. The tour to the top was great once we broke through the rain clouds and got into clear dry air. The observatories cluster atop Mauna Kea since most of the moisture in the air (and clouds as well) is well below the summit which enhances star viewing. This tour is good for those who are interested in science and are healthy enough to tolerate reduced levels of oxygen. This tour takes most of the time we were in Hilo so we did not go elsewhere. For more information on the visitor center and the observatories, go to http://www.ifa.hawaii.edu/info/vis/. That night as we sailed around to Kona, we saw the lava flows from Kilauea. The Monday after we sailed past, a large chunk of cooled lava fell into the sea and the lava flows were much larger as a result. If your schedule has you going from Hilo to Kona, book a starboard cabin so you can see the lava flows as you sail by.

We did not plan any tours in Kona or Lahaina so we just hung out in town, walked around and had lunch. Both ports require tendering in from the ship. Lahaina has a shuttle bus to Whalers Village that turned out to be a modern shopping area located near several hotels north of town. Not very interesting. The people in Hawaii are very friendly and laid back and the concept of island time applies here as well. For information on Hawaiian ports, go to http://www.hawaiiportreviews.com/.

Since any ship sailing to Hawaii from the west coast has to transit the Pacific at high speed (26 mph), you will likely get cold breezes the first two and last two days at sea. You will likely also get some sea spray on your veranda, particularly if you are towards the aft of the ship. A veranda is certainly desirable when you are in the islands, but you will not always be able to use it during the Pacific crossing. The same is true of Atlantic crossings as well.

Ship Services. The Infinity is a modern ship with a wide variety of services and activities available for pax. While we used only a fraction of the services available, those we used were by and large were well presented.

The fitness center had treadmills and stationary bikes as well as an aerobics area. The top deck had a walking track that is about five laps to the mile. There is also a large enclosed spa area available to all pax. This included a food service area serving light spa-type cuisine, two Jacuzzis and the Thallasotherapy pool which is a large aerated seawater pool similar to a Jacuzzi but at a lower temperature. We opted for the Persian Garden which has 2 steam baths, a low temperature sauna and a private lounge. It cost $175pp for the two week cruise which we found worthwhile.

Food. The Trellis restaurant is the main dining venue for the ship. Dinners were served at 6 and 8:30 PM, breakfast and lunch were open seating. Meals there were well prepared and presented but are leisurely in pacing (just right for a sea day). The dinners offered a variety of appetizers, two hot soups and a one cold soup, three types of salads, five entrees plus several desserts. The entrees included two red meats (beef and lamb or pork), chicken, fish and a pasta/vegetation entrée. We had asked for a table of six but got a table for four with nobody else. After speaking to the assistant maitre d’, we were joined by a pleasant couple from Glens Falls, New York. The Oceanview Café is the self service buffet aft of the pool area. There are four buffet serving lines with three special purpose areas at the back end of the café. At breakfast, the special purpose areas provide either cooked to order omelets, pancakes and waffles. At lunch the special purpose areas provide cooked to order pasta, pizza or sandwiches. The pizzas were only OK, but then, there are no high temperature gas-fired ovens on-board to make the pizza crisp. Burgers (overdone) and hot dogs were available near the pool. We alternated between the dining room and the buffet for breakfast and lunch depending on what was offered. While it was available, we did not have breakfast in-suite. We used the spa buffet for breakfast on several days which was quieter and less crowded than Oceanview. We did not use the extra tariff specialty restaurant, the SS United States for dinner though we were invited to afternoon tea on two sea days. We had tried the specialty restaurants on the Millennium and while they were good, the pacing was much slower. Worth a try if you like a leisurely meal with enhanced service for a fee.

For lounges, we preferred the Martini Bar which is stacked above the Rendezvous Lounge and connected to it by a circular opening above the Rendezvous’ dance floor. This allowed us to hear the music at a reasonable volume. The Cova Cafe is the ship’s coffee bar where one can get cappuccino, espresso, excellent pastries and also cocktails. Pastries were available during the late morning and drinks including coffees were reasonably priced. Drink price now equal shoreside prices. The Martini Bar has specialty drinks at high prices. I found I could handle only one Mathematician’s Martini (add ice to a shaker, pour 5 oz of vodka in, chant “Somewhere in the bar, the vermouth exists”, shake and pour into a chilled martini glass with a twist of lemon). A 15% service charge is added for drinks and wine service. We still tipped our regular bartender.

 

We did not partake much of the entertainment on board. I did like the poolside band, Centerfold, which is a great blues rock band. The hula show in Honolulu was worthwhile and some of the lounge bands were OK, but the production shows did not do anything for us. Just a matter of taste I guess.

General thoughts. If you link up with shipmates on the cruise critics site (they have roll calls for most cruises), you will have a readymade group of people to meet and mingle with. Our group arranged for a pre-cruise dinner and a “house tour” of several different cabins in addition to the usual cruise critic meet and greet party on-board. It is a nice way to meet like-minded people. We very much enjoyed the company of the people we met through cruise critics.

Some tours are worth pre-booking such as the helo flights and the Mauna Kea tour which took a total of 24 people. When we tried to book tours in Kona, the ones we wanted were closed out. The M-ship sky suite is slightly larger than the veranda suites on Holland America but smaller than the penthouse suites on the Norwegian Dawn. The Dawn’s penthouse suites were larger at 290 sq feet and the closet was accessible from both the dressing area and the cabin hallway. They also had a full table that could be used for in-suite meals. For that matter, HAL veranda suites had a coffee table that could be raised to dining table height. The sky suite coffee table was OK for tea service only.

Do plan on spending some time in San Diego as it is a lovely city that is quite walkable with several interesting areas. We walked through the Gaslamp district which appears to be a budding Soho (as in lower Manhattan art district) and had an excellent lunch and also stopped off at their new Hilo Hattie’s store. Balboa Park is definitely worth a look as well. The Mexican food in the Old Town area is definitely worth trying as well.

This is a cruise you will definitely enjoy and should try. A Hui Aloha.

[Cruise Arizona]

Bob,

 

I think you really summed up the cruise very well, providing a different perspecticive of the cruise as a couple in mid 50's as opposed to parents with young children that was our experience.

 

It is interesting to note that we both loved our experience.

 

Room service/butler servie was the one wierd area. We had a few people over to try our bottles of AZ wine that we brougth on board and since we were only a st. class vs. a suite we ordered off the room service menue for our "fixens' I tried to order fruit for 4 and Cheese for 4, but the person at the other end of the line told me I could only order for two. I tried to tell her that we had 4 in our room and that we should be able to order for 4, but she insisted only two.

 

What came was more than enough for 6, but that whoel trying to order room service thing was kind of wierd.

 

Anyway, thank you for the canepes. It would have been nice if they had provided them compementary. After all, your guest did pay for their cruise as well.

 

You could have been really cheesy like me before a wine tasting..... We attended the Kendall Jackson/Pepi Wines enrichment siminars. No food was served, so before the last one, I went up to the buffet and made a cheese and bread try to go with the tasting. I shared with my table mates, but I felt a little wierd for not bringing enough for the whole room .

 

Also, sounds like your guys had fanstastic excurstions. There is so much to do in Hawaii. We could easily take this same cruise agains and just do other things in each port.

 

Take care, Merry Christmas, and Happy Holiday.

[LuAnn]

Bob...WOW...did you take notes the whole time? :) It was so complete and I really agree with you that the CC friends we "talked to" before we boarded were very important...as I have mentioned before on the boards Kenneth said..."It made the trip very special!" It's like you have a whole group of friends on board...to share experiences with, match up for drinks/food etc..... just a very special experience! Thanks again for the review! LuAnn

[speakertosuits]

Suzanne, thank you for your observations on both your view of the cruise and my thoughts on it. Anyone reading both of them should get a good cross age-range view of the cruise and the activities avaailable.

 

LuAnn, glad you enjoyed the review. No, I was not taking notes all the time, that would be too much like work which I am now up to my neck in. I have developed good report writing skills that carried over to vacations. In addition to speakertosuits, I am also reportwritertosuits as well. I guess that showed in my cruise review. An yes, having a group like we had on cruise critics enhances the overall enjoyment. As Mary commented, it is like having family along without the family hassles.

 

Hopefully, we shall meet again, we would like that. Happy New Year to all.

[Cauvet]

Great review, Bob! A couple of things I would add:

 

We had the Celebrity Suite and although it didn't have a balcony, as Bob noted above, it was windy and wet crossing and we didn't miss it at all. We had a table and four chairs, and a very comfortable living room with a plasma TV. Our Butler brought breakfast every morning--we could order anything we wanted--and brought the finger sandwiches at 5 which was good for us as we had late seating and this tied you over. Like Bob, I drank the mathematician Martini with gin but could only handle one! I thought the food in the main dining room was superb as was the lunches in the Spa Cafe.

 

We had two tour excursions from hell and rented cars in the other ports. We did the lava walk in Hilo which truly was a death march. Unless you love to hop over uneven, sharp, lava for six hours in 90+ heat, I wouldn't recommend this trip to anyone. We did the waterfall hike in Lahaina and although the waterfall was beautiful, it was a very strenuous hike down then up very steep steps (280) and climbing over boulders in the river. When Celebrity rates an excursion strenuous, they really mean it!

 

Probably the best part of the whole cruise was the nice, interesting people we met on this board. It was nice to see familiar faces, get together a couple of times, yet all enjoy our own privacy. I really look forward to cruising with some of you in the future. I saw the Oosterdam in port yesterday and knew Luann was on board and was so envious. I keep thinking about what a good time she is having now! And New Years should be a blast.

 

Well, Happy New Years to everyone. Here's hoping our cruise paths cross again.