Review of the Infinity, May 27-June 3

[Kapricorn]

I was on the Infinity’s cruise to Alaska from May 27 to June 3. Her propulsion system worked just fine after a week of dry-docking.

 

I arrived at Ballantyne Pier just before 1:30 pm on embarkation day. There was no signage directing passengers to the proper drop-off of luggage, so there was considerable confusion at the entrance. There was just one US customs official handling the lengthy line-up of Canadian and American passengers, and two officials for the visa-holders, most of who had to be finger-printed and their photographs taken. That Pier is inferior to Vancouver’s other cruise terminal, Canada Place. In the future, as much as possible, I will avoid cruises which use Ballantyne Pier.

 

Sky Suite 8117 was nice. The charming cabin attendant, Lalaine from the Philippines, showed up immediately. Her outstanding service was rewarded with a nice tip at the end of the cruise, as well as positive words in the guest comment card. The butler, Peter from India, introduced himself later in the afternoon, and every morning served breakfast in the suite. Four o’clock tea was served daily with a nice assortment of tiny sandwiches and sweets, but the five o’clock hors d’oeuvres didn’t taste too great and its serving was discontinued upon request.

 

I brought two suitcases, and one of them appeared in my suite within twenty minutes of embarkation. However, the second one didn’t show up until 4:45 pm, just before lifeboat drill. I had fears of having to appear for dinner in my shorts. The welcome letter had bragged that “courtesy of express luggage delivery, your luggage will be among the first to arrive beside your stateroom, if it hasn’t arrived already.”

 

There was no Internet service available to passengers until the third or fourth day at sea. There were boxes and equipment stacked up in the Internet room for the first few days. However, it did not inconvenience me, as I can live without Internet for a week.

 

In mid-cruise, the television in my suite started having a mind of its own. It would turn off while I was viewing it, or turn on repeatedly in the middle of the night. Despite my efforts to turn it off, it came back on. I had to lay two large bath towels over it to reduce the glare and darken the suite sufficiently for sleep. It continued for the rest of the week. It was like something out of Twilight Zone.

 

On sea days there were long lines for lunch at the Oceanview Café, and unoccupied tables were difficult to find. Many of those who finished eating their meals continued to relax at their tables (and a couple even napped), despite others milling around with trays looking for places to sit. The Aquaspa Café was a fine substitute, with a small selection of healthy dishes, and tables were usually available.

 

The two performances which I saw in Celebrity Theatre were okay, a trifle overlong and tiring for me. I especially liked the performance of two aerial artists, though they performed fewer techniques and were on the stage for a much shorter time than the aerial artists on the Mercury.

 

Table 589, at the head of the grand staircase, overlooked the Trellis Restaurant. The head waiter, Ricardo from Portugal, was among the best that I ever had on Celebrity. He got an outstanding mention in my guest comment card. He was capably assisted by Rhandy from the Philippines. I had no problems with the nightly menu offerings, and the meals were as tasty as usual. The 6’ 3” sommelier, Saravanan from India, was a nightly delight to be served by, with his knowledge and expert recommendations of wine.

 

I preferred the much more intimate Martini Bar on the Mercury, to that on the Infinity. However, the martinis were just as expertly prepared, and the server, Eliseo from the Philippines, was witty and a pleasure to chat with.

 

The film offered in the theatre was old, such as “The Constant Gardener”, so I did not view any.

 

The nightly dress codes were not enforced despite the word required in the first day’s program. I would guess that informal nights found only 65% of the men with jackets and ties, 10% with just jackets, 5% with sweaters, and the other 20% with nice shirts. It was an interesting mixture of attire, much like what one might find in nice restaurants onshore.

 

 

Infinity arrived at Ballantyne Pier at seven a.m. Elite level passengers relaxed in the SS United States specialty restaurant for about an hour, but service of croissants and coffee by the staff was perfunctory. Fortunately I had earlier a hearty breakfast in the Oceanview Cafe. Disembarkation was a bit chaotic, with Elite level passengers encountering a long line of others who had waited in Celebrity Theatre. I had a ride home in a private car, so I do not know how others fared with taxis or alternative transportation.

 

 

 

Despite the few glitches, overall I enjoyed my experience on the Infinity.:)

 

 

Donald.

 

 

 

[Lois R]

:) Hi Donald, welcome back!

Thanks for the review and it sounds as if you had a

wonderful cruise.

How were your tablemates? Did you know any staff and

crew from prior sailings?

 

Nice to have you back:) though I bet you would rather

be back on board;)

[auntdot]

Thanks for your informative review, Donald.

 

We are sailing on Infinity in August and I was curious about the reason for the dry-dock - was is mainly for the propulsion problem?

 

Also do the Alaska cruises to Alaska always leave from Ballantyne? We will have to figure out how to do that as my niece is driving us to the pier and we had assumed it was Canada Place.

 

We are getting excited!!

[mocro]

Hi, Donald. Thank you for a really helpful review and welcome back. I was looking forward to news about this sailing as it was the first after dry dock. Did you have a sense there was "spiffing up" done as well as pod maintenance?

 

In an effort to learn from your issues at embarkation/disembarkation, we were planning on arriving earlier that you did - perhaps as early as noontime. Do you think that would give us a smoother embarkation? Anything we can do to avoid the inefficiency or should we just chalk that up to U.S. Customs and bring a good book?

 

Also, I was thinking of getting the name of a private car service from the hotel in Vancouver and ordering a car when we are about to get off the ship. I realize it'd be tough to pre-plan the timing. Does that seem practical? Thanks again! Maureen

[TeaBag]

Celebrity left from Canada Place last year but for some reason Summit and Infinity are both leaving from Ballantyne this year. Mercury leaves from Canada Place.

[Kapricorn]

Hi, Auntdot -

 

I understand that the main reason for the dry-dock was to fix the propulsion problem. However, Celebrity also took this opportunity to replace carpeting throughout parts of the ship (there were several rolls of carpet stored on the top deck, and carpeting was replaced in a corridor near my suite during the cruise). In addition, the gym received new equipment, cabin bedding was replaced with extremely comfortable pillow-top mattresses, and the Internet service was changed (not completed during the first few days). There probably were other improvements made that I was not aware about. It has been five years since I was last on the Infinity.

 

This year, Celebrity's Summit and Infinity uses Ballantyne Pier, as does ships of the Royal Caribbean Cruise. However, the Mercury will use Canada Place (a big relief for me for July 27!).

 

Ballantyne Pier is a few minutes' additional drive east of Canada Place, and your niece will have no problem driving you there. Simply follow the directions in your cruise booklet. If your niece will be picking you up after the cruise, bring your cell phone so that you can call her that morning to give her an idea of what time to be there. My friend who picked me up waited in his car for about half an hour in the parking lot, because disembarkation was delayed for some reason. When I left the pier this morning, I saw less than a dozen taxi cabs waiting for passengers.

 

You will enjoy your cruise on the Infinity. She is a splendid ship.

 

Donald.

[Kapricorn]

Hi, Maureen -

 

Did you have a sense there was "spiffing up" done as well as pod maintenance?

 

Besides the replacement of carpeting here and there, and new pillow-top mattresses in the cabins, a week in dry-dock enabled the crew to thoroughly clean the ship from top to bottom. It was in spic-and-span condition when I boarded it. :)

 

In an effort to learn from your issues at embarkation/disembarkation, we were planning on arriving earlier that you did - perhaps as early as noontime. Do you think that would give us a smoother embarkation?

 

I was informed by a dining room staff that they would not be receiving too much rest on disembarkation/embarkation day because incoming passengers will actually start to board at 11 a.m. I would think that you can't go wrong if you arrive between that time and Noon. However, bring a book, just in case!

 

Also, I was thinking of getting the name of a private car service from the hotel in Vancouver and ordering a car when we are about to get off the ship. I realize it'd be tough to pre-plan the timing. Does that seem practical? Thanks again! Maureen

 

I believe that someone else on board made such an arrangement for private car pick-up. To reduce traffic congestion outside Ballantyne Pier, the limos are not allowed onto the site until the clients depart the ship and telephone them for pick up. The limos are parked about 3 or 5 minutes' drive from the Pier.

 

Donald.

[Kapricorn]

Hi, Lois -

 

Thank you very much for the welcome back! :)

 

Since this cruise was for my belated birthday, I was accompanied by David on one of his rare cruises. We sat at a table for two. When I travel solo, I usually request large tables.

 

I did not recognize any of the staff on the Infinity. Our maitre d' was Mario Kucko, from Croatia. He is as pleasant and nice-looking as Marius of Romania on the Mercury. Where does Celebrity find these guys? :D

 

You probably would have loved our table waiter, Ricardo from Portugal. He was professional, courteous and attentive, as well as being quite handsome. I hope to see him again on a future cruise.

 

Yes, indeed, I would rather be back on board the Infinity - or any other ship. ;)

 

Donald.

[Cruisin_Tommy]

Donald,

 

Thank you for the update. We depart 10 Jun on Infinity, and your positive review only adds to the anticipation.

 

We are 1st timers on the M-class ships, any tips or tricks you would care to share?

[tromvest]

We just came back from the cruise and it was fantastic. I will post a review tomorrow.

[mocro]

Donald, thanks so much for your advice. We care about a great bed so this is exciting news. I'll definitely try to make arrangements for a car on the back end. Glad you had a wonderful cruise and happy belated birthday. Maureen

[BellKat]

My husand Jim and I are thrilled to hear that Eliseo is once again in the Martini Bar on the Infinity. He is our favorite martini waiter! We last saw him in June 2006 and he and his wife were taking some time off and he wasn't sure which ship he would be sailing on when he returned.

 

Kathleen

[Kapricorn]

Maureen: You will indeed love the new beds. An egg crate mattress had been requested, but it was not installed. However, the new pillow-top mattress was so comfortable that no complaint was made about the omission of the egg crate mattress.:) And, regarding the 11 a.m. embarkation, it might have been just for the back-to-back passengers. Noon might be a safer bet for you?

 

Tromvest: I'm looking forward to your review! It'll be great for others to get a variety of feedback from those on the same cruise.

 

Cruisin_Tommy: My tip for you is to expect a great time on the Infinity, and not to let small glitches ruin anything. I mentioned small glitches in my review just to explain why I would give the cruise a 9.5 or 9.6 instead of a perfect 10.0. I don't let these upset me.:D

 

Donald.

[Kapricorn]

My husand Jim and I are thrilled to hear that Eliseo is once again in the Martini Bar on the Infinity. He is our favorite martini waiter! We last saw him in June 2006 and he and his wife were taking some time off and he wasn't sure which ship he would be sailing on when he returned.

 

Kathleen

 

 

Kathleen, did Eliseo do the hula dance while shaking the martini? If not, you should ask him to do it. :D He did it twice for my table.

 

Donald.

[BellKat]

No- he didn't do the hula but he did dance for us.;) We have him on video.

 

Kathleen

[anewcruiser psu]

I read your answer to me on the original thread posted from cyscopup on 6/4 – subject :

“Just returned from Infinity 05-27-07, any questions? “

I am talking about a mini-suite. We are planning an Alaskan cruise on the Infinity in 2008 (two couples) and both want to stay in a mini-suite.

A couple more questions -

I notice there are only 4 mini-suites on the sky(9) and panorama(8) decks, and the penthouse deck (6) is made up of mostly mini-suites. Do you think service would be better on a higher deck with fewer mini-suites or doesn't that matter. Also, the 4 mini-suites on the sky and panorama decks are all on the port side where the mini-suites on the penthouse deck are on both port and starboard. Does the "side of the ship" matter from a sightseeing point of view since it is a roundtrip cruise.

Finally, how did you find the food in general - the main dining room, the buffets, etc. How many times could you have crab and/or lobster (my wife's favorite)?

Ps. As you can probably tell, food and accommodations are very important to us…our current plans are to sail the Infinity to Alaska in 2008 – it will be doing a Seattle roundtrip next year rather than leaving from Vancouver as it is doing this year.

[Kapricorn]

I read your answer to me on the original thread posted from cyscopup on 6/4 – subject :

“Just returned from Infinity 05-27-07, any questions? “

 

Ps. As you can probably tell, food and accommodations are very important to us…our current plans are to sail the Infinity to Alaska in 2008 – it will be doing a Seattle roundtrip next year rather than leaving from Vancouver as it is doing this year.

 

I've answered your post in the other thread.

 

Have a great time on the Seattle roundtrip next year!:)

 

Best regards,

Donald.