Just Back... Infinity Ft. Lauderdale to Valparaiso

[NorCalCruiseGuy]

We had a wonderful cruise on Infinity from Ft. Lauderdale to Valparaiso. Lots of info to share, but I'll post under various topics. The best part of the cruise were the outstanding people we met, and the incredible staff of the Infinity.

Let me know if you have any specific questions.

 

We booked a hotel room at the Santiago airport on disembarkation day since our flight was not until very late in the evening. Shortly after we arrived, there was a large crowd of people in the lobby, and news cameras outside the entrance to the hotel. It turned out to be some of the survivors of the Explorer which went down near Antarctica after hitting an iceberg. We had a chance to speak to some of the passengers. They were still wearing the same clothes they had on when they manned the lifeboats two days prior, some still in rubber boots. They said they knew a ship was coming to rescue them, but had to wait 4 or 5 hours in the freezing temperatures. They became very disoriented. They were not able to take anything into the lifeboats except for the clothes they were wearing. These were very tired and brave people.

 

More soon.

Paul

[mjceditor]

Paul,

Looking forward to hearing more about your cruise.

I was looking at the Panama Canal web cams and I was lucky enough to see you guys going through the Miraflores Locks.

Click Picture to see all the pictures.

"][/url]

[ol'bob]

Hi Paul Please excuse me if I ask obvious questions. I have only been on two cruises and am new to this board. ...Did you book your own air for the cruise, or did you book it through the cruise line. Do they offer non-stop? If not, does the plane just land some where and then move on, or do you have to change planes? I am sure that there are many choices, but since it looks like you are a well traveled person, I would like to read about your personal experiences.

 

Thanks for your help.

Bob

[NorCalCruiseGuy]

Hi Paul Please excuse me if I ask obvious questions. I have only been on two cruises and am new to this board. ...Did you book your own air for the cruise' date=' or did you book it through the cruise line. Do they offer non-stop? If not, does the plane just land some where and then move on, or do you have to change planes? I am sure that there are many choices, but since it looks like you are a well traveled person, I would like to read about your personal experiences. [/size']

 

Thanks for your help.

Bob

 

Bob,

We booked our air arrangements through Celebrity. We compared the price Celebrity offered to what we could find on the airline websites and the discount sites, and found the airfare that Celebrity offered was several hundered dollars less per person than what we could find. This may not always be the case, so it is a good idea to check all the options before choosing you air arrangemetns. Sometimes you can get a better deal through the airlines, or from one of the on-line sites like Expedia or Travelocity.

 

We used Celebrity's Custom Air feature, which allowed us to choose the airlines and flights we wanted. They normally charge $75 per person for this service but since we are members of Captain's Club, the fee was waived. We did pay a small additonal fee (about $100) for the specific flights we requested.

 

We were flying from Oakland, CA to Ft. Lauderdale, and Valparaiso, Chile to San Francisco. There were no non-stop flights for these routes. With Custom Air, you could request non-stop flights if there are any available.

 

One caution, however. If you get a heavily discounted fare through the cruise line, it may not be upgradable if you want to use frequent flyer miles to upgrade to business class or first class. Be sure to check the restrictions before you book.

 

Cheers,

Paul

[NorCalCruiseGuy]

Paul,

Looking forward to hearing more about your cruise.

I was looking at the Panama Canal web cams and I was lucky enough to see you guys going through the Miraflores Locks.

Click Picture to see all the pictures.

"][/url]

 

Mike and Mary,

That is just so cool. We had one of the aft-facing verandah staterooms, and in the last two pictures, we can see ourselves on the verandah, 8185, thired balcony from the left, deck 8

I wish someone had yelled "Say cheese!"

[NorthernLite]

Mike and Mary,

That is just so cool. We had one of the aft-facing verandah staterooms, and in the last two pictures, we can see ourselves on the verandah, 8185, thired balcony from the left, deck 8

I wish someone had yelled "Say cheese!"

 

 

Well cruds! I only get the first pic and then nothing. We'll be in 8186 on the Valparasio to Ft Lauderdale return come March. I know you were getting off but do you, or anyone else, know what time embarkation normally is down there? The ship doesn't leave until 9pm and we arrive in Santiago at 7:40am. I think we'll want to head directly to Valparasio and board and then maybe go back out for lunch or a short taxi tour. Why going south is an overnighter is beyond me but at least we arrive at a reasonable hour. Some planes start landing at 3am.

[mii]

Glad you enjoyed the Infinity. We have been on her twice and throughly enjoyed the ship. Both though were in Alaska.

 

I imagine those poor people from the Explorer were exhausted and unbeliveably tired. It was all over the news and on this site too.

 

Marilyn

[C 2 C]

Paul:

 

It's great to read that you enjoyed the Infinity.

 

Could you post the names of the Captain, CD and CC Host(ess)?

 

We did the reverse cruise this past March and I think it was one of our best.

 

 

mjceditor: Great shot!

[NorCalCruiseGuy]

Paul:

 

It's great to read that you enjoyed the Infinity.

 

Could you post the names of the Captain, CD and CC Host(ess)?

 

We did the reverse cruise this past March and I think it was one of our best.

 

 

mjceditor: Great shot!

 

The Captain was Demitrios Kafetzis. He left the ship in Valparaiso for his 3-months off. He is a great captain-- young (40ish), handsome and personable with a great sense of humor. He could be seen around the ship throughout the day-- walking on deck, taking his meals in the Oceanview Cafe, working out in the gym and even challenged the guests to a game of basketball against the senior officers (officers won). He should be the face of Celebrity Cruises!

 

Cruise Director was Jeff Potts

 

CC Hostess was Tanushka, but she will be leaving the ship before the holidays.

 

Activities Director was "Jackpot" Jody. She lead an all-female activities staff and they were all teriffic.

 

Hotel Director was Simon Weir. I cannot say enough about Simon. Some of you may remember him as Cruise Director from the Infinity and Summit. He is the first in the industry to go from Cruise Director to Hotel Manager. He'll be leaving the ship in Buenos Aires to go home for the birth of his first child. Rumor has it he will be the Hotel Manager when the Solstice has her maiden voyage next year. He is the most outstanding person you would ever want to have onboard for your sailing. He treated us famously!

[NorCalCruiseGuy]

Well cruds! I only get the first pic and then nothing. We'll be in 8186 on the Valparasio to Ft Lauderdale return come March. I know you were getting off but do you, or anyone else, know what time embarkation normally is down there? The ship doesn't leave until 9pm and we arrive in Santiago at 7:40am. I think we'll want to head directly to Valparasio and board and then maybe go back out for lunch or a short taxi tour. Why going south is an overnighter is beyond me but at least we arrive at a reasonable hour. Some planes start landing at 3am.

 

You can probably expect to board by about 2 PM or so. The drive from Santiago isn't very long. Commuters do it daily to get to work. You might consider a tour of Santiago before heading to Valparaiso. The Pre-Columbian museum in Santiago is quite good.

[mjceditor]

Paul-Talk about cool… you can see yourself….nice.

Question for you, Mary & I are in 9201, just above 8185 and were thinking about staying on our verandah for the Gatun locks and then going to the front of the ship for Miraflores locks. What do you think?

 

Sue-When you click on the picture it will take you to Webshots. In the upper right hand corner you will see two pictures, click on prev or next to see more pictures.

[C 2 C]

The Captain was Demitrios Kafetzis.

Cruise Director was Jeff Potts

 

CC Hostess was Tanushka, but she will be leaving the ship before the holidays.

 

Activities Director was "Jackpot" Jody. She lead an all-female activities staff and they were all teriffic.

 

Hotel Director was Simon Weir.

 

Thanks for all the names... I'll post them for the Who's Where..

[NorCalCruiseGuy]

Paul-Talk about cool… you can see yourself….nice.

Question for you, Mary & I are in 9201, just above 8185 and were thinking about staying on our verandah for the Gatun locks and then going to the front of the ship for Miraflores locks. What do you think?

 

Sue-When you click on the picture it will take you to Webshots. In the upper right hand corner you will see two pictures, click on prev or next to see more pictures.

 

Mike,

This was my third time transiting the canal. We stayed on our verandah most of the day. We invited two other folks for breakfast, which was served on our verandah.

Moving forward for part of the transit would certainly give you a good and different vantage point. Be sure to try to be on the Promemad Deck at some point while going through the locks as well. You will be looking directly into the side of the lock, and get a good idea of just how close the ship gets to the side of the lock (in some cases, a foot or less) That's why they usually give a warning to keep your hands inside the ship.

Our friends from Cruise Critic were in 9201 just above us. I think you'll love that stateroom.

I have lots of photos from the canal, and I'll post them soon.

[ol'bob]

Paul Thanks for the flight info. It will be very helpful in the future. I appreciate it.

Bob

[mjceditor]

Mike,

This was my third time transiting the canal. We stayed on our verandah most of the day. We invited two other folks for breakfast, which was served on our verandah.

Moving forward for part of the transit would certainly give you a good and different vantage point. Be sure to try to be on the Promemad Deck at some point while going through the locks as well. You will be looking directly into the side of the lock, and get a good idea of just how close the ship gets to the side of the lock (in some cases, a foot or less) That's why they usually give a warning to keep your hands inside the ship.

Our friends from Cruise Critic were in 9201 just above us. I think you'll love that stateroom.

I have lots of photos from the canal, and I'll post them soon.

 

Thanks Paul for the advice. I have a feeling we will be moving around the ship once we get to Miraflores locks.

Glad to hear 9201 worked out for your friends, I have some friends that were in 9201 for Alaska on Summit and they were quite happy also.

Looking forward to seeing your pictures!

[Lois R]

Hi Paul, welcome back and glad you had such a good time:)

[NorCalCruiseGuy]

Hi Paul, welcome back and glad you had such a good time:)

 

Thank you, Lois. I'll be posting some thoughts on the food and other aspects of our very enjoyable cruise and some photos soon. I've already posted our experience with our aft verandah and some photos of the Panama Canal transit in seperate posts.

 

Paul

[Coco Creek]

Thanks for the info. I am thinking of taking the same cruise next December.

[NorthernLite]

Sue-When you click on the picture it will take you to Webshots. In the upper right hand corner you will see two pictures, click on prev or next to see more pictures.

 

Thanks! Seems I might have too much protection on my computer. I think this will be a terrific trip for us. We are sooo looking forward to the full passage.