I am a frequent cruiser and we decided last minute (4 weeks out) to book an Alaska cruise. Celebrity Infinity had availability in the class we were interested in (Aqua Concierge CC) deck 11. This new class gives Aqua passengers exclusive access to the specialty restaurant Blu, spa amenities in the cabins, and exclusive access to the Persian Garden steam room/Turkish bath in the spa. Aqua cabins are all of deck 11 and sprinkled in deck 9. Advantage to deck 11 is that it's an over 21 floor and double occupancy only. No kids and families in one room allowed on this deck. We were encouraged to book a cabin at the very back of the ship for it's privacy and large veranda size. We got the cabin directly in the back of the ship. Size wise, the veranda was great. Privacy wise, it was the WORST. We overlooked the Ocean Grill bar and outdoor eating area and anyone on observation deck 12 could look right down on us and even into our cabin. It felt like we were hamsters in cages. My husband and I are veranda lovers and on most cruises, spend the majority of our free time on them reading, relaxing and dining. I can count the minutes we spent out there simply to avoid being an exhibit.

Cabin size and quality were average and as expected. The Infinity went into dry dock over the winter and spring for a complete "Solsticizing" renovation. The decor was tasteful and modern but not over the top. As much as they tried to "luxuriate" this ship, they couldn't change the layout. As I mentioned earlier, we were on deck 11 which is the 21 and over stateroom deck. Before dry dock, deck 11 was the children's activity deck. It was never intended to be for customer staterooms. Access to and from the cabin areas to the rest of the ship was awkward and cumbersome. Often, in order to get to the deck you needed to get to, you had to go outside and walk to mid ship to get to the appropriate elevators. Most of the time, this wasn't too much of an issue, but at dinner time and especially on formal nights, walking in the cold Alaska air was not the most fun.

There were many, many kids on this ship. Partially, because of the time of year of the sailing. Not having kids personally, I'm always cautious about booking ships that are too dedicated to kids activities. There didn't seem to initially be an overwhelming focus on kids and families, so I thought we might escape. No such luck. Most of the kids were incredibly well mannered and seemed to be occupied all the time with deck sports or ship board activities. There were several kids whose parents clearly failed in their public behavior teachings as they were rude, disruptive and even to the point of throwing things off the observation deck onto the balconies of our 11th deck verandas. I walked outside to ask them if they could please stop throwing things and be a bit respectful that these are peoples staterooms, and I was told some interesting expletives and spit upon. Very nice representation of the younger generations. I called ship services to see if they could go up there to intervene, but no one ever showed up. I guess they were more worried about collecting sea pass cards to make sure no one was getting by with a free soda if they hadn't already purchased the beverage packages. Read more