My wife and I flew from Miami to Buenos Aires for a 14 day cruise on Infinity for Rio de Janeiro and Carnaval. We flew to BA 3 days before the cruise and we thoroughly enjoyed the city. It is not unique, in fact you constantly compare it with other cities, especially Paris and Old San Juan. It is, however, friendly, inexpensive, easy to get around and has great food. We stayed at the Plaza, an old hotel, now operated by Marriott. They have updated it and done a marvellous job in making it modern, but keeping the ambiance of the place intact. This was centrally located in Plaza San Martin, and close to everything including the port. The service was great, the food was fine and the rooms very comfortable, especially the beds. Avenida Florida, the pedestrian shopping street, is right outside the door and we spent the first day simply walking around the central area, and looking at the Plaza de Mayo, the Avenida 9 de Julio, Avenida de Mayo and the shopping area. It is in a small easy to walk area. Not to be missed are Cafe Tortoni, the Cathedral and Rosado Palace, The Opera, which is currently closed for renovations, and the shopping streets of Florida and Lavalle. Street entertainment is everywhere and it is very user friendly. Great food is very close at Puerto Madera, where there are many fine restaurants. This old warehouse area is being modernized and will be even better, I am sure, in years to come. Note that many do not open until 7-8pm as South Americans eat dinner very late. We ate one of the best steaks we have ever eaten in Puerto Madera, the first night. On Saturday morning we walked to La Recoletta and visited the cemetery. After that we took a cab to La Boca and walked the small area of El Camenito. As others have said before this is photogenic, but nothing special. Shopping is better in San Telmo or along Avenida Florida. We had another great dinner and the next day walked to San Telmo, just past Avenida de Mayo and walked around the large flea markets, antique stores and arts and crafts vendors in San Telmo and around Plaza Dorrego. My wife loved the jewelry and purchased quite a few pairs of earrings, bracelets and necklaces. We also bought some leather belts, which were less than $10 each. The Infinity did not sail until 11pm, so we were in no hurry to get to the port. We enjoyed the morning and then checked out and took a 5 minute ride to the port. This was the only blip of the cruise. The organization shoreside was not good, and check in was not good by Celebrity standards. It was not bad, just not up to their high standards. I will not review the ship as many have done so before. Enough to say that we love the Milennium class ships and this was the fourth of these fine ships that we have sailed on. We asked our cabin steward for a bed pad, and it was in place within an hour. As with the slow shoreside check in luggage took a long time to get to us, but we got it ok, and unpacked. We chose a balcony cabin on Deck 7, because we loved the same one on Milennium last year in Europe. If you are going to exotic destinations I feel that you should maximize your exposure to them. We had not expected much of Montevideo, our first port of call, but as with many travel surprises, do not always believe what you read. We had a great Monday simply walking the old town and enjoying the liveliness of the city and it's residents. Another great surprise was the incredible lunch we had at the Old Port at a lunch counter. The beef was among the best we had ever eaten, and Uruguay is really inexpensive, another plus. Beef is cooked on open coal grills and the flavor is incredible. 2 days at sea rested us up for the first beach port of Porto Belo. This is definitely a beach-lover's paradise, as are all of the ports on this itinerary. You can not go wrong if you go to Bombas Beach or Bombinhas Beach. We stayed at Bombinhas Beach and had a great day. There are restaurants and bars along the beach, and limited shopping 1 block behind the beach. It is not necessary to go into town, therefore. The seafood on the beach is as fresh as you will ever eat, and the shrimp comes prepared any way you want. We tried it several different ways and did not find any we did not love. There is something magical about drinking beer and eating fresh seafood at a restaurant right on the beach. This is something that we found at all of the Brazilian beaches. Brazilian hospitality is warm, friendly and they love the beach. We live on the beach and we do not hold a candle to the beach communities that we found in Brazil. With it being the holiday weekend before Carnaval the beaches were crowded, but it was never uncomfortable. Umbrellas covered almost the entire beach and vendors walked through the crowds selling everything from newspapers and magazines to clothes, food and beverage. There was no pressure to buy, however, and it was the same amazing sight at all of the beaches we visited. After another day at sea we called at Buzios. This little town is cute, but not what we had expected. Shopping is overpriced and too trendy for our tastes. The beaches are, however, all that you expect. We walked to Joau Fernandes Beach, and stopped at the beaches on the way, enjoying them also. Many vendors are available, food is great, and we had lunch at one of the restaurants right on the beach. The fresh seafood, especially the calamari, was excellent. There are few places in the world that are truly unique. Rio is one of those. It is spectacular. Sailing in and viewing Sugarloaf, Corcovado, and it's statue of Christ, and the early morning light coloring everything with a bright orange glow was truly breathtaking. What makes this cruise so great is that you get to enjoy Rio for 3 full days and 2 nights during Carnaval. We spent the first day visiting Corcovado and Sugarloaf. To say the views are spectacular is a major understatement. As with Rio and Carnaval, this is something that everyone should do in their lives at least once. Celebrity includes tickets for the Samobodrome and the Samba Parade for all passengers. This is a major plus. We went on Sunday night, along with half of the passengers. The other half go on the Monday night. Half of the Samba "Schools" perform on Sunday and the other half on Monday. There is no difference which night you visit on. Each of the 13 schools (they are not schools really, just called that) performs for 75 minutes and the 6 or 7 schools take all night to complete their parade. These are magnificent, and each school would put any other parade in the world to shame. On Monday we took a cab to Copacabana Beach and walked all day along Copacabana and Ipanema Beaches. These live up to their hype and truly are great. If people watching is important to you then this is a must. We had never seen hundreds of thousands of people on a beach before, but these beaches certainly had that many people on them. We swam on Ipanema Beach and had a great day. We ate dinner at Marius, at the Leme end of Copacabana Beach. There are 2 restaurants, one specializing in seafood and the other in meat. We ate at the seafood one, because they also serve meat, carved right at the table, Brazilian style. Prices are reasonable, but the food, was spectacular. Our only regret was that we were not more hungry! Rio has a reputation for being a little dangerous with regards to crime. We heeded the warnings here and took off all of our jewelry and gold chains. It is a good thing that we did, as we witnessed a tourist being pulled from his bicycle by a criminal yanking the chain from his neck. As many have said if you make yourself a target then this is what happens. Leave the jewelry, wallets and purses back at the ship, and you will not be a target. On the last day we went back to Copacabana, walked and enjoyed the beaches and water, and took many more pictures. Sailing out that evening came way too early! The next 3 days were spent at sea, which we love. You can relax and do whatever you want. Whether you like large ships or not this is where they pay dividends. There are so many choices you have as the facilities are so varied. Large ships, such as Infinity have indoor and outdoor pools. (One of the last sea days was cold and wet and allowed many to still enjoy the indoor pool) The cinema, shops, casino, bars, lounges, quiet corners, room service, alternative restaurants and all of that extra space is designed perfectly, I think, for those long lazy sea days. The last day on this cruise is an overnight in Buenos Aires. As we had arrived 3 days before the cruise we simply walked around the central city and enjoyed people watching, and did a little shopping. On Sunday disembarkation happens early, and most US bound flights do not leave until late on Sunday night. We booked a day room at the Plaza and relaxed for the day. This was a great idea as we did not have to spend more than a few hours at the airport, whereas many passengers spent 10-12 hours there.

All in all this was not an itinerary that we had thought much about. It was, however, a great surprise. Buenos Aires, Montevideo, Porto Belo and Buzios are all fabulous places to visit. Rio, however, is truly unique and Carnaval is nothing short of spectacular. This is one experience that everyone should share at least once in their lives. Please note that, should you book this cruise, you will need a Brazilian visa, good for 5 years, costing you $100 each. Even though you start and finish in Argentina you need a Brazilian visa, something which I do not think that the cruise lines should ignore, and something I found out about by accident. We cruised Australia 3 years ago, and Princess did not inform us of the need for a visa then either. This is an area where the traveller should be aware. All in all, however, Celebrity does a great job. The food and service are outstanding and the Infinity is a fabulous ship. This was our fifth Celebrity cruise, and 50 something overall. I hope that it will not be our last Celebrity cruise.