This was my first cruise with Celebrity and my only other cruises have been on the Carnival Conquest in 2005 and 2007. This was also my first cruise to Alaska. So I will try to focus this review on the ships ambiance and keep the hard cold facts to a minimum. Our itinerary took us from Seattle to Ketchikan, Hubbard Glacier, Juneau, Victoria, BC and back to Seattle. The boarding in Seattle went very quickly. We boarded early, around noon, and did not have to wait in line longer than a couple minutes. General Observations The Infinity is showing the wear and tear of its 8 plus years of service. Not too bad but some of the fabrics on the furniture is fraying and there are scratches, dings, and stains in most common areas. However, they are mostly small and not that noticeable if you choose not to focus on them. The dEcor is elegant and if the wear increases a bit more it could be describe as shabby chic. There was crumbs, food stains, finger prints and smudges in the common areas. I'm not too picky about cleanliness and found out later that the crumb factor on many of the pool deck chairs is due to the really good onion rings that are served nearby. During the sail away party a band on the deck started playing some fun songs including Tequila and the Macarena song. This got a group of about 30 people up and dancing. Little did I know that I was experiencing the apex of the party life of this cruise. OK, warning, I'm going to give my subjective opinion here. The "fun factor" of this cruise was as chilly as the Hubbard Glacier. I was expecting a more busy and entertaining time while on the ship. I think I had some type of Carnival expectations that Celebrity does not provide. I believe the saying about "when in Rome" so on the third day I went to the ship's library and got a large-print Reader's Digest condensed book. With that in hand I did feel a bit more at home among my fellow cruisers when roaming aimlessly looking for a good time. Food and Dining I did change tables in the main dining room due to having a waiter that was impatient and also having a bad table location. But I don't blame the waiter as his job was very stressful. The dining room was packed and he had more tables than he could handle. We were also initially placed next to the waiters' work station where I found myself fixated on the beehive of culinary activity. Overall food was plentiful and this was the first cruise with the new menu. The good: The menu selections were abundant and the chef and crew did a nice job on presentation. The bad: It was slow getting all of the courses served for dinner. It usually took 2 hours to finish. My fellow diners included a good number of seniors, some families with young kids, and there was also a good amount of racial and national diversity. To give you a feeling of the flavor of the cruise here are some excerpts of various passenger conversations I heard while dining. "Grandma has 600 acres in soybeans and all the profits goes into a trust fund for us." "Do you remember the time Uncle Fred swung his feet off the bed and broke both ankles as soon as they hit the floor?" "Why would I lie about going to breakfast?" "By 10:30 at night its lights out for me." "I believe some of that fish is not even cooked." I'm not making this up. Those are actual quotes that stuck in my head.

Entertainment and Activities I mildly enjoyed the two watercolor painting enrichment sessions. They were very informal and really just an opportunity to put brush to paper. It felt good to know that I had not lost any of the watercolor painting skills I had developed in the second grade. The entertainment included Broadway type shows which were pretty good. Also there was a magic show but it was not anything special. The magician made his assistant disappear, reappear, and change outfits. He also did a number of card tricks and made a tricycle out of recycled items. The best activities were the wildlife presentations done by naturalist Brent Nixon. He is very energetic and passionate about Alaska's wildlife. His presentations lasted about one hour each and included sessions on sea otters, orcas, seals, and an overview on Alaska. He really does make a good connection with the audience and leaves an lasting impressions on how our choices impact the environment. OK, so maybe you see that this is not really one of those reviews that give all the technical details about where to get the waffles or the location of the best cabins. It is just to inform you of the feel of the Infinity . The best thing about the cruise was the staff always giving me a smile and nice greeting when passing by. And the ice cream was great.