Celebrity Infinity Review

4.0 / 5.0
1,666 reviews

Celebrity vs Holland America

Review for Alaska Cruise on Celebrity Infinity
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workingclasshero
2-5 Cruises • Age 60s

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Sail Date: May 2011
Cabin: Concierge Class 1

Having sailed only Holland America on four prior cruises we were somewhat hesitant to stray from what we considered excellent accommodations and service from HAL. However Celebrity offered an excellent fare for a 10 day Alaska cruise causing us to take the leap.In order to make a fair comparison it was understood that Infinity is an older ship (scheduled for a major refit at the end of 2011) and the Alaskan destination itself was astounding, frankly making our HAL Caribbean/Central America destinations puny in comparison. Seattle Embarkation/Disembarkation - Disastrous on both ends with almost 90 minutes of pain boarding in Seattle due to poor organization of Celebrity and Port personnel; the excuse that it was the season's first departure from Seattle is highly unprofessional and frankly lacking appropriate attention by Celebrity. HAL departures from Ft Lauderdale and New York City were far superior with the NYC departure an even greater logistical challenge than Celebrity's Seattle port.Advantage - HALThe Vessels - As above Infinity is due for its own spa retreat however we had also sailed on similar aged ships on HAL (Maasdam and Zuiderdam) and noticed that the much of the interiors and exteriors of Infinity appear sloppily maintained ie paint on glass, broken decking, and rusty surfaces. The HAL ships appear to be maintained with military like attention and are just a lot sharper looking than Infinity. Also on a few nights there an odd thumping noise emanating from the bowels of the ship that was enough to keep me awake and as we were located on the seventh deck midships IE nowhere near engines it was a great mystery.Advantage - HALCrew - The Infinity crew was excellent on every level. I sensed a genuine friendliness by the crew that spread through the passengers on board. A lot of the crew seemed to be having as much fun as the passengers creating a feel good presence throughout all parts of the ship. The HAL crews who are Indonesian and Filipino are certainly cordial and professional but appear a bit more regimented and fail to engage with the passengers in general. This has become more prevalent during our latest HAL cruises.Advantage - CelebrityEntertainment - Infinity wins hands down; we are New Yorkers who attend Broadway shows regularly so our expectations are modest for a cruise entertainment package. The quality of the on-board entertainers as well as guest performers was vastly superior to HAL which has always been dismal.Advantage - CelebrityFood - As with the entertainment we experience genuine fine dining in NYC regularly and have realistic expectations of the cuisine on a ship serving hundreds of passengers simultaneously. That said, I was surprised that HAL held a fairly sizable edge on food service in general. It was always my understanding Celebrity cuisine was the top rated and perhaps our expectations were out of alignment but frankly there were several dinner entrees that were just plain bad and on one night inedible. An even greater disparity occurred in the buffet service with most of the hot offerings being pre cooked and warmed vs cooked fresh. Simple things like waffles, pancakes etc were cold and hard and not worth grabbing; the eggs for scrambled and omelets actually was poured from a commercial prepared egg mixture and was extremely yucky. HAL food on all levels has been improving as the years go by and freshness, variety and quality of cooking are consistently good to superior.Advantage - Surprisingly HALPassengers - Without doubt a much younger (40-60 year old) crowd than HAL with a lot more energy Summary 1) Go to Alaska, it is overwhelming in its natural beauty and make sure you get out of town into the forests and glacier areas; if you're out of shape, get in shape and hike as much as you can. The guides love their State and love their jobs and want to share it with you.2) The Infinity crew more than compensated for the shortfalls which when put in the context of the big picture were minor.3) HAL runs a tight ship but with a little less personalityFinal Score - If you like parties that are very high brow with tinkling glasses, professional staff and chamber music in the background go with HAL; If you prefer a Greek celebration with breaking plates, dancing, laughing and a little bit of confusing fun go Celebrity

Cabin Review

Concierge Class 1

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