Celebrity Infinity Dining
The striking Trellis Restaurant, Celebrity Infinity's main dining room, offers formal breakfast, lunch and dinner. The highlight of the two-tiered restaurant is a huge, paned showcase window that extends from floor to ceiling. Tables are mostly set for combinations of six, eight and beyond (more intimate settings are extremely limited).
There are two options for dinner in the Trellis Restaurant. Passengers can go with traditional, set seating (two times to dine) or opt for the more flexible Celebrity Select dining option, which was introduced in early 2010. With Celebrity Select, passengers have the option to dine any time between 6 p.m. and 9:30 p.m. and to decide whether they want to eat with their own party or at a mixed table with other cruisers. They can also make specific dinner reservations for each day of their cruise online in advance, make reservations onboard or simply show up when ready to eat.
Cuisine at The Trellis is generally well received; the menu features a mix of traditional and imaginative fare that included vegetarian options for each course. Other options include The Ocean Grill and Cafe, which is the ship's poolside buffet restaurant. The Ocean Grill has something available nearly 24 hours a day. Pizza and pasta are freshly made; you can choose your own ingredients. From 6:30 to 9 p.m., what is a sandwich station during the day becomes a sushi bar with a range of items from California rolls to tekka maki. Ginger, wasabi and soy sauce are all available, too.
The SS United States, Celebrity Infinity's $45 per head alternative restaurant, is excellent, serving no-holds-barred four-course meals. The most commonly ordered entree is the buttery soft filet mignon, preceded by a prepared-at-the-table Caesar salad. In addition to the regular menu, you can opt instead for the Five Senses menu, which presents six courses paired with wines, for a higher surcharge of $89 per person.
Celebrity's Champagne High Tea, which takes place once or twice a cruise, is also offered in the SS United States. While a string quartet plays, premium tea and coffees, savory sandwiches and desserts are served on fine china for a $25-per-person charge.
Carved out of a portion of the main dining room on Deck 5 is Blu, Celebrity's spa-dining venue, exclusively for AquaClass passengers. Those booked in suites are allowed to dine there, space permitting. The fee-free restaurant (a $5 gratuity is recommended) is open for breakfast (7:30 to 9 a.m.), serving light meals like smoothies and muesli, and dinner (6 to 9:30 p.m.), with a changing menu of clean and simple cuisine, such as a roasted chicken breast or blackened ahi tuna. The venue is gorgeous, done in white with bright blue accents and a row of large porthole windows along one side.
Qsine (pronounce "cuisine") is Infinity's for-fee "creative comfort food" venue at which patrons order whimsically presented dishes off of iPads. Instead of waiters, you get culinary tour guides, and presentation -- think sushi lollipops or spring rolls served in actual springs -- is the focus. It's $45 per person to eat here.
The final for-fee venue is the casual Bistro on Five. Bistro's main fare is crepes, including breakfast, lunch, dinner and dessert crepes. It also features panini sandwiches (steak, chicken or vegetable), soups and salads. Popular choices include the sweet banana, nutella and pistachio crepes and the savory Cowboy crepe, featuring marinated flank steak. Bistro on Five is open from 6 a.m. until "late" and requires no reservations, though there is a $5-per-person service charge.
The AquaSpa Cafe is the ship's fee-free healthy eatery. It serves light meals in a cafe surrounding the spa's thalassotherapy pool. Fresh fruit and vegetables are available until 2 p.m.
Late risers can partake of pastries at Cova Cafe di Milano (Cova Cafe for short); the noshing is free, but you'll have to shell out for coffee in whatever form.
Room service is available 24/7; passengers can order selections from the menu during dinner, and a door-hung card assures you'll get breakfast when ordered. Tipping for room service is customary and greatly appreciated.
