We use transatlantic cruise ship repositionings as transport to avoid air travel so our views may not be generally applicable. Ship-In generally good condition for age but decoration and finishes a little tired and dated. Allocation of space could be improved as some facilities are overcrowded whilst others are barely used Food- well below standard expected, A Blu cabin and dining package are pretty much essential as the general restaurants are poor. Drinks- Very expensive if paid for on a per use basis, again a premium beverage package is essential if more than one or two alcoholic drinks a day are consumed( the classic beverage package whilst cheaper excludes most of the wines and spirits available) but watch for late package discounts if purchasing pre voyage.The Constellatin lounge and Martini Bar have the best bartenders for Cabins - OK but long and narrow, bathrooms are small and balconies tiny. Service- friendly but a little impersonal and disjointed. Restaurant staff are not too well organized, however sommeliers were knowledgeable and keen. Destinations- not of interest to us but fairly generic. Tours- not taken so no comment Entertainment - Rather basic but one or two good singers Embarkation-Harwich, entrance yard open so no cover from usual English rain, actual processing quite efficient. Disembarkation- Fort Lauderdale, not the ship's fault but an absolute shambles. Bags have to collected before immigration, only four officers on duty to deal with 2200 passengers, no computer tie in to Border security so all processing by old manual system and Rquired paper evidence of ESTA approval required Read Less

1. Ship - as others have mentioned, overall tired , very noticeable in some places not in others, and crowded. With cruise ships I always think 5 star is really 4 star, but at times this bordered on 3. 2. Food - the worst we have experienced on Celebrity. Needs tweaking. Main dining room poor (as ever), but more disappointing were the speciality restaurants. Given that we dined in them a lot in a 14 night cruise, and on this ship there are only two, would have been improved hugely by some change in the menu. Why not have a daily special? 3. Service - OK, but the Eastern Europeans in Qsine can sometimes seem very gruff, better in SS. Oh for a French or Italian waiter for a little style. Thank God for the Asian waiters, and for some individuals. 4. Drinks - again as others have observed terribly overpriced. If you are a drinker then this will be an expensive cruise. Both of the drinks packages are pretty hopeless - with wine by the glass priced cunningly just above the limit. Good bottles of wine are ludicrously priced - 200 or even 300 dollars! 5. Entertainment - could have done with more full caste shows. 6. Lectures - again the worst in Celebrity. Far too low brow, and the times kept changing. This is a real weakness on a Transatlantic. 7. Activities - enthusiastic staff (Andreas and Rachel) carried it through. Not sure why everything had to be at lunchtime, with nothing in the late afternoon.   Read Less

This was one holiday split into two quite different cruises on the same ship. The first thing to say is that we enjoyed it but, having had two previous cruises with Celebrity, this holiday did have its disappointments. I have no problem with the ship itself. Size-wise and layout-wise it was fine. It was well presented and generally staffed with a very friendly, hard-working crew. (There was an exception here and there, more about which later)! We were disappointed with the way Celebrity seem to be pricing themselves out of the market somewhat. Daily tips are expensive, the cost of drinks is expensive ($6 for a bottle of water when you can buy one ashore for under $1). They've even jumped on the band-wagon with the popularity of zumba classes and have now started charging for them. The cost of a coffee in Café al Baccio went down slightly on the 2nd cruise - why was it deemed necessary to charge more on the transatlantic cruise? As with most other cruise lines, meals are plated and this, to my mind, only encourages waste. There were things on my plate I did not want and things that I would have liked more of, given the choice. At dinner I would say that portions are very small and there are no petit fours or after dinner chocolates. Chocolates on your pillow happened once per cruise. Food itself was a disappointment, particularly in the Ocean View café at lunch time. There was nothing like the choice of food we had on Eclipse last November. Very often the food was not hot and finding a hot plate was almost impossible. Apparently in the Select dining Trellis Restaurant the waiters had to go down two escalators to get the food which, again, was often not as hot as it should have been. I will say though that we always found the meat to be of good quality and well cooked - just not hot! We learned to ask for our food "hot" and sometimes it paid off! The restaurant by 6 pm was getting busy and I think there have been cut backs staffing-wise. On many occasions it was quite a wait to receive food. In the Ocean View café there seemed to be few staff around to clear the tables. In the bars, particularly the Rendez-vous lounge, you had to wait quite a long time to get your drinks. On the second cruise this lounge got very busy around 5.30 pm whereas the two weeks before there was hardly anyone in. Entertainment was also a disappointment for us. The Cruise Director, Alejandro, was excellent and the 3 members of the entertainment team worked very hard. Is this another cut-back - only 3 in the team? On other ships recently there have been more than 3. The daily programme relied quite heavily on passengers arranging their own entertainment eg football - arrange your own competition; table tennis - arrange your own competition. There were no dance hosts and no hosts for bridge. Of the on-board musicians, one band, D'Revelations - the house-band - particularly stood out. Their singer, Cindy, is outstanding and is, in our opinion, good enough to be a headliner. She received a well deserved standing ovation for her rendition of the Whitney song "I will always love you". On the second cruise another band, So Cool, came on and they were pleasant to listen and/or dance to as well. When some of the other so-called musicians came on we left the area! Quickly!! Guest entertainers were very poor. The comedians were terrible - American humour which just didn't translate for us. Of course, the Americans were laughing. We walked out of every comedians' show. What we did find funny was Liars Club and this provided a laugh on both occasions it was held. One of our travelling companions had to visit the ship's doctor to have an ear syringed. For a ten minute visit the cost was $246.60!! Just to see the doctor was $121. Is this extortionate cost really justified? Also this friend bought a bottle of water from a bar and was then charged for it again as if he had taken it from his mini-bar. It took him almost a week to get the charge refunded and eventually an officer came to the stateroom to apologise. Another unpleasant incident involved one of the hostesses at the Select dining room. On the first cruise this particular lady was all charm and each night we asked to be booked in for 6 pm the following night and asked for table 433 if available. This happened each night for the duration of the crossing and there was no problem. When the second cruise began it suddenly became a problem. The first night we went down and were told that we couldn't expect to have this table and that if someone else wanted it before us then she would let them have it. Fine - it wasn't crucial - but her manner was very "off". We spoke to the Maître D' about her attitude and he told us she was having a bad day! He said could we come a bit earlier the next night, say 5.45 pm and there would be no problem. Agreed. We entered at 5.45 as agreed and the hostess said table 433 was occupied. No big deal - we were escorted to another table - except that she had lied. There was no-one at that table and indeed no-one was there for the next hour. After that night the same four Americans had that table every night! When we sailed on the Eclipse we had two superb waiters and booked the same table every night for the entire duration of the cruise, no bother whatsoever. There was plenty of deck space on Infinity but not enough sun loungers. There were rooms, two in particular, which were hardly ever used - one was Michael's Club (reserved for suite users) and the other was Cellar Masters. Our muster drill was held in the photo gallery where there were no chairs. We were expected to stand for approximately 40 minutes. Not very satisfactory. Arrangements made for those of us back-to-back cruisers in Fort Lauderdale were not very satisfactory. There should have been a separate line for us so we could quickly get ashore instead of getting mixed up with the long line of passengers waiting for the usual slow US immigration and customs. To get back on board we had to duck under some barriers or we would have gotten mixed up with the passengers joining the ship. We didn't take any shore excursions, doing our own thing in each port of call. We didn't call at Lisbon due to bad weather, going to Ponta Delgado instead. It was touch and go as to whether we would get to Bermuda because of a hurricane four days before we were due there. We did call but the weather was atrocious, particularly on the second day and we had to abandon our plans. This, of course, is in no way the fault of Celebrity. Our beach day in Labadee was ruined as well by torrential rain. I do like the way Celebrity welcome you back on board with drinks and ice-cold flannels - on some days it was really hot. There was some good port information (apart from the maps, which were illegible) but you had to call to Reception for it, it wasn't delivered to your cabin. Our stateroom, 3064, was comfortable and I have reviewed this separately. Incidentally, tea and coffee making facilities are not provided but if you want them, ask for them. We were then given a kettle, cups, tea, coffee, milk etc. There is no free laundry on board. All in all a good holiday but we will seriously look carefully at the prices before taking another Celebrity cruise. Read Less

We just returned from a 2 week Trans-Atlantic cruise on the Celebrity Infinity, leaving Harwich UK on 10/13/14. This was my wife’s and my first cruise. We had a veranda room mid-ship on deck 7. Overall, I would give the trip a grade of 80%. The trip was better than we expected, and we were happy and satisfied. But there are definitely areas where a small amount of work could bring much improvement. We might take a Celebrity cruise again, especially considering the positive points listed, but I would definitely consider items 11-13 in the Summary below: Positive Points: 1. Friendliness and responsiveness of crew from room staff and dining room and buffet staff all the way to the Captain and his staff. Celebrity has really trained its people well in the art of customer service. 2. Cleanliness, safety and modernity of the ship. 3. Room size and comfort, especially on a 2 week cruise. 4. Entertainment, especially the ability of Alexandro to keep things moving and glued together in the face of a diversions and changes caused by the storm. The evening shows were generally tremendous. 5. The seamless way that the diversion and storm were handled by everyone. 6. The smoothness of the ship, even in 15 ft. seas. As a landlubber and first time cruiser, I was really worried about this. I need not have been. Even in a storm it was smoother than many aircraft trips I have made. 7. The serving staff in the Trellis Restaurant was 100% terrific and helped greatly with choices and alternates. 8. The Oceanview Grill, especially for breakfast was great. Many in our group also found their evening Sushi to be superb. Lunch choices were varied and good. 9. We had several Birthday celebrations in our group. They were handled very nicely by the restaurant staff. 10. Everyone is very friendly and we had many interesting conversations with passengers and staff. Areas Needing Improvement: 11. A major issue was the difficulty in finding any quiet, well lit, and comfortable places (e.g. to read) on this ship. The library is tiny and dark. Even that small space is usurped by 2 concierge desks. Chairs on deck 10 and 11 are near the pools and spas and are subject to constant noise and activities, as are many indoor chairs on deck 4. There are some good seats near the window at the Martini Bar before that starts up. The best daytime reading and quiet space on the ship (during poor weather) is the Constellation Lounge on deck 11. But that space is also used for several other activities. As a full paying passenger it was especially annoying to be chased out (even while having cocktails) every afternoon by its use for frequent cruiser events. 12. As someone else pointed out more eloquently during the Captain’s review, the music used on the ship was not well matched to the age of most passengers. My guess is that the bulk of folks on our cruise were over 60 and comfortable with music of the 1940’s – 1980’s plus show tunes. That is more than a 50 year span of music, but instead, more recent music seemed to be in the majority. 13. The daytime talks ranged from good to repetitive. On a 2 week cruise there should have been more variety to daytime lectures and events. 14. Food in the Trellis Restaurant was impeccably served and presented. However, as (non-gourmet) seafood lovers we found most of the seafood to be poor. Soups were highly variable and ranged from fair to very good. Beef was good to great. The serving staff was 100% terrific and helped greatly with choices and alternates. 15. We ate at Q-sine - a specialty restaurant one evening. You order with I-pads, but you get what they decide you want. Some (of their) choices were quite good, but somehow one of our selections for filet mignon was morphed into tacos and cheeseburgers. Other items were bite sized. We were on a twofer special so it was not that bad. But, I would never pay $45 per person for this restaurant. 16. There were only enough parts on board to make 1 Mah-Jong set. There should have been many more for this many passengers. 17. Near the end of the cruise there were minor annoyances such as non-working ice machines and lack of half and half in the Oceanview Grille. Items Beyond Celebrity’s Control 18. Landing at Fort Lauderdale dock 29 was chaotic, like being in a third world country. Celebrity did a great job of organizing what they could in their domain. But there were long delays as approximately 1500 people were funneled through 3 U.S. Customs inspectors. The system of local transportation and loading was unclear, slow and disorganized. We were ripped off by a cab taking a much longer route than needed. If possible, I would avoid this port.   Read Less

Reading some reviews of Infinity I was expecting to be a little disappointed but delighted to say that my lowered expectations were well exceeded in most areas. Reaching Harwich was a pain, needing a train and platform change at Manningtree - not fun with luggage and must be awful for anyone with mobility issues. Boarding simple and painless and the cabin was very quickly available. No surprises and everything seemed to be in working order, although the balcony was in need of a good clean and paint job. Deck 9 cabins have a large overhang making the balcony a shady retreat rather than a sun trap. Ideal for very hot cruises but not so great if you are expecting to get a tan! Weather was wet and cool to start, getting worse but only to be expected in October in the Channel and Bay of Biscay. Heavy swell and high winds combined to make the Captain abandon the passage in to Lisbon and divert to Ponta Delgada in the Azores. A treat for some but not for all. Hurricane Gonzalo hit Bermuda and our scheduled stop there was not confirmed for a couple of days. It appears that we were much better off on the Infinity than back at home. We took part in a "Cabin Crawl", enabling us to see all cabin types from an internal all the way up to a rather large suite - very nice but confirmed to us that we had made a good choice for us. Entertainments were a mixed bag: the comedian Fred Klett was one of the funniest blokes I have ever come across and was the stand-out act, whilst the regular stage entertainers were mediocre at best. The day to day activities were well run by the enthusiastic team who all seemed to enjoy what they were doing making it a good experience for us. Guest lecturers were also good providing a variety of of options for daytime activities. The main dining room food was good quality, well prepared and well served but this was in marked contrast to the buffet which was unimaginative, repetitive and boring. We chose not to use any of the speciality restaurants as we were very happy to use the main dining room, not only for dinner but also breakfast and most lunches too. One issue we had with table allocation in the MDR (anytime dining) was a minor blip but this was quickly rectified and never repeated, with the hostess taking special care of us thereafter. We didn't do this cruise for the sightseeing or port stops but wanting a good rest from work which we certainly got. On board shopping was similar to other ships - expensive, held no interest for me. Gigantic casino mostly empty. Very disappointed to find Michael's Club is now a suite-only room, mostly deserted too. However, Celebrity's policy of charging ridiculously high prices for drinks will make me think very carefully before booking any more cruises with them. The package prices are mad but individual drink prices are madder and 15% on top of those too! It was very obvious that fewer diners were ordering wine and the bars were mostly deserted at most times. Time for a rethink Celebrity? Disembarkation at Fort Lauderdale was a lengthy process - 4 immigration/customs officers to service 2100 passengers plus crew seems too few but someone remarked that Celebrity refuse to pay for more staff to be on duty. I have no idea whether this is the case. 90 minutes is a long time but made worse by the sight of previously able-bodied people suddenly needing wheelchair assistance to get to the front of the queue! We noticed little things had been cut back e.g. bedtime chocs absent apart from one choc biscuit on 1st formal night - why bother with this token effort? We had a great cruise, very restful, never boring, not disturbed by heavy seas (others were) and with no booze-induced hangovers. Will we sail again on Infinity? We're booked for March. Will we book future cruises with Celebrity? Maybe but will certainly look closely at other options. Read Less

First of all, for everyone who was on that ship - don't hold the captain or the cruise line responsible for the terrible weather. He made the best of a difficult situation, and cancelled cruise ports, and rainy days in Bermuda are not something you can complain about - take it up with the big man upstairs! Cabin; We were fortunate to get an accessible inside stateroom as this was all that was available at the time of booking. Designed for a person with mobility issues, it was huge and very comfortable - but this was a fluke and not something you could guarantee. Spa: The ship has an indoor thalassotherapy pool with side Jacuzzis. The temperature of this was always in the mid 90s, and this is a unique feature of this class of ship. I absolutely loved it, and went in twice a day before a sauna with window and a great sea view. The only down side of the changing rooms was the showers had no water pressure and it was difficult to wash off soap or shampoo with the limited spray. I complained about this and nothing was done about it. The gym area was very good, although the lat pulldown machine and shoulder press machine were very poor with an unnatural range of motion. The free weights had benches and free weight dumbelless up to 50lbs - this was adequate, but I was hoping for 60s or 70s. All in all, a very large and clean gym area and the classes were well attended. Dining Room: We had the early seating and went in about 6.15pm. The tables are on top of each other, and you have little privacy. The food is good quality but the service is slow and fragmented. Nice touches are the basket of bread and table setting. Salads are poor as you have to wait for the staff to come back with dressings etc. The steaks were nice, the roast turkey was very good, the desserts were so-so, soups were two thirds full and not that hot. Lunch service was a little better and a relief not to have to deal with the 10th floor buffet. Ocean View Café: This was the low-light of the ship for me. The layout is a joke as you have no idea where you are supposed to sit in order to access all serving stations. By the time you get back to your table holding a bowl of soup, or hot food with no tray (why no trays?), it is cold. Good luck finding all the cutlery you need, spoons, forks, knives etc, all in the wrong places. The quality of the food is cheaper and inferior to the dining room, and the attempts to serve yourself through very low glass dividers with giant spoons is clumsy and messy. The coffee in the morning was very poor quality and barely drinkable - compared with the Seattle's Best on RCL for example which is excellent. Entertainment: The production shows were OK, with one excellent singer, but a weak supporting crew, and for some reason all very tiny. They were high energy and a lot of well known songs, so easy to follow and enjoy. The guest entertainers were mixed. The comedian, Fred Klett, with his Newhart style deadpan, was very welcome and surprisingly good. The male singers were OK, even if the songs they presented were predictable and stale. I don't care for magicians and I like juggler and ventriloquists even less, so lets not go there. The musical impersonator at the end was very funny with some brilliant jokes and accurate impersonations. Celebrity Activities: The trivias was well run on the whole, especially by Aida and Andres. The progressive trivia hosted by Rachel fell apart when all her answers were wrong and she didn't seem to know how to handle it. Some of the entertainment was embarrassing when you consider the average age was 65, and the games were for 20 somethings or college kids. Overall, the impression was positive, and excellent value for money with some nice touches. However, you probably need to go for the premium drinks package and dining package to upgrade your whole experience. I would chose this ship again for the indoor spa facilities alone, anything else was a bonus. Read Less

The cruise started the best way ever. Embarkation was seamless. The weather was cold, windy and raining – typical for Harwich, and the Captain opened all the lounges. The result was that it took less than twenty minutes from curbside to the Oceanview Café. The Oceanview Café, by the way, is the one renovation I wish Celebrity had made when Infinity was re-furbished. It still has long lines at few areas instead of the many ‘pods’ of the Solstice class ships. Our cabin was 6033, one of the ‘sweet sixteen’. The veranda in this 2C cabin is twice as deep as any other in the same class and that really was nice. We moved the inside table outside and the outside table inside. This gave us more room in the cabin and more room for breakfast on the veranda with no crowding. This cabin is forward, near but not right next to the elevators and stairs. There were no noise problems whatever. Our cabin staff was wonderful. In the MDR, the elegance I remembered from Millennium and Century, missing on Reflection, was back. Whether this is a function of Captain, Executive Chef or whomever, it was nice to see again. All of our servers at our table for 10 were fabulous. We joined some other friends at a table for six at late seating twice and the service there was just as fabulous as was the food, far superior to Reflection in January. Our entire table went to both the SS United States and QSine as a group during the cruise. Both are really worth the extra money. The food and service at SS United States were both up to the expected standards. When each course arrived, ten wait staff arrived and all ten plates hit the table simultaneously, for instance. In QSine, each person was given an I-Pad with the entire menu and we were to told to choose 6-7 dishes. The results were put together and we ended up being served a total of 9 dishes in three courses PLUS three different desserts. We could hardly waddle away from the table. What a fabulous experience! The entertainment ranged from full Broadway type shows which were quite good to a magician (so-so), a ventriloquist (so-so), a pianist which we did not go to but we heard was quite good, to a singer (more later), a comedian (very good) and a comedian/singer/pianist (fabulous). The one singer, Jack Walker, was superb. We very nearly did not go to his show and that would have been a mistake. His vocals ranged from Elvis to Opera and his vocal quality changed with each style. Hearing him actually tackle a very heavy opera aria well was a surprise. We enjoyed the Martini Bar after the shows each night and took a nightcap back to our veranda. The staff there was very friendly. I keep repeating myself. The staff on the entire ship was very friendly. My one complaint was with Michaels Club. It has now been turned into a private club for ‘Suites and Zenith’. So, the class system is alive and well? We never saw more than six people in there, and usually it was empty. A very poor use for that space, and we were made to feel like peons who just did not belong there when we made the mistake of going in there one night. Bad choice, Celebrity. We chose Celebrity transfer to Ft Lauderdale airport and it could not have been smoother. I recommend it highly for the small cost. We did not go to Lisbon due to high seas, but went to the Azores instead. Bermuda, six days after a hurricane was fun and we had fun on the Bahamas. All together, a great cruise. We both love the M-class ships and hope to do another soon.   Read Less

After reading a lot of negative reviews of the Infinity we were a little apprehensive prior to our cruise. No need to have been concerned as the whole experience was wonderful. Yes the ship is showing some need of repair in some area but nothing extreme. The food was terrific, we ate the majority of the time in the Trellis and we had select dining. We also had the drinks classic package, what a deal that is! The wines offered were fantastic, we began our evenings in the Martini bar with a Cosmo for my wife and I generally had a martini of some kind. We met several very nice people and one couple in particular so we had dining partners most evenings. The entertainment was good but mostly the guest ones, the resident troupe were average at best. The ports of call were excellent particularly as most of them were two day stays. The areas we chose to visit were a couple of hours journey but not an issue and I had organised 3 private excursions with folks found on this websites roll call. We also took 2 ships excursions which were good. So all in all my wife and I would highly reccomend Celebrity, this was our second with them and will not hesitate to book again with them. Read Less

We're on the Celebrity Infinity right now. Just pulling into Vigo where I will post this. We're in Aqua class, eating in Blu. Those of you concerned about the quality of the ship, shouldn't be. The ship is fine, with constant maintenance. The staff are consistently helpfull and friendly. The food is excellent with only a few exceptions. We were offered half price dining in SS United States, the first night as well as mid cruise. We've had free shuttles in Bilbao, and La Rochelle. The wifi on board is terrible. So we stop for coffee in each port and use the free wifi of a cafe. The weather has been cool and overcast with occasional light rain. The Bay of Biscaye was so rocky last night that the closet doors and drawers were opening and slamming shut all night. It was impossible to sleep. We should have brought duct tape. We're worried that our two sea days heading back to Harwich will also be rough seas. Pro's The food in Blu Really nice staff Comfortable bed (we had an egg crate put on) Great and interesting ports Con's Had to fight for the 300 obc. Guest services said my TA hadn't booked 123 for us, although the free gratuities came thru. Some rough seas     Read Less

We recently completed a wine cruise on the Infinity.  If I may use a baseball game as an analogy, it was a blowout for Celebrity.    The ship was clean, crew friendly & happy - there was a good vibe in the air.  Our stateroom attendant Jogi & his assistant Daniel were first up to bat.  We found them friendly & helpful and they made our days run smoothly.  Definitely a home run there.   Next up was the dining room.  I was so pleasantly surprised to find the food really, really good.  It's been a year since we cruised, and they have updated the menu - adding many new dishes - liver and onions for example.  The food on formal nights was especially nice with lamb and beef the heavy hitters.   Starters and desserts were consistently delicious.  The staff were wonderful especially the congenial assistant waiter Shiv. He remembered us and always had a smile on his face. The dining room scored a grand slam. However the  select dining system was a let down...again!  We have not had the best experience with this mode of dining, but early dining is too early and late too late.  We have tried twice in the past with similar experiences, so decided to make advance reservations long before the cruise.  We had requested 7:30 dining for an 8 top.  Now if they offer advance reservations, don't you think they would save a table for that time?  It was pretty much  like the past 2 cruises, so select dining unfortunately struck out.   We chose the complimentary classic beverage package, and thoroughly enjoyed it.  The sunset bar or near the sunset bar on cool days was our chosen haunt. The bartenders and servers were funny and pleasant. Contrary to what some have written, there is red, white and rose wine available that fall into this package.  At dinner we had several different sommeliers. They were all professional and kept our glasses full. We visited Cafe Bacio every morning and enjoyed seeing those friendly faces each day.  Fresh squeezed orange juice and bottled water was enjoyed as well.  We didn't feel the need to upgrade to the premium, so my advice to anyone considering this, live with the classic package for a few days then decide.   Qsine was open for lunch at a special price on the last sea day.  Really fun experience with the molten lava crab dish earning top honors.    The buffet is what it is.   Entertainment was great - we enjoyed the shows especially the comedian Fred Klett.  Funny guy!   The female big voice singer was simply too loud for me - had to leave early as it actually hurt my ears.  Fellow cruisers hit it out of the park as well. We met wonderful couples from New Zealand, England & all over the US. We reunited with a couple we had met on an Azamara cruise 5 years ago. People were polite with a smattering of chair hogs. I shook my head at the woman who brought her fake purse and laid it on the lounge because people are more reluctant to move personal belongings. There were no lap dogs, no crazy scooter drivers and few children aboard. The ports of call were wonderful - we had actually done this same cruise 2 years ago, and finding more places still to visit decided to have another go. This year,  Celebrity offered complimentary shuttles to most city centers, or included instructions on how to DIY.  This practice is a pleasant change as some of the ports are not well located.  Another great idea they have adopted is overnighting in most of the ports.  We were able to leave the ship at Le Havre and overnight at Mont St Michel rejoining the next day.  Our wonderful outing was made easier by renting a car and using our own GPS.    There was a medical emergency while we were at sea.   A helicopter came and evacuated the patient with little fuss or fanfare.  The captain announced what was about to happen, I was impressed with the way things were handled.   And finally, on this particular cruise, we ended with two consecutive sea days - brilliant - great to decompress before hitting the London traffic which was horrific by the way.   At the end of the day, Celebrity won and won big.  It was a great cruise and we're looking forward to the next.   Read Less

Our first time with Celebrity so we paid extra for a Celebrity Suite deck 9. Have sailed on many other lines. Our trip was Harwich (north of London) and back via LeHavre,LaRochelle.Bilbao (Spain),Vigo,Porto (Portugal). Celebrity are leaving out Harwich next year but we found the train station next the pier perfect for us after a night in London.Reception was fine however we disliked the suite and our "butler" the moment we met. The suite 9098, appeared poorly designed and unchanged since launch 10+ years ago. Only the carpet had been changed. The ghastly original art was now fading, the extensive wood paneling needed a good wipe down, the long couch just looked cheap and old.The balcony is long but narrow with hinged not sliding door. No room for a leg rest on the three chairs, but good views along the starboard side.The bedroom and bathroom were cramped. The bath was old and marked, a jet nozzle ring fell off in the bath and the shower was in the corner over the bath.There were no safety handles and a high step in and out the bath onto a small area of floor. Wardrobe storage was very good, but the drawer doors opened and closed if the ship rocked along with the walk in doors. We suffered from lunch time noise from the deck above, the burger bar. No water was provided for free in the suite, we had the top Premium drinks package and so picked up bottles and carried them back.Fruit and flowers were good enough, the afternoon cookies dire. Twice we were left the scariest towel "sculptures" one actually hooked up to a ceiling light. Cleaning was not great our basins never actually shiny nor our balcony swept. We saw very little of our stewards but at least we were left in peace. The main perk we were given was use of Michael's Club and a very peaceful space it was, all drinks there on the house and some canapes but not nuts! The ship other than our cabin was very smart and all staff friendly and efficient. We enjoyed shows and swimming but not the Persian Garden which is old and strange and the staff welcome very poor. We liked the Captain and enjoyed a bridge visit. Tours were mostly OK but having to climb onto the stage to collect coach tickets was a poor idea. Now the major problem on Infinity, the food. The MDR is attractive and staff were good as in the speciality restaurants and bars. We simply found the food cheap, sometimes poorly cooked (soups) and and after 12 days of eating can remember no outstanding food. There is a new Irish Head Chef, and next year suite payers are to have a new restaurant....but this month food all over the ship was poor. The stand out items of the day were the scrambled eggs, fresh orange juice (charge), and MDR bread basket. The crepe place (charge) should be closed and reinvented. The buffet breakfast and lunch should be redisigned as crowds are out of control and the glass display front prevent you reaching the poor food. It was not well presented or staffed. Room service offerings poor. Speciality coffees were fun but due to the milk used (UHT or whatever) had that strange everlastng milk taste. The Afogato was a joy though. Cakes vile.( I took photographs to back up most of what I have written.) Celebrity are thought to be GLBT friendly yet meetings were listed on the first day only for the small and crowded Martini bar so no one met up as far as we could see, very poor result. This was the first cruise I have put on very little weight, nor a life jacket during drill practice. Not good enough food or suite Celebrity, on a very decent ship.   Read Less

Having read several negative reviews about Infinity we were pleasantly surprised by the whole experience on this cruise. We experienced courteous and helpful staff, great entertainment and always found something to our taste on the menu. We boarded at Harwich – a pleasant change for us as it’s only a 35 minute car ride from home. Easy to board at 12.15 – we were through check in and security and on board by 12.30. We had a Classic Drinks Package – which wouldn’t get me a Martini in the Martini Bar but I made do with G & T, Bailey’s and wine. Not all in the same glass of course. Had our complimentary fizz, then another glass, then up to the buffet for a quick lunch. Staterooms were ready at 1.15 so we made our way to ours on Deck 6, dropped off our hand baggage and then went to explore the ship. Infinity is looking a bit tired in places and certainly the exterior could do with a paint job, but our stateroom was clean and the bed extremely comfortable. The bathroom had a great shower and plenty of storage space. Our balcony was quite large but only had two non-reclining chairs and a small table. It could also have done with a deep clean and had paint spots on the floor and sides, even on the furniture. But this didn’t detract from our enjoyment in sitting out there when the sun shone – would have been nice to have recliners though as these were in short supply on the ship. 750 on a ship with over 2,000 passengers on board is nowhere near enough. We gave up on trying to find one. At Captain’s Q & A the question was asked - the explanation was that as the ship was in Northern Europe Celebrity decided that not many people would require a sunbed! We do have sunshine during the summer here as well you know! It was certainly warm enough to sunbathe on at least 7 days out of the 11. We also had a kettle which was welcome – I got a carton of milk from the buffet to keep in the minibar and we had a cup of tea most mornings. Not enough English Breakfast teabags on board though – they ran out after about 8 days and boxes of Tetley’s were brought on at Vigo. However, I had a few spares tucked away – if I’d known we were going to get a kettle I would have brought my own teabags as we don’t care for US tea or Tetley’s. We’d booked Select Dining and apart from a few teething problems on the first 2 nights we only had a short wait for a table. We booked 8.15 every night, (mainly so we could remember the time easily!) – they only let you book 2 days ahead. Most nights we got a table for 2 but shared on 3 nights. We requested the same waiters for the last 5 nights – Carmelo and Olga who were lovely. One night we ate in SS United States – we got talked into an offer of dinner plus a glass of champagne, and a voucher to use in Bistro on Five. United States very plush with some original features from the liner of the same name, but I wouldn’t say the food is any better than in the MDR. In fact, most dishes on the US menu appeared on the MDR menu at some point during the cruise. We opted for Dover Sole which was deboned at our table – by which time it was lukewarm at best. Very little with it – vegetables seem to be rationed and we were always asking for extra in the MDR. We spoke to some passengers who were on Set Dining (early or late sittings) and they were complaining that their food was cold. Can’t say we had that problem with Select Dining – we had some great meals, including lobster, good steak, rack of lamb etc. The voucher we were given for Bistro on Five was used for lunch on one of our last days at sea. We thought it was a complete waste of space on board – and were very glad we hadn’t had to pay for it although the charge is only around $7 each I think. I had a panini which was all bread and no filling with a very small side salad, husband had a crepe which was lukewarm. We both had dessert (good) but were not asked whether we wanted drinks – just given the usual iced water. We handed over the voucher and left – the people at the table next to us were unhappy with their food too. The space could be better used – it seemed to be almost empty most times when we walked past. The buffet is the usual scrum – especially at breakfast. We went a couple of times as we don’t normally get up early on holiday – I had omelettes made to order which were hot but a lot of the food is only warm. Another point raised at Captain’s Q & A was about the glass screens in front of the food displays which prevent you from getting to the food at the back of the display. Ok if there is a member of staff there to serve you but on several occasions there were not so the screens were of no use as people would just reach in across the display! We opted for the Aqua Café in the Spa Pool most days – they had cereal and would get toast for you. If you wanted a smoothie (included in our drinks package) you had to go to another counter and order it though – which was a bit of a pain. We had breakfast and lunch on one day in the MDR but it took ages. MDR breakfast and lunch we found far better on P & O but the dinner on Celebrity was vastly superior to P & O. The ports were good – we had overnights in Le Havre, La Rochelle and Bilbao, then one day in Vigo – our least favourite port. In Le Havre we did an excursion to Monet’s Garden and Rouen – Monet is one of my favourite painters so I’d always wanted to see his house and garden in Giverny. Would have preferred to spend time in Vernon, the pretty village close to Giverny but instead we were taken to Rouen where I think we spent too long. A 3 course lunch at a restaurant was included which was good but a little crowded. A long day but we saw a beautiful part of France. Day 2 in Le Havre we just walked along the seafront, around the town and back to the ship. La Rochelle was probably our favourite port – beautiful town which we wandered around at our own pace. We just had a piece of quiche in a café with a drink each followed by coffee. On Day 2 there we went to Ile de Re which was a fabulous place – we only visited the town of Sainte Martin but would love to go back there some time. We shared a taxi there and back with another couple from the ship – it’s accessible by a 2 mile long bridge from the mainland. The island is quite flat and reminded us of the Channel Islands (British but closer to France). We just wandered around the pretty little town and then had a lovely lunch overlooking the port. We could see the white sand beaches from our balcony on the ship and there were plenty of people enjoying the warm late summer weather. We had a day at sea before arriving at Bilbao where we got the shuttle bus into town. Great city and we wandered around the outside of the Guggenheim Museum which is amazing. We’re not Museum fans so didn’t go inside but there’s plenty to look at on the outside and we heard some great buskers there too. There’s a riverside walkway which led us to the Old Quarter where we sampled the tapas. Had a trip on the funicular which takes you up to the viewpoint behind the city – it’s easy to find and less than a euro each way. My husband walked on to look at the Athletico Bilbao Football Stadium – I waited on a park bench as my feet were aching. We then wandered back to the pick up point for the shuttle and back to the ship. Day 2 we were sailing at 1.00 pm so we just disembarked the ship and walked around the port of Getxo. Some fantastic houses were built there in the early 20th century and there are plaques on the wall opposite them telling you all about the architects and who they were built for. When we got back to the ship the Spanish Police had decided to mount some sort of security operation and were insisting that Celebrity only have one screening point open. At 12.15 with the queue stretching over 100 yards they decided to allow the ship’s officers to open another screening point and we did sail on time. Next day was our last port – Vigo. I know the next Wine Cruise after ours included Porto and I think this would have been a much better option for us. Not sure of the logistics but looking at the map am sure it would have been possible to fit in Porto instead of Vigo and still be back in Harwich on schedule. We went ashore but found Vigo a bit of a depressing place – all we did was find somewhere to have lunch, during which we were approached by African traders 6 times! Lunch was good but by the 6th time of being offered cheap tat it got a little tedious. We were back on board shortly after – if I ever have to call at Vigo again I’ll be sure to book an excursion out of there. The places across the water looked far more interesting. All of our shuttle buses were free of charge in the first 3 ports – not needed in Vigo. We then had 2 days at sea – weather wasn’t that great but we did see a bit of sun. Quite windy at times though and we did feel a little bit of movement now and then – nothing major though. Entertainment was great on this cruise – we were on Equinox last summer and it wasn’t so good. The production singers and dancers were very talented and on the whole so were the guest entertainers. Around the ship the House Band – Bandmates – were good, so were the two girl guitarists who usually played in Café Il Bacio. Café Il Bacio was great – and included in our drinks package. It also got pretty crowded but you could get takeaway, which we did at times. They do good tea as well as hot coffee, plus iced coffee which is great. And you can get complimentary pastries/dessert with each drink. We got our Classic Drinks Package as part of the Celebrity offer this year but don’t think we’d necessarily pay for it as it probably wouldn’t be worth our while. As we had it we made use of it for coffees, bottled water etc. We had wine by the glass with dinner and had no problem in getting refills either. The Cruise Director, Alejandro, has to get a mention. We weren’t too sure about him at first – a bit cheeky we thought. But we got used to him and by Day 3 thought he was probably in our top two Cruise Directors – and 100% better than the one we had on Equinox last year. His red carpet event before the “Dancing with the Officers” show was hilarious. On the whole it was a very enjoyable cruise – we come on holiday to enjoy ourselves and will make the best of our time away. Met a few “moaners and complainers” but they didn’t detract from our enjoyment. Arrival at Harwich – we were being picked up otherwise we would have risen very early and walked ourselves and our luggage off the ship. It was the usual scrum in the buffet where we went to get a bite to eat while we waited for our “call”. But once we were off we found our suitcases easily and our lift was just a few steps away. It’s a shame Celebrity are not offering cruises out of Harwich next year – we’d definitely use it again as it’s a 3 to 4 hour journey for us down to Southampton, which is why we normally do a fly-cruise. But we’re already booked with Celebrity for next March (out of Singapore) and put down another future cruise deposit whilst on board. Don’t think Infinity could be defined as Modern Luxury but we still had a good time. Note - we do normally choose a cruise for the itinerary, not for any particular ship.   Read Less

We have cruised a few times with Celebrity before but they have always been the newer ships: Reflection, Silhouette and Eclipse. This was the first time on a millennium class ship and I guess we had been spoilt because we really thought you could tell the difference, I guess it’s to be expected as the Infinity has at least 10 years on the newer ships. It seemed to be little things that hadn’t been maintained and I guess we got the general feeling that the ship as a whole had been left in the shadow of the Solstice class. We spoke to a couple that had major noise issues in their cabin and struggled to sleep at night and I don’t think it was just them, luckily we didn’t have to experience that! Our cabin was fine but nothing special, it doesn’t really bother us though as we like to be out as much as possible. Again the theme of being a little dated was there. We also thought it was a little dark and gloomy (this we noticed all over the ship- maybe they are saving on the lighting bill!) possibly because of the darker decor making it seem that way. We loved the itinerary, which was classed as a wine cruise and even though we aren’t overly crazy for wine we still loved the ports of call. That’s not to say we didn’t enjoy testing out a few glasses along the way! We especially enjoyed the over night in Le Havre where we got the chance to go to Paris, something me and my husband had wanted to do for a long time now. The variety of stops was great and it was fantastic to see the Guggenheim in Bilbao. We also had a couple of great meals in Bilbao and Vigo. We were just a little disappointed with the food on the infinity, the buffet was much smaller and lacked variety when compared to the other Celebrity ships we had been on and the restaurant just seemed to reproduce what was in the buffet. Full credit to all the waiters and chefs though they were incredibly nice and polite. The cruise director Alejandro was very funny and likeable, I think the majority of guests thought the same. There was also some great guest entertainers, one I still remember now was the mentalist an Italian called Luca Volpe. He performed in the afternoon at sea but it should have been in the evening cause it was a really fantastic show. The production shows were ok, singers and dancers giving it all they have but again a bit dated and in need of a bit of modernising. Apart from the few things mentioned we had a great time and will be sailing with Celebrity again.   Read Less

This trip confirmed what we have believed about Celebrity, that they have some of the best entertainment and service compared to some other lines. Dining room, Trellis, was consistently good. Used the ship excursions for some tours, Beaches of Normandy, Paris, and Vigo. Other ports were easy to manage on our own, thanks to port shuttles provided. Yes, there have been some cutbacks, but not enough to ruin our fun. As mentioned, the entertainment was worth the price of the cruise (Sam Kane, Toni Warne, Jon Courtenay)--if they are on your cruise ship, don't miss them! Read Less

This was our second voyage on Infinity (we have also sailed on Eclipse - far superior in our opinion). We have also sailed with Carnival, Princess, RCL and P&O. We were very unhappy on first Infinity cruise (July 2014, Iceland and Fjords)- ship- tired and in need of TLC, crew - apathetic, food - repetitive, mediocre and tepid). Entertainment - poor. We were offered an upgrade to Concierge on our second cruise due to the aforementioned problems. To be honest I would not recommend paying extra for Concierge as apart from the bottle of sparkling wine and the departure lounge - in our opinion, judging by cabin size and fitments it was not any bigger or better than a normal balcony. The second cruise (September 2014, France and Iberia) was a lot better. Change of Captain and a lot of new crew members in particular the entertainment team - who were extremely good (Alejandro and Mickey), fabulous acts on in the theatre - much better. But unfortunately the food was the same - pretty dire. We did complain about the food but they just fob you off ("Its only you British that complain about the temperature of the food, the Americans don't mind") - thats from the Maitre d! The ship was still in a shabby condition. The Captain had a Q&A session on the last day at sea and a lot of people were complaining about Celebrity seeming to be on economising measures generally throughout the ship (which were denied) and the condition of ship. The Captain said that all directives concerning the ship come from Miami! We will not be sailing with Celebrity again. Read Less

This was an 11 night immersive wine cruise departing from Harwich, U.K. This was our first Celebrity experience and one which we would not like to repeat. The pre-cruise dealing on Celebrity Cruises website was awful with many of the website menus hidden or difficult to access. We booked a Concierge class balcony room on deck 8 with the Celebrity Select dining option. On embarking we were told that the staterooms were not available for another hour as they were still being cleaned! When we were finally allowed in we discovered it was not clean and there were no hand towels. The shower curtain was filthy, the carpets dusty. The appearance of the rest of this ship was shabby at best. Stains on seats in the Trellis Restaurant, table surfaces and elevator buttons tacky to touch. The ship felt very overcrowded with all the public area seating occupied during sea days it was overwhelming. The food in the Trellis Restaurant was mediocre at best being served warm on cold plates. All the crew appeared to work hard but there weren't enough of them. On the plus side the speciality restaurants were excellent and the Martini Bar a real gem. The Shows were some of the best we have ever seen and the ports of call and excursions very good. Read Less

This was our 9th cruise and second with Celebrity (previously on the Eclipse) and I have to say we thoroughly enjoyed the whole experience. Having read some of the reviews we were ready for it to be "mediocre" but it proved to be anything but. Embarkation at Harwich was very fast and the stateroom was ready when we boarded at 1 o'clock. The stateroom was very clean with plenty of wardrobe space. The bathroom was spotless with an unexpected "roomy" shower. The shows put on by the "stars of infinity" were of West End calibre and these were mixed with other entertaining acts of differing styles. The cruise Director Alejandro was excellent - the best one we have come across. He was likeable, had a great sense of humour and worked very hard with his team to bring about an enjoyable atmosphere. The house keeping crew worked tirelessly to make sure the ship was spotless despite its advancing years. The captain and his staff were also very visible and joined in a few of the activities / Q&A's which was good to see. With an exception of a delay on the first evening dinner in the Trellis Restaurant was always of a good standard. The food was hot and well presented with a varied menu. The Ocean View cafe was busy at times but never so bad that you couldn't get a seat and with a varied selection of dishes. The fact that the majority ports of call were overnight (Le Harve, La Rochelle & Bilbao) meant you felt relaxed and less rushed. The shuttle buses were all free which was unexpected but very welcomed. To top it off the skies were blue and the seas were calm. We couldn't really complain about anything and can't wait to sail on Celebrity again. All in all it was good value for money. Read Less

After a superb experience cruising the Mediterranean last year aboard the Celebrity Silhouette, we took our daughters on a cruise around the British Isles this summer on the Celebrity Infinity, hoping for a similar experience. Sadly, our experience aboard the Infinity did not meet our expectations. The cruise embarked from the port of Harwich, approximately a 2-hour drive from London. We opted for the Celebrity transportation from Heathrow Airport to Harwich and we were immediately disappointed. The company providing the transportation did not make themselves easily visible, although we did locate them. We were told that our bus would be here in 60-90 minutes and we were encouraged to explore Heathrow for coffee and breakfast and told to return in an hour. Ten minutes later, after our grown daughters had gone for shopping and coffee, we were told to get on the bus. This necessitated a mad dash around the airport on my part trying to reassemble our family, made all the more unpleasant by the rudeness of the transportation company which had just precipitated the problem with their misinformation. Perhaps the most unpleasant aspect of the cruise was the inaccurate itinerary advertised by Celebrity. All of the online material, the printed itinerary, and the dining itinerary indicated that on Day 8 (Monday August 11, 2014) and Day 9 (Tuesday August 12, 2014), the ship would be ported at Greenock, Scotland near Glasgow and about 2 hours from Edinburgh. This was very misleading. The ship arrived in port at Greenock at 7 am on 8/11/14 and departed 19 hours later at 2 am on 8/12/14. Thus, Day 9 was a day spent at sea, not in the port of Greenock. Thus, we had one day to see both Glasgow and Edinburgh, not two. I checked with multiple other passengers who had also interpreted the published schedule to mean that we had 2 days in port near Glasgow, not one. No one on the ship could explain why the itinerary did not mention that 8/12/14 was a Sea Day. We had signed up to see The Royal Edinburgh Military Tattoo on the evening of 8/11/14, not realizing that taking this excursion through Celebrity precluded us from touring the city of Edinburgh, which was one of the principle goals of the trip. For some reason, Celebrity constructed the excursion to Edinburgh for the Military Tattoo in such a manner that one could not tour the city in the morning and afternoon and see the show in the evening, which I suspect most passengers would have preferred. The other ports of call on the trip were fine, the highlight being a non-Celebrity tour of Cork, Cobh, Kinsale and the Blarney Castle in Ireland by eCoach tours. The food on the Infinity was good, the crew was pleasant if somewhat unenthusiastic, and the entertainment was superb. Read Less

This was our 7th cruise, but first with Celebrity. Probably will be my last along with several other fellow cruisers. Couldn't believe that I couldn't book an excursion from the web site after being booked without giving my credit card each time. Then the credit card wasn't accepted and when I called and it was accepted was told "We know our web site sucks" by the 4 agents I talked with. Only one of the 4 gave me any useful info. Couldn't even tell me if Skara Brae was on any of the Kirkwall excursions since the excursions only had titles and you had to guess what each included. That wasn't their department. Could go on and on about the lies and trying to get correct information, but will give this example. We were excited about The Military Tattoo, but it left at 5. FINALLY, found the Shore Excursions desk opened to ask if we needed to eat before we left. Was told we would have an hour and a half to eat and shop once we got to Edinburgh. Because of being given wrong info several times, one of our group suggested we take sandwiches. So glad we did since we were goose stepped to the site and when I asked the tour guide when would we be given the time to eat and shop, he laughed and said that kind of time was not built into the schedule! The Tattoo was FABULOUS!! We were told once on the bus that there would be food available on the ship when we got there about 1. Guess what? It ran out very quickly and more was not offered! They KNEW all those people were coming back at that time and would be hungry. The staff on board were very good as was the food in the dining room and specialty restaurants. Can't say the same about the food on deck 10. Service aboard was fantastic except for Shore Excursions and pitiful to nonexistant for information before we boarded. And we were told we would receive an email within a week to rate our cruise. Gave them 10 days. No email yet.   Read Less

As a first time Celebrity cruiser, we had heard that Celebrity was a step up from other cruise lines. We were therefore expecting something more. Well, expectations were quickly dashed. While the ship itself was well maintained and kept very clean, the rest was very disappointing. To begin, it has to be the noisiest ship or vehicle I have EVER been on. It sounded like there was construction going on next to our cabin every morning at around 7-9:00 am that shook the entire cabin. When we complained, we were told that they would have to be there at the time it occurred so they could verify the sound. Really?? My word wasn't good enough? I was making this up??!! As for the food: mediocre at best as others have said. Frequent repeats, hot items were cold or lukewarm. Getting service in the buffet was impossible. Need a cup of coffee or anything else? Get it yourself or you'd still be waiting. Service generally on this cruise was substandard. Our cabin steward "forgot" to make up our cabin...TWICE! In each case, we had to go looking for him. Guest Relations? What a joke. Shore excursion staff: get people who can make recommendations based on experience. We can read what the brochure says. Entertainment with the exception of the band in Rendevouz lounge was excellent. That band was abysmal!! The singers, dancers in the production shows were excellent! The DJ with the guy on the sax was just stupid. That act was just dumb. Would I sail with Celebrity again? Not likely. Read Less

This was our 3oth cruise and 4th on celebrity but the first on a Millenium Class ship. We have done the Silhouette and Eclipse in the past. First the Itinerary was excellent allowing us a lovely visit to the high spots of Scotland and Ireland, although would have liked more time in Glasgow and could have passed on the Olney Islands. As for the ship, it is older with the windows peeling in the buffet restaurant and the balconys showing wear and tear. Being Aqua class, it was not the same as on the Solstice ships. First the cabins were not like those on the Solstice ships, seemingly smaller and more difficult to move around in. One of the main reasons for our taking the Aqua cabins was that it allowed us to use the Blu dining room as our eating location for the whole cruise. On this ship unlike the Soltice class ship the Blu dining room was obviousl y carved out of the main dining room. It was small and cramped. The food was definitely a step down from our previous cruises, as was the service. Where as in the past if you wanted something from the main dining room menu that was not a problem we were told that policy was that it was not possible even though the kitchens were located next to each other. Further more the availabilty of certain things such as escargot, onion soup and caesar salad were a well kept secret that we only learned from other passengers. Where as we were easy going regarding seating often going to the bar to make the maitre D 's job easier on one occasion our table was taken over by a couple who decided to move and not for our finding friends to sit with would have been left with a dirty table. The service in the Buffet, was also below standard with dirty plates often on empty table and get your own coffee in the morning. In conclusion I am used to excellent service and a beautiful ship and the Infinity did not meet this. In the future I will limit our cruises to the Solstice Class ships where obviously more care is taken of the ship and the dining rooms and the staff Read Less

We had already sailed with Celebrity Constellation and we already knew what to expect, so this time we opted for a cheaper inside cabin (yes, choosing the right location in the ship, deck 8 to the fore). The interior cabin was pretty good, individually controlled air conditioning worked perfectly and we did not have any odor problems. Cabin is the same size as the regular balcony cabins but without any exit, all the back wall is a large mirror which makes space look bigger. One of the things we like the most is the Celebrity Millennium class is the adults-only area with their warm saltwater pool, normally quiet and silent venue. This time we did not like the rules for adults only access to this area were not enforced, and some days solarium, pool and hot tubs were occupied by a loud crowd of teenagers and children. Other issues: We would have liked less smoking areas around the ship, and we do not understand how come table tennis tables are next to people smoking big cigars. Dress code should be applied, people came to dinner in the main restaurant as if going to the swimming pool (flip-flops, shorts and t-shirt). Another surprise we did not like: Michael's Club was restricted access to suites occupants, that was a wasted venue. So called "music" of the DJ is too loud and gets annoying in some places and at inopportune times. About food and drink: Prices of wines and drinks have risen since 2011. In Trellis main restaurant main dishes are excellent and we always received them warm and exquisitelly presented. They need to improve some tasteless and cold starters straight from the fridge, and those withered salads. We found that the meals take too long, the service is too slow between dishes and there are too many delays. In buffet restaurants food in general is quite good, but as well some long queues at stations (grill, etc.) Some details to improve: usually bread and pastries are too raw, pastries are too sickly sweet for our tastes, and withered salads are unseemly in this category. About entertainment: We liked the folk rock guitarist and singer Sean Golden. The main theatre musical shows were quite good, vocal soloists are high quality and the orchestra is superb, the dance choir is a little uneven but it made a nice effect. The musical group at Rendezvous is pretty terrible and the woman singing is plain dull. We missed a good jazz band just for the atmosphere. Also we missed a cabaret type show as the one we enjoyed with Perry Grant in Michael's Club on Constellation in 2011. About Harwich, the port of departure and arrival, that was a two hours boring trip by bus from Heathrow. We plan to avoid this port in the future or we will try to get there by train. The Harwich International Port train station is adjacent to the dock. About ports of call: At Le Havre the ship docked at Quai Roger Meunier, some 2km away from the city, a taxi ride to downtown Place Hotel de Ville is 8 euro. They provided free shuttle bus to downtown at Belfast and at Kirwall (Orkney). In Orkney, Skara Brae and Yesnaby cliffs are must visit if you have not been there before. Hatston terminal is 3km from Kirkwall center.   Read Less

MY MAJOR ISSUE!! We had 2 suitcases. We rec'd my husband's around 2:00. At 6:00 we called about my suitcase and were told they were still delivering. We wanted to get dressed to go to the show in the theater at 7:00, and then head right for dinner. So here we are trying to get ready for dinner, and the only clothes I have are the jeans and t-shirt I was wearing, (which I've had on for many hrs during our 10+ hr flights and transportation to Harwich), and the dining room doesn't allow jeans. At 6:30 someone called us and told us my suitcase was being held on deck 1 because of a 3" pair of manicure scissors in my husband's shaving kit. Not only that, but the suitcase had been left sitting out on the dock in the rain the entire time since we turned it over to them at 10:30 am. Our clothes inside were soaked, and a brand new yellow evening jacket I had just purchased for the cruise, was stained with black marks because it laid next to something black. And now my brand new Travel Pro suitcase is also moldy. I AM NOT HAPPY ABOUT THIS AT ALL, AND REALLY FEEL CELEBRITY SHOULD MAKE SOME COMPENSATION. When I brought it up to the staff on the ship, all they said was "really?", and would not do anything. No offer to clean, launder, or iron any of our clothes. I CAN'T EMPHASIZE ENOUGH THAT THIS INCIDENCE IS THE WORST TREATMENT I'VE RECEIVED ON ANY CRUISE WE HAVE TAKEN. No one even said, "we're sorry". They made me feel like I was the guilty party for trying to sneak on a pair of dangerous 3" manicure scissors. They airline doesn't even make an issue of these. On this cruise, we opted for an inside cabin (1/3 the price of a veranda). With so many ports-of-call, we would rarely be in our cabin anyway. We have always had veranda/balcony cabins before, and our first impression was that the inside wasn't too bad, it was just fine. However, the first night there was awful noise from the utility area next to our cabin. Sleep was difficult if not impossible. I called guest relations and they said they would report it. Second night was better. Someone called the next day to see if the noise was better. I thought that was nice that they called, and thanked them for following up. Next few nights, the noise came and went. Then one night the noise was absolutely horrible. Even made the bed shake. Next morning I called guest relations again to report. I was told if I didn't call "while the noise was occurring" there was nothing they could do about it. Really??!! Were they serious!!! Next day the supervisor called and said they would let us sleep (sleep only!) in another room 5 decks below where we currently were .. so we could have a quiet night. OMG! Are these people for real? They wanted me to trudge down 5 decks in my pajamas to sleep in another room!! Later, the supervisor called us again, and offered to let us move to a different room. Hooray, finally a resolution. They must have realized the insanity of their handling of this situation. Granted, it was 5 decks lower than our original room, but it was quiet! And it had a window. I don't think the stateroom attendant for the new room was very happy about us moving there. She wasn't very friendly at all. But she warmed up later. Just loved our cruise director Alejandro .... best thing about this cruise! Entertainment was fabulous....really terrific. Nick Page, the Celtic Tenors, the piano player (Bruce ??), Kate Dowman, McDonald Brothers, etc, etc. Absolutely the best entertainment of any cruise we've been on. (Wasn't terribly excited about the "production shows". Way, way too loud. Too much of the same thing....loud, loud, loud. The drums were insanely loud. Singers literally screamed through most of the songs. Many other passengers were complaining. And a lot of the songs we had never heard of, and one of the songs was VERY INAPPROPRIATE for the audience!!!). Food was OK, nothing to rave about. Really didn't care for the food in the Oceanview Cafe (although the space is very nice). TOO MUCH CURRY!! Later found out the chef was Indian, so I guess that's why they served so much curry on this ship. They seemed to close awfully early, too. One afternoon about 1:30, after we got back from a 1/2 day tour, I went up to get a cup of coffee and something to eat. Everything was closed up except for left-over pizza, and pre-made sandwiches. I asked the girl behind the counter if I could have just a ham and cheese, and she said I had to choose from the "gourmet" sandwiches that already made. As for a drink, I was only offered a little bag of instant coffee because everything was turned off. Rene, our waiter in the main dining room, was always kind and brought something else if I didn't like a particular dish. His assistant, Mildred, was excellent, too. Casino was good. Lounge entertainment good. Slow drink service in the lounges. Took approx 1/2 hr to get a glass of wine. Our dinner mates had their seapass card mixed up by a waiter in the lounge. He finally got a new seapass card, but the other person charged some things on his card, and it took 4 days to get it straightened out. The guest relations staff are not the brightest bunch. As far as the Captain's Club goes, I didn't see much benefit, except a free scoop of gelato. But we were only "select" members, so perhaps there wasn't much for that lowly level. We are now "elite" so we'll see if that offers anything better. One issue on this cruise was the scheduling of events and shows. We loved the entertainment, and wanted to see it all, but too many things overlapped so we were unable to enjoy a lot of things. I really think Celebrity should take a look at this and come up with a better schedule. Excursions: most were excellent. Great guides and itineraries. Would highly recommend the Highlands and Loch Ness tour in Inverness, and the Edinburgh Castle tour out of Greenock. The only one I would not recommend is the Blarney Castle. First of all, the guide looked like she had just crawled out of bed. She literally had on a type of house coat and slippers, and her hair was a mess. She confused most of the time, and didn't really know what was going on. Then we only had 1 1/2 hrs at the castle, when it took 2 1/2 hrs waiting in line to get into the castle. They should not advertise this as a Blarney Castle tour because there is no opportunity to get into the castle. Such a waste of money and a half day of our vacation. We paid for something we never got. One nice thing was when the crew offered us FREE hot chocolate when we returned from tours on cold days. So appreciated. I must comment on the ramps to get on and off the ship when in port. They were really dangerous, and I saw several elderly people trip. Please change these!! Couple things I liked on Celebrity better than on Royal Caribbean were that the wait staff and state room attendants didn't beg for tips or high ratings. On RC it's totally ridiculous how the staff starts begging for extra tips and high ratings the last 2 days of the cruise. Also the photographers were everywhere but were not intrusive, and would back away if we said no thanks. I wish more cruise lines would offer all-inclusive pricing to include wi-fi, drinks, and a couple services in the spa. Cruising is becoming too expensive for ordinary families by the time you include these things. A small bottle of room temperature water was $6.00. We purchased a 90 minute wi-fi pkg, and each time we logged on, it would take 5-10 minutes to get a connection. So basically 1/2 your time (depending!) just logging on. Regular wi-fi rate is $.79 per minute. However, Infinity has a wonderful computer center (Apple) and I heard people were getting instant connection there. Overall, and despite all the negatives I've pointed out, we had a great time. The itinerary was busy as we visited 9 ports, and all of them were great. Many good memories. I hope Celebrity reads these reviews, as the Infinity has a lot of improvements that need to be made in the area of customer service.   Read Less

Getting to Harwich, England can be daunting. It's 2-1/2 hours from London and we hired a tour company to transport us by motor coach to the port city. Upon arrival in the dreary rain, we made our way into the terminal and found Celebrity to be quite organized with many employees directing passen-gers to the right places. Check in was fast and easy and we boarded the Celebrity Infinity to a very friendly staff along the way to our stateroom. Our cabin was nice and roomy and we met our cabin steward, Juan and went directly to the Oceanview Buffet on Deck 10 for a bite. The ship left promptly at 5 p.m. headed for Le Havre, 2-1/2 hours outside of Paris. We prepurchased transportation in and out of Paris including five hours for leisure time once we got there. But we were so tired from a previous tour that we had to cancel it. The ship happily refunded the tickets without question and we spent the day at the onboard spa for a much needed rest. The ship also made stops at St. Peter Port Channel Island, Guernsey, Cork, Waterford and Dublin, Ireland, Belfast, Northern Ireland as well as Glasgow, Kirkwall and Inverness, Scotland in its 14 day journey. The Celebrity Infinity's maiden voyage was on March 3rd, 2001 and it was refurbished in 2007. Old by most standards today. It is registered in Valletta, Malta and is in the Millennium class of Celebrity ships. It weighs 91,000 tons and is 964 feet long, small by today's standards. It holds 2,170 passengers and 1,000 crew. The Cruise Director, Alejandro from Argentina, is a very unusual Cruise Director. he doesn't sing and he doesn't dance. But what a great sense of humor! He's funny onstage and off. Everybody loved him. Like the rest of the staff, he's warm and friendly and makes you feel welcome. The food on the Celebrity Infinity is head and shoulders above other cruise lines. The food in the main dining room, Trellises, is great. Maybe that's why the Infinity only has two specialty restau-rants, the SS. United States and Qsine. The SS. United States is a fine dining restaurant offering traditional fare with impeccable service with tableside service on certain specialty dishes. But Qsine goes a giant step further. It;'s the most unique restaurant I may have ever been to either on land or sea. While it bills itself as a tapas restaurant, it's way more than that and you realize that the moment you walk into the room. The ceiling has lamps hanging from it --upside down. And the room has glass looking out to the ship or the ocean all around. You are handed an Ipad with buttons to push for wine by the glass, half bottle or full bottle, cocktails and full menu. When you click the menu button, you are offered a choice of 20 icons on the screen, one for each unique dish. You are encouraged to choose 4 or 5 and save them as your favorites. Each and every one of them is a work of art. The waiter collects the Ipads and your choice of wine or cocktail comes first followed by an array of food unseen in my 50 years of writing restaurant reviews. The Maitre d', David, is every-where--greeting and seating diners, serving food, visiting each table and even clearing tables. Other maitre d's could take a lesson from David. If this restaurant was in my home town, I'd be a regular. But it could get expensive going on a cruise just so you can eat here. But it's worth it! The ports visited on this cruise were pretty much as expected but very cosmo-politan. When you think of Ireland, you think of beautiful, rolling, green hills. But what we saw was hustling, bustling metropol-itan cities. There's not much to buy because of the currency exchange aside from souvenirs, t-shirts and chocolate. There are no bargains here. The entertainment on the Infinity is very good from the production staff to the featured entertainers. When we were in Liverpool, the Beatles cover Group was really good. But one performer really stood out. His name is Nick Page. He sang everything from Michael Buble to Broadway and he played Jean Valjean in the West End London production of Les Miserable. He might be one of the best voices I've ever heard and should be doing bigger and better venues than cruise ships. I would love to see him performing in the U.S. I know he'd be a big hit here. He also did a memorable duet with a member of the production staff by the name of Hannah Stearne, a beautiful girl with a voice to match. But great talent is a trademark of both Celebrity and Royal Caribbean Cruise Lines. To sum up this 14 day British Isles voyage: Celebrity is one of the best cruise lines in the world. Their ships, itineraries, accommodations, staffs, activities, excursions, food and entertainment are always top notch and I am already looking forward to my next cruise with them. They are the meaning of "Bon Voyage"!   Read Less

I was a bit apprehensive after reading many negative reviews.Overall we had a very good experience. The ship is older but is in good shape. Food was good except on the formal night the lobster was a little letdown. Our cabin was kept clean but our attendant never introduced himself and we didn't even know who he was. The cabin was a little bit smaller than the Solstice class ship but had lots of storage space. Too bad the bed was not high enough to store the suitcase under it.. All the staffs were very helpful except a few indifferent in the guest relation and aqua spa cafe . We only had one excursion with Celebrity to Normandy and it was expensive. The others were with hoho bus or with outside company. Titanic in Belfast is a must see. Orkney is beautiful. It was cold and windy in Scotland and we had one day with rough sea. I wished I had brought more warm clothes. All in all we enjoyed the trip very much.   Read Less