We are experienced cruisers (12 +), second time with Celebrity. We selected this itinerary for the Pacific San Diego to Vancouver route. My brother & his wife traveling with us, first time on Celebrity. Concierge cabins 2138 & 2140 on deck 12. We picked these so that we could have a combined balcony which worked great the first day. Until the trouble started with the excessive noise above us from the oceanview café - intolerable. Requested a move for both cabins. We are elite members (celebrity), diamond (RCCL). We were moved to a down graded cabin, we should have been upgraded. Moved to a far forward lower cabin away from our family & we had to ask for everything promised to concierge class. Concierge totally dropped the ball & when we complained to him personally, he was very defensive. Finally offered us $200 toward future cruise - big deal - not. Concierge class is a joke, a few amenities thrown on a standard balcony cabin, not worth the money. Canopes every day were no better than seagull food, which we did throw to them. We were embarrassed because we convinced our family to try celebrity for the first time. They usually sail Princess. Food is very average. Again these cruise lines are pushing you to use specialty dining. Big mistake. The shows were very boring and disappointing. Cruise director Alexandro was the only highlight. The ship is beautiful, the crew very pleasant, the captain very accessible. The embarkation process in San Diego was very disorganized. Shore excursion staff very good. The eclipse was the most rocky ship that we had every been on (12 cruises on other ships). The pacific was very rough so that could account for it, or maybe an unstable ship, not sure which or both. Celebrity makes big distinction in price & amenities for suites vs. all others. We did book a future cruise to take advantage of the offers but may cancel it. Biggest highlight - beautiful ship. Biggest disappointments - Cabin 2138 & 2140. C2 Concierge. Lack of respect for Elite class member & moved us to a down graded cabin. Read Less

Choose this cruise based on previous experiences with Celebrity plus ports. It was a mistake, This was he most disorganized, poorly managed ship I have sailed on. My mistake, don't cruise this far north this early in the year. It was freezing! Also don't cruise out of San Diego, their port facilities are completely inadequate. We wound up eating in the buffet most meals, due to the low quality of the food in the restaurant.In the be buffet: We wound up eating in the buffet most meals, due to the low quality of the food in the restaurant.In the be buffet: The quality of the food was the poorest on any Celebrity ship I have sailed on. Most of my cruises are on Princess, I used to tell people that one of the main advantages of Celebrity was the quality of the food. I no longer will say that. See the pictures for an example of the poor cuisine available in the buffet. If you are glucose intolerant,. there is a specially marked section for you. If you want no sugar, there may be one or two items, IF YOU ASK, that are NSA. After several complaints, they started labeling the NSA items. Change from breakfast to lunch should be Done an island at a time, not in mass! Use real eggs for omelettes not that stupid liquid. Consistency is awful. Hamburger has too much filler and not enough meat The most appetizing item in the buffet was usually the fresh apples, sad! The management of the ship seemed to go out of their way to ignore the needs of the passengers. As an example, the doors to the Captains Party opened 10 minutes before the schedules time - despite the long line of guests!. Also they go out of their way to get your money. We had one credit card for the cabin, however, the charges were kept track of on a person bases. Therefore, since all the charges were made on my cruise card, I ended up owing money, whereas my wife should a large (non-refundable) credit! They had "Coffee" cards, where for a discount, you could get 10 deluxe coffees. However, they refused to sell or even acknowledge that they existed,until the second day of the cruise. No Luggage concierge service in Vancouver. Read Less

Have just disembarked the Celebrity Eclipse following a 9 night Pacific Coastal Cruise from San Diego to Vancouver. We chose this cruise because we had sailed on the Eclipse 3 time previously and liked the itinerary. On embarking the ship we were greeted with the customary glass of champagne (make the most of it as it’s the last freebie you will get). The first thing I would say is that the Eclipse is not the ship it once was. The ship is looking a bit tired and does not seem to be as well maintained as it once was. Previously every time the ship was in port it was being painted, not so anymore! The soft furnishings have scuffs, rips and tears. That said, our cabin steward Salvadore was exceptional and kept our cabin tip-top. Be aware that every drink you order, be it tea, coffee or alcohol will be subject to the addition of a 20% Service Charge which is added automatically so the staff have no incentive to offer a good service. You have to wonder how much of this 20% is passed on to the staff! Maybe the American market is different to the European market and is geared around giving a low entry price and then charge for everything you can as an “extra”. The onboard shopping experience is poor with most shops selling over-priced tat. The Qsine restaurant concept has been changed, and whilst it is different, the menu is very limited, the old concept was much better and offered more choice. Murano continues to be the jewel in the crown when it comes to the speciality restaurants. The food and service here is exceptional. Tuscan grill is a good second choice. The Oceanview buffet restaurant offers a good choice but the food is only ever luke warm at best. Moonlight Sonata, the main dining room is OK but the quality and choice of food has declined. The staff here aren’t particularly attentive and seem to be lacking experience, there seemed to be a changeover of staff occurring during our trip. The entertainment is more East End than West End, maybe the Americans are easily pleased. We missed our stop at Monterey due to bad weather. Astoria has nothing of interest to offer and seems to be a stop for the sake of a stop. San Francisco was well worth it and the additional overnight in port due to us not stopping at Monterey was a welcome surprise. Victoria and Vancouver were both nice places to visit. Having travelled on Eclipse three times previously it was my favourite ship and I would have recommended it without reservation, unfortunately I can’t do this anymore. The Staff only seem interested in up-selling everything they can at every opportunity, even the bottled water in your Stateroom is now charged for. Eclipse is no longer a 5* experience it’s now 4* and declining experience. Hopefully the re-fit next year will restore Eclipses former glory. Read Less

We liked the itinerary and had not visited the West Coast since the 80`s.We got to San Diego a day early and enjoyed the city.Didn`t stop in Monterrey due to the heavy seas and the water was rough up to Seattle.Got two and half days in San Francisco and had a good time.The stop in Astoria Oregon should be eliminated and the extra time spent in Seattle a beautiful city.Victoria was great too.We ended in Vancouver and flew home but should have spent an extra day here. The cabin was great [a little dated] but kept spotless by a very good steward. The food was a letdown in both the Dining Room and the Oceanview cafe but the the service was excellent.I think the Celebrity is trying to force people to the Specialty restaurants or the top of the line cabins with their own restaurants. The captain was very visible and the Cruise Director was also very good. The shows were good. Embarkation was so-so. [we had to walk up a very steep plank] I will cruise Celebrity again for the combination of a good deal and interesting itinerary but being aware that the quality and variety of food has gone down. Read Less

This was our first time on Celebrity. We choose this cruise because of the itinerary, repositioning cruise up the West Coast. We flew into San Diego and spent a few days there, and then a few days in Vancouver at the end of the cruise. Embarkation and disembarkation were fine/typical. The ship is beautiful, the clientele a little older. We were among the youngest at 54. We loved the suspended tree, library, Team Earth space. I have to mention (as if Celebrity will see this review), for the muster, people are not interested in watching a cheesy video on how to put on a life vest. What should've taken 5 minutes took more like 20 because of the video, which we didn't even watch (we listened, tho) because the video screen for our section was broken. Skip the gimmicks and let us get back to our cruise! The Cruise Director Alejandro and "Super Captain" Leo were outstanding. When we couldn't drop the tenders for transport into Monterey, "Super Captain" Leo got us a spot in San Francisco, so we could spend two nights in San Fran instead of another sea day. We take the stairs a lot and I found the railings were always gummy/sticky, even though I frequently saw someone cleaning them. I tried not to touch them because I knew I'd find a gummy/sticky spot and it grossed me out. We spent the sea days in the Solarium, which we loved, but I never saw a waiter asking us if we wanted a drink or anything. The Sky Lounge on 14 is a beautiful space but we were kicked out one evening because we weren't in the Captain's Club. It's a huge space and hardly anyone was in there, but out we went. The evening entertainment was good except for one night - I can't remember what the show was called but it was supposed to be a Mozart fusion kind of show. We mostly just looked at each other like "What is going on?" Should've been so much better. But for the most part the entertainment was very entertaining. The show on the last night, Elyria, was absolutely beautiful and mesmerizing. The food was good, but there didn't seem to be much variety and I've seen much better presentation on other cruise lines. Note to Celebrity - scrambled eggs aren't supposed to be soupy... Overall we did have a nice cruise but we'll probably go back to another cruise line instead of Celebrity. Read Less

We typically cruise for destinations and tours, but we live in Southern California, and picked this trip just to relax. We have been to all of the cities, some of them numerous times, so we did not book any shore excursions. We did get off the ship in every port, but toured about on our own in each location. Embarkation: We did receive an email advise us the there could be delays in boarding, as the ship was expecting an inspection, as it was returning to the US. We stayed across from the cruise port, so it was an easy walk to the port. They had plenty of porters, so dropping the bags was a breeze, and so was checking in. We were given a number, and then had to sit for 45-60 minutes waiting for our number to be called. This was the longest delay we have had boarding a ship, but never boarded on a repositioning cruise, so it might be normal. They were using the lower decks to load luggage and supplies, so the passengers were required to board climbing up 2-3 flights of stairs, or using long ramps to get to the ship. The last ramp was particularly steep, and you had people trying to climb up the ramp carrying, dragging or pushing their suitcases. Everyone had a backpack or small carry on, but there were people that didn't want to use the porter, and it made the boarding a bit scary, as they were nearly rolling back down on guests boarding behind them. Dining: We dined in Blu most evenings, and several times for breakfast. We have certain items that we enjoy from the menus, and found all of our meals to be very good, and consistent with prior cruises. The service was excellent, and we noticed that the waiters and assistant waiters learned our names and preferences, offering the items they knew we had asked for on a prior visit. The hummus spreads were changed to a rotation of veggie spreads, which I thought was a nice change. There were a few misses with having menu items, like berries or asparagus. We dined in Murano one evening, trying the Chateaubriand, which was excellent, and done to perfection. We haven't had good service or meals in Tuscan Grille on the first 2 cruises, but decided to give them a try. The waiter was efficient and very pleasant, and we thought both of our meals were excellent. Entertainment: We enjoyed the lounge and lobby bands in the evening. We did not go to any of the shows. Ship: The Eclipse is in fine shape. The cabins, and public rooms were kept clean. I was impressed to see staff cleaning and wiping the hand rails, and there was always attendants in the washrooms in the evenings. The furniture was in good shape, but the style is starting to looked dated, as newer ships and hotels are changing up furniture. Bars: The seas were rough on this cruise, so the bars were not all open during the day. At times the bars that were open didn't have all of the supplies they normally carry. Limes one day, bloody mary mix the next. We had to go to 3 bars to get a Coke Zero on one day, but other days they had them. I typically enjoy having a glass of good wine before dinner in the Cellar Masters, but stopped in 2 different nights, and no one was working. The last night, we stopped in World Bar, and asked for one of their drinks, and they didn't have the ingredients to make the drink. They have a pretty small menu of offerings, so we found it odd, that they were out of one of the drinks. Overall we enjoyed the trip. The weather prevented us from tendering in Monterey, but the captain was able to secure a slip in San Francisco, allowing us 2 nights in a fantastic city. We will enjoy the Aqua Class product, and will sail Celebrity again. This trip did have a few times that the restaurants and bars were out of common items. Read Less

we chose this cruise totally based on price. we had planned to take a road trip in that area, and when we saw the price of this sailing, we felt that, while the experience would be different than a road trip, we would never be able to make the trip for less $$$. even though the ports on this sailing were familiar to us, we enjoyed each of the stops on this cruise. this was the first time that we sailed after being promoted to "elite-plus" in captain's club status. we enjoyed the perks of free laundry and more free wifi minutes very much! this cruise must have attracted many people who are at the higher levels in the captain's club, because at check-in, the lines for the higher levels (which are touted to be priority boarding) were the longest! i pretty much liked everything, and loved some things. the one thing that i did not like at all is the safety video that is shown for the safety drill. it is really stupid. it was probably made to improve the safety drill exercise, making it more entertaining, but, sigh. it is tiresome. we were able to have dinner once at murano (reservations for the earlier hours were very hard to come by!) and we loved that..service, food, wines, presentation... were all wonderful. we also had dinner at tuscan grill. this, too, was very good, but we were seated right by the window that is blocked out because of it being broken or damaged. we had to turn our chairs a little because we felt like we were facing a wall. we ate at silk harvest. without knowing anything at all about asian food. we told our server that, and she totally took care of us, making wonderful choices for our meal. it certainly exceeded our expectations. we had the seafood extravaganza at tuscan grill, and that, while very good, was our least favorite specialty dining experience. the rest of our dinner were in the main dining room, and we were satisfied with our choices there too. the buffet seemed less crowded than it usually does on ships, and the breakfasts and the lunches that we ate there were good...lots of variety. Read Less

Quick observations and context: We sailed the Pacific NW cruise from Seattle to Astoria, San Francisco, Victoria & Vancouver. We have previously sailed multiple times on the Summit (and like the ship very much). We found the larger size and newer design of the Solstice VERY nice. Decks 4 & 5 (where the $$$ is) flows better than on Summit. We noticed the extra width and felt it was a more luxurious and relaxed experience. We also liked having more entertainment "out" in that area vs tucked away in a lounge. MDR was excellent as was (I can't believe I'm saying this) the buffet. We're not buffet people, but found this to be the first we went to where a) the food was fresh and really good, b) laid out clearly and easy to get what you want without standing in a long line, and c) staff was quick to clean/clear, meaning you could actually get a table. Overall - ship was run very well, clean, and felt uncrowded (I don't think they sold out, probably 90%). We would definitely sail on this class again! Read Less

We decided to take this cruise because of the Itinerary... The check in was quick although since we were returning a rental car in Vancouver, they had us going up and down couple of times until we got on the ship. We were in cabin 7111 and our steward was great. No complains there.... The cabin was smaller than what we are used to based on their other ships, but it was OK... Bed - it was extremely hard and uncomfortable. I have back problems and there were nights when both of us couldn't sleep. Wanted to use the couch but it was too small and we couldn't. Not being able to sleep really put us in bad mood during the days. I sleep really well on the ships and was looking forward to it. Needless to say didn't happen. The friends we traveled with is a massage therapist and thank God she was able to help me so I can walk and move. Specialty Restaurants - Qsine was a cute experience... Tuscan Grill - we love this place, this time not so much. A dinner of 4 took 2.5 hrs all together, ordering a drink took 25 min to get it and if you want a refill it is another 25 min, on couple of occasions we had to fill our water glasses from the bottle they left beside the table. Buffet - the food was OK, not many choices, but OK... Getting a drink - we gave up on this one... no one ever walked around us and we ended up getting it ourselves. We liked the Martini Bar where we met other people with the same experiences of the beds and service. We are usually not high maintenance travelers and were really looking forward to this vacation. In summary, the bad bed, nonexistent service made us quiet disappointed with this ship, as we still paid premium price for the cruise. It wasn't cheap. This ship was Refurbished in 2015 and it doesn't look like it already. We did enjoy the tour of the ship, this was probably the only good thing on the ship that we experienced. We will be not taking this ship again..... Read Less

Cruise Review: Celebrity Infinity - Pacific Coastal Sept 2nd 2018: concierge class stateroom 8120 and 8118. This was my second cruise in recent years and I booked with my Mom, but, with concerns of privacy and having our own space, we booked adjoining cabins at the solo fare for each, we had thought my dad or one of my friends might join in, but, their schedules did not allow it this time. Why did you choose this itinerary? We had a prior cruise booked through Celebrity to the Caribbean for this past fall, however as a result of the major hurricane the itinerary was shortened and changed. They gave us the option of a refund or to move the reservation if we wished. My parents and I had been to Vancouver and Seattle before and really liked the area but I had not been further south, so, it was good chance to see the west coast and California. So my mom and I moved the reservations and received a nice amount of onboard credit as well as a beverage package as our perks / incentive for staying. Good part on Celebrity for this. Embarkation process? Knowing we had a lot of luggage, we walked through the Canada Place terminal the day before to get our bearings. On embarkation day, at 10am we headed off with our luggage, down to where the signs directed us, however, we needed to really be a level lower for our checked bags drop off. Once that confusion was settled, it took about 20 minutes to clear customs and made our way to the cruise check in for our 10:30 embarkation time. When embarking, we came in the doorways on deck four in between the rendezvous lounge and the main foyer. The welcome champagne was a nice touch and we had about 30 minutes to kill before the lunch in the main dining room reserved for the concierge cabins. We lucked out in the solarium area in that the staff from the spa were doing 10 minute complimentary chair massages as part of the sales pitch to book a treatment. The concierge lunch afterwards was nice, they had a separate area where we could drop off our carryon luggage. The staterooms were ready about 2:00 and muster drill was around 3:00 with sail away at 4:00. The muster drill was quite a mess, we were in the rendezvous lounge with not enough seats and what could have been a 15 minute process was 45 minutes. It was stuffy and passengers were getting quite grumpy. My mom is nearing hip replacement and there were no available seats, so, she sat on a coffee table versus standing. We headed to our muster station as soon as the announcement was made, however there was only seating for about a third of the guests. This left a negative impression most certainly. The last cruise with Celebrity, we had the theater as our muster station and it was much better. First impression of the ship? I had cruised a sister ship three years before so the Infinity felt much like the Millennium but with different art and color choices in certain areas. Overall she was clean and in good condition. I noticed the outdoor wood hand railings were showing their age, sun bleached and not as new looking as the Holland ship that was also in port. Also, the glass partition of the balcony was dirty with salt spray and needed to be washed. I noticed this was cleaned on my balcony on the second day of the cruise, so, I think they stagger this each day. The interior of the ship seemed immaculate though from the start. Overall the ship was great, easy to get around and only feeling crowded on occasion. I enjoyed use of the solarium pool, the pool side bars, and watching a movie on the rooftop terrace. I think they have a tasteful offering of onboard amenities which fit their target audience. With only 20 kids on board, there wasn’t a need foe water slides or go-karts. This ship is about relaxation, music, imbibing adult beverages, and enjoying tasty food with new scenery every day. What type of state rooms? I booked a concierge class stateroom and my mom was planning on doing the same, so, we selected adjoining staterooms which had an interior door between the two rooms. The adjoining door was located next to the TV and swung into my stateroom (8120) so that the door would block the TV view. So we kept it closed mostly until we were about to leave to go out, however, that was really nice to have and made coordinating schedules easier. The balcony had a small table and two chairs, the cabin had a sofa which could be a fold out bed, a coffee table, dressing table and mirror, the beds joined together as one. They gave us a lot of hangers and two plush bathrobes per cabin for going to down to the pool or spa. The wall next to the dressing table had two hooks which could be used to hang your clothes for the day on which I thought was convenient. The bathroom had a rectangular shaped shower with a curtain and was big enough but did feel tight on either side. The shower had an adjustable shower head on a wand which could be turned to a massage type mode. Overall the bathroom was clean but could stand to be updated with tile and granite or marble, if they are going for the luxury line marketing. The concierge level meant we had a gentleman available to us in the Library just outside of our staterooms who could take care of guest relations type of concerns and worked to remedy some of our issues. Also as part of concierge we received a bottle of the Celebrity Brut Champagne per stateroom, afternoon canapés which were four little appetizer bites that changed each day and also there was fresh fruit of pears and green apples. The canapés were one of our favorite perks. Additionally we had an expanded room service menu for breakfast, a nice heavy duty zipper tote, the traditional celebrity tote and also use of umbrellas and binoculars. This sailing we did not have towel animals like our previous sailing, but, there were chocolates with turn down service. Our attendant Singh was very good, prompt and courteous when resolving some minor issues (my TV kept cutting out and loosing signal, and in my mom’s stateroom the safe did not work). Both issues were resolved before dinner the first night. There was twice a day service for the room where the bed was made in the morning, and folded down in the evening. Each time, empty drinks and dishes were taken away and the bathroom was cleaned and towels refreshed if needed. I felt our stateroom attendant did an excellent job, so, we left him an envelope with a nice note saying our appreciation and a bit of cash, this was on top of the cruise lines assigned gratuities. Thoughts on dining options? My mom and I each had signed up for a three meal specialty dining package on embarkation. Onboard there where three specialty up-charge restaurants offered: Q’Sine, Tuscan Grill, and Sushi in Five. Being that my mom doesn’t care for sushi, we skipped that and did one meal at Q’Sine and two meals at the Tuscan Grille. The Q’Sine was great, it had a fixed menu but that was because the table turned into a screen and projectors broadcast down onto the plates and table, a cute Pixar / Disney type animated show of the Petite Chef catching and preparing the ingredients for each course. After the animation stopped, the waiters would bring out the physical course portrayed in the animation. Tuscan Grill was the Italian steakhouse with pasta. The food and service there was exceptional. It is nice that they offer half sizes in the pasta, so you can order a steak and also a half size of your favorite pasta as well. The quality of the food in the main dining room was very good, the temperature was a touch cooler than in specialty dining but all the meals arrived warm. We ate in the main dining room 3 times, twice at a shared table and once by ourselves so we could sit by a window and watch sail away under the Golden Gate Bridge. Each time, the service was very lacking, drinks were never refilled before sitting empty for extended periods of time and we had to wait on the waiters. I’m more harsh on this as I eat all meals out at restaurants back home and have my usual waiters who know me by name. However, I think the servers onboard were running short staffed compared to my last sailing with Celebrity. I think we had just a waiter and an assistant, and it seems to me, a few years ago there was a waiter and two assistants. I could be wrong on this, but, regardless, they had too many tables to cover to properly address the customers. At the later seating, some of the wait staff were busy in their close down process and could have been helping with the guests. This area of service was a disappointment. Also, the maître d’ on our prior sailing would allow the any time dining guests to book reservations out for the length of the cruise. This sailing we were told we could only book one night at a time, so, we had to continually make reservations. The maître d’ was actually very short and rude to us on embarkation day, so, we did go down to guest relations to make a formal complaint. Next trip we will try and book the late seating and see if our issues are better with consistent wait staff and also to not have to deal with a rude staff member regarding reservations. Our final night to make the most of time with having to pack, we went to the lido buffet which was good. The pasta station was tasty and some other good choices on the buffet line and overall a much faster dining process than the main dining room. We chose select dining which was flexible, and in that we tried dinner before the shows a few times and also after shows as well. Going forward I will choose a fixed time late seating. I enjoyed seeing the show first and then having a leisurely dinner afterwards. Going to dinner first was stressful in regards to that I wasn’t sure that we would be through with the meal in time to get to the theatre and find a good seat. How was the entertainment? The entrainment on-board was outstanding! It was made a point that we were going to the show every night and we really enjoyed each show. There were two nights which were comedians during the 7:00 / 9:00 theatre show, but, they each came a second evening for a 10:45 follow up show. I made sure to attend all of these and it was great. Even the later night “adult” performances by the comedians were fun and were not vulgar or offensive. The musicians in the public spaces were out standing but the real shining stars for me were the lighthouse string duo. They had an electronic cello and violin I think, which they performed some pop and other well known songs and it was a great unique twist that I have not seen before. On the second formal night, there was a performer who climbed stacked chairs and combined it with balancing and headstands on top of the chairs which was on the upper landing of the grand staircase. That was really impressive while also nerve wracking! Celebrity does an outstanding job of putting together excellent shows that are just the right length. The shows run about 45 to 50 minutes and leave you pumped and wanting more. A critique of the late night club, it would be listed in the daily times of starting at 11:00 and going until late. Apparently late is deemed as midnight and so bar service at the constellation lounge shut down about midnight religiously and so the guests had to wander to find another bar that was open, typically, only the casino bar was open later than midnight. If the hours were to be 11:00 to 12:00, that is fine, my only request would be that they should have been printed in the paper that way is all. There were several of us who felt the party ended too soon on those evenings. The entertainers were spread out well between the various venues and they rotated venues so if you preferred to stay in one place each evening you would get a variety of shows or if you preferred a certain group, you had the variety of lounges and bar spaces to try out. Itinerary of ports? (Vancouver, Seattle, Astoria, sea day, San Francisco, Monterey, Santa Barbara, & San Diego) These were all outstanding exceptional places to visit. It was a great sampling of the west coast with each having a unique feel! I would happily visit any of these cities again. We booked shore excursions in all of the ports with Celebrity and also the full behind the scenes ship tour on sea day. This is where we used our onboard credit and only had to pay a little extra for all. Giving the tours the caveat that they only do this twice a year, the excursions were very good however not a polished or organized as excursions that are repeated regularly. If this itinerary was repeated regularly and had the tour providers offered these weekly I would be more harsh in my criticisms. For instance the Mission in Santa Barbara made us wait 30 minutes to verify the tour operator had purchased tickets, and we had a bus driver get lost as well. Overall we saw a lot and had a ton of fun with some great info provided by the tour guides. Debarkation? We were staying extra in San Diego and so we requested the 10am disembark time slot to get us closer to the hotel check in time for dropping of our luggage. The concierge class stateroom meant we could use the constellation lounge for our debark waiting area. They provided coffee, juice, water and pastries in the lounge and we had a good view of San Diego. This was a pleasant experience and I’m glad we made use of it. I had time to relax and transfer photos off the camera and make some Facebook posts for friends and family. Once our time arrived, we grabbed our bags and headed to our Uber and were off to the hotel, much easier than expected. Wrap-up: My final thoughts, it was a wonderful vacation and I made memories that I will cherish forever. The other guests were all wonderful to visit with and I would gladly do it again. While there were some issues, Celebrity worked to improve and recovered in some areas. I would consider a suite next time so that I would have access to the suite restaurant Luminae or if not, then a fixed seating time to hopefully have better service in the main dining room. Despite issues, I have a lot of photos of my Mom and I smiling, so that’s what really matters, we had fun! Read Less

We are Diamond cruisers on Royal Caribbean. Therefore we were able to join Celebrity as Elite Captain Club members. So we wanted to try Celebrity to see how it compares to Royal Caribbean. We were extremely disappointed. The Celebrity Infinity has the potential to be a beautiful ship. Unfortunately it has not been properly maintained since it was launched in 2001. The ship looked drab and it never smelled fresh. The service in the dining room was the worst we have ever experienced, partly because there were not enough waiters to properly serve the guests. The food was bland, the selection was limited, especially the breads, and dinner took almost two hours every night - a real endurance contest. The buffet options were dismal - don't even think about eating any breads, pastries or donuts. We experienced raw sewer smells in our cabin on three nights which woke us from a deep sleep. Our cabin steward was one of the nicest stewards we have encountered. Our cabin was very nice, though dated and in dire need of a refurbish. We will not cruise on Celebrity again. Read Less

We picked this cruise for 2 reasons. First, we really enjoyed our first Celebrity Cruise on the Solstice (Alaska-Tracy Arm Fjord) in 2017, after 4 prior cruises on different lines. Second, we liked the itinerary with 10 nights and only 2 days at sea. Ship: We were apprehensive that this older Infinity might be disappointing. However, we found this "Solsticized" ship to actually be nicer than the Solstice (other than the Persian Garden). Embarkation: Crazy easy; we got to SD cruise terminal at 11a, earlier than the official 11:30 "start" time. SD port terminal very efficient. Security took 5 minutes. 0 wait time to check in with Celebrity in our AquaClass section, and the other levels looked like no more than 15-20 minutes at worst. Bottom line, we were sitting on deck 12 about 20 minutes after the Uber dropped us off at the ship terminal. (Note, we were the only ship at the SD cruise port on our departure date.) Food: Very good; Blu was excellent for both food and service. We bought a package for 4 specialty dinners which were great. Qsine had their first Le Petit Chef experience (including video on your table!), so not the tapas-like menu we expected. But the video was fun and the food was the best meal of the trip, esp the 2 (!) lobster tails which were very tender and generous, and a filet on top of that. The entertainment and enrichment talks were surprisingly good (better than our Solstice cruise which was just OK). Service: Other than a few surly bartenders and one MDR server, was top notch. Excursions: Only took one (Monterey Aquarium & Carmel Mission tour) which was very good. Other stops in this itinerary were super convenient for on-your-own exploring via Uber, walking tours, local shuttles. Disembarkation: Vancouver couldn't have been better. We chose self-assist because we had an 11:20 flight and were paranoid about crowds from the ship to the airport, customs, etc. We had a 7:30 disembark meet time, walked off the ship at 7:35 and after cab/bag check/security/customs were sitting in an airport lounge at 8:30. Crazy efficient. Of course, your results may vary depending upon # of ships disembarking, time of day, etc. But I travel for work a LOT and this was smoother than most of my regular domestic experiences. Bottom line: Take this cruise if it meets your budget, calendar and personal interests!!! We are looking specifically at the Millenium-class ships for other destinations. Read Less

Overall solid cruise. Friendly staff. Luigi (Cruise Director) Lauren and Chico (Activities) were all great and extremely personable. Dining room was great — I tried a lot of the fish, lamb, pork. Didn’t go for any of the up-charge dining rooms, although they pushed them a lot. Dining staff worked their tails off as usual to accommodate people. Ship is easy to navigate -- it's a good size, not a 'mega ship'. Cabin 3049 (inside) was small and a bit smelly and showed wear, but was very quiet and dark, so easy to sleep. The location was very convenient, near the gangways and not far from the main atrium and show theater. The thelassotherapy mineral pool near the spa is free and a real bonus! My favorite thing to do in the late afternoon was go and relax in the this mineral pool and then the sauna in the locker room, which has a large round window that looks out on the waves. Disappointing there wasn’t a formal tea (unless you are one of the more elite passengers). They do however put out tea items in the buffet restaurant in the late afternoon. Good itinerary—mostly did our own thing. Tendered twice, which went smoothly with the use of a ticket system. Lots of Americans, Canadians and Brits on board, several Europeans. I felt there could have been more daytime activities. It seemed like they had few activities, but they were very crowded because there weren't a lot of choices. My favorite thing was the 'silent disco'. Evening shows could have been more varied -- lots of singers -- but they were all excellent entertainers. The show theatre was never packed, which was nice. Easy to get a seat. The ‘show after the show’ in the Constellation Lounge is where Celebrity really shines! Embarkation in San Diego was long — 2 hours on your feet! Everyone complained about it. Disembarkation was easy. We stored our luggage at the port in Vancouver, spent the day there and then flew home later that day. Read Less

The itinerary of the cruise up the pacific coast to Vancouver was exactly what we wanted and in spite of a disaster on another cruise on the sister ship (Summit) we booked. From the embarkation at the port of San Diego, which was almost like a third world country port, to the embarkation in Vancouver was a tribute to total ineptitude. We had a dining room table for 11 but from the first night till the 5th nite on a10 day cruise one other couple and ourselves where the only one to actually dine. We asked repeatedly to have us moved to another smaller table but they refused.. Finally on the 8th day they moved us to another table and had another gentleman from open dining join us for the remainder of the cruise. We had booked over $1000 in excursions throughout the cruise. Each and Every one was a disaster. Misinformation, misdirection to meeting places etc.. They took us to Solvang California at 9:30 AM and the stores didn't open until 10:00AM. One excursion was scheduled for 9:30 AM and we received notice at 8: AM the same day that the cruise had been moved to 2:30PM after we had gotten up at 6:30AM in order to make the original departure time. We received so much credit back for complaints that we had enough to buy a new iPad and pay for a medical visit to the ships Dr. The Summit and the Infinity had noted they were refurbished recently but the Summit had spots and stains all over the upholstery in the Dining room and rust everywhere on both ships. They did update the area they added for the Blu Restaurant and the Aquaclass rooms but the rest were sorely neglected. Us plebians deserve some perks too!!!!! When we had to "tender"in several ports, I was almost afraid to get on the tender because of their poor condition and filthy windows and rust everywhere. I know this must sound lik esour grapes but we are faithful Celebrity cruisers and enjoy their cruises. We are booked on the new Edge in February and will be taking it again on a transatlantic in 2019 with a transatlantic in the fall of 2019, so we do love Celebrity. We hope that these heralded renovations of the older ships include these two ships or they should take them our of service!!!!! Read Less

Chose primarily based on itinerary . Embarkation in San Diego was the worst and longest of any cruise taken. From what we heard ,this is a Port of San Diego issue ,not Celebrity. In general ,no real complaints. First cruise on Celebrity ,and seemed there were a large number of passengers who had multiple cruises and had status. There were more "elite/suite" areas and events than I have ever experienced. Ship was easy to navigate around. Elevators were prompt. All meals were very good. The buffet was very clean, well organized,and extensive (milk could have been colder). We enjoyed the Spa Cafe for healthy lunches. We did celebrity Select dinner seating and never had an issue. The only port /excursion complaint was that trip to Muir Woods was cancelled with no prior notification. Exercise ares was great ,although TV could have been better. Service overall great. Entertainment average but enjoyable Read Less

We chose this cruise because of the itinerary, we had never visited any of these ports before and were looking forward to new places to see. After a long 10.5 hr flight we cleared US customs in record time and as we had booked the Celebrity package were taken to our hotel. As scheduled we were collected from our hotel and transferred to the port again this was part of our package. we then had to stand in line for a very long 2.5 hours to check in this is a totally unacceptable length of time to stand in line. As Elite Captain Club members we have never waited more than 20 mins to check in. The long wait at check in meant that by the time we had put our hand luggage in the stateroom and freshened up lunch was nearly over. we were in Stateroom 7015, not a location I would choose again. The stateroom itself was fine with amply hangers and drawers but the cut backs were very noticeable. No shower cap No vanity kit No pen No paper No envelopes yes some of us till communicate by pen and paper and although these were provided on request I expect them as standard on a 5* cruise. Once again we chose the select dining option, which suits our needs however we were unable to make reservations for the time we wanted 7.30, and had to turn up and wait. this brings me to my other main complaint DRESS CODE or lack of it Since doing away with "FORMAL NIGHTS" and introducing "ELEGANT CHIC" the dress code on these nights is none existent, with guests in the main dining room in shorts & t shirts and although I did complain to the MD who met me on the second of these nights to assure me the dress code would be followed it wasn't. The food in the main dinning room was as good as it always has been with a varied choice and the staff were always friendly and helpful. I really loved the fact that the pool was heated this was a real plus as the weather was cooler than I expected. The shows we went to were very enjoyable and the public areas as usual were spotlessly clean we enjoyed spending sea day in the constellationlounge spotting whales and food the rendezvous lounge very relaxing. Once again our favourite place was the cafe on 5 this is always a the best place on the ship. Read Less

The wife and I live on the West coast, and as such are as we say "cruise starved". We found this cruise 1.5 years ago and jumped on it, anytime we can go on a cruise and not involve an airport we're in. Being mostly Princess customers, but having sailed RCI and Carnival until now, decided to give Celebrity a try and also went for aqua class. As I had heard we were met with a glass of champagne, and proceeded into our ship. I was a different style of build than we were used to, but quite elegant...the artwork was unusual I will say. Overall the condition of the ship is OK considering it's 16 years old, though much of it's furniture should be replaced. Our cabin was just what we had been accustomed to, the bed was comfy, nice linens, though honestly if you can see your hand through a washcloth I'ts pretty thin. Loved the shower, we had an extended balcony due to cabin location and we loved it. Our cabin steward we had yet to meet after two days, then we passed her in the hall, her name was Lin and she works tirelessly throughout the day...I really think they might require too many cabins to maintain, each time we saw her she seemed really tired and frantic, we tipped her extra I felt badly for her. Now on to food.....we were happy to have the Blu option, we liked most of the food and only had one morning breakfast incident to report. It just took forever to get my food the second morning. My head was exploding, while my wife was eating her meal. I got my plate and finished way later than my wife. Other than that time, service was very good, most seemed very happy and friendly. We found food in the buffet was quite typical of what we've seen on other lines. The gelato bar seems to be a complete waste of space in our opinions. The ice cream is so good in the buffet nobody was getting any, the girl had nothing to do anytime we looked....we tried one time and it was OK but nothing to go back for. Speaking of wasted spaces.....what about that "Sushi on five"...? We never got to go try it however it was on our "to do" list all week. Never many people there the many times we went by. Loved the salmon in the Spa cafe, it was right above our room so it was easy and healthier if we ate there. A few things I wish....I wish they'd put ice in the smoothies did not like warm, I wish there were an ice machine no way to ice down drinks. We used the Persian gardens three times enjoying the experience but it is a "cave" in there. Entertainment was great overall, we found a newly formed band called the Brian James band and thought they were the best band on board, each time we heard them crowds were large and their music for us had the best sound. Speaking of which, if you have a chance to get to a "silent party" by all means do. They pass out headphones each of which has three channels to listen to your style of music, each channel has a different color ear lights so it's a room full of folks dancing with no sound, the looks you'd see by folks walking into it was great. We had a conga line, this is in the martini bar...it was a hoot. Movies up on terrace we watched only one all week, they had lots of sci-fy stuff did not interest us. I was able to smoke my cigars up on deck 11 port side, the space on 10 portside had sitting areas with furniture so low it was hard to get out of your seat, heard many complaints. Luigi our CD did a good job, the theater shows are good. Overall we figure we'd sail Celebrity again, but not Infinity class. We'd like to sail the Solstice class and if we can group our status with RCI and get a good deal might. Blu is nice having more personal service for sure, Fernando the wine guy is great, we had lunch twice in the dining room it was OK and the noise and chaos we'd hear going past made us happy to have our quiet. Having the drink package was great, I did upgrade to premium but most likely would not again, I had two martinis and better liquor but in my case I don't really need to. My wife did not upgrade so we took it as an experiment to see it's value. Traveling up the California coast we enjoyed unbelievable weather, no marine layers anywhere, San Francisco was warm and clear sailing under the Golden Gate, sea day woke up to bright sunshine, the only clouds we had were in Ensenada in the morning. Hopefully we can get more cruises to come out here to the West coast, we heard on board the Infinity had not been here since 2013. One little thing I noticed that Celebrity does I've not seen until now, there are linen hand towels in the public restrooms that was a nice touch. Read Less

We were traveling to California to spend s couple days with family, we decided to make the long trip worthwhile and see more of California. We chose Celebrity as they added Catalina island as a port of call. It was a wonderful trip. Celebrity takes care in picking employees who take the extra steps. We chose select dining and never had to wait. Most nights we were waited on by Allan and Dhia. They were wonderful, giving singing commentaries. We spent a great deal of time at cellar masters with Mervin and Victor. Stone free duo were excellent. Great music, great voices. Entertainment was good. We loved the magician and comedian Carl banks the most. Games could have been a bit better, but they can only do so much with the audience. it was a great way to see different cities in California with only unpacking once, we would have liked more active excursions, but managed on our own as phones and Internet worked and everyone spoke English. we had a veranda room with the premium liquor package. Food was very good in the main dining room. Liquor choices were amazing. We did try Quisine one night and loved it. Great job celebrity, we hope to sail with you again.. Read Less

This “California Coast” cruise was our 23rd on Celebrity among more than fifty overall for my wife and me. We are now “Elite Plus” which added some additional perks like the 240 minutes of internet and multiple laundry options. We very much enjoyed this cruise as the very good food and great service from the staff and crew members continues to be top notch. This was the first of our B2B cruises so we continued onboard on our way down the Mexican Riviera and through the Panama Canal. Cabin 3104 was comfortable and quiet, even though it was very near the Grand Foyer atrium and the Guest Relations desk. Our housekeeper, Edi, did a great job keeping our cabin neat and clean while being “invisible” while we were relaxing there. The Guest Relations staff members were very professional and helpful. We were pleased to see GR Officer Garmen Zhang whom we met on our B2B2B cruises in Asia a year ago. Our OBC from Celebrity and CruCon, our travel agent, was immediately posted on our account which helped us to plan how to spend it. On other cruises, it took four or five days so this was the fastest ever. Our Captain’s Club Hostess, Paulina Ugalda, was very welcoming at the Elite and Elite Plus events. She also personally escorted us down to the tenders in all three ports. It was the most well done priority assistance we’ve ever had. It was great to see Assistant Chief Housekeeper, Gabriela, again who was so helpful when my wife fell ill on our B2B2B in Australia and New Zealand six months ago. We were able to chat with her several times and catch up on where she’s been and what’s she’s done since then. We also appreciated that we received a beautiful flower arrangement and a nice bottle of wine in our cabin from her. We were in “Select Dining” this time and were seated quickly each evening at a table for two. We appreciate that Celebrity has many of these tables, but most of them are so close together that you might as well be sharing a table. We talk to many other guests during the day and later in the evening, but we prefer to have some “down time” from these conversations at dinner. Also, my wife has trouble hearing which can make these interactions difficult. So, we opted to switch to the fixed seating at 6:00 with a more private table on the second of our B2B cruises. The food in the “Trellis” MDR was excellent as usual. We usually order our favorite dishes from each menu, but we tried some new ones this time and they were also very good. The Oceanview Café provided many options during the day and late into the night. We also enjoyed the drinks and desserts in Café al Baccio. The bartenders in the lounges were efficient even when they were very busy. DeJean in the Rendez-Vous were particularly helpful and made the best Grasshoppers we’d ever had. We continue to support “Evening Chic” with my wife in her dresses and me in my suit or tuxedo. We understand that other guests aren’t as interested in doing this as we are, but it’s nice to see some still like it as much as we do. The production shows were very good as usual and the singers and dancers were quite talented. We really enjoyed the “Swing@Sky” show in the Constellation Lounge and the entire cast kept up the high level of energy for a very long time. It was definitely the very best of that type of event on all of our cruises. On the final night, the “Duo Destiny” show with the acrobats Goncalo and Kinga was unbelievable. We were very lucky on this cruise as both bands were excellent. We saw Take 5 on our B2B2B cruises in Asia a year ago year so we were happy to see them again. They were great then and are even better now. Their female singer and their other members are very friendly and approachable. The Bryan James Band was terrific, especially since they were billed on this cruise as a “dance band” rather than “house band” or “party band”. Bryan has a great sense to humor and his band can play a wide range of music depending on the audience and the venue. We hope that Celebrity keeps both of them under contract for as long as they can. We did two ship’s excursions and four on our own. Santa Barbara: Rented a car to see the wine country, the SB Mission and the Reagan Center San Francisco (overnight) – First Day: Took my nephew and his girlfriend to dinner at the Crab House San Francisco – Second Day: Took ship’s SF03 excursion to Muir Woods and took ferry back from Sausalito on our own Monterey: Rented a convertible and drove around 17-Mile Drive and Carmel Catalina Island: Went to the Catalina Island Museum to see the Dale Chihuly glass exhibit and took a bus to Botanic Gardens Ensenada, Mexico: Took ship’s EN04 excursion to two wineries in Calafia Valley wine country One area which could use some improvement was the B2B process. At other B2B meetings, someone from the MDR was there to allow guests to select their tables for the next cruise, but that didn’t happen. As part of these past meetings, there have been drawings for prizes, offers of complimentary specialty restaurants, discounted excursions and/or coupons with codes for additional internet minutes in order to fill out the survey from the first cruise. The only “perks” this time were a 30% off a restaurant (for only the embarkation evening) and a card to get into the “Trellis” MDR 15 minutes before the newly boarding guests. We were also given the impression that this process wouldn’t take too long. We were told to gather at 9:40, but we not able to disembark until everyone else did at about 10:40. We then exited the ship and had to wait almost another hour to get back onboard at 11:30. We suspect that due to regulations, there was no chance for anyone to board before that time. It would have been better to know ahead of time that the local authorities require this timing so we could have planned for these delays. We and most of the other guests have done quite a few B2Bs so all of us were surprised that it was much more inconvenient it this time. Almost everything else on this cruise was great except one thing. While not a major problem or a “deal breaker”, we have been a bit disappointed at the recent trend of having more public areas unavailable to everyone. The Celebrity ships have very few inside venues for music and relaxation compared to other cruise lines. So, when one of them is taken out of circulation, the options are limited. We used to love to go to the piano bar in Michael’s Club (especially when Perry Grant was still with Celebrity and packed it every night), but it’s been “privatized” for many years. We’ve also seen “Private Parties” in “Quasar” on the “Solstice” class ships and in the “Constellation” type Sky Lounges on the “Millennium” class ships. On one of our cruises last year, Park West took control of the Sky Lounge for several days for private art sales. The most recent example was the Latina/o “Private Party” from 10:00 – 12:00 on the final night of this cruise which meant that most guests couldn’t enjoy that area as they had on other nights. We are well aware that Celebrity celebrates the diversity of their crew and their guests so segregating and/or excluding groups seems to be counter to that goal. We appreciate the “Elite” cocktail hours in the upper lounge, but not at the expense of access for others. In some cases, the guests who are not yet at “Elite” have been excluded from taking in the view, particularly during sail-aways. The exception was when we were on the “Infinity” for a B2B in South America and Antarctica in 2015 where we were pleased to see that there were areas roped off from the “Elite” section so everyone had a chance to see the scenery. We would certainly endorse sharing that lounge and all other venue as often as possible on every cruise. Overall, we always have a great time on Celebrity. After the Panama Canal, we have twelve more cruises booked in the Mediterranean, Middle East, India, Caribbean, Northern Europe and Transatlantic in the next year. So, we’ll look forward to having 135 more days to enjoy Celebrity’s welcoming hospitality and excellent service! Read Less

We selected this for the itinerary. We especially wanted to get to San Francisco. Alcohol Note: You can purchase wine or spirits in Seattle and bring it on board. You do not have to submit to the ship's scanner. You will go through a customs scanner but they don't care that you have bottles (very strange). The ship looks like it needs a make-over. However, the theatre, gym and dining room are all very nice. I play craps. This ship may have the worst crew working the table that I've ever come across and they seem to take their direction from their inhospitable casino manager. Stay away from this casino. Leaving the ship on the final day wasn't good. We lined up when our number was called and found that people that were exiting the elevator, simply went ahead of our line. When this was brought to the attention of a staff member, my complaint was met with a blank stare. Another case of Nobody is in Charge. The Hotel Manager doesn't seem to be aware of his responsibility to passengers. My final complaint is a big one - what were they thinking? The Hotel Manager decided it was a good idea to make the sauna a unisex facility. I won't go into the whole story ... but women were given full access to the ENTIRE men's change room/toilet area NOT JUST THE SAUNA. Imagine my surprise when I exited the shower to find two women standing outside its door waiting to use it? Read Less

We loved the itinerary on this cruise, San Francisco, Santa Barbara, Monterey, Catalina and Ensenada! Included overnight in San Francisco. The staff on this ship is terrific, very attentive and nice. My biggest complaint was the Tuscan Grill. My filet was dry, the veal Marsala was heavily fried, little Marsala sauce, if any and the pasta was watery!. No elegance to the dining experience. Infinity formally had a very nice specialty restaurant with white table cloths, french service. Well worth the money, but theTuscan Grill at any price is not worth the money. Food is better at the Trellis Restaurant. We also did Qsine. Love the experience, not sure if it is worth the $45 per person upgrade, but if you dine there the first night, there is a 30% discount, and that makes it well worth it. Great selections, artistically presented. The new outdoor theatre on the eleventh deck is a fun place to relax for the afternoon. Movie selections weren't great, but the experience is well worth it. Cafe Al Boccia serves great coffees ( the room service coffee is terrible), so the best place for coffee on the ship. They offer breakfast pastries in the morning and a great assortment of cookies, cakes and other desserts all afternoon, in addition to exotic teas and alcohol. Read Less

This was at least our fifth cruise on Celebrity, the second on this ship class. We absolutely love the Thalassotherapy pool: 90-degree salty water, high pressure downspouts on head/neck/shoulders, and bubbling chaise lounge racks. We've seen nothing like it on Princess, Royal, Holland, or Carnival. No long waits for espresso at Cafe al Bacio, nor for great eggs benedict and omelets in the buffet. The dining room was a disaster though on the first night as the waiter lost our orders and we watched later arrivals eat while we sat with nothing but bread sticks. Had to hail the maitre'd to move things along and get the wine steward's attention. Finally the mushroom soup arrived but it had an off-tasting foam on top. Happily the dining room did better on the two semi-formal nights. On the last night we went to the gyros bar on the buffet deck, expecting this Greek-heritage cruise line to wow us, but there was no lamb, only chicken. Go figure. The production shows were fabulous as was the acrobatic dance duo. Liked the back deck for outdoor buffet seating, live music, and full bar. Ate at Qsine one night ($45/p) and it was an interesting but confusing experience. You order off an ipad which has 20 icons on one page for the various soup, salad, appetizer, and main course items. You're led to believe that each item is a small portion size (some are) so that you can sample most of the menu in several waves but beware, some of the items are belly stuffers like the 3 meatballs. I expected cocktail-sized meatballs on a toothpick but they're larger than a baseball. By the time we picked at them we had no room left for the chinese food. Be sure to order things in a logical order and that the larger portioned items are served last. We've done the California coastal itinerary before but never run out of new things to see/do in San Francisco like the Munch exhibit at the museum of modern art. And just when we thought we'd done everything in Catalina, we saw a Dale Chihuly exhibit at their new art museum on Metropole. In Santa Barbara lower State Street is getting a much-needed facelift. Ensenada has developed their waterfront featuring water cannons to soak the kiddies. The aquarium at Monterey is great, but at $50/p it's now about half of what Disneyland costs. Finally parking at the pier in San Pedro is a hefty $18/day. Read Less

My wife and I chose this cruise because some good friends were taking it and asked several other couples to join them - so we did! Altogether there were about 6 couples. The ports of call for this cruise were Santa Barbara, San Francisco (overnight), Monterrey, Avalon (Catalina Island) and Ensenada, MX. There were NO sea days, making this a bit of a different cruise. We drove over from Phoenix, AZ with one other couple a day ahead and stayed on the Queen Mary, about 15 minutes from the San Pedro Cruise terminal. We've done that before, and was a great way to kick off this cruise (be sure to eat at Sir Winston's for dinner). On embarkation day, we arrived about 11:30, and were aboard by about 12:30 - fairly easy and well organized. Our stateroom was #2166 (ocean-view) - very well appointed. Rooms were ready promptly at abut 1:00 p.m.; luggage arrived a bit later. Storage space was thoughtful - be sure to use the area above the TV! Our cabin attendant, Mimi, was one of the sweetest people we've met! (On an afternoon where I was not feeling well, she checked with my wife several times to see if she could help with anything!) We know food is subjective, but thought it was very well prepared considering the volume of people served. Service was very attentive and friendly, including the sommelier's. We did not do specialty dining, as the group of us ate together at Anytime Dining in the MDR (and props to the maitre de for allowing us to switch in order to join our friends). The buffet offered a lot of variety, if you surveyed the whole area, and could always find something to our liking. Breakfast offerings were very good and plentiful. You did have to pay attention to the hours, as service from time to time was scaled back in order to prepare for the next meal. But...seriously, food was available almost any time! The entertainment was terrific! The production staff did 3 shows (plus others around the ship on other days). There were a couple comedians (Clean! Rated-PG - kudos Celebrity for that!) - both very good. One of them had made appearances on Jay Leno! There was a new duo acrobat team, and their show was amazing! The guy was from Argentina (?) and the girl was from Poland. Very lovely couple, and talented! Drew a standing ovation. As an aside - as a part-time musician myself, I really appreciated the "live band" used for the production shows. It is always so much better than pre-recorded tracks, and adds class! The main lounge/house band was "ok". They were easy to listen to, but did not have quite the pizzazz I have heard from other lounge acts. We did not attend special game nights, etc., as the focus on this cruise was being with our friends. The Martini Bar must be mentioned! The bartenders are simply amazing. They really know how to put on a show while mixing/pouring the drinks, and teasing the passengers - they were so fun! Service was pretty good, but because it is a popular place, you may need to be a bit assertive to get your order in. Our group spent about an hour here before the show/dinner each night! Lastly, the Cruise Director, Luigi ("I'm Not Italian!") was so gracious and funny. We did see him during the day mingling with passengers. We always looked forward to his introductions to the shows. There was not much at all to complain about at all - we were on vacation! What we did notice especially early in the cruise was the tendency to push higher level packages (we already had the Classic beverage package, and understood that the martini's at the Martini Bar would cost an extra $3.50+ - but we were not going to upgrade to the premium package just to get those covered, we were happy to pay the difference. There are other 'upcharge' opportunities as well. However, this seems pretty standard on all lines, so we are comfortable just saying "no" and enjoying what we have. Also want to mention that we felt the Infinity was in very good condition for her age. Maintenance was constant (cleaning, painting, varnishing, etc), but nothing was unsightly. We enjoyed this cruise very much. Based on our experience, we booked a Caribbean cruise for 2018 on a Solstice-class ship. Read Less

Great knitting cruise! Older ship, but well maintained, I thought. It is, however, missing some of the things that the newer ships of the line have and unfortunately, I found the service in some areas lacking. Our cabin was great. We lucked into upgrading to a Family Verandah cabin after final payment and really enjoyed the extra space and the enormous balcony. (An aside, I wish they had designed a bit of extra space for the bathroom--I can't imagine a family of 5 using that tiny, phone-booth-sized bathroom!) Our room steward was great. Two minor downsides, the toilet ALWAYS required more than 1 flush (sorry if that's TMI, but it is what it is) and the sheets always felt slightly…clammy? Maybe the humidity at sea? Maybe just me? I attended 3 shows and they were excellent. The musical entertainment around the ship was good, if a little loud at times. Luigi did a great job as cruise director. OK, now the service issues. Embarkation was a NIGHTMARE! Well over an hour wait, incredibly long lines, and very unorganized once into the terminal. "Go sit over there." Then people were not taken into line in the order seated. Very unpleasant start to the cruise. It was almost impossible to find bar service wait staff at the 10th floor café at breakfast to order fresh squeezed orange juice. Yes, a first-world problem, but I had the beverage package mainly for the orange juice and lattes for breakfast! I was only able to get it 2 out of 7 mornings!. Ordering a latte upstairs at breakfast was virtually impossible—they had to go down to the 5th floor Café al Bacio to get it. Only got that once. I went downstairs to get it myself AFTER breakfast 6 days. Again, in the grand scheme of things, a minor annoyance, but not one I’ve experienced on my favorite (other) cruise line. The main dining room (select dining) had bar issues as well. Several times, at both lunch and dinner, dinner companions ordered drinks or wine, asked several times about them, and one night actually complained to the Maitre d’ about the unconscionable delay. He tried to explain it away by saying that it was a busy night, but really? On a cruise ship, every night is a busy night! Overall, it was not a bad experience and I will certainly cruise Celebrity again, especially for knitting cruises. However, I think most of my cruising will be on another cruise line. Read Less

This was our 14th cruise. We have tried all the other main stream lines except Disney. We stayed in an inside cabin on the 11th deck. The average age of the passengers was about 60 years old and we were the young ones in our 40s. Pros: The food was excellent and there was plenty of variety. The places we went to were beautiful and the weather was perfect. Cons: 2 ½ hour wait to get on the ship. We arrived at noon and did not step on the boat until 2:30. $7.70 12oz. Miller Lites. At this ridiculous price we did most of our drinking OFF the ship at less than half the price. The hot tubs squirt cold water out of their jets and all of them close at 9pm! They should have kept the Spa ones open until midnight. They are all unsupervised anyway. The first day there were no waiters on the deck or in the theater. And thereafter they were few and far between. The outdoor movie screen was terrible. It’s resolution was poor and had a 2 foot square block of LCDs that were much brighter than the rest. And there were only seating for about 40 people max. The pizza sucked and always had a soggy crust. Half the time it looked old like it was sitting there a long time. And slow service in the main dining room. Read Less