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

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

Let me preface the following by saying we chose the cruise exclusively based upon the ports (La Coruna for Santiago, Porto, Lisbon, Cadiz, Gibraltar, and Malaga for Granada/Alhambra). We had never cruised on HAL before, with two prior European cruises being on Carnival and Princess. There were four of us in our traveling party, utilizing 2 inside cabins on the Main deck. Though the cruise began in Rotterdam, we joined the cruise in Harwich. Embarkation only had a slight hitch as the computers were down, yet we boarded around 11:30 a.m. and our luggage was waiting for us outside our cabins. Our first impression was the age of our fellow passengers, especially embarking with us in Harwich. As our party consisted of a 59, 62, 72, and 81 year old, we felt like youngsters among the cruisers. Our second impression was the size of our cabin. It was significantly larger than ones we have experienced on Princess or Carnival. It even included a couch! The room steward was efficient(which, as I will later relay, an unusual occurrance on the ship). The public areas were very classy and attractive, especially for an older, smaller ship than we had previously used. Our first experience with the staff, other than the room steward was dealing with the front office regarding their taking our passports prior to embarking on the ship. There was no reason given and there was no stating when they would be returned. When asked, the first gentleman just said we would get them when we get them. Thanks for the insight. Eventually, we demanded them the next day and they were given to us by another person at the front desk. Apparently, those who did not ask had them returned days later. The Lido and Dining room were staffed by people who either had limited English abilities or lacked the incentive to quickly deliver meals. Most meals were lukewarm or cold. In some cases, in the dining room orders were forgotten or misunderstood. As such the food was just okay. In the Lido, it looked like for every one person working, there were two watching. At the "burger" place on the Lido deck, slow would be a euphemism. The staff was totally indifferent. When we would see a staff member appearing to be enthusiastic, he or she would really stand out (e.g., at the late night desert party). At one of the Lido outside dinners, they ran out of items within the first hour. Room service was very efficient. The room steward provided us with fresh fruit, though the bananas were usually quite old. As for entertainment, the best was the first night singer and the second night "Broadway" singers and dancers. Unfortunately, it went down hill from there. There was a particularly unfunny gentleman who showed up twice (Broadway and Duet shows) and significantly put a damper on the other talented performers. The entertainment director did his best to promote enthusiasm, but the general age of the majority of the cruisers limited his effectiveness. The piano/singer seemed to work hard, but his music sounded more like elevator music. Indeed, the best entertainment was that provided by the house band and a singer in the upstairs lounge. Unlike other ships, there were no comedians.Overall, we found the activities on the ship, especially on sea days either limited or boring. The person who gave the 2 talks on the ports(about 30 minutes each or about 10 minutes per port) seemed to be giving them by rote memory. When we asked him for approximate cab costs from the port to the city(Porto), he turned out be off by 100%( it cost 10 euros not 20 euros). Overall, he seemed to exude the same indifference as much of the rest of the staff. We did appreciate the "lack" of constant announcements and selling as we had experienced on other lines. The shops were extremely limited in their offerings. For example, there were no t shirts representing the cruise. Instead, you could buy t shirts from the Baltic cruises. We found it difficult to purchase on board miscellaneous sundries. The casino was relatively tiny, but it appeared that the machines were not as tight as most cruise ships. The internet/Explorers lounge was rarely busy, so computers were readily available, though as on other ships, quite slow and costly. The person supervising the computers was helpful and knowledgeable. We did not use the pool area, though it was often covered, which made it comfortable. It looked like vary few people ever used the pool. The fitness room was up to date and rarely used by other cruisers. The wrap around deck 3 was great for power walking. I especially appreciated their Cancer Walk on the last sea day. As mentioned before, the ports were the primary reason for the trip and they did not disappoint. We used a private tour company at 3 of the ports, as they were at least 30-40% less than the HAL excursions. At the other ports we just walked off and did "our thing". I should add that the "hotel director/manager" did a wonderful job organizing a cruise critic meet and greet as well as inviting me to participate in post cruise evaluation(on the last day prior to our arrival in Barcelona). Overall, we found the ship to be adequate, but the staff not so much. We did not feel we belonged to the demographic of our fellow cruisers.   Read Less