Our "at sea only" cruise

Cruises: 4-6 cruises

Review: 1

Helpful Votes: 45

Review summary

The itinerary on Celebrity Infinity was excellent: Buenos Aires to Ushuaia to Cape Horn to Antarctica to Port Stanley, Falkland’s, to Puerto Madryn to Montevideo and back to Buenos Aires. The only issue with it was the first [boring] 3 days at sea, but we skipped them by flying to Ushuaia directly. (Yet, Celebrity, of course, not only issues no refund for those 3 days, but charges a fee to allow you to embark in a different port. The funny part of that was a call from them on the day of the departure with a question of why we are not on the ship. Despite the fee charged, they did not bother to communicate our embarkation exclusion to the vessel!) There's more. Unfortunately, a week before sailing, Celebrity sent an email that they have a problem with the ship’s propulsion system, as such they won’t have sufficient speed and will have to cancel our visit to Puerto Madryn. It was very bad news, but at least they promised to refund one day as an excuse; not a fair exchange of course but something. (Later on the ship, during our Inside Access Tour, we of course asked in the mechanical room what the problem they have with the propulsion system, but the crew politely did not give an answer.) The worst part came later. They suddenly cancelled Port Stanley as well. This time it was “for safety reasons”, saying that the weather is too bad there, that it’s a strong wind of 55-80 kph and getting to the shores is not possible. Alas, there is a big problem with this statement. First of all, the crew already knew and many people told us two days before that we won’t go to Port Stanley; that's before there was any reliable weather information. Also, our sailing through Drake Passage was extremely smooth. We were really lucky with the weather! Then at 5 AM on the morning we were supposed to sail to Port Stanley I checked the weather there and it was …sunny with 50 kph wind indeed but also CALMING to 25 kph during the day. Nonetheless, “for our safety” we did not go there. Of course, people attacked all officers with tons of questions. The main one being why not visit Puerto Madryn or another port in Argentina instead. We got no answer. I also had an opportunity to ask the captain personally on the real reason for skipping Stanley. The answer was, “I’m the captain, I know better.” So, it looks like Celebrity Infinity either has a big technical problem with the vessel (and then it’s a real safety issue!) or saves money on port fees, etc., maximizing their profits. Either way, my advice is to never use this company. They have no respect for their customers, easily ruining vacations for 2000+ people.

Embarkation

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

Onboard Activities

Entertainment

Service and Staff

Ship Quality

Cabin / Stateroom

Ports of call

Buenos Aires, Argentina

Ushuaia, Tierra Del Fuego, Argentina

Port Stanley, Falkland Islands

Puerto Madryn, Argentina

Montevideo, Uruguay

Disembarkation

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