The 2nd leg of our back-to-back only showed the consistency of quality on this ship
Celebrity Infinity Cruise Review to Caribbean - Bahamas
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 2-3 cruises
Reviews: 5
Helpful Votes: 230
4 Night Bahamas (Ft. Lauderdale Roundtrip)
Sail date: November 29, 2018
Ship: Celebrity Infinity
Traveled as: Couple
Reviewed: 5 years ago
Review summary
We were pleased that the quality of everything we encountered on the first leg of our back-to-back was still at a high level, even though some crew had changed. We'd met some new people on the first leg who were also doing a back-to-back and hanging out with them only made our first cruise better. The a/c problem continued on this leg but, as before, I can't lower my rating because nearly everything else was so good. We did have an issue with one crew member but that is being addressed to our satisfaction. We would definitely do a Celebrity cruise again because of the level of service and the quality of the food. Infinity will be refurbished by the time we book a 2020 cruise so the a/c will probably be fixed. :o) If Infinity has new ports to visit we'd book her again. Again, kudos to our butler Rene and to Olga, the Customer Relations Manager. Also to Alexandra who took over as the suite concierge. Also note, that I'd rate the cruise overall a 4.8 or 4.9. Nassau's score should be taking my overall score down so low. We didn't enjoy Nassau as much as we'd thought but it was only a few hours of the whole cruise.Embarkation
Because we did a back-to-back we only had to exit the ship into the terminal, show our passports then come back on board. 15 minutes, tops.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
Very good and excellent overall (see my review of the Nov 24th 1st leg)
Onboard Activities
As mentioned in my previous review, this is not a party boat nor is it for very active people. But we found something to do all the time, even if it was just relaxing on our balcony with a drink.
Service and Staff
It was good to see consistency, especially when some crew member left the ship and new ones came on board. We did have one issue with a woman at the Excursion desk. She was rather rude and didn't seem to want to take our complaint seriously. We spoke with her manager and were promised some relief. Note: we did not want our money back, just an acknowledgement of an issue (more under excursions). I don't want to lower my score here because on one person.
Ship Quality
As mentioned in my previous review, this is a classic ocean liner, in my opinion. I saw people cleaning all the time.
Cabin / Stateroom
This is a Sky Suite 1, a lower level suite. The room is wider than most cabins, with a bigger bathroom which included a tub. We also had a full size sofa that was also a comfortable double bed and an easy chair. There was plenty of storage. The closet was huge. We brought a lot of clothes (we were doing a back-to-back) and didn't fill the closet. There was room under the bed for our 3 smaller (carry-on size) suitcases. Our larger suitcase went into the closet and was out of the way. The balcony was wider, of course, and had 2 chairs that could be adjusted as loungers. When we entered the cabin the first time we were greeted with a tray of apples, fresh flowers, and an ice bucket holding a bottle of champagne. The bathroom had plenty of storage, as well, including space on either side of the sink. The toilet was not tucked into a corner. There was no outlet in the bathroom so the hair dryer was in a cabinet attached to the desk/vanity in the room. We had a chair with a back for the desk. There were 2 US outlets and 2 European. We brought a portable outlet extension but did not use it. Instead we used a European outlet adapter that had one US plug and 2 USB outlets. That gave us just enough outlets and nothing took up any desk space.
Ship tip
Arrive early so you can get aboard early and take advantage of some embarkation day discounts
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
We've been to Key West before. There's a lot to do and several excellent restaurants. We took some new friends to the Butterfly Conservancy (we'd been before). Just as enjoyable as the first time and our friends loved it. There's a free shuttle that circles Duval Street one block over. We had lunch at El Siboney, an excellent Cuban restaurant in the middle of the island. You'll need a taxi or Uber/Lyft to get there. Totally worth it.
I'd heard a lot of people say they don't leave the ship in Nassau. I now understand why. You can go to a beach, snorkel, or visit Atlantis but it's all pricey. You can take a bus tour of the island like we did a lot less. But you get a lot less. The tour route did not match what we bought in the Cruise Planner. We expected to be at Atlantis at the end of the tour, at which time we would leave the bus to go gamble. Instead we went there first and had only 20 minutes to view part of the aquarium in the hotel lobby. The driver told us we go past some great Nassau buildings but if we wanted pictures we would have to be quick because he was driving fast. We went to a fort that didn't allow access, although there was a good view of the harbor. There were also some crappy souvenir stalls. He took us to the other side of the island to see Baha Mar, Atlantis' competition but we didn't even get out of the bus. We went to a rum distillery where the guide there was missing. So we had the gift shop and bar to visit. We were supposed to visit a rum cake factory but the driver just pointed out the street it was on as we went back to the port. Fortunately, it was close enough to walk back to. We were also supposed to go to the Straw Market. Again, it just pointed out to us. There are lots of shops in "downtown" Nassau but it was too hot and humid after a long, somewhat boring bus tour to spend much time there. Our cruise next year will stop here but we will just take a taxi to Atlantis then.
Disembarkation
I just realized I wrote my review of this leg's disembarkation in my previous leg's review. To summarize: fast!