Awesome Panama Canal Cruise
Celebrity Infinity Cruise Review to Panama Canal, Central America
Contributor Level:
Second Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 2
Helpful Votes: 91
15 Night Panama Canal Eastbound (San Diego To Miami)
Sail date: November 09, 2019
Ship: Celebrity Infinity
Cabin type: Inside
Cabin number: 8024
Traveled as: Singles/Friends
Reviewed: 4 years ago
Review summary
This was a very good cruise vacation. I enjoyed the ship as it was easy to get to know and move around. The staff were always very friendly and pleasant. The ships captain even invited guest to go out onto the bow of the ship as we entered our ports of call. I felt special to get such an invite from the captain of the ship. We (everyone) also were allowed to go out onto the bow during the entire Panama Canal transit. The upper level staff made themselves available and were very approachable during the cruise. This was unlike most of my previous cruises. I am just a Select level member in the Captain's Club.Embarkation
It was by far the quickest and easiet embarkation I have experienced. (22 cruises) I litteraly just arrived and walked onto the ship with just one quick stop to receive my sea pass card.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The food was very good. I found every thing to be tasty, fresh and server appropriately hot or cold as it should be. The dining room was quick and efficient without being annoying and obtrusive.
Onboard Activities
I did not partake of any onboard activities. I like to spend my time on the upper most forward deck and enjoy the breeze, peace and quite.
Entertainment
I do not attend the entertainment venues. I prefer my peace and quite.
Children's Programs
I have no children.
Service and Staff
The service and staff were wonderful. They were available when you needed or wanted them and yet did not hover around looking for an opportunity to pounce on you should you look like you might want or need something.
Ship Quality
The ship was very clean but it did show its age in spots. Some of the carpets were stained. Stair treads outside where missing on one step. The ship had a bit of rust on the railings. It wasn't bad looking.
Cabin / Stateroom
This is an inside cabin located on deck 8 forward. It is a very good location with quick and easy access to the upper and lower decks by means of the forward elevators or stairs.
The room is nicely sized but starts to feel small when you want to go to bed. It was accessible best from one side as the love seat made it difficult to access from the other side of the bed.
The cabin has a lot of storage space. The vanity in the room however, did not have a pen or paper. I like to write notes and could not do so.
For tall individuals the bathroom is especially nice. It doesn't feel so cramped and tight as many of the larger and newer ships feel. The only draw back is that the shower has a curtain instead of a shower door.
The cabin was clean when I arrived and my room steward keep the cabin wonderfully clean during the 15 day cruise. She knew when I would be out in the morning and sneaked in to make up the bed and refresh my towels when I wanted them refreshed. She was also aware of when I went to diner. (late dinning) She turned down the bed and dropped of the newsletter for the next day.
Ship tip
Sometimes it is easier to go down a few decks to move to the back or front of the ship instead of going up and trying to cut through the crowded pool areas.
Thumbs up
0
Ports of call
San Diego was clean and friendly. Unfortunately I did not get much time to visit the city. I arrived late in the afternoon the day prior to my cruise.
I booked the Coastal Highlights tour offered by the cruise line. It was nice but nothing special.
I booked the Paradise Beach Escape tour offered by the cruise line. In 22 cruises, it was the first time I booked this type of tour. I was not impressed with the other offerings by the cruise line. I enjoyed the hotel's beach and bar service. The beach was clean, restful and very pleasant.
Not much to book in terms of tours at this port. I selected the Antigua - Self Guided Tour. It was a very nice full of history and charm. The people were friendly. The bus ride was very long. On the bus we had a tour guide that helped in passing the time with local information.
I booked a tour outside of the cruise line. The tour was offered by Thumbs Up Tours. The specific tour that I booked was Monteverde Cloud Forest & Hummingbird Gardens. It was by far the best tour that I have taken in many years. The guide and driver were very friendly. They were also very informative about life in Costa Rica. The tour groups are keep small. so the groups gets to know one another. During the tour we encountered hummingbirds, monkeys and butterflies. We also got to see an abundance of plants and flowers. Plan on getting a little wet on this tour as you are in the clouds and everything is damp.
The cruise line provided an individual that offered a really good narration of the Panama Canal. He knew about the construction and history of the region. He limited or edited himself so that we were not over loaded with information. We had time to talk among ourselves between his narrations. The Panama Canal is an amazing thing to see. It a wonder that it was ever completed. It also shows that treating your workers well can make the difference in getting a tough job done.
I did not see a tour that appeared interesting to me. In looking at the port there was no reason to even get off the ship. I have only skip on an opportunity to visit a port one other time. I just could not find a reason to go ashore in this port.
Due to a worker strike in Columbia most of the ships tours were cancelled including my tour. The ship did stop and a few tours did go out. However, there is nothing to do at this port except to shop at the store front just off the pier.
I was scheduled to disembark at 9:30 A.M. However, a hundred plus of us did not get to leave the ship until after 11:30 A.M. With my flight leaving at 5:00 I did not have the time or energy when I disembarked the ship to consider our Miami Florida.
Disembarkation
The disembarkation was incredibly slow although it appeared to be well organized on the ship. I am not sure what caused the long delay in disembarking the ship. I was scheduled to leave at 9:30. I was not off the ship until 11:30 or later.