Infinity Review - 2/5/06 MOAGC2

Rather than a formal review of the cruise and ship, I thought I would jot
down a collection of thoughts, impressions and other metal flotsam and
jetsam about this cruise. This is all my opinion, based on my observations
and experiences.... and since I have been pecking at it now and then since I
got home last Monday night, it is longer than War and Peace.

Some background about me...

I am a travel agent and someone who likes cruises. It is impossible for me
to separate the two and write as a passenger OR as a travel agent. I have
been on over 50 cruises and while some will take that to mean that my
experience will mean I have a good "eye" for what makes a good cruise,
others will say that since I am a TA that anything I write will be biased
towards the cruise industry. Doesn't matter to me.... you should take
anything you read on Usenet with a grain of salt. I am free to write what I
want and you are free to assign whatever level of credibility to it that
you please.

My background with Celebrity.....

My one and only cruise on Celebrity was in December, 1998 on board the
Mercury (the very first GGC). To say I was underwhelmed would be
charitable. I felt the ship and crew had all the warmth of a hospital
waiting room and about as much charm. Quality and availability of food was
dismal and while the staff did their jobs, they merely seem to be going
through the motions.... doing enough to get the job done and no more. I
left that ship with the feeling that it would be a long time before I ever
went back on a Celebrity ship.

So why choose Celebrity for this cruise......

1) I am a travel agent. I don't have to like every product I sell, but I
feel I should have more than a passing acquaintance with any cruise line
that my customers seem to like. The travel agent part of me felt it would
be good for business for me to get back on a Celebrity ship and how things
are now compared to 1998.

2) I am someone who loves cruises and who realizes that one bad experience
on one ship is not always representative of the quality of the entire fleet.
I am lucky to be able to go on a lot of cruises and know how quality can
vary from one ship to another. I was willing to re-visit Celebrity and give
them another chance.

A second chance to make a good first impression.....

The Infinity tied up at Pier 18 in Port Everglades. I drove to the port and
after dropping my wife and luggage at the terminal, I drove to the parking
garage. There I met one of my friends who was arriving at the same time.
She is in a power wheelchair and was told by the parking attendants that
none of the shuttles would be able to accommodate her wheelchair. Huh. I
took her carry-on bag with me on the shuttle and she took off down the
street heading for terminal 18. Traffic was slow and she actually beat the
shuttle there... a distance of about 3/4 of a mile. She was greeted by a
Celebrity employee who was very annoyed that this had happened, telling my
friend that there IS a special equipped van for wheelchair transfers and
that she would take care of the matter and inform the right people so that
the parking garage personnel were up to speed on what was available. Not a
great start... but not a major problem.

Enter the terminal and show the person there the online printed boarding
pass and was escorted right to a check in window. The bar code on the
boarding pass was scanned, passports were checked and a credit card was
swiped..... and we were given our onboard SeaPass... which is the typical
onboard charge card, ID and door key. The whole process took less than 5
minutes and we were walking onto the ship. Very nicely done.... and very
similar to the same process used by Princess. Celebrity gets an A for
that.... Port Everglades gets an F.

As you board the ship, you are greeted with a complimentary glass of
Champagne or other beverage (juice) and pointed in the general direction of
the elevators. When you check in they give you a folder which has the deck
plans of the ship... similar to what Carnival does. It comes in handy for
the first day or two until you find your way around.

Cabin 8111, Concierge Class. OK... nice but not a whole lot bigger than a
standard Carnival cabin. Much nicer decor though... nice enough that I
notice it. On the balcony is a large table and two WOODEN deck chairs.
Very nice, but the composite material that serves as flooring for the
balcony is ugly. Fresh flowers in the cabin, along with a bottle of
champagne.
There is a large sofa that is pretty deep as it would convert to a bed.
Bathroom is pretty standard cruise ship except the shower is larger than
most. Lots of bottles of shampoo, conditioner, etc. I have to admit it is
a lot classier than Carnival's "Bucket-O-Samples" but not always as handy.
The bed was comfortable and there was supposedly some special bed linens
and pillow assortment available, but the stuff on the bed was fine for me so
I never asked for anything different.

Concierge Class pretty much consists of enhanced amenities and to be honest,
most of them were wasted on me. I wear a Timex and drive a Ford and tiny
hors d'ouevres in the afternoon really don't impress me. Caviar? I'd been
happier with some pretzels and some hard boiled eggs. One thing I did
appreciate was the bowl of fruit. I told the cabin steward that I preferred
bananas and grapes and the bowl was kept full all week.

The cabin has a small refrigerator that I used to stash my Caffeine-free
Diet Pepsi. The cabin steward kindly moved enough junk out of there to make
room for my stuff.

I like the Infinity. The ship has a good "feel" to it. I liked the glass
midship elevators (surprisingly roomy and efficient) and I liked the way the
dining room was in the stern of the ship. No having to go "up-across-down"
to get to various parts of the ship. The decks work fore to aft without
much interruption. The show lounge has great sight lines and if it isn't
the prettiest show lounge I have ever seen, it is very good and functional.
We used the Martini Bar for evening get-togethers and it was great for that
purpose. I wasn't thrilled by the Rendez-Vous Lounge. I don't like lounges
that serve as major thoroughfares. They should be destinations, not wide
spots in the main road.

I think the Constellation Lounge was my second favorite public space. (I'll
talk about my favorite place later) With the 270 degree view it reminded me
of the forward lounges on the old Regal and Crown
Princess (the Dolphin Brow design). A nice dance floor and stage and acres
of windows. We had both major group parties there (as well as a Cruise
Critic party) and the room was very conducive for those types of activities.

STRANGE OCCURRENCE - While in the Constellation Lounge for the Cruise Critic
Party, the Infinity came across a capsized 70 foot private motor yacht. The
ship slowed and circled the foundering boat and we wondered why no life
boats were being lowered when the Captain announced that the craft had been
deserted and the Coast Guard had picked up the crew/passengers earlier that
morning. It was very strange and more than a little sad to see such an
expensive boat lying on it's side with an empty life raft in tow. While we
were there, an amphibious plane circled the area and at one point we thought
it would try to land but it looked like the seas were too rough.

OTHER SHIP STUFF.....

What is it about Celebrity and macaroni art? On the Mercury, many of us got
a big chuckle out of some "artwork" made up of different dry macaronis glued
to a background. On the Infinity, they have raised the bar and have an
entire man's jacket covered in various dried pastas. Huh? Who buys this
stuff... Chef Boyardee? But... overall I did like the artwork on the
Infinity much more than the Mercury. Many interesting photos and paintings,
but some stuff was just plain silly, like the miniature aluminum ladder in a
glass case. Title - "Aluminum Ladder". Material - "Aluminum".

OK..... I walk into my first public bathroom and there on the counter is a
bowl of water with some flower petals floating in it. Next to that was a
rack of rolled up cloth towels to dry your hands. Now I think to myself,
this is pretty swanky and certainly a cut above the other cruise lines I
have been on. But twice during the week I went to use a toilet only to find
that there was no toilet paper. Cloth towels and rose petals may be
elegant.... walking from stall to stall with your pants around your ankles
looking for toilet paper is not. In addition, there is a nice metal bin to
put the used towels and in most of the bathrooms, they have up to 5 spray
bottles of various cleaners hanging from them, turning a nice idea into
little more than a janitor's storage facility.

MY FAVORITE PLACE ON THE INFINITY... and my biggest complaint. I absolutely
loved the Spa area and the Thallasso Therapy pool. Many of our group spent
a lot of enjoyable time there. The problem was that as the week went on,
the area became very dirty. On Monday, I fished someone's Nicotine patch out
of the pool and put it on the deck. It was still there on Saturday and had
friends... other patches, band aids and assorted garbage. The pool itself
had some black dirt or fine gravel (it looked like granulated charcoal)
lying in various areas of the pool and that was there all week. By the end
of the week, the pool had about a 3 inch ring of scum all around it... I
assume suntan oil, etc. In a heated salt water pool, I think this is very
poor maintenance.

I rate the area of the ship a solid A but the maintenance gets an F. This
is a great feature of this ship and it is terrible the way it is maintained.

SERVICE - I feel that this is where Celebrity made it's best impression on
me. Simply put, I have never had better service on any ship on any line.

The cabin steward (Asep) was excellent and always highly visible. He never
failed to greet me by name and ask if there was anything I needed. The cabin
was kept spotless. I never did learn the name of Asep's assistant but he
was equally as friendly but his English was limited. Perhaps this is why he
is still an assistant.... his hard work warrants a promotion.

Our waiter was Allen and our assistant waiter was Emmanuel. Excellent...
both of them. In addition, the surrounding wait staff were also excellent.
There were a few nights when some of our group tables were less than full...
people eating in the USS United States restaurant or in the casual dining
venue. We felt free to change tables and make a full table. One night,
some people joined our table, on another night, four of us from my table
joined another table. EVERY time we did this, we were greeted with a smile
and a welcome and there was never an interruption in service. The Assistant
Maitre 'd in our section sought me out and told me that any members of our
group should feel free to change tables as they pleased... and many did and
again, service never suffered. In fact, when visiting another table, it
almost seemed like the new waiter went out of his way to provide extra
service for the "visiting" customers.

To carry this further... some people in our group at early seating were
raving about their waitress Carla, and one day at lunch I got to
meet her. She is a pleasant woman and when group members invited me to
dine with them, Carla graciously told me that if I let her know what night I
would like to go to early seating, she would make sure that the table was
set for the extra guests before we got there. To me, that was far above
and beyond what is expected from a server and while I never did make it to
early seating, Carla's willingness to accommodate a visitor was indicative
of the type of service that most of the people in our group reported.

One glitch in the dining room service... and this was not our waiter's
fault. On the second formal night, there was to be a Baked Alaska parade.
The people at my table had finished dinner a little after 9:30 and the
waiter left at 9:40... saying he was needed in the Parade. The Assistant
Maitre 'd came over and told us the parade was scheduled for 10 PM. So we
sat there for 20 minutes waiting. And we sat. And we sat. and at 10:15
after sitting there with no coffee or dessert for close to 45 minutes, we
decided we had waited long enough and we all left. I understand the Baked
Alaska Parade started about 5 minutes after we left.

The next night, both our waiter and the Assistant Maitre 'd came and
apologized. It seems that this has been a running problem... the cruise
director has something to do with the Baked Alaska Parade and he is often
late. My suggestion was to let people order regular desserts before the
parade... and maybe they will listen or at least, have the parade at 10
whether the CD is there or not.

More service.... when I said the Infinity had a good "feel" to it, I think
it has a lot to do with the attitude of the crew. I have often said that
the friendliest crew I have ever sailed with was on the old Norwegian Sea
and I still hold that true, but the Infinity crew came real close. These
people know how to smile and not only when they are dealing face to face
with a customer, but when they are talking to each other. Working on a
cruise ship is a tough job but these people seemed to be honestly happy.

Service on the Infinity gets an A+ from me.

ENTERTAINMENT - I love shows and entertainment on cruise ships and seldom
miss one. It is an important part of my cruise.

Ahhhh... it was hit and miss and I'll start off with a minor rant about
Cruise Directors who schedule the show for second seating BEFORE dinner. I
choose to dine at second seating because i like to meet with friends and
relax before dinner. On three nights of the 7 night cruise, the show for
late seating people started at 7:15 PM. That just stinks.

I missed the show the first night of the cruise but I hear it was excellent.
I did see the three remaining production shows and while the performers were
very good, in some cases, the shows missed the mark and this is another slap
at the Cruise Director. One night he got up and made a BIG DEAL that
Celebrity had "live music" whereas other cruise lines were going to all
taped music. I should mention that the "Infinity Orchestra" consisted of
only 7 musicians (but they did a good job). After his big brag fest, the
next night it became very apparent that one of the principle singers was
lip-synching. Maybe she was sick... she did sing live at other shows. Go
forward to the "MUST NOT MISS" production show of the week... and the ENTIRE
MUSICAL SCORE WAS TAPED with the live singers working over the pre-recorded
sound\track. Not one live musician in sight! Someone ought to tell the CD
that if he is going to bad mouth the competition, he ought to get his own
house in order first.

The shows themselves were a little dated... the same old salute to Broadway
and another salute to composers. These shows are so old that they are
threadbare and the only saving grace was the excellent performances by the
singers and dancers.... and the musicians (when they were actually allowed
to play).

Other entertainment was so-so. The one comedian/juggler was the same guy as
was on the Mercury in 1998. Same jokes, but even at that he was
entertaining. There was a man playing a synthesized vibraphone. This guy
is a very talented musician and did some amazing things with the instrument,
but he played mostly classical music and some of the pieces seemed to go on
forever. A little bit of a vibraphone goes a long way and 45 minutes of
classical music is about 30 minutes too much. Better choice of material
would make this show more enjoyable. He was accompanied by the live
orchestra and they did a really good job on some fairly complicated pieces.

Entertainment on the Infinity gets a C+ from me.

FOOD - This was a big disappointment to me in 1998 and I am glad to say that
Celebrity has improved quite a bit. A little more improvement and they will
be as good as Carnival and I don't mean that as a joke, but an honest
opinion.

Dining room food gets a generous B. It reminded me of Forrest Gump.....
"Life is like a box of chocolates.... you never know what you are going to
get."

The first night my prime rib was tasty but tough. The second night I chose
to order a strip steak off the menu and it was so tough that I didn't eat
it.... and that is the first time I have ever left a steak on my plate on
any cruise line. The onion soup was terrible. Where was the crouton and
melted cheese? Instead, there was some amorphous mass that once might have
been bread and there was a thin layer of some thin white goop where the
cheese should have been. But things weren't all bad. One night in an
effort to avoid the beef, I chose lamb shanks and they were large, tender
and delicious. Another night nothing looked good and on the advice of the
waiter, I ordered the baked cod (I seldom order baked fish anywhere) and it
was possibly the best baked fish I have ever eaten. The escargots were done
very well. Lobster night... not bad, not great. The lobster I had was
cooked just right but was very salty. I also ordered the Prime Rib as a
back up and it was not only tasty, but not as tough as the earlier version.
One night I had the turkey dinner and it was pretty drab in appearance and
taste. Rack of Lamb was excellent! Desserts were equally uneven. The
cheesecakes were very good (far better than Carnival) and the different
flavors of ice cream were also good, especially the blueberry. But what is
up with spongecake. It seems like every night there was one dessert that
had some sort of spongecake as a base. One dessert that made me smile was
basically a Rice Krispy treat covered in some chocolate mousse.

Buffets - much improved since 98 and I rate them an A- .

The breakfast buffets were especially good. A nice assortment of the basic
breakfast fare plus an omelet station and a waffle station. Lox and cream
cheese were available every morning. Lunch was also pretty good with
various freshly carved meats and a pasta station. There is also a sandwich
station that made some very good sandwiches and wraps to order (never ask an
Indonesian server for an Italian Hoagie vbg) and the pizza station serves
some excellent pizza. Where the buffet lacks in in the salad department.
Their salad bars are small and dressings are limited and repeated over and
over again. There was one salad bar with a small selection of additions
(bacon, sunflower seeds, olives, cheese, mushrooms, etc) but it was far from
being generous. Caesar salad is available almost every day near the Pasta
station and fresh scooped and soft serve ice cream is available.

The Spa food wasn't my favorite, being mostly Yuppie Chow (Avocado, Quince
and Free Range Chicken Wrap with Lotus Blossom Dressing served on a bed of
Immature Virgin Greens served with a side of Lithuanian Organic Bean Sprouts
drizzled with Guava-flavored Pesto) but there was usually something there I
could make into a snack. One day they screwed up and even had some pieces
of pie there.

Overall, I would grade the food on the Infinity a B with signs that they are
capable of doing much better.

THE GROUP - The Mother Of All Group Cruises 2 was organized and booked by
myself and Lori Cunningham of Skyscraper Tours. Lori booked the very first
GGC and I booked the second and fourth. I like working with Lori and our
"styles" of doing business compliment each other well. Back in 1998 for GGC
and 2000 for the next GGC, the concept for internet based group cruises was
brand new. Now with so many websites such as CruiseMates and CruiseCritic
sponsoring groups, the competition for group passengers is tougher and
groups tend to be smaller. We had 136 group members and consider that to be
a very successful group. This year's group was a very good mix of past
group passengers and people new to the group. We even had some people who
had never been on a cruise before and it was fun watching their reaction.
All of the group activities were very well attended.

For the group photo, take a look at http://cruisemaster.com/m2small.jpg

We did some usual group activities like Door Decorating and the Early
Morning Riser's Coffee.... and we tried something new this year. We had a
"Cookie Exchange" where people brought some cookies to share with the group
and Lori and I supplied the coffee and tea. During this event, we also
brought some favorite souvenirs to share with the group... a way of getting
people to know each other. I brought my T-shirt from the very first GGC.
Jo-Ann and Bob got married on a cruise and they brought their marriage
license... and a good story. As could be expected, the stories behind the
souvenirs were what was really interesting... a shirt commemorating a
Hawaii cruise.... a rock from St. Thomas..... a piece of jewelry. Some of
the souvenirs were worth thousands of dollars.... others had no monetary
value at all, but all were valuable to the people who shared their stories.

To me, the best part of group cruises is meeting new friends and spending
time with old friends. Some people think a travel agent's role in a group
like this is to get the tickets processed and go along for the ride. Lori
and I believe that a travel agent should not only get you there, but set the
stage for a good time. We like to add something a little extra..... stir the
pot a bit.... add a little spice to the mix to make a group cruise more than
a bunch of strangers sharing a ship for a week.

This group was a lot of fun. A good combination of ship, service, weather
and people out to have a good time. There were very few complaints or
glitches and even those were minor. I'll remember this group cruise as one
of my favorites..... and it happened on a Celebrity ship.

George Leppla http://www.countryside-travel.com

Cruise Specials BLOG http://www.countryside-travel.com/3834677_6105.htm
May 20, 2006, Caribbean Princess - http://cruisemaster.com/caribprin.htm
October 29, 2006 - SLEAZY 4! http://cruisemaster.com/sleazy4.htm

Who are those bad people without their
MOAGC2 shirts???

Marsha/Ohio (top posting because I don't
what to snip).

George Leppla wrote:

Rather than a formal review of the cruise and ship, I thought I would jot
down a collection of thoughts, impressions and other metal flotsam and
jetsam about this cruise. This is all my opinion, based on my observations
and experiences.... and since I have been pecking at it now and then since I
got home last Monday night, it is longer than War and Peace.

Some background about me...

I am a travel agent and someone who likes cruises. It is impossible for me
to separate the two and write as a passenger OR as a travel agent. I have
been on over 50 cruises and while some will take that to mean that my
experience will mean I have a good "eye" for what makes a good cruise,
others will say that since I am a TA that anything I write will be biased
towards the cruise industry. Doesn't matter to me.... you should take
anything you read on Usenet with a grain of salt. I am free to write what I
want and you are free to assign whatever level of credibility to it that
you please.

My background with Celebrity.....

My one and only cruise on Celebrity was in December, 1998 on board the
Mercury (the very first GGC). To say I was underwhelmed would be
charitable. I felt the ship and crew had all the warmth of a hospital
waiting room and about as much charm. Quality and availability of food was
dismal and while the staff did their jobs, they merely seem to be going
through the motions.... doing enough to get the job done and no more. I
left that ship with the feeling that it would be a long time before I ever
went back on a Celebrity ship.

So why choose Celebrity for this cruise......

1) I am a travel agent. I don't have to like every product I sell, but I
feel I should have more than a passing acquaintance with any cruise line
that my customers seem to like. The travel agent part of me felt it would
be good for business for me to get back on a Celebrity ship and how things
are now compared to 1998.

2) I am someone who loves cruises and who realizes that one bad experience
on one ship is not always representative of the quality of the entire fleet.
I am lucky to be able to go on a lot of cruises and know how quality can
vary from one ship to another. I was willing to re-visit Celebrity and give
them another chance.

A second chance to make a good first impression.....

The Infinity tied up at Pier 18 in Port Everglades. I drove to the port and
after dropping my wife and luggage at the terminal, I drove to the parking
garage. There I met one of my friends who was arriving at the same time.
She is in a power wheelchair and was told by the parking attendants that
none of the shuttles would be able to accommodate her wheelchair. Huh. I
took her carry-on bag with me on the shuttle and she took off down the
street heading for terminal 18. Traffic was slow and she actually beat the
shuttle there... a distance of about 3/4 of a mile. She was greeted by a
Celebrity employee who was very annoyed that this had happened, telling my
friend that there IS a special equipped van for wheelchair transfers and
that she would take care of the matter and inform the right people so that
the parking garage personnel were up to speed on what was available. Not a
great start... but not a major problem.

Enter the terminal and show the person there the online printed boarding
pass and was escorted right to a check in window. The bar code on the
boarding pass was scanned, passports were checked and a credit card was
swiped..... and we were given our onboard SeaPass... which is the typical
onboard charge card, ID and door key. The whole process took less than 5
minutes and we were walking onto the ship. Very nicely done.... and very
similar to the same process used by Princess. Celebrity gets an A for
that.... Port Everglades gets an F.

As you board the ship, you are greeted with a complimentary glass of
Champagne or other beverage (juice) and pointed in the general direction of
the elevators. When you check in they give you a folder which has the deck
plans of the ship... similar to what Carnival does. It comes in handy for
the first day or two until you find your way around.

Cabin 8111, Concierge Class. OK... nice but not a whole lot bigger than a
standard Carnival cabin. Much nicer decor though... nice enough that I
notice it. On the balcony is a large table and two WOODEN deck chairs.
Very nice, but the composite material that serves as flooring for the
balcony is ugly. Fresh flowers in the cabin, along with a bottle of
champagne.
There is a large sofa that is pretty deep as it would convert to a bed.
Bathroom is pretty standard cruise ship except the shower is larger than
most. Lots of bottles of shampoo, conditioner, etc. I have to admit it is
a lot classier than Carnival's "Bucket-O-Samples" but not always as handy.
The bed was comfortable and there was supposedly some special bed linens
and pillow assortment available, but the stuff on the bed was fine for me so
I never asked for anything different.

Concierge Class pretty much consists of enhanced amenities and to be honest,
most of them were wasted on me. I wear a Timex and drive a Ford and tiny
hors d'ouevres in the afternoon really don't impress me. Caviar? I'd been
happier with some pretzels and some hard boiled eggs. One thing I did
appreciate was the bowl of fruit. I told the cabin steward that I preferred
bananas and grapes and the bowl was kept full all week.

The cabin has a small refrigerator that I used to stash my Caffeine-free
Diet Pepsi. The cabin steward kindly moved enough junk out of there to make
room for my stuff.

I like the Infinity. The ship has a good "feel" to it. I liked the glass
midship elevators (surprisingly roomy and efficient) and I liked the way the
dining room was in the stern of the ship. No having to go "up-across-down"
to get to various parts of the ship. The decks work fore to aft without
much interruption. The show lounge has great sight lines and if it isn't
the prettiest show lounge I have ever seen, it is very good and functional.
We used the Martini Bar for evening get-togethers and it was great for that
purpose. I wasn't thrilled by the Rendez-Vous Lounge. I don't like lounges
that serve as major thoroughfares. They should be destinations, not wide
spots in the main road.

I think the Constellation Lounge was my second favorite public space. (I'll
talk about my favorite place later) With the 270 degree view it reminded me
of the forward lounges on the old Regal and Crown
Princess (the Dolphin Brow design). A nice dance floor and stage and acres
of windows. We had both major group parties there (as well as a Cruise
Critic party) and the room was very conducive for those types of activities.

STRANGE OCCURRENCE - While in the Constellation Lounge for the Cruise Critic
Party, the Infinity came across a capsized 70 foot private motor yacht. The
ship slowed and circled the foundering boat and we wondered why no life
boats were being lowered when the Captain announced that the craft had been
deserted and the Coast Guard had picked up the crew/passengers earlier that
morning. It was very strange and more than a little sad to see such an
expensive boat lying on it's side with an empty life raft in tow. While we
were there, an amphibious plane circled the area and at one point we thought
it would try to land but it looked like the seas were too rough.

OTHER SHIP STUFF.....

What is it about Celebrity and macaroni art? On the Mercury, many of us got
a big chuckle out of some "artwork" made up of different dry macaronis glued
to a background. On the Infinity, they have raised the bar and have an
entire man's jacket covered in various dried pastas. Huh? Who buys this
stuff... Chef Boyardee? But... overall I did like the artwork on the
Infinity much more than the Mercury. Many interesting photos and paintings,
but some stuff was just plain silly, like the miniature aluminum ladder in a
glass case. Title - "Aluminum Ladder". Material - "Aluminum".

OK..... I walk into my first public bathroom and there on the counter is a
bowl of water with some flower petals floating in it. Next to that was a
rack of rolled up cloth towels to dry your hands. Now I think to myself,
this is pretty swanky and certainly a cut above the other cruise lines I
have been on. But twice during the week I went to use a toilet only to find
that there was no toilet paper. Cloth towels and rose petals may be
elegant.... walking from stall to stall with your pants around your ankles
looking for toilet paper is not. In addition, there is a nice metal bin to
put the used towels and in most of the bathrooms, they have up to 5 spray
bottles of various cleaners hanging from them, turning a nice idea into
little more than a janitor's storage facility.

MY FAVORITE PLACE ON THE INFINITY... and my biggest complaint. I absolutely
loved the Spa area and the Thallasso Therapy pool. Many of our group spent
a lot of enjoyable time there. The problem was that as the week went on,
the area became very dirty. On Monday, I fished someone's Nicotine patch out
of the pool and put it on the deck. It was still there on Saturday and had
friends... other patches, band aids and assorted garbage. The pool itself
had some black dirt or fine gravel (it looked like granulated charcoal)
lying in various areas of the pool and that was there all week. By the end
of the week, the pool had about a 3 inch ring of scum all around it... I
assume suntan oil, etc. In a heated salt water pool, I think this is very
poor maintenance.

I rate the area of the ship a solid A but the maintenance gets an F. This
is a great feature of this ship and it is terrible the way it is maintained.

SERVICE - I feel that this is where Celebrity made it's best impression on
me. Simply put, I have never had better service on any ship on any line.

The cabin steward (Asep) was excellent and always highly visible. He never
failed to greet me by name and ask if there was anything I needed. The cabin
was kept spotless. I never did learn the name of Asep's assistant but he
was equally as friendly but his English was limited. Perhaps this is why he
is still an assistant.... his hard work warrants a promotion.

Our waiter was Allen and our assistant waiter was Emmanuel. Excellent...
both of them. In addition, the surrounding wait staff were also excellent.
There were a few nights when some of our group tables were less than full...
people eating in the USS United States restaurant or in the casual dining
venue. We felt free to change tables and make a full table. One night,
some people joined our table, on another night, four of us from my table
joined another table. EVERY time we did this, we were greeted with a smile
and a welcome and there was never an interruption in service. The Assistant
Maitre 'd in our section sought me out and told me that any members of our
group should feel free to change tables as they pleased... and many did and
again, service never suffered. In fact, when visiting another table, it
almost seemed like the new waiter went out of his way to provide extra
service for the "visiting" customers.

To carry this further... some people in our group at early seating were
raving about their waitress Carla, and one day at lunch I got to
meet her. She is a pleasant woman and when group members invited me to
dine with them, Carla graciously told me that if I let her know what night I
would like to go to early seating, she would make sure that the table was
set for the extra guests before we got there. To me, that was far above
and beyond what is expected from a server and while I never did make it to
early seating, Carla's willingness to accommodate a visitor was indicative
of the type of service that most of the people in our group reported.

One glitch in the dining room service... and this was not our waiter's
fault. On the second formal night, there was to be a Baked Alaska parade.
The people at my table had finished dinner a little after 9:30 and the
waiter left at 9:40... saying he was needed in the Parade. The Assistant
Maitre 'd came over and told us the parade was scheduled for 10 PM. So we
sat there for 20 minutes waiting. And we sat. And we sat. and at 10:15
after sitting there with no coffee or dessert for close to 45 minutes, we
decided we had waited long enough and we all left. I understand the Baked
Alaska Parade started about 5 minutes after we left.

The next night, both our waiter and the Assistant Maitre 'd came and
apologized. It seems that this has been a running problem... the cruise
director has something to do with the Baked Alaska Parade and he is often
late. My suggestion was to let people order regular desserts before the
parade... and maybe they will listen or at least, have the parade at 10
whether the CD is there or not.

More service.... when I said the Infinity had a good "feel" to it, I think
it has a lot to do with the attitude of the crew. I have often said that
the friendliest crew I have ever sailed with was on the old Norwegian Sea
and I still hold that true, but the Infinity crew came real close. These
people know how to smile and not only when they are dealing face to face
with a customer, but when they are talking to each other. Working on a
cruise ship is a tough job but these people seemed to be honestly happy.

Service on the Infinity gets an A+ from me.

ENTERTAINMENT - I love shows and entertainment on cruise ships and seldom
miss one. It is an important part of my cruise.

Ahhhh... it was hit and miss and I'll start off with a minor rant about
Cruise Directors who schedule the show for second seating BEFORE dinner. I
choose to dine at second seating because i like to meet with friends and
relax before dinner. On three nights of the 7 night cruise, the show for
late seating people started at 7:15 PM. That just stinks.

I missed the show the first night of the cruise but I hear it was excellent.
I did see the three remaining production shows and while the performers were
very good, in some cases, the shows missed the mark and this is another slap
at the Cruise Director. One night he got up and made a BIG DEAL that
Celebrity had "live music" whereas other cruise lines were going to all
taped music. I should mention that the "Infinity Orchestra" consisted of
only 7 musicians (but they did a good job). After his big brag fest, the
next night it became very apparent that one of the principle singers was
lip-synching. Maybe she was sick... she did sing live at other shows. Go
forward to the "MUST NOT MISS" production show of the week... and the ENTIRE
MUSICAL SCORE WAS TAPED with the live singers working over the pre-recorded
sound\track. Not one live musician in sight! Someone ought to tell the CD
that if he is going to bad mouth the competition, he ought to get his own
house in order first.

The shows themselves were a little dated... the same old salute to Broadway
and another salute to composers. These shows are so old that they are
threadbare and the only saving grace was the excellent performances by the
singers and dancers.... and the musicians (when they were actually allowed
to play).

Other entertainment was so-so. The one comedian/juggler was the same guy as
was on the Mercury in 1998. Same jokes, but even at that he was
entertaining. There was a man playing a synthesized vibraphone. This guy
is a very talented musician and did some amazing things with the instrument,
but he played mostly classical music and some of the pieces seemed to go on
forever. A little bit of a vibraphone goes a long way and 45 minutes of
classical music is about 30 minutes too much. Better choice of material
would make this show more enjoyable. He was accompanied by the live
orchestra and they did a really good job on some fairly complicated pieces.

Entertainment on the Infinity gets a C+ from me.

FOOD - This was a big disappointment to me in 1998 and I am glad to say that
Celebrity has improved quite a bit. A little more improvement and they will
be as good as Carnival and I don't mean that as a joke, but an honest
opinion.

Dining room food gets a generous B. It reminded me of Forrest Gump.....
"Life is like a box of chocolates.... you never know what you are going to
get."

The first night my prime rib was tasty but tough. The second night I chose
to order a strip steak off the menu and it was so tough that I didn't eat
it.... and that is the first time I have ever left a steak on my plate on
any cruise line. The onion soup was terrible. Where was the crouton and
melted cheese? Instead, there was some amorphous mass that once might have
been bread and there was a thin layer of some thin white goop where the
cheese should have been. But things weren't all bad. One night in an
effort to avoid the beef, I chose lamb shanks and they were large, tender
and delicious. Another night nothing looked good and on the advice of the
waiter, I ordered the baked cod (I seldom order baked fish anywhere) and it
was possibly the best baked fish I have ever eaten. The escargots were done
very well. Lobster night... not bad, not great. The lobster I had was
cooked just right but was very salty. I also ordered the Prime Rib as a
back up and it was not only tasty, but not as tough as the earlier version.
One night I had the turkey dinner and it was pretty drab in appearance and
taste. Rack of Lamb was excellent! Desserts were equally uneven. The
cheesecakes were very good (far better than Carnival) and the different
flavors of ice cream were also good, especially the blueberry. But what is
up with spongecake. It seems like every night there was one dessert that
had some sort of spongecake as a base. One dessert that made me smile was
basically a Rice Krispy treat covered in some chocolate mousse.

Buffets - much improved since 98 and I rate them an A- .

The breakfast buffets were especially good. A nice assortment of the basic
breakfast fare plus an omelet station and a waffle station. Lox and cream
cheese were available every morning. Lunch was also pretty good with
various freshly carved meats and a pasta station. There is also a sandwich
station that made some very good sandwiches and wraps to order (never ask an
Indonesian server for an Italian Hoagie vbg) and the pizza station serves
some excellent pizza. Where the buffet lacks in in the salad department.
Their salad bars are small and dressings are limited and repeated over and
over again. There was one salad bar with a small selection of additions
(bacon, sunflower seeds, olives, cheese, mushrooms, etc) but it was far from
being generous. Caesar salad is available almost every day near the Pasta
station and fresh scooped and soft serve ice cream is available.

The Spa food wasn't my favorite, being mostly Yuppie Chow (Avocado, Quince
and Free Range Chicken Wrap with Lotus Blossom Dressing served on a bed of
Immature Virgin Greens served with a side of Lithuanian Organic Bean Sprouts
drizzled with Guava-flavored Pesto) but there was usually something there I
could make into a snack. One day they screwed up and even had some pieces
of pie there.

Overall, I would grade the food on the Infinity a B with signs that they are
capable of doing much better.

THE GROUP - The Mother Of All Group Cruises 2 was organized and booked by
myself and Lori Cunningham of Skyscraper Tours. Lori booked the very first
GGC and I booked the second and fourth. I like working with Lori and our
"styles" of doing business compliment each other well. Back in 1998 for GGC
and 2000 for the next GGC, the concept for internet based group cruises was
brand new. Now with so many websites such as CruiseMates and CruiseCritic
sponsoring groups, the competition for group passengers is tougher and
groups tend to be smaller. We had 136 group members and consider that to be
a very successful group. This year's group was a very good mix of past
group passengers and people new to the group. We even had some people who
had never been on a cruise before and it was fun watching their reaction.
All of the group activities were very well attended.

For the group photo, take a look at http://cruisemaster.com/m2small.jpg

We did some usual group activities like Door Decorating and the Early
Morning Riser's Coffee.... and we tried something new this year. We had a
"Cookie Exchange" where people brought some cookies to share with the group
and Lori and I supplied the coffee and tea. During this event, we also
brought some favorite souvenirs to share with the group... a way of getting
people to know each other. I brought my T-shirt from the very first GGC.
Jo-Ann and Bob got married on a cruise and they brought their marriage
license... and a good story. As could be expected, the stories behind the
souvenirs were what was really interesting... a shirt commemorating a
Hawaii cruise.... a rock from St. Thomas..... a piece of jewelry. Some of
the souvenirs were worth thousands of dollars.... others had no monetary
value at all, but all were valuable to the people who shared their stories.

To me, the best part of group cruises is meeting new friends and spending
time with old friends. Some people think a travel agent's role in a group
like this is to get the tickets processed and go along for the ride. Lori
and I believe that a travel agent should not only get you there, but set the
stage for a good time. We like to add something a little extra..... stir the
pot a bit.... add a little spice to the mix to make a group cruise more than
a bunch of strangers sharing a ship for a week.

This group was a lot of fun. A good combination of ship, service, weather
and people out to have a good time. There were very few complaints or
glitches and even those were minor. I'll remember this group cruise as one
of my favorites..... and it happened on a Celebrity ship.

George Leppla http://www.countryside-travel.com

Cruise Specials BLOG http://www.countryside-travel.com/3834677_6105.htm
May 20, 2006, Caribbean Princess - http://cruisemaster.com/caribprin.htm
October 29, 2006 - SLEAZY 4! http://cruisemaster.com/sleazy4.htm

Thank you, Marsha.

I am saving George's report for after dinner, but I always love it when
someone bottom posts on a 23KB message like George's with a one word reply.
--
DG in Cherry Hill, NJ

(* _ *)

"Marsha" wrote in message
...
Who are those bad people without their MOAGC2 shirts???

Marsha/Ohio (top posting because I don't what to snip).

George Leppla wrote:

Don't forget your medication after dinner

"Dick G." dickdotgoldhaber@gmaildotcom wrote in message
...
Thank you, Marsha.

I am saving George's report for after dinner, but I always love it when
someone bottom posts on a 23KB message like George's with a one word
reply.
--
DG in Cherry Hill, NJ

(* _ *)

"Marsha" wrote in message
...
Who are those bad people without their MOAGC2 shirts???

Marsha/Ohio (top posting because I don't what to snip).

George Leppla wrote:

George, great review. Bob and I just returned from the Carnival
Liberty, the ship we jumped onto after we debarked the Infinity.

We had the best time on the Infinity. We fell in love with Celebrity
and plan on sailing another one in the not-too-distant future.

The best part of all was seeing everybody again from our past group
cruises. And everybody looked great! I swear the salt air must do
something to these people, because they looked 10 years younger than
the last time I saw them a couple of years ago!

I will attempt to do a side by side review of our B2B cruises onboard
the Infinity and Carnival Liberty, but for the time being, I've got to
go have it out with the post office. Seems half the bills I mailed
before we left for vacation (16 days ago) never reached their
destination!

Jo-Ann


George Leppla wrote:
Rather than a formal review of the cruise and ship, I thought I would jot
down a collection of thoughts, impressions and other metal flotsam and
jetsam about this cruise. This is all my opinion, based on my observations
and experiences.... and since I have been pecking at it now and then since I
got home last Monday night, it is longer than War and Peace.

Some background about me...

I am a travel agent and someone who likes cruises. It is impossible for me
to separate the two and write as a passenger OR as a travel agent. I have
been on over 50 cruises and while some will take that to mean that my
experience will mean I have a good "eye" for what makes a good cruise,
others will say that since I am a TA that anything I write will be biased
towards the cruise industry. Doesn't matter to me.... you should take
anything you read on Usenet with a grain of salt. I am free to write what I
want and you are free to assign whatever level of credibility to it that
you please.

My background with Celebrity.....

My one and only cruise on Celebrity was in December, 1998 on board the
Mercury (the very first GGC). To say I was underwhelmed would be
charitable. I felt the ship and crew had all the warmth of a hospital
waiting room and about as much charm. Quality and availability of food was
dismal and while the staff did their jobs, they merely seem to be going
through the motions.... doing enough to get the job done and no more. I
left that ship with the feeling that it would be a long time before I ever
went back on a Celebrity ship.

So why choose Celebrity for this cruise......

1) I am a travel agent. I don't have to like every product I sell, but I
feel I should have more than a passing acquaintance with any cruise line
that my customers seem to like. The travel agent part of me felt it would
be good for business for me to get back on a Celebrity ship and how things
are now compared to 1998.

2) I am someone who loves cruises and who realizes that one bad experience
on one ship is not always representative of the quality of the entire fleet.
I am lucky to be able to go on a lot of cruises and know how quality can
vary from one ship to another. I was willing to re-visit Celebrity and give
them another chance.

A second chance to make a good first impression.....

The Infinity tied up at Pier 18 in Port Everglades. I drove to the port and
after dropping my wife and luggage at the terminal, I drove to the parking
garage. There I met one of my friends who was arriving at the same time.
She is in a power wheelchair and was told by the parking attendants that
none of the shuttles would be able to accommodate her wheelchair. Huh. I
took her carry-on bag with me on the shuttle and she took off down the
street heading for terminal 18. Traffic was slow and she actually beat the
shuttle there... a distance of about 3/4 of a mile. She was greeted by a
Celebrity employee who was very annoyed that this had happened, telling my
friend that there IS a special equipped van for wheelchair transfers and
that she would take care of the matter and inform the right people so that
the parking garage personnel were up to speed on what was available. Not a
great start... but not a major problem.

Enter the terminal and show the person there the online printed boarding
pass and was escorted right to a check in window. The bar code on the
boarding pass was scanned, passports were checked and a credit card was
swiped..... and we were given our onboard SeaPass... which is the typical
onboard charge card, ID and door key. The whole process took less than 5
minutes and we were walking onto the ship. Very nicely done.... and very
similar to the same process used by Princess. Celebrity gets an A for
that.... Port Everglades gets an F.

As you board the ship, you are greeted with a complimentary glass of
Champagne or other beverage (juice) and pointed in the general direction of
the elevators. When you check in they give you a folder which has the deck
plans of the ship... similar to what Carnival does. It comes in handy for
the first day or two until you find your way around.

Cabin 8111, Concierge Class. OK... nice but not a whole lot bigger than a
standard Carnival cabin. Much nicer decor though... nice enough that I
notice it. On the balcony is a large table and two WOODEN deck chairs.
Very nice, but the composite material that serves as flooring for the
balcony is ugly. Fresh flowers in the cabin, along with a bottle of
champagne.
There is a large sofa that is pretty deep as it would convert to a bed.
Bathroom is pretty standard cruise ship except the shower is larger than
most. Lots of bottles of shampoo, conditioner, etc. I have to admit it is
a lot classier than Carnival's "Bucket-O-Samples" but not always as handy.
The bed was comfortable and there was supposedly some special bed linens
and pillow assortment available, but the stuff on the bed was fine for me so
I never asked for anything different.

Concierge Class pretty much consists of enhanced amenities and to be honest,
most of them were wasted on me. I wear a Timex and drive a Ford and tiny
hors d'ouevres in the afternoon really don't impress me. Caviar? I'd been
happier with some pretzels and some hard boiled eggs. One thing I did
appreciate was the bowl of fruit. I told the cabin steward that I preferred
bananas and grapes and the bowl was kept full all week.

The cabin has a small refrigerator that I used to stash my Caffeine-free
Diet Pepsi. The cabin steward kindly moved enough junk out of there to make
room for my stuff.

I like the Infinity. The ship has a good "feel" to it. I liked the glass
midship elevators (surprisingly roomy and efficient) and I liked the way the
dining room was in the stern of the ship. No having to go "up-across-down"
to get to various parts of the ship. The decks work fore to aft without
much interruption. The show lounge has great sight lines and if it isn't
the prettiest show lounge I have ever seen, it is very good and functional.
We used the Martini Bar for evening get-togethers and it was great for that
purpose. I wasn't thrilled by the Rendez-Vous Lounge. I don't like lounges
that serve as major thoroughfares. They should be destinations, not wide
spots in the main road.

I think the Constellation Lounge was my second favorite public space. (I'll
talk about my favorite place later) With the 270 degree view it reminded me
of the forward lounges on the old Regal and Crown
Princess (the Dolphin Brow design). A nice dance floor and stage and acres
of windows. We had both major group parties there (as well as a Cruise
Critic party) and the room was very conducive for those types of activities.

STRANGE OCCURRENCE - While in the Constellation Lounge for the Cruise Critic
Party, the Infinity came across a capsized 70 foot private motor yacht. The
ship slowed and circled the foundering boat and we wondered why no life
boats were being lowered when the Captain announced that the craft had been
deserted and the Coast Guard had picked up the crew/passengers earlier that
morning. It was very strange and more than a little sad to see such an
expensive boat lying on it's side with an empty life raft in tow. While we
were there, an amphibious plane circled the area and at one point we thought
it would try to land but it looked like the seas were too rough.

OTHER SHIP STUFF.....

What is it about Celebrity and macaroni art? On the Mercury, many of us got
a big chuckle out of some "artwork" made up of different dry macaronis glued
to a background. On the Infinity, they have raised the bar and have an
entire man's jacket covered in various dried pastas. Huh? Who buys this
stuff... Chef Boyardee? But... overall I did like the artwork on the
Infinity much more than the Mercury. Many interesting photos and paintings,
but some stuff was just plain silly, like the miniature aluminum ladder in a
glass case. Title - "Aluminum Ladder". Material - "Aluminum".

OK..... I walk into my first public bathroom and there on the counter is a
bowl of water with some flower petals floating in it. Next to that was a
rack of rolled up cloth towels to dry your hands. Now I think to myself,
this is pretty swanky and certainly a cut above the other cruise lines I
have been on. But twice during the week I went to use a toilet only to find
that there was no toilet paper. Cloth towels and rose petals may be
elegant.... walking from stall to stall with your pants around your ankles
looking for toilet paper is not. In addition, there is a nice metal bin to
put the used towels and in most of the bathrooms, they have up to 5 spray
bottles of various cleaners hanging from them, turning a nice idea into
little more than a janitor's storage facility.

MY FAVORITE PLACE ON THE INFINITY... and my biggest complaint. I absolutely
loved the Spa area and the Thallasso Therapy pool. Many of our group spent
a lot of enjoyable time there. The problem was that as the week went on,
the area became very dirty. On Monday, I fished someone's Nicotine patch out
of the pool and put it on the deck. It was still there on Saturday and had
friends... other patches, band aids and assorted garbage. The pool itself
had some black dirt or fine gravel (it looked like granulated charcoal)
lying in various areas of the pool and that was there all week. By the end
of the week, the pool had about a 3 inch ring of scum all around it... I
assume suntan oil, etc. In a heated salt water pool, I think this is very
poor maintenance.

I rate the area of the ship a solid A but the maintenance gets an F. This
is a great feature of this ship and it is terrible the way it is maintained.

SERVICE - I feel that this is where Celebrity made it's best impression on
me. Simply put, I have never had better service on any ship on any line.

The cabin steward (Asep) was excellent and always highly visible. He never
failed to greet me by name and ask if there was anything I needed. The cabin
was kept spotless. I never did learn the name of Asep's assistant but he
was equally as friendly but his English was limited. Perhaps this is why he
is still an assistant.... his hard work warrants a promotion.

Our waiter was Allen and our assistant waiter was Emmanuel. Excellent...
both of them. In addition, the surrounding wait staff were also excellent.
There were a few nights when some of our group tables were less than full...
people eating in the USS United States restaurant or in the casual dining
venue. We felt free to change tables and make a full table. One night,
some people joined our table, on another night, four of us from my table
joined another table. EVERY time we did this, we were greeted with a smile
and a welcome and there was never an interruption in service. The Assistant
Maitre 'd in our section sought me out and told me that any members of our
group should feel free to change tables as they pleased... and many did and
again, service never suffered. In fact, when visiting another table, it
almost seemed like the new waiter went out of his way to provide extra
service for the "visiting" customers.

To carry this further... some people in our group at early seating were
raving about their waitress Carla, and one day at lunch I got to
meet her. She is a pleasant woman and when group members invited me to
dine with them, Carla graciously told me that if I let her know what night I
would like to go to early seating, she would make sure that the table was
set for the extra guests before we got there. To me, that was far above
and beyond what is expected from a server and while I never did make it to
early seating, Carla's willingness to accommodate a visitor was indicative
of the type of service that most of the people in our group reported.

One glitch in the dining room service... and this was not our waiter's
fault. On the second formal night, there was to be a Baked Alaska parade.
The people at my table had finished dinner a little after 9:30 and the
waiter left at 9:40... saying he was needed in the Parade. The Assistant
Maitre 'd came over and told us the parade was scheduled for 10 PM. So we
sat there for 20 minutes waiting. And we sat. And we sat. and at 10:15
after sitting there with no coffee or dessert for close to 45 minutes, we
decided we had waited long enough and we all left. I understand the Baked
Alaska Parade started about 5 minutes after we left.

The next night, both our waiter and the Assistant Maitre 'd came and
apologized. It seems that this has been a running problem... the cruise
director has something to do with the Baked Alaska Parade and he is often
late. My suggestion was to let people order regular desserts before the
parade... and maybe they will listen or at least, have the parade at 10
whether the CD is there or not.

More service.... when I said the Infinity had a good "feel" to it, I think
it has a lot to do with the attitude of the crew. I have often said that
the friendliest crew I have ever sailed with was on the old Norwegian Sea
and I still hold that true, but the Infinity crew came real close. These
people know how to smile and not only when they are dealing face to face
with a customer, but when they are talking to each other. Working on a
cruise ship is a tough job but these people seemed to be honestly happy.

Service on the Infinity gets an A+ from me.

ENTERTAINMENT - I love shows and entertainment on cruise ships and seldom
miss one. It is an important part of my cruise.

Ahhhh... it was hit and miss and I'll start off with a minor rant about
Cruise Directors who schedule the show for second seating BEFORE dinner. I
choose to dine at second seating because i like to meet with friends and
relax before dinner. On three nights of the 7 night cruise, the show for
late seating people started at 7:15 PM. That just stinks.

I missed the show the first night of the cruise but I hear it was excellent.
I did see the three remaining production shows and while the performers were
very good, in some cases, the shows missed the mark and this is another slap
at the Cruise Director. One night he got up and made a BIG DEAL that
Celebrity had "live music" whereas other cruise lines were going to all
taped music. I should mention that the "Infinity Orchestra" consisted of
only 7 musicians (but they did a good job). After his big brag fest, the
next night it became very apparent that one of the principle singers was
lip-synching. Maybe she was sick... she did sing live at other shows. Go
forward to the "MUST NOT MISS" production show of the week... and the ENTIRE
MUSICAL SCORE WAS TAPED with the live singers working over the pre-recorded
sound\track. Not one live musician in sight! Someone ought to tell the CD
that if he is going to bad mouth the competition, he ought to get his own
house in order first.

The shows themselves were a little dated... the same old salute to Broadway
and another salute to composers. These shows are so old that they are
threadbare and the only saving grace was the excellent performances by the
singers and dancers.... and the musicians (when they were actually allowed
to play).

Other entertainment was so-so. The one comedian/juggler was the same guy as
was on the Mercury in 1998. Same jokes, but even at that he was
entertaining. There was a man playing a synthesized vibraphone. This guy
is a very talented musician and did some amazing things with the instrument,
but he played mostly classical music and some of the pieces seemed to go on
forever. A little bit of a vibraphone goes a long way and 45 minutes of
classical music is about 30 minutes too much. Better choice of material
would make this show more enjoyable. He was accompanied by the live
orchestra and they did a really good job on some fairly complicated pieces.

Entertainment on the Infinity gets a C+ from me.

FOOD - This was a big disappointment to me in 1998 and I am glad to say that
Celebrity has improved quite a bit. A little more improvement and they will
be as good as Carnival and I don't mean that as a joke, but an honest
opinion.

Dining room food gets a generous B. It reminded me of Forrest Gump.....
"Life is like a box of chocolates.... you never know what you are going to
get."

The first night my prime rib was tasty but tough. The second night I chose
to order a strip steak off the menu and it was so tough that I didn't eat
it.... and that is the first time I have ever left a steak on my plate on
any cruise line. The onion soup was terrible. Where was the crouton and
melted cheese? Instead, there was some amorphous mass that once might have
been bread and there was a thin layer of some thin white goop where the
cheese should have been. But things weren't all bad. One night in an
effort to avoid the beef, I chose lamb shanks and they were large, tender
and delicious. Another night nothing looked good and on the advice of the
waiter, I ordered the baked cod (I seldom order baked fish anywhere) and it
was possibly the best baked fish I have ever eaten. The escargots were done
very well. Lobster night... not bad, not great. The lobster I had was
cooked just right but was very salty. I also ordered the Prime Rib as a
back up and it was not only tasty, but not as tough as the earlier version.
One night I had the turkey dinner and it was pretty drab in appearance and
taste. Rack of Lamb was excellent! Desserts were equally uneven. The
cheesecakes were very good (far better than Carnival) and the different
flavors of ice cream were also good, especially the blueberry. But what is
up with spongecake. It seems like every night there was one dessert that
had some sort of spongecake as a base. One dessert that made me smile was
basically a Rice Krispy treat covered in some chocolate mousse.

Buffets - much improved since 98 and I rate them an A- .

The breakfast buffets were especially good. A nice assortment of the basic
breakfast fare plus an omelet station and a waffle station. Lox and cream
cheese were available every morning. Lunch was also pretty good with
various freshly carved meats and a pasta station. There is also a sandwich
station that made some very good sandwiches and wraps to order (never ask an
Indonesian server for an Italian Hoagie vbg) and the pizza station serves
some excellent pizza. Where the buffet lacks in in the salad department.
Their salad bars are small and dressings are limited and repeated over and
over again. There was one salad bar with a small selection of additions
(bacon, sunflower seeds, olives, cheese, mushrooms, etc) but it was far from
being generous. Caesar salad is available almost every day near the Pasta
station and fresh scooped and soft serve ice cream is available.

The Spa food wasn't my favorite, being mostly Yuppie Chow (Avocado, Quince
and Free Range Chicken Wrap with Lotus Blossom Dressing served on a bed of
Immature Virgin Greens served with a side of Lithuanian Organic Bean Sprouts
drizzled with Guava-flavored Pesto) but there was usually something there I
could make into a snack. One day they screwed up and even had some pieces
of pie there.

Overall, I would grade the food on the Infinity a B with signs that they are
capable of doing much better.

THE GROUP - The Mother Of All Group Cruises 2 was organized and booked by
myself and Lori Cunningham of Skyscraper Tours. Lori booked the very first
GGC and I booked the second and fourth. I like working with Lori and our
"styles" of doing business compliment each other well. Back in 1998 for GGC
and 2000 for the next GGC, the concept for internet based group cruises was
brand new. Now with so many websites such as CruiseMates and CruiseCritic
sponsoring groups, the competition for group passengers is tougher and
groups tend to be smaller. We had 136 group members and consider that to be
a very successful group. This year's group was a very good mix of past
group passengers and people new to the group. We even had some people who
had never been on a cruise before and it was fun watching their reaction.
All of the group activities were very well attended.

For the group photo, take a look at http://cruisemaster.com/m2small.jpg

We did some usual group activities like Door Decorating and the Early
Morning Riser's Coffee.... and we tried something new this year. We had a
"Cookie Exchange" where people brought some cookies to share with the group
and Lori and I supplied the coffee and tea. During this event, we also
brought some favorite souvenirs to share with the group... a way of getting
people to know each other. I brought my T-shirt from the very first GGC.
Jo-Ann and Bob got married on a cruise and they brought their marriage
license... and a good story. As could be expected, the stories behind the
souvenirs were what was really interesting... a shirt commemorating a
Hawaii cruise.... a rock from St. Thomas..... a piece of jewelry. Some of
the souvenirs were worth thousands of dollars.... others had no monetary
value at all, but all were valuable to the people who shared their stories.

To me, the best part of group cruises is meeting new friends and spending
time with old friends. Some people think a travel agent's role in a group
like this is to get the tickets processed and go along for the ride. Lori
and I believe that a travel agent should not only get you there, but set the
stage for a good time. We like to add something a little extra..... stir the
pot a bit.... add a little spice to the mix to make a group cruise more than
a bunch of strangers sharing a ship for a week.

This group was a lot of fun. A good combination of ship, service, weather
and people out to have a good time. There were very few complaints or
glitches and even those were minor. I'll remember this group cruise as one
of my favorites..... and it happened on a Celebrity ship.

George Leppla http://www.countryside-travel.com

Cruise Specials BLOG http://www.countryside-travel.com/3834677_6105.htm
May 20, 2006, Caribbean Princess - http://cruisemaster.com/caribprin.htm
October 29, 2006 - SLEAZY 4! http://cruisemaster.com/sleazy4.htm

Marsha L wrote:

Two words Jo-Ann.... Bill Pay (or whatever version you have access to).

wrote in message
ups.com...

I will attempt to do a side by side review of our B2B cruises onboard
the Infinity and Carnival Liberty, but for the time being, I've got to
go have it out with the post office. Seems half the bills I mailed
before we left for vacation (16 days ago) never reached their
destination!

Jo-Ann

We use the auto deduct from the checking
account for 99% of our bills. Still
have to write a check for garbage
collection and water every three months,
and taxes twice a year. Postage costs
have been drastically reduced, though :-)

Marsha/Ohio

I don't remember the last time I wrote a check... they gave me a dozen or so
when I opened my account two years ago... I think I have eight left? maybe
they only gave me ten? I NEVER write checks.

In NJ the banks were set up so that I could use MS Money or Quicken, enter
things on my computer and then upload it. Unfortunately it isn't that way
here. I can download for free, but would be charged to upload. So I have a
new system... once a week I download whatever's cleared, and then pay
whatever will be coming up. If I'm going to be away, it's easy, I just tell
the bank when to pay whatever it is and it's all taken care of.

I can have ANYTHING paid this way, as long as I have a mailing address to
send it to.

Marsha/NV

"Marsha" wrote in message
...

We use the auto deduct from the checking account for 99% of our bills.
Still have to write a check for garbage collection and water every three
months, and taxes twice a year. Postage costs have been drastically
reduced, though :-)

Marsha/Ohio

I'm anxious to hear what you thought of the Liberty. We sailed on the
Liberty 1/21 to 1/29. Of all the Carnival cruises we have taken, the
service was the worse on this cruise. Linda

Linda, my review of the Liberty won't be a positive one. It was
memorable and fun because we met up with my parents, sister, BIL and
their kids, but other than that, it was dismal. First time I've ever
been so disappointed with Carnival. Food, service, crowds...very
disappointing.

BTW, Marsha, I used to do bill paying online through my bank. But when
I got a late fee on my Macy's card and questioned it, they said they
are allowed 10 business days to make a bill payment. When I heard
that, I cancelled online bill paying and went back to the old fashioned
way. Apparently the post office isn't much better. I'm really not
looking forward to straightening out this mess, especially with my
son's college tuition payment!

Jo-Ann

Jo-Ann, I'm not entirely sure what you're saying about paying on line... if
it's what I think, that the on line service you were using said that they
needed ten business days to process a payment, well, that was the way it
used to be and probably wasn't unreasonable. You should have been made aware
of it from the start, shouldn't have been able to request that a payment be
made sooner, and should have taken it into consideration whenever you
arranged payments.

If you're saying that they have until ten days after you tell them a payment
is due to make it, well, that's clearly not reasonable and would have caused
me to change banks, but not to give up paying my bills on line.

Mine are generally set up at least two weeks before they're due, even though
the time necessary for processing has shortened over time. What bothers me
is that I don't always get bills that far aheadG, so I tend to estimate
what I think the bill will be and then update the amount when it finally
comes.

In any case, you're supposed to post what you want paid, and when you want
it paid, ahead of time and then they take care of the rest. Processing time
has shortened over the years too.

I've NEVER had anything paid late this way.

Marsha

wrote in message
ups.com...

BTW, Marsha, I used to do bill paying online through my bank. But when
I got a late fee on my Macy's card and questioned it, they said they
are allowed 10 business days to make a bill payment. When I heard
that, I cancelled online bill paying and went back to the old fashioned
way. Apparently the post office isn't much better. I'm really not
looking forward to straightening out this mess, especially with my
son's college tuition payment!

Jo-Ann