Celebrity Infinity - Ship Review

Overall, we really like this class of ship. The public rooms are lovely and intuitively laid out. Suites are stunning and Concierge Class staterooms are very nice.

Great architecture, superb taste

The decor and layout of this ship are among my personal favorites. From the moment one enters the vessel, the soaring atrium and marble grand staircase set an impressive tone.

The feel of the ship is bright and airy, with lots of light-colored fabrics and marble.

The layout is intuitive, with no dead-ends. Excellent signage in the elevator banks and throughout the ship make it easy to find your way around.

Suites were gorgeous

I was very impressed with the size and decor of the Royal Suites and the Penthouse. They were large and beautifully appointed. The decor was classic but not stuffy, rich but never gaudy.

Concierge Class is key

Concierge Class staterooms were nice -- and for our money, only Concierge Class is acceptable.

Only in Concierge Class does one get full room service breakfast (otherwise it's cold Continental breakfast only), and only in Concierge Class is the veranda furniture well made and comfortable.

Food was good

As usual with brief ship visits it is difficult to judge the food fairly. The lunch was a specially organized event using a menu marked "special guests", so even though the food was beautifully presented and tasty it is hard to say whether it was representative.

As on the Mercury two weeks prior, the menu included tenderloin. I had been highly impressed with that steak, so ordered it again. This one was average. Not bad, but I usually avoid steak in the main dining room because it is rarely exceptional.

(My hypothesis is that Mercury used beef intended for the specialty restaurant, and Infinity used the standard restaurant stock.)

In the Lido, dishes were nicely but not exceptionally presented. Fresh fruit and vegetables were available.

While we didn't have the opportunity to dine in the specialty restaurant, the S.S. United States, it seems Celebrity has kept their tasting menu since our last cruise. We highly, highly recommend it. The foie gras alone is worth the $30 cover charge.

Housekeeping lacked attention to detail

An issue we have seen again and again over the years with Celebrity is a lack of attention to detail in ship upkeep. Mercury was a pleasant surprise, but Infinity reverted to type.

To be fair, the ship wasn't dirty by any means. And frankly most guests would neither notice nor care about the issues below. We are extremely particular. That said, here are some of the housekeeping issues we observed:

• Rubbish on the floor of a Sky Suite at embarkation (cotton ball and two pills in a corner of the bedroom)
• Numerous dirty trays lying around in the Lido for an extended period
• Dirty dishes around the ship, not picked up by crewmembers who walked by
• Badly chipped varnish, clearly in need of re-painting
• Dirty tarp above the Penthouse whirlpool
• Nasty stains on the cushions of the Penthouse sun loungers
• Dirty teak in the Solarium

Normal people probably won't mind. Obsessive compulsive types would not be happy.

Service seemed good

Service is something that is particularly difficult to judge during a short visit. Overall, service seemed good in so far as crewmembers were polite and obliging about my extensive picture taking. They also spoke English very well.

There were two small snafus: At the travel agent lunch, one of my tablemates was missing a glass at her place setting. She had to ask twice before one was delivered. Additionally, the waiter kept bumping into my head as he walked by. Not hard, but repeatedly. I didn't complain, and he didn't apologize (he may not have realized what was happening).

Oh, and our waiter asked us how lunch was -- was it "good, or excellent"? At least for me, that suggests a waiter is accustomed to encouraging "excellent" ratings on comment cards. I consider that a red flag, but I may be reading too much into an off-hand comment.

Overall, we like that guests are escorted to their staterooms, and the embarkation bubbly is a very nice touch.