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Frommer's Ship Review
Celebrity Cruises offers a great combination: a classy, tasteful, and luxurious cruise experience at a moderate price -- it's definitely the best in the mid-priced category. The line's ships are real works of art; its cuisine -- guided by Michel Roux, one of the top French chefs in Britain -- is outstanding; its service first-class, friendly, and unobtrusive; and its spa facilities among the best in the business.
The Best of the Mainstream Ships: Every line's most recent ships are beautiful, but Celebrity's Infinity is a true stunner, as is sister ship Summit. These modern vessels, with their extensive art collections, cushy public rooms, and expanded spa areas, give Celebrity a formidable presence in Alaska
Celebrity's Infinity is the line's second Millennium class vessel. The ship houses a two-story library, a themed alternative restaurant, all-glass seaview elevators and much more! The line's fleetwide dedication to art, natural woods, and sleek near-Scandinavian styling lends this ship an elegant, contemporary air. The ship's elegant design has also yielded some genuine improvements. The shore excursion department is not relegated merely to a counter in guest relations; it gets a stand-alone "boutique" space, with comfy chairs and an ever-updated wall of brochures and catalogues of possibilities (but don't wait until the last minute to book or you may miss out on the more popular excursions). The Emporium, the ship's 14,000 square foot shopping area, is beautifully designed and organized.
On these Millennium-class ships, most of your fellow passengers are likely to be sophisticated, well-traveled baby boomers. Infinity, Millennium, Summit , and Constellation offer most of the leisure and entertainment options of a megaship in a casually elegant atmosphere. Overall, the ambience is warm and relaxing, with constant gentle reminders that you're aboard one of the most sophisticated ships in the mid-price class. The floor shows may be lackluster, but the spas are gorgeous, and offer treatments available on few other ships.
The special touches include martini and cigar bars, caviar and champagne bars, elegant sing-a-long piano bars, a computer classroom and a floral conservatory. Infinity offers an especially elegant alternative dining venue, the SS United States Restaurant, with memorabilia from the world's last and fastest ocean liner, and the only one built by the U.S. Government.
Infinity Facts
Maiden Voyage: February 3, 2001
Class: Millennium
Length: 965
Beam: 105
Passengers: 3450
Ships Registry: Liberia
Passenger Decks: 12
Gross Tonnage: 91000
Crew Nationality: International
Decor
Celebrity's designers deserve an ovation for their ingenious fusion of contemporary, Old World , Art Deco and resort chic
influences. There's tons of glorious natural light on these ships, whose lobbies' white onyx stairway, backlit with yellow neon, lined by with three-story-high mahogany pillars, surrounded by long white flowing curtains, may well make you laugh aloud with delight.
Vast expanses of glass and beechwood surround mahogany paneled walls, most adorned with notable, provocative works of art. Rich velveteen and suede, golden brocades, burled woods, and ornate topiaries are everywhere.
The cabins are distinguished by elegant striped, floral, or patterned fabrics in pastel, Deco-style lighting fixtures, and marble desktops.
Public Rooms
Oh, what views from the exterior glass elevators! The 15-store shopping emporium features such notable designers as Donna Karan and H. Stern. Escada Sport and Tommy Hilfiger. You can choose from Swarovski crystal, Fendi purses, and largest array of Michel Roux gourmet items assembled anywhere on earth. The elegant alternative dining rooms will steal your breath away.
Infinity and her sister ships contain the first floral conservatories (another way of saying "flower gardens") at sea. These small but gloriously fragrant spots are ideal for meditative introspection, or sweet talk with a loved one. Full-service florists may also be spotted in these restful areas, ready t 
o sell you a cutting for your cabin.
As are many Celebrity ship lounges, the forward observation lounge on deck 11, which becomes a disco at night, is comparably breathtaking. The three-deck Celebrity Theater seats 901 for Broadway-style floor shows, and around 890 enjoy unobstructed sight lines. What appears to be torches around its periphery are in fact blue and orange lights projected on a strip of thin cloth blown by a fan from below. They give the venue a warm, flickering glow.
Sports fans will love the Extreme Sports Club with its sports-related artwork and large-screen TVs. For the more genteel or even effete, there are separate bars for champagne and caviar. Michael's Club is an elegant setting in which to enjoy crooning and ivory-tickling.
Notes, formerly the music library, is likely to have been transformed into a computer classroom and a second area for the Acupuncture at Sea program by the time you read this. Music will be available in the forward-looking library, Words, which will rent you an iPod. The cyber cafe has 18 computers offering Internet service at rates equally as usurious as other cruise lines. At night, many passengers flock to the Rendez-Vous Lounge to dance to a live band, show off their karaoke skills, or commune over cocktails at the enormous bar.
Restaurants
On Infinity the one alternative restaurant dedicated to great liners of the past (all of these sister ships have such a restaurant) is called the "SS United States" for the last (and only) ocean liner built by the United States Government, and the last ship to officially capture the Blue Riband for the fastest crossing of the Atlantic Ocean ever. Ironically, the liner is now owned by competing cruise line NCL. The restaurant decor contains original artifacts from the ship - which is now permanently docked in Philadelphia . Your dinner is likely to last nearly three hours, but you'll enjoy every minute, as waiters in white tie and tails start tableside fires (for flambé, you see, Celebrity having done the first tableside flambé-ing at sea) with great showmanship. Such signature dishes as Rack of Lamb en Croute and Steak Diane are served nowhere else on the ship. A remarkable wine list ranges up to $450 a bottle.
Trellis, the very elegant main dining room, with two-deck-high glass windows welcoming warm, natural light and offering remarkable views of the sea, is located in the stern. Its tables are widely spaced enough to permit conversation at sub-shouting levels. The Lido café, deck 10, offers casual dining from 6:30 a.m. to half past midnight, including lunch and breakfast buffets, pizza, afternoon tea and late night snacks. Four buffet lines make for little waiting, and floor to ceiling windows and glass floor areas provide excellent views of the sea.
The rear section of the café, the Oceanview Grill & Cafe, serves a casual a la carte dinner between 6:30 and 9:30 p.m. Reservations are required. Hot dogs, hamburgers and pizza are available poolside during the day, there's round-the-clock room service. You can order dinner from the menu, and simply hang a card outside your door for breakfast. You'll get a heads-up call before delivery - a splendid touch!!
Special Dietary Requirements
Celebrity satisfies a variety of dietary needs. Menu selections include "Lean and Light", meeting standards recommended by the American Diabetes Association and the American Cancer Society for reduced fat content, children's menus and Pacific Northwest specialties. They can accommodate your special dietary requirements such as Vegetarian, Kosher, Diabetic, Low-fat, Low-sodium, Low-cholesterol, Gluten-free and Lactose-free diets, but please notify your travel agent in advance.
All passengers can also order room service meals from the lunch and dinner menus during the hours those meals are being served. Continental Breakfast only except for those with Concierge-class or suite-level cabins. For an out-of-cabin continental breakfast experience, don't miss the absolutely decadent pastries at the Cova Cafe Milano.
Entertainment:
Celebrity does terrific special effects, from the Celebrity Singers and Dancer's productions. You'll generally hear superior singers in the various lounges as well. On most voyages, there is a classical guitarist who performs several times a day in the Cova Cafe di Milano coffeehouse and he is well worth seeking out.
During-the-day activities include dance lessons, trivia contests, Pictionary, brain-teasers and charades, napkin-folding, and arts and crafts classes.
Fortunes, the casino, is located midship and is almost comically tiny for a ship this size. You'll really enjoy the opulent beaux arts design, with faux-marble columns and mythological Greco-Roman sculptures, rich damask curtains, mosaic floor tiling, and wall frescoes.
Infinity also has a movie theater for near first-run feature films.
Cabins:
Infinity has some of the largest staterooms afloat, with such wonderful amenities as TVs with closed-circuit movies, CNN and pay-per-view first run movies; direct dial phones, bathrobes, mini-refrigerator; and large bathrooms with a shower and built-in shampoo and soap dispensers, vanity and hair dryer. Concierge-level and suite guests get handheld hair dryers.
The non-gregarious or simply reclusive can dine in-cabin at night, ordering from the dinner menu, and massages can also be scheduled in staterooms.
From the least expensive insides to outside balcony cabins, the staterooms are beautifully decorated with soft hues and elegant furnishings; with round-cornered beds and comfortable seating options, they serve as oases of calm away from the hubbub on other parts of the ship. Standard inside and outside staterooms are 172 sq. ft., with good storage space. The lovely cabins with private balcony measure 184 sq. ft. There are 26 wheelchair-accessible staterooms, including several suites.
"Concierge Class" staterooms, 191 sq. ft. with a 41-square-foot veranda, include welcome-aboard champagne, fresh flowers and fruit, afternoon canapés, a leather key holder, personalized stationery, oversized tote bag, and upgraded mattresses and bedding. Priority services include priority luggage delivery, dining time and seating preferences, shoe shine service, VIP invitations to exclusive shipboard events, priority shore excursion bookings, early embarkation and debarkation, and a one-touch button on the phone to reach a Concierge Class desk representative directly.
Do note that many Concierge Class and the Deluxe Oceanview cabins on the Sky Deck are rather overshadowed by the overhanging deck above. Be sure to ask your travel agent (ME) to check before booking on this level.
Butlers attend the residents of suites, of which there are several types. The Sky Suite (254 to 362sq. ft.) has walk-in closets, whirlpool tubs and the large balcony. Not quite big enough? Then consider Celebrity Suites (498sq.q. ft.), Royal Suites (562sq. ft.), or even the two enormous (1,690sq. ft.) Penthouse Suites, with 360-degree balconies. If these suites evoke the abodes of top Manhattan movers and shakers, it's probably because designer Birch Coffey is principally in the business of designing the interiors of the Big Apple's elite.
Fitness/Spa:
Fitness buffs will be pleased with the facilities, housed in a glass-enclosed room -- 14 treadmills, 12 exercise bikes, six stair-steppers, two rowers and lots of weights. Aerobics classes are scheduled throughout the day. Personal training, a body composition test, an Alpha massage capsule, and destress and detox packages are available.
At 25,000 square feet, the adults-only (kids should head for Riviera main pool, on the Resort Deck) AquaSpa is one of the most spacious afloat. Treatments start at $109 for a 50-minute massage and go up. You can usually get 20 percent off if you book on sailing day, and always watch for specials on treatments while the ship is in port. At $29, the "Frangipani" treatment, a scalp, neck and shoulder massage, is by far the best value on offer. The spa includes a Spa Cafe with very light fare available for the extremely diet-conscious. There are exotic "Sensory Heaven" treatments, such as the float massage, haiku ritual facial and an "aroma stone massage". The jewel of the fitness area is the highly atmospheric, relaxing Thalassotherapy pool, a sort of saltwater Jacuzzi, in which you'll feel as though you've retreated into a different world altogether (a small fee for use all day). The Persian Garden aromatherapy oasis is a nice place to meditate for an additional charge.
Attire:
There are two formal nights on a seven-night cruise, three on longer ones. On two informal nights, gentlemen need wear only jackets. On formal nights most men turned up in dark suits rather than tuxedos, while their better halves chose dressy pantsuits or dresses. By day, don't even consider wearing anything other than shorts, sneakers, T-shirts, polo shirt, and a baseball cap.
To make your reservations for this cruise,
please call
Patrick Toal at (919)402-8900
Or send us email if you have any questions!
