We are Royal Caribbean loyalist but we wanted to try something different so we elected to sail the Celebrity Infinity for our cruise through the Panama Canal. We flew to San Diego and spent three great days there before boarding. We were very excited to learn that the hotel we had booked was literally across the street from where the ship would dock. It was like watching TV the morning of 22 November as we sat at our bayside window watching as the ship appeared out of the darkness at 0445…what a beautiful sight!
We arrived at the port at noon where we encountered major chaos while trying to check in bags and dodging pot holes and incoming traffic. Props to the Baltimore Cruise Terminal…they are still number one with us!!
After finally checking in we were told that it was time for us to board. We were directed to deck 10 for the Oceanview Café. As with any other boarding day, seating was at a minimum. Unlike RCI’s Windjammer, the Oceanview is aft with a veranda, much to my liking. The Oceanview is not ‘open’ as is the Windjammer. As you entered, the entire center of the room was enclosed and you walked along to the various stations. There was the normal ‘cafeteria-style’ food, a salad station, a pasta station, a pizza station and a sandwich station…and an ice cream station where there were six different homemade ice creams, sorbets or sherberts made DAILY. You DO NOT serve yourself…I learned that the hard way as I reached for something and was immediately met with, “how may I help you, madam?” OK…leave the utensils alone!! There is a poolside grill that served hamburgers and hotdogs with all the fixings…and get this, the rolls were always FRESH!!!
We had a very nice room with a veranda…and a wonderful bathroom. The shower was rectangular with a curtain…PLENTY of room! You had to step over a 3” bottom rail to enter the shower so there was never an issue with water running out onto the floor…RCI should take note! Included in the bathroom was the typical shampoo, conditioner and lotion plus a glass container of cotton balls and Q-tips. There were storage cabinets under the sink if you needed the space for something.