Celebrity's Infinity-Shipboard inspection

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I spent several hours visiting Celebrity's cruise ship The Infinity yesterday. She was docked in the Port of San Diego. I found the day to be a success, due to picturesque setting of the San Diego Harbor, and the many features and amenitites that make up this upscale cruise ship.

The "Infinity" is the second of Celebrity's ships I have done shipboard inspections on. I visited the Mercury while at a trade show last June in Seattle. The Mercury was built in 1997; the Infinity in 2001. She contains 1,059 total accommodations, which is a combination of 50 suites, 853 outside cabins (with balcony and without) and 206 inside staterooms. The Infinity offers a mixture of traditional assigned dining, alternative restaurants and one restaurant upgade for an additional price of $30 per person per meal. Reservations are required. There are 8 lounges and bars on board and serveral duty free shops.

The ship has a modern decor and utilizes mainly shades of lavendar, blue and orange throughout. The dining room is quite nice with two tiered seating. Same with the Celebrity Theater.

I had an opportunity to have lunch on board and found the food to be quite nice. The waitstaff was excellent.

The ship was built in 2001 and has not gone through any rennovations. It still looks fresh, but I found the soft goods in the cabins to look a bit frayed and tired.

I found the following areas to be the best bet on board:
1. Suites--check out the Royal and Celebrity Suites. I found both of these suite categories to be quite nice. The layout of the cabin, the living area and the balconies to be very pleasant. They offered walk in closets and upgraded flat screen televisions. Suites and concierege class cabins have nice addtional amenities and extra staff services.
2. The Celebrity Theater--on two levels and very elegant. Stage is large and sound system excellent.
3. Champagne and Martini Bar--A great gathering place
4. Aqua Spa and Fitness Center--With an indoor pool and two jacuzzis and a spa cafe serving alternative cuisine for breakfast and lunch. The fitness center was quite large and had over 10 treadmills to work off that last meal!

Holding over 2,000 passengers, I found the Infinity offers an upscale and modern cruise ship experience at affordable prices. The ship is large enough to offer great entertainment and restaurant options while still small enough not to feel overwhelmed by its size and number of guests.

Note: On board gratuities, soft drinks, adult beverages, shore excursions and spa treatments are all at addtional expense.

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