Infinity 112213

15 night panama canal. cruise 52, 53 & 54. Cabin 6131 Sky Suite.

San Diego, Cabo San Lucas, Puerto Vallarta, Mexico; Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala; Puntarenas, Costa Rica; Cruising the Panama Canal; Colon, Panama; Cartagena, Columbia; Ft Lauderdale; and seven sea days. Captain Michael Sympouras; Hotel Dir.: Paul Kelley, GRM.: Mario Tavares, Cruise Dir.: Pete Baker, Capt. Club.: Jenny Cerezo, Butler: Rogilio, Room Steward: Newman Asst: Mohamed; Waiter: Gilberto; Asst, Waiter: Asep.

 

The car picked us up at 4 am for a 8:10am Delta NS flight from JFK to SAN. The fact that we got to JFK in record time, in 60 minutes, we could have left a little later. Sometime before sailing day, Randi decided to upgrade us so we traveled in comfort and had nice omelets for breakfast. Six hours later we arrived in San Diego and took a quick 5 minute cab ride to the pier.

 

We dropped our bags off and headed to Ralphs, a supermarket / wine store to pick up coffee creamers and wine. It was a short 15 minute walk from the ship. When we got on board, we made reservations for the SS United States restaurant at 6 pm since we were still on NY time. That worked out well.

 

 

We've been in this cabin before, so there was no new surprises for us here.

 

Our stateroom attendants, Mohammad and Newman were great and always had our room done in the snap of a finger. Along the trip, we met a former Butler, Santoso and a former cabin stewardess, Marta.

As we began cruising down the coast of Mexico toward Cabo, the seas were smooth seas and the cool temps in the high 60s; Nice and relaxing. We strolled to the SS United States specialty restaurant.

Joanie have would love the Lobster cooked table side in a cream sauce.  It was superb as was the double appetizers that we had. After having part of a delicious bottle of Fantinel Prosecco and a Macon Villages with dinner we went back to the room to fall out. They leftover wine went to our table the next night.

 

 

DAY 2 was a sea day and during that day we upgraded our Nov 23, 2014 cruise to a suite since Celebrity was having a 85% on, 15% off promo that ended the next day. It is a 14 night RT Miami through the carib on the Celebrity Eclipse. While booking with Tomo, we saw Anita, a veteran cruise sales manager, who we knew of before. Celebrity now has a staff of three future cruise agents working. It’s nice not having to wait.

 

We had lunch with some nice folks from Canada; Bernie and Ann from Nova Scotia and Peter and Meg from Vancouver Canada. For dinner our table mates were Ralph and Donna from Sacramento CA., and Andrew and Gail from Carefree, Arizona; nice name for a town, right?  This was the first formal evening of the cruise.

 

ON DAY 3 We tendered In Cabo san Lucas and walked around the boardwalk surrounding the marina area.

While taking our little walk, Randi found a little friend.

DAY 4  The next day we enjoyed Puerto Vallarta. We took a 20 minute walk to the mall where Randi was able to use the hi-speed Internet and check her office email.

 

 

 

 

Once done there, we strolled Wal-Mart to buy a belt for that new slim waist, that she forgot to put in the suitcase.

 

 

 

 

On DAY 5 the next sea day, we attended the officers party, enjoyed the company of Andrew and Gail.

 

   That evening we went to Qsine, the funky restaurant where you can never finish the food.

 

 

 

DAY 6/7 After another sea day we called in the port of Puerto Quetzal, Guatemala, Randi and I booked the auto safari nature park and zoo tour. After the hour drive, it was like going through the great adventure safari. It was enjoyable except for the long ride. We came back to port and bought some colorful scarves. That evening we had our turkey dinners for Thanksgiving in the Trellis restaurant.

 

 DAY 8 Black Friday was a sea day and the stores were crowed on ship. We picked up a few items on discount.

 

This may be a good time to make some observations and changes on Celebrity.

1. The new 3 person staff at the future cruise desk works well and was needed badly
2. Pastries and desserts were not up to par on this cruise. In fact although asking many times, a cheese danish was not to be found anywhere.
3. Blue towels near the pool were frequently stained and discolored.
4. The Captains club has added 2 new tiers while we were on this cruise. We’ll see how that plays out.
5. Dining room service was slightly less then normal and we noticed that at the Captain’s table the bread was presented in baskets and was not delivered individually by the waiter.
6. The Captain’s Club Party had very little food, with no carving stations, sushi or crepes. Most of what was served was the same finger food and canapés as the evening Social Hour.
7. The canned music on the ship was terrible. It was too loud outside and in the public rooms and too mod, like rap, for the Celebrity crowd. What happened to the standard Jimmy Buffet and such? The congo/dj duo was terrible too. All of the other entertainment was better then average for Celebrity.
8. You cant beat the staff. They are the friendliest ever!

 

 

DAY 9 Our next port before the canal was Costa Rica. We first saw an artist working on some sculptures in the sand. We walked through town had a cold drink since it was hot.

 On the way back, we walked through a market. By the time we got back to the ship, the sand sculptures were finished. That evening we dined again in Qsine.

 

 

 

DAY 10 While we were at sea, Jenny, the Captains club hostess, led the Captains club party along with the officers, the Captain and other cruisers. The buffet tables of food were eliminated. Now there were only food trays.

 

 

 

DAY 11 The Panama Canal was the big event. We got up early and witnessed the Panama Canal crossing which started about 7 am and ended about 5 pm. The crossing began at the bridge, crossed through 3 sets of locks, a few more bridges, and cruised the cut and the lake at about 13-14 knots.

 

 

 

 

From the angled out balcony that we have on the port side, you can witness everything including many ships, go by.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Day 12 In Colon Panama we opted to stay in the little square to avoid the bad surrounding element.

 

 

 

 

Randi found a place to work from which was slow Internet so we moved on to a restaurant where it was much faster, ordered 2 beers and a large sandwich which we spilt and paid $15 with tip.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Somewhere along the way we saw Andrew and Gail and took a quick snap.

 

 

 

Day 13 Cartagena Columbia was our last port before the cruise ended in Lauderdale. The port area was set up nicely, with shops of course but also a small natural zoo with parrots toucans, red squirrels, and I petted a deer.

 

 

 

 

 

Day 14 / 15 were beautiful sea days. The first of which was the last formal night where Randi dressed up like a model as we were invited to the Hotel Director's table for dinner..

We dined with Paul Kelley the Hotel Director and Mario Tavares, the Guest Relations Manager, along with Harry and Bev, Nick and Nancy, Larry and David. This was one of the best Captain tables we've ever attended. The host and guest were so natural, easygoing and not forced. And then they started buying shots of Jägermeister; a first for Randi. She didn’t know what is. It is a German 70-proof digestive made with 56 herbs and spices. She enjoyed and so did Nancy.

 

 

We met our new friends from last night’s table at the cocktail party.

 

 

 

We had more fun with them tonight.

 

Great time, till next time.

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Summit 042713

8 night repo plus 1 day prior in SJU.
Cruise 50 & 51. Cabin 6106 CS.

1 day in San Juan, Puerto Rico then St.M; St.T. Tortola, Bermuda overnight and ending in NJ. Captain Leonardos Palaiokrassas; Hotel Dir.: Niina Hautaniemi, GRM.: Marisa Rebelo, Cruise Dir.: Alexander Yepremian, Capt Club.: Ti-An, Butler: Dominic, Waiter: Wawan.

We've done this cruise for about 3 springs in a row now. I got a great price of $149 on our American Airlines flight. Only this time we were flying out of JFK. The ride there was not bad; only 70 minutes but that's because we left the house at 3AM. 

We splurged this time and booked our pre stay at El Convento, a luxurious hotel in Old San Juan. When we got there around 11:30AM, and I inquired about our early check in request, the hotel desk person looked concerned. She said your room will be ready in 10 minutes, or if you want to wait until this afternoon, we would like to offer you the Presidential Suite.

Well, we wanted our room now, so we took the Standard room...Only kidding! We decided to walk in Old SJU & come back later for our suite.

So we dropped our bags with George, we strolled around to the side of the hotel and found the outdoor Tapas bar. We picked some delicious tidbits and had a few adult beverages, then on for our walk in Old San Juan. Randi did her usual stops in Dooney and Coach Outlets, but I don’t believe they had anything for her this time. So we walked into the square and into the superette to check out the wine beer and soda prices for the cruise. We also tried to find Oriental Mix for our friend Gail, who was on board already, since she was also on the previous cruise. We will join up with her tomorrow. We couldn’t find the mix there so we strolled down to CVS along the water but couldn't find it there either. Time to go back to the hotel.

When we picked up our key, we walked through the open air, center courtyard of the hotel where the main restaurant is and picked up the elevator to room 307. One small door? How nice could it be inside?

 Well the door opened into a large vestibule, were we stored our suitcases. To the left and through the French doors was the

living room, dining room combination that had to be at least 25' x 50'.

Behind the living room was a small bathroom, but there was also the master bathroom, shown here with beautiful tile, a full bath with a wonderful shower...Just right for el Presidente!

To the right was a master bedroom with a King size bed for my princess. Shutters on all the windows worked so well to keep the light in or out as you wanted.

Randi crashed on the couch for about an hour and a half and then it was time for complimentary

wine and cheese on the deck. All guests of El Convento are invited. It was a nice hour or so of outdoor relaxing,

plus they were having a historical reenactment across the street at the church steps that we could view from the deck.

While we were enjoying the wine and cheese, we couldn't help to notice, that maybe cousin Larry snuck his way into the festivities. It turned out not to be him.

After a nice dinner in the hotel's courtyard, and after being up from 2am, we were ready to sleep, presidential style.

Because the room was so fully blacked out with the great wooden shutters, we slept later than normal but managed to get our act together for breakfast.

Afterwards we took a morning stroll in the delicious early day sun and picked up the wine, beer and soda. After packing it all up we cabbed over to the Summit on the Pan American pier where we hooked up with Rob and Michelle.


Boarding was trouble free and easy, and before you knew it we were back "home." As we slinked past Bistro on 5,

we spotted our good friend Gail, perhaps you know her as Tuggers on Cruise Critic. We were so excited when she told us that she was booking this particular cruise. It had been a very long time since we saw each other and we had a lot of catching up to do. She's a fantastic person with a fabulous attitude and we love and enjoy her company and witty insight.

She was having lunch with Cil and Roger from Providence, RI. We promised to meet at the Martini bar for drinks later.

It turned out to be a large crowd gasping for martinis. Joan and Al had met up with us and a few more friends made it around a dozen. Before you knew it the Muster drill sounded at 7:45 and the first party was over. The drill was quite painless and quick and so we were off to select dining, a first for us and for a variety of reasons, a last.

After a slight wait to be seated we enjoyed a nice dinner at a table for eight, set for seven. Everyone was tired though and afterwards, we called it a night and when back to the cabin.

We had the same cabin as the last spring cruise, the celebrity suite. It included a living room with floor to ceiling windows, eating area, bedroom, bath and

balcony. Dominic was more than happy to take care of us. He even set up a nice party to share with our friends.

Randi wore my favorite new orange dress and she looked beautiful in it.

St. Martin was our first port of call. Known to some as the shopping island... that is what we did. We stopped in Ultimate jewelry and saw Sam. Randi got a new bracelet and we bought for cousin Joanie some gold pearl earrings. I had some rings of mine sized. Michelle got some stuff for the kids. Joan surprised us all and walked out empty handed. I think a first! I also got 12 bottles of liquor at Gulmohrs including Pomegranate Vodka for Joanie, but wound up having, for the first time to pay tax on it when we went back through customs.

Now back to select dining. Tonight was formal night and Gail, Randi and I were invited to the captain’s table. Gail accepted, and that is no problem. We declined as we decided to stay with

our group. Because we were at select seating, we were showed to our table upstairs with a different waiter. Having another waiter is not necessarily a bad thing; as long as he is a good waiter and in fact

our new waiter was very good, however, when you have one waiter, everyone becomes familiar with each other and their likes and dislikes. Meanwhile, the menu is still missing some favorites. Escargot, one of my favorite apps and Strip Steak are still off the menu. I wish they would keep items like these available as it is a way to keep Celebrity a notch above, as a premium cruise line.

On St Thomas Rob and Michelle, Randi and I headed to Megan’s Bay, as the locals say, one of the ten best beaches in the world. While it was indeed nice, I am thinking to myself that Gail had the right idea on this one, to stay on the ship and enjoy. You miss the 30 minute taxi ride both ways and let’s not forget the fare. The sun would have been the same on the ship and we would have had a more relaxing time. Will keep this in mind for next time.

Ahhh Tortola. We love the beach at Cane Garden Bay. Gail and Jeff turned us on to this a few years back. Around 8AM, the five of us taxied at $8 per person to visit the Big Banana, a place

where you can get a chair, a beautiful beach and 2 for 1 painkillers, from smiling bartender, Judith. Painkillers are rum based drinks with coconut and nutmeg. They go down very smoothly and before you know it there is no pain any more.

Everybody was having fun. I found Cosmo, a beach bum dog, Randi read, Rob walked the beach and Michelle and

Gail found a seat at the bar. Now I had 2 painkillers myself and because they were so strong, decided to quit at that. Michelle and Gail enjoyed a couple more than I. To make a long story short, it was good that they were with us or they would have missed the ship. As it was we got there with only minutes to spare.

 Everybody went back to their cabins to get ready for the Captain's club celebration, where Gail was being honored as the top cruiser, with 78 Celebrity Cruises. Randi and I showered and changed. I called Gail to see if she needed help going up but since there was no answer, I assumed she was up there already, so we headed up to Revelations where the party was being held. When we saw the captain’s club hostess, Ti-Ann, we asked if she saw Gail. When she said no, Randi explained she may be asleep in her cabin. Ti-Ann arranged for the room steward to open the door when we arrived. Randi found her sleeping like a baby.

Kudos to Gail. She was up, dressed and at her party within 20 minutes and looking pretty good at that! She enjoyed her introduction and a bouquet of roses from the Captain. All’s well that ends well.

We had a beautiful sea day as we headed to Bermuda. When we got there though, I decided that in the future, Bermuda is in the same category as St Thomas. I think I will stay on the

ship. How many times can you visit the shops at Kings Wharf or see the Maritime museum? The good thing about the museum is that it is

where the dolphins are penned if you want to swim with them.

The second night in Bermuda, we, along with

Gail treated all nine of us to a dinner at Normandy, one of the specialty restaurants on board that is class all the way. Sean the Matre'd placed us at a beautiful oval table.

Some food was prepared table side and some just brought to the table but one thing is for sure, there were no complaints. Everyone seemed to enjoy each others company and wonderful food.

On the last formal night, the festivities seemed to be pared down for the baked Alaska parade. It could have been because we were on select dining though. This reminds me, that was a reason that I didn’t get a picture of our wait staff as I usually do. They were a pretty good team.

The last day is always a little melancholy. You need to say goodbye to old friends and new ones too. You thank everyone on board who made things fantastic for you on another great cruise.

We plan to see at least Gail on the next one as we sail the Panama Canal but this one had to come to an end. The good thing though about sailing back to beautiful Bayonne NJ is that we were home by 10am and Randi had the laundry done by 1.
PS. Did I tell you she loves to do laundry?!

Smooth sailing!

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summit 042713