Hawaii Cruise
Celebrity Infinity
May 2002
Well we just got back yesterday from our latest cruise and I thought I would sit down and write the review before I forget all of the little details! It was on the Celebrity Infinity, departing May 20 th, 2002 from Honolulu, finishing in Vancouver on May 31 st, 2002.
A little background information: this was our third cruise, and our second on Celebrity. We are in our early 30s and tend to enjoy ports, production shows and dressing up for dinner more than late night discos, parties and casual nights.
We arranged our own air (as always, much cheaper and more convenient than the cruise line option) and spent one extra day at each of the departure and arrival ports.
The Ship
We had previously sailed on the Celebrity Millenium and it was so similar we had no problems finding anything. It was sort of like going to Disneyland after you have already visited the Magic Kingdom at Disneyworld: almost everything is the same and you roughly know where to find what you want. That being said, this is a beautiful ship with many delightful public areas.
We were in a category 2C (same as the inside and outside rooms only this one had a balcony) and felt that it was more than enough space for two people. It had plenty of storage, a large bed, a small loveseat (a little tight for two) and a roomy shower (although not a roomy bathroom). The balcony was nice, but not spectacular. The nicest part was being able to open the door and feel the breeze. In an outside cabin the window doesn’t open so this option is only available in the balcony cabins.
There have been many reviews of the Millenium, Summit and Infinity, so I won’t dwell too much on what has already been repeated many times except to say that we were pleased with the ship and didn’t have any real complaints as to the facilities.
The Entertainment
As on our last Celebrity cruise, we noted that the entertainment was somewhat lacking, but since we had expected this we weren’t really disappointed. Celebrity’s big problem is that if you are uninterested in the main show in the theatre, there is very little else to do. The alternatives would be listening to a mediocre duo in the smoky Rendezvous lounge or watching a movie (if one is running). One night an opera singer was scheduled to perform. This was not my kind of thing but my husband was interested so I went to the movie and he went to the show. The show was somewhat sparsely attended, and the movie was packed to overflowing, as was the line to see the second showing of the movie. Since the movie was I Am Sam (a decent film but hardly a box office smash) I suspect many people were there for the same reason I was: it was the only real alternative to the opera singer. Celebrity needs to offer a better selection of entertainment. Perhaps they could have a nightly comic or magic act in the Constellation lounge? Would this really be so costly?
My other complaint about the entertainment is that the theme parties always start so late (usually close to 11 pm or later). Why can’t Celebrity begin these parties at 7 pm or 8 pm or even 9 pm? Even after 5 days at sea in a row, it was obvious (by applause levels at the evening show) that the majority of the passengers had not seen midnight the entire cruise. You would think that Celebrity would realize this and set their schedule around the majority of their passengers. Needless to say, my husband and I did not attend any of the theme parties or midnight buffets.
Now the good! We were very impressed with the cruise director, Allan King. He was funny and personable and seemed to be a big hit, especially with the older ladies (if you know what I mean). We always enjoyed the events he hosted and he was full of life, unlike Stuart Nelson who gad been our cruise director on the Millenium. Unfortunately Alan had polyps in his throat and when our cruise ended he disembarked and went to a hospital for surgery on them. I hope it went well Allan!
The Food
As we had remembered, Celebrity’s food was excellent, with the occasional duds thrown in. We especially liked the wonderful selection of desserts every night. One evening we went to the SS United States specialty restaurant ($25 extra per person) and both the food and service there were truly divine. As my husband said afterwards, “You just can’t imagine a dining experience being any better than this.” Anyone who travels on the newer Celebrity cruise ships must go to the specialty restaurant at least once. It is well worth it!
Insider’s Trick! When you don’t think you are going to get back to the boat for lunch, order a couple of ham & cheese baguettes from room service the night before and pack them in a cooler (we had a collapsible one that was great for sandwiches and sodas). You can get ice from the machines at the buffet and for good measure we put the ice into ziploc bags. The baguettes are good and made a nice snack, tiding us over until we got back to the boat for some food.
The Ports
All of the shore excursions offered by Celebrity can be arranged by yourself in advance, at a significant discount. There is no need to purchase the Celebrity package as there is nothing you cannot walk to or get a free shuttle to. Get an AAA tourbook and do your homework before you go. It will save you a lot of money whether you do a helicopter tour, the Atlantis submarines, a luau, a bike tour or anything else.
WARNING! All of the little booths you see with too-good-to-be-true prices are just that. To get these prices you must attend a time share presentation and since most ports are only a few hours in duration, even if you wanted this option you could not do it in the time allotted. You are much better off booking your own excursions in advance.
Honolulu, Oahu
We only arrived the night before the cruise, however because there was a 3 hour time difference from our native California time we were up bright and early. This allowed us to line up for tickets at the Arizona Memorial at 7 am (it opens at 7:30 am). We were 10 th in line. It’s a good thing too, because by 7:15 am there were 2,000 people behind us in line. Between the 2,000 people Infinity was disgorging that day, and the 2,000 people embarking, plus the regular tourist traffic, the place was packed. My advice is no matter how long your stay in Honolulu, take advantage of your jet lag the first day or two and get out early to see the memorial. It is worth waiting the extra 30 minutes in the morning not to have to wait the extra hours later in the day. Another warning, they will not let you take ANYTHING into the memorial other than a small camera in your hand (no camera bags, no purses, no diaper bags, etc.) in the post-Sept. 11 th era. Make sure you leave ALL your luggage at the hotel and I do meaan ALL.
After the memorial, we went over to the Missouri and again were one of the first groups on the boat since it opens later ( 9 am) and most people see it after seeing the Arizona. We were able to finish by 11 am and grab a cab to the ship (with a quick stop enroute at our hotel to pick up our luggage). Officially boarding did not start until 1 pm but we were onboard at 11:30 am, enjoying the welcome aboard pizza and buffet luncheon.
Kona, Hawaii/Big Island
We have yet to cruise the Caribbean, but from what I have heard Kona is very much like the majority of those ports. There were some small beaches close to the tender dropoff point, some nicer ones a 20 minute walk away, and some touristy shops, as well as a couple of minor historical sites (the Hulihee Palace and Hawaii’s oldest church). The Hulihee Palace was interesting but short and once we had seen that and walked all 10 minutes of Kona’s main strip we were bored. I will admit that we saw the best shopping prices in Kona, including a guy selling nice ‘packable’ sun hats for $8-$12 each. This was much cheaper than anywhere else we saw on the islands. Also, the Kona coffee is obviously cheapest here. But shop around! We got a half pound for $9, but in a convenience store it was $4 for a half pound. The difference is that we got 100% Kona Coffee and the convenience store stuff was 10% Kona Coffee. It depends what matters to you I guess, but you need to read packages and look carefully!
Nawilliwilli/Lihue, Kauai
This island is the oldest and one of the most undeveloped, due to its mountainous/volcanic terrain. Much of the island is only viewable by boat or air. For this reason we chose to do a helicopter tour in this port. In an hour long flight we managed to circle the island and criss cross it twice, seeing both the coastline and the interior (the interior only being visible by air since boats cannot sail inland). The flight was expensive ($139 per person) but well worth doing once, and was still much cheaper than the $200 per person Celebrity wanted to charge.
Kauai is the ‘wettest spot in the world’, receiving up to 600 inches of rain per year. It rains almost every day. Generally the morning is the nicest, and as the day goes on it gets cloudier and wetter. Any kind of excursion you book should be for first thing in the morning to get the best views. Almost as soon as we had finished our helicopter tour (11:30 am) it began to rain and didn’t stop until after we left. We used this time to take the free shuttles to the shopping areas.
Lahaina, Maui
I’m not sure we really needed two days at this port but that is what we got. The first day we took the Atlantis submarine tour ($18 per person cheaper on our own than with Celebrity) and walked around the town, seeing the local sites, and on the second day we split up. My husband did the bike tour down the Haleakala (sp?) volcano crater and he said that it was one of the best experiences of his life. If you are into biking and gorgeous scenery he would highly recommend it. Make sure you get a tour that takes you all the way up to the top of the crater (10,000 feet) and not just part of the way up. Even though we only booked this the day before, we were still able to save $10 off of the Celebrity price for this excursion. Since I was solo, I took a free shuttle up to Whaler’s Village at Kaanapaali Beach, which is wonderful. If you like white sand beaches this is the place to be. In the afternoon I did some window-shopping in Lahaina.
Hilo, Hawaii/Big Island
This is the one place where we seriously considered doing the Celebrity tour to go see the Volcano National Park, which is 30 miles outside of Hilo. As it turned out, we had some friends who were familiar with the park who were visiting the island at the same time we were in port so they picked us up and took us there themselves. However when we got off the boat I noticed a number of local tour companies who were picking up passengers and taking them to the Volcano Park in small vans. I suspect that if we had done some homework we could have booked a personal tour in advance at a cheaper price than Celebrity’s tour. A number of people also rented cars in this port for the express purpose of seeing the park.
Vancouver
We only had an afternoon in Vancouver and we spent it walking around the downtown area. It was nice, but not outstanding. Frankly we prefer walking around San Francisco (we live in the San Francisco area) more than Vancouver. We would have liked to see Victoria (I have heard it is lovely) but it takes a minimum of a day and we did not have the time. However it was nice to relax after getting off the boat instead of rushing to the airport.
Overall
We had never been to Hawaii before and we had a terrific time overall, and really appreciated this way to see a number of different islands on one trip. I’m not sure we would do a Hawaiian cruise again any time soon, but it is definitely worth doing once, and the Infinity is a fabulous boat to be doing it on. Two thumbs up!