11 Nights Best Of Greece Cruise

Great experience on the Celebrity Infinity!

This was our first experience cruising with Celebrity, and we were thoroughly impressed! We were aware of other reviews- indicating that the ship was older, and in need of updating. We disagree with that opinion- the ship was in excellent shape, beautifully appointed, rooms were well-designed. Food quality was excellent. Service was outstanding- and it was clearly the best we've experienced vs. prior cruises with Carnival and MSC. The room was completely refreshed by our steward twice a day. The wait staff assigned to our table in Trellis was truly superb- lead by our head waiter Andy, his assistant Putra and our sommelier Marwin. The entire staff, in every part of the ship- was trained to acknowledge & greet each passenger they passed by. Celebrity should be commended for their elite staff training. This was the first time that we went on a cruise without doing a drinks package. Although it is a bit of a hassle- paying as you go- we saved hundreds of dollars in the end and we never could have drunk enough alcohol to make the drinks package cost effective. For activities, Celebrity pricing for shore excursions was very high, and we arranged our own tours at a fraction of the price in most ports. They try to scare you about missing the boat departure, if the tour does not get you back to port in time, but if you do some research & chose vendors carefully (based on posted reviews)- this is essentially a non-issue. We chose this cruise mainly due to the time of year, and the itinerary (Best of Greece, Eastern Mediterranean, 11 days, roundtrip from Athens). Although weather was cool, it was really cold for only one day, and we had dry weather for 10/11 days. The benefit was that we were the only ship in most ports that we visited, and archeological sites were much less crowded than in peak season. Also- most interesting sites were well within walking distance of the ports in Thessaloniki, Rhodes and Nafplio- so a self directed walking tour was very doable in those locations. We did tours in Kusadasi, Cyprus and Crete- and those were well worth the cost. We really liked the extra night in the Athens port at the end of our cruise, which allowed us to tour the Acropolis and the museum, without having to pay for a hotel room or meals on that day. We scheduled "ship excursions" on all of our Sea Days, and these were a lot of fun. The best ones were the World Wine Tour and the Martini Masterclass. Our only suggestion/disappointment with the trip was the lack of one or two Greek themed dinners in the Trellis restaurant, and/or Greek food stations in the Oceans buffet restaurant. This would have been a nice touch, and we have experienced this on other cruise lines. We were very impressed with Celebrity Cruises, and we are already looking to book our next cruise with them!

Enjoyed every port!

We only had three sea days but we really enjoyed every report and the weather was on our side. Had a balcony which on these ships is just the perfect cabin to me. We did not have the drink package because we don't drink all that much. But we are elite and did enjoy the cocktail hour every night in the constellation lounge. Often, that was when we were departing a port and we could also watch a beautiful sunset. Wyra, one of the bartenders there, would start our drinks as soon as he saw us come in. We shared a taxi from our hotel, the Hyatt, with another couple and I think it was €35. Embarkation was swept and easy and our suitcase arrived with in 2 hours. Lanzarote-- very interesting, lava rock Island. We booked a tour with Lola via TripAdvisor/Viator and it was perfect. Visited a couple of wineries, a salt factory and toured the island. There would have been four of us but she added two more at the port so six of us in maybe an eight-passenger van. Gran Canaria-- We booked a ships tour to MasPalomas Beach but we overslept and missed the bus. Our friends said it was more about shopping and they didn't walk down to see the dunes which attracted me. We took the shuttle into town and just walked around a bit. Tenerife-- took a ship's excursion, Island City Sights--a sightseeing from the bus tour with a stop at a lovely restaurant for "brunch" which turned out to be either coffee or tea and a plate of cookies per table to share. Oh well, it was a lovely location /view and we had good weather. Casablanca-- took a tour through Viator, nice because it was just the two of us in a sedan. But when we toured the Hussein II mosque, we were combined with others from the tour company and we were probably 30 to 40 people with one guide and they were doing jackhammer work that day and couldn't hear the majority of what was said. But the mosque is stunningly beautiful, competing with the Taj mahal. Practice your squats because the Western toilet line was very long, but there were probably 60 squat toilets available. We only drove by Rick's Cafe and snapped a picture because it was early. Beautiful city really with miles and miles of beautiful beaches. Tangier-- another beautiful city but we took a ships excursion to White Pearl, the town of Asilah. Just stunningly beautiful. During our walk of the Town, we stopped and received A puff bread fresh out of the oven and then we ended up at a restaurant where we had tea and Moroccan sweets- a plate of three each. Seville (Cadiz)-- We have family there so they met us at the train station and where our hosts for the day. We took a taxi to the nearby train station (we could have walked) and took a train to Jerez de la Frontera. We had a wonderful breakfast in the local"bar" and then walked around the city a little bit and caught a taxi to the Tio Pepe Winery. We did the tapas and wine tasting tour. We've actually been there before. I love it. Malaga -- We had actually booked a tour to the Alhambra for this port but I had broken my leg last year and wasn't sure I could do all the walking required so we ended up just taking the shuttle into town. Absolutely beautiful Port and town and just a beautiful, crystal clear day. We walked up from the shuttle a couple of blocks and found the most amazing gelato place, "Croissant," and next to it, a wonderful, wonderful bread shop. Entertainment -- We never made any of the production shows but we did see several of the entertainers brought on board and enjoyed each of those shows. We were on the sun princess last year for their naming Cruise and they do not have a venue large enough for the size of the ship. Very frustrating. We were on the celebrity Beyond last year and their entertainment was top notch, just amazing. Infinity's entertainment was not at that level but at least they have the theater so that everyone who wants to see the show, can, without standing in line for 2 hours.

Very good cruise .Excellent value for money.

Ignore the other reviews about the ship being old and run down. Yes it's an old ship , but is well maintained with little visible signs of wear. The service was exceptionally good everywhere and so was the food .As the cruise was over the festive season the ship excelled itself with the quality and variety of food in the Windjammer buffet and main dining rooms. We ate in the Tuscan grill one evening and it was ok but not worth the premium price. Embarkation was a doddle with a simple drill to do. The entertainment was varied and good and the ships singers and dancers acceptable. The selection of daily activities was wide and the quizzes very well attended. Disembarkation in Barcelona was very easy in the new cruise terminal. We were lucky with the weather and all the stops were good with free courtesy buses being laid on where required..