CalTravelers

Classes depend on the artist on the ship. I don’t think 6-7 consecutive lessons is a good idea.  People come and go. I wanted to pick up several techniques - not paint only one project for 7 days.  There was also a needlepoint meeting.  Gave out free kits and had a chat session. Don’t know if this was based o ATW cruise.  Very popular group!! The Insignia area was definitely added because of the ATW status. If you have a lot of sea days you need this activity.  Port intensive cruises would’t allow time for too much art.

5 hours ago, gotravel said:

 

 

Classes were independent of each other. Some required two sessions; different techniques were taught at each session.  

Just returned from Insignia - many sea days!  Geri Gventer was the instructor - she proposed the art program several years ago. Open house was held the first evening. /Arrive early for scheduled class time!!! Room holds 20 people - so many were interested that she held two sessions a day! She went out of her way to fit everyone in. Space onInsignia is limited, but we made it work. She did not have sign-ups - she feels that everyone paid and they should have the art services available. Can’t speak for other instructors. Supplies in stock - bring an apron/work shirt as we used acrylics.  Also did water color and sculpting!!  Added bonus - her husband Mark gives lectures on iPhone photography and editing! Class attendance lessens depending upon interest. Highlight of our 24 day cruise! Only held on sea days.

Thanks for all the info!  We’ll be sure to check the daily news!  

I see that Insignia has added an art center in Horizons.  We will have quite a few days at sea on our upcoming Tokyo to SF cruise. Are there any art/craft supplies or just classes scheduled with the artist?  Do they schedule a meetup time for crafters?  Thanks for any info.

Thanks for your honest review.  We will sail on June 21 from Tokyo. We will be posting our thoughts! 

Thanks for posting.  We will try our first Oceania in June. Expecting a lot as far as food.  Booking shore excursions was way more difficult than it should be. No other cruise line makes it so complicated. We’ll be posting a review!

On 11/16/2022 at 7:24 PM, CurlerRob said:

We just completed our first trip with Oceania – Insignia, from Montreal to Miami. We decided to post our impressions as data points for other people considering a first O cruise. By way of background, we are experienced cruisers, sailing previously with HAL (their older ships) and Viking.

 

Booking / Embarkation

 

• We found the booking and pricing information more complex than necessary. OLife with airfare was contrasted with cruise-only pricing but does not clearly identify the actual OLife cost. While the math can be done, why make it so obtuse? And, quoting astronomical “brochure fares” is utterly pointless.
   
• The timeliness of information regarding requirements (vax, travel authorizations, country entry requirements) prior to the cruise was poor. Requirements were only finalized shortly before the cruise – although the various country requirements were available from country websites much earlier. As well, there were numerous discrepancies between the various documents on the O website – consistency is critical.
   
• Embarkation itself was well handled and quick - only 1/2-hour in total. Our cabin was ready by 1 pm. It was a nice touch to have our steward’s name up on the TV screen upon arrival.
   
• Overall rating B.

 

The Ship

 

• Insignia is a smaller ship, which very much suits our preference. We found her clean and well maintained. Getting oriented was very easy – this may have been due to the very similar layout to the older HAL ships.
   
• The decor is more the traditional style, as opposed to Viking’s contemporary approach.
   
• A strong plus was the great forward lounge (Horizons) that has copious seating all along the windows with quality views forward and abeam.
   
• Regretfully, I was unable to find any exterior spot with an unobstructed view forward for pictures, unlike HAL or Viking.
   
• The lack of a full, covered promenade deck was a minus for us as walkers. In order to walk a complete lap, one had to go up to the fitness track on Deck 10, which is completely open to the elements and was closed on occasion due to winds.
   
• Overall rating A.

 

Cabin

 

• We chose a ‘Concierge’ cabin, with a balcony. It was advertised as 216 square feet, which was somewhat smaller than the ~270 square feet on our comparative lines.
   
• In general, we found the cabin itself quite adequate, with more than ample storage. An oddity was that our one large suitcase would not fit under the bed, as it usually does, but it did fit nicely into the closet.
   
• The bed was very comfortable. The pillows were feather, which is not our preference but we did not request a change. The toiletries provided were highly scented, but scent-free versions were available from the cabin steward.
   
• The balcony was quite standard in our experience – a sliding door opened to two chairs and a small table – worked fine for two people.
   
• The bathroom was VERY small - to the point that the commode lacked the necessary legroom. Worse was the shower - it’s tiny and a strange trapezoidal shape, with maximum dimensions of about 22” by 34”. It was extremely difficult to use and would be dangerous in a seaway as there is simply not enough room to brace oneself. It was pretty clear where the sacrifice was made regarding the lower square footage. There’s obviously nothing to be done about the configuration, but new pax should be aware.
   
• Our rating would have been an A but the bathroom was so awkward to use that it dragged it down to a C.

 

Dining / Drinks

 

• Oceania says they have the “finest cuisine at sea”. Not having sailed on every line, I can’t confirm or deny that statement. I can say that their food was, in general, every bit as good, and frequently a notch above our previous experiences. There were usually five choices for each part of the meal, with good variety. Meats, fish and poultry were all cooked perfectly to order. The soups were uniformly excellent. There were a few failures (baked Parmesan-crusted chicken, I’m looking at you), but not a significant number.
   
• The Grand Dining Room was, in our view, the least distinguished from our other experiences – we’d be hard pressed to identify much that was different. Seating was reasonably prompt, other than on the first night crush. The tables are well-spaced so you can enjoy some privacy from your neighbours.
   
• The Terrace Cafe was a delight, not only for the variety and quality of the food, but especially for the large seating area on the stern - partly covered with nearly all tables protected from the wind. We ate there even on quite cold days, for the view and alfresco experience. We also appreciated that food service is done by the staff – apart from the improved hygiene, we find that provides more opportunity to interact with them.
   
• The Waves poolside grill had excellent hot dogs, burgers and sandwiches, with quick service even at peak times.
   
• We found the two specialty restaurants quite different. Polo Grill was as good as many shoreside steak houses we’ve been to. The Italian offering, Toscana, was average at best - across its service, food quality and ambiance. Unfortunate, as we love Italian food.
   
• One oddity we encountered was that coffee was not routinely offered after meals in any of the restaurants. We learned to order it with our dessert.
   
• Oceania’s selection of wines by the glass and beer was by far the best we’ve encountered - lots of choices and good quality at reasonable prices. As well, Oceania permits a single pax to purchase or upgrade their beverage package, rather than requiring everyone in the cabin to do so. A very classy move that was greatly appreciated by us.
   
• Oceania provided two aluminum drink bottles (that you can keep), which could be refilled with the ship’s special bottled water. Very helpful touch.
   
• Rated A.

 

Service

 

• We have never found a ship’s crew to be other than very friendly and accommodating. This continued on Insignia – fine service across the board. Any minor errors were acknowledged and fixed immediately.
   
• We did experience some inconsistency at times, which had the appearance of staff shortages / new staff. This was our first cruise post-Covid, so our observation may apply across all lines.
   
• Rated A.

 

ShoreEx

 

• We generally prefer independent excursions, which was fortunate, as we found Oceania’s performance in this area completely unacceptable.
   
• First, the prices. We are quite used to the cruise lines’ normal markups but found O’s to be simply ridiculous - often 400% versus a DIY tour. An example - the Newport cliff walk and Breakers tour was $300 for a couple. We replicated the tour for $73. Even if one wanted multiple ship tours and leveraged the O discounts available when selecting the OLife excursion option, prices still would show more than a 3X markup.
   
• The second issue was the degree of change to excursions, and lack of communication regarding those changes. We chose only one ship excursion, taken in NYC. Once on the tour, we discovered that the harbour cruise portion promised had morphed into a bus ride. We later discovered that the shore-ex brochure left in the cabin (which looks identical to every other excursion sales brochure we’ve ever seen) identified alterations to many excursions. There was no announcement, no ‘flag’ to be sure to closely review the brochure and no prior emails. The predictable result was a large number of upset pax.
   
• Excursion changes are normal, but we have never seen a cruise line who expects pax to ferret out changes without any notification.
   
• This was a total failure - rated F.

 

Internet

 

• We include thoughts on the internet service as it’s a “hot topic” on nearly every line. We had the standard internet package. Overall, it was similar to but slightly less functional than other lines, which is to say, usually slow and wildly inconsistent regarding reliability of service. We were annoyed that only one device could be active at a time - much switching required unless one wanted to pony up the high costs for a second login.
   
• Interestingly, when the service was behaving, we were able to have a few Skype video calls, even without the “streaming” upgrade, so that was a bonus.
   
• Rated C. (We have yet to find a cruise line that rated anywhere near an A).
   

Entertainment

 

• We are not partial to shipboard entertainment, didn’t attend any shows, so have no opinion to offer. There appeared to be a decent set of the standard activities and shows.
   
• Our only poor experience was when the show band played in the forward lounge one evening. They were so loud that most pax left within minutes.
   

 Summary
 

The ultimate question for us was “would we cruise with Oceania again”? Our answer was “yes”. Critiques aside, we felt that we received appropriate value on the trip.
 

For us, choosing O again would be a function of the itinerary and time of year – we would enjoy experiencing the ship with more time in warmer climes, as it seemed particularly suited to better weather. If we were to undertake a longer voyage, we would have to give careful consideration to a cabin upgrade to escape the bathroom purgatory – that would increase the cost by about 1/3 and would strain O’s competitiveness.
 

Hopefully, these observations and the logic behind them will be of use to other potential pax. Happy sailing! 🍺🥌

 

 

Thanks Bob!  Great to have the photo.  Are any classes scheduled or is it drop-in?

Is the Art Center up and running on Insignia?  They advertise that a center has been added.  I am interested as our cruise has many days at sea. Thanks for any information you can provide.

So true - all aboard is another time completely!  Our Japan to SF is also changing, but does make a huge difference in this itinerary!  Life is getting too complicated!!!!!

We are scheduled for the last segment of ATW-boarding in Tokyo. This will be our first Oceania. We are looking forward to the ship - over 18 cruises with Viking our favorite.  Sailing into home port - a definite benefit.  Is the Art Center open and active. We were glad to see this area added with so many days a sea. Hope it is active - not just something Oceania added for “looks”.

As far as reviews, you have to consider the reviewer!  We have chatted with people all over that either love or hated the ships we were on!!!!

On 4/2/2019 at 7:15 PM, stevenr597 said:

Getting a bit worried.  We have booked on the Azamara Journey, cruise in the Med., during Oct, 2020.  Hope that they don't plan to drydock the ship just before out cruise.  If that occurs, will rethink the sailing.

 We are also booked on the Quest. Looks like is is sailing several voyages before ours!  

Search Viking Sky on the internet. Evacuation ongoing via helicopters. Rough waters and hugh seas prevent life boats being used. Coast too rocky to approach. A frightening experience for sure. We are praying for all of you. 

On 3/9/2019 at 1:55 PM, Pushka said:

Was it in relation to your actual booking or just an Information/marketing type of email. 

A reminder to book. We already booked all our excursions!  Link takes you to My Trip so I confirmed that our tours were in order. 

Just received an email titled North Passage. Body of emails describes European shore excursions?  Someone needs to take a look at what they are posting and emailing!!  Not what you expect from Viking. 

On 2/20/2019 at 3:21 PM, OceanPatter said:

Love your thread. BTW, did anyone go on the Taieri Gorge Railway trip in Dunedin?

On 2/20/2019 at 3:21 PM, OceanPatter said:

Love your thread. BTW, did anyone go on the Taieri Gorge Railway trip in Dunedin?

We’re a group of 4 and we all enjoyed this train trip. Pick up is right at the port!  Run by volunteers who are very engaging. Wine served throughout and a good lunch. Would recommend this one!

Busy making travel plans for 2016 one trip already booked Saturday the other still making plans. The fun is as much in the planning as to the travel I feel. Can someone tell me when boarding the Queen Mary 2 on the 7 day sailing from Quebec to New York I notice you board on the Tuesday ( Oct. 4th. ) however, do not sail until Wednesday the 5th. Please, tell me what time boarding begins on the Tuesday and being as the ship is in dock until the following day what time do they begin boarding and is everything open onboard. Thanks !!

 

P.S how many formal nights on this 7 day trip ??

Thanks for posting these questions. Our first time on Cunard - we picked this because of the Quebec origination and Cunard expperience. Glad to see the ship is in for a retrofit in Spring!

Left on 10-7 for Dulles. Our driver would not take us to T5. Had to unload luggage, get on a jam-packed shuttle and move from T3 to T5. After clearing immigration and security we went back to T3. Process was difficult for most as luggage homeward bound was more than we started with. Never found out if cabs etc. can drive to T5!

Thanks Fran for the quick response. Was the room noisy from rushing water and noisy from ship's plumbing??? Saw this on another post for lower rooms.

Linda

We have tentatively booked a water line room for Sept. 19 - all that is available ! Anyone have any comments on these rooms? We are Cat. E in the center and not under a public room. We are leary of the room location. But this is a newer ship and we do have a small window. Room space is actually larger than the balcony fooms. All feedback welcomed! This will be our second trip with Viking.:)

I was 16 when I traveled on Fairsky (my second cruise). The first was on the Fairwind at age 10. What a way to start cruising. This was 1980 and 1985. Cruising was different then. Cruise ships weren't small cities, and actually looked and sounded like ships. Ahhh. . . to see all the wood again and the shiny brass. Oh and the Italians!!!!

 

I miss the days when you could hug and kiss your waiter/room steward/maitre' d. My last cruise on Celebrity all we got was hand sanitizer thrown at us at every turn, and at the Captain's party and the return passenger party we were told the captain and crew were not shaking hands to avoid passing germs. :confused:

 

Oh how things change.......

I agree with you completely. My family started cruising Sitmar in the seventies and had many wonderful voyages. The most memorable was the "fire cruise" on the Fairwind - Thanksgiving 1978. We haven't sailed Crystal yet, but nothing compares with the service and attention on those smaller ships. There was a special feeling in the dining room every night - the special orders and tableside cooking that were a standard part of yur dining experience. Everyting now is a mass production. You can't beat the Italian service we experienced. Princess does a good job while trying to keep things affordable. I guess you get what you pay for! I am glad that we had a chance to experience crusing in those days.:)