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I have always wanted to try an aft cabin, so we booked an aft A1 for our upcoming cruise on Insignia.

In addition to the location of the cabin, we were able to get our preferred times for specialty restaurants by being able to reserve earlier.

So far I am happy we paid the extra money for the concierge cabin.

We are on the NYC to Montreal April 10th cruise on Insignia.

We booked because the itinerary looked varied & interesting, with some overnights which we enjoy.

After booking, I saw that this is supposed to be a Jacques Pepin hosted cruise, with signature menus & culinary demonstrations. That will be a bonus if it goes through as planned.

https://www.oceaniacruises.com/specialty-cruises

And, like mauibabes said, the sail out past the Statue of Liberty is a magical experience that never gets old.

We were in cabin 8000 on the Azamara Quest, which is another R-Class ship.

It was a great cabin, with no noise issues at all.

We specifically avoided the starboard side cabins in the same area since they are beneath the fitness center.

1 hour ago, ORV said:

Let me ask a stupid question. That would include the ones you get for Olife? Or is that in addition to the Olife ones. For mine we get 2 Olife excursions per person, then I would have to purchase 3 more per person to get the 25%. 

 

I see your cruise has 3 olife excursions per person. So are you saying if you take the Olife then you only have to book 1 more per person to get the 25% discount? Or if you didn't take the Olife then if you book 4 excursions you would get it? Or is it a total of 7 per person if you add in the Olife? 

We didn't take the Olife excursion option. We did the drink package instead.

We got the discount by booking 4 excursions. We actually ended up booking 5, but the discount was there once we booked 4.

Our September 10th cruise on Insignia is 11 days.

We have 8 port days at 6 ports.

For us the minimum is 4 excursions purchased to get the 25% discount.

21 hours ago, LHT28 said:

I will never do an inside again    one & done

No matter how large & luxurious the cabin is

To each their own 😉

Me either.

We chose an inside cabin once to save money. I ended up stuck in the cabin for much of the cruise with influenza. Just having some natural light, let alone fresh air, would have been a blessing.

3 hours ago, cruisingxpert said:

One of my best cruises ever was on Carla Costa.  My partner asked if we could get our money back when we stepped onto the ship. I rolled my eyes 🙄when I first heard them sing "C C Carla Costa" but was singing along by the end of cruise.  Restaurant was in the bowels of the ship but I have never on any cruise had waiters and maitre d  with the skill and expertise they had.  We had an inside room but I could hear the water lapping up against the side of the ship.  Oh the memories- that's what cruising is about.

Our first cruise was on the Costa Daphne.

The service was the best we have ever had on any line, and the Italian food was fantastic.

We haven't been back with Costa, but that first cruise made us fall in love with cruising.

20 hours ago, Flatbush Flyer said:

If you’re ever in NYC, dine at Soccarat (the original is in Chelsea).

Thank you for posting this. That looks like a restaurant DW & I would enjoy during our NYC visit in September before boarding Insignia.

One of the activities we enjoy on a cruise is stopping in the casino after the show.

It's one of the reasons we are trying Oceania for our next cruise, since Azamara has removed the casinos from their ships.

His book - The Apprentice: My Life in the Kitchen, is an interesting read.

He is scheduled to be on our Insignia cruise in September. Hopefully it works out.

1 hour ago, Harters said:

I'd be fine with mask wearing. Not thrilled about it, but certainly fine about it.

Same here. 

We would probably spend more time relaxing on our balcony with a book & a glass of wine.

There is a youtube series by a couple that took an Oceania Insignia cruise that I enjoyed watching.

This is a link to the first in their series.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t-RQnjEy96E

10 minutes ago, Jancruz said:

7116 is not the same..if you notice the ship aft is on an angle and 7116 has a different balcony size

Jancruz1

Yes, I figured 7116 would be a bit smaller than those on deck 6, but still longer than the average balcony with close to the same view.

That aft view looks fine to me, especially if we can get some of those recliners.

I look forward to our cruise in cabin 7116 on Insignia next year to find out for ourselves.

24 minutes ago, cruisingxpert said:

I checked with my friends.  They said they had requested a lounger.

Thank you very much for checking.

We will make the request if the lounger isn't already there when we arrive.

On 6/3/2021 at 2:55 PM, cruisingxpert said:

I don't know if it's the quietest room but I adore seeing the wake and Cabin 7116 and 7121 are A1s.

The deck is deeper and you can have a lounger on the balcony as well as the chairs.  Plus you might friends in the Owners Suite next door😁

Lots of comments on Cruise Critic about those cabins.  Most people love them because of the view and deeper balcony.

That is great to hear.

I have always wanted to try one of the aft cabins, so we booked 7116 on Insignia for our first O cruise.

With the deeper balcony, do they routinely have loungers? Or would we need to request them after boarding?

I really hope our Oceania cruise scheduled for September 2022 boarding in New York sails out of Manhattan.

We sailed from Manhattan 2 years ago on an Azamara cruise & the experience was spectacular. I don't think we could ever not be thrilled by the sights sailing so close to the Statue of Liberty, skyscrapers, and under the bridge.

3 hours ago, Tranquility Base said:

On the Princess forum there is a current thread titled Pacific Princess.

The 2nd post has pictures of the Azamara conversion of the casino into "The Den"

It looks really nice, and expands the table / sitting areas of Martinis to provide a larger and more open space.

I believe this is the 2nd Azamara ship with this feature.

 

When Oceania get around to the NEXT refurb of Nautica, it would be great if they would do something similar.

 

We have sailed with Azamara twice, enjoying both cruises.

Most of their ships no longer having a casino is one of the factors that made us decide to book with Oceania for our next cruise.

We enjoy visiting the casino at least a few times as part of our overall cruise experience.

Thank goodness we have choices.

2 minutes ago, Rob the Cruiser said:

I have so many favorites that I would probably list half of the items being offered.

 

But, for the most unusual dish - seared lamb chops for breakfast! The first time I saw it on the breakfast menu, I thought it was a typo. They are incredible. 

 

Sounds interesting.

I will have to give that a try on our first O cruise next year.

3 hours ago, ORV said:

 

Historically the answer Pinot gave is correct, and of course you can always upgrade there. BUT, on our last couple of cruises in Fall of 19 they had tables set up on the first and second days(maybe more) with paperwork to upgrade there, ALA mass markets tactics. More than a few things from NCL style methods are creeping into Oceania. 

Thank you to all who answered my question regarding upgrading the drink package.

We will most likely head to guest services soon after boarding to upgrade.

We plan on upgrading from the House Select to Premium beverage package once onboard.

Is this normally done at guest relations so a new card can be printed? Or, do you just upgrade at one of the bars?

I also very much enjoy the Azamara forum for the overall helpful attitude and good discussions.

I follow another forum because I had a cruise booked with them (cancelled due to Covid) & am still considering cruising with them in the future if the itinerary & price are right.

Some posters in that forum seem to relish the opportunity to pounce on a poster to let them know just how stupid their question is. Then once someone makes themselves feel superior by denigrating the OP others feel the need to chime in to also make themselves look superior & add to their all important post total.

I'm sure the atmosphere in that forum doesn't help the cruise line associated with it. I have often hoped I wouldn't end up on a cruise with some of these surly, self-important people.

1 hour ago, TeaBag said:

What a lovely tribute to Captain Johannes.  I think it is an absolute shame that the Maritime Act people could not waive the fine for you.  After all it is a very sad day to lose your father and also to have to abort your cruise.

Thank you.

I asked the CBP officers if they could waive the fine since my father fought for this country in the Korean War, but they wouldn't budge. Oh well, at least we were somewhere where it was easy to fly home quickly to be with the rest of our family.

In April 2019 DW & I were on Journey with Captain Johannes in charge.

On the 3rd day of the cruise as we approached Charleston Harbor I started receiving calls on my cell phone letting me know that my father had died back at home.

Of course we needed to leave the cruise to get home to help with the arrangements.

The crew members were fantastic in helping with arrangements for us to meet with Customs & Border Protection to get permission to fly home since we were in violation of a US Maritime Act that stipulated we could not board in one US city (New York) & then disembark in another US city without first visiting a foreign port.

We had to pay a fine, but they allowed us to disembark & go home.

I sent a message to Captain Johannes on Twitter letting him know how much we enjoyed the limited time on Journey and that he would be proud of how kind and helpful his crew had been.

About 3 months later I received a call that said it was from South Carolina. I answered even though I didn't recognize the caller and it ended up being Captain Johannes.

He said he had read my message and was calling to see if I was doing OK after the passing of my father. Who does that? Apparently Captain Johannes does!

Needless to say I was very touched, and still tear up when thinking about his kind gesture.

It is now a goal of ours to sail with Captain Johannes again in the future.

23 hours ago, Jancruz said:

Personally I no longer see them as competing with Oceania..JMHO

Jancruz1

They are competing for my cruising $$ in 2022.

We will choose to book a cruise with the one that offers the most interesting itinerary (for us) along with the best value for our money.

And yes, we really enjoy late stays & overnights as a way to get a better feel for the places we are visiting.