Insignia on rough water

Hello group,

DW and I will be on Insignia during the July 1-15 sailing from Miami to New York. In 50-plus cruises, this will be the smallest ship we'll ever have been on, a mere 30,000 tons. That's vanishingly tiny compared to some of the seagoing monsters plying the waves these days. I understand that the bigger the ship, the better it smooths out rough water, but other than this factor we have little use for a seagoing apartment block awash with screaming children. But I digress.

My question is, how does Insignia handle less-than-perfect sea conditions? We have been in some fine storms at sea but have never been seasick. Still, because Insignia is so small, the question arises: How does she behave in moderately rough water? Perhaps some of you who've sailed on Insignia can give me some insight.

Thanx,

KK

I am prone to mal de mer in rough seas. My husband should have been a sailor.

We've been on all of Oceania's "R" ships now. Yes, we've encountered rough seas on occasion. But it hasn't been all that common ... that of course depends on your itinerary and conditions. We've been on transatlantic cruises where it was smooth the whole way, and one or two where we had a day or two of problems.

The fact that sometimes we've encountered rough seas doesn't mean that we avoid the "R" ships, however.

We've encountered them on larger ships as well (although the largest we've been on was the QE2 which is far smaller than today's behemoths).

Good luck!

Mura

We have had force 9 gale in the Irish sea on Insignia

bad storms in the Caribbean sea with very rough going on Regatta

yes they will rock n roll but use the hand rails when moving about

we usually are on deck 4 cabin so it was not too bad

The only time I got sick was coming out of Bermuda heading to Montreal on a 20,000 GRT ship when we hit the tail end of a tropical storm ..25 ft seas it was not fun for me but DH loved it

I got seasick on a rough day on Insignia despite wearing my Seabands. Last time I had been seasick was in 1989 on another small ship. Never sick on large ships....even in really bad storms. Some posters will likely disagree, but this is my experience.

Be prepared so you are ready if the seas get rough.

the crew will pull straps across the doors on 5, 9, 10 to keep you from going outside in high wave/wind conditions on R ships.

you are encouraged to constantly use the handrails.

If you value something put it on the floor....like your cameras or other tech equipment. Under the desk can be a good place to put high value items.

remove breakables from the desk and table in your cabin.

the wait staff will often help you carry plates to your table if dining in Terrace. The back deck of Terrace will be closed off and the furniture brought under shelter and the umbrellas taken down.

the pools and the hot tubs are usually emptied so you couldn't go in even if you went under the restraining ropes.

Not much else they can do..ride it out and take drugs if it bothers you. Bring the pills from home as I've heard there can be a run to medical center for them and they can run out.

Insignia is one of Oceania's 4 "R" ships. (Azamara has them also).

They "handle" rough seas just fine. However, wind and waves can rock any ship of any design if Mother Nature so desires.

Insignia is one of Oceania's 4 "R" ships. (Azamara has them also).

They "handle" rough seas just fine. However, wind and waves can rock any ship of any design if Mother Nature so desires.

Agree ... we have been on the R ships when the weather was less than optimal. Yes .... a bit bumpy but the bridge staff does its best to route the ship to somewhat minimize weather impact.

Hello group,

 

DW and I will be on Insignia during the July 1-15 sailing from Miami to New York. In 50-plus cruises, this will be the smallest ship we'll ever have been on, a mere 30,000 tons. That's vanishingly tiny compared to some of the seagoing monsters plying the waves these days. I understand that the bigger the ship, the better it smooths out rough water, but other than this factor we have little use for a seagoing apartment block awash with screaming children. But I digress.

 

My question is, how does Insignia handle less-than-perfect sea conditions? We have been in some fine storms at sea but have never been seasick. Still, because Insignia is so small, the question arises: How does she behave in moderately rough water? Perhaps some of you who've sailed on Insignia can give me some insight.

 

Thanx,

KK

I too have been wondering about rough seas on the Insignia. We will be on her August 24, and it is the smallest ship we have ever been on. Have any of you been on her from Halifax to Bermuda and back to New York?

Thank you for any advice, Carlotta

We were on the Insignia lasy August from Halifax to Bermuda and New York.we were to have had three days in Bermuda but they announced the day before we eoukd be leaving early to go west to beat the tropical storm. Waves were 30 feet. It was rocky but we were on Deck 4 midshipso had no issues. We also had dinner that night in Polo which is on a top deck. Wait staff seated us away from the edge of the room. We had no issues with dining. If you are worried, choose a lower deck midship. Enjoy.

Hello group,

 

DW and I will be on Insignia during the July 1-15 sailing from Miami to New York. In 50-plus cruises, this will be the smallest ship we'll ever have been on, a mere 30,000 tons. That's vanishingly tiny compared to some of the seagoing monsters plying the waves these days. I understand that the bigger the ship, the better it smooths out rough water, but other than this factor we have little use for a seagoing apartment block awash with screaming children. But I digress.

 

My question is, how does Insignia handle less-than-perfect sea conditions? We have been in some fine storms at sea but have never been seasick. Still, because Insignia is so small, the question arises: How does she behave in moderately rough water? Perhaps some of you who've sailed on Insignia can give me some insight.

 

Thanx,

KK

Greetings from South Beach, Kruzkrazy. In 2015, we sailed Insignia's Trans Panama Canal from Los Angeles to Miami. When we exited the Canal, a storm was in our path. The Captain altered the ship's course, so we avoided the worst. No matter how big the ship, there is water under it. The Insignia handled the sea very well. No programs were cancelled. The dining rooms had diners, and we thoroughly enjoyed the cruise. By the way, this was our second cruise on Insignia, the first in 2014 from Venice to Athens. Have a great cruise!

Mary

I've been on Insignia in the North Sea and it wasn't a problem, even for me.

We were on Sirena going into Bemuda the day before the 2016 hurricane hit there. It was rough but I didn't have to take to my bed!

Of course, only you know your particular sensitivities.

Mura

I too have been wondering about rough seas on the Insignia. We will be on her August 24, and it is the smallest ship we have ever been on. Have any of you been on her from Halifax to Bermuda and back to New York?

Thank you for any advice, Carlotta

Yes and it was a very smooth ride except for Bermuda to NY. The Insignia handled the weather just fine as it is a well designed ship with stabilizers.

We were on the Insignia lasy August from Halifax to Bermuda and New York.we were to have had three days in Bermuda but they announced the day before we eoukd be leaving early to go west to beat the tropical storm. Waves were 30 feet. It was rocky but we were on Deck 4 midshipso had no issues. We also had dinner that night in Polo which is on a top deck. Wait staff seated us away from the edge of the room. We had no issues with dining. If you are worried, choose a lower deck midship. Enjoy.

I was on that cruise with you as well last year, those were some intense sea conditions!! I was very thankful we brought, and took as a preventative, our Bonine tablets for sea sickness.

We encountered some pretty rough conditions on four consecutive days while sailing from San Diego to Hawaii on Insignia. We tolerate rough seas very well, but a large percentage of the ship's passengers apparently didn't as the dining venues were quite empty for several days in a row and we had the pool deck virtually to ourselves. I would say Insignia is no better or worse than other ships of comparable size I've been on over the years.

Our first cruise was on the Royal Viking Star, which was about 22,000 GRT, to Bermuda from NY more than 30 years ago so I've been on smaller, and also much larger...the NCL Breakaway for one on the NY-Bermuda run and we've found bad weather is bad weather regardless of the ship's size.

We had a rough seas experience on the slightly smaller Regent Navigator, whose Russian icebreaker hull is notorious. Even my wife got sick, and she never does. But I followed advice from someone on CC and starting taking a Bonin a day three days before the cruise and each day I’d the cruise...and was completely fine. And Imused to be prone to seasickness.

What does "DW" stand for? I assume it means spouse? Sorry, not a texter.

What does "DW" stand for? I assume it means spouse? Sorry, not a texter.

Darling wife.

We were on the Insignia dismisses the west coast of South America. The ship offers you ginger which helps and if you stay in the Center of the ship you will not notice the rolls. I was on the Mediterranean on a similar size ship and they barred all doors to any outside deck as they were awash with water. If you had gone out your feet would have been instantly. If you are prone to sea sickness try the wristbands and medicine. That is what friends of ours did and they said it helped. Fortunately I have never(touch wood) been sea sick, but put me in a bus at the back on a curvy road and that is a different story

Get Stugeron. We were on Crystal during Sandy and my husband who gets seasick looking at a toilet bowl made it without a missed beat. Telling you, it was rough!

Got violently ill on July 1-15 cruise on Insignia. Leaving Bermuda it was unbearable, even with my Transderm Scop patch. I have sailed this route on other small ships (such as the 600 passenger original Pacific Princess) without ill effects.

We are currently on insignia in Newport. Last night the captain announced that it would get bumpy in route to Newport and it was. We are on deck 6 in an aft OS and it was rocky. It was no problem for us as neither of us get sick on ships and it was during the night so we were in bed. Only time I ever was sea sick was on a small boat that held maybe 20 people going snorkeling on smooth waters!

Got violently ill on July 1-15 cruise on Insignia. Leaving Bermuda it was unbearable, even with my Transderm Scop patch. I have sailed this route on other small ships (such as the 600 passenger original Pacific Princess) without ill effects.

We’ll let’s see, Pacific Princess & Insignia are basically the same ship, so Oceania must have conspiring against you to make you miserable.

Got violently ill on July 1-15 cruise on Insignia. Leaving Bermuda it was unbearable, even with my Transderm Scop patch. I have sailed this route on other small ships (such as the 600 passenger original Pacific Princess) without ill effects.

maybe the sea conditions were different

They are the same R ships

We’ll let’s see, Pacific Princess & Insignia are basically the same ship, so Oceania must have conspiring against you to make you miserable.

maybe the sea conditions were different

 

They are the same R ships

The poster said "original Pacific Princess", which was owned by Princess from 1975 - 2002 and is not an "R" ship.

That having been said, I've cruised to Bermuda regularly for over 30 years on ships of all sizes...from the Royal Viking Star, which carried about 500 passengers and was about 20,000 GRT to the Norwegian Breakaway with 4,000 passengers and 145,000 GT and on about every size ship in between. The main discomfort factor is due to weather and sea conditions, not the ship, with the very large ships however having an advantage in stability.

Having cruised on Insignia during an extended period of rough weather I found her to be no more unstable than other ships of similar size.

We’ll let’s see, Pacific Princess & Insignia are basically the same ship, so Oceania must have conspiring against you to make you miserable.

I appreciate and duplicate your statements concerning seasickness, Orv, but I believe that Cinnamon Seahorse was referring to the original (i.e. circa 1971) Pacific Princess.

That ship was built as Sea Venture for Flagship Cruises and was chartered then purchased by Princess in the mid-seventies. She lasted with Princess until 2002, then went to Pullmantur where she lasted until 2008.

She was dismantled that year in Genoa harber, at precisely the same time as our Oceania Marina was being floated out of the shipyard, so perhaps those two share a soul. :halo: