Worried about Insignia

[Harborgirl246]

If Insignia is having mechanical problems now, should I be worried about her future cruises, especially the fall TA?

[JimandStan]

If Insignia is having mechanical problems now, should I be worried about her future cruises, especially the fall TA?

 

I don't think that you need to be concerned, at least not more than about any other ship of that vintage.

 

We know that when Oceania turns Insignia over to Hapag Lloyd in April of 2012, she has to be in good order, so you actually have more information than the rest of us.

[Mrs_Duffy]

You know, when I first got the memo about the mechanical difficulties, I was concerned. But after thinking about it, I realized I have no way of knowing what the difficulties mean -- are they not fixing the problem because they're turning over the ship? Or is it a problem that could only be fixed by putting the ship in dry dock for an extended period of time? And is the problem so minor that it's not worth cancelling a scheduled cruise to make such a repair? I'm not a ship mechanic, I have no way of knowing.

 

Call me a naive Pollyanna, but I choose to have faith that Oceania wouldn't do anything that would put me and other passenegers at risk, nor would they do anything that would diminish my enjoyment of the cruise (although I might question it if I was on the cruise that had multiple ports cancelled). Just because it's Insignia's last sailing with Oceania, doesn't mean that Oceania is done sailing. They still have a reputation to uphold.

 

But that's me -- I'm a pretty laid back person. I realize not everyone is this way. If it's something that's truly concerning you, I'd keep my eye out on the boards to see if anyone is noticing any problems with the ship. You still have some time to cancel before the fall.

[LHT28]

If they are cancelling ports for a cruise that starts late June because of a MINOR GENERATOR PROBLEM (as the story goes) that would worry me.

 

If they cannot fix the problem before then ...when do they plan on doing it:confused:

 

Would I be sailing across the open seas if they have not fixed the problem ...THINK NOT!!!

 

That is just me ....I am a worrier

 

I just think of the Carnival ship that was floating off shore for days without power ...never want to be there:eek:

 

We love Oceania but sometimes they are just not as upfront as they should be

 

Lyn

[JimandStan]

If they are cancelling ports for a cruise that starts late June because of a MINOR GENERATOR PROBLEM (as the story goes) that would worry me.

 

If they cannot fix the problem before then ...when do they plan on doing it:confused:

 

Would I be sailing across the open seas if they have not fixed the problem ...THINK NOT!!!

 

That is just me ....I am a worrier

 

I just think of the Carnival ship that was floating off shore for days without power ...never want to be there:eek:

 

We love Oceania but sometimes they are just not as upfront as they should be

 

Lyn

 

 

--And you were one of the ones that was going to be loyal to the R Ships :rolleyes:........feet of clay.

[LHT28]

--And you were one of the ones that was going to be loyal to the R Ships :rolleyes:........feet of clay.

 

I would be loyal if I did not think I would be stranded at sea:D

There is still the Regatta & Nautica ;)

 

Lyn

[JimandStan]

I would be loyal if I did not think I would be stranded at sea:D

There is still the Regatta & Nautica ;)

 

Lyn

 

 

All of Oceanias' R ships are approximately the same age, so that dog won't hunt. BUSTED!

[Senior Citizen]

I would be loyal if I did not think I would be stranded at sea:D

There is still the Regatta & Nautica ;)

 

Lyn

 

If you HAD to be stranded at sea, an O ship would be the way to go. My one and only Carnival cruise was on a sister ship to the one that got stranded. I felt the passengers' pain. There are a lot of dark rooms and areas on that ship. A whole lot of the people who take that cruise are on it for the party factor and there are a lot of kids on it. I can imagine the chaos because it was rather crazy when I was on their ship and everything was operational!! You get what you pay for...

 

DH and I were discussing the changed itinerary issue for the Midnight Sun cruise. Itinerary changes take a whole lot of work so we're sure that O would not have done so if there were any other way to deal with the issue (whatever that is). Can you imagine---if they come into a port 2 hours later, they have to get the pilot, port crew and immigration officials rescheduled and that's just for starters. They have to work with shuttle buses, excursions, suppliers, companies that remove waste from the ship while the guests are out soaking in the sights, etc. Changes are not to be taken lightly.

 

From the viewpoint of guests: I too would be extremely disappointed if there were so many last minute changes. Chopping a few hours off of a port call can sometimes mean not taking a special tour (like when O took 2 hours off our port call in Sharm El Sheikh---that eliminated the possibility of visiting St. Catherine's Monastery and only left snorkeling and similar activities. Guess I'll do laundry that day...).

 

Always two ways of looking at any situation. I'm eagerly waiting to hear the real reason for all the changes. We're just speculating at this point.

[Mura]

If it's any consolation, we were very disappointed in St. Catherine's Monastery when we went there (not on a cruise).

 

The monks were happy to take your money but would have been much happier if the tourists had dropped off the face of the earth.

 

Even so, an interesting site. I just tried (without success) to upload a photo of the Burning Bush.

[LHT28]

All of Oceanias' R ships are approximately the same age, so that dog won't hunt. BUSTED!

Guys

 

Until management posts or tells their passengers the REAL reason for changing some itineraries EG: Norway it is all speculation

 

So far it is all speculation on the problem with Insignia (if there is one)

By just letting the rumours run amuck they are doing Oceania more damage to their reputation

 

I know things can impact on port changes weather, hurricanes, volcanos, earthquakes, civil unrest & logs getting caught in the props

 

Unless Oceania has a crystal ball none of these things will be evident until closer to sailing.

 

I was always told to tell the truth upfront & take the punishment.

The longer you put off the truth the worse it gets ;)

 

Lyn

[LHT28]

If you HAD to be stranded at sea, an O ship would be the way to go. .

I do not know why you think it would be better to be in the dark on an O ship than on any ship stranded at sea :confused:

 

Believe me people are people & when things go wrong they will react

 

Just look at the berry fiasco on Nautica you would have thought the world had ended :D:D

[Senior Citizen]

I do not know why you think it would be better to be in the dark on an O ship than on any ship stranded at sea :confused:

 

Believe me people are people & when things go wrong they will react

 

Just look at the berry fiasco on Nautica you would have thought the world had ended :D:D

 

Because on that particular Carnival ship that we were talking about there are a lot of decks where the public rooms are so chopped up that you can't even see out windows or where the windows might be. Even one of their dining rooms lacked windows. I can't think of a public deck on, say Nautica, where that is so. Of course, it goes without saying that without electricity the stateroom corridors would be dark on any ship. But on that Carnival ship, people can't be disbursed throughout the ship and that causes a lot of people to be in close quarters with babies crying, kids running around and parents screaming. I think the situation would be a whole lot worse than on an O ship. Just my opinion.

 

What, no berries????

[Leonid]

Guys

 

Until management posts or tells their passengers the REAL reason for changing some itineraries EG: Norway it is all speculation

 

So far it is all speculation on the problem with Insignia (if there is one)

By just letting the rumours run amuck they are doing Oceania more damage to their reputation

 

I know things can impact on port changes weather, hurricanes, volcanos, earthquakes, civil unrest & logs getting caught in the props

 

Unless Oceania has a crystal ball none of these things will be evident until closer to sailing.

 

I was always told to tell the truth upfront & take the punishment.

The longer you put off the truth the worse it gets ;)

 

Lyn

 

Well stated. I agree with you 100%...and I have not always agreed with you.:)

[Mrs_Duffy]

 

So far it is all speculation on the problem with Insignia (if there is one)

By just letting the rumours run amuck they are doing Oceania more damage to their reputation

 

 

 

Its not speculation that there is some problem - Via my travel agent, I received a memo from Oceania that said due to a minor malfunction in a generator Insignia needed to sail at reduced speeds requiring them to revise some itineraries. Others on the roll calls have heard the same thing through their TAs and Oceania customer service.

 

The memo also said "my destination experience would not be compromised." I choose to take them at their word and plan to enjoy my trip

 

It is speculation that we're going to get stuck at sea or have subpar service. No way of knowing that until it happens.

[LHT28]

Its not speculation that there is some problem - Via my travel agent, I received a memo from Oceania that said due to a minor malfunction in a generator Insignia needed to sail at reduced speeds requiring them to revise some itineraries.

 

Not speculation now that they have admitted there is a problem

 

For the next 2 months they are not going have the problem fixed

seems strange to me

 

I am just glad we did the cruise last year

Hope you enjoy the cruise

 

lyn

[LHT28]

Well stated. I agree with you 100%...and I have not always agreed with you.:)

 

Thanks Len

We are maturing maybe :D:D

 

Lyn

[pier]

Its not speculation that there is some problem - Via my travel agent, I received a memo from Oceania that said due to a minor malfunction in a generator Insignia needed to sail at reduced speeds requiring them to revise some itineraries. Others on the roll calls have heard the same thing through their TAs and Oceania customer service.

 

Our travel agent also received a memo regarding a malfunctioning generator on the Insignia that would require sailing at reduced speeds and some revision of itineraries. But when she called Oceania to get specifics, they didn't give her any other than a sailing in July that would be effected.

 

We're sailing on Sept.5--"Vineyards & Vignettes." The itinerary is very port intensive, which appealed to us. If the Insignia isn't repaired before then--and I imagine it would be difficult to accomplish since it seems to have back-to-back sailings, our itinerary could be quite impacted. At some ports we really don't have much time.

 

We're beginning to have second thoughts...

[Mrs_Duffy]

Pier, did your TA mention if the memo listed the schedule changes for your cruise? Ours included our revised itinerary. We're on one of the Scandinavian Splendors which is 14 days, 13 in port, one at sea. Our changes were minor, IMO. We lose 30 minutes to an hour in a few ports. In some we arrive at a different time, but are in port for the same length of time. No ports were cancelled for us. The Midnight Sun cruise apparently had more significant changes, like cancelled ports. I'd wait to see your revised itinerary before you worry too much. Hopefully your changes will be minor, too!

[Mura]

I have to say that I understand the reluctance people are having to book an Insignia cruise at this point.

 

I checked out the new Midnight Sun itinerary out of curiosity as to the changes. And while not major for the most part (the deletion of Geirangerfjord being major in my eyes), they aren't THAT major in most of the other ports. Except that some really do become marginal in terms of touring.

 

I take into account people's reports of bad weather at North Cape although the two times I've been there -- August 1975 and July 2010 -- we had wonderful weather. But it's a real highlight of the trip, and if the ship leaves at 11pm, then you have to be back on board at 10:30, and it takes a while to go back and forth. So you can see it, but not the real midnight sun. When we were there last year, there were more crew than passengers visiting, I think!

 

Harstad and some of the other ports (especially two of the less interesting ones) are not seriously impacted by the reduced time but Hammerfest is. With a visit of 10am-2pm I don't think we could have done the lovely tour we did -- at least not comfortably. We were in port 12-6, and our tour picked us up at 12:15. We had a very leisurely time in the church and museum on our own and caught the last shuttle back to the ship around 5. So we spent 5 hours ... you CAN see the city in 3-1/2, but not as leisurely and not as well.

 

They always give us a lot of time in Kristiansand and there really isn't that much to see. There's a lot of time in Murmansk and there's even LESS to see!

 

I agree with Lyn -- I'm glad we did this one last year!

 

The changes aren't poisonous to the itinerary -- unless you had your heart set on Geirangerfjord, I guess. But they are serious enough that I would be very unhappy, knowing what I know. If I didn't know -- I'd go with the flow.

 

And since payment has been made, I guess they have to! But it's very disappointing.

 

I can also see that O is between a rock and a hard place ... give up a cruise so the problem can be fixed NOW? Or reduce time in port for every other cruise ... Not a decision I would want to have to make.

 

It's a lot easier to accept changes required by political upheavals in the Middle East than by a weak generator in the far north!

[SkystheLimit]

Just curious--what does a "weak generator" really mean? We are booked on the June 11th sailing on the Insignia.

[Mura]

From what I've read, it means the ship has to sail slower than usual which means that it takes longer to get to a port, therefore you have less time there.

 

Your itinerary is similar to the Midnight Sun -- and the website still shows you going to Geiranger. I would think you would have heard by now if YOU are having an itinerary change as well.

 

Perhaps there is less distance between your ports ...

 

Just guessing! I hope you don't have any last minute surprises!

 

Mura

[pier]

Pier, did your TA mention if the memo listed the schedule changes for your cruise?

 

The memo was vague. It didn't state the specific changes for the July cruise and made no mention of our Sept. 5th cruise. It's main focus was that there is a problem with the generator that would necessitate lower speeds.

[WindrunnerII]

Not speculation now that they have admitted there is a problem

 

For the next 2 months they are not going have the problem fixed

seems strange to me

 

 

lyn

 

I would guess that parts need to be ordered or perhaps even specially made as they are not necessarily "off the shelf" and available at a moment's notice.

 

Electric propulsion motors are highly complex, like an aircraft engine, so it takes time to disassemble them and make repairs. Imagine trying to fix an airplane engine in a space the size of a bedroom.

 

They might also require special technicians from the manufacturer that need to be scheduled. Also not always an easy task.

[Leonid]

Thanks Len

We are maturing maybe :D:D

 

Lyn

 

Nah! I'm still the resident contrarian.:D

[LHT28]

I would guess that parts need to be ordered or perhaps even specially made as they are not necessarily "off the shelf" and available at a moment's notice.

 

Electric propulsion motors are highly complex, like an aircraft engine, so it takes time to disassemble them and make repairs. Imagine trying to fix an airplane engine in a space the size of a bedroom.

 

They might also require special technicians from the manufacturer that need to be scheduled. Also not always an easy task.

 

a possibility

Time will tell ;)