Insignia improvement

[Member]

There seems to be less review and photos about Insignia here. Is it as "grand" & "well-keep" as her other sister ships? What has been added/expanded to it recently? Any major this year?

[Jancruz]

She goes in to dry dock in April for her refurbishment..

Jan

*****

[Member]

Jan... if you can share what kind of new features (cabana?) will be installed on Insignia in mid-April while docking in Merseille, I appreciate very much.

[Windrunner I]

I've been told that Insignia will recieve the 'full treatment' a la Nautica. New fabrics, furnishings, carpeting and such along with the addition of cabanas and the OS and VS suites will be stripped to the bare steel and redone. And it's not just the suites that recieve a lot of attention, the staterooms have all been deone and look SUPERB. Gone are the old Ren drapes, tables and fabrics. Snazzy new tables, chairs, fabrics and drapes across the board which make them seem like new - and much warmer and charming to boot.

 

The Oceania mindset, as dictated by their CEO is that when you board one of the ships, it should always look, feel and smell new. From my experiences, that has always been the case. I was amazed to see on my last cruise that lots of new mattresses were being loaded. My bed was extremely comfy and from what I was told, still quite new. Yet it was replaced with a new mattress mid-voyage. WOW!

 

I think that their very frequent drydockings, every two years, shows their dedication as most ships of other lines only go into drydock every 3 to 5 years now and very little seems to be done as far as 'freshening' them up.

 

Regatta debuted in July 2003 and was drydocked AGAIN last spring and will again next spring, Insignia debuted in April 2004 and will be drydocked this April.

 

Book any of their ships and you won't be disappointed.

[Member]

Thanks for the insight. It will be amazed to get so much in 10 days (arriving Merseille April 12 and leaving Civitavecchia again on April 21) but I think some of the improvements will be inplaced during the Atlantic crossing earlier. Any new video/TV feature coming?

[wongri]

Wow, that is exciting news as our group of 12 will be onboard April 21st for the Italy/Greece cruise. Looking forward to seeing all the new changes and improvements.

[Jancruz]

Windrunner is exactly correct..all ships will eventually be identical in decor to the Nautica..

Jan

*****

[O2B@C]

... I was amazed to see on my last cruise that lots of new mattresses were being loaded. My bed was extremely comfy and from what I was told, still quite new. Yet it was replaced with a new mattress mid-voyage. WOW! ...

 

Sounds wonderful, Windrunner! Which ship were you on when this happened? Can you supply any details about the new mattress you were given?

 

The reason I'm asking is that my DH can only sleep on a TempurPedic foam mattress, or something really close to that, due to back problems - even a really good, comfy, pillow-top conventional mattress will not do for him. I read that they were putting viscose foam overlays on the mattresses on Nautica, which might make them workable for him, so I'm wondering if you (or anyone else) can comment. I asked this question on a separate post but only got a few responses.

 

Oceania sounds like a great cruise line for us if the beds will work! Thanks for any info you can provide.

[drwong]

Thanks for the insight. It will be amazed to get so much in 10 days (arriving Merseille April 12 and leaving Civitavecchia again on April 21) but I think some of the improvements will be inplaced during the Atlantic crossing earlier. Any new video/TV feature coming?

 

When we were aboard her in November, they had the rudimentary equipment for an interactive TV feature - perhaps video on demand? The entertainment selections were a marked improvement from our earlier cruise on the Insignia. It looked like somebody had taken our comments seriously - more family-friendly movies, more itinerary-related programs (especially the I Love Lucy European episodes), and rebroadcasts of the lectures and shore excursion presentations.

 

They've replaced the low wooden coffee tables with higher modern-looking glass-topped ones, so we no longer have to hunch over like animals if we want to eat in our staterooms. Tubes on the hairdryers have been replaced (the old ones were getting pretty brittle), although I've heard Oceania is planning to remove those bulky wall units altogether and replace them with conventional hand-held ones (if the ship's electrical system can handle the voltage, that is!). And snazzy new deck furniture!

[Jancruz]

Richard,

In Category A and up there are already hand held dryers, in addition to the wall dryers..so you have your choice..

Jan

*****

[drwong]

Richard,

In Category A and up there are already hand held dryers, in addition to the wall dryers..so you have your choice..

Jan

*****

 

Aww, we can't afford those "fancy" cabins anymore, given the rate with which Oceania has been raising its fares! :(