We have sailed on Insignia, pre covid and loved it. Would we love Sirena?

[jonthomas]

When was it refitted last. We wont be on it till Feb of 2025. 

 

We have recently done the Riviera, it was wonderful. Marina this year and last and it was ok. 

 

Any comments about Sirena as it compares to the others. We dont care that it does not have Red Ginger. 

Edited January 27, 2023 by jonthomas

[LHT28]

21 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

When was it refitted last. We wont be on it till Feb of 2025. 

 

We have recently done the Riviera, it was wonderful. Marina this year and last and it was ok. 

 

Any comments about Sirena as it compares to the others. We dont care that it does not have Red Ginger. 

Well it does have Red Ginger

The ship is basically the same as Insignia  with a few exceptions

 Such as  2 deck 4 Accessible cabin OV 

Red Ginger &Tuscan Steak

 by 2025 who knows what condition she will be in

[Flatbush Flyer]

20 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

When was it refitted last. We wont be on it till Feb of 2025. 

 

We have recently done the Riviera, it was wonderful. Marina this year and last and it was ok. 

 

Any comments about Sirena as it compares to the others. We dont care that it does not have Red Ginger. 

Like the other 3 R ships, Sirena only recently received the major NOW retrofit. 

That said, Sirena has a few differences.

It was formerly the Ocean Princess and it took O’s multi-multi-million $ makeover (just a few years before it then had the recent NEXT makeover) to bring it in line with O’s standards. It’s probably the single best example of an updated R ship across the entire cruise industry.

 

Architecturally, the only major difference (for passengers) from O’s other R ships is that there are bathrooms in Horizons Bar on Sirena!

 

Other than that, the other significant difference is that Sirena’s two specialty restaurants have been reconfigured. Instead of the usual Polo Grill and Toscana, Sirena has a combined Tuscan Steak that combines Polo and Toscana menus and ambiance. This made way for the addition of Red Ginger (only Sirena among R ships has Red Ginger). 

 

[MEFIowa]

I was on Riviera 12/2021 and Sirena 11/2022. Loved them both. But will admit I prefer the larger O-class ships.

[jonthomas]

Thank you all....we booked  the Sirena for feb 2025...21 days Mia to Mia....it will be a good getaway from our winter....

 

we booked an inside....this time on the Riviera we were out on deck so much that really did not use the balcony...no use paying for it....

 

yeah no promos for inside....and even booking with the FCC, would not give us a reduction on an inside....

 

but there is so much wisdom here that Im sure someone would be able to tell me where I went wrong with booking it now, instead of waiting for a sale...

 

by the way CAT G was already gone, with the exception of two in the nose...so took an F....

[shepherd really]

I was on Sirena 9 days ago, at that time it looked very good.  Of course thing change over time 🧐.  As noted above, it has a Red Ginger as well as Tuscan Steak.  I had a good meal there, but from other comments you would think it was called Tuscan Mistake.   

 

I prefer the O ships but if the right itinerary at the right price was offered on an R ship, I'd take it.

[LHT28]

8 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

by the way CAT G was already gone, with the exception of two in the nose...so took an F....

Usually the insides & the top suites  go fast  so you were lucky this far out to get one

Maybe you will get a better deal in the next 3 yrs

[Norseh2o]

The Sirena was our first Oceania sailing years ago. We returned to the Sirena November, 2022 with a b2b from Lisbon-Barcelona, Barcelona-Miami. The Sirena was as fine as we remembered. We stayed in Concierge cabins, enjoyed all of the dining venues, especially Red Ginger. We like both the O and R ships, prefer the R ship libraries, drink coffee from any and all coffee places, love the food choices, and think that the Oceania staff on all of the ships are exceptional. 

[oskidunker]

I was on it last year and it looked great. Also enjoyed the last Princess cruise on it for 22 days.  It was wonderful then, even had fireplaces-by the piano.. Since removed. It looks wonderful after remodel.

[Tea Snob]

My husband and I were on the Insignia for 28 days for a Southeast Asia cruise and on the Nautica for 18 days for a  Far East cruise.  These cruises were pre-covid.  For both cruises (same cabin location), we were in an inside aft cabin, category F   Our cabin deck was right under the band/pool area.  We were only in our cabin to sleep.  We were out and about the ship all day during sea days, only going back to the cabin to freshen up and sleep.  Never heard anything above us in the early morning and at night - one of the best sleep we've had.  Our cabin location was great.  Very convenient to dining and the library.  Cabin size was fine for us (we were not exactly the model size).  The bathroom, especially the shower area was small, but we managed.  Overall, we were fine with an inside cabin.

[MEFIowa]

14 hours ago, jonthomas said:

...we booked  the Sirena for feb 2025...21 days Mia to Mia....we booked an inside....this time on the Riviera we were out on deck so much that really did not use the balcony...no use paying for it....yeah no promos for inside....and even booking with the FCC, would not give us a reduction on an inside....but there is so much wisdom here that Im sure someone would be able to tell me where I went wrong with booking it now, instead of waiting for a sale...by the way CAT G was already gone, with the exception of two in the nose...so took an F....

The cabin-upgrade sales usually for Cs and up. I can't say I remember seeing a G or F on any such sale. For our Baltic cruise on Sirena 9/2024 I originally booked the G (6010 at $2499/pp) the day the 2024 itinerary was released in May 2022. But then an upgrade sale came along later that year and I rebooked into a C1 Deluxe Ocean View (7006, the extended length room) for $2849/pp. Today that C1 is $3199 and the G is $2699/pp. Wife wanted a window but didn't care about the balcony.

[jonthomas]

Cant see how I could get a better deal...insides are not eligible for anything.

 

We are trying to build up our loyalty, hence doing some insides to make it happen quicker.....

[MEFIowa]

35 minutes ago, jonthomas said:

Cant see how I could get a better deal...insides are not eligible for anything. We are trying to build up our loyalty, hence doing some insides to make it happen quicker.....

Just an fyi... Gs and Fs are "insides" with no windows. But you can upgrade from them to Ds and Cs. That have windows, but no balconies. When I upgraded from G to C1 on a sale, for little additional cost over the G (today $2849 versus $2699), I got a C1 and one of the 4 extended length C1s on Sirena. Our new C1 (7006), fully forward port, is on the 2nd highest deck with cabins, an A3 next to us (and A1s-2s also on that deck). So watch future sales in case the price and cabin is right for you.

[jonthomas]

I didnt know that insides could be upgraded during a sale....will give it a try...it is far away enough on  the sirena for several promos....

 

that is of course if a TA can even figure out how to do that....we have not had much luck with that, have had the agency switch to a different agent, hope that one is half as swift as some posters here...

 

 

[susiesan]

19 hours ago, oskidunker said:

I was on it last year and it looked great. Also enjoyed the last Princess cruise on it for 22 days.  It was wonderful then, even had fireplaces-by the piano.. Since removed. It looks wonderful after remodel.

Those were left over from Renaissance.