halfapair

Hello, We are booked on the Vista for a Jerusalem to Istanbul cruise in 2024 (I know, it's way in the future, but I am curious about how things work). Our cruise begins on June 1st with an overnight in Haifa, Israel, and departs for Ashdod, Israel on June 2nd at 10:00 PM. When is the muster drill? On June 1st? Or June 2nd? I am asking this because I plan to set up a private tour guide (we will be in Israel for several days before the cruise departs), and would like to know when we need to be on board.

We were on the Insignia for the Panama Canal cruise, 28 December 2022 - 16 January 2023, and we had Oleg in Martinis playing the piano. He played before dinner. Not sure about after dinner, tho.

100% agree about Polo. The menu needs a refresh.

I don't see how "crab cakes with spicy aoli" is inventive. Seems like that's been done a million times before. I also wish they would update the menu in Polo. It's kind of boring, and the desserts aren't that good.

I've been on two Princess cruises (Alaska & Caribbean), and two Oceania cruises (Baltic Sea & Panama Canal). Here is my take. Princess and Oceania are oceans apart (forgive my pun!), in terms of quality, service, and ambiance. The food quality is next-level on Oceania. The Main Dining Room food is better than the restaurants on any Princess ship. The restaurants on Oceania are even better than the dining room. With the exception of the nightly souffle in the dining room (different flavor every night!)... I wish they had it in Polo. But you can always drop into the dining room for dessert after dinner in another venue😉 Baristas is awesome. You can order a "frou frou" drink. I ordered vanilla iced lattes in the afternoon. Just delicious. As others have stated, there is no additional charge for cappuccinos, lattes, or espressos. The service is excellent. Twice a day your room will be made up. In the morning, and then turn-down service as night. My only quibble is with the chocolate at night, I wish it tasted better. But I ate them and was happy. The staff in every venue really go above and beyond, whether it's dining reservations, bar service, or assistance with an emergency (which I had). They are all unfailingly polite, kind, and helpful. Oceania ships are smaller than Princess ships, and the passengers are a bit older. But the overall feeling is very casual, and friendly. It's easy to just strike up a conversation with anybody on board. Take part in the games (bridge lessons, team trivia, golf, bean bag toss, shuffleboard, etc) and get to know your fellow passengers. Soon, you'll find yourself meeting them for meals, chatting in Baristas, or playing cards together. We'll never sail on Princess again, but we did book another Oceania cruise during our Panama Canal cruise. Can't wait!!!

Yes. Get off the flight as soon as possible, and have your transfer to the airport set up to pick you up the port.

We just got off the Insignia and loved it. Yes, the bathroom is small, but my 6'4" husband made it work, so you shouldn't have much of a problem. As others have said, the staff on board is lovely, always pleasant and ready to help. The passengers are wonderful, too. It's easy to strike up a conversation and make friends.

I've taken on hair straightener/curler without any problems. They do ask that you unplug any electrical devices when you leave your room. There are clothes irons in the laundry room, so you don't need to bring an iron for your clothes.

He was drinking a Coke, his wife had a glass of Champagne.😊

We just got off Oceania Insignia where we had drinks with the captain and his wife in Martinis bar one evening. We just happened to sit down with them.

They can save fuel by sailing slower between ports, thereby reducing fuel costs. Taking away time in port allows them to go slower.... From 2008, but looks like it applies to 2023: https://www.seattletimes.com/life/travel/cruise-ships-cut-ports-and-slow-down-to-save-on-fuel/

My favorite dessert in Toscana was the peaches with zabaglione. OMG, SO GOOD!

They use the photos for facial recognition. When you get on & off the ship during your cruise, they will use F/R instead of scanning your room key. You should still carry your room key in case the software doesn’t recognize you.

It might depend on the time of day and position of the ship. On the Insignia there were covered areas on the spa deck. I prefer sun, husband prefers shade. We were both happy up there.

100% this! We had some younger people on our cruise who were trying to work from the ship. I can only imagine their WiFi pain. I would love to semi-retire and be able to work from the ship (any Oceania ship!). Hey, Oceania! Make this happen for me, OK? We need two WiFi accounts per cabin, and good connectivity. Am I asking for the moon, here?

One tip to solve the pool lounger problem is to book a Concierge level stateroom. You get access to the spa and the dedicated spa sun deck. It's pretty easy to get a lounger on the Spa deck, even on sea days. Also, the steam room and other spa areas area lovely.

It was also a tropical cruise, and the first few ports were very hot. Grand Cayman & Cartagena were in the mid-to-upper 80's, and humid. The Pacific side of the cruise was still warm, but less humid. It's always easier to put on a light sweater, than to cool off inside.

We were on the very same cruise and had different thoughts. I have posted my review, too. We were in a Concierge stateroom, and while it was small, it was comfortable. We had plenty of space to store our items, a sofa, and two chairs on the verandah. Yes, the bathroom is a bit tight, but my husband is 6'4" and managed to shower & shave, etc in the space. He even said he could manage the ATW cruise if we wanted to do that in the future. There are many comfortable spaces on the ship: Horizons, the library, the pool deck, the atrium, Martinis, etc. The ship itself is in excellent condition. The crew keeps it very clean and well maintained. It was just updated with the new color scheme (carpeting, upholstery, curtains, etc), so it looks quite fresh and inviting. We did not have any problems with the food. We ate plenty of lobster (which was always cooked perfectly), veal, lamb, beef, etc. The Main Dining Room as a different souffle every night for dinner. I've never eaten so many souffles in my life. The service was very good and we certainly felt quite spoiled.

Totes agree about Ray Carr. We just had him on Insignia for the Panama Canal cruise. He was on for the ATW. #GoHawks!

My husband and I just completed the Insignia 18-Day Panama Canal cruise on January 13th. We disembarked in 2 days early in San Diego for a family emergency. I wanted to compare & contrast with the previous review by @artbcpa. As he says, these are just my opinions (and husband's, too!). A+ Panama Canal: I booked us in a Concierge stateroom, which turned out to be great. We could stand on the sun deck, actually on the platform to the whirlpool, and watch the transit from there. We could hear the commentary, too. Definitely the highlight of the cruise. The transit does take 10 hours. We didn't stay on the sun deck the whole time, but it was really great up there! Solid A Entertainment: I agree with the "A" for entertainment. We had a magician a couple of nights - Fred & Bobbi Beck. He was REALLY funny! Since we disembarked in SD, I cannot comment on Liar's Club. Wish we could have been there. We had a great pianist, Reuel, for two nights. And a singer. She was over-amplified, unfortunately, and this distorted her voice. She had a lovely voice, so the sound team needs to dial back the amplification. A Social Director: Ray Carr was great! Funny, genial, and a snappy dresser. We enjoyed Team Trivia with him. B+ Itinerary: I wish the ship had stopped in some other places such as Belize, Costa Rica, and Panama (we did get on to see the canal, afterall. How about a stop in Colon or Panama City?). El Salvador is a hot mess. Our tour was escorted by a police truck the whole time. And the stops in Mexico were fine. We did a wonderful whale watching tour in Cabo San Lucas. We self-booked it. Solid B Activities: Everything artbcpa said was true. We even learned to play bridge. The morning bridge lessons were a highlight. Shout out to Michaela & Charlie if you see this - we loved playing & learning with you! B+ Crew: The service was a bit inconsistent. Our room stewards (two!) were great, though. Our room was always clean & fresh. Hannah in Dining Reservations & MDR hostess was wonderful. Always so cheerful and helpful. Pinky in the spa gave me the best massage every (hot stone). And the whole spa staff was great, too. Other crew members wanted to be helpful, but seemed to need more training (as was noted). B Excursions What is it about Oceania excursions? The Colima & Colama towns tour was poorly run. San Salvador was boring (understand that there isn't a whole lot to see there, but the food at lunch was sub, sub-par). I will say that the Cartagena Highlights tour was VERY good, and our excursion in Pueta Chiapas was OK. But my goodness, the other two - yeesh! Terrible (except the lunch in Colama - the food was good, but we were rushed. sad) C+ Speaker: Agree with Art on the speaker 100%. That guy desperately needs Toastmasters. Now. And we should have had a historian not a political science speaker. So much history in Central America. B+ Cabin: Our cabin was fine. I did bring a travel fan which helped. The A/C was OK, and we learned to keep our curtains closed during the day so the hot, tropical sun didn't blaze into our room. I liked that the ship felt cold, but I am a menopausal woman, so any time I can be cold enough to not have a hot flash I am pretty happy. A Food: Our food was excellent. In the MDR, Polo, Toscana, and the buffet it was all delish. Waves got overwhelmed easily, and sometimes they forgot components, or they didn't know that a Swiss Mushroom Burger should have tons of mushrooms, not a couple of slices... We ate lobster quite a few times and it was all cooked perfectly. The clam chowder in Polo was excellent. I would like to see the Polo menu updated. It seems very "1980's" to me. I was disappointed in the cookies in Baristas. As a grandmother and chief cookie baker, I am offering my services to Oceania. Call me! My terms are negotiable. My overall evaluation of the cruise would be a A-. At the time of the cruise my family was going through a terrible crisis (my dad found out he had cancer), that's why we got off in SD. My husband and I still had a great time, and we booked another cruise for 2024 while on board. It''s a testament to the cruise line that a customer can be delivered a stunning blow, and yet have such great memories of their cruise and think it was a wonderful experience.

My husband and I disembarked the Insignia in San Diego on January 13th after a 16 day cruise. We thought the food was great. I never asked for anything special such as HP sauce, Marmite, etc. We ate lobster several times in Polo, Toscana, and MDR. Every time it was cooked perfectly and was absolutely great. We thought the food was excellent in every venue, although they did seem to forget components in Waves (eg. no mustard on a Cuban, etc). I think that post-pandemic they may have more untrained people on their ships who don't know the system or process for various things such as bringing around the tray of breakfast pastries in the MDR, etc. When the cruise started, each table in the MDR, Polo, or Toscana got its own bread basket on the table. After about 8 days, they started coming around and serving pieces of bread. Not sure what happened there. Of course, we couldn't eat all the bread in the basket, so I can see that there was a lot of waste. But the service was uneven. My husband and I didn't think the meat in Polo was as good as we could get at home - the quality of the cuts, I mean. The cooking was great, but the quality of the meat to begin with was not Prime, I don't think.

We also just disembarked the Insignia where someone else complained about the veal in Polo - theirs was dry. I had the pancetta wrapped veal chop and it was perfect. I also had veal in the MDR and it was delicious. Husband had veal escalloped in Polo and it was good. So maybe the cooking technique or quality of the meat is uneven.

Thank you for all your replies. My dad is home now. And next time we make a purchase this large we will purchase insurance. That is a guarantee! I hope you all had a wonderful Christmas, and you have a happy & healthy new year.

What insurance company and plan do you normally get? I will need to start purchasing that policy for us.

I am pretty sure I know the answer, but thought I would see what the professionals have to say. My husband and I are in Miami, FL and ready to board the Insignia on December 28th, but my dad was taken to the hospital for what might be a small stroke. His brother and my mom are with him. Tests are being run, etc. If I need to cancel our cruise, will we just be out our whole cruise fare? Probably yes, I am guessing…. Has anyone had this happen? We did not take out insurance, and I don’t know if travel insurance would cover something like this. If anyone has experience with travel insurance for medical emergencies for family members, it would be great to hear about your experiences (for next time).