rjscott

On 11/16/2022 at 10:24 PM, CurlerRob said:

We just completed our first trip with Oceania – Insignia, from Montreal to Miami. We decided to post our impressions as data points for other people considering a first O cruise. By way of background, we are experienced cruisers, sailing previously with HAL (their older ships) and Viking.

 

Booking / Embarkation

 

• We found the booking and pricing information more complex than necessary. OLife with airfare was contrasted with cruise-only pricing but does not clearly identify the actual OLife cost. While the math can be done, why make it so obtuse? And, quoting astronomical “brochure fares” is utterly pointless.
   
• The timeliness of information regarding requirements (vax, travel authorizations, country entry requirements) prior to the cruise was poor. Requirements were only finalized shortly before the cruise – although the various country requirements were available from country websites much earlier. As well, there were numerous discrepancies between the various documents on the O website – consistency is critical.
   
• Embarkation itself was well handled and quick - only 1/2-hour in total. Our cabin was ready by 1 pm. It was a nice touch to have our steward’s name up on the TV screen upon arrival.
   
• Overall rating B.

 

The Ship

 

• Insignia is a smaller ship, which very much suits our preference. We found her clean and well maintained. Getting oriented was very easy – this may have been due to the very similar layout to the older HAL ships.
   
• The decor is more the traditional style, as opposed to Viking’s contemporary approach.
   
• A strong plus was the great forward lounge (Horizons) that has copious seating all along the windows with quality views forward and abeam.
   
• Regretfully, I was unable to find any exterior spot with an unobstructed view forward for pictures, unlike HAL or Viking.
   
• The lack of a full, covered promenade deck was a minus for us as walkers. In order to walk a complete lap, one had to go up to the fitness track on Deck 10, which is completely open to the elements and was closed on occasion due to winds.
   
• Overall rating A.

 

Cabin

 

• We chose a ‘Concierge’ cabin, with a balcony. It was advertised as 216 square feet, which was somewhat smaller than the ~270 square feet on our comparative lines.
   
• In general, we found the cabin itself quite adequate, with more than ample storage. An oddity was that our one large suitcase would not fit under the bed, as it usually does, but it did fit nicely into the closet.
   
• The bed was very comfortable. The pillows were feather, which is not our preference but we did not request a change. The toiletries provided were highly scented, but scent-free versions were available from the cabin steward.
   
• The balcony was quite standard in our experience – a sliding door opened to two chairs and a small table – worked fine for two people.
   
• The bathroom was VERY small - to the point that the commode lacked the necessary legroom. Worse was the shower - it’s tiny and a strange trapezoidal shape, with maximum dimensions of about 22” by 34”. It was extremely difficult to use and would be dangerous in a seaway as there is simply not enough room to brace oneself. It was pretty clear where the sacrifice was made regarding the lower square footage. There’s obviously nothing to be done about the configuration, but new pax should be aware.
   
• Our rating would have been an A but the bathroom was so awkward to use that it dragged it down to a C.

 

Dining / Drinks

 

• Oceania says they have the “finest cuisine at sea”. Not having sailed on every line, I can’t confirm or deny that statement. I can say that their food was, in general, every bit as good, and frequently a notch above our previous experiences. There were usually five choices for each part of the meal, with good variety. Meats, fish and poultry were all cooked perfectly to order. The soups were uniformly excellent. There were a few failures (baked Parmesan-crusted chicken, I’m looking at you), but not a significant number.
   
• The Grand Dining Room was, in our view, the least distinguished from our other experiences – we’d be hard pressed to identify much that was different. Seating was reasonably prompt, other than on the first night crush. The tables are well-spaced so you can enjoy some privacy from your neighbours.
   
• The Terrace Cafe was a delight, not only for the variety and quality of the food, but especially for the large seating area on the stern - partly covered with nearly all tables protected from the wind. We ate there even on quite cold days, for the view and alfresco experience. We also appreciated that food service is done by the staff – apart from the improved hygiene, we find that provides more opportunity to interact with them.
   
• The Waves poolside grill had excellent hot dogs, burgers and sandwiches, with quick service even at peak times.
   
• We found the two specialty restaurants quite different. Polo Grill was as good as many shoreside steak houses we’ve been to. The Italian offering, Toscana, was average at best - across its service, food quality and ambiance. Unfortunate, as we love Italian food.
   
• One oddity we encountered was that coffee was not routinely offered after meals in any of the restaurants. We learned to order it with our dessert.
   
• Oceania’s selection of wines by the glass and beer was by far the best we’ve encountered - lots of choices and good quality at reasonable prices. As well, Oceania permits a single pax to purchase or upgrade their beverage package, rather than requiring everyone in the cabin to do so. A very classy move that was greatly appreciated by us.
   
• Oceania provided two aluminum drink bottles (that you can keep), which could be refilled with the ship’s special bottled water. Very helpful touch.
   
• Rated A.

 

Service

 

• We have never found a ship’s crew to be other than very friendly and accommodating. This continued on Insignia – fine service across the board. Any minor errors were acknowledged and fixed immediately.
   
• We did experience some inconsistency at times, which had the appearance of staff shortages / new staff. This was our first cruise post-Covid, so our observation may apply across all lines.
   
• Rated A.

 

ShoreEx

 

• We generally prefer independent excursions, which was fortunate, as we found Oceania’s performance in this area completely unacceptable.
   
• First, the prices. We are quite used to the cruise lines’ normal markups but found O’s to be simply ridiculous - often 400% versus a DIY tour. An example - the Newport cliff walk and Breakers tour was $300 for a couple. We replicated the tour for $73. Even if one wanted multiple ship tours and leveraged the O discounts available when selecting the OLife excursion option, prices still would show more than a 3X markup.
   
• The second issue was the degree of change to excursions, and lack of communication regarding those changes. We chose only one ship excursion, taken in NYC. Once on the tour, we discovered that the harbour cruise portion promised had morphed into a bus ride. We later discovered that the shore-ex brochure left in the cabin (which looks identical to every other excursion sales brochure we’ve ever seen) identified alterations to many excursions. There was no announcement, no ‘flag’ to be sure to closely review the brochure and no prior emails. The predictable result was a large number of upset pax.
   
• Excursion changes are normal, but we have never seen a cruise line who expects pax to ferret out changes without any notification.
   
• This was a total failure - rated F.

 

Internet

 

• We include thoughts on the internet service as it’s a “hot topic” on nearly every line. We had the standard internet package. Overall, it was similar to but slightly less functional than other lines, which is to say, usually slow and wildly inconsistent regarding reliability of service. We were annoyed that only one device could be active at a time - much switching required unless one wanted to pony up the high costs for a second login.
   
• Interestingly, when the service was behaving, we were able to have a few Skype video calls, even without the “streaming” upgrade, so that was a bonus.
   
• Rated C. (We have yet to find a cruise line that rated anywhere near an A).
   

Entertainment

 

• We are not partial to shipboard entertainment, didn’t attend any shows, so have no opinion to offer. There appeared to be a decent set of the standard activities and shows.
   
• Our only poor experience was when the show band played in the forward lounge one evening. They were so loud that most pax left within minutes.
   

 Summary
 

The ultimate question for us was “would we cruise with Oceania again”? Our answer was “yes”. Critiques aside, we felt that we received appropriate value on the trip.
 

For us, choosing O again would be a function of the itinerary and time of year – we would enjoy experiencing the ship with more time in warmer climes, as it seemed particularly suited to better weather. If we were to undertake a longer voyage, we would have to give careful consideration to a cabin upgrade to escape the bathroom purgatory – that would increase the cost by about 1/3 and would strain O’s competitiveness.
 

Hopefully, these observations and the logic behind them will be of use to other potential pax. Happy sailing! 🍺🥌

 

 

Curler Rob,

Very much appreciate your honest review. We will be taking our first Oceania cruise next month and have read a few reviews which were very negative about the line and the ship.  I feel relieved after reading your review. There are always pluses and minuses on every cruise, but I wasn’t seeing many pluses in the few reviews I could find.  My husband and I have cruised most of the “mainstream “ cruise lines and currently are loyal Viking cruisers.  We are looking forward to an enjoyable new adventure with Oceania. 
 

Becki

We got AirTags and were so happy we did. They provide a great deal of entertainment for my husband as he will track them as they are loaded on the plane(s), ship, and where they are at disembarkation.  They provided a great deal of peace of mind on our flights to and from NZ/AU .  Being able to know our luggage was right along with us was very reassuring. 😊

Becki

When we were on the Octantis last Oct, reservations were required for The Restaurant and Manfredi’s, as both venues are smaller than on the Ocean ships.  But, there was a greatly expanded variety of choices on the World Cafe and grill area, especially in the seafood.  
if you don’t mind the dining area of The World Cafe, scale back your need for change of clothes.  😉. 
 

Becki

Really awesome photos!  
 

Becki

9 minutes ago, retiredman said:

We had 5111 on the Sky on our Norway/Iceland trip in '19. Love the perspective while sailing the fjords.

We were in cabin 5111 last July on the Bermuda cruise.  Here are a few photos I took of the cabin and veranda.  We very much enjoyed this cabin, and I did get the feeling the aft veranda was a bit deeper than others.  
The one photo is of the Explorer Suite Veranda next door.  Very spacious.  
 

Becki
 

On 7/19/2021 at 11:04 AM, bluesea777 said:

 

 

 

True, however, you must wear mask when in stores, taxis, on buses, when entering restaurants, etc. When you're outside you can rip it off for a breather (high humidity here!) as long as you're not too close to other people.

 

Bermudians are generally co-operative when wearing masks so please respect our custom, and you'll be fine! 

 

In the last month we've had very few new covid cases ... and they were imported - by air from both US and UK.

 

Blue sea, thank you for adding that important clarification.  😊. 
 

Becki

1 hour ago, ddaniel337 said:

So still a little confused.   Can guests walk off the ship on their own?

 

Yes, you can.  Whether or not you go on an excursion, with any free time before or after, you are free to walk about town or take local transportation.  
 

Becki

44 minutes ago, Myrtle Ave. Mayhem said:

Becki - I'm very saddened to learn of this. Denys was my (favorite)server on my Bermuda cruise & last year on Viking Sky. He is definitely the star of The Restaurant. Please pass along to Zharko my deepest condolences & prayers to Denys & his family. I am Vincent, "Mr. Smith" from 3079 on the Jun. 29 & Jul. 6 sailings. 

Vincent, I will do that.  Denys is such a great guy, we were very saddened to hear of his loss.  

On 7/14/2021 at 7:30 AM, doggfan7 said:

 

Thank you, @Azulann for blogging your trip. On the August 3rd sailing, we'll be sailing aft in 5111, so nice to see the "view" welcoming us in Hamilton :). Did you hear anything more about the snow grotto? Hoping it is fixed soon for you to enjoy at some point this cruise, and for our cruise as we were looking forward to it!

We are currently in “your” cabin, 5111, so will try to leave it pristine for you.  It is a great location.  We waved down at Patti our first night on our verandah.  You will enjoy your room stewards, Widodo and Angel.  They are awesome!  
 

Becki

On 7/14/2021 at 5:26 PM, Heidi13 said:

 

That's him. Pre-COVID he was close to being promoted to a Head Waiter, so hopefully fairly soon, once all ships are back in service and the newbuild are operational.

He is now head waiter and he is terrific. So funny!  He and our breakfast waiter are roommates, so trade barbs back and forth.  Unfortunately, our waiter had to return home due to a family death, but Zharko took a photo of the five of us wishing Denis the best to cheer him up. So sweet.  
 

Becki

On 5/9/2021 at 11:47 AM, Noodles84 said:

We wish you and your sister well.

Thank you!  Same to you.  🥰

Dave, sorry to hear that.  My sister is in a long-term are facility and will likely be there for the foreseeable future.  She did well with a knee replacement over 10 years ago, but then had a hip replacement that went south. So, I am trying to avoid any major surgery on my joints.  
 

Becki

Dave, my ortho gave me an Rx for Voltaren as well.  I was surprised by how well it worked and right away.  I had taken Voltaren for impingement syndrome of my shoulder years ago, but it can be hard on the liver.  So, I was glad to see it as a topical, as I now have knee problems.  
 

Becki

Voltaren is now OTC.  And, in certain European ports, they have double strength. I got some in Germany.  

I appreciated reading this thread.  My husband and I are taking our 13 yr old great niece on the Adventure of the Seas over her Spring Break next March.  My T.A. raved about the Teen Club and so I have looked into that via postings, and it does sound like a good idea, but she may or may not like it, and I am fine if she does or doesn't.  I like the idea of getting her involved in choosing excursions, and already have some info for her to look at.  (We live in different cities).  Her mother is very excited for her, so will be also involved in the planning.  

Becki

For those of you who have used AO, how have you handled knowing where your child was if they decided to leave and was looking for you?  Or if one of the counselors needed to contact you?  

Becki

Thank you powelweb and cruiseguy1016 !  This is exactly what I needed.  

Becki

I am glad to see this thread.  We are booked for a 6 nt cruise next March for our great niece's spring break.  She is just recently 13 and my first impulse is to keep her with me the entire time.  However, my TA assures me that she will have a great deal of fun at AO and will likely make friends immediately.  So, I don't want to prevent her from having the best experience possible.  

All and any responses appreciated, and I will share with her mother, who is very excited for her to have this opportunity.  

Becki

Terri,

I think that's wonderful that the owner is planning to go in the gorge with your group. That is really great!  

Ask away if you think of anytthing else.  

Becki

Terri,

Apparently, there was a wonderful view of the Statue of Liberty on sailaway, but we were at dinner, so just saw a glimpse of it.  As you already know, the Explorer's Lounge is the place to be, especially on the upper lounge for the best views.  That is also true for the sail-in to Bermuda.  Just beautiful!  

Your plan for Dominica sounds perfect!  We did go to Titou Gorge, and my hubby went in, but he is a strong swimmer.  I am not a swimmer, and even tho' they did have some flotation devices, I have a healthy respect for the water, so I stood on the rocks and took photos.  😄   The water is fairly deep where you get in and there is a current that will carry you into the gorge and you can then float under a waterfall and your guide can take your photo if you leave a camera or phone with him.  It is very scenic.  There's really not much "swimming" per se, as the current will carry you along.  But if you aren't a strong swimmer, I would probably take one of the flotation devices if they offer them.  A couple of the people in our group found the current a bit unnerving, is why I suggest the flotation device.  

I think your plan for St Martin and St Kitts is fine.  We had signed up for the train and a sail tour at St Kitts.  It started out nicely.  We got to the train and as everyone was boarding there was a choir of young people singing.  That was nice.  Then, we started out and the "crew" made us drinks, and then the train screeched to a stop.  And we sat, and we sat.  The train had broken a part and they couldn't move forward or back without it.  Ugh!  So, we entertained ourselves watching goats close to the train fighting among themselves.  They were really head-butting.  We were laughing at them. I think they made those drinks a bit strong!  And so the crew got their part in, but by then it was too late to take our train ride and too late to take us to the catamaran for our sail.  We were just returned to the ship. Bummer.  

Becki

Terri,

The Viking dock is at the Manhattan Cruise Terminal at 12th Ave & 54th St.  It is quite distant from Battery Park, closest to the Statue of Liberty.  When I had mapped it to see if we could walk it, it showed 1 hr 45 min.  Uh, no.  Didn't want to waste the little time we had.  That is why we took the Land & Sea excursion, which we liked.  We weren't too far from Chelsea Pier if that helps. 

We have been to Dominica several times.  The last few times, we did private tours.  Dominica was hit hard by the hurricanes almost 2 yrs ago, but I think they are doing well now.  The island's attractions are predominantly natural.  A tour may take you to a waterfall and the Emerald Pool, for example.  Or to see the native Carib Indians. If you choose a nature tour, take along some decent walking shoes that can handle uneven or muddy terrain in the case of rain.  The pathways are ok if not muddy, but if they are, it will be messy.  

The bus in  Bermuda does stop at the Horseshoe Bay pickup.  I loved Bermuda, so I am planning another cruise with a longer stop there, or maybe just a fly-in and rental.  There will be  people in the terminal to help with information and brochures and maps.  So nice!  We got in a bit late on our first evening there due to high winds (the channel is very narrow to navigate, so we were going very slow), but we still had a couple hours to get off and explore the town.  Hamilton is very walkable.  The ferry dock is only a few minutes walk from the ship's dock. 

Snorkeling on Tortola should be great.  Last visit there we went to Virgin Gorda and the baths.  

At San Juan, we went to the foot of the rainforest to ride.  The company we used also does ATV rides and other activities.  We had such a good time with them.  

Becki

Terri, 

I don't know what happened to my post to you.  I had answered you and added some info on the ports, and I guess it is somewhere in cyberspace.  🤔

I will reconstruct tomorrow. 

Becki

Hi, Vineyard View! 

We did the NYC, Bermuda & West Indies last October.  Before Viking Oceans, we had cruised the Caribbean a great many times, but hadn't done so for a few years and we had not been to Antigua or Guadeloupe.  

On embarkation day, we arrived in NYC in time for lunch on the ship and then we headed tp the 9/11 Memorial and Museum, which were very interesting but sobering.  The next morning we took the included Manhattan Highlights tour, which was basically a bus tour of major sights, with a couple stops for photos.  In the afternoon, we took an optional tour, Land & Sea. The Land portion took us past some of the same spots we had seen in the morning, but that was ok as I had never been to NYC.  The Sea portion took uscon a Circle Line tour, cruising up close to the Statue of Liberty and the Brooklyn Bridge.  It was a beautiful day for the cruise.  

We left NYC that evening and had almost 2 full days at sea before cruising into Bermuda. We took the included tour for our day in Bermuda, which was a transportation pass. We hopped on a ferry from Hamilton to the Royal Dockyard, and spent the day exploring that part of the island.  We returned on the bus to see more of the island and get some local flavor, and it was fun!  

On Antigua, I took the included island tour while my hubby took a helicopter tour of Montserrat.  At Guadeloupe, we took a snorkeling tour that was a disappointment.  We had a wonderful horseback ride on Puerto Rico.  

Hope you have a wonderful time!  This October we will be on the Grand European river cruise.  

Becki

We had booked our own air and I had not arranged for a transfer to the ship upon arrival at Venice.  I was quite pleased to find that all we needed to do was collect our luggage and follow the Viking rep to the gathering spot, give her our cabin number and we would be billed for the bus ride to the ship. 

Becki