Anyone been in Insignia cabin 8069?

[TexEm]

We're about to book on the Insignia 2/7/12 sailing from Valparaiso to Rio, and have a hold on cabin 8069, an A2 at the very aft of the ship. Has anyone been in that cabin or other aft cabins on Insignia, maybe on other decks? I did a search here and couldn't find much recent info. Several questions: 1) is it noisy, either from the ship itself, or from the cafe above? 2) do you feel much ship motion (especially since we're going around the cape)?

3) can you see beyond the balcony railing when seated, or from inside the cabin? (we're both tall). We've never been on Oceania before or in an aft cabin. Any other pros or cons you can think of for being aft or being in 8069?

 

We've sailed both the Prinsendam and the Tahitian Princess, so are looking forward to being back on a smaller ship again, and excited about being on Oceania for the first time.

 

Thanks,

Mary

[Mura]

We haven't ever been in 8067 but we were in 8069 on the non-Libya cruise in November 2005.

 

We didn't have any problems. Your cabin is as "aft" as it can get. On our Med cruise, it wasn't a problem. We didn't have any rough seas that I can remember. We didn't hear noise from anybody above or below us.

 

But ours was a Med cruise, not around the Cape!

 

While this isn't comparable either, we did a BA-Valpo cruise in January 2002 on the NCL DREAM (the ship is no longer with NCL) and we did have some rough-ish weather, but not while going around the Cape. It can be very different depending on when and where and what your luck is. We were rather forward, as I recall, in terms of our cabin but not absolutely forward, not absolutely aft.

 

I'm not advocating your taking this cabin or saying don't do it. But if you are sensitive to motion, I would recommend your going midships.

 

(Of course, if they upgrade you to 8069 as they did us, then you can forgive lots of things in the owner's suite!)

 

Mura

[kreastman]

We were in 8069 on Regatta, Rome to Venice, a couple of years ago. We had fairly calm seas most of the time, so motion wasn't a problem. (However, any cabin in the back of the ship will always feel more motion than those in the middle.) Noise was never an issue (and we often left the verandah door open). The railing in the aft cabins is solid rather than open like those on the sides of the ship. My wife is not tall, so her view was somewhat restricted, but since you're tall, you should be OK when sitting on the verandah. From inside the cabin, the railing does affect the view somewhat.

 

Your verandah will be a little deeper than those on the sides of the ship, (although not as deep as those on decks 6 and 7). We liked the location. It's very quiet, and convenient to all of the restaurants, library, etc. We especially enjoyed the evening sail-aways from our verandah. Generally, the aft cabins on the R ships are considered very desirable.

[JimandStan]

We're about to book on the Insignia 2/7/12 sailing from Valparaiso to Rio, and have a hold on cabin 8069, an A2 at the very aft of the ship. Has anyone been in that cabin or other aft cabins on Insignia, maybe on other decks? I did a search here and couldn't find much recent info. Several questions: 1) is it noisy, either from the ship itself, or from the cafe above? 2) do you feel much ship motion (especially since we're going around the cape)?

3) can you see beyond the balcony railing when seated, or from inside the cabin? (we're both tall). We've never been on Oceania before or in an aft cabin. Any other pros or cons you can think of for being aft or being in 8069?

 

We've sailed both the Prinsendam and the Tahitian Princess, so are looking forward to being back on a smaller ship again, and excited about being on Oceania for the first time.

 

Thanks,

Mary

 

Hi Mary,

 

We've sailed in the Owners Suite (8064) which is adjacent to 8066 and is identical to the cabin that you are asking about.

 

On that cruise, Stans' Aunt Joan was in 8066, and, because she is a very social lady, we were in and out of there all the time.

 

You really cannot hear any noise from above or below, with the exception of the occasional ring of laughter from the Terrace cafe above.

We felt very little of the motion of the ship, but there is a vibration from the motors that can be felt when the ship is steaming at any kind of speed.

It should be noted that in these aft facing cabins, the veranda railings are solid steel, and anyone shorter than 5'6 will find it difficult to see the view whilst seated.

Aunt Joan is 5'9 and had no problems, whatsoever.

 

Have an amazing cruise!

[hrprof]

We were in OS 6088 on Insignia following your exact itinerary a while back. Noise was not a problem, vibration was noticeable at high speeds - doing Drake's passage was rough but was not a concern. We have booked OS 7114 on a future trip to get a bit further from the engines!

[doubledobles]

We're just back from Lands of the Midnight Sun on Insignia with our friends who were in 8069 (Owner's Suite). They had no complaints as to noise or anything else and they only book Owner's Suites, so they would know if something was amiss. By the way, your butler is very good - we had the same one.:p

[TexEm]

Thanks, everyone, for your replies--thanks, too, Jim and Stan for the picture of the aft balconies. I think we're just going to take our chances and go for 8069 for this cruise. I guess it will either make converts of us to aft balconies or go the other way! When I heard this cabin was available, I thought it must be fate, because it was the only A2, the rest were guarantees. (In fact, most of the cruise is guaranteed cabins at this point, except for a few A1s and one PH3.) We really wanted to be on the port side, but all the port cabins on all decks were gone (the cruise is about 6 months away).

 

From looking at the Insignia pictures and deck plans, it looks very similar to the Tahitian Princess (now the Ocean Princess). Did I read somewhere that both ships came from the same shipbuilder/cruise line originally?

 

BTW, can people at the cafe look down into the aft balconies? Is there smoking allowed in any part of the cafe (would hate to have cigarette butts landing on our balcony)? I know this is a relatively smoke-free ship.

 

And thanks, too, for the news about the butler--unfortunately, it's only an A2 cabin, no butler for us...but maybe we can steal the butler for the next door OS now and then (in our dreams!). An upgrade to an OS would be nice, but we usually book the cabins/categories we're happy with, thinking the upgrade fairy doesn't visit that often.

 

Mary

[CintiPam]

...BTW, can people at the cafe look down into the aft balconies? Is there smoking allowed in any part of the cafe (would hate to have cigarette butts landing on our balcony)? I know this is a relatively smoke-free ship.

Mary

 

 

No and no; smoking is permitted in two places only: starboard forward of the pool deck and portside in the back of Horizons, which is located high forward.

[skigrams]

Yes you are correct. The Ocean Princess and the Insignia are from the original eight Renaissance Cruise Line ships. When they went bankrupt in 2002, I believe it was, Oceania Cruise Line was formed by Frank Del Rio. Here is where all eight ships are now:

R –1- Oceania Insignia; R – 2 - Oceania Regatta; R – 3- Pacific Princess;

R – 4 - Ocean Princess; R – 5 - Oceania Nautica; R-6 -Azamara Quest; R-7 - Azamara Journey and R - 8 - Royal Princess.

I know Azamara has changed the floor plan a bit to add more cabins. But, all of the main rooms and restaurants I think are in the same locations.

You'll have a wonderful time on the Insignia. Oceania is a fantastic cruise line with great service and fantastic food!! Get the Osso Bucco in Toscana. It is to die for!! Have a great cruise!

Bobi