Our recent trip on the Journey (with some comparisons to the Insignia)

[Nitemare]

Looks like I'm not going to write a full review, so I'll put some thoughts here on our recent Baltic White Nights cruise, and some comments comparing this cruise to our early 2010 South American cruise on Oceania's Insignia (same "R Class" ship). Starts off a bit negative, but gets better, trust me!

 

We did a pre day on our own in Amsterdam, and took a cab to the port. Had seen the ship from a Canal cruise earlier in the morning and couldn't wait to board her!

 

Embarkment was painless. No lines at 3PM, no waiting for our room (we boarded in Rio for "O" around 1PM and had to wait a couple hours)on deck four. Met our cabin steward, checked bags were delivered within a half hour or so, and set out to explore.

 

Booked spa treatments, back to the room, asked our steward to exchange the assorted sodas in the fridge for just Diet Cokes, and went off to dinner. Also had steward take our largest suitcase for safekeeping, as it did not fit under our bed like it has on all our other cruises.

 

Diet Cokes showed up 2 days later. We almost never saw him again. Room was very well maintained (although we had to ask for bathrobes), but we are used to establishing a bit of a relationship with our steward -- whether on "O" or on the mass market lines. On the 3rd morning, the alarm clock in the cabin went off at 6:30AM. This surprised me because:

 

A) When we boarded, the clock was off by an hour. I spent 10 minutes trying to reset it and gave up.

B) It was correct when we came back to our cabin that night for bed

C) I never touched it again, and it was right the next couple of days

D) We had not gone through a time change yet

E) We had been in the cabin (asleep) the prior mornings at 6:30AM and it hadn't rung.

 

I took the clock to passenger services, and asked that I not see it again for the remainder of the cruise. Later that morning a "how to set your alarm clock" sheet showed up in our cabin.

 

The ship is laid out almost exactly like Insignia was. It's been 30 months since our "O" cruise, so my memory has faded on details, but we instantly knew our way around. Loved the spa pool out front -- we signed up for day passes for both the Kiel Canal day and the sea day, and thoroughly enjoyed the views, the hottub, and the relative privacy of that deck. Never more than 8 people out there at a time.

 

Food: The food was good in the main dining room. The breakfast at the buffet was very good, and we ate every breakfast (except for one rainy morning) out back on the open deck, like we had done on the Insignia. Same omelet station, same waffle station (although Journey had a few waffles already ready if you didn't want to wait for fresh). We did each specialty restaurant, and didn't think the food in either of them was particularly memorable. On "O", the steak I had in the Polo Grill was one of the 5 best I've ever had. In Prime C, I had a nice steak. I had the seafood medley in Aqualina, and all the items tasted just like the oil they were cooked in. Service in each of these restaurants was excellent, the food was just very good. Pool grill was very good, with lots of options, not sure why they insist on delivering the food to you instead of letting you wait for it. I *see* the hotdog on the rollers, I only have a few minutes before Trivia, why can't I just get the hotdog instead of having it delivered to me 7 minutes from now?

 

 

Food service: On Insignia, by our second morning, one of the waiters knew us, and knew our beverage desires. We drink the same thing every day (me: water and OJ, her: OJ and Raspberry tea). We had to ask for our beverages every day, even with the same waiter helping us, and I had to go get the tea for her on two occasions when it never came. Note: This is not a hardship by any means, but it was not what we expected. Main dining room service was very good, we had the same waiter 3 or 4 times (even bumped into him in Ronne), and he knew our beverage choices by night two. It's possible they keep track electronically, as when you check in for dinner they punch in your cabin number and bring a slip of paper to your waiter when they seat you, but however they do it, it's a nice touch, and it was nice to be called by name when you were waited on.

 

Entertainment: Wow. Just wow. On "O" the best part of the entertainment was making fun of the entertainers. Our biggest regret of this cruise was skipping the first 2 of the production shows as we thoroughly enjoyed the last 2 shows. Cruise Director Eric de Gray (google him, it's fun!) is a bit full of himself, but he has right to be. Very good singer, does other things extremely well (don't want to spoil the fun!), is very tall, but is also out there all the time and very friendly with the guests. We had a good time talking about Broadway with him. His assistant (Mary Lou? Cindy Sue? I forget) was on the morning TV show with him (all they do is read the daily newsletter). Other than that, the only thing we saw her doing was teaching a dance class or introducing a show. Other entertainers were very good: Liana Forest is an excellent pianist, who plays classical as well as jazz and other styles, and was very compelling. The piano player in the Mosaic cafe was very good and knows just about every song. Victor Cruz (guitarist around ship) was good, but didn't know any of the songs we requested, and shares a name with a New York Giant, so that was too bad. Robin & Bob in the Looking Glass were pretty good. I won't mention the guy who played violin in Looking Glass one evening. We didn't hear enough of the harpist to make an opinion.

 

We caught many of the trivia games. It was interesting having the DJ (Marcio) run the games, and even more so when the singers and dancers hosted. It was great getting to hear their stories about shipboard life and how they compared different cruiselines. And tales about the "nude cruise" on the Constellation were hilarious! Would be nice if they'd update the questions, but it was still a blast.

 

We did no ship tours, so can't comment on those.

 

Our toilet stopped working either the first or second night, but it was quickly fixed. Other passengers we asked had similar issues. It's not something anyone volunteers (as maybe they think they are to blame!) but it seemed it might have been common.

 

Disembarkation: Afternoon of the last day we called our steward for our suitcase. "oh, it's under your bed" he told us, which it wasn't. Reminded him we had given it to him, he seemed vague on this, but it did turn up a couple hours later. We were docked at kind of a temporary berth in Stockholm (only a tent for the suitcases, and for incoming passengers), and they were not prepared with taxis for disembarkers. Took about 45 minutes in line until we could get into a cab for our extended day in Stockholm.

 

All told? VERY happy with our cruise. TV offerings are weak, I recall better choices on "O" and on mass market cruises, but we were hardly in our cabin, so who cares. Entertainment was as good as on the big ships, food was better than the big ships, not as good as on "O". We did no shore excursions, so can't compare, but they were not impressive on Insignia.

 

Journey was not good enough that we will forsake all other cruiselines, but we didn't expect that would happen. We will definitely sail on Azamara again, assuming the itinerary and price are right.

[vival]

Thank you for your review I always enjoy reading reviews. I have a question which hopefully you can answer. Can you remember how much the Day Passes were for the Spa pool area?

[Nitemare]

Thank you for your review I always enjoy reading reviews. I have a question which hopefully you can answer. Can you remember how much the Day Passes were for the Spa pool area?

 

$20/person per day, although you get $3 off if you are having a Spa treatment the same day.

 

We had a $500 nonrefundable shipboard credit that we had to use. With no shore excursions planned, and not being big drinkers, we were glad to spend it on the spa pool and on the two premium dinners.

[vival]

Many thanks!

[portofrome]

Thanks for your review and comparisons.

[ellbon]

 

Embarkment was painless. No lines at 3PM, no waiting for our room (we boarded in Rio for "O" around 1PM and had to wait a couple hours)on deck four. Met our cabin steward, checked bags were delivered within a half hour or so, and set out to explore.

 

i tried "O' and will never go back there again. who wait for a cabin?? should be ready by 1 pm..

 

Booked spa treatments, back to the room, asked our steward to exchange the assorted sodas in the fridge for just Diet Cokes, and went off to dinner. Also had steward take our largest suitcase for safekeeping, as it did not fit under our bed like it has on all our other cruises.

 

Diet Cokes showed up 2 days later. We almost never saw him again. Room was very well maintained (although we had to ask for bathrobes), but we are used to establishing a bit of a relationship with our steward -- whether on "O" or on the mass market lines. On the 3rd morning, the alarm clock in the cabin went off at 6:30AM. This surprised me because:

 

I have learned t ostsy away from the clock.. iget my butler to chagne te time. .noo ne on the ship seems to understand them. .soda- takes me about an hour t osee them. you mistake was not going to the front desk on day one and speaking to the head hosue keeper. she is very nice and would of handle the problem on day one or two.

 

A) When we boarded, the clock was off by an hour. I spent 10 minutes trying to reset it and gave up.

B) It was correct when we came back to our cabin that night for bed

C) I never touched it again, and it was right the next couple of days

D) We had not gone through a time change yet

E) We had been in the cabin (asleep) the prior mornings at 6:30AM and it hadn't rung.

 

while cleaning someone touch it.

 

I took the clock to passenger services, and asked that I not see it again for the remainder of the cruise. Later that morning a "how to set your alarm clock" sheet showed up in our cabin.

useless ask for help..

 

The ship is laid out almost exactly like Insignia was. It's been 30 months since our "O" cruise, so my memory has faded on details, but we instantly knew our way around. Loved the spa pool out front -- we signed up for day passes for both the Kiel Canal day and the sea day, and thoroughly enjoyed the views, the hottub, and the relative privacy of that deck. Never more than 8 people out there at a time.

love that area..

 

Food: The food was good in the main dining room. The breakfast at the buffet was very good, and we ate every breakfast (except for one rainy morning) out back on the open deck, like we had done on the Insignia. Same omelet station, same waffle station (although Journey had a few waffles already ready if you didn't want to wait for fresh). We did each specialty restaurant, and didn't think the food in either of them was particularly memorable. On "O", the steak I had in the Polo Grill was one of the 5 best I've ever had. In Prime C, I had a nice steak. I had the seafood medley in Aqualina, and all the items tasted just like the oil they were cooked in. Service in each of these restaurants was excellent, the food was just very good. Pool grill was very good, with lots of options, not sure why they insist on delivering the food to you instead of letting you wait for it. I *see* the hotdog on the rollers, I only have a few minutes before Trivia, why can't I just get the hotdog instead of having it delivered to me 7 minutes from now?

 

wow! you sure you were on the Journey- i have GREAT food in both palces and eat there several times a cruise.. love the lobster salad starter which i eat for amain.. the Ahi Tuna is to die for.. sorry you were unhappy. .do ont eat hot dogs on ship.

 

 

Food service: On Insignia, by our second morning, one of the waiters knew us, and knew our beverage desires. We drink the same thing every day (me: water and OJ, her: OJ and Raspberry tea). We had to ask for our beverages every day, even with the same waiter helping us, and I had to go get the tea for her on two occasions when it never came. Note: This is not a hardship by any means, but it was not what we expected. Main dining room service was very good, we had the same waiter 3 or 4 times (even bumped into him in Ronne), and he knew our beverage choices by night two. It's possible they keep track electronically, as when you check in for dinner they punch in your cabin number and bring a slip of paper to your waiter when they seat you, but however they do it, it's a nice touch, and it was nice to be called by name when you were waited on.

 

Entertainment: Wow. Just wow. On "O" the best part of the entertainment was making fun of the entertainers. Our biggest regret of this cruise was skipping the first 2 of the production shows as we thoroughly enjoyed the last 2 shows. Cruise Director Eric de Gray (google him, it's fun!) is a bit full of himself, but he has right to be. Very good singer, does other things extremely well (don't want to spoil the fun!), is very tall, but is also out there all the time and very friendly with the guests. We had a good time talking about Broadway with him. His assistant (Mary Lou? Cindy Sue? I forget) was on the morning TV show with him (all they do is read the daily newsletter). Other than that, the only thing we saw her doing was teaching a dance class or introducing a show. Other entertainers were very good: Liana Forest is an excellent pianist, who plays classical as well as jazz and other styles, and was very compelling. The piano player in the Mosaic cafe was very good and knows just about every song. Victor Cruz (guitarist around ship) was good, but didn't know any of the songs we requested, and shares a name with a New York Giant, so that was too bad. Robin & Bob in the Looking Glass were pretty good. I won't mention the guy who played violin in Looking Glass one evening. We didn't hear enough of the harpist to make an opinion.

 

did you have Dan? harpist- one is great one is ok.

 

We caught many of the trivia games. It was interesting having the DJ (Marcio) run the games, and even more so when the singers and dancers hosted. It was great getting to hear their stories about shipboard life and how they compared different cruiselines. And tales about the "nude cruise" on the Constellation were hilarious! Would be nice if they'd update the questions, but it was still a blast.

 

in general A's shows are far better then O's.. AS just got new shows o n the Quest with Journy to follow so you might of had hte new ones.

 

 

Disembarkation: Afternoon of the last day we called our steward for our suitcase. "oh, it's under your bed" he told us, which it wasn't. Reminded him we had given it to him, he seemed vague on this, but it did turn up a couple hours later. We were docked at kind of a temporary berth in Stockholm (only a tent for the suitcases, and for incoming passengers), and they were not prepared with taxis for disembarkers. Took about 45 minutes in line until we could get into a cab for our extended day in Stockholm.

wow! all mine fit or they are taken.

 

All told? VERY happy with our cruise. TV offerings are weak, I recall better choices on "O" and on mass market cruises, but we were hardly in our cabin, so who cares. Entertainment was as good as on the big ships, food was better than the big ships, not as good as on "O". We did no shore excursions, so can't compare, but they were not impressive on Insignia.

 

Journey was not good enough that we will forsake all other cruiselines, but we didn't expect that would happen. We will definitely sail on Azamara again, assuming the itinerary and price are right.

now i know we were on a different cruiseline.. i tried two others since A and will onlly book A unless a port cruise wows me..

[Andy]

Hi Nitemare,

 

Thanks very much for sharing your insights & comparisons with us. Welcome Home !

[uktog]

Thank you for your comparisons, they are very insightful. I think you were very helpful to tell us what did not work for you and to give us some pointers on things to look out for.

 

Sometimes a cruise can turn on how good or not so good your stateroom attendant is, sounds like you did not have the best one onboard which is bad luck for you. It was certainly our experience that the food in the Discoveries Dining Room was so good it was hard for the restaurants to be that bit more special.

 

Happy Cruising!

[Nitemare]

now i know we were on a different cruiseline.. i tried two others since A and will onlly book A unless a port cruise wows me..

 

When we boarded "O", we were told well in advance cabins would not be available until 3PM, which is when they were ready. Balconies and suites were ready sooner, we just had an outside cabin, as we did on this cruise.

 

Touching that clock doesn't set it when it wasn't set to go off already on the previous day. I know, I tried to replicate what was done and couldn't do so. And I didn't have a butler to help me with things like that -- I can usually set a clock on my own. We bring our own lighted clock that we can read at night, and know that on all ships they lose about a minute or two/day due to vagaries of shipboard electricity.

 

The Ahi tuna was gorgeous, we have beautiful pictures of it. It had a pleasing texture and density. And nearly no flavor. :(

 

The hot dogs were very good, so were the other sausages and the onion rings (couldn't believe they were McCains, they seemed to be homemade). Just having to have them delivered, and slowly at that, seemed odd.

 

Our harpist was Jacqueline Dolan, although she left the cruise about halfway through and the harp remained behind.

 

2 of our singer/dancers used to be on "O", and they left there because of the total lack of importance put on the entertainment facet of cruising. I forgot to mention the comic/magician (Lenahan?) who came on board about half way through the cruise. He was hilarious.

 

As uktog suggested, a better cabin attendent would have taken care of about half of our little issues with the cruise. Truly this was a great vacation, but one of the points of cruisecritic is to provide comparisons with other cruising options, and I've tried to do that to the best of my ability. Azamara compares very favorably to Oceania in many ways, and Oceania compares very favorably to Azamara in others. Which is probably not a surprise since they occupy the same "space" in the market.

[Emperor Norton]

Just a reminder, taste is subjective and food quality varies. On my last Regent cruise I had the same dish as another person at my table. Mine was inedible Alpo-esque, their dish was well executed.

[ellbon]

When we boarded "O", we were told well in advance cabins would not be available until 3PM, which is when they were ready. Balconies and suites were ready sooner, we just had an outside cabin, as we did on this cruise.

 

i always get on late so my cabin was ready and did ont know that.

 

Touching that clock doesn't set it when it wasn't set to go off already on the previous day. I know, I tried to replicate what was done and couldn't do so. And I didn't have a butler to help me with things like that -- I can usually set a clock on my own. We bring our own lighted clock that we can read at night, and know that on all ships they lose about a minute or two/day due to vagaries of shipboard electricity.

 

clocks in suites are battery and i took mine to front desk at midnight.. in the end someone came to the cabin adn tried to fix it..i learned to leave it on the bes with a note- if i forgt the note the clock is not changed forward or back. hope my phone works as it gives time,

 

The Ahi tuna was gorgeous, we have beautiful pictures of it. It had a pleasing texture and density. And nearly no flavor. :(

 

wow! mine was fine.. now i wonder if the head chef was on holiday and the new one can not cook as well. i will know this weekend. i had great food in both places.. again i am shock and sadden for you.

 

The hot dogs were very good, so were the other sausages and the onion rings (couldn't believe they were McCains, they seemed to be homemade). Just having to have them delivered, and slowly at that, seemed odd.

wonder if they made a change since Cmas.. i just stood there and was handed my food. with being in europe will not be at grill much at all.

 

Our harpist was Jacqueline Dolan, although she left the cruise about halfway through and the harp remained behind.

 

i have sailed with her twice. had NYE dinner with her too.. harp belongs to ship. that means she will not be on for my cruise.

is dan on or off ship? i have liked both piano players so far..

 

2 of our singer/dancers used to be on "O", and they left there because of the total lack of importance put on the entertainment facet of cruising. I forgot to mention the comic/magician (Lenahan?) who came on board about half way through the cruise. He was hilarious.

 

if he is on I will check him out. iagree A is better than o for shows etc. .so the above i can understand.

 

As uktog suggested, a better cabin attendent would have taken care of about half of our little issues with the cruise. Truly this was a great vacation, but one of the points of cruisecritic is to provide comparisons with other cruising options, and I've tried to do that to the best of my ability. Azamara compares very favorably to Oceania in many ways, and Oceania compares very favorably to Azamara in others. Which is probably not a surprise since they occupy the same "space" in the market.

 

the one thing that O has and A is missing out on is cruising the east coast of S America. i almost did that but after the Marina i canceled it. and the shows were so bad. i did try Regent and was in bed with a book around 11 nightly.. at least on A i last later.

thank you for showing another side of the coin.

[Lottie A]

Hi nitemare, welcome home and thanks for your comparisons between Insignia and your recent Journey cruise. I found it very interesting because of my recent Oceania Marina experience in comparison to my Quest cruises. I have also done an Oc v Az comparison.

 

It would not do for us all to enjoy the same things or food.....we are all very different, with personal expectations and preferences. So speaking personally, while I found much to enjoy on Marina......the ship is beautiful, the cabins bigger and better and the shops certainly better......for me Azamara Quest wins out every time for food quality, entertainment and the outstanding service.

 

My steak in Marina's Polo Grill two week's ago was OK.....but only just OK. I could rave on for minutes about the great steaks I have enjoyed in Prime C! I am not blinkered......and will always enjoy cruising with other companies, but the onboard ambience is what matters most to us.....and to my mind, Azamara is just the best.

 

As you rightly say, both cruiselines compare favourably.....and if you like Azamara then you will like Oceania and vice versa......but my favourite is most definitely Azamara......no contest!

 

Just my opinion you understand....because both Az and Oceania are right up there at the top as far as I'm concerned

.

We are thinking of trying Silversea next year.....so my opinion may possibly change again......but we shall see! ;)

[Grandma Gilly]

We are thinking of trying Silversea next year.....so my opinion may possibly change again......but we shall see! ;)

 

Earlier this year, I decided to try Silverseas. I was so concerned that once I sailed with that line I would be spoiled for everything else.

 

I am pleased to say that was NOT the case!!!

 

Cabins on the Silver Spirit were fantastic but that's about where it ended.

 

The senior staff were invisible, total opposite to AZ. Service in the MDR was average, entertainment was average, food was OK but I didn't like the speciality restaurants and the pool grill was downright disgusting.

I liked that all alcoholic beverages were included in the price.

 

I am delighted to have an AZ cruise booked for December but am also giving Silverseas a second chance next Easter because of the itinerary.

 

I will always choose AZ first if the itinerary and timings are the ones I want but will also consider the other upmarket lines.

[buffalogrill]

I also had an alarm clock issue on Journey a few weeks ago - the alarm mysteriously was turned on one night and went off at 6.30am. I hadn't touched the clock and wasn't best pleased :mad:

[Lottie A]

I also had an alarm clock issue on Journey a few weeks ago - the alarm mysteriously was turned on one night and went off at 6.30am. I hadn't touched the clock and wasn't best pleased :mad:

 

Just an idea about the random alarm clocks......it is possible that the previous cabin occupant programmed them to go off for the days when they needed to be up early for shore ex on their cruise and the alarm was then set to "repeat". It is easily done without realising. It would then go off the same day and time every week until someone turned off the "repeat".

 

This happened to us when we were on a cruise on Queen Elizabeth in January. Took us 3 days of being woken at 6am to work it out! :o

[fortworther]

EVERYONE it seems wants to pitch the alarm clocks over board. They cannot be figured out on one's own. I managed to do it with the printed instruction sheet. I will never understand why ACC didn't just go to Walmart or someplace and buy an intuitive alarm clock.

 

Thanks for the review! I was on the same cruise. My only complaint with the food in the specialty restaurants is that there is no variety during the cruise. Same menu every night. We ate in them 8 nights and got bored. That and the food is a little bland for my Texas taste buds.

 

Pool grill drill is different from past cruises. Used to be you ordered from the cook and waited for your food. Now you have to tell an assigned waiter who writes it down, gives you a number, brings it to you. The old way worked for me but maybe it got too crowded or something thus the new system. The burgers and onion rings and fries were just right. They even ask how you want your burger cooked.

 

Entertainment this trip was the best of the three I have spent with ACC. We gathered in the Oasis to listen to Jeff Warren the cabaret guy most nights after the main show.

 

Room was comfortable and I have never slept better on a ship. Nice mattress. We got everything we wanted from our attendant including numerous buckets of ice, cans of cranberry juice and diet cokes.

 

Nobody has mentioned the passengers yet but we met a bunch of nice and fun people. Shared meals, drinks, tours. We are from Texas but most of the folks we met were British, Australian, or from the northeast USA. Good bunch of folks. That is one of the main things we like about ACC, our fellow passengers. It is almost like we are all in a little club of which only we know the secrets.

 

Shore excursions purchased through ACC were OK, particularly for the price (half off if bought on line). Now that I have done it I could, and probably would, do all the ports on my own next time. Easy to get around to main attractions and great public transportation in the Scandinavian ones.

 

Embarkation was easy and room available before I expected. Debarkation was a mess. Seemed to have trouble with one of the airport transfer buses and lost our names from the manifest.

 

Great trip overall. As one of the Aussie's with multiple ACC trips under his belt put it, we have been "Azamara'd".

[fortworther]

ps. People in the Mosaic would get up and dance to Jeff Warren's music. We hung out with him after the show one night and he said he had never had that kind of activity/reaction on Azamara before. He loved it. Like I said above, a good lively bunch of folks.

[ellbon]

thank you for finally answering my question. jeff is back again. met him last summer. nice man- he kept me up many many nights.

[fortworther]

Jeff told us he was getting off in Stockholm and moving to another ship.

[ellbon]

Jeff told us he was getting off in Stockholm and moving to another ship.

 

wonder if dan coming back on. only met the two of them. jeff blows me away but i know dan longer..

[excitedofharpenden]

 

Nobody has mentioned the passengers yet but we met a bunch of nice and fun people. Shared meals, drinks, tours. We are from Texas but most of the folks we met were British, Australian, or from the northeast USA. Good bunch of folks. That is one of the main things we like about ACC, our fellow passengers. It is almost like we are all in a little club of which only we know the secrets.

 

That's a good observation and I feel the same way. It's almost like the great atmosphere the staff and crew exude rubs off on the passengers and everyone seems happy and friendly.

 

Phil

[Nitemare]

EVERYONE it seems wants to pitch the alarm clocks over board. They cannot be figured out on one's own. I managed to do it with the printed instruction sheet. I will never understand why ACC didn't just go to Walmart or someplace and buy an intuitive alarm clock.

 

 

Nobody has mentioned the passengers yet but we met a bunch of nice and fun people. Shared meals, drinks, tours. We are from Texas but most of the folks we met were British, Australian, or from the northeast USA. Good bunch of folks. That is one of the main things we like about ACC, our fellow passengers. It is almost like we are all in a little club of which only we know the secrets.

 

I came back this AM to add two things: The passengers and the Internet.

 

Azamara was not prepared with the Internet on this cruise. They were training a new associate for the Internet lounge, and lines to sign up for usage were ridiculous. Once we had an account, we'd get logged out all the time (using our iPad), or it would freeze and you couldn't log out and the minutes would just keep ticking away. Passenger Services called the guy who runs the computers for the ship and he was very helpful getting us logged off. Fortunately we just use the Internet for fun, not for trying to keep a business running, so it was just an inconvenience.

 

The passengers. I really should have mentioned this, especially in comparison with "O". Granted, we've only had one cruise on each line, but we never ran into a single annoying, disturbing, bothersome, or entitled passenger on the entire cruise. No one was cutting into line, saving lounge chairs all day (ok, this wasn't a beachy/poolside cruise), or generally being obnoxious. And I can't say that about our cruise on Insignia 2 years ago, where there were more than a handful of those people. We enjoyed all the people we were seated with at dinner, everyone we were near for the shows, the folks we shared the hot tub with, and, of course, all the rest of the trivia nuts.