Insignia report

[brian_uk]

I certainly saw Frank aroundthe Ship and he was watching what was going on all the time.

I guess you just cannot expect the CEO to partake of the Tours if a Limo is available but just reading these Boards should be enough to make them realise that all is not well in their Destinations Department and the Tours arranged.

[phlewt]

The call for the 300 thread-count Egyptian cotton linens came as a result of Joe Watters spending an uncomfortable night in the old bedding.

 

Im sorry, I dont know where you heard that story but it is not true..when the Regatta came out it had the Egyptian Linens and they were Frank Delrios idea from the beginning..

Jan:)

*****

 

Jan,

 

You may be correct -- I'm just reporting what I heard directly from Joe Watters during the 12/17/04 cruise on Insignia. He made a presentation on cruising, and during that presentation he told the group that his first action upon joining Oceania was to have the bedding replaced on all the ships. He said it was because he was attending a meeting and had slept in one of the beds on the ship and had an uncomfortable experience.

 

I'm not sure why Mr. Watters would fabricate such a story, but with your connections with Oceania, I'm sure you know the real story.

 

alan

[meow!]

My guess is that from the beginning, Oceania had decided to occupy the niche between the mass market ships and the true boutique ships, and given the fact that their ships were mid-sized, that was a good idea. They wanted to serve customers who didn't want the large crowds and long lines of the megaships, while not wanting to pay the higher prices of the luxury lines.

 

As they took over the existing (formerly Renaissance) ships, it was obviously not practical to change the hardware, such as the cabins, which were just "standard fare" in modern cruising. So they had to make special efforts in the software, such as good bedding, great food and jovial service. They seem to have done well, and their relatively long, port intensive itineraries seem to attract enough people such that they have been able to raise their fares substantially through the last year and a half, while the true boutique lines have to offer deep discounts to fill their ships.

 

No cruise line is perfect for all people. Consumers just have to choose what fits them best at the time. The final judgement is by the market, if the ships fill up at a healthy profit margin, then something must be right, and other cruise lines should study its example to see how to improve and better compete under each line's own circumstances.

[brian_uk]

What certainly appealed to us was the Casual Dress Code and open dining arrangements and from conversations with many of the other passengers this is what they looked for as well. Plus the Itineraries have to be right.

However the trip is Port intensive and it would have ben nice if Oceania had given a lot more thought to the passengers who were not taking their expensive shore excursions......not too much to ask surely.

As previously stated we would happily return to Oceania if the Route was what we wanted.

 

Brian

[Mura]

Brian,

 

I have a couple of questions. My wife and I are booked on the Regatta, which I understand is a twin to the Insignia, for a Venice to Barcelona cruise next May. We currently have cabin 8009 (PH2), which is forward and on the opposite side of your cabin's location.

 

 

 

I'm not Brian but we were in 8005 on the R5 (now NAUTICA) back in the Renaissance days and it was fine in terms of motion. We never heard the elevators although we DID hear some noise from upstairs, mostly when furniture was being moved. It really was not very disturbing.

[brian_uk]

What I would say isthat you are on the better side of the Ship in terms of view as Land will generally be on that side of the ship once you have turned and are heading north towards Sorrento.

 

Try and be up heading toward Dubrovnik as it is a stunning entrance.

 

Brian

[fjdelrio]

Hello Brian UK

 

I am an avid reader of these boards.

I did take an excursion and found it to be very good.

We believe that we already do quite a bit for the Independent Traveller such as having a representative from the local toursim board or chamber of commerce come onboard in the mornings to answer guest questions, hand out maps, offer suggestions etc.

 

We have not been offering shuttles to the town centers. We will study the issue and determine whether to in the future either for a fee or complimentary.

 

I agree the Piano player was the worst ever. He was a late minute replacement for the scheduled musician who had an emergency apendectomy.

 

I found Insignia to be operating at a very high level, with few areas needing improvement (yes the piano player and coffee in the Grand Dining Room was weak). I was very proud of her and of the 400 men and women who work so hard to deliver the Oceania Cruises experience.

 

Hope to see you onboard again soon.

 

FDR

[brian_uk]

Certainly we saw you frequently watching what was going on and as I said at the beginning, life on board was superb and we would book again if the Itinerary were what we were looking for.

 

As I said to you at the time a shuttle bus would just make life that little bit easier and certainly I would not hesitate to pay a fee and it would make life easier.

 

The local tourist guide was fine but it took 20 minutes to get to talk to her and the info required could have been posted on the previous nights info sheet.....something as simple as ......Monte Carlo - If you are going into town, dont forget the Number 6 bus will take you right there at a cost of 2 euros.

 

Sorry to hear about the original pianist and we wish him a speedy recovery for musics sake.

 

We have recomended the trip to friends and they are going on the 24th August as a result.

 

A really great operation and I wish you continued success.

 

Brian

[ClaudiaF]

Agree.. even if there was a fee a small local shuttle would make things alot easier for those who just want to get into "town" on their own.

For folks who do like independent travel in places where they may not need to hire a car and driver in advance or even a taxi would be great.

I do recall a few shuttles on 2 of of our previous Oceania cruises.

In one port no one was told about them - although I do believe

they were a freebie from the local area..you sort of stumbled upon them -if you were lucky ;-) When a port

was changed last minute ,as happens, a bus was arranged to take whoever wanted into a town near Portofino..which was really nice - since it was a

last minute change and no one really knew where we were.

[esther e]

I would love to have complimentary bottled water, especially when going on tours. It's a small complaint, but it bothers me to have to pay for a bottle of water, on such an upscale line like Oceania.

Esther

[new_cruiser]

FDR, I haven't taken an Oceania cruise yet, but I'm hoping to try your line sometime in the future. (Your longer cruises are harder to fit into my schedule than the 7-day cruises I have been taking.)

 

One of the things I've really appreciated on the Windstar cruises I've taken is their support for independent travel. The support doesn't take much and even those who take a shore excursion appreciate it as they often spend some time in port on their own. What we get on Windstar is:

 

a 15 minute shore briefing the evening before that goes over highlights of the port, a little orientation on how to get around and things to be careful about (e.g. a beach that is close enough to walk to but there are no sidewalks and heavy traffic so it is better to take a taxi).

 

handouts: a couple of simple maps - one of the area or island and one of the port main streets (like you might find in a tour book) and information similar to what was in the briefing.

 

On my cruises with them so far, there has been only one port where we were not docked or tendered directly into the port town. For that port they did provide a free shuttle (twice an hour).

[brian_uk]

There are certainly briefings and the Insignia News the night before does carry info on the Port etc. You can also watch the briefing on your cabin TV which covers all the Tours they do and from that you can get a good idea of each stop.

 

My moan, and it was only a small one, was the lack of any shuttle and local bus/taxi info.

 

Other than that, if you had read my report, you can see that Jean and I thoroughly enjoyed life on board Insignia and are currently looking at next years routes in the Greek Islands.

 

As for bottled water, yes it would be nice, but it was generally available very cheaply offshore.

 

Brian

[susiesan]

If you need bottled water, just bring an empty one from home and fill it in your cabin. Or after you buy one, save it and refill. I pour the melted water in the ice bucket which is very cold into my bottle just before leaving a ship.

Regarding independent touring, Renaissance was very bad about providing info to people touring on their own. On our 2 Ren cruisies in the Med we were actually given false information about the danger in some ports of going off alone to scare us into buying their overpriced tours. Didn't work. We were also told that cruiselines don't make money from tours-they provide them as a "convenience" to the passengers. If you believe that, I've got some beachfront property to sell you...

 

For my Insignia cruise June 26, 2006 I plan to have thoroughly researched all ports and will not be buying excursions from Oceania. Anyone else on this cruise?

[esther e]

If you need bottled water, just bring an empty one from home and fill it in your cabin. Or after you buy one, save it and refill. I pour the melted water in the ice bucket which is very cold into my bottle just before leaving a ship.

 

Come on, it's not the point of needing a bottle of water. After being on ships that provide water and all soft drinks at no charge, it's just a niggling annoyance on my part. No big deal.

[Billybob62]

Frank: For what it is worth, we recently returned from the Celebrity Xpedition cruise to the Galalagos Islands, where virtually everything was included in the single price, tips, all drinks, including liquor and soft drinks, and all excursions. Aditionally, cold water bottles were available for all disembarkations. Obviously this is not Oceania's model, but it certainly made the cruise very pleasant not having to worry about nickeled and dimed at every turn. Considering the prices being charged, especially when compared to the 10 day package on the Xpedition, Oceania may want to considered lightening up on the "incidentals" a little bit. The more that is included in the price, the better the customer will feel.

[raffeer]

This is one who cruiser who likes things just the way they are. I have no desire to help pay for my fellow passengers drinks (not being a drinker), nor do I care to pay for their excursions (not using the ships services for excursions). Our family likes things just as they are - well maybe available shuttle buses would be a nice addition.

Beatrice

[Windrunner I]

On the several cruises I've taken with Oceania, I've never experienced a problem touring indepently in port. Oceania provides a very good overview of each port, along with maps, in each issue of Currents, the ship's daily newsletter and schedule.

 

One thing *I* also do, is a bit of reasearch - Oceania has great reading lists for each itinerary - and peruse the shore excursion books and port descriptions in the brochure for anything I might wish to do on my own.

 

All in all, I've found Oceania to provide more than ample information and support for passengers who want to sightsee on their own. No more and no less than any other line, including the likes of the so-called 6 star lines.

 

On the subject of shore excursions, the ones I've taken with the ship have been excellent. Sure, all shore excursions are pricey but I've found the trade-off to be that you know that you're getting a top notch experience. I've never found their shore excursions to be anything other than 5 star.

 

Sorry, I just don't buy the gripes. I think some people just expect too high a level of hand holding and don't want to do the research beforehand.

[esther e]

This is one who cruiser who likes things just the way they are. I have no desire to help pay for my fellow passengers drinks (not being a drinker), nor do I care to pay for their excursions (not using the ships services for excursions). Our family likes things just as they are - well maybe available shuttle buses would be a nice addition.

Beatrice

 

The Galapagos cruise is totally different from any "regular" cruising. When they refer to excursions, it doesn't necessarily mean city tours, snorkling or the like.

 

And I agree with others; we also like to take the excursions the ship offers. We've never had a problem. I think we are offered good tours with good value. Believe me, there are places in this world I wouldn't want to be without the security of a ship's tour. And if we're in a port that doesn't particularly appeal to us, we know the Oceania line is a pleasant place to wile away the hours while others are touring.

Esther

[brian_uk]

Frank you were right in your comments on the tender !!

[Billybob62]

I probably should have been more clear in my post about "includables." Although I did mention excursions, my primary purpose was to deal with the other items I mentioned. We also almost always do our tours off the ship after extensive research and feedback from prior cruisers on boards like this one. In fact, we received invaluable advice prior to the Galaoagos cruise from the Celebrity board on this site and I posted an extensive review upon return.