Comments/Facts on March 2015 Insignia world cruise by a current passenger

[cbb]

I've always wished O would offer Tai Chi since I've read about how great it is for balance and flexibility and requires no equipment so you can take your stretching where ever you go.

 

On a cruise I overhead several Australian women telling others how great it is. According to the Mayo clinic website, all ages benefit from the movements.

 

I'd love to learn but would like someone to show me how to do it correctly. Youtube does have its limitations!!

[computerworks]

I think both a choir and ballroom dance lessons would be excellent choices for the future...

 

Oh my... I would shoot myself. :eek:

[fred 15]

I know I was only on the first segment of the world cruise but I found plenty to do on sea days.. Here's something I wrote earlier:

 

 

Chacun a son gout as we say in NW England."

 

What does that mean?

[Caroldoll]

there was a dance class or two, but they were part of the entertainment team. I may be wrong though.

 

This poster should definitely have gone with Crystal.

 

I mostly cruise Oceania and I have found their enrichment lectures boring and not worth the effort. I am sure from time to time there is a good one.

 

I agree with someone who posted that their travel agent should have enlightened them. And with another who said too bad they didn't know about CC sooner.

 

The situation with Los Angeles I presume is not the fault of Oceania.

[SellaVee]

Oh my... I would shoot myself. :eek:

 

I didn't know you'd heard me sing.

[SellaVee]

 

"Chacun a son gout as we say in NW England."

 

What does that mean?

 

To each his own.

[SellaVee]

I've always wished O would offer Tai Chi since I've read about how great it is for balance and flexibility and requires no equipment so you can take your stretching where ever you go.

 

On a cruise I overhead several Australian women telling others how great it is. According to the Mayo clinic website, all ages benefit from the movements.

 

I'd love to learn but would like someone to show me how to do it correctly. Youtube does have its limitations!!

 

That would be particularly apt on a SE Asia cruise - as long as the sea wasn't too rough :).

[cbb]

"as long as the sea wasn't too rough"....we'd certainly have to learn that whole balancing thing quickly, wouldn't we?!

 

Mr Wonderful daily reads the blog of Ken Levine, who makes him laugh out loud.

 

Several months ago Mr. Levine, who was a writer for Cheers, MASH, Frasier, and many more, was one of the speakers on a Regent cruise and he wrote about that as part of his blog.

 

We're on the RTW16 and we would love to hear some great enrichment speakers on our sea days-- perhaps we will!!

 

(Ballroom dancing was a big thing on Crystal and 2 gentlemen, part of the Crystal staff, were there every night to dance with the ladies who were dressed in the long flowing dresses and bejeweled. I think OP probably would love Crystal)

[fred 15]

How about destination lectures?

[Jancruz]

"as long as the sea wasn't too rough"....we'd certainly have to learn that whole balancing thing quickly, wouldn't we?!

 

Mr Wonderful daily reads the blog of Ken Levine, who makes him laugh out loud.

 

Several months ago Mr. Levine, who was a writer for Cheers, MASH, Frasier, and many more, was one of the speakers on a Regent cruise and he wrote about that as part of his blog.

 

We're on the RTW16 and we would love to hear some great enrichment speakers on our sea days-- perhaps we will!!

 

(Ballroom dancing was a big thing on Crystal and 2 gentlemen, part of the Crystal staff, were there every night to dance with the ladies who were dressed in the long flowing dresses and bejeweled. I think OP probably would love Crystal)

 

Crystal has always been known for ballroom dancing Oceania has NOT..

Jancruz1

[cbb]

"Crystal has always been known for ballroom dancing Oceania has NOT..

Jancruz1

 

That's why i was kinda surprised when i read OPs thread that said O was to have ballroom dancing.

 

We were only on Crystal one time but I wondered how many suitcases/trunks some of the women must have brought with them to have so many flowing garments!

[Suesl]

You are right and if you had done that before the cruise all this would be known.

I am not being clever but all this has been said before on CC and it is available before deciding if it is a good fit for you.

Your post is still important as it gives another perspective but it is in line with previous observations.

 

This is Oceania's first 'World Cruise'. Where can one find reviews on O's world cruise prior to the first world cruise?

All that had been said before were NOT about O's world cruise.

[Suesl]

there was a dance class or two, but they were part of the entertainment team. I may be wrong though.

 

This poster should definitely have gone with Crystal.

 

I mostly cruise Oceania and I have found their enrichment lectures boring and not worth the effort. I am sure from time to time there is a good one.

 

I agree with someone who posted that their travel agent should have enlightened them. And with another who said too bad they didn't know about CC sooner.

 

The situation with Los Angeles I presume is not the fault of Oceania.

 

Also - SallaVee post of #25 and CBB of post #26, please read the following -

This is O's first world cruise, so no travel agent or CC member has any experience with O's world cruise prior to this world cruise!!

 

The situation with LA, technically, is not O's fault. However, O promotes this as a world cruise yet runs it as a segment cruise. If it has been a true 'world cruise', where only a few guests embark or disembark the ship at LA, this 'procedure' would not have been necessary, we would not have been inconvenienced, and, the day would have been normal like all the other days.

But - other than small things such as no 'tea time', shortened breakfast hours, no daytime activities that reward BigOPoints, having to come back to the ship 3 hours ahead of sail time for the drill (and, the drill was delayed due to absence of some guests), no entertainment at night, Waves grill not open at all, our room didn't get cleaned......

Then the following evenings we were 'treated' to repeat 'shows' by the 2 entertainers who were entertaining guests the previous segment. It certainly appears that O deems it OK as long as the shows are new to the new guests, never mind the world cruisers. To-night we have, for the 5th time, the resident pianist playing the same thing on stage 'due to popular demand'!

and the ping-pong table now has a hard metal 'net' making 'netball' a thing of the past!

 

Day time lectures, (photo lectures are repeated for the sake of the new guests) bridge lessons, art lessons (lessons repeated for the sake of the new guests), needlepoint (same few items from beginning to end), greeting card making (repeated!) .....

There are quite a few daytime activities, but often they are new only if you are NOT a world cruiser. (Exception - of course, the 'sports' activities are the same everyday - ping-pong, shuffle-board, golf putting..)

So if you are a new segment cruiser taking only 1 segment, you only have to watch each 'show' once (but for longer segments you are ' in luck' because you get to watch the resident pianists, string quartet and the orchestra playing on stage twice or even 3 times!).

 

If there are more entertainment I would be too occupied or tired to write....

[ORV]

Also - SallaVee post of #25 and CBB of post #26, please read the following -

This is O's first world cruise, so no travel agent or CC member has any experience with O's world cruise prior to this world cruise!!

 

The situation with LA, technically, is not O's fault. However, O promotes this as a world cruise yet runs it as a segment cruise. If it has been a true 'world cruise', where only a few guests embark or disembark the ship at LA, this 'procedure' would not have been necessary, we would not have been inconvenienced, and, the day would have been normal like all the other days.

But - other than small things such as no 'tea time', shortened breakfast hours, no daytime activities that reward BigOPoints, having to come back to the ship 3 hours ahead of sail time for the drill (and, the drill was delayed due to absence of some guests), no entertainment at night, Waves grill not open at all, our room didn't get cleaned......

Then the following evenings we were 'treated' to repeat 'shows' by the 2 entertainers who were entertaining guests the previous segment. It certainly appears that O deems it OK as long as the shows are new to the new guests, never mind the world cruisers. To-night we have, for the 5th time, the resident pianist playing the same thing on stage 'due to popular demand'!

and the ping-pong table now has a hard metal 'net' making 'netball' a thing of the past!

 

Day time lectures, (photo lectures are repeated for the sake of the new guests) bridge lessons, art lessons (lessons repeated for the sake of the new guests), needlepoint (same few items from beginning to end), greeting card making (repeated!) .....

There are quite a few daytime activities, but often they are new only if you are NOT a world cruiser. (Exception - of course, the 'sports' activities are the same everyday - ping-pong, shuffle-board, golf putting..)

So if you are a new segment cruiser taking only 1 segment, you only have to watch each 'show' once (but for longer segments you are ' in luck' because you get to watch the resident pianists, string quartet and the orchestra playing on stage twice or even 3 times!).

 

If there are more entertainment I would be too occupied or tired to write....

 

So is there any parts of your cruise that you are enjoying? It seems you are focusing on the things that are wrong or that you're not happy with. Surely there's some things about Oceania that you like?

[LHT28]

The situation with LA, technically, is not O's fault. However, O promotes this as a world cruise yet runs it as a segment cruise. If it has been a true 'world cruise', where only a few guests embark or disembark the ship at LA, this 'procedure' would not have been necessary, we would not have been inconvenienced, and, the day would have been normal like all the other days.

 

I have never been on a RTW cruise so just curious

Are you saying that on World cruises when you hit the 1st US port after visiting non US ports you do not have to clear immigration/customs??

 

On B2B's we still need to disembark at the 1st US port for the Authorities & their inspections

Edited June 26, 2015 by LHT28

[Paulchili]

This is Oceania's first 'World Cruise'. Where can one find reviews on O's world cruise prior to the first world cruise?

All that had been said before were NOT about O's world cruise.

 

 

This may be Oceania's first world cruise, albeit cut in half by the fire, but Oceania will not suddenly and magically transform into a totally different cruise line for the world cruise.

Just because it is a world cruise they will not have the lecture series (or gentleman dancers) of Crystal nor the entertainment of the mass market lines, etc, etc.

They are more likely to continue to do what they do well and what they are known for from all their other cruises because that is what Oceania cruisers are looking for and what they are expecting. Thus if one researched Oceania cruises in general beforehand, one would have a pretty good idea of what they are like.

Hopefully finding cruise critic will help you doing better research before your next cruise - be it a short one or a world cruise - thus avoiding further disappointment.

[Jay23]

Before seeing the light and cruising with O, we cruised for years with P & O and were fortunate to visit much of the world. Of course world cruises are divided into segments. Generally about one half to two thirds of the passengers do the whole journey, and the rest of the passengers do one or two segments. The cruise lines cannot afford to travel part full. It was ever thus. We did two segments several times. The whole cruise is sold first, and then the segments become available.

The OP would have seen this in the brochures, so I cannot understand why she is surprised/disappointed.

[hypercafe]

I would think that any that does a world cruise would try to make it extra special for the people that paid very big bucks upfront to do the whole trip. I would feel bad if it turned out to be a very long back to back.

 

 

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[cbb]

I'm on RTW16 and we have some excursions that are advertised as EVENTS for us (read "free"): Great Wall, Hanoi, 2 choices in Myanmar, Bali, cocktails at sunset aboard the USS Missouri so I think O is doing fine with offering us some special activities. (plus free internet & free medical!!!)

[SellaVee]

I would think that any that does a world cruise would try to make it extra special for the people that paid very big bucks upfront to do the whole trip. I would feel bad if it turned out to be a very long back to back.

 

 

Sent from my XT1032 using Forums mobile app

 

There were special events this time round. As a segmenter I wasn't invited, nor did I expect to be. The world cruisers I met also mentioned other differences - I thought they had a different front page to Currents with different logo and numbering, but I could be wrong. They were also being given a commemorative jacket I believe. The free medical and laundry was also a perk for full world cruisers.

 

A lot of people signed up for the full world cruise, but sadly a large number of those changed to 2016 when the fire impacted on this sailing. I saw the original list of CC members and it ran to two pages. Most of the people we hung out with were on the full cruise, since we'd "met" them beforehand on cruise critic. In the tragic circumstances they were all making the best of things and determined to enjoy themselves.

 

Everyone we met had cruised Oceania before.

[hypercafe]

My comments were based on what the OP said, that it was geared for the people doing the segments. Seems you and them have a very different take on the trip.

 

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[hondorner]

I'm on RTW16 and we have some excursions that are advertised as EVENTS for us (read "free"): Great Wall, Hanoi, 2 choices in Myanmar, Bali, cocktails at sunset aboard the USS Missouri so I think O is doing fine with offering us some special activities. (plus free internet & free medical!!!)

 

And free luggage pickup and delivery from/to home, free gratuities, free hotel stay, free visas and free ship laundry. And, two of the free events are overnight, one with flights.

 

I believe there will also be exclusive events on board, and the aforementioned jackets, plus based on my previous experience on special cruises, like maiden and anniversary voyages, there will likely be other commemorative gifts.

 

Combined with good early booking discounts, it is a bargain we can't pass up. It's special enough for us.

[hondorner]

My comments were based on what the OP said, that it was geared for the people doing the segments. Seems you and them have a very different take on the trip.

 

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The OP had a strange view of what makes up a world Cruise. I've never heard of one entirely consisting of full itinerary guests; my belief, based on what FDR said when he introduced the cruise, is that all had segments. It would have to be a much smaller ship that Insignia to fill it with only world cruisers, in my opinion.

 

When there are several reports of how good it was, and one that was less than satisfied, I throw out the best and worst report and average the rest.

[SellaVee]

My comments were based on what the OP said, that it was geared for the people doing the segments. Seems you and them have a very different take on the trip.

 

Sent from my XT1032 using Forums mobile app

 

 

You are quite right, hypercafe. I should have put YMMV on my posts because people's impressions very often vary.

 

What really concerns me about this post is that such a major investment of time and money has turned out so badly for the OP. It's a useful POV for anyone considering a world cruise on Oceania.

 

Three of the current world cruisers are blogging about the voyage. They are:

 

Becky Rubin on rubintravels.wordpress.com

Dorothy Case on dotcase.blogspot.co.uk, and

Doug and Cathy Hull on bootsboatsbikes.net

 

A lot of the content talks of the places visited, about which the OP hasn't said much, but both entertainment and special world cruise events get a mention.

 

As I said in my post #7, I'm sorry to hear that the OP isn't enjoying the cruise.

 

It would be useful to know which cruise line the OP chose for the world cruise 4 years ago. It really isn't against the rules to mention lines with whom you've previously cruised. People do it all the time.

[Floridiana]

I have never been on a RTW cruise so just curious

Are you saying that on World cruises when you hit the 1st US port after visiting non US ports you do not have to clear immigration/customs??

 

On B2B's we still need to disembark at the 1st US port for the Authorities & their inspections

 

I was about to ask the same question. My experience on B2B's is that we had to clear customs in the 1st US port even though the cruise originated from a US port and went to several foreign ports in between. Clearing customs in Miami and in San Diego meant that all passengers had to leave the ship for about 45 minutes before they were allowed back. Returning passengers went through the fast lane since they already had a ship id card.