Nervous About the Size of Insignia

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Hi, first time posting on this board.  We are Elite on Celebrity, and our last cruise was in a sky suite.  We will next be on the Edge in November in an infinity balcony.

We are contemplating an Insignia cruise Sept. 11, 2020 from Southampton to NYC.  But, I’m nervous about the size of the ship.  For a first time Oceania cruise do you think sailing on the Insignia is a smart move for people who have never been on such a small ship, and are not bothered by the numbers of passengers on larger ships?

There are five sea days on the cruise, and we love those...so lack of entertainment is not an issue for us.  

We enjoyed the size of the suite on Celebrity and felt that the food in Luminae was very good.   But we can’t find a bank to rob in order to afford another suite on X!   It is our understanding that the food on Oceania is significantly better, and that is what attracts us to Oceania (Husband loves lobster above any and all other foods, and he wants to check it out)....and a TA in early September is hard to find!

My instinct is just go with it, maybe we will fall in love with Oceania, but I’m curious if others have any input that will help us stop dithering!

 

Thanks in advance if you have thoughts to share,  

 

Joanie

[Paulchili]

My suggestion is to try one of Oceania's larger ships - Riviera or Marina. They also do TAs and are closer in size to Celebrity ships.

More significantly, if you are looking for great food, they have 4 specialty restaurants instead of just 2 as well as wine pairing in La Reserve. Their cabins are also larger than on Insignia - especially the bathrooms.

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

Our first TA was in a PH on Insignia from Barbados to Funchal.  We loved the small feel of the Insignia.  Subsequently we have done three Oasis class and a couple of Carnival mega ships.  We always come back to the "our own private yacht" feel of the Insignia being our gold standard.  We are sailing her again for NYE and really looking forward to being back onboard.  If you're not into the huge shows and wanting the staff to entertain you then you will love the Insignia.  Granted the PH's aren't all that large.  We had OS on Oasis.  But the overall feel of the Insignia makes up for the smaller size of the cabins.  

[RJB]

54 minutes ago, Paulchili said:

My suggestion is to try one of Oceania's larger ships - Riviera or Marina. They also do TAs and are closer in size to Celebrity ships.

More significantly, if you are looking for great food, they have 4 specialty restaurants instead of just 2 as well as wine pairing in La Reserve. Their cabins are also larger than on Insignia - especially the bathrooms.

Agree 100%.  We have done two    T/A's on the larger O ships and loved both and have another one booked.  

[Noxequifans]

We started cruising with Oceania on their smaller ships .... loved them. Prior to that we were once on Celebrity and found the number of passengers overwhelming. 

[LHT28]

I agree with Paul if you are unsure about the size of the ship for a TA  go with the O class ships  (Marina & Riviera)

 or try one of the R Class ships in another area & not a crossing  & see how you like the ships

 

We have survived some rough seas on both size ships ..it did not bother us  but you may feel differently

 

Enjoy whatever cruise you choose

[ORV]

You didn't mention which room you are considering on Insignia. For you I wouldn't consider anything smaller than a PH. 

 

I also have to agree with the group suggesting you go to the newer O ships. 

[Mura]

Our first cruises in modern times (i.e., 1999) were with Renaissance, so were on the "R" ships:  the first on the R2 (now REGATTA), the second on the R5 (now NAUTICA), and the last on the R7 (now with Azamara, I believe).  These were not TAs, but our first TAs (on Oceania) WERE on "R" ships.  We had no problem with doing so on these smaller ships.  For us there are a perfect size, although I admit we like just as well the extra facilities on Marina/Riviera.

 

If you are afraid of the small size on a TA then I agree you should consider trying out Marina/Riviera first... but I wouldn't agree that it is absolutely necessary to do so, especially if you are aware of fewer onboard activities on sea days and that fact doesn't bother you.  We've had "seasick" says -- well, *I* have, DH never does -- but we've had those on the QE2 as well!  The route can also be a factor.

 

I just checked and see you were asking about Southampton-NYC.  We've done the reverse a couple of times, but only on Marina.  Our "R" ships TAs were the southern route.  Even so, I wouldn't worry about it.

 

From what I saw of the last comments on this year's RTW cruise on INSIGNIA I didn't see any negative comments about weather or the condition of the seas for the last part of their trip.

 

Mura

Edited July 17, 2019 by Mura
Completing my idea -- my comments were posted before I was finished

[cotto22]

We did a TA on Insignia in September 2014 from Southampton to NY via Canada.It was a wonderful cruise, although we did have a bought of rough weather that had us skipping a stop in Cork. We have cruised on some very large ships years ago (Cunard for our honeymoon and a second honeymoon before the birth of our first child), and then a Norwegian family cruise sometime later. After that, we have been on smaller ships, and enjoyed them tremendously.

  Personally, I think the decision to stay with Insignia or go with one of the larger Oceania ships might well depend on the itinerary. Some TA cruises only hit a few ports, while others are much more interesting! All seem to offer a nice number of sea days. The Insignia northern Atlantic that we were on had some lovely ports and some very nice days at sea with planned activities on board for those who were interested and lots of great dining as well! 

  I would not hesitate to try a TA on one of the larger Oceania ships if the itinerary was right. Our next cruise will be on Riviera, and we are looking forward to it at the end of October.

  Hope you enjoy your cruise, whatever you decide!

[mdpa]

I think everyone (except people focused on shows and entertainment) should try smaller ships. Personally, I've been on 3 cruises (Silversea 300ish passengers, Silversea 600ish passengers, and Celebrity Summit 2,000ish passengers).

 

We've enjoyed every one of these but are looking forward to try Oceania in August on the Insignia. I believe this ship size will be ideal for us. Knowing this ship was used for the world cruise should eliminate any doubts that it can provide a comfortable trip across the Atlantic. For us we will be testing this out NYC -> Bermuda.

 

That said...many people like Vegas, I can't stand it. Don't like large hotels. Everyone has different priorities.

[FlyerTalker]

4 hours ago, GeorgiaPeach51 said:

But, I’m nervous about the size of the ship.  For a first time Oceania cruise do you think sailing on the Insignia is a smart move for people who have never been on such a small ship, and are not bothered by the numbers of passengers on larger ships?

 

In order to properly answer this, one would need to know:  Just what are you "nervous" about?  Safety, ship stability, boredom, claustrophobia or what?

 

Otherwise, general "nervousness" is such a broad area, encompassing so many possible variables, that any discussion is just a shot in the dark.

 

So, ask yourself that hard question - exactly what am I "nervous" about.  Once you have that narrowed down to more than just vague anxiety, you might find the answer easy to discern.

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Wow, thanks so much for the wonderful answers, and very insightful responses, too!  Flyertalker, you are right...helps to know what I am nervous about!  It’s not the seaworthiness of the ship, but the ability to walk and spread out...maybe a good description would be fear of cabin fever!

 

Really, each response helped my husband and I to evaluate, so you really have helped.  We are going to go for it, looking at PH2....PH1 and 3 are already waitlisted!

 

That brings one more question.  The PHs are on deck 8 and above is the pool deck.  We have always booked on ships with cabins above and below in order to alleviate overhead noise.  The one time we didn’t we had the hair salon above and I thought we’d be good.  Nope.  Every morning brought the towel carts bumping and slamming oh dark early.  Ugh.

 

so how much racket can be heard on deck 8 with the pool area and Terraces above?  That worries me much more than cabin fever!

 

That said, we are really excited to try Oceania!  Lovely people on this board!

 

Joanie

[ATSEAMYLIFE]

I can't recall our exact PH cabin probably around 8009 or 8011.  We did hear some banging in the early AM which I thought sounded like deck chairs banging around.  I complained the first day and it stopped for two days and then started again.  I complained again and it stopped.  

 

We are currently booked for NYE in 8001, which I have read can have some noise as it's right by the door going into crew quarters.  I have no problem complaining if it gets bad.    

[Classiccruiser777]

Recently completed 22 day Southampton to Miami cruise on Insignia, a 30,000 ton ship. The ship is small by today’s standards but it isn’t “small.” Next year we are back on Insignia on a NY to Southampton cruise. We’ve also done many TAs on QM2, a 150,000 ton ship, and Oceania’s Insignia wins hands down.

[GeorgiaPeach51]

17 minutes ago, Classiccruiser777 said:

Recently completed 22 day Southampton to Miami cruise on Insignia, a 30,000 ton ship. The ship is small by today’s standards but it isn’t “small.” Next year we are back on Insignia on a NY to Southampton cruise. We’ve also done many TAs on QM2, a 150,000 ton ship, and Oceania’s Insignia wins hands down.

 

Thanks, Classiccruiser.  That’s quite a vote of confidence!  Do you by any chance have input re the deck 8 PHs and noise from the pool deck above?

[clo]

Here's a link you might enjoy:

https://www.cruisedeckplans.com/DP/deckplans/Insignia

[Roccaforte]

I hope you get answers soon.  We just booked a PH3 cabin 8065 on Insignia and I’m a little concerned about noise from the deck above.  I think we’re under the Terrace cafe.  Guess I’ll bring my ear plugs just in case😄.

[Redtravel]

1 hour ago, GeorgiaPeach51 said:

Wow, thanks so much for the wonderful answers, and very insightful responses, too!  Flyertalker, you are right...helps to know what I am nervous about!  It’s not the seaworthiness of the ship, but the ability to walk and spread out...maybe a good description would be fear of cabin fever!

 

Really, each response helped my husband and I to evaluate, so you really have helped.  We are going to go for it, looking at PH2....PH1 and 3 are already waitlisted!

 

That brings one more question.  The PHs are on deck 8 and above is the pool deck.  We have always booked on ships with cabins above and below in order to alleviate overhead noise.  The one time we didn’t we had the hair salon above and I thought we’d be good.  Nope.  Every morning brought the towel carts bumping and slamming oh dark early.  Ugh.

 

so how much racket can be heard on deck 8 with the pool area and Terraces above?  That worries me much more than cabin fever!

 

That said, we are really excited to try Oceania!  Lovely people on this board!

 

Joanie

Just did a cruise on deck 8. I was concerned about noise from above. There wasn’t any. I would gladly book deck 8 again. I usually book deck 7 on Oceania or Azamara R ships. Just booked Sirena deck 7. Avoid cabins way aft or way forward. Aft has a strong vibration. In forward, you will hear anchor dropping and feel more motion. I try to book cabins between the 2 banks of elevators.

[Mura]

Interesting.  Some of us love aft cabins ... obviously not everyone does!  It helps to know what you like and what you might encounter.  Hence, the questions we see here.

 

Mura

 

[clo]

1 hour ago, Mura said:

Some of us love aft cabins

That's where we're going to be.  Just two 'doors' from the Owner's Suite.  Sounds wonderful.

[alcpa1]

Just did a TA on the Azamara Journey in November. It's also an R ship. As long as you are in a PH you will be fine. Anything smaller would be an issue, particularly the bathroom. It's on the tiny side.

As for the noise from above, I don't think you will have much. It will be a little cool for constant belly flop contests.

Enjoy your cruise.

[Go-Bucks!]

5 hours ago, Mura said:

From what I saw of the last comments on this year's RTW cruise on INSIGNIA I didn't see any negative comments about weather or the condition of the seas for the last part of their trip.

 

We had no storms (in 6 months!) which is amazing! Someone said it was the best weather of any ATW that O has done. There were a handful of days where we rocked around a bit, but it was just windy and I felt fine...and I get seasick easily.

[Paulchili]

21 minutes ago, alcpa1 said:

It will be a little cool for constant belly flop contests.

They have those on Oceania?  I must have missed them 😊

Edited July 18, 2019 by Paulchili

[Go-Bucks!]

3 hours ago, Redtravel said:

Just did a cruise on deck 8. I was concerned about noise from above. There wasn’t any. I would gladly book deck 8 again.

 

You were luckier than me! I was just in a PH1 for 6 months, right under Waves...oh my, there was so much noise from chairs and tables from morning till 10pm everyday! 

[clo]

1 minute ago, Go-Bucks! said:

 

You were luckier than me! I was just in a PH1 for 6 months, right under Waves...oh my, there was so much noise from chairs and tables from morning till 10pm everyday! 

Did you ask to be moved?