Nervous About the Size of Insignia

[srdancer]

We haven't been on the insignia but in terms of R ship experience, we were on Sirena for 7 days for a Cuba intensive in Dec., 2018.

 

We had an A1 concierge cabin on deck 7 mid ship. We had been on 2 cruises on the Marina where the cabins are very roomy ans were concerned about the size of the cabin, smallest we'd ever been in.

 

Must admit the bathroom was tiny but the main cabin was roomy and comfortable.  Full sofa.  Plenty of storage. We were very happy with the cabin.

 

We loved the shows even though the cast is small - they catered to our taste with familiar Broadway and rock music and good headliner shows. (We're not too crazy about the shows with original/mediocre music we've seen on other cruiselines lately.)

 

We found the grand dining room and Terrace buffet food not as good as on the Marina. Specialty restaurants were very good, same as on the Marina.

 

 

 

[clo]

1 minute ago, srdancer said:

he cabin, smallest we'd ever been in

Here's what we were on on Hurtigruten:

[Paulchili]

22 minutes ago, clo said:

Here's what we were on on Hurtigruten:

Looks like a train compartment 😁

I am sure the itinerary was great.

[ORV]

To the OP, I would look for a room on the Port side from 8042- 8054 if any of them are available. This would get you away from the early morning noise of being below Waves. 

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Hi, all,

 

I used the laborious search function and found the info below from Dr. Hemlock:

 

“On the other hand, PH3 8000 is on the opposite side of the ship from the above noisy 8001.  Crew do not use that corridor to go forward; only officers.  Above your head is the computer and/or games room, neither of which involves noise or foot-traffic.  

 

We've sailed in 8000 twice out of eleven cruises, and it's our favorite location of all.  8002 next door is also nice, but then you do have other guests on both sides of you which doubles the potential for late-night loud TV entertaining you through the wall.  8004 is about as far aft as you can go before you're underneath the pool deck with its attendant scraping of lounges, etc.”

 

Perhaps that will help others who have reservations re the pool deck.  We are waiting for a return call from our TA to see what is available.  I’m startled that two categories of the PH are already waitlisted for this cruise!  Speaks to the popularity of the PH over the balcony cabins, I assume.  The cruise is 14:months out!

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad

[clo]

9 hours ago, Paulchili said:

Looks like a train compartment 😁

I am sure the itinerary was great.

It was so fabulous we're doing half of it again next spring on the same ship but a tiny bit bigger cabin.  Here's Bob in his bunk.

 

[ORV]

I believe those rooms Dr. Hemlock is referring to are PH3, which I think you said were not available. There truly are many staterooms on 8 that is not directly under the pool deck. Also bear in mind that the pool deck on Oceania is no where as busy as those on other cruise lines that you might be used to. The main place I would try to keep away from is under the Waves Grill. 

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Well, after all this, according to our TA every PH in every category is waitlisted.  Not sure of our next step...but disappointed. 

 

Thsnks for all the quick and helpful responses!

 

Joanie

[Go-Bucks!]

12 hours ago, clo said:

Did you ask to be moved?

 

To where???  The world cruise was fully booked years in advance!

 

We were on the so-called "waitlist" for a PH for 9 months. The only reason we eventually got one is that some other passengers traded rooms with us.

Edited July 18, 2019 by Go-Bucks!

[GeorgiaPeach51]

8 minutes ago, Go-Bucks! said:

 

To where???  The world cruise was fully booked years in advance!

 

From Southampton to Miami, 9/11/20.

[StanandJim]

19 minutes ago, GeorgiaPeach51 said:

Well, after all this, according to our TA every PH in every category is waitlisted.  Not sure of our next step...but disappointed. 

Another aspect of the relatively small size of Insignia....

When there are that few cabins to choose from, the early bird gets the worm.

 

If you can take the worm or leave the worm, time is no issue

If you HAVE to have a worm,  Get 'Er Booked    😉

[clo]

1 hour ago, Go-Bucks! said:

The world cruise was fully booked years in advance!

Holey moley!  Wow, to each his own but spending that much time on a ship would be my worst nightmare.  

[Go-Bucks!]

3 hours ago, clo said:

Holey moley!  Wow, to each his own but spending that much time on a ship would be my worst nightmare.  

 

It was fantastic!  Quite a few of us who were on the ATW are still onboard for the next 2 cruises of 17 additional days...lots of people love long cruising which is why 12 cruiselines now do world cruises. 

 

And we didn't stay on the ship the whole time...we were out visiting many cities/countries 60% of the time.

Edited July 18, 2019 by Go-Bucks!

[Go-Bucks!]

5 hours ago, GeorgiaPeach51 said:

 

From Southampton to Miami, 9/11/20.

 

I was answering "clo" when they asked why I didn't get a new quieter cabin...I was saying that no other cabins were available. 

[GeorgiaPeach51]

48 minutes ago, Go-Bucks! said:

 

I was answering "clo" when they asked why I didn't get a new quieter cabin...I was saying that no other cabins were available. 

 

😊. Sorry!

 

FYI to all who responded, we have booked a regular veranda cabin and for sure, if Oceania passes that litmus test for us, the next booking will be on a larger ship and in a PH!  I’ll let you know our thoughts after the cruise.

 

Thanks for your help!  Hope to meet some of you some sunny day!

 

Joanie

[Paulchili]

32 minutes ago, GeorgiaPeach51 said:

FYI to all who responded, we have booked a regular veranda cabin and for sure, if Oceania passes that litmus test for us, the next booking will be on a larger ship and in a PH!  I’ll let you know our thoughts after the cruise.

 

Good luck and I hope that you will enjoy your first O cruise.

Please let us know how it went.

[ORV]

Since you are booked you can still get on the Waitlist for a PH. 

[clo]

2 hours ago, Go-Bucks! said:

And we didn't stay on the ship the whole time...we were out visiting many cities/countries 60% of the time.

Oh, so you stayed in hotels also?  

[Go-Bucks!]

2 hours ago, clo said:

Oh, so you stayed in hotels also?  

 

Yes, we did do 4 overland tours and stayed in hotels for a total of 7 nights, but that's not what I was answering you about.

 

You said "spending that much time on a ship would be my worst nightmare" in regards to sailing for 6 months...I was meaning that we didn't actually stay on the ship continously for 6 months! We got off the ship in ports and spent the day touring the place...and 60% of our days were spent in ports vs. 40% were sea days. So, during 60% of the 6 months was spent on land.

[CorgiNole]

We sailed a TA on Insignia in 2017 - Iceland to NYC. I love the ship (have also sailed twice on Nautica). I find plenty to do onboard and love sea days. We picked the Iceland to NYC itinerary in part because it had 5 sea days. I've never felt crowded on one of the small ships. There are times when it might be harder to find a table at the Terrace, but generally that clears out pretty quickly. 

[Kingofcool1947]

On 7/17/2019 at 11:41 AM, GeorgiaPeach51 said:

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

Only you will know.

I suggest you just do it.  Forget the second guessing.  And if you didn't enjoy Oceania, make it your last time.  It's like when you date a new woman.  You never know if she's a keeper if you don't do it.😉

Good luck.

 

 

 

Edited July 24, 2019 by Kingofcool1947

[GeorgiaPeach51]

Thanks, CorgiNole and King of Cool....we did go for it.  Booked a regular veranda since the PHs are all booked.  We are excited to try O, and we love the itinerary for this cruise...big fans of sea days.  Hard to find a TA in September, so this cruise is perfect for our purposes.

 

I will post to let you know what we think when we get back.

 

Thanks again to all who posted!

 

Joanie