Just returned from Insignia 10.12.19

[bradpole]

Hello Everyone!

DH and I have just returned from a wonderful cruise onboard the beautiful Insignia.  This was truly one of our most enjoyable cruises.  From the smiling crew, the wonderful food, meeting and chatting with other guests, we enjoyed nearly every minute onboard!  Just a little background, this was our 4th Oceania cruise and 3rd onboard Insignia.  We first booked this cruise the day reservations opened and eagerly began planning our first cruise to Cuba.  Fast forward many months, sprinkle in some unneeded politics and Cuba was cancelled.  When we made the booking we always knew there was a chance the Cuba ban could be reinstated, we had hoped we’d sneak this cruise in but the travel gods had other plans and a new itinerary was announced.  Given how much we “needed” an Oceania cruise after a less than stellar experience on Viking Oceans earlier this year, and the newly reduced pricing we gladly kept our reservation.  From that point on we simply called this our “not Cuba cruise”  and didn’t care about the itinerary.  One port, Martinique, was new for us so we were excited to visit a new Caribbean port!  There were several times onboard in conversations with other guests the natural question of, “Any plans tomorrow in xx port?” would come up and I would sometimes say, “Nope, nothing planned, I honestly didn’t know we were going there tomorrow!”  It was a wonderful feeling of truly not caring about the itinerary!  The following ramblings are my thoughts/comments/ramblings in no particular order…

 

Boarding.  As expected boarding was painless at the compact terminal J in Miami. We dropped our luggage, paid for parking, and walked into the terminal. Check in began promptly at 11 and we were seated at our favorite table in The Terrace Cafe by 11:15.  Truly one of the fastest embarkations we have experienced. 

 

Cabin.  When we first made our reservation we were able to snag one of the last interiors, 7068, next to the laundry room.  I’ll address the laundry room first, we never heard anything from the laundry room.  I was curious if we would hear anything but whatever time of the day we were in the cabin there was never any added noise.  

This was our first time onboard one of the R ships after their “OceaniaNext” refurbishments.  We loved the old ship, we love the new ship even more!  The new cabins are bright and airy.  Here are some pictures of cabin 7068.  I post them here for future reference, after the dry dock I could only find photos of balcony cabins and some of an accessible interior, none of just a regularly configured interior.  The changes are great, they really brought new life to the dark decor that they had before.  I will point out one thing, on this cruise we easily brought twice the amount of luggage we brought on our cruise earlier this year on Viking Star and had no issues putting stuff away.  Our biggest complaint with the cabin on Viking Star was a lack of storage especially drawers.  Insignia has plenty of space!  One minor critique.  The big cabinet under the TV.  Remove the door and add another shelf.  As it is configured today it is a wasted opportunity for more easily accessible storage.  Next to the beds on both sides are 1 USB ports and a Euro style 220volt plug for charging phones and devices.  
 

more to come...

 

[bradpole]

The bathrooms are still compact but have plenty of room for everything we wanted to store in there!  A Big improvement! We also LOVED having the always on nightlight. We didn’t need to use our little battery operated tea light.  There are now shelves behind the mirror, the side wall and under the sink. A big improvement over the old bathroom configuration.  The bathroom cups/glasses are now plastic, personally I like the change. Over the years I’ve dropped a glass or two by accident in the bathroom and appreciate should that happen again there won’t be shards of glass all over.  The new shower doors do make the bathroom feel much more modern, although I know I’m a minority here when I say this, we never had an issue with the curtain.

 

more to come...

[LHT28]

thanks for sharing

the night light looks like  a great feature 

 

[DeeniEncinitas]

Thank you for your in depth review so far👍 Appreciate the photos too! Keep them coming and look forward to more.

Denise😊

[puppycanducruise]

You're off to a great start.

Great photos.

Looking forward to more.

Thanks.

[bradpole]

Entertainment.  Overall it was very good.  Although some complained about the lack of entertainment compared to the mass market lines this year on Insignia there were more evening options offered than on previous cruises.  Most evenings had a show at 9:30, the standard guest entertainers as well as some production shows. A huge improvement on this cruise was most evenings in Horizons the show band also offered live music at 10:30.  The quartet in the upper hall, and Constantine on the piano in Martinis were also very enjoyable. Was there nonstop entertainment? Not a chance! However what was offered was enough to break up the evening. Our cruise director was Carson, a former cast member, who put his own show on one evening.  I sat in the back that night expecting to leave but was impressed by his talent. He did nearly an hour of broadway songs (many lesser known tunes) and touched on his journey in life. In the end it was one of the more enjoyable shows I’ve seen. This was also the night of the crew tribute.  

 

Food.  Food, as expected on an Oceania ship was as fabulous as we remembered.  We took all our meals in the Terrace Cafe with the exceptions of our two allocated specialty reservations for Polo and Toscana.  I’m not sure if it was because of the large number of first time Oceania cruisers but the Terrace each evening was blissfully empty many nights.  Each morning I also enjoyed a couple cups of wonderful coffee in Baristas and some munchies before The Terrace Cafe opened for breakfast. It became a habit after doing my laps in the early AM I’d be the first person in Barista’s waiting for them to open at 6:30.  To hold us over between lunch and dinner we never missed afternoon tea in Horizons. We were both surprised at just how empty tea was most days. We both figured it was the large number of first timers to Oceania onboard that didn’t know how enjoyable afternoon tea is each day.  

 

Overall we found the food on offer in the Terrace Cafe to be of a high standard.  We particularly enjoyed the grill at lunch and dinner. Several days at lunch I enjoyed a freshly grilled steak.  In the evenings I enjoyed a small rib eye each evenings, also freshly grilled! DH enjoyed the lobster tails and shrimp that were available.  There were two Caribbean themed evenings for dinner during the cruise. One thing I will note, I often tried some of the new plant based entrees on offer, even as a carnivore I found many of them very enjoyable and creative.  Desserts were my favorite during lunch and dinner! I’d normally stop and look at the beautifully presented desserts even before deciding me entree. With only a few exceptions, the vast majority of the desserts tasted as good as they looked!  

more to come...

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, bradpole said:

 A huge improvement on this cruise was most evenings in Horizons the show band also offered live music at 10:30. 

 

Was this the first time you noticed the band in Horizons  after the show??

It is not something new 😉

 

[Paulchili]

Thank you for taking the time to give such a detailed account of your experience.

I am glad to read a positive review after many recent negative ones on these boards - glad you enjoyed the cruise.

Some here recently reported fewer choices and some disappointment at afternoon tea compared to the past - was this your impression as well?

[tropicalkerry2002]

Hi Paulchili,

 

We were just on Regatta, and I felt there was less to choose from at tea. Seems to me the trollies used to be chock a block full, now you can see the trolley top! Still enough to enjoy, though I never felt I got clotted cream...only sweetened whipped cream.

[FetaCheese]

2 hours ago, bradpole said:

Entertainment.  Overall it was very good.  Although some complained about the lack of entertainment compared to the mass market lines this year on Insignia there were more evening options offered than on previous cruises.  Most evenings had a show at 9:30, the standard guest entertainers as well as some production shows. A huge improvement on this cruise was most evenings in Horizons the show band also offered live music at 10:30.  The quartet in the upper hall, and Constantine on the piano in Martinis were also very enjoyable. Was there nonstop entertainment? Not a chance! However what was offered was enough to break up the evening. Our cruise director was Carson, a former cast member, who put his own show on one evening.  I sat in the back that night expecting to leave but was impressed by his talent. He did nearly an hour of broadway songs (many lesser known tunes) and touched on his journey in life. In the end it was one of the more enjoyable shows I’ve seen. This was also the night of the crew tribute.  

 

Food.  Food, as expected on an Oceania ship was as fabulous as we remembered.  We took all our meals in the Terrace Cafe with the exceptions of our two allocated specialty reservations for Polo and Toscana.  I’m not sure if it was because of the large number of first time Oceania cruisers but the Terrace each evening was blissfully empty many nights.  Each morning I also enjoyed a couple cups of wonderful coffee in Baristas and some munchies before The Terrace Cafe opened for breakfast. It became a habit after doing my laps in the early AM I’d be the first person in Barista’s waiting for them to open at 6:30.  To hold us over between lunch and dinner we never missed afternoon tea in Horizons. We were both surprised at just how empty tea was most days. We both figured it was the large number of first timers to Oceania onboard that didn’t know how enjoyable afternoon tea is each day.  

 

Overall we found the food on offer in the Terrace Cafe to be of a high standard.  We particularly enjoyed the grill at lunch and dinner. Several days at lunch I enjoyed a freshly grilled steak.  In the evenings I enjoyed a small rib eye each evenings, also freshly grilled! DH enjoyed the lobster tails and shrimp that were available.  There were two Caribbean themed evenings for dinner during the cruise. One thing I will note, I often tried some of the new plant based entrees on offer, even as a carnivore I found many of them very enjoyable and creative.  Desserts were my favorite during lunch and dinner! I’d normally stop and look at the beautifully presented desserts even before deciding me entree. With only a few exceptions, the vast majority of the desserts tasted as good as they looked!  

more to come...

Thank you for your excellent, positive review.  I commend you on your writing style and excellent grammar!  Will be on Insignia soon, and appreciate the detailed descriptions provided, as well as your photos.

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, tropicalkerry2002 said:

Hi Paulchili,

 

We were just on Regatta, and I felt there was less to choose from at tea. Seems to me the trollies used to be chock a block full, now you can see the trolley top! Still enough to enjoy, though I never felt I got clotted cream...only sweetened whipped cream.

 

Marian

Did they have more goodies on the sideboard or a table set up ?

 

If only the trolley  then yes that is a meager representation of  Tea from the past

[sailco]

Thanks for writing such a thoughtful review. We're taking our first cruise on Oceania in a few months and really have no idea what to expect but your pictures and words promise a great experience. Thank you.

[tropicalkerry2002]

The sideboard at the entrance to Horizons had the same goodies, SSSTTTTRRRRREEEETTTTCCCHHHHHEED out to cover it. There was never the table in the centre.

 

Also noticed rice pudding MANY days in Terrace...using up the rice from dinner? It would be topped with berry compote or caramel or chocolate sauce. I did ask a chef if they would be serving cream of artichoke soup(LOVE it!) but it is no more. Noticed same things served at Terrace as the night before occasionally.

 

BUT, chef at Toscana still made my special request one night, and I enjoyed the food everywhere very much. And the dining room was closed on port days. Noticed a few other little things, but nothing to stop me from booking another Oceania cruise!

Edited October 26, 2019 by tropicalkerry2002

[gdlamberth]

Could you get Gluten Free pasta in Toscana?  If so,  how was it?

[bradpole]

14 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Was this the first time you noticed the band in Horizons  after the show??

It is not something new 😉

 

On our two prior cruises on Insignia the band was only ever in Horizons a couple of times after the main show.  (I even double checked our old 'Currents' to ensure we weren't mistaken)

[bradpole]

12 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Marian

Did they have more goodies on the sideboard or a table set up ?

 

If only the trolley  then yes that is a meager representation of  Tea from the past

No, nothing setup in the back of the room buffet style, or at the bar.  Here's a picture of the trolley from one afternoon.  There was another version of the trolley that had a different centerpiece cake at the top.  Other than that both versions of the trolley were identical.  

 

 

[bradpole]

8 hours ago, gdlamberth said:

Could you get Gluten Free pasta in Toscana?  If so,  how was it?

That I can't answer.  

 

11 hours ago, sailco said:

Thanks for writing such a thoughtful review. We're taking our first cruise on Oceania in a few months and really have no idea what to expect but your pictures and words promise a great experience. Thank you.

Glad to do it.  Was everything "Perfection" no!  However the positives greatly outweighed any negatives.  Is Oceania for everyone, no.  I'm hoping you'll have a wonderful time and want to come back!

[Jay23]

What an excellent review.  Thank you for giving so much time to produce it.   Looking forward to more.  😁

We too enjoy a lot of the entertainment offered and have "grown out of" the big production shows we used to see on mass market cruises.  Although the Tea might have less variety than it used to, it is still very good and enough  for us.  Too much tea and dinner looses its charm!!!  J

 

[bradpole]

Daytime activities.  First things first, don’t book an Oceania cruise if you need to be entertained or kept busy.  We enjoyed spending most of the day reading our Kindles, something we have very little time for at home.  We enjoyed spending most of our time in the Library on the big comfy leather chairs. Another draw to the library for us was this was one of the few rooms where the A/C was blasted.  Most of the other public rooms (especially Horizons) tended to be a bit too warm for us. If we weren’t reading we most likely stepped away to earn some “Big O Points” at golf putting, shuffleboard, or bean bag toss.  I know, these are all “Exciting” and “physically exhausting” activities. 🙂 Besides earning points (to be redeemed on the last evening of the cruise for logo merchandise) we enjoyed chatting with the gang during each event.  Pretty much without exception there would be the same small core group at each of these activities, but it did grow as the cruise progressed. Thankfully most everyone who participated was there for the fun, the chit chat...then the points.  Most days in the morning (unless the weather was bad) golf putting and shuffleboard up on deck 11 then just before tea golf putting and bean bag toss in Horizons. If the weather was bad or deck 11 was closed the golf putting would be moved to Horizons...just an fyi, there were never announcements saying so but it would be moved indoors.  Last year I gave up early in the cruise, I couldn’t take the competitiveness/seriousness of two couples who felt it their duty to monitor and commentate on everyone’s performance. This wear we did pretty well, earning over 170 points between the two of us! Enough for a nice hat, nylon jacket, an Umbrella, and a luggage tag!

a little more to come....

[Rob the Cruiser]

1 hour ago, bradpole said:

 

 

"First things first, don’t book an Oceania cruise if you need to be entertained or kept busy."

 

Nailed it.

Edited October 26, 2019 by Rob the Cruiser

[LHT28]

3 hours ago, bradpole said:

On our two prior cruises on Insignia the band was only ever in Horizons a couple of times after the main show.  (I even double checked our old 'Currents' to ensure we weren't mistaken)

yes  they are not always there every night  but would think on a longer cruise they would be there more than a couple of times

I guess times are changing on O

[LHT28]

3 hours ago, bradpole said:

No, nothing setup in the back of the room buffet style, or at the bar.  Here's a picture of the trolley from one afternoon.  There was another version of the trolley that had a different centerpiece cake at the top.  Other than that both versions of the trolley were identical.  

 

 

 

That is  sad

[bradpole]

21 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

 

That is  sad

True, but thankfully almost everything we tried still tasted great!  

[pinotlover]

Great through review. Thanks!

 

One note on all those 1st timers missing afternoon tea. As a many timer, even though we enjoy the tea, we often miss it. Afternoon Tea is typically between 4:00 - 5:00 p.m. If the ship is in port, as travelers that cruise to see the port areas, we are always ashore or just returning to the ship as it concludes. I believe that many of those first timers probably knew about the tea just had different priorities than you cruisers did. We enjoy the afternoon tea on Sea Days when we don’t have a Specialty booked for that evening so  that we can have a lighter dinner afterwards. There is certainly a lot of excellent food aboard to choose from!

 

 

[bradpole]

OceaniaNext refurbishment.  Overall we loved the changes to Insignia.  We were actually onboard Insignia last year when the changes were announced.  I remember looking at the renderings and comparing them to the current spaces and eagerly anticipating seeing the results on our Cuba cruise.  Sadly no Cuba, but we did get to see the wonderful results!  They really bring a modern touch to an older ship.  We certainly didn’t have any issues with the prior decor, it was well maintained and clean, just a bit dark.  Almost everything on deck 5 feels brand new, light and airy! Even the public restrooms throughout the ship are brand new!  Gone are the older Corian countertops and in their place bright new marble! Removing the back wall of the bandstand in Horizons really opens the room up as well.  Now every seat has unobstructed views forward. Also replacing the step down in Horizons with a ramp makes it easier for those with mobility problems, and the staff with the tea carts!  The new chandelier in the Grand Dining Room really brightens the room, although we never dined there the room is beautiful! I also really liked the small change to the front of Waves Bar (aka the pool bar).  

 

One thing that should have been replaced, but wasn’t, during the refurb were the cabin door locks.  Personally I wish they would have replaced them with RFID readers eliminating the issues people have with demagnetized cards.  My own fault… but the magnet in my Apple Watch band was repeatedly killing my key card. Out of habit I would put my card in my left pocket, and the watch band would demagnetize it.   

more to come...