Live Bermuda Bliss Insignia September 20-27th

[calicakes]

Good morning. The ship is rocking and rolling. The sun is moving in and out. We had dinner at the buffet. Neither of us felt like getting dressed up and spending 2 hours in the main dining room.

 

We didn't do anything last night. I upgraded the internet because we have 600.00 in OBC to use.  I spent a good 30 min trying to find something to stream on Netflix. 

 

I don't think I was prepared for how small the ship is and how little there is in the way of entertainment.

[Woofa]

32 minutes ago, calicakes said:

I don't think I was prepared for how small the ship is and how little there is in the way of entertainment.

We have never been on one of the larger ships but I think this is a real issue for some people when they move over to smaller ships in the premium and luxury line segment.  I have told the story before but we met a nice couple on our Riviera cruise, had some meals together and got along quite well.  That was their first O cruise having been on other lines previously.  On the last day we were having breakfast together in the terrace and we let them know we had signed up for another cruise.  For them, they enjoyed the ship, the room, the service and the food but they also felt there was not enough excitement to bring them back.  We are younger than the average O cruiser (low fifties and late forties) and they were maybe slightly older than us.  He liked going to the casino and was hoping for more opportunities to play pickle ball and etc.

I have read that O can be even more quiet that the other small ship lines and that the O customer tends to be one which is generally looking to relax and can fill up their time reading by the pool or similar.  That fit us well but I would guess most of my friends in my age category would find it "sleepy and not enough to keep us happy.". I have also read that on lines where full liquor is included, all post dinner/show time is more active.

Of course on a Port intensive cruise that factor can be diminished.

I would guess alot more O cruisers are up before 7 than are up after 10, at least that seemed to be the case on our cruise.

Having said all that, currents has plenty to do, even if most is low key.  Also after a few days, making some friends on board can open up opportunities as well. 

Enjoy the rest of your cruise and thanks for taking us along.

Edited September 21, 2023 by Woofa

[calicakes]

@Woofa. Everything you said is spot on. The ironic thing is that we are early to bed early to rise at home. I'm fifty seven and my wife is sixty one. Julie is perfectly happy to read by the pool all day. We do enjoy trivia and will partake in those activities. When we travel, I like to stay up a little bit later. We have no dogs to wake us up early. I do enjoy oceana more than celebrity, considering that i'm very much a foodie.

l think i will stick to the larger oceania ships next time.

[rxlowry]

1 hour ago, calicakes said:

@Woofa. Everything you said is spot on. The ironic thing is that we are early to bed early to rise at home. I'm fifty seven and my wife is sixty one. Julie is perfectly happy to read by the pool all day. We do enjoy trivia and will partake in those activities. When we travel, I like to stay up a little bit later. We have no dogs to wake us up early. I do enjoy oceana more than celebrity, considering that i'm very much a foodie.

l think i will stick to the larger oceania ships next time.

Glad to hear the larger ships have more activities.  It was pretty minimal on Insignia two weeks ago.  Way less than even smaller luxury ships I’ve sailed!  Trivia was fun.  Two nights only a movie as the entertainment in theater.  Not enough live music for us either.

And yuck to your cabin being dirty at arrival.  
Hope Bermuda has some nice weather for you!  

[njhorseman]

48 minutes ago, rxlowry said:

Glad to hear the larger ships have more activities.  It was pretty minimal on Insignia two weeks ago.  Way less than even smaller luxury ships I’ve sailed!  Trivia was fun.  Two nights only a movie as the entertainment in theater.  Not enough live music for us either.

And yuck to your cabin being dirty at arrival.  
Hope Bermuda has some nice weather for you!  

I don't recall any significant difference in entertainment or activities on the larger ships versus the smaller ones.

 

There are cooking classes on the larger ships but they're an extra cost activity that have a very limited capacity.

 

To me the biggest differences are the larger bathrooms in standard non-suite cabins on the newer larger ships, more specialty restaurants, and the concierge and executive lounges...but not entertainment. 

 

Entertainment and shipboard activities are definitely not Oceania's strong suit.

[Woofa]

Just to give other people some idea, this is the currents activities from day 2 of our Riviera Caribbean cruise in January.  It was a sea day.

[rxlowry]

10 minutes ago, Woofa said:

Just to give other people some idea, this is the currents activities from day 2 of our Riviera Caribbean cruise in January.  It was a sea day.

Seems a little more than we had on Insignia.  Piano was done at 11. No late night dance either. 

[LHT28]

Looks pretty much the same  as always  no matter what the ship 😉

 

Compare  the Preismans blog from 2014

https://www.thepreismans.com/bermuda_regatta_dailies.htm

[calicakes]

Today was spent at the pool.  I'm happy to report no chair hogs.   We had lunch at the buffet, it was Mexican day.  My wife loves chips/salsa, however she wasn't a fan of theirs.  They use flour tortillas for the chips.  

 

Last night I asked for a glass of milk to have with my black and white that I had purchased in NYC.  They brought me a glass of HOT milk.  I asked for it cold and then he brought a glass of cold.  Unfortunately, it has to be a boxed milk because the taste was horrible to both Julie and I. 

 

The sun( or the seasickness patch) made me extremely sleepy so I took a 2hr nap and then we worked out at the fitness center.  Now we're getting ready for dinner, trying to decide if we want MDR or buffet again.  I'm leaning towards MDR.  

[ORV]

1 hour ago, calicakes said:

Today was spent at the pool.  I'm happy to report no chair hogs.   We had lunch at the buffet, it was Mexican day.  My wife loves chips/salsa, however she wasn't a fan of theirs.  They use flour tortillas for the chips.  

 

Last night I asked for a glass of milk to have with my black and white that I had purchased in NYC.  They brought me a glass of HOT milk.  I asked for it cold and then he brought a glass of cold.  Unfortunately, it has to be a boxed milk because the taste was horrible to both Julie and I. 

 

The sun( or the seasickness patch) made me extremely sleepy so I took a 2hr nap and then we worked out at the fitness center.  Now we're getting ready for dinner, trying to decide if we want MDR or buffet again.  I'm leaning towards MDR.  

They use that milk that lasts a long time. It tastes horrible. That's one of the reasons I don't care for the milkshakes at Waves that others seem to rave about. It's called UHT or something like that. It doesn't have to be refrigerated until opened and last for about 9 months. 

[calicakes]

@ORV I did have half a choc. malt at Waves today, it was very thin( not like a cold thick choc, malt) 

I wont try another one.  

 

I hope the coffee cream doesn't have that strange taste.  I relish my iced coffee in the mornings. 

 

We had dinner at the Grand Dining room.  We showed up at 6:30 and were able to grab a table for 2.  By the time we left, the line was out the door.   

 

I had shrimp cocktail and cheese soufflé.  I also had the lobster entree.  Most of it was great, a few pieces of the lobster were overcooked.  The risotto and sauce were tasty.   My wife had a green salad and the sirloin steak.  She asked for it med. well, it came well done.  She didn't send it back.  For dessert, I had the pistachio soufflé and Julie had the apple pie a la mode. 

 

Our server recognized us from our first O cruise.  I guess female same sex couples are memorable.  I haven't seen any others except us.   

 

I will add photos later.  I can't sign on to the internet on my phone.  

[ORV]

6 minutes ago, calicakes said:

Our server recognized us from our first O cruise.  I guess female same sex couples are memorable.

I doubt it's that, they always remember us also, they're pretty good about that. 

[LHT28]

10 minutes ago, calicakes said:

I haven't seen any others except us.   

 

Ask the CD if  they can set of  a  non hosted meeting of LGBTQ  (?)  

They usually will put something in the  Currents   but you may need to ask  for it now

I do not think you are alone 😉

 

 How was the souffle?

I am looking forward to trying  the dessert ones

[LHT28]

53 minutes ago, ORV said:

They use that milk that lasts a long time. It tastes horrible. That's one of the reasons I don't care for the milkshakes at Waves that others seem to rave about. It's called UHT or something like that. It doesn't have to be refrigerated until opened and last for about 9 months. 

If it is cold  it is not too bad 

We used to buy it years ago when we went camping

[JoePDX]

Happy Anniversary!   💗

[FetaCheese]

On 9/20/2023 at 2:20 PM, calicakes said:

As our first oceania cruise was in a suite, I don't think I was prepared for how small the room is. Our suitcases do not even fit under the bed. They are stacked on top of each other next to the sofa. I hate to be that person who complains, but the bathroom was not clean. There was hair in the shower and something that looked like poop on the bathroom door. I called housekeeping to clean it up. I will spare you the photos.

Ask your steward to store your luggage.  Did this on last cruise, Regatta.

 

If food not as ordered, say something to waiter or mgr. at that time.  They want you to be satisfied, and will correct problem.

[calicakes]

12 hours ago, LHT28 said:

Ask the CD if  they can set of  a  non hosted meeting of LGBTQ  (?)  

They usually will put something in the  Currents   but you may need to ask  for it now

I do not think you are alone 😉

 

 How was the souffle?

I am looking forward to trying  the dessert ones

They do have a non hosted meeting.  The souffle was tasty.  Btw, I used to live in Exeter, Ontario, 

[bradpole]

22 hours ago, njhorseman said:

Entertainment and shipboard activities are definitely not Oceania's strong suit.

Very true!  One does not book an Oceania cruise for the entertainment!

 

For us, that is just fine!

[calicakes]

Well,it’s too windy to dock in St. George. We’re heading straight to Hamilton.

[njhorseman]

3 minutes ago, calicakes said:

Well,it’s too windy to dock in St. George. We’re heading straight to Hamilton.

Unfortunately that happens fairly often. The Town Cut channel to enter St. George's is very narrow leaving no leeway should the wind push the ship even slightly off course..

In an earlier post I suggested you go to Tobacco Bay for beach/snorkeling while docked in St. George's. You can still get there from Hamilton via the #1, 3, 10 or 11 bus routes, but it's a fairly long ride...about 50 minutes to an hour. 

[calicakes]

3 hours ago, njhorseman said:

Unfortunately that happens fairly often. The Town Cut channel to enter St. George's is very narrow leaving no leeway should the wind push the ship even slightly off course..

In an earlier post I suggested you go to Tobacco Bay for beach/snorkeling while docked in St. George's. You can still get there from Hamilton via the #1, 3, 10 or 11 bus routes, but it's a fairly long ride...about 50 minutes to an hour. 

Do the buses have A/C?  I've heard we're now here until the 25th, not going to St. George's at all. 

 

We did get off the ship, walked down to the grocery store and I bought some refrigerated organic half and half. (4.79 for a pint).  Julie wanted to pick up milk, but she refused to pay 8:50 for half a gallon.  

 

We also bought 2 small bags of potato chips.  1.50 each. 

 

We have reservations tonight in Toscana.  Tomorrow we had planned to go to Horseshoe bay. Maybe Saturday St. George's?  I heard someone getting into a taxi, asking to be taken to Elbow Bay.  I'm going to look that up on Trip Advisor. 

[calicakes]

I'm using my cell data now. Wifi is spotty and slow. Pics from dinner last night.

[calicakes]

We're in the cabin, J is resting.  I'm doing some research for tomorrow.  I ordered a cheese plate( minus the blue cheese) for a snack. 

[njhorseman]

56 minutes ago, calicakes said:

Do the buses have A/C?  I've heard we're now here until the 25th, not going to St. George's at all. 

 

We did get off the ship, walked down to the grocery store and I bought some refrigerated organic half and half. (4.79 for a pint).  Julie wanted to pick up milk, but she refused to pay 8:50 for half a gallon.  

 

We also bought 2 small bags of potato chips.  1.50 each. 

 

We have reservations tonight in Toscana.  Tomorrow we had planned to go to Horseshoe bay. Maybe Saturday St. George's?  I heard someone getting into a taxi, asking to be taken to Elbow Bay.  I'm going to look that up on Trip Advisor. 

In the past the A/C on buses didn't always work but they've purchased a lot of new buses recently,  which presumably will have working A/C. 

 

Prices in Bermuda are high because almost everything is imported.  The commercial port is right behind the pier where Insignia is docked and you'll see the ships that make regular runs to and from Bermuda. One that travels there from New Jersey every week had mechanical difficulties this week and may still be in port undergoing repairs. They had to cancel its next trip and I read that there may be a shortage of some items as a result. 

 

Elbow Beach is very nice and it's closer to Hamilton.  You can take a bus or taxi there. I didn't mention it because it doesn't have the facilities that you'll find at Horseshoe Bay or Tobacco Bay. 

 

BTW, St. George's is worth going to in and of itself. It's the original capital of Bermuda, a UNESCO World Heritage site, and retains a lot of old world charm. Hamilton is the modern business and government center in contrast. 

Edited September 22, 2023 by njhorseman

[SonuvaBeach]

2 hours ago, calicakes said:

  I heard someone getting into a taxi, asking to be taken to Elbow Bay.  I'm going to look that up on Trip Advisor. 

We went to Elbow Beach, September 5, 2023..We had it basically all to ourselves...No chairs, umbrellas, food, or PEOPLE!! but there is a Portolet if you need it. $5 per person by bus each way, $15( total) for a cab each way.

 

 

Edited September 22, 2023 by SonuvaBeach