1st Time "O" cruiser.

[Daniel A]

DW & I will be taking our first "O" cruise later this year.  We will be going to Bermuda in a Penthouse on Insignia.  I have two questions:

 

First, are the walls and ceiling metal so we can use magnets?  (We have a portable shelving unit that suspends from two magnets attached to the ceiling.)  

 

Second, does anybody know if the Insignia will be able to (and will) open the casino while docked in Hamilton?  I thought I read that Bermuda permits cruise ship casinos to operate during certain hours while staying overnight in port.

 

TIA

Edited April 23 by Daniel A

[gdlamberth]

Can't speak to the PH suites on Insignia; however, since the refurb a few years ago the walls in the non-PH  are NOT metal.  Can't speak to the Casino in Bermuda either but am interested since we'll be on Insignia NYC-Bermuda on the 1-8 Sept sailing. 

[WildWanderers]

Hi @Daniel A,

 

We were on a cruise on the Insignia this past Christmas and the only place where a magnet would stick in our penthouse was the front and back of the door to the cabin.  We had wanted to use a couple of magnets with Christmas decorations.  The magnets almost held in some locations other than the door, but not enough to even hold themselves up, let alone suspend something.

 

Recently on the Marina, the wall between the bathroom and the bed was metal, as my cpap mask suddenly stuck to the wall one day.  More surfaces in our Marina penthouse could have been metal, I just didn't see the need to suspend my cpap in a variety of locations.

 

Cheers,

Greg from the WildWanderers

 

 

[Daniel A]

2 hours ago, gdlamberth said:

Can't speak to the PH suites on Insignia; however, since the refurb a few years ago the walls in the non-PH  are NOT metal.  Can't speak to the Casino in Bermuda either but am interested since we'll be on Insignia NYC-Bermuda on the 1-8 Sept sailing. 

We've written each other on the Roll Call for the cruise.  We'll see you onboard.  It's not a very active rollcall but with the smaller passenger capacity that didn't surprise me.

[Daniel A]

2 hours ago, gdlamberth said:

Can't speak to the Casino in Bermuda either but am interested since we'll be on Insignia NYC-Bermuda on the 1-8 Sept sailing. 

It looks like Bermuda will permit cruise ship casino operations between the hours of 9PM and 5AM, but the individual ships must apply for and be granted a gaming license first.  I don't know if Insignia has the license.

[GrammieK]

We were on the Insignia in Bermuda Sept 2023 and the casino was open then. It was mentioned that a fee or license was in place. 
k🛳

[Daniel A]

We have a PH3 booked.  I see that the PH3s are now waitlisted but the PH1s & 2s are still available.  Has anybody had experience with upgrades to make room for the waitlisted bookings? 

[ronrick1943]

It will depend at the time they assign suites.  If you are waitlisted and they don't have PH3 available they have no choice to move you up.  Remember some people cancel near the full payment date--so if enough PH3 cancel and "O" wants to assign suites you'll mostly get the PH3.

It's also possible that "O" would move you up, if they have the PH3 and they want they think they can ell a lower price faster than the higher price.  It's just a matter of luck--if you really want an PH1 or 2, just purchase what you really want-don't wait for a maybe and be disappointed.

[Eloise4Ever]

I am open to correction but I think the cabin ceilings are always metal. We were able to attach magnetic hooks to the wall on Riviera before the refurb but not afterwards as the walls are now panelled with wood. However, the ceiling was metal both before and after. We will be sailing on Vista soon so interested to see what the situation is there.

[Daniel A]

1 hour ago, ronrick1943 said:

It will depend at the time they assign suites.  If you are waitlisted and they don't have PH3 available they have no choice to move you up.  Remember some people cancel near the full payment date--so if enough PH3 cancel and "O" wants to assign suites you'll mostly get the PH3.

It's also possible that "O" would move you up, if they have the PH3 and they want they think they can ell a lower price faster than the higher price.  It's just a matter of luck--if you really want an PH1 or 2, just purchase what you really want-don't wait for a maybe and be disappointed.

Thank you,  I am content with the PH3 I have booked.   I was wondering if O would prioritize early bookings for upgrades before wait listed bookings.  I am happy with my booked PH3, but I would welcome an upgrade. 

[ORV]

39 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

Thank you,  I am content with the PH3 I have booked.   I was wondering if O would prioritize early bookings for upgrades before wait listed bookings.  I am happy with my booked PH3, but I would welcome an upgrade. 

First, don't confuse Waitlist with Guarantee. If a person is on a waitlist and nothing opens up in the category they have waitlisted they won't get anything, at least in that category. Some people might be booked in a lower category and will have a higher category waitlisted, so they will cruise regardless. Of course a Guarantee means you'll be in that category or higher. 

 

The truth is it's a mystery and no one really knows except the Revenue dept of Oceania. BUT, I think you have an assigned room, so unless there is an offer from O to move up for more money, you will be in the room you have. If you had a guarantee for a PH3 and there were none available but the PH2 or PH1 were, then the person holding the guarantee would probably be moved up. 

 

You can have your TA contact them and offer less than the going rate for one of them, but unless you REALLY want to change location there is not much difference room wise from them. I'm one of those people that's ok anywhere on the ship, so I probably wouldn't spend the money to move up a number in the same category. 

[ronrick1943]

2 hours ago, Daniel A said:

Thank you,  I am content with the PH3 I have booked.   I was wondering if O would prioritize early bookings for upgrades before wait listed bookings.  I am happy with my booked PH3, but I would welcome an upgrade. 

Opp's, sorry I was thinking Guaranteed -not waitressed as written.  ORV is 100% right on this, my mistake for writing before I re-read the question for a 2nd time.

[Daniel A]

11 hours ago, ORV said:

First, don't confuse Waitlist with Guarantee. If a person is on a waitlist and nothing opens up in the category they have waitlisted they won't get anything, at least in that category. Some people might be booked in a lower category and will have a higher category waitlisted, so they will cruise regardless. Of course a Guarantee means you'll be in that category or higher. 

 

The truth is it's a mystery and no one really knows except the Revenue dept of Oceania. BUT, I think you have an assigned room, so unless there is an offer from O to move up for more money, you will be in the room you have. If you had a guarantee for a PH3 and there were none available but the PH2 or PH1 were, then the person holding the guarantee would probably be moved up. 

 

Thanks, it's funny how the cruise lines handle the same things so differently.  I'd never heard of a 'waitlist' before, so I was presuming that waitlist was the same thing as a guarantee on another line.  I'm perfectly happy with my assigned PH3 and wouldn't be disappointed at all if I didn't get an upgrade.  I'm aware that other lines will sell a guarantee and then offer a paid or comp'd upgrade to free up an already booked cabin in that category.  I really don't have an urge to pay extra just to move into the same cabin four doors down the passageway.

 

Not that it really matters, just so I understand, one can make a booking for a particular waitlisted cabin category and if none open up, then the booking would void, or do you have to book another cabin category in order to get on a waitlist for the category you would want?  I'm now just interested in learning how it works.

 

Thanks again.

[Vallesan]

14 minutes ago, Daniel A said:

Thanks, it's funny how the cruise lines handle the same things so differently.  I'd never heard of a 'waitlist' before, so I was presuming that waitlist was the same thing as a guarantee on another line.  I'm perfectly happy with my assigned PH3 and wouldn't be disappointed at all if I didn't get an upgrade.  I'm aware that other lines will sell a guarantee and then offer a paid or comp'd upgrade to free up an already booked cabin in that category.  I really don't have an urge to pay extra just to move into the same cabin four doors down the passageway.

 

Not that it really matters, just so I understand, one can make a booking for a particular waitlisted cabin category and if none open up, then the booking would void, or do you have to book another cabin category in order to get on a waitlist for the category you would want?  I'm now just interested in learning how it works.

 

Thanks again.

You don’t actually make a ‘booking’ for a waitlisted category. There are two types of waitlist, paid and free.

 

When a category is full you can ask to be put on the waitlist and if and when a cabin, in the category you are waitlisted for, becomes free and you are top of that waitlist the cabin will be offered to you at the price on the day it becomes free. You have the choice to accept or not.

 

The only difference with a ‘paid’ waitlist is that you are closer to the top of the list. In the UK the price is £300. If a cabin becomes available you can then choose to book it or have a refund of the £300.

In my experience I was on a waitlist  but chose not to pay the £300  and was still offered a cabin a week or so later.

Edited May 10 by Vallesan

[pinotlover]

3 minutes ago, Vallesan said:

You don’t actually make a ‘booking’ for a waitlisted category. There are two types of waitlist, paid and free.

 

When a category is full you can ask to be put on the waitlist and if and when a cabin, in the category you are waitlisted for, becomes free and you are top of that waitlist the cabin will be offered to you at the price on the day it becomes free. You have the choice to accept or not.

 

The only difference with a ‘paid’ waitlist is that you are closer to the top of the list. In the UK the price is £300. If a cabin becomes available you can then choose to book it or have a refund of the £300.

In my experience I was on a waitlist  but chose not to pay the £300  and was still offered a cabin a week or so later.

Very correct. Let me add the obvious. If one books a waitlist 1.5 years pre cruise, the odds of getting a cabin is extremely high. If one books a waitlist after the final payment date of the cruise, the odds diminish significantly. Can still happen, just greatly reduced odds. Timing is everything!

 

Fwiw, and solely imo, not all upgrades are positive. Omitting the extended veranda cabins, most of the cabin designations are made from the center of the ship , dropping as you moves outward. The reason PH3s will be waitlisted with PH1 or PH2 available is not price. The noisiest cabin I was ever in was a PH1, on the Marina, directly under a portion of Waves. A plethora of jet lagged passengers, that couldn’t sleep, dragging the chairs across the floor ( which was my ceiling) every morning starting at 4:00 or so. The PH was nice, but we may have been a lot happier in our quiet A2. Moral of story, ask which room the upgrade offer is for. There may well be a reason no one else has booked it.

[Daniel A]

Thanks to all who have been responding to this "O newbie."  I'm sure I'm not the only person who transfers their knowledge and experiences to first time sailings on a new cruise line.  This really helps.  💁‍♂️ 

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

For what it's worth, my experience: I've only paid/asked to be waitlisted (put down a deposit) once, and it was to be moved from an inside or oceanview to a higher priced room category on one of the smaller ships about 6 months pre-sail.  It did not come through. 

 

I've had a guarantee on a category (but never higher than oceanview) maybe 5 or 6 times. Once or twice we were placed in a veranda category room. 

 

Room categories DO often open up over time, if you have time to look frequently (and wait).  I changed from a higher category to an oceanview on our upcoming cruise by checking the website every few days. And I would have definitely checked around final payment time if I hadn't found something sooner. Once I found an open slot, I jumped on it.

 

For most or all of our cruises in the past 6 or 7 years we've received a call offering us to upgrade (paying extra, what I call an upsell) for a higher level category.  Once we accepted the offer paid the extra, and enjoyed something nicer.  Usually, however, we say no thanks, as we don't mind the lower-priced rooms.  On a few cruises, there was no call at all, and those cruises turned out to be sold out.

 

 

Edited May 10 by IWantToLiveOverTheSea

[Daniel A]

My first experience with an upsell was on a NCL cruise.  We were waiting for our car service to take us to Kennedy Airport for our cruise when our phone rang. It was NCL offering an incredible upsell.  We were already booked in a standard balcony stateroom and for $600 we were being offered a two-bedroom suite in the Haven.  We jumped on it.  This was our first NCL cruise and now, we are hooked on the Haven. 

 

It was explained to me that they had a number of guarantees for the standard balcony, so they made more money for NCL by upselling us, making the guarantee available to someone for the cost of the balcony cabin rather than putting the balcony guarantee in the Haven suite.

 

I guess each line does the process differently.  I see now that more and more lines are now using a bidding system to open up cabins for the guarantees.

[Daniel A]

I just checked on my booking and I see the PH3 category is now showing as available.  We're getting close to last payment date so I suspect a number of people have changed their minds.