New to Oceania, Insignia

[tannie]

We are booked on the April 28th, 2007, 12 day trip from Rome to Venice on Insignia. It's our 25th wedding anniversary cruise. We've never been to Italy. This is our first experience with Oceania but your comments recommend the line. does anyone have experience with this ship? We have upgraded to the Concierge level. Is this worth it? Are the rooms any better?

 

Anyone have any reco's regarding the excursions? We are happy to book our own but would like to know if the excursions booked with the ship are worth it. We want to experience as much as we can and want to ensure that the excursions we pick will accomplish that. Thank you all for your help. Tannie

[boom_boom]

Hi - We got off Insignia yesterday (Monday) and were in cabin 7104. We too upgrade from a standard veranda to the next level. The cabin size is the same, but the biggest advantages are the ability to board early (we got on about 1030) to make at least 2 reservations in each of the alternative dining rooms (a good idea), have first crack at booking spa time, free pressing of garments, a small fridge (ask the steward to remove the minibar stuff to make room for your own) and a hand-held hair dryer rather than the big box wall-mounted unit... I think it was worth the extra cost just for the fridge and dinner reservation perks.

[cruzadict]

I am also new to Oceania and to this board. Have been reading the comments for many months but thought that it was about time I participated. We are thinking of booking April 28th cruise on Insignia and would like to know whether it is worth booking a PH suite or Concierge class. Do we still get priority boarding and restaurant reservations in the PH class.:)

[bstarr]

We sailed London to Rpome last septemner and booked a PH suite. We are doing the Baltic in August and booked a concierge level. A suite is not necessary on this cruiseline unlike others I have sailed. The perks for concierge level are equal to the perks for suites on other linessuch as Celebrity. Save your money.

Bstarr

[Sweeterpea]

Hi Tannie:

 

We are on the same cruise as you, and also have never been to Italy or aboard Oceania. We decided to book a PH3 suite; I'm interested in seeing the replies here as well. See you on board!

 

SP

[Sweeterpea]

A question I have too, is if we do not board early, will the specialty restaurants be booked up, or do they set aside some for the PH people? We were thinking of doing some siteseeing in the morning, before heading to the ship midafternoon or so.

[timbo89]

They will make sure you get the reservations you need in the specialty restaurants. Perhaps you might not get exactly the date or time you wish, but you'll get in.

[Imagineer]

...hi tannie, now we have three couples onboard for the April 28/07 trip, we are also celebrating an anniversary, we meant to do it over a year ago but things got in the way, so it is a somewhat belated 30th anniversary trip. Like Sweeterpea, we are from western Canada, and really looking forward to Italy.

...as for cabin type, I did a fair amount of homework on Oceania before making a final choice, we went for a B2 on deck six, #6018 to be precise, it isn't consierge and has no fridge, but we can live with that, otherwise they are identical to the cabins on deck seven. The closer you are to midship the more you pay for your cabin, so we are towards the bow, the first of the lower rate cabins in that section, ie: the folks next door to us will pay more because they are slightly closer to midship. We figured the money we save by doing this will help pay for shore excursions and other expenses sure to come along...

...we are waiting to talk with our TA regarding shore excursions for this trip, she told me last month she has some info coming that we will be very interested in with regards to this Oceania cruise, when I hear what she has for us I will be more than happy to share any info I have with you...

...good to find some more folks taking the same cruise...

 

cheers,

 

the Imagineers

upcoming NCL cruise on the Wind - Aug 27/06

upcoming Oceania cruise on the Insignia - Apr 28/07

[cruzadict]

Well have just taken the plunge and booked an aft concierge cabin, 8066, for Insignia April 28th. Does anyone have any info on this cabin and how does it compare with aft cabins on other lines. Would I have been better off with a PH grade? What a dilema, albeit a nice one:confused:

[Sweeterpea]

Imagineer, we're having a belated 5th anniversary celebration, which pales to you and Tannie in comparison!

 

Cruzadict, we will be your neighbors in 8056.

[Imagineer]

...all anniversaries are good reasons to celebrate, sounds like we'll all have to join in on a few glasses of champagne...

...so this boats finally filling up! Nice! Let's see how many more we contact on the Oceania board before we sail...

...we're on final countdown for our Alaskan cruise, one month today, I'll let you all know how it went when we get back...

 

cheers,

 

the Imagineers

upcoming NCL cruise on the Wind - Aug 27/06

upcoming Oceania cruise on the Insignia - Apr 28/07

[tannie]

I'm excited to talk to you all while we prepare for our anniversary cruise. I'd love to meet and have a celebratory drink with any and all of you!! Tannie:)

[Sweeterpea]

Please send me your e-mail addresses so we can keep in touch. Perhaps we can plan an excursion or two together:

 

sweeterpea_goes_to_italy at yahoo dot ca

[NAS-KARR]

We're recently back from the Med on Princess and had 10 ports of call. Not once did we take a ships tour. We researched for one year (on the Europe Board) all the ports of call, got tons of info and hired driver/guides for each. We NEVER regretted one nickle spent on drivers. DOING THIS U CUSTOMIZE EVERY DAY ON SHORE TO YOUR DESIRES(sights u want to see only, and times u want to spend there), and the total final cost will differ very slightly from the ships tours, most of the time less than ships, and in our opinion FAR MORE SATISFIED.

 

To each his own !

 

Good luck e Ciao,

[shedevil]

We sailed London to Rpome last septemner and booked a PH suite. We are doing the Baltic in August and booked a concierge level. A suite is not necessary on this cruiseline unlike others I have sailed. The perks for concierge level are equal to the perks for suites on other linessuch as Celebrity. Save your money.

Bstarr

 

I would say that both types of cabin have their pluses.

 

The PH suites are larger and I enjoyed the extra desk space and extra room on the balcony. The bathtub:D was great for soaking tired legs after walking on the uneven roads and cobblestones. Our friends had a concierge level room and found that it met their needs perfectly, especially the small fridge for keeping their wine cold. Our friends joined us in our room before dinner on most nights and the butler always made sure we had extra wine glasses.

 

Both categories get 2 reservations in the Polo and Toscano restaurants and we booked our dinners together. Later in the cruise we did make use of our butler when they could not get reservation in Polo and Toscano. They seem to hold a few tables for the butlers.

 

One of the highlights of our cruise was getting to dine in our room with the butler serving each of our courses. It was lovely to relax in our room after a long day and have the butler take care of us. Just wonderful.

 

I loved being pampered and the butler made the trip extra special. Our friends felt that they could have a great cruise without spending the extra for a butler. It depends on what the individual traveler wants from their cruise. Both couples had a great time, ate wonderful food and the ship took them to the same ports......it just depends on what you want.

[countryguyinny]

Reading the comments about how difficult it is to get reservations in the specialty restaurants even in concierge level cabins makes me wonder if we will get to dine in them at all...??? We cannot afford to be in one of the higher level cabins or suites and will be in a 3rd deck, porthole cabin. Will we ever get to dine in Toscano or Polo? :(

[shedevil]

Reading the comments about how difficult it is to get reservations in the specialty restaurants even in concierge level cabins makes me wonder if we will get to dine in them at all...??? We cannot afford to be in one of the higher level cabins or suites and will be in a 3rd deck, porthole cabin. Will we ever get to dine in Toscano or Polo? :(

 

I believe that your category gets one reservation in each speciality restaurant. My suggestion is to plan the first two nights you want to eat in them and make those reservations on the first day.

 

They try to get everyone into the speciality restaurants and after everyone has a chance to make reservations, they open up the reservations for repeat business. It seemed to be easier to get reservations at 6:30pm and after 8:30pm. A little tip - Make friends with the manager and host staff of the Terrace Restaurant because that is where you will make the dinner reservations during the cruise.

 

Also, if you have a special occassion, let them know and they will try make it memorable.

 

If you are a twosome....you should have no problem eating in the speciality restaurants. Just go by the restaurants each night and see if they have room. Folks cancel dinner reservations because they decided to eat with others, are just too tired from the day and other reasons. Patience can also be a strategy, if you are willing to wait until a table opens, they try to fit you in. And the bars in the restaurants are comfortable to have a drink before dinner. The toughest days for reservations are the sea days because everyone is onboard and those days book up early.

 

Also, if you want a bottle of wine with dinner in any of the restaurants but don't think you can finish it....no worry, just drink what you want and they will put your room number on the bottle. The next night you just ask for your bottle and have another glass.