Questions for past Oceania passengers

[seacruise9]

I am seriously considering booking one of the INSIGNIA's Mediterranean cruises for next year. Even though I have sailed with many different cruise lines (Celebrity, Crystal, Cunard, Holland America, NCL, Princess, and Royal Caribbean), I have never cruised with this new line. However, I have read many good things about Oceania. I am approximately 40 years old and my partner is about 50 years old.

 

Have you been happy with the food and service? How long is the wait to be seated in the various restaurants for dinner? Have you been pleased with the entertainment? Are the shore excursions well organized? What is the average age of passengers on the Mediterranean sailings?

 

Thanks for your help,

 

Chuck

 

seacruise9

[goeurope]

(1) Yes, (2) Not very long. (3) Yes. (4) Yes. (5) Mostly grey-hair, white-hair, or no-hair, with a reasonable number of somewhat younger passengers.

 

Need more detail? See the many other threads on this board. (IMHO, that's usually a good way to beging your fact-gathering on a forum: See what's already been posted, then ask questions about specific topics that haven't been covered.)

 

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Durant Imboden

Europeforvisitors.com

[ClaudiaF]

!. ditto

2. ditto

3. for the most part

4. we usually do our our tours ( hiring private drivers in every port) or on our own so we don't miss seeing everything we want to. It is far easier to go with 4 or 6 people ( or just us 2) than to have to wait for a bus load of people.. but you should do what makes you feel most comfortable. Most of the posts I have read about ship tours are that they have been good.

5. you guys 40 's and 50... you are old! ;-)

Just kidding.. it's a real mixed bag of all ages.. and I think you just make your own music and if you meet some friends along the way all the better.. enjoy!

 

Next stop:

Buenos Aires to Rio Oceania - "Insignia"

 

 

 

[seacruise9]

Thanks for the replies. It is good to hear that you have been pleased with Oceania. I like the fact that the ships have a variety of dining options for dinner. Also, I like the medium size of these ships. My last two cruises were on huge ships (VOYAGER OF THE SEAS and QUEEN MARY 2) with an overwhelming number of passengers. A 600 passenger ship sounds like a nice change of pace.

 

I agree that the age of the passengers on a cruise is not particularly important. I have taken cruises on lines that cater to older passengers (Crystal and Cunard) and had a wonder time meeting other passengers.

 

Chuck

 

seacruise9

[roothy123]

I pretty much agree with the above, except that I'd say there's NO wait to be seated for dinner ...at least that's what we found, every night, every restaurant!

[shoshona2]

Since this is a port intensive line, most of the people will go to sleep after eating dinner since they were touring all day. If you like entertainment such as big shows and just a singer or magician isn't your "cup of tea", then the Oceania is not the line for you. We were on the Baltic cruise last year and tried a few shows. They really weren't worth staying up for. Do scroll down to read more or go to the Yahoo website.

[BK1292]

I would like to know how the air arrangements that Oceania makes for their passengers works out. We have traveled with the old company and did fairly well, but some other passengers had a very long flight and layover before arriving at the port. We are hoping to travel this fall to europe and wonder if the company offers direct flights. Please let us know how your trip to the ship worked out. Thanks, BK1292

[goeurope]

To a great extent, the availability of direct flights will depend on where you live and on your departure and arrival ports. But if you pay a modest deviation fee, you'll have more control over your flight arrangements than if you take potluck.

 

(BTW, I assume that, by "the old company," you mean Renaissance. Ren used charter flights; Oceania uses scheduled airlines.)

 

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Durant Imboden

Europeforvisitors.com

[ClaudiaF]

Originally posted by BK1292:

We have traveled with the old company and did fairly well.........[/quote in part]

 

There is no "old" company thathad anything to do with Oceania

 

Next stop:

Buenos Aires to Rio Oceania - "Insignia"

 

 

 

[Maryhopkins]

We did it last Sept. Ship is beautiful, beds are great, good food. Service needs help, 2-3 hours. Dinner considered as entertainment. We are 60ish and found majority too old for us. If traveling with friends you shouldn't notice the age difference but if you are alone it may be difficult to hook up with another couple as there were many groups formed by travel agents. We had some rough weather and being a small ship we missed some ports. Celebrity and Crystal and Princess made the ports. Some great ports were missed!! We spent 3 days in Marsailles. It's like 3 days in Pittsburgh. Excursions are very expensive, you should arrange for a car and driver. Drinks very expensive. Reviewing my final bill we could have gone on Radisson. Entertainment? Not really. Dancing? Not really. What annoyed us the most was the front office staff, purser, hotel mgr.etc. Northern European attitude was not appreciated by Americans. The never smile and have a superior attitude. If you complain in a slightly raised voice they threaten to put you off the ship. I overheard them rip fellow guest, an American. Embarrassing. We have done small ships in Europe several times and all in all we have decided that larger ships really fit our needs. This may sound strange to some. Small ships make me feel old.

 

MH