Insignia Review
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Just returned from my first cruise on Oceania. I am not a huge cruise fan. I've done a few short cruises in the past (Bahamas, Mexico, etc.) and have never really been impressed. In general, I prefer independent travel. That said, I really enjoyed this cruise--more than I thought I would.
Embarkation: Read about long lines but honestly, we arrived at noon and were on the ship and in our cabin in about 30 minutes. I couldn't believe how easy it was.
Food: Quite good in all venues with a few exceptions. I wish the menu in the Grand Dining room had more variety--it got boring. Really enjoyed both Polo and Toscana (though our second dinner in Toscana suffered from really poor service). I was eager to try one of those milkshakes that people on CC rave about. That was a huge let down. Probably the worst milkshake I've ever had. The smoothies were better. Desserts were the weak point in all venues. If you are calling something New York Cheesecake then it should be New York Cheesecake (believe me, it wasn't). At least four nights I took one bite of a dessert and pushed it away (on the plus side, I saved all those calories).
Cabin Review
Cabin: This is probably my biggest issue with cruising. The cabin was SMALL. We had an extended veranda which helped but at the end of the day, the room is tiny and there wasn't enough storage for clothes. I read on CC that people store their luggage under the bed--well, my friend's bag wouldn't fit and mine wouldn't unless it was open. I can't imagine cruising for more than 10 days in that cabin. It was alos really hot. We had an engineer look at the A/C on the first day but it didn't ever get really cool. One of the issues was the sun on the veranda door. The stewards should be trained to close the drapes when the sun is facing those glass doors. It was like an oven. The extended veranda would have been far better if it had lounge chairs. Can't understand why they aren't provided given the war for chairs at the pool. If there were loungers on my veranda I would have stayed there and freed up two pool chairs for someone else to use. I did like our cabin location on Deck 7.