We chose this ship for the size, since we do not like the mega-sized ships. It did not disappoint! Never lines, never felt overly crowded. Everything was wonderful. The decor throughout the ship is lovely. It is elegant, but not stuffy, with plenty of lounges, etc. The casino was a nice size too, although it did not seem that many used it. The staff worked so hard to make our trip special and everyone was very attentive. Our meals were excellent. Only one night I ordered a fish dish that was not very good. Other than that, we enjoyed the food. Portion sizes were just perfect. The buffet had many varieties of dishes to please everyone. I particularly liked that the staff served everything from the buffet -- much more hygienic. Everything ran smoothly. This cruise line definitely is geared toward an older crowd. I am in my late 50's and I was one of the younger passengers. For us, it was no bother. Everyone we met were well-traveled and very interesting! This was our first Oceania cruise and it will not be the last!! Read Less

We have cruise many times with Oceania and have never been disappointed. In fact, whenever we cruise with another line, we can't wait to get back to Oceania. The crew and staff on the Insignia make the trip a most relaxing, care free and enjoyable experience. Service is second to none and you rarely see a crew member without a smile on their face or a pleasant greeting. The cabins are very comfortable with great beds and more than ample storage. Love the new decor after the recent renovation...very bright and pleasant. Even though the bathrooms are small, there is again good storage space. The new glass shower door is an improvement, however the shower is still tight. After a few showers, you figure out the best way to position yourself. The cuisine is awesome. The Grand dining room, Polo and Tuscana are wonderful, but our favorite is the Terrace Cafe. The Terrace is a buffet for breakfast, lunch and dinner, hardly ever crowded, can eat either inside or outside, the selections are many and varied, can get made to order lobster, shrimp, steak or fish, can try small portions of several items and the service is impeccable. Waves grill is an outdoor venue specializing in made to order burgers, dogs, cubans, reubens, salads, smoothies, shakes, malts and ice cream. Went to the shows every night. The ship's and guest entertainers are very good and the shows enjoyable. More singing of popular songs and not as much dancing from the ship's group which we like. Afternoon Tea is very nice and relaxing...would highly recommend. Twice nightly happy hours at Martini's and Horizon is a nice touch. Self service laundry on board. Bottom line is that a cruise on the Insignia or for that matter, any Oceania vessel, might just be the perfect cruise experience. Thanks Oceania for thinking of all the right moves. Read Less

Just off Insignia from an 11-night Eastern Caribbean itinerary. This was our 44th cruise overall, but first on Oceania. While there were some things to like on this cruise, we were underwhelmed overall. We do not plan on cruising on O again, and certainly not on the R-class ships. Details follow; see near the bottom for comments on accessibility (ADA) features: The Good: Service was very good to excellent, reminding us of what Celebrity used to be like 15 years ago or so. Many of the wait staff and bar servers knew us by name and also knew our preferences before the cruise was half over. There were a couple service errors, but the experience was quite impressive on the whole. Despite its small size, Insignia rarely felt crowded. There was plenty of space for everyone in the lounges and the Terrace Cafe. Oceania also actively polices chair-hogging on the pool deck. I could head up at 1 PM on a sunny sea day and find an available lounger. I will miss that on future cruises – on most other cruise lines the pool deck loungers are 100% full with books, towels, beach bags – but no people – by 8:30 AM. Pool loungers also come with thick padding and armrests. Towels do not need to be signed out. There was a very good selection of wines by the glass, along with dedicated sommeliers to serve them. The bed was very comfortable and the pillows were fine. The oversized sheet was appreciated. The duvet was much too heavy for a tropical itinerary, but Insignia is not the only ship we’ve been on that has this problem. The A/C in the cabin worked very well; this is the first Caribbean cruise I can recall where we did not have it set on maximum cool for the entire cruise. That said, the cost-saving habit of reducing the A/C in the middle of the night is alive and well on Insignia. News flash: many older folks don’t sleep as well as they did when younger. We were up in the middle of the night and felt the lack of cooling. I’m guessing that we were not the only ones. The enrichment lecturer, Sandy Cares, was both entertaining and informative. One of the best we’ve encountered. The Not-So-Good: Despite the Caribbean itinerary, there was very little fun to be had on this ship. Let’s face it folks, the Caribbean is not the right part of the world to feature cruises where destination is the primary focus and onboard activities are (very) secondary. But that is exactly the product that Oceania delivered. Entertainment was scarce and mediocre. There was an adequate string quartet. There was a pianist who never sang or interacted with the “crowd.” The Insignia singers were enthusiastic and had their moments, but there was ultimately nothing outstanding or memorable there. Finally, there was the show band. Their sets were short and heavily oriented towards jazz or classic dance music (tangos, rumbas, cha-chas, etc.). There was no island music to be had. Anywhere. Jazz sets on the pool deck? In the middle of the day? In the Caribbean? Yep. Now we come to the food, one of Oceania’s major selling points. Some of the food was indeed better than what is available now on Celebrity, Holland America, Norwegian, Princess, Royal Caribbean, or Carnival. But the truth is that nothing stood out as all that much better. The difference was either incremental or nil. Some of the selections would have been very hard for us to distinguish from food on these other lines. And, as many frequent cruisers will acknowledge, food quality better than that on the larger cruise lines is a pretty low bar to clear these days. If we were served the typical fare on Insignia in an upscale land restaurant we would not publicly complain, but we would also not return. Miscellaneous (neither good nor bad): Insignia is the first ship we’ve been on where the Captain did not really fit the stereotype of a suave brand ambassador. He was much more a working Captain who did not seem entirely comfortable interacting with the passengers. I don’t believe that there was a Staff Captain on Insignia which may be a partial explanation. Similarly, we’ve never been on a ship before where some of the crew had more than one job. The singers doubled as social-hostesses and assistant cruise directors. Sommeliers worked as baristas in the mornings. And some of the folks serving behind the line at the Terrace Café during breakfast and lunch morphed into waiters or assistant waiters at dinner. Interesting. Accessibility: My wife has long grappled with MS and has reached a point where she requires shower seats, grab bars, and room for her mobility scooter. Accordingly we always sail in cabins with ADA features. Our cabin was well-outfitted with such features, including one of the best ADA showers we’ve encountered on a ship. There was virtually no leakage onto the bathroom floor (which completely floods on many ships) and the seat was positioned in a manner that made the shower controls easily accessible while seated. Kudos to Oceania for thoroughly thinking these things through. Unfortunately, the only cabins with these features are insides on Oceania’s version of the R-class. We would have paid up for a better category had there been a choice. Plus, this particular cabin was completely decorated in various shades of gray, with no art on the walls to break the monotony. Overall a depressing experience – like being in a large, dimly lit closet. Outside the cabin, accessibility fell short. The elevators were very small and barely accommodated my wife’s scooter. And the doors to the open decks/pool deck had very high jambs to get over, high enough that my wife was concerned that she would damage her scooter (which we own) by driving over them. For that reason, she never went on the pool deck, which was a significant limitation. Yes, the R-ships are quite old by today’s standards. But reducing the accessibility barriers to the open decks could have been addressed during her recent refurbishment. The accessible cabins were certainly upgraded at that time. Conclusions: Oceania often sails to more unusual or exotic ports. For those cruises, positioning the ship as an upscale floating hotel makes a certain amount of sense. For the Caribbean, however, the floating hotel model simply does not work IMO. You need a floating resort with lively music (and island music!), games, piano bars, etc. In short, Caribbean cruises need to be fun. And whatever else this cruise may have been, it cannot be described as “fun.” If the food had really been head and shoulders above that of the large cruise lines then the combination of food and service might have been enough to save the day. But alas, the food was either pretty much the same or only slightly better than the offerings available elsewhere at sea. Although the service onboard was clearly better than on other ships, that in and of itself was not enough to tip the balance for us. We will return to the larger lines/ships, enjoy the fun, and set our food & service expectations appropriately for today’s cruise reality. Read Less

This was my first cruise on any line. My sister and I traveled together. We are both close to 60. I chose Oceania because friends said that the big cruise ships require standing in long lines, and I have some health issues that won't allow me to do that. In fact, we just walked through the embarkation process with no line at all! Our cabin was beautiful in colors of blue and silver. The bed was the star of the trip! The mattress and linens were spectacular. Our cabin maid was happy to change our pillowcases every night, at our request. The food was always good and often exceptional. We enjoyed all the fresh fish and seafood. It was easy to make healthy choices with a wide selection of salads, vegetables, fruit and fish. There was always a vegetarian choice, a gluten-free selection and a dessert that had no-sugar-added. We appreciated that portion sizes were moderate and desserts were small. Since we could always request more, it made it easy to eat well. The service was exceptional in every venue. The entertainment was somewhat limited, but entertaining. The string quartet and the show band were very good. The enrichment lectures with Sandy Cares were a highlight for me. I loved learning about the places we would be visiting. She was funny, lively and very interesting. I had a wonderful walking tour of Old San Juan following her suggestions. The cooking demonstration by the head chef and the chef for Toscana was not only fascinating, but also very funny. The service was very attentive and responsive to complaints and suggestions. There were ample staff to be very personalized. The staff members were all friendly and eager to serve. The spa was expensive, but good. We found the Oceania-sponsored excursions to be well worth the money. They were well-organized and the guides were excellent. We spend a day or two on our own ashore. We would certainly go again! It was a relaxing and memorable time. Read Less

I was on the Breakaway for back to back cruises October 6-20 2019. I was able to stay in the same stateroom, which was great. This was my 10th cruise on NCL and I have loved every one of them. The food was great, both in the specialty restaurants and the main dining rooms. My mid-ship mini-suite with balcony was wonderful. The staff were all great, never had an issue of any kind with any of them. The drink server in the casino and the Vibe beach club called my by my name from the first day onward and knew what I wanted to drink. I read some of these reviews and wonder if these people were on the same ship as I was. The only thing I can figure is that there are some people you could not please no matter what you do for them. I have already booked 3 more cruises with NCL and am very much looking forward to them. Read Less

The entertainment on this cruise was fairly limited. I've never been on a cruise before where you had to reserve the entertainment. We waited on lines for just about everything. Particularly, getting a drink typically took a long time, when we could find a bar that was open. The restaurant concept for the meals took some getting used. It seemed to work out ok. The buffet was typically crowded, the food was generally cold. The eggs benedicts were typically hard boiled. It would have been nice to see as much care in the food as in spraying your hands when you walked in. The disembarkation process needs to be addressed. The line was long and slow. It wrapped around all areas of that deck from one end of the ship to the other. It took nearly an hour to get off the ship from start to finish. The customs component with the facial recognition worked well. Read Less

We had the best time. From the moment we embarked until we disembarked. The food was outstanding the drinks were amazing and the staff went above and beyond to make us very comfortable. The cruise director Clay really made our cruise something to remember. He was very professional and funny at the same time. We loved how he handled things. We will definitely cruise Norwegian again. We’re planning on cruising the Encore next so our son can enjoy the go cart track. We felt very safe and in good hands while on the ship. The announcements were clear and understandable. And if we missed an announcement we could ask any staff member and they would relay the message to us. We met the nicest people and enjoyed the best parties on the ship. The bartenders are outstanding mixologist. They can make absolutely any drink you want and make it very well. Norwegian is the best!!! Read Less

Embarkation went smoothly. Meals were wonderful. Norwegian is pretty great about their lines UNTIL it was time to disembark. That was a chaotic nightmare, to be perfectly honest. The ports were beautiful. Our excursions were AH-MAZING! Unfortunately, we could not go to the last port due to large swells and the tenders would not be safe to go on. I'm vegan and the wait staff were beyond wonderful to me. The Maitre 'd (Marites)was so accommodating and she made me feel very special. The Captain (Dan Svenson) was so personable and quite the sense of humor. The entertainment was fantastic. We thoroughly enjoyed Leo, Burn The Floor, Rock of Ages and the Pour House Band. We also enjoyed using the jogging track on the upper deck to walk/run our 5 miles every morning. Our Stateroom was nice. More closet room would have been nice though. Thanks for a great first Norwegian experience!! Read Less

Chose this cruise to see how we liked NCL. We didn't. Been on 22. Cruises and the customer service was the worst by far. Booking a cruise in March for 24+ people and cancelled NCL. Will not cruise again. Nice ship. Good specialty dining buffet for was bad real bad. Entertainment was very good. But to be rudely treated by crew is unacceptable. Bar service was terrible. 20 mins to get a drink. Cabin steward never said hello. And was vacuuming at 8 AM outside the cabin. Left room dirty wet towels on the floor poor attitude. O Sheehan s food was good poor service hostess was rude. First time in 23 cruises I ever went to relations to complain. Bar hop at on the 16th deck was weak never picked up empty glasses all cruise long it was a mess up there on matter what time of day. Full ashtrays everywhere. Read Less

We booked this cruise about 3 weeks after a Carnival cruise just to get a feel for the ship and the hospitality differences between NCL and Carnival. This cruise on the Breakaway, was, in our estimation, a step down from Carnival. Embarkation was okay but not as efficient as Carnival. The embarkation terminal was crowded, unsettling and disorganized. We eventually made it to the ship without any other issues. The process took about 30-40 minutes. Carnival took 10 minutes or less. Debarkation was about the same for both ships and it took about 30 minutes to get to the curb. Our balcony cabin was not ready on our arrival, although we were told it would be ready for occupation. We had many problems with the cabin functions throughout the cruise. The shower overflowed everyday, due to poor drainage. This caused the shower water to rise up to our ankles, overflow and drain into a secondary drain behind the toilet causing the bath mat and floor to be soaked every time we used the shower. We told the room steward,, who apparently tried to fix the problem, to no avail. After asking her to fix the issue after 3 days, we gave up and just let the floor in the cabin bathroom flood everyday. The water at the sink tap was scalding hot even on the lowest cold setting that, at best, gave you lukewarm water. No cold water ever came from the tap. The toilets quit working on at least two occasions and we were told it was a problem on the deck we were on and would be fixed, which it was after several hours on two different day. The entertainment was excellent on the ship in the showroom, not so much in the atrium. Many shows were hosted by the Cruise Director who was bland, boing and unenthusiastic. Many activities were held in the very crowded atrium and were so loud that you could only stay for a few moments during the day. O'Sheenan's bar was nice and there food was prepared for you when you were seated for no up charge. The ice cream sundaes there had an added charge and were terrible. Smoke from the open deck casino permeated the center of the ship and if you are cigarette smoke sensitive, many central areas of the ship were effectively "off-limits". Our food, ship wide, no matter where we dined, was poor quality and most of the time cold. The speciality restaurants of Cagney's and La Cucina had up charges based on what you ordered. Our Cagney's bill for four people (with free drinks on our drink package) was over $300. The La Cucina bill was well over $200 for four people with not drink costs added. It also took almost 55 minutes from ordering to our first course at La Cucina. The Teppinayki and Moderno had a flat uncharge of $39 each. Not great deal when you already paid over $3000 for the balcony room cruise fare. Teppinaki was fun with the center grill but the 5, quarter sized shrimp and dime sized scallops were a disappointment. The food was over salted and drenched in soy sauce. Moderno was terrible. The food was over seasoned, salty and tough. None of the meats provided were of good quality. The dessert was grainy and overly sweet. We were never asked in either of these two restaurant's about the quality of the food provided. The Garden Cafe (buffet) was a disaster. Noisy, crowded, dirty tables, unenthusiastic employees and just a really poor attempt at feeding the masses. (The kids area chicken fingers were the best thing on the menu there.) We went one day at lunch for about 30 minutes and never returned to this venue the rest of the trip. Jimmy Buffett's Margaritaville was fun. Good food ($15 up charge/person), but only open for lunch. The bar drinks were good and the service probably the best on the ship. We had poor, uninspired food in the main dining rooms. We ate in all 3 during the cruise for dinner and the Manhattan room was by far the best. The servers in the other two rooms was spotty at best. Then pool areas were crowded, especially since we had 2 sea days, a non-stop added sea day due to Great Stirrup Cay unable to accessed because of high winds making tendering dangerous. (No compensation offered for this missed stop by NCL.) The islands of St. Thomas, Tortola and St. John are still recovering from the 2017 hurricane but it was nice to get off the ship and enjoy the beautiful beaches. Most of the tourist stops at these ports all had the same jewelry store and t-shirt shops. Ship internet was SLOW. We had a 250 minute package but spent at least a third of the minutes waiting for the system to load, even when we were standing 10 feet from the internet area, located in the noisy atrium area. We also had a problem getting drink servers to ask about beverages throughout the ship. It is a good "ploy" by NCL to sell you the drink package up front with added tips and then make you go in search of drinks at bars on your own. We were only approached by a drink server in any public area of the ship 3 occasions in 7 days. I don't know if is the lack of staff or intentional reduction by NCL to curb providing pre-paid drinks to the guests to save money. Compared to Carnival, which we though we would never say, NCL doesn't equal the service and amenities that Carnival provided us, three weeks earlier, for about an equal cruise fare and amenity package. We will NeverCruise with NCL again! Read Less

Upon arrival to our stateroom I always make sure sheets and bathroom is clean. While wiping out the toilet there was a brown, black and greenish film inside the toilet rim. In 7 days the sheets on the bed were never changed and the bathroom was cleaned slightly. We incrued several charges to our onboard account that were incorrect including a $62.41 for 2 bottles of wine which we never ordered. One bottle of water from the mini bar was $13.40!! So if you choose to sail with NCL check you account frequently because they try to get extra money out of you any way possible. On three separate occasions I encountered rude and disrespectful staff. The entertainment on the ship was good and free but mostly will cost you extra money. We did not make it to the last port of call (Great Stirrup Cay) and was given $30 pp for the inconvenience of being at sea another 24 hours! The experience at sea was very rocky and ship did a lot of dipping and everyone was holding on to keep fr stumbling. For $1400 pp......I was not impressed by this cruise line and it is highly unlikely that I will cruise with NCL again! Read Less

We chose this cruise ship solely for the swimming with the pigs excursion and very disappointed when the captain said it was too rough to tender into their private island. This happens 50% of their cruises. Puerto Rico was a very disappointing, dirty destination. The haven suites and private areas were excellent with the exception of children under 12, who were in the hot tub and pool areas The hot tubs overflowed into the right side of the 16th deck hallway causing a moldy smell. The air movers did not help this area to dry. The Haven swimming pool was extremely small. The Haven butlers, staff, bartenders and concierge were the very best! The Haven restaurant was was perfect every time. The behind the scenes tour was my 84 year old Father’s favorite. In the future I look forward to doing more research and not use AAA for my travel plans. Read Less

I am an experienced cruiser having sailed on many lines from budget to luxury. I've usually found NCL to be a good mainstream choice. No dress codes, flexible and numerous dining options, and good entertainment. And, usually, friendly service. Most of that remains true. But this cruise was sterile. No warmth from the crew. Everything felt like it was robotic. The smiles you did get were forced. Everyone from the captain to the cruise director seemed to be reading from a script. Bored and burned out would be my general assessment. The burned out aspect could be because there seems to be far fewer staff doing the work. Lines at bars were several deep (for $11 drinks) and trying to get service was frustrating and time consuming. From an entertainment perspective, the shows were high energy and enjoyable. But there is a void of activities during the day. What is available is usually held in the tiny atrium and is either at a price or to get you to buy something. The days of pool games and ice carvings and deck activities are gone. I think this is partly due to the design of the breakaway class ships. The pool (the one) is small with little area for people to gather. There is another pool that is hidden under the water slides but it is claustrophobic and sees little use. The buffet is very crowded. Poor design and just so many people. No smiles from anybody that works there except for the "washy washy" team. They are quick to clear tables which is a good thing since seating can be near impossible to get during peak times. Food in the restaurants doesn't blow you away but doesn't really disappoint either. Feels like it is made by a check list. No passion. I will say the food temperature is an issue. Rarely was anything hot, especially at the buffet. We had to skip Great Stirrup Cay due to rough seas which would have made tendering difficult. This was announced by the captain, and then again by the cruise director. Both reading a script (or so monotone it seemed that way) with the information presented as if they were dispassionate reporters or doctors delivering a diagnosis. No feeling or any real acknowledgement that people might be disappointed. The new facial recognition debarkation was great. Once the line started moving,was from ship to curb in about 10 minutes. So here is the thing. You can't find a real major fault. They check the boxes on the check list. Sadly, that is exactly what it felt like. They were just checking the boxes, following the script, processing the passengers, and getting through another day. I just don't want my vacation to feel that way. I think I will check NCL off my list for future cruises. One other note that firms up my decision to say goodbye to NCL. If you book a cabin at the lead price, which they call Sailaway fares, you will not receive sailing credits in the Latitudes reward program. I didn't see this mentioned anywhere until I received the booking/payment confirmation. Small print says you will receive on board benefits if you had already achieved a certain level but would not receive credits for the current booking. So if you don't want to book the higher fares and be forced to pay the gratuities for the "free" drinks, "free" speciality dining, etc., which you may not really want in the first place, you will now be on the Latitudes treadmill never moving up in the program. NCL has a weak program as it is when compared to other lines and this seems like a really cheap shot. Read Less

First time on NCL. If not for the staff and food this would have been a two star review. First - shout out to the friendly and professional bartenders. Dr. Lawrence at the Pour House and pool bar - world class! Christian at the Whiskey Bar and all the other bartenders are top shelf. The “coffee with love women” in the breakfast buffet area were awesome as were the “washy washy“ folks. Fun breakfast experience. Food not bad overall - really really good in specialty dining restaurants. Otherwise disorganized cruise, nothing special about the ship, on line services lacking, after hours food non-existent. The passengers were diverse but there were a lot who just drank from early AM until late night, sloppy and some angry drunks who just ruined the cruise vibe for me. I am sad that I won’t be seeing the crew again but would not consider a second cruise on this ship. The cost was really very high in relation to other better overall cruises we’ve been on. Read Less

This was our first cruise with Oceania. We knew it was going to be an exceptional cruise when we breezed through check in. There were no lines at the terminal. Our room was ready as soon as we stepped on board and our luggage was delivered in minutes. What a surprise it was to find my husband's favorite Coke Zero already chilling in the mini refrigerator! The room was beautifully furnished in shades of blue and there was plenty of storage space. The bed was very comfortable. Soft-closing drawers and cabinet doors, no-fog mirrors, plush robes and slippers were nice extras. Our room steward was friendly and polite, and we were always amazed to come back from meals and excursions to find our room made up and our beverages re-stocked. The food in all the venues was outstanding. Polo Grill and Toscana were so memorable that we tried (but failed) to get another reservation to either one. The selections were extensive in both the Main Dining Room and at Terrace Cafe (buffet). We appreciated that there were always vegan, gluten-free, and "healthier" items at every meal. Food in the buffet was plated for you, which I thought was more sanitary than self-service. Everything I had was so delicious. My husband indulged in prawns, lobster and caviar, which made him feel like a king. The staff in all dining areas were always so attentive. Our water glasses and coffee cups were refilled constantly. We loved going to Baristas for juice, lattes, and sweet or savory snacks, and experiencing our first English tea time in Horizons. Lectures by Sandy Cares were very informational and the topics were surprisingly eclectic. Who else could make pirates and bananas so interesting?!! The evening performers were quite entertaining. We marveled at the magician and laughed till we cried with the comedian. His lecture on the history of comedy was insightful and funny. The singers and musicians were very talented. This cruise lines skews towards a more mature crowd. We saw only two passengers below 13, and they were traveling with their parents and grandparents. They seemed to be enjoying the trip, even without water slides and climbing rocks. We had such a wonderful time on insignia that we booked our next cruise while onboard, and we can't wait till we get another opportunity to be treated so well. Read Less

NEGATIVES Photos cant only get on disc when complained of this manager said only corporate can make modifications and only pkgs starting 1 hundred on up or 19 for 1 Bingo 3 sheets $42 must be 21 but can gamble in casino at 18 Beer sampling additional and drinks cant ask for a double only a single Lbgq limited to one area and only to limited times that allowed straights to be in same room only advised on a flip screen in one area not on daily itinerary sheet Captain doesn't come down to dinner even on captain dinner night Sushi making class additional and not offered elsewhere on menu. When weather service forecasted that hurricane Dorian was going to hit port same as our return cs did not have any information until 3 days into it and was not announced till 3 days prior to departure date nothing was pre arranged causing hundreds of people to pay more to get off in a different port and make flight arrangements costing more. Limited 18 to 20 have limited things to do for their age group. One pool only deep end no shallow end with small water park. Salt water. putting kids and adults in pool and 3 jacuzzi together. Fancy app for royal however it is not available or supported on the ship Express of the seas They offer a tour of the kitchen but its additional of course. They have a decent comedian show. The ship is small so its easy to find your way around but takes forever for a elevator 2 smoking sections deck 6 and 10 both outside but no smoking in the casino. Future credit is given instead of present credit when on board when Hurricane Dorian kept us out to sea and was only 1 days worth of credit for the hassle of having to change flights, take additional time off work, kids off school and spend additional money that was not planned for. POSITIVES The dinner staff has excellent customer service Shiv and Xiangying were our food servers and they really made our Birthday and Anniversary special. Decent entertainment 80s dancing, karaoke , juggling acts, ragge music (loved the ragge band) the best shows are doable for early dinner but not unless you rush to get to the show from the pm dinner. More shows should be at 10pm not dinner at 8 and show at 9pm. Deals in the onboard shops Nurse and Dr available but times available not so great. Rooms are upgradable for a small charge of 1 hundred on up The room service is excellent and very clean. But we didn't have our beverage pkg cups until we asked for them. Laundry service good but slow Security is good and ontop of things but often I would smell marijuana onboard and sat next to a guy on my tender boat back to the ship who admitted it was in his bag. No issues with the stuff but if you're gonna say that you can't have it onboard then that obviously wasn't being monitored enough. Excursions are very good and easy to book , well organized but additional in cost range from $40 on up in the hundreds. Safety is of their biggest concern this is responsible and good . It would be nice if someone could give better insight to crew and guests in tough weather conditions other than headquarters holding up information till last minute. There is a gym and spa nice there is acupuncture that I showed interesting and helpful if in pain, facials, massage therapy and hair, nails but no sauna, no mineral pool, no steam rooms or hot chairs. The gym is small very busy in the morning and cruise days. Limited equipment and the jogging areas are limited around the deck. There is a rock climbing wall small one but no frills like mini golf or water boarding. Onboard credit is given before you board if your trip is changed example not able to go to Cuba and given credit to encourage people not to cancel. Casino nice but limited poker machines mostly tables. The bar in the casino has the best drinks on the ship. Schooner bar has good drinks the pirate burbon drink was a nice touch. Read Less

I originally chose this cruise because of its itinerary with a stop in Cuba. Well, Cuba was cancelled through no fault of the cruise line, but it was a big disappointment. It's a disgrace that the cruise and travel industry was placed in such an untenable position with the cancellation of travel to Cuba. EMBARKATION: I arrived at the port around noon. I was greeted at the bottom of the escalator and sent on my way to registration. The whole process took 10 minutes! CABIN: I had a verandah cabin forward on Deck 6. Since the ship had just been refurbished, everything was still new and shiny. The balcony was roomy with comfortable wicker furniture. The bed was comfy and the linens were luxurious. There were reading lights on each side of the bed. There was a bedside clock that lit up when you touched it so you could see what time it was if you woke up in the middle of the night. The desk had lots of drawer space with multiple outlets. The stool that was furnished for sitting at the desk was horribly uncomfortable! My cabin steward got me a regular desk CHAIR to use. Thank you to Edemeris for getting me the chair. Non-alcoholic drinks in the mini bar were free. There was a big flat screen TV opposite the bed. The bathroom was quite small. The shower was really small. When they refurbished the ship, they should have added an extra foot to the bathroom to enlarge the shower. The night light in the bathroom was nice in the middle of the night. SHIP: I loved this little lady! It was so easy to get around the ship because of her small size. There were lots of seating areas. The casino was small, but adequate for the amount of passengers. The nicest area of the ship was the library. It was just beautiful and very well stocked. The décor was English manor house with big over stuffed chairs and a couch in front of the fireplace. I love the library on ships and I think it's sad that so many ships are doing away with them because they don't generate revenue. One of my daily stops was at Baristas, the coffee bar. You could get specialty coffees and snacks (complimentary) here during the day. There were tables, couches, and chairs to sit at to enjoy your coffee. Another enjoyable activity was afternoon tea at Horizons on Deck 10 forward. Service was impeccable and we were entertained by a string quartet. One nice service was free bottled water given as you left the ship for your time in port. FOOD: I had a few meals at the buffet which were OK, but the buffet is small with limited selections. The outside terrace aft was a very nice place to eat when it wasn't too hot. I liked the Waves Grill by the pool. The burgers to order were great and the mahi mahi was outstanding. There was also a small salad and fruit bar. For dessert, you could have scooped ice cream or milk shakes (complimentary). Room service breakfast was a big disappointment. It was only a continental breakfast menu which I thought was pretty sad for a "luxury" cruise line to offer. I had most of my meals in the Grand Dining Room. While the food was good, I didn't really have anything that knocked my socks off. I do have to say that I'm a meat and potatoes kind of person. I wish they would have opened the dining room up earlier than 6:30 PM for dinner. We ate at Toscana twice and both dinners were very good. We had dinner at the Polo Grill twice and it was very good as well. I thought it was odd, however, that the meat entrée came out and then you had to wait for your sides. I wish they would have just put the sides on the plate with the entrée. ENTERTAINMENT: There was only one show nightly at 9:30 PM. After eating a big dinner, I found this a little late for me. The entertainment was your usual comedians, magician, and revues. There was no morning trivia, it was at 4:30 PM and 8:30 PM. Neither of those times seemed to work for me. If you want big shows, go on the big ships. SERVICE: All the crew on this ship were friendly and helpful. CONCLUSION: As I stated earlier, I loved this small ship, however, I don't know that I would call this a "luxury cruise". I've been on almost 40 cruises on various cruise lines and I don't know if the additional cost of this cruise was worth it. Would I cruise on Oceania again? Yes, if I got a really good price because I love the size of their ships. Read Less

The Pros: Service in restaurants was very good. Cabin attendants were excellent. The ship and cabin were in excellent condition. The Insignia’s singers were very talented and we enjoyed the shows. The Cons: The food overall was a big disappointment.We are comparing it to several cruises on The Insignia from years ago.., not nearly as good as it was. Dinner in GDR was mediocre. We dined twice in the Polo restaurant and the quality of the food was poor. Tuscano was better than the other venues and we dined there 3 times on this 14 day voyage. The buffet area for lunch was crowded and the food was unappetizing... we avoided eating there and either went to the GDR for an ok lunch or had burgers outside near the pool that were acceptable - not great. The itinerary had changed several times after we had booked it. Unfortunately, the ports that were substituted did nothing to enhance the quality of the cruise. Grand Cayman instead of Cuba was a disappointing substitution ... also the port in St. Kitts/ Nevis was a terrible stop as it was their national holiday with most of the population of St. Kitts having left to go over to Nevis to celebrate Emancipation Day. Nobody at Oceania warned us not to take the ferry over to Nevis on this particular day! We wasted an entire day just waiting for a boat to get us back immediately to the ship and away from a crowd which seemed similar in size to the crowd in Times Square on New Years Eve! Why would they have this ship stop there on a major island holiday and not apprise the passengers. When we asked the destination services, they said they had no idea- that’s not acceptable. So not going to Havana as originally booked and a wasteful stop in St. Kitts made for a lackluster itinerary. The casino which my husband looks forward to was extremely inactive. He showed up for the Black Jack tournament and nobody else came. All in all, The Insignia of today does not compare favorably with ship we had sailed on in the past. The food was a big letdown! Read Less

I have been cruising for the last 20 years and Oceania cruise was the worst of all. This cruise marketed as “Upscale” was nothing but a hype, money-grabber and false advertising of #1 in hospitality. Poor quality of entertainment, rude & obnoxious Cruise Director (Ray) who didn’t know what he was doing and on top of it had an attitude. Besides neither was he seen on board nor there was any representation of him in the first 5 days of the cruise. The itinerary included 2 ports - Bonaire & St. Kitts. Both these islands were practically shut down due to public holiday. They were practically devoid of life with an unscheduled turned-down transportation service. Why would one dock at an island on a public holiday – to get a discount in the docking fees? Absolutely ridiculous. The quality of food whether it was at the buffet or specialty restaurants was only marginally better than other cruise lines and did not justify the high premium price that was charged for this supposedly “Upscale” cruise. In all fairness, the housekeeping & bar staff was quite attentive and saved out trip. What a waste of money - but one never knows unless one tries!!! Read Less

I first experienced "Your World, Your Way" service on the Riviera in 2017. A 21 day Med cruise, It was fantastic! This was largely due to the fact that Peter Roberts was the Cruise Director and his partner Jason Parsons was the Assistant Cruise Director, they were amazing. The food and service on Riviera was also amazing and due to this experience the folks that I met on the Riviera decided to book Insignia 14 day Caribbean. Thank goodness we were with 6 other friends, or we could not have bared the thought of 2 weeks on this ship. Where to start...let's start with the biggest problem, the cruise director! We disliked him so much, we can't even remember his name, we believe it was Ray. We heard the guy on the loud speaker announcements daily and didn't get to see him until day 5. We tried to be friendly with him and one person in our party went over to him to see if he was going to sing at karaoke or not - the Cruise Director was staring at this phone all through the event. He looked up at the person in our group and very sarcastically said - "I hire singers, I don't sing", then went straight back to his phone. All of us were dumbfounded! Believe it or not, it got worse, he then went over to the bartenders and started pointing and laughing at our group - we had no idea why, perhaps he thought his sarcastic remark to a gentleman in our group was funny???? Disgusting!!! Remember, when traveling as a group of 8 on Oceania we spent over 50K for the two week cruise - this type of behaviour should not be tolerated. School children are better behaved! The food quality, in my personal opinion, has dropped since we cruise on Riviera in 2017. On Riviera, the quality and selection were extremely good - especially in the specialty restaurants. On Insignia however they were marginal. My entree in Toscana was horrible - how on earth can you mess up a plate of pasta? The pasta in the buffet was 100% better. I went to culinary school for 2 years, and believe and am qualified enough to remark on the food quality. * The buffet was mediocre and repetitious. * The main dining room was the best place to eat, but again, the quality was not up to par * Bar Services at all venues were quite good This ship underwent a dry dock very recently and it appears they just concentrated on the cabins and updated the furniture and carpet in the public areas. On the pool deck the boards were loose and warped. I watched more than one person take a stumble on it. There were very elderly people on this, you would thing that Oceania would spend the money to fix the teak deck. The ship also looks tired on the outside - lots of rust and Overall - Your World, Your Way - I think not. This will be our last Oceania Cruise. The cost associated for this trip was NOT fulfilled in any way. We have paid much less on Princess, Celebrity and Holland American and no longer see the benefits of this marketed "UPSCALE" line. This line needs to re-think their approach, it's not working any longer. Read Less

Very nice open ship. It has not stolen his name Seaside , you are very close to the water. Friendly staff. Very high end decoration Cabins have a very good size. The beds are top . Normal size bathroom with real door not a curtain ! The closet could have been better placed a it was difficult to slide the doors ( have a look to aida prima , much better designed ) . Good size of balcony with sliding door. Very good dinning options . You can have free room service , which can be great if you take breakfast in your own cabin /balcony to enjoy a bit of tranquility. The food is really great . they should just leave more time between the dishes so you can have a more dinning experience. Free food tour in speciality restaurants was also great . Nice bars and atrium. Entertainment is nice altough it is always a singing performance but with variety , except for the comedy show. Duration perfect 40 min , not to short , not to long . Great slides and waterpark. 5D dinema for 10 dollars and 10 dollars for Zip line is a must do ! Nice Spa, but small ) although a prefer a open spa with a view on the sea (see adida prima ) . Good , but expensive massages. Service is good , bu they should clean up the aft decks close to buffert more often , as the birds are at ports always "attacking" the left overs. With the wind all food and others are on the decks , should be taken care off ! Also only 2 toilets for woman next to buffet could have been doubled . Time at ports can be very short , shore excursions are okay , but organisation is chaotic. Prices are rather expensive for what it is , sometimes we had even to buy on top our own lunch. Went also on Seaview is same ship Read Less

Oceania (and the government) cancelled out 7 day cruise to Cuba. The cruise was "re-routed" to some obscure ports (Belize/Honduras/Mexico). This 'high-end' (self-proclaimed) cruise line them filled up the ship with anyone " looking for a deal". Everything from there went down-hill.They pre-booked us into the Miami East Hotel overnight, except they failed to inform us that there is an active construction-zone going on. Boarding was a nightmare (excuse was the "Coast Guard was inspecting"). The "entertainment" got sick, so saw only one so-so show and then some 3rd rate comic and magician and showing Dumbo and Marvel movies was all that was left. The ship's captain decided not to pull into one Mexican port because of "7-8 feet surges". Funny a Celebrity ship was already docked there, so clearly this must have been a corporate decision to save docking fees and cut costs. The ONLY redeeming value on this cruise was the food and dining service. The manager of the Polo Lounge was superb as was the food. Overall, BIG disappointment. Shame on Oceania! Read Less

A few weeks ago, we cruised aboard MS Insignia. It has been several years since we have been on Oceania (due to retirement plans). We were looking forward to two things: The voyage to Cuba and how the line has fared in the years since we last travelled with them. First things first, the trip to Cuba was cancelled. Not Oceania’s fault, as it hit all the cruise lines hard. We had originally booked a low deck porthole cabin for this trip. Once the Cuba trip was cancelled, Oceania came back to us with a very nice package of monies returned AND possible upgrades. We chose an upgrade (which we paid for), to Concierge level. We spent a few days in South Beach, pre cruise, and then boarded Insignia. We were very pleased with the refurb that the ship had just finished. Beautiful and elegant in all aspects of this small ship. This was our 65th cruise and have been on many lines, but must say that the small ship feel was really nice. Our cabin was a nice size with lots of storage space, very nice balcony and great amenities. We spent more time on this balcony than many other ships from our past. The bathrooms are very small; particularly the shower, but we are not large people, so it did not affect us. Our cabin stewards were excellent, exceeding our expectations. Bottled water was placed in our cabin each day and always kept full. Bottled water is filtered aboard ship and replaced each day in your cabin (included). You can walk the entire length of this ship within two-three minutes. We were on Deck seven, so we were always two decks up to the Terrace Café and Pool, or two decks down to the Main Dining Room. There are two shops, a very tiny lobby and several areas to enjoy drinks or relaxation. The library on Deck 10 was a beautiful place to relax and read. The days of libraries like this on most ships are gone. The Show room area was very spacious and was used for several different events during the voyage. This ship has very limited entertainment. A pianist in the evening, along with a quintet of strings. The main show was always at 9:45 p.m., when most of the ship had gone to bed. The entertainment was okay, but we did not go to more than one show. There is also a stunning view lounge on the upper decks with wonderful views of the ocean. The times we went there to enjoy an after dinner drink, it was usually empty! The FOOD is what we were most anxious to try as we had remembered it being outstanding from a previous cruise. We were not disappointed in any of the venues on board. The two specialty restaurants are included in the price, but you only get one shot at each of them (unless you are a Suite guest). Both Toscana and the Polo Grill were outstanding, each in their own way. The quality of the food, presentation and service were all excellent. The Main Dining Room was excellent too, with a wonderfully diverse menu each evening and great service. Very nice wine lists in all outlets also helped. We enjoyed breakfast in the MDR several times, and again, was top notch. The Terrace Café is the buffet. It is not very big, nor is there a large selection. We did feel, however, that the food offered was very nice quality and we enjoyed it. We especially enjoyed the great cheeses each day (which were not the processed goo that you get on most ships). Sitting outside on the ship’s fantail, was really nice, especially in the Caribbean setting. The pool restaurant served very nice sandwiches and grilled items cooked to order. Also, it had a daily fruit and salad bar, along with some of the best ice cream and shakes at sea. Our ports of call were not the reason we stayed with this cruise after Cuba was cancelled. Key West, Roatan, Belize and Costa Maya (which had to be skipped due to high winds) were all okay. We had been to most of them, so we didn’t do any excursions. I could write many pages about this ship, but need to conclude by saying we look forward to travelling with Oceania again in our cruising future. IF you like the small ship experience, you will love this ship!! Thanks again to all members of the crew that made our week go by way too fast! Read Less

Read Less

We have taken approx. 7 cruises on Norwegian and always in the Haven. After the second cruise, the Haven has gone down so much that we will never take Norwegian again. It is not worth the money they charge. You can get better and less expensive accommodations with amenities on other ships offering their version of the Haven. We wrote two requests to Norwegian on their required email site also saying we have still not received our points which would take us to the, or close to, the next level. We called three times and was finally told, 'why are you so worried? You will get them eventually. We are behind' and hung up. It has never taken this long for our points. We put in TWO requests with case numbers. We finally after weeks of waiting received a response to the first inquiry...'THANK YOU, YOUR CASE HAS BEEN NOTED'. Okay do we get our points? still no answer or points. The Haven service has gone down in every respect from the beginning, to the concierge being almost non existent just sitting at his desk in front of a computer not looking up after the first 'greeting' the butler I barely saw unless he knocked with the canape's which are now microscopic and handed me the tray to carry in. The only thing the Haven offers from the other ships is a swimming pool for the Haven guests. It is small and crowded. THAT is the only difference but we will be taking other ships like Celebrity and Princess from now on. We are not worthy even of the points due us for paying thousands for the Haven and getting very bad service. Met other couples who said the same thing. Sad they have changed and treat their loyal clients so badly. The HAVEN may be great for someone who has never taken it before, however one couple we met did just that and swore they will never pay that amount of money again for the Haven. Great disappointment. The food was good but the Haven restaurant never changes its menu so it gets boring. We went to the speciality restaurants almost every night and they were good. Generally the service is good but as I said the special service you expect from the Haven is not there The Spa services were great. That was the best part of the cruise We used the thermal suite but there the pool was cool not warm and it was hard to get a chair. Many were wondering if the salt room was even working at all. The entertainment was good but the same or similar shows on the past cruises he have taken so a bit p, for us at least, not that entertaining. Shopping was nice but not great. Read Less