We chose this cruise because of the itinerary. All of the cities were places of interest to us and we had not visited them before. We took advantage of the pre cruise add on. Our hotel, Le Germaine, in Montreal had just re-opened after an update. The update is quite modern, think chairs hanging on chain from the ceiling. The hotel is in an ideal location for walking to downtown. The bed was comfortable, shower large and wonderful, and the staff could not have been any better. The pre cruise itinerary enabled us to tour not only Montreal but also Ottawa. Oceania had quick embarkation and fast delivery of our luggage. The Riviera cabin with a veranda was perfect for us. The furnishings were standard but the linens and towels were pristine and new. Our cabin attendants, Suresh and Wilmer, kept our room cleaned and the refrigerator stocked at times when we were out, so we never knew they were even around. Our short conversations with Wilmer were pleasant and his smile and friendliness made him a standout in our mind. This was a very casual cruise with no formal night. Most of the female cruisers dressed in slacks and nice tops for dinners. A very few wore a dress. Men don't need to pack even a sports jacket. Laundry use of washers and dryers was free and detergent was supplied. Had I known, I would have packed less. Dining at the specialty restaurants was excellent, as was the service. We especially loved the Red Ginger and were lucky to get 2 nights there. The watermelon and crispy duck salad and the Sea Bass entree were outstanding. Check with restaurant reservations to see if there is room to add extra to your 4. Thanks to Oceania for including the specialty restaurants without an uncharge. Loved lunching at the Waves Grill. A main Dining Room tip: orders at shared tables will not be taken until the table is full. Entertainment was mostly very good. There was one magician that we didn't like due to the shrill yelling kind of delivery he had. He might have been a great magician but his delivery made the magic go away. One comedian was great the first night but a following night had too many "fart" jokes to be funny. Yes, our crowd was old-er but come on. Boutique options were limited. I was interested in the perfumes etc. at one shop. I observed that the clerk was quite friendly with the 2 customers in front of me. However, when I stepped up and asked questions, I felt that I was treated almost rudely by said clerk and not a valued customer. Perhaps I didn't have the look of $$ ? We loved all the ports that we visited but think the ship excursions were over priced. EX: 2 hour walking tour at 119.00 per person! Book from a local or go on your own at most places and you will do so much better than the Oceania excursions. The only exception was the 2 day hop on in NYC. I thought that one was reasonable. On tender days the wait to get off was terribly long. One day we didn't get off until noon. There must be a more efficient way for this. Disembarking was swift, our luggage was gone from in front of our cabin the night before to claim before boarding our bus to the airport. We did so enjoy our trip but would caution that this was a ship of elderly persons. This is not a cruise for children. I would not recommend it for those who are looking for lots of shipboard fun. There were daily Mensa quizzes, trivia, bean bag toss, golf, an art scavenger hunt, and a few other activities. Perhaps this was in part to the ports and time of year. I don't know about Caribbean experiences on Oceania. Enjoy your trip! PS. Points were given for joining in on the quizzes, trivia, etc. At the end of the trip there was a point redemption for awesome items. I scored a fleece lined windbreaker, t shirt, and purse holder! Read Less

Weather in northeast was far too cold to enjoy the beautiful cities of Canada and New England. Embarkation looked like a greased pig rodeo with two individuals (later three) controlling the crowds. The "herder-in-charge" was too busy chatting with guests (at the head of the line) to keep the processing running smoothly, with agents waving at him frantically to get his attention to send over another person to check in. The subordinate, on the other hand, was constantly distracted by questions, problems, and other issues so that people were jumping the line to check in. When the chatty man in charge noticed the line jumpers, he verbally attacked the other who was facing the crowds. They finally added a third person to make their system work properly. Ship was beautiful. Cabin was clean and well kept. Water was NOT softened leaving the skin and scalp very dry. Dining was good, but not great as there were not too many "simple food" options for people with dietary restrictions. Food too rich. Service was exceptional. Read Less

Oceania is my favorite cruise line, always has excellent food and service. From the stewards to the servers in the dining areas, always outstanding service. Dijon and Suprano took good care of us, always available to our needs. Sedeep in the grill in the Terrace Cafe always greeted you with a big smile and asked you what your needs were and often brought our hot dishes to our table if time permitted since my husband is disabled. Jason also assisted him with breakfast ordered an omelette and bacon and brought it to his table. Buddha in the Toscano was outstanding. He provided extra assistance by cutting his food in bite size pieces since he had noticed he had a walker. Mark in the Polo Grill was great too. He also assisted my husband with his steak. All were very caring and helpful, always with a smile. glad I was able to cancel some excursions in New York city because of weather and schedule a panoramic one. My only problem is not enough accessible rooms/cabins. If you look around what is the average age of most your guests and they’re in walkers, wheelchairs, and have walking canes. They put a chair in the shower, it was so big that there was no room for him to step in the shower and it did not fit in the tub either. If you could at least position some hand rails in the shower and tub to hold on to while taking a shower it would make a BIG difference for your physically challenged guests. It would also help every one during rough seas. I already made a reservation for an Alaskan cruise for next year so we could get a handicapped cabin. The Regatta has ONLY 3 Handicapped rooms available in the whole ship an they are inside cabins Read Less

Food was great, excellent maid service and friendly professional wait staff. Lousy wifi connectivity; we had to go to computer area to complete this review. On shore excursions were less than adequate. Cliff Walk and Breakers in Newport was good and allowed for time on your own in Breakers mansion. PEI tour of Coastal Charms was too long -- stopping for 45 minutes at souvenir shop not desirable. Travel lectures were extremely disappointing, Information presented in a rambling, disorganized fashion providing very little real guidance or background history. Ship is beautiful and has a variety of areas for eating and enjoying the time traveling. Dining was great and food exceeded expectations. Entertainment also exceeded expectations: the string quartet was fabulous, professional and very enjoyable. The Riviera Show team was fantastic, extremely talented and delightful. Comedienne was very good both evenings and also in the afternoon session. Comedian was good but use of bathroom humor was overdone and in poor taste. Major credit to Oceania captain and crew for change in itinerary because of bad weather in Bar Harbor. Change allowed us a beautiful fall day in Bar Harbor and Acadia National Park. Embarkation and disembarkation went very smoothly even when port required use of tenders. Read Less

We were looking forward to seeing the fall colours down the coast of New England and indulge ourselves in some luxury. We could not fault the cabin or the service onboard - both were excellent. But much of the food was not really to our taste - a very burnt-tasting lobster bisque and some odd flavour combinations (not sure what they did to make the avocado toast taste nothing like a fresh avocado) though Toscana served some of the best pasta I have ever tasted. The entertainment was ho-hum - good dancers but poor voices and the Smile String Quartet did not raise a smile at any time (very serious young ladies). The saving grace was the Riviera Show Band who were great. However what really shocked us were the prices of the excursions. You can always expect that they will be pricey from the ship - but up to 3 times the price of the same excursion booked independently is price gouging. My suggestion is to book some excursions independently before you leave - Quebec, Portland and and Bar Harbour are too beautiful to miss because of budget and there are very good independent companies that offer great value. It was also disappointing to spend 2 days sheltering at sea during a storm and not be provided with anything other than the set daily activities to compensate for not seeing Boston and Rhode Island. Some of the activities were naturally over-crowded seeing nobody was on shore. A bit of imagination and the addition of some extra entertainment would have helped raise the mood and overcome the disappointment. But the worst part was the disembarkation - a queue that was so long it took us nearly an hour to leave the ship. We have never experienced that on any cruise before. What we always remember is the beginning and the end - and the ned was very bad indeed. Read Less

Told this USED TO BE a great cruise line. Times have changed tremendously!! Definitely a 3rd rate ship in need of professional leadership at the corporate level. The ship is run as though they going broke!! You pay for two fares for you and your partner, then are told the so called free internet can only be used by one of you at a time??? Or you can pay an additional $270 for the other person. They allow one bar of shower soap for two people to last 2 weeks. The same with the small bottles of lotion and shampoo ! Of course, you can purchase more.... Food quality has definitely declined significantly!!!! And the portions are meager as you almost beg for more. Waiters have been ordered not to ask would you like another drink, unless it is one you are buying. We would never cruise with Oceania again. Caveat emptor.. Read Less

I chose this cruise because of the ports and food but I was very disappointed in the addition of an additional tender at Sydney and Sydney in general! It is a port that should be taken out! Instead add a day to Quebec City as the time spent there was way too short. It was also hard since the time spent there was cut short. I also think the beverage package is over priced. You should be able to get wine at the bars too especially since most days, we are not there for lunch! The spa is nice but you need more than one bathroom in the changing room. We did have wonderful staff that cleaned our room(Leadie). The food was very good especially in the specialty restaurants. The excursions were very expensive and the ones that I would have been interested in were moderate and were filled. Thank you Read Less

Just returned from three week cruise on Riviera. Have cruised with them before but I think they have gone downhill. Many small problems. Late for several excursion because of management issues. Three tours was cut short because of problems but we were offered no compensation. Twice we had serious tender issues and once had to be towed back to ship. Crew was good but I think there are management issues. Most disappointing was the excursions.Descriptions did not match reality. They over-hype the excursions. leading to a disappointing experience. Management unresponsive to our issues.Disembarkation was an issue. We were told breakfast a 5:30 but when we got there they said it was a mistake and had to wait until 6:30, another in a series of management miscommunications. Leave the ship was 30 min.later than we were told. Special restaurants were all excellent. The manager of Red Ginger was very impressive and ran a top notch operation. Read Less

We loved Oceania so we booked a trip from Iceland, through Greenland, Canada, and the coast, to New York. Plenty of headaches leaving and returning to the ship because of the tenders. Lots of ineptness by the staff. Plenty of "hurry up and wait." We arrived in Reykjavik at 6:30 a.m. and were taken to a hotel but first, we waited for an hour at the airport as the staff tried to find our names and cross them off separate lists. Sounds simple but each staff person (3) had to cross our name off of their own lists and thus caused a delay. Then, instead of waiting in the warmth of the airport, they sent us outside, temps in 40's, and made us wait for busses that arrived 30 minutes later. Next, we went to a hotel and waited in a conference room for four hours until they brought us to the ship. It would have been nice to drop us off in a shopping district but we all sat around waiting. When we got to the ship, we all waited outside in the rain in one long line. No cover. Poor start. We signed up for six excursions. They have you arrive in the Riviera lounge 15 minutes before the star of your tour. Twice we waited because of tender trouble. All four tenders were not operating. We sat in our seats for two hours. Those with private tours were screwed. When you stay in a port for 7-8 hours, such delays are inexcusable. In St. John, we arrived for our tour 90 minutes late. The highlight was returning to the ship in a heavy downpour. Lightning, hail, an inch of rainfall. The bus stopped and our tour guide said, "Please stay on the bus, the weather is bad but it will usually clear up in ten minutes." OK. I'll sit. An Oceania representative showed up and said we had to leave immediately because the tenders are waiting for us. All 40 of us, some with walkers and canes, made their way to the dock some 75 yards away, sloshing in an inch of water as lightning flashed above us. When we got to the dock, there were no tenders. NO TENDERS! She lied to us to get us off the bus so we could hurry up and wait. We all waited outside, under a roof, cold, wet and pissed, for a half hour until the tender arrived. It stopped raining in ten minutes. Thank god no one was struck by lightning. This was inexcusable and showed that Oceania had no concern for people's safety. The other thing we noticed is that, unlike other cruises, the wait staff didn't return and ask if you wanted refills of your beverages if you didn't have the alcoholic beverage package. I'm a water and iced tea drinker. The experience with the tenders has soured our view of returning to an Oceania cruise. It is one of the most expensive cruise lines and you shouldn't have mistakes like this. Read Less

There were three stops on this cruise that were not worth one hour much less a day!Trois Rivieres,Quebec, Corner Brook,Newfoundland to name two. The food in the main dining room was mediocre at best and the service there was poor. I have cruised Oceania many times and felt this is no longer a first class experience. On sail aways, like from New York, all they had was a band and no wine or champagne like they used to. The food in the two special restaurants was excellent...Toscana and Polo. The service in these was excellent but you are limited to two nights at each on a 17 day cruise! The Concierge "Suites" in this ship, Insignia, are very small..especially for a 17 day or linger cruise. Note that if you take the 8 "free" excursions and you are a couple that means on four excursions each! Any additional and you pay extra. Read Less

I chose this cruise because of the ports it included specifically Quebec City, Charlottetown, New York, and Bermuda. The rest I didn’t really care one way or another. Both Charlottetown and Bermuda were cancelled - not Oceania’s fault for Bermuda - weather was bad. Substituted Corner Brook,Nfld for Charlottetown- not impressed - never heard a reason. 2 other Canadian ports were cancelled due to high winds and they were tender ports. I am travelling solo and this is not the ship to do that on. Entertainment is boring - music is boring. Most passengers are very “old.” I am a senior too but most of the passengers were “old” even for me and everyone was in pairs. Some people were friendly others were not. They had a meet and greet for solo travellers - 2 of the men that showed up were cousins travelling together - both were married - so not solo. One man and one woman were travelling together - so not solo. Just because they weren’t married doesn’t mean they were alone. 3 that showed up were part of the entertainment group - and knew each other well - so not solo. I don’t mind being alone but the staff made you feel awkward sometimes because you took up a table. I guess some people don’t understand those of us that like to be alone. The problem was because the weather was cold no one was using the outside tables. Everyone seems to like Oceania’s food but I wasn’t overly impressed. One chef they had working the grill was not very pleasant - and lucky me - he was the one I always got to take my order. They had too many waiters sometimes - clearing plates before you were finished with them. The hours their restaurants serve is too restricted. Breakfast ends too early - if you don’t eat by 10 am you have to eat at lunch. And, if you are late for lunch because you went ashore your only option was the outside grill if it was before 4 pm. They had 2 nights with a red ginger theme - and I ate in my room the second night because I didn’t like anything on the menu. Never used my reservations for the specialty restaurants- couldn’t imagine sitting there by myself. They often had snacks in other areas but they were all carbs - pastries, cakes. I have read other reviews about the passengers on the world cruise being cliquey- and I agree. They have games they play just for them. Cabin bed and linens are great. The steward looking after my room was great - very efficient. But after a few days I started to smell a “sewer like” smell on my floor. ?? Not sure what that was all about. Very limited shopping available. Sell on-board cruises like crazy. Most other people seemed to like Oceania- so maybe I am the odd one. Read Less

This was 3rd Oceania Cruise, second on this ship. The selections in the Main Dining Room were very good on our previous Oceania Cruises so we expected a similar experience on this cruise. This was not to be. The food was good generally, the buffet and specialty restaurants were excellent but getting additional reservations in the specialty restaurants beyond the Two which came with our cabin category was impossible except for very late seatings. The Main dining room food was generally tasty BUT the choices on the menu were very limited with prime rib, lobster or other expensive cuts very seldom being seen on the menu. The Oceania Accountants have seemed to taken the position that if you want the good food you better buy the expensive cabins so you get more seatings in the specialty restaurants. Never let the bean counters run the menu! The rest of the cruise was fine except the weather caused us to miss three of the ports which was not the fault of Oceania. Read Less

Loved the ports of call. Love the size of the ship. We wanted to sail up the eastern seaboard. You feel like you belong to a family when coming on board an Oceania cruise ship. The crew are very helpful and can’t do enough for you. Embarkation was very easy and the ground staff were very friendly and helpful. One criticism is that the cost of the shore excursions are disproportionately expensive. The cabins are fairly well appointed but the balcony on this particular cabin was very exposed and it was extremely noisy and disturbing when the anchor was activated especially first thing in the morning.. At breakfast there was only an option of vegetarian sausage once in the ten day voyage. Generally the food was excellent. We love cruising with Oceania and will always look to cruise with them as our first option. Your cruise director was very entertaining and kept you well informed of what was happening on and off the ship. Read Less

First off, I want to congratulate Oceania on the updated interior of the Insignia, The interior decorators did a fabulous job making the ship brighter and warmer. We had a Concierge verandah and the cabin, though on the small side, was extremely comfortable with a great bed, linens and towels. With the addition of shower doors, the small shower was a non-issue for us. This was our 3rd Oceania cruise(Nautica and Riviera previously) and we thought the food was the best of all 3! We ate 4 times in the speciality restaurants and for the 1st time I finally had a delicious steak in Polo(other several times on previous cruises the steaks in Polo were almost unedible). We ate the rest off our dinners in the GDR and thought the food and service was excellent. Yes,the waiters seemed somewhat overworked, but overall we enjoyed the GDR over The Terrace because it was less hectic. The menu is smaller, but if it didn’t appeal to us, we ordered the Jacques Pepiin salmon or chicken.(The chicken was perfect). The ship was incredibly clean and housekeeping did a great job keeping our cabin(7041) spotless. The cruise itself hit a lot of ports(Boston, Bar Harbor and Quebec were are favorites) It would be fantastic if the ship overnighted in Boston and Quebec City and missed some of the minor ports(we didn’t go to Sydney to outrun Dorian). The only entertainment we went to was the comedian who was very funny. Out of our approximately 35 cruises(about 20 on Celebrity) we thought this was one the very best! Again, Bravo Oceania! Read Less

We were a little nervous booking this particular cruise due to the ship going into dry dock immediately after. We figured the weather would be iffy due to the time of year (11/2-11/18) and did have a few chilly, rainy days. We missed only 1 port, Bar Harbor, due to tender issues. For the most part, the ship was in good repair and other than some slightly worn upholstery it was well kept and all areas very clean. Our stateroom, 8000, is considered a suite and was lovely and included a 3 cushion full sized sofa, 2 club chairs and a glass table in addition to a very comfy bed. There was plenty of storage and the bathroom must be larger than other levels as it was plenty big. Oh, and the live orchid in the room was a lovely touch. A slight disappointment was the main dining room with their menu of sameness. Oh, there’d be a special few items thrown in daily but it wasn’t exceptional. What WAS fabulous was The Polo Grill and the grilled lobster tails and grilled shrimp every evening in the buffet. We found the Italian restaurant, Toscana, to be just okay. Husband returned one entree, a veal dish. I tasted it and agreed it wasn’t good either in texture or taste. I will say staff immediately swooped in and expedited his new order. The buffet is handled very well. No cruiser touches the food. You indicate what you want and staff prepare your plate THEN, more often than not, another staff member steps in and carries your plate to your table. There’s no self serve of food or drink. Another true highlight is tea time which is a lovely event served with a background of a string quartet. The house band was good with one member being exceptional. Staff was fabulous. The cruise director, Shawn Carter, was one of the more engaging CD’s we’ve met. All service staff were quick with their greetings and generous in their thank you’s. The only flaw we encountered was a rather disengaged front desk staff but that blip was more than made up by the butler who couldn’t do enough for us. He was so well trained and seemed sincerely vested in our enjoyment. I wasn’t expecting much in the way of entertainment but was surprised—pleasantly. In addition to several enrichment talks (on the ports of call, on the history of where we were traveling, to an marine biologist giving talks on various sea life) the evening show included a comedian, a magician, several singers, a fabulous guitarist, a pianist. True, there’s no production numbers like you find on larger ships but the shows are more like lounge acts. Very intimate and entertaining. There was the usual bingo, trivia, karaoke, bracket making. WiFi was usually good—not speedy but adequate save one day the satellite wasn’t functioning well as some streamed newscasts on the TV were not working either. So would I sail Oceania again? Yes!!! I enjoyed the quietness of the ship, the lack of rowdy games, loud music or intrusive photographer. Fellow passengers were a mature, well traveled group which made for interesting conversation. Read Less

Travelling alone for the first time I found the staff very helpful,friendly and accomodating. The choice of meals in the Main Dining Room was very limited and was very salty overall including the Terrace Grill.Overall I enjoyed it. The Ship was on it's last voyage before dry dock where it was getting a complete overall,so a lot of the other things will not apply. I loved the itinerary of this cruise because it was one of the few that included Bermuda, but because of the time of year we encountered some bad weather and could not get into one Port but nonetheless I still enjoyed the Cruise. The entertainment at night was varied,but wasn't of the caliber of some of the other cruise lines. The Dining Room staff were accomodating in trying to seat me with another couple most of the time. I met a lot of many wonderful people on the cruise which is why I love travelling on a smaller ship. Read Less

My wife and I and two couples sailed on Insignia late October/November from New York to Montreal. A misnamed "Fall " cruise. Having arranged the cruise I boarded with some trepidation because of the imminent refit. However the condition of the ship was fine and we liked the rich colours of the décor (about to go pastel and bland) We had a verandah cabin which was reasonably spacious. The amount of storage space was great. The bathroom small but functional (hate shower curtains!) The bed was very comfortable. We were late to dinner on the first night due to taking full advantage of sailaway from New York which looked magnificent at night. To ease numbers the six of us were asked to dine at Toscana which was a great treat. Very nice food and service. We enjoyed Bar Harbour and Boston very much. Then the issues began. At Bar Harbour it was deemed too rough to tender ashore so" in the interests of passenger safety "(an oft repeated phrase) we spent the day scenic cruising. The day was foggy and we were not near the coast so there was nothing scenic about the day. We have missed ports before for the same reason, even in the Med, so no big deal. St John is a disappointing port. Not particularly scenic, no fall colours on display, shopping malls still in the 1960s. The reversing tide is the drawcard, however that did not occur when we were in port. Oceania in designing the itinerary must know what the tides are for the port. We sailed out into a significant storm. The ship pitched and shuddered all night, worse than any "yips" I have experienced on a flight. While I felt reasonably safe, my wife along with many others was concerned. I do not recall any reassuring words being given by either captain or other officer.When day dawned we could see sizeable swells, estimated by crew at 10 metres. We sailed to Halifax, the captain came on and said we would not be able to dock as it was too rough for the pilot. We would try to dock later in the morning. More scenic sailing, in the interests of passenger safety!. This involved sailing at around 8 knots, seemingly beam on to the large swells. There were sounds of crashing crockery and glassware throughout the day. The crew at the Barrista station and in the dining rooms continued to give very good service despite the difficulties. Several crew members said it was the roughest conditions they had encountered. Late in the afternoon an officer told us thathe ship had to dock at Halifax to take on a high grade of fuel required while in Canadian waters. This was informal information, certainly nothing came from the bridge. We eventually docked at 2200 and sailed again at 200 the following day. That gave the six of us time to hit three bars and listen to Neil Young soundalikes on open mic nights. Because of the late departure we missed going to Sydney. Some months before the cruise we were advised the stop at Sept Isles was cancelled. The reason given was new speed restrictions on the St Lawrence due to the presence of whales. Just before we departed we were advised the stop at Saguney was cancelled because facilities were closed for the winter. We had an overnight in Quebec as some compensation and Quebec is a very interesting port. However an advertised one day at sea became four. Not really what we paid for. We became aware that a group as large as 25 had demanded to speak to the Captain. That meeting did not happen because repotedly the Captain did not speak to passengers! The approach taken by the Captain was followed by other senior officers who were not visible during the voyage. The honourable exception was the Cruise Director Shawn who did a great job of keeping a lid on matters. There was a lack of communication and transparency about why ports were dropped from the itinerary and missed during the voyage. Free drinks were on offer for 2 hours on two evenings. No use for those of us who had purchased the Premium drinks package. No suggestion of a refund. While on the drinks package we only decided once on board to take the package which I found disappointing. My wife and I love chardonnay. There were two in the package, one Californian the other French. The ship ran out of Californian within a few days and then ran out of the French. So no chardonnay for the last two nights. Yes there were pinot gris and pinot grigio available but hardly "Premium" We certainly still had a good time, enjoyed the entertainment and the food. However cruising is very competitive and I would have to think hard about going on Oceania again, and certainly would not cruise on a ship with the particular Captain in charge In hindsight taking the last cruise of the season carries a risk of rough weather. However that does not excuse the lack of effective and open communication.Frankly I think what little we were told was nonsense.. As I said Shawn was an excellentexception. Read Less

A cruise of a life time as I thought , very disappointed, I saved so hard for this cruise put me off , I have read some reports I totally agree with there comments from other passengers , I feel cruise should have not taken place . Enjoyed New York , reason for going was to experience the fall in all its colours did not happen . Lack of information @ times !! Last 2 day before coming to end of cruise they put on drinks 5-30 to 7-00 free of charge ( I feel that was to make up for what had happened on cruise as cruise did not go to plan , they was so many unhappy passengers , It made the atmosphere uncomfortable that's not what I wanted to experience on this cruise . Will not be recommending to any one . As they say you hear more about bad experiences not quick enough to give good reports . Read Less

This was our 7 time with Oceania.. Anyone planning on taking a cruise with Oceania Cruise line please read this, what I affectionately call my CRUISE FROM HELL. I have never done this before but we have been treated so badly by this cruise line others should know what happened. Please, Please Share, People need to be warned. My husband and I took the Fall Splendor Cruise from New York to Montreal, leaving on Tuesday, October 23rd for 10 nights. It started in NYC and we immediately noticed a drop in temperature. Boarding the ship was easy and our cabin, Vista suite was ready early. Our first night on the ship and our cabin was very cold. By the time we reached Boston it was unbearable, so we called down and a repair person was sent up. The blowers weren't working right was the first of many diagnosis's. The one door to the outside was bleeding air very badly so someone else would come up to fix that. The blowers were adjusted and the doors were sealed better. Once we docked in Boston, our first port of call, we got off the ship for a little while and took the provided shuttle to Quincy Market. We were bundled but it still was very cold. We were notified that our intended stop in Sanguenney was cancelled because the authorities had closed the park there because of cold weather. It was too cold even for Canada. That night our room was again very cold. We called again and this time the thermostat wasn't working right so that was replaced but our door still kept whistling. They would work on that too. While in Newport, RI, we heard that there was a "Nort easter" coming. We became concerned but was told the ship wouldn't put us in danger. We skipped Bar Harbor, the highlight of the cruise for us, as it wasn't safe to dock.The second trip change On the way to Halifax the seas were so rough, too rough for any ship to be out and I spent the night in agony, throwing up all night and moaning. I couldn't pick my head off the pillow without throwing up. I prayed for daylight and hoping to be on Terra firma by 7 Am at the latest, but the announcements kept coming all day long that the port was closed Finally I called the infirmary and spoke to the Nurse. It was Sunday and they were not on duty, so I paid whatever I couldn't take it any more. I received two shots. I couldn't stay in 7005 as the nurse told me that is the worse place to be with the night we just had. There was no promise of the next night being any better. Finally at 8:30 PM we did dock at Halifax as the ship had to refuel. They stopped for 3 hours in Halifax, which was not much of a stop. We were then advised that we’d be skipping the intended stop in Sydney, change number 3. Would be leaving Halifax at 0200 and sail “forever” in whatever seas there were to Quebec City. We decided “enough was enough” and got off by 9:30 PM luggage and all. A taxi driver, Rex, a native of Halifax told us that no ships should have been out on a night like the one that just passed. My husband and I agreed with him. It felt so wonderful to be on solid ground. This was our 7th cruise with Oceania and we trusted the cruise line. You had many films on the TV about their plans to refurbish the Insignia. I think they waited too long. The ship was not in great shape and that door never stopped leaking. The cabin did warm up after they changed the thermostat, and we spent 3 of the 5 nights on the ship freezing. This cruise should either not been scheduled at all or have been cancelled as soon as they saw the temperature dropping and that a storm was coming in, that is why all those ports were cancelled. This was too late in the season for Oceania to have a cruise to Montreal. They did put us in danger so Please do not take a cruise on Oceania, because I care about your safety and comfort, Oceania does not. Read Less

We chose this cruise for the destinations along the Atlantic coast of the US and Canada and down the St Lawrence - New York to Montreal. We missed half of the scheduled ports of call: Bar Harbor, Halifax, Sidney and Sagueney. Other than Bar Harbor (too rough for the tenders), we have had no proper explanation from Oceania or the onboard staff. The Captain refused to meet the passengers and effectively locked himself in his cabin or on the bridge. The general manager met with the passengers but was clearly in total awe of the Captain and merely said he is sorry. So instead of the scheduled one day at sea, we will have 4 and to compensate for missing Sagueney we will have 2 days in Quebec. Better than another day at sea I guess. However, a suggestion from many passengers, that we spend a day at Halifax and another at Sydney and only one day in Quebec was ignored despite it appearing quite feasible, This is a relatively small boat, so there is very little to do unless you fancy needlepoint, bracelet making, karaoke or bingo. Don’t get me wrong the ship is great, most of the staff are wonderful and the food top class. But I expected it to be somewhere to return to every day not to be on it full time. The library was chockablock! The passengers were going stir crazy. No wonder the Captain won’t show himself. In fact, we understand he didn't attend his own cocktail party. The only compensation the passengers got was 2 two-hour free drinks sessions over 2 days. Wow! Despite having emailed Oceania several times, I have had no explanation as to why we had to miss so many of the scheduled ports of call or nay apology. As for the title of the cruise Fall Splendors - we’ve seen precious little of those. As regards the ship itself. It was excellent. Despite an imminent and extensive refurb. it was in great shape and the public rooms and restaurants were a pleasure to be in. The staterooms are a little small but well appointed and comfortable. The bed was excellent. The bathrooms are tiny and, I suspect a challenge for anyone over 6'. The dining and standard of food were excellent. We generally ate in the Grand Dining Room but had 2 nights each in Polo and Toscana. All were superb. We also tried the Terrace and Waves which were both excellent and the afternoon tea in Horizons was also great. The Staff were excellent, attentive and helpful at all times. The only issue was that one of the Reception staff was quite rude when I tried to get an explanation for the missed ports. When I suggested that the Captian didn't really exist, she thought I was serious and gave me a long explanation as to what would happen if we didn't have a Captain. Obviously had a sense of humour bypass! We didn't think much of the entertainment choices, but that's not why we booked the cruise. Overall, what could have been a great cruise was spoiled by spending so many days at sea. This may have been for good operational reasons but these were never explained to us. Like a lot of fellow passengers, we felt the changes in the schedule were for Oceania's benefit rather than the paying customers. Given the time of year, I don't think this cruise should have sailed. A "cruise too far" perhaps from Oceania Read Less

We have just returned from the worst cruise experience ever. The atmosphere on board when the ship docked at Halifax was close to a mutiny. The Captain was being asked to explain why we had endured four days out of ten on the sea instead of one. Why the ship had arrived at Halifax at 22-00 ? My wife had to spend the day in the cabin due to the ship circling for most of the day feeling sick and giddy. Then to add insult to injury a bill was received from the Doctor for $445 for my wife’s treatment for sea sickness---a more appropriate action would have been a note and some flowers to say sorry. It is outrageous to charge a single dime for her treatment caused by the ineptness of the ship . One of your ship staff admitted that out of the last seven scheduled stops at Sydney only once did the ship dock There were many guests calling for an explanation from the Captain and were given the lame excuse that he was asleep. There was not any explanation given for the delayed arrival at Halifax. The General Manager was given an extensive list of cabin numbers so that he could offer an explanation for the delays but he did not have the courtesy to reply. There were free drinks offered to say sorry but these are of no value if you are teetotal Additionally I had requested an anniversary cake and it took three reminders before the “surprise” arrived. The helpful waiter offered to deliver it to our cabin and we are still waiting for its arrival……. I complained about the portion size of the fish at the Toscana restaurant and did not get a proper explanation, only an ansafone message saying that the Restaurant manager will call back. I am still waiting….. The attraction to the cruise was New England in the Fall and the attractive eight places to visit. In the event there were only four Can’t help feeling that the Cruise was for the benefit of Oceania and not its passengers so that passengers could spend more while the ship sailed the Ocean. How wise was it for this voyage to have taken place given the weather conditions in the Atlantic at this time of the year I would like to say that the staff in the dining room and cabins went out of their way to be helpful. The ship was tastefully fitted out but I felt that the entertainment was under par Read Less

We choose this cruise for the itinerary and only one sea day. The food and service in the main dining room and the speciality restaurants was the worst we have ever had on any of the 49 cruises we have done. In the Toscana restaurant I had pasta which was tasteless we waited a good ½ hour between courses. In the Polo restaurant they had on the menu Kobe steak, when I ordered it I was informed that it was a Burger which means it could be any type of meat. I chose the Rack of lamb which i could not chew it was so tough. In the main restaurant i had a stir fry which consisted of a watery curry base with slices of carrot and cabbage which i did not eat.This was the first cruise where my wife and I came home the same weight as we left. The entertainment consisted of singers and dancers and a singing ventriloquist who performed twice he was very average . There were two stops which were cancelled due to sea as it was too rough for the tenders to take us in. We were told that we would have to see the US customs on board at 8am before we got off the ship so everyone was up early when the Captain announced at 8am that we would not be stopping. This wasn't a cheap cruise so we expected a lot more for the amount we paid. Never again will we cruise with this company. Read Less

Advertised as Fall Splendour with varied itinerary along the St Lawrence and Eastern seaboard of the USA from Montreal to New York. Embarkation and disembarkation process efficient except that the taxi pick up point in New York had been closed by the police as 650 people tried to get off the ship . Veranda cabin deck 6 adequate but dated . shower very small ,no bath and intermittent hot water . Italian speciality restaurant overseen by rude arrogant maitre 'd and indifferent waiting staff . Grill restaurant was excellent by comparison. Terrace Cafe overcrowded and chaotic serving area for mediocre repetitive menus. Waiting staff pushing alcohol sales at every opportunity . Afternoon tea a disorganised melee. Entertainment very poor . Nightly shows amateurish at best . Had two extra days at sea due to "weather conditions" . Sydney I can accept but Bar Habor seemed to be aborted to make up lost time as this is a sheltered port.There was no attempt to add or compensate for the loss of these two ports in either entertainment terms or money . The shore excursions were the most expensive I have come across when paid for on board .It was possible to use local guides at half the cost . The cabin stewardess was the only positive . The ship was going for a refurbishment after this cruise ,and it needed it . The overall impression was of complete disdain for passengers comfort by a Captain clearly wanting to get to refitting dock as soon as possible . I would not travel with Oceanic again . Cunard are far superior and professional . Read Less

We were attracted by the itinerary as it visited some places to which we had not been before and we were swayed by the marketing that promised so much but as we discovered actually delivered well below our reasonable expectations. The food arrived invariably tepid or cold and was sent back. The tables were being cleared before all the table had finished eating. The drink prices can only be described as a rip off!!! A run of the mill wine we buy for £7 is marked up at $45 plus 18% service charge. The shower was cold for the early part of the cruise as was the cabin for the whole trip despite our represenations. The wind was lifting the curtains in our cabin and the noise of it could be heard by reception!!! Gaffa tape was provided as a short term measure but it was never fully weathertight. The entertainment was mostly disappointing apart from the pianist. We have enjoyed a number of other cruises but we would not sail with this Company again. Read Less

It was a very small cabin and we could not even put suitcases away or under the bed. We had no hot water in the cabin for 4 days.despite assurances from Cutomer Service staff s that it was being fixed. It was sold as a concierge cabin but we did not have a concierge waiter or any service. We could not make a Wifi connection because a poor signal in the cabin despite being offered "free Wif" as part of the deal. The computer room did have a better connection but that was down for 24hours.. There were no external TV services for the first week of the voyage due to a "problem with the satellite". Despite many problems the Customer service staff did very little to help and the cruise did not live up to the reputation of an upmarket cruise line. Since our return we have complained and were told that our complaints had been and were offered an increased on-board spend on our next cruise. When we pointed out that we were inlikely to go another cruise with their Company "they were disappointed". Read Less