We are experienced cruisers on both large (Celebrity, RCCL, NCL, Princess, Costa) and small (Azamara, Windstar) ships. I think our expectations were in line with the size of the ship, and of course I did quite a bit of research before leaving. We knew the bathroom was going to be small- but sheesh! The shower is REALLY small. I'm a small person and it still seemed tiny- I don't know how some people even manage to fit! The cabin itself seemed smaller than what I thought was the same cabin on the Azamara Quest. (6090, Aft) The cabin seeming small was not a big deal but what we were really disappointed in was the food and some of the policies. We had a concierge class cabin so had four nights in the specialty restaurants. I was looking forward to some nice prime rib at the Polo Grill. I ordered an "end cut" and wow-- what I got was a very under cooked (almost raw...) piece of end cut. It would have been better if they just said "sorry, we don't have any available." They took it back and "grilled" it which is not prime rib. They offered to switch it for something else but at that point I just ate the baked potato and called it a night. We thought the food was better at Toscana. I guess I heard to much about how good the food is and my expectations might have been too high. We found the service on the ship to be very good. The only other thing we were disappointed in was their so-called included laundry service for concierge class. You have to allow three days turn around time which on a 10 night trip seems a bit excessive. They do say the included laundry is only "fluff and fold" and boy was that correct! I used the included pressing of four items which resolved some of the fluff and fold problem but not all of it. When we booked our trip the only thing available was concierge class-- not sure it was worth the extra cost on the smaller ships but we were okay with it as we wanted this timing and itinerary. From what I have read most seem to enjoy the concierge lounge on the larger ships. My other issue was that their policy allows scooters or wheelchairs to be in the hallway. As long as the cleaning carts can get by they let them stay there. I mentioned this to the front desk as I seem to remember that most cruise ships do not allow this. If you hit rough seas they become flying missiles that could hurt employees or passengers. She said "they don't have enough accessible cabins so this is our way around it." When someone gets hurt my guess is they will change the policy,,,,,, They brought out Christmas decorations around the 15th of December which were very nice. I thought the entertainment was good for a small ship and the cruise director, Shawn Carter, was very good. He did some entertainment one afternoon and we enjoyed that quite a bit. I also really enjoyed Constantine Dragulov, a pianist and vocalist. All in all I don't think we'd return to Oceania. Some of the employees were terrific, (such as bartender Desi and sommelier Andre) and all were at least adequate. With that said, I don't want to be the one that has a scooter come flying at me! Read Less

We were pleasantly surprised by the outstanding cabin! Renovations are outstanding! Service and food the entire cruise was excellent --- no matter where we ate. The eggs benedict was outstanding at the Terrace Cafe! Fresh muffin, Canadian bacon with freshly poached egg and topped with outstanding Hollandaise sauce. Yum! In fact all the selections in the Terrace Cafe were excellent --- spoiled by all the servers who were there to please. My husband fell in love with the extra thick chocolate shake in Waves. Grand Dining room had excellent food and service, but at times could be slow and a bit frustrating. If you needed something "out of the ordinary" it was hard to get the item. Polo and Toscano Specialty restaurants were both excellent! Entertainment was varied and good. The singers were extremely talented and the Frank Sinatra impersonator was outstanding! The Martini Bar piano player and entertainer at one of the big shows was excellent. Martinis were outstanding! The enrichment lectures could have been better --- we expected to hear more about Cuba's history and politics. The presentations were limited and bland -- that was disappointing. Excursions on Cienfuegos were the best; though the one going to Colonial Trinidad in Santiago was very interesting and good. The buffet lunch in one of the local restaurants was delicious. Time was limited in Havana ... would have been good if we'd been able to see a Tropicana Show there and had more shopping time to get cigars & local crafts.. Read Less

We previously sailed on the Insignia. We have never been to Cuba before and the cruise stopped at three ports in Cuba. The embarkation was a little slow for a smaller ship. The dining was very good in all the restaurants on board. The Wi Fi access is free one device per cabin. The speed was very slow at times and some websites would time out before I could login. The cabin size was okay with a veranda. There was limited desk space. There were cabinets and shelves all around to store clothes and personal items. The bathroom was small with a shower and limited shelves. The lightning in the cabin was very good. There were USB ports on both sides of the bed and on the desk. There was one 220 V and 110 V outlet on the desk. There are two banks of elevators on the ship one aft and one forward. The ship was was recently remodeled. The entertainment was very good one show per night. There were activities every day, There is a full casino and bars on different decks on the ship. 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

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

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

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 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 chose this NEWEngland/Canada cruise because of the Oceania reputation and the quieter atmosphere of a smaller ship. Oceanis surely scored very high in terms of their wonderful staff, excellent dining room, and delicious food. While some aspects of the Fall Wonder tour were great, none of the great things included the ship itself and certainly not the poor decision made by the Captain to cruise into a Nor’easter. Best aspects include a wonderful team of servers, cabin stewards, and crew; these young people deserve an A +. Also excellent was the dining in the Grand Dining Room and the cuisine. However, while no one can blame the Captain for the terrible weather -including a nasty storm - the decision to leave a safely docked port in St John and cruise through a terrible storm in order to reach a destination which would not even allow us to dock was a reckless error. The night of the storm was no less than terrifying. The next day, as both glassware and unsteady humans fell to the floor there was not a word from the Captain to reassure anyone...only the messages announcing that we had no port to enter. Out of eight possible ports we missed four. Instead of one sea day we had four. No Happy hour offer could appease the disappointment of those who could admit to themselves that this trip was a loser.A valuable lesson for me was that for any future cruise I must do more research. Tonnage really matters in the middle of a Nor’easter. Insignia did not handle the Atlantic in a manner that helped six hundred passengers to feel safe.The loss of enjoyment with the port cancellations was disappointing, but the genuine fear for the personal safety of the people on that ship was a black memory I will never forget. Should I cruise again I will research the ship long before I book...and I will not return to Insignia. 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