All Aboard Insignia!

Last week I was lucky enough to be sent to see the Oceania Insignia, myself and my colleague Gail were to spend 3 nights on board this beautiful ship. This was the 180 day world voyage from the USA so we got to experience this luxury cruise line which I had wanted to try for some time & I wasn’t disappointed.

Insignia holds 684 guests and has 400 staff to look after you.

We flew out to Malaga and met there where our driver Antonio met us in the arrivals hall to drive us to Seville to join the ship.  The journey said it would be 2 hours 20 minutes but took 3 hours 30 minutes due to traffic but the car was spacious and very comfortable so wasn’t too bad.

We checked in and went to our cabin which was a Concierge Balcony and very nice too, the bathroom was a little on the small side and there was a shower curtain not glass doors but that is the only thing I can complain about as the rest of the ship, the service, the food and the staff were amazing so makes up for this.  The showers in the spa were fantastic so if this is an issue you can shower here and use their products too – Bvlgari  too which are lovely.

We were on deck 7 mid ship so a good location and had a lovely balcony to sit out & relax.

The beds were extremely comfortable and I’m not surprised as they are:-

• Seven-zone mattress featuring 400 encapsulated springs and two inches of memory foam
• A two-inch-thick, gel-filled “pillow top” cushion wrapped in chamomile-infused fiber

I think this was the most comfortable bed I’ve ever slept in and wanted to bring it home.  You can actually buy this bed to be delivered to your home – now that’s tempting.

The ship is stunning and has dark wood around in each of the rooms and public areas, it felt like an old style contemporary ship and very relaxed and spacious.

The grand staircase was beautiful:-

Oceania are renowned for their cuisine which was the best I’ve tasted at sea but I will feature the food in my next blog.

The pool area was really quite lovely with very comfortable sun loungers with lovely covers on and in good condition. There are also double cabanas to lie on – these were great to soak up the sun after a dip in the very inviting pool.

Would be rude not to try the jacuzzi & with a glass of bubbles..

At the front of the ship is the spa and if you go through the changing rooms there was a little gem to be found, a lovely Thalassotherapy pool and a quiet area to relax if you don’t want to be by the main pool. I loved it here. I didn’t actually know what Thalassotherapy was so I looked it up and it means:-

Thalassotherapy, from the Greek thalasso meaning ‘sea’ and therapia meaning ‘treatment’, uses the healing and beneficial properties of the sea and the marine environment for your health and wellbeing.

It was so relaxing in this pool and great for relieving stress and good for the body.

I just wish I could have stayed a lot longer to enjoy this stunning ship.

On board there was a library with thousands of books to read, you can do a swap in here too so if you’ve finished your book leave it there and get another one. It was very comfortable and quite and a lovely area to just sit.

There is also a card room for those who love to play cards, we saw people using this quite regularly. Also an internet room so you can keep up to date with emails or social media. Again this was used quite a bit.  At the moment if you book Oceania you get free wifi so a great excuse to use this.

The gym was of a good size for a smaller ship and so many classes you can take part in, we didn’t have time so I didn’t experience this – I always take my gym stuff on a cruise but never get chance to do anything.

Up on the top deck is a 9 hole putting green and shuffleboard for those of you who like to play these games.

There are plenty of deck areas with sunbeds so it never felt crowded and so spacious everywhere we went. I really like this ship and could easily sail on her again for a longer cruise.

For those who like a dabble there is a casino which was a pretty good size for a smaller ship, I’m not into this so we didn’t have a flutter but took a quick look.

As this is a smaller ship and a world cruise there were plenty of overnight stays in ports so the entertainment was quite limited and some evenings no entertainment as everyone was ashore enjoying the destinations. Guest acts join the ship for a week or so at a time and perform 2 shows so quite a variety was put on talking to the guests. We saw a comedian on one night as the other two nights, there was none on.  We spent the time in Horizons bar as you can choose your own songs on an ipad and dance the night away.

The staff were fantastic and so helpful and happy in their jobs. Compared to some ships I’ve been on this was a breath of fresh air.

My highlights of this ship were the beds, the pool area, the space and most importantly the food but come back next time for more on that.

For more information on this ship call me on 0330 303 8208 or email [email protected].

Until next time – Happy Cruising!