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Quality Experience as usual |
| Reviewed By: Wardle, Moreton Morrell on 1st Dec 2008 |
| Cruise Line: Oceania Cruises |
Times cruised before: 3-5 |
| Cruise Ship: Insignia |
Sailed:
November,
2008 |
| Destination: Mediterranean |
Age: 46-55 |
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10 day relatively last minute booking at a decent price, so we upgraded to a PH1 Suite, rather than the Conceirge class Balcony cabin we would normally book. This was our third cruise on this line which really suits us for the flexibility and quality of the dining experience, the lack of queues, and the generally upscale but casual experience.
Oceania delivered their normal excellent friendly service, and the food offering and atmosphere were good overall. The standards and cleanliness of the ship are excellent, and public areas never seem to be under pressure. Personally I find the country club decor a little dated for my taste, and would prefer a lighter brighter environment in some of the public areas and the staterooms (all that dark wood panelling!) but this is a detail, as one can't argue with the overall feeling of comfort and quality.
The Suite had plenty of space, and was lighter than the rather cosy normal staterooms on account of the large patio style windows, which was nice but not a deal breaker, as we have always had a good experience in standard cabins before, and don't tend to spend ages in our room. We felt the Butler service was rather a waste, and an unnecessary on- cost, and didn't see any appreciable difference in service levels as a result, indeed sometimes room service was slower than we have experienced before. I guess if you are a needy type with loads of demands, then you might get better value, but it did appear that the Butler can't be everywhere at once!
One doesn't go on Oceania for the entertainment, but having said that we have always thought it was more than satisfactory for the size of ship on previous cruises. On this cruise, it was atrocious and amateurish, with obvious cost cutting compared with previous cruises with them. Not good enough, even for Oceania!
We tend to do our own thing in ports, but the lack of quality and high price of ships tours seems from talking to other guests to be weak. Destination information is also not a strong point, with incorrect information provided sometimes (which may overstate the difficulties to encourage people to take ship's tours!) However for the well travelled confident traveller happy to do their own thing, this is not a problem.
The evening meal experience is a highlight. Wines are quite expensive, and you need to make sure you don't get drawn into a regular nightly bottle by the sometimes unsubtle Wine Waiters (unless you want to, of course!) - but we didn't find bar drinks particularly expensive - about the same as a good hotel.
Yes, a couple of relatively minor things which could be better, and you could run up a huge extras bill if you drank a lot, did all the tours and used the spa and internet a lot, but overall this is a top class experience with much that is good about the basic offer. We will certainly cruise with them again.
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