cruzemaven
September 1st, 2004, 03:42 PM
Just returned from our cruise on the Insignia from Barcelona to Venice. Many positives and very few negatives. The ship is lovely. Crew was very good. Food was good to very good. Our cabin (owner's suite) was very spacious and comfortable. We were a fairly large group of friends that occupied most of the Vista and Owner's suites during this cruise. The negatives: Our friends, who were in the Vista Suites, complained bitterly about the vibration and noise from the thrusters and achor when docking or anchoring and also when leaving port. The ship's alarm clocks on their night tables would fall on the floor from the rattling. Of course, the duration of this noise and shaking was relatively short (about fifteen to twenty minutes) but nevertheless, if you enjoy sleeping past the early morning hours of 7am or 8am, this would not be possible in those cabins. Other than that inconvenience and the sound and vibration of the music from the Insignia lounge coming through to their cabins they were very comfortable in their vista suites. As far as the Owners suites, they were in the back of the ship and we were not at all affected by vibrations and noise from docking. There were only two drawbacks in our suites. Those of us in the Owner's suites had extremely weak water pressure for showers. Sometimes all we had was a thin trickle of water. The plumber tried on several occassions to fix the problem but was not able to. We spoke with the Captain and he said he was aware there was a problem. Hopefully, they will solve this soon for future Owner's suite passengers. The other drawback for the 8th deck Owner's suites is that it is directly underneath the Terrace dining so the chair scraping and dragging begins very early in the morning usually around 7am...we never needed a wake up call. Nothing is perfect. Would I stay in that cabin again...absolutely. Next year we are booked in a Vista Suite...I am prepared for the thruster noise and vibration...but the showers in the Vistas were fine according to our friends. Some of our friends were in the Penthouse suites and were very happy. They were mid ship had no noise or shower problems and are booked in a similar cabin for next year. They are waitlisted for a Vista Suite but after listening to all the complaints about the noise and rattling they are staying put. My husband loves to go to the Casino and he was very pleased with the blackjack tables. A bunch of the wives like playing the slots and were disappointed in the old fashion slot machines. They need to update and get the slots that have all those great graphics. All the cruise lines big and small have these new slots. We all (22 people) agreed that the entertainment was dreadful. We tried a few times to sit through a "show" but had to leave- it was just awful. The last show was their big finale...we went and it was somewhat entertaining. They had four good singers whose talents were under utilized during the 14 day cruise we were on. We were not disappointed because we had been told not to expect much in the way of entertainment. The major positives were the service, the crew's upbeat attitudes, the accommodations, and the good food. The alternative restaurants were terrific. We did not deal with destination services because we had hired our own guides so I cannot comment on that area. Anyway, we all had a very good experience and many of us are booked on the Insignia for a cruise next July. Can't wait!