Insignia gym

We were hoping someone could let us know what kind of exercise machines are available on Insignia. Are there any elliptical machines and if so, does anyone happen to remember what brand they are? Also, with respect to free weights, how much variety is there?

Thanks as always for all of the helpful information.

:-) amcb

Sorry for a delayed response, I just found this site. We were on Insignia Rio to Manaus in Feb this year. I spend time in the health club every day so I can tellyou something about it. As I recall the machines are not Cybex but reminded me of the smooth action of the Cybex line. There are eliptical machines, and there is a full assortment of free weights from 1 lb. way up. Basically, although small, there is plenty of room and equipment to get complete workouts, especially since I had the place to myself most of the time!! Hope this helps.

There's a GYM on board these ships? How did I miss that? LOL!

Thanks, dougiefresh for the info about the gym. My husband and I try to make good use of the ships facilities, so it's great to know that the gym is nice. For me it's especially important to have eliptical machines and letting me know that they have a smooth gait is wonderful news.

Thanks again!

:-) amcb

Greetings -

I can only speak for the Nautica, but I'd be willing to gamble that the equipment is the same from ship to ship.

There were 4 eliptical machines, 2 with arms and 2 without. All were made by Precor. I like the arm machines better, but not those made by Precor, which always feel like they have too much incline built into them.

The 2 machines without the arms are the original Precor models which are great. One of them started to clunk part way through the voyage, and the gym person felt like his only responsibility was to pass along a request for maintenance to persons unknown. It never really got fixed well, and by now it is probably much worse.

I think that the gym is subcontracted out, and there is more of a disconnect between Oceania's wonderful responsiveness and the gym's response.

All in all, you can exercise to your heart's content. I never had to wait more than 15 minutes for an eliptical trainer, that that was a rarity.

Rick

We just returned from the Insignia last month. The gym was great. I was shocked by its size--it is large as opposed to other ships. There are treadmills & precor machines & bikes & ample weights. There are also about 10 weight machines & 2 pilates reformers & a number of exercise balls. It was a very nice gym & we never had to wait to use a cardio machine.

The availability of equipment seems to vary from cruise to cruise. On out cruise on the Insignia last summer, ther was ample availability. On our last cruise onboard Regatta, however, there were a lot of people simply going for a "quiet stroll" on the machines - to the frustration of folks who really wanted to use them...

We just got back from Insignia and wanted to report back with respect to the gym. On our sailing the gym was generally full with no cardio machines available. With only 4 elliptical machines, they were rarely available even after a significant wait and no time limit was posted with respect to their use. As a previous poster mentioned, often people would be "taking a stroll" on the machines for 45 minutes to an hour, frustrating those who were looking to have a more intense workout in a shorter period of time.

A suggestion I would make to those in charge would be to institute the 30 minute rule for cardio equipment that is common in most gyms, and strictly enforce it on those cruises (or those times) where the gym seems to be constantly full.

:-) amcb

How about the treadmills and bikes thats what I use. Were they always being used?

Hi delsig4.

I would say that over 90% of the times that we went to the gym (I think my husband only missed one day and I missed 2) all the treadmills were in use and the bikes as well. People didn't seem to spend as long on the bikes as on the treadmills and elliptical machines.

Hope this helps!

:-) amcb

Thank you amcb,

I guess I will have to figure out the best time to go to get in 30 minutes on the treadmill or bike, I guess the mornings are pretty busy.

In the past, I've found mornings are pretty crowded but the time window before dinner thins out quite a bit in the gym.

The only problem with working out at 5PM is all the food from afternoon tea is still in your stomach... but a workout for me is a great pre-dinner incentive. The jogging/walking track can also be a good spot for exercise although it can get crowded with folks sightseeing - especially if you're leaving a port. Either way, the OC ships certainly have good workout areas when you consider the size.

I'm hoping to be on Insignia next week, so I'll report back.

Frank