Any tips to maximize Insignia experience?

We are sailing Caribbean 12 days beginning Nov. 11. Usually travel by land Europe and are first time cruisers. Have been to the Caribbean many times (by land) so we are not that interested in exploring islands while in port. I love to relax and read and DH is pretty active at home cycling, working out etc. We are looking forward to not renting a car, planning constantly, etc. Would love input from more experienced cruisers if you will take time to share:)

Oh and we won't miss cruise ship entertainment, or formal dining. Really looking forward to Oceania!

Thank you!

Welcome to CC and the Oceania board.

I am sure others will chime in but you may want to start reading here:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2063566&highlight=first+time+on+oceania

I hope that you will enjoy your first cruise and will become addicted to cruising (and Oceania) like the rest of us already are :)

PS The thread discussed Riviera/Marina mostly, but some of the other things are pertinent to Oceania in general

We are sailing Caribbean 12 days beginning Nov. 11. Usually travel by land Europe and are first time cruisers. Have been to the Caribbean many times (by land) so we are not that interested in exploring islands while in port. I love to relax and read and DH is pretty active at home cycling, working out etc. We are looking forward to not renting a car, planning constantly, etc. Would love input from more experienced cruisers if you will take time to share:)

 

Oh and we won't miss cruise ship entertainment, or formal dining. Really looking forward to Oceania!

 

Thank you!

Welcome to Cruise Critic. You might want to join our Roll Call and meet some of your fellow cruisers.

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1962263

Catherine

Go to afternoon tea at least once early in the cruise

Book you specialty restaurant reservations online as soon as you are allowed

some of the entertainment is good but it just depends on your personal tastes

enjoy the cruise

Lyn

And besure to sit back and enjoy everything you want......Don't always plan your day, just let it happen----what a wonderful way to enjoy a cruise.

Rick

Wake early to see sunrise over the ocean. Enjoy a lazy afternoon nap so you can stay up late and star/moon gaze. Don't miss sunset at sea. Enjoy making new friends.

A cruise is different than a land only vacation. It is less hectic because you don't have to drive, find parking, find your new hotel every night, etc. But if you want activity, there are always things to do, and people to do it with.

Enjoy!!! And being pampered on O is a good way to do that. Take the few minutes each morning to read Currents, the daily newsletter, to see the upcoming events, but don't get so tied to them you forget to relax. That's the secret of cruising to me, learning to let go, letting someone else do the heavy lifting along the way, and totally relaxing during your time aboard. O's crew is great at making it easy.

Welcome to cruising!

Also, consider simply getting off the ship and taking a long walk. We've sailed into about half the ports on your cruise and the majority are scarcely more than small towns. It's not like docking in Lima or Los Angeles where you are surrounded by square miles of industrial area and far from anything of interest or at least tourist-friendly. A hundred yards and you're in a different country.

Philipsburg, Gustavia, Roseau, Bridgetown, Fort de France and Tortola all lend themselves to a pleasant 1-1/2 to 2-hour reconnaissance. Maybe the odd bit of shopping or bite to eat. Once you get past the taxi drivers waiting anxiously at the port, no one will bother you and you can proceed unhindered.

However, if you've visited all those places before while on ground trips, then the best thing to do is enjoy the facilities onboard the ship while most of the other passengers are ashore. It's like having the place all to yourself with even more attention than usual from the crew, if you can imagine such a thing.

We are on the Nov 1 trip and since we have been to all those ports, other than get off for an hour or two, we will just enjoy the ship! Good advice.

Thanks to everyone for your responses, this is just the advice we were looking for. I'm thinking we will stay close to the ship and just wander a few hours at each port with the exception of a sailing excursion in Tortola for a few hours. Hoping most towns are within a short safe walking distance from port. I'm not gonna stress over our plans, just let it happen!

We are leaving on the insignia over the holidays for 24 days. I guess we have been pretty much all over the world and in our later years we just as soon stay on the ship. As far as I'm concerned they can push the ship out to sea and drop the anchor and I'd be happy. I guess we look at the ship as the destination, not the places we go, even though there are some wonderful places. In the last seven cruises we haven't taken one excursion.

Come to think of it, I did swim with the sharks in Rarotonga....

The food, the fellow passengers, make the trip for us.

We are sailing Caribbean 12 days beginning Nov. 11. Usually travel by land Europe and are first time cruisers. Have been to the Caribbean many times (by land) so we are not that interested in exploring islands while in port. I love to relax and read and DH is pretty active at home cycling, working out etc. We are looking forward to not renting a car, planning constantly, etc. Would love input from more experienced cruisers if you will take time to share:)

 

Oh and we won't miss cruise ship entertainment, or formal dining. Really looking forward to Oceania!

 

Thank you!

We are taking our first Oceania cruise next summer. I am under the impression that there are no formal nights onboard. I think the term is "country club casual" for all evenings. Am I missing something?

We are taking our first Oceania cruise next summer. I am under the impression that there are no formal nights onboard. I think the term is "country club casual" for all evenings. Am I missing something?

No Bob, you are correct that there are no "Formal" nights on Oceania.

There are people, however, who continue to use the term formal dining to describe the more structured restaurants, as opposed to the casual atmosphere of the Buffet Restaurant or Pool Grill.

No Bob, you are correct that there are no "Formal" nights on Oceania.

 

There are people, however, who continue to use the term formal dining to describe the more structured restaurants, as opposed to the casual atmosphere of the Buffet Restaurant or Pool Grill.

Thank you. I was hoping the OP was referring to the "elegant" atmosphere they (and we) expect. We are very excited about the prospect of trying Oceania (although in calculating whether or not to take a beverage package, our eyes were opened as to how much our Celebrity and RCL status saved us in alcohol. Our bill at the end of the cruise was never more than about $150-200 per person for 14 days. The prestige package will cost about $840 for those same 14 days. And we're jumping in with both feet and our first O cruise is 23 days so we're looking at close to $1,400. :eek: ).

Thank you. I was hoping the OP was referring to the "elegant" atmosphere they (and we) expect. We are very excited about the prospect of trying Oceania (although in calculating whether or not to take a beverage package, our eyes were opened as to how much our Celebrity and RCL status saved us in alcohol. Our bill at the end of the cruise was never more than about $150-200 per person for 14 days. The prestige package will cost about $840 for those same 14 days. And we're jumping in with both feet and our first O cruise is 23 days so we're looking at close to $1,400. :eek: ).

Actually I'm pretty sure the OP simply meant they won't miss the entertainment or the formal dining of other lines.

Actually I'm pretty sure the OP simply meant they won't miss the entertainment or the formal dining of other lines.

In re-reading that, I agree with you. And we feel pretty much the same way. The production shows on other lines don't hold a lot of appeal to us although we do enjoy some of the guest entertainers.

On our one Azamara cruise, we did enjoy the intimate setting and cabaret-style entertainment and hope O has something along those lines on at least some evenings.

On another topic, can we purchase the beverage package on the second day and pay a pro-rated price?

 

On another topic, can we purchase the beverage package on the second day and pay a pro-rated price?

Yes, the official policy is that you can purchase it up to the third day of a cruise. Unofficially you will find that on the ship they might let you purchase it further into a cruise as I recently purchased it on day 7 of a ten day cruise day. You only pay for the remaining days in the cruise. I paid for days 7, 8, 9 & 10. I had to use up that OBC somehow.

Actually I'm pretty sure the OP simply meant they won't miss the entertainment or the formal dining of other lines.

Exactly!

I was wrong to refer to formal dining on Oceania, since there is no such thing,

I was speaking generally. We too are anticipating the ship to be the destination, not the ports. As I said we have done a fair amount of traveling, but never on a cruise. We have traveled many times to Europe and the Carribean, staying in gites, apartments, or B&B's. Cruising is an entirely new experience for us! Thanks again for everyone's comments:)

Bob278......

I was in USAF STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND also....a few years ago.

smilinjack

Bob278......

 

I was in USAF STRATEGIC AIR COMMAND also....a few years ago.

 

smilinjack

It was more than a few years for me. :eek: I don't want to give away my age, but I worked with D-model BUFFS.

It was more than a few years for me. I don't want to give away my age, but I worked with D-model BUFFS

I think I have you beat, I was on the B-47/B-58 :)

I think I have you beat, I was on the B-47/B-58 :)

Let's just say we are contemporaries and might have some interesting stories to swap if/when we cruise together.