Balcony Lounger

This is an easy site with answers too. http://www.us-passport-service-guide.com/obtain-a-us-passport.html

On our world cruise on Princess they allowed us to have a coffee maker in our cabin as long as it had an automatic cut off. Does anyone know if Oceania has coffee makers in the cabins or allows them on longer cruises?

Where is the best place to purchase Euros?

Exactly!

I just spent hours working on our cruise insurance. As they don't make it easy, I though I would summarize some of the pitfalls to look for if you need travel insurance for a major trip. Booking the cruise was easy, working on the insurance has nearly given me an ulcer! I figured since the trip costs as much as a car, I needed insurance. I really am not worried so much about me as about Jim, my travel companion. Sooo I started looking. It is a 90 day cruise so the insurance ranged from $2,000 to $23,000! Unbelievable. As with most insurance, it isn't worth having unless you know what it covers. It has a little medical since medicare doesn't cover overseas but my Blue Cross does cover up to $50,000. I got that covered, then what happens if one of us gets sick or something unforeseen happens and we are unable to go. Without insurance, after February 1, you would lose the entire price of the trip. Here is where it gets tricky. I found a policy for about $2,000 but if Jim is the one who gets sick and I lose my travel companion and can't go, that isn't covered. So at 80, I figure he is probably the one at greater risk so I went up one level of coverage. Okay, now if anything happens to him causing a trip cancellation, I get my money back. Sounded good. But no, he has some pre existing conditions so that is only covered if you buy certain levels of insurance and buy within 15 days of your deposit. Okay, I am still in range. So I pay $564 and all that has been paid on the cruise at this point is a $1,500 deposit and really they have no risk until February as Oceania will refund 100% until then BUT you have to buy the insurance now to get the waiver for preexisting conditions. Again this needs to be defined as even a change in meds or certain procedures qualify as no longer being a stable condition and they look back 6 months. Okay, so I planned to make $8,500 monthly payments on the trip so I could just run it thru my credit card and get the frequent flier miles. But wait, every time you make a payment you must up your insurance to match .... Understand, they are still not at risk for a penny yet because of Oceania's cancelation policy BUT if you do not up your insurance as you add to your payments within 15 days ... that again voids your pre existing waiver. Now the total price of your policy doesn't change so it is not that big of a deal except you need to understand the rules. So now you pay over $2300 for a policy where neither you nor the insurance company is at risk until February 1.... well between 150-180 day out they charge - a $250 fee, but chicken feed compared to the price of the insurance. However, with the likelihood that IF there is a problem, with Jim's health issues, it would more likely be him and unless you keep the pre existing clause in effect it would probably be worthless if something did actually happen. It took a lot of reading of policies and three calls to the insurance agency but I feel covered. Jim of course is much more of a gambler! He says we never had nor needed cancellation insurance before, even for our world cruise, why start now. He isn't getting any insurance. His policies started at $4,200! This is really the business to be in! Anyway, as it took a lot of calls and reading to nail down some of the questions you might want to ask if you are buying cancellation insurance. I hope this might help.

I think you have to pay for them before they show up in your account even if the are the free excursions they want a credit card number.

I booked a tour last night for the first day we were in Isreal then decided I wanted to take it the second day we were there. On the same Oceania site where I booked it when you checked out and "paid" for them, even though the balance owed was "0" I got a screen listing my tours with the option to remove. I was able to cancel and rebook it for the next day.

Yep, but it is a 90 day cruise.

Thanks, I figured out how to get in and book them ... I booked 25 and left the last few until all the exclusions we listed. They were still missing a few ports. I can wait ... Should be fun!

Okay, I appreciate the input.

Thanks, it is the first time we have gotten the free tours in a package and as you say, hard to pass up free! I just wondered if the better ones were difficult to get.

Has anyone ever taken an Oceania cruise where you got the package of free excursions? They list some great excursions, but are they usually available or must you book really early or the only ones you can get with the free package are the walking tours with an ipod or similar??

We might be interested in the tours, if we go. We get 28 free tours- I am sure they are their basic ones but I was kind of waiting to see what those were before I made other plans.

My husband and I did the World Cruise 2015 on Pacific Princess.

 

We love the Itinerary on the 90 Insignia in July 2016. Like you, I was concerned about Oceania. So.... we are test cruising a 10 day on the Riviera in Decembe . Iknow that is not their R ship, but we are familiar with the size etc. . We wanted to see if the Oceania product was a good match for us. As someone so elequently

said it would be hard to do 90 days if it was not a good fit.

 

Good luck with your decision and perhaps we will meet on the Insignia.

Do post a note and let me know what you think. I would be interested to hear about your December cruise. I too really like the itinerary of their 90 day cruise. I lived in Europe for 10 years so that made for easy travel around the continent but was I pleased to see how many of the ports of call would be new to me. Russia and Iceland were on our bucket list so it seems like a pretty good match. We have a cabin on hold and will probably make a decision this week. It may be brave/ foolish to take a 90 day cruise on a ship you have never been on before BUT nothing like the couple we met on the 120 day world cruise for whom that was their first cruise ever! Now that is brave!!

Balconeylounger, this is Ken and Sara. We were on the Pacific Princess World Cruise in 2012 (also 2010 and 2011). You are from Houston. Might this be Roberta and Dennis I am addressing? We are on the Insignia 180-day World Cruise starting this January. We love the small ships and can't wait to be on one again!

It is rather amazing to be aboard that small of ship, for that long and not to have met each other ... but no, this is Sue Ann and Jim. The reason we may have missed you is because we spent the majority of our time, when not in port, on our balcony reading, editing pictures and watching the ocean go by! As my Cruise Critic name implies, I am truly a balcony lounger! I think we are leaning toward Oceania's "Ultimate Quest" 90 day cruise this time. We have not been to Russia and Iceland and feel it is a gap in our travels we want to fill. Although, I must admit I like balcony days better in the south seas. I would love to hear about your Oceania World Cruise. If you write a blog and are willing to share, I would love to read it. We are always looking for someplace new and interesting to experience.

Thanks, good information.

I probably should admit I am one that should have written an Insignia review, but did not. It was the fire cruise, so it was probably the shortest cruise Insignia has done. But, I would have given it 4 1/2 stars. And, I would have given the cruise line 5 stars on how they handled the situation. She is a lovely little ship and I would sail her again. She does seem like a good fit for you, given the criteria you outlined

Well if they are even good "under fire" so to speak ... That is a good recommendation!

I am Elite on Princess - so I know Princess very well. We like them for itineraries. However, our preferred cruise line is Oceania by a huge margin.

Oceania is so much better than Princess in every way that it's hard to even express. While Princess' R ships are the same size, Oceania's R ship are so much better maintained that despite being "identical" there is no comparison between them

Chances are excellent that if you liked Princess, you'll love Oceania.

Don't let a few strangers, whose preferences you do not know, dissuade you from trying Insignia. Try it and then you will know for yourself if they were right or wrong.

PS I like Lyn's suggestion to try Insignia for a short cruise to see if you would like it for a much longer one.

I am feeling better already!

You are probably best to ask this question on the Oceania board. Here's the link

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=51

 

There you will find others that have done the longer itineraries that have been offered on this ship. Earlier this year someone posted a review for a long cruise on the Oceania board...I'll see if I can find the link. Many Oceania cruisers write reviews on the cruise lines board rather than the review section, so many good reviews don't get tallied.

 

Found the link...it's a long, but fun read

 

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2186231&highlight=insignia

Thanks!

Hi I have taken at least two (three?) nearly-month-long cruises on Insignia and I would not hesitate to do it again. The beds are super-comfortable, the food is--I would not say exquisite, but it's certainly quite lovely (this depends on your comparisons with previous experiences with shipboard cuisine) and well-presented. We enjoy the casual dress, the fact that they don't nickle-and-dime you for water, etc., and they don't snap your photo everywhere and try to sell it to you. The clientele is upscale and well-traveled, you will meet many very nice people on your cruise.

 

I have not noticed any decline whatsoever in Oceania's level of service since they were bought (most recent cruise was April of this year). Perhaps more Indonesian stewards than European, but I can't say this with any certainty.

 

I would not hesitate! You are always going to find negative comments on the polls, no matter what. I think the complainers may take those polls more often than the happy satisfied customers.

I am not usually too influenced by polls and wouldn't have given it a second thought if it were a 2 week cruise. When you are going to be aboard three months I tend to do a little more research. Thanks for the input, it was helpful.

That is helpful, thanks.

We have taken many cruises but never on Oceania. We are looking at a 90 day cruise on the Insignia. I was ready to buy until I read the Cruise Critic reviews. Only 53% of the passengers rated their trip as a positive experience! Carnival has better reviews than that! We took a world cruise on Princess which was about the same size ship so I was expecting this to be on par ... or based on the price, better than that. I really like their itinerary. We are pretty easy passengers. We want interesting ports, good food, a good bed and good service. I don't care about entertainment. We are readers and photographers. The size of the ship and the casual atmosphere appealed to me. I thought maybe Oceania passengers were just hypercritical but all of Oceania's other ships got a 70%-80% rating. If anyone has done an extended Princess and Insignia cruise and could compare them, that would be great. Really if anyone has taken a recent cruise on the Insignia that would be helpful. It seems like the Insignia reviews went downhill in the last year. I know Oceania was bought out but then if that were the cause, all their ships ratings should have declined. Could the fire influence people even though it has been completely refurbished? Anyway, any relevant information would be appreciated. P.S. I do know how to spell balcony ... It is a typo I don't know how to fix!

Thanks, I am still trying to figure out the system here!

We have taken many cruises but never on Oceania. We are looking at a 90 day cruise on the Insignia. I was ready to buy until I read the Cruise Critic reviews. Only 53% of the passengers rated their trip as a positive experience! Carnival has better reviews than that! We took a world cruise on Princess which was about the same size ship so I was expecting this to be on par ... or based on the price, better than that. I really like their itinerary. We are pretty easy passengers. We want interesting ports, good food, a good bed and good service. I don't care about entertainment. We are readers and photographers. The size of the ship and the casual atmosphere appealed to me. I thought maybe Oceania passengers were just hypercritical but all of Oceania's other ships got a 70%-80% rating. If anyone has done an extended Princess and Insignia cruise and could compare them, that would be great. Really if anyone has taken a recent cruise on the Insignia that would be helpful. It seems like the Insignia reviews went downhill in the last year. I know Oceania was bought out but then if that were the cause, all their ships ratings should have declined. Could the fire influence people even though it has been completely refurbished? Anyway, any relevant information would be appreciated. P.S. I do know how to spell balcony ... It is a typo I don't know how to fix!

Sorry, I am new to this and was having trouble figuring out how and where to post! I also noticed a typo in my ID and I guess it is there for life now! I will move to to the Oceania board. Thanks.