Insignia Adriatic Review. Good to Great

[Seapoint]

We had a very good cruise on the newly refurbished Insignia from Istanbul to Venice, beginning June 30. I said "very good", because with a little tweaking, it could have been great. When you pay Oceania prices, one has higher expectations.

 

THE SHIP

 

The ship was like it was brand new :) The refurbishment of the cabins and public areas was very successful. Carpets were thick, bedding superior, beds most comfortable, color palette and fabrics well chosen. Everything sparkled.

 

SERVICE

 

Service was correct, but not as warm and caring as we have experienced on Azamara or previous Oceania cruises. Maybe the ship was just settling in after returning from charter. In the Terrace and GDR, it appeared they were short of staff. In fact, the first two nights in the GDR we had really poor service. One of our companions asked four times for a toothpick, and eventually only got one by going to the maitre'd. A small thing, perhaps, but indicative of the problem. Thereafter we moved to another section, and had good service from Scott and Eduardo.

 

While we had no noise from our neighbors, we were awoken at about 6am every morning by noise in the corridor as our cabin attendant had set up his station outside our cabin (6069). In particular, there was a lot of noise when he filled the ice buckets. We brought this to his attention, and he moved one cabin down the corridor. However, the soundproofing of the cabin to the corridor was so poor that we continued to be woken very early. Hardly what one wants or expects on a premium cruiseline.

 

The officers were generally invisible. As reported on another thread, there was an incident with a toddler in a diaper in the main (and only) pool. There was no one in charge at the pool who could deal with this situation.

 

PORK, PORK, MORE PORK

 

To our surprise, the biggest disappointment of the cruise was the food. We felt the menus , both for the Terrace at lunch, and the GDR for dinner, were poorly conceived. It seemed that a very high proportion of items featured pork, bacon, pancetta etc. There also was a lot of shellfish. Food is obviously very personal, and from my point of view, as I do not eat either pork or shellfish, the choices became very limited. Again, I don't expect to pay Oceania prices to have to settle for a hamburger at lunch. A notable exception were the two speciality restaurants, where menu, food and service were first class. Tea was also a pleasure.

 

To give you a sense of poor menu planning. On the first day, we ate on the Terrace while docked in Istanbul. What a setting! The Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi, Bosphorus all in view. Wow! Stunning! So what does the menu feature…not Turkish food. Not Greek food. Not Mediterranean food. But Mexican ! Come on…you have got to be kidding! Now, I happen to like Mexican food, but not on the Bosphorus in the shadow of Istanbul. It is a typical example of lack of thought and planning.

 

ITINERARY

 

Outstanding! No wonder the ship was oversold. Istanbul, Santorini, Kotor and Venice were standouts. Slovenia was a pleasant surprise, and Albania sad, but very interesting.

 

But here too there were glitches. At Ravenna, we were in an industrial dock about 20 minutes from town. For 600+ passengers, Oceania had only two shuttle buses. There were no taxis. Passengers had to stand in line in the hot sun for a very long time, waiting for the shuttles. Again, it seemed no one was in charge. There were also shuttle issues in Dubrovnik. In Venice, we were in the main Maritime dock. The ship gave very poor instructions on how to return to the dock. We wound up on the wrong vaporetto, and had a long walk to the dock.

 

ENTERTAINMENT

 

Given the size of the ship and its facilities, I feel they did a good job. The usual magician, soloist, song and dance routines etc.

 

CONCLUSION

 

Yes, I would sail Oceania again. However, given the same itinerary, I believe that Azamara would be the better choice based on food, menus and service. There was a lot about the cruise experience that was good, even very good. Just a few tweaks and it could be great.

[KirkNC]

Thanks for the report!

[Paulchili]

Thank you for the report and your honest assessment.

How does the overall condition of Insignia (after refurbishment) compare with the Quest, on which we are to sail in a couple of months?

TIA

[CintiPam]

Thanks for the very balanced report. We did a very similar itinerary on Quest last September and thought it was a wonderful cruise.

 

One of the best things about Azamara is that they supply shuttles anywhere you could need them, and run them very often, such as during our visit to lovely Ravenna.

 

We had a fabulous day in Ravenna, starting with a three-hour walking tour of the best-known churches with mosaics that one of our roll call friends arranged with a local guide.

 

My husband also does not eat pork or shellfish. If it was not the main component, he simply would ask for its omission from the preparation of the dish, and his wish was accommodated.

 

Paul, other than the beds, the staterooms on Quest seem to have all the original fittings, including those lamps on the bedside tables that do not move. However, everything functions fine in the cabins; just very dated in appearance. The common areas have been refurbished as well as the specialty restaurants. Aqualina (one of the two specialty restaurants) is excellent.

Edited July 26, 2014 by CintiPam

[orchestrapal]

We too had a problem on Regatta with the over featuring of pork and shellfish which we also do not eat. Fortunately we knew to ask what was in each dish because the hidden pork was frequent. In addition the menu items seemed to repeat more and more often than they did on previous cruises. We found the food to be a notch below that which we have had for years before. Forty days of these menus was way too long.

Edited July 26, 2014 by orchestrapal

[Paulchili]

 

Paul, other than the beds, the staterooms on Quest seem to have all the original fittings, including those lamps on the bedside tables that do not move. However, everything functions fine in the cabins; just very dated in appearance. The common areas have been refurbished as well as the specialty restaurants. Aqualina (one of the two specialty restaurants) is excellent.

 

Thank you Pam - we look forward to the cruise.

Paul

[LHT28]

Thanks for the review

 

Are you saying there was no lamb chops at the grill??? :eek:

No beef or chicken in the Terrace

[Seapoint]

Paulchili,

 

We did the Quest Feb 2013 from Singapore to Hong Kong. At that time she was well maintained, but dated. The Insignia is more like a restoration, i.e. I don't think walls were moved, but the cabins and public areas were restored to their original condition, with wonderful bedding, fabrics, carpets etc. It is like a beautifully restored boutique hotel. I suggest you also look at the Azamara forum and reviews to get a more current report on the Quest.

 

What I can say is that the food and service on Azamara at that time were a league above our recent experience on Oceania. There just was a happy,warm, friendly, intimate, positive atmosphere, which was missing on the Insignia. The level of service on Insignia was more similar to that found on a mega Celebrity ship - good, but impersonal. Quite honestly, imo, we also thought the food on Celebrity in the MDR and Lido was superior to Oceania. They had better menus, and in particular a far superior buffet lunch. Oceania, of course, has a far superior tea. We actually prefer the Oceania tea to the "white glove" tea we experienced on QM2.

Edited July 26, 2014 by Seapoint

[Seapoint]

LHT,

 

Now that you mention it, I do not recall seeing lamb chops, which I love, at the Terrace. There was also very little veal. I recall there was some chicken, but really the overwhelming choice was pork and shellfish. There was also no attempt to localize the menu to feature foods from the region we were visiting. A great pity as Turkish, Greek and Italian cuisine is hard to beat :confused:

Edited July 26, 2014 by Seapoint

[Oceans&Rivers]

Replies in line...

 

While we had no noise from our neighbors, we were awoken at about 6am every morning by noise in the corridor as our cabin attendant had set up his station outside our cabin (6069). In particular, there was a lot of noise when he filled the ice buckets. We brought this to his attention, and he moved one cabin down the corridor. However, the soundproofing of the cabin to the corridor was so poor that we continued to be woken very early. Hardly what one wants or expects on a premium cruiseline.

 

Sorry you and your cabin neighbors experienced that. Did you bring it to the attention of the head of housekeeping or to the Hotel Director? 6 AM is far too early to be awoken for service such as ice bucket-filling. It also seems that the buckets could be filled inside of one of the steward/butler's rooms instead of the passageway. That should provide more sound isolation than filling buckets in the hallway.

 

The officers were generally invisible. As reported on another thread, there was an incident with a toddler in a diaper in the main (and only) pool. There was no one in charge at the pool who could deal with this situation.

 

Ugh. Did you bring this to anyone's attention? Are there signs around the pool stating "no diapers in pool"?

 

.....

 

.....

 

"To give you a sense of poor menu planning. On the first day, we ate on the Terrace while docked in Istanbul. What a setting! The Blue Mosque, Hagia Sophia, Topkapi, Bosphorus all in view. Wow! Stunning! So what does the menu feature…not Turkish food. Not Greek food. Not Mediterranean food. But Mexican ! Come on…you have got to be kidding! Now, I happen to like Mexican food, but not on the Bosphorus in the shadow of Istanbul. It is a typical example of lack of thought and planning."

 

Wow, that is disappointing, to say the least. I love Balkan food of all varieties and only rarely eat Mexican food, and would be unhappy if that's all that was served while in Istanbul.

 

I'm glad the ship looked fresher, but some of the other things you mentioned which are very important to us, don't sound good at all.

Edited July 26, 2014 by Oceans&Rivers

[Paulchili]

Thank you Seapoint - I am anxious to see how the Quest food, service and all around atmosphere compare to our Oceania experiences.

[PathfinderEss]

Very interesting report, thanks for posting it.

[TERRIER1]

Thank you Seapoint - I am anxious to see how the Quest food, service and all around atmosphere compare to our Oceania experiences.

 

We got off the Quest several weeks ago and I thought the ship was in fine shape. Our cabin 7009 wasn't showing any signs of wear. You'll love the atmosphere and service on and off the ship. Was very impressed with shuttles and that including Venice.

[ronrick1943]

Nice report, thanks. I agree with you I think "Oceania" is missing the details--management in Miami just isn't getting "service" message to the ship..so it on happens on the ship. Maybe it's just cost cutting!

Rick

[durante]

We were on the Quest transatlantic in April and last week Oceania Insignia.

Both ships are great. Insignia has been restored beautifully. Love that the Insignia ceiling and wall murals in the MDR have not been overpainted the way Quest has.

However Quest had more comfortable sun beds on deck 9 and better (more responsive) bar service,despite the fact drinks are included on Azamara.

Baristas on insignia is now located on deck 5 just before entering the main dining room. The illy coffee there is excellent. If I have to choose, that coffee is better on Oceania vs Azamara.

Obviously, staterooms are same on both ships, however we thought the bed and pillows on Insignia were more comfortable.

[durante]

Good food on Quest, really enjoyed their breakfast offerings compared to Insignia.

Also better choice of salad at lunch on Quest.

Dinner in the MDR more choice on Insignia. No issues with meat in MDR in Quest, however substandard quality and cooking on Polo on Insignia

[Paulchili]

Durante & TERRIER1 - thank you for the comparisons.

To OP - sorry about hijacking your thread - did not mean to.

[CintiPam]

Love that the Insignia ceiling and wall murals in the MDR have not been overpainted the way Quest has....

Obviously, staterooms are same on both ships, however we thought the bed and pillows on Insignia were more comfortable.

 

OMG, the new mural on Quest in the MDR is hideous! That room is now an updated hodgepodge of styles IMO. Reminds me of another difference: none of all that lovely sterling silver on the tables on Azamara.

 

Also, the new mattresses on Quest were a big improvement over the old, but not a match for those on Oceania.

 

On the other hand, that Azamara service really is very personal and special and Mosaics is wonderful, so civilized and comfortable.

 

Love both lines; just wish that Azamara was not chartering out so much in the spring and fall, leaving us regular passengers with very few choices of sailings the next two years.

Edited July 27, 2014 by CintiPam

[OzAbroad]

I have not sailed on Quest but I have on Journey (January this year) and on the Insignia on the voyage being reviewed. Journey was in good shape but a little faded. Oceania has a clear edge in decor, tableware, bedding and presentation and the pillows on Journey were just awful. Food was similar I thought and I didnt experience the same menu complaints on Insignia (I dont like Pork either - but I love shellfish) but I didnt eat in the MDR very often and in Istanbul I ate lunch ashore (glad I did - I detest Mexican). The service was far warmer on Azamara with the officers more visible and the cruise director on our Azamara voyage was second to none. I agree with all the comments about the shuttle experiences we had with Oceania, and was miffed to note that it was Quest that was docked in San Basilio in Venice while we were in Marittima.

 

Azamara tends to use the ship more and we enjoyed the nights we could dine on the pool deck. It took alot of effort transforming it but they did a great job. I also like that wines of the day are included, and dont mind the surcharge for the specialty restaurants as it made them more available when you wanted them. Aqualina was a stand out. Waves wins.

 

Afternoon tea is an Oceania winner. Azamara had it on sea days and in Aqualina. I prefer the way Oceania use Horizons, it just didnt seem the same on Journey. But then I prefer the placement of Mosaics to Baristas.

 

In the end thought these lines have more in common than differences and I would happily sail on either. Azamara is going to have to give some thought to a refresh for these ships sometime soon.

Edited July 28, 2014 by OzAbroad

[pacheco18]

Agree completely with Pam and oz abroad

 

Both lines are excellent. They excel in different areas. I think true foodies will be disappointed in Azamara but for those of us who do not cruise for the food either line is a winner

 

 

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