kenav

Anyone familiar with this cruise line? <u>Can't really find reviews of it or this particular itinerary.</u>

It is a 10 day cruise from Puerto Rico to Miami. 8 out of the 10 days we are in port at various Caribbean locations (Ex: Basseterre, Gustavia St. Bart's, Kingstown, St. George's...), . We can get an inside cabin (the cheapest) for $1699 pp. All gratuities, free internet and a $200 on board credit are included. We would get our own airfare and thus they took off $300/pp from the original fare of $1999pp.

There is a 4 person wait list at the moment.

This is on the "Insignia" which has recently undergone a renovation.

We are not real cruisers. Been on a 65 person cruise to Alaska and a Vikings River cruise in Russia and are not interested in a ship that carries 2,000 passengers (even though it would be cheaper!).

So again, anyone familiar with them?

abram

We will be doing the reverse of that cruise on the Insignia departing from Miami Nov 11.
Cruise critic is definitely the place to get cruise info.
The Insignia has just been refurbished.
We've only been on 4 cruise lines (and none of the really high end ones), but Oceania is our favorite, by far. Love the size of the ships, port intensive itineraries, open seating dining, fabulous staff, lack of formal nights, free specialty restaurants. The evening entertainment has been one of Oceania's weak spots, but we haven't liked the shows very much on other lines, so that doesn't bother us.

coral22

Abram has it summed up perfectly. We just got back from a cruise on this ship in May from Venice to Athens. We absolutely loved it! We have only been on 1 other cruise for a family reunion, which was Royal Caribbean's big ship with the ice skating rink,etc. It was fun for that purpose but we would never do that as a couple.

There were 680 on board, only about 8 kids who were with a family reunion. The passengers were mostly 45-75, with some college class reunions, winery sponsored tours, but mostly couples. Everyone was very friendly, but you still had your privacy and quiet areas to escape to on the boat. We loved playing team trivia!

We were the second group on board since the dry dock so it was immaculate. The food was better than we expected and we ate in the informal dining outdoors all of the time. The entertainment is not extensive so you would have to be able to"chill" on your days at sea. We were in port every day so maybe they plan more activities for days at sea. We loved the self serve laundromat and that you could bring on unlimited liquor.

We would go on this boat again in a second!

kenav

coral22 - Ah, you can bring in your own liquor? Being in the Caribbean there WILL be rum to buy. Do they charge you a "cork fee"? Or maybe we just open it in our room, bring plastic cups from home and drink it on deck? Will others be aghast? Will Oceania throw us overboard?

I like that in a 10-day cruise only 2 days are at sea. I see other cruises where at least half the days are at sea. Why go on a cruise then? I don't get it. But that's me. If I'm flying to a country/countries, I want adventure IN that country!

abram - Thanks so much for your input. Will look forward to hearing about your cruise when you get back, even if it is quite a number of months away.

coral22

Before we left we heard you could bring on liquor so we called the rep before we left and she said 3 bottles a day. Now we enjoy a glass of wine, but that was more than we expected. We asked onboard when we checked in and they said there was no limit. We brought on a red and a white wine and a small bottle of gin.

You have a small stocked refrigerator with free waters, club soda, tonic and soft drinks in you room. That was perfect because my husband likes gin and tonic and we would just ask for a glass of ice and a lime by the pool and bring it back to the room before dinner.They did say you could not consume it outside of your room but we did learn to keep coffee cups in our room to take out on the deck with our wine to enjoys the views.

The corkage fee is $25 but they had some nice wines on the menu for $40 so that is pretty much even. We would bring on another bottle of wine on most days. That really cut down the liquor cost as compared to our other cruise.

Cali

We have been on two Oceania cruises and both were wonderful in every way. We weren't on the same ship you will be on but have heard good things from friends who have been on that ship. Have a great time!!

abram

Generally it is considered bad form to drink alcohol you bring on board outside of your room unless you bring a bottle of wine to the dining room and pay the corkage fee. If you don't finish the bottle in one meal, they will hold it for you, and you won't be charged an additional corkage.

I forgot to mention that I think Oceania has the best food of any cruise ship I've been on. I don't know about their policy in the Caribbean, but in Europe, a local tourist office rep gets on at every port to provide in formation and answer questions.

kenav

abram- I'm sure it must be looked down on to drink your own alcohol in the public areas since that takes $ away from Oceania.

Glad for the good comments from Fodorites about their own cruises on this ship\Oceania. Got more information here than on Cruise Critic!

coral22

abram, you are so right, it is stated that you can only consume it in your room. Not to sound like a teenager here saying"everyone else is doing it" but there were 2 winery sponsored groups on board and some of their guests gave us their tips on what they were advised. We did not have our coffee cups full of wine out, all day every day. It was just nice to go to the outdoor lounge chairs on 5 since we didn't have a balcony.

This was not a heavy drinking party crowd. I doubt their liquor sales are a fraction of a Caribbean cruise. We were all up early and out and about all day touring. I can't imagine them allowing unlimited liquor on board if that is an important component for them. We did buy wine from them at dinner, and their specialty drinks at sailaway, like bellinis, leaving Venice.