Oceania Insignia
 

Is a cruise on this ship as disappointing as the reviews? PH or Vista, 20 day Panama and some Caribbean Recently RSS, Viking Expedition level experience sought.

I tend to think the reviews make it sound worse than it is. But I do think having expectations correct about what you're going to get before going in is also kinda important. I haven't been on Insignia, but have been on two of the other R class ships Oceania has. Now, that said, if you've been doing Regent, I suspect it's going to be a step down from what you experience there.

It's an R class ship, so it's one of the older ones in their fleet. Personally, I've always kinda liked the R class ships (I have a lot of days on them between Princess and Oceania). That said, I've generally been in the lower end cabins on these ships, not the higher ones outside of one Princess cruise. Anything below the PH category has quite frankly the smallest showers I've ever seen on a cruise ship (and I recall them being larger when Princess had R class ships). PH and above don't have this issue.

In general, I've found the service levels to be pretty good for what's really just a somewhat upper level mass market cruise line. It's not as all-inclusive as something like Regent is (not sure where Viking falls in), and depending on what promotion you book under, you may have no alcohol included, or beer and wine at meals included (they've seemed to move away from this lately though).

Dining is always the subjective one. Oceania bills itself as the finest cuisine at sea, a statement that I'd probably go so far as say is laughable. I'd say the main dining room meals are "ok to good", but not really anything I'd write home about. Honestly, I'd say often I'd consider the meals to be about the same level as any other mass market line like Princess or Celebrity - maybe just slightly an edge over those? But not enough to brag about. The included specialty restaurants definitely were better, although you get limited visits for those (I do think higher cabin categories get more but no sure?). I will say that I do feel they do a pretty good job of dealing with allergies, and I'd consider them a significant step above in that over most other lines I've cruised with. But I'd also say that of the cruise lines that I've been on, I'd rate Windstar as higher than Oceania so far. (They do have the advantage of having smaller ships to cook for, and I feel it really shows).

Ultimately though, I do think a lot has to do with what your expectations are. As someone that's largely travelled mass market lines (generally Princess, Celebrity, RC, some Windstar), I'd probably say Oceania for a lot of things is a small step over Princess and Celebrity, but I also don't think it's as big of a step as they might think they are. I definitely wouldn't call them a luxury cruise line, more in that grey area between mass market and luxury. (That said, I think some of their pricing lately starting to get out of line with the experience on the ship. I've been looking at a couple of Christmas cruises this year, one Oceania, one Regent, with very similar routes, and the pricing is more or less identical, which given the lesser included items on Oceania I find their pricing for that cruise to be on the high side.) If you're someone that's largely experienced luxury lines, I suspect it'll feel like a step down, especially on the R class ships.

I recently had a client do the Canal from Miami to LA on one of the other Oceania R Ships (Nautica) and they were not too happy with it. They were in a PH Suite and it did not meet their expectations. The ship and cabin are pretty tired and didn't feel the food lived up to the hype. They had just come off an NCL Haven cruise and thought the food in the NCL Haven restaurant and specialty restaurants were superior to anything on their Oceania Cruise. I just came off the Oceania Vista last week and thought the food was really good in the specialty restaurants but in the main restaurant it's hard to really see much of a difference from the better mass market lines like Celebrity, especially if you are upgraded to Aqua or Retreat.

Personally, if I was going to sail an R Class Ship, I'd sail Azamara. The food is similar and I just think the service is a bit better. They also tend to have better itineraries with more overnight and late stays. The newer ships on Oceania are nice. The Vista is beautiful. We loved the pool deck. Even on a jam packed Caribbean itinerary, we never had an issue getting a lounger or daybed. Service was good, but with 1,100 passengers, you are not going to get the same level of service you get on the smaller luxury lines.

Thank you both for taking the time to respond. We are looking at a few final cruises...The one we are having trouble filling is revisiting the Panama Canal and doing the ABC's for the first time.

Holland offers this on a 21 day. It is offered on the Rotterdam (jan-Apl) and on Nieuw Amsterdam Nov 2026 (we are looking to do this in 2026). We are 4 star with Holland America. They were good enough in the past. Our last cruise with them was a big disappointment. Took forever to get on and had hundreds of cheaters blocking our time to get off. Some service had waned. The included food was marginal and bland. Things that were included, now have upcharges, even in the main dining room. The Pinnacle Grill approaches a $50 upcharge, and you can do two more upcharges on that menu! . All this and ships too large (spoiled by RSS). Even the Pinnacle Grill is no longer offered for breakfast with the upper cabin suites. The in room dining is on a small coffee table in all but the 2 family size Neptune suites..

So I found Oceania Insigna. Provides a smaller ship, but the reviews were poor.and only meets part of the destinations.

We may have to skip the Southern Carribean and just do the Panama Canal.

We are 80, and not interested in roller coasters, bumper cars and water slides on a cruise.

If you like Regent and Viking Expedition, then you'd probably enjoy Seaborne. They have a Long Beach to Miami Canal transit in April 2026. Small ship, excellent service and good food. Champagne and Caviar on demand! Prices are not far off of what Oceania is charging, but you get so much more with Seaborne.

Have you looked at any Windstar cruises? There are a few cruises that include both ABC and Panama Canal.

Thank you for your responses!
Lindblad, Silverseas, NCL, P&O, Royal Caribbean, and Explora do not have the cruise we are looking for. Nor do Viking or Regent seven Seas (our preferred carriers).
Celebrity, Princess and Holland offer some close, but the ships are too big for our tastes.
Windstar has the cruise, but reading the reviews, I do not think we fit the demographic (too old?). Some options do not fit for us either.
Seabourn comes close. We can get PC and B, C on the Encore but it is only 10 days. It is also available to Hawaii 27 days (who wants to cruise, eventually to Hawaii and run out of time!)

Crystal has a 28 day Ft. L. to San Diego. Does it all. or a ten day does it all. or a 19 day does is all. They are all part of the same cruise on the Serenity. We are talking late 2026, so we have some time to see how this relatively "new" company is performing. Cabins seem good. Pricing is top end (not in any way all inclusive) so it better be good. Looking at Sapphire... This eliminates a plane ride home too.

Reported back to thank you, and to add data in case anyone else is looking for similar