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Insignia Review

4.5 / 5.0
247 reviews
See all photos
Editor Rating
4.5
Very Good
Overall
Brittany Chrusciel
Contributor

On Oceania's Insignia, size matters. At 684 passengers, the ship is large enough to have most of the familiar attributes of a cruise ship, but onboard the environment is intimate -- and quiet. A few hundred passengers smaller than fleetmates Marina and Riviera, Insignia carries an elegant yet contemporary atmosphere, perfect for a mature crowd looking to travel unique itineraries -- Insignia is used as Oceania's ship for six-month World Cruises -- in comfort.

Service onboard Insignia is attentive and professional -- a constant flurry of greetings, many times with your surname intact, ma'ams, sirs and "right away." We never had to ask for much and when we did, we didn't have to wait long for our request to be fulfilled. If you ask for a single piece of toast to be well done, that is precisely what you will get.

Food is a main event, and Insignia's culinary offerings are a true highlight of the sailing. The chandelier in the Grand Dining Room makes the space sparkle, literally, and Versace plates lend an aura of high-end restaurant gravitas to your meals. Oceania consistently invests in its food and wine, most recently adding a full plant-based menu that spans all dining areas.

There's no fear of missing out on something aboard Insignia. That's because there's never so much happening that attending a lecture or a game of shuffleboard would create a strain in a tight schedule. For many, that's a relief -- you can lie in the sun and sleep soundly at night knowing you only skipped golf putting. You'll be hard-pressed to find a crowded place onboard (except, perhaps, the buffet at peak mealtimes) -- and that can be both good and bad.

Overall, the essentials -- your room, the food, the surroundings, the crew -- are top-notch on Insignia, and a vacation with plenty of ports will distract from some of the gaps in programming. The ship has a lot of fans, and the contemporary, elegant look, outstanding dining and interesting itineraries will likely bring more into the fold.

Pros

Excellent food and attentive service accompany an intimate and mature atmosphere onboard

Cons

Activities are few, which can prove either relaxing or slightly dull

Bottom Line

Insignia is a small, quiet and comfortable ship oriented toward adults

About

Passengers: 684
Crew: 400
Passenger to Crew: 1.71:1
Launched: 1998
Shore Excursions: 1893

Inclusions

Included with your cruise fare:

  • All dining, including main dining room, buffet, room service and at least one reservation in both specialty restaurants

  • All nonalcoholic drinks onboard, including specialty coffee drinks, sodas, smoothies, virgin frozen drinks and in-cabin mini-fridge stocked with seltzer and soda

  • Bottled water for excursions and in the fitness room; Vero water, both sparkling and still, in your cabin and in restaurants

  • Wi-Fi (one device per stateroom at a time)

  • Self-service laundry, including detergent

  • Fitness classes

  • All entertainment, lectures and programming

  • Use of Spa Terrace for Concierge-level passengers and above

Not included with your cruise fare:

  • Alcoholic drinks

  • Gratuities of $16 per person, per day in standard staterooms or $23 per person, per day for suite passengers which are automatically added to the bill

  • Automatic bar and spa gratuities of 18 percent

  • Shore excursions

  • Spa services

  • Dry cleaning

  • Personal training

Fellow Passengers

Retired couples, friend groups and adult children traveling with elderly parents are largely what you'll find onboard Insignia sailings; it would be very rare to spot a child or even a young adult. The passenger mix on Insignia is predominantly English-speaking -- about 85 to 90 percent American (depending on the itinerary), followed by Canadians and some Brits. A wider variation of cultures can be found on world cruises, and a slightly younger crowd sails the Caribbean itineraries.

Oceania Insignia Dress Code

Daytime: Country club casual is the term used for daywear, which is much the same as you would find at a resort -- shorts, collared tops, sundresses and so forth.

Evening: There are no formal nights onboard Insignia, but elegant casual is encouraged for the evenings. That means button-downs and slacks for men; skirts, dresses and dressy pants outfits for women. Passengers opting for a less dressy evening can visit the Terrace restaurant for dinner.

Not permitted: No jeans, athletic shoes or sandals, casual T-shirts or hats in the main dining room or specialty restaurants at dinner. Tank tops and swimwear are never accepted at any of the main venues, including tea time.

For more information, visit Cruise Line Dress Codes: Oceania

Find an Insignia Cruise from $1,804

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More about Oceania Insignia

Where does Oceania Insignia sail from?

Oceania Insignia departs from Barbados, Singapore, Fremantle, Auckland, Tahiti, Miami, Copacabana Beach, Rio de Janeiro, Cape Town, Manhattan, Reykjavik, Montreal, Boston, San Diego, Tampa, Panama City, Lisbon, Taipei (Keelung), Southampton, Southampton, Helsinki, Copenhagen, Oslo, Tilbury, Tower Bridge, Tilbury, Canary Wharf, Paris, Barcelona, Rome, Civitavecchia, and Venice

Where does Oceania Insignia sail to?

Oceania Insignia cruises to Barbados, Grenada, St. Vincent, St. Lucia, Dominica, Antigua, St. Barts, San Juan, Miami, Singapore, Koh Samui, Bangkok (Laem Chabang), Sihanoukville, Ho Chi Minh City (Saigon), Nha Trang, Hong Kong, Shanghai, Nagasaki, Kagoshima, Taipei (Keelung), Perth (Fremantle), Busselton, Albany (Australia), Esperance, Adelaide, Kangaroo Island, Melbourne, Geelong, Burnie, Eden (Australia), Sydney (Australia), Picton, Wellington, Napier, Tauranga, Auckland, Noumea, Mystery Island, Port Vila, Champagne Bay (Vanuatu), Lautoka, Suva, Pago Pago, Apia, Samoa (formerly Western Samoa), Bora Bora, Raiatea, Tahiti (Papeete), Moorea, Honolulu, Hilo, San Diego, Aruba, Curacao, St. Kitts (Port Zante), St. Maarten, Manaus, Santarem, Rio de Janeiro, Montevideo, Buenos Aires, Punta del Este, Edinburgh (South Queensferry), Walvis Bay, Cape Town, Durban, Richards Bay, Mangalore, Colombo, Phuket, Penang, Kelang (Kuala Lumpur), New York (Manhattan), Newport, Hamilton, Halifax, Sydney (Nova Scotia), St. John's (Newfoundland), Isafjord, Akureyri, Cruise by Seydisfjordur Fjord, Reykjavik, Corner Brook, Saint John (New Brunswick), Bar Harbor, Boston, Martha's Vineyard (Oak Bluffs, Vineyard Haven), Montreal, Baie-Comeau, Quebec City, Bonaire, Scarborough, Cabo San Lucas, Ixtapa-Zihuatanejo, Puerto Quetzal (Antigua), Corinto, Puntarenas (Puerto Caldera), Cartagena (Colombia), Grand Cayman (Georgetown), Port Canaveral (Orlando), St. Thomas, Cozumel, Costa Maya, Belize City, Roatan, Montego Bay, Port of Spain (Trinidad), Martinique, Tampa, St. Croix, Tortola, Puerto Limon, Colon (Cristobal), King's Wharf, Ponta Delgada, Lisbon, Porto (Leixoes), La Coruna, Bilbao, Paris, Brugge (Bruges), Southampton, Manila, Bali, Komodo Island, Newcastle (England), Lerwick (Shetland Islands), Belfast, Dublin, Amsterdam, Oslo, Copenhagen, Berlin, Gdansk (Warsaw), Stockholm, Tallinn, Helsinki, Skagen, Eidfjord, Kirkwall, Cobh (Cork), Alesund, Molde, Stavanger, Kiel, London (Greenwich, Tower Bridge, Tilbury), Portree (Isle of Skye), St. Peter Port (Guernsey), Bordeaux, Cádiz (Seville), Malaga, Palma de Mallorca (Majorca), Barcelona, Marseille, La Spezia (Cinque Terre), Corsica (Ajaccio), Sardinia, Palermo (Sicily), Naples, Rome (Civitavecchia), Sorrento, Taormina (Messina), Malta (Valletta), Corfu, Kotor, Dubrovnik, Zadar, Koper, Venice, Split, Catania, Alicante, Lanzarote, Las Palmas (Gran Canaria), La Palma, and Nassau

How much does it cost to go on Oceania Insignia?

Cruises on Oceania Insignia start from $1,804 per person.

Is Oceania Insignia a good ship to cruise on?

Oceania Insignia won 15 awards over the years.
Oceania Insignia Cruiser Reviews

Insignia is dated, faded and not maintained!

Insignia, for me is faded, outdated, lacking expected contemporary conveniences and technology.Read More
Sheridan33

many10+ Cruises

Age 73s

Insignia - over 60* needs improvement

If you want quiet, very laid back, and good ports/ travel on Oceania Insignia.Read More
Janroe

few6-10 Cruises

Age 73s

An aging ship but a good one.

We are very fond of Oceania's R-class ships and this was our second voyage on Insignia. The first was eight years prior, and those eight years are sure noticeable.Read More
PDX Steve

many10+ Cruises

Age 80s

Quebec Colors

With the help of our trusted agent, Judy Maybee of Expedia Cruises we selected Oceania Insignia as we are very attracted to smaller ships.Read More
Marcoottawa

many10+ Cruises

Age 84s

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