Our ship was the Oceania Insignia
Our ship was the Oceania Insignia, and the cruise was from Barbados to Manaus, Brazil (on the Amazon River) with return to Barbados(19 days). We had initially considered HAL, but they left from Florida, had many stops in the Caribbean, which we had seen multiple times, and was a much longer cruise. Plus, the Insignia itinerary included Devil's Island and Trinidad, which were new ports for us. Embarkation with Insignia was fine. We were located in a Concierge Level Veranda, Deck 7. The cruise began January 27 and ended February 15, 2026. We were anticipating a great cruise, especially with advertising of "one chef for everyone ten passengers" and "finest cuisine on the seas". Unfortunately, for us, this was not to be. First, the stateroom was very small. The person on the side of the bed away from the bathroom had trouble getting to the bathroom because of very limited walking area, and particularly with the wall TV protruding into the space. We couldn't open the balcony door until maintenance finally came to replace the slide mechanism. The bathroom door knob literally came off in my hand. The shower was impossibly small and the folding door didn't fit, either protruding into the shower or sticking out allowing water onto the floor. Dining was a big disappointment, especially the specialty restaurant, Toscana. Some plates were inedible and lettuce had brown tinged edges. Polo Grill was best of all, but the Grand Restaurant was nothing exceptional. Entertainment was mediocre. The lounge was on one level, making it difficult to see speakers or performances if you were not in the front. One woman speaker who did multiple presentations read her notes entirely. A male threesome of singers were trite and frequently off-key. The atmosphere was less cordial than we had previously experience with other lines. The cruise director and her husband (a comedian) were both retiring and acted like it. Shore excursions along the Amazon were okay and not overly expensive (but mostly non-existent, except for Manaus), but went downhill once we got back to the Caribbean. Trinidad and Tobago were cancelled, and in substituted ports we were docked in remote areas. No shuttle service was provided to make up for this. The only transportation service was if you had scheduled an excursion. Post-cruise we heard that Oceania had planned to sell Insignia because renovation was so expensive, but the sale fell through. Perhaps this helps explain why maintenance was so lacking. In any event, there are too many good cruise lines out there to waste on Oceania ever again.