To mark the return of the Insignia to the Oceania fleet in 2014, the line has announced that they will re-christen the ship in a special ceremony in Istanbul on June 11, 2014.
The ship will be re-christened by current godmother, Virginia Watters, the wife of Oceania’s founding chairman, Joe Watters. Virginia first christened the Insignia in March of 2004 during a ceremony held in Monte Carlo when the ship was making her first debut with the line.
Prior to the ship’s re-christening and her first Mediterranean sailing with Oceania since 2012, the Insignia will undergo a multi-million dollar renovation in an effort to bring her product in line with her newer, larger fleetmates. Once she is re-christened, the Insignia will depart on a 10 day inaugural cruise to the eastern Mediterranean, calling in Kusadasi, Turkey; Rhodes, Greece; Limassol, Cyprus; Haifa, Israel; Patmos, Greece; and disembarking in Piraeus, Greece.
Since 2012, the Insignia had been leased to Hapag Llyod Cruises as the Columbus 2.
