East Mediterranean Cruise on the Nautica, one of three Oceania ships. The experience was delightful. Our cruise began July 2, 2007, in Piraeus, the port for Athens, went to Santorini, Kusadasi, Rhodes, Delos, Mykonos, Thira, Katakolon, Corfu, Dubrovnik and ended in Istanbul. We recommend the ship to any adults who want good food, good company, and good experiences ashore.

We spent several days in Athens first, at the Athenaeum InterContinental. Oceania had a welcome desk there before cruise departure, but you could seldom find the Oceania person and when we finally did, she was unhelpful and gave us inaccurate information. The InterContinental put us in a taxi to the cruise terminal, where we went through a perfunctory and useless security check. From there, Nautica took over and the boarding process was simple and friendly. We were in our stateroom within 15 minutes of leaving the taxi and at the welcoming lunch buffet 10 minutes later. Most of the luggage arrived promptly. The final piece was delayed a couple hours.

We found the stateroom, 4049, well located--about 35 steps from the reception desk, central stairway, and elevators. The room was beautiful, in perfect condition, quiet, about average size for a cruise ship, with dark woods, a large window, a comfortable queen-size bed, a small desk and padded stool, small love-seat and a coffee table, and a functional TV that showed movies. Storage space was more than adequate, and suitcases fit under the bed. We had no balcony, and never felt we needed one. The bathroom was on the small side, with adequate storage space but a tiny shower. The hot water was always hot, but the shower is probably the worst feature of the Nautica. An attendant cleaned the room twice daily, did a perfect job, and was seldom seen.

Overall, the ship was beautiful, very well decorated, traditional but not old-fashioned, and superbly maintained. You could hardly find a scuff mark anywhere. The ship carries only 680 passengers, which puts it on the small side these days. We, and everyone we talked to, liked the size, which was big enough but not too big. While cruising, the ship was stable. The swimming pool was small but adequate, with two whirlpools, and the deck area was adequate. There were a variety of places to sit in the sun or lean on the railing. There was a nice library, a good-sized fitness area, a small casino, and two shops. A string quartet frequently played, as did a pianist. The stage entertainment was typical of cruise ships. There were few children on our trip, and there should have been none.

Nautica doesn't encourage children, and these kind of trips aren't suited for them. Food was usually very good, sometimes excellent, and a few times even superb. It would occasionally fall into the "okay" category. The elegant Grand Dining Room operates during specified periods as announced each day in the ship newsletter. You are not assigned a table or an eating time.

There are no formal nights. You dress "country club casual." No tie or jacket is required for men. Some jackets but only a few ties were in evidence. You decide whether to eat with others or not. Service was good. The buffet, at the stern of the ship, has superb views and is called the Terrace Caf? for breakfast and lunch and Tapas for dinner. On three consecutive evenings, we sat at one of the outdoor tables at the buffet and watched the sun set over the Black Sea, an experience to treasure. Menu selection was varied, and presentation was excellent in both restaurants. Oceania advertises that "legendary chief" Jacques Pepin created some of the dishes on the menu. That seemed overrated to us. Near the pool was a grill, operating from about noon to 4 p.m., where you could get good hamburgers and hotdogs, a few other sandwiches, ice cream, and go through a salad buffet. There are two alternative restaurants, Toscana, featuring Italian, and the Polo Grill, featuring beef. You make reservations, but do not pay extra at them. While fine, they are overhyped. The dining room and buffet were just as good. The Nautica does not scrimp on food. Prime rib was on the menu several nights, a roast sucking pig was served one day, and shrimp prepared in various ways was available almost every day.

We met the captain once at a ship's party. Otherwise, he was not much in evidence. Tours of the bridge, kitchen and engine room were not advertised. A concierge is available during the day. When our room keys acted up, he quickly had the problem fixed. The staff comes from many countries, and most had good command of English and were very friendly.

Shore excursions were as with many ships, terribly overpriced. Details about them, necessary to decide which ones to select, were hard to come by before we boarded. Calls to the 800 Oceania number were answered by dour, unhelpful individuals. For some of the port of calls we decided to prebook private shore excurions through local tour operators before boarding to Nautica.

Athens - we used Spiros from www.athenstaxi.net He is very reasonable...around 200 euro for up to 4 people for a full day tour.

Rhodes - we used Nick of Rhodes Private Tours nick-ax@rho.forthnet.gr We went all over Rhodes and over to Lindos - great trip

Kusadasi (Ephesus) - We used Ephesus Private Tours. E-mail is ephesustours@yahoo.com web site: http://connect.to/ephesustours I found them very courteous, professional, and very quick to respond to my emails. There are many wonderful reviews about this company. They were first class and the guide was very helpful and informative.

Except Mykonos in rest of the port we booked ships excursions. Among them our favorite port was Santorini! We took the half day tour and still had time to shop and make it back to the ship for a late lunch. Everyone takes either the gondola or the donkies back down to the tenders! Fun!
In Mykonos, we didn't take a tour because the ship has a shuttle bus to town. We enjoyed the photo opportunities here as well as shopping for music. We heard some complaints from people who paid for tours here... but then there are always some unhappy campers everywhere!

In talking to many of our fellow passengers, we heard nearly-unanimous praise for the Nautica. A surprising number of them had been on Oceania two or three times before, although the company has existed only a few years. One woman, apparently a chronic complainer, said maintenance of her stateroom was lacking, crew were impolite, and food was not "phenomenal." It was difficult to believe her first two claims. As for the food, meals were always enjoyable and delicious; for "phenomenal," you go to gourmet restaurants. Several passengers got on board without their luggage. I suspect that was the fault of airlines. I would strongly advise against arriving in Europe on the same day your cruise ship departs?too much opportunity for trouble. Service in the Nautica buffet was at times a little slow. The staff should also enforce the dress code. We had a few louts who came to the buffet in sleeve-less t-shirts and baggy shorts, and one who talked loudly on a cell phone.

I am going to start with the bottom line ? will we cruise O again ? Absolutely.

The itinerary was wonderful. Two days in Istanbul, Mykonos, Santorini, Rhodes, Corfu, Kusadasi, Delos, Katakolon, Dubrovnik. And Athens. Overnight in port in both Istanbul and Athens. Late night departure from Mykonos and Istanbul to maximize time in port.

The Nautica: We loved the ships décor. Absolutely reminded us a very upscale country club with beautiful fabrics, dark woods comfortable seating in a traditional motif. The layout of the public rooms on the ship we felt made the ship feel very intimate and very inviting. Martini?s lounge with the piano and the bar were a great meeting place. Another bar at the entrance to the Grand Dining Room was well placed. The rooms were frequently filled and never felt crowded. Easy to get most places and the small size of the ship was perfect for us.

Fellow Passengers: Over all, they were terrific, fun loving, well traveled and frequent cruisers. We met passengers from all over ? although a bulk were Californians, New Yorkers and Floridians. We met a number of people from Down Under and from South Africa as well. A number of people we met and talked with had sailed at least 3-4 times and some had sailed on Regent, Seabourne, Crystal and Silverseas. The demographic was slightly younger. More passengers in their 30?s and 40?s and more families. Most I would say were mid-50?s. Very sociable.

Activities: All the ship activities were directed at this demographic. Very active shore excursions with lots of walking, hiking and active ? few available just bus tours Very little that were just get on the bus and get talked at. I did not recall seeing more than one walker and one wheelchair. While children were discouraged, there was no program for them, there were a handful of well behaved and well traveled kids on board. Even the two year old charmer who attended many adult oriented activities was beyond the norm. I think that the parents, knowing that this line is not geared for kids really did more than expect someone else to entertain them and I want to commend those parents because the kids were really well mannered beyond what I have seen of late.

Limited Smoking! As one of those former smokers who quit years ago, I have become allergic to cigarette smoke. As a ?gambler? I was in heaven in the casino and the other areas of the ship being mostly smoke free was a huge plus. Having spent time with smokers in adjacent cabins on Regent, we really relished the bars and other venues on this ship.

Room Service Breakfast ? The days we had early excursions we had room service breakfast. We as suite passengers were entitled to full breakfast, but, we prefer eating lighter and the express menu was fine for us. Fresh berries daily! (Frozen on Regent) but the winning thing was that before the breakfast was delivered the butler (that was mostly what he did for us) would call us to let us know he was coming to bring breakfast. A small thing done well. Oh ? and the coffee was a strong European blend ? much to our liking..

Excursions: We bought a package of excursions that fit in with the cruise?s theme of ?Crossroads of History? which included one full day excursion and some half day excursions in each of the ports. The guides were all excellent, patient and spoke English fluently. The excursions all had some free time to explore the areas visited. The buses were comfortable, clean and modern. Each morning you would meet in Nautica Lounge (the theater) and would turn in your ticket for your bus assignment. It was so well done and timing was pefect so you never felt crowded. The groups were relatively small. On the walking tours you never had to strain to hear the guides. The prices were very reasonable. We felt we had good value. The largest group for any of our tours was about 24 people. Lots of room to spread out on the bus. We did skip one tour and had we gone earlier to the excursion desk to let them know, they would have sold the ticket for us and credited our money back for the cost of that tour. We only cancelled that day because of the heat, but, they had modified that tour to accommodate the heat and keep the guests comfortable. At the end of the tour at Ephesus, they had staff waiting at the exit with a picnic cooler full of cold wash cloths with lemon scent to them to wash up and cool down! A really nice touch.

Food: While the food was excellent (we felt the beef and lamb were actually better quality and in some cases better prepared) Presentation was wonderful. The Jacques Pepin menu was a static menu of choice of a steak, a chicken and a salmon prepared to his standard. Other dishes were comparable to Regent offerings including a perfectly prepared Foie Gras, a Mushroom Risotto starter, fruit soups, salads, caviar topped potato. (I loved the Versace china). Much of the food on Regent is prepared to order just like any fine restaurant. Food on O ? some is prepped to order but not all. The executive chef, Rolando (?) is French, Cordon Bleu trained and formerly with RSSC having worked for Tobias. Food was still done well. Some of the side dishes were just not what we?d have ordered ? not bad, just not to our taste. We had perfect Wienerschnitzel the last night. The Polo Grill and Toscana were both very good. Just barely notch below Signatures and comparable with Portofino and Latitudes. Whole Maine Lobsters and great prime rib and steaks in Polo and food in Toscana just as good as any fine Italian. Waves, the pool grill made better hamburgers and side dishes. Pizza in the Terrace Café was excellent. Less choices in the buffet at lunch. We did not try Tapas on the Terrace. Food on Regent is just slightly better but not by very much.

Beverage Service: Well, nothing can top all inclusive. Signing for drinks was just not that terrible. The liberal alcohol policy helped transition us ? we could bring aboard beverages for in cabin consumption. We missed being handed a glass of champagne upon boarding, but, the bottle of Perrier Jouet waiting in our cabin helped us get over that experience. Some one gifted us a bottle of Mumm?s Napa cuvee as well. During the wine tasting, passengers were offered a wine package of some great vintage choices and we purchased a package. Wines are priced comparable to a restaurant and the prices were fair. To compare with Holland America, the markup on HAL was 4 times what we?d have paid in the local wine store and 3 times store price on O with a $12 - $15.00 bottle in store being $40 on O ? vs $50 on HAL. Mixed Drinks ranged from $4.25 for Drinks of the Day (5 or six kinds) to $9.00 for Grey Goose Martini?s. Good wines available by the glass for $6-10 each. Soft drinks were $2.00 per can and no package available. The cruise director told us that the head office is looking at some changes to this. Our total bar bill for a 12 day cruise was $60.00 per day for two of us. We definitely drank less wine at dinner then the never empty Regent Glass but we have been drinking less overall at home and we were up early every day for our chosen intense early daily touring.

Service: Several staff members we spoke to came from Crystal, Seabourne, Silverseas, and Regent. All were very experienced. About 50/50 European and Asian/Filipino. All with smiles on their faces and genuinely happy. One employee told us that working for O was the best for him because they had more time off and the contracts were shorter so they saw family more often. We frequently saw the staff in the various ports ? having fun and laughing. Something small that we liked ? when you finished your meal and were leaving the restaurants, all the staff you passed by on the way out thanked you for dining there. I felt very welcomed. Service was always spot on. One day, when I commented to our Butler, we were not sure ?what to do with him? he took all of Frank?s shoes and polished them. We only ordered evening canapés one time and when we failed to return our order form, he started coming by to remind us to please order food. We still declined to have more food than we wanted to consume.

Entertainment: We went to several shows ? most of the entertainment consisted of music. One comedian, Sarge, had us laughing for a full hour. He will be in a one man show in New York and if we go to NYC, we will make a point to see him. There were no glitter and glitz Las Vegas revues, but there were four staff entertainers who sang as an ensemble and the shows were contemporary and enjoyable. One entertainer we saw on a Regent Cruise ? top notch violinist, Hanna Starscova (?) and one entertainer was a singer with major stage credits in Broadway plays in London?s West End who we would happily have paid admission to hear. She was standing room only in the showroom both nights and was above and beyond what we ever expected (short of hearing the Platters one cruise ? but that was on Royal Caribbean way back before we found Regent). The Nautica Orchestra and the resident String Quartet were all top end, They did a daily performance near the main dining room for three sets during pre-dinner which was lovely as well as during tea service. The lounge pianist, held court before and after dinner and kept Martini?s full. Several nights he played a Name that Tune Musical Team Trivia just after the show that filled the room and was something that all the passengers we spoke with enjoyed. Several times we were at Sail away parties and one evening ? from Mykonos, the party was 60?s and 70?s dance party that topped any sail away party we?ve attended. Two hours of really fun, heavily participated in party ? comparable to a good Wedding party, complete with conga line and more foot movement for those sitting on the pool lounges. The final show was the four entertainment staff doing a tribute to Hollywood and it was terrific fun. The show lounge full and at the end the crew came out and sang Auld Lang Syne and We are Family ? breaking into dance party including crew and passengers. Only one show fell short according to other passengers ? a flautist, and we did not attend that show ? we were busy closing the dining room with some other guests.

Embarkation and Disembarkation: We boarded in Istanbul. We booked a tour on arrival with Oceania who offered tours to the overnight hotel guests on the way to the hotel. We took the morning of embarkation to visit the Spice Market, The Underground Cistern and take a cruise on the Bosphous. The tour ended at 12:30 at the ship, We had a private guide lined up for 1:30 and we were able to board the ship, drop our hand luggage in our room with assistance from a crew member who showed us to our cabin, which was ready at 1:00, peek in the closets and at the room, go up to the Terrace and have a fast lunch and meet our guide on time. There was a bottle of Perrier Jouet waiting as well as a gift from friends of some Mumm?s Napa Cuvee. Very smooth. What really impressed me was the disembarkation process. No announcements from the ship. You were given a check in time, went to the Nautica Lounge. Checked in at the desk and were whisked off to your transportation right on the clock ? no waiting ? no lines. About 25 passengers at a time and mostly arranged by the flights that were booked. Full breakfast in the main dining room. Luggage was trucked to the airport and waiting for you at the curb. Staff was there with carts to load it so you could walk inside and check in at the desk for your flight. Maybe it was because we overnighted in port that made it easier for them to do that. But it was a perfect end to a great cruise.

Things we missed: No fruit bowls in the rooms, although we never eat from them! No fresh flowers in the rooms, but they were in the public rooms. I missed the dressing table but the desk worked fine. Free internet and telephone as a Silver SSS member. No SSS party ? but there is a party for repeaters which we will have next time. I love those Salt Sticks in the RSSC breadbaskets, but, I am supposed to be on a salt free diet.

Conclusion: We?re booking our 2008 Baltics Cruise on O. We really enjoyed the cruise. The flavor is different than Regent. More people were out and about on the ship. Maybe because there were fewer suites to hide in. They were out and about in the lounges. People were down to earth ? no pretense. All Country Club casual. We took one whole less bag! Frank brought a jacket but could have left it home. Port intensive meant that there was less relaxing ? if we wanted it, it was there. Daily Trivia, Tea and Bingo. Good Casino. Nice Gym. Pool was beautiful. Excursions were well done. Nice touches we liked. Loved the Balinese Beds. We think Regent has it all, but, this was also pretty perfect for us.

Panama cruise

This was our second cruise with Oceania.

We arrived at the ship around 2 pm and were quickly checked in. We were allowed to board even though we were Deck 4, and proceeded to the pool deck for a snack and to wait for our cabin to be ready.

Checking in our cabin we found a notice saying 2 of the ports had been changed due to the Passenger Services Act and Homeland Security. Seems that Homeland security decided to enforce this act that has been around from the 1800's.

The two ports were Cozumel, now changed to Grand Cayman, and San Andres, now changed to Cartegena, Columbia. A lot of unhappy people ...many had taken the cruise to see the Ruins in Mexico.

We enjoyed the rest of the afternoon exploring the ship. Next morning we met the group of Cruise Critic/Yahoo passengers we had been corresponding with over the preceding months. Good to finally see the faces of those I.D.'s we chat with.

First port was Grand Cayman and the only downside it was Sunday and not many of shops were open but we managed to find hubby his Rum Cakes. Many took shore excursions to Hell, Stingray City and the beach.

The next day & a half were pretty rough sailing as we hit some high winds and waves off the beam. A lot of passengers were feeling the effects of the seas.

The staff were great and very helpful even though some of them were still getting their sea legs as well. We had great meals in the GDR & Polo and only one downside was in Toscana. They must have been having an off night as the service was slow, the food was luke warm. Hubby had to have his meal returned to the kitchen along with a few others at our table. The next day we wrote a letter of complaint and things were noted and taken care of. We were offered another reservation in Toscana which was much better food and service. We found the internet fast, contrary to other posts. The prices, well, it has been beaten to death so I won't go there.

The band and the quartet did not arrive until Grand Cayman as they had connection problems getting from Poland so the entertainment had to be re-arranged. We did go to a few of the shows and they were quite enjoyable. The exception were the ship's singers ...sorry but the two girls they had onboard were not the best singers. They sounded like Alvin and the chipmunks.

The Canal transit was very good & we anchored in the lake for lunch and again after the last locks for dinner and to take on fuel. It is quite an amazing site.

The chair hogs were in attendance as usual and the pool staff seemed reluctant to remove things from the lounges.

We took advantage of the new lounge area on the pool deck with it nice double loungers. In the library we found several books to our liking and took advantage of the sea days to read by the pool.

Afternoon tea ...well what can I say? If you have not had afternoon on Oceania you have missed a good thing!

At some of the ports we just wandered off on our own. I had arranged a private tour in Cabo with some other passengers and we had a good day seeing the sites and had lunch in San Jose Del Cabo. Our driver was very knowledgeable about the area and took us to some different places than the ship's tours.

All in all we had a great trip and already booked another cruise for next year.

Lyn