We took 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 Cafe 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 over-hyped. The dining
room and buffet were just as good. 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 Oceania toll-free number
were answered by dour, unhelpful individuals. For some of the port
of calls we decided to pre-book private shore excursions through
local tour operators before boarding 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, we booked ships excursions in the rest of the ports.
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 donkeys back
down to the tenders! Fun!
We didn't take a tour in Mykonos 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 sleeveless t-shirts
and baggy shorts, and one who talked loudly on a cell phone.
by
John Nogg
