Nautica/ Mumbai to Rome/ April 29-May 27, 2018 with Taj Mahal pre extension...Live

Having learned a lot using cruise critic over these past years (really, where DOES the time go), I have decided to try doing a live blog on our sailing on the m/s Nautica cruise from Mumbai to Rome. This is our longest cruise to date, the previous title was held by a grand voyage on Riviera last July from Lisbon to Venice. We cruise mostly on Oceania and Celebrity, and our favorite ships are the O class. The we in this regard is myself and DW Janice. I am approaching Medicare age but will continue working to feed our travel habit.

To say I have decided to write a blog is somewhat misleading as I have been coerced under threat of bodily harm, if I did not. (With that comment I know who the first reply will come from). I have to say that I will never possibly approach the expertise of live blogging that he posts. As an example, anyone who has not followed his blog from his SE Asia River cruise experience, should make it a must read. The link follows...

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2591474

I will try and mix personal experiences with some photos that will hopefully be helpful for those considering a similar itinerary, or for those considering Oceania for the first time.

At the time of booking, Oceania was offering a promotion of a free three day pre or post stay. We decided to choose a pre extension to the Taj Mahal. After talking to many fellow cruisers on our sailing, it seems many have chosen this same extension. I will let you know how many are in the group as we proceed to that part of our journey.

Although the cruise begins in Mumbai, the extension requires flying into New Delhi instead. Below is a schematic of the cruise portion of the trip..

After we arrive in New Delhi, I will return to the boards and explain more about the pre extension to the Taj.

Ready any and all questions you may have and I will try and answer them as promptly as possible with limited WiFi.

Mike

To say I have decided to write a blog is somewhat misleading as I have been coerced under threat of bodily harm, if I did not. (With that comment I know who the first reply will come from). I have to say that I will never possibly approach the expertise of live blogging that he posts. As an example, anyone who has not followed his blog from his SE Asia River cruise experience, should make it a must read. The link follows...

https://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2591474

Mike

Yes, Mike, I plead "TOTALLY GUILTY" to encouraging you to post a live/blog for this upcoming and exciting "adventure" from India to Rome. Appreciate your postings and what I hope will be many follow-ups, more details, etc. Will try to upload any pictures you can e-mail to me. Looking forward to learning more and gaining an excellent preview for many of the ports that we will experiencing in later November and early December. We will be sailing on the Nautica from Athens to Dubai.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Enjoyed a 14-day, Jan. 20-Feb. 3, 2014, Sydney to Auckland adventure, getting a big sampling for the wonders of "down under” before and after this cruise. Go to:

http://boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1974139

for more info and many pictures of these amazing sights in this great part of the world. Now at 200,390 views for this posting.

Mike in his first post had a link to see the map for their upcoming Oceania Nautica cruise. Below is how it looks without needing to mess around with such clicking and not being sure as to where your computer will be going. I also did a little "photo boosting" to make this graphic look better. More details and visual to come!!?? Yes, we need to keep encouraging Mike to post more, share lots of details on the ship, the ports, etc.

Below is a link to the cruise/adventure Mike had mentioned that we had completed in late February for doing Southeast Asia.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

SE Asia/Mekong River, Etc.! Just completed a Jan. 21-Feb. 20, 2018, first adventure through Southeast Asia with stops in Hong Kong and Bangkok, before traveling all over Vietnam and Cambodia. This includes seven days sailing on the Mekong River. Lots of fun, interesting pictures!! See more at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2591474

From the Oceania website, here is their map showing the stops that Mike, Janice and Company will be enjoying during the upcoming weeks.:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger/better!)

Mike in his first post had a link to see the map for their upcoming Oceania Nautica cruise. Below is how it looks without needing to mess around with such clicking and not being sure as to where your computer will be going. I also did a little "photo boosting" to make this graphic look better. More details and visual to come!!?? Yes, we need to keep encouraging Mike to post more, share lots of details on the ship, the ports, etc.

 

Thanks, Terry for the assistance. Instead of uploading images here on CC, I used a shutterfly account and can now post directly here without the additional clicking. Also I can keep the image file larger. I will try and post again from the airport tomorrow prior to our flight.

Mike

Looking forward to following along on your AMAZING adventure! I’m interested in hearing about your experience on Nautica. I’m sailing on Nautica for the first time in November having only sailed on O class ships on Oceania. Happy travels to you!

I'm glad there is going to be a live blog.

I'll be on the same cruise and now I won't write mine!!!!

Mr Wonderful will still blog so the fam and friends can see our pictures.

We're leaving from Miami a couple of days early and headed to London because the flight from London to Mumbai is only about 9 hrs.

We've already flown to Sydney from Miami this year so breaking up the flight to Mumbai was a no brainer!!!

Cbb.have a great trip and please let us hear your adventures as well:) I always enjoy Dave's photos and comments. Safe journey.

Really looking forward to this blog as this cruise is on my bucketlist. So kind of you to spend time blogging and keeping us all informed during your hard earned vacation! Thank you! (y)

Mirjam

I'm glad there is going to be a live blog.

 

I'll be on the same cruise and now I won't write mine!!!!

 

Mr Wonderful will still blog so the fam and friends can see our pictures.

 

Oh no, cbb, you're not getting off that easily! Let's make this a community blog of the adventure! Please, add your photos and insight here on this thread, you will not be hijacking it, you will be accentuating it. I insist, because it's a small ship and I can find you onboard and guilt you into doing it if you don't just agree to it now. More opinions and more photos will only add to the knowledge that followers of this thread will receive. And some of those followers of this thread already know I need the help....

Sorry for the poor photo quality here, but when you steal a photo and have to crop it, the quality suffers!

I am following. And will be on the cruise, too. We leave today to head to Delhi for the 3 day pre-tour. Can't wait to meet everyone and will see if we have more to add. Margie and Art

I am following. And will be on the cruise, too. We leave today to head to Delhi for the 3 day pre-tour. Can't wait to meet everyone and will see if we have more to add. Margie and Art

Have a safe and uneventful flight, Margie and Art. We will see you at the JW Marriott. If you connect to British airways 143 from Heathrow, look for us there.

Mike and Janice

Have a grand time! We did a similar itinerary on Nautica last April - Mumbai to Athens. A fantastic trip! To many amazing sights to see....

I will be reliving the trip through your posts Mike.

Bon voyage!

Joe

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

I'm glad there is going to be a live blog.

 

 

 

I'll be on the same cruise and now I won't write mine!!!!

 

 

 

Mr Wonderful will still blog so the fam and friends can see our pictures.

 

 

 

We're leaving from Miami a couple of days early and headed to London because the flight from London to Mumbai is only about 9 hrs.

 

 

 

We've already flown to Sydney from Miami this year so breaking up the flight to Mumbai was a no brainer!!!

Cynthia-

I agree with Mike - add your thoughts too! So excited for you all. If you get a chance would you email me at joefpdx at Comcast dot net. Looking at ATW2020 segments and have a question for you.

Have fun!!!!

Joe

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

We have just flown from Melbourne to Hong Kong. Our Cathay flight was changed from this morning to last night so we have a 10 hour wait before our flight to Delhi. See you all soon. Meg

Enjoy the ride -- we did the Mumbai to Athens in 2016. Enjoy Petra, Luxor and all the other great ports.

I might wave and feel envious if I run into an O tour next week when I am in the UAE on business...

joepdx--

just sent you an email per your request.

miami airport this pm to fly to London, arriving tomorrow.

then off to Mumbai on Sat and boarding Sun....so if i don't respond immediately i'm not ignoring you....just not logged on!!!

Great that so many from these Cruise Critic boards will be along for this amazing adventure from India to Rome. To help people, like me, who are going to be following along actively via the Internet, I am listing below your exact planned port stops, etc.

Among questions of interest for Mike and others on this cruise would be these:

1. What kinds of speakers, enrichment, entertainment, etc., will be offered on the Nautica during this sailing?

2. In general, how well does the Internet work? Are some hours of the day or night better for getting faster service?

3. Any problems, limits for getting off the ship at ports where people are doing private tours?

4. What are folks favorite "hide-away" locations that are nice, quiet, comfortable and not as well known?

5. What are your best tips and secrets for those sailing with Oceania and on the Nautica for the first time?

6. You have ten "sea-days". What special or different does the ship offer or do on those days, including for the four days doing the Red Sea and Gulf of Aden?

Take notes, share as many details as possible, post often on the CC Boards, etc. Inquiring minds want to know. Don't be shy!!

UPCOMING SCHEDULE (with those in bold for those of most interest to those of us on our Nov. 16-Dec. 6 cruise)

Apr 29 Sun Mumbai, India 6 PM Sail Away

Apr 30 Mon-May 1 Tue, Cruising the Arabian Sea (two days)

May 2 Wed-May 3 Thu Dubai, United Arab Emirates 1 PM-6 PM

May 4 Fri Fujairah, United Arab Emirates 8 AM-6 PM

May 5 Sat Muscat, Oman 8 AM-5 PM

May 6 Sun Cruising the Arabian Sea

May 7 Mon Salalah, Oman 8 AM-5 PM

May 8 Tue-May 11 Fri, Cruising the Gulf of Aden and Red Sea (four days)

May 12 Sat Aqaba, Jordan/Petra 5 AM-8 PM

May 13 Sun-May 14 MonLuxor (Safaga), Egypt 8 AM-11 PM

May 15 Tue-May 16 WedCruising the Gulf of Suez and Suez Canal Transit (two days)

May 17 Thu-May 18 FriJerusalem (Haifa), Israel 6 AM-8 PM

May 19 Sat Limassol/Cyprus 8 AM-4 PM

May 20 Sun Rhodes/Greece 10 AM-8 PM

May 21 Mon Ephesus/Kusadasi 8 AM-6 PM

May 22 Tue Santorini/Greece 8 AM-11 PM

May 23 Wed Cruising the Mediterranean Sea

May 24 Thu Valletta/Malta 8 AM-4 PM

May 25 Fri Palermo (Sicily), Italy 9 AM-7 PM

May 26 Sat Sorrento/Capri, Italy 8 AM-6 PM

May 27 Sun Rome (Civitavecchia), Italy Disembark 8 AM

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

AFRICA?!!?: Lots of interesting, dramatic pictures can be seen from this live/blog at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2310337

Now at 38,319 views for this visual sharing including Cape Town, along South Africa’s coast, Mozambique, Victoria Falls/Zambia and Botswana's famed Okavango Delta area.

Our flights to New Delhi on British airways went off without a hitch. Taking the air credit from Oceania and using miles to fly business class makes a 20 hour trip into an almost acceptable experience. Really British airways treated us very well, and the two flights were slightly more than half full. Arriving in New Delhi at 11pm, and the trip to the JW Marriott got us into bed around 1am.

The hotel is beautiful and the rooms spacious, clean and very comfortable. We paid for an extra night, so we didn't have to leave immediately the next morning for Agra.

The hotel has an excellent breakfast buffet with made to order eggs, and a huge variety of Western and Indian food.

Today we joined four others on a private tour with Caper travel for a New Delhi highlight tour. I must say that this tour could be done in three hours but with the Delhi traffic it takes six. Everything you have heard about the Delhi traffic is true. The government wastes money to place lines on the road for no apparent reason at all. If you could actually travel faster than 20kph, many accidents would likely happen.

Our first stop was at India gate

India Gate is a war memorial located on the eastern edge of New Delhi. It is dedicated to lost lives of 70,000 soldiers of the British Indian Army during the First World War.

Our second stop was at the Red Fort

Shah Jahan, the Mughal Emperor shifted his capital from Agra to Delhi in 1638, and commenced construction of "Lal Qila" or the Red Fort. The fort is built using red sandstone from the area.

Our next stop was at Humayuns tomb.

Humayun's tomb is the tomb of the Mughal Emporer Humayun and was designated a UNESCO World Heritage site in 1993.

Our last stop was at Qutub Minar, another UNESCO site

More stops were planned for the day but after consult with the rest of the group, we decided that enough was enough, not because of what India doesn't have to offer, but for what it offered to us today, 110 degrees in the shade, and no, it's not a dry heat. Everyone was exhausted because of the temperatures and jet lag. I have to say though that the mini bus Caper had for us had amazing air conditioning, and we all applaud them for that.

So as we return to the hotel listening to the incessant honking of horns, like it really makes any difference, our group will prepare for the start of the Oceania portion of the pre extension starting in the morning with the four hour trip to Agra.

More stops were planned for the day but after consult with the rest of the group, we decided that enough was enough, not because of what India doesn't have to offer, but for what it offered to us today, 110 degrees in the shade, and no, it's not a dry heat. Everyone was exhausted because of the temperatures and jet lag. I have to say though that the mini bus Caper had for us had amazing air conditioning, and we all applaud them for that. So as we return to the hotel listening to the incessant honking of horns, like it really makes any difference, our group will prepare for the start of the Oceania portion of the pre extension starting in the morning with the four hour trip to Agra.

Super appreciate these great pictures, details and highlights from Mike. WOW, that is hot!! Look forward to more pictures and insights as you visit the Taj Mahal, etc. Never been, yet, to India and that excellent location is on our must-do list.

Keep it coming. Spectacular sharing!

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

For details and visuals, etc., from our July 1-16, 2010, Norway Coast/Fjords/Arctic Circle cruise experience from Copenhagen on the Silver Cloud, check out this posting. This posting is now at 224,535 views.

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1227923

Sorry for the poor photo quality here, but when you steal a photo and have to crop it, the quality suffers!

In the interest of "Truth in Advertising", Mike had posted a highly-cropped picture of me that was correctly described as of "poor photo quality". In order to help anyone seeking to avoid me, we need more accuracy. Below are a couple of visuals that might be of better quality. But, enough of my pictures. We are looking forward to many more from Mike, including images that show him, people on this upcoming cruise, etc.

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

Did a June 7-19, 2011, cruise from Barcelona that had stops in Villefranche, ports near Pisa and Rome, Naples, Kotor, Venice and Dubrovnik. Dozens of nice visuals with key highlights, tips, comments, etc. We are now at 231,424 views for this live/blog re-cap, including much on wonderful Barcelona. Check these postings and added info at:

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1426474

Here are a couple of more accurate pictures. First, from February while we were in Vietnam's super scenic Ha Long Bay. Second is while in Ohio Stadium with one of our team's big boosters. Yes, this is the same location in Columbus where last fall number two-ranked Penn State (with Saquon Barkley) lost to OSU by a 39-38 score after a dramatic Buckeye come-back.:

(Open your screen/viewer wider to see these pictures larger/better!)

Ok, in the interest of fair play and equal billing....

The first picture is of course of the biggest PSU supporter of them all, and the second is probably of the year just prior to the one you reference...the 2016 blocked field goal upset of then ranked number 2 OSU by the Nittany Lions

OK, now that we have that out of our system, back to our regularly scheduled blog....

Just got our schedule for the Taj Mahal extension...

6am wake up for trip to Agra

3am wake up the following day for the sunrise at the Taj

3am wake up for the trip to New Delhi, flight to Mumbai and embarking the ship.

I wonder why they didn't mention those times in the preliminary schedule for the pre extension!!!

Mike

An early start to the day and a driveby of the New Delhi highlights. Our Oceania guide on our bus, Ravi, was extremely informative during the bus ride to Agra. There were 10 buses total for the trip, but each bus maybe was only three quarters full which made for an easy trip. So I will guess at 350 passengers from the Nautica took this extension. Any question for Ravi was quickly answered. One point he made was this...

Of course, this is how the Hindu's, get around the sacred cow issue. These are water buffalo, and although they look like cows to most people, the distinction is they are not cows, so fire up the grill.

We had a lunch stop halfway to Agra at the Jaypee Greens Golf Resort, and the lunch was excellent. A very large and diverse selection of very fresh items. For the golfers amongst you...

This is an 18 hole Greg Norman design opened in 2000. But the reason I note this, is because this was the first 18 hole golf course in all of India. I'd have to say they were a little late to the golf party, but this is a beautiful example of what they have accomplished.

We arrived at the Courtyard by Marriott at just before 5pm and the rooms were already assigned, so all we had to do was pick up the key. The bags that we were permitted to bring to Agra, were brought separate from the buses and delivered to the rooms relatively promptly.

There was a Kathak dance demonstration at 6:30, followed by a buffet which was not included in the package, but many people seemed to use that option for dinner. Kathak dance is one of the ten major forms of Indian classical dance, attributed to the traveling bards of northern India known as Kathakers or storytellers. The dance is characterized by rapid arm and upper body movements.

Tomorrow brings a very early start. Pastries and juice at 5am and then to the Taj Mahal for sunrise. Everyone is hoping for a relatively good air quality morning to help with the photos.

Ok, in the interest of fair play and equal billing.... The first picture is of course of the biggest PSU supporter of them all, and the second is probably of the year just prior to the one you reference...the 2016 blocked field goal upset of then ranked number 2 OSU by the Nittany Lions OK, now that we have that out of our system, back to our regularly scheduled blog....

Just got our schedule for the Taj Mahal extension...6 am wake up for trip to Agra. 3 am wake up the following day for the sunrise at the Taj. 3 am wake up for the trip to New Delhi, flight to Mumbai and embarking the ship. Mike

Appreciate Mike's continued excellent sharing, pictures, details, comments and follow-ups. Nice picture of Mike, right? Is that your daughter shown with you and the stuffed Lion?

Very interesting insights and background regarding the "sacred cow issue" in India. Keep it coming!!

THANKS! Enjoy! Terry in Ohio

From our Jan. 25-Feb. 20, 2015, Amazon River-Caribbean adventure that started in Barbados, here is the link for that live/blog. Many visuals from this amazing river and Caribbean Islands (Dutch ABC's, St. Barts, Dominica, Grenada, San Juan, etc.):

www.boards.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=2157696

Now at 55,927 views for these postings.