Nautical

[Clinching]

Offered a great deal on nautica, September cruise Istanbul to Athens. First cruise for us, will we enjoy. Concierge balcony a good choice?

[Jimbo59]

Offered a great deal on nautica, September cruise Istanbul to Athens. First cruise for us, will we enjoy. Concierge balcony a good choice?

 

What was the deal?

[aohkay]

If it fits your budget, of course a concierge balcony is a good choice! :)

[LHT28]

Most of the balcony cabins are the same

it is all about location location location

 

There are a few perks with the Concierge level that are not availble to the B Cabins

If the Perks work for you fine

[CintiPam]

Offered a great deal on nautica, September cruise Istanbul to Athens. First cruise for us, will we enjoy.

 

That was our very first cruise as well, in September 2008. It was a fabulous introduction to sailing with a fascinating itinerary. Be sure to allow yourselves a few days extra in Istanbul before your embark. It's a fascinating city important in so many different historical eras.

 

Enjoy!

 

Pam

[Clinching]

Thanks for the feedback. Still undecided. As in the past, every time we get close to booking, we begin to question if cruising is right for us. Perhaps we should stop dithering and just give it a try. We must make a decision by the week-end so if we decide to book, which cabin would you recommend ?

Thanks again

[JimandStan]

which cabin would you recommend?

 

All of the outside cabins, up to the Suite level have basically the same footprint,

so pick your cabin based on where in the ship you want to be.

The Entertainment and Activities are primarily forward, while all of the ships restaurants are at the back of the ship.

The Central cabins on the lower decks are prized by those who fear seasickness, and the upper decks have the best views.

 

[wripro]

You'll never if cruising is right for you until you try it.

[globevest]

Thanks for the feedback. Still undecided. As in the past, every time we get close to booking, we begin to question if cruising is right for us. Perhaps we should stop dithering and just give it a try. We must make a decision by the week-end so if we decide to book, which cabin would you recommend ?

Thanks again

 

I retired in 2000 after traveling extensively for 30 years on business. After retirement for the first 7 years my wife wanted for us to go on a cruise....I resisted. "I will be bored"..."too much partying"....."everywhere kids and noise" etc. As a birthday surprise for my wife and a recommendation from a TA I booked with trepidation a 10 Caribbean cruise with Oceania. On returning to Miami I did not want to get off the ship....wow!

 

I am a British history buff and love geography.....now we are cruise addicts. In the past four years we have done 10 cruises (six with Oceania and three more booked)....In the main we travel to areas of the world that I did not visit when I was working. Try it you might be as surprised as I was.

[LHT28]

If you are not sure try one of their 7 day cruises & see if you like it

 

If you have not cruises before stick to the mid ship cabins if you can in case the "motion of the Ocean" might bother you

[canuck.qc]

We had the same impressions as Globevest about 'cruising'. It all comes down to the Ship you choose. Our 1st cruise was Barc.to Venice on Nautica and it was the best choice..small ship to get your bearings & learn about life on board. We did not know about RollCalls or CC & organized and paid for all our private tours alone! Now we search for an itinerary we like and book our cruises early on (1yr out) and then join the RollCall. Cruising, for us, is an efficient, hassle free way to get from one place to another. We find O's casual, refined atmosphere a perfect fit for a serious traveler. Planning small group tours with CCMembers is cost effective & offers you a quick glimpse of a variety of places in comfort and safety.

Note: I don't think we would be cruising today if our very 1st cruise experience was on board ex: mega-ships, or (how to say?) Mid-Rated cruise lines. Oceania, R class, midship, balcony cabin is a great intro to cruising.. let us know what you decide.

[Clinching]

Hi all you generous people who have replied to my post.

We have a concierge balcony(only balcony left) on hold whilst we make our final decision. No mid section left, how great is the risk of sea sickness? I am trying to add up the additional costs of gratuities and excursions, comparing it with similar such as Seabourn, Silverseas etc. I like everything I read about Nautica and my husband thinks we should just stop hesitating and do it! Hopefully, this would be a "taster" for a longer cruise in February.

Thanks again.

[Mura]

The risk of mal de mer depends on your itinerary, but there aren't any guarantees.

 

We have encountered rough seas in the Caribbean as well as the Mediterranean but also in the North Atlantic (where one could expect such things). Time of year can be a factor as well.

 

(Going in to Aruba in 2004 on Regatta we had such rough seas that the captain moved further out to sea to minimize the problem. Our cabin stewardess was seasick!)

 

We haven't had rough seas on an Athens-Istanbul itinerary but you never know. Also, Athens to Istanbul can be Black Sea or the Greek Islands, or other ports, which could be a factor.

 

I happen to be subject to mal de mer! On our first cruises I always made sure to be midships, but since then I've been absolutely forward or aft on some cruises and haven't noticed that much of a difference. By that I mean that if it's rough, it's ROUGH. Or can be!

 

If you really think you might have a problem, you'd be better off on a lower deck. Which isn't concierge ...

 

So you may need to decide how important concierge or the balcony is to you!

 

Mura

[PVPatti]

Last October my husband and I did our third cruise with Oceania and it was Istambul to Athens. It is an incredible cruise. I can't begin to describe how much we loved it. We spent three days in Istambul prior to our sailing. Istambul is a fascinating city - we can't wait to return. I, too, have always suffered with sea sickness

And I always take patches with me, but have never once used them on Oceania. Not on this cruise, but on others we've experienced some rough spots with turbulence. Oceania is very port intensive so just about every day you are quite busy. The food is IMO, the best at sea.

 

If you have been thinking about a cruise I'd recommend you bite the bullet and do it. I would be surprised if you regret your decision!

[Clinching]

Just wanted to say that we've booked an Oceania cruise today. We found it so difficult to choose between the Istanbul to Athens ,sailing Sept.28th. and the Barcelona to Athens, sailing Sept.6th. We have booked the later, as we would very much enjoy visiting Rome and Florence but had to sacrifice Istanbul. However, we have decided to experience Istanbul as a long week-end trip. We will stay a night in Barcelona before sailing and have opted for a concierge balcony stateroom,midship. Now, I will try and arrange excursions .My thinking is to perhaps take the ship's very expensive excursions for Rome, Florence and possibly Ephesus and make my own arrangements for others. Does this seem a good option? I would appreciate your advice on this.

Thanks again for your feedback.

[CintiPam]

Now, I will try and arrange excursions .My thinking is to perhaps take the ship's very expensive excursions for Rome, Florence and possibly Ephesus and make my own arrangements for others. Does this seem a good option? I would appreciate your advice on this.

Thanks again for your feedback.

 

It is an easy option but a poor one. Oceania excursions are extremely overpriced. Team up with people on your roll call for private excursions; less money and a much better experience. Always better to travel with maybe six others than have to wait for the slowest of 30.

 

Particularly in Ephesus, where you can get a two-person private tour for less than Oceania charges and not waste time shopping for carpets but rather enjoying the amazing sights there.

[billy.qc]

Just wanted to say that we've booked an Oceania cruise today. We found it so difficult to choose between the Istanbul to Athens ,sailing Sept.28th. and the Barcelona to Athens, sailing Sept.6th. We have booked the later, as we would very much enjoy visiting Rome and Florence but had to sacrifice Istanbul. However, we have decided to experience Istanbul as a long week-end trip. We will stay a night in Barcelona before sailing and have opted for a concierge balcony stateroom,midship. Now, I will try and arrange excursions .My thinking is to perhaps take the ship's very expensive excursions for Rome, Florence and possibly Ephesus and make my own arrangements for others. Does this seem a good option? I would appreciate your advice on this.

Thanks again for your feedback.

Congrats! Book your own Hotels And transfers, as for Barc. pls try to visit the beautiful Sagrata Familia! You can tour before getting onto the ship.

You can book great private tours for those 3 cities along with the rest of your trip & many recommendations can be found thru 'search' or on your RCall. A private tour will give you the opportunity to tailor the tour and because you are fewer persons (small van) you will see much more than on a tour bus. Join or share a tour with your fellow RCall Passengers...these are popular ports and have many very reputable tour operators be sure to book far in advance.

[capecodder2]

Clinching, unless you have motion sickness with other modes of transportation, please don't worry yourself too much about the "what ifs" of it happening on a cruise. Many people never ever get seasick - like us - no matter what. You hear more about those who do because it is a nasty thing to happen, but the majority of folks aren't bothered by the lovely motion of the ship.

You will get advice not to take the ship's excursions, but I think there is a place for both private and ship excursions. Not all private excursions are fun or worthwhile. Be careful that you understand exactly what you will do. They are not always better than the ship excursions and I can vouch for that. We have enjoyed many ship excursions, and especially like them if you are going several hours from the port and can possibly be late returning. The ship waits for their own excursions, not private ones.