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Live from Nautica

greenamber

By greenamber,
in Oceania Cruises

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greenamber

greenamber

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Hello

 

I have followed many of your thoughts and comments for the past couple of years so thought it about time I gave some of my own. First of all this is only our 3rd cruise, the first being on Celebrity Eclipse and whilst we enjoyed the experience it left us feeling cruising really wasn't for us so we went back to land based holidays. A couple of years on I read an article about Oceania and thought maybe we should give it another try and last year we were on board Riviera, a totally different and enjoyable experience, we loved it. So this year here we are again this time on Nautica chosen for the itinerary rather than the ship itself as there are 3 countries on this list we have never visited before.

 

First thoughts on Nautica well like me she may be a lady of a certain age, but she absolutely doesn't show it. Of course just having had the refurb we have nothing to compare to, but I would say in style she is a mini me version of Riviera, although Nautica is more country house than glitz. I will try and post some photos later, but in the meantime if anyone has any specific questions just post here and I will try to answer.

 

Day 1 arrival

 

Left London in torrential rain and thunder storms, pilot did a good job of avoiding them and just over 2 hours later arrived in a very warm Venice. Straight to the ship, welcomed by staff, checked in on board and our suite was ready a PH3 aft. First impressions of the suite were lovely, the furnishings all have that new smell and the colours are the same as our suite on Riviera last year. It is not quite as spacious, but plenty of room for our needs, the bathroom a little on the tight side, but functional, personally I would prefer a large shower rather than a bath. There was a lovely floral arrangement in addition to the normal orchid plant, a gift from our TA.

 

We had lunch in the Terrace, Ceaser salad enjoyed with a Proseco, well we are in Italy!! What a view, sitting in the sun overlooking Venice water and the red tiled rooftops of this beautiful city. The ship is moored in San Basilio at the end of the quay with nothing to interrupt the view. After lunch time to relax and familiarise ourselves with the ship.

 

Cocktails in Martinis, followed by dinner in Toscana, we hadn't booked but they were able to accommodate us and dinner was superb. Risotto and Scaloppini for me and Gnocci and lobster pasta for Rob washed down with a glass or three of chianti , well we are in Italy. A quick pit stop at Martinis on the way back left us feeling a little weary, time for bed. By the way a menu for lunch and dinner in the Grand Dining Room was delivered along with Currents, a welcome addition.

 

Day 2 Venice

 

Awoke after a good sleep in the ever so comfortable bed, also happy to report that although our suite in under the Terrace, no noise problems. We managed to drag our not so enthusiastic bodies off to the gym for a quick work out before breakfast at the Terrace. The berries are still here and were delicious! As we have visited Venice before, we did not go into the centre, but walked along the waterfront and went to the Galleria Accedemia and then watched a regatta before strolling back to the ship. Lunch again sitting outside at the Terrace, more proseco, followed by a visit to Baristas for coffee. Must admit it doesn't have the same atmosphere as Baristas on Riviera, but the coffee was just as good. Dinner will be late tonight as we want to enjoy the last glimpse of Venice as we sail away.

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mike x ftc

mike x ftc

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This is brilliant, we are boarding the Nautica on the 17th in Rome, it'll be our first Oceania cruise and we are so looking forward to it, and can't wait to hear what you think and see some photo's :)

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CowWhisperer

CowWhisperer

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So excited to see someone on the refurbished Nautica posting their experiences! I hope you have a wonderful cruise. We are sailing on her this Fall--our first Oceania cruise--from Rome to Istanbul, and cannot wait! I imagine you will hit some of the same ports we will, so please post details about any DIY shore excursions or special places in port that you enjoyed.

 

How was the gym? :D

 

Cheers!

CW

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greenamber

greenamber

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Live from Nautica continued

 

Day 2

 

The sail out of Venice was spectacular, we left venice at 20:00 the sun was just setting as we sailed past San Marco, providing wonderful, photo opportunities. This was followed by our first dinner in the Grand Dining Room. We shared a table and enjoyed a very convivial evening, although I was a little disappointed with my " taste of Red Ginger" main course which tasted mainly of salt! Rob's steak however he said was superb. By the way they are not serving any meat rare at the moment due to a few cases of sickness, but we have found the level of cleanliness on boars to be second to nine, with staff at the entrance to all dining venues to ensure all guests clean their hands before entering. Also when re-entering the ship from ashore, one not only cleans hands, but shoes as well. Well done Oceania for trying to keep us all free from sickness.

 

Day 3

Early morning visit to the gym before arrival in Koper. Slovenia. By the way the gym is not large, but all the equipment appears to be in good shape and definitely meets our requirements. Koper is pretty little town and we spent a pleasant morning wandering around the narrow streets admiring the views before returning to the ship for lunch again at then Terrace which is such a nice place to be when the sun is shining which it certainly is. Today it hit 30 c and felt a little uncomfortable, there were no sun beds I'm the shade so we retreated to the comfort of our suite for a snooze. Dinner tonight in Polo was excellent, we both had a beet root and goats cheese starter and I followed with Lobster and Rob with veal. We have also found the wine service to be really good and our glasses were never empty. By the way we have taken the premium wine package, we are not really big drinkers, we enjoy a glass or two of wine with lunch and dinner and maybe a cocktail or two and that's it, but we like the convenience of not having to sign and we know up front what our bill is likely to be. We also have unlimited internet which is proving to be pretty good for emails although I have tried Skype voice only and is hasn't been successful.

 

Day 3

 

Split, Croatia. Lovely city with lots of interest, we spent the morning touring the city, but it was again extremely hot for walking in the sun. Luckily a lot of narrow streets which were quite shady.

Spent a lazy afternoon on deck 10 taking in some sun. Dinner last night in the Grand Dining Room was faultless, both in terms of food and service.

 

Day 4

 

Kotor, Montenegro.

 

Up at 6.30 to enjoy the wonderful sail into the Fiord. Again this morning the weather is extremely hot. We enjoyed walking around the fortress walls of Kotor, but did not attempt to climb to the top due to the heat, instead opting for a swim in the lovely clear cool water.

 

Because of the heat we decided to return to the ship for lunch and again opted for our favourite spot on the Terrace. By this time the skies were becoming darker and thunder was rumbling in the distance. We were half way through our lunch when an unbelievable storm suddenly hit taking everything from the Terrace with it. The crew did a wonderful job of getting everyone off the terrace as quickly as possible, but unfortunately a couple of guests did receive some injuries. I am now feeling very cross when I hear guests who were not even present saying the crew should have known better. Believe me we were there and this storm came in seconds. Rob is an experienced sailor and he said that although rare this does happen without warning. In fact a yacht which was passing Nautica with its mainsail up had it ripped to shreds in seconds, they had no chance of dropping the sail which goes to show how it happened so fast. I just wanted to get that off my chest in case any rumours hit this forum. Believe me we were there and the crew did a brilliant job.

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suni

suni

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Thank you for your insights. I would really appreciate more details about the ship condition and the cabins. You state that the PH3 seems a bit tight. Now that you have been there a few days, is that still the case? Is the bed comfortable? Are you happy with the new remodel? What about the main areas of the ship? Have you been to the Casino at all? Would love more info! 50 million seems like it should have made some significant improvements.

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orchestrapal

orchestrapal

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Thank you for your insights. I would really appreciate more details about the ship condition and the cabins. What category are you staying in? Are you happy with the new remodel? What about the main areas of the ship? Have you been to the Casino at all? Would love more info! 50 million seems like it should have made some significant improvements.

 

Much of that money spent went into the important improvements you will not see.

We left the Regatta just before the dry dock and were told about the very major work, which actually started before the dry dock, was to the engines and plumbing of the ship.

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greenamber

greenamber

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The condition of the ship is wonderful as is our PH there is plenty of room my observation was that the bathroom was a bit small, but the suite itself is very spacious and the decor is lovely. All throughout the ship the carpets are new and I believe most of the soft furnishings it is obvious that a lot of money has been spent. The chairs in Martinis have that lovely smell of new leather. The bed is heavenly!! Have not been to the casino, but it is next to Martinis and it seems to be quite busy after dinner. I am sure all who are fortunate enough to be boarding in the future will not be at all disappointed.

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waterbug123

waterbug123

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Early morning visit to the gym before arrival in Koper. Slovenia. By the way the gym is not large, but all the equipment appears to be in good shape and definitely meets our requirements.

 

Do you recall how many treadmills they have? We board a week from Tuesday.

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Paulchili

Paulchili

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Thanks! Nice report, reminds me of our fantastic time we had onboard Nautica just a few weeks ago, first cruise after drydock.

 

We published 95 photo's of the refurbished Nautica on our Flickr-account:

 

Great pictures - thank you.

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LHT28 Holiday Sharing Rare

LHT28

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Thanks! Nice report, reminds me of our fantastic time we had onboard Nautica just a few weeks ago, first cruise after drydock.

 

 

Thanks for the photos

I forgot how much we enjoy the small ships

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trinaM

trinaM

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our fantastic time we had onboard Nautica just a few weeks ago, first cruise after drydock.

 

We published 95 photo's of the refurbished Nautica on our Flickr-account:

 

Thanks for your pictures! they are wonderful. Gives you a great idea what being on Nautica might be like.

 

Can you tell me about your cabin? what category and size was it? did you find it satisfactory?

 

thanks again.

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