Back from Nautica...with a review...

[Bruin Steve]

You referenced the private guides you hired in Athens, Istanbul and Kusadasi. Can you please tell me how to contact them? Or where to go to find a list of private guide recommendations?

Hi, Sharon...

I'm never sure which websites or E-Mail addresses get through the cruisecritic.com censors so I'm often a little reluctant to post them...but, I'll try anyway...

 

Ekol Travel has a website:

 

http://www.ekoltravel.com/

 

Salvatore Lucibello (who was flat-out outstanding) can be reached at:

 

*****

If that doesn't make it past the censors, it's "info" followed by the "at" sign followed by drive amalfi run together as one word followed by "dot com"...

 

Spiros can be found at:

http://********************/

That's "Athens" and "taxi" run together followed by "dot net"

 

You can also search through this message board and the "Europe" ports of call board and find many other suggestions and recommendations...

 

Good luck...

[conan]

Welcome Home! Steve and Brian

Thank you for an excellent review. As with the pre-cruise exchanges, it was most enlightening. As a newbie to cruising, I especially liked the material re open seating vs fixed seating in the dining room and the effect this has on table service. I too consume lots of iced tea! Presenting YOUR perspective reminds me that if one gets their expectations high on a particular issue, one is bound to be disappointed. It's these disappointments that tend to come out strongly in other posts I've read.

Thanks for the warnings re your Mykonos experience.

A question or two if you don't mind...

Presently I'm trying to arrange for an 11:30 tour of the Doges Palace in Venice and the ship docks at 10am. Was the ship on time? Were you able to get off the ship at 10? Did you use the vaporetto from Plaza Roma Parisi? If so, how did you get there?

In YOUR opinion would you advise going to Pompeii at the Amalfi stop, given the time available?

Thanks again muchly for your review and for your response to my questions, should you choose to respnd.

Conan

[Bruin Steve]

As a newbie to cruising, I especially liked the material re open seating vs fixed seating in the dining room and the effect this has on table service.

One methos of dealing with this I heard from some of my cruisemates was that, when they found a waiter they liked, they thereafter requested to be in that waiter's service area each night...We never tried this as it seemed too much a hassle, but I guess it might work to some extent...

 

Presently I'm trying to arrange for an 11:30 tour of the Doges Palace in Venice and the ship docks at 10am. Was the ship on time? Were you able to get off the ship at 10? Did you use the vaporetto from Plaza Roma Parisi? If so, how did you get there?

To my recollection, we arrived in Venice not only on time, but a little early (I'm sure Brian will correct me if my recollection is faulty)--about 9:15...The problem at that time was with the promised shuttle buses to Piazzele Roma...There were none waiting and many people chose to walk instead...We waited, and the buses eventually came...I don't think getting to San Marco by 11:30 should be that big a problem...

On our first day, we actually walked from P. Roma to San Marco--but I've been to Venice several times and pretty much know the "fastest" way and we like the interesting walk...But, we generally used the Vaporetti for everything...You can buy a 24 hour pass for 12 euro or a 72 hour pass for 25 euro...you can buy at any ACTV VAporetti ticket booth including the one right at P. Roma...We even used our pass for the airport bus at the end of our stay!! Use the #1 or #82 Vaporetto to San Marco...look for either the Valeresso or San Zaccaria stops (one is to either side of San Marco)...

 

In YOUR opinion would you advise going to Pompeii at the Amalfi stop, given the time available?

If you've never been before, I'd advise visiting Pompei--it's simply phenomenal...I've been twice before, so we opted for an Amalfi Coast tour--very nice and scenic, but Pompei is simply unique...

[patlanta]

Welcome Home! Enjoyed your review of this cruise on the Nautica. Not too unlike the Insignia cruise we were on this year, except ours had an excellent chamber music ensemble in their version of an atrium and many people gathered there before and after dinner.

 

We dined a couple of times with the magician and his wife (assume they were the same as they were very good and even gave a grandparents session one afternoon); they lead a very interesting lifestyle.

 

Bottom line: Itinerary. We'd join you on a cruise that had a three night stay in St Petersburg.

 

Looking forward to your plans for your next cruise.

[silversells]

We really appreciated your detailed report on the Nautica. We have cruised often and agree that one person's pleasure is another's pain.:o

 

We tend to enjoy the more casual ships, our favorites are the sailing yachts of Windstar, and our June 8, 2007 booking 12 nights, Rome to Istanbul will be our first for O line. Our ports are different than yours somewhat......Rome,Florence,Corsica,Positano,Athens,Delos,Mykonos,

Santorini,Rhodes,Kusadasi, ending with a ship overnight in Istanbul.

 

Where did you find your information regarding personal tours/drivers at the

ports? Hearing about your early unscheduled departure gave me the shivvers.....the same thing happened in Tahiti, but people on a ship's scheduled tour were provided for, the ones on their own had to find their own way back.

We had the same last minute tour cancellation issues in the British West Indies (I suppose the tour providers were on island time and didn't feel like working that day....we were never given the reason), so you see strange things happen on other cruises too !;)

 

We are happy that the majority of your cruise was terrific. We are looking forward to the same....wish we didn't have to wait so long !:rolleyes:

[Toranut97]

Just a note that whether the ship tenders or docks will vary from cruise to cruise. On our Nautica cruise in late June, we docked at Dubrovnik, tendered at Santorini (like you).

 

Entertainment-wise, we most enjoyed the Paradise String Quartet which played in the atrium (near the Grand Staircase and in front of the shop). They were lovely young folks who all came from the Ukraine. (Like what patlanta described on Insignia). I don't think I saw any mention of them in yoiur review -- maybe they were not on this particular sailing.

 

I appreciate your review and also the insights you offer. Indeed, each person has his/her own standards and expectations! It is always good to gain an understanding of other people's perspectives. Thanks.

 

Donna

[brian_uk]

The String Quartet were certainly playing on board and we saw them in several places on Nautica.

 

Having been on Nautica with Steve it is certainly clear that we all appreciate different things and I would not jump in to defend Oceania..... Just to say that if you are looking for great routes on a first class ship in a casual style.....

 

Choose Oceania.

 

If you want formal nights...entertainment.....set dining....Go Elsewhere

 

Brian

[Daw6id]

I concur with Brian. I just submitted my review of the cruise - which will appear on Cruise Critic some day soon!

[shoshona2]

Brian,

 

I totally agree!!!!!!

 

Sheila

[2dogcarol]

Steve,

Great review. I could have written the exact same thing. As a big fan of Celebrity, I recently took a Baltic cruise on the Regatta. I did miss the nightly entertainment, dancing (Celebrity even has dance hosts), and traditional dining. That said, I still thoroughly enjoyed Oceania and really enjoyed our port intensive cruise-especially the 3 days in St Petersburg. It was nice to be on a smaller ship which could dock close into towns and was easy to get on and off. Also, since we were tired from long port days we didn't mind missing the entertainment and going to bed early. I would take Oceania again for an interesting itinerary.

[PurpleCow]

Great review, Steve, and it really proves the saying "different strokes for different folks." Some of the things that disappointed you were things that would have pleased me greatly. I'm not much of a drinker and my husband is a friend of Bill W., so the bars and drink prices don't effect me at all. When I do drink it's usually a Bloody Mary and that seemed to be on special every day for $4.75. I'll admit that I usually fell gratefully into bed after dinner most nights, exhausted from the day's adventures, so I never did see any shows. You don't have to be in you cabin to order room service. I was up late one evening chatting with new friends on the pool deck and we had pizza and desserts from room service. DH and I are both "curl up with a good book" kind of folks, though I'm just as likely to curl up with a good computer. I'm really looking forward to our Panama Canal crossing in January because of all the sea days. Love sleeping in, having breakfast on the veranda, and being useless all day. I'm sure that my idea of a wonderful time would bore you silly! I'm glad you enjoyed your cruise and hope to run into you on board one of these days. Maybe even on a Celebrity cruise, but not one with more than 2,000 passengers.

[Saga Ruby]

Great review, Steve, and it really proves the saying "different strokes for different folks." Some of the things that disappointed you were things that would have pleased me greatly. I'm sure that my idea of a wonderful time would bore you silly! I hope to run into you on board one of these days. Maybe even on a Celebrity cruise, but not one with more than 2,000 passengers.

 

Small ships, sedate pace, "early" to bed. What puzzles me about Steve's review is that the Oceania boards have been crystal clear about onboard activities and pax profiles. I will be on my first O cruise in November out of Istanbul to Singapore and am all sassy and primed for exactly what Steve has described as being less than positive experiences for his cruise. I do appreciate that Steve put in many qualifiers about how this cruise review was his experience only and that others may differ.

 

No doubt the behemoths have more onboard activities than O and we all know there are tens of thousands of cabins on them with the same high number of people. To each his own.

 

Happy Sails!

Ruby

[susiesan]

Hey Steve,

 

So what happened with your guaranteed cabin like mine? Did you happen to get upgraded like I did? Did you ask about it at the front desk? I think you and I were the only ones in that situation before O changed the policy.

 

Susie

[Jancruz]

Hey Steve,

 

So what happened with your guaranteed cabin like mine? Did you happen to get upgraded like I did? Did you ask about it at the front desk? I think you and I were the only ones in that situation before O changed the policy.

 

Susie

 

 

 

Hi Susie,

What policy has Oceania changed ???

Thanks,

Jan

*****

[Bruin Steve]

Hey Steve,

 

So what happened with your guaranteed cabin like mine? Did you happen to get upgraded like I did? Did you ask about it at the front desk? I think you and I were the only ones in that situation before O changed the policy.

 

Susie

No upgrade...but this was really BIZARRE:

 

As you recall, upon booking, after being offered a choice of several available Cat G cabins OR a "guarantee"...and opting for the "guarantee", we were virtually IMMEDIATELY assigned a Cat G cabin: #6011...

 

"6011" appeared on all of our further correspondence with Oceania...

 

We got to the check -in and checked in...and there was NO MENTION of any change in cabin assignments...

 

We boarded the ship and immediately, before going to the cabin, headed for Polo/Toscana to make reservations...

 

...and the Maitre d' asked our cabin number and we said "6011" and he said "Are you sure? Someone's already made reservations for Polo and Toscana with that cabin number"

 

"Huh?"

 

Well...what we soon learned is that our cabin was inexplicably changed from 6011 to 6010 without anyone bothering to let us in on the secret!

 

Not that there's ANY possible reason in the world for such a change...The two cabins are BOTH Cat G...Both are next to each other and no other cabins...

 

Luckily, they place the luggage out in the hallway, so we only had to walk one cabin over to find ours...

[susiesan]

Hi Susie,

What policy has Oceania changed ???

Thanks,

Jan

*****

 

The policy that, I had in writing that I booked a guarantee under the understanding of every other cruise line what a guarantee is (which I can explain to you if you still don't get it) and was, like Steve, immediately assigned a cabin. You informed us all that Oceania had changed this and was no longer booking guarantees, period. One just makes a booking for a specific cabin at the time you reserve and that's the way it is. Both Steve and I booked under the guarantee policy. I just booked NCLA Pride of America as a guarantee cabin. I won't get a cabin assignment until the tickets are sent, or maybe even until I get to the ship.

[countryguyinny]

I have a guarantee for a Deck three, D category cabin, but no specific cabin assignment yet for the Insignia 20-30 Sept athens to Rome cruise. While I'm not anxious about it, I have not received a specific room number yet. I am expecting it to be either on the cruise docs when they arrive or assigned when I get to the ship. What's the big fuss all about anyway? I can't imagine Oceania would not be using guarantees anymore? Is this really true?

 

Chuck

[Jancruz]

The policy that, I had in writing that I booked a guarantee under the understanding of every other cruise line what a guarantee is (which I can explain to you if you still don't get it) and was, like Steve, immediately assigned a cabin. You informed us all that Oceania had changed this and was no longer booking guarantees, period. One just makes a booking for a specific cabin at the time you reserve and that's the way it is. Both Steve and I booked under the guarantee policy. I just booked NCLA Pride of America as a guarantee cabin. I won't get a cabin assignment until the tickets are sent, or maybe even until I get to the ship.

 

 

Susie, I get it and I have gotten it for the 36 years I have been in the travel business..I do not believe I ever said that they would no longer book guarantees (it certainly is not my call to make) ...all cruise lines book guarantees, BUT they all have a different way of processing them.

Jan

*****

[Bruin Steve]

What's the big fuss all about anyway? I can't imagine Oceania would not be using guarantees anymore? Is this really true?

Chuck,

No, they're selling "guarantees"...

And no one's really sure whether it's a "change in policy", a "redefinition", a "misunderstanding" or what...

 

It WAS a controversy awhile back on this board. Here's the rundown:

 

Oceania sells something called a "guarantee" which is NOT what most people who have sailed with Royal Caribbean, Celebrity, Carnival or other major cruise lines consider a guarantee. On those lines, you sometimes can book a cruise without a specific cabin number (to be assigned later) usually for a reduced price--which gives the cruise line the flexibility to continue to sell cabins at all price levels and work out the assignments down the road. You are "guaranteed" to get a cabin no worse than the guarantee you book...and often, you will get a cabin of a higher category than the guarantee.

 

Oceania (allegedly, according to Jan) ONLY sells a "guarantee" if they have NO CABINS left unbooked in the category you book. As soon as a cabin in that category becomes available (which inevitably happens due to dropped bookings, cancellations, unpaid final payments, etc.), they will assign you a cabin in THAT category...with little chance of an "upgrade". So, basically, what they call a "guarantee" is little more than a "waiting list". They do not offer any discount for this status.

 

The curious thing to some of us is that we were sold "guarantees" at times when there clearly WERE available cabins in our categories (Booking nearly a year in advance of the cruise, I was offered a choice of several Cat G cabins OR a "guarantee"). I, for one, was sold such a guarantee, then immediately placed in a specific cabin...So, all my guarantee really meant was that I defaulted my cabin choice back to the cruise line. I paid the exact same price I would have paid had I chosen my own cabin due to the misperception that, perhaps, by giving Oceania the flexibility to move me around, I MIGHT end up with a slightly better cabin assignment.

 

So, yes, they are apparently selling "guarantees"...but all that means with Oceania is that you are in a sold out category and waiting for a cabin to open up. In the fairly unlikely event that none does open up, you MAY be "bumped" from the cruise...or possibly, having learned from another recent fiasco, Oceania will look for someone with whom to make a deal to bump instead...

 

But, DO NOT expect that your Cat D guarantee may turn into a balcony. Not on Oceania, at least...

[shoshona2]

Hi Steve,

 

If you remember way back when you booked a guarantee, several of us told you that most of Oceania's cruises are booked solid except for Trans-Atlantic crossings. So, the chance of an upgrade to a better cabin was NOT a good bet. My DH and I like to pick out the cabin we want at the time of booking --on ALL our cruises no matter what size vessel!! We stick with a "sure thing"!

 

Sheila

[countryguyinny]

I am absoutely dismayed that my Oceania Cat D guarantee means that all these cabins are booked and that I may be bumped from the cruise! If I end up flying to Athens without a cabin assignment, does that mean I could still get bumped once I get there???

[ScootRN2]

HI THERE:

FIRST I WANT TO THANK STEVE FOR A WONDERFUL REVIEW OF THE NAUTICA. I'M ENJOYING IT ALL. THIS IS A FANTASTIC THREAD.

MY HUBBY AND I ALWAYS GET OUR CABIN OR SUITE WHEN WE FIRST BOOK OUR CRUISE, NO MATTER WHAT CRUISE LINE IT IS. HOWEVER, WE USUALLY BOOK OUR CRUISES WELL IN ADVANCE, ESP IF IT'S A CRUISE OUT OF THE COUNTY. WHEN I SAY WELL IN ADVANCE, IT'S USUALLY AT LEAST 14 MONTHS BEFORE.

WE ARE BOOKED ON NAUTICA FOR THE CHRISTMAS / NEW YEARS CRUISE AND WE HAD NO PROBLEM GETTING THE CABIN WE WANTED. IN FACT, WE GOT THE SAME CABIN AS WE HAD ON REGATTA 2 YEARS AGO.

TAKE GOOD CARE & HAPPY CRUISING

MYRA

[don9611]

really thanks for a comprehensive review. We are saiiling on the 10th Oct Venice to Istanbul. Any recommendations on private tour providers?

[countryguyinny]

I asked my Canadian TA (who booked this cruise for me) about the Oceania guarantee and here is what she said. Oceania generally does not overbook the entire ship. While they will overbook certain categories, if these do not clear within 30 days of departure, then they start doing the "golden handshake" calling -- however usually not to people who have made their own air arrangements. However, the bottom line, she said, is that there is room on board for everyone. I would not, she assured, be bumped from the cruise.

 

In addition, my own thinking is that since we are traveling as part of a 12-person group, I doubt that Oceania would want to bump one couple off the ship from that group. I will be meeting a college buddy whom I have not seen for over 30 years. I don't think Oceania will want to thwart our reunion.

 

I'm beginning to think that planning for a cruise is harder than any other trip I have ever made, including an around-the-world trip I arranged for a U.S. ambassador and myself back in my working days. And now we have Code Reds and Oranges at the airports to deal with to boot!!

 

Chuck

[brian_uk]

Same old....same old...........

 

Just book a cabin and go and enjoy.....................

 

Brian