Oceania/Nautica: 1st Timers!! Tips, Secrets?

[cbb]

If you are an early riser, the walking track is wonderful first thing in the morning....I"ve seen glorious sunrises, amazing fishing boats, dolphins, and flying fish ...lovely way to start the day.

 

Horizons opens early (check the schedule but it is usually 6-6:30am) and that is a great place to get morning coffee and a pastry and sit in one of the chairs and stare out into the sea and get away from noise and people. (especially after you've walked the track--you deserve that pastry!)

 

Yes to Barristas-

 

Please don't attempt to "save" chaises/chairs around the pool and then disappear--you will be reviled by others!

 

The A cabins are fine for us for even very long voyages. Because Mr. Wonderful isn't the best sailor we always get the same A cabin mid-ship...happy husband, happy cruise!!! With a port intensive itinerary we aren't in the cabin much anyway. (mid-ship PH can be noisy we think)

 

Magnets are your friend. The walls of the cabin are a perfect place to stick up Currents (the ship's daily schedule and info sheet) as well as reservations, notes you want to find later, all manner of good stuff can be put up there. I always try to use the magnets with the clasps on them. Keeps the cabin organized.

 

Store some of your clothes under the bed in the suitcase; then later in the cruise pull those out and place your newly washed laundry (3 bags free, remember) in the suitcase--you'll feel as if you have a whole new wardrobe.

 

Leave your tie at home and boat shoes are fine for the dining room! Nice flats for ladies are wonderful--both types of shoes are safe for when the seas are making their presence known! She might need a sweater in the dining rooms. Fashion takes a backseat to safety IMO

 

Often people will go to Terrace for appetizers before dining at specialty restaurants or MDR. That said, we dine most often in Terrace on the patio--can't beat the view and the grill master is wonderful!

 

We prefer Horizons for the view when meeting others for drinks; Martinis is too dark for me but others love it there.

 

If you have an artist in your group, check out Artists' Loft. Many love it. Trivia is indeed serious--poor cruise directors who have to put up with us!!!

 

Remember to say please and thank you to the staff and crew so i won't scowl at you!!!! They come from a variety of countries and are absolutely wonderful. You could see a young woman from the Ukraine serving next to a Filipino guy, next to a Cambodian, next to a Romanian--and most of them are college graduates. I love them all.

 

Have a great cruise...we're visiting many of the same ports in April-May'18! (doing OLife tours in some of the UAE ports, the rest is a mix of private and diy) Have fun planning!

[LHT28]

CBB

Did they put an Artist Loft on Nautica??

I thought it was just on Insignia & the O class ships

[cbb]

someone said they did....but if my memory is wrong ( WHAT, WHAT......HOW CAN THAT BE???) i apologize!..."someone" is often wrong!!!

[LHT28]

Never heard it mentioned that the loft was on Nautica

That is why I asked

Maybe someone on recent Nautica cruise will comment ?

[ORV]

Never heard it mentioned that the loft was on Nautica

That is why I asked

Maybe someone on recent Nautica cruise will comment ?

 

It wasn't there on Nautica in Sept, but I hear they did a refurb after I got off. That type of thing will give you a complex.

 

I think the only reason it's on the Insignia is because that is the one they used for the RTW cruises. I don't really know which ones they will use for the upcoming ones.

[LHT28]

It wasn't there on Nautica in Sept, but I hear they did a refurb after I got off. That type of thing will give you a complex.

 

I think the only reason it's on the Insignia is because that is the one they used for the RTW cruises. I don't really know which ones they will use for the upcoming ones.

That was my understanding also

 

I guess it goes with the secret lounge on the R ships :evilsmile:

[cbb]

i just looked on O's website at the deckplans for Nautica--no ALoft on the plans. It would be next to Horizons on starboard side.

[redrocklife]

CBB:

early morning walking is our favorite exercise strategy as well-does the walking track have an opening time, or is it available to use early, before the sun comes up?

Then a coffee and pastry in Horizons!

[YoHoHo]

CBB:

early morning walking is our favorite exercise strategy as well-does the walking track have an opening time, or is it available to use early, before the sun comes up?

Then a coffee and pastry in Horizons!

Not cbb, but to answer the question, the walking / jogging track is outside open 24 hours. On the R ships it is the only way to get from one end of the ship to the other. On O ships the fitness track is a separate dedicated track on a deck above though some pax still use the same area as on the R ships but as that area on the O ships is also lined with loungers it can get congested for fitness use.

[LHT28]

The walking track on the R ships is on deck 10 if you are at the front of the ship & want to get to the back on that deck you will go across the walking track

 

 

the track is above the pool deck

[cbb]

walking track info: there were very early mornings when the ship was doing a little rockin n rollin and i thought the wind up there made it a little unsafe to walk so i walked the pool deck. (i'm not a fan of treadmills)

 

Nobody else was out there so I wasn't bothering anybody except a pool guy who was filling the containers with fresh towels.

 

Day 2 of that weather, a much older woman walked the same place and said she had seen me and thought it was a brilliant idea. We walked the general path of the walking track above us so fitbit was happy with us and she shared that she felt much safer walking there. I want to be her in 20 years.

 

Don't walk the pool deck later--not fair to the crew setting up chaises nor the early birds sitting outside by Waves with their coffee.

 

the other thing you can do re: walking is to walk decks 6 or 7 about 3pm; cabin stewards are finished for the day and it's too early for their evening shift, many people are napping or watching tv, so that has worked for me on sea days when we've had bad weather. Corridors have been empty then.

[ToxM]

Try the sticky buns in The Terrace at breakfast at least once! We just returned from our first (and definitely not last) Oceania cruise a couple of weeks ago. Milkshakes at Waves are also worth a try. The best secret is the cruiseline itself, you are in for a treat!

 

 

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[redrocklife]

Thanks for all the tips on the walking tracks and options for inevitable bad weather we will have over the 6 months at sea. Exercise becomes a top priority to offset all the good food & treats we will enjoy. My tip: to maximize enjoyment and minimize weight gain- don't procrastinate, get moving first thing!

Ditto to the sticky buns, croissants, milkshakes.......

[LHT28]

Thanks for all the tips on the walking tracks and options for inevitable bad weather we will have over the 6 months at sea. Exercise becomes a top priority to offset all the good food & treats we will enjoy. ..

If you are onboard for a long trip then pace your eating

 

You do not need to try everything in the 1st week :evilsmile:

DH tried that once gained 20 lbs & walked everyday his 10,000 steps

 

I would hate to think how much he would have gained if he did not walk daily :eek:

 

enjoy

[TLCOhio]

You asked about Oceania shore excursions vs. private tours. We've always booked through Oceania but I'm strongly reconsidering doing it differently for the next one. It's almost always a large bus with about 40 people. Truth be told, most of the passengers don't move too fast. When you stop at several places on each excursion you spend an awful amount of time loading and unloading the bus. It feels like too much time is being wasted. This is my biggest gripe against Oceania so I'm going to take the advice of a lot of posters on this board and look into private tours. The spa is one of my favorite quiet places on the ship. It's so much nicer than the spas on the mass market cruise lines. The food is definitely a highlight on Oceania, whether it's the GDR or the specialty restaurants. You can't go wrong. Toscana and Polo are both fabulous. It sounds like a great itinerary.

 

YES!! The "hits" and great tips keep coming. This is all very wonderful and helpful. Nice, interesting pictures from LHT28. Love seeing the visuals!!

Great from cbb about "Magnets are your friend. The walls of the cabin are a perfect place to stick up Currents (the ship's daily schedule and info sheet) as well as reservations, notes you want to find later, all manner of good stuff can be put up there. I always try to use the magnets with the clasps on them. Keeps the cabin organized." We bring along 8x12 pictures of our two grandsons and put them up on the walls to keep those great memories fresh. On a 20-day cruise, you need to be organized and having good "personal" touches in your room. From Tidalmist, good reminders about going through "Pirate Country". Sadly, there was a terror incident in Egypt today.

 

THANKS for the food and ALL pf the other smart tips! Keep up the great sharing. In Virginia now enjoying time with our grandsons, ages seven and five. 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 228,202 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

[ssawjo]

Since we are on the subject of tips, secrets, etc., I have two questions. I will be a first time cruiser on O in April on the Nautica.

 

My wife uses a CPAP machine. Does O have distilled water available for her to use in her CPAP?

 

I guess the ladies can answer this question, how is the in room hair dryer? If I/we can avoid humping her hair dryer that would be great.

 

Thanks,

 

Bill and Kathi

[LHT28]

I guess the ladies can answer this question, how is the in room hair dryer? If I/we can avoid humping her hair dryer that would be great.

 

Thanks,

 

Bill and Kathi

Have not been on the Nautica but the other ships have a hand held dryer that works fine & the R ships also have the wall mounted one in the W/C that will blow your hair around :halo:

I use it to dry my hair a bit then get the hand held dryer to finish it off

[ToxM]

Since we are on the subject of tips, secrets, etc., I have two questions. I will be a first time cruiser on O in April on the Nautica.

 

 

 

My wife uses a CPAP machine. Does O have distilled water available for her to use in her CPAP?

 

 

 

I guess the ladies can answer this question, how is the in room hair dryer? If I/we can avoid humping her hair dryer that would be great.

 

 

 

Thanks,

 

 

 

Bill and Kathi

 

 

 

I can confirm they have distilled water available on the ship for CPAP machines, ring Oceania or ask your TA to put in a request - you will need to fill out a medical questionnaire beforehand, but no issues with this and the distilled water was in the cabin when we boarded.

 

 

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[TLCOhio]

I can confirm they have distilled water available on the ship for CPAP machines, ring Oceania or ask your TA to put in a request - you will need to fill out a medical questionnaire beforehand, but no issues with this and the distilled water was in the cabin when we boarded.

 

Appreciate ALL of these continued, great follow-ups and postings that are so interesting and helpful. Keep up the great sharing that aids our research and planning!!

 

I have and use a CPAP machine. It is nice to know that Oceania is good in providing distilled water, etc. For me, the hair dryer question is not as vital, but I will share this info with my wife. She always asks!!

 

During this past week from a friend who has sailed with Oceania once, he gave me this feed-back on the Marina: "This ship....which has 4 'specialty' restaurants, in addition to its 'regular' restaurants. Of the 4, the two top ones were the French restaurant (Jacques Pepin is the all-star chef) and the Asian-Fusion restaurant. Both of these were truly world-class." His overall love for the Oceania food expertise was high and very encouraging.

 

FOLLOW-UP, ADDED QUESTIONS:

 

1. For when sailing on the Nautica, are there any ways to get some of these super-star dishes such as offered in the French or Asian-Fusion restaurants on the Marina? Any vibes that Oceania will be changing and/or upgrading their dining options on the Nautica by later next year with some or more of these excellent French/Asian options?

 

2. How's the Internet on the Nautica? It's a ship at sea. It's never going to be super fast and perfect. BUT, what tips and/or times of day/night for use of the Internet works better? Does the wireless work fairly well in most rooms and locations around on this ship?

 

3. When doing a concierge room, what bottle/brand/quality of Champagne is placed in your room? Decent quality or just average bubbly?

 

4. When doing a sailing down the Suez Canal, does Oceania provide any special narration for this part of the journey? How does sailing the Suez Canal compare with the history/sights/experience we super enjoyed in March 2017 when doing the Panama Canal?

 

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 221,110 views.

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

[sammiedawg]

Terry, we share your friend’s opinion on Oceania food, we were hooked our first time out. Agree that Jacques is top flight.

Nautica Grand Dining room menu will have some entrees every night from Jacques and Red Ginger. Miso bass from RG is especially popular there.

 

Go to the Preismans web site and search for the R ship menus. Thepreismans.com has a 2015 Nautica trip report plus menus. You can also see the O ship Riviera menus.

I haven’t heard Nautica is changing up their specialties but Oceania Sirena did. It is an R ship completely redone after it was recently purchased from Princess. You will hear a variety of opinions on the changes. We liked it. They combined Polo and Toscana menus and renamed the restaurant Tuscan Steak. The other specialty is a Red Ginger. They have a Jacques bistro menu in the GDR at lunch plus whatever is being served in the Terrace.

[buggins0402]

http://www.thepreismans.com/china_japan_menus.htm

 

Here is the link to the menus referred to in the post above. You can see the taste of Red Ginger and Jaques offerings noted in the MDR menus.

[TLCOhio]

http://www.thepreismans.com/china_japan_menus.htm

Here is the link to the menus referred to in the post above. You can see the taste of Red Ginger and Jaques offerings noted in the MDR menus.

 

Super appreciate this above great post/link and the excellent suggestion for this wonderful postings from the Preismans. Lots of nice pictures and details there. It really makes you hungry sampling through these details and seeing the pictures.

 

In the nightly Nautica Grand Dining room menu options from Jacques and Red Ginger, it did not seem to change that much over the course of this fairly long cruise. Is that correct? With advance notice a day or two ahead, will they do any special orders or other creative options in the MDR with Oceania?

 

Keep it coming with more great ideas, details and Oceania background. Very helpful.

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 54,394 views for these postings.

[Tranquility Base]

Thanks for the info.

 

Re the library. Is it reasonably well stocked with novels ?

 

Thanks.

[AMTDGT]

Also have enjoyed your post on the Silversea board. Welcome to O. Nautica is our favorite.

 

.....

 

Dubai is a great place to visit. ..... I prefer old Dubai the creek, gold Souk, spice market etc.

 

As did we. We hired a cab on the pier. We haggled for the price and took the cheapest. Also, if you are their over night, the bedouin night desert safari dinner was fantastic.

[Mura]

The library on the "R" ships is my favorite place on the ship, but remember -- it isn't the NY Public Library! There are lots of books, but they are divided among various categories. There are novels, sure, but how many is "many"? I haven't been on an "R" ship in a while but it seems to me there were always a reasonable amount of current offerings.

 

The main thing I would advise is that go there right away! If you wait too long someone may have beaten you to it. I love to sit in there and read, except for the time that one lady came in every day and promptly fell asleep. Did I tell you she snored? Loudly?

 

There is also an exchange section, mostly paperbacks as I recall. If you see something you like, you should make a donation of your own.

 

 

As to the restaurant menus, the specialty restaurants don't change. The GDR menu does, but it tends to recycle every 14 days or so. While the staff is receptive to making accommodations for special diets given reasonable notice, I don't know that they are prepared to accommodate special (or creative) orders. Of course, we've never tried! We've been happy with the offerings on the menu.

 

Hope these comments are of some help.

 

Mura