Interesting Nautica Tidbit

[Harters]

20 hours ago, SophieM said:

I guess there is a menu then. Not having been on the Vista, how does that work?

I works as you'd expect for a restaurant. Menu on the table. Server takes your order and brings your food. As with the Terrace, trying to get an alcoholic drink can be a bit of a trial. 

[samiam0403]

On 8/26/2024 at 10:15 AM, ORV said:

I’m currently on Nautica and the CD mentioned something I did not know on his morning TV talk. We’ve had US Coast Guard inspections and this was the reason we couldn’t embark a couple of days ago until 3pm. Being in Scotland this seems out of the ordinary and he said it was because Nautica has not  been to the US in 20 years or more. I don’t know if he is right or not but thought that was interesting.

 

We were on the Cape Town to Le Havre sailing in May/June, and the cruise director (Bryn) told us the same thing about Nautica not being in the US for decades. He said the renovations that started the day we disembarked, and the following dry dock, were to bring it up to US code/standards/whatever they're called. 

 

Hope you enjoyed Nautica as much as we did!

[redraider1966]

3 hours ago, ORV said:

Are you on Nautica getting off today?

Yes.  Heading home.  Next O cruise will be our 20th, a TA on Vista next May with a nice itinerary and only one long flight.

[ORV]

On 9/9/2024 at 12:43 PM, jackdeb said:

If that cookie is really that much better than the others, please tell the powers that be to keep making it and to send the recipe fleet wide. Cranberry Pecan is a classic combination.

See that’s the thing about a unicorn. If they were easy to find they wouldn’t be special. 

[ORV]

34 minutes ago, redraider1966 said:

Yes.  Heading home.  Next O cruise will be our 20th, a TA on Vista next May with a nice itinerary and only one long flight.

We probably were out there having pizza at the same time. We had it 3 nights. 

[bob brown]

On 8/26/2024 at 5:53 PM, willidc said:

Nautica has been our favorite R ship but not sure if it was our ports visited with her or something else.  As Billy Joel would say "She's got a way about her".

So far, I have only sailed aboard the Insignia, but aren’t all the Oceania ‘R class’ ships pretty much the same, if not identical?🤔

[SophieM]

38 minutes ago, bob brown said:

So far, I have only sailed aboard the Insignia, but aren’t all the Oceania ‘R class’ ships pretty much the same, if not identical?🤔

Yep! Except the Sirena has Red Ginger and a combined Polo/Toscana. 

[bob brown]

31 minutes ago, SophieM said:

Yep! Except the Sirena has Red Ginger and a combined Polo/Toscana. 

Interesting that they divided it that way…

Based on just my observations of popularity on the Insignia, I would think they would leave Polo intact, and combine Toscana with Red Ginger.

We did have a few “Red Ginger” menu nights in the Terrace…

Edited September 12 by bob brown

[willidc]

6 hours ago, bob brown said:

So far, I have only sailed aboard the Insignia, but aren’t all the Oceania ‘R class’ ships pretty much the same, if not identical?🤔

Very true.  With the Sirena exceptions noted above and some changes in Horizons for Insignia's ATW sailings (like Artist's Loft) physically they are pretty much the same.  Not all built in the same year, so I am sure there are those that could point out differences. 

 

What was so outstanding about Nautica (and I speak from sailing 2012 through 2016 particularly) was the family feel on the ship with both guests and crew when we took our first Far East cruise. I can think of a specific GM (now on a newer O ship) that was a big contributor to that feeling as well as some other higher ups that propagated that feeling throughout the ship.  We met crew that had been with the ship since it began sailing with O under the Nautica name. After Marina and Riviera debuted, we talked to quite a few crew members that wanted to stay with Nautica.  Mentioned, we weren't the only ones that could not put the difference into words, thus the "she's got a way about her".

 

But we began seeing Nautica crew on other ships .  I specifically remember one delightful Russian crew member working at Reception who said she would never leave Nautica.  We noticed her on our Marina Baltic cruise about two years later.  Marina visited Russia in those days and we had two overnights in St.Petersburg and she was asked to switch to Marina for a number of reasons, her assistance with language begin one.  She was not happy for the move and said that more people being asked to leave Nautica for other O ships.  I would have thought that she would welcome the larger and newer ship.

 

Over the years, some of that rather unique ambiance that I speak of has left Nautica, but as of November 2022 we still felt that we were 'home', just not with as many 'family members'.

 

Sorry for such a long answer to a short question.  

[cswhistler]

Another reason crew like to visit the US is for their own shopping. They find the likes of Walmart cheap and buy their supplies there ,anything from toothpaste to potato chips.

My son was a bridge deck officer and it is common for one crew member to shop and provide an onboard store for his shipmates.

I was on board O in Newfoundland (a 54 day cruise so staff knew me well) wait staff asked about such stores and got very excited about the store being only 5 minutes away.

[ORV]

On 9/12/2024 at 2:17 PM, bob brown said:

So far, I have only sailed aboard the Insignia, but aren’t all the Oceania ‘R class’ ships pretty much the same, if not identical?🤔

Yes, but, they all have their own vibe. The only one I haven't been on is Sirena. I've been on Regatta more than any other Oceania ship, but that's just the way it's worked out. 

 

I really like Nautica, even with a couple of things I'd like to see different. I'll be on it again in Dec. 

[DOJO466]

On 9/12/2024 at 10:48 PM, willidc said:

Very true.  With the Sirena exceptions noted above and some changes in Horizons for Insignia's ATW sailings (like Artist's Loft) physically they are pretty much the same.  Not all built in the same year, so I am sure there are those that could point out differences. 

 

What was so outstanding about Nautica (and I speak from sailing 2012 through 2016 particularly) was the family feel on the ship with both guests and crew when we took our first Far East cruise. I can think of a specific GM (now on a newer O ship) that was a big contributor to that feeling as well as some other higher ups that propagated that feeling throughout the ship.  We met crew that had been with the ship since it began sailing with O under the Nautica name. After Marina and Riviera debuted, we talked to quite a few crew members that wanted to stay with Nautica.  Mentioned, we weren't the only ones that could not put the difference into words, thus the "she's got a way about her".

 

But we began seeing Nautica crew on other ships .  I specifically remember one delightful Russian crew member working at Reception who said she would never leave Nautica.  We noticed her on our Marina Baltic cruise about two years later.  Marina visited Russia in those days and we had two overnights in St.Petersburg and she was asked to switch to Marina for a number of reasons, her assistance with language begin one.  She was not happy for the move and said that more people being asked to leave Nautica for other O ships.  I would have thought that she would welcome the larger and newer ship.

 

Over the years, some of that rather unique ambiance that I speak of has left Nautica, but as of November 2022 we still felt that we were 'home', just not with as many 'family members'.

 

Sorry for such a long answer to a short question.  

Our favorite bartender Antonio from Goa. He always proclaimed to love the Nautica and not leave but a promotion brought him to the bigger ships.  I heard he left O for good.

[Kay S]

18 hours ago, ORV said:

Yes, but, they all have their own vibe. The only one I haven't been on is Sirena. I've been on Regatta more than any other Oceania ship, but that's just the way it's worked out. 

 

I really like Nautica, even with a couple of things I'd like to see different. I'll be on it again in Dec. 

I board next month.  Looking so forward to it.  This is my first Oceania cruise, but I know the R class from Azamara and Princess.  I get spoiled on small ship and hate to return to the large ships when we go back to other lines.  

[IWantToLiveOverTheSea]

On 9/12/2024 at 4:27 PM, bob brown said:

Interesting that they divided it that way…

Based on just my observations of popularity on the Insignia, I would think they would leave Polo intact, and combine Toscana with Red Ginger.

We did have a few “Red Ginger” menu nights in the Terrace…

There are tons of Red Ginger fans.  I never thought I'd be one but now I am. I didn't like Tuscan Steak all that much, but that was a while ago when the Tuscan and Ginger restaurants appeared on Sirena.  So maybe it was just having growing pains or something.

[Squire5000]

On 9/9/2024 at 12:18 PM, ORV said:

I found the elusive Oceania Unicorn. A good cookie. Crunchy, cranberry and pecan. Haven’t seen one again, but it was great. 

 

[Squire5000]

Glad you enjoyed the cookies.  I thought they were awful; tasted like cardboard, no chewiness to them.  Different strokes for different folks😂

[ORV]

15 hours ago, Squire5000 said:

Glad you enjoyed the cookies.  I thought they were awful; tasted like cardboard, no chewiness to them.  Different strokes for different folks😂

Yes, that's the point, most of them are lousy, just like you said. Occasionally there is a good one lurking out there. 

[sunlover12]

On 9/12/2024 at 3:27 PM, bob brown said:

Interesting that they divided it that way…

Based on just my observations of popularity on the Insignia, I would think they would leave Polo intact, and combine Toscana with Red Ginger.

We did have a few “Red Ginger” menu nights in the Terrace…

Red Ginger is my favorite specialty restaurant. I'll be on Nautica in 2 weeks but if they have some menu items from there in the Terrace, I'll be happy with that.  Polo is my least favorite. We could have booked 2 dinners there but only booked 1. 

Thank you ORV for posting while on Nautica. Looking forward to boarding soon.  

[ORV]

There were two nights in a row that Terrace featured food from the Red Ginger menu. We had a specialty the first night but made it the second night. Was one of my favorite menus in the Terrace. 

[Seanair]

Hi,

 

We just got off the Nautica in Boston after the 9/11 Boston-Newport-Bermuda cruise.

Our boarding on 9/11 was delayed one hour for the USCG inspection, so hopefully that settles

that question.  As for officers, here's a scan of officers page of the Currents magazine. Happy to answer any questions you might have. This was our first ever Oceania sailing.

MEET THE OFFICERS.pdf

[ORV]

On another thread I had mentioned that the String quartets always seem to be females. Others pointed out that is not always the case. So, the group on Nautica, Amadeus, were all male. Might have been the first time I've seen an all male String quartet on Oceania. 

Edited September 19 by ORV

[osandomir]

5 hours ago, ORV said:

On another thread I had mentioned that the String quartets always seem to be females. Others pointed out that is not always the case. So, the group on Nautica, Amadeus, were all male. Might have been the first time I've seen an all male String quartet on Oceania. 

How was the quartet? Did you like it?

[ORV]

16 minutes ago, osandomir said:

How was the quartet? Did you like it?

The string quartet music is not my cup of tea. They sounded fine as I walked by. 

[PhD-iva]

5 hours ago, osandomir said:

How was the quartet? Did you like it?

Have recently been on Sirena, and they were quite good!