Short Review: Nautica Istanbul-Venice, 9/26-10/10

[SharonO]

I joined this forum shortly before taking this, my first real cruise. My husband and 2 of our friends joined me for this adventure. I owe many people here a big debt of gratitude for helping make the experience just wonderful. Unfortunately, we missed the Cruise Critic get-together and I never was able to connect with any of you during the trip, but we spoke fondly of you often as we had great excursions with our guides, all recommended by people here.

 

The Ship, Services, Activities: The Nautica is beautiful and very well-appointed. All common areas, lounges, restaurants, and outside decks were exceptionally well-maintained, well-furnished, and comfortable. We were in an owner's suite on the 8th deck and our friends were next door in a smaller, but still very nice, cabin. As for the owner's suite... it's hard to believe any ship could top the Nautica. In addition, our butler, Bogden, and our "suite keeper", Anita were both outstanding.

 

As for activities, we did them all and had lots of fun. David Shermat was our cruise director and we loved him. My husband won all the ping pong tournaments, and our trivial pursuits team did reasonably well. Amazingly, we even played shuffleboard, and once we got the hang of it, we managed to come in second in the last tournament. Then there was golf putting....... not so good :-)

 

We only went to the evening entertainment twice. The first time was to see a magician (bad). The second time was for the "crew review" (very good). The musicians who played throughout the ship (on the pool deck, at high tea, in the smaller lounge) were just fine.

 

However, even with all the ship positives, there are some significant negatives. Throughout the cruise, I had the feeling of being "nickeled and dimed". For a cruise line billing itself as a luxury outfit, this is inexcusable. Either Oceania should charge a small amount more per passenger and start including some of what they now charge for, or they should take away the luxury label. The 2 most annoying instances of this were the horrible and expensive internet access and the $20 per person charge for a 5 minute bus ride into Mykonos (not really optional since there weren't any taxis). Just thinking about the internet access still gets me riled....is was ridiculously slow and ridiculously expensive. Oceania should give it away, terminate it, or fix it.

 

Food: Outstanding in the specialty restaurants, and very good elsewhere. A special treat was High Tea in the beautiful forward lounge in the late afternoon. Too bad we didn't discover this until our last day.

 

Ports: My general comment is that, with the exception of Kotor, all ports were very crowded, with as many as 6 cruise ships in port at the same time. Never having cruised before, this was a huge disappointment for me. I was hoping that by being on a smaller ship, we might somehow be able to manage the itinerary so we wouldn't be sharing our ports with all the large ships. We had private guides in 4 ports, and did the rest on our own. The private guides were all very good, and all got us going early enough to avoid the worst of the crowds.

 

Istanbul: A wonderful, interesting city, especially during Ramaden. We had the pleasure of being guided by Kagan Kosagen for 2 days prior to the cruise. He had a great attitude, was completely flexible, and had a terrific sense of humor. In just 2 short days, he gave us a real feel for the city. We would all highly recommend Kagan to future travelers.

 

Ephesus: Ekol Travel arranged our guide here. We can't remember his name, but he was quite good. I love ancient ruins, so this was heaven for me. Don't miss the Terrace Houses.... amazing murals and mosaics inside. When we were finished with Ephesus, our guide asked us what we'd like to do. He made a few suggestions, but the option was ours. We decided to go watch ceramics and silk rugs being made. We expected high pressure sales situations, but that wasn't the case. It was all very interesting.

 

Rhodes: a beautiful walled old city. We wandered on our own here, which was a good decision for us.

 

Delos: Again, it was magical for me because of the amazing ruins. Only 2 of us went ashore here, and the ship was early to anchor, so we got to hike around for an hour or so without the thundering herds which arrived later.

 

Mykonos: This port was just ok for me. The 4 of us strolled around, then escaped the crowds by finding a quiet bar with a view and had a glass of wine.

 

Santorini: It's a beautiful place. Being the adventurous types, 3 of us climbed to the top instead of taking the cable car or donkeys. Unfortunately, you and the donkeys climb on the same path :-) Very fragrant. Again, the main city was overrun with tourists, so we hired a cab and drove to the beach on the far side of the island. That was a great decision! It was quiet and lovely.

 

Athens: What can you say.... the whole city should be classified as a "wonder". We had the good fortune to have a great guide.... Nick, son of Paul, of Greek Taxi. Actually, Nick is a driver, not a licensed guide, but it's hard to believe a guide would know more than Nick. We opted for a half-day tour of Athens, then an afternoon trip to Cape Sounion. Nick got us to the Acropolis early, so we had some of the temples to ourselves when we first got there. After the Acropolis, we were just in time for the changing of the guard. We then went to a few other sites in Athens, and even had time for a coffee in the Plaka. Nick has a confident, yet very relaxed demeanor, which serves him and his clients well in a frenetic city like Athens. The drive to Cape Sounion was lovely and the temple site is peaceful and gorgeous.

 

Amalfi: We were guided by Roberto of Drive Amalfi. He was adept at negotiating the narrow road and serious traffic. We had a great, full day on the Amalfi Coast.

 

Taormina: Get off the ship early in order to snag a taxi to get to the city. Once there, you'll find a charming town and lots of restaurants with good food. As with all the other ports, it's best to see the sites early. In this case, the major attraction is the very well-preserved amphiteater at the end of the town.

 

Kotor: Wow! This was my favorite port. The sail in through magnificent fjiords will take your breath away. Once there, the ship docks right in town. Try to get to Kotor soon.... there is little tourist infrastrucure, so you'll see the city as it really is. I suspect this will change very soon. We were fortunate to be the only ship there, so it was a great day. In the afternoon, we hiked to a fortress at the top of a mountain. The views were stunning. After dinner on the ship, we went back to town. It was a Saturday night, and there were hundreds of young folks in town dancing and generally having a good time. It was really fun to be there among them.

 

Dubrovnik: Too many tourists to enjoy this city. Actually, there probably isn't much of a real feel left to this port. We felt the people here really didn't want us around. That's certainly understandable.... Croatia has had a difficult history.

 

Venice: the perfect ending for our trip.

[TudorSue]

Sharon,

Thanks for your review of Nautica and shore excursions. My DH and I have booked Kagan for 2 days in Istanbul post-excursion next month (Nautica | Rome-Istanbul). We are encouraged by all the positive feedback about his services. My DH's pace is slow walking these days, so if you have any suggestions in terms of Istanbul sightseeing, I'd welcome them. - TudorSue

[SharonO]

Sue,

 

I'd let Kagan make the sightseeing choices. He'll do it at your pace and find wonderful things for you. We did a walking tour one day, starting at our hotel which was in the old city near the Blue Mosque. On the second day, we had a car and driver along with Kagan.

 

Sharon

[TudorSue]

Thanks again, Sharon. And I won't hold my breath with Nautica's internet cafe speed!

[Napi's Mom]

We have arranged for , so far, 8 of us to take a Full Day minibus tour with Paul in Athens on the 11/15 trip. (Still have room for 2 more!) Since he is Nick's father I hope we have as good a tour as you did. Your assesment re-assures me that all will be well with this tour. Also it is still up in the air about whether to go to the Cape or not. Some people have said the trip isn't worth half of the day, and several people would like a full day in Athens, in museums. Have any input as to iif the Cape trip is better than staying in the city to see more? We don't need to decide until the day of tour Paul said.

[SharonO]

With only 1 day in Athens, it's really a matter of personal preference as to what to do. We aren't museum people and we love to explore, so going to Sounion was an easy choice. Don't think you can make a bad decision....it's all wonderful.

[conan]

Every review will contain the bias of the reviewer. We were on the same cruise but differ in some viewpoints.

We differ not a whit with regard to the quality, decor, appointments, amenities and service aboard Nautica . All the staff we encountered were quick to establish friendly rapport. Good natured banter abounded. They were attentive to detail and displayed a genuine eager to please attitude. They are the strength of Oceania's rep. Anita should get the employee of the month award for housekeeping staff.

We didn't find the specialty dining room offerings to be superior to that in the grand dining room. Lobster, lobster thermidor, prime rib, filet mignon, scallops, salmon were all offered there. If anything, sometimes there were too many choices. We aren't "foodies" and in that context, found the grand dining room had excellent menu choices with vegetarian, seafood and meat entrees, well prepared and presented. There are 66 chefs aboard. Perhaps our tongues were jaded, I thought "very good" was an understatement. But each to his/her own taste.

As a musician, I can say that the 8 piece orchestra was excellent. They had a varied repertoire and were "tight". I especially liked the opportunity to dance to their music in the Nautica Lounge, after dinner, before the evening show. We saw the magician and his partner for one of their 2 shows and found it to be interesting and entertaining. We can't speak for the second show. The musical revues presented by the 4 person staff, backed up by the orchestra, were likewise entertaining, quick paced, musically challenging and varied. Jean-Paul, the featured singer for one evening had an exceptional voice and a very warm and personable delivery. A terrific entertainer. The Oceania Idol competition on the last night was a hoot!

We didn't have much time for ping pong, shuffleboard and golf, except on at sea days, we were touring.

We found Kotor to be shabby especially when a rat (not a cat) crossed our path which was surprising considering the number of free-ranging cats to be found there. We too enjoyed the spectacular views of the fjord approach and the panorama from the city's walls.

Unlike Sharon O, we found the people of Dubrovnik to be hospitable and friendly. Having just come from Kotor, we found the place very clean and neat. We thoroughly enjoyed the perspectives while walking the medieval walls, the band concert in the square, and the patience of the clerics when loud tourists burst into the gorgeous churches in the middle of services (it was a Sunday morning)

We were aboard the second tender to gain access to Delos. Admission was free because it was a Sunday. The place was wide open enough with that the "crowds" at the dock soon dispersed. The 4 in our party were mostly on our own and did appreciate encountering others who pointed out interesting things to see such as Cleopatra's House, the mosaics in the House of the Dolphins and in Dionysus' House, the cisterns and the theatre. The hike to the top of the highest point was exhilirating but the wind up there caused us to cling to the pylon there for fear of being blown away. I guess we were part of the thundering herds. Solitude is hard to find on a cruise. If that's what you're looking for in a vacation, you'd best plan something else.

Our driver in Amalfi agreed with SharonO re the traffic that day. It is cruise ship season. The 7 cruise ships in Amalfi, Sorrento and Naples were all discharging bus tours on the Amalfi Drive. But we knew that would be the case by checking cruisecal.com in advance. It is less crowded in July/August, so Paolo says. You have to go with the flow. As part of the day, he took us to Ravello where we visited the Villa Cimbrone (5Euro). There were truly spectacular panoramas there, gorgeous gardens and the drive was an adventure.

We have to agree with SharonO that the shuttlebus fee of $20 per person at Mykonos was steep. ($20per person to Mykonos, 20Euro to Taormina, what's the difference) We walked the 3.5 km to Mykonos Town from Tourlos port. It's a quaint town. It was a unique experience touching walls on both sides of the "street" at the same time. In that, it was like Fira on Santorini. Little Venice and the windmills were fun to visit. Tavernas with bougainvillea that canopied the tables added to the romance.

Nikos, our driver guide in Santorini took us to Firostefani, Imerovigli and Oia. A wedding photographer, he had favourite camera angles, including one at the top of Mount Profitis Ilias, the black sand beach at Perissa and the Santo Winery overlooking the caldera. He presented us with a CD of his photos at the end of our day. The spectacle of the hotels/houses "growing" down the face of the caldera at Oia is truly awesome even if that is an overused word.

We were on vacation and weren't all that interested in surfing the net or checking our e-mail at home so can't speak to Oceania's quality and cost of internet service. Two dollars to send an e-mail home to let family know that you've arrived safely and are having a good time is not outlandish. We do, however support her sense of being nickel and dimed. While it is recognized that profit is necessary, charging $3.50 for a $0.75 bottle of water can be seen as excessive. Maybe that's the price one must expect to shell out on a luxury niche cruise. It's all in the perspective.