Nautica Review

5.0 / 5.0
399 reviews

Nautica - Eastern Mediterranean

Review for the Eastern Mediterranean Cruise on Nautica
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Daw6id
First Time Cruiser • Age 80s

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Sail Date: Jul 2006
Cabin: Veranda Stateroom

My wife and I are in our early sixties. We went on a Royal Caribbean cruise of the Caribbean about 20 years ago, were disappointed with the food, unhappy with our table partners and not impressed with the service or shore excursions. We swore off cruising after that. A friend convinced us to join them on the Renaissance R7 for a cruise from Barcelona to Dover seven years ago, and we were much happier. Then three years ago we went with friends on the RSSC Seven Seas Mariner to Alaska [chosen because it had good food!] and we were hooked. Last year we took the Paul Gauguin around French Polynesia. This year we looked for a RSSC cruise to the Greek Islands. We couldn't find one that met our schedule, and found the Oceania Nautica had an itinerary with everything we were looking for, plus Amalfi, Taormina, Kotor, Dubrovnik and Venice, all for the same price as the RSSC seven day cruise. It was an offer we couldn't refuse.

The Nautica is almost identical to the R7, so we knew we'd like the boat. Oceania's reputation for food was as good as Radisson/Regent's, so we were comfortable there. I was somewhat concerned about the nickel and diming of charging for cokes, bottled water, and wine with dinner and add-on tips, but we decided to try it. As a result, this review will tend to compare Oceania with RSSC. In brief, the cruise met our expectations, exceeded some, and was at least as good a value-for-money as the RSSC. The food was outstanding, the crew excellent and the ship comfortable. The itinerary was a highlight.

The Nautica began the fifteen day cruise in Istanbul, spent a day going through the Dardanelles and down the Aegean Coast to Kusadasi, then Rhodes, Mykonos/Delos, Athens, Santorini, then a day through the Straights of Messina to Amalfi, back to Taormina and across the Adriatic to Kotor in Montenegro, Dubrovnik, then up to Venice. One night was provided on-board in port at both ends. It's an itinerary unlike many of the other Greek Isles itineraries we found, and was the main attraction of this cruise. This turned out to be a common reason on the cruise.

Cabin Review

Veranda Stateroom

Cabin B1
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