REVIEW. Eleven day Baltic Cruise. Aug 24 - Sept 4
We have just returned from a Baltic cruise on Nautica. I was beginning to wonder if Oceania was the company for us as there were a few naysayers on this Forum. No smoke without fire I thought. Nautica does need a refit. She is a bit tired and old fashioned. However everything worked except the fridge which was replaced within hours of ...
: enjoyed this cruise, However, there is room for improvement;
(1) Most of the excursions were low quality. Except the tour guides in St. Petersburg and in the Hermitage, modst of the other tour guides were below standard. The tourduide in Bruge was too old and could hardly talk. It seems that physically this was too much for him. The tour guide in Stockholm was a catastrophy. He just walked us ...
We picked this cruise for the itinerary. We wanted to see Iceland and Greenland and we got to go back to Ireland again. The Orkney Islands were interesting.
We used Oceania for tender ports except for one and that was the only disappointment. It was more of the shuttle service company’s misinformation rather than Destination Services fault. The information the shuttle company gave to the ship ...
This was my third cruise with Oceania. Having been on the Marina my first reaction when I entered the cabin was “ it has shrunk”. The shower was tiny. As a solo traveller I have no idea how a couple would cope. The ship was tired. But while on board Oceania announced their revamp. For the first time the shows actually contained some music from the 50 and 60. The last show was amazing. I was amazed ...
This ship was a perfect size for us. The food was excellent. Polo Grill very good and Toscana great. I also really enjoyed the meals in the Grand Dining room. Wine can get expensive but Happy Hour is 2 for 1. Brought our wine to the dining room. Great entertainment. John's magic show during happy hour was the best. The speakers were outstanding. Enjoyed Black Jack tournaments. Some ...
I chose this cruise based on the destinations and more importantly on the recommendation of previous Oceania cruisers. The ship was fine although it seemed to be ready for refurbishing.
The food was okay, but not as special as I had anticipated. Desserts were the most disappointing aspect of the food train. They seemed bland and unimaginative. I heard several complaints about the lack of or ...
This was two ports in Scotland, three in Ireland plus Iceland and Greenland and Fareo islands. The North Atlantic was rough but we endured. We knew the smaller 55 thousand ton ship would have pluses and minuses, so our expectations were met.
PLUSES: No crowded decks. Easy on and off. Well organized excursions. Open seating. Excellent food service. Helpful crew and staff.
MINUSES: Limited ...
Recognizing that at any given time, the Wait Staff on a cruise ship is almost always in flux, we got the feeling many of the staff had just reported in for their first contract. HMCSBN nailed it on the crush for a table and the problems in the main dining room.
The two specialty restaurants were outstanding with the Italian one the better of the two.
The cleaning staff was impeccable, timely ...
I choose the Baltic Sea cruise on Oceania Nautica because of the itinerary and the relatively small size of the ship. We spent 3 days in London (not enough time) before boarding the ship at Southampton and 2 days in Copenhagen following the cruise. Both embarkation and disembarkation were quick and easy.
Our C-1 cabin had plenty of storage for clothes and other items; in fact I was amazed ...
Itinerary was one we hadn't done before. Had a really good time on board and in the U.K. and Ireland. The ports were very interesting and the weather was really good for northern England and Scotland. The rough seas were almost un-noticable the night we had them.
The ship was very comfortable through that night. The captain was among the best in keeping all well informed throughout the ...