This cruise was picked by our folks to celebrate their 60th plus wedding anniversary. They have cruised over 25 times and they wanted to show us (3 "kids" & spouses) the old world. The Eastern Med in October is right at the end of the season (for tourists in this region) and the weather isn't blazing.

Oceania handled the air arrangements as we all came from various parts of the US. We flew out of Seattle on Lufthansa to Frankfurt & on to Venice. After a pause at a quick and painless Italian Security check point right at the boat, we boarded and were directed to our stateroom. My Brother & wife had been on a sister ship to the Nautica and had warned us about the size of the stateroom & bathroom. We weren't shocked by the very small shower in the dinky bathroom. Everything else was roomy enough for two and we had a nice veranda.

Having read previous reviews on Cruise Critic, we were in awe of the interior furnishings we found as we strolled thru the boat within the first hour being on board. We were greeted by friendly staff at every turn. We ran into the head Chef taking a break for coffee on the fantail of the Terrace Cafe. He was nice enough to give us some advice on how to get around in Venice, "take the water taxis to get anywhere!" We did and it worked out great! Read more