This was my first cruise with Oceania (have cruised in the past on larger ships/other lines) and Mom's 9th cruise with Oceania (5th on the Nautica). Traveling with an experienced cruiser makes a difference! We flew into Athens a day early to ensure ourselves and our luggage arrived safely. Our hotel was walking distance to the Acropolis, so we spent the morning of our departure exploring the Acropolis and didn't depart for Piraeus until after 2:30 p.m. This enabled us to walk onto the ship without delay (apart from clearing the security line at the port terminal along with passengers on other ships who were returning from shore excursions). Staterooms on the 6th floor were not ready, so we headed for a snack at the Terrace Cafe before heading into our room to unpack.

Our stateroom with veranda was quite nice, and we were well taken care of throughout the cruise by our stewards. We were on the Starboard side, and for most of the ports, we had great land views while in port.

Almost every dish we had on-board was outstanding. I definitely enjoyed the portion sizing such that I could enjoy appetizer, soup/salad and main course - rather than the typical American portion size that would feed me multiple meals. One tuna appetizer was so good that I considered cancelling the main course and asking for another serving. I enjoyed being able to sample menu items from Red Ginger (a special not available aboard Nautica at this time). This was the first time on a cruise that I've done shared seating. For us, this worked out fabulously and we made some great friends at meals who we then saw throughout the cruise - on tours and at some of the shows. Read more