We had actually planned and put a deposit on a Celebrity itinerary that went to many of the same destinations BUT started and ended in Rome. Then the Oceania brochure arrived in the mail and I found the itinerary that I really wanted! Athens to Istanbul. Didn't have to deal with Citavecchia, alot more time / ports in the Greek Isles and ending in Istanbul so we could add a few days to see all the sights there at a leisurely pace. But the price! We had a balcony booked on the Celebrity ship, we booked a porthole cabin on the lowest deck on Nautica and it was costing more. We reserved our cabin in July 2008, by the time final payment was due the economy had sunk, the Nautica had a fair amount of empty cabins and for $300 more per person we upgraded to a balcony. I did love my balcony but this trip was the most expensive vacation I have ever taken - was it worth it?We did our own air and transfers. It was nice that the ship had an overnight in Athens at the start of the trip so we did not have to fly in early "just in case". We took the bus from the airport to Pireaus (easy do) but others posters had said you could walk to the ship - it would have been warm (and this was only May) and a fair hike. We took a short but worth it 12E taxi from where the bus let us off.Our cabin was very nice - we knew not to expect super-luxury size wise and it was very comfortable with room for all our stuff. Robes were provided and the TV had a very good assortment of current films plus the usual port talks and various channels from around the world. Also there were free DVD's you could check out - the assortment of movies and DVD's were a nice perk from any other ship we have been on.The ship was beautiful and very tastefully decorated with reproductions of famous pictures (lots of Impressionsits) and some lovely glass pieces in the Horizons bar. The size of the ship and the decor were IMO much nicer than the mammoth super ships used by so many other lines. Nautica is elegant not glitzy. Three things lured me onto the Nautica - itinerary, ship size and food. Unfortunately I think my expections were a bit too high for the food - by the time I boarded the ship I was expecting the best 12 dinners of my life (and I'm used to eating pretty good food between my own cooking and Atlanta restaurants). I think because of that, I ended up being a wee bit disappointed. I was also frustrated with the specialty restaurants. Our cabin entitled us to one reservation in Polo and Toscano but on the CC boards some posters mentioned it was not difficult to get extra nights if you were flexible. That proved not to be so for us and the frustrating thing was the ship was not full and the nights we dined in both Polo and Toscano, they were not full. But every morning I would ask if we could get a sitting in either of the speciality resturants and was refused with the comment "We want to accommodate all our guests" huh? But I may be being a bit nit-picky now. The other frustration was unlike other cruise lines where you can ask the wait staff to point to the best choices on the menu and request a different choice if you are unhappy with the first one, that did not happen on Oceania. Someone said the staff is told not to give recommendations because "every choice is delicious" - well not quite. Especially disappointing was the lobster in Polo - tough and chewy. But now that I have expressed my grievences, I will give praise where it is due. Most of the food in the GDR was good to very good. The beef was always high quality and cooked to order. I love lamb and had that several times, always tastey. Some of the desserts were wonderful - the chocolate tear comes to mind (but that chocolate lasagna that gets raves on the boards, we thought was bogus!). In the specialty restaurants there was a fresh fish choice that was excellent. There were some wonderful pasta choices (and a few mediocre ones too). We always ate at the buffet for lunch and dinner - we especially liked the freah tossed salads of the day and the delicious cheeses. The format of no assigned time or table works well on a European cruise and we enjoyed meeting new people each evening at dinner. But sometimes if you opted to be seated at a larger table, you ended up waiting for it to fill up - one night it was about 20 minutes and a bit frustrating. Overall the food was very good, certainly the best cruise cuisine I have had - but probably the best food on the trip was the Greek food when we ate off the ship.Well you can tell by now I am a foodie - I don't have nearly as many comments on other aspects of the trip. The ship went to Crete, Dubrovnik, Olympia, Corfu, Santorini, Mykonos, (we had to skip Delos bcause of high waves), Rhodes, Kusadasi, and ended in Istanbul. At every port there was a local travel agent with helpful maps, money and transportation tips - Oceania gets an A+ for this feature. We did all ports on our own so I have no comments on the excursions offered by the ship. We thoroughly enjoyed the ports - felt we got a nice exposure to many of the different islands and the port stops were long enough to do a fair amount of exploring. It was nice to be on a small ship - no waiting for tenders but unfortunately at several of the ports "we were not alone" as the cruise directior liked to say. So some days we joined a heavy tourist swarm. But it was a great itinerary. Istanbul at the end was a mix. It was quite crowded and it took us a bit to get used to the interaction with the locals. Numerous rug solicitaions. We stayed at the Pierre Loti Hotel - excellent location and price. By the time we left, we were feeling more comfotable. I must add tho that we did not feel unsafe - I got alot of "you're going to Turkey - be careful". We used the trams and buses to get around and I was less wary of being pick-pocketed there than in many of the other big EU cities. The locals are very friendly but they often have an agenda - a polite refusal usually ended any solicitation.Entertainment - not for me (I read) but my daughter (30 year old) really liked the magician. She also used the gym and the spa and would give them good marks. Service - EXCELLENT - sometimes almost too attentive, but that's just me. Fellow passengers, yes, mostly 50 and beyond, very well traveled, many Oceania fans. Most of the people we met were very pleasant and made nice dinner companions.So was it worth it? Would I sail Oceania again? - definately yes if the price was less. The itineraries, the ship size and decor, the flexibilty of dining times and no formal nights, the local travel agents on board, the friendly staff - all very attractive and unique qualities of this line. But it was pricey - I can do a 2 week land trip (not a tour) for thousands less so it may be that this wonderful trip will have been a "once in a lifetime" experience.