Nautica - Melbourne to Hobart
Cruise Famil Report
Terri Bettany
4 Night Sydney to Hobart Cruise
Oceania – Nautica
10-14 January 2008
Facts & Figures
Passengers: 684
Total Crew: 400
Entered Service:2000 (Last refurbished 2007)
Size: 30,277 tonnes
Wow! I have been hearing wonderful reports on the Oceania vessels since they commenced service and I had high expectations but in all ways they were exceeded on this cruise.
The crew were absolutely second to none and you felt like you were part of the Oceania family from the minute you stepped onboard.
The dress code on Oceania is Country Club Casual which means can dress as they like for the evening meal which on all nights except for the Captains Welcome Onboard cocktail party this mean Smart Casual. Most guests do enjoy dressing up for the cocktail party.
Cabins (aka Staterooms)
The cabins are a reasonable size however with their new builds due in the next few years they are going to make larger staterooms a top priority.
They are well appointed and the beds are extremely comfortable with fluffy doonas and great pillows to ensure a good nights sleep.
The bathroom is smallish again but nothing unusual for a cruise ship and the amenities were great and the towels were huge. Bathrobes and slippers were also provided.
There was wardrobe space aplenty and a safe.
The in room viewing was also very good with a choice of movies plus CSI and Inside the Actors studio round the clock but the usual news channels.
Food, food and more food!
Nautica has an open dining policy where you can dine when and where you like. Bookings for the two smaller restaurants are recommended.
The first night we dined at the Tapas restaurant which provided an buffet type selection which was absolutely plentiful and tasty. This included a pasta bar with fresh made pasta dishes whilst you wait. If the beautiful fresh food for the main meal wasn’t enough then there was a chocolate fountain with fresh fruit kebabs, profiteroles or marshmallows for dipping! This restaurant doubles as the buffet for lunch and breakfast where you can dine inside or al fresco.
The Polo Grill is one of the smaller restaurants where there is no cover charge but you need to book. The specialty is the steaks and there are 32 oz Kings Cut which is enough to put you off food for life if you were a vegetarian! There are other steak and seafood options plus vegetarian and chicken but this is the one night where I chose poorly and was a little disappointed.
The next night in Toscana more than made up for this – Toscana the other of the two smaller restaurants is the Italian Specialty restaurant and had the most magnificent selection of Olive Oils and breads that I have ever seen. The other wonderful thing about the menu in Toscana is you can order a Trio of pastas and these are reasonable (i.e. not oversized) portions of three of the pastas – sensational when you can’t quite decide! Again deserts were terrific here with a Chocolate Lasagne and topped off with a class of Limoncello.
Lastly we dined in the main dining restaurant with the gorgeous Versace plates and again wonderful food and service. The main restaurant is also open for breakfast and lunch.
Horizons on deck 10 forward was where traditional English Afternoon Tea was served also a must.
Oceania currently spend more per capita than any other cruise line on food.
Luckily I stuck to the stairs the whole time so I managed not to double my weight.
Entertainment
The Entertainment onboard Oceania is not all your typical cruise ship fare. Whilst there is always something to do you are generally not being bombarded with 10 things at once that you might like to do.
There is enrichment and educating port lectures as well as outdoor activities and the daily trivia. Not only do Oceania have Wine tasting they have Martini and Champagne tasting as well. Martini’s one of the bars onboard specializes in these and they have a huge range – Jorge our bartender here was a star!
Unlike other cruise lines Oceania doesn’t have a ship’s photographer and this is the one thing I did miss – if they were able to do this in their understated style and not in your face I think that would be great.
They have a small casino which is mostly open in the evenings plus there is always one show or function of an evening. The evening functions ranged from a singer to a British pub sing a long to a pianist.
After the show the disco was also open and whilst not always a huge hit with all passengers this was great fun as well. It was well out of the way in Horizons on Deck 10.
 Oceania also had a good range of shore excursions including some more adventurous options. I chose one of these in Hobart – the Mount Wellington Descent. Ignoring the fact that I had not been on an actually bicycle in about 8 years (gym ones don’t count apparently) I decided that this was the tour for me. We took a drive up to Mt Wellington where the temperature had dropped about 10 degrees and then kitted up ready to cycle down hill – fast! We had a few stops along the way including a picnic stop for refreshments (unfortunately not beer) at the Cascade Brewery. We then cycled through the stress of Battery Hill and back down to the ship – a great and new way to see Hobart.
General
As Oceania is a smaller vessel that attracts a lot of couples it may not be the best suited to single travelers but other than that I would be hard pressed not to recommend them. It is 5 star classy but not stuffy!
They have wonderful 10- 12 – 14 night itineraries and generally spend longer in the ports of call than a lot of other cruise lines.
Nautica is my new favourite ship!
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