This was a very nice itinerary. Those looking for an opportunity to see New Zealand got a taste of 5 very nice ports. The French Polynesian ports are nice, but I had seen them before and chose to save my excursion money for the ports I hadn't visited. It was unfortunate that we missed some ports and we had very rough seas for three days and rough seas for two. The captain did everything in his power to navigate around it, but activities had to be cancelled or postponed due to the rough seas.
Embarkation
4 out of 5
We arrived at the ship early since our flight arrived around 7:30AM. We checked in and were offered boarding to the lounge where we were served a continental breakfast
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
5 out of 5
The service and servers were very good at all venues. When restaurants were crowded, there was a longer wait for our food, but the servers continued to bring courses as they were available.
Onboard Activities
5 out of 5
I enjoyed the activities onboard and took part in many of them - fitness center, walking trail, mini golf, mensa, art search, library, etc.
Entertainment
5 out of 5
The Oceania musicians were very good and the dancers and singers were outstanding. They were not only good entertainers, but good ambassadors and greeted us and talked with us throughout the cruise.
Service and Staff
5 out of 5
The waiters were great - very friendly and service oriented. The room stewards kept the room tidy and bathroom clean. The reception staff was very nice and always available to answer questions.
Ship Quality
4 out of 5
Since Nautica is a smaller ship many of the facilities were in close proximity which made it easy to navigate. The common areas were cleaned frequently and always tidy.
Cabin / Stateroom
3 out of 5
I didn't care for the solo oceanview cabin due to the fact that I could not see out the window. It was very small, the shower was big enough for a small person, but not much room at all. I would not choose this type of room again unless I valued the itinerary more than the room.
Ship tip
Attend the shows - they were very good. Also, enjoy all the dining venues - each of them was good in their own way.
We visited a waterfall (ok, not the best I've seen) and had a tour of a local grower with taste testing of fruit, and singing and dancing by the native people.
The port was nice, but the weather was rainy. The excursion I took was very good and the driver/guide very nice and knowledgeable. He was native so knew how to give us a tour of both interesting and pertinent sites.
The excursion in Wellington was to a sheep farm and saw a sheep sheering demonstration. The driver/guide was entertaining and so was the farmer. I really enjoyed the demo and the scenery at the farm and driving back and forth.
Sydney is a beautiful city (big city feel) My excursion took us on a bus tour of the sights and also a harbor tour by boat which was very nice. They served sandwiches, appetizers and cookies (timtam - a native cookie)
Disembarkation was well organized but we did have to wait for the bus and the loading of luggage was not very well coordinated. I ended up sitting for around 3 hours waiting for my flight, but I had checked in ahead of time, so did not have to stand in the incredibly long lines for checkin. Please tell future guests to checkin prior to disembarking. There was a snafu with the internet being turned off the day before we departed - that was very bad and caused much inconvenience to those checking in to flights. I asked the reception to turn mine back on and they did so I was able to checkin.
I really enjoyed your review, especially the comments about enjoying the entertainers both during the shows and around the ship. My daughter was a singer and the social hostess on your cruise, so you met her if you attended a solo traveler get together. It makes me glad to hear that the entertainers were such good ambassadors around the ship!
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