Oceania Cruises Reviews
Saturday 4th Feb 2012
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Cruising in the Far East |
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Reviewed By: Hanrahan, Windsor on 30th Mar 2009
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| Cruise Line: Oceania Cruises |
Times cruised before: 10+ |
| Cruise Ship: Nautica |
Sailed:
February,
2009 |
| Destination:
Far East
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Age: 56-65 |
| Cabin: Inside |
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In May 2008 we booked a 24 night cruise on Nautica for February 2009 commencing at Bangkok. We set off a week early and flew to Bangkok, stayed the night in the Novotel at the airport, which was beautiful, and flew next morning to Krabi. We stayed at the Centara Beach Resort, which was good but isolated somewhat, being in a private bay. After three days, we flew back to Bangkok and stayed another three nights at The Peninsula, which was without doubt, a wonderful hotel.
Eventually the day arrived, and our transfer driver arrived. We had established that, despite the travel agents telling us it was a two hour drive to the port, that the ship was only docked a half hour drive away in a nearby dock. This seems to have been Oceania's fault, as the small piece of paper they issued to us days before sailing, gave the correct address in tiny print. This was only spotted by our Conceirge at The Penisula, otherwise we would have been driving around Thailand for some hours. Quite a few other passengers had the same problem and their hotel had managed to steer them in the right direction.
We had opted for a cabin on deck three with a porthole, centrally located. We found the cabin to be quite adequate, in fact the usual cruise ship space. There was a small shower in the bathroom. The ship itself seemed very stable and at times you would wonder if you were at sea or docked.
The ship was furnished in an unfamiliar style of "country club" with heavy ornate curtains and patterned carpets, which we got used to quite quickly. This is the first time we have cruised on a ship this small, it takes about 700 pax but there was only 500 + on our cruise. It provides a very good social atmosphere and you soon get to make friends, meeting different people at dinner, and then again around the ship. Most of the passengers were retired, and the ones we met had done a considerable amount of travelling. Oceania seems to get a lot of repeat business, some passengers were on their 6th cruise. There were people from Canada, Australia, New Zealand, U.S. and a small amount of British on board.
The layout of the ship was good, plenty of places to sit, the smallish show lounge was quite adequate, and the Horizons bar at the front was a good place for a drink when you set sail, or for afternoon tea.
The food, which is mentioned as a feature of this cruise line, was we felt good, but not outstanding. At the breakfast buffet there were plenty of fresh berries everyday and fresh fruit. Sometimes the main courses in the dining room were a little disappointing, but overall it was of good quality. The two speciality restaurants, Polo Grill and Toscana, where you book to eat just once on each cruise were mixed. Toscana we liked, but we had a bad experience of being rushed in Polo Grill, and other people we had met were not very impressed. The food was very good in both restaurants though. As the ship was not full it was possible to dine in them at other times as well.
The usual shipboard activities took place, trivia, bingo, card games, bridge, and there were guest lecturers. In the evening there was a selection of singers, comedians, and ventriloguists who were all very good, as was the cruise director. Some of the lectures could have been better and in more depth. One big annoyance was the cost of internet, it was $1 a minute and very slow, so just to check your e mails could cost $10. We just did not bother after the first couple of experiences.
The shore excursions were, to our minds, expensive. They were often over $100, around $150/$180 if it was a full day excursion. This seems to be a common criticism about cruise lines but still, it meant when we could get around ourselves, we did. It was uncertain that when you arrived in a port as to whether there would be a shuttle bus or you would have to go it alone, and that information was not forthcoming until the day before. This made it difficult to plan whether you could manage on your own.
The ports on this itinerary were very good, Koh Samui in Thailand, three ports in Vietnam, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, South Korea and Shanghai and Beijing as our final destination. The only ports we did not think great were Koh Samui and Seoul. Unfortuntely, we missed Hanoi, as when we entered Ha Long bay, a barge had sunk in the channel in front of us. We anchored in the bay, which was very misty, and sat there until 4pm when the Captain decided the Pilot had not enough certainty about the depths and he would not risk trying to get into dock. So we had an extra day in Hong Kong, which most passengers were happy enough about. We also missed one Japanese port as we had heavy weather for a couple of days which slowed us down. That was a pity.
The staff on board were all very well trained and courteous and greeted you coming and going.
All in all, we very much enjoyed the trip. The cost of the cruise is quite high as it did not include airfare. Because of the smaller numbers involved it would cost more. I am not sure that the quality of food is that much better than other cruise ships but I have not been on a larger ship for a couple of years, and they may be cutting back.
They were very keen to get you to book up for another cruise whilst on board with lots of special offers, and obviously they pick up quite a lot of business this way from what we could see.
I think we would travel with them again as their itineraries are good and we enjoyed getting to know other passengers which is not so easy on a large ship, when you never see anyone again for some days.
When we reached Beijing, we were met for our transfer to the city, a two hour drive. We stayed at the Shangri-La, where Oceania had put their passengers. We had booked this separately. A lovely hotel, but half an hour from the city centre. A taxi into the centre only cost $3 but if we were to have stayed for a week, rather than the three nights, it would have been a nusiance.
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| Quality of Food |  |
| Enjoyed fresh fruit at breakfast | | Entertainment |  |
| Enjoyed the Ventriloquist, shore lectures could have been better | | Shore Excursions |  |
| In Ho Chi Minh city, the trip to the Me kong delta was disappointing, not enough to do.
Enjoyed Taipei, lovely monuments and our guide was excellent. | | Staff | |
| Shore Excursion staff were very hardworking and helpful. | | Children's Facilities | n/a |
| | Onboard Activities | |
| | Cabins | |
| | Overall Rating | |
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