Hello Everyone!

I've been busy as a longtailed bobcat in a roomfull of rocking chairs since Hiro and I returned from our Regatta Istanbul - Venice a month ago. Perhaps I'll get my act together and write a proper review. Suffice it to say that we enjoyed the cruise enough to book the Nautica's Asian cruise for next Spring. I must say that we're drawn to the unusual destinations and longer itineraries on "O" rather than Regent. In fairness, I would still give Regent the tip of my hat in the overall quality of cruise experience as well as the inclusive features. I got tired of pulling out my plastic card on Regatta...but thats just the way it is if you want the "O" destinations.

Well, anyone interested in this cruise? It sounds like a whole lot of exotic fun, and since Hiro's from Japan, we'll have a chance to visit his family and have unlimited use of their cars. :)

At least I'd like to plant an early seed! We're booked in Concierge A3 category Stateroom 7010, slightly forward of our Stateroom 7020 last month.

By the way, don't let anyone talk you into booking a stateroom anywhere near the laundry on the 7th floor. There was a hen and rooster party in that laundry every day, and the poor souls who were situated nearby had very little daytime privacy! ;)

Hope to hear from some of you nice LCT'ers!



Eric

Can I give you a tip? Try to move to aft cabin between ownersuites which are either 7116 or 7121..unless you really have a thing for being forward.
the aft cabins on O are fantastic..more private .

Eric - not to drag you away from Oceania, but as an alternative, just wanted to mention another cruise that 3 LCTers are on (including me :D ). It's an escorted cruise with Ngaire in September 2007, RSSC Mariner Osaka to Hong Kong. Not as many ports as the Nautica but we get 3 days in Shanghai which really excites me.

http://www.bkrssc.com/07_MAR070926.htm

Masaki

Hi Claudia & Masaki,
Yeah, we're kind of "forward" guys! Also the selection for A3 was already vastly limited, so we chose what we're essentially accustomed to.

The September cruise with Ngaire was also tempting, but early-Spring in Japan was more appetizing and fits with Hiro's family more convieniently.

What I REALLY need is some stunningly clever person to help out with suggestions for private driver guides for the ports on this "O" cruise.

I'm thinking of crashing the Regent board with a crosspost to see if I can get some help in this department! :p

Thanks for any help...



Eric

Eric - you'll definitely catch cherry blossom season in early spring, that's for sure. :) I'd help with the private driver guides if I had any ideas but sadly, no. We're probably going to be relying a lot on family for help with touring - Amanda's side for Beijing, Shanghai, and Hong Kong and my side for Osaka.

Masaki

If you ask at Cruise Critic Oceania board, there are a large group who just came back from doing that cruise ( Asia) and can give you all the guides, esp. Sheila who posts there and has been many times.

Hi Eric,

I'm the Sheila that Claudia mentioned in her post. We did Oceania's March 16, 2006 Beijing to Hong Kong and had a great cruise. Just wanted to give you a little info. I don't know which area Hiro is from, but you might not have that much time in Japan. When we boarded the ship, we were told that the time we were leaving Shanghai had been changed from 4:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m. No reason was given until later when we found out that the Japanese officials wanted a "face-to-face" with ALL of the passengers because of the bird flu. One of the ports we had to line up and have our temperature taken -- by ear. After we left Shanghai, we encountered heavy fog while on the Yangtze River. We were about a mile from the open seas, when the Chinese officials ordered us to drop anchor. Even though we had radar, we sat there for over 14 hours and did not get to Hiroshima until the day after we were due to dock there. Four of the passengers got off the ship in Hiroshima and took the Bullet Train to Kyoto and stayed over there one night. They rejoined us in Kobe before we sailed on the 25th of March. This was a wonderful plan. If Hiro is from Kyoto, you might want to do this, also.

If you want more info, email me at scorpiosheila at yahoo dot com and put Nautica Asia Cruise in the subject line so I open the mail.

Sheila

Hi Eric,

In my haste to post my message, I forgot the important part -- the passengers only had ONE day in Kyoto due to the shortening of the cruise. Everyone said they would have chosen to miss the port of Ishigaki in order to make up the second day in Kyoto(Kobe).

Sheila