In November, 2010 we left on a 30 day cruise with Oceania Cruises. The M/S Nautica, was our beautiful home for this exciting adventure. It sailed from Istanbul, westward across the Mediterranean, and down the west coast of Africa, ending in Cape Town, South Africa. We sailed 8515 nautical miles with stops in Crete, Malta, Tunis, Valencia Spain, Morocco, the Canary Islands, Senegal, Gambia, Benin, Ghana, Togo, Lome, Namibia and Cape Town. A map with our route and landings can be viewed by going to Africa Maps. To read about each port we visited and see a few photos from that area, go to Africa Newsletters.

You can view more photos from our trip by going to the Photo Gallery. And if you want to see a full size picture, just click on the photo.

The M/S Nautica is almost 600 ft. long and carries a maximum of 684 guests and 400 staff. So it is small by cruise ship standards. But it is large in amenities and service. The cabins are spacious with plenty of storage, a nice shower/bathroom, very comfortable king size bed with down comforter and pillows, and wi-fi connection. There are 4 dining areas - the grand dining room, a steak house, Italian restaurant and a buffet. For lunch there is also a grill serving hamburgers, smoothies, etc. All the dining rooms are available at no additional charge and are open seating. Dress is country club casual in the evenings meaning there was no need to pack cocktail dresses or ties.

The Nautica has a huge library containing both fiction and reference books, a computer room with 18 computers, a card/game room, fitness center, and spa. On deck there is a pool. two jacuzzis, jogging track, golf putting green and driving range, shuffleboard court, and pingpong table. There were several bar/lounge areas including one specializing in Martinis of all kinds. The ship had a beautiful, understated elegance about it and was kept scrupulously clean. Hand sanitizer stations were outside all pulic areas and we were given personal sanitizer spray bottles to take with us on our port excursions.

The cruise director and her staff were exceptional, offering all kinds of activities during sea days, from trivia contests, to needlepoint (including free kits), to dance lessons. By the middle of the cruise, they were on a first name basis with their guests. Outside lecturers were brought in to talk on a wide range of topics, from forensics to history. Entertainment was on a smaller scale than found on the larger ships but excellent.

But the best thing for Barbara was that they had a top-notch bridge instructor on board. Every day at sea, she taught an intermediate bridge lesson, then held a duplicate game in the afternoon. Our 15 days at sea turned out to be the highlight of the cruise! To see photos of our time on board, go to Activities at Sea Photo Gallery.

To read about each port we visited and see a few photos from that area, go to Africa Newsletters.

You can view more photos from our trip by going to the Photo Gallery. And if you want to see a full size picture, just click on the photo.

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