Nautica

The 30,277-ton Nautica is a very realistic cruise liner. It is not too big where passengers can lose their bearing, and it is not too small as well that makes a person jittery. To be honest about it, this ship best suits people who prefer a port-intensive itinerary, looks for a casual holiday on board a ship, are reluctant to pay additional charges for substitute restaurants and are non-smokers. Incidentally, Nautica’s port of call includes little known places like Guernsey, Palma de Majorca, Malaga, Oporto, Bordeaux and a few more.

True to her immaculate tradition, the price of spirits, wines, cigars, cigarettes and other modes of addiction on board the Nautica appear to have been kept at a higher level, probably in a vain effort to check inboard intoxication ! A great idea, no doubt, but whether it is applicable to people who have chosen a sea voyage primarily for relaxation remains a mystery.

However, the pleasures of the palate are guaranteed by most Oceania Cruise liners including the Nautica. The Grand Dining room opens at 6.30 in the evening and serves till 9.30 in the night, serving a grand assortment of victuals. However, it is always full and the acoustic arrangements in the room can hardly cope with the din, thus creating problems for a leisurely conversation. On top of that, 26 more tables (for two) have been currently added to serve more people in the already overcrowded dining room. The Terrace Café, adjacent to the pool deck, on the other hand, is a much more suitable place to enjoy your food in relatively tranquility. In fact, it is ideal for a leisurely breakfast where the servers hand out all that you may need in a friendly fashion.

The public rooms on board the Nautica have a typical “English inn-at-sea” feel. The spacious Horizons Lounge located at the bow section of the ship has extra large floor-to-ceiling windows that provide uninterrupted view of the open sea while strategically mounted brass telescopes allow inquisitive passengers to view in detail when a passing vessel appears on the horizon. Surprisingly enough, the no-nonsense vessel also has a well equipped Casino housed in her bosom while the Martini Bar attached to this gambler’s den boasts of a barman who has the credit of concocting 29 varieties of martini for the pleasure of his patrons.

Oceania cruise ship Nautica has 330 guest rooms, suits and penthouses aboard, most of them having verandas. However, the inside cabins on board the ship are indeed pretty undersized (160 to 165 sq. ft.). But the category C & D outsize cabins are large enough, sporting private balconies. Cruising in Nautica, by and large, can be called comfortable but not so very luxurious as compared to the other larger vessels.

Disney Magic

The cruise ship Disney Magic represents an excellent mixture of ocean liner magnificence with glimpses of the legendary Disney fantasy. It encompasses the thrills of sea voyage, intermingled with Disney touches that make it truly memorable for adults and kids alike.

Even though the Disney Cruise Line is regarded as perfect for families with children, the Disney Magic is provided with lounges that are quite suitable for couples as well. Three of these lounges are grouped together to form an entertainment profile that is lovingly called the Beat Street, and it is mostly for the adult passenger.

Sessions, the piano bar is very enjoyable. It has comfortable seating with mega-portholes offering a grand view of the sea rolling below.

The Diversion Sports Bar can be exiting when any major sports event is shown on ESPN. People mill around this bar to watch games on the giant plasma TV placed at a convenient corner of the bar for best viewing.

Rockin-Bar D is the third lounge in the Beat Street. While it serves as a place for family entertainment in the early evening, the scenario changes later in the night giving the shape of an adult disco.

Apart from these three, the other lounges on the Disney Magic comprise the Cove Café adult Coffee Bar, Promenade Lounge and the Studio Sea Family Club that almost resembles a television sound stage.

The food is good in most of the restaurants and bistros on board the Disney Magic even though the choices are usually limited. The hot dogs, hamburgers and pizza offered at the Topsiders, which is a buffet joint, are quite tasty and healthful while the dinner menu at the Animator’s Palate is exceptionally good. But here again, the options are fairly limited. However, dinner at Parrot Cay is most fun filled, more like Jimmy Buffet’s at City Walk but, to be honest about it, dinner at Lumiere’s is the best. By the way, passengers enjoying their meals in any of these restaurants seldom wear anything but ‘casual dress’ all the while.

The Disney Magic has 3 levels of suits that range from Inside Standard Cabin that sleeps 2/3/4; 1,029 sq. ft. Royal Suite with balcony that sleeps 7 while the Deluxe Family Stateroom that can accommodate four to five persons. The ship also has six different types of cabins, quite suitable for her passengers.

Island Princess

The Island Princess, as also her sister ship, Coral Princess have been especially designed to get through the Panama Canal (they usually traverse the Canal and the Gulf of Alaska) and hence, are comparatively smaller than the fleet’s bigger ships. However, these ships are still bigger than the mid-sized Princess-class ships that were so common during the nineties. But as a result, they enjoy the privileges of both, losing nothing in return. As a matter of fact, passengers feel more comfortable in navigating within the ship due to the re-sizing, which allows them better confidence in reaching their desired destinations than fumbling along oversize atriums.

92,000-ton Island Princess provides better facilities to its guests by shifting the public rooms to the lower decks and putting cabin decks higher up, which has allowed addition of more balconies to outside staterooms. This, incidentally, has also resulted in increasing cabin space on one hand and improving passenger flow on the other.

The food served in the Dining room and in the Lido Cafeteria featured in the Island Princess is typically Continental Ship variety comprising mostly Broiled lobster tail, Beef Wellington and the like. Passengers not used to such bland dishes prefer the Bayou Café to try spicy shrimp gumbo, grilled jumbo prawns, fried catfish or chicken and chorizo jambalaya amidst woody ambience. Those who feel still not very satisfied usually head for Sabatini’s for ultimate palate pleasure. But for those who insist on out-of-the-world savories, the Lotus Spa menu offers Chilled yogurt and Tamarind Soup sprinkled with grated lemon rind.

Interestingly enough, there is no dearth of invitingly intimate lounges on board the Island Princess, some with live music. Crooners, a Martini Bar mirrors the halcyon days of Rat Pack while the Churchill’s, a snug cigar lounge may remind one of early English country manors. The chunky nautical-themed Wheelhouse Bar (for no apparent rhyme or reason) holds many expensive original oil paintings.

The ship's Internet cafe, card room and library are mostly busy during days at sea. In fact, one may find himself/herself lucky in finding a place to sit. Because there are entrances from both the atrium and the midship elevators/stair tower, the locations are often used as passageways, not exactly ideal either for compute use or for reading.

As in other similar vessels, the captain of the Island Princes is empowered to marry intending couples in the ship’s Wedding Chapel while children are lovingly entertained at the Pelican Playhouse Children’s Center aboard the ship.

Celebrity Summit

Let us be very frank before we enter this classy cruise ship. It surely is not for everyone. Take a look at some of the Celebrity Summit’s guests if you do not believe me. They are mostly wealthy Americans who have already reached their summits whether in business or in calling. You may also come across intercontinental playboys looking for the ultimate luxury offered in an expensive sea voyage where champagne & caviar can be a routine fare.

The passenger list also includes a few world-travelers who have nothing else to do but to seek new source of excitement wherever available. However, this need not dissuade you to join a cruise aboard this 91,000-ton luxury cruise ship which appears to have taken some slices off the legendary liner, SS Normandie, known for her opulence and style. Nevertheless, try to bear in mind that the Celebrity Summit maintains a crew of 999 skilled hands to serve 1,950 passengers when the ship is fully occupied! That’s some remarkable ratio indeed.

Anyway, now that you have boarded the ship, there is no harm keeping your eyes open to see the signs of elegance all around you. The first thing that sure is going to catch your attention is a seven-foot high stunning bronze statue resembling the goddess Athena, created by Leon-Georges Baudry, the noted Art Deco sculptor that forms a part of poise in the two-level Cosmopolitan Restaurant of the ship. Although the restaurant earlier had fixed-time seating arrangement for serving food, passengers currently have the option of having the same anytime within certain hours.

Among some of the upscale restaurants on board the Summit is the Normandie alternative restaurant where they serve you with searing hot food items. Even though it involves a surcharge, the experience of a waiter in white tie preparing flambé entrees table-side can be quite exhilarating. Also, you get special items here that include Rack of Lamb en Croute, Chateaubriand steak and few more. The Lido Café, deck 10 on the other hand, offers casual breakfast, lunch, afternoon tea, snacks, pizza and late night munchies right up to midnight. The Summit often lays out themed midnight buffets that attract jubilant crowd. 24-hour Room Service is a standard feature in the ship.

Celebrity Summit cabins include Deluxe Oceanview Staterooms (170 sq, ft.) with verandahs featuring two convertible beds, a sitting area and panoramic view floor-to-ceiling sliding glass doors opening out to the balcony. Lower priced Interior Staterooms with sofa-cum-bed having sitting areas, nevertheless, prove quite comfortable too. All cabins, however, have interactive television, phone with voice mail, hair drier, safe and a mini-bar. Use of bathrobes is optional.

Caribbean Princess

Gone are the days when the legendary Nat King Cole hummed, “Take my way; hit the highway”. Today, people are more prone to leave their automobiles back home and explore the pleasures of the sea voyage aboard a cruise ship. Princess cruise liners appear to satisfy that craze to the fullest extent and something more. Among some of the Princess class of vessels that include Emerald, Crown, Ruby and a few others, the Caribbean Princess surely ranks apart in all respects. With astounding Atriums and spellbounding Skywalker’s Disco, the luxury liner is nothing but a super-size version of the earlier Grand-class of ships that sailed the seven seas decades ago.

Having an astounding onboard carrying capacity of more than 3000 passengers in its fabulous staterooms (881) and numerous full deck mini-suits, the Caribbean Princess can be compared to an island city that provides all forms of comforts right within its enormous bulk. On a dark night, she is a glittering jewel cruising through the phosphorescent sea.

Here a few of the special features of the ship that may prompt many to book a voyage today. Her destinations include Eastern Caribbean & Bermuda, Southern Caribbean, Canada & New England.

And here are the hot spots.

• Traditional Dining is provided at several dining rooms aboard the ship in true cruise tradition with caring entourage paying special attention to each passenger. The Island Dining Room is where you get the best of service in an oceanic ambience.
• Anytime Dining spares the hassle of reaching the dinner table at the sound of the gong. While aboard the Caribbean Princess, it’s the passenger’s choice of the dining hour and not otherwise. At the Cora Dining Room or the Da Vinci Dining Room you can walk in anytime in the day or night and ask for food, and it will be served with a smile.
• Specialty Restaurants on board the ship serve exquisite local (whichever water the ship passes by) dishes and gourmet favorites, if ordered earlier. This includes the famed Trattoria Sabatini Restaurant and the Sterling Steakhouse.
• The Hearts and Minds Wedding Chapel housed within the ship is the first of its kind that provides the industry’s singular Wedding-at-Sea program where the passengers can be married by the ship’s captain. A truly innovative approach towards an otherwise conventional social procedure.

Grandeur Of The Seas

Even though there are many cruise ships that sail the Pacific, or cruise the calm waters of the Caribbean, this ship is so grand that its owners simply called it - The Grandeur of the Seas. In fact, everything on board the ship is grand and glittering. Right from the Grandeur Centrum to the Grandeur Solarium, all the fascinating features of this grand ship that blissfully accommodates 2446 guests spell class. With a full-service Spa, half a dozen whirlpools, an all-weather jogging track and a seemingly endless chain of well appointed bars and restaurants, the Grandeur of the Seas is a seven-star hotel afloat the deep. The Grandeur’s current destination covers the Southern and Western Caribbean.

Here are some of the countless amenities that you will find on board.

• Boutiques of Centrum comprises of storefronts offering a wide range of fineries that include perfumes, jewelry, liquor and novelty cruise wear.
• Grandeur Solarium consists of indoor/outdoor pool that is provided with a massive sliding glass canopy.
• Great Gatsby Dining Room personifies the elegance and carefree lifestyle. A very impressive ambience for the current generation.
• Palladium Theater is a two-tier amphitheater featuring nightly entertainment that often includes musicals.
• Casino Royale is the gambler’s real haven featuring video poker, Caribbean Stud poker, electronic slot machines and more.
• Singing-in-the-rain Lounge is a glass-walled 100-seat lounge offering magnificent sea views.
• Schooner Bar is a nautically themed bar that makes a drink all the more enjoyable as if one is sitting in a wheelhouse.
• South Pacific Lounge is for live music and dancing.
• Champagne Bar is the right place to enjoy your bubbly drink poured into Tulip glass provided by the barman.
• Windjammer Café is the seaside buffet-style booth for breakfasts and lunches. However, it changes color as the sun goes down the horizon, giving it the shape of a full fledged restaurant.
• Observatory is for the stargazers. The star-studded sky, especially on new moon nights look amazingly beautiful when viewed on board a ship.
• Adventure Ocean is a large playroom for the little ones who often become engrossed in pictorial books and miniature ship models that are provided here, usually guided by a member of the entourage.