Boarding the Ship

I woke up disoriented and jetlagged. Where am I?

As reality slowly soaked in I remembered—I was on Nautica. I heard my son lightly breathing and I relaxed into the comfort of being back on my favorite ship. I know most cruisers believe there are better ships in the world—Silverseas Silver Shadow and Regent’s Seven Seas Voyager leap to mind—but my heart is on this boat. The cabins are still too small— taking a shower I can imagine I’m in an RV—but the service is still spectacular and the meals are fantastic. Last night we ate in Toscana, one of the best Italian restaurants anywhere, and after dinner Executive Chef Wolfgang Maier came by to say hello. I hadn’t seen him in two years.

“How are you doing Jack?” He asked in his Austrian accent.

“Great now that we’re here,” I replied. Wolfgang noticed Casey admiring his hat.

“Do you like my hat?” He asked, pointing to the 12” tall traditional chef’s cap he wore.

“It’s awesome!”

“I’ll get you one.” Casey beamed.

“I hear you are leaving us on this trip,” I said.

“Yes, I go to Marina on January 2^nd.”

“Will you be Executive Chef aboard her?”

“No,” he smiled. “I am going to be the chef for Red Ginger.” He went on to describe the mouthwatering Asian-fusion dishes based on Vietnamese, Thai and Japanese cuisine that Red Ginger will serve when Marina takes her maiden voyage next month. “I have cooked every dish. Not one time, not two times, but many times!”

“Wolfgang, if you need to practice the Red Ginger menu our table would be happy to let you use us as volunteers.” He laughed.

“No problem I will let you know if I need you.”

“I’m sorry you are leaving us—it seems that too many of the best staff might be going to Marina…”

“No, we have good staff there, but we have been training for months now on every ship,” Wolfgang said. “Some cruise lines open a new ship and forget about their old ships. We won’t do that. When Marina sails Nautica, Regatta and Insignia will stay better than ever. The management is very clear on this. We need service to improve on the other ships when Marina opens, not reduce. OK, it is good to see you. Glad you are back.” He turned to my dad, “I’ll make sure the head waiters know that you can get your buttermilk whenever you want it.” My dad smiled. Wolfgang knows he likes buttermilk.

“Uh, excuse me,” Casey called as Wolfgang was leaving, “but were you serious about the hat?” Wolfgang turned and looked at him intently.

“Young man, of course I was serious, if I say you will get a chefs hat, you will get a chefs hat! But I won’t tell you when. It will be a surprise!” Giving us all another big smile, he left Toscana.

“You are so lucky Casey,” Sukey said, “If I had asked for a chefs hat I don’t think I could have got one.” Casey beamed. He is lucky—and given his past he deserves every break he gets.

It has been a little over two years since I’ve been on Oceania. Most ships deteriorate with age, but Nautica has gotten better. The cabin has new reading lights, a DVD player, a refrigerator and my favorite new perk of unlimited water and soft drinks. I assumed that I would still have to pay for Perrier, but Oceania being Oceania, made sparking water free too. The carpets look bright, my cabin was in good repair, my stewardess was attentive and eager to assist me, our check-in was quick and flawless and the ship seemed newer, brighter and in better condition than I remembered her.

As we left this morning to take a three-night safari in Sabi Sabi I noticed that next to the exit were hundreds of bottles of free water. Half were on ice and the rest were standing on tables lined up like toy soldiers. I meant to take water from my cabin for the taxi ride to the airport, but again Oceania anticipated guests would want water when leaving the ship. They exceeded my expectations by offering both cold (but wet bottles from the ice) and room temperature (dry and ready for my backpack) water conveniently as I left Nautica.

It’s good to be back on board. It’s even more exciting to leave today and take my dad, mom and son to see Lions, Leopards, Elephants, Zebra and hundreds of other species in the savannahs of Africa. This is my fourth safari and for the first time this trip combines my two favorite traveling passions: safaris and cruises. We are going to have a great time.

Thanks for reading,

Jack