Nautica Review

5.0 / 5.0
399 reviews

Watch out for bait and switch.

Review for the British Isles & Western Europe Cruise on Nautica
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johnsyoungerbrother
6-10 Cruises • Age 70s

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Sail Date: Jun 2015
Cabin: Concierge Level Veranda Stateroom

We looked at a 40-page description of excursions and selected one for Glasgow that included a residence and a tea room designed by an architect named Macintosh. We weren't all that excited about it, but at least it took us on a bus to Glasgow so it was better than the other options. Then when we got the printed itinerary, we checked the description again, and it still included Glasgow. When we got on the ship, there was a 5 page leaflet that highlighted all the excursions, in case you wanted to add one or two more. The leaflet had an insert that highlighted the changes (they were all “this one is for 4 hours instead of 3 ½” and similar notations. A couple were cancelled for lack of interest, but none of our excursions were on the “changed” insert.)

When we went to the residence, we were told we had 2 hours to look around because that was our only stop. We asked about the trip into Glasgow, but were told that was not on the guide’s itinerary. When we got back to the ship (never making it into Glasgow) we complained about it. (Imagine having the ship go to a port and never seeing the main town.) We never got an answer. One of the other people in our party was told that we all were advised of the change because the new description was in our 5 page leaflet that was in our stateroom when we arrived. So, let’s see how this works. We pour over the 40 page descriptions, pick what we want, check the descriptions in our printed itinerary to make sure it is correct, and then get switched to something else because we should have read the new leaflet when we got on the boat to discover it had been changed. We are used to the excursions being disappointing (last year’s full-day excursions to Florence and Rome felt like they were designed and executed by Larry Darrel and Darrel), but we didn’t expect this.

The food was, as always, excellent, as long as you stay out of the Italian Restaurant. (I would suggest swapping it out on the Nautica for a Red Ginger.) We solved the disappointing problem of dealing with poor flight connections that Oceania draws up (and charges you more for) by driving to Chicago to get a direct flight. And unlike the Marina, where there is value to a concierge level veranda suite, the Nautica has no concierge lounge. So except for a bottle of Champaign that we didn’t drink, I have no idea what we received for the extra charge.

Cabin Review

Concierge Level Veranda Stateroom

Cabin A1

a little cramped (compared to Marina) but OK

kept getting stuck in the back by the table

stool instead of a chair with a back

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