Nautica Review
Northern Exploration - A great cruise above the Arctic Circle
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The reasons we booked this cruise was because it was Oceania, the itinerary (going above the Artic Circle), no photographers, few children and no up-selling. We have cruised with Oceania quite a few times and enjoy the size of the ships, the atmosphere and the service.
We did arrive in Copenhagen a day early which gave us time to help some with the jet lag and to explore the city some. We selected the airport transfer to the hotel and hotel to ship. Both of which worked well. This embarkation went quickly but with the area for the health questionnaire, before boarding the ship on the dock with limited cover and a bit of rain, wasn't a great way to start. However, as soon as we were on board the rest of the embarkation process went very smoothly. When we booked the cruise, we requested a penthouse cabin, but ended up deep on the wait list, finally made it to number three but ended up in a concierge veranda cabin. We had been in that cabin level before and understood the few limitations of the cabin, i.e. the small bathroom, etc. We were able to get in to the cabin about 20 minutes before the advertised time. Our luggage was at our cabin when we arrived. Our cabin steward came and introduced himself and asked if we needed anything and the two things we requested were taken care of quickly. We had excellent cabin service throughout the cruise. The cabin was always neat and clean but, after a few days in the cabin we did notice that the was some general wear and tear that we hadn't noticed on other Oceania ships.
The service we received in all the dining venues was fantastic. It seemed more personalized than on other cruises but this might be since it was a 20 day cruise. The food was very good and comparable to all the Oceania cruises we have taken. The specialty restaurants excelled as they have in the past.
Cabin Review
Concierge Level Veranda Stateroom
Since we have been on this size ship with Oceania in the past, we knew what to expect. We don't spend much time in the cabin during the day, so the size was not a problem. The one thing that we noticed, as mentioned above, is that there was some 'wear and tear' of the cabin that we hadn't noticed on other Oceania ships. As with other reviews, the bathroom is small, but manageable. Passing at the foot of the bed is also tight. Storage space is limited, but not a major problem. Our suitcases did fit under the bed with a bit of coaxing. Our cabin steward did an excellent job and kept the cabin quite clean along with stocking the refrigerator and water daily. We like to enjoy a glass of wine, that we bring on board from port, before dinner. We asked for glasses on the first day and these were replaced daily without asking. This was a nice touch.