NAUTICA Refurbishment Update ?

[BEEZLEE]

Calling cruisers on the newly refurbished ship which left Rome today….please send us your 1st impressions…tks !

[Cruzin Terri]

And photos.

Terri

[rogfam]

Just heard from my friend aboard and says it is gorgeous. Only place there hasn't been changes is the Nautica lounge.

[DCGuy64]

Would love to hear about her, too. We're booked on a cruise in April 2023 so still a year to go, but would definitely be interested in seeing the results of the recent refurbishment.

[roger b]

3 hours ago, DCGuy64 said:

Would love to hear about her, too. We're booked on a cruise in April 2023 so still a year to go, but would definitely be interested in seeing the results of the recent refurbishment.

We boarded today and we are in a ph suite , to be honest I can't  see where they spent all that money.  The new more moden colour scheme  is is a big improvement,  but is let down by the cheap bedroom  cupboards,  Ikea could have done a better job, the bathroom  is a big improvement with a really good shower.

   The public areas have been tarted up a bit with new carpets and furnishings, but with the dark wood every where, Matinis looks the same to me.

  For me it is a 5 out of 10.

  I will try to to give some more  insight  into the rest of the cruise as this only the first day .

  We had  the evening dinner in Toscana and i can see already that things are being cut back , only 2 olive oils presented  with the bread selection looked very sad on a large trolley also no choice of herbal teas offered .

[Cruzin Terri]

1 hour ago, roger b said:

We boarded today and we are in a ph suite , to be honest I can't  see where they spent all that money.  The new more moden colour scheme  is is a big improvement,  but is let down by the cheap bedroom  cupboards,  Ikea could have done a better job, the bathroom  is a big improvement with a really good shower.

   The public areas have been tarted up a bit with new carpets and furnishings, but with the dark wood every where, Matinis looks the same to me.

  For me it is a 5 out of 10.

  I will try to to give some more  insight  into the rest of the cruise as this only the first day .

  We had  the evening dinner in Toscana and i can see already that things are being cut back , only 2 olive oils presented  with the bread selection looked very sad on a large trolley also no choice of herbal teas offered .

We’re in a PH suite also and I agree with you.  Very little storage room.  i have not yet been to Toscana but had dinner in the GDR and that was more than disappointing.  Brought a bottle of wine to the table. The wine steward informed us of the corkage fee to which we agreed.  She poured wine in our glasses and we never saw her again.  Took our own wine.  When she finally came back at the end of our dinner I asked her why we were paying a corkage fee if there was no service.

Also I was unhappy with my meal.  No one ever came near our table. After 45 minutes the waiter said “Is everything all right?  I said “no”.  He just walked away to two other tables.  At that point I got a supervisor and gave him an earful about both the wine steward and the waiter.  

We’ll see what happens.  

I never got a replacement meal, but did not get charged the corkage.

Terri

[Casey14]

Thanks for the posts on Nautica. My wife and I are first time cruisers and will be on Nautica May 5th.  Looking forward to our cruise and hope to see more reports on how things are on board.

[Liekman]

5 minutes ago, Casey14 said:

Thanks for the posts on Nautica. My wife and I are first time cruisers and will be on Nautica May 5th.  Looking forward to our cruise and hope to see more reports on how things are on board.

🙋🏾‍♀️🙋‍♂️ We'll be seeing you onboard 5/5. This will be our 4th Oceania and 2nd on Nautica. Can't wait to have a Great Time!!! 

[mauibabes]

Especially for those of you on Nautica 5/5, I would like to suggest something.  We spent 46 days on Riviera when she returned to sailing last Fall and the Food and Be erase Director was Laurence Barasse and she was superb!  She was everywhere and we spoke to her daily as she was ensuring everything was as perfect as possible. Our first dinner in Toscana with the new Italian menu did not go to our liking. That evening she stopped by our table, there were 8 of us, and asked how we liked our dinner and new menu.  We told her we would not be back to Toscana until Grandma’s Lasagne Bolognese was back on the menu. The Maitre d was also told the same thing as my wife is a Lasagne lover and Grandma’s is her standard by which all others are compared. MANY guests shared similar messages with them and the point was made, loud and clear. It became a running joke because days later when we saw the Maitre d in the Terrace Cafe, we were told to return to Toscana anytime and the Chef would make Lasagne for her. The following night the Maitre d specifically came to our table with the waiters and instructed her to order the “Classic Tiramisu”. We told him we were not ordering desert but he insisted she had to order it.  Classic Tiramisu became our code word for Lasagne.  We even saw other friends at a table and suggested they order the Classic Tiramisu which they did and the Lasagne appeared and it was fabulous. Bottom line, they are there to please their guests.

OK, the rest of the story, Laurence Barasse is now the General Manager of Nautica so if you have issues, she is the one to speak to. Enjoy,

Mauibabes, Bonnie and Gerry

[Liekman]

Thank you so Very Much for sharing this!!! I can not wait to be Back on Nautica and enjoy ALL that Oceania offers!!! My husband laughed at this, because he prefers "dessert" first if he can have it and he adores Grandma's Lasagna Bolognese!!!

[mauibabes]

@Liekman

👍🤪😇🍷

So glad to be able to help. Very serious about Laurence, she is the BEST.  We got to know her quite well over the 7 weeks and she even took 4 of us to lunch in the GDR and she joined our group of 8 in La Prive for my wife’s 🎂dinner. She is a special lady. In fact, when you are aboard, specifically look her up and tell her Bonnie and Gerry Esker from Riviera, 10/16/21 told you to introduce yourselves and wanted you to say Hello for them. You will really enjoy her and no matter how busy she is, she will always try to make time for you.

Mauibabes

[roger b]

9 minutes ago, mauibabes said:

@Liekman

👍🤪😇🍷

So glad to be able to help. Very serious about Laurence, she is the BEST.  We got to know her quite well over the 7 weeks and she even took 4 of us to lunch in the GDR and she joined our group of 8 in La Prive for my wife’s 🎂dinner. She is a special lady. In fact, when you are aboard, specifically look her up and tell her Bonnie and Gerry Esker from Riviera, 10/16/21 told you to introduce yourselves and wanted you to say Hello for them. You will really enjoy her and no matter how busy she is, she will always try to make time for you.

Mauibabes

Well unfortunately  she did not start well with us last night as she went to every table in Toscana last night , but seem to skirt round us . I commented to my wife why did she leave us out ? Lets see if she does come to our table sometime ??

[mauibabes]

Sorry she missed you. Like I said, drop bye her office even and take a moment to introduce yourselves.  She is quite approachable. Tell her we sent you and we hope things get better. 
picture in Prive 12/01, Laurence, Doug, Karen, Bonnie, Gerry, Linda, Rich and Jen the O Club Ambassador. 
Bonnie and Gerry. 

[roger b]

14 hours ago, Cruzin Terri said:

We’re in a PH suite also and I agree with you.  Very little storage room.  i have not yet been to Toscana but had dinner in the GDR and that was more than disappointing.  Brought a bottle of wine to the table. The wine steward informed us of the corkage fee to which we agreed.  She poured wine in our glasses and we never saw her again.  Took our own wine.  When she finally came back at the end of our dinner I asked her why we were paying a corkage fee if there was no service.

Also I was unhappy with my meal.  No one ever came near our table. After 45 minutes the waiter said “Is everything all right?  I said “no”.  He just walked away to two other tables.  At that point I got a supervisor and gave him an earful about both the wine steward and the waiter.  

We’ll see what happens.  

I never got a replacement meal, but did not get charged the corkage.

Terri

 Futher to our  refurbishment   thoughts , we had lunch in the GDR not much change here , exspensive curtains  that do not match anything else in the room also the new carpet iand new chairs are mismatch,

      The thing that kills the remodenizing of Nautica is the dark wood everywhere ,unfortunately  they employed a poor sighted designer!!

       The lunch was good anyway , for a cruise line that is trying to offer a plant based choice they have cut back on the herbal teas offerd and now there is only one non caffine tea offered

 

[LHT28]

25 minutes ago, roger b said:

       The thing that kills the remodenizing of Nautica is the dark wood everywhere ,unfortunately  they employed a poor sighted designer!!

      

They always had the dark wood  so maybe that was not upgraded 

There were photos of the Insignia  from the RTW cruise people had posted but cannot recall if they painted out the wood  like Azamara did

 

[HiFi43]

We agree with Gerry about Laurence your GM. She is the best and really cares. She is a professional and wants everyone to be satisfied and will bend over backwards to see the are. Please connect with her and when you are dropping Gerry’s name tell her Bruce and Marilyn also told you to let her know your disappointments. She is very well respected by all the staff and knows how to be tough and kind at the same time. We’ve sailed with her many times and are so pleased to rise in the ranks to be one of Oceania’s first GMs.

[sunnies]

We are on Nautica in early August. I am wondering if the dark wood has been replaced in the staterooms. I certainly hope so. We have always loved Nautica but the staterooms did need a makeover. Meg 

[roger b]

6 hours ago, sunnies said:

We are on Nautica in early August. I am wondering if the dark wood has been replaced in the staterooms. I certainly hope so. We have always loved Nautica but the staterooms did need a makeover. Meg 

Yes the staterooms are the big plus as they have been completely  refurbished  and are now predominately  duck egg blue .

  I love the new TV system  which is now a 50in screen and fully interactive .

Edited April 13, 2022 by roger b
Spelling

[sunnies]

47 minutes ago, roger b said:

Yes the staterooms are the big plus as they have been completely  refurbished  and are now predominately  duck egg blue .

  I love the new TV system  which is now a 50in screen and fully interactive .

Thank you Roger. We are now looking forward to our cruise even more. 

[roger b]

After my first few days on Nautica , in my humble opinion I can say that Oceania are losing  their way , maybe is because they can no longer attract the top class staff that they always had.

  As an instance the chef in Toscana was always an Italian, no longer  !! The ingredients are still unchanged  but not one of our meals has been up tp to the standards  we have become used to.

 My conclusions are they now employing  a lower quality of kitchen chefs , when we first started  sailing with Oceania  there was  a mix of european and asian staff now they are predominantly eastern European.

 I cannot speak for any of the other ships but it would be interesting to know how others feel as regard to the general  food offerings which Ocesnia have always prided themselves in. 

[mauibabes]

Since you are at the beginning of your Nautica cruise, I would suggest you take advantage of the early performance survey you should have or will receive.  Those surveys are responded to by the staff and management aboard and taken VERY SERIOUSLY. You might also look up the Food and Beverage Director and if that unsatisfied, the General Manager. Laurence was our F&B on Riviera and she is your GM now, believe me, SHE CARES. The end of cruise survey done on line goes directly to Miami so the early survey is the best one to use to address your immediate concerns. 
We have had issues in the past and within a day we had a call or person at our door. My understanding is that EVERY issue must be addressed by staff within a specific timeframe.
 

I am sure staffing has been an issue for any cruise line but Oceania had been able to retain a very significant percentage of their staff. We had an Eastern European Head Chef in Toscana last month and the meals were outstanding. Every item is made to a Corporate Recipe that is maintained on line and made with the same ingredients on all the ships. Our complaint was about the NEW Toscana menu as we LOVE Grandma’s Lasagna Bolognese and in October it had been removed from the menu. We objected strenuously to the Maitre d and F&B Director and we had Lasagne every other time we ate there which was at least 6 because we were on a 46 day cruise. 
 

Let them know, they want you happy and coming back again and again.

Ciao, Gerry, aka Mauibabes 

 

[Cruzin Terri]

1 hour ago, roger b said:

After my first few days on Nautica , in my humble opinion I can say that Oceania are losing  their way , maybe is because they can no longer attract the top class staff that they always had.

  As an instance the chef in Toscana was always an Italian, no longer  !! The ingredients are still unchanged  but not one of our meals has been up tp to the standards  we have become used to.

 My conclusions are they now employing  a lower quality of kitchen chefs , when we first started  sailing with Oceania  there was  a mix of european and asian staff now they are predominantly eastern European.

 I cannot speak for any of the other ships but it would be interesting to know how others feel as regard to the general  food offerings which Ocesnia have always prided themselves in. 

While I cannot comment on Toscana because we have not yet dined there (we will tonight), I can say that I was very unhappy with both the wine and dining service in the Grand Dining Room the first night of the cruise.  I could not get anyone’s attention.  We brought our own wine, which needed to be chilled. Instead of doing so, she poured warm white wine in our glasses and then put it in a bucket. She never returned. We had to pour our own wine and never saw the steward until it was time to charge the corkage fee, at which time I lodged my complaint.

i was unhappy with my food.  I wanted to send it back but never saw the waiter until 45 minutes later, at which time he asked if everything was all right from a distance.  When I said no, he just walk away to another table.  Finally, and I am not sure how, the supervisor appeared and we let him know what happened.  Of course they now wanted to give me another dinner.  It was too late. I cannot eat very late due to digestive problems. So I refused.  Many apologies. The next thing we knew, they were going to charge the corkage fee until the supervisor stopped that from happening.

To say the least, this was not a very happy dinner.  We have not been back to GDR again.  The last two nights we have eaten in the Terrrace Cafe. Tonight we are in Toscana.  Maybe we will try the GDR tomorrow.  Not sure I want to go through that again.

Terri

Edited April 14, 2022 by Cruzin Terri

[DCGuy64]

On 4/11/2022 at 4:17 PM, roger b said:

We boarded today and we are in a ph suite , to be honest I can't  see where they spent all that money.  The new more moden colour scheme  is is a big improvement,  but is let down by the cheap bedroom  cupboards,  Ikea could have done a better job, the bathroom  is a big improvement with a really good shower.

   The public areas have been tarted up a bit with new carpets and furnishings, but with the dark wood every where, Matinis looks the same to me.

  For me it is a 5 out of 10.

  I will try to to give some more  insight  into the rest of the cruise as this only the first day .

  We had  the evening dinner in Toscana and i can see already that things are being cut back , only 2 olive oils presented  with the bread selection looked very sad on a large trolley also no choice of herbal teas offered .

Thank you for the information, much appreciated. 😊

[LHT28]

1 hour ago, roger b said:

 My conclusions are they now employing  a lower quality of kitchen chefs , when we first started  sailing with Oceania  there was  a mix of european and asian staff now they are predominantly eastern European.

 

Interesting  in the past few years there seem to be more staff from India than the Eastern Europeans that we grew to know & love

I have not sailed on Nautica so maybe ship specific ??

 

[roger b]

39 minutes ago, LHT28 said:

Interesting  in the past few years there seem to be more staff from India than the Eastern Europeans that we grew to know & love

I have not sailed on Nautica so maybe ship specific ??

 

Yes I'm sorry should have included asians , which make up all the serving staff