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The Cruise from Hell

Nautica Cruise Review to River Cruises - Egypt/Africa

Cruises: 7+ cruises
Review: 1
Helpful Votes: 26

Overall rating:

3 out of 5
Verified Review
Nautica

Cape Town to Cape Town

Sail date: December 06, 2017

Ship: Nautica

Cabin type: Balcony

Cabin number: 7108

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 3 years ago

Review summary

We missed four planned excursions due to the weather and poor planning. That equaled one-forth of our cruise trip. Missed the elephant park which we really were looking forward to, as well as Maputo, Mt. Nelson Tea and Botklierskop Private Game Reserve. Seas and weather were terrible, activities on board ship mainly mindless, and to compensate, they gave us drinks for 2 hours when seas were rough and people too sick to eat or drink. Waves 30+ feet. Oceania gave us bogus onboard credit at 7 am the morning we disembarked. Couldn't use it. They WEREN'T responsive in a way that I expected from their advertising and what I had heard. Food was good, but not phenomenal. Very old crowd. Except for one young woman, we were probably the youngest on the ship. Had to take malaria medication for a port we couldn't enter. The worst cruise we ever took!

Embarkation

4 out of 5
It was fine, but nothing special.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

4 out of 5
Good food and drink.

Onboard Activities

2 out of 5
Mindless. Mainly a waste of time, except for evening entertainment if you were well enough to go. .

Entertainment

3 out of 5
Goid, but closed almost entire trip due to choppy sea.

Children's Programs

1 out of 5

Service and Staff

4 out of 5
Good, but not exceptional.

Ship Quality

3 out of 5
Very clean! Rooms really tiny.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5
Very tiny for concierge class. Couldn't use balcony for most of cruise due to choppy weather. Tiny shower.

Ship tip

Be aware that the weather can be horrible. We missed 4 planned excursions due to not making it to ports or being allowed into Mozambique.

Thumbs up

Ports of call

Cape Town, South Africa

5 out of 5
Great port. Good excursion to Table Mt.
Thumbs Up

Mossel Bay, South Africa

1 out of 5
Never made it there due to tender restrictions and weather.
Thumbs Up

Richards Bay, South Africa

3 out of 5
Hlhluwe Game Reserve. Nice day safari.
Thumbs Up

Maputo, Mozambique

1 out of 5
We docked, but were not allowed to disembark, due to issues with immigration machines. A waste of a day. No good activities on ship to offset problem.
Thumbs Up

Durban, South Africa

3 out of 5
Durban city tour in rain was not terrific. Also in traffic. Valley of the thousand Hills interesting, but too staged.
Thumbs Up

East London, South Africa

2 out of 5
We went to Io World Class Inkwenwezi Game Reserve. Since the ship arrived quite late, our expensive trip was rushed and shortened appreciably. Also, the safari staff was rude to and separated some guests from enjoying the experience together as they had planned.
Thumbs Up

Port Elizabeth, South Africa

5 out of 5
Missed port due to high sea.
Thumbs Up

Walvis Bay, Namibia

3 out of 5
Interesting place. Dolphin and Seal cruise was good, but Swakopmind Sightseeing was so so. Guide spent our time visiting what looked like a thrift shop instead of GIVING us the required TIME at more interesting sites or attractions. The Krystal Gallery was supposed to be included when we booked the tour, but not when we took it. Went on our own and had to pay to enter.
Thumbs Up

Disembarkation

3 out of 5
Like any other ship, except concierge help with luggage, not what it was cracked up to be. No one wanted to help with our luggage, even though we had informed them way before and the day before that we had an early flight to Nelspruit.
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