Ventura

all? Probably the only reason is that Southampton is twinned with Le Havre and it is therefore an obligation. Total waste of time. La Rochelle, again not much to report. Bilbao was ok but a bit overcast and drizzly. We did get off and walk around the shops. Everyone agreed that La Coruna was a very pretty port and an even more pretty town and was well liked by our party.

The wedding preparations were well co-ordinated and the salon made sure that myself, my daughter and her Matron of Honour all looked our best.

The Captain conducted a lovely service and afterwards we all were escorted down to our reception room. We took our seats and waited for the happy couple to enter, which they did to enthusiastic applause only to then be taken by the photographer for photographs around the ship. So we all had our food (which was lovely) and waited and waited. By the time they came back to their reception, the guests had all eaten!! That was the only downer on the day.

The entertainment was excellent. The comedian Josh Daniels was particularly hilarious and we all enjoyed him immensely. He made the evening reception very enjoyable.

We all found the staff very polite and helpful. Our cabin steward Nevis was a really lovely man and he gave me a kiss on both cheeks when we said goodbye. Very sweet. He kept our cabin looking lovely all week.

The sailaway party from La Coruna was especially good. It was like last night of the Proms with our Union Jacks and songs from all countries of the UK.

When it was time to disembark there wasn\'t a dry eye amongst us. We were all so sad that our cruise had come to an end. A week was definitely not long enough and I will definitely be booking up at some time in the future (God willing) for 12 days at least.

I had read quite a lot of worrying reviews before we cruised on Ventura but I am happy to report that it was a fabulous holiday. Can\'t wait to go again but on a cruise that offers better ports of call.

were also excellent.Thanks to Lalit, Mangesh and Sudhir for wonderful service.
We didn\'t go to any of the shows but did see the fantastic Andy Ford and Martin Daniels. Two great comedians well worth seeing. The Caribbean Islands are always worth a visit especially during the English winter and in my opinion there is no better way to see them than aboard the Ventura. We are off to the Med in June on the Oriana. Hope we enjoy it as much.

prices were good on ship,pub prices.strong bow £2-50 pint as an example.
Sunbeds ooooh! seadays get up early if you want a prime spot 7-15am. none seadays no problem.
Entertainment,we only visited the arena 3 times it was ok.some passengers comments were a little more critical,we dont go away for the entertainment if it wasnt so good we moved on it did not spoil our day,speaking to some people you would have thought it was life or death.
We liked the bars on ventura,the metropolis bar was nice again,drinks before evening meal.Ramblas was relaxing.The tamarind lounge was enjoyable but the Havana Bar with the big post in the viewing area was a no no.
We enjoyed the islands except the people in ocho rios,jamaica,is it me or are they very pushy in jamaica ? in comparison to the rest of the islands.
Grand Turk,turn left when you walk out along the front right down to a cream coloured building before this building there is a small road which leads you to a marina,nice walk.
Overall we had a great time on and off ventura.our problem was our sunbed was to near the breakers bar on the lido deck,20 paces.in the 80\'s it becomes very thirsty work sunbathing.would we travell with P&O again yes we will be in sept. on the oceana.
We have now been on the ventura twice and have enjoyed the experience on both occasions.

Cheers.
sam.

and on one occasion we dined under the stars on our way to Jamaica. We also dined in East once, each time the food and service was exceptional and exceeded any service we have experienced in England. We pre booked the Celebration Package which included champagne, chocolates and flowers on arrival in our cabin, a champagne breakfast in bed, two spa treatments and a portrait photograph for £145 which was exceptional value. The champagne breakfast was so good we decided to book another one during our second week. The entertainment team work very hard, and the sail away parties are not to be missed. A couple of nights there was some movement on the ship, but nothing to worry about. Our favourite bar was The Metropolis (deck 18) where we enjoyed pre and after dinner drinks. It was so relaxing. Overall we has a wonderful holiday, we could not fault P & O cruises and are already looking for next years cruise

however, we have been on previous cruises and it would appear that this happens quite a lot on this island and therefore perhaps the itinary should be rethought. Furthermore our next call after missing the Island , we managed somehow to be late on arriving at the next stop at Cozumal, how could this happen when we should have been at least a day early? We were futher dissapppointed at the timings throughout the cruise, as we always ended up docking later than first stated which led to delays in disembarking. It would seem to be the case that several other ships all seem to like to visit the same island on the same day which is another area of fault with the planning of the cruise itinarary. This led to problems with transport and facilities on the island.
A further reason we were disgruntled with the cruise was that the timing of the Ventura going up the Missisippi, the Captain decided to take the ship up throughout the night as he thought there may be some problems with immigration affecting disembarking. This was an understatement! As we had been looking forward to seeing our travel up the Missisippi we were up 5.30 am (even though it was still dark) to see if we could watch the approach and docking at New Orleans. We had been told the night before by the Captain that we would need to take a ticket number available from 7.15am to get off the ship to attend immigration. These tickets however were given out before the appointed time, luckily for us, we had decided to call by chance at 6.45 to find that they were being made available. We had ticket no 4 and found out later as the day went on each batch had 80 people in . We also found out that all the crew were being seen prior to the passengers for the immigration process.
We sat watching people going through the process in disbelief, there were elderly people with various ailments, some having severe mobility disabilities and also including blind people having to walk 150 yrds to what can only be described as a cattle shed.
We eventually had clearance through immigration to disembark at 13.15, wasting a half day of our last days holiday! The forms filled in that day were exactly the same questions which were on the Esta visa application, which we had to pay for prior to the cruise. 14 dollars per person. Surely the immigration could have access to all passengers and crew via the computer systems in place to ensure a better welcome? The money and business that is brought in by the cruise liner passengers to New Orleans must be welcome, taking into account the still damaged surrounding areas, but we for one will certainly be thinking very seriously about going into America via a cruise ship again. We had a further delay on the homeward flight of a further 7 hours delay. Happy New Year.
P&O as a big company, you should be able to affect change to this system, and we suggest you boycott these American ports until a better system is adopted. We know this can happen as on a previous cruise with Princess Lines the company removed an Island from the itinary for these reasons and hey presto the problem was solved and the stop reinstated

ship. From the time of putting our cases on the coach we did not see them again until they were delivered to our cabin. On boarding the ship we again missed the welcome on board drink that we had become used to on RCI/Celebrity. Also there was no one to take our hand luggage and direct us to our cabin as with other cruise lines. A steel band was playing in the Atrium which was a nice touch bearing in mind we were heading for the Caribbean. Again we found the ship to be in good condition as was to be expected as Ventura is still less than 3 years old. The pools looked clean and there appeared to be plenty of sun loungers, more on this later. Lots of different sun bathing areas with 4 separate swimming pools although the one at the rear of the ship is really only a plunge pool.

Cabins

We had an outside cabin with obstructed view on deck 8 Ecuador Deck. Although we had a safety unit outside the window we still had an excellent view out and lots of light. Why do ships have decks both numbered and named? Why not just number them? It’s a lot easier to remember!! We liked the design which was different from all the previous ships we had been on. There was a large amount of hanging space and plenty of drawer space. It was also the first time that we have had tea making facilities in the cabin with biscuits that were replenished each day. We also liked the complimentary bottled water on arrival together with the dish of sweets. The standard of the ‘Pamper Pack’ had gone down since April. It now consists of just a small container of conditioner and another of body lotion. The cabin steward was excellent and replenished the ice bucket each day which he placed in the refrigerator to keep the ice pristine. This time we found the television system very slow when selecting films and there were no news channels available when crossing the Atlantic. This is a time when you like to keep in touch with what is going on. As an instance no one knew about Hurricane Thomas which was to affect one of our ports of call.

Buffets

These were always crowded which meant playing ‘Find a Table’. Because of our experience in April we gave up almost immediately and used the restaurants instead. The only hand gel dispensers in the buffets are positioned at the entrances to the food counters and many people were ignoring them. Why not put them at the entrance to the buffet area with a member of staff to ensure passengers use them as they do on other cruise lines?? The selection of food at the buffets whilst good did not in our opinion come anywhere near the selection offered by RCI/Celebrity. Whilst appreciating that P&O are aimed at British customers they need to take on board, excuse the pun, that some of their clients have more international tastes. Not everyone likes ‘Traditional English’ breakfast. The P&O Breakfast included black and white pudding which is certainly not to everyone’s taste. Hash Browns were made into a fried triangle instead of the normal grated potato. No Corn Beef Hash except as a special once a week. Smoked Salmon, Crispy Bacon, no different types of Scrambled Egg, Chipolatas etc. were not at the buffets as on other ships. In general the quality was good but the selection poor. One problem was that the plates are so hot that they are almost untouchable resulting in salad that is almost frying on the plate as pointed out by one of the comedians. If you asked for a cold plate they often did not have any.

Restaurants

There are 3 main restaurants on the ship and depending on the dining option you had chosen or if you were on the 14 or 15 day cruise determined which restaurant you were in. We were in the Bay Tree Restaurant which is done out in dark wood and gives it a less hospitable feel. We noted that there was no hand gel dispenser at the entrance to the restaurant. We had a table of 8. The first table we had was very dark because one of the wall lights was not working and neither were some of the ceiling lights. We reported this and were told they would be attended to. However the following evening they were still the same and we asked for a change of table. We and the other people on the table then moved to a table where it was much brighter. This resulted in a change of waiters and head waiter. It turned out to be to our advantage as Joe the Waiter, Michael his Assistant and Sim the Head Waiter were all superb. Certainly some of the best we have experienced in 29 cruises. Quick, efficient and courteous. Nothing was too much trouble. Again the food was of good quality but lacked choice. No salad course on the dinner menu. Sorbet only served once in 14 days between courses. They still adopt the system that one knife does all. The disadvantage of this is that whilst the steaks are beautifully cooked the knifes quite often are not as sharp as they should be resulting in being unable to cut the steak. Having said this we never had a meal that had to be sent back and the food and plates were always hot. There was a good selection of wines all at very reasonable prices. Far cheaper than RCI/Celebrity and no 15% added on.

There are also 3 dining alternatives. Marco Pierre White’s, White Room at £20 p.p, East at £15 p.p and Ramblers at £5 p.p. We used the East twice and thought it was excellent value for money. The food was fantastic and beautifully presented. We also tried Ramblas and again the food was beautifully presented and terrific value for money.

Drinks & Gratuities

This is an area where P&O really score against their competitors. We found the prices cheaper than a local pub and there was no 15% gratuity added to the price. If you go to the Red Bar and order a double spirit you receive a free mixer which is a known brand. Example, double Gin with Tonic, £4.30. In the other bars a Pint of Old Speckled Hen bitter £2.70, pint of Lager £2.90. Again P&O really score with the gratuities. Recommended is £1.50 per person per day for the cabin steward and £1.60 per person per day to include all dining room waiting staff. Total for a 14 day cruise per couple £86.80. Why can’t other cruise lines adopt these prices?

Entertainment

The entertainment team was lead by the Cruise Director, Leon de Ste Croix, who in our opinion is one of the best we have sailed with. There are 3 main entertainment areas on the ship. The Arena Theatre, Havana Bar and Tamarind Club. The theatre is used mainly for shows put on by the Ventura Theatre Company who we found to be good but not as good as they were in April, and by the main celebrity acts. The 2 comedians were excellent. One of them even managed to get the sun bed saga into his act. The other 2 venues were used by the ‘Tribute’ acts and singers. They did tributes to Tom Jones, Annie Lenox, Lu Lu and Freddie Mercury. The problem was that we saw them all on our April cruise. My own opinion is that P&O rely too much on tribute acts and some of these were not that good. To me the test is, if you can shut your eyes and recognise who they are taking off then they are good, however too many rely on trying to look like the individual but sound nothing like them. Also there is the usual, Bingo, Karaoke, various Quizzes, His and Hers and other variations of TV game shows which are really getting a bit ‘Old Hat’.


Sun beds

This was the real problem area on the ship. On the first sunny day all the sun beds had towels on them by 8am. The following morning I went up to decks 15 and 16 at about 7.15am and could not find a sun bed without a towel on it. I complained at the reception desk and was told that this was a recurring problem which they were aware of and they would look into it. At about 9am the Cruise Director came on the tannoy system requesting that people did not reserve sun beds and if they were not going to be used for more than 15 minutes towels should be removed. He pointed out that we were ‘British’ and should be considerate to our fellow passengers. Later that morning we were on deck 15 when we heard a row start between 2 females on the deck above us. It would appear that people had left their sun beds unattended for a considerable period of time and other passengers fed up with trying to find sun beds had removed the towels. This row with colourful language went on for some considerable period of time. I also heard of 2 males having a fight over sun beds. I again went to reception and asked what they were going to do to stop the problem and was told that it was up to the passengers to sort it out!!! P&O seem to have forgotten that we are fare paying passengers and it is not for us to be put into confrontational situations with other passengers. Other cruise lines get to grips with the problem should it arise so why not P&O? There are several ways of dealing with the situation and P&O should get a grip of things. On walking around the ship I found two lots of stacked sun beds but the problem was there was no where to put them out as all the space was taken. Another problem was that the swimming pools were dominated by children and teenagers. The ‘Endless’ pool at the front of the ship on deck 16 is for persons over 16 years of age yet it was being used by parents and their young children. Again the crew took no notice. Whilst these matters may appear at first sight trivial it should be borne in mind that this was a 14 day cruise of which 8 of the days were spent at sea so sun beds and a swimming pool became a priority.

Disembarkation

Again this is an area that P&O excel at. 2 days before disembarking we received our luggage labels, boarding cards with allocated seat numbers and detailed information. On the last night the cases had to be outside the cabin by 12 midnight at the latest. This was then the last we saw of them until collecting from the carousel at Gatwick. Well done P&O.

Conclusion

This is a modern ship, well set out with well thought out cabins. The public areas are light and airy as are the passage ways to the cabins. The atrium is smart but did not have the ‘WOW’ factor that you associate with the newer American ships. It is aimed at the British traveller and from the people we met on board P&O has a very loyal following. Having said that we met people who have been loyal to P&O for many years who said they would now be looking at other cruise lines as they felt the standards had dropped. Despite the lack of choice in the buffets and restaurant the food was always of good quality. The cost of drinks and gratuities make a huge difference to the cost of the cruise holiday. However this time the lack of sun beds, attitude of staff in enforcing rules, being unable to use the pools, people allegedly being put ashore for bad behaviour and general low standard of entertainment has made me think again. I heard it described as a holiday camp at sea, one family on their first cruise called it the “Hi De Hi” Ship and said it was not what they had expected. Having said all of this the question is, would we cruise with P&O again? We will certainly never go on Ventura again but may try one of the smaller ships to see if high standards do exist or if they are a myth.

in the world on sea or shore. The cover charges should be reversed if anything. The ship was clean, friendly and relaxed, we had a great time in our family party of six and as a honeymoon my wife and I couldnt have asked for more. Deffo pay the extra if you can run to it for a super deluxe balcony cabin, trust me, the \'overlooking\' issue isn\'t one! Also, make time to spend in Metropolis, the coolest, friendliest and quietest part of the ship by some margin. Those in the know head there for what a cruise evening should start like. Cinnamon was top drawer, cannot fault it in any way at all. Photographers have to earn a living but I don\'t like people assuming I will stand still while total strangers take my pictures, not happening for me. All in all, lots of moaners about on this site, but look at what is a common theme, some people just like to moan. I\'m very middle of the road and not someone who suffers poor service easilly. I was happy happy for two weeks and although I had minor issues, they were so minor as to not warrant a mention here. What P&O achieve overall is really good and we\'ll be back very soon :)