193 Reviews
Traveller Rating
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Excellent71
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Very Good64
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Good38
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Average14
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Poor6
Review Overview
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Cleanliness
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Entertainment
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Food
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Service
Ship staff...No complaints whatsoever allways there and very helpful.
Onboard entertainment...Some great some awful depends on your taste.
I would have no problems sailing on this ship again but have booked Arcadia for next years jaunt just to see what life is like without kids.
As a man who isn't scared of a drink or two found onboard prices just as cheap as home and our cabin steward even delivered bottles of whatever to the cabin whenever. Tax free fags and booze for the cabin no probs.
Only one smoking area inside and that is one quarter of Exchanges bar...didn't bother us but too many non smokers actually ran through it not realising you could use the other entrance (fools). To help them P & O should put a sign up at either end of the bar to warn them !!!!
Travel operator: Thomas Cook
Our cabin was on R deck, right at the back so we had a long hike to get anywhere at all. My partner has mobility problems so we almost had to set out the day before to get to the restaurant on time for dinner - the distance you have to walk is incredible. Also not all lifts go to all floors which is not shown clearly on your pocket map of the ship.
The food was excellent as on all P& O ships and the service also. Our cabin steward was attentive and everything we required was dealt with.
The ship seems incredibly unstable. I am very prone to motion sickness and the last day coming back through the Bay of biscay wasn't rough but the movement on the higher decks was amazing. The other ships don,t seem to be affected to this degree.
The PA system was inaudible, the lady who did the noon announcement needs more reading practice!
Overall we enjoyed our holiday (Canaries Cocktail) but I'm sorry P & O, we love your other ships especially Arcadia, but you have got too greedy with Ventura and you are letting your standards slip. Would we sail on Ventura again? Only if she was going somewhere we were pretty desparate to see!!
Travel operator: P & O
I would of loved to have had a swim but every pool was occupied by children so I was put off going in any of the pools as I was scared of getting hurt as I have had major surgery on my lower back.
The atmosphere on the ship was very strained and not friendly at all. The shop asistants are not well trained in customer service.
In previous years I have travelled on the other cruise liners that P&O have in the fleet and enjoyed them.Sorry I will not travel on this ship again.
Travel operator: p & p
I would also like to say how much i laughed at the lady who said she wasnt pleased to see a 1/2" gap between the floor of the lifts and the corridor! Because somebody might look up her skirt! i do not know of a lift anywhere that finishes flush to the floor and secondly no-body can possibly see anything through a gap that narrow and i doubt that anybody would risk their life in a lift shaft on the off chance of being able to look up her skirt!! pathetic! The only thing i thought that let the ship down was the narrow gaps around the self service buffet areas, people were banging into each other as they worked their way round it was very crowded. A simple horseshoe shape with a clear line would work better just like the Lido on the QE2. but all round very good, a beautiful ship and some great public areas, would definately sail on it again.
Travel operator: P+O
We very much enjoyed our holiday on Ventura and there are many qualities it has but there are also some issues, i'll start with these first.
- Balcony cabins on Decks 9 and 10 were overlooked, luckily we were on Deck 11 so this didn't bother us as we were overlooking the cabins not being overlooked.
- If you have booked Club Dining be aware that you are unlikely to get the table size you requested, we were unhappy with our allocation and ended up moving to Freedom Dining which we actually preferred.
- The ship doesn't really cope well with bad sea conditions, as an example Oceana didn't rock much in a Force 8 Gale but Ventura went crazy, we didn't really move out of our cabin much on the 1st sea day, very bad.
- Room service food was good but limited, especially breakfast; this was very unimaginative.
- Corridors very long and some lifts only go certain areas, you need to get used to this.
- Children Very Mad! They were ok in the first week buy by week 2 they got a bit out of hand, spilling things, leaving glasses in lifts etc.
Now for what I thought was very good:
- The Cabins were very nice and well looked after and was always immaculous. The beds were comfy and to our surprise even the upper pullman berth. Very good tea & coffee making facilities, continually stocked. Brilliantly proportioned, bathroom and wardrobe space were great, plenty of towels and toiletries. Also brilliant was the interactive TV where there was a good selection of channels (Sky News, BBC Prime, CNN, Cartoon Network, BBC News) plus a brilliant selection of Films and about 70 TV Shows on demand and free, it was great. You could also get dress guides, order room service, get weather info, news etc.)
- The Waterside and Beach house are good dining venues and I think the food is very nice there, great breakfasts and lovely food all day with some paricularly nice desserts.
- The White Room is FANTASTIC definatley worth the cover charge, excellent service and amazing food, would recommend. Tazzine also worth a mention, very nice drinks.
- Shops were very good and had great gift ideas and nice items that were well priced. A total of 6 shops all very nice.
- Entertainment brilliant, some very good comedians, great shows from very experienced entertainers plus good music all the time and right through the ship, always something to see.
- Promenade Deck was fantastic, we thought it was much nicer than Oceana's there was a better drinks service, better seats and you could walk to the front, very good.
Overall the ship is brilliant, perhaps too many kids but if you're going don't worry just make sure you're aware of the items i listed first, I personally found no real issue with the pools and sunbeds, there are plenty available around the ship. Plus there's a nice adults only pool. I would also recommend you use CPS parking as they drive your car away and then take your luggage back to your car and guide you to where it's parked at the end, so brilliant service & FREE! You will definatley have an enjoyable time as long as the weather stays nice and the Sea stays calm.
Bon Voyage!
Travel operator: P&O
Travel operator: thomas cook
Travel operator: P & O
For the children it was fantastic, the clubs are well staffed and resourced and every day is different. My youngest went in the Night Nursery most evenings and was really happy to do so, it meant she got a really good sleep every night therefore making the most of each day.
Cabins are great, really good size, well looked after, liked the interactive TV and choice of films.
Overall we had a fantastic holiday, we went determined to enjoy ourselves and it was not difficult.
There are a few 'teething' problems on the ship, but nothing major. Stand back, relax and enjoy...it over all too soon!
Travel operator: PO
Travel operator: P & O
Another problem with the ship is its passenegers, as it seemed like the butlens of the sea, all aspects of class were removed and meal times saw a lack of dress code. On other ships a more refined clientel created a pleasent atmoshere, but onboard not a day went by when i didnt here foul language. I also misplaced my sunglasses onboard and left them in one of the bars, and was appauled to find no-one had handed them in to the ships reception desk.
As a holiday i love cruising, but just not on this ship!
Travel operator: Private
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