We have just returned from a 15 night cruise around the caribbean..its was me [26] partner [31] and daughter [3]...the flight with thomsons was great loads of leg room and had TV's in back on seats so you could choose what you wanted to watch or play games..flew to barbados and took about 30 mins from barbados airport to the ship...got though really quick and straight onto Ventura..the ships massive and took couple days to find way around.The only decks you can walk from one end of the boat to other is decks 7 and 15...the room was small ok just about for us [stayed inside cabin] but a family of 4 would of been tight.the cabin steward forgot to do our room twice..the cabin steward was ok didnt smile much or talk..the pools where nice but all very deep even the kids pool only had small ledge for daughter to stand..kids clubs where great but it was kids looking after kids...the drink prices where good £2.60 for pint and cocktails where around £3.50-£4.50 cocktail of the days £2.65 couldnt taste acahol tho..All the staff from servers in resurants to the ones serving drinks on deck and in bars where so misserable never smilled and where sometimes very rude...The main thing i would like to complain about Ventura is the ENTERTAINMENT or lack of it for our age group..one formal night we where all dressed up in our long dress's and dinner suits [which everyone wore on those nights] in one bar the had mr and mrs Ventura and another bar [which was supost to be the club] Deal or know deal on at 11pm..there was no discos and when DJ NEIL did come on he only played really old music my whole family [mainly my mum and dad who are in early 50's] complained to DJ NEIL and he would be very rude back saying he had to cater for everyone be he never played any modrn music until we requested a few songs they where sometimes played...This boat is good if your only going on the ship to get around to the islands...So the boats lovely,They need a pool thats shallower,better entertainment a club with modern music or live music for 18-30's,SMILING STAFF,helpful friendly staff...we enjoyed the cruise overall but i will defantly pay more and go on the american ships next years the service on them is ten to one and the service and staff on Ventura need to learn a lesson from the american ships..

This was our first cruise. Fly with Thomson from Manchester to Barbados and the service and flight was great. Delayed returning however and as people were tired this was a disappointment.

We had a balcony cabin on deck 12 and it was superb, lots of space, balcony a must to see the sunrise and sunsets as you sale away from the islands. The room service and our cabin steward were faultless and we were treated really well and our cabin steward took extra care of us to make sure we had a good holiday.

The ship is great, lots to choose from on board and excursions at each port of call. Staff and crewe were professional and helpful. If you need help you ask and you got a good service.

We met lots of people who WANTED to moan, it seems to be a cruise sport with some people. People moaned about children but the ones we say were brilliant and they had their own entertainment. If you dont want to see children choose another ship !

The entertainment was really good in the Theatre, and there was a couple of excellent comedians. There was poor entertainment in the pub and in the "oldies" lounge and Im sure that most people dont want bingo every day and poor singers belting out songs from the 40s.

All in all a great ship, great food, and standards of service. The entertainment needs a good thinking about, particularly as the pub ends up a corridor rather than a great place to be for the brits to meet.
Christmas was a bit low key for my taste and new year was great.

Ventura is a good ship with good cabins and public rooms and much improved food for P&O however 50% of pasengers were shaven headed lager lout types from whom the other 50% of passengers had to spend two wks avoiding. The marketing policy of P&O is such that most regular cruisers will not come back to P&O ships. P&O have lost the plot and are in great danger of alienating the core customers who have supported them over many years.
The entertainment staff appear to have been trained on Ocean Village or perhaps in Holiday camps but older passengers do not appreciate or like to be associated with a sailaway party which seemed to consist of football anthems and the worst kind of nationalistic songs.
If you are a regular cruiser do not go near this vessel.

dont take any notice what rubbish coments you read from others,on here as i have come to the conclusion some people are to picky. we were a little apprehensive to what we read on here,but it was excellent, best holiday ever, we will be doing it again,we went around the caribbean.

the ship is unbloody believable still getting lost after 2wks something for everyone, part of the hol is going up & down in the lifts, had never cruised before but found everything to be well run and the food was great still havent tried all the resturants, entertaintment was very good, was only sea sick one night when we crossed part of the atlantic felt a bit unbalanced and had to order room service which was their in 10 mins.the staff are graet we were on d deck and collin who looked after us was a star. best days out for us was grand turk when we swam with sting rays,domanica when we went up to see the twin water falls just get off ship and get buses to take you all cheaper then ships trips and most have guides on them, swimming with turtles and snorkerling over shipwrek and reef in barbados was ace all the water trips we went with proper ships trips better to take care when doing things you you havnt done alot of.would love to go on another

We booked this holiday then read the reviews and were really worried.
All our worries were unfounded i must say and we were really impressed.
This was our 5th cruise but out first with p&o and we would definatly cruise again with them. The place was really clean and staff very pleasant. We ate in the early sitting in the Baytree restaurant and the food was first class with a great waiter, we couldnt ask for better. The only difference with this ship compared to others we had been on was that in the evening the dress code was for the whole ship, so where as in the past if we really couldnt be bothered to dress for dinner we would go to the lido self serve in whatever we had on , we were unable to do this on here. also the lido would do a themed night such as indian and there was no alternative food on offer, something else we had never come across.
Room boy was good. We were in a family room with a balcony which i will say was a squeeze with a 14 and a 16 year old. when the beds came out of the ceiling you were unable to move around the room. As we didnt spend much time in our room it didnt really matter much. Nice having a balcony though.
The entertainment consisted mainly of quizzes and bingo during the day. The shows at night where good. Clem curtis from the Foundations was awsome. the singers in the bars around the ship were not very good , not sure if they would of made boot camp in the x factor. The entertainment team worked hard though and the sailaways were really good, especially the great british one. It made you proud to be british.
One thing , they kept closing the pool during the day for cleaning which im sure could of been done at night, especially with temperatures at 32 degrees.
All in all a good ship , not loads of kids although it could be because it was out of season in the caribbean. The kids club was good, but they have said they have over 50 staff in there at xmas as they will be in excess of 700 kids on board.
It doesnt have the extras of the Princess line, but having no loud americans on board makes up for that, s we would definatly go again,
cheers P&O

Travelled with Thomson airways from Manchester to Barbados. Great flight, food good, we were very well looked after. Nice not having to pull luggage around as it went straight to the ship. Embarkation was excellant, disappointed in the welcome on board, no canapes or welcome drinks as on other ships.

Cabin was very small and dark, quite claustrophobic. This was mentioned by a lot of passengers. Bathroom area was adequate for me but I am only 5'2"!! open wardrobe in the changing area was good. Lots of room for clothes,shoes and luggage.

The Bay tree restaurant was excellant but again very dark decor! The restaurants waterside and beachcomber seem to close earlir than the scheduled time and we were always asked to go into the side that had no spare tables. The food was good but oh !! the staff left a lot to be desired. They were surly and unsmiling most of the time. On numerous occasions staff had to be asked to replenish spoons,glasses,and mugs even though they were standing doing nothing.

The public areas have plenty of sunbeds however although I am not a smoker, there is a lack of ashtrays in the smoking area and again staff had to be asked to bring them to the table. The music is very loud in the pool areas, you cannot have a conversation or read a book. I did ask for it to be turned down and although I was told other people had also complained It hadn't been done when we left the ship.

The itiniary was excellent we visited some fabulous places including St Marteen which is a personal favourite!

Would I sail on this ship again? Sadly no. The staff were so miserable I was on a mission to make them smile, I was exhausted by the end of the 2 weeks!

never again will we cruise with p&o thay spoilt what should have been a nice ruby wedding once in a life time event big mistake .

We sailed Oct 09 to the med and back to Southampton it was a very nice holiday and it was worth the money as we booked last minute and got a good deal on a deluxe balcony mini suite. Unfortunately every time we went out on the balcony all you could smell was cigarette smoke and in the morning the balcony was covered in fag butts. After Dinner we like to take a walk around the promenade deck 7 yet again smokers on port and starboard side of the deck and fag butts on the deck.
We have sailed on a lot of ships around the world but this one was ready bad in mod –rough seas a full blown storm would have been hell and one last point the passengers when boarding ship after a day out ashore where not asked or given Hand sanitizer which is standard practice with Cunard.

This was our first cruise with P&O but our second cruise overall. We booked on this due to availability and the fact we though a bigger newer ship would be better.

embarkation took around 30 minutes which in fairness to get 3400 people on board to wait 30 mins is quite good. We had a disabled passenger with us and the ship was set out fantasically for the disabled with the exception of tender ports. You can even take full sized mobility scooters on board but allocation is limited. There are no facilities to hire anything electric but i do believe they do have standard wheelchairs available.

We also took 2 children with us aged 6 and 1. we were given free baby milk, jars of baby food and bottle steralisers and bottle warmers and the kids club staff were fantastic our 6 year old never wanted to leave. although activities for younger children are limited and unstaffed again till the last day when it comes to filling out reviews.

The cabin we booked was an outside family room which considered of a twin room with 2 drop down beds. This was no where big enough to accomodate 2 adults and 2 children let alone 4 adults.

The steward that looked after the rooms was fantastic and did an amazing job.

Prices on board were £2.80 for a pint of bitter or lager £3.50 plus for a cocktail or £2.50 for the cokctail of the day.

As the gentleman below stated we did run into some moderate sea swell on our return in the alantic alongside portugal and the ship wasnt fantastic at handling the 11 foot waves. We sailed on thompson a year previous and on a 20 year old ship in a force 9 was roughly the same experience. I have to disagree with my fellow passenger on the smoking if you have 3400 passengers on a boat and half smoke there is only 3 smoking areas on the entire ship this is the right side of deck 7 and outside on deck 15 and the rear on deck 15 thats it the none smokers have the rest of the ship so to complain about smoke is basically entirely selfish. Also if you do smoke cigarettes are £2.50 a pack on board if your lucky to call at barcelona they are 15 euro for 200 and at gibraltar there £11 for 200 also be advised to use sterling in gibraltar its far easier. However in rough seas and on certain occasions deck 7 is closed off for safety

The main thing that this ship lacked is any form of friendliness except for the asian waiters who are fantastic the officers very rarely notice you let alone speak to you until the last day and whilst in the beachfront restaurant which is probably the best place to eat i had the unfortunate experience to witness how bad the officers treat the lower fellow crew members.

The onboard entertainment was quite well presented but for 4 long days at sea pretty spread out as P&O are the masters of the cover charge. 2 restaurantes on board have a cover charge if you wish to take part in any lessons ie photography, computer lessons you will have to pay. On the other hand shopping is poor there is basic shops but thats it basically use you money in the ports you visit for any luxury items. Also spa and salon prices are high and by appointment only. FOr the size of the ship and the amount of people it carries the main night club/variety wasnt big enough if you wasnt in early normally before 10pm there were no seats till around 11.30. also there is no dedicated cinema they have a 750 seat theatre but chose to show half the films in other areas on 42" plasmas whilst the arena was unused.

I had learnt on our previous cruise to avoid the buffet restaurant (waterside) as this is basically a free for all, any form of manners ie politeness and courtesy are left at the door it is a jumble sale for food if you dont wish to fight for your food probably the best time to go is if theres an event or show on.

If you can check out the Bar behind the beachfront restaurant as the staff there are probably the best on the ship Rex, Romeo and Pilar only took them a few days to learn your name and out of 3400 people that is brilliant there also some of the nicest people you can meet.

also the night creche is a brilliant idea as you can put your baby to sleep there and go enjoy yourself upto 2am and the staff will give you a pager and notify via it if theres any problems or your babys awake. Alternatively and which we preferred was the baby listening service within the room once your baby's asleep press this button on your phone and while you away you can pick any phone up on the ship dial your room and listen to your room and where ever you go your never more than 10 feet from a phone.

You can use the rooms interactive tv to do anything from checking your onboard account ordering various items from shops or food and they have an array of programs and films to choose from.

As we also have a business to take care of we found that the internet charges were pretty high and be warned if you connect your mobile to the marine time network on board you will be paying expensive phone charges of around £2 a minute

Also the ship boasts 5 swimming pools however 1 is for staff only and 2 are adult only and there is 2 where children are allowed and a small pool outside the kids club on deck 16.

If any passengers are practising religions there is a small chapel on board which gives a sunday prayer service held by the captain or staff captain. This doesnt cover any form of mass service or any other religion.

Overall we found the ship disappointing but still enjoyable we will cruise again but we wouldnt travel with P&O again as we found it wasnt the ship but rather the company where this experience failed. If anyone has done an overnight P&O minicruise to rotterdam bilbao or Belgium this is just a bigger version of that. Its definately nothing special. Also speaking to people who have vast more experience in cruising they advise Royal Caribbean or Cunard the ships are more stable the entertainment is better and not as many cover charges if any for the same price but dont take it as gospel its just what we were advised. The only thing i can say that if its your 1st cruise you'll love it untill you try someone else. But i reccommend look else where.