Ventura Cruise Ship, Ventura, P&O Cruises
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Ventura Cruise Ship Reviews
" Ventura The BIG Disappointment "
Submitted By: Bee Jani
We have recently returned from a 2 week cruise to the Baltic aboard the Ventura and are very disappointed and upset. From the outset the ship was blighted with Norovirus, which did restrict our enjoyment to some degree, but we were more annoyed that we were not kept fully informed. We paid in excess of £4000 for our holiday and were appalled to hear that some passengers had paid as little as £1000 for a cabin, having booked at the last minute. We had a major problem with the lack of cleanliness in our cabin, and found a large toe nail and 3 tablets down the side of our bed. We had to ask to have the shower curtain changed because the smell of bad odour was overwhelming!! The entertainment (apart from the speaker Diane Simpson) was 3rd rate at best, and the comedian Bill Woolland should not have been allowed on board!! We have cruised with P&O before on the Oceana and on that occasion our experience was amazing, even magical. How can two such cruise ships differ so much? In our opinion the Ventura is just too big and passengers squeezed on board like sardines. As one gentleman we met on board commented "It feels like a Butlin's Holiday Camp on water". Queuing was major problem, particularly at meal times, and we were very relieved that we had opted for club dining in the evening. Access to entertainment was also a problem and if you didn't get there early enough, you didn't get a seat!! Following our experience aboard the Ventura we have made the decision NEVER to cruise with P&O again. I wonder how many other passengers who were aboard our cruise feel the same? Since returning from our cruise we have voiced our opinions loud and clear to as many people as we can and will continue to do so. We saved very hard for over 12 months to be able to afford our special cruise and now we are left unhappy and disillusioned!!
- Date of Holiday:Jun 2009
- Itinerary:Not Specified
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
" Lovely Ventura "
Submitted By: Aston Martin
Having just returned from a mediterranean cruise on wonderful Ventura, this being our third cruise on this particular ship I can only say what a fantastic ship this is. Food and service excellent. We dined in the Bay Tree restaurant and used East's, where we had wonderful Tai food, served by the most beautiful waitresses you could possibly have.
The entertainment was superb with the shows up to West End standard, there was also so much going on around the ship all the time which meant we were spoiled for choice.
Contrary to previous reviews regarding sun beds on this ship, we found there was no need to worry as there were more than enough for everyone, plus an excellent area on the sky deck forward with an undercover area for passengers who prefer shade.
We've cruised on other P & O ships and Ventura is our favourite. Yes there were children on board who were very well behaved and they were well catered for with there own cruise
entertainment and facilities.
In conclusion we would say to anybody who has a cruise booked on Ventura look forward and enjoy you holiday as previous horror reviews are in our opinion unfounded.
The entertainment was superb with the shows up to West End standard, there was also so much going on around the ship all the time which meant we were spoiled for choice.
Contrary to previous reviews regarding sun beds on this ship, we found there was no need to worry as there were more than enough for everyone, plus an excellent area on the sky deck forward with an undercover area for passengers who prefer shade.
We've cruised on other P & O ships and Ventura is our favourite. Yes there were children on board who were very well behaved and they were well catered for with there own cruise
entertainment and facilities.
In conclusion we would say to anybody who has a cruise booked on Ventura look forward and enjoy you holiday as previous horror reviews are in our opinion unfounded.
- Date of Holiday:Jun 2009
- Itinerary:Not Specified
- Tour Operator:Thomas Cook
" Hi~de~Hi ~Jack "
Submitted By: billyruff'n
Cruise to the Med. 8th-22nd May 09
First impression:- Met with a Gi-normous floating block of flats in Southampton - we knew it was going to be big but at first sight 'knocked our socks off'
Check in queue was long but considering approx. 3500 passengers to be processed, procedure and security accomplished smoothly and relatively quickly.
First impression:- Cabin (C 537) smart and of a decent size. Ship quite awesome.
Second impression:- Cabin over-noisy (next to engine exhaust stack)
Moved cabin after 7 days to C525 (Canada Deck) second cabin worse than first (mysterious banging) ~ much sympathy from cabin staff of all ranks but not much else (ship very full)
P&O have a vast investment in this floating behemoth and with a passenger capacity of 3500 are trying to to be all things to all people in order to fill the berths.
I think that they are succeeding in the Butlins end of the market but not the traditional cruise market perhaps.
The initial low ticket prices and special deals are quite a hook to get people on board.
Once you are there, the ways, means; subtle and not so subtle pressure to relieve you of your 'hard-earned' are quite relentless. They have you on this ship for 14 days and you are not so much a passenger as a merchandising opportunity.
Boy, do they go at it!
The ever present drinks waiters at you elbow (even in the lav. if they could), the tripping over of intrusive ship's photographers whichever way you turn; shops and stalls selling gee-gaws, trinkets, cheap and not so cheap watches and all manner of tasteless tat and next years boot sale stock. 24/24!
A laughably expensive so called "Art Gallery" (We saw you coming!)
Expensive shore excursions and precious little in the way of assistance or interest in giving help and advice for those passengers that wish to explore ashore independently of P&O.
I asked an assistant at the excursion desk if they had a train timetable available for trains from Livorno to Pisa and was brusquely told no but that I could try and download one from the internet (cost £10 - they don't miss a trick) if I wished. I commented that it seemed to me that P&O didn't seen to have much interest in helping passengers not going on their official excursions and the response to this was " That's Right!" You'd better believe it ~ this actually happened ~ Gob-smacked or what?
What was good about this cruise?
Well it wasn't all bad but the bad tended to overshadow the good.
Despite our bad cabin experiences the steward was outstanding as were the other cabin deck staff.
Restaurants and food I cannot fault. Waiters and restaurant staff unfailingly cheerful,polite and helpful.
The variety of clubs, bars and entertainment facilities were impressive and will no doubt will enthral the great majority.
Ports of call were varied and interesting.
Do explore for yourselves. Most ports of call have good rail and bus facilities although P&O won't tell you this because they want you on their expensive and very lucrative excursion buses. Bus and train travel is particularly cheap in Italy compared with UK ~ you'll be surprised.
Another tip:- If you are given an onboard cabin credit when you book don't think that you can pay tips and gratuities out of this ~ you can't. Nor can you pay for any medical expenses or gambling chips/disks likewise.
Do cancel the rather impertinant automatic adding of gratuities for restaurant staff to you account. You CAN do this if you wish.
Another cruise on the Ventura?
Not again for us, I'm afraid ~ far too many passengers ~ we prefer smaller cruise ships ~ Come back Fred Olsen all is forgiven ( even if you are sniffy about passengers embarking with their own alcohol, which, refreshingly, P&O are not)
First impression:- Met with a Gi-normous floating block of flats in Southampton - we knew it was going to be big but at first sight 'knocked our socks off'
Check in queue was long but considering approx. 3500 passengers to be processed, procedure and security accomplished smoothly and relatively quickly.
First impression:- Cabin (C 537) smart and of a decent size. Ship quite awesome.
Second impression:- Cabin over-noisy (next to engine exhaust stack)
Moved cabin after 7 days to C525 (Canada Deck) second cabin worse than first (mysterious banging) ~ much sympathy from cabin staff of all ranks but not much else (ship very full)
P&O have a vast investment in this floating behemoth and with a passenger capacity of 3500 are trying to to be all things to all people in order to fill the berths.
I think that they are succeeding in the Butlins end of the market but not the traditional cruise market perhaps.
The initial low ticket prices and special deals are quite a hook to get people on board.
Once you are there, the ways, means; subtle and not so subtle pressure to relieve you of your 'hard-earned' are quite relentless. They have you on this ship for 14 days and you are not so much a passenger as a merchandising opportunity.
Boy, do they go at it!
The ever present drinks waiters at you elbow (even in the lav. if they could), the tripping over of intrusive ship's photographers whichever way you turn; shops and stalls selling gee-gaws, trinkets, cheap and not so cheap watches and all manner of tasteless tat and next years boot sale stock. 24/24!
A laughably expensive so called "Art Gallery" (We saw you coming!)
Expensive shore excursions and precious little in the way of assistance or interest in giving help and advice for those passengers that wish to explore ashore independently of P&O.
I asked an assistant at the excursion desk if they had a train timetable available for trains from Livorno to Pisa and was brusquely told no but that I could try and download one from the internet (cost £10 - they don't miss a trick) if I wished. I commented that it seemed to me that P&O didn't seen to have much interest in helping passengers not going on their official excursions and the response to this was " That's Right!" You'd better believe it ~ this actually happened ~ Gob-smacked or what?
What was good about this cruise?
Well it wasn't all bad but the bad tended to overshadow the good.
Despite our bad cabin experiences the steward was outstanding as were the other cabin deck staff.
Restaurants and food I cannot fault. Waiters and restaurant staff unfailingly cheerful,polite and helpful.
The variety of clubs, bars and entertainment facilities were impressive and will no doubt will enthral the great majority.
Ports of call were varied and interesting.
Do explore for yourselves. Most ports of call have good rail and bus facilities although P&O won't tell you this because they want you on their expensive and very lucrative excursion buses. Bus and train travel is particularly cheap in Italy compared with UK ~ you'll be surprised.
Another tip:- If you are given an onboard cabin credit when you book don't think that you can pay tips and gratuities out of this ~ you can't. Nor can you pay for any medical expenses or gambling chips/disks likewise.
Do cancel the rather impertinant automatic adding of gratuities for restaurant staff to you account. You CAN do this if you wish.
Another cruise on the Ventura?
Not again for us, I'm afraid ~ far too many passengers ~ we prefer smaller cruise ships ~ Come back Fred Olsen all is forgiven ( even if you are sniffy about passengers embarking with their own alcohol, which, refreshingly, P&O are not)
- Date of Holiday:May 2009
- Itinerary:Not Specified
- Tour Operator:Thomas Cook
" Get your act together Ventura "
Submitted By: GGWW
First time on P and O and the last. From day one of our Baltic cruise starting May 29, 2009 the shambles hit us. The self-serve restaurant either had no cups, no glasses, no teaspoons no seats or no tables or all of the above mentioned. Most of the staff didn't have a clue and were on the whole discourteous and ignorant. The food in the self-serve was poor and cold mainly and only one restaurant was open istead of 2.That's the bad bits, now for the good bits, the pub prices and choice of drinks was excellent, the cabin was quite big, the cabin staff was great,the choice of places visited good, apart from organisation, the restaurants were good on the whole, the food was mediocre, there were no special reasons to get dressed up as no special menus, cocktails nor a captain were seen. It's such a shame as the ship was beautiful just no one knew how to run it. It was great sailing from Southampton but sadly I won't be doing it again on P and O. Really dissappointed.
- Date of Holiday:May 2009
- Itinerary:Not Specified
- Tour Operator:First Choice
" Wake up P & O "
Submitted By: Hillers
We have just returned from a 14 night Baltic cruise on Ventura, and it was one of the worst holidays we have ever had. First of all, let me say that there were some good points. Three in fact. One there was good beer for my husband to sup (Old Speckled Hen) second there was an excellent fresh orange juice for me to sup, and third, our balcony cabin was great. The rest was so poor and a waste of our money and time. For the whole of the 14 days no areas of the ship were vacuumed, despite there being noro virus on the ship. We were not told before we boarded that noro virus had been on the ship for the previous cruise, thus giving us no oportunity to refuse boarding. The waterside restaurant, supposdedly self service, was so badly set out, there was no orderly queuing, a poor selection and poorly cooked food, and only warm food, which was prime in food bacterial growth.Tours that were expensive were poor;y organised, and in some cases, over booked, which ,meant that, even though we had paid, we missed the tour through staff's ineptitude.Baggage was so badly handled that items were damaged befopre we even took clothes from the case at the start of the trip.I could go on and on, but am now at a point where my head is aching from the stress of the whole thing.Ventura is a new ship, and P & O need to get there act sorted. We were not the only ones to complain, nor the only ones who vow never to set foot on the ship again.
- Date of Holiday:Jun 2009
- Itinerary:Not Specified
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
" Wonderful Cruise "
Submitted By: Ilovetocruise
Just returned from Ventura's Paradise Isles cruise. Flights with Thomson airways on First Choice planes out of Gatwick very good- on time and comfortable. Excellent transfers- straight off the plane onto the coach. No need to worry about collecting your luggage- its all taken care of. Long queues to register and get on the ship, but the queues moved quickly thank goodness. Cabins cosy and of contemporary design. We had a large balcony on deck 10 (C deck) which was partially covered by the deck above so could have some privacy, and not be overlooked by the deck above. Plenty of storage space- large open walk-in wardrobe. Bathroom was standard cuise ship size, small but adequate.Loved the interactive TV from which you could order room service; view shore excursions; check your on-board account; watch films; check your messages. All staff worked extremely hard, were friendly and cheerful. We chose Freedom dining to give us flexibility of dining times and table companions, and this worked extremely well. Only on one occasion did we have to wait for a table for two, and we were paged within about 10 minutes. Public areas always clean and tidy. Sunbeds- yes the deckspace is small and the sunbeds are packed in tightly, and it can be difficult to find one if you want to sit around one of the pools. However, we were always able to find one without getting up at 7am and reserving one, simply by going to the less crowded areas of the ship. There were lots of spare sunbeds at the front of the ship on the sports deck even on sea days. Food was a slight concern as both of us have food allergies. However we were greatly impressed with the service we received from the waiting staff and from the dedicated 'diet chef' who adjusted the menu for us accordingly. They even made my partner a 'wheat-free' chocolate sponge cake for his birthday which went down a treat! Entertainment was varied, from shows in the arena theatre; to comedians; singers and tribute acts. We chose carefully and enjoyed everything we saw. We went on the Gibbs Cay and Stingray excursion in Grand Turk which represented very good value; the scenic railway in St kitts which we thoroughly enjoyed; the Land and Sea in St Lucia which was excellent and the visit to the Carib territory in Dominica which we throughly enjoyed. The downside of this ship relates to its size. This was the largest ship we have ever cruised on and yet as soon as it was at sea you could feel the motion- not enough to make you ill- but just enough so you knew you were at sea. The other downside for me was that even after 2 weeks I was still getting lost - haven't had this problem on previous cruises. Despite these niggles I would go on her again for the right itinery.
- Date of Holiday:Jan 2009
- Itinerary:Not Specified
- Tour Operator:Ideal Cruising
" Ventura Cruise "
Submitted By: LADYKATH
First of all the check in at Manchester was first class, we walked straight
up to the check in desk and booked in, left our luggage and off we went to
departure lounge, it took 5 minutes. Onto the plane, flying with Thomsom
flights, lots of legroom, nice food and of course sufficient drinks. We land
at Barbados and are informed to leave the plane get on a coach which will
take us straight to the ship. we did not need to go to the airport, no
passport control, no immigration and no luggage to collect. Arrived at the
ship, it then took 2 minutes to book in and board the ship. Now this is a
large ship and our balcony cabin was very large with ample storage
facilities. a large bed and a large balcony.
The Bay Tree where we were booked for our evening meals was just lovely,
everything from the staff to the decoration which changed on the 1st
December to Christmas Trees etc which was just lovely to see.
The other restaurants were equally nice, lots of variety with all the meals,
even on specialty nights they had different meals if your partner did not
like the theme.
The ship was very large, but was easy to find your way around and there was
always someone on hand to help if you did get lost which I did many
times.
Marco Pierre White was on board whilst we were there and we ate in his
restaurant which was absolutely wonderful. I would recommend this to anyone
travelling on the Ventura.
The East was another restaurant we used and that was very nice too.
One thing we did note was that all the staff had a sense of humour, like the
chap in the Beachcomber Restaurant coming round at Breakfast with duty
free Tea, coffee, orange juice etc. It all added to a wonderful
experience and one I would certainly do again on the Ventura.
I think this must be the first time I did not want to leave the ship and
come home.
A truly wonderful, unforgettable cruise - Well Done P & O
up to the check in desk and booked in, left our luggage and off we went to
departure lounge, it took 5 minutes. Onto the plane, flying with Thomsom
flights, lots of legroom, nice food and of course sufficient drinks. We land
at Barbados and are informed to leave the plane get on a coach which will
take us straight to the ship. we did not need to go to the airport, no
passport control, no immigration and no luggage to collect. Arrived at the
ship, it then took 2 minutes to book in and board the ship. Now this is a
large ship and our balcony cabin was very large with ample storage
facilities. a large bed and a large balcony.
The Bay Tree where we were booked for our evening meals was just lovely,
everything from the staff to the decoration which changed on the 1st
December to Christmas Trees etc which was just lovely to see.
The other restaurants were equally nice, lots of variety with all the meals,
even on specialty nights they had different meals if your partner did not
like the theme.
The ship was very large, but was easy to find your way around and there was
always someone on hand to help if you did get lost which I did many
times.
Marco Pierre White was on board whilst we were there and we ate in his
restaurant which was absolutely wonderful. I would recommend this to anyone
travelling on the Ventura.
The East was another restaurant we used and that was very nice too.
One thing we did note was that all the staff had a sense of humour, like the
chap in the Beachcomber Restaurant coming round at Breakfast with duty
free Tea, coffee, orange juice etc. It all added to a wonderful
experience and one I would certainly do again on the Ventura.
I think this must be the first time I did not want to leave the ship and
come home.
A truly wonderful, unforgettable cruise - Well Done P & O
- Date of Holiday:Nov 2008
- Itinerary:Full Board
- Tour Operator:Booked Independently
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