Ventura Cruise Ship

1 reader found this review helpful

I have just come back from cruising on the Ventura in the Carribean and myself and my husband had a fantastic time. The ship was amazing and the theatre shows were as good as any west end shows. There is plenty to do for all types of people whether you want a lively time or if you prefer a relaxing quiet time that is up to you. Only downside is the sun beds if you want that sort of thing but we were out most of the time seeing and enjoying the places that were were visiting, in my opinion if you want to sit on a sun bed all day why go on a cruise you might as well be anywhere!!! I would recommended the freedom dining as you get the same food and service as the set dining but can go anytime up to 9:30pm and can choose to sit on your own or join a larger table which is what we did and met so many lovely and different people. Somtimes the food was a bit hit and miss but overall was very good, also tried the White room which was excellent and the Tai restaurant (East). Was a bit dissappointed with the selection abvailable on the Buffet restaurant but did not use this much. Liked the free room service and most mornings we had breakfast delivered and ate this on our balcony. Our cabin steward (Roy) was brilliant and looked after all our needs brilliantly. As we went in November the ship did not have many children on but the ones we did see looked like they were having a ball with the childrens entertainers. Would definately recommned this ship and can't understand some of the people who have given it a bad rating; a holiday is only as good as you make it yourself and some people can't be pleased.

5 readers found this review helpful

What a wonderful sight when you approach Southampton to see this magnificent ship waiting to take you on your dream holiday.Then the reality once you have found your sea legs.Along with my Wife,Daughter&Her Husband and three young children plus my Sister-in-Law i experienced some obnoxcious attitudes from both passengers and staff the worst part of the whole trip was the appalling condition of Deck16 supposed to be the deck for young families with standing water in the childrens play area covered by some filthy plastic material this was still in the same condition at the end of the cruise despite request to various members of the staff to clear this up,We where told by our Travel Agent that Ventura was a FAMILY FRIENDLY Ship,What is family about the need to leave your children in a club for the evening just so that the snobs can enjoy a children free ship and when you do not conform to their idea we where met with disdain when we tried to enjoy a family night unfortunatly NONE of the Bars are Family Friendly,it is the same when they have the kids evening meal the Mums&Dads and grandmothers are not allowed to eat with their children my Wife was actually asked to leave the dining area when the ignorant waiter thought she was waiting to eat when in fact she was waiting for the kids to arrive.One other area that needs improving is the freedom dining when they put on special menus such as Chinese,or Sea Food or Cantonese and so you decide to visit the Beech Tree only to be told there is a wait of One Hour&fifty mins and once you get your meal there is precisely SIX Chips or as we found out in the Cinnemon when my grandson aged 6 ordered a omlette and that was all he got Freedom Dining when they chose to close first one food bar followed by another till you find yourself walking the length of the dining area to get back to your table and for some reason they then close the Pizza bar at 6 o clock really helpful considering they have charged you the same amount as the greek debt to take this cruise.P&O are cashing in on the niche in the market left by Ocean Village attempting to con their way by advetising a FAMILY FRIENDLY WHICH THEY VERY DEFINATLY ARE NOT.And yes we did complain on board only to be told to put our complaints in writing when we got home which we have done but we have not yet disclosed the photos of the childrens play area or the lack of any privicy on deck 16 when kids are getting out of the kids pools and there are strangers walking around or the lack of a gate on top of deck16 to stop kids falling something that should have been part of any Risk Assessment after all the had a over sixteen pool which you where not allowed to take your kids in and they made sure staff supervised this all in all a waste of our hard earned cash never again

1 reader found this review helpful

Everything about the Ventura boat was fantastic. From the sun, food, brilliant service to the night clubs by the end of te night. All of it was brilliant.
I definatly avice someone to go on this ship as their holiday. You can never ever get bored.
There was plently of things to do within the day and night and the evenings with the entertament that they put on was amazing and very funny.
ID DEFO DO THIS AGAIN.

This was our first cruise and it certainly will not be our last. We had a great holiday, we were well and truly looked after by the friendly crew. On board there was plenty to occupy both children and adults and the food in the restaurant excellent so were the waiters.
Norway was a wonderful country, spectacular scenery and friendly people. The trip in Olden was memorable so was Bergen with the views from the furnicular railway.
A special mention for the entertainment especially the comedian Steve Tandy, his shows were brilliant, he had everyone crying with laughter. Some people have left some negative comments but if you want a family cruise with a friendly service and great for children I would recommend
the ventura

1 reader found this review helpful

From the moment we arrived at dock side in the car we were in awe how fluid/streamlined the whole operation of getting from car to ship was....bearing in mind this ship holds 3000+ passengers. It hardly felt you were waiting in one place long. Our inside stateroom on Canada deck was lovely. I was expecting a dungeon-like experience but their strategic placing of extremely huge mirrors lessened this. We didn't spend much time in the room anyway. Bed was comfy. Steward was chatty and likeable. Infact we found the whole crew aimiable. Food [remember this is the garden of eating - saw that phase on another report and thought it very apt!]was excellent......though we did tend to eat in the restaurants as eating at the Waterside was a bit chaotic[school hols]. The entertainment was amazing. Countless activities during the day. Loved the 2 formal evenings. Port of call visits all extremely well organised. Only disappointment was the weather, most days being overcast with late afternoon sun. Best day being in La Coruna with brilliant sunshine all day! But hey, weatherwise we are in the lap of the gods! Anyone reading this and toying with the idea of this style of holiday - then you must experience it. This cruise was definitely value for money and we have already booked,with P&O, a Med cruise for next year. Can't wait!

5 readers found this review helpful

Just been on a cruise to the Fjords with my husband and 2 young sons. Had a wonderful time. The ventura was brilliant loads to do and plenty for the children to do. The only complaint was sometimes the waiters we not very helpful but overall it was very good. The steward cleaning the cabins was very good towls changed 3 times a day. Food on board was great plenty of it and quality very good. We have previously been on the Aurora which was also very good. Would definately go again with p&o in the future a holiday to remember Excellent

11 readers found this review helpful

We have recently just travelled with Ventura to France and Spain, this was our second cruise on Ventura and yet again we as a family realy enjoyed ourselfs, we stayed on deck c the room was only small for four of us, when we entered the room for the first time we only had two single beds but the cabin steward came in and showed us two beds come out of the roof! which was not big enough for my oldest son who is 16 and 6.2 in height. The ports we stopped off at first of all in frane were ok but the second stop off was in La Rochelle we had booked a beach break but just before we were to get off the ship they announced it had been cancelled the weather conditions even through it turned out to be one of the hottest days we had that was disappointing for us all, we managed to take a shuttle bus in to the village which was pleasent anyway. our next port was bilbao which just rained and felt like we were in Manchester with shops not dead exciting, next we stopped off at La Coruna and booked for a trip this turned out to be very enjoyable and a lovely day. Before I finish I will tell you about our cabin steward on the ship, we left a £20 tip for him it was only a seven day cruise so people told us that was fine we also gave tips to waiters and the wine waiter, but this cabin steward when we were out left the tip and a note telling us he wanted more and £20 was not enough we could not believe this. we should of just took it and left him with nothing after that we were told, P&O Wanted his name and our cabin number but we didnt give it them but if he had done this to other families I feel he wont be on the cruise ship very long. But overall we had a realy good time and cant wait to book again.

7 readers found this review helpful

Just back from a week on Ventura, our second cruise in the last 8 months. This time was far superior to the last one with another cruise line. Major plus points had to be the Entertainment, simply fantastic stage shows and the comedians were also good, cruise directors sail away party,s were great fun also. We took our 2 kids aged 9 and 11 with us but at times we were really unsure if they were on board , such was the excellent work done by the kids team . Our room servent was a great little guy called Manuel but did find some of the other staff a little quiet and may I say it rude, but I think this was down to their english not being too good. The food was adequate but not as good as our last cruise but the dining areas were never too busy and seats/tables always available. A really big plus was drink pricess and P&O must be applauded for keeping these to a sensible level, £3-00 for a bottle of beer is in my opinion very decent. Came home and immediately looked for our next excursion for October, almost certainly with P&O and almost certainly from Southampton where everything was very well organised. Would reccommend P&O and Ventura to anyone , like I said already looking for October.

13 readers found this review helpful

ANDREW CUNNINGHAM 02 JULY 2011
After having the most expensive holiday ever and the best
on the ventura the majority of the staff were absolute fantastic.But in total disgust and anger of one staff member ! Our room steward ! on b dec. "savio".Not only did this person insult me and my wife but my daughter morgan aged "9" for what reason you may ask ! one word "gratuities" tips.Roughly a family of 3 are expected to pay roughly £60 TO YOUR STEWARD AND £60 TO WAITING STAFF.Not mandatory though we thought £40 was enough to pay the steward after paying £5 thousand pounds for the holidy .After steward ripped open envelope in fron of us all in shock he said and i quote!IS THIS ALL FOR 3 PERSONS I NEARLY COLLAPSED IN SHOCK!

10 readers found this review helpful

I consider myself an experienced cruiser having sailed with P and O about five times on numerous ships.
The last cruise being a caribean 29 night tour visiting New Orleans and Florida during Dec /Jan 2011.
I am aware that this ship the Ventura has had many mixed views especially within its first year of sailing,and I was concerned whether this holiday would meet my expectations from P and O.
however the optimist?
On arrival, having booked a deluxe superior outside cabin with balcony,chocs bathrobes and champagne.I was some what disgusted to find the cabin in an unfit state of cleanlines.
Bathroom dirty and smelt
Bathrobe missing
Tea and coffee stains on cupboards and down the wall near the kettle
Dirty bin
Dirty ashtray on balcony
tops of cupboards wardrobes filthy,probably never been wiped.
not sufficient cups or glasses set out.
Coffee stained cups.
On reading this you may conclude the cabin had just not been cleaned and completly missed ,almost excusable,however it had been cleaned just to a standard i would not expect from a poor quality youth hostel
on contacting reception and requesting the ships house keeper to visit the cabin we were asked to sit on deck whilst these matters were resolved which after an 8 hour flight a 1 hour coach trip a 3 hour wait at Manchester wasnt the best start to this particular holiday.
Most of these issues were resolved and several days later I even recieved a bathrobe some what worn and shabby.(told that they were in short supply)
On the whole we found our cabin steward to be inept and any duties performed where some what lacking of any effort.Having to ask on several occasions for new soap and shampoo refills,some thing that should be done automatically.
Indeed the mimimum amount of housework was carried out on our cabin at every oppurtunity during our 29 day stay .
I must say however all other parts of the ship appeared to be well kept and clean.
We found the restaraunts in the morning to be the best option for breakfast rather than the food bar which was chaotic especially from 9.30 am onwards.Having to wait unacceptable amounts of time for any request such as a boiled egg or waffles,cutlery trays being empty,no cups or glasses available by the coffee or juice machines.Many cups not having been checked and put out dirty,no tea spoons ect ,so complete disorder and poor management of this food area.
In the evenings for the first two weeks i was appalled by the quality of the food,even relatively simple dishes were ruined by the head chef trying to put a twist on classic dishes ,and the food presentation skills often shown when dining in the restaraunt were sadly lacking,even down to the waiters not decrumbing the table which I always thought was a nice touch,
whether or not the ships chefs were trying to create to many dishes with the christmas and new year period upon us however the food ingredients were of top quality but food presentation and excecution was very poor.
The second week i had iether become amune to the inferior food non of which would have ever appeared ina paying restaraunt or it had improved.
the entertainment,some thing P and O usually scrape the barrel with was however on this cruise some what better than most experiences i have had and i felt that they had made some what of an effort for the christmas period,although many other people felt disapointed.
the hilight of any entertainment genrally involved Hamish the captain of the ship and a very good entertainment director.
Overall my conclusions of this holiday the ventura and P and O are:
The venturas a very large ship and doesnt offer oppulence or quality but reasonable value for money.
P and O dont care for your loyalty and if you have a complaint deal with it onboard at the time .Once youve left the ship they have had your money and dont give a damm
The holiday ,well i got the sun,visited the destinations whilst good old blighty was under snow and blizzards.I have booked the same holiday for christmas this year on the Ventura and have no preconcieved expectations of the food being any better,however should i recieve such poor cabin service the captain may be a crew member light,all in all not my favorite ship,but its in the right plaice at the right time for a reasonable price ,cruising standards have definatley dropped especially with P and O however i believe the prices are comparable with the quality dispite the occasional total lack of customer sevice and indiffereance