Ventura's Bawdy Brugge Booze Cruise

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Comment by Brewin, Derby (02 Apr 12 10:15) about this REVIEW

VERY VERY good review i have completed this particular cruise twice and an additional one on ARTEMIS. On all occaisons it was to introduce friends to crusing to see if they could tolerate the sea conditions and the crowds. None of the 2 day cruises represent the crusies greater than 2 days. In a lot of cases I think they do P&O an injustice. I see them as a staff change over day and possible training days.

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Comment by Colliver, Crowborough (31 Mar 12 16:02) about this REVIEW

I cruised the Carribean on the Ventura. Found the ship too large and the food not good. State rooms good and balcony size excellent - in fact I have never had such a large balcony before. Sadly it only had upright chairs when there was plenty of room for sun beds which would have been more comfy. Menus sounded tempting but food was misdescribed - one day I was given crabstix when a crab salad had been on offer. They also ran out of eggs for a couple of days! I think that P & O have really gone downhill having been on other ships previously - maybe the credit crunch has something to do with it. We found that to really enjoy dinner we had no alternative but to dine and pay the extra. I have also done a weekender. That was just about OK but we had a corner table and a very grumpy server who pushed guests out of the way when serving. He also made his annoyance plain when my son changed his breakfast order from fried to poached eggs (whilst still taking the order). Celebrity much better.

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Comment by Connolly, Preston (31 Mar 12 11:18) about this REVIEW

We have only ever cruised with P & O, Arcadia and Oceanan but the first time on Ventura last February. You cannot really get a feel for the ship on a 2 night party cruise, thats all it is a party lasting for 2 nights. It is totally different on a 2 weeker in the Caribbean, the clientelle are very different, the ambiance will be different. We loved it and have booked 3 weeks next March, 2 weeks round the Caribbean then sailing back to Suthampton. Cant wait.

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Comment by joyce, Barry (28 Mar 12 19:29) about this REVIEW

we had a similair experience last year on a 3 night azura, feral middle aged women away from the hubbies and vulgar hen parties, the last straw for me was a 20 stone henette in stockings and basque, no more party cruises for me

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Comment by Elsom, Hull (31 Mar 12 07:57) about a COMMENT by joyce (28 Mar 12 19:29)

We have sailed on the ventura twice now both times to the caribbean most recently Jan this year and i can assure you it was nothing like a bawdy booze cruise, in fact quite the opposite fantastic food,entertainment,staff and other passengers i would recomend P&O to anyone. At the end of the day if you book a booze cruise that is what you get !!

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Ventura's Bawdy Brugge Booze Cruise	40 of 45 people found this review informative

Reviewed By: McAllister, Fareham on 27th Mar 2012
Cruise Line: P&O Cruises	Times cruised before: 10+
Cruise Ship: Ventura	Sailed: March, 2012
Destination: Northern Europe	Age: 56-65
Cabin: Balcony

We chose to go on this cruise as a post winter break and it was made even more pleasant with an upgrade to a higher grade of balcony cabin. Not having sailed with P&O for some years and never on one of their large ships it was interesting to make the comparisons between the other major players in the cruise industry. The embarkation at Southampton was somewhat frantic since we were given an embarkation time of 1530 on our e-tickets. I knew 1530 would be cutting it a bit fine so we opted to arrive at 1300 only to be greeted with a 1 hour wait as they had only just started boarding. It was a sign of things to come that numerous stretched limos spilled their contents onto the car park and the hen parties made everyone aware of their presence . I reckon the female/male ratio on the cruise was 3.5 to 1. There were a few families with young children but not many. Eventually we boarded and our cabin was ready and appeared to be well prepared with all the fittings in good order and toiletries provided, not to mention a well stocked tea tray. It certainly does make a difference to be able to make your own tea or coffee first thing in the morning. No sign any more of bathrobes and no postcards of the ship included in the guest information pack - probably because of cutbacks but possibly because it was just a 2 nighter. Maybe someone knows the real reason? We made our way to the Waterside buffet and its annexe, the Beach House, where I felt the servery areas were very cramped, possibly because only half of Waterside was open. The salad bar was adequate however the hot choices were somewhat limited and the presentation quite unappealing. Hand sanitising dispensers were placed here but there was little effort by staff to encourage their use. The safety briefing was very thorough supported by a lengthy discourse by the Captain possibly brought about by recent cruise ship incidents. The sail away was a disappointment and no sign of a live band or the entertainment team and their flag waving patriotism , as was always evident before. This was also the case leaving Zeebrugge. All we had was a backing track played loudly. Ramblas is a Spanish themed wine bar and it was here that we indulged in a couple of pre dinner drinks. They also serve Tapas here at a modest charge but we did not indulge in that so soon before dinner. We were allocated Second sitting in the Saffron Dining Room where we had pleasant company with 3 other couples, 2 of which were on their first taste of cruising. The menu choices were ok but the service was rushed. P&O still practice serving the vegetables separately in a bid to save something of silver service for their image, but it fails. They would be better to follow suit with the others and serve it all plated. A pleasant New Zealand Sauvignon was £17.50 per bottle. The wine waiter made sure we drank it all. We did not use the alternative cover charge dining venues. The first evening entertainment had plenty of variety and we seen Clem Curtiss of Foundations fame who still packed them in the Arena theatre. At 72 he was still a good act. A female vocalist also provided lively entertainment in the Tamarind Club and then we went to Havana - the nightclub where all the Hen parties were in full swing. We found Metropolis on Deck 18 was more to our taste and bopped the night away till 0230. Day 2 in Zeebrugge and we took the courtesy bus to the station for the short train ride into Brugge. It’s a pleasant city worth a stroll for 3 or 4 hours and there are plenty of photo opportunities and sights to see. Lunch in the main square was a little pricey but that’s what you expect in a major tourist city. The ships tour was £32 per head but the courtesy bus and train was less than 5 euros return. The ship sailed at 1745 and the second evening was pretty much a repeat of the first except the Headliners Theatre show took place although this was not to our taste. We spent the evening enjoying a few drinks in company and ended up in the Tamarind Club again before a bedtime snack at 2 am. Despite the large number of hen nights and a few stag dos there were no incidents that we seen where drunken behaviour was evident . Most people were having a great time in good mood. There are plenty of venues to offer something for everyone and the ship appears well enough maintained Would we sail again on a longer cruise with P&O?. I don’t know to be honest. The product is ok but that’s all it is. The menus are boring and the service a bit rushed. I know things on a weekend bash do not represent a true cruise experience but I have seen enough to know what I like and I would probably only cruise P&O if the itinerary was what I was looking for.
Quality of Food
Saffron for Dinner, Waterside buffet for the rest
Entertainment
Clem Curtiss was very good, the rest were good.
Shore Excursions
Done our own thing using the courtesy bus and train.
Staff
Mostly good service but quite a lot of glum faces. Wine waiter poured wine with the delicacy of an air raid but our cabin steward was good.
Children's Facilities	n/a

Onboard Activities
Somewaht limited probably due to the nature of the 2 night cruise. Lots of Spa promotions.
Cabins
Well kept and provisioned throughout.
Overall Rating

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