| | |
| Cruise Guide |
|---|
Berlitz Overview »
News for 2008 »
Cruise History »
Life Aboard »
The Right Ship etc... |
|
| Cruise Lines |
|---|
Cunard » P&O »
Fred. Olsen »
Holland America »
NCL Cruises etc... |
|
| Destinations |
|---|
Caribbean »
Mediterranean »
World Cruises »
Alaska etc... |
|
Latest Photos |
The Ventura Experience ,from grass root level. |
| Reviewed By: Osborne, Kingston upon Thames on 30th Nov 2008 |
| Cruise Line: P&O Cruises |
Times cruised before: 10+ |
| Cruise Ship: Ventura |
Sailed:
August,
2008 |
| Destination: Mediterranean |
Age: 56-65 |
|
Upon arrival at the Southampton Terminal , unusually there was a long queue that snaked its way out of the doors and down the side of the terminal, luckily it was not raining, but hardly the best start to a cruise particularly when all previous embarkation procedures we had experienced were very good .
Ventura was the biggest ship that we had been on ,it was booked because of the dates and ports of call, we realised that it was the school summer term ,but did not anticipate the amount of children and teenagers that hung about the ship and on occassions charged around the decks and accommodation corridors.The entertainment staff did a good job to minimise this but at certain times even they were unable to control the charge, additionally the jacuzzis and whirlpools were seemingly commandeered by the youth on the ship, for most of the time.
The deck space for loungers was cramped owing to the design of the ship which seemed to favour cramming in as many features as they could, and once all the loungers were full it did feel a little claustrophobic .
The cabin was of a good standard as was the cabin steward service however another negative was that being on Riviera deck , the overhang from the Lido deck above meant that the balcony only received direct sunlight from sunrise to approx 10.00am and then again in the afternoon from approx 5pm till sunset ,this meant that all the balconies were in shadow all day on all decks from Riviera to Canada/Dominica decks which was disappointing ,as a balcony is chosen in order to have your own space bathed in sunshine ,an oversight by the designers and possibly designers who dont do cruises !
The service and food in the Cinnamon restaurant was good and up to expectation ,we had fixed second sitting but could not really understand how the flexible dinning option worked as every day different passengers occuppied the same 2
seater table throughout the entire cruise.With some passengers having to book and wait fot a table throughout the restaurant system.
Overall the cruise was good,Ventura had a lot to offer, but to families ,not couples or adults of a certain age ,in places large groups of relatives seemed to monopolise seating areas and loungers particularly from sunrise when one representative would lay out towels and rearrange loungers so as to protect their territory , and only use the lounger for a fraction of the day using a shift system between lounger deck, bar and food outlets .
We complain about other nationals from other countries laying towels out at land based hotels but some Ventura passengers appeared to have perfected the operation into a fine art !
The ship had a good decor throughout,it was a shame therefore that a passenger had decided to rip out one of the large
statues housed in an alcove on the Promenade deck , smacks of vandalism and alcohol ?
On the return to Southampton the disembarkation process was effficient but as suspected the baggage claim was chaotic ,
too many bags and too many passengers blocking escape alleyways through the baggage lines ,perhaps a bit more thought needed here .The staff in the main were good and helpful but a few european staff clearly had attitudes , they were not the helpful ones.
Although we like P & O and have sailed on a number of their vessels we would not travel on Ventura again, its too big , carries too many people ,which is noticeable at ,embarkation,disembarkation,on the tendering service @ ports and on the sun lounger decks.
|
| Quality of Food |  |
| Cinnamon restaurant and Waterside buffet breakfast were good | | Entertainment |  |
| Shows by the theatre company , and over compensating staff compere was the least enjoyable , the proffessional comedian Mick Miller was by far the entertainment highlight | | Shore Excursions |  |
| Least favourite ,when will P & O change this dreary port of call to something different ,seemingly all their cruise pull in here ,I guess its cheap. Best was Rome even with the Hour plus coach ride to the city centre. | | Staff | |
| Cabin and restaurant staff | | Children's Facilities | n/a |
| | Onboard Activities | |
| | Cabins | |
| | Overall Rating | |
|
|
|
Happy HOLIDAY's
Qeen Mary 2 cruise dec 2008
Queen Victoria - Caribbean 2008
MSC Fantasis Christmas Cruise
