Ventura 2nd Maiden Voyage| Cruise.co.uk

Friday 4th July 2008

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Ventura 2nd Maiden Voyage
Reviewed By: Richardson, Warrington on 11th May 2008
Cruise Line: P&O Cruises	Times cruised before: 10+
Cruise Ship: Ventura	Sailed: May, 2008
Destination: Mediterranean	Age: 65+

I was prepared to accept that the short trip prior to the official Maiden Voyage may be a good thing to help sort out a few teething problems. Obviously not. We were in a cabin on deck 5. We like the lower decks because my husband cannot walk too far and it seemed like the dining room was on the same floor. Not so! We were in the Bay Tree and to get to this room we had to go up two decks and walk the full length of the ship (3 football pitches long,they proudly tell us). Then you have to come down one deck and queue on the stairs to get into the dining room. Each night we passed people from the rear of the ship going to the front dining room whilst we were going from the front to the back dining room. I wonder which university graduate thought of that! His name must be Machiavelli. Most nights we just watched the performance in the theatre and then we were too tired to do anything but go to bed. If we wanted to get a seat in the theatre after the first sitting dinner we had to forego the coffee and cheese and biscuits and fruit etc. in order to get into the massive queues. Our main problem was the horrendous noise in the cabin P323. In the Bay of Biscay (which we both love because it tosses you about a bit) the employment of the stabilisers sounded like a battering ram was trying to break into the cabin. At this time we did not know that it was due to stabliser problems. Along with other noises like a ginormous suction sound and high pitched whistles at the end sounded like it was coming through the tannoy system. We thought that the abandon ship signal was going off and all we could hear was the final long blast. We were honestly terrified and we sat in our cabin on the 3rd. night with outdoor clothes on because we thought the ship was going to cave in at any moment. After a week of this we were told to put ear plugs in or they could give us a cabin just to sleep in at night. These noises however were happening all through the day as well. We declined the offer of ear plugs and the night cabin. The deck supervisor said she would move us the next day. We were told to pack at 6.00 a.m. in the morning and we actually moved at 4.00 p.m. It had not occurred to me to ask for a change of cabin because I thought the ship was fully booked. We were moved up to Deck 8 cabin E508. Although this was below the value of our booked cabin it was like walking into heaven ..... until 5 p.m. when we realised that we were over the stage of the Tamarind Club so the last week of the cruise was beset by the constant Boom-Boom from below from 5 p.m. until 1.30 a.m. every night. Also in this room were many small faults like the bathroom door would not shut and the lights had a life of their own coming on and off at any time. The electric point for my husbands shaver started to spark next to the wet sink. The electrician merely disabled it so we could not use it. My husband came off the ship with a nasty stubble because it still had not been repaired when we disembarked. There are many things wrong with this ship. The worst thing is the constant denial by the staff that anything is wrong. We found out later that more than half the cabins on P deck were affected and the occupants moved to other cabins. How about that for a full ship? We were told by a member of the crew that the stabilisers were causing the problems and that P. & O. knew about them before we set sail but could not afford to cancel the Maiden Voyage. The tendering procedure was totally chaotic and lengthy. In Villefranche it took us 2 hours and 40 minutes to get onto a tender. Some people gave up trying after 4 hours. In Santa Margheurita we booked a tour to eliminate having to queue again. I am 73 and my husband is 75. I am sole carer for both my husband (two strokes) and my 52 tears old son who is quadriplegic with muscular dystrophy so I need a cruise to recoup my mental and physical strength to cope with the rest of the year. I came back almost hysterical, worn out, and beaten into submission. In spite of missing the end of our dinners and fighting the pushing and shoving of people in the theatre queue, (they ran along deck 7 promenade and came in through the doors at the front of the queue), the shows were the best we have ever seen but no compensation to encourage me to go on her again. Mark my words there will be fisticuffs in these queues on future cruises and people (I hope it is not children) because P.& O. do not employ anyone to keep control. I had also booked a Canaries cruise in September on this ship but nothing would make me go on it again. I am in correspondence with P.& O. at this moment and I will be pleased to let you know the outcome so that you will all know who you are dealing with. I could write even more but I am "fed-up".
Quality of Food
Usually tepid and unappetising. The everyday option of steak was too tough to chew no matter how it was cooked. A substandard cut of beef was obviously used.
Entertainment
Jimmy Carr was not very good but the theatre company were the best we have ever seen. Superb!!
Shore Excursions
Only went on one to escape the tendering queues. Went to a shopping outlet only to find that clothes were cheaper at home. A handbag in one store was reduced to 149 euros but the identical bag was £9.99 in T.K.Maxx.
Staff
No one really because of the constant denial regarding our plight.
Children's Facilities
Each time we went to watch the children with racing cars etc. everything was locked up and no access.
Onboard Activities	n/a

Cabins
Need I say more? I feel that apart from the stabiliser problems there is little or no insullation between decks. We never heard our neighbours at all so the walls must be O.K.
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Opinion: Disagree Comment by Carnegie, Glenrothes, Fife (18 May 08 12:56) about this REVIEW

Oh dear hardly any good comments about Ventura and we have booked our very 1st cruise on it for Dec. I am not bothered about having to walk from one end to the other but having faulty stabilizers sounds awful as I am prone to sea sickness but thought a brand new ship should have a smooth sail no matter the weather. If P and O keep on ignoring the faults on the ship it will soon have no passengers and millions of pounds will be wasted so they should take the ship off the sea for 1 week to correct everything so that the complaints will then stop. I will give it a few more weeks if it has not been fixed then i will cancel my booking and get back to Hotels Abroad instead where I ahve never once been let down all thanks to Trip Advisor.

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Opinion: Disagree Comment by COFFEY, liverpool (07 Jun 08 00:36) about a COMMENT by Carnegie (18 May 08 12:56)

Dont let any comments on other persons holiday experiences put you off going on the ventura, this is a new ship so it is new to everyone, even the avid p&o cruisers, go and enjoy your holiday as you would want and not what others have experienced. Everyone has a different outlook on the holiday they want, and that is it what they want and not others, dont look for negatives, you are on your holiday, away from it all enjoy yourselves.

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Opinion: Agree Comment by Defries, London (12 May 08 15:53) about this REVIEW

We have just returned from a one week cruise on Ventura. We are both younger than Mr Richardson and consider ourselves able-bodied, but were disappointed at the need to go up or down a deck in order to get from one end of the ship to another through the common areas. You could get there directly via the cabin corridors, but who wants to walk the length of a ship in a corridor? Am commenting separately in my own review

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Opinion: Disagree Comment by Okill, Lee on the Solent (12 May 08 12:22) about this REVIEW

While I would naturally feel sorry that you did not enjoy your cruise I cannot, for the life of me, understand why at your ages you choose to sail on Ventura and particularly one of its first voyages.In fairness to P&O they marketted Ventura well as a modern, younger family orientated, new generation ship. It is its whole ethos, hardly condusive with the older cruiser's,to which I belong,perceptions . But I guess we are going to read a lot of reviews of this nature.

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Comment by Richardson, Warrington (12 May 08 09:19) about this REVIEW

Please get your facts right Mr. Parkinson because the Saffron Restaurant was also club dining. I did write to P.& O. in advance and was assured that the dining room was one deck up mid ships and I have the return email from P.& O.saying this

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Opinion: Agree Comment by Gibbins, Forest Town Notts (11 May 08 20:59) about this REVIEW

so sorry to hear what an awful time you had. we went on the weekend cruise and was so disgusted we are still awaiting to hear from P&O. we had a blocked toilet for 18 hours which was about to flood our bathroom. The ship felt very unstable even then with only a mild chop and we commented that we woudnt like to be on her in rough waters. Take care

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Opinion: Disagree Comment by Parkinson, Warrington (11 May 08 20:53) about this REVIEW

You can't really comment on walking from one end of the ship to the other for the restaurant as the one you are in is based on the type of dining you selected NOT the location of your cabin. If you were in the Bay Tree then you were on Club Dining (i.e. you eat at the same table with the same people every night). All the other restaurants are on Freedom Dining where you choose when and where you eat. So anyone on Club Dining had to walk to the Bay Tree. If you had read up about this before you travelled (the information was available for many months), then you could have selected a cabin nearer

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