Hi,I am pleased to read feedback for my review, and perhaps Parkinson has a point thatI was a little unfair regarding the onboard activities, there were a couple of interesting talks in the first two days (finance and politics) and they had an attendance of about 10 people! Then we had jewellery making and Marilyn Monroe.There were numerous quizzes and a few childrens films no new mainstream films just some old ones on cabin TV the newest of which are already relesed on DVD and were pay per view. I agree that it is good that the art auctions have gone and I enjoyed viewing the gallery very much.We are not sunworshippers either, but unless you want to stay inside or stand on deck for most of the cruise a lounger is handy!Although the last thing I appreciated in the cabin was a bowl of sweets to complement the constant meals, though the fruit bowls were great, the cabins are the best ever! My issue is not that P&O's standards are slipping, but the fact that they have relaxed the dress code ( on formal evenings some of the men did not even wear a jacket- so they might as well scrap the code altogether!) and allowed children to take over too much of the ship has encouraged the standard of behaviour among the passengers to fall, if this is the market that P&O are now looking for -so be it.Perhaps the current credit crunch might change their minds when it bites harder and effects sales two years from now.P&O had a niche market, not snob related like Cunard, but with a very English set of standards that were upheld by their passengers.This is what impressed me when we cruised with them in 2000.I enjoy dressing up for dinner for the two weeks of the year that I don't have to cook it.There is no point to this unless everyone does it.If some passengers don't want to, there are plenty of other lines with no behaviour reqirements to cater for them.And as this cruise so clearly illustrated - no dress standards - no behaviour standards!

I was on the same cruise and would like to address some of the points raised by "Smith". The dress code on Ventura is "suggested". I agree that it is nice to dress up, but this does not suit all people and if they choose not to follow the "suggested" dress code, so be it. They are after all on holiday. I cannot understand that comment about children taking over too much of the ship. Apart from decks 17 & 18 aft (?) and the Havanna lounge, you rarely saw kids. They were (I understand) 980 children on board, and by rights they should have had a 1/3rd of the ship! I did not notice a drop in behaviour standards on Ventura. The vast majority of people I spoke to (including children) were courteous, fun and polite. This is in contrast to other P&O ships I have been on where the majority of passengers were the complete opposite and snobs! If this (on other P&O ships)was "English Standards", then it is not a very good reflection of the English. I think that your last comment is a bit pompous - I have met a lot of people who are dressed to a high standard and behave appallingly. Having a dress standard does not automatically lead to good behaviour. Please judge people by what they are, not what they wear.

I know that the dress code was suggested, that is the change that P&O have made that I feel has led partly to a lowering of behaviour standards, although it is a general ailment of our society lately too! - if people cannot be bothered to make an effort with their appearance on holiday they are unlikely to make one the rest of the time, but you are right they should not be judged by what they wear - and I didn't, I witnessed poor manners and a total lack of regard for other people. I have never been on a ship before when a passenger threw a sunbed overboard, I have never been in a nightclub at 12.15pm with a 5 year old, etc and frankly I don't want to repeat the experience. I am sure that most people on board were very nice, it is always a small minority who are a problem, I just think they should stick to Butlins. If P&O want them that is fine,I can spend my holidays elsewhere.

I would also like to add, that I find it incredibly amusing that you are of the opinion that because there were 980 children on board, they should have had 1/3 of the ship given over to them. Also perhaps a sign of the times.

I wonder why you say Cunard is 'snob related'? Is it the company image or the passengers you mean? I hope you will respond, as I'm interested to know why people think this.

Hi, Re your question about Cunard I think they are snob related because when we have looked at the brochures they seem to have first and second class passengers, all cruise ships have different grades of cabin, but usually all passengers are treated the same, although as I write this I realise that we were able to eat breakfast in The White Room on Ventura because we had a suite which amounts to the same thing really, this is the first time we have had a suite and it was not our original booking we were offered it because of a cancellation and we decided to go for it as it we had not been on a holiday for two years. I am glad you asked the question as it has made me carefully consider my views.