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Wednesday 17th March 2010
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Norway Adventure on Ventua |
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Reviewed By: Allen, Whiteley/Fareham on 3rd Jul 2009
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| Cruise Line: P&O Cruises |
Times cruised before: 1-2 |
| Cruise Ship: Ventura |
Sailed:
June,
2009 |
| Destination: Norwegian Fjords |
Age: 36-45 |
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This was my first cruise on P&O since 1997 when I cruised on Canberra. My wife had never cruised P&O before.
Firstly, I Have to say that the whole check-in process was easy at the new Ocean Terminal - it was 1.5 hours from
leaving the house (we live close to Southampton) to sitting on the balcony, which is very impressive. The organisation was good; take a lettered card, wait to be called, check in and get your Cruise Card, proceed through security and you are on the ship. You had to wait until 2pm to get in your cabin, but you could go up to the buffet to be fed and watered.
Once in our cabin which was on Deck 14 (Riviera) and had a balcony, we found the cabin was spacious and a 'walk-in'
wardrobe area and of course having tea/coffee facilities in the room was fantastic, as not all cruise companies
have this. The Cabin Steward introduced himself and let us know about the lifeboat muster drill. He was very
attentive thoughout the cruise and anything we asked for was duly supplied. The air conditioning was great and not that noisy and the shower was good with plenty of hot water which didn't vary in temperature. The interactive TV was good and it allowed you to check your account throughout the cruise.
The ship itself is impressive, although it is more of a 'resort ship' rather than an opulent/elegant ship. It
caters for the British market and is family oriented. If you don't want to be on a ship full of children, this may
not be for you, but because it was term time, the child count was low.
We were booked in the Bay Tree Restaurant (Deck 6), on a table of 2. The food was of good quality and consisted of
starter, soup, main, dessert and tea/coffee. We requested the 2nd sitting (8.30pm). The only downside of this is
that by the time you finish your meal (around 10.30pm), all the venues (like Metropolis Cocktail Bar, The Exchange
Pub, Havana nightclub and the Tamarind) were completely full with people and you were unable to get a seat which was a bit annoying.
The buffet which we used for breakfast and lunch was very tasty and we had no problems with
finding a seat there - but you must avoid the midday rush if you want to be sure of a seat. Tip - if you want to
find a seat go to the rear buffet (the Beach House) although this buffet didn't open until 1pm. The other food
facilities were good - we particularly liked the pizzas. We did eat in 'East' one night which was an additional £20 per head. It was well worth it as the food was great and the service excellent.
On Day 1 we went to Shore Excursion office to book our trips and were amazed to find many of them 'waitlisted' or
completely fully booked. We learnt that many people booked their places before travelling, when they first
received the 'excursion booklet'. On the off chance we completed the Booking Form and added ourselves to some
'waiting lists' and luckily more trips were arranged by P&O, so we did get to go on the trips we wanted. The trips
we went on ranged between £35-£45 per person and were no longer than 4.5 hours. They were extremely well organised
, interesting and well worth the money. The coaches used were very modern and air conditioned, the drivers were steady and the guides were very interesting and knowledgeable.
The activities on board were varied and interesting. Apart from the usual theatre West End shows, other more unusual activities to note are giant scalextric, cocktail demonstrations including bottle/shaker juggling, champagne waterfall, an excellent talk by a well known actress (Marlene from Only Fools and Horses) and also the galley tour.
We found the prices on board to be reasonable. We paid about £13 for a bottle of wine, an ice cream was
£1 and cocktails were in the £3-4 region. Merchandise was also reasonable but you are better holding off until about day 5 to purchase since you get the inevitable discounts on some lines.
Mainly all positives for this cruise; the negatives are few. We found that there simply aren't enough toilets on
the ship, especially for the ladies and the signage for the toilets is poor. Also, the ship needs some attention
in places, hanging wiring and tape over the carpet joins isn't really good enough for a new ship. But that is all really.
As for disembarkation, the cases were taken off the ship ahead of schedule, so we left the ship at 08.30 rather than
9.00 am. Finding our cases was simple, there were sorted in 'deck order' and all ours were together so we didn't have
to search. We were home with the first load of washing in the machine within an hour! The Ocean Terminal was
really the icing on the cake for us - so much better organised than City or Mayflower.
Overall, it was a positive cruise experience and we would have no hesitation booking another cruise on Ventura. Oh, and cruise.co.uk did a good job too with the booking - we have used them again on the basis of this experience.
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| Quality of Food |  |
| Good food not too fussy in style. Spent alot of time in the buffets and the pizza restaurant. East restaurant well worth the £20 per head additional charge. | | Entertainment | |
| Good West End show. | | Shore Excursions |  |
| All excursions good - some included cake and tea which made them even better. Organisation excellent with little delays. Probably enjoyed the funicular railway trip at Bergen the most. | | Staff | |
| Cabin Steward Hansel was good - got you what you asked for and didn't forget. | | Children's Facilities | n/a |
| | Onboard Activities | |
| Other entertainment such as giant scalextric went down a treat. Other talks and actviites as detailed in my review were all very good and for me were very different. | | Cabins | |
| Excellent cabin layout, walk in wardrobe a bonus and good facilities such as tea/coffee making and regular replenishment of biscuits etc. | | Overall Rating | |
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