Cruises, Cruise Deals & Cruise Holidays

Charge peanuts for cabins and plenty of monkeys will turn up!

i think the gentleman or family are utter tossers ive got no tattoos and i enjoy a beer i work hard for what i get i sailed trans atlantic october last year and my wife and i are doing the same again this october and we have booked again for a cruise in may next year we all got our own opinions but its definately better than butlins you had better try it because obviously all the lager louts now go crusieing so they wont be in butlins coops from cardiff

This has to be a wind-up to get everybody going! I've already posted my review 'Ventura Second Time Around' about the same cruise and I simply don't recognize the ship as the one I was on. Firstly, I checked with P & O two weeks before the cruise and they advised me there were 221 children booked on the cruise, which is probably why we didn't see many around the ship. We didn't eat in either the Waterside or the Beach House Grill in the evening, so wouldn't know how casually dressed passengers were, but although I personally think people are missing out if they don't ever bother to take up a rare opportunity to dress up, it's up to the individual and the Waterfront and Beach House restaurants are the appropriate place to stay casual if that's preferred. After all everyone has the opportunity to eat in the main or specialist restaurants throughout the cruise. I do agree with Taylor that children should not be fast asleep across two chairs in Cinnamon while their parents eat - what's wrong with the baby/child sitting service that's offered? I also disagree about the entertainment. There's lots of it certainly enough for everyone's taste. We enjoyed the majority of the Ventura Theatre Company shows, as well as some of the other individual performers, which included a very talented pianist who gave six classical recitals, several of which we attended. Other people like singalongs and quizzes - there's room for everyone. I personally don't like tattoos, but it's become so fashionable that it seems everyone from the Royals down do it, I do wonder however, if some people will still be happy with their choice of tattoos when they're 50 ? However, back to the ship. She is being marketed as a family friendly ship and that's fine, there are other ships like Arcadia and Artemis for those passengers who really want to avoid children completely. But remember, grandparents are family too. I can see a time when our son and daughter-in-law will want to cruise with us together with their two children. It would be great for us to see our grandchildren for two solid weeks and we will no doubt play our share with 'child care' if they're not in the kids' clubs and Mum and Dad would like to have a break. I don't think it's right that older people should be made to feel unwelcome on Ventura and I don't think that's what P & O had in mind when they marketed Ventura as a family ship. So there may come a time when we will be back on Ventura and I'm sure we will enjoy it just as much as the Med cruise we've just had, but in the meantime yes, we will be more likely to book on the other P & O ships and we are going to try Cunard's Queen Victoria in October because we do enjoy the more traditional aspects of cruising. One final thing though to all you youngsters who think the older brigade are a crowd of wrinklies... It's not necessarily so and if you're lucky enough to survive long enough, you will inevitably get there yourselves and sooner than you think. The years just fly by. Happy cruising to everyone.

Oh dear, sounds as if you prefer the 'traditional' cruise. Try either Cunard (very few kids and a rigorously enforced dress code) or Fred Olsen, really nice people definitely no 'chavs'

This sounds like another boring wind up re Ventura. How many comments can it provoke? Its like shooting fish in a barrel.

What a bad tempered review- so full of crude stereotypes that I begin to doubt its authenticity. If it is 'for real' then I apologise but the review contains no facts or information about the actual cruise. As a matter of interest, what was wrong with the cabins?

I'm well and truly fed up of the "Butlins at Sea" comments/remarks. Can reviewers not be a little more original. I've been to Butlins ( albeit some time ago) and I cannot believe for a moment that a cruise holiday is like that, whether it is on P&O, RCL, Princess, Thomsons etc etc. Having read so many reviews about the Ventura on this site, I firmly believe that most of the negative reviews are from traditional P&O (and other cruise line) travellers who hanker after cruising of yester year. Ventura would seem to do exactly what it says on the tin - it is a large family ship aimed at families, so if you are one of the 'traditional' cruisers don't go on it then moan about it being a family ship or too large. I'm sailing on her in August and if it is as bad as what people make out, I will gladly eat humble pie and post on this site.

if there is a problem with saving sunbeds why dont people throw the offending persons towels and stuff on the floor or even better in the sea !!!!!