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Oriana v Ventura


darknightsdespiser
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We have been on both Oriana and Ventura and enjoyed both.They are different ,Ventura seeming to be more lively and crowded.I believe that any cruise is what you make it .Never experienced a bad one .

 

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We like both ships but if i was to choose i would go for Oriana because it is adults only and had an Andersons bar last time we were on her.

 

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We would opt for Oriana over Ventura too. Yes we are not young, over 65, and have been on Azura about 4 times and Ventura once, to the Canaries last January. Now, I can't really say why, like a previous poster said, but I prefer Azura to Ventura. Maybe we were influenced by the fact that for the first time in over 20 cruises with P&O there was a large, disruptive family on board who made their presence felt both in their cabin and at various venues on the ship. I don't know if they were warned or not but people were talking about them on the ship. I've tried to ignore that and understand why I prefer Azura. This probably won't make much sense but when I think of Azura I think of it being brighter than Ventura - I said it wouldn't make sense! I know many people have had wonderful holidays on Ventura, I know Dai is one of them but we wouldn't choose to go on Ventura again unless she was going to a destination that we couldn't visit on any other ship.

 

We haven't been on Oriana since she was made Adult Only and had a refit so can't really comment on her other than to say we really like Aurora and think of Oriana as being in the same sort of mould - I know they are quite different. I'm probably not being much help to the OP but that's my thoughts. I would opt for Oriana.

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We've been on Oriana 3 times and Ventura twice. Oriana used to be our favourite ship, mainly because we like sitting out on the tiered decks at the stern. We also like the delux outside cabins (e.g. C260) where there is lots of space and we didn't miss not having a balcony. As others have said the Crow's Nest, Andersons & cinema were also favourites. We travelled on her when I was in my 40's and to me it didn't feel like a "senior citizens" ship. I would also say that for me the great advantage of the smaller ship is that you meet people and actually see them again, unlike on some of the much larger ships! Generally I think that the smaller ships are much more sociable.

As for the entertainment I think that part of this depends on the cruise director.

We enjoyed our 2 cruises on Ventura and on the first occasion had a cracking cabin (C752). We found it less intimate and friendly on both cruises, in particular the 2nd time when we were unlucky to be seated with just one other couple who didn't have anything to say on a table for 8 on 2nd sitting dining. It is the only time we've ever asked to be moved. We still had a great cruise and it was a bargain price late booking.

We're going back on Ventura in 2019 as we are now restricted to school holiday cruises and the itinerary suits us. I have some reservations about sailing on Ventura during school holidays (based on other threads and observations) but as always we'll make the most of it. We've been on Britannia twice and Azura once during school holidays and we've enjoyed them all though there's definitely more hustle and bustle with all the kids and young families.

Finally I wouldn't try to "guess" the weather. On our Christmas cruise in 2011 we were sailing down the Iberian coast sat outside in t-shirts!

Whichever you choose have a great time!

Damian

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We've been on Oriana 3 times and Ventura twice. Oriana used to be our favourite ship, mainly because we like sitting out on the tiered decks at the stern. We also like the delux outside cabins (e.g. C260) where there is lots of space and we didn't miss not having a balcony. As others have said the Crow's Nest, Andersons & cinema were also favourites. We travelled on her when I was in my 40's and to me it didn't feel like a "senior citizens" ship. I would also say that for me the great advantage of the smaller ship is that you meet people and actually see them again, unlike on some of the much larger ships! Generally I think that the smaller ships are much more sociable.

As for the entertainment I think that part of this depends on the cruise director.

We enjoyed our 2 cruises on Ventura and on the first occasion had a cracking cabin (C752). We found it less intimate and friendly on both cruises, in particular the 2nd time when we were unlucky to be seated with just one other couple who didn't have anything to say on a table for 8 on 2nd sitting dining. It is the only time we've ever asked to be moved. We still had a great cruise and it was a bargain price late booking.

We're going back on Ventura in 2019 as we are now restricted to school holiday cruises and the itinerary suits us. I have some reservations about sailing on Ventura during school holidays (based on other threads and observations) but as always we'll make the most of it. We've been on Britannia twice and Azura once during school holidays and we've enjoyed them all though there's definitely more hustle and bustle with all the kids and young families.

Finally I wouldn't try to "guess" the weather. On our Christmas cruise in 2011 we were sailing down the Iberian coast sat outside in t-shirts!

Whichever you choose have a great time!

Damian

I forgot to mention how much we also liked having breakfast or lunch in the Al Fresco cafe on Oriana, much nicer than the scrum at the buffet.

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