JudithAnn1

Thank you. We would definitely book to go on her again, she is one of our favourite ships.

Forgot to say we also enjoyed a very nice Peninsular Club 3 course sit down lunch in the Bay Tree Restaurant. We were welcomed by the Captain and Officers although they did not stay.

The priority boarders lunch was a sit down meal in the Cinnamon MDR with waiter service and the food was lovely. I think there were two guest speakers on board during the cruise, one of which was Donald Campbell’s nephew. I’m afraid I can’t remember who the other guest speaker was as the weather was so good we spent the sea days on deck or on our balcony. Hope you enjoy your cruise.

Hope you have a lovely cruise on Iona.

We have just returned from cruising to Madeira, the Canary Islands and Lisbon on Ventura. After reading many negative reviews in recent months relating to all ships across the fleet I began to think that we wouldn’t enjoy the cruise even though we had a five week cruise on Ventura last year and had a great time. I needn’t have worried, we had a wonderful cruise. Embarkation was quick and the ‘Welcome On Board’ lunch was lovely. Our cabin steward made himself known to us shortly after we arrived in our cabin and kept it spotless throughout the cruise. It was a deluxe cabin on D deck, mid-ship, and was in good condition. We had a problem with the hot water having a brown tinge to it but I mentioned it at Reception and it was quickly sorted by a plumber. We have always chosen Freedom Dining and prefer a table for two, but don’t like to eat too early. By going along to the Saffron Restaurant about 6.30pm we had a pager and were usually seated at the table we asked for between 7.15 and 7.45. We always received a warm welcome when we entered the MDR but our waiters, Sherwyn and Jai deserve a special mention. They were always smiling and efficient, nothing was too much trouble and the service excellent. There was a good choice, the portions were plentiful and the food was hot. I had read that other passengers had to wait ages for drinks in the MDR on other cruises but in the Saffron orders were quickly taken and drinks promptly delivered. This also applied to all the bars we went to - The Red Bar, The Glass House, The Tamarind and The Metropolis. We saw no signs of any staff shortages and all of the crew that we came into contact with had a smile and were happy to chat. We had read bad reports about the buffets on the ships but, although we only used it at lunchtime or in the afternoon, we were quite happy with it. In fact it was much improved on last year. There was usually a good choice of rolls, the prawn ones were really nice. Leon, the Entertainment Manager, is very good at his job and it was lovely to be able to enjoy proper sail-aways again. We decided to self disembark which went very smoothly and we had picked the car up from CPS by 8am. The one thing I do miss are the ‘Port Talks’ and the port leaflets. I found these to be both interesting and informative and really looked forward to them on sea days. Hints and tips were given on getting the best from the port and slides provided a better idea of what a particular shore excursion would be like.

Thank you for your replies re passport validity and online check in. We will phone P and O in the morning and hopefully do it over the telephone.

We have tried to check in online this morning for our Ventura cruise to Madeira, the Canary Islands and Lisbon but the system is telling us we will have to check in at the Terminal because we do not have between 3 and 6 months left on our passports at the disembarkation date. Hopefully we are right in thinking that this cruise is within the EU and, as such, the 4+ months we have left on our passports at the end of it complies with all Immigration rules. Has anyone else encountered this problem on a similar cruise with P and O, and, if so did they have any trouble checking in at the terminal? Because of this problem we cannot access our Boarding Time which we believe should be an early one as we are now Caribbean Tier. Thanks.

Thank you for posting another photo of the Retreat, it looks a lovely place to relax. Glad to hear you enjoyed the Epicurean. We went there last year and are looking forward to going again on this next cruise.

Thank you for letting me know about the retreat, the sun beds look very comfortable. It sounds as though you are having a great holiday.

Hi Sarah. I am really enjoying reading your blog too, thank you, as we are on Ventura again on the 24th September. You mentioned earlier that you had booked the retreat. Did you book this in advance for the whole cruise or were you able to book for particular days once onboard?

Thanks to everyone who replied. We sailed on Ventura last March and had one of the balcony cabins on C deck which we loved. We have had to use a cruise credit earlier than we had planned due to P and O changing the rules and due to other commitments the Canary cruise was the best one for us. The amount involved just covered the cost of a deluxe cabin hence the reason for booking it. Hopefully we will enjoy the cruise and also our choice of cabin.

We are due to sail on a Canary Island cruise on Ventura in September. Can anyone tell us what extras, such as dressing gowns, are now included with a Deluxe Balcony cabin please?