P&O SUE

Looks lovely, where are you?

Yes we could just turn up and were seated straight away. I got the impression it had only just started on our cruise and we did go at 6 and 6.15 the days we went there. Normally we’d go 6.30-7pm. We were told we’d get a buzzer if it was busy. As it was a short cruise to Amsterdam we were in port overnight one night and til midnight the next night so I expect a lot of people were ashore.

By the way I’m not anti-app and am quite tech savvy but it was nice not to have everything booked up in advance but just show up when we wanted. As it was I didn’t see two entertainments I would have liked to have seen because we’d pre-booked Epicurean for the first night (it was all booked up every night before the cruise) and we arrived at 5pm the second day and had booked a walking tour for 7pm.

Yes we were a bit concerned after some reviews but it was fine, really like cruising before 2020!

I’m on this cruise and ironically got the email as we were sailing into Amsterdam this week on Ventura. At least they’ve told as with plenty of notice. I booked it primarily to try Aurora but also hope to visit Keukenhof. I’m not too worried about the change as I’ve been to Amsterdam a few times but not Rotterdam. Sorry you’re disappointed though. I’m fairly sure they’ll go to Keukenhof from Rotterdam but the new excursions aren’t up yet.

Yes it has been a long time now …

I woke up uncomfortably hot at 4.30am and came downstairs and had a coffee and read my kindle. My settee is leather so cool (at the moment!) I then went back to bed and slept to 7am. Before we go to this wedding I must remember to pull the curtains to keep our bedroom cool!

We were very happy not to virtual queue for the restaurant, just turn up! I’m still scarred by Formal night on Britannia last year when we waited over two hours to be called! When we went to ask we were told the table was ready but for some reason hadn’t updated on the app!

I think the glass doors look much better on the showers but the curtains don’t really bother me. I’ve heard people say they stick to them but I’m not the slimmest person but they don’t stick to me! It was powerful and hot. That reminds me, the first morning water was left in the bottom of our shower, a couple of inches that didn’t flow away. Also we got hot water only from the tap, not cold! So we went to reception and reported it. When we came back to our room a couple of hours later they were both fixed.

On Ventura it wasn’t used at all for the MDR’s. For some reason it was for the Glasshouse, the other restaurants could be booked online before we went. We did sign into it but only used it to check our onboard spend!

There was some but it didn’t get in our way so to speak.

Look forward to hearing all about it Andy, hope you both have a fantastic time.

Why on earth would he complain about the amount of luggage?? Probably an old joke but I did chuckle when the entertainment manager on the last night on Ventura said the crew were holding a luggage sale he wanted to get to 😂

We’ve just come back from Ventura and we had liquid soap (white company) by the sink, not on the wall. I was very happy with this as I much prefer the liquid soap to the bars. I find it easier to clean under my nails. We had the white company shower gel and hair wash in the shower.

Morning all, it’s set to be a scorcher today which is a little annoying for me as we have a wedding evening do to go to tonight and I will be wilting! Rain due later this week so mustn’t grumble 😀

I hope you enjoy your cruise on her. After Iona I don’t know if you’ll think she looks a bit ‘dull’ . We did our first two cruises on Azura and Ventura so it was like coming home!

We didn’t notice anything going in Graham, but when we left there was some work going on but as we left about 7.30am it didn’t cause us any problems. This was Mayflower terminal.

I’m sure it will be better for you. This was April 2022 when the ‘always available’ seemed to not include chicken fleet-wide. I was worried about Ventura as I’d heard loads of complaints beforehand but it really was like cruising before 2020! The last night in the theatre was jam packed and I thought that was a good sight!

In the Glasshouse John had the trio of sliders and I had three of the tapas style they do. Then we had a desert which we’ve never had in there before - there is a choice of three old school puddings or you could have one for £2.25! I had their take on walnut whip and John had the lemon meringue!

Sorry Selbourne I didn’t speak to other passengers about their MDR experiences. We did the last two days in the MDR and mainly spoke to passengers about dining on the first two, sorry! Choice was good for us and portion size. Not huge but when we have three courses that suits us! Below is a photo of my beef wellington and the waiter came up half way through and asked if I wanted more vegetables! Which I didn’t. There were more peas and beans under the beef! We were on Britannia last year and found the choice poor.

Thanks Kalos, we had a boarding time of 12.30, showed up at 12.15 and were sent straight in! Small queue to check our boarding pass then straight through to report to our muster station. Cabin’s weren’t available til about 2.30 but we went to our cabin and asked if it was ok to leave our overnight bag there and it was fine.

I always have a different outfit for each night but the longest I’ve done is 12 nights and I will double up on the trousers and skirts just with a different top.

Another thing - no using the app to queue for MDR but we had lunch in the Glasshouse on the last day and we were asked if we’d joined the queue! We hadn’t but he did it for us and said we were no 3, we must have waited about 10 mins! We used the MDR twice, both times we went at 6pm so that we had plenty of time for the entertainment, both times we went straight in! Although we were in Amsterdam til midnight the formal night so I expect many were off the ship. Pleased to say Beef Wellington was on the Formal menu and chicken and steak were on every day.

Afternoon all, we got home from our 4 night cruise this morning, self disembarked so were home about 10am. Had a lovely time, didn’t want to get off! I’ve started a new thread with more detail.

Afternoon, we’ve just been on Ventura for four nights to Amsterdam, we had a lovely time. Highlights - No using the app now for Freedom dining, just show up like ‘old times ’ Lovely meal in the Epicurean, big excitement as my Crepe Suzette was cooked at the table 😊 It was delicious! The weather was fab, sunny and at times too hot 😆 We went to the ADam tower for a fantastic view, also had a breeze up the top! We went on a free ferry just behind the station. I only knew about this as I’d seen it on YouTube! Unfortunately Ventura was moored so it’s aft was towards us! We went to our first ever silent disco, what a laugh! Great fun and John, who hardly ever dances was dancing away! Any questions just ask.