Taster Cruise on Ventura

Hi All. My wife & myself were looking at these taster cruise to see how we would like a longer crusie. We looked at the channel island 2 night cruise with P& O on the Ventura, talk about a floating block of flats it is huge.

Anyway on looking at various videos on the web it almost looks like a booze cruise for 2 nights?

I started to look at cabins and opted for one with a balcony but all that was left on any deck were cabins like 422-434 on all decks. It seems these are smack in the middle of the main stairs & lifts and no one wants them.

The only cabin which on paper seems to be a little way from the main stairs & lifts is a balcony stateroom with shower. This is on B Deck Cabin B523 which is just about midship to midaft. I would be grateful if anyone has any idea if indeed this cabin would not be so near the main stairs & lifts as to be worth booking.

Many thanks for any advice.

A two night taster cruise isn't really a taster at all, as the ship will be filled with parties 'celebrating' special events. It's a bit like rating a pub based on a Saturday night. The experience you get will be nothing like what you find on a 7 day or longer cruise. Try it by all means, but really I would save my money and try for at least a 5 day cruise.

As for the cabin location, for 2 nights I wouldn't worry too much about it.

Sent from my SM-T700 using Forums mobile app

I started to look at cabins and opted for one with a balcony but all that was left on any deck were cabins like 422-434 on all decks. It seems these are smack in the middle of the main stairs & lifts and no one wants them.

 

Many thanks for any advice.

These cabins are Midships and therefore more expensive due to their close proximity on average to all parts of the ship. On these two nighters groups of friends book up in larger numbers and this type of cruiser group is extremely price sensitive.

Regards John

Hi. Thank you for you input. I t does seem like the 2 day cruise is indeed just a big noisy party . I have since read that you get a lot of stag & hen do`s on the 2 night cruise so not going to be quiet.

I think on reflection we are going to give this one a miss and look at the 5-7 day cruise and see how we get on.It does seem then in one way midships is better for being close to all parts of the ship. Are the higher decks more desirable like say A + B as they are nearer to where most things are going on?

Hi...I would certainly avoid 2 night cruises unless you are a " party animal" as they certainly don't give a true reflection of what cruising is about. I find that I need at least 2/3 days just to get my bearings on the ship....sometimes a lot longer than that! I would say a 7 night cruise ....to start with....is the best way to go if it is your first cruise. At the start of any cruise it seems a bit " frantic"....where is my cabin....where is buffet....where is this & that and then the Muster so it takes a few days just to "settle in" and relax into it. C deck is good on Ventura/Azura as that deck has larger balconies in standard cabins.Everything doesn't all happen on the higher deck....that's for the outside "happenings" and buffet. Decks 5/6/7 have the inside " happenings" ad main dining rooms. I personally like P deck but it doesn't have balconies just inside/outside cabins but very handy for the atrium and coffee shop and to watch the dancing/entertainment without bothering about lifts but that is my personal choice.

Hi. Thank you for you input. I t does seem like the 2 day cruise is indeed just a big noisy party . I have since read that you get a lot of stag & hen do`s on the 2 night cruise so not going to be quiet.

I think on reflection we are going to give this one a miss and look at the 5-7 day cruise and see how we get on.It does seem then in one way midships is better for being close to all parts of the ship. Are the higher decks more desirable like say A + B as they are nearer to where most things are going on?

If you are still thinking Ventura or indeed Azura, C deck has larger balconies. This is due to Grand Class ship design where the balconies protrude out various degrees from the side of the ship. Converse to this is that where they stand out proud higher deck balconies overlook them. Some balconies are totally overlooked others 50% or not at all. This is a major issue to many cruisers.

In the days of ocean liners the lowest decks were for steerage or third class passengers and higher decks were for second class ultimately highest decks were first class cabins and suites. This was dictated by smells coming from boilers unwanted heat etc low down. In intermediate years low decks had narrower corridors and everything improved in quality the higher deck you had. Modern era, this is no longer the case with updated propulsion units and air conditioning evening the problems out. Choosing a deck and cabin these days has got more personal. Where does one want to be near? Which areas are going to be problematic with noise late at night early morning etc.? Does ones party include children that want to be an easy route to the club or mobility challenged passengers who do not need an adapted cabin but may well prefer being nearer certain venues? Does anyone get seasick high decks move more with the ship rolling and forward and aft cabins will have more movement with the ship pitching fore and aft.

Basically, my selection is Lido Deck Balcony, as they are cheap and all my party will enjoy very rough sea conditions. It's straight out to the main pools complex which is a bit noisy so front end of the cabin run gets us away from the noise. Smokers would like this area as you can get to the smoking area far side of first pool but none of us smoke now and the area is far enough away to not be a problem. The pizzas, burgers and ice cream supplies are close too.

If I was looking at Deluxe Balcony cabin, I should be looking at Emerald Deck Aft, first or last cabin, to get a larger balcony completely not overlooked. Vertically about the lift shaft access is excellent for the Terrace bar, swimming pool and many restaurants.

End of the day it's horses for courses and people choose cabins for different reasons. Important when booking if you feel you have selected the absolute ideal cabin - Select *NO UPGRADES* because many upgrades given by the cruise line are simply an identical cabin elsewhere, but would have been more expensive when you booked but not one you would have ever wanted given the choice! It is very rare to get a free upgrade from an ocean view cabin to a balcony or from a balcony to a mini-suite.

Regards John

Hi...I would certainly avoid 2 night cruises unless you are a " party animal" as they certainly don't give a true reflection of what cruising is about. I find that I need at least 2/3 days just to get my bearings on the ship....sometimes a lot longer than that! I would say a 7 night cruise ....to start with....is the best way to go if it is your first cruise. At the start of any cruise it seems a bit " frantic"....where is my cabin....where is buffet....where is this & that and then the Muster so it takes a few days just to "settle in" and relax into it. C deck is good on Ventura/Azura as that deck has larger balconies in standard cabins.Everything doesn't all happen on the higher deck....that's for the outside "happenings" and buffet. Decks 5/6/7 have the inside " happenings" ad main dining rooms. I personally like P deck but it doesn't have balconies just inside/outside cabins but very handy for the atrium and coffee shop and to watch the dancing/entertainment without bothering about lifts but that is my personal choice.

Reassuring that you like P deck , as we and another couple have booked outside cabins on this deck (only ones available ) We have only had balcony cabins before but as we are only doing a 2 nighter to Guernsey ,we didn't want to pay a lot for such a short break?........but worried that we would feel like we were close to being underwater lol.Hopefully the restriction on the amount of booze allowed will mean it won't be too much like a booze cruise

A 2 day taster will not give you a good idea of whether you would enjoy a longer cruise on Ventura.

A longer cruise can be relaxing as everyone is not trying to cram everything into 2 days. Real usp for me are the speciality dinning venues and Glass House. The food in MDR is nothing special.

As others have mention, taster cruises are great options for people celebrating. So if crowds of people drinking a lot troubles you, I would avoid this type of cruise on this type of ship.

A 2 day taster will not give you a good idea of whether you would enjoy a longer cruise on Ventura.

 

A longer cruise can be relaxing as everyone is not trying to cram everything into 2 days. Real usp for me are the speciality dinning venues and Glass House. The food in MDR is nothing special.

 

As others have mention, taster cruises are great options for people celebrating. So if crowds of people drinking a lot troubles you, I would avoid this type of cruise on this type of ship.

I would agree with this , and add that sometimes a longer cruise can give you the wrong idea too, our first cruise was a Caribbean cruise with RCI , and we hated it so much we said we would never ever set foot on a cruise ship again ! A few years later we went to Alaska , and as you really need to do at least some of the trip by boat we reluctantly booked an inside passage cruise , and loved any minute . We concluded that we liked the smaller boats that kept closer to land , so thats what we have stuck with so far . So I would suggest you try and narrow down what you would like from a cruise ie quiet / laid back or busy busy party party and reserch research reserch

We looked at a short cruise for a taster cruise but decided on a Norwegien fjords 7 night on a mid size ship went on Arcadia dates fitted in with our hols

What a cruise for first one loved it, only had 2 sea days which was what we wanted in case we would get bored.Think if When we book another will try a larger ship bit more to on sea days.

We had a balcony cabin just around corner from stairs and lifts didn't hear anything.

We looked at a short cruise for a taster cruise but decided on a Norwegien fjords 7 night on a mid size ship went on Arcadia dates fitted in with our hols

What a cruise for first one loved it, only had 2 sea days which was what we wanted in case we would get bored.Think if When we book another will try a larger ship bit more to on sea days.

We had a balcony cabin just around corner from stairs and lifts didn't hear anything.

Best value per night cruise on P&O offering an excellent 14/15 day cruise are the Repositioning cruises Caribbean to Southampton in March. Fly out, week in Caribbean sail back to Southampton via Canaries for around £1000 each or £1300 each in a balcony cabin.

Regards John

Hi

I have done 2 x 2 night cruises with P&O as well as longer ones. Both had celebrations/ parties on board but as we don't stay up late (11pm ish) we were not aware of any drunken behaviour. We have also had cabins near the lifts & stairs on several cruises and never had a problem - so far! But 2 days is not enough to get a feel of things, let alone find your way round a huge ship like Ventura.

However having done a fjords cruise last year this is definitely the one I would recommend. It's not too long, you get to see some great places and only 2 sea days. Or maybe one that just goes to Spain/Portugal/France & back?

Oh, and Guernsey is a tender port so if it's too windy you'll probably go to somewhere like Cherbourg instead. For me, cruising is a great way to see lots of places and I get to relax. Then there are others who just love the ships and never get off in the ports.

Hope you find something fabulous

Cathy