Ventura Easter Sail Times and Positives About Her

[Littlelostelf]

We're booked on 5th April sailing from Southampton. Can anyone tell me when I can find out the arrival and departure times from each port, as I want to book private excursions. At the moment I only have early morning, afternoon etc from P&O. First time sailing with P&O as well so am learning new things Ventura does not seem to be a favourite ship on CC but we have found enjoyment with all our previous cruises. Please can anyone give me some positives about her?

[Littlelostelf]

I can't believe no-one has anything good to say about Ventura!

[terrierjohn]

49 minutes ago, Littlelostelf said:

I can't believe no-one has anything good to say about Ventura!

Ventura is our favourite ship, and strangely on ***** it receives 4 stars whereas Azura only gets 3.5, so although there always seem to be more Azura fans on here, Ventura must be more popular in the wider cruising community.

Staff are similar on all P&O ships, but food standard does vary dependant on the head Chef.  As regards the ship itself I prefer to have the covered pool area rather than the sea screen, and I prefer the layout and decor of Ventura's glass house to that on Azura, otherwise they are very similar.

The design of all Grand class ships, and even Britannia's Royal class,  do have lots of faults, and I think Royal Caribbean make far better use of the space than P&O, and passenger flow around the ship in the evenings on RCI is far easier than on Ventura and its big sisters.

As regards port times you will only find out the times when on board, although checking the port websites sometimes gives you more definitive times, you could try ringing P&O but you are likely to get differing answers depending on who you talk to.

[Littlelostelf]

Glad to hear this, terrierjohn. We are looking forward to properly observed formal nights as on RCI Jewel of the Seas this August, we were in black tie, surrounded by kids in football kit and families in cargo shorts and even a baseball cap! I reckon Jewel had 10% men in black tie, another 15% in suits but the majority ignored the dress code which made dressing up pointless. On another matter, I love the April itinerary with Spain and Portugal and Guernsey, the right balance of sea days to port stops. We did a ship tour of Aurora last October and she is a very special ship, but adults only so no go at the moment with our teens!

[tartanexile81]

We've done 2 x 35 day cruises on Ventura and we're on her again in February.  We obviously wouldn't keep cruising on her if we didn't like her. Happy to answer any questions about her. There are things we're not keen on but no deal-breakers. Unlike terrierjohn we don't like the layout of The Glass House and it's annoying that you cant pre-book the Beach House - minimal!

 

I use a website called cruisecal.com to find out ships' arrival and departure times. I have just come back from a 24 day cruise on Aurora and it was 100% accurate for every port. I have seen other websites mentioned but this is the only one you can have complete confidence in.  Here are the times for your cruise: 

http://www.cruisecal.com/portal/ItineraryPrint/tabid/2919/Default.aspx?sailID=CarnUK/N906

[Littlelostelf]

This is great, tartanexile81! The port timings information website is a keeper forever. And good to hear from a Venturer fan 

[tartanexile81]

7 minutes ago, Littlelostelf said:

This is great, tartanexile81! The port timings information website is a keeper forever. And good to hear from a Venturer fan 

Can't wait till February to be back on her. Just back from Aurora and I know she's a big favourite of many people but not for us. 

 

Can't tell you how useful cruisecal is.  I've used it for about 3 years now and it's been amazing. P&O tell you they don't know times but they book the berths a couple of years (or more) in advance and have to tell the port authorities what time they'll arrive and depart. 

 

 

[jocap]

Another big fan of Ventura. She was built with sailings to Northern Europe in mind, which means an indoor pool... you only need a cold snap to see why ships like Azura and Independence just don't hack it, with their sea screens and outdoor pools, which makes for a crowded inside. 

We've yet to find a ship which comes close to Ventura, but we live in an area which is quite cut-off, so sailing from Southampton has become impossible. We have to take small ships from Newcastle, so our choices are only about itinerary and not the ship.

[Wandering Woman]

We are also sailing on your ship, Ventura looks like a great ship and we are also looking forward to proper formal evenings! The only thing I am weary of is the Bay of Biscay and it's propensity for storms and the weather in general! I suspect it could be quite chilly even in Portugal.

 

Here's to a great cruise!

 

On ‎10‎/‎19‎/‎2018 at 11:37 AM, Littlelostelf said:

We're booked on 5th April sailing from Southampton. Can anyone tell me when I can find out the arrival and departure times from each port, as I want to book private excursions. At the moment I only have early morning, afternoon etc from P&O. First time sailing with P&O as well so am learning new things Ventura does not seem to be a favourite ship on CC but we have found enjoyment with all our previous cruises. Please can anyone give me some positives about her?