Legend v Ventura

[AndyMichelle]

17 minutes ago, KnowTheScore said:

Always make me chuckle when the same posters jump straight in to defend P&O when anyone makes any critique of it.

 

This whole site is dedicated to critiques of cruise lines and cruise reviews.  Those who post their views don't have agendas, they are posting their opinions.  Very poor show chaps.

 

 

Critique is fine, we all do it. 

Not one poster on here claims P&O are perfect, we just 'speak as we find' and the truth is, many seem to have enjoyed Ventura, but you continually criticise us for having our opinion whilst bemoaning that nobody listens to yours... 

For the record, as I have said before, I agree with a lot of what you said about Ventura, she is not my favourite ship, but because we don't like her, doesn't give us the right to criticise others because they have managed to have great holidays on her. 

Ignorance is understandable, arrogance is not acceptable. 

Andy 

[KnowTheScore]

I simply post my opinions as all do.   That a tiny collective here are desperate to oppose any such critiques (and readers would do well to ask why that would be) does not remotely deter me.

 

OP asked for views of Ventura.  People should therefore post their views.  They should be free to do so without self-appointed forum police making pithy comments and personal remarks

[AndyMichelle]

3 minutes ago, KnowTheScore said:

I simply post my opinions as all do.   That a tiny collective here are desperate to oppose any such critiques (and readers would do well to ask why that would be) does not remotely deter me.

 

OP asked for views of Ventura.  People should therefore post their views.  They should be free to do so without self-appointed forum police making pithy comments and personal remarks

Yes we should... 

Without you trying to undermine our honest opinions. 

I say again, I don't disagree with your opinions, you are entitled to them, but so is everyone else, which you won't accept... 

Andy 

[terrierjohn]

48 minutes ago, KnowTheScore said:

Just to add to the above.

 

Even a 4 star review from Nov 2019 says this about the food:

 

"Food? Main served restaurants were Holiday Inn ‘Plus’ standard I would say, as I have before about Britannia."
 

another 4 star review says:

 

"the food could be better, I expected more quality"

 

 

Yet another review which compared Celebrity Solstice class ships like the Silhouette with Ventura said:

 

"We’ve never had any complaints on a Celebrity boat about food. Quality, choice, service have always been consistently good. Unfortunately, I can’t say the same about Ventura. In the main food was ok, but never exceptional, and in a few cases quite bad"

" If you are a foodie then, based on our experience, Ventura is not for you."

 

 

As stated earlier, I think OP here would get his answers by reading the plethora of Ventura Cruise reviews, especialy those from Oct 2019 onwards.

People are far more likely to report a poor experience than to repeat a favourable review of a ship they have already reviewed. 

I used to give regular reviews on CC but once you are repeating ships and itineraries you lose that desire, whereas a bad experience will give you the momentum to complain, even though you know that rough seas, bad weather, annoying passengers, the poorest head chef in the fleet ,and other one off issues, were the main cause of your poor experience.

[KnowTheScore]

24 minutes ago, terrierjohn said:

I used to give regular reviews on CC but once you are repeating ships and itineraries you lose that desire, whereas a bad experience will give you the momentum to complain, even though you know that rough seas, bad weather, annoying passengers, the poorest head chef in the fleet ,and other one off issues, were the main cause of your poor experience.

 

In truth, it's reasonable for any passenger paying £1000s for a vacation to expect a decent experience with good quality and service.   So cruise reviews of 4-5 stars ought to be the norm especially for what used to call itself a 4-star cruise line.  When you start getting a lot of 1 star and 2 star reviews then something is clearly wrong to my mind, and no, I don't think that can be attributed simply to bad weather and rough seas.  Nor to problems with other passengers, a situation which in part has been caused by Carnival/P&Os relentless drive to try and be all things to all men/women at both ends of the spectrum, by which short sighted strategy they simply diluted the P&O brand to an almost totally meaningless level imho.  

 

Any read thru of the reviews highlights the real problems passengers are facing and they are imho genuine concerns that need to be dealt with.   These were problems predating COVID-19 too so with the virus to contend with as well they have their work cut out I would think.

 

 

 

 

[wowzz]

4 minutes ago, KnowTheScore said:

In truth, it's reasonable for any passenger paying £1000s for a vacation to expect a decent experience with good quality and service

These days, in real terms,  cruises are probably cheaper than ever. P&O operate in the cheaper sector of the market, and are cheaper than the likes of Princess, Celebrity,  HA, etc. 

They are a three star cruise line with prices to match. It seems to me that you are expecting too much for the price you are prepared to pay.

My cruise line of choice is Princess, but have recently cruised more with P&O.  Princess provide a superior product, but at a much greater price. As long as P&O provides value for money, and does not try to charge 4 star prices for a 3 star experience, I will continue to include them as part of my cruising portfolio.

[Guest ccpm]

Well as a plus it kept me amused all day today. In this situation there has to be a plus in there somewhere and this was it for me.