Live from Ventura

[Josy1953]

9 hours ago, SarahHben said:

 

One thing we’ve noticed is that on the smart casual nights there seems to be a fair amount of not at all ‘smart’ casual. People dressed up more on Iona last year. We’ll see what tomorrow’s formal night brings.

The reason that we haven't been going on P&O for the last few years was the lack of adherence to the dress code but we have booked Ventura for later this year because we want a holiday before the Christmas madness starts and I had hoped that P&O had started to enforce their own rules.  I know that not everyone wants to dress up but for me it is part of the cruise experience.  On our last P&O cruise which was on Azura pre-pandemic they were letting people into the MDR dressed in football strips on the formal nights.

I have no problem with people wearing whatever they want to wear but if they want to be casual at all times then go to the casual eateries on smart casual and formal nights not the MDR.

 

Edited August 7, 2023 by Josy1953

[SarahHben]

21 minutes ago, Josy1953 said:

The reason that we haven't been going on P&O for the last few years was the lack of adherence to the dress code but we have booked Ventura for later this year because we want a holiday before the Christmas madness starts and I had hoped that P&O had started to enforce their own rules.  I know that not everyone wants to dress up but for me it is part of the cruise experience.  On our last P&O cruise which was on Azura pre-pandemic they were letting people into the MDR dressed in football strips on the formal nights.

I have no problem with people wearing whatever they want to wear but if they want to be casual at all times then go to the casual eateries on smart casual and formal nights not the MDR.

 

I’ll let you know what it’s like in the MDR on formal night tonight. I don’t want to describe what one person was wearing in Sindhu last night in case they read this 😂 but technically they ticked the no trainers/no football shirts requirements but they may have looked smarter if they had worn trainers & football shirt.

There was a real mix of people, some very glitzy & glam, some smart casual evening wear, some in what I would consider day wear, a few dressed for gardening 😂

 

I didn’t see any football shirts, but some were pushing the boundaries of ‘smart denim’. 
 

I hope that doesn’t come across as snobby, it was our observation not a judgement… except the few dressed for gardening anyway 🥴
 

I remember a discussions about smart shorts recently & it does now say in Horizon that “tailored shorts with smart shoes can be worn in the buffet, Glass House & Beach House.”

Edited August 7, 2023 by SarahHben

[AndyMichelle]

On Britannia recently, the first night was a bit of a shocker regarding what people were wearing.. 

Fortunately, on the first formal night, there was a massive uptake in dressing up. 

I put it down to a combination of people not bothering due to travelling etc and some passengers interpretation of what is smart casual. 

Some of the youngsters think that ripped jeans and 'muscle' t shirts are fine? 

Andy 

[SarahHben]

We’ve just got back to the cabin after a very nice meal. We really want to see Tom Ball in the theatre tonight so we headed out for dinner soon after 6pm. Saffron & Cinnamon both had pretty long queues, but they moved fairly quickly.
My husband wanted a table for 2 so we were given a pager & told it would be at least an hour. We had a drink and then we’re called for our table after about 45 mins.

We shouldn’t have bothered waiting for a table for 2 because we had a lovely evening chatting to the couple next to us 😁 I didn’t take any food pics as we were chatting and it felt rude to get my phone out.

Like Andy, we found the vast majority of people dressed up for formal night, even the children. There were a couple of teens milling around the atrium in shorts and hoodies but I don’t know if they tried to get in a dining room.

We are now off to have a drink and then go to the late theatre show, Tom Ball is supposed to be very good. 

[SarahHben]

[SarahHben]

Morning.

Tom Ball was incredible last night, he’s got one of the best voices I’ve heard. He sang one of my favourite songs and I got all teary. He’s back on Thursday evening so we’ll definitely go back to see him again!

 

We’re finding we’re doing things a bit differently on Ventura compared to Iona. We barely used the buffet on Iona but we’ve had breakfast in the Ventura buffet 2 out of the 3 mornings so far. It’s probably because we got up too late but it seems harder to get a breakfast table for 2 in the MDR. 
The outside decks and pool areas are very busy so we’ve been very grateful that we bought passes for the Retreat and glad we got a C deck cabin with a big balcony. 
 

It’s warm but cloudy today. Mr B has gone to the gym while I’m sitting in the Retreat 😁

 

[lincslady]

Lovely photo of you both - your hair always looks immaculate; I imagine you have to use a heated brush or something every morning?  (Speaking as a woman who has longish hair in a ponytail. so no hard work at all!)

[SarahHben]

3 hours ago, lincslady said:

Lovely photo of you both - your hair always looks immaculate; I imagine you have to use a heated brush or something every morning?  (Speaking as a woman who has longish hair in a ponytail. so no hard work at all!)

Thank you, you wouldn’t say that if you could see it right now 😂

I just use hair straighteners on it, it’s thick so holds its shape reasonably well. I don’t always bother in the morning, especially if I’m likely to put it in a pony tail, but i do use them before going out to eat in the evenings. 

[Selbourne]

@SarahHben Is the My Holiday app used at all on Ventura for the MDR (or anything else for that matter) or is it just first come / first served and pagers? 

[SarahHben]

23 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

@SarahHben Is the My Holiday app used at all on Ventura for the MDR (or anything else for that matter) or is it just first come / first served and pagers? 

It can be used to book specialty dining & to check your bookings, on board account etc.

 

For theatre shows you just turn up, no booking required and for Freedom dining it’s turn up, queue when necessary and get a pager if necessary.

 

The first night we went straight in to Cinnamon restaurant, last night we waited for 50mins with a pager.

[SarahHben]

Afternoon Tea time in the Retreat 😊 

[Selbourne]

12 minutes ago, SarahHben said:

It can be used to book specialty dining & to check your bookings, on board account etc.

 

For theatre shows you just turn up, no booking required and for Freedom dining it’s turn up, queue when necessary and get a pager if necessary.

 

The first night we went straight in to Cinnamon restaurant, last night we waited for 50mins with a pager.

Thanks Sarah. I’m following your posts with great interest, as we have two Ventura cruises booked. We have to have a table for 2, and I am flip-flopping between leaving our dining choice as Freedom Dining but seeing on the first night if we can get a table for 2 on second sitting, or requesting a table for 2 on 2nd sitting and if we aren’t successful seeing if we can switch to Freedom! So I shall be very interested to hear whether your 50 minute wait for a table for 2 is a regular occurrence or a one off. 

 

Also, someone posted that they had recently been on Ventura and the MDR food was by far the worst that they had ever experienced on a cruise ship. I’m sensing from your posts that this hasn’t been your experience? We certainly had no complaints about the MDR food on Britannia recently, but I know that it can vary by ship - and sometimes by cruise and even which MDR people use 😂 

[mrshorsy]

Great posts, we got off Ventura as you got on! Hope you have better weather than us it was shocking ! Rained all day in Vigo and Porto and then didn’t stop at Guernsey at all which was disappointing as the sea didn’t look choppy at all (we have had far bigger waves when having to get of In Mykonos and Santorini) but I guess the captain gets the final say.

If you love wine I would highly recommend the wine list in the Glasshouse its fab, as is the food ! If you are going for just a drink then be sure to sit at the bar the barman Greg is brilliant! Say hi from Sharon and Jason if you see him! 

And if you like sparkling wines then be sure to have a glass of Nyetimber it’s a gorgeous English Fizz with a fab Appley

[Josy1953]

I am really enjoying your posts because our next cruise is on Ventura and we have not been on any P&O ship in the last few years so I was starting to wonder if we had made a mistake going back to them after being on Cunard, Celebrity and Princess. 

Continue to enjoy your cruise and to keep posting your views of Ventura.

[Britboys]

2 hours ago, SarahHben said:

Afternoon Tea time in the Retreat 😊 

That doesn't look like much cream and jam for two scones...🤔

[Ardennais]

2 hours ago, Britboys said:

That doesn't look like much cream and jam for two scones...🤔

I agree! And where’s the butter?

[SarahHben]

4 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Thanks Sarah. I’m following your posts with great interest, as we have two Ventura cruises booked. We have to have a table for 2, and I am flip-flopping between leaving our dining choice as Freedom Dining but seeing on the first night if we can get a table for 2 on second sitting, or requesting a table for 2 on 2nd sitting and if we aren’t successful seeing if we can switch to Freedom! So I shall be very interested to hear whether your 50 minute wait for a table for 2 is a regular occurrence or a one off. 

 

Also, someone posted that they had recently been on Ventura and the MDR food was by far the worst that they had ever experienced on a cruise ship. I’m sensing from your posts that this hasn’t been your experience? We certainly had no complaints about the MDR food on Britannia recently, but I know that it can vary by ship - and sometimes by cruise and even which MDR people use 😂 

We’ve had 2 MDR dinners in Cinnamon and 1 MDR breakfast in Saffron so far, we’ve enjoyed all of the food that we’ve ordered, except the cup of tea at breakfast, over stewed and not very warm. 

We will have dinner in an MDR tomorrow evening and will let you know how we get on with a table for 2. 

[SarahHben]

4 hours ago, mrshorsy said:

Great posts, we got off Ventura as you got on! Hope you have better weather than us it was shocking ! Rained all day in Vigo and Porto and then didn’t stop at Guernsey at all which was disappointing as the sea didn’t look choppy at all (we have had far bigger waves when having to get of In Mykonos and Santorini) but I guess the captain gets the final say.

If you love wine I would highly recommend the wine list in the Glasshouse its fab, as is the food ! If you are going for just a drink then be sure to sit at the bar the barman Greg is brilliant! Say hi from Sharon and Jason if you see him! 

And if you like sparkling wines then be sure to have a glass of Nyetimber it’s a gorgeous English Fizz with a fab Appley

Thank you. I do like wine but it doesn’t like me at the moment 😞 We are hoping to try the Glass house at some point.

[SarahHben]

2 hours ago, Britboys said:

That doesn't look like much cream and jam for two scones...🤔

I didn’t think it would be enough but it was just about right.

[SarahHben]

28 minutes ago, Ardennais said:

I agree! And where’s the butter?

I said to my husband that I’d have liked butter 😊 The scones were good though.

[SarahHben]

We’ve just got back from a delicious dinner at The Beach House. I had a prawn starter and then Lava Rock steak which was so good, the steak melted in my mouth. I didn’t really have room for a dessert but was weak willed and had a cheesecake which was actually quite a light texture. We’ve booked to go again on our last night.

 

Madeira tomorrow 😊 we’re going to try to get up early and have a mooch around before our excursion.

[P&O SUE]

Enjoying your blog and photos Sarah. Madeira is lovely, enjoy the rest of your cruise!

[Purdey16]

Lovely pictures Sarah,  enjoy Madeira tomorrow it’s my favourite place lots of different things to do .

[Josy1953]

Enjoy Madeira, it is a lovely port.  If you haven't booked your try taking the cable car up to the top then walk along calling at the botanical gardens before taking the wicker sleds back down to the port.  It was the highlight of our first visit to Madeira and we have often said that we would like to do it again but we have spent our subsequent visits doing other things.

Reid's Hotel does a lovely afternoon tea if you want to stay in Funchal.

[Son of Anarchy]

Great posts Sarah.  Thank you