Selbourne ‘Live’ from Ventura

[Selbourne]

7 hours ago, TigerB said:

 

Your Epicurean is obviously matching ours week for week with the menu. I had the scallops, black cod, and crêpes the other night; the latter sadly still not prepared at the table.

I am certainly not a fan of marmite, but surprisingly I do not mind the marmite butter. After having it in January, our lass remembered she really likes marmite, and now always has it on toast, much to my disgust.  

They must waste loads of it on these ships; she always makes it clear to the breakfast waiters that she just wants a small amount, and often shows them a teaspoon, to indicate just how much. Nine times out of ten they bring back a dish or ramekin with at least two tablespoons in. So, almost all of that would end up in the bin.

I just don’t get the switch from little jars of conserves to large open tubs. Makes no sense to me. There was nothing environmentally unfriendly about glass pots that could be recycled. The large tubs, which I’ve seen be moved around between tables, seem unhygienic and, as you say, far more wasteful food wise. Bonkers IMHO 😂 

[Selbourne]

DAY 6 - Thursday 2nd November (Tenerife)

 

Another reasonably decent nights sleep. Very little creaking although the cabin is still too warm for me, even with the air con on the coolest setting (I swear that P&O have turned the air con thermostats up as part of their cost cutting drive). I’m delighted to report that we don’t have noisy neighbours either side of us or above us on this cruise, as we are often cursed with at least one. Lay-ins are never possible though, as there is a crew access area directly opposite and at 7am every morning the cabin servicing trolleys come out, bumping over the threshold, and one is always parked outside our cabin. The early risers also feel the need to greet the stewards at the top of their voices as they pass, regardless of the “We Are Resting” signs on all the other cabin doors 🤔

 

A later arrival into Tenerife today (scheduled 10am) but an equally late departure (all on board 8.45pm). Obviously we only have short distances to cover between the Canary Islands, so I assume that we will have some other late departures until our departure for Cadiz. 

 

We went down to the Bay Tree MDR and were seated at a table for 2 in a banquette style. I’ll admit that I have a very keen sense of smell, unlike my wife who smells hardly anything and swears that I “make smells up” (is that even possible?) but we were both hit with a very strong odour that indicated that a neighbour had some serious personal hygiene issues. I won’t go into detail, other than to say that it wasn’t sweat 🤢. I’m afraid that neither of us could sit in that smell, even if we weren’t planning on eating, so we got up again quite quickly and returned to the MDR reception desk and asked for a table in a different section.  I’m just relieved that we had a table for 2 and hadn’t shared, as nobody else was affected by us leaving, but I’m now slightly anxious that we might encounter the ‘source’ of the odour again in the future. If my wife couldn’t tolerate the smell then it must have been bad!

 

We had been warned by our evening waiters that breakfast service in the Bay Tree is very slow and it is. This isn’t an issue for us as we take our time in the mornings, but my wife overheard a few people complaining about it. If, like us, you like a slow leisurely breakfast in a less crowded environment then it’s a great option, especially as it isn’t even advertised as being open for breakfast, but if you have a tour booked or want a quicker MDR breakfast then Saffron is probably a better bet. 

 

One very positive post Covid change that I have forgotten to mention is that the cut off time for breakfast in MDRs is now 10am on sea days and 9.30am on port days. Pre Covid it was always 9.30am on sea days and 9am on port days. When we were on Britannia in July there was a mix of the old and new times, which was a bit confusing, but it’s consistently been the later times on Ventura. We see this as a very positive change, as we take a while to get going in the mornings and we are on holiday after all. 

 

We disembarked after breakfast for a walk around Santa Cruz de Tenerife. There had been announcements that there were long queues for shuttle buses and there were no accessible shuttles, but it wasn’t far so we had intended to just walk into town from the ship anyway. We’ve only been to the Canary Islands once before when the kids were young and we did tours to the main sights back then. This time we have decided to just explore the towns that we dock in. It could be that we didn’t see the best of the town, but it didn’t particularly impress. There are some nice old buildings but immediately surrounded by what our now King would describe as ‘carbuncles’ 😂. It was 26 degrees but there was a bit of a breeze, so it wasn’t too bad pushing the wheelchair. 

 

We returned to the ship for lunch and afterwards my wife enjoyed a few hours reading on the balcony. We are on the port side and are overlooking the island, as we were in Madeira. There has been no TV reception all day due to the topography, so we could be at war for all I know 😂 An afternoon cuppa at Tazzine and we were both absolutely staggered to watch an enormous queue build all the way from the Cinammon Freedom Dining MDR right back across the entire width of the atrium and beyond? The queue started at around 5.30pm and didn’t start moving until 6pm. Apparently this happens every day and on deck 6 as well. What is it with all these people wanting dinner so early and being prepared to stand in a queue for up to half an hour for the privilege? What is ‘freedom’ about that? Great news for us though with our next cruise on Aurora, as we have booked a Saver and we either want second sitting Club or Freedom (where we will dine at a similarly late time). We would absolutely hate first sitting, but I’m guessing that it will be over subscribed anyway given the numbers of people who prefer to eat very early🤞

 

We went to Metropolis again for pre dinner drinks. The excellent pianist wasn’t present (for those who asked, his name was Tony Williams) but a lady was there playing an accordion. I’m afraid that it didn’t work for us at all, nor did it for the others we saw leaving with full glasses in hand. It also didn’t work for the chap on the next table who said to his wife “it sounds like a 3rd rate busker”. We had to agree. They left as well and we soon followed. We don’t like the aft show lounges but there was a male singer in there called Jayson Keeler. We only caught the last song and a half but he was excellent. We shall look out for him in future. 

 

Another very good dinner in the MDR. We both had the Mahi Mahi with macadamia crust and sweet and sour accompaniments with fried rice. Very tasty. Deserts always seem to be the weak point of most meals with P&O. We had a chocolate fondant (that was dry) and salted caramel ice cream. Pretty naff but thankfully we enjoyed the starter and main. My wife was ready for bed after dinner and I did a partial lap of the promenade deck (some bits were closed - no idea why). There are huge numbers of smokers and vapers on this cruise, as opposed to the handful of diehards that you tend to see on most other cruises. I went along to Tamarind to catch a bit of Pulse doing ‘Country & Western ‘bangers’’. I didn’t know that there were such things! Unfortunately it was really warm in there so I didn’t stop. I do hope that they aren’t going to be as stingy with the air con on Aurora when we go to the even warmer Caribbean next year! 

 

We have a new Captain from today - James Brown. It sounded like he stalled the engines during our departure from Tenerife, but I’m sure that he will master the clutch before long! Tomorrow La Palma. 

[david63]

27 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

a very strong odour that indicated that a neighbour had some serious personal hygiene issues. I won’t go into detail, other than to say that it wasn’t sweat

If I guess right as to what you are alluding to then it is possible that the neighbour has a recognised disability and whilst I accept that it should be controlled it is not always possible.

[Selbourne]

14 minutes ago, david63 said:

If I guess right as to what you are alluding to then it is possible that the neighbour has a recognised disability and whilst I accept that it should be controlled it is not always possible.

I’ve no idea David, but regardless of the cause we couldn’t sit there I’m afraid. It was overpowering. My wife has a serious disability and if that caused the same issue and she was unaware of it I know that she would want me to mention it and help address it, and she certainly wouldn’t want to be sitting in a busy dining room up close and personal to other guests. Same with me. We would both be mortified. I suspect in this case that neither were aware but, of course, I have zero knowledge of their circumstances, just the consequences. Either way, very sad. 

[Purdey16]

Happy for you selbourne that it’s all going good and I’m enjoying your honesty in everything your writing, re the unfortunate circumstances at the restaurant we would of moved as well and good that you were able too without causing fuss , my MIL always asked me to tell her if she smelled at certain times of her age when dementia became more debilitating and I said I would be honest with her , sometimes when people do have a problem they become immune to their own smell.

 

Were also on Aurora in December on a saver fair and requested late dining so hopefully it’s given as we don’t like eating early while on holiday, if we do get freedom dining I will have a visit to the Md and ask nicely to change so fingers 🤞

[Selbourne]

5 minutes ago, Purdey16 said:

Happy for you selbourne that it’s all going good and I’m enjoying your honesty in everything your writing, re the unfortunate circumstances at the restaurant we would of moved as well and good that you were able too without causing fuss , my MIL always asked me to tell her if she smelled at certain times of her age when dementia became more debilitating and I said I would be honest with her , sometimes when people do have a problem they become immune to their own smell.

 

Were also on Aurora in December on a saver fair and requested late dining so hopefully it’s given as we don’t like eating early while on holiday, if we do get freedom dining I will have a visit to the Md and ask nicely to change so fingers 🤞

Thank you. The people in question would have had absolutely no idea why we left as we weren’t on their table and we asked to be seated in a completely different area well out of sight so as not to cause any potential embarrassment. We are not insensitive to these issues, but could not have eaten where we were, nor should we have to. 

[pete14]

We always have fixed club dining at 6:30 which is pretty much when we eat at home. It removes any desire for afternoon tea as well, which helps the waistline; just about the only thing that does on a cruise. 

[Selbourne]

1 minute ago, pete14 said:

We always have fixed club dining at 6:30 which is pretty much when we eat at home. It removes any desire for afternoon tea as well, which helps the waistline; just about the only thing that does on a cruise. 

Yes, as I said, the odd thing is that we eat at around that time at home, but as we rarely find the entertainment on cruises to be of interest, a late meal is our main evening activity 😂 We also like to have a lazy afternoon / early evening watching the departure from ports. It’s great for us that most people prefer early dining as if we book a Saver we hopefully have a much better chance of getting allocated dining that suits us. I hope that theory works for us on Aurora next year as it’s the first time we’ve booked a Saver on her 🤞

[JeanieC,Aston]

23 hours ago, grapau27 said:

Do they not have Old Speckled Hen ale on board?.

 

Hi.

Yes they do,,,,,thank god they also have John Smiths and Guinness😏

[Britboys]

23 hours ago, terrierjohn said:

The buffet used to have an omelette station, but recently they now seem to have little bits of folded ready made eggy things masquerading as omelettes.

On Aurora in August, omelettes made to order were back in the Horizon Buffet fortunately. Those pre-made ones were dire...

[Britboys]

19 hours ago, TigerB said:

 

That would have been funny to see, the Les Dawson tribute act!😂  Eric Morecambe comes to mind too. What was it he said to André Previn, "I'm playing all the right notes sunshine, but not necessarily in the right order"?

 

The comedian you saw later, with the predictable punchlines; straight off Wheeltappers and Shunters, was he?😉

Surely you mean Andrew Preview.....😁

[Britboys]

11 hours ago, pete14 said:

I agree, it appears as though they are similar, which is not necessarily a bad thing but the point I am making is that there are alternatives to the MDR on all ships, which serve different dishes, if the food served in the MDR is not to your or my taste. Not all of them charge extra, especially on the larger ships which offer greater choice. The quality of the food however seems to be pretty good regardless of where a person chooses to eat, some better than others though. 

Although not necessarily a bad thing, it is possibly not a good thing either. I may be completely wrong but I would hazard a guess that the uptake of vegetarian and vegan dishes on Aurora and Arcadia is pretty low. To me it is much more understandable to have such options on the newer ships that attract a much more diverse set of pax. One of the ladies on my table in August was vegan but she was decidedly unimpressed with what was on offer most nights.

[Britboys]

2 hours ago, Selbourne said:

I just don’t get the switch from little jars of conserves to large open tubs. Makes no sense to me. There was nothing environmentally unfriendly about glass pots that could be recycled. The large tubs, which I’ve seen be moved around between tables, seem unhygienic and, as you say, far more wasteful food wise. Bonkers IMHO 😂 

I guess it is cheaper though...

[Selbourne]

3 minutes ago, Britboys said:

I guess it is cheaper though...

Probably, especially if they had to wash the glass pots before recycling but, as @TigerB has pointed out, the food waste must have gone up as a result 🤔

[stephenSJ]

Creaky cabins - last november we were on Ventura and treated ourselves to  our first and last suite. It was deck 14 midships. A beautiful suite but once we hit only slightly rough weather the creaking started. Suites are double width with only support in the middle from some furniture. We experienced the creaking Selbourne reported as the ship twisted but ours was then accompanied by a loud bang when something in the ceiling decided it couldn't take it any more and moved violently. As the ship unwound the bang happened again as it dropped back into place. We found ourselves lying in bed listening to the creak and waiting for the bang. I recorded it like you did and took the recording to reception. They sent deck officer with a sound meter and we sat and listened.. They agreed something was wrong and we said we could not sleep in that cabin. They said there were no more empty suites so we offered to move to a balcony to get some sleep. They then found an empty suite on deck 15 right at the front. Nothing like as nice as the one we had but it was better than no sleep.

Unfortunately this one had its own problems. . When the ship twisted in strong winds the dividing door that separates our suites balcony  from balcony next door could break free from its lock and swing violently banging against the ship. I thought it was just a one off but after getting it locked closed again it broke free the next night. 

The cabin is also opposite a locked closed door to the  thermal spa and when the ship rolls water spills out under the door wetting the carpet in the corridor necessitating fans runnig to dry the carpet and that wet dog smell. As there was rot around the bottom of the door this must have been a long established problem. 

We had to have the engineers come to work on the AC 3 times at is just stopped working completely so the cabin rapidly dropped to the outside temperature as the wind chilled the walls as it is right at the front. 

I had thought if we avoided suites we would be ok for serious creaking and have a superior balcony booked  midships deck 10 later this month but after reading your experience am concerned. 

 

Before anyone says all ships creak we are well seasoned (50+) cruisers so know what is normal and that creaking and banging like this isnt. 

 

 

[Selbourne]

A couple of shots from deck 16 in La Palma this morning. Currently a humid 25 degrees with a breeze. Looks like a bit of a trek into town, but we’ll manage. 
 

 

[Selbourne]

2 minutes ago, stephenSJ said:

Creaky cabins - last november we were on Ventura and treated ourselves to  our first and last suite. It was deck 14 midships. A beautiful suite but once we hit only slightly rough weather the creaking started. Suites are double width with only support in the middle from some furniture. We experienced the creaking Selbourne reported as the ship twisted but ours was then accompanied by a loud bang when something in the ceiling decided it couldn't take it any more and moved violently. As the ship unwound the bang happened again as it dropped back into place. We found ourselves lying in bed listening to the creak and waiting for the bang. I recorded it like you did and took the recording to reception. They sent deck officer with a sound meter and we sat and listened.. They agreed something was wrong and we said we could not sleep in that cabin. They said there were no more empty suites so we offered to move to a balcony to get some sleep. They then found an empty suite on deck 15 right at the front. Nothing like as nice as the one we had but it was better than no sleep.

Unfortunately this one had its own problems. . When the ship twisted in strong winds the dividing door that separates our suites balcony  from balcony next door could break free from its lock and swing violently banging against the ship. I thought it was just a one off but after getting it locked closed again it broke free the next night. 

The cabin is also opposite a locked closed door to the  thermal spa and when the ship rolls water spills out under the door wetting the carpet in the corridor necessitating fans runnig to dry the carpet and that wet dog smell. As there was rot around the bottom of the door this must have been a long established problem. 

We had to have the engineers come to work on the AC 3 times at is just stopped working completely so the cabin rapidly dropped to the outside temperature as the wind chilled the walls as it is right at the front. 

I had thought if we avoided suites we would be ok for serious creaking and have a superior balcony booked  midships deck 10 later this month but after reading your experience am concerned. 

 

Before anyone says all ships creak we are well seasoned (50+) cruisers so know what is normal and that creaking and banging like this isnt. 

 

 

Very interesting and I’m glad that I recorded ours as well, because there would be some who think that I’m exaggerating. The video clip is of course not as loud as it is in the flesh. Like you, we’ve done a lot of cruises and the movement and a degree of noise is all part of the experience, but when it prevents sleep it’s another matter. We also have a regular mechanical motor noise every few minutes, but that in itself doesn’t wake us. We are by the forward lifts on deck 9. Hopefully it will be OK where you are. We’ve had Superior Deluxe cabins before and not had these noise issues. We usually suffer from noisy neighbours, but thankfully those around us are as considerate as we are, so we wouldn’t want to move and replace one problem with another 😂 

[jh1809]

28 minutes ago, Britboys said:

Although not necessarily a bad thing, it is possibly not a good thing either. I may be completely wrong but I would hazard a guess that the uptake of vegetarian and vegan dishes on Aurora and Arcadia is pretty low. To me it is much more understandable to have such options on the newer ships that attract a much more diverse set of pax. One of the ladies on my table in August was vegan but she was decidedly unimpressed with what was on offer most nights.

Agreed. Having the same menu on all ships may maker for an easier life for P&O but fails to take into account that different ships attract a very different type of passenger. I'd hazard a wild guess that upwards of one-third of the passengers on Arvia and Iona might be vegetarian or vegan but more like 10% on Aurora and Arcadia. Yes, even on the latter ships you need a least one main course to cater to them, but three seems overdoing it.

[jh1809]

15 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Very interesting and I’m glad that I recorded ours as well, because there would be some who think that I’m exaggerating. The video clip is of course not as loud as it is in the flesh. Like you, we’ve done a lot of cruises and the movement and a degree of noise is all part of the experience, but when it prevents sleep it’s another matter. We also have a regular mechanical motor noise every few minutes, but that in itself doesn’t wake us. We are by the forward lifts on deck 9. Hopefully it will be OK where you are. We’ve had Superior Deluxe cabins before and not had these noise issues. We usually suffer from noisy neighbours, but thankfully those around us are as considerate as we are, so we wouldn’t want to move and replace one problem with another 😂 

Have you consider ear plugs? Not ideal, but better than being kept awake by noise. I don't know if the toiletries shop would sell them.

[stephenSJ]

9 minutes ago, jh1809 said:

Have you consider ear plugs? Not ideal, but better than being kept awake by noise. I don't know if the toiletries shop would sell them.

When we had our problem the Deck Officer gave us ear plugs but we found although they helped it was insufficient reduction in noise level to allow sllep . 

[stephenSJ]

30 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

s. We are by the forward lifts on deck 9. Hopefully it will be OK where you are. We’ve had Superior Deluxe cabins before and not had these noise issues. We usually suffer from noisy neighbours, but thankfully those around us are as considerate as we are, so we wouldn’t want to move and replace one problem with another 😂 

I just double checked and we are deck 9 midships this next time not 10 as i said originally. 

[Selbourne]

16 minutes ago, jh1809 said:

Have you consider ear plugs? Not ideal, but better than being kept awake by noise. I don't know if the toiletries shop would sell them.

The deck manager offered them. I don’t think they would have made a big enough difference in all honesty. 

[Interestedcruisefan]

3 hours ago, Selbourne said:

Maybe it’s us Jean, but we are now 3 P&O cruises in this year (Britannia, Iona and Ventura) and we have been very happy with the MDRs and food in them on all those cruises. 
 

Yes, there is definitely less choice now (something that is masked by the always available items being used to pad out the main menu) and there are more vegetarian options than before, but there has only been one menu so far on this cruise where neither of us really fancied anything and, thankfully, we were already booked in to Epicurean. 
 

In all honesty, even if speciality restaurants didn’t exist, or we couldn’t afford to use them, we’d be happy with the MDR every night. 

Same here

 

Was very pleasantly surprised by quality of the food and the ambience both for breakfast and dinner when we used on Iona in May

 

Planning to use them a lot on Arvia in February

 

And looking forward to them

[bobstheboy]

1 hour ago, stephenSJ said:

Creaky cabins - last november we were on Ventura and treated ourselves to  our first and last suite. It was deck 14 midships. A beautiful suite but once we hit only slightly rough weather the creaking started. Suites are double width with only support in the middle from some furniture. We experienced the creaking Selbourne reported as the ship twisted but ours was then accompanied by a loud bang when something in the ceiling decided it couldn't take it any more and moved violently. As the ship unwound the bang happened again as it dropped back into place. We found ourselves lying in bed listening to the creak and waiting for the bang. I recorded it like you did and took the recording to reception. They sent deck officer with a sound meter and we sat and listened.. They agreed something was wrong and we said we could not sleep in that cabin. They said there were no more empty suites so we offered to move to a balcony to get some sleep. They then found an empty suite on deck 15 right at the front. Nothing like as nice as the one we had but it was better than no sleep.

Unfortunately this one had its own problems. . When the ship twisted in strong winds the dividing door that separates our suites balcony  from balcony next door could break free from its lock and swing violently banging against the ship. I thought it was just a one off but after getting it locked closed again it broke free the next night. 

The cabin is also opposite a locked closed door to the  thermal spa and when the ship rolls water spills out under the door wetting the carpet in the corridor necessitating fans runnig to dry the carpet and that wet dog smell. As there was rot around the bottom of the door this must have been a long established problem. 

We had to have the engineers come to work on the AC 3 times at is just stopped working completely so the cabin rapidly dropped to the outside temperature as the wind chilled the walls as it is right at the front. 

I had thought if we avoided suites we would be ok for serious creaking and have a superior balcony booked  midships deck 10 later this month but after reading your experience am concerned. 

 

Before anyone says all ships creak we are well seasoned (50+) cruisers so know what is normal and that creaking and banging like this isnt. 

 

 

Apologises, not wanting to highjack Selbournes thread but we are in a mid ship suite, Deck 14 on the Azura in January. Is there a problem with noise from the deck above ?

[Selbourne]

A couple more shots from La Palma plus tonight’s formal night menu (apologies for the poor angle, but the menus behind Perspex are difficult to photograph without getting your reflection all over them 😂)