Selbourne ‘Live’ from Ventura

[Selbourne]

DAY 12 - Wednesday 8th November (Lisbon)

 

Now that the loud creaking noises in our cabin have been resolved we have been sleeping really well and even with the clocks going back one hour for our arrival into Lisbon we still had a bit of a rush to get to breakfast for the 9.30am cut off!

 

I had woken in time to see our transit down the Tagus and under the April 25th bridge (the eery roar from which I could still hear as we passed under it, even with the balcony doors closed) into Lisbon city centre. Iona had left Cadiz an hour or so ahead of us but only arrived 10-15 minutes earlier. 

 

We had a leisurely breakfast in the Bay Tree and sorted ourselves out in the cabin prior to heading ashore. This was the only port of call this cruise that felt a bit chaotic and not terribly well organised. We exited the cruise terminal in exactly the same spot as over 5,000 Iona passengers, so there were enormous queues. We were pounced on by loads of entrepreneurial people selling tours of all sorts (including an accessible one, which was impressive) but we couldn’t see any indication whatsoever as to where the accessible shuttle was. I asked a lady who seemed to be herding people and she asked which ship we were from, and when I said Ventura she said “keep going that way”. I did and could see no signs or helpers at all so just gave up and decided to walk instead.

 

Anyhow, the lack of organisation worked to our advantage, as we walked along the riverside and 15 minutes later were in the main square. I suspect that with the long queues and faffing about, it would have taken three or four times that long had we attempted to use an accessible shuttle. 

 

On that note, I would advise everyone other than the most immobile not to waste your time using shuttles in Lisbon. They take longer than walking and are frankly superfluous as I t’s a short, level walk into the city centre. Just turn left outside the terminal and keep the river on your left. Unfortunately there’s a lack of proper dropped kerbs but the drops are tiny. The long term roadworks that blighted this route for a number of years are all finished and it’s a nice walk now along the waterfront. 

 

We are a bit fed up with Lisbon as a port of call as we’ve been so many times (we feel the same about Copenhagen), so after an hour or two we were back on the ship. We had lunch in the MDR and shared a table with the very well travelled couple that we’d met before, plus another couple and two ladies we’d not met before. It was an entertaining and enjoyable lunch. 

 

During the afternoon we just chilled in the cabin and then the coffee shop. I swung by the shore excursion to ask about my refund as was assured that it was in hand. Let’s hope. 

 

Prior to departure the Captain made an all cabins announcement to say that the return crossing to Southampton would be as rough as our outward crossing. He said that we should expect 7.5 metre waves from midday Thursday until midnight Friday. In reality, as soon as we exited the Tagus the motion started, but we know that it’s going to get far worse. I do wish that we could do fly cruises and cut out the first and last two days of ex-UK cruises which, in weather like this, can be a real chore. 

 

We had pre dinner drinks in a slightly wobbly Metropolis prior to dinner in the Bay Tree. At dinner we both had the smoked duck starter, which was very tasty. My wife decided to have the steak main course from the secret Signature menu, which she enjoyed. I had roast chicken. Unusually the portion of meat was huge. I like lashings of gravy with a roast, which you don’t get with P&O, so it was a bit dry, especially as they’d forgotten to put the advertised bread sauce on it. There were three or four quite sudden lurches during dinner which made the waiters jobs all the more difficult!

 

After dinner we went to the Burt Bacharach themed Headliners show ‘Magic Moments’. The ship was bouncing around quite a bit at this stage and the show was 5 minutes late starting, so we were relieved that it went ahead as we were expecting a postponement. The show was OK, but the singing wasn’t as strong as the previous night. Whilst it’s great that spaces are provided at the back of the auditorium for wheelchair users and companions, this is the area where late arrivers tend to stand and many seem intent on having conversations throughout the performance with no regard for the fact that they are spoiling the enjoyment for others 😡

 

Talk in the lift after the show was that the Captain’s assurance that the seas would be pretty normal until lunchtime tomorrow were clearly way off the mark. We had said the same over dinner. Either the shipping forecast company that they use is completely naff or the Captains deliberately understate the forecast so as to not worry passengers! If this is mild compared to what we are heading into tomorrow then heaven help us! 😂

[mrsgoggins]

@Selbourne I completely agree about the preserves in the yellow plastic pots!

 

P&O is not our favourite cruise line despite having a few under our belts with more in the future, however the breakfast service always impressed until this year. I loved that the toast came in a rack and the glass pots of Bonne Mamman preserves. The pots were still available on Iona in March, but had been replaced by the yellow plastic on Ventura a few months later.  Some times it's the (very) small things you remember, but hey ho, cut backs are everywhere and are no real surprise given the bad time experienced by the cruise lines.

 

I'm pleased that you had such good dining experiences in the MDR and that your wife didn't have to endure the poor lift etiquette experienced on Iona.

 

Safe travels home and I look forward to reading your final review.

 

[Son of Anarchy]

39 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

I’ve just purchased a final 24 hours internet coverage with some of our remaining OBC. I shall post yesterdays report in a minute, but first here’s yesterdays MDR dinner menu and the MDR wine list for those who might be interested. IMHO the prices are extremely reasonable. Also, without wishing to reignite the debate about preserves, I’ve attached a photo of what greeted us on our table in the MDR this morning. I can’t imagine that I’m the only person who finds this presentation a bit off-putting? 
 

 

 

I'm unpleasantly surprised that they are using plastic dishes for the jam and marmalade in the MDR.

 

This year we have been on Azura, Arvia and Aurora.  Jam and marmalade were also served in small dishes/ramekins, but at least they were china.

 

On Ventura next month 😊

[Selbourne]

2 minutes ago, Son of Anarchy said:

I'm unpleasantly surprised that they are using plastic dishes for the jam and marmalade in the MDR.

 

This year we have been on Azura, Arvia and Aurora.  Jam and marmalade were also served in small dishes/ramekins, but at least they were china.

 

On Ventura next month 😊

In all honesty I can’t recall whether the yellow tubs are plastic or ceramic 😂 . It’s the smearing of the preserves up the sides of the tubs that puts me off. Whilst I dislike the buffet, I noticed that the tubs of preserves there looked far better and didn’t have the same look of having been around the houses as they do in the MDR 😂 

[jh1809]

1 hour ago, Selbourne said:

If that’s the case apologies for the repeat. I usually delete the photo once I’ve posted it. Must have messed up my system this time. Haven’t seen tonight’s menu yet. 

No apology necessary. These glitches happen.

[Selbourne]

Tonight’s menu. Spoilt for choice. 😋 

[Palaceman]

2 hours ago, Ilovemygarden said:

Surely the food is on a plate, not the table?  

I have to agree with True Devonian. Food may well be on a plate but seeing dirty bags on tables is disgusting. It's  as bad as putting dirty shoes on a table.

[Clodia]

I liked Iona for food choices which is why I am on her again on Saturday. I have booked a lot of speciality dining. Never used the buffet after one try when my bag and jacket were thrown on the floor while I got lunch. The couple sitting there said they had been on the floor when they arrived,  not that I believed them. The Quays was OK for breakfast or lunch because tables were close enough to the servery so you could place your jacket and bag down and keep watch while being served. I did have to yell at one young man who fancied taking my table and that seemed to act as a deterrent to other chancers.

[jh1809]

Looking at the latest menu, I feel a little sceptical about just how "wild" those mushrooms were. Given the quantities involved in cruise ship catering, I find it hard to believe that they were collected by people foraging in the woods rather than grown on a farm. There seems no reason why they should taste any better if they had been truly wild rather than cultivated, though, so it's probably not worth bringing a case against P&O under the Trade Descriptions act. 🙂

[Megabear2]

14 minutes ago, jh1809 said:

I feel a little sceptical about just how "wild" those mushrooms were. 

Probably a menu written by ICF ... he'd love a 'wild' mushroom to go with his 'roast' tomato soup.

[terrierjohn]

4 hours ago, Selbourne said:

I’ve just purchased a final 24 hours internet coverage with some of our remaining OBC. I shall post yesterdays report in a minute, but first here’s yesterdays MDR dinner menu and the MDR wine list for those who might be interested. IMHO the prices are extremely reasonable. Also, without wishing to reignite the debate about preserves, I’ve attached a photo of what greeted us on our table in the MDR this morning. I can’t imagine that I’m the only person who finds this presentation a bit off-putting? 
 

 

You never get anything like that in the wonderful buffet.

[terrierjohn]

9 hours ago, zap99 said:

Who me ??. Infantile?.

I am just not artistic enough to be able to create something like that.

[terrierjohn]

3 hours ago, Selbourne said:

In all honesty I can’t recall whether the yellow tubs are plastic or ceramic 😂 . It’s the smearing of the preserves up the sides of the tubs that puts me off. Whilst I dislike the buffet, I noticed that the tubs of preserves there looked far better and didn’t have the same look of having been around the houses as they do in the MDR 😂 

On Princess in the buffet you have to go to the marmalade counter to have the jam waiter plop a dollop or 2 of your chosen preserve on a plate, I think the plastic tubs in the buffet are dar less messy and certainly more hygienic.

[lebreos]

dont get me started on P&O menus descriptions -5 years or so a pet hate and quite a few sarcastic feedback forms about their custard - double cream - creamy - cornish to name a few... when it was all the same made from powder and water.... I have noticed they are starting to get more artistic with describing their custard again..

[davecttr]

17 hours ago, Ilovemygarden said:

I always take a brightly coloured (or distinctive) handbag and put it on a table whilst I go to collect food - it’s also good in guiding me back to the right table! 😀 Good idea re the card though - I’ll check it out next month on Azura.   Clodia - I see you have been on Iona.  How did you find that as a solo?   

I found a jacket on the back of the chair plus my beanie hat on the table works OK except once when I forgot the soup spoon. On returning with it everything was OK except someone had taken the chair and there were no other empty ones nearby 🤬 

[Selbourne]

Yesterday’s update to follow, but a quick update to say that the sea state (and wind) worsened overnight and has remained bad this morning. Ventura is getting thrown around quite a bit and it’s currently a rough ride. Standing up without holding on to something is a challenge and when walking you go from walking up a steep hill to running down the other side! Our balcony doors are firmly closed but the wind noise against them sounds as though they are open. Worst of all, we nearly lost a bottle of champagne that slid across the worktop, jumped over the securing rail and was rolling towards the wall at great speed. I managed to rescue it but must remember to open it outside when we get home 😆 

[gsmt47471015]

26 minutes ago, Selbourne said:

Yesterday’s update to follow, but a quick update to say that the sea state (and wind) worsened overnight and has remained bad this morning. Ventura is getting thrown around quite a bit and it’s currently a rough ride. Standing up without holding on to something is a challenge and when walking you go from walking up a steep hill to running down the other side! Our balcony doors are firmly closed but the wind noise against them sounds as though they are open. Worst of all, we nearly lost a bottle of champagne that slid across the worktop, jumped over the securing rail and was rolling towards the wall at great speed. I managed to rescue it but must remember to open it outside when we get home 😆 

A word to the wise about securing items in rough weather, in January we were given a welcome bouquet of flowers on arrival and they were as you would expect in a large glass vase , the sea state for the first two days was pretty rough ( understatement) and everything was flying off the cabinet , we put the vase of flowers in the only place that was safe, the large waste basket as we didn't want broken glass and water everywhere , we came back from breakfast to discover the beautiful flowers had been thrown out by our new to cruising steward, never to be seen again !!!!! 

   

[Lisashusband]

I have thoroughly enjoyed your vlog for the last couple of weeks but this last update we could definitely do without as we are about to leave for Southampton to join Ventura tomorrow.

Needless to say we have everything crossed in the hope this weather passes through before we sail and if it doesn’t we have a supply of stugeron that would make a chemist blush 😊 

[Selbourne]

8 minutes ago, Lisashusband said:

I have thoroughly enjoyed your vlog for the last couple of weeks but this last update we could definitely do without as we are about to leave for Southampton to join Ventura tomorrow.

Needless to say we have everything crossed in the hope this weather passes through before we sail and if it doesn’t we have a supply of stugeron that would make a chemist blush 😊 

I’m sure you will be fine. Stugeron has saved us many times, including this time. 

[Selbourne]

Update - Captain has just made another all cabins announcement. He said that he was sea sick himself last night, so what hope do us mere mortals have 😂 He says that we are in the peak of it now and it will remain this bad for another 6 hours before it starts to subside, but very gradually. Have to say it seems to be getting even worse. We are really rolling now. The glasses went over in one lurch and a champagne flute has smashed 😱 

[purplesea]

The wind's pretty rough here too and we are on land near the North coast! 

[Son of Anarchy]

12 hours ago, Palaceman said:

I have to agree with True Devonian. Food may well be on a plate but seeing dirty bags on tables is disgusting. It's  as bad as putting dirty shoes on a table.

When we were on Arvia, one bright spark in the  buffet left a packet of cigarettes and lighter to mark their territory. 

[Selbourne]

 

DAY 13 - Thursday 9th November (Sea Day)

 

With the rough night that we’d had, we were extremely grateful that the creaking in our cabin had been sorted. When we woke in the morning it wasn’t as rough as the previous night, so if it does start cranking up a few notches from lunchtime (as the Captain had said) we can hopefully cope with it. 

 

At this point I should say that the sound insulation between cabins is excellent on Ventura. We haven’t heard any of our neighbours at all the whole cruise, unlike our cruises on Aurora where the lack of sound insulation between cabins has been problematic for many of our cruises on her. 

 

The refund for my messed up Seville excursion has now appeared. It wasn’t straight forward and involved 3 frustrating  visits to reception (a place that I try to avoid as much as the buffet), but is now sorted. 

 

We had a leisurely morning during which time I had my first look around the shops. Someone on this thread had asked me to check if there were any perfume offers. I couldn’t see anything specific, other than the usual £x off etc. Presumably this is a discount against recommended retail price? If so, I’m afraid that I have no idea how this would compare to the normal online offers at home. 

 

In the noon announcement the Captain said that sea state was currently better than anticipated, but would worsen as the day progressed due to yet another incoming front. There is a remote chance that we might just keep ahead of it. Let’s hope so as, so far this cruise, we have generally had worse conditions that the captain has forecast. Either way, the heavy seas are likely to last until Friday night.

 

We went to the Glasshouse for our complimentary lunch, courtesy of our excellent deck manager Kasper. I was delighted to see that my favourite Glasshouse dish, the Sea Bass in banana leaf with prawn curried broth was on the menu, so there was no need to look at anything else. Unfortunately, what turned up was a pale imitation of what I have enjoyed dozens of times previously in the Glasshouse on other P&O ships. The sea bass, prawns and rice were all fine, but I could tell the second that it arrived that the broth wasn’t right. It looked very pale and insipid compared to the usual version. The taste matched the look. None of the delicious intense flavours that this dish usually has. I just hope that they haven’t messed with it on Aurora when we are on her in January, as this was my go to dish in the Glasshouse. I hope that it’s not gone the way of the breakfast smoothies across the fleet - watered down and now lacking the flavour and consistency! My wife had the sliders (small burgers) and enjoyed them. It was also nice to have some French fries for a change rather than the thick cut chips that seem to be the only ones available in the MDRs and other restaurants. 

 

For dessert I had an Indian Fusion trio and my wife fancied cheese, which was handy as the latter is listed as ‘to share’ and my wife is a light eater, so I knew that some of the cheese would eventually come my way, as it did! Both were really excellent, and it was lovely to have a proper cheese board and not the faux version now served in the MDRs. 

 

We decided to go for a coffee in Tazzine afterwards. As we are not sun worshipers, we have never experienced the frustration often reported on this forum caused by the ‘sun lounger hoggers’, who leave towels, books etc on empty sun loungers whilst they are off doing something else, preventing others from using them. Well, as we have now discovered on several occasions, this phenomenon has now extended to the atriums when dance classes are on. For some reason, some of those participating in dance classes feel that it is acceptable to reserve chairs with bags or books for the entire duration of their dance class, thus depriving a seat to those who wish to sit down and buy a drink. I’m afraid that I couldn’t bring myself to do as some do on the sun decks and move their belongings off the chairs and sit down, but it’s sorely tempting as such selfishness can bring out the worst in me 😂 

 

By this time the sea was definitely getting a lot rougher but, thanks to some preventative sea sickness tablets that we’d taken when we got up, we both felt fine. The juddering was now adding to the motion. 

 

As this was the penultimate night of the cruise, it was the final (of four) black tie nights, preceded by the Peninsular drinks party, which was the first time that we’d seen the Captain. He seems very personable. 

 

As we are booked in Epicurean for the last night, tonight was our final dinner in the MDR. Another excellent experience and we took the opportunity to show our appreciation to our waiters Alois and Khan, who have both been superb. We were amazed to hear that Khan was on his first contract with P&O. They are both going home after this cruise for 2 months and then rejoining Ventura again. We didn’t fancy going to the forward theatre due to the movement, so went to bed after and were rocked asleep 😂. Last day tomorrow. 

 

 

Edited November 10, 2023 by Selbourne

[Selbourne]

I’m trying to think of things that I’ve not posted that may be of interest to people. Here’s the MDR breakfast menu 

[lancashire_cruisers]

16 hours ago, True Devonian said:

Slightly off topic, but personally I would never put a bag of any description on a table. Bags are likely to have been on dirty surfaces and floors, even toilet floors, and other similar unhygienic places. For this reason I do not feel it appropriate to place bags on a table where people put food. Leaving a bag on a chair yes, but not on a table please.

My expensive bags have never seen a floor in their lives! That’s what bag hooks are for 😂