Ventura attracting Non P&O Types

[daiB]

To whom it may concern,:mad:

 

With regard to the other matter I will not leave the house for less than £20.00 and hour plus expenses(which are high):cool:

 

 

I remain etc etc etc

 

 

 

:)Happy Cruising:)

 

 

 

:cool:

 

Dai

[feebee_71]

daiB said:

 

 

 

I can't see (maybe I'm blind) anything about the OBC. Can somene point me n their direction? Are they only available if you book direct with P&O? (we've mainly booked with Ideal in the past)?

 

I'm interested in Ventura to the Canary Isles on 28 September - good itinerary (never been to the Canaries), good prices, what's not to like?

 

 

Tom,

 

If you have cruised with P&O during the last 3 years then you are entitled to OBC at the following rates per person (for the first 2 people in a cabin)

 

5-7 nights £25 8-12 nights £50

13-17 nights £75 18-22 nights £100

23-27 nights £125 28-34 nights £150

35-38 nights £175

 

These rates are based on the duration of the cruise you are booking - not the number of nights you have previously cruised with P&O.

 

You should be allocated the OBC when your booking confirmation arrives from P&O but if it isn't on the confirmation form then contact P&O direct by email at reservations@pocruises.com with you Portunus number and your booking reference number and they will update the booking.

 

The free car parking is for anyone who has booked their cruise before August 31st 2007 and you can book it anytime after 1st October 2007 direct with CP&S quoting 'KMA' They can be contacted on 02380 334883. (this information has been taken from the P&O 2008-2009 1st edition brochure)

 

Hope you find this information helpful.

 

Feebee_71:)

[tom_uk]

Hi Tom,

 

The OBC is available to all Portunus members, you should have had a letter, who cruise for 5 days or more. It is dependant on the number of nights of your cruise and goes from £25 to £175 pp.

 

The OBC is available on all cruises and with all bookings ie. P&O and TA's

 

Many thanks, Dai (and feebee_71). Not being a Portunus club member I'm not seeing it, so I'll stop worrying about it.

 

I can feel a call to Ideal coming on....

[LibraLass41]

As I mentioned just b4 Dai and Fi portunis members only, i see from your cruise list you aren't. do get a quote from cruisekings though b4 you book.

 

sue

[tom_uk]

As I mentioned just b4 Dai and Fi portunis members only, i see from your cruise list you aren't. do get a quote from cruisekings though b4 you book.

 

sue

 

Thanks Sue, yes I've contacted them.

 

But to be honest I've always had very good service from Ideal, so I'll probably stick with them unless cruiskings are much, much cheaper.

[tom_uk]

Going back to Dai's original question, I would have to say that Ventura has certainly attracted this non-P&O type. As you can see from my signature we've dived into cruising enthusiastically in the last couple of years, but not so far with P&O.

 

Basically I've always been put off by the thought of those long days at sea before you get anywhere (hence the Med 'fly-cruises' with MSC & Celebrity). While I could appreciate the aethesthetics of Oriana & Aurora, I was never convinced enought that I'd enjoy them for days on end. But Ventura is different. I also know that the Princess class she hails from has been very well received, as a good slight rejig of the 'Grand' design.

 

So yes, we've booked on Ventura to the Canaries in September 2008, and in the end it was Ventura herself that was the deciding factor.

[daiB]

Going back to Dai's original question, I would have to say that Ventura has certainly attracted this non-P&O type. As you can see from my signature we've dived into cruising enthusiastically in the last couple of years, but not so far with P&O.

 

Basically I've always been put off by the thought of those long days at sea before you get anywhere (hence the Med 'fly-cruises' with MSC & Celebrity). While I could appreciate the aethstetics of Oriana & Aurora, I was never convinced enough that I'd enjoy them for days on end. But Ventura is different. I also know that the Princess class she hails from has been very well received, as a good slight rejig of the 'Grand' design.

 

So yes, we've booked on Ventura to the Canaries in September 2008, and in the end it was Ventura herself that was the deciding factor.

 

 

 

Hi Tom,

 

Yes you are not alone in a new cruiser, to P&O, being attracted to Ventura. It was a feeling I got from reading a number of boards that she was getting a good reception.

 

I am interested in your comments about 'sea days'. These are our favourites:). On our first cruise on Aurora my wife was very concerned about the sea days and would she get bored:eek:. After the 3rd port she came out with the statement which typifies our thoughts on cruising. she said that she thought the ports were "getting in the way of cruising"

 

So we could never fly to the Med and cruise from there, as there would be so few of the sea days we love.

 

Once Linda has given up work all of our cruises will be determined by the number of sea days and not the ports. eg Southampton to the Black Sea 18 nights and 6 ports heaven. Next year we are on Arcadia to Venice 16 nights and 7 ports, not quite as good but we will put up with it.

 

Have a great cruise on Ventura and enjoy your sea days and then give the rest of the fleet a try.

 

 

 

:)Happy Cruising:)

 

 

:cool:

Dai

[tom_uk]

Here's an interesting point. I've been comparing the deck planes for Ventura with those for Crown Princess and Emerald Princess, which are very near sisters to Ventura, of course. There are lots of detailed differences, but one of the biggest is on F deck (Ventura) / Fiesta deck (Princess). On the Princess ships Gatsby's Casino takes up the whole of the big area aft of the lifts/stairs behind the theatre. On Ventura the casino is reduced in size to less than half of that space, and the rest of it is occupied by The Exchange, the 'warehouse bar' (which I think looks very attractive).

 

This is definitely something that's in the general P&O tradition - their passengers don't seem to be as interested in gambling as US passengers seem to be. So the designers of Ventura don't seem to be casting a wide net here. Part of the general 'UK tailoring'?

 

(Apologies if this has been discussed before.)

[daiB]

Here's an interesting point. I've been comparing the deck planes for Ventura with those for Crown Princess and Emerald Princess, which are very near sisters to Ventura, of course. There are lots of detailed differences, but one of the biggest is on F deck (Ventura) / Fiesta deck (Princess). On the Princess ships Gatsby's Casino takes up the whole of the big area aft of the lifts/stairs behind the theatre. On Ventura the casino is reduced in size to less than half of that space, and the rest of it is occupied by The Exchange, the 'warehouse bar' (which I think looks very attractive).

 

This is definitely something that's in the general P&O tradition - their passengers don't seem to be as interested in gambling as US passengers seem to be. So the designers of Ventura don't seem to be casting a wide net here. Part of the general 'UK tailoring'?

 

(Apologies if this has been discussed before.)

 

 

 

Hi Tom,

 

This seems to be standard practice for P&O when compared with our American cousins. On Adonia and Oceana when they were 'converted' from Princess ships the casino was halved.

 

I use the casino a lot on a cruise but never go to one on land, well once a year. The casino always is well used for part of the evening and some people gamble on late into the night. Only on a few occasions have I felt it was too full, so they, for me have the size about right. However I have read reports that Oriana's casino has become smaller after the refit and can be very crowded.

 

In the past couple of months on the general boards on CC there has been a thread about how the casino on some US ships is getting less use than they did. Some people putting it down to the US passengers having less disposable income. An interesting thread and quite reveling about the level of US take home pay.

 

In my opinion on a P&O ship over 50% of the passengers never use the casino, so a larger one would be a waste.

 

Now the bars on the other hand.:rolleyes::rolleyes:

 

 

:)Happy Cruising:)

 

 

:cool:

Dai

[tom_uk]

In the past couple of months on the general boards on CC there has been a thread about how the casino on some US ships is getting less use than they did. Some people putting it down to the US passengers having less disposable income. An interesting thread and quite reveling about the level of US take home pay.

 

I would say that on Galaxy last summer, the casino was the only place that was busy after midnight. Possibly the only place that was even occupied.... About 90% of the passengers on Galaxy were american.

 

And one of the main topics of conversation was how expensive everything in Europe was, with the poor $/€ exchange rate (poor from their perspective, that is). I also spoke to a number of people who had paid as much for their air fare from the US as they had for the cruise, and that was a big change for them from previous cruises.

[daiB]

I would say that on Galaxy last summer, the casino was the only place that was busy after midnight. Possibly the only place that was even occupied.... About 90% of the passengers on Galaxy were american.

 

And one of the main topics of conversation was how expensive everything in Europe was, with the poor $/€ exchange rate (poor from their perspective, that is). I also spoke to a number of people who had paid as much for their air fare from the US as they had for the cruise, and that was a big change for them from previous cruises.

 

 

 

Hi Tom,

 

Of course the obvious thing that we have overlooked is that for most Americans gambling is not allowed, unless they travel to certain States like Nevada. Whereas we Brits have casinos in most towns, amusement arcades all over the place, one arm bandits in all pubs, betting shops on the high street and the lottery. So in a way gambling is common place and not a forbidden pleasure as it is in large parts of the US.

 

Just a thought

 

 

Happy Cruising

 

 

Dai

[daiB]

Hi,

 

I have just been reading a long report of a cruise to Hawaii, on Princess, by a user of the P&O CC boards and they said that the casino was filling up at 9.30 in the morning:eek:, whereas the top deck still had plenty of sunbeds.:confused:.

 

Perhaps our American cousins do not feel the need to get more sun as if they live in the south they get plenty already:confused:.

 

Happy Cruising

 

 

:cool:

Dai

 

ps even I have the decency to stay out of the casino on sea days until, errrrrrrrrrrr 14.00:D

[LibraLass41]

reckon you've hit the nail on the head Dai...

 

whereas we brits are desperate for some sun!

 

Sue;)

[Shogun]

Hi Folks,

 

The casino question is one you can chat about for hours, on the Sea Princess which is aimed at UK folk it has the smallest casino of any ship in the Princess fleet but is often full, I have found that on the big ships with big casinos it is the little old lady group with loads of money that sit by slots all night once saw a lady put $1500 into a slot machine. That said I have also been unable to find a slot machine one a ship with over 200 hundred of them.

 

I think the reason that they are smaller on Uk ships is a slot machine is nothing to get worked up about, mind you the million poubd payouts are nice, its just a pity the machine I won on my last cruise was not one, but still ment I went home happy.

 

yours Shogun

[daiB]

Hi Folks,

 

The casino question is one you can chat about for hours, on the Sea Princess which is aimed at UK folk it has the smallest casino of any ship in the Princess fleet but is often full, I have found that on the big ships with big casinos it is the little old lady group with loads of money that sit by slots all night once saw a lady put $1500 into a slot machine. That said I have also been unable to find a slot machine one a ship with over 200 hundred of them.

 

I think the reason that they are smaller on UK ships is a slot machine is nothing to get worked up about, mind you the million pound payouts are nice, its just a pity the machine I won on my last cruise was not one, but still meant I went home happy.

 

yours Shogun

 

 

Yes Shogun,

 

I think it is something to do with the fact that slot machines are common in the UK, pubs Arcades etc. So when it comes to the casino on board we are used to them and gamboling in general.

 

Now on Ventura it is not that clear how big the Casino will be or if it will be like Aurora and Oriana with separate rooms or more like Arcadia which is more open and encourages more of a through flow.

 

I get the impression that US ships have this through flow layout, rather than the closed room, where you have to make more of an effort to go to the casino.

 

 

:)Happy Cruising:)

 

 

:cool:

Dai

[Shogun]

Hi Dai,

 

On the Grand class the whole section of the ship is casino hence the name Grand Casino, but on the Ventura it appears as a tiny area in one corner, the rest being bar, lounge area, I like the the big casino's it is nice to see people winning, I was told do not know if it is true that cruise ship casino's pay out more often than land based ones but they pay out less jackpots, so more people ggo away feeling happy but not rich.

 

 

yours Shogun

[daiB]

Hi Dai,

 

On the Grand class the whole section of the ship is casino hence the name Grand Casino, but on the Ventura it appears as a tiny area in one corner, the rest being bar, lounge area, I like the the big casino's it is nice to see people winning, I was told do not know if it is true that cruise ship casino's pay out more often than land based ones but they pay out less jackpots, so more people ggo away feeling happy but not rich.

 

 

yours Shogun

 

 

Hi Shogun

 

 

I never win on the slots:(.

 

However like a lot of others we received our Portunus Club Magazine the other day and with it was the booklet on Ventura. The more I look at it the more I want to cruise on her:). We have three cruises booked already so she will have to wait as my wife has run out of holidays. Next year she goes from 25 to 30 days a year so the situation is improving. Better keep that quiet in case any of our American cousins are around.

 

So it may be 2009 before we can try out our newest fleet member.

 

:)Happy Cruising:)

 

 

:cool:

Dai

[daiB]

Well Ventura is certainly doing the business as this Email from Cruise Kings shows:-

 

 

Ventura 2008 – 60% Sold

The CruiseKings have heard from a very senior source in Southampton that 60% of the capacity of Ventura in 2008 is now sold.

That is an amazing figure when you consider that the Ventura cruises have only been on sale just over 2 months.

Needless to say, P&O Cruises will be delighted at how things are going – helped in no small part by the contribution made by The CruiseKings to this 60% figure.

Why is Ventura so well sold?

When you sit back and think about it this is an easy question to answer for two reasons.

Ventura promises to be an amazing cruise ship and will give an amazing cruise holiday experience for all.

And the brochure launch deals being offered are exceptional – free car parking at Southampton for all, free onboard credit for Portunus members and fantastic prices.

(but as each day goes by the fluid-pricing wizards become increasingly more active.)

When will Ventura be completely sold out?

It only seems like yesterday when we were reporting Ventura was 45%, then 50% sold.

If The CruiseKings have got anything to do with it, Ventura may be sold out sooner rather than later."

So she is attracting someone as is the rest of the fleet.

 

 

:):)Happy Cruising:):)

 

 

 

:cool:

Dai

[The Mommy]

Well we are non P & O types, having sailed once and vowed never to sail with them again - here we are - just booked 14 day Caribbean in 2009 on Ventura. Great itinerary, lovely new ship and a good price. Hope we are not disappointed.

We sailed Oceana and gained our membership of portunus but have been told that although we are Portunus members and receive e mails and letters etc we cannot have any loyalty bonus for this cruise as it is more than 3 years since we sailed and so our loyalty has ceased! Never mind.We have also just booked Princess again for next year after more than a 3 year absence and have been able to use our Captains Club membership - can't win all the time!

[The Mommy]

Well, having vowed never to sail with P & O again - here we have just booked Ventura for 14 days Caribbean in Feb 2009. Looks like a lovely ship, great itinerary and a good price. Hope we are not disappointed!

As an aside P & O have confirmd that yes we are Portunus members and receive e mails and letters etc but because it has exceeded 3 years since we last sailed with them we do not qualify for any loyalty bonus on this cruise.

unlike Princess - we have also just booked princess for April 2008 after a 4 year absence and have been able to use our Captains club membership for a small bonus.

Just shows they are all different.

Just hoping for good cruise experiences wherever we go

[KarenR_UK]

Well, having vowed never to sail with P & O again - here we have just booked Ventura for 14 days Caribbean in Feb 2009. Looks like a lovely ship, great itinerary and a good price. Hope we are not disappointed!

As an aside P & O have confirmd that yes we are Portunus members and receive e mails and letters etc but because it has exceeded 3 years since we last sailed with them we do not qualify for any loyalty bonus on this cruise.

unlike Princess - we have also just booked princess for April 2008 after a 4 year absence and have been able to use our Captains club membership for a small bonus.

Just shows they are all different.

Just hoping for good cruise experiences wherever we go

 

umm - don't know how long it is since you sailed - but my understanding is that after 3 years your points halve - so should never get to 0 - so you should still be ruby (don't know how low those points are allowed to get) I do know to get some of the bonuses this year (e.g. the On board credit) you have to have sailed in the last 3 years - but you should (by my understanding ) still get the on board discount - unless you sailed before the Portunus club was set up - in which case you lost all previous loyalty benefits - & rereading you post, I think thats what you were saying - you didn't get the bonuses!:D can you guess where I spent the evening!!!!! (three letter word rhymes with rub) and I set sail on the QE2 tomorrow so I dont care:D:D)

 

Hope you have a great time on Ventura:)

 

Karen

[The Mommy]

Karen

We sailed on Oceana in 2003. We had Ruby status but cannot qualify for the £75 each on board credit as it is more than 3 years since our last cruise.

Hope you enjoy yours.

Gail

[daiB]

Karen

We sailed on Oceana in 2003. We had Ruby status but cannot qualify for the £75 each on board credit as it is more than 3 years since our last cruise.

Hope you enjoy yours.

Gail

 

These 'New' rules would appear to have caught out a few people who have been attracted back to P&O after some time. In particular this years good deals on OBC and car parking.

 

I would be interested to know how Mommy and her brood get on on Ventura. Or indeed anyone else tempted back.

 

 

:):)Happy Cruising:):)

 

 

:cool:

Dai

 

ps I have been away for a week, not much activity in that time. Too many cruises??????

[K8T]

This seems to me to be a Noddyist statement and as such should be deplored Noddy has rights as well.:mad:

 

 

Perhaps it is a British thing that people want to knock something and so choose one aspect that is vaguely silly and concentrate on that.

 

........Fancy saying "Which is fine if that's what you are into, well the rest of us non P&O types will just have to make do with the bars, restaurants and having a great cruise."

 

So Ventura will not have great bars and restaurants and exactly where in the publicity did it say that.

 

If the only criticism is that P&O have concentrated on Noddy in part of their advertising then some one is scraping the barrel to have a go at P&O.

 

 

Do not knock something you have not tried.

 

 

:cool:

 

Dai

 

Well said Dai. I was fascinated to read this thread, having cruised many, many times on P&O on most of the ships and tried several other lines too.

 

But for all you cynics out there, PO marketing Noddy has worked!! Apart from the fact we would like to go on a new ship again (we are sailing Ventura end of May 08), It was the Noddy thing that made us go for it, over the tried and trusted Oriana or Oceana - although we are doing an Oriana in September - not been on since the refit, I hope we won't be disappointed.

 

We have a two year old little girl, who will be absolutely stunned to see Noddy and is already looking at the pictures in the brochure of the Noddy house!!! I also know five other families in the first week, (I am in the travel industry), that have booked Ventura, because of this 'family' marketing.

 

From what I understand, the family restaurant will be the only one where Noddy makes an appearance, so all you miserys out there, can avoid it. I am sure three years ago, I would have been of the same opinion, but life changes doesn't it and I must admit, I am having fun too!!!! It is also a big ship, so hopefully we won't meet you either!

 

So, maybe PO aren't so stupid, five familys booking in the first two days of the bookings opening, and this is in just a small independent travel agents in the North West, multiply that throughout the country and I think they know what they are doing!

 

PO is one of the few lines that have good facilities and care for children, the others are non existent or are such poor quality, they aren't even in the running.

 

P.S. If I can ''have a go in the Circus school, even better - at 44 today, I don't want to join in the 'whist drive' or the 'napkin folding seminar, just yet!!:)

 

Kate

[aggietd]

Hello Everbody,

 

Yes we too are (or will be) P&O virgins when we sail on Ventura's Transatlantic/Caribbean in Oct 2008.

 

We have cruised quite a bit before (Thomsons, Premier, NCL and Mainly Royal Caribbean) but after sailing last year from Southampton for the first time, where we met a lot of People who were regurlar P&O'ers and decided what we would like to try them, and then along came Ventura. She will be a much bigger ship than we will ever have sailed on, and I am very excited by the sound of her. She (and the good deals on her) finally made up our mind for us. This will also be our first transatlantic crossing and I am looking forward to the sea days, It will allow us to explore all of Ventura's activities.

 

We no longer have children and I like the idea of a family dining room where parents can relax and eat with their children in peace without non child guests tut-tutting and non child guests can eat without lots of excited children, don't get me wrong I love children and have been there, seen it etc. and I must admit I think I will be poping into the family diningroom in the hope I will see Noddy, who was my childhood hero!!

 

So in closing I think that the answer to the original question is a resounding yes, Ventura has attracted non P&O cruisers.