Back From Ventura

[chirpy007]

I arrived home this evening after 7 days on Ventura :( despite going with a positive attitude and open mind l was very dissapointed.

 

Highs

 

Some very good evening entertainment

 

suberb embarkation/dis embarkation (9.30am sitting in Tamarind this morning, 10am in the car :D

 

Restaurant dining pretty good....freedom dining worked well

 

Cabin steward very good

 

Lows

 

Cold buffet food (all the time, im sure there are health implications with the temperature its stored at)

 

Chaos most times in the buffet area, no cups,bad layout, lack of space and seating, space issues trying to navigate the food area.

 

Daytime entertainment......dire

 

ports of call ......... shocking, l have no idea why they stop at these ports, l know these were my choice but they were truly awful. We could only spend a few hours in each port (we didnt do excursions because they didnt appeal to my 14 year old son and were so expensive) and with the daytime entertainment so bad it made for looooong afternoons.

 

Lack of toilets, especially around food areas (quite a few out of order on a regular basis, including our cabin one twice.)

 

Layout of the ship is awful, no flow to it at all. Up and down etc

 

Putting on a blockbuster movie in a small bar not the Arena theatre and not one member of staff to sort out the ensuing chaos... l went and complained and they decided to re show it the next day in the Arena theatre

 

No wow factor at all

 

The awful rolling for the first couple of days,not sure what was going on but l was told some 300 people had to have an injection and a lot of the crew were bad aswell. My son suffered quite badly and my husband was a bit poorly aswell.We were actually rolling towards the edge of the bed, sea conditions were pretty good :confused::confused:

 

I spoke to numerous people on board and everyone was of the same attitude...they were not enjoying Ventura and would not sail on her again.

 

This has had a very negative effect on us cruising again (already booked on Ocena though)

 

Im gutted that im having to write this as l thought that some of the comments l had read may have been people picking holes, but there was no comparison to our first cruise with RCI.

[Legalneen]

Oh dear Chirpy, I'm very sorry to read your post especially as I have just booked Azura for next year and by then will have done 3 RCI cruises.

 

Where were you sailing too?

[chirpy007]

We stopped at Vigo (mainly closed due to it being a Sunday), Lisbon, La Verdon and Brest.

 

Had we enjoyed our ports of call more it may not have been to much of an issue but the overall experience wasnt positive. Hopefully Azura will be more improved and you will have a more enjoyable intinery:D

[LibraLass41]

Chirpy

Sorry it wasn't as good as expected. What did you do at Lisbon? We loved Lisbon, but then it was June and nice and hot...Personally I think March/April is too early for the Med anyway.... the weather is poor and sea conditions can be very bad, especially BOB...

 

How many cruises have you done? I have only done a weekender on Ventura and found her 'ok' hubby wasn't over -impressed and found her too big.

 

I hope we both have a good time on Oceana in August - no missing my meet -up mind, no excuses..looking forward to meeting you

Sue x:)

[Gerrym]

Hi Sue, just wondered (as I cannot remember!), have you been on Oceana before?

 

 

Gerry

[chirpy007]

We wandered around the town in Lisbon, to be fair Lisbon was fine, nice day weather wise. We should have ventured a bit further.

 

We have only been once before on Freedom of the Seas, l thought that was fantastic but the Caribbean is obviously more exotic :D:D. l didnt mind the size of Ventura at all it just seemed so dis-organised and bland.There seemed no thought about what they were doing, we had a gorgeous afternoon one port day and thought we would head to the promenade deck for a few realaxation to read in the sun and they had shut it to wash it down :confused:.

 

I think a lot of the minor things may have been forgiven but it just seemed as though each day there was one more niggle to add to the list (and believe me l wasnt looking and really wanted to enjoy her).

[the english lady]

we are doing the Eastern Med cruise starting Monday. We have done the Western Md same time of year (my birthday) bob was ok and i think most if not all of the destinations we did that time were warm spring like days. T show it takes all sorts we actually like the rolling moting,even the slidey up and down the bed..find it kind of restful..now then I guess having that that we will have a bad crossing and I will say something different when I get back. This is our 1st time with pando. I guess because we always pick small ships we never go looking for the wow fact so am never disappointed. No matter how the cruise is sold it is still just a ship and not some shangrila. Aslong as our cabin is ok, the food is ok, I am happy. I know what you mean about ports of call. I think the best one we have ever done was a jeep safari? in maderia. Wanderinground if the place is pretty,and you are in the small out of the way places can be nice.(we are just a couple though, no children)I always say research research research before you go. I am always surprised when Iead some of the postings on CC (not chirpy007) from people who have done absolutly no research at all before booking and find when they are on the cruise, that it is not them at all (wrong type of ship in most cases--some one who doesn't like children going on a family friendly ship comes to mind). I do hope chirpy007 does sail again as the next time may be all that they wanted.

[the english lady]

just read through my post. I think the computer took control..my spelling/spaces/grammar are usually better than this,but I think you can get the gist..

[LibraLass41]

Chirpy is cruising again - we are both doing the Fjords on Oceana...

 

 

Gerry,

This will be my first cruise on Oceana, chose a 7nighter to 'try her out' we never done the fjords either so it will be all new and exciting, exploring both the ship and ports we have never been too.;)

[chirpy007]

Chirpy is cruising again - we are both doing the Fjords on Oceana...

 

 

Gerry,

This will be my first cruise on Oceana, chose a 7nighter to 'try her out' we never done the fjords either so it will be all new and exciting, exploring both the ship and ports we have never been too.;)

 

 

And im am looking forward to it Sue, give it a week and im sure l will have forgotten all the negatives ;):D

 

Roll on August !!!!!

[Capnahab]

Hi,also just returned from this cruise and after reading these comments, I thought I would add my first post and feelings about the cruise. I am 44 and travelled with my wife (44) and our 16yr old son, we have enjoyed 15 cruises, mainly with P&O but 1 on Carnival Sensation, 1 on QM2 and 1 on Sea Princess, as I say the others on Aurora, Oriana, Arcadia, Oceana and of course now Ventura.

Four ports of call were fantastic:- Vigo, excursion to a vineyard, a wonderful time. Lisbon, excursion around Lisbon and then onto Estoril another great time. Le Verdon, excursion to a Chateau and tour around the Medoc region - brilliant. Brest, excursion to Quimper, an absolutely beautiful place to visit.

The weather was great for all the trips and we thoroughly enjoyed them.

The ship in our opinion was set out ok, we spent our time in Ramblas, the Red Bar, the Arena, Havana, the Tamarind Club and Metropolis and were impressed by them all.Our first experience of freedom dining was positive and we also had a first class meal/experience in East - on par with the best meal we have had on land but slightly disappointed with The White Room experience.

We came to this cruise feeling a little anxious after the negative reports recently but would recommend the ship to anyone, we had a great cruise on a lovely ship.

Also with regard to the weather, I didn't hear anything about the high number of sick people, and saw no sick bags on display and felt the weather wasn't that bad.

If the ports were so bad I would question the wisdom of choosing this particular cruise.

Our next cruise is on Oceana in July to the Fjords, can't wait.

[SCRATFAN2009]

Well what do you know, you cant please some people, please see my own blog under "Dont be put off Ventura" for just this reason, Try the excursions, chirpy007, they are brilliant. Tour guides superb and informative, and please please dont blame P & O for force 7 winds in the Bay of Biscay!! It happens-- live with it. WE LOVED IT!!!!!!

[chirpy007]

If you read my post you will that l didnt BLAME P&O for the weather, im not that narrow minded.... i wasnt sick but my husband and son were ill (which meant we didnt get off to the best start)and two women l spoke to spent two days in their cabin unwell. They told me many staff were also unwell ,again l didnt blame P&O for this, im not stupid either.

 

 

l chose this intinery as a taster cruise for my son. I havent again blamed P&O for the ports l just expressed an opinion on them which l believe im entilted to do. I felt the cost of excursions for 3 people was to much for places l knew wouldnt appeal to us all.Im glad enjoyed yourself and found plenty to do. I had no complaints about the evening entertainment which l found mostly enjoyable.

 

Again most of my comments are about trivial things that over the week built into more of a negative experience than positive.

 

What does annoy me though is you thinking im wrong for having an opinion, not everyone is happy with the same things, get over yourself and live with it !!!!!!!

[the english lady]

Oh dear that is the problem with some people if you post any neg comments they take umbrage. We accept everything that happens and if we do not like a line we don't cruise with them again. We have done Norway an it was unbelievable. Scenery was stunning beyond words in places.nearly 24 hrs sunshine very very nice. All i need now is someone to tell me how to cut my clothes down going on monday and I have to cut them down somehow...i am sure they will not all fit into the cabin!!! 3 cases and a suit carrier...I sit and look at all the clothes and try and think what not to take...help....never done 17 days before...

[chirpy007]

Oh dear that is the problem with some people if you post any neg comments they take umbrage. We accept everything that happens and if we do not like a line we don't cruise with them again. We have done Norway an it was unbelievable. Scenery was stunning beyond words in places.nearly 24 hrs sunshine very very nice. All i need now is someone to tell me how to cut my clothes down going on monday and I have to cut them down somehow...i am sure they will not all fit into the cabin!!! 3 cases and a suit carrier...I sit and look at all the clothes and try and think what not to take...help....never done 17 days before...

 

We fitted 4 cases 3 large and one meduim in no problem :D:D go for it, ours all fitted under the bed.Where are you off too.....17 days wow, enjoy

[fastforward]

If you read my post you will that l didnt BLAME P&O for the weather, im not that narrow minded.... i wasnt sick but my husband and son were ill (which meant we didnt get off to the best start)and two women l spoke to spent two days in their cabin unwell. They told me many staff were also unwell ,again l didnt blame P&O for this, im not stupid either.

 

 

l chose this intinery as a taster cruise for my son. I havent again blamed P&O for the ports l just expressed an opinion on them which l believe im entilted to do. I felt the cost of excursions for 3 people was to much for places l knew wouldnt appeal to us all.Im glad enjoyed yourself and found plenty to do. I had no complaints about the evening entertainment which l found mostly enjoyable.

 

Again most of my comments are about trivial things that over the week built into more of a negative experience than positive.

 

What does annoy me though is you thinking im wrong for having an opinion, not everyone is happy with the same things, get over yourself and live with it !!!!!!!

There is nothing wrong with having a different or oposite opinion, its how you express that opinion that matters. " Ports of Call shocking " seems over the top, and complaining about a cold buffet seems trivial on a weeks Cruise. I think it proves again that research is needed into picking which Cruise is suitable to you and your family and matching it up with what P/O are offering from a particular ship and destinations. The choice of Cruise was a bad one, at this time of year the weather is just too unpredictable.

[the english lady]

It's Sunday and I am still here looking at all the clothes. I know that most of them mix and match I just don't nee so many. We are doing Eastern Med on Artemis. Never done pando before and some of the comments we have read about the ship have not been brilliant, but we are going with the idea of enjoying ourselves.One stop is Venice ,which I am really looking forward to, even if it's raining and grey..well maybe not so much if it's like that. I just have to sort out the clothes first..........................

[chirpy007]

There is nothing wrong with having a different or oposite opinion, its how you express that opinion that matters. " Ports of Call shocking " seems over the top, and complaining about a cold buffet seems trivial on a weeks Cruise. I think it proves again that research is needed into picking which Cruise is suitable to you and your family and matching it up with what P/O are offering from a particular ship and destinations. The choice of Cruise was a bad one, at this time of year the weather is just too unpredictable.

 

 

Oh l am sorry for how l have expressed my opinion, have you ever been to these ports....... and l did research them and it appeared that they would be resonable which is all l wanted..as for the buffet no-where did it state that food would be cold !!! from a food safety point of view hot holding food at a temperature below (l believe 67 degrees) can be detrimental to health and can cause all sorts of issues with stomach bugs etc.

 

All in all l picked this cruise because it resonably priced and for 7 days from Southampton. I wasnt expecting the ports to blow me away but l was expecting to be able to spend a good part of the day ashore, the weather was actually very good for the time of year and l have not complained about that, the ship obviously has a problem with rolling, again l didnt complain just stated the fact !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the ship isnt in my opinion a wow ship................. there are issues with flow and organisation and lack of toilet facilities, these are facts and not opinions.

 

Would you like me to come back and lie about my experience so as to not upset anyone.

 

Christ get a grip people, its my opinion, you dont have to take any notice im just telling it like l found it, its not that im some sort of freak and have been the only to raise these points, many many people already have on here and many other sites.

 

In future l shall keep my opinions to myself and let people go and find out for themselves.............................

[chirpy007]

It's Sunday and I am still here looking at all the clothes. I know that most of them mix and match I just don't nee so many. We are doing Eastern Med on Artemis. Never done pando before and some of the comments we have read about the ship have not been brilliant, but we are going with the idea of enjoying ourselves.One stop is Venice ,which I am really looking forward to, even if it's raining and grey..well maybe not so much if it's like that. I just have to sort out the clothes first..........................

 

I have heard nice things about Artemis and lm sure you will have a brillant time (sorry if thats an opinion lol ;):D) do they have a laundry on board which will help you reduce the luggage? even if they dont you can still do a bit of handwashing, l found things dry really quickly in the cabins.

 

The weather should be quite resonable and l would love to do Venice.

 

Have a fantastic time and l look forward to hearing about it when you get back :D

[Nippy Sweetie]

Chirpy, dont worry I thought you put your comments in a very fair way. Its useful to read people`s impressions. It was clear you had really looked forward to the voyage and put the positives as well. Its human nature to mostly notice the negatives though and I suspect thats what other posters homed in on. Re the food temperature I quite agree its dangerous especially with the risk of transmittable tummy bugs on a ship that size.

You will love the Norway cruise, Bon voyage!

[chirpy007]

Chirpy, dont worry I thought you put your comments in a very fair way. Its useful to read people`s impressions. It was clear you had really looked forward to the voyage and put the positives as well. Its human nature to mostly notice the negatives though and I suspect thats what other posters homed in on. Re the food temperature I quite agree its dangerous especially with the risk of transmittable tummy bugs on a ship that size.

You will love the Norway cruise, Bon voyage!

 

thanks on both counts :D if l dont like it im not coming back here to tell anyone lol ;)

[Scorpio1411]

Hi Chirpy, We're going on Ventura at Christmas and New Year and doing freedom dining (not through choice). Can you tell us when the best times were to go as you say you didn't have any problems with this. If we had had a choice, we would have liked 2nd sitting but this was fully booked. Is this time of night OK, ie 8.30pm or around this time?

[Gerrym]

Oh l am sorry for how l have expressed my opinion, have you ever been to these ports....... and l did research them and it appeared that they would be resonable which is all l wanted..as for the buffet no-where did it state that food would be cold !!! from a food safety point of view hot holding food at a temperature below (l believe 67 degrees) can be detrimental to health and can cause all sorts of issues with stomach bugs etc.

 

All in all l picked this cruise because it resonably priced and for 7 days from Southampton. I wasnt expecting the ports to blow me away but l was expecting to be able to spend a good part of the day ashore, the weather was actually very good for the time of year and l have not complained about that, the ship obviously has a problem with rolling, again l didnt complain just stated the fact !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the ship isnt in my opinion a wow ship................. there are issues with flow and organisation and lack of toilet facilities, these are facts and not opinions.

 

Would you like me to come back and lie about my experience so as to not upset anyone.

 

Christ get a grip people, its my opinion, you dont have to take any notice im just telling it like l found it, its not that im some sort of freak and have been the only to raise these points, many many people already have on here and many other sites.

 

In future l shall keep my opinions to myself and let people go and find out for themselves.............................

 

 

Chirpy, don't worry roo much about Fastforward, he likes to stir the trouble pot quite often (often known as an internet troll).

 

 

I do find it amazing as I said on another post that there are some that just feel if your opinion is negative it does not hold the same value as a positive opinion

When I seek reviews for something new, all I seek is balance and if nobody posted negative stuff I would not be able to get that balance.

So I view all opinions with the same weight and don't just pick out the things I like to hear.

 

 

Cheers

 

Gerry

[Mattsudds]

There are a couple of reasons why I like to go on a ship, early in its career. Firstly, to see what the ship as its' original designer intended but secondly to form my own impressions before 'accepted myth' takes over. With an increasing number of ships coming from common platforms, if one does get the chance for an early trip on the ship, it can these days be just as much the 'product' and the décor one notices about the ship.

 

When P&O Ventura was announced, I had booked on her 2nd cruise, down to Spain, Portugal and France. Unfortunately work got in the way and so we rebooked for the 27 March departure, we were to be onboard to celebrate Ventura's first birthday and first cruise of the 2009 season from Southampton.

 

Normally I approach the Southampton terminals with a slight sense of dread, there always seems to be barely moving chaos and hours often pass between arriving and getting onboard. Not so this time. After queueing to check in for about 15 mins we went straight onboard by around 13:45. Cabins were announced as being ready and we made our way to ours, B223. A standard, but nonetheless well appointed balcony cabin with the Princess style walk in wardrobe, this was very nicely maintained and fitted out, more than adequate for a 7 day trip.

 

We then took a stroll through the ship. Using the same layout as the Princess Grand class, the ship has similar strengths and weaknesses in terms of layout. However I must say that we really liked most of the ship décor. It was bright and colourful without being in your face. One never knows what exactly designers are targetting but I can say that many of the venues were to my taste, such that if they were on land in my neighbourhood I'm sure they'd be busy and I'd be there. Some highlights included the Ramblas Tapas/ wine bar and Havana nightclub/ disco/ secondary theatre. The Metropolis Bar - high up on deck 18, was also a lovely place to enjoy a pre-dinner drink. Lowlights are the standard ones for this class of ship, namely a theatre which has inadequately sloping seats (spread through 2 levels rather than the more usual 3 on this size of ship), a buffet with inadequate seats and cramped servery and a layout dictated by the number and location of the dining rooms which doesn't make the ship the easiest to navigate.

 

The first day was a sea day and with winds averaging Force 7 from the stern, there was a fair bit of movement with cabin corridors being rather like one of those fairground rides with the corridor that moved up, down, left and right. I'm sure some people would have suffered, lucky I wasn't one of them. One of the things I always find amusing is to look through the embarkation photos in the photo gallery once they are put up. There was the usual collection of smiling couples and a greater proportion of passengers wearing flat caps than I think I've ever seen in 40+ cruises, a good indication of a friendly crowd of northerners being onboard. In addition there were some non-smiling photos including one with an androgynous asian gentleman who looked so very unhappy (at the start of the trip) that had I been him, I certainly would have said no to the photo. Needless to say he didn't buy the picture but it provided much comfort to the rest of us whenever we saw what we thought was an unattractive picture, just look at that one. The asian genetlemen (I only say 2 or 3) did provide much to talk about on this cruise, with another of their number carrying around with him a carrier bag of musical instruments which he took to join in with the evening entertainment in Metropolis (whilst wearing a rather flashily embroidered white and silver jacket) and seemingly on his own. It was nice to see him having such a good time.

 

Ventura had more entertainment than I'd ever seen on a ny ship, no matter how large. There was a full 2 pages of A4 for the programme without any of these announcements (inside) of special offers or sales etc. WHilst not all of these options were hosted (i.e. some were 'board games available'), I would find it difficult to see how any adult could be bored on this ship. But the evenings were where the Princess ship idea of multiple loungers with multiple shows comes alive. Ventura stages the main Arena theatre show 3 times per night and we had to schedule our evenings carefully so that we had show, dinner, cabaret act, classical act - it was difficult to fit them all in but somehow we managed.

 

Our first port of call was Vigo. I think this is really the place where people jump on coaches to Santiago de Compostella, but we decided to stroll around town and were fortunate that the town was alive with activity for some local festival. Although Vigo itself lacks architectural merit, the setting in the giant natural harbour is absolutely wonderful. There was an open top tour bus but unfortunately we missed it (tip to company, post times, and synchronise them with the times the ship is in port!). The wind hadn't abated much as we left and during the night before reaching the next port, there was a brief period of force 9 just to keep us aware we were at sea.

 

Port 2 was lovely Lisbon and we did another open top bus tour. I was pleasantly surprised that P&O offered free shuttles into the town centres in all ports. In Lisbon they had at least 10 buses going, but occasionally traffic snarl ups meant longer queues. We joined that back to the ship queue arouns 2pm when it was at its longest but despite this we still waited no more than 15 mins for the bus.

 

A further sea day brought us to Le Verdon (Bordeaux) which had been substituted for La Rochelle due to strikes in that port. Le Verdon is to Bordeaux what Stansted is to London and the only way to get there was on a pid excursion. However there were free, continuous shuttles to nearby Soulac Sur Mer, which was a very nice little French seaside town. We strolled round the market, shops, beach and local garden before heading back after a couple of hours.

 

Final port call was Brest. Again the shuttle had a long but fast moving queue and we had a nice walk around the town, although its not the prettiest. This port call is probably too short as every excursion coach was late back and we were due to leave at 3-3:30 but didin't get away until a bit later.

 

That night we had dinner in the White Room, and I'd say this was to be honest a disappointment. The room itself is rather claustrophobic with the lack of windows and the food, whilst very good, simply wasn't £25 better than dinner in the main restaurant, nor I might add was the service. Please don't take this to mean it was poor, its just that our main dining in the Bay Tree restaurant was so good this wasn't 'extra'. One night we also ate in the 'NEw York Diner' which is set up in the beachhouse buffet area each night (waiter service). This was a pleasant change.

 

I would be remiss not to mention perhaps the ships' biggest annoyance, the time once constantly had to wait for lifts. Put simply there aren't enough for the number of decks or passengers and there was a high number of wheelchairs onboard which needed them at key times, with the consequence that waiting 5-10 mins for a lift was fairly common.

 

I am lucky enough to have been taking this cruise with P&O less than 3 months after my last cruise (MSC Fantasia). For the money paid, I think P&O offer a very very good product indeed. We couldn't fault the food in the restaurants, and had uniformly excellent service throughout the ship, nothing was too much trouble and we never waited to order a drink or between courses. The food was always served on hot plates (for hot dishes), something which other lines could take note of. The comparison with what is included in your P&O fare vs MSC was really quite stark (MSC charge for port maps, shuttle buses, water with dinner etc) and for a very similar fare P&O offered much more.

 

I said at the beginning that I prefer to form my own impressions of a ship, but with Ventura this was difficult due to the press coverage over christmas of misbehaving passengers being de-shipped in the Caibbean, together with the general roasting I know some have given the ship. She's not perfect, but given that P&O were essentially given a Princess design, I think they've done a very good job and that the quality of what I experienced was really extremely good. That said, I can recognise the issues the original poster mentioned and indeed buffet food temperature needs looking at. However despite these, based on my experience I would happily go on Azura too if only the prices were a bit more realistic!

[fastforward]

Oh l am sorry for how l have expressed my opinion, have you ever been to these ports....... and l did research them and it appeared that they would be resonable which is all l wanted..as for the buffet no-where did it state that food would be cold !!! from a food safety point of view hot holding food at a temperature below (l believe 67 degrees) can be detrimental to health and can cause all sorts of issues with stomach bugs etc.

 

All in all l picked this cruise because it resonably priced and for 7 days from Southampton. I wasnt expecting the ports to blow me away but l was expecting to be able to spend a good part of the day ashore, the weather was actually very good for the time of year and l have not complained about that, the ship obviously has a problem with rolling, again l didnt complain just stated the fact !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! the ship isnt in my opinion a wow ship................. there are issues with flow and organisation and lack of toilet facilities, these are facts and not opinions.

 

Would you like me to come back and lie about my experience so as to not upset anyone.

 

Christ get a grip people, its my opinion, you dont have to take any notice im just telling it like l found it, its not that im some sort of freak and have been the only to raise these points, many many people already have on here and many other sites.

 

In future l shall keep my opinions to myself and let people go and find out for themselves.............................

Why so aggresive, like you I was just expressing a point of view.