Anyone been on P&O's Ventura ship?

judygarland

Im booked on this for later in the year and would be interested in what you think if you have been on it.

What were the shows like? What were the restaurants like?

I'd love to hear your reviews.

Cheers

madkitty

hi there you wont see many reviews yet as she only started her maiden voyage yesterday however here are some links as we are booked on her in december

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6qgOLCKTEs

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/sharonp40/VenturaWelcomeCruise

and much more here http://messages.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=38

hope that helps x

judygarland

madkitty wrote: »

hi there you wont see many reviews yet as she only started her maiden voyage yesterday however here are some links as we are booked on her in december

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=I6qgOLCKTEs

http://picasaweb.google.co.uk/sharonp40/VenturaWelcomeCruise

and much more here http://messages.cruisecritic.com/forumdisplay.php?f=38

hope that helps x

Thanks for that. I'm a bit confused though as there was a party cruise from 11th - 14th apparently? I wonder if the current cruise is classed as the maiden voyage as it's the first one after the naming ceremony?

Stavros_3

She's too big for me, much prefer the smaller ships like Oriana

madkitty

judygarland wrote: »

Thanks for that. I'm a bit confused though as there was a party cruise from 11th - 14th apparently? I wonder if the current cruise is classed as the maiden voyage as it's the first one after the naming ceremony?

that one was for all the travel agents to explore and enjoy her and then there was the naming ceremony on the 16th. When do you sail?

judygarland

madkitty wrote: »

that one was for all the travel agents to explore and enjoy her and then there was the naming ceremony on the 16th. When do you sail?

Im sailing on the 23rd May 2008. Really excited about being on a new ship. Just trying to lose a stone so that I can put it all on again in 7 days of indulgence!

sallysaver

Hi,
Just take plenty of clothing with elasticated waistbands and indulge to your hearts content. Sally

judygarland

sallysaver wrote: »

Hi,
Just take plenty of clothing with elasticated waistbands and indulge to your hearts content. Sally

I recommend cruising to everyone I meet, I think they are just fantastic. Waking up in a different port, different country. Sitting on the sun loungers with the cocktail of the hour served to your sun lounger, you dont even have to get up to go to the bar. Kids entertainment which is so good, neither of my two want to go off the ship sightseeing as they are worried about missing out on the kid's activities. I've been on a view different cruise lines and go back to P&O every time. The food is spot and the service fantastic. Problem is, it spoils you and you come to expect the same service everywhere else.

I think i've read somewhere that she holds 3600 passengers. The info says to get there at 2pm but if she sails at 6pm, that seems a lot of people to get on board in 4 hours. Saying that we did a weekender in December and discovered that they had been boarding people from 11am.

Does anyone know if there is a cinema on board the Ventura? I've checked the website and there doesnt appear to be one? I know the Oceana and Aurora both have one.

chriseeboy

Hi,

I live in Southampton, home of the cruise ships. I have a good friend who works for P & O responsible for booking entertainment acts for the ships. (Don't ask me what has been booked for the Ventura, I couldn't tell you).

When a new ships arrives in Southampton for its maiden voyage it embarks on a two day sea trial around the Isle of Wight. Employees of P & O can take an allocated number of freinds or family for a free spin.

The idea behind this is the ship can afford to discover faults, breakdown or whatever and not have to reimburse the passangers.

My friend has been lucky enough to do this for most recent launches including QM2. I was told me bar far the Ventura is the most awesome!!

I think you are in for a great time!!

Oh and by-the-way, don't work for P & O. You might as well work for a chinese immigrant gangmaster. You would be treated better. The pressure my friend has been under in preparation of this launch was upsetting to witness. I do not know how P & O get away with such draconian measures!

You'll have a fantastic cruise but shame on that company.

judygarland

chriseeboy wrote: »

Hi,

When a new ships arrives in Southampton for its maiden voyage it embarks on a two day sea trial around the Isle of Wight. Employees of P & O can take an allocated number of freinds or family for a free spin.

Oh and by-the-way, don't work for P & O. You might as well work for a chinese immigrant gangmaster. You would be treated better. The pressure my friend has been under in preparation of this launch was upsetting to witness. I do not know how P & O get away with such draconian measures!

You'll have a fantastic cruise but shame on that company.

I must admit, I do feel sorry for the staff. They do really long hours. I always try and give them a good tip at the end of the week. We had a force 10 gale the once round the Bay of Biscay and even the staff were poorly. Imagine doing that every couple of weeks.

I must admit, I've seen so really dodgy shows on cruise ships. We had Demis Rousos the once and the Barron Knights! We lasted about 15 minutes. Some are quite amusing even though they are not supposed to be. We saw a Queen tribute the once and we were rolling around in the aisles! They had a podgy "Freddie Mercury" who's dancing was just hillarious. There is a clip in youtube from a P&O cruise of a Robbie Williams tribute act which looks quite good.

I think the best cruise I did for entertainment was the Airtours ship the Sunbird. It was absolutely hillarious. It was like Butlins at sea. There was Karoeke, a Mr & Mrs competition, antics in the pool and Millionaires evening. There was also a talent contest. It was all really tacky but very amusing at the same time.

A good tip for those interested on the trips, we always try and use a local taxi driver and get them to agree a rate for the day. We paid about £80 for 4 of us in Lisbon and he took us to all the touristy things and then to a restaurant the locals used for lunch. He waited outside. He spoke perfect English, giving commentary as we travelled. We were standing at a good viewing point and it started to rain, he appeared from no-where with umbrellas! The same trip organised by P&O would have been double that and you would have been with 50 other passengers. I would recommend having a chat to make sure they speak good English and it really adds to your trip. You get a local's perspective.

I've just been speaking to P&0 as there seems to be loads of restaurants and I wanted to know which charge a cover charge. There is only the White Room apparently.

I cant wait, counting down the days!

Sunshine_Guy

I was luckilly on one of the 'shake-down' cruises, and I can say the ship is magnificent. there is plenty going on, and the cabins are a good size. There are loads of places to eat (my fave was the tappas restaurant) but plenty of others, most had a £10pp cover charge.

The Spa and pool areas a really great and the gym is fantastic. The main pool areas where still being 'finished off' when we where on board, but looked great one with a retractable roof, so you could swim if the weather was not too good.

Entertainment was good-ok,ish The Robbie Williams tribute was great, as was the Elton John, but they also had a comedians club, and I just never rated them.

Food on board was great, the staff where really helpfull, and no way would you have realised it was on its first 'mission'.

It is what you would expect from P&O a proffessional job.

(And I don't work for P&O either)