Ventura Reviews

This was our first cruise and we found it very relaxing, everything onboard was well organised. The crew were all very pleasant and helpfull. We booked an inside cabin which was more than adequate but would maybe choose to upgrade to a balcony next time, for no other reason really than to have daylight in the cabin. Mind you we spent very little time in our cabin anyway, so not too serious. We chose Freedom dining rather than fixed dining times and I must say and that suited us perfectly. The service in the restaurant and the food were both excellent. All in all we have a very enjoyable holiday no complaints at all.

We stayed at the Ibis Hotel in Southampton overnight before leaving for Ocean Terminal to start our cruise. Within half an hour we were in the Waterside restuarant on board Ventura having lunch. Our cases were in our cabin at 2.00 pm. Our cabin had an unobstructed balcony which was lovely. Our cabin Steward Stanley kept our cabin in good order. It was our first time on Ventura. She is beautiful. We had Freedom dining in the Cinnamon Restuarant, and this worked well for us. No complaints with the food. Each night there was a different menu with good choices. The Staff were also very friendly. We sat with diffierent people every night and we met some very nice people. The evening entertainment on Ventura was very good. At each port we did our own thing as we found the organised tours very expensive. We really enjoyed each stop, ie Stavanger, Eidfjord, Olden and Bergen. Norway is a very nice and clean place to visit, although very expensive. We had a lovely time. We enjoyed going round the fish market in Bergen and sampling the different fishes. We even tried whale meat, which tasted like beef. Would we go to Norway again - yes definitely, although there are lots of other places we would like to visit first. Would we go on Ventura again - yes definitely. All in all we had a lovely time and look forward to our next cruise.

We went on our first cruise on the P&O liner Ventura from Southampton on the 27th September for 12 nights. We chose a no fly cruise to avoid the luggage restrictions imposed by the airlines. As long as the cases are no more than 23kgs you can take as many as you can store under the bed. This was a good feature that hotels should copy once you have unpacked the cases are hidden out of the way under the bed. Because of this flexibility I was able to pack 24 shirts including 4 dinner shirts so no laundry was required. The weather for the first leg of the journey across the English Channel, down through the Bay of Biscay into the Atlantic to the straights of Gibraltar was not too good, overcast and windy. The sea was fairly rough but we were not affected. If you went on deck you needed to find somewhere enclosed to avoid the stiff breeze. Once we were into the Med the weather improved and made the decks more comfortable. We were glad to arrive at Barcelona after 3 1/2 days as we felt a bit stir crazy, we explored the city independently as we were docked close to the main town and used the city tour buses three in all red, blue and green circular routes that overlap so that you can transfer between them this was cheaper than the organised excursions, We saw the Gaudi Cathedral (La Sagrada Familia) amazing but would fit in well in a Disney theme park, there are many more examples of Gaudi buildings and also similar buildings designed by other Spanish architects of the same period. We also saw the Barcelona Football Club Stadium, missed the market in La Ramblas. This city needs several days to explore and we will return for a long weekend in the future. The next day we arrived at Cannes and had to land via the tenders, again we toured the area independently and enjoyed a lazy day in the area including a ride on the land train, 10 Euros pp for about 1 hour. This is a town that has grown with the tourist industry and has the evidence of French sophistication, pleasant enough but expensive to eat and drink. Other resorts can be reached via the train service such as Monte Carlo, Nice and others but we decided as we were in Cannes that we would stay and explore leaving the other places for another cruise maybe. Overall we enjoyed our visit. In the early hours of the next day we arrived at Civitavecchia for Rome which is about 50 miles from the port so we went on an excursion “Introduction to Rome” £48 pp for a full day trip, escorted in the morning with about 3 hours to explore on your own before the return by coach to the ship. In the morning we visited the Forum, the Colosseum finishing our guided tour in St Peters square. After lunching (very expensive) we walked from St Peters Square to the Trevi Fountain about 1 mile each way, but on cobbled alleyways, we were both knackered afterwards. It was unfortunate that on the day of the visit there was a local transport strike which brought more cars onto the roads and the Romans lived up to their reputation of the world’s worst drivers, the pedestrians are not much better. A beautiful city but take care when trying to cross the roads the drivers are totally oblivious to traffic lights and signs. One day is not enough to see it all. The next day we docked at Ajaccio for Corsica and this was probably the best visit of the cruise as it is relatively unspoilt by tourism. Again we chose to tour the area independently including once again a ride on the land train. This was once again 10 Euros pp but for about 2 hours. Corsica was the birth place of Napoleon and you can’t get away from him, statues are all over the place. We enjoyed a days rest at sea before the final port of call Gibraltar for 1/2 a day. This was interesting but in need of smartening up. We stayed in the shopping area of the Rock not bothering to go to see the Apes. We had a very patriotic celebration on leaving Gibraltar with everybody who was on the top deck being given Union Jacks to wave. Music both traditional and modern from Scotland, Wales, Eire and England being played during the departure with everyone singing along. We passed once again through the straights of Gibraltar and 2 days into the Atlantic with similar weather to the journey down. It’s a shame that the geography of the area does not allow for the stops to be more evenly spread throughout the cruise. The food, accommodation and entertainment were all first class and good value for money when compared with a land based holiday of a similar standard. We will not become one of the many that go cruising every year but will definitely go again when the mood takes us. The extras bump up the overall cost of the holiday if you are not careful. We found that the drinks prices were comparable to that which we pay in our pubs in the London area. Overall we felt that the whole experience was better than we expected. Now that we are retired I do not get the opportunity to get my Dinner suit out of moth balls, so it was great to be able to wear it again four times, we enjoyed dressing up for the formal nights on board. I found that the holiday seemed to be longer than 12 nights whereas on land based holidays they seem to fly by. Well done P&O and in the words of General McArthur “We will return”. In this praise of P&O we must not forget the excellent staff at Iglu Cruise for their help to 2 cruise virgins, when we wish to book our next cruise we will be in touch again.

We cruised on Ventura from 21 October to 4 November 2011 from Southampton to the Caribbean and had a fabulous time. The service was excellent and the facilities were great. There was plenty to do on the ship on the sea days and lots of shows in the evenings, which were of a very high standard. I have already paid a deposit for my next one!

Had a lovely cruise to the Med in August this year on Ventura. The ship itself was bigger than we had cruised on before and it took us a while to find our way around. The ship was fantastic, our room was a nice size for two adults and a child. Food was great and we also tried The East restaurant and paid an extra £15 each and it was thoroughly worth it. The entertainment was brilliant and we enjoyed the comedians and magicians as well. We loved the quizzes, even though we never won. The choice of bars was great and we tried all of them. Swimming pools were well maintained. Staff were very friendly and attentive. Overall our experience was great.

First time we have cruised with P&O - sailed from Southampton around Western Med. August 2011. Our previous cruises were with Celebrity and Costa cruises. We were very impressed. Great friendly staff, comfortable ship with a host of extras which saved on your luggage allowance eg toiletries provided. Tea/coffee making facilities in cabin. The entertainment on board was excellent especially P&Os own theatre group Headway. Meals were very good, we had freedom dining which we much prefer. At the various ports of call free shuttle buses were provided (we prefer to do our own thing rather than the guided tours). All the ports of call were interesting and easily accessible from the ship. We will definitely will be cruising with P&O again. 

July 2011 we stepped onto the gangway of this modern cruise liner with far reaching expectations. We had cruised before on the Oriana which we enjoyed immensely, but this ship was just fantastic. From the first moment the crew were friendly and professional and made it clear that there was nothing they wouldn't do for us. Our cabin had a balcony and on a few occasions we had room service and eat our breakfast there. The sailing was superb and the Mediterranean was like a mill pond. Everywhere onboard sparkled and the entertainment was second to none, this was by far our favourite holiday ever. Every meal and snack was as tasty as it could be. Our cabin was maintained to the highest standards and I would be surprised whether anyone could find fault with any aspect of the cruise. We will be booking again.

We did a Barbados/Caribbean cruise on Ventura. Cabins good size as we had an outside one. Little bumpy on a couple of occasions but nothing to worry about. I cannot recommend this ship more highly. Fantastic time on board with plenty to do and see. We loved the gym, pools and talks during the day and the evening shows were fantastic. This was our third cruise and had done the Caribbean before but P&O definitely pulled out all the stops in our eyes. So well organised, meals were great in the restaurant with afternoon tea as well. Only downfall we and others saw was that there were never enough teaspoons for tea or coffee. Nor enough cups. The plates for salad were always steaming hot! Beautifully cleaned but who wants salad on a hot plate. This did get resolved near the end of our cruise but otherwise wonderful and such a lovely ship. After all the amount of people they are catering for, they did a superb job and the staff were always lovely and couldn't help enough. We leave on the Oceana 9th Nov for the Canary Islands. Just couldn't stay away and got a great deal.

My husband and I were on the Ventura in June 2010. It was absolutely a wonderful holiday. The ship was amazing and the crew were brilliant. We enjoyed the sail away’s too especially the one from Gibraltar. I would definitely cruise with P & O again and would not hesitate to go onto the Ventura again, Loved every minute of it and the tours we had.

This was our first cruise so we thought the Western Med was best for us, it was a good choice as the ports that we visited were excellent: Valencia, Barcelona, Toulon, Livorno, Civitavecchia, Corsica and Gibraltar. The staff were very attentive and we had excellent service, the food was great. The only gripe was not being able to get a sun lounger as the towels were on them before breakfast and people not removing them until very late in the day, I managed to get one 3 times in my 14 day cruise. I am planning my next cruise already. E & N Cleveleys