Cloudyrain

Thank you for taking the time to write a great report - I am glad you had such a good time 😊

In theory they may do a spot check and ask to see proof of insurance, but if you have it on your bank you should be able to access the details via your banking App: if not you can get a letter from your bank confirming your coverage.

Smoking isn't allowed on balconies: I would (and have, albeit on NCL - I haven't encountered it on P&O) reported it. I am an ex-smoker who happens to not at all bothered by the smell of smoking, but the safety/mess factor makes me report it.

We were on the Iona last April and last June and the beds were put away every day. They asked us if we wanted them putting away and we did due to having restricted space with the bed out. In 2022 on the Britannia they left the bed out due to the extra issues witn Covid cleaning etc. There was no choice in it that time.

I think it seems really variable: I found that the Sky Princess was £200 (total) more than the same week on the Iona, but that was with Princess Plus and a better balcony cabin. In effect it made the Princess cruise cheaper for more. But, other times I have priced it up and P&O are noteably cheaper. It seems to be that Princess are cheaper than P&O during the school holiday weeks, and then at othet times it's roles reversed 😂

Thank you for sharing: I love the Ventura and always like to read a report 😊

I'm looking forward to your opinions as we are going on our first Princess soon (albeit on a different ship).

I think everytime I've seen a George Michael or Robbie Williams on a cruise I've never lasted more than 5 minutes. People seem to really over-perform them, and George Michael music especially is destroyed by the characature style. I think in general I mostly prefer people just singing songs as themselves, rather than the whole tribute style.

Oh, different one - same star. Yzzy was very good and personable too. We had Ariana Grande on Ventura last and she was brilliant and great with the kids and did a brilliant One Last Time performance, quite emotional actually.

We saw Paloma (well, Yzzy as Paloma) on the Ventura a few yeara ago and thought she was incredible. I wish they would do a few more modern tributes, just to add a bit of variety. I agree, there seemed to be no variety when we were on Britannia: it was all older, despite it being a very multi-generational vibe on the ship. They need a good mix to get the party going so to speak. Having said that, the first time we went on Ventura 10+ years ago it was very "old" music, but the last few times I have found it much more diverse in music years and genre.

It was pretty bad the whole cruise to be honest. Even the tributes were uninspiring (Rod Stewart or someone like that), and the newest lively music they played was awful 70s disco. No-one really danced and the bars were pretty quiet: there was a great woman singing ballads, but there's only so much romance/heartbreak I can cope with 😂 There was one formal night when it was a bit more lively, but it was like a ghost town by 10pm most nights. It's funny because on the Ventura and Iona we've always been quite lucky with them having some diversity in their entertainment and music choices, so maybe we just had a bad lull on Britannia: it was a covid-cruise so maybe they didn't want everyone bopping and breathing germs all over each other 😂

Picture exchange cards which are sometimes used by those with communication difficulties, and sometimes for those with difficulties with reading or learning difficulties. In the instance I saw them used it was just icons for family members, and open and shut doors, and a image of a key.

As a Brit, I find the whole door decorating thing mind-blowing 😂 On P&O (which is mainly British passengers) I have seen the odd “Happy Birthday” banner, and once saw a PECs sign on the door, but that’s about it. When we cruised out of NYC with NCL I felt like I was in a modern art gallery walking down the corridor to our cabin with some of the elaborate designs and decorations.

I like new music (rap, EDM, a bit of a part-time Swiftie etc) but when we last went on the Britannia it was Elvis and Doris Day 😂 It wasn’t even decent old “retro” - just old. I think my exact phrase was “even my Nan would have thought the music was old fashioned, and she’d be 120 if she was alive now”. Maybe they took my feedback too far 😂

I agree with you: we had a great trip on the Ventura last year and are going again this year. My son chose it above any other ship 😊