Jump to content

Have I made a mistake in booking on Ventura?


jules57
 Share

Recommended Posts

My DH and I solely cruised with Celebrity until last year when we tested the waters with Pando and Fred Olsen. FO definitely not for us but we enjoyed Oriana and decided to book another cruise with Pando for next year. We've booked on Ventura as the itinerary suits us. The cruise is also to celebrate my niece's 18th birthday and we will be travelling with her and her father. DH and I will be in a suite and brother and niece in a balcony room. However, I've heard so many negative comments that I am now worried we have made a mistake.

Is Ventura really as bad as everyone is making out? I see that it is due to be refurbished next March/April and hope that that may be an incentive for Pando to "re-launch" Ventura.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My DH and I solely cruised with Celebrity until last year when we tested the waters with Pando and Fred Olsen. FO definitely not for us but we enjoyed Oriana and decided to book another cruise with Pando for next year. We've booked on Ventura as the itinerary suits us. The cruise is also to celebrate my niece's 18th birthday and we will be travelling with her and her father. DH and I will be in a suite and brother and niece in a balcony room. However, I've heard so many negative comments that I am now worried we have made a mistake.

Is Ventura really as bad as everyone is making out? I see that it is due to be refurbished next March/April and hope that that may be an incentive for Pando to "re-launch" Ventura.

 

 

Why would they relaunch the ship. There is nothing wrong with her.. there is a load of garbage posted about all the ships at times. We had a fabulous 4 weeks on her last year and have another booked next. She will be the ship we book in this latest booking period.

 

Do not believe everything you read.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We've just spent 28 days on Ventura and had a fantastic time. We mainly cruise with P&O because we can only go from Southampton now but have cruised with Celebrity, Princess etc etc. There's something we like about every cruise line and we certainly enjoyed Ventura. What have you read that's worrying you particularly?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We are sailing on Ventura next week for the 5th time. We have only once seen the type of behaviour that some posters are currently posting about, that was during her maiden season.

 

We did travel on Ventura 2 years ago when there was a large group of very loud Liverpudlians on board fir a wedding but we simply avoided the places that they seemed to prefer.

 

Just go with an.open mind and enjoy your cruise.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you all for your positive posts. There had been so many negative posts about food etc but you tend to get that with most cruise lines from time to time. I shall proceed with a positive mind and look forward to the cruise which is still 17 months away.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you all for your positive posts. There had been so many negative posts about food etc but you tend to get that with most cruise lines from time to time. I shall proceed with a positive mind and look forward to the cruise which is still 17 months away.

 

We just had a 2 week cruise on the Ventura (Feb/Mar) . Overall, the accommodation and staff were good, but the general standard of the food, especially in the buffet, we are afraid to say, was one of the worst we have experienced on a cruise. It was the general low standard of cooking which let the cruise down, in our view.

 

Sure, taste of food is very subjective. And to be fair, we should not expect every dish to be good or superb. Even if one or a couple of dishes were below standard, that was understandable. However, when it comes to experiencing such a long list of dishes that was poor, tasteless or lacking flavour, etc, it came to a point when we thought, "Enough's enough".

 

The poor quality of food was not just our opinion. It was discussed amongst quite a number of fellow passengers on board during that cruise. It seemed like that was one of the most popular topic of discussion apart from the poor weather and the choppy seas we had ! It was discussed in the art class. In the Saffron restaurant, we met a lady who have cruised 7 times with P&O and she said, "It has gone downhill". Overheard some passengers talking about their dissatisfaction with the food, at the buffet and elsewhere, etc. On the last day, in the afternoon, we were looking at the menu for dinner, outside the Saffron restaurant, and a couple were also reading it - the wife said to her husband, "It just gets worse". And we met an elderly lady in Southampton terminal just after getting off the ship, and she did not think the food was good either - and she had been on P&O quite a number of times.

 

Now, you can believe it or not, that is entirely up to you. We have no points to score, but just telling you what we experienced. A lot of P&O Ventura "fans" would be upset that we are being so honest. That poor quality of food on that cruise could be an exception and for some strange reason, it only happened on that cruise (which would seem unlikely, we would not know) but it was very real to us. It was we who had to spend 2 weeks eating mostly poorly prepared food, and that was not very nice.

 

The were occassions at the buffet when food was taken to the table, but after tasting it, it was so lacking in taste or flavour, we could not eat or swallow it and left the food and walked off.

 

More of this has been discussed in an earlier thread under the title "Ventura", so we will not repeat this again.

 

Needless to say, it is unlikely that we will be cruising with Ventura in the near future. Having said that, we hope P&O management, if they read this, they will improve on the poor level of cooking which we have experienced, so that your cruise on the Ventura will be a nice one.

Edited by Cahpek
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you all for your positive posts. There had been so many negative posts about food etc but you tend to get that with most cruise lines from time to time. I shall proceed with a positive mind and look forward to the cruise which is still 17 months away.

 

 

With your cruise that far away any comments about the food on board, good or bad are totally worthless as the crew can and will change a number of times before yo see the ship.

 

So that there is not a major upheaval the crew change bit by bit virtually every cruise.

 

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums mobile app

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We were on Ventura in January on the Canaries cruise that attracted a lot of comment due to one particular family on board. I only encountered said family once during the cruise and that was when some young people with one adult were shouting at each other in one of the stair wells - this was when we were on our way to 2nd sitting dinner. Other than that we were not aware of any bad behaviour. We thought the buffet offerings weren't that good, just not enough choice, particularly of cold meats/fish, not terrible just not particularly enticing. However, we thought the meal in the MDR was excellent. The new menus are good, offering different things from previously. All the service on board - we were in a suite - was excellent and we enjoyed our cruise. Neither Ventura nor Azura would be our first choice of ship - due to lack of good lounges, no Crows Nest and a pathetically small library, but that is not to say that we wouldn't go back to one of them if a particular itinerary was one we wanted to do. As Dai has said, the crew changes, the Chef in overall charge changes. Yes there are some ships we prefer to others but other than Britannia which we haven't tried as we feel it's too large for us, there isn't any one of the P&O fleet that we wouldn't travel on.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

My DH and I solely cruised with Celebrity until last year when we tested the waters with Pando and Fred Olsen. FO definitely not for us but we enjoyed Oriana and decided to book another cruise with Pando for next year. We've booked on Ventura as the itinerary suits us. The cruise is also to celebrate my niece's 18th birthday and we will be travelling with her and her father. DH and I will be in a suite and brother and niece in a balcony room. However, I've heard so many negative comments that I am now worried we have made a mistake.

Is Ventura really as bad as everyone is making out? I see that it is due to be refurbished next March/April and hope that that may be an incentive for Pando to "re-launch" Ventura.

 

We felt the same as you after we had booked our first Britannia cruise. Negative review after negative review. Bizarrely, most were from people who found the ship 'too big' for them. They could have saved a fortune and not booked as the size shouldn't have come as a surprise! We went on the cruise (having been on Oriana, Oceana, Azura and Ventura previously) and thought she was a superb ship with cabins, select dining restaurants and (if relevant) access for disabled passenger a class above those on the other ships. She is, at the moment a true flagship yet does not appeal to many P&O regulars. Each to their own.

 

Regarding Ventura, we recently returned from a 4 night cruise and whilst the ship was fine, we found service levels to be poor. The staff seemed disengaged and it was a very different feeling from the eight P&O cruises we had experienced before. However, and this an important point, I am convinced that this was because it was a short cruise and staff see them as a bit of a break and know that gratuities will be lacking so don't go over and above. People posting reviews from the 28 day cruise that preceded ours had a very much better experience. We had a two week cruise on Ventura in 2013 and it was very good, including service. Strangely - and we couldn't really put our finger on why - we much preferred Ventura to Azura which we had been on the year before. It seems as though most people on here prefer Azura.

 

No ship is perfect (I hate the fact that Britannia doesn't have a promenade deck and equally the fact that Ventura and Azura don't have a Crows Nest bar), but none of the ships are 'bad' and in fact are all mostly good. You can never account for poor passengers. We did have a few on Ventura recently (but it was a handful out of almost 2,000) but equally we have experienced the same on Britannia - again a tiny tiny minority. The ships are so big you can put some distance between yourself and any groups that you find irritating. There's always a risk they may be in the next cabin, but that applies on any cruise - or any land based holiday for that matter.

 

I'm sure that you will have a lovely time.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Thank you all for your positive posts. There had been so many negative posts about food etc but you tend to get that with most cruise lines from time to time. I shall proceed with a positive mind and look forward to the cruise which is still 17 months away.

We sailed on her to Majorca. What a wonderful experience. Wonderful service. Great food. Beautiful balcony stateroom. We loved her. Enjoy!!!!!!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We sailed on her to Majorca. What a wonderful experience. Wonderful service. Great food. Beautiful balcony stateroom. We loved her. Enjoy!!!!!!

 

Glad you enjoyed your cruise. From the way you described the food, it seemed like you were on a different ship altogether. Wish we could have at least partial refund from P&O for the poor quality of their food which has not met up to expectations. On our cruise, the food did not seem to keep up to the standard to that when you were on.

 

We are not rich like some folks here who have taken dozens and dozens of cruises. For us, we had to save for our cruise holidays and it was important to us. We could not just say, this cruise was not so nice, take another one a few weeks later.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To the original poster. Ship visit! This can somewhat allay or confirm fears at a fraction of the cost of a cruise!

 

When the Britannia launched we too read all the reviews and looked at video after video. We then decided that we would cancel as it was a lot of money to spend only to be potentially be disappointed. We had cruised before but never with P&O.

 

A few months later, after other cruises and actually speaking directly to folk who had actually sailed on her, we had second thoughts. We then did a ship visit, again something other cruisers suggested and absolutely loved her!

 

We have since sailed on her. Only for a weekend cruise but loved it and have a cruise booked for next year.

 

We would like to sail on the Azura and Ventura but again are not sure so we are again doing a ship visit. For us, we had a real feel for the ship and felt confident enough to book a full sailing.

 

Hope that suggestion helps.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Perhaps a bit more than that!

£25 but you'll get more than that back in credit when you book

 

https://ask.pocruises.com/help/PO/fleet/visit_ships

 

You'll get escorted round the ship, see various cabin grades and all other facilities then have a 3 course lunch with wine. You can book onboard, for good deals, or make your booking later - you'll still get the credit. It's a nice day out

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Perhaps a bit more than that!

£25 but you'll get more than that back in credit when you book

 

https://ask.pocruises.com/help/PO/fleet/visit_ships

 

You'll get escorted round the ship, see various cabin grades and all other facilities then have a 3 course lunch with wine. You can book onboard, for good deals, or make your booking later - you'll still get the credit. It's a nice day out

Oh no!!!! Wish I'd known this sooner, just rang them and they're fully booked for the March and April visits :( I'd have loved to have done a ship visit.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

To the original poster. Ship visit! This can somewhat allay or confirm fears at a fraction of the cost of a cruise!

 

When the Britannia launched we too read all the reviews and looked at video after video. We then decided that we would cancel as it was a lot of money to spend only to be potentially be disappointed. We had cruised before but never with P&O.

 

A few months later, after other cruises and actually speaking directly to folk who had actually sailed on her, we had second thoughts. We then did a ship visit, again something other cruisers suggested and absolutely loved her!

 

We have since sailed on her. Only for a weekend cruise but loved it and have a cruise booked for next year.

 

We would like to sail on the Azura and Ventura but again are not sure so we are again doing a ship visit. For us, we had a real feel for the ship and felt confident enough to book a full sailing.

 

Hope that suggestion helps.

f

 

Thanks for the suggestion but it isn't really feasible for us to travel to Southampton for a ship visit. We've already booked and the ship is due to have a refurb next year so the decor may be different. My brother has now booked for him and his daughter to come with us so will just have to wait and find out for ourselves. Do appreciate everyone's comments though.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We're on the Ventura in a couple of weeks and as it's school holidays we fully expect it to be a "family friendly" cruise with all that entails! You make the most of what you've been given and with only one (non P&O) exception, every one of our 19 cruises has been trouble free. I wouldn't worry about what you read and start to look forward to your well earned holiday!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We're on the Ventura in a couple of weeks and as it's school holidays we fully expect it to be a "family friendly" cruise with all that entails! You make the most of what you've been given and with only one (non P&O) exception, every one of our 19 cruises has been trouble free. I wouldn't worry about what you read and start to look forward to your well earned holiday!

 

Well, hope you will have a good cruise on the Ventura then. And please tell us when you get back if the cooking has improved, okay? On our cruise just a couple of weeks ago, the food was a bit touch and go. In the buffet especially, the food reminded us of a 3-star Spanish hotel buffet....sometimes lacking taste and flavour, and soup hardly warm (but still lacking taste). Somewhat samey offerings including those desserts. The standard of cooking in the MDR was somewhat better, but the standard of cooking was still rather inconsistent. There were a few dishes which were actually quite nice, but then, a lot of the rest seemed to taste rather mediocre or poor (think dry tasting meat or meat which has been so long in the freezer that there was no more succulent. Or Chicken Piri-Piri tasted nothing like its namesake).

 

In the buffet, please check that the fish and chips has more batter on the fish than fish. Also check that the meringue are not as hard as the ones we had served a couple of times on our cruise (it was so hard we knocked it against the table and it did not break. Then we tried to "jab" it with a knife, it still did not go in! It was incredible, almost like concrete!!!!). And don't be surprised the Singapore-style fried noodles do not taste like Singapore fried noodles, and another similar noodle dish will come out the following night but with a different name! Same with their paella/risotto.

 

Check too that they do not offer too many "leftover" dishes from their dinner buffet and use it for their "post dinner" buffet.

 

Hope all the above would not happen to you, and that the food will be better.

 

The quality of food - or lack of it - became one of the most common topic of discussion amongst passengers on our cruise.

 

Apart from the food, the service and accommodation on our cruise were good, so yours should be too. We hope the food would have improved on your trip as we heard that the (head?) chef was moving onto another ship after our cruise. at least some passenger heard that and we also asked a waiter. Whether that was true, and whether that will improve the cooking, only you will be able to tell us.

Edited by Cahpek
Link to comment
Share on other sites

We're on the Ventura in a couple of weeks and as it's school holidays we fully expect it to be a "family friendly" cruise with all that entails! You make the most of what you've been given and with only one (non P&O) exception, every one of our 19 cruises has been trouble free. I wouldn't worry about what you read and start to look forward to your well earned holiday!

 

Re:above....sorry to have to ask you to be a "food-tasting guinea pig". We hope that our unfortunate unpleasant food experiences on the Ventura was a "fluke". And that is not the usual standard of cooking on the ship.

 

However, unless we have more favorable food reports from others who have been on this ship after we have, we would be wary of cruising with her in future.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

We too were on the Canaries cruise in January that had a lot of bad publicity. We never heard or saw the offending family and we really enjoyed our cruise. We were doing a back to back so we're on for 44 Days and really enjoyed the ship. Out of school Holidays Ventura is great.

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Please sign in to comment

You will be able to leave a comment after signing in



Sign In Now
 Share

  • Forum Jump
    • Categories
      • Welcome to Cruise Critic
      • New Cruisers
      • Cruise Lines “A – O”
      • Cruise Lines “P – Z”
      • River Cruising
      • ROLL CALLS
      • Digital Photography & Cruise Technology
      • Special Interest Cruising
      • Cruise Discussion Topics
      • UK Cruising
      • Australia & New Zealand Cruisers
      • Canadian Cruisers
      • North American Homeports
      • Ports of Call
      • Cruise Conversations
×
×
  • Create New...