An Invitation to spend a day onboard

[LibraLass41]

First you have your full ships tour and get to see all types of cabins, one of each is available for photos and a lookaround. You will be shown all public rooms.

A 3 course lunch is served in one of the main waiter served sit-down restuarants.

 

Lamb cutlets, potato cake and side veg main course at lunch

 

After lunch you depart the ship.

[tom_uk]

Just recieved an invitation to a day visit on p&o cruises,

 

i have choose to visit the ventura, we live near manchester so we are going to make a short break of it, we will stay 2 nights in southampton and 2 nights in bournmouth,

 

my question is you get a 3 course meal included in the trip but which resteraunt do they serve it in,

 

so anyone who as any extra information on these day visits i would love to hear from you

thanks

 

It might be a little bit rushed, especially on a ship as large as Ventura. They won't/can't let you on board until some time after 10 o'clock, and they'll want you off the ship not too long after 1 o'clock. The point being, of course,

that they'll be disembarking the previous cruise's passengers early in the morning, the staff, especially the cabin staff, will be working very hard to clean & refresh the cabins, and they'll be letting new passengers on around midday. So count on no more than three hours, including the lunch; and on Ventura they'll have you marching from one end of the ship to the other: "eyes right - the pub!; eyes left - the casino! - straight ahead - the atrium! Keep up, keep up....".

 

But it's worth it. We did one to Oceana a few years ago, and enjoyed it.

[asda]

thanks sue.

just wondered were the meal would be served as the new cruise passengers will be boarding and going for the buffet lunch.

our trip starts at 10am -2.30pm lunch is at 1pm. do they serve tea and coffee with meal?

 

we are going to book devere harbour hotel for 2 nights b+b and then go and stay in poole for another 2 nights.

[LibraLass41]

Asda

and here's the starter we had lol!!

 

There was a special limited menu with about 2 choices per course.

 

Tea and coffee after... as you say, lunch started around 1pm and when finished you were invited to 'disembark at the gangway' quite sad getting off when we passed the cases outside cabins on the decks, wanted to run and hide in a cabin and stay onboard!

 

Yes the embarking cruisers are sent to the ss restaurant for their lunch, the people on ship visits are tucked away in the main restaurant.

[eviledna]

We had one of those too, i just guessed as id searched so many times on the P&O website that was where they'd had my details from! never cruised with them before only RCCI in feb of this year. Took them up on the offer though as i reckon it is a great idea "try before you buy" sort of thing. Coming home from France through portsmouth so a skip away...perfect!

[Hardwicke]

I'm not sure how good an impression of a ship one gets. I did a port visit on Queen Mary 2 in New York back in 2004 and hated her.

 

I had a very different impression when I sailed on her.

 

Ships aren't at home in port - they need to be at sea to be alive.

[LibraLass41]

Yes thats true, walking around Artemis in a miserable dull wet southampton, didn't do much for the ship, I tried really hard to imagine I was in the Med with a cocktail.....

[Rum Rat]

Never been on OV

 

Gold on P&O

 

Had two ship's visits, Artemis and just recently, Azura.

 

Full meal served WITH a choice of Red or White wine.

 

.

[Elaine0138]

As others have already said wine was served with lunch on IOS visit

[LibraLass41]

Never been on OV

 

Gold on P&O

 

Had two ship's visits, Artemis and just recently, Azura.

 

Full meal served WITH a choice of Red or White wine.

 

.

 

 

Mike

You may well of had wine on your recent gold invite tour of Azura, but on a standard ships visit when you pay for the invite like we both did on Artemis, you being a table away we were not offered wine with our meal. It was water or Orange juice.

[scrozuk]

Umm, I would say then that p&o are targeting OV passengers with a view to tempting them aboard.....Makes sence with OV leaving the fleet soon.

 

I did a Artemis ship visit like this a while ago, well worth going if you live within 2-3 hours drive of Southampton...A great day out, the lunch alone is worth the £20, and a great way to see a ship/cruiseline. I would love to do a Cunard ships visit, but they are as rare as hen's teeth.

 

Click this link for photos of the lunch - 3 course- on the ships visit on Artemis.

 

http://picasaweb.google.com/AuroraPartyCruiseSueV/ArtemisShipVisit30908?authkey=NxbTIyq3gOA#5251855836348512082

 

Damn, having been on Ventura, and due to go back on her in June, wouldn't qualify.

 

Would have been a nice lunch out for us, seeing as they dock less than 3 miles from where I live.

 

Agree with the Cunard day visits, would love to do one of those, but again, think with the wife having been on QM2, wouldn't qualify.

 

Now, if Silversea did this, that would be a totally different story!!!

 

Scrozuk