Review of three night Ventura Cruise : 20/07/12

[loobs40]

Quick observations of our recent three nighter on Ventura out of Southampton to Zebrugge and St Peter Port

Food : disappointing compared to my experiences of RCI and Norwegian. There wasn’t a big choice of restaurants and the waiting times for the Cinnamon restaurant for a group of four was forty minutes the first night and over an hour the third night. Early morning continental breakfast to the cabin (croissants and coffee) was good, and arrived on time.

Bar Service : bar service around the sun beds was good and I especially enjoyed my Pina Coladas

Bar on the 18th floor aft, (can’t remember the name) bad experience. On second day at about 17:45 we wandered in after a hard day sunbathing and ordered drinks. No problem there . The drinks duly arrived and we were informed by the waiter that since it was Black tie dress code that night and the bar was a 'high revenue earner' (his words) , we would have to leave as soon as we had finished our drinks. Another waiter appeared a few minutes later to ’remind’ us. We felt very rushed and didn’t enjoy the drinks. Another couple were placed in the same uncomfortable position as us and weren’t happy either. Why didn’t they warn us before we ordered the drinks ?

Cabin: we booked an inside cabin and found it clean and suited our requirements. The shower was good and strong, and the toiletries were good quality

Spa : I had a couple of treatments in the spa which were good, especially the facial and massage on the last day. I would never say good value as spa prices on all cruise lines are outrageous, but I guess they have to make their money somewhere. Relaxation room/thermal suite was very small and internal (no windows) compared to the one on the NCL Jade which is fabulous.

Gym: Hubby used the gym once and enjoyed using the virtual reality bikes (not sure if that’s what they are called.

Embarkation/Disembarkation : At Southampton I was very impressed with the organisation if the parking. Check in was easy. Disembarkation was quick and easy also with luggage easy to find and direction to car park were good

Other : Considering this was a British cruise line, with probably 99% Brits on board my husband was very disappointed to find that there was no coverage of the British Open Golf on the cabin TVs or any of the bars. Cabin TV choice was poor with, I think, three nondescript American TV stations included on a British sailing. Why ?

Would I sail with them again? : No I don’t think so. Much preferred the NCL Jade on which we will be sailing again at Xmas

[Host Sharon]

Thanks for the review. Sorry you didn't enjoy Ventura. I guess you are talking about Metropolis Bar. They do state that the dress code of the day applies in most bars after 6pm but should have warned you or let you finish your drinks.

 

Would you like to post your review here - for others to read?

http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/reviews/#

[cclarke12]

We were on this cruise too and we had a great time. Weather was fantastic and service seemed very good given how busy these short breaks get. The whole experience was much much better than the weekender I did on Ventura in March 2011.

 

Freedom dining did struggle as there were lots of big groups and everyone seemed want to eat at the same time. We gave up on the first night and just ate in Ramblas but that suited us fine and we had expected it to be very busy. On previous cruises we have never waited more than half an hour for a table and that's generally only because we just want a table for two, which takes longer. On the final night be opted for the curry buffet and enjoyed wonderful sunny views as we ate.

 

The youth team on Ventura were fantastic and several members of the team remembered my children from when they last sailed on Ventura a couple of years ago. My children were very sad to leave on Monday morning.

 

This cruise had quickest embarkation and disembarkation of any cruise we have done, which given the number of passengers is quite an achievement.

 

Interestingly I had almost the same experience as you but the other way round. We did a 2 night cruise from Dover on NCL 3 years ago and hated it and haven't been tempted back, although I am sure a longer cruise would be a different experience.

 

Until now Azura had been my favourite P&O ship, but after this trip I have realised how much Ventura has to offer, e.g. covered pool, more sunbathing space etc. If that could be combined with XVII and the Glass House, it would be an even better ship!

[tom_uk]

Thanks for publishing the review. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy Ventura so much, but I can see your reasoning.

 

As regards the dining issues, the problem here (I think) is that the Grand Princess design is about 15 years old now, and wasn't intended for Freedom dining. Attempts to force it into this design of ship haven't entirely successful. On NCL, by contrast, the recent ships (beginning with Norwegian Jewel, I think) were specifically designed for NCL's Freestyle dining, and I imagine that it does indeed work much better in that environment.

[top golfer]

actually Ventura is one of the better ships for the tv, you need to press the interactive button on your remote control though to find the channel which offers you the choice of around 60 films and tv shows.

[Denarius]

Thanks for publishing the review. I'm sorry you didn't enjoy Ventura so much, but I can see your reasoning.

 

As regards the dining issues, the problem here (I think) is that the Grand Princess design is about 15 years old now, and wasn't intended for Freedom dining. Attempts to force it into this design of ship haven't entirely successful. On NCL, by contrast, the recent ships (beginning with Norwegian Jewel, I think) were specifically designed for NCL's Freestyle dining, and I imagine that it does indeed work much better in that environment.

I believe that on the Princess ships both of the MDRs off the atrium are freedom dining; the only club dining restaurant is the one at the stern. This was originally intended to be the case on Ventura, but it was changed to the present arangement before she went into service. I suspect that freedom dining is now oversubscribed and working to full capacity.

[tom_uk]

I believe that on the Princess ships both of the MDRs off the atrium are freedom dining; the only club dining restaurant is the one at the stern. This was originally intended to be the case on Ventura, but it was changed to the present arangement before she went into service. I suspect that freedom dining is now oversubscribed and working to full capacity.

 

Yes - in the original marketing info for Ventura it was announced that Freedom dining would be available in the Cinnamon & Saffron restaurants, and Club (traditional) dining in the Bay Tree only. In the event , and from very early on - possibly when she went into service - Club dining has been provided in the Bay Tree and in Saffron, with Freedom in Cinnamon only.

 

I think the practicalities of running them mean that each restaurant has to be completely devoted to one or the other; I believe it's quite difficult to offer both in the same room.