Just back from a wonderful cruise on Ventura

[JudithAnn1]

We have just returned from cruising to Madeira, the Canary Islands and Lisbon on Ventura.  After reading many negative reviews in recent months relating to all ships across the fleet I began to think that we wouldn’t enjoy the cruise even though we had a five week cruise on Ventura last year and had a great time.   I needn’t have worried, we had a wonderful cruise.  Embarkation was quick and the ‘Welcome On Board’ lunch was lovely.  

Our cabin steward made himself known to us shortly after we arrived in our cabin and kept it spotless throughout the cruise.  It was a deluxe cabin on D deck, mid-ship, and was in good condition.  We had a problem with the hot water having a brown tinge to it but I mentioned it at Reception and it was quickly sorted by a plumber.  

We have always chosen Freedom Dining and prefer a table for two, but don’t like to eat too early.  By going along to the Saffron Restaurant about 6.30pm we had a pager and were usually seated at the table we asked for between 7.15 and 7.45.  We always received a warm welcome when we entered the MDR but our waiters, Sherwyn and Jai deserve a special mention.  They were always smiling and efficient, nothing was too much trouble and the service excellent.  There was a good choice, the portions were plentiful and the food was hot.  I had read that other passengers had to wait ages for drinks in the MDR on other cruises but in the Saffron orders were quickly taken and drinks promptly delivered.

This also applied to all the bars we went to - The Red Bar, The Glass House, The Tamarind and The Metropolis.  We saw no signs of any staff shortages and all of the crew that we came into contact with had a smile and were happy to chat.

We had read bad reports about the buffets on the ships but, although we only used it at lunchtime or in the afternoon, we were quite happy with it.  In fact it was much improved on last year.  There was usually a good choice of rolls, the prawn ones were really nice.

Leon, the Entertainment Manager, is very good at his job and it was lovely to be able to enjoy proper sail-aways again.

We decided to self disembark which went very smoothly and we had picked the car up from CPS by 8am.

The one thing I do miss are the ‘Port Talks’ and the port leaflets.  I found these to be both interesting and informative and really looked forward to them on sea days.  Hints and tips were given on getting the best from the port and slides provided a better idea of what a particular shore excursion would be like.  

 

[Bin man]

You must have been writing at the same time agree with your comments and with the 2 reports covered most things back on Iona in 3 weeks will be interesting to compare food etc 

[JudithAnn1]

Hope you have a lovely cruise on Iona.

[Selbourne]

21 minutes ago, JudithAnn1 said:

We have just returned from cruising to Madeira, the Canary Islands and Lisbon on Ventura.  After reading many negative reviews in recent months relating to all ships across the fleet I began to think that we wouldn’t enjoy the cruise even though we had a five week cruise on Ventura last year and had a great time.   I needn’t have worried, we had a wonderful cruise.  Embarkation was quick and the ‘Welcome On Board’ lunch was lovely.  

Our cabin steward made himself known to us shortly after we arrived in our cabin and kept it spotless throughout the cruise.  It was a deluxe cabin on D deck, mid-ship, and was in good condition.  We had a problem with the hot water having a brown tinge to it but I mentioned it at Reception and it was quickly sorted by a plumber.  

We have always chosen Freedom Dining and prefer a table for two, but don’t like to eat too early.  By going along to the Saffron Restaurant about 6.30pm we had a pager and were usually seated at the table we asked for between 7.15 and 7.45.  We always received a warm welcome when we entered the MDR but our waiters, Sherwyn and Jai deserve a special mention.  They were always smiling and efficient, nothing was too much trouble and the service excellent.  There was a good choice, the portions were plentiful and the food was hot.  I had read that other passengers had to wait ages for drinks in the MDR on other cruises but in the Saffron orders were quickly taken and drinks promptly delivered.

This also applied to all the bars we went to - The Red Bar, The Glass House, The Tamarind and The Metropolis.  We saw no signs of any staff shortages and all of the crew that we came into contact with had a smile and were happy to chat.

We had read bad reports about the buffets on the ships but, although we only used it at lunchtime or in the afternoon, we were quite happy with it.  In fact it was much improved on last year.  There was usually a good choice of rolls, the prawn ones were really nice.

Leon, the Entertainment Manager, is very good at his job and it was lovely to be able to enjoy proper sail-aways again.

We decided to self disembark which went very smoothly and we had picked the car up from CPS by 8am.

The one thing I do miss are the ‘Port Talks’ and the port leaflets.  I found these to be both interesting and informative and really looked forward to them on sea days.  Hints and tips were given on getting the best from the port and slides provided a better idea of what a particular shore excursion would be like.  

 

I’m delighted to hear that you had a great cruise as we are on Ventura doing the same itinerary in a few weeks time! Can I ask you a couple of questions please?

 

You mention the priority boarders lunch. Is this a buffet (like we had on Iona in August) or a waiter served 3 course meal (like we had on Britannia in July)?

 

Were there many guest lecturers on board? We like attending those on sea days and we have a few of those on the cruise. Thanks. 

[JudithAnn1]

The priority boarders lunch was a sit down meal in the Cinnamon MDR with waiter service and the food was lovely.

I think there were two guest speakers on board during the cruise, one of which was Donald Campbell’s nephew.  I’m afraid I can’t remember who the other guest speaker was as the weather was so good we spent the sea days on deck or on our balcony.

Hope you enjoy your cruise.

[JudithAnn1]

Forgot to say we also enjoyed a very nice Peninsular Club 3 course sit down lunch in the Bay Tree Restaurant.  We were welcomed by the Captain and Officers although they did not stay.

[Selbourne]

9 minutes ago, JudithAnn1 said:

The priority boarders lunch was a sit down meal in the Cinnamon MDR with waiter service and the food was lovely.

I think there were two guest speakers on board during the cruise, one of which was Donald Campbell’s nephew.  I’m afraid I can’t remember who the other guest speaker was as the weather was so good we spent the sea days on deck or on our balcony.

Hope you enjoy your cruise.

Thanks. That’s good. The buffet on Iona was very good, but we prefer a sit down meal. I’d find the Donald Campbell talks fascinating, but I doubt he will be on Ventura again so soon after your cruise. Fingers crossed though. 

[Selbourne]

7 minutes ago, JudithAnn1 said:

Forgot to say we also enjoyed a very nice Peninsular Club 3 course sit down lunch in the Bay Tree Restaurant.  We were welcomed by the Captain and Officers although they did not stay.

That was the same as on Britannia. We thoroughly enjoyed the lunch and were sat with some nice people. There were surprisingly few of us. Only around 100 from memory. Looking forward to it again on Ventura. 

[SarahHben]

I’m glad you had a good cruise on Ventura. We really enjoyed our cruise on her in August, wouldn’t hesitate to book on her again.

[JudithAnn1]

Thank you.  We would definitely book to go on her again, she is one of our favourite ships.

[Josy1953]

Thank you for posting about your experience on Ventura, we are due to go on her to the Canaries in November and I was starting to get worried that we had done the wrong thing booking with P&O because it has been a while since we last cruised with P&O.  After a bad experience on Oceana we have stuck to Princess, Cunard and Celebrity but we wanted a winter cruise out of Southampton bevause DH can't  fly for health reasons and P&O seem to be the only choice.

[Interestedcruisefan]

Great review. Glad you enjoyed