P&O Ventura

by **woodster1965** on Sat Oct 31, 2009 18:09 pm

Hi all we have booked a 7 nt cruise in Jul 2010 for 5 adults (3 of whom are in their mid 70s) on the above named ship.My wife and i were on 'Oceana' in Jul this year and loved every second of it but have been reading some really bad reviews about 'Ventura' namely unsupervised kids, (i know its a 'family'ship so am expecting kids as we go in school holidays),big problems with sunbeds,under-aged drinking,and even fighting between 'chavvy' families.

we experienced none of this sort of behaviour on Oceana and am considering cancelling my booking in favour of a different ship/cruiseline

Has anyone been on Ventura recently and are the bad reviews generally accurate?

worried from Wales!!

by **HW tenpin** on Sun Nov 01, 2009 10:49 am

Hiya Woodster,

I personally have not sailed with P & O for a few years due to a falling out, however have heard from a number of cruisers we have met, and generally they say while the Ventura is a nice ship some weeks can be a bit ‘Rowdy’ when there are lots of children on board, due to the very things you mentioned. Now obviously this solely depends on the parents & the children themselves on any particular cruise.

While there are only a few 7-day cruises in July with P & O most will have a few little people on board. If you are flexible with your dates you could try the Artimis or the Arcadia, which are adult only. Failing that try the Azura which as yet has not been advertised as child friendly.

Unfortunately there are not many 7-day cruises in July and as more and more lines are offering ‘free child places’ as part of the packages, this will become the norm.

You could do worse than taking a look at Thomsons Dream some June and September sailings will be child free.

Other than that just go and enjoy your cruise it may not be that bad, I have sailed on many Costa ships on free child weeks and really enjoyed watching the kids having fun.

by **woodster1965** on Sun Nov 01, 2009 15:08 pm

Thanks very much Tenpin.Do you think Cruisedeals (the site i booked with) or P&O,would let me transfer my deposit from the Ventura booking to another P&O ship?

Also we cannot consider a week out of school holiday time unfortunatley as my wife is a teacher.Otherwise we would ALWAYS opt to travel during term time!! lol.

We cruised on Oceana in 1st week of school hols in Jul 09 to Norway and there were very few children onboard and we enjoyed a fantastic very civilised and friendly cruise and were hoping for the same on Ventura.I dont know if the itinerary makes a difference or not but Ventura is sailing down the Iberian Peninsular to Brest,La Rochelle,Lisbon and Vigo.

by **HW tenpin** on Sun Nov 01, 2009 15:40 pm

Hi Woodster,

I would think that your cruise to the ports of Iberian Peninsular to Brest,La Rochelle,Lisbon and Vigo. would be less likely to have many children on board, as this is not that popular with families. sunny 'Med' ports sre the usual cruises.

Last year for your Norway cruise is again not one that appeals to children, so I would say stick with it, but consider Artimis & Arcardia for for those special cruises.

But to answer your other question, P&O or even your TA would of course change your booking for next year, at a charge this would depend on what you use as an excuse.from what I have been able to learn since your reply this may even be a very minor charge.

by **woodster1965** on Sun Nov 01, 2009 21:15 pm

Thanks again Tenpin.

I have this afternoon phoned P&O who say they would certainly allow me to transfer my deposit to any of their other ships or even Cunard,OV,or Princess but it would have to be for a cruise which costs more (don't quite understand that one!)Also they quoted me an 'admin' fee of £100 per cabin (we have booked 3 cabins!!)

I am going to have to look into it and decide what to do

Many thanks.