Not what was expected.

Ventura Cruise Review

Will89

Contributor Level: Third Mate

17 Days Till Next Cruise

Cruises: 7+ cruises

Reviews: 3

Helpful Votes: 32

Overall rating:

3.1 out of 5

Western Europe

Sail date: July 15, 2023

Ship: Ventura

Traveled as: Couple

Reviewed: 1 year ago

Review summary

Based on this cruise I will certainly never be sailing on Ventura again. The ports were pleasant enough. The entertainments manager adored his own voice. If he gave a notice once he gave it a dozen times. That certainly killed any idea of relaxing.

Embarkation

5 out of 5

Having dropped out bags off we were checked in and on board in 10 minutes. A great start.

Ship experiences

Food and Dining

3 out of 5

A mixed bag. Some was excellent. Some was barely edible.

Onboard Activities

3 out of 5

Service and Staff

2 out of 5

Really disappointed here. As a rule I never criticise cruise staff. Often they are a product of the people they deal with. However. On this cruise in particular there was a lot of rudeness coming from the staff. Laziness of rife. The ship was often left dirty and staff would walk past things that needed cleaning or sorting, busy talking to one another.

Ship Quality

1 out of 5

As said before. Cleanliness was appalling. Ship's design seemed poor to me compared to other ships I have been on.

Cabin / Stateroom

3 out of 5

Not the best but certainly not the worst. The balcony on it was amazing though.

Ports of call

Lisbon, Portugal

3 out of 5

Lisbon was beautiful. However we did find it rather dirty in places. A lot of dog mess and the smell of urine was quite noticeable. The cathedral was stunning. As was the castle. Had some amazing food and did enjoy ourselves.

Thumbs Up 0

St. Peter Port, Guernsey, Channel Islands

4 out of 5

Leixoes, Portugal

3 out of 5

Vigo, Spain

5 out of 5

Santander, Spain

5 out of 5

Disembarkation

5 out of 5

12 Comments

MWea 1 year ago

Loved Ventura, booked to go it again🚢

Thumbs Up 2

Flag

EmEvans2411 1 year ago

Oh dear...we're going back on Ventura next August. We were on Arvia earlier this year and found it too busy. Short staffed everywhere and the inclusive restaurants just couldn't cater for the amount of people. We loved Ventura the first time and we also loved Britannia.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Gwbigdog 1 year ago

Thanks for sharing

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

ViktorT 1 year ago

We've been on recently and had a similar experience, compared to other ships which were definitely more cared for!

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Itspeace4me 1 year ago

Thank you for your detailed review.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

Will89 1 year ago

Thank you for that sayoung8467. Having been on other P&O ships it seems more and more evident that the tone is set by the captain. Russell Robson on Aurora runs a tight ship. And it is reflected wonderfully in every aspect of the ship. On ventura we felt there was little pride taken. I welcome those haters who will tell me I'm wrong. Standards is standards.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

javawoody 1 year ago

Appreciate the review

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

AuntPinkie 1 year ago

Appreciate your feedback. Sorry you were disappointed.

Thumbs Up 0

Flag

somersetmum 1 year ago

I agree with everything you've said, Will. We've sailed on Ventura many times and twice this year todate, the last time being in May. We're on her again in October and December. I felt that the officers weren't good role models or supportive of staff so they replicated the attitudes etc of them.

Thumbs Up 2

Flag

dengage 1 year ago

Fully agree with you there Amanda we've saild on Ventura 10 times and had great cruises ,only once had a problem which I got resolved.

Thumbs Up 1

Flag

amandasolts 1 year ago

We were on her September and April had a great time think holidays are what you make it 😉 doesn't suit everyone 😉

Thumbs Up 3

Flag

cruising2004 1 year ago

See you’re going back on this ship in January 2024. Hopefully you’ll have a more positive experience. Thanks for sharing your experience.

Thumbs Up 2

Flag