Sunny cruise
Ventura Cruise Review
Contributor Level:
First Mate
Cruises: 7+ cruises
Reviews: 22
Helpful Votes: 224
Review summary
A relaxing cruise due to the sunny destinations. The Bay of Biscsy behaved itself too on both crossings. Remember to take high factor sun lotion as even in December, the sun was strong and UV high.Embarkation
Swift check in and onboard within 10 minutes.
Ship experiences
Food and Dining
The menus in the MDRs were extremely repetitive and portion sizes very small. Queuing started daily at 17.00 pm for freedom dining at 18.00 pm. Lots of new waiting staff being trained. Long waits between courses, typically 30 mins.
Food in the buffet was much better, varied daily but vegetarians and those with dietary requirements still poorly catered for.
Burger bar and pizzeria were both good but the food wasn't hot.
Beach House was excellent both in terms of food (quality & quantity) and service. New menu rotation now in operation from when we were last on the ship in October.
Onboard Activities
Lots of activities for families plus the usual table tennis, deck quoits etc.
Entertainment
A noitcable improvement since we were last on the ship in October.
The panto Jack and the Beanstalk was excellent, fun and interactive. It was performed by an external theatre group and extremely professional in all aspects compared to Ventura's own theatre group. It seemed to be more enjoyed by the adults than the children.
Singer Josie was really good along with the busker Max and the pianist in the Metropolis/ Red Bar.
Quizzes in the Exchange were entertaining and uptodate.
Service and Staff
Lots of new staff being trained which reflected in the service received. Some existing staff are rude & lazy though, as they hid rather than serve passengers until an officer noticed and had words with them (lido deck).
Our cabin (L254) steward was excellent, friendly, polite and nothing was too much trouble. Our cabin was spotless and sparkled after he cleaned it daily.
Ship Quality
Ship is looking more tired every time we cruise on her (5th time this year).
Communal areas were clean but tables etc not cleared frequently enough.
Rust is quite noticeable despite being sanded and painted over on the metal work in places.
Cabin / Stateroom
Our cabin L254 was a decent size but very tired inside. The carpet was grubby & fraying, the patio door had a gap around the surround. It was very windy during the cruise and the gap caused it to whistle badly. I suffer from tinnitis which aggrevated it and had to wear ear plugs to ease the discomfort. The hairdryer overheated repeatedly and started to burn, but the steward obtained a replacement very quickly.
Our steward kept the cabin spotless though and it actually glistened every day.
TV options are limited too with many channels removed since we last travelled on Ventura last month.
Ports of call
A lovely island which has managed to retain an authentic feel due to long term sustainable tourism.
Teguise the capital is small enough to wander around in an hour. The church despite having a plain exterior is beautiful inside.
Aloe Vera Farm and the Cactus Garden are both relaxing places to wander around in the sunshine.
Thumbs Up
0
Disembarkation
Utter chaos, passengers were queueing in the atrium at 6.00 am before the ship even docked. We went down to self disembark at 6.45 and were directed to the restaurant to wait because so many wished to get off.
Traveler Photos
