Ventura Cruise Reviews - Reviews

Spent two weeks on Ventura, this was my first cruise and absolutely loved every minute of it. Checking in was so easy and arrived on ship in 25 minutes. Facilities were great and staff were amazing. Entertainment every night was great and the ship is kept spotless. Couldn't fault anything.

we are going on an eleven night cruise in November on the Ventura so we wanted to get a feel of the ship beforehand.this was 3 nights and gave us a good idea of what to expect.being at the aft end of the ship we found just how far it is to the entertainment venues,so next time we will be mid ships.whole experience was really good as this was our first cruise.we stayed on the ship in Zeebruge so was nice to get around without so many people.

It’s a lovely ship. Visits some amazing places like belguim as I found out. Great experience which I could go again! I’d rate it 5 stars ⭐️

Car parking was so easy luggage taken and car parked up luggage outside cabin once on board.Embarkation was a breeze staff were helpful looking forward to next trip in november

So I prefer Ventura to Azura however I was a little disappointed with the buffet service. It was empty every time we visited. I don't eat that much at the buffet but there was just empty trays that should contain food. No plates were available. I had to wait for one for about 10 minutes. The staff all looked so unhappy which makes unhappy customers. Apart from that we had a good holiday but it's what you make it yourselves 😃

This was our 8th cruise on board Ventura so it's pretty obvious we like the ship! As we were Baltic tier, we had priority check in which was smooth and painless.  Our luggage was at the cabin door by the time we'd had our lunch so we were unpacked well before muster time. No problems with the cabin (C215 balcony), everything was how it should be. Decided to treat ourselves to our first drink of the cruise after muster so we went to The Exchange,  one of our regular watering holes, only to find the bar menus have changed! No more Magners cider! I was distraught!  Thatchers Gold or Aspalls now. Anyhow that was the only bad point of the whole cruise. Apart from the 1st and last days at sea, the weather was gorgeous though it was a bit weird on the 2nd day when we were sunbathing on Sky deck with the foghorn blaring every couple of minutes - we were higher than the fog bank ahead of us! Ports of call were great. We particularly liked Rhodes. This was a change of port to the original itinerary which included Kusadasi  (changed due to the recent troubles). It was our first visit but hope it won't be the last. Had one tour to Knossos from Heraklion which was good, did our own thing in the other ports. With regards to food, breakfast was in the cabin everyday bar the last which made for a leisurely start to the day. We had lunch in the buffet which was ok but the cold meat section was a bit limited. We were on Freedom dining which we prefer as we like a table for 2. Food in the MDR was good and plentiful.  Service was excellent at every table we had. Had one meal in the Beach House and one in The Glass House,  both of which were excellent.  Only went to one show as we aren't bothered about evening entertainment.  It was the Brit Tones who were very good and had a very polished act. We had THREE captins during the cruise. Our first was Simon Terry who unfortunately had to go home at short notice due to personal circumstances which meant the deputy Captain, Max Rossi took the helm to see us into Piraeus then Capt. Marcin Banach took over from there. So my overall view of the cruise was that yet again, P&O didn't let us down. We had a fabulous time and can't wait to sail away with them once more. 

Good itineary although could have squeezed another stop in for a 17 day cruise.  Overall great cruise and the entertainment was good considering a couple of acts could not get to the ship due to the Heathrow IT problems. Resident band Elextrix were great and not given enough credit. Howeveer JO 2 (might be getting that mixed up with a dring, but those on the cruise will know who I mean) were a bit excruciating.  Food good and ship clean if not a bit dated on some areas, having said that would be very happy to go on Ventura again.

love this ship. just returned from 17 day greek isle cruise.Staff were great Food was always good with plenty of variety at lunch and themed evenings in the buffet. shows and artists were ok but not quite as good as other p&o cruises. my only moan is that bar service was a bit slow . all in all an awesome cruise.

Very clean and well equipped ship with super friendly staff. Dining-there's something for everyone, the select dining venues are very good, especially Sindhu and The Glasshouse (steaks superb ) Overall excellent Cruise experience with P & O.

the Bulb fields were what we wanted to see and the didn't disappoint. But to be honest once again from booking in to disembarkation it was fab, service was excellent as usual, crew and passengers all seemed really 😊. This was our first time in an inside cabin and to be honest it was good, you can't beat views when leaving or entering port but to be fair we are normally on deck anyway. Food was good another first all bar one meal 🥘 was held in the beach house self service, and one in the Epicurian oh and the glass house,we also. Exuded we wouldn't do the one formal night. All firsts and there were no complaints from us. Still fantastic It might have been short but we felt like we had had a rest, fab thanks again P and O 

Everything about this cruise was amazing the staff are really friendly and the headlines theatre was great to. The only thing was that we have to wait for a while to board because people were evacuated from ocean terminal for some reason so they were running late but the staff were very helpful towards everybody.

Great week aboard Ventura. Perfect weather and calm seas. Happy days. Food was top notch as always. Dined at Sindhu and a few others. Really enjoyed it. Shame the price is so ridiculous for solo travellers tho.

can't believe there are so many restrictions on these american cruise lines. seems carry on water and soda are restricted and people have to try and sneak on alcohol. also almost everything seems to be extra $$. do yanks put up with being nickel and dimed ? seems so I'll stick to sailing out of southampton uk and stick with reputable cruise line

First taster cruise and I enjoyed it but while been on others still think they were better though but great transportation to and from excursions. Loved the pools and the staff were really friendly

My 4th on her and still amazing. She is becoming a bit tired now and is need of a refit, a few cosmetic issues in the cabin but nothing that ruined it in any way. Food was very good as usual and embarkation was the best I had experienced in the last 12 months, straight on, terminal was pretty empty. All in all a great cruise again.

First time cruise made especially special by the excellent staff, ventura is a very clean ship as was the cabin! looking forward to booking our next cruise

We had a lovely break. Especially enjoyed seeing the whales and dolphins and the ship was great

My 1st time ever cruising and now have the bug 😆 absolutely loved every minute of it. So much so I booked another 2 cruises soon as I got home! Spent my new year old Ventura. Something I will never forget. Faultless 😆

This was our first cruise with P&O, previously used NCL in European cruises. But this was an excellently priced mini-break departing from Southampton to Brugges for 3 days and choose this to coincide with a 50th birthday treat. 

First impressions on arriving at port and embarkation terminal weren't good. It was approx 1:10pm and their terminal building was crammed, obviously we'd coincided our arrival with peak time. The process to manage this was via guests being given a colour and letter on entry to terminal and having to find seats in the packed waiting area. P&O then call out each group eventually allowing you to then join a queue for checking in. Compared to prior check ins with NCL, it seems P&O operate this process with minimal staff/positiions, hence the 90 minute wait that ensued. However, we were all in the same boat (pardon the pun) so despite the annoyance of waiting, I guess it at least kept the rabble in some order and meant guests were checked in with some fairness. My tip would be to either get there much earlier, say noon or before, or alternatively after 3:15pm as much of the crowd had dispersed by then.

Once on board we felt the standard of the ship, its public areas and cabins was very good. Especially their theater was equipped with good quality and comfortable seating. 

Having cruised with NCL before, and first time on P&O its very noticeably 'British' in its guest provisions from style of entertainment and cream tea's in the afternoons and good selection of craft beers.

The weather on this trip was perfect considering time of year and the day trip to Brugges (where we've been a few times before in prior years) was great.

Being a more casual dresser, I wasn't personally a big fan of the black tie night as felt slightly encumbered to comply, because if you don't, some of the main dining areas are restricted, hence limiting yourself to buffet dinning only if your a fella without a penguin suit ;-)

But.... its without doubt very popular and plenty obviously love the opportunity to 'dress to the nines' for the night! Just would be good if there were alternative dining options beside the buffet if you don't want to go the whole dinner dress route.

It was a different experience being seated at collective group tables on this cruise. We'd typically been used to standard couples tables on NCL on most evenings. But, as almost all on board were British, language wasn't any issue, and polite diner conversation between couples wasn't too stale or awkward as I'd previously feared it might of been.

The cream tea in the afternoon was excellent, a real treat, bring a serious appetite though!!

All in all we thoroughly enjoyed our mini cruise. It was a treat and we though good value for money. Would certainly go another mini-cruise again with P&O, perhaps to another location next time.

Can't really fault the ship itself, the only let down was the lack of variety of food in the buffet restaurant, it's not as varied as the American ships, and it doesn't have a big screen like the Azura. Other than that it was great.