Read Di's report on her recent 7 night cruise onboard P&O Cruises Ventura

One of my team has just returned back from a weeks holiday onboard Ventura. Diana from the Travel Village sent me an email this morning of her account of life onboard P&O Cruises newest ship.

As always, our reviews are not doctored or changed - this is exactly as Di sent the email to me.

Here's the review.

Having just returned from ventura – I would like to say that this is certainly a far cry from the ‘chav’ branding she was given by some people..

I can tell you that in my opinion, she is fantastic!  Having only been on board for 7 nights we certainly took full advantage of all the facilities Ventura has to offer, and we were not disappointed.

Marco pierre whites restaurant ‘ the white room’ was well worth the visit.  Some people think the £25 cover charge is a bit too steep- trust me- it isn’t, after having experienced it, I would have missed out on something very special if we hadn’t made the visit. The food and the service in here are second to none, and the surroundings are rich and classy- a little tip though- book early, we booked the day we got on board, and there were only a few selected days and times left!

Our first day at sea- we used this time for a little pampering, and I had a massage in the spa. At £30 for 30 minutes,I didn’t think this was bad at all, and was oh soooo relaxing- I nearly fell asleep!  If you aren’t one for the treatments, (like my partner) then you can make full use of the sauna, steam free of charge here too!

We were on Freedom dining, and after hearing many conflicting tales about this dining option - don’t be deterred, we were pleasantly surprised . this worked well for us, we liked to have a table for 2 most evenings- so we were given a beeper, and went to have a drink whilst we waited for table to become available- this wait was never more than 20-30 minutes.  The restaurant staff and food were amazing (hence the fact we’ve put on a couple of pounds).

I would have to say that our favourite bar was ‘ramblas’ – I loved the surroundings and feeling of Spain.  We enjoyed Tapas in here one afternoon, over a rather nice glass of wine or 2 - definately try this - it is something a little different and is a lovely change.

There were 2 formal nights whilst we were on board - which had a real sense of occasion - and I love to dress up of an evening. 

We met a lot of great people on board - Ventura certainly is a very friendly ship - with a real relaxed atmosphere, whilst retaining the charm and class of the other ships. There were a few guests on board, complaining that she was too big a ship, and comparing her to the Oriana/Arcadia etc…. you cannot do this. Each ship is very different, and yes Ventura is a large ship, but we knew the size before we booked - and the size did not deterr from any enjoyment, or catching up with friends we made - Ventura's layout is very well done.

Every ship is very different, and won’t suit every persons taste all of the time.  If you don’t like larger ships, Ventura probably isnt for you, I loved Oriana when I sailed on her, but now I also  love ventura and would love to sail on her again

Diana

Thank you Di for a very honest review of your holiday onboard Ventura.

This is a cruise blog entry by Diana..!!