P&O Cruises Ventura holiday a full report from the "horses mouth" on how Ventura has improved post launch.
It is safe to say that P&O Cruises Ventura has had more than her fair share of criticism since launching in April 2008. Yes, some of it was relevant but there has been an unprecedented level of what can only be described as totally unfounded comments on various websites in an attempt to fuel this undercurrent that Ventura is a ship for "Chav's" and is far removed from the traditional standards expected on a P&O Cruise.
I believe that having holidayed on Ventura last June and more recently on her February Caribbean fly cruise, I am well placed to dispel some of these myths whilst addressing the real positive changes on board. We had a great holiday on Ventura, my wife, two teenage children and our friends who had their four year old son with them.
There was a large number of first time cruisers onboard and speaking with them it became clear that Ventura was exceeding their expectations of cruise holiday. I think everyone I spoke with who was a first timer, expressed their astonishment at the level of service onboard, this is something that is relevent to all cruise lines not just P&O Cruises and is a great example of why we need to attract even more new to cruisers. It also highlights the fact as seasoned cruisers we sometimes fail to overlook slight discrepancies and forget how high the standards of service are within the cruise industry.
Freedom Dining
Here was a real problem last year, Freedom Dining it was not! People were pre booking tables days in advance which resulted in those who turned up in the evening being offered very early or very late sittings. I know because I was a victim of this.
Since the introduction of the Princess Cruises and more recently P&O Cruises Oceana Freedom Dining model with the inability to pre book dining times days in advance, Freedom Dining is now working well on Ventura and I am sure this will be well received and a popular option when Azura launches for the 2010 season.
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Sunbeds
We had four sea days (1 extra, due to civil unrest in Martinique) and I made a point of walking around the decks for evidence of people struggling to find a sunbed. Granted most were taken but there were still beds available on the higher decks. However, I did not witness any moaning or people arguing over sunbeds around any of the pool areas during the cruise.
It is fair to say though that on a peak summer holiday cruise with a large number of families, the pool area's will be extremely busy very early on a sea day, but that is to be expected and is no different to any summer holiday cruise I have been on with my family on other cruise lines or in fact popular hotels on land based holidays.
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Dress Code
A great deal has been made about the changes to the dress code and the dropping of informal evenings on Ventura.
Traditionally the Caribbean is a more casual style of cruising, but I have to say, the smart casual evenings were very much more smart than casual. People really did make an effort. I did not witness anyone in shorts or inappropriate attire in the Saffron restaurant nor did I see any passengers without footware or tops at the lunchtime self service buffets. Even at the beach buffet people obeyed the rules and queued for food with footware and t-shirts etc.
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Noddy
Last year was a case of "where's Noddy", but it is great to see that P&O Cruises has taken onboard feedback because the little fella made a great effort to meet the passengers and join in dancing at the "Sailaway" parties on deck.
A great touch was Noddy posing for photographs outside each of the restaurants for 1 night post dinner. The surprising thing was, it was the adults / grandparents who were queuing up for pictures!! Great PR and no doubt countless grand children back home will suffer the story of "did I tell you about the day I met Noddy?"
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Onboard booking
This is an issue that has been of great concern to some agents since its introduction, but I now have first hand experience after making a booking onboard at the "future cruise desk."
When I pressed the consultant about a discount, I was told to speak to my agent and there was never any indication of what percentage I should expect - not even the dreaded "10% is standard". I was then asked if I would like the booking assigned to The Cruise Village who booked my current cruise. I can only report what I experienced.
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Ramblas Bar
What a difference from my last experience where it was cold, lacking atmosphere and to some extent a bit of a white elephant. I have to say that the introduction of a live guitarist playing a mixture of traditional Spanish music including Flamenco really did add to the atmosphere. When he was not playing the Spanish theme was continued with much louder music being piped to guests. I have to say that P&O Cruises are still missing a trick here by not offering the traditional jugs of freshly made Sangria for couples or groups and I although the Tapas are excellent, I am not sure what is in the cheese croquets, because you cannot taste any cheese..!! But we really enjoyed our meals, tapas and occasional pre dinner drinks in the Ramblas.
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Ventura Open Day
This is a brand new venture for P&O Cruises and is a day where the crew set up displays in the Atrium to show passengers how the ship functions. Ships security displayed the scanners where you were able to try and spot rogue baggage, and there was passenger participation bed making with cabin stewards, which was great fun to watch. There was a fruit carving display and engineering presentations showing how Ventura functions and supports so many passengers with water and electricity and emergency procedures with information on how the ship is equipped to deal with these.
There was also a ship simulator for passengers to try and “drive” Ventura and berth her in port. This was a great display by the crew and a huge amount of effort must have gone into this and it went down extremely well onboard. The only question is, when word gets out, it may be difficult to limit this to every other cruise – but that is a good problem.
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Flights
The direct charter service offered by P&O Cruises into Barbados is quite superb, the simple fact that when you land, you walk directly to a coach from the plane and instantly transferred to the ship (approx 30 minutes after landing) is fantastic and totally hassle free. On the return, the clearing of customs was fantastic and run with military precision and took me approx 10 minutes from start to finish. The US could do a lot worse and take a leaf from P&O Cruises and the Barbados immigration service on how to make people welcome and to enhance their holiday experience.
Most cruise lines have little if any control over the aircraft or crew and I have some comments to make about our flight both out and return.
Outbound flight
We flew out on time on a First Choice aircraft and the seat pitch was very good indeed with good entertainment facilities. But….the cabin crew were very poor indeed. It was 3 hours (fact) before we received any drinks. When we were served a drink we asked if we could also have a bottle of wine with our meal and were told there was no wine onboard – but this was not the fault of the cabin crew. Whilst the crew were cleaning up empty cans and bottles I politely asked what time the meal was being served and was rudely told “when people stop asking for drinks!!”. A stewardess then addressed my 4 year old Godson with “Please can you move as this is not a playground” when all he was doing was standing between our seats in the aisle, leaning on the arm rests. After sitting quietly for almost 4 hours you cannot keep a 4 year old in its seat for the whole flight. When the meal finally arrived approximately 4 hours into the flight, the stewardess who I asked about the meal, knocked my wife’s drink all over her when serving the dinner. When I asked for my choice I was told they had run out and no attempt was made to ask any other cabin steward if they had my choice available. Oh, and I wish they would change the onboard video showing a preview of Ventura – she has been in service for almost a year!!!
Return Flight
Due to operational reasons our flight was slightly delayed but we were kept onboard Ventura which was fine. Once again our departure from the ship to the airport and through customs was excellent and a credit to P&O Cruises organization in Barbados.
It soon became clear that there was a small issue whilst waiting to board and it became apparent that our aircraft had been changed to a Thomson 767 which has different configuration for premium seating. I have to say that although most passengers were kept in the dark and didn’t know why boarding had been delayed by an hour, those affected were told pre boarding and offered a full refund of the premium supplement for this flight plus £10pp voucher which could be spent onboard on any item of duty free. I have to say that the seat pitch was excellent, maybe a little better than the first choice aircraft but certainly no worse.
What did annoy me and by the whispers and looks on passenger faces was the arrogant announcements to all passengers before the aircraft was pushed off, and their eagerness to point the finger at P&O Cruises and also Thomson airways.
The cabin crew totally over reacted as this was a simple case of an aircraft change and everyone had a seat and the pitch was very good. Everyone was given complimentary entertainment upgrades and those affected, given a refund and a voucher. There is not a great deal more that could be done under the circumstances. But I do take exception to being treated like a young child and also when we again asked for wine with our meal, we were told that this could not be given during the first drinks and we would have to wait until the meal was served..!! Work that one out…
I have to say this was not a great advertisement for Thomson or First Choice. A shame really, because the aircraft were fine, the flights were pretty smooth and the entertainment systems were also good.
All round, this was not a pleasant experience and one which was beyond the control of P&O Cruises.
Overall
I had a very good holiday onboard Ventura and I hope my comments have dispelled some of the myths and also some of the concerns people may have about Ventura.
Quite simply, she is a family friendly ship and during school holiday periods you will experience large numbers of children onboard and you cannot expect to find empty sunbeds around the pool areas if you arrive at 10am. If you sail out of season for example November, December, Jan to March excluding Christmas and Half Term, you will find a ship very much at home meeting the needs of a more generous age group and Ventura is very well suited to the Caribbean.
The food onboard was hot and was of a very high standard, silver service was good in the dining room but some of the soup courses were a little on the creative side let’s say and there is still a niggle that there is no WC on the aft pool / bar area of Ventura and I hope this is fixed for Azura. Also, a salad bar though not imperative would be a great addition to Frankies Bar & Grill around the pool area on deck 15.
I am pretty confident that Ventura has moved on from her teething problems at launch and I always make a note of looking at the reception desk every time I pass through the Atrium and an empty desk is a happy ship and this is what I observed onboard the first 2 weeks of February.
I have been honest in my report and I believe that Ventura is no different to other ships in that some you like, some you don't. She is much bigger than other P&O Cruises ships but Ventura is working well and offers a very good onboard experience - in my opinion.
Phil
