Ventura

Myself and some colleagues spent a night onboard Ventura in 2008. The ship was fantastic with a very light and grand atrium. I spent the day exploring the facilities and was wowed by the spa facilities and pool deck which was very spacious with lots of room between the sun loungers. The childrens area was well equipped for children of all ages with a Noddy theme for the younger children and seperate pool. You are very spoilt for choice with places to eat for example chinese, american diner as well as the more traditional waiter service restaurants, what is worth a visit at least once is The White Room created by Marco Pierre White the menu was fantastic with a chance of meeting the man himself when he is onboard.

The evening entertainment programme is very varied with somthing to suit all tastes, I visited the Tamarind Club for a comedy show then onto the Arena Theatre for one of the fantastic shows finishing the evening with a little flutter in the casino.

Overall I would highly recommend Ventura for anybody looking to cruise as it definately has somthing for everyone

The latest addition to the P&O Cruises fleet, Ventura, the Superliner Designed for Britain, stunned Cumbria Cruises staff with its innovation and modern design, when we visited her, berthed at the Mayflower Terminal in her Home Port of Southampton on 13 April 2008.

After a 7 hour journey from Barrow-in-Furness, the sight of the classic P&O yellow funnel area rising into the Southampton sky-line was a more than welcome sight. A flawlessly smooth embarkation procedure was just the first sign that our Ventura experience would be one to remember.

The first aspect of the ship that stunned our staff were the well-appointed and spacious cabins, with contemporary designs in all aspects, from the Nick Munro designed tea and coffee facilities to the flat-screen television and large balcony. The storage facilities were more than enough to accommodate our evening wear, but it was apparent that there was plenty of space to take all the clothing needed for a 14 night, or more, voyage.

Not wanting to spend too long in our cabins, we all headed out to discover Ventura. There were several show cabins available, from a two berth inside to the two luxurious family suites, which by general consensus were the most impressive we have seen on a cruise ship. These incredible suites contain a separate sleeping are for up to four children, and even provide a private bathroom and separate door into the cabin.

Most impressive was the fact that the children would need to pass through the main cabin area to reach the balcony, an important feature for all safety conscious parents.

Equally impressive was the rear of Sun Deck, which is given exclusively to children's facilities for all ages, the teen area (Decibels) contains video games, table football and air-hockey plus plenty of space for teenagers to chill out in a relaxed environment. For the big kids from Cumbria Cruises, however, our favourite area was by far the Toybox (designed for children aged 2-4), with a sheltered outdoor play area, ball-pit, colouring and drawing facilities, plus Noddy's play house!!!

After indulging ourselves in the play area we headed for a full and fantastic buffet in the Waterside, before exploring the myriad restaurants, bars and spa facilities to be found all over the 115,000 ton Superliner. In Metropolis we were amazed by the scrolling video-wall which provides city-scape and calming under-water scenes also.

Sophisticated decor and stunning menu's were the order of the day in Marco Pierre-White's elegant restaurant, the White Room, which we are sure, will become a firm favourite dining venue for all who are fortunate enough to cruise on Ventura.

A quick change later and we were decked out in our finery, ballgowns and tuxedoes, for a champagne reception in the Atrium followed by a lavish Gala Dinner in the Cinnamon Restaurant. The food was simply stunning and in the perfect quantities too - the only disappointment was that soon the last course had been served and the meal was over!

Havana, the Cuban Themed Night-Club was the place to be in the evening; the Legends show included impersonators of Robbie Williams, Kylie, Elton John and more and was rapturously received by all. In the small hours the Waterside food court provided snacks and refreshments before we headed for our comfortable beds, well fed and watered, wondering when the next opportunity to explore a cruise ship so effortlessly elegant and fine in attention to detail would be.


Other Highlights:

Cirque Ventura will surely be a big highlight of any cruise, from the trampoline to the tight-rope; all the ingredients for a perfect Circus experience are there!

Arena is a cracking venue for shows and films. We enjoyed and informative presentation from P&O Cruises in it's sophisticated atmosphere.

East is a truly wonderful dining venue with sleek polished floors and a great selection of Asian cuisine. You can even watch the chef preparing your food in the open kitchen area.

The world's largest floating Scalextrix set will provide hours of fun for all budding Lewis Hamilton's, on 20 lap races round a classic oval circuit.

Three or four berth cabins have the additional berths stowed in the ceiling, as opposed to against the wall as a lot of cruise ships tend to do. This is a great concept and hides the additional bed beautifully.

We have recently returned from our cruise onboard Ventura; we took our 3 1/2 year old daughter with us for 14 nights. With lots of very different views on the ship we were obviously slightly nervous, but we had absolutely no need to be.

Ventura during school holidays is completely set up for families, which would be something I would bear in mind if you are travelling as a couple; don't get me wrong, with all the children's activities going on the 900 children onboard were very well behaved but there presence was apparent, however with the majority of people onboard having children wasn't an issue, but it could have been to some clients. I would also say that after travelling on Aurora last year the average age was younger, with either younger couples or families being very popular - which I am sure P&O will be glad about as that was one of the main reasons behind building Ventura.

Children's Facilities

Our daughter Millie was in the 2-4 years age group which was called Toybox. The staff were very well qualified and had a lovely way with the children; as a Mum you felt comfortable leaving your child with them.

Millie had the time of her life doing fancy dress, face painting, magic shows, dancing, picnics & 'Find Noddy' just to name but a few of the activities. Noddy was a huge hit - Millie kept giving him huge cuddles and was sorry to have to say goodbye, so sorry that we had tears getting off the ship and even now two weeks on Millie keeps telling us how much she is "missing the big ship" and "when are we going back on the big ship". That to me is testament itself to how much fun she had!

This year there is also a Snuggle Club option - this basically means you have to go up to where the children are all in sleeping bags between 10-10:30 and as long as your child is settled you can sign them in until mid-night. Which a lot of the parents decided to do so not to disturb the children. Taking children on holiday with P&O actually means that as parents you feel like you have had a holiday!!.

Dining

On booking the cruise we were allocated Freedom dining. Now in the past we have always known our sitting which did make me worry slightly, but yet again we are now Freedom dining converts - we loved it. The concept does work, if people give it a chance and change their mindset (by this I am referring to get away from thinking you need a table booking at a set time every evening).

We used to just walk down to the restaurant say we would like a table for 4, three times on the cruise were we given a beeper which was great you just walk down to the nearest bar, get a drink and are usually beeped back after about 20 minutes. The rest of the time we were seated immediately. The flexibility is brilliant, especially with children but I can see the advantage of doing it if you are a couple; you don't need to rush for a set time and, lets be honest, you get fed that many times onboard hunger doesn't come in to it!

I would recommend Freedom dining to anyone not wanting to be tied to times, we are converted and would do it again in the future.

Entertainment

The Arena is the large two tier theatre, where you get to watch some very professional productions.

The entertainment staff are very good and the variety is also great - with them even putting on a fabulous production for the deck party. The one area that possibly could be looked at is The Tamarind bar, its a lovely bar which is primarily used for comedians - just some are not that funny, which quickly emptied the place. The singer that comes on later on in the evening is well worth watching though.

My favourite bar would be Metropolis which has the various pictures of different places running along the full length wall, we sat their one night and I thought I was actually sat watching a street act in London! Its very topical but also a lovely place with great views out to sea.

The nightclub is Havana and this is used greatly for getting all the family together, so people with older children can spend some quality time together being entertained. One thing I will say is Ventura has so much to offer of an evening there is no shortage of entertainment - with what is on offer being all different so you get a fantastic choice.

Overall

As a family we had a great time experiencing this wonderful ship and I would recommend any family to travel onboard her, she has something to keep the whole family entertained, Millie being a firm advocate of this - she will still be talking about The Big Ship this time next year! The concept is more for the younger end of the market which is brilliant and long over-due. Ventura has really done what she promised.