Caroline's Ventura Review

Caroline is the Sales Manager of Cumbria Cruises Online, and recently returned from a Ventura family holiday with her husband and daughter. She set sail on the 18th July 2008 Magical Mediterranean Cruise.

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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.

Why not ask a question or submit a comment about Caroline's Ventura Review?