First timer cruise review - Ventura N515 Mediterranean

Thank you Steve for a great review and photo's, it will be my first cruise in November and you have answered a lot of my questions.

Hope you all enjoy your next cruise

Thanks for the positive comments everyone :)

What a lovely review Stevie. It's always great to read a first cruise review as it brings back those memories!

Now that you have found your feet with the minefield that is the first cruise - quick book another!

We have cruised with our children since they were toddlers and would agree with your observations, however when we cruised on Azura in Whitsun half term it was a completely different atmosphere, lots more families.

If you like ex-Southampton then it will have to be RCI or Princess research, but if you can consider a 2 hour Palma flight why don't you look at Thomsons?

Whichever way you go, it will be another cruise hopefully and let's face it, what could be nicer?! [emoji6][emoji6]

I have to say that Thomsons would be a big step down after Ventura. We did 6 with T when we first cruised but couldn't go back now.

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Livorno (Pizza/Florence) - We paid £142 for the Pizza/Flarence On our Own excursion whilst on Ventura, using our OBC. This entailed a 90 min coach drive to Pizza where we stayed for about 1 hr which was more than sufficient time. The area surrounding the leaning tower isn't particularly pleasant and there are hoards of black en selling tat you dont want. They were very annoying.

 

Then an hours drive to Florence with 4hrs free time to wander around. it was blisteringly hot with hardly anywhere in the shade to sit. Still, a very nice place to see.

 

 

 

 

 

Civitavecchia (Rome) - Another place I've always wanted to visit, hence why we pre booked this cruise man weeks in advance.

 

Another 90min coach drive into Rome in very hot weather. With our tour guide we were whisked straight into the Colosseum bypassing the queues where we spent an hour or so, with free time to wander around, though there isn't a great deal to see, but I really enjoyed it.

 

Then we walked over to the Forum, this tour lasted about 1.5hrs in the blistering heat and nowhere to purchase water. It was an interesting place to see.

 

After we boarded the coach and went to a a square whose name I forget, and saw the ruins of the Gladiators training camp. Then we had about 3hrs free time so grabbed a meal and walked over to the Vatican. By this time it was time to return to the meeting point to board the coach and return home. Frustratingly we drove past the Vatican which we had already seen. Had I know we would have gone to see the Trevis Fountain and Spanish Steps instead. Never mind.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Ajaccio - This was our 3rd port day in a row, and I could really have doe with a day at see instead to recover from the tiring two days in Pizza/FLorence/Rome. Frustratingly there were issues with the tenders and only a small number were in use. We were told this was because of an accident?Everyoe was instructed to gather in the Cinnamon restaurant and were given raffle numbers and told to wait for our numbers to be announced. We waited an hour but other had been waiting 2hrs!!

 

We were tendered off the ship and we then walked left, around the headland and found a very nice beach. Due to the tender problem we only had a couple of hours ashore so sadly had to return to ship. A very nice looking town but not enough time allowed ashore to discover it.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Cadiz - Our final port day. Cadiz is a nice enough place, and you dock right in the centre so can simply walk off the boat into town, But to be honest due to the cruise coming to an end I just wanted to get home. We wandered around for 2-3hrs and decided to return to ship to eat. We didn't bother getting back off the ship, instead we sat around the pool.

 

Cadiz was followed by two days at sea, with the weather now changing from lovely hot & sunny to cool and cloudy.

 

 

 

Norovirus

 

During these final two days our ship made an emergency unscheduled stop somewhere in Spain for a medical emergency’. We weren't told anything further about this. I watched as a Spanish coastguard boat came alongside, a passenger stepped onboard, with the boat then then returning to shore.

 

However, a fellow passenger later claimed to have been informed by the ships doctor/nurse that the patient had norovirus and that a further 4 passengers were also affected and confined to cabin. i can say of this was true or not, but I now know that another P&O ship had norovirus at the same time.

 

 

 

Continued....

Hi steve

Great review and very helpful, thanks. Can you tell me where the coach drops off and picks up in Rome please? Like yourselves we have booked the glories of the gladiator and would also like to get a couple of other sites in on our free time! So maybe do the Spanish steps and terevi fountain and hopefully see the Vatican on the bus back.

We picked up our Rome tour guide as we entered Rome, and the coach stopped close to the Colosseum. When the foot tour of the Colosseum and Forum was complete, the coach relocated close to where our tour ended, and our guide lead us back to the coach. We were then dropped off at Piazza Navona for our free time.

Our guide suggested a restaurant for lunch, on a side street from the square. I would normally avoid any such restaurant in the belief the only reason its recommended is because the guide gets a free lunch there? But to save time we decided to eat there anyway.

Piazza Navona is located within walking distance of Trevi Fountain & Spanish Steps. Alternatively you can also walk to the Vatican, but with the amount of free time you are given there isn't enough time to do all three. Either choose to see the first two, or the Vatican. I would suggest the first two, as the coach drove past the Vatican on the way home. Piazza Navona is a an attractive square edged with rather expensive tourist restaurants. Wander along the back streets for somewhere slightly cheaper. Rome isn't cheap!!

If its a hot day then definitely take some bottled water on the Colosseum tour as there aren't any opportunities to purchase any during the tour, and there is quite a bit of walking to be done. It was blisteringly hot when we were there, and rather uncomfortable. You will sleep well that night!

Piazza Navona

Street map of Rome. Vatican is on the far left, across the river. Its about a 20 min walk from the Piazza Navona (depending on temperature) which is on the right hand side of the river.

In fact I reckon we were sat close to Big Stevie in the Havanna as there was a very smart young boy in his tux and he was one of the very few children onboard probably because the cruise sailed in term time.

You are most likely correct, as I didn't see any other child in a tux and we did frequent the Havana bar on most nights. My son got lots of compliments from other passengers for wearing his tux.

Im noticing lots of spelling mistakes in my original posts:mad:. I think I was rushing as I had to create many different posts due to restrictions on the number of photos allowed in any single post, and so that nobody would post in-between my posts. If that makes sense?

This time last year we were booking our first ever cruise. Sadly no cruise for us this year as we can't afford it. Instead we are having 2 weeks in the New Forrest in our caravan :)

Thank you for a really interesting review which took me back to our first cruise in 2001. Unfortunately my husband never got to enjoy cruising though I loved it from the start and so did our daughter who was 4 when she did her first cruise.

Your review reminded me of things one doesn't necessarily know the first time, for example that whichever restaurant you're allocated for dinner, you can have breakfast or lunch in the one which is open and that it's "open seating" then. I've met others who thought they had to eat in what my daughter calls the "Snatch and Grab"!

One thing you could try next time if your car is at the Holiday Inn and you want to be off quickly is Self Help Disembarkation. You get a very early breakfast (usually that does mean in the buffet which opens about 6am on the final morning) and take your own cases off between 7.15 and 8am. No need to put them out the night before, no forgetting to pack something and realising the cases have gone, and best of all no searching for them in the baggage hall. Straight off, into a taxi (usually plenty waiting outside early) and back to your car at 8 o clock.

Thank you so much! Im just about to book two weeks to the Med from Southampton with my Mum and you've answered lots of questions that will save me hours of searching. You've done everyone a huge favour with your straightforward observations and experiences.

Thanks s&gsjollies, hope you have a wonderful cruise.

Sadly we haven't been able to afford any further cruises, but hopefully one year we will do another.

We have done many cruises with Pando and have always found the food very good. However, we have just returned from a 28 day Carribean cruise on Ventura and have to say the food was poor and service slow. We have other issues, but am taking them up direct with Pando. We are not the type to moan about everything, but we were really surprised about the food. The cruise was not up to the standard we have had in the past with Pando.

We have done many cruises with Pando and have always found the food very good. However, we have just returned from a 28 day Carribean cruise on Ventura and have to say the food was poor and service slow. We have other issues, but am taking them up direct with Pando. We are not the type to moan about everything, but we were really surprised about the food. The cruise was not up to the standard we have had in the past with Pando.

It's interesting that you say this as we have just come off the cruise after yours. We thought the food was really poor and service lacklustre. Your comment suggests this is not the usual levels on P&O. Perhaps the crew are at the end of their stint on board?