SeaJane

I’ve just looked back through the menus on this cruise and in my opinion it’s a bit misleading to say there was a roast every night in the MDR. Whilst many of the descriptions of the meat described the method of cooking as “roast” the meals were served in various ways with different accompaniments. For example roast potatoes were served only rarely. Obviously food is a very personal thing, but as we enjoy a variety of foods we were content with what was on offer and really enjoyed most of the meals. For me it was the starters that were often rather boring. As a fish lover I did miss the lack of always available salmon and prawn cocktail.

We really enjoyed the cruise too. The staff were incredible and all seemed very happy inspite of how hard they work. We were fortunate to have fabulous weather for the first 2 weeks and we met lots of lovely people. We felt the food was good overall although the menu choice has certainly reduced from what it was. On the occasions when I was less happy with my meal it was usually that I had made the wrong menu choice! Everything was always well cooked and presented and hot which is a big improvement on our Ventura experience in May! The waiters were happy to bring extra or make adjustments as requested. It’s the changed MDR lunchtime menu that I often struggle with, but that was also the case in 2019. We also found the Entertainment Manager hopeless. However we did enjoy some very good performances from the RKs, the Vinylettes, Tom Ball and Neil Lockwood. Apparently the Headliners were new and we didn’t think they were very impressive although thankfully they didn’t do many shows in the theatre. The Captain was certainly conspicuous by his absence during the storm! The weather was really horrific and in our opinion he should have given further updates and reassurances. We have sailed in similar weather on previous occasions, but we came across others who were quite concerned especially when glasses and bottles were smashing. There were three different speakers onboard and although we didn’t attend any of them others found them enjoyable and informative. Aurora remains our favourite ship and we are booked on her again for 2025.

No starlink internet on Aurora yet. It’s still the old system, but it’s worked fine for us.

We’re really enjoying our Aurora cruise - it’s good to be back onboard her and we have had lovely weather and calm seas. Lovely to meet up with @yorkshirephiland @Astrajet last week for a chat. Yesterday we had a pleasant day in Heraklion and a delicious lunch of shrimp risotto. Today we have enjoyed a wander around Mykonos. It was quite busy as there was Virgin Resilient Lady, Silver Spirit and Star Legend in as well as us.

Us too! Finishing packing this afternoon ready for the journey to Southampton tomorrow to join Aurora - our first time on her since April 2019. Really hoping she will be an improvement on our Ventura experience in May.

I understand if you book in advance you get a 10% discount on the cost, but have to then pay that amount. That was certainly the case when we were on Ventura recently. You can only use OBS to pay if you book onboard.

We were on Ventura in May and were very disappointed in the MDR food as I mentioned on here. The quality was was poor and the presentation dire. Things were only saved for us by 3 excellent meals in Epicurean.We complained whilst onboard and again once we returned home. A representative from Paul Ludlow’s office phoned and acknowledged that there were problems which they were addressing. We were awarded £300 OBS for our next cruise. Hopefully things have indeed improved - I think it was SarahHben who was onboard recently and posted about her experience with some photos. Her experience seemed to be completely different from ours and the food she was served looked a million miles away from our meals!

We used that address for issues from our recent Ventura cruise. We got a proper response and follow up telephone call within 28 days.

We went to our local Specsavers yesterday. They had a collection point for old glasses - I’ll be taking some of ours in when I collect my new ones next week.

We’ve had 3 stays there staying on St Martins. A really beautiful place with white sandy beaches and very easy to get boat trips to all the islands. Wonderful if you are lucky with the weather!

I agree we decided to try freedom dining for the first time on Ventura in May and didn’t like the uncertainty. For our future cruises we have reverted to our usual 2nd sitting shared table.

Yes I was interested to read that you had also had a similar poor experience. It was only the excellent meals in Epicurean that redeemed our dining experience on Ventura! We also received an apology and OBS for our next cruise on Aurora. On that cruise we are returning to our preferred option of fixed dining, second sitting.

I was one of the people who experienced dreadful food in the MDR on Ventura in May. When we had a phone call afterwards to discuss our complaint we were assured that due to a volume of complaints the issue was being addressed as a matter of urgency. I’m pleased to hear that it seems as though considerable improvements have indeed been made and that she are enjoying the food Sarah. The photos that you posted of your meal on the first night certainly looked excellent and bore no resemblance to anything we were served!

Our complaint about the quality of MDR food on Ventura was also dealt with on day 27. We were satisfied with the response and the award of extra OBC for our next cruise.

I agree with what others have said about Dubrovnik, Split and Zadar and we have wandered around all of these ports. We have been to Corfu several times. There is usually a shuttle which drops you close to the main town and it is pleasant to walk around and find a restaurant for lunch. We usually end up walking back to the ship rather than getting the shuttle. It is worth noting that if you pay select price P&O shuttles are free. If you are on a saver fare the shuttle usually costs about £4 or £5 per person per trip.

We were on Ventura in May and agree it did feel very crowded. Although it was not school holidays there were a lot of children on board. We had good weather and the outside decks and pool side was extremely busy and it was impossible to find a quiet spot to sit. Fortunately we had our own balcony so were able to sit there. The ship was in good condition and we had 3 fantastic meals in Epicurean, however the quality of the MDR food was, in our opinion, poor.

Anyone who read my recent comments on our May Ventura cruise may remember how disappointed we were with the quality and presentation of food in the MDR throughout the cruise. We lodged a complaint onboard and wrote to P&O on our return. We have now had a telephone call from someone in the Executive office. She acknowledged that there were issues with the MDR on Ventura which they are apparently addressing. As compensation we have been given some additional OBS for our upcoming Aurora cruise.

On Ventura in May the embarkation lunch was a served meal in Cinnamon restaurant and there were very few attendees, but apparently there were a high number of new cruisers on board. The drink flowed freely, but sadly the food quality wasn’t good as mentioned in my previous feedback.

Hope you have a fantastic cruise.

So sorry to hear your tragic news - my sincere condolences to you and your family.

Hope you both have a wonderful time!

We sailed on Ventura last month and were able to book Epicurean in advance.

Magazines were available at Mayflower terminal last month.

We had a similar note about the bottles of toiletries on Ventura last month.

Thanks for alerting us to this. We’re on a 19 night cruise in October so have just booked the package which with our peninsular discount as well means a considerable saving.