VENTURA. caribbean 29th jan-13th feb. 2010.

[sammy12]

Sailed on the P&O ventura 2010 around the caribbean.shall discuss the itinary of the cruise followed by our opinion of ventura,the staff and the food.

 

Flew from leeds & bradford airport friday jan.29th direct to barbados 10am.good flight with thompsons.arrived in barbados around 3-0pm local time,4 hrs behind uk.straight off the plane onto a waiting bus and drove us to the port.photo's for our id cards then onto the ship,visited our cabin dumped our hand luggage and met our 2 friends for drinks at 4-45pm not bad i thought.

On this cruise you had a choice of an overnight stay in barbados when you arrive or on your return to port 2 weeks later.we chose the first because shiela our friend was having her birthday the following day,so we decided to have her birthday in barbados,not bad is it?

 

BARBADOS SAT.DAY 2

.Woke up at 6-0am went to bed to early,we were whacked out.this day was shielas birthday.10-0am jumped into a taxi for PAYNES BEACH $15 barbados each one way.4 sunbeds $30 "b" not a bad beach.after 3 hrs left the beach back to the ship for lunch, used the local bus $1-50 each.you must try these buses,loud reggie music.doors not working.packed with people drove through bridgetown at break neck speed.never stopped laughing.

After lunch we walked to the bridgetown oval to barbados v windward cricket match only $5 entrance fee.

After the cricket back to the ship for evening dinner in the pierre white restaurant for shielas birthday.[shall mention p.white later]

Left barbados 7-20pm.

 

SUNDAY 3rd day. Sea day.Typical sea day up early if you want a particular spot for your sunbed.bbq at lunch time round the main pool

 

MONDAY DAY 4. ANTIGUA. Breakfast 8-30am minibus outside the port[doing our own thing] $20 tour to shirley heights,nelson's dock yard,rain forest and valley beach $5 extra. 4 hrs very good.the presentation at shirley heights is very good dont miss it.back at the ship for 2pm.

 

TUESDAY DAY 5. ST KITTS.Late breakfast cracking views while having breakfast.tender to port.today we booked the sugar cane railway through the excursions on the ship.£35 very good,2 hrs trip on the train at 9mph.open top carriages with rum punch.

 

WEDNESDAY DAY 6.SEA DAY. sunbathe and swim mixed with a few drinks.

 

THURSDAY DAY 7.GRAND TURK.Grand turk is basically a cruise terminal with a nice beach which is owned by carnival.you pay top whack for drinks $6 a bottle,enjoyed the beach.

 

FRIDAY DAY 8. SEA DAY.Sunbathing.

 

SATURDAY TORTOLA.DAY 9. Taxi to canes garden beach $12 each return.this beach is ridiculously perfect.horseshoe bay,palm trees,perfect beach for families.old beach bars that look they might fall down any minute.beds $5. beer $4. sat in a bar at the very end of the beach watching pelicans dive for fish,superb day.

 

SUNDAY DAY 10.ST. MAARTEN.Taxi outside the port to sunset beach,this beach is at the end of the airport runway,it's an experience standing on the beach with big jets coming into land 50ft above your head. a nice bar there to. $16 return each back into phiipsberg a very nice place,good shops,bars and beach.bucket of beers 5 carib $10.

 

MONDAY DAY 11. ST.LUCIA. Booked a catamaran from the ship £36 each to the 2 pitons. 9-0am from the port side.visited marigot bay,where they filmed dr dolittle.into a bay for a swim.out with the rum punch then onto the 2 pitons. a very good morning.

 

TUESDAY DAY 12. DOMINCA. Taxi from port side to trafalgar water falls $25 each. $5 entrance fee. very busy.drove through the rain forest.very nice scenery but a poor country.

 

WEDNESDAY DAY 13. ST VINCENT. Taxi to villa beach $5 each dropped off at an hotel where you can use the facilities.nice beach but get there early.can also use a water taxi from the port.

 

THURSDAY DAY 14. GRANADA. St george. Water taxi to grand anse beach $8 return.very good beach.beach waiters,guitar player walking round the sun beds singing to you beers $3 sunbeds $5.nice day.had a walk round the spice market in town,every stall sells the same produce,nice smells.

 

FRIDAY DAY 15.DEPART FROM SHIP 1-0pm Cracking holiday.

 

THE SHIP. We enjoyed being on the ventura.the cabin we had was 243 on panama deck.we found it ok for two people plenty of hanging space,big shower,nice hair drier ladies.onboard cabin information very good through the tv.you can log into your onboard account at any time,good films and port information.the bed was superb.

THE BARS.we liked all the bars on ventura especially the METROPOLIS at the rear of the ship,sophisticated and classy.THE EXCHANGE big and airy.TAMARIND a nice small concert area.RAMBLAS the spanish bar with a tappas eaterie very nice.THE RED BAR for predinner drinks.THE ARENA theatre was nice with good viewing,drinks brought to your seat.

 

THE BAYTREE RESTAURANT.this is where we ate.we had table 65 the service was not very good. 2hrs on more than one occasion for our meal.food was good.did not leave a tip for the waiters.3 other tables were empty on the last night,do i need to say anymore.

 

PIERRE WHITE RESTAURANT. Superb service and food cost £20 each,spoil yourself.

 

OUTSIDE ON DECK. pools were good.need to be up early on sea days to grab a sun bed,the breakers was our favourite pool bar.

 

STAFF. i found the staff a bit conservative,nice and polite and a bit shy no x factors.

 

THE SHIP. WE found the ventura handled herself quite well when we had a choppy sea.

 

All the best sam.

[Johnthed0g]

Thanks for the review, no tip for the dining team seems a bit severe, were they that bad?

[cruisebore]

Two hour dinners for us usually means, good company, excellent conversation and the waiter not being intrusive.

 

Cb

[Johnthed0g]

At least two hours!! the difference between having dinner & getting something to eat?

[sammydo]

thanks for review, it great to hear what others did on same cruise.

we also did 29th jan-12th feb. flew thompsons from gatwick 9.05am, and in our cabin by 3pm. L106. (prefer thomas cook flights)

we were party of 8, and 7 of our luggage arrived by 5pm, so at 11pm, i was having a major panic as my sons case still had not arrived. Evenually

turned up in reception at 11.15pm, panic over, we could all sleep well, but there were still many people in reception in just the clothes they stood in and no luggage, so goodness knows what time they got theirs.

 

Barbados, took taxi to holetown beach, where the guy that we hired sunbeds and umbrellas from, did us a great deal for swimming with turtles and snorkelling, so 3 of us went out on his boat, and had a fantastic time, with the 2 guides undivided attention. A day to remember always.

 

Sea Days, not so keen on these due to the rows and rows of reserved sunbeds, and thats not just around the pool, its everywhere.!! prefer the space on our balcony, and worth paying the extra for.

 

Antigua, took taxi to castaway beach, been here before and its my idea of paradise, fantastic beach, and not too crowded. Will always go back there.

 

St Kitts. also did sugar cane railway tour, are you sure you paid £35, we paid £57 each, not sure its worth the money, and a bit samish after a bit.

 

Grand Turk, loved this place, left the port, and hired 2 golf buggys for the day, each holding 4 people, and and toured the island, stopping at local shops, the lighthouse in the north of the island,and also at pillory beach, with more snorkelling. Great day. Lucky i took my driving licence with me.

 

Tortola, ship tour to virgin gouda and the Baths, really enjoyed this, and worth the money to.

 

St. maarten, needed respite from sun and beach so hit the shops, and stopped at a local bar for a drink. Would have liked to have gone to maho beach to see the incoming flights, but outvoted this time, just means we,ll have to go back !!!!

 

St Lucia, got taxi to rodney beach, loved the watersports here, then after lunch, taxi across other side of the island to marigot bay. have been there

before, but OH wanted to revisit, but seemed more commercial this time than i remember., but we got to see more of the island.

 

Dominica. 3 of us went river tubing here, had great fun, but the others found little to do, just took taxi into town, but didnt stay long.

i found the people of Dominica very warm, friendly and welcoming, probably the best out of all the islands.

 

St Vincent. Ships port presentation, didn,t give a glowing report, and tbh thought this was going to be a disaster. A taxi driver offered us a beach and tour, $25 each, with little else to do, said ok. It turned out to be one of the best days, we went to the pirates of the carribbean place, spent ages there, taking photo's having a swim in the warmest sea, so far, and having a drink. we then went onto some waterfalls, and stopping off at various places of interest for photo's. Anton, our driver, even gave us all some local grown bananas which were the best tasting ever. He even took us to a local school playground, welll thats different,?? until he told us he wa just dropping of his daughters gymkit that she had forgotten to take that day. well it made us laugh anyway!! he was a lovely man !

 

Greneda, water taxi to grand anse beach, been here before, so walked to the quieter end, and we all spent most of the time in the sea, until eventually the hot sun was getting too much for us, but another great beach, if you move away from the crowds abit.

 

Really great holiday enjoyed by us all, a family of 8,(adults) and all still talking at the end of it. must be good!!

 

The Ship, lovely,couldn't fault the ship, loads for evryone, although i would imagine manic in school holidays, and a time i would personally avoid, now my children are older.

 

Service, very slow in the bars, and also very rude and abrupt at times, and i am somebody that is very pro P&O, even now, every cruise before being faultless, and i agree with sammy12, very very slow in baytree restaurant. We did leave the recommended tip, so from our table of 8 they had just over £160, but not because it was great service, but just because i know their wages are so poor, and they probably need that money more than us. We did have a great cabin steward stanley, very friendly.

 

Pierre White restaurant, wasn't overkeen on the food, but i think i just chose wrong, service was 1st class though.

 

Worries?? just one, when all ships lights went off one morning at 3.45am, and emergency lighting came on. i didn't realise until my daughter came knocking on our door, and woke us, her partner went to investigate, and a passenger had told him that one of the engines was on fire, and pointed out the smoke. we went straight to the balcony, and it was really eerie, we were totally stationary in the middle of the sea, in complete darkness. All sorts were going through my head, and i was having this titanic moment, after aprrox 20 mins, the alarm sounded, and i was quickly trying to recall how many times it had to sound from our drill training, but it stopped after i sound, and then all the lights came back on. we went back to bed and i couldn't sleep cos we still weren,t moving, and i wan,t ging to be happy until we were. i kept checking, but eventually drifted off to sleep, then when i woke we were on the move again. Relief!!

Captain made an anouncement at 9am next morning, explaining it was to do with the air conditioning, and that was why he didn't wake us all at 4am . when we asked daughters OH where smoke was coming from he pointed to exactly where air condtioning was, not the engines which are down below!!! Talk about chinese whispers, would have slept through it all had they not came and woke us up. All part of the holiday experience though.

 

Sorry if i rambled, did try to keep it brief.

[sammy12]

hello sammydo.

yes you are correct about the sugar cane railway we also paid £57 for the journey and not £35.i would say it's a one only excursion,once you've done it thats it.you are right about the price £57 is quite high for what you get come to think about it.

 

sammy12

[sammydo]

actually only 4 of us did the sugar train in st. kitts, the other 4 did zip lining, and totally loved it, but heights not my thing........so would you go back on ventura again, ??? just interested

[sammy12]

Yes we loved the ventura,especially the lounges and bar areas.took a while to get used to it.did you find the staff in general terms lacking that x factor when dealing with passengers.they came across quite reserved and shy in some instances afraid to join in a bit of micky taking with the passengers.

[angiebabes]

Can i ask how much the taxi the Castaway Beach?

Angie

x

[sammydo]

i don,t think i saw many of them smile at all, even when we tried to make conversation, it was really like they resented the passengers.

don,t wanna repeat myself but i did put on another thread where my son asked waiter for box of matches, and as he came forward with them, my son said thanks very much, put his hand out, and the waiter threw them across the table, just so rude, i willl never forget it, but it was our last morning and i didn,t want to cause a scene, in the exchange bar OH waited 20mins for drink whilst staff were selecting their own music on jukebox, loved the metropolis bar but service so so slow, that we started ordering 2 drinks at a time. at dinner not once were we ever offered cheese and biscuits after dessert, twice asked for them, but thats the only time we got them, then found out towards the end, that we could also have stilton, that was not on the cheese board. it seems that the cheese board and separate stilton, was being shared between quite alot of tables, so they had to locate it first, total chaos imo. and only had coffee if we asked, or if we could find our waiters!! usually just gave up,

think i had 2 coffees after dinner in total. not sure what went wrong, myabe they just had 2many tables to wait on, even though half the time some of the tables were empty. also there was definite tension between our 2 waiters, don't think they like each other very much, and because of that when we left our tip, we made sure that they were both present,....just in case.....wanted to see fairplay... lol.

still a fantastic holiday, but staff lacked finesse, (by the bucketload)

[sammydo]

Hi angie,

gosh i,m trying to remember, she definately said $6, but i can't remember whether that was each way, or return, but would imagine each way

either way it was really reasonable,

there were 8 in our party and another 2 joined us. you will need to tell the lady organinzing the taxi men outside the port you want a specific beach, other wise they will put you in with whichever beach they are going to.

 

let us know how you get on.

[angiebabes]

Thanks sammy !

I will do a review when we get back and thanks for your help!

Angie

x

[sammy12]

I felt quite jusified in not leaving a tip for the waiters,our 2 friends let their heart rule their head,in my book you have to earn it. a good matre d is needed in the baytree restaurant to whip the waiters into shape,do you think.asking if you want coffee and the cheese board is in my mind part of the dinner.in fact i have the menu that was presented to us in front of me and quite clearly as part of the menu coffee and biscuits with turkish delight or fresh from the bakery.the table waiters who signed the menu were sudesh and shibu beware anyone booking table 65 baytree,you could be in for a long meal.

[Johnthed0g]

I don't think 2 hours is a long meal, & the tip is actually a service charge & short of really disgaceful service the tip should be awarded. Some cruise lines automatically charge the tips.

[Ventura2010]

Sammydo thats such a shame to hear about you waiters. We were also on N003 in Baytree on table 95.

 

Both our waiters were good and to be honest our assistant waiter was better than the waiter! Our wine waiter was also lovely and even made an effort even if we didnt buy any drinks that evening.

 

Our assistant waiter even came over to us when he saw us at lunch and made a fuss of my daughter who he always took for a walk back to the cakes in the buffet!

[sammydo]

yes, it is a shame, as on our 5 other P&O cruises, the service was absolutley faultless.

we were on table 18 in baytree, and sammy12 was on table 65, with poor service also, so you must have been at the lucky end.:) ...but our wine waiter was lovely.

 

having said all this, i wuld always leave a tip, as i feel that p&o must take responsiblity for their staff training, they are the one's that should be taking note of what is going on around them, also i think the ratio of staff to passengers was slightly lower on Ventura, so maybe another reason.

 

If we hadn't have had such great service previously, i probably wuldn't be writing this, but it was still a fantastic holiday.