Ventura

[mollymoomoo]

we are looking to go on the ventura 23rd April. Only cruised with Thomson before, how do the ships compare? Is the entertainment and bar prices comparable? Do you think there would be a lot of children aboard at this time of year? Has anybody done this itinerary before we would be glad of any tips and advice.

[tom_uk]

Welcome to the forum, Molly.

 

I don;t think anyone will have done exactly this itinerary as this is the first year that P&O have done fly-cruises in the Med, so this exact mix will be new this year. That said, most of the ports are familiar to those who have done P&O's western and central Med itineraries from Southampton; possibly the only new one is Genoa. You don't mention of you're doing a 7- or 14-night cruise.

 

Children - that's Easter time, isn't it? That said, it's late this year and it looks like most schools start their summer term on 28 April - some even on Tuesday 22 April. So I'd be surprised if there were many school-age children. There might be a few babies and toddlers, however. You can ask P&O for information about the number of children on the cruise - I think you can email 'poreservations@pocruises.com' and ask them, and they'll give an answer. (At least, they used to.)

 

Drinks prices - I've never cruised with Thompson so I can't say for certain, but my understanding is that they're broadly comparable.

 

Ventura herself - I've cruised on Ventura four times. Here's a link to reviews of the last two such cruises:

Central Med in 2011, and Western Med in 2013. I hope you find them useful and interesting.

[wilson2579]

Our first cruise was with Thomson and next was on Ventura. No comparison really. Ventura is a far superior ship to the Thomson Destiny we sailed on. I wouldn't sail again with Thomson just because of the difference in the ships. The staff, food and entertainment were fantastic with Thomson but we found the ship not up to our liking.

We sailed Easter time on Ventura and there were over 500 children on board and you wouldn't have known it as the clubs keep them well entertained. It won't be school holidays as our schools holidays are between 7th and 21st April.

I am sure you will have a fab time. Have a great cruise.:cool:

[mollymoomoo]

Thank you very much Tom and Trish for your quick replies. Have read some of your blogs Tom and they are really interesting, I will sit and read more later. We are looking at the 14 night cruise from Venice, looks a lovely itinerary. I took your advice and phoned P and O, there are only 5 children booked on this cruise so far and P and O are only allowing 201 children onboard in total. Our schools go back 22nd April and my son is staying at home with his dad whilst I go with my friend.

 

The nice man at P and O said there were plenty of the inside cabins left so we are going to wait a few days and see if the price drops any lower, although price very good already.

 

Thank you for your help

Heather

[wilson2579]

Enjoy Heather. You must try the beach house restaurant in the evenings. It is one side of the buffet but waiter service and only a few items have surcharge. The steak on the stone and apple pie are the best.

[Host Hattie]

We are thinking of booking the 14 nighter from April 30th so we might see you there.

We haven't sailed with P&O before either but we are very tempted by the thought of being able to fly from Cardiff.

Edited February 23, 2014 by hattie the cattie

[willyboy1]

I am looking on going on Ventura on 23 rd April.i have only ever done Thompson ships and found them all excellent.

The food quality and entertainment have been excellent and I couldn't fault them.

Is there anyone who has done p and o and thomson who can compare for me.

It is a choice between Ventura and thomson spirit

There are some poor reviews on p and o entertainment

[sueandphil]

Done both cruise company's and both ships. You will notice a huge difference between the ships. If you don't mind a 25 year newer bigger ship with the option of a balcony chose Ventura. If this doesn't appeal go with Spirit. There is little to chose in the food stakes, both very similar British fare, both have freedom dining. The entertainment we found to be very good on both ships with great shows and plenty of activities day and night fronted by the entertainments team. The CD on Ventura is usually Hughie Taylor, not everyones cup of tea, but he is usually heard and not seen;)

[Cappers]

I've done most of the ports of call on the first week of Ventura's cruise. It's a fabulous itinerary, I looked at the April 23rd sailing for my birthday but have actually gone with Thomson because I found a cruise with POC I haven't been to! I like both companies, I like the big newer ships for their facilities and size but I don't think you can beat Thomson ships for atmosphere;) I fully intend to partake of a week on Ventura later in the summer:D

[willyboy1]

Are you doing cypress with love. Me and mollymoomoo looking at that but can't decide which ship to pick HELP

[willyboy1]

Just noticed cappers you doing island escape .you will find a big difference in island escape and spirit. It was an old car ferry not a patch on spirit ( sorry to say this) but at least you will be all inc

[lake5298]

we are looking to go on the ventura 23rd April. Only cruised with Thomson before, how do the ships compare? Is the entertainment and bar prices comparable? Do you think there would be a lot of children aboard at this time of year? Has anybody done this itinerary before we would be glad of any tips and advice.

 

The ships do not compare at all - Ventura is far superior. Cabins are much, much bigger, ship much newer, more entertainment in more venues, more facilities. No need to go into the corridor to use hair straighteners - there is 230 volts in the cabins!

 

Ventura is far larger than even Thomson's largest - but very easy to get around.

 

The itenary is brand new - so nobody will have done it before (Med fly-cruise is new to P&O) but you will find plenty of information about the ports of call in the appropriate part of this forum.

 

P&O bar prices are fairly similar to Thomson.

[Cappers]

Just noticed cappers you doing island escape .you will find a big difference in island escape and spirit. It was an old car ferry not a patch on spirit ( sorry to say this) but at least you will be all inc

 

Ohh I've been on the Escape a few times now and I like it very much. It's a very happy friendly ship with a big heart! I also love Azura though,,she's a ship and a half;) The ships aren't the most important thing to me and my husband though, we choose a cruise for the itinerary which some people say you shouldn't because they often change unexpectedly but I wouldn't choose a hotel in a place I didn't fancy going to, that's just how my mind works.

[sjcsviola]

Hi!

I did a very similar cruise with regent seven seas a few years ago an loved it! So much so that I've booked myself and my boyfriend onto the 14 night 23/07/14 Genoa/Genoa cruise on Ventura!

 

As said above, genoa and Kotor are really the only ones which are different but simply can't wait

 

Easter dates are 11-26 April so you shouldn't have many school age children around- depends on other countries holidays I suppose too!

 

This is my first p&o cruise so I've got a few things to learn too but from what I've gathered so far, the tours provided by p&o are not a great deal more expensive than competitors (contrary to past experience where I have normally bought from Viator or expedia to save money, I've done it through p&o this time as at least there are the guarantees should anything go awry!

 

Don't forget you can buy soft drinks and alcoholic drinks to bring on board to drink in your cabin - this can prove to be a lot cheaper than surviving off the drinks on the ship (20 cans of soft drink for £35!) otherwise regular bar prices generally seem to apply ..... Admittedly I'm a bit list in the drinks area because on the regent cruises, everything including alcohol and tours were included in the price of the cruise!

 

Hope your cruise goes well - would you let us all know how you get on and if there's anything particularly good to know before we go on ours?!

 

SJ :)

 

 

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