Noisy Neighbours (on Ventura)

[jake 26]

It may not be relevant in this case but an officer on Ventura told me a couple of years ago, after some trouble with vandalism, and having identified the culprits, that ships the size of Ventura have become the holiday of choice for members of the travelling fraternity.

Apparently they block book cabins and spend a lot in the bars.

[terrierjohn]

We've done a few on Azura and have always preferred it to Ventura, that opinion is well and truly confirmed now.

 

 

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I very much doubt that the ship is to blame, more likely it will be the cruise location, time of year and the lowest price offered by P&O for that cruise.

We have sailed both ships and probably prefer Ventura, because of its covered pool and the old Ramblas decor of the Glass House, very similar passenger mix on both ships.

[Clodia]

I can only speak as I find. I have been cruising fr about 17 years, done 20 odd cruises, and only ever suffered twice at the hands of very rude, offensive ad aggressive passengers. Both times on Azura.

[PORT ROYAL]

Could the OP give an update on their situation?

 

Would be good for CC to know action was taken by P&O and now OP happy.

[vwgolf]

Eek :eek:! I've just booked the Ventura for April!

[kalos]

Eek :eek:! I've just booked the Ventura for April!

 

The good news is that family should have left the ship by then .:);)

[Reader0108598]

We had very noisy American neighbours once who used to shout and sing down the corridor very late every night. They never got up before 1pm - poor cabin steward was always waiting. You could hear their arguments from 5 cabins away. One night the girl screamed 'Man overboard' but they were just messing around. I called reception as they also left broken glass in the corridors.

 

As the noise continued every night, I put a polite note in their door saying that children were trying to sleep but the girl then came back every night shouting that she wanted to know who had left the note under their door.

 

I kept quiet after that and put ear plugs in!

 

Ah well if they slept until 1:00PM dailey and with that attitude, I would have made their mornings less than pleasant :D

Edited January 16, 2017 by Reader0108598

[Reader0108598]

We have always cruised on family ships with our children from when they were young (they are now adults and still come with us) and I maintain that the problem is almost always attributable to poor parenting.

 

We never let our children crash around in cabins, shout or slam doors. In restaurants they would always sit at the table and behave impeccably. When very young, if one started crying in a restaurant, we took them outside and calmed them before returning, so as not to ruin the experience for others.

 

Children are naturally high spirited and will quickly become an irritation to other people if not taught how to behave. It infuriates me in restaurants (on land as well as on ships) when parents allow children to wander around the table, causing a danger to themselves and waiters who are carrying plates of hot food and often brushing past the chairs of neighbouring diners. When the parents see the scowls of other diners, they do a half hearted 'sit down' which the children sense has no consequence if they ignore - or sit down temporarily for a few minutes before the routine starts again. The parents and grandparents, usually the loud 'look at me' types, continue to loudly enjoy their meal whilst being oblivious to the fact that it's ruining the experience for others and causing a nightmare for staff.

 

These same parents are often the ones who will allow their children to run full pelt along ships corridors, even though it sounds like thunder for those trying to rest or sleep in the cabins they storm past at speed. And, of course, it's easier for these parents to let them run riot in the cabin, crashing and banging around and slamming doors, than to ruin their own holiday by having to tell them off.

 

Much as we love Britannia, these types are even more prevalent than on other ships, hence why we book a cabin at the end of a corridor, try to avoid adjoining cabins where there are additional berths and seek sanctuary in select dining restaurants, where the cover charge has a natural tendency to create a delightful degree of segregation!

 

We failed once. We booked a Superior Deluxe on Ventura and deliberately chose one that would have two adults only either side. Unfortunately, one side was a couple who were grandparents to four young children who were staying in two inside cabins along the corridor with their respective Mums who used the grandparents balcony to sunbathe with earphones in whilst their kids used the Grandparents cabins as a crèche. Banging on the wall did no good and my wife also doesn't like confrontation, so I spoke to reception. From then on, the adults used to refer to me as 'Mr Grumpy' when they saw me in the corridor. Pathetic individuals.

 

In all seriousness, I feel desperately sorry for these children. It's not their fault, it's their parents fault. Our children were high spirited and energetic but from the very start they were taught how to behave in public places. They still loved every minute of their cruises. What chance do these children have in an increasingly competitive world when their parents are such poor role models.

 

Selbourne;51938123 Thank you for being a Parent!!:)

[gadabout60]

Disappointing that P&O have not put them off

[sapphire4]

Venturas definitely off the list! Sounds a nightmare.

[Joy R]

Surely it's unfair to say that Ventura's off the list. Unfortunately it could happen on almost any ship (we're on Ventura next month.....)

[davenew]

This isn't our first cruise, but we have never encountered this before.

 

What do people do about noisy neighbours?

The ship is full and our neighbours (who I think have 3 young children) seem incapable of talking to each other. I can hear the "adults" shouting/talking loudly at each other now, the kids scream at each other, they slam the doors, generally bang around, and it sounds like they have a 3 year old girl with the lungs of an Olympic athlete!

 

We are not old curmudgeons, or inexperienced cruisers, but it's only day two and we are both shattered.

 

 

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Call Security and say you believe domestic violence is taking place. At least they should pay them a visit.

[Mark@cfcmail.co.uk]

Call Security and say you believe domestic violence is taking place. At least they should pay them a visit.

 

 

As someone else has said somewhere on this feed, they reported their noisy neighbours and were then persecuted by them for it. If it happens to me again, my immediate response will be to ask for a move; which could be an issue if the ship is full.

 

I don't think we will be returning to Venture, it's easy to say it could happen on any ship (and it could), but for us it happened on this ship and it ruined the first week of our hard earned holiday.

 

 

 

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[sapphire4]

We tried Ventura last year and it not a ship we would choose to go back on, especially with hearing about these reports. Obviously each to their own but its not a cheap holiday cruising and you have to choose the ship that you thinks the best for you.

[PORT ROYAL]

Disappointing that P&O have not put them off

 

P&O Management have lost their bolas.

A prime example of Management by abdication?

Sand, into, of, head, bucket, insert.

 

By the protection of the guilty, and the dismissal of the innocent, P&O have proven as to what depths they have now sunk.

 

To think one was considering giving P&O another chance. Not now.

[vwgolf]

I really am worried about going on the Ventura now, especially as it will be during the Easter holiday and full of kids!

[Mark@cfcmail.co.uk]

I really am worried about going on the Ventura now, especially as it will be during the Easter holiday and full of kids!

 

 

Hi HWGolf, I was the original poster, and all I would say is don't let our negative experience put you off, but be prepared to act quickly and decisively if something does go wrong. We were extremely unlucky, it doesn't mean that you will be as well.

 

 

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[vwgolf]

Cheers. I've been on several P&O cruises but never the Ventura and we've never had a bad experience yet. In fact, this will be our 18th cruise in total and on only one (not P&O) have we had cause to complain and that was nothing to do with the passengers. To be honest, I think there has to be a degree of tolerance towards fellow cruisers as everybody has a different idea of what their holiday experience should be and we all know the cabin walls are paper thin.. That said, there's no excuse for running riot along corridors and being a total pain to all and sundry.

Edited January 17, 2017 by vwgolf
Correction

[groovechick]

Why is everyone focussing on the fact that this happened on Ventura and thinking of boycotting her?

We've never sailed on Ventura but have sailed on her sister ship Azura and, apart from the fact they are family ships, I see nothing in either that would particularly attract undesirable passengers. This could happen on any family cruise ship from any company.

When the passenger makes the booking the cruise company rep or TA has no way of knowing that he/she/the family is going to be trouble.

If they turn out to be so, it is up to P&O to take swift and decisive action, which they signally failed to do in this case. I am really sorry for the pax who had to put up with this, it must have been a nightmare.

The only alternative is for P&O to stop pricing its product so cheaply, but then that hits those of us who are polite, considerate cruisers but don't have the disposable income to cruise frequently or with more "upmarket" lines.

[Midsomer Madness]

Smoking on balconies is not allowed. On our last two Ventura cruises on D Deck, where the balconies are open from above, we had cigarette ends (first time) and a match (second time) throw down - not while we were on the balcony. We complained and the staff took it very seriously - no doubt because of the fire hazard.

 

We sat on our balcony on Azura in Grenada the other week and watched people openly smoking on their balconies on Britannia, one woman was chain smoking and various others were puffing away on e-cigs (which I think are also not allowed on balconies) I did send the photo to p&o who asked me if I knew their cabin number (yes, really) as they couldn't do anything about it without this (sure they could have worked out the cabin from the photo).

 

I can't believe the cabin steward wouldn't notice the smell or spot the ashtray!

[peteukmcr]

We sat on our balcony on Azura in Grenada the other week and watched people openly smoking on their balconies on Britannia, one woman was chain smoking and various others were puffing away on e-cigs (which I think are also not allowed on balconies) I did send the photo to p&o who asked me if I knew their cabin number (yes, really) as they couldn't do anything about it without this (sure they could have worked out the cabin from the photo).

 

I can't believe the cabin steward wouldn't notice the smell or spot the ashtray!

We sat on our balcony on Azura and when leaning out to admire the view saw that our immediate neighbours were smoking on their balcony. An immediate call to guest services resulted in a prompt visit by P&O staff to those next door and it was resolved.

[mandylennon]

We have been on Ventura twice, both in school holiday times with no problems at all. It was mentioned there were over 800 children on board.

 

We have also been on Oceana twice both in school holidays and did come across children being distruptive running in the corridors late at night and generally hanging around stairways and lifts.

 

These families are probably sharing 4 or 5 to a cabin and this makes the cruise quite a cheap family holiday.

 

It seems that they can make as much noise as possible with only warnings being issued.

 

I think that during the Muster station talk, the Captain should include in his talk that parents are responsible for their children's behaviour at all times including the time spent in cabins should be respectful to their neighbouring cabins.

[SoupPlease]

We have been on Ventura twice, both in school holiday times with no problems at all. It was mentioned there were over 800 children on board.

 

We have also been on Oceana twice both in school holidays and did come across children being distruptive running in the corridors late at night and generally hanging around stairways and lifts.

 

These families are probably sharing 4 or 5 to a cabin and this makes the cruise quite a cheap family holiday.

 

It seems that they can make as much noise as possible with only warnings being issued.

 

I think that during the Muster station talk, the Captain should include in his talk that parents are responsible for their children's behaviour at all times including the time spent in cabins should be respectful to their neighbouring cabins.

 

...and whilst the captain is stating what should be obvious he should also tell the older passengers not to press the up and down buttons on the lift and then insist on boarding the lift even if it is going in the wrong direction, joking "I'll get in just for the ride"

 

Somehow I think that the captain's words on both topics would fall on deaf and ignorant ears.

Edited January 18, 2017 by SoupPlease

[Mark@cfcmail.co.uk]

I should add, it wasn't all about the children; the "adults" were as bad.

 

 

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[AnnieC]

I should add, it wasn't all about the children; the "adults" were as bad.

 

 

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Weren't they just! We're just back from this cruise, and spent some time discussing the poor unfortunates who were next door to the family from hell; you have my deepest sympathy, as does the unfortunate cabin steward.

 

Our last sighting of them was as we trotted past their usual daytime haunt in the smoking area. The smallest offspring was playing with a cigarette lighter.