Short break

[kevg1889]

I am considering the short break on the Ventura in February to Bruges and was wondering if anyone has done this cruise & can tell me if it is worth the money? Can you have a restaurant breakfast or lunch or is it just buffet with only evening meals in the restaurant - also what time can you board & what time do you have to disembark?

[humpy]

Hi kevg1889.

You can have breakfast,lunch and dinner in the main restaurants on any day you are not restricted to just the buffet.if you are new to P&o or not in the higher peninsular grades you will have to wait when you get to the terminal and board when told to by using a coloured card with a letter on , you will be told what your boarding time is on your e ticket when disembarking you will be given a time and a lounge to wait in before you get back to Southampton. Hope this helps.... Humpy.

 

 

Sent from my iPad using Forums

[john watson]

I have done a few short break cruises with P&O, often to see a new or different ship. The shorter your cruise the more inconvenience there is when you compare the number of relaxing days at sea to the amount of time and trouble you invest in getting to/from the ship. In other words a 3 or 4 night cruise is significantly better that a 2 night cruise.

 

A restaurant offering a full waiter service is available every day for breakfast and lunch. This will be a specific restaurant/s as advised in the Horizon newsletter.

 

Boarding times are allocated nearer to sailing date but will be roughly 12.30 to 15.00. Disembarkation, vacate your cabin by 8.00am and disembark roughly 8.00am to 10.00am as allocated. On a two nighter the schedule gets accelerated with a lot of self-disembarkers going early with minimal luggage portered personally.

 

I should recommend booking a 3 or 4 nighter and look at your overall costs including parking, petrol etc. divided through by the number of days. This will get you better value for money. Downside of two nighters is that they attract the hen stag parties which can influence the ambience. The slightly longer short breaks will less likely attract these but if there are parties aboard they will have a better class of co-ordinated costume.

 

Regards John

[Selbourne]

I am considering the short break on the Ventura in February to Bruges and was wondering if anyone has done this cruise & can tell me if it is worth the money? Can you have a restaurant breakfast or lunch or is it just buffet with only evening meals in the restaurant - also what time can you board & what time do you have to disembark?

 

Facilities (including access to restaurants for all meals) are the same regardless of Cruise length. There is no degradation of service provision for shorter cruises. The sole difference is the time you spend on board. On the basis that cruises tend to follow a daily price per cabin type per ship (which I appreciate constantly varies), short cruises are no less (or better) value than any other and are a good way to experience a ship to see if you would like to book a longer cruise or indeed would like cruising at all (if you have never been on one).

 

As the cruise you are referring to is only a fortnight away, I would only book it if you can get a good last minute deal, as the best cabins in the best locations will all be booked and you could end up with a less desireable location, which is less of an issue if you know you have got it for a bargain price.

 

Obviously with any Northern European cruise in February you have to assume foul weather and then any improvement on that is a bonus!

[Florry]

If two nights is all you can spare/afford then go for it! You will have a lovely trip. You can get to Bruges easily on the train. I've done lots of these types of cruises, it's true that two days is a bit too short but it's still a good break. I am thinking of squeezing a 2/3 night cruise in before the summer but may go with another line. There are some on Britannia soon too.

Disembarkation day can't really be counted as much, you get your breakfast and then just wait around in a designated area to get off.

Hope this helps [emoji4]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[kevg1889]

As my wife is a teacher we are tied to school holidays and this is the only short cruise available during the February half term I guess it's better than nothing & will give us chance to experience Ventura

[john watson]

As my wife is a teacher we are tied to school holidays and this is the only short cruise available during the February half term I guess it's better than nothing & will give us chance to experience Ventura

 

Yes, it's well worth doing.

 

Forgot to say tea and coffee available free with all meals and in the Buffet all day. You can also big up a break with a pre-cruise hotel overnight to reduce stress and increase the length of your break.

 

Regards John

[kevg1889]

How does Ventura compare to Azura? We did the trans-Atlantic on Azura last year & loved it - I believe Ventura has an indoor pool which would be handy in February!!

[ann141]

Ventura is similar to Azura, the main difference is that Azura has the outdoor film screen but as you stated Ventura has a pool that has a retractable roof.We sailed on Ventura last February and it was great that we were able to be by the pool, to see daylight but to be protected from the cold and rain.:)

[Selbourne]

How does Ventura compare to Azura? We did the trans-Atlantic on Azura last year & loved it - I believe Ventura has an indoor pool which would be handy in February!!

 

If you are familiar with Azura and loved her, you will enjoy Ventura. We did a cruise on Azura and didn't particularly like her, but did a cruise on Ventura and did. We couldn't really put our finger on why!

 

I don't think that many people responding appreciate that the cruise you are considering is 4 nights and will therefore be a decent break. We find on cruises that time goes slower than on land based holidays and our last cruise, which was just 7 days, felt like a fortnight. And, of course, the great thing with cruises is that the bulk of the travel is part of the holiday and not a chore to be endured at the beginning or end, as a flight would be.

[Florry]

How does Ventura compare to Azura? We did the trans-Atlantic on Azura last year & loved it - I believe Ventura has an indoor pool which would be handy in February!!

 

 

People like different things, these are what I have cruised on in order of preference Britannia, Arcadia, Aurora, Oriana, Ventura, Oceana. I've visited Adonia but not sailed on her. Two nights away in a busy schedule - I would go on any of these ships. I was just discussing a short cruise with my husband last night, I don't think we would even get off the ship sleeping and having no washing up would be good enough right now!

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[Scriv]

I love the 2 night breaks - a very acceptable alternative to a weekend away in a luxury hotel/holiday resort :)

[vwgolf]

We did a short break cruise to Bruges and Amsterdam over New Year and it was very good. Four nights isn't enough to find your way around the ship fully but it's still a good break. Just take warm clothes for when you are out on deck!

[Roofire]

We've booked a 2 night break on Britannia, mainly to get a feel for P&O having stuck with RCI to date. All the posts have been very useful for us First Timers. Thank you. :)

[Florry]

We've booked a 2 night break on Britannia, mainly to get a feel for P&O having stuck with RCI to date. All the posts have been very useful for us First Timers. Thank you. :)

 

 

Marvellous [emoji4]

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

[kevg1889]

Is one of the two nights usually a formal night?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

[Florry]

Is one of the two nights usually a formal night?

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums mobile app

 

 

Yes usually, you can check out your cruise here https://ask.pocruises.com/help/PO/life-on-board/dress_code_all

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

Edited January 30, 2017 by Florry

[kevg1889]

Does anyone know if the indoor pool on Ventura is heated or will it be freezing in February?