New to Cruising

[Cruising Claire]

I have two firsts here. This is the first time I have ever posted anything on a forum and later this week I am going on my first ever cruise. It will be on the Ventura. I can't wait. I have a few questions if anyone would be kind enough to answer.

 

- my husband would like to know if the exercise/spinning bikes in the gym have the sort of pedals he can clip his cycle shoes into. If not I won't bother packing them

 

- We plan to make use of having breakfast in the cabin on port days. Will this be brought by the cabin steward or someone else?

 

- Do we tip after each breakfast or at the end of the holiday?

 

- What time is breakfast in the cabin served?

 

- Will they have 'ready brek' for our little girl and if not, if we take our own box will the make it for her.

 

- Does anyone apart from us and the cabin steward have access to our cabin while we are out?

 

I know this is a lot of questions but I appreciate any advise given.

[supered]

Hi Claire

 

Welcome to the Cruise Critic Forums. You must be so excited about your cruise on Ventura. You will love her. We were blown away when we went on her in October. The chidren's facilities are particularly good.

 

I will try to answer as many of your questions as I can.

 

I can't answer your questions about the bikes in the Gym but hopefully someone else can.

 

The breakfast in the cabin is a continental style including toast, cereal, pastries and jams. One of my top tips is not to order tea or coffee for brekkie as you can make your own in the cabin and it will be hot. When it is delivered it is lukewarm at best. We had this several times and it was great especially on sea days. It was brought by someone other than the steward. There is no expectaion of a tip but I would tip him each time if that's what you want to do. If you plan to have breakfast in the cabin a lot then they can give make you a standing order. It was the same person each time for us so you could tip at the end. Bear in mind that it is not available on the last morning.

 

You can request when the breakfast is brought by choosing a half hour slot. I think the times were 6.30 to 10. The ebst way of ordering it is via the Interactive TV, although there are menu cards that you can put out the night before and you can also phone your order.

 

I don't think they have Ready Brek (I can't remember seeing it on the menu). It might be worth asking your cabin steward if he can arrange it for you. Otherwise you could email Ventura@pocruises.com and mark it for the attention of the Food and Beverage Manager. The email will be received on board. There is no guarantees with any of this but it might be worth a try.

 

The cabin steward will be the only crew member who normally has access to your cabin (unless you have a Suite, where the Butler will also access it). If there any any exceptions to this you will be notified in advance by letter. This may involve room inspections by your cabin steward's supervisor or routine maintenance.

 

I hope what little I've been able to answer has helped. If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to ask.

 

Have a great cruise!

 

Eddie :)

[Cruising Claire]

Thank you Eddie for such a great reply. I found it very helpful. Only three days to go now, so I am busy packing etc. Could I bother you with just one more question. How long roughly would it take to walk from one end of the ship to the other? I only ask as we are up the front and the kids club is at the back and it looks such a big ship. I have only been on a cross Chanel ferry before and I'm sure there is no comparison. I have bought loads of guide books for the palces we are visiting and I have my seasickness tablets to hand - just incase. Looking forward so much to this cruise. Claire.

[BrianI]

Hi Claire

I have been on Ventura twice now and just returned from the transatlantic crossing. It is a big ship and I would say it takes around 5mins to walk from one end to the other. We never had breakfast in the cabin but all I can say there is a very wide range of everything in both the Waterside (self service) or Saffron, (main restaurant, waiter service). This includes fresh fruits (melon, pineapple, grapefruit, etc), juices, cereals, yoghurts, eggs, bacon, sausage, black pudding, tomato, fried bread, liver etc, smoked haddock, kippers, breads, danish pastries tea coffee. For some reason, the self service is the most popular and gets crowded at peak times. There was never a problem in the restaurant.

We were on our own as our kids have grown up but talking to people who had children in the kids club said the biggest problem was getting them to leave, so they must be doing something right. They keep them occupied from early morning to midnight, but its up to you when you let them attend. The childrens supervisors are fantastic.

There is a childrens tea served around 5pm if you would prefer this to eating in the restaurant later. Noddy has a birthday party towards the end of the cruise at this time.

There are three theatre shows in the evening, 7pm, 9pm & 11pm and the middle show is usually the busiest. The two best shows are Masquerade(Lloyd Webber) and Chronicles, which is a jungle theme. There are other events on at the same time in Havana and Tamarind, so plenty of choice.

Don't miss trying the afternoon tea served in Saffron at 4pm.

Regarding tipping, it is normally left until the end of the cruise. There are envelopes and guidance in your cabin.

Brian

Brian