Ventura or Oceana,Help please

[scotslad1975]

Hi folks,I am looking to book my 1st cruise for summer 2010 and cant decide which of the 2 ships to choose from.We would almost definitely be booking a balcony cabin.

 

Also,how much roughly is the cover charge for the select dining restaurants?

 

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks.

[humpy]

hi scotslad1975 welcome to the forum.with regard to your questions,we have sailed on both the ships and must say we prefer oceana.we will be sailing on her on 17th october.the balcony cabins on ventura will be better than on oceana as the ship is more upto date,the balcony will be bigger on ventura.the atrium on oceana is quite spectacular compared to ventura.ventura does have the added bonus of having a covered pool area.oceanas dining rooms are easier to get to than one of the dining rooms on ventura.hope this helps if you have any more questions please ask..happy sailing..humpy..

[scotslad1975]

Thanks humpy,we are swaying towards Oceana to be honest,but have a lot of studying to do before i choose.:)

[humpy]

im sure which ever cruise ship you choose will be the right one.oceana was our first ship,and when we saw the atrium as we walked aboard the word wow was heard a lot.oceana is only 76000 tonnes compared to venturas 115000 tonnes,which makes it a bit easier to get used to the ship quicker...humpy..

[WINDSONG2]

Hi Scotslad, Last year we went on both Oceana and Ventura. We've been on Oceana several times before as we do enjoy this ship. We love the atrium where everybody congregates before dinner and the ship has a very homely feel. The cabins and balconies on Ventura are far better than Oceana.

We ate in Whites and East on Ventura and both were very good. I can't remember the cost, but East was cheaper. The first night on board all speciality restaurants seem to do a half-price special.

Ventura is more family orientated, but deck games, i.e. deck quoits and shuffleboard are virtually non existent. Oceana has great deck game tournaments. If we had to choose between the two, it would be Oceana.

 

Hope this helps. Best wishes. Windsong

[Gerrym]

Oceana every time! No contest

 

 

:D

[Suebiker]

Hi folks,I am looking to book my 1st cruise for summer 2010 and cant decide which of the 2 ships to choose from.We would almost definitely be booking a balcony cabin.

 

Also,how much roughly is the cover charge for the select dining restaurants?

 

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks.

 

Hi

 

Personally we prefer Ventura . Mainly cos it is family orientated has a fantastic kids club and we like the indoor pool area - which is a godsend when the weather is a bit chilly. Which ship you choose really depends on what you and your individual requirements are. Ventura could be very busy with kids in the summer - but they do have a large kids club to cope with it! They do also restrict the number of kids onboard too. Ventura is quite modern - it has lovely large cabins too! The White Room was superb. The cover charge was £15 (special early dining offer) or £20 at other times.( well worth every penny!!!) We did not eat at East but I think the cover charge was similar - may have been slightly cheaper. The Metropolis bar was lovely too - nice atmosphere - very sophisticated!

 

We haven't sailed on Oceana recently but we did about 6 years ago . Had a great cruise on her ( our honeymoon!). In general she felt much older and quieter than Ventura. Perhaps a bit too quiet for us .

 

Anyway what I'm trying to say is if you want a lively family holiday - Ventura is better . If you want a quieter more traditional cruise then Oceana is better. Whichever you choose you i'm sure you will have a great time.

 

Sue

[davedex]

hi scotslad1975 welcome to the forum.with regard to your questions,we have sailed on both the ships and must say we prefer oceana.we will be sailing on her on 17th october.the balcony cabins on ventura will be better than on oceana as the ship is more upto date,the balcony will be bigger on ventura.the atrium on oceana is quite spectacular compared to ventura.ventura does have the added bonus of having a covered pool area.oceanas dining rooms are easier to get to than one of the dining rooms on ventura.hope this helps if you have any more questions please ask..happy sailing..humpy..

 

we are on this cruise too!! I have set up a roll call on the Oceana page but for some reason it is not easily displayed and when i try to find it have to do a search of the forum. Maybe see yo in October - we will be the ones wit two beautifully behaved kids!!!!lol

[scrozuk]

im sure which ever cruise ship you choose will be the right one.oceana was our first ship,and when we saw the atrium as we walked aboard the word wow was heard a lot.oceana is only 76000 tonnes compared to venturas 115000 tonnes,which makes it a bit easier to get used to the ship quicker...humpy..

 

Both ships are fine, have been on Ventura, wife just come back from Fjords off Oceana, looking at photos of Oceana, I think I'd prefer Oceana. I feel you can judge a ship by it's atrium, and Oceana's looks amazing.

 

Scrozuk

[bigpete47uk]

Was on Ventura last summer for back to back cruises to the med and the canaries. It was our first time so we found the whole experience wonderful. The ship was brand new and you couldn't help but be impressed by the sheer size of her. The cabins are great with excellent facilities, we had a balcony on 'c' deck - wow.

 

Went on Oceana in June this year and what a difference. She is very beautiful and elegant, more like I imagined a cruise ship would be. Cabins are smaller and everything is a little older but she has real class.

 

From most of the comments on this forum you'd think that both ships have been dumbed down to cater for the lower eschelons of society. Being the only two ships I have been on I cannot compare them to the others in the fleet but found them both to be fantastic in their own way.

 

Happy cruising.

Pete.

[shipfriend_max]

It's better to take Ventura.

I have been cruising on this ship in May 2009 (Baltic) - it was very good. The ship is very new and clean.

 

But I don't know whether you want to have a larger ship or a smaller one.

But the passenger-space-ratio on Ventura is good.

And the ship has many facilities.

[daiB]

Hi folks,I am looking to book my 1st cruise for summer 2010 and cant decide which of the 2 ships to choose from.We would almost definitely be booking a balcony cabin.

 

Also,how much roughly is the cover charge for the select dining restaurants?

 

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks.

 

Simplesssss go on both and make your own mind up.

 

Ask 100 people get 100 answers.

 

Personaly we like Oceana & Ventura & Aurora & Oriana & Arcadia & we will try to like Azura next September. Ohh and Adonia was great, along with the old Arcadia.:D

 

Hope that was of some help

 

:):)Happy Cruising:):)

 

 

 

 

:cool:

 

 

 

 

Dai

[Andyboy]

Hi folks,I am looking to book my 1st cruise for summer 2010 and cant decide which of the 2 ships to choose from.We would almost definitely be booking a balcony cabin.

 

Also,how much roughly is the cover charge for the select dining restaurants?

 

Any advice appreciated.

Thanks.

 

Our first cruise this year and we have opted for Oceana in July. We have a six year old Daughter. Getting the train down from Haymarket and staying at the Jurys Inn. Cant wait!