Cruise Reviews | Ventura needs to improve

Wednesday 20th August 2008

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Ventura needs to improve
Reviewed By: Barker, Gwent on 4th Jul 2008
Cruise Line: P&O Cruises	Times cruised before: 10+
Cruise Ship: Ventura	Sailed: April, 2008
Destination: Iberia	Age: 36-45

Our balcony stateroom was L261 and was on on the Lido deck. It was small with and not quite finished, some areas had not had the final trim screwed on and there were some empty screw holes here and there. My husband pressed one light switch and it disappeared into the wall as if nothing was holding it from the other side. Although we had curtains, there were no sheers, although the track was in place for sheers. Our room was right beneath the reception for the spa so once they opened at 8am, all we could hear was clip clop on the tiles above our heads, this noise also disturbed our afternoon nap and it took three separate complaints to get something done about it. In the end, the best they could do was ask the reception girls to go barefoot. We adore dressing for dinner and dining in the main restaurant but the service in the Cinnamon restaurant was so slow very poor indeed that we decided to eat in the Waterside buffet restaurant. It seemed that even if you had a table for two you had to wait for fellow tables of two in the same serving area to start the next course so if you decided for instance not to have a starter you would still have to wait for other tables to have their starter before they would serve you main course totally bizarre. I found the choices of food very poor in the Waterside buffet restaurant, there were many dishes that were not labelled and the staff did not seem to know what was in some of the food, I don't eat meat and when I would query what was in the dish was it meat or fish the waiter would say he wasn't sure, when we queried this with a head waiter, he said that they were on a two week menu cycle and by the time the dish came back around, they would know what it was. This didn't help us as we were only on for two weeks. The steamed vegetables would be coated in butter and foods would be covered in cream sauces and fried there seemed to be very few healthy choices. The shows were good but you didn't see much of the Cruise Director. He even had his own channel on the in cabin TV's but there was never anything on it, just a blank screen. We experienced a little bit of a rough sea one night and the water from the pool spilled into the Waterside restaurant damaging the carpet not well thought out design. The smoking area in the Tamarind Club is awful because you have no option but to walk through the smoke to get to the Havana Club There is also a large smoking area in The Exchange Bar and the smoke drifts. There is not a dedicated disco area the Havana becomes the disco after the shows have finished They seem to push the salon treatments more than any other ship I have been on they seem to put leaflets in your hand at every opportunity The white room disappointing The Casino is Good and the staff there are excellent. Would I cruise again on the Ventura ? Never
Quality of Food

Entertainment

Shore Excursions

Staff

Children's Facilities	n/a

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Opinion: Disagree Comment by marven, chesterfield (10 Jul 08 11:11) about this REVIEW.

what a poor complaint about the noise from the spa reception ,To complain 3 times about the noise ,and then say all they could do was ask the staff go barefoot so not to disturb your afternoon nap is beyond me.What did you expect them to do?shut up shop in the afternoon so you could get a nap.what a petty complaint.Next time choose your room carfully.

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Opinion: Disagree Comment by Parkinsin, Warrington (05 Jul 08 09:15) about this REVIEW.

Same old winges from people who did not think about what they were buying.

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Opinion: Disagree Comment by Poole, Sandhurst (06 Jul 08 14:23) about a COMMENT by Parkinsin (05 Jul 08 09:15)

I totally agree with the previous comment. Why don't people read the brochure before they book? It seems to me that some people have booked Ventura so that they can complain about it later. We found the holiday excellent and how anyone can complain about the food is really beyond me. Of course it may not always be up to some people's standard, but to give it 1/5 is just ridiculous!

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