We have just returned from a 6 day cruise to St Peter Port, Lar Rochelle and Bilbao on the Ventura, we decided to take our almost 5 years old granddaughter before she started school, we travelled up from Cornwall the night before and stayed at the Nova hotel which offer accommodation for a child, a very nice hotel and they issued the kids with activity packs, they also have a free swimming pool and gym if required a very comfortable hotel.
We also parked our car there for 7nights at €42 a lot cheaper than parking at the docks.
We arrived at the terminal at 12.30 to find they were already boarding we are lucky to have priority boarding so went straight through after security I could not find my passes for myself and GD so had to leave my husband with luggage while we went back to start again it took an hour for them to reissue the passes, we then went down to the Cinnamon restaurant for our welcome on board lunch and tipple.
Our cabin was inside on deck 14 mid ships with a bunk bed [my OH spent the whole cruise up there complete with ladder ] we had some good sleeps there as our GD went to sleep at 1010.30 and never woke until 9-930 in the great black out it was a very quiet location but we had the lifts to all the floors not far away,Peter our steward was wonderful with Ava there was a balloon attached to jelly beans and a mermaid duvet cover a nice touch.
We didn’the obligatory life jackets etc and then went to the sailaway party where we danced our way down the Solent.
We enrolled Ava in the kids club and took her up about 8pm we dined on a table for 8 and watched a bit of foot tapping singing in the Atrium, we went for Ava at 10.30 only to find she hated it and was upset, apparently they put her in with 2-4 years olds and she is a sensible almost five year old, I asked if she could go in with the 5-8 but they wouldn’t hear f it, a word of advice for others as given t me by other parents with brothers or sisters is to put the ages down so they can go together if possible however ,that was the end of the children’s club for us.
We dined in the self serve breakfast, lunch and dinner sometimes 5pm children’s tea, they lay up the tables with napkins.
cutlery and wineglasses and there is a good variety of food to please us all.
We went to the dining room for afternoon tea for Grampy’s birthday where I had ordered a birthday cake and it was decorated with balloons which we enjoyed and she thought wonderful.
The pools were much to deep couldn’t stand and Ava jumped in on me and we sank like a stone, we were hard pressed to get out, we used the largest of the children’s pools about up to my chest [I am 5ft] and swam there every day come rain or shine [my hair bared testimony to that] We ate burgers and Pizza on the poolside’s and enormous ice-creams we danced at the sail a way parties, we attended the Captains Gala night in our best frocks [we had our photo’s taken but I baulked at the price €17.50 and took our own].
Entertainment wise we went to on singing and dancing show in the Arena sat in the front row and she was fascinated by it [we had seen it before.
we then started going to the Havana and seeing the Dusty Springfield , Adele and Olly Muir shows where we could also dance if we felt like it we were content We went ashore in St Peter Port on a grey day the sea was choppy we had time to ride the little train around before the thunder and lightenng sent us scurring back to the ship, La Rochelle was 20 minute bus ride away and the weather was lovely we walked through the town had a coffee.
icecream and then went back for a swim.
Bilbao my favourite we had been twice before and lved it, unfortunately it poured and poured we took the bus in but decided not to get off as everyone coming back were like drowned rats This cruise was a success for us with the little one as we found alternative ways to amuse her and saw the cruise through a childs eye we were done in when we returned as it was full on, but we wouldn’t have changed it we loved spending time with her and showing her all the different places, she has now started school.
The waiters and cabin steward really made a fuss of her and were so good I can’ thank them enough I hope this review may be of some help to those thinking of taking their children or grandchildren n a cruise.
