Ventura Caribbean Cruise

We flew from East Midlands and the check in procedure was fantastic. We arrived quite early as we had not pre booked our seats on the flight. We were greeted by a P&O representative and we were checked in within 5 minutes of being there and we had seats together. Once we arrived in Barbados we were sent straight from the plane to the ship. Check in at the terminal took around 30 mins and was really well organised.

We had a CC grade of cabin at the fwd on D Deck. As we walked into the cabin, I was so impressed. The size was fantastic and the balcony was a good size too with the reclining sunloungers. We also had a bottle of Champagne, chocs and fresh fruit, and also slippers and a P&O bathrobe that I wanted to keep it was so soft and snug! The only thing that I was slightly disappointed at was when we opened the cabin door for the first time we were hit with the smell of cigarettes, someone previously had obviously been smoking on the balcony and had left the balcony door open. The bathroom was a decent size, and the bath was also. Facilities in the cabin were also good, the tv was informative and it was nice to keep an eye on our on-board account via the tv. Our cabin steward, Lorena was fantastic and was always there to help.

We were allocated a table for 6 in the Baytree Restaurant for the Club Dining on 2nd sitting. I found the food in the Restaurant nice, although we only dined in there twice as we preferred the Beach house and the Waterside Restaurant. I would recommend anyone to dine in The Beach House, which is allocated at the Aft of the Ship on deck 15 just after the Waterside Restaurant. Sharon had told me about this and we dined in there most evenings. The Beach House offered American styles of food, for example Potato Skins, Soup, or Brushetta for starters and then for mains, BBQ Ribs, Steak, Burgers and then deserts were Choc Fudge Cake and Apple Pie..etc. The majority of the food was free, apart from bigger meals such as Surf and Turf where you paid extra. There was no cover charge for dining in the Beach House. We did however have to wait around 30-45 mins on some evening to get seated as they did get extremely busy. We also enjoyed the Waterside Restaurant for dinner and evening meal (all buffet style) plenty of choice and also offered different themed evenings, such as Great British Night, Indian and Oriental. On one evening we dined in East (one of the speciality Restaurants) we made the reservation by the phone in the cabin and had no problem getting a table. East is certainly worth the ?œ15.00 pp cover charge, the food was amazing the Restaurant itself is decorated beautifully and the atmosphere is very relaxed with quiet music playing in the background.

We prebooked 2 shore excursions before we travelled via p&o cruise personaliser. The first was the Jeep Safari to Dunns River Falls priced at ?œ57.00 pp and lasted approx 5 hrs, the other was a Champagne Sunset Cruise In Barbados, this was priced at ?œ37.00 pp. The Jeep Safari was amazing, we went round most areas in Ocho Rios and we also went up to a Mountain where we had rum and fresh fruit. Our guide and driver for the day was called Dove, and he was hilarious. He gave us a lot of information about Ocho Rios and made the whole day really fun. It rained for most of the day and we all got drenched as Dove took us through all the dirt tracks, driving at about 80mph but it was good fun. We also went to a coffee plantation before arriving at Dunns River Falls. Dunns River Falls was fantastic and the guides that took us were brilliant, it was well worth the money. As we were in Barbados overnight at the end of the cruise my sister and I decided to do the Champagne Sunset in Barbados, we got a catamaran and it sailed down the coast of Barbados, all drinks were complimentary and they also came round with nibbles. It was a perfect way to end the holiday 🙂

I was able to go in with one of the parents to have a look round the kids area and it was fantastic. The kids looked to be having a great time, and we heard many parents saying how great the facilities were and how much the children were enjoying it. We also noticed during the day that many children were taking part in games and circus acts and loved the bungee area on top deck.

Having previously sailed on the Braemar, comparing both ships is easy. They attract a completely different market, and having the choice I would certainly choose to sail on the Ventura over the Braemar again. The only other ship I have sailed on previously is the Oceana, and again I do feel the ships are quite different. Oceana to me has a much more welcoming atmosphere on board, as Ventura doesn’t seem quite as personal when you get on board but having said that the service from the staff on both ships was second to none.