P&O Ventura – a matter of opinion, obviously!

If ever there was a ship guaranteed to spark a lively debate the Ventura has to be it. Look at our ‘Reviews’ on http://www.cruises.co.uk/ and you will see varied opinions on all ships, but the Ventura gets more than its fair share of negative reviews. So why is this? What is it about this ship that people are so averse to, when in the last fortnight alone I have spoken to several clients who thought she was a great ship and are looking to rebook on her for next year?

I was lucky enough to be on the launch of Ventura two years ago, and I thought she was a beautiful ship. OK, so she didn’t quite have the ‘wow’ factor (whatever that is when it’s at home!), but she had many lovely features, a variety of stunning public rooms, excellent service, and delicious food. It appears that she struggled to cope on her first few voyages with major teething problems. Maybe P & O had underestimated the task of efficiently running such a large vessel, I don’t know. And then there was the disasterous first Christmas cruise – cabins sold very cheaply at the last minute obviously attracting the ‘wrong type of passengers’. However, things then seemed to settle down so I can’t understand the continuing bad press she gets. Is it coming from old P & O die-hards who just find her very different to the other ships in the fleet?
Other cruise lines get things wrong and there is barely a murmur. I had two couples on the Queen Victoria over Christmas, very loyal clients of mine, and they were disappointed with the cruise. They said little or no effort was made to create a festive atmosphere on board. Did we hear much about it? No. Was much made of all the clients who never made it to the Queen Marys Christmas cruise, just sent home, because of the problem with weather and flights in December? No.
So come on folks, what is it about Ventura? Lets have some feedback, pleeeeeeeeeeease!