Cruising for nearly 20 years on dozens of ships across many different cruise lines I hope I can share my passion for this wonderful way to travel. Along the way I will share my travels with reviews and tips which can hopefully help you make the most of your cruise, avoid some of the pitfalls and may even save you money.
If you have any suggestions for the channel or want any advice on a cruise then please get in touch.
Thanks for stopping by and please do subscribe, Steve
@@Snipviper-uv1jq Yes they are very deep, seems to be the case on most cruise ships, being only 5’6 myself too I find the same. Definitely have to be careful with kids in the pools.
We've been on Ventura twice. First time we had a balcony on deck 10 (C cabins). Second time was a deluxe cabin on D deck. Just looking through cruises for august on Ventura again haha. We also sailed twice on Oceana, which sadly is not part of the fleet anymore. And once on a RC cruise (now a Marella ship). Booked on Azura for next year. I love P&O. They might not have all the fancy fun gadgets that new ships have, but they are still lovely to cruise on 😊 x
I’m also a fan they are great ships and are fantastic value for money. I think Britannia and Azura are my favourite P&O ships but I do have a soft spot for Ventura too.
Great tips. We are leaving for a Norwegian fjords at the end of Sept/early Oct. We'll be in hellesylt, Alesund and Flam. Now hard is it to book excursion on arrival at the ports? We did look at excursions from website like viator or norway Best. Any tips for must see attractions especially the fjords will be closing next year or so.
Hi, it can be tricky to get excursions on arrival and I would advise booking in advance as a lot of them get booked up well in advance as the ships are only in for a limited time. Viator is fine used them a few times but not tried Norway Best. I think there may be a rethink on the large ships ban but we shall see. In Hellesylt if the budget allows and you can drive I would hire the Twizzy cars and explore as its small town, pretty but not much there. Alesund the hop on hop off bus is a good option and give you great views and for Flam if you have enough time in port and can get a booking the railway is a must. Hope you have a great cruise!
Steve, thank you. I took your advice and book in advance with Norway's Best. Cruise critic people are saying good things about them. In Hellesylt, we decided to book the Geirangerfjord cruise. We wanted to see it whether they will close it in 2026 or not. In Alesund, we haven't booked anything yet, but will look into the Hop On Hop Off option. We also think about visit other islands around there too. In Flam, it wil be a pack day for us. We are doing the Naeroyfjord (cruise there and bus back Flam), and in the afternoon, we are doing the Flam Railway. Naeroyfjord is also one of the ones that they are planning to close.
Hi, were you booked on Select fare? I think they are included with that but we booked saver so had to pay the shuttle but thats a good point actually I should have mentioned that.
Boarding normally starts at 11am, although priority guests are still asked to stick to the allocated boarding time as long as its not super busy they will usually send you straight through.
We went on recently and had very similar views (although seems very negative in our videos) but every point you say is spot on. Glad to know it’s not just us as we got lots of comments not agreeing! Subscribed🙂
Hi Steve, thanks for the valuable information. I'm Nikita from Bengaluru, India. I had couple of questions, I and my husband plan to explore Norway and Scotland by Cruise. We are mainly interested in the scenic beauty and nature. We are not sure on the route we should opt for, as the cruise liner is offering us multiple options. We have selected the following route though, route - Copenhagen to Copenhagen. Please advise if the destinations we have chosen in fine or otherwise. 01. Alesund - Norway 02. Trondheim, Norway 03. Honningsvag, Norway 04. Scenic Cruising North Cap 05. Harstad, Norway 06. Bodo, Norway 07. Lerwick, Shetland Islands, United Kingdom 08. Kirkwall, Scotland, United Kingdom 09. South Queensferry (Edinburgh), Scotland, United Kingdom 10. Newcastle upon Tyne, England, United Kingdom Many thanks
Hi, that actually looks a great itinerary, as you say lots of scenic places. Not been to Newcastle but I'm sure its an interesting city. What cruise line is doing this route as it looks great to me?
I'll be on Britannia next year which will also be my first time cruising, picked the 10 year Anniversary around Britain cruise in June 2025 so that I was near familiar territory then if I enjoy it I'll go for a Med cruise
I’m sure you will have a great cruise. I’m doing a round Britain cruise this year for the first time and really looking forward to it, you will end up also doing the med in future too, it’s quite addictive.
We enjoyed our trip last october on ventura. We also found the food potions small but you can always ask for something else of the menu aswell as what you ordered. As for the entertainment we were impressed by most of the acts as well the headliners. Must say there was a so called comedian on which we was disgusted by what he was coming out with. I'm no prude but i certainly didn't find it funny when he was making a joke about dead family members especially after my husband losing his mum only 4 months prior to the cruise. It is the first time we've ever walked out in a show. There was a singer called Ben Moss who was just brilliant. Would be great if he was on our cruise to canada in October.
Glad you enjoyed your cruise, as you say you can always ask for more and I always say you will never starve on a cruise ship there is always food somewhere. To be honest I rarely go to see comedians as I have not often found them to be that good on ships, shame you found this one distasteful. Don’t think I have heard Ben Moss but will look out for him on future cruises thanks for the recommendation.
I was on the Ventura 2012/2013 ish can’t quite remember was only a child (now 20) and had a fantastic time! Was an absolutely amazing ship, I remember the chocolate buffet night was incredible!
Hi, Iona is a good ship for children and is well set up for the Fjords. If you were to take a smaller ship and you still wanted P&O then Britannia (still pretty big) is also a good ship for kids but not quite so big as Iona but no indoor pool.
Thank you, I haven’t done that journey myself but just messaged a friend who has. They did it on the train but there is a ferry but it’s quite expensive around £500
Hi, to be honest I really don’t think it matters, the views both sides of the ship are incredible and there is no way of knowing which way they will dock so it’s pot luck. Both beautiful ports, I’m sure you will have a great cruise.
Been on Ventura 3 times before covid got to say the experience was totally different to what i hear your saying, everything was excellent including the cocktails there's obviously been severe cut backs since covid which is sad when the ship generally carries a full load of paying customers.
There has definitely been a lot of changes since covid, noticed them across all lines. Fares don’t seem to have increased a great deal but there have been lots of small cut backs in many areas as they pay back the loans they took out to survive. Worth bearing in mind this cruise was at full capacity as it was during half term so with less on board hopefully the service would be less rushed.
Hi, tricky to answer as everyone is looking for different things but personally this is how I choose, if it’s just myself and my wife then Princess or Celebrity, family including the children who are teenager’s Royal Caribbean, good value for money when budget is low but still want.p a nice cruise P&O. Destination plays a big part in it too, I like to try out different ports as much as possible. Hope that helps.
If living in Scotland more logical to sail from Rosyth or Dundee with Fred Olsen or Ambassador, medium size ships with less time at sea compared to going from Southampton.
No you don’t have to, you can’t use the main dining room and some of the bars on formal night without a jacket but there are other options on those nights and usually only 1 or 2 formal nights per week.
Hi Steve, enjoyed your video. I'm going on my first cruise with a friend this spring to Spain Portugal and France. What is the dress code like. My friend said I needed tailored shorts, are they really that strict clothes wise?
Thanks. During the day you can wear what you like, shorts etc. just like any other holiday. In the evenings most evenings it’s smart casual so shirt or collared T-shirt and jeans etc (not ripped jeans) then on formal nights which will be one or two nights you can wear formal gear but if you don’t want to that’s fine but there are some bars you can’t get in and rather than the main dining room you will need to use the Buffett. Hope that helps, enjoy your cruise.
We were on Ventura in October, France, Spain, Portugal. We loved it! The food was good in general, portion size was fine for us. We had two waiters, and a wine waiter. They were busy but the service was good and they looked after us. We asked for chips one night and there after chips came every night. We enjoyed the entertainment and the shows were really good. I think we chose well for our first cruise. The ship suited us, I used the gym, sang, danced, joined in the quizzes.My husband went to some of the talks and saw a film. The ship was very clean and our cabin steward was excellent. We are going on Ventura next year too.
Thats great so glad you enjoyed your cruise, Ventura is a lovely ship and as you say nice and clean and I think well maintained. Haven't had a wine waiter on a P&O ship for a long time so its great if they are bringing them back. Thanks for your feedback.
You was on the same cruise as us. We also had a fab time. We're on the Aurora in sept for a cruise to canada. W sailed on her years ago & must say I prefer the smaller ship.
Was on Ventura August 2022 and had a much better experience than you, we did have a waiter, assistant waiter and sommelier to look after us. The food was excellent. Entertainment was also really good. However, went on Ventura's sister ship Azura last month and what a difference a year makes. Experience was similar to yours. P&O have obviously done some major cost cutting in the last few month which is a shame. Having also been on Arvia in August 2023, which was great. I would now be very reluctant to go on one of P&Os smaller ships again.
Yes I think the cost cutting is really starting to show and to be honest personally I would rather pay a little more for a better service. I did find there were more crew and dining room staff when I was on both Iona and Britannia last year so maybe it was just a temporary shortage on Ventua, hope thats all it was as I do like the ship.
Just come back from 12 days Spain Portugal Ventura. Paid for upgrade super deluxe room as 1st time cruise, food very bland average at best, as you said small portions, waiters always rushing around no time to talk ship full so no room when at sea no or poor entertainment at best unless you like quizzes or line dancing, I found out a lot of people had paid a lot less then us and was a lot older I'm 62yrs but most were 70s/ 80s plus so probably catering for older guests, saying that there were a few family's with teenagers who must have been very board as they played robbers knock on our door screaming banging etc even after i reported this nothing was done will probably save up for an adults only cruise or a bigger ship if we go again....
Shame there were some issues on your first cruise and hope it hasn't put you off cruising. Outside of school holidays tthere aren't normally that many children or teenagers on board so I think you were a bit unlucky there. If you do choose an adults only ship then generally you will find the other passengers tend to be older than the family ships but on the bigger ships there is more for younger passengers to do so more occupied.
Menu was bland we agree. Tbh worst dining experience on a ship ever. Try a Royal Carribean cruise and compare. You won’t be disappointed in thr main dining room after your P&O Ventura experience. But the extra restaurants are worth the charge and definitely the better places to eat on this ship.
Hi we have just came back from cruise on Ventura we went on the 23 November for 12 nights it’s a little tired in places but still a nice ship we really enjoyed watching the guests dancing in the atrium in the evenings would anyone know the the songs they played I can remember some Michael buble .Daniel o Donald and Cher Thank you.
@@CruisewithSteve ok thanks yeah hopefully someone can myself and husband like the music they played but we can’t do the dancing just enjoy listening 💃🏼🕺🏻
Steve, your tips were spot-on! I did the Norwegian fjord cruise on the Sky Princess in June and it was fabulous! I loved going out on my balcony in the middle of the night to take pictures--with the midnight sun, it never really got dark. Scenery was gorgeous! One of my favorite cruises of all time!
Compared to the new ships fair enough the design may be dated but for its age to me it looks pretty good. Well looked after and all the linen was unmarked and carpet was spotless.
Thanks for the vid Steve. We are going on Ventura for our first ever cruse later this month. We have booked a balcony cabin, midships on level 12. Not sure if the balcony will be as large as yours but I'm sure it will be great.
