Ventura Review

First time cruising on the Ventura

Review for the Eastern Mediterranean Cruise on Ventura
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PeteM01
First Time Cruiser • Age 60s

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Sail Date: Jul 2012
Cabin: Outside Twin with Balcony and Shower
Traveled with children

My mother-in-law is a keen cruiser and decided to introduce her grand-children to cruise-culture by booking a 16 night Eastern Med cruise for three generations of her family. As any sort of 'package' holiday or Center-Parcs-style experience is anathema to me, I really did not expect to enjoy it. This was reinforced by many of the reviews of the 'Butlin's-at-sea' type on this and other sites. I am pleased to say that my prejudices were largely unfounded and I find myself back on dry-land, sadly missing the whole experience!

Embarkation was very easy, although it should be noted that suits in bags are must be taken on board yourself, as they are not taken by the porters. We turned up a little early and were on the boat within an hour or our arrival by car at the docks. The kids immediately dug into the buffet although I was, for the only time on the cruise, not feeling hungry due to slight sea-sickness (while still in port - oh dear!). Cabins were available after a further hour and luggage turned up well before we left the dock. As soon as the ship started to move, all untoward motion seemed to stop and I was completely unaffected after that.

The cabin (deck 12, outside) was fine, with a dinky shower/toilet room and twin beds which we had pushed together to form a double that evening. There had been slight confusion over the booking but this was easily smoothed over. The balcony was just big enough for two to stretch out but we managed to fit in 5 for late-night drinks. The carpets are probably ripe for replacement (some stains visible) but had obviously been cleaned as well as possible and the decor was in reasonable order. I understand the ship is being re-fitted in March 2013 so this will probably be sorted out then.

Cabin Review

Outside Twin with Balcony and Shower

Cabin JC

Fine, and not overlooked due to a deck overhang above.

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