Southampton Family Cruises Reviews

We booked this pre- Christmas cruise to Portugal and Spain because it was as cheap as a B&B and we were missing the sunshine. From our previous experience with P&O, we had low expectations but the Ventura is a nice mid-sized ship and we had a good time. The crew were good and the entertainment was acceptable but it was evident that P&O had "cut everything to the bone". In particular, the food was ...

Beware of the spa! 2 treatments booked and paid for before joining the ship. During one treatment, the assistant said one aspect had been booked but I could have all 3 if I wished. No additional price was mentioned. Before leaving they apologised and said they'd made an error by adding the whole cost to my onboard account when I'd prepaid, and they'd need to reset my account, and needed a ...

We were already booked on the Aurora for 16 night Baltic Cruise in May 2024 so when this mini cruise came up we decided to try it as a taster. We normally cruise with Cunard but we liked the itinerary of the Baltic cruise and liked the size of the ship, and adult only was a bonus. Having read some poor reviews of this ship, I have to say I was pleasantly surprised by the whole experience. ...

Ok, chose this short break as an early Christmas do for my wife and I, the ship needs either a total revamp or scrapping, the archaic plumbing system is not fit for purpose, blocked overflowing toilets in the cabin happened three times in four days, the last day the bathroom was unusable for 8 hours due to failure of the vacuum system for the toilets. Sewage leaking across the bathroom floor, ...

This was our sixth cruise on Aurora since first sailing on her in 2002 and hopefully it certainly won't be our last. This short cruise was booked in an effort to appease/satisfy the older element of our family, as only a month earlier we had taken a Marella fly cruise with the younger generation. Originally booked to accommodate mother in law who has mobility issues and is unable to fly, for ...

23 years ago my husband helped to build Aurora in Papenburg, Germany. He talked sometimes of maybe having a short cruise on her for nostalgic reasons. We took the plunge this year when she was sailing to Amsterdam on a mini cruise on his birthday. We booked a suite certainly not cheap for 4 nights but we were excited at the prospect of experiencing her from a totally different point of view. As ...

I chose to go on this cruise for many reasons. Having sailed on Ventura several times the level of standards have dropped significantly. Entertainment wasn't too good with the exception of the Four Harps, Ben Kearsley and Morecambe and Wise tribute. The comedians were mediocre. The headliners same old with the exception of The Christmas show. So many things have been taken away from ...

Having cruised many times ith P&O we were appalled at the fall in standards. The quality, eating habits, behaviour and particularly the dress of many passengers was dreadful. On ' strictly' formal nights, passengers were allowed into the Cinnamon Restaurant iny any old attire, One man, jacketless was allowed in in just a shirt and trousers. It was even worse in the Waterside self service ...

A quick review of our Southampton to New York QM2 crossing, 19-26 Nov. I booked this trip last minute in October when I spotted a “too good to miss” deal on a sheltered verandah cabin. Only after booking did I realise that it was a literary crossing, which was a bonus! The ship was just out of dry dock after a refit, that included new carpets, reupholstered chairs and a beautiful new floor ...

I chose this cruise as it was at the right price and offered a chance of some sun before the onset of winter. Embarkation was very efficient and no delays from port arrival until boarding Ventura. I requested Club dining on first sitting but was allocated freedom dining of which I dislike but I paid the Saver fare rather than Select so no complaints. For me I always prefer to have the ...