We have cruised a few times before mainly RCL and Celebrity but thought we would give P&O a whirl, so we booked two cruise, one 'taster' on Aurora last December and Ventura. Have to say we were not so impressed with Aurora, mainly let down by the crew who on the whole were not so interested in doing that extra bit but we thought it is only a short cruise (3 days) hopefully it will be better on Ventura.

On Ventura we found the crew were so much better, very helpful and cheery, food in the main dining room was ok, service a bit slow at times, as for the dining room itself it was on all one level with what felt like a very low ceiling which gave the place a rather cramped and gloomy feel, nearly all the other ships we have been on have dining rooms spread over two decks which tends to make them feel light and airy. The Waterside (buffet) restaurant was a bit of a disappointment in the range and quality of the food on offer, which we felt was limited, breakfast was a bit of a bun fight to get a table, many people were forced to grab a table near the pool area. We tried the 'Beach House', section of the Waterside that is sectioned off in the evening and this was really ok, there is a £5 cover charge and some meals you have to pay extra but the food was ok as was the service. Going upmarket we tried 'The White Room' , now that was really nice and should be for £25 service charge each but it was nice to have a relaxing meal, so all in all the food on Ventura was fairly good.

Entertainment in the main theatre was good and the waiters were not intrusive as you sometimes find on other ships, entertainment around the rest of the ship was a mixed bag, plenty of quizzes and bingo. Read more