I have been cruising with P & O since the nineties, initially on the worn out Canberra, on the Oriana before and after they fixed the vibrations caused by the bent propellor shaft, on the 1990s Arcadia and three times now on the Ventura. This, my latest cruise on Ventura was 28 days to the Caribbean and back in January 2018. Welcome to the shabby, floating care home!

The Good:

The ‘hotel staff’, waiters, cabin stewards, reception and excursion staff are welcoming, helpful and cheerful. P & O have installed a discretionary service charge system so that gratuities or ‘tips’ are added to one’s on board account thus dispensing with the demeaning practice of tipping in cash. One can change or cancel completely this discretionary service charge. Drinks prices were not excessive, being commensurate with what one would pay in a pub or restaurant, but since they undoubtedly buy the stuff at duty free prices, there is a massive mark up. Best value are the P & O ‘House Wines’, very drinkable and priced at about £16.50 per bottle. The entertainment was generally of high quality (with a couple of exceptions) and nicely varied. The shows performed by the in-house theatre company were stunning, with superb vocals, costumes and well-executed dance routines. Audio and video recording of the shows is prohibited. It would not do to have people being able to prove that the shows were the same as the year before, the year before that..........etc. Read more