This was the 28th cruise my husband and I have been on. We have sailed with several of the better-known cruise lines and this was our 4th with P & O.

Having read many of the negative reviews about Ventura on Cruise Critic I must say that, while we were looking forward to our Caribbean cruise in general (the 5th one we've done), it was with some trepidation that we embarked Ventura having heard it referred to as "Chav City" and "Butlins at Sea". However, we were pleasantly surprised as it turned out to be better than expected, although I would still agree that it is maybe not quite up to P & O's usual standard.

I think they are trying to attract younger cruisers (instead of the usual 50+ age group that most cruise lines seem to cater for) so the ship and entertainment programme has been geared towards the 30-40 age group and more mainstream holiday maker. At the risk of sounding like a snob, I would say that the exclusivity usually associated with cruising does not apply to the Ventura. Read more