Ventura

My husband and I chose the 7 day cruise from Southampton to Norway on P & O's Ventura. We had cruised four times before, always with NCL ships.
Driving to Southampton from South Wales was an improvement on going to Heathrow although being a Saturday in August the traffic was bad. Southampton wasn't easy to negotiate due to heavy traffic and poor signposting. However once at the port it was a breeze with the car being parked on the quayside. We were signed in and on the ship in less than an hour. Our cabin P211 on the 5th deck was excellent. Very spacious with a beautiful picture window. Our steward was top quality. I explained to him at the beginning that my husband would need to rest in the cabin for long periods as he is living with cancer. The steward made up the cabin as soon as we left it each morning and the same at night time. He deserved a good tip at the end of the voyage, and he got one. The theatre had an excellent show on each night although you did need to go to the theatre a good 30 minutes before the start to make sure of a seat.
That’s the good now for the bad.
We had requested freedom dining on a table for two. Due to my husband’s illness he needs to be able to eat when he feels up to it and also not spend energy trying to make conversation with strangers. As I am his main carer I do not wish to spend all of my time queuing for food in a buffet (it’s my holiday as well) Unfortunately we were allocated Club Dining at 8.30pm on a table of 10. Our nightmare!!! After queuing for an hour I was able to persuade the Restaurant Manager to change us to a table for two at 6.30pm from the third evening. Everybody else in the queue appeared to have the same problem. Everybody wanted freedom dining!!!
The food served on this cruise was atrocious, a Caesar Salad with no dressing or parmesan cheese, roast beef and roast lamb so tough I couldn’t cut it, porridge made from instant (ReadyBrek) oats, custard made from water based mixes, artificial cream and the very cheapest of orange juice to name just a few of the complaints. At no time were we offered an alternative spread to butter or offered wholemeal toast at breakfast. There was no sign of sweetners instead of sugar and no de caffeinated coffee. It would appear that the cheapest food was used at all times.
I’ve always resented the accusation that Britain produced poor food and that the British don’t appreciate good food but I’m afraid P & O’s Ventura proved me wrong. What I can’t understand is why don’t more people complain? Good food can be served on a large cruise ship – I’ve eaten it on NCL ships.