We are off in a few weeks time. First time cruising so does anyone have any tips on how things work on the ship and the ports of call. I am specifcally concerned about St Petersburg - how baby friendly is it?

Finding it quite difficult to picture us pushing our daughter round in a pushchair in Russia.

Well, in St Petersburg you can only get off the ship on an excursion, either a ship's one or a private one. To be honest, the places the trips go aren't really ones I could see you pushing a baby round. I think you had better reckon on staying onboard at that port of call! The others should be OK though - just like pushing a baby round London. (You will be able to read the descriptions of the excursions on the P & O website, which will show you what I mean about that port.)

Presume you get two days in St P, so maybe one of you could do a trip one day and the other one on the other day? That way at least you will get ashore!

Exactly what I was thinking we would do. One day excursion and then another day on the ship.

Thanks for your advice

mehmeh1 wrote:

Well, in St Petersburg you can only get off the ship on an excursion, either a ship's one or a private one. To be honest, the places the trips go aren't really ones I could see you pushing a baby round. I think you had better reckon on staying onboard at that port of call! The others should be OK though - just like pushing a baby round London. (You will be able to read the descriptions of the excursions on the P & O website, which will show you what I mean about that port.)

Presume you get two days in St P, so maybe one of you could do a trip one day and the other one on the other day? That way at least you will get ashore!

Agree absolutely...this is sound advice and the only realistic way you will both see something of St Petersburg, which is "not to be missed". You will also find that many will be ashore on evening excursions on your stopover night, so the ship will be relatively quiet giving more space to move around.

We have seen lots of young couples with very young children, and all seemed very content cruising. Enjoy!

loopyloo33 wrote:

We are off in a few weeks time. First time cruising so does anyone have any tips on how things work on the ship and the ports of call. I am specifcally concerned about St Petersburg - how baby friendly is it?

Finding it quite difficult to picture us pushing our daughter round in a pushchair in Russia.

St P. is a great trip but I would have seeked out advice from one of the private tour companies for a customised trip if taking a little one, the choice to stay onboard is a good one if a suitable trip cannot be found.

Not all the sights are suitable for a push chair so advice is needed if carrying(part time) is not an option on a tour that would include only suitable places.

To make the most of St P it is best to do it with smallish groups with mini bus so the practiality with a push chair is something to considered but people manage with wheelchairs so not a definate cannot do.

A ships tour with large coach I would avoid and is likely to be more expensive anyway.

This is not a DIY port all the others on a baltic trip usualy are.

I am glad you have seen some young children on cruises. She is a very laid back child - we have already travelled to USA and Mexico and she was fine on them. Were these cruises in the Baltic?

I have found someone who is arranging a child friendly tour of St Petersburg from our same ship so I think we will do this

Thanks for your replies!

Hi
I'm thinking of booking for next year and would appreciate any comments anyone has regarding this ship for two adults early 40's and young at heart with a 15 year old son , we've read the reviews (loved the one who called all folk from Scotland , the north and wales ignorant fatso's !!! , nothing like stereo-typing more half of the country , i expect he's a Daily mail reader LOL) and they don't appear to be that good , although i take out-raged from middle england's comments with a pinch of salt !!!!

Anyway if anyone could give me clues as to on-board prices for drinks , excursions , entertainment and service , as i said we have a 15yo son , so any comments on what life on board for him would be like would be appreciated.

Finally (sorry) - formal nights - do they have to be done ?? , i wear a shirt and tie 48 weeks out of the year and a penguin suit at least on average once/twice per month therefore i'm not really keen on going over the top in getting dressed for dinner while on holiday- i appreciate that some folk love it , but we prefer smart casual.

We have crusied on the Thomson Destiny before and loved the laid back feel of it plus the enetertainment was top-notch and while we would go with them again we'd llike to broaden out horizons and try one of the bigger better equiped ships.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance

We sailed on Ventura last year, and it is fine. We have 3 adult children and I am of the opinion that for a 15 year old boy with "young at heart parents" Independence of the Seas would be a far more attractive option. We have sailed with RCI, but on Voyager of the Seas.

Given that both ships are operating in the same price market, all other things being equal, I would choose Independence. The activities on board for a 15 year old boy way outstrip anything on the Ventura. Get the brochures, or go onto http://www.royalcaribbean.co.uk and check it out.

HI taking our 12 yr old grandson on RCI Voyager next week the ship seems to have it all for kids,
tried yesterday to get a 4 berth[ we are in a 3 ]and hoped to change to take grandson,s friend
with us, but all family cabins were full,it must be really popular with family,s
annx

Thanks Hamrag , however having spoken to friends who have travelled on the IOFS , they never gave glowing reports , yep the clubs and things for kids were great however their opinion was just too big and far too expensive ($5.60 for a beer !!!)plus they advised using the windjammer for lunch was like a carry-on film trying to get served and get a seat , not into rushing and queing while on holiday to get food from a buffet.

Hence i have discounted RCI as an option and they are £600 more expensive in quotes i have recieved in the last couple of days for the Ventura and IOFS

When I was on the Ventura last September, I met a couple of friends who both had teenage sons. They never saw them as they were in their 'den' most of the time.

I think they bought a soft drink package for them too.

Kath x

Hello All,

Not posted on here for a long time, but some of you may remember me.

I am looking for some advice please.

We have a fab quote for a 2 week Caribbean cruise onboard the P&O Ventura at the start of December 2010, have been on Thomsons (Spirit & Destiny) and RCI (Voyager of Seas) before, but never P&O, hence the reason I am looking for some advice form anyone who has been on the Ventura.

We have a 3 year old son, who will be 4 by this time, and the kids facilities sound great for him.

Have read a few reports of the ship not being able to dock in some of the ports due to winds, has anyone experienced this?

Would you recommend the ship? Was food good? Freedom dining or set times? Are the cabins a decent size? Can anyone compare the ship/cabins/food/facilities to the other Ships I have been on?

Any advice would be welcomed.

Thanks in advance

Angie

Hi angiebabes999
Have sailed on Ventura, but never experienced any problems with docking, so may have been lucky.

The food was excellent. Freedom or Select dining is a personal thing. We opted for Freedom for the first time and found it woprked fairly well. We only had to wait for a table once and they gave us a pager so we could go off and have a drink whilst waiting. I think we waited 15 minutes in total. Having tried it I do actually prefer the club dining as you know who your table companions are going to be for the whole cruise, but dont let that put you off. The times are more flexible on Freedom.

Unfortunately, I cant compare the cabin/facilities with any others you have travelled on, but can say that we found them to be very comfortable.

I loved the Ventura very much and would not hesitate to sail on her again.

Hope that helps a bit, until someone else can answer your queries.

Kath x

Hi Kath

Thanks for your reply.

A lot of the reviews were from people who were on Ventura at end of December, and they could not get into 3 ports, which seemed to be the same 3 ports with everyone!

We will be going start of December, so wondering if that makes a difference?!

Was it Caribbean you went to on the ship?

We think we would opt for the club dining, but go for the early sitting, as our son would be 4.5 years old, so the later one would be too late. Freedom dining sounds like a good idea, but I like sitting and getting to know my dining companions, Thomson Spirit was different people every night and as much as it was nice to meet new people, you felt like it was an intrusion sometimes!!

Need to make a decision ASAP as there are not many seats on the chartered flight from Glasgow!!!

Anyone else got any comments???

Thanks in advance.

Angie

Just had a week on Ventura - it was our first cruise so can't offer any comparisons, but there wasn't much wrong with the ship. It's huge with plenty to do from 8am until well into next morning.

We had a balcony cabin on A deck which was more than adequate for two adults and a 3 year old, except I wouldn't put a small child on the upper berth as it has no headboard and is some distance from the wall, more than enough to fall out and onto the person sleeping below. We went for freedom dining as it's difficult to have an eating timetable with a child. Most nights she ate in the buffet restaurant as they have a families only meal time between 5 and 6.30pm. She then either came with us when we had our meal, or she went to the night nursery.

Speaking to a colleague the drinks are much cheaper than RCI (P&O are cheaper than many pubs I go to) and P&O don't put 15% tip on everything they sell you.

Thanks for your reply daveyjp.

Our son will be 4 years 8 months by time we go, so a wee bit older than your daughter.

He has been on 1 other cruise.....with RCI, he loved dining in the buffet restaurant, as lots of activity, although we also dined in the main dining room too.

Did you find there were plenty of facilities for your daughter?

What did you think overall of your cruise?

Angie

Hi all

Well, we have gone and done it.......all booked up for Ventura for Dec 2010, to Caribbean!

We decided to go for it, got such a great price for 3 of us. (2 adults 1 child) To be honest Thomsons wanted more for 3 of us for a 2 week med cruise!!

We had to act quick as there were not many seats left on the flight, so last night we booked up.

A wee while to wait, but I'm sure it will be worth the wait!

Got a trip to Olu Deniz at start of June 2010, so that will keep us going till our December cruise.

Angie

Well done Angie. Just make sure you have insurance in place with a company that covers cruises with it being so far away.

luci

There were loads of activities for children. There was a letter for our daughter in the cabin with a timetable of events for the whole week.

As it was a holiday for all of us and she spends four days a week in a nursery anyway it didn't seem fair to expect her to do the same on holiday and she didn't seem impressed when we left her there. Most time on ship she was in and out of the swimming pool with us or eating! As your son is older there may be more for him and he may be happier to stay.

As for our general thoughts - we are looking at doing another cruise next year so we must have liked it! I would have liked a week around the fjords in a smaller P&O ship, but next year the choices are limited to Azura or Ventura again. I'm nervous about Azura as it will be it's first year and Ventura had lots of teething troubles when it launched last year so if this is repeated with Azura it could be an expensive mistake.