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It's a touch out of date but we will be revising this before the end of the year with the latest prices.

Our pleasure!

Oh yes - Sue couldn't easily walk down the gangway which is why we opted for the chair. You will see on some of the other videos the process for getting off and back on - their gangway staff are very helpful. The only places where we wouldn't be able to get off with some cruise lines would be those where they have anchored out of the town and are using tenders. P & O for instance have a rule that says you must be able to step over a 9" gap and up or down a 9" step - that would be beyond Sue, so we couldn't do it. How do we combat that? Avoid cruises with tendered ports, or miss the occasional port. It does make some cruises less attractive where there are a lot of tender destinations, e.g. Caribbean. Thanks for watching, and stay tuned because we will be focusing more on accessibility in future videos.

@@robandsue thank you x

No problem - stayed tuned for more cruise videos comig soon.

Hi. I'm glad you got the good weather. We've been twice in summer and it's been glorious. You should try it early on when it's snowing but take your arctic gear! The fjords feel completely different when everywhere is glistening with snow. Thanks for watching. X

@@robandsue off on the Ventura November this year Madeira canaries and la Coruna, just a bit concerned how the sea is going to be. Arrgh

Fingers crossed it will be ok, true it's a bit later in the year when seas can be heavier, but take something before you cross and try not to focus on it. Plenty to be distracted by, and before you know it, you'll be in the sunny canaries.

Hi - thanks for that. We like to be as honest as we can in all our videos. Not everyone always agrees with our verdict, but that's life I'm afraid. Thanks for watching.

Yes, i was definitely disappointed. We are going back on Iona later this year, we will see if it improves on there.

Yes, we do too, its not that far - but the curbs are mainly cobbled until you get out the port - it's a bone shaker for Sue in her wheelchair but it's too dodgy to walk in the road.

Yes that was our first time and it was very pleasant. Thanks for watching

Well, if you are referring to the bug, it's not actually airborne unless they are throwing up on you - i would be more worried about them rubbing up on me - one woman bumped into me one day and said sorry while stroking my hand - i couldn't wait to get to a sanitising station! I did get p#@@ed off one night when a couple got in, and the lady actually held on to Sue's handgrips to steady herself for 10 floors! I was like "Get your filthy mitts off of our wheelchair!" - But even so, who does that, really? I wouldn't walk in and hold on to someone's pushchair, or even worse, lean against someone's walking frame! I tell you, some people just either don't give a #### or they just are totally oblivious to everyone else around them. Yes, the lack of working lifts obviously had an impact - the queues would have been a lot less if all the lifts had been in action. But if they all had been going, it wouldn't stop people squeezing in... Thanks for watching!

Hi! Thanks for your kind words and I hope we can continue to share our future travels with everyone. In answer to your question, we didn't try it and to be honest, I don't know who we needed to approach to use the hoist - it was always wrapped up. I should let Sue answer this, but she doesn't swim and wouldn't really trust me much to take her into a normal pool with steps, so I think it was never an issue. It WAS nice though to see the facility there. As for the wheelchair lift, we did spot it halfway through the first week - it is slightly hidden away isnt it? It looked to be a normal wheelchair lift like you might find in a dept. store, but to be honest we always accessed deck 16 via the starboard doors near the salon. I have to say, even for an older ship, we were quite pleased at the easy access to most areas, even all the way up to deck 19. There were a couple of steps inside (I think possibly where the watertight doors came out) that did snag the wheelchair wheels occasionally, but overall, it's a very accessible ship.

That is probably a very accurate summation of the situation. We used to work on an average £100 / day and if a cruise was a lot more than that, we passed. So it was welcome at first to see cruise deals more in the £80-£90 / day region, and you will always find occasional good deals for certain cruises throughout the season, but initially it was exactly that - the same cruise at a cheaper price. My own personal view is that industry suffered under covid, and is now desperately trying to retrieve their former footfall and profit levels by means of these extremely attractive prices along with not so subtle cost cutting. The ship doesn't/ can't physically change, but the level of service, the number of ports visited, and the quality and quantity of food / drinks / entertainment are obvious areas to implement savings. Last year we went on our first MSC cruise because it was cheaper to cruise with them than go self catering in a log cabin in the UK or go on an all inclusive holiday in a 3 star hotel in Spain. And in my mind, while standards have slipped since our original cruise days, the cruise still offered a better experience than some of the package deals that we've paid similar prices for. Someone commented recently that cruises were now "Butlins on sea". I'm not sure that is accurate (no offence Butlins), and I have also had comments on this video that some of the more expensive lines are equally poor -now THAT would REALLY wind me up if I had paid double for the cruise and wasn't seeing a serious uplift in quality. Maybe that's what we have to do next - try a more expensive but cruise (there's plenty of them around) and see if there's a tangible improvement. I'd better get saving! Thanks for your input.

@@robandsue what a comprehensive response … I agree wholeheartedly with your thoughts on the penny pinching that’s happening now . There are so many ways that the INDUSTRY try to remove the money from your pocket into their bottom line . That is to be expected I think . Being aware of the value you are getting with the initial price of your cruise against the service once on board your chosen ship is key to how you feel about your cruise experience. We found Azamara to be a great experience initially in 2019 …then again last year …however we have read of dissatisfaction amongst their frequent cruisers relating to service / food standards …we still thought it was a superb cruising experience…I would recommend them .. Happy cruising 🛳️ L

Well, we do like their cruises, but the price is a bit beyond us at the moment - but who knows, thanks for the recommendation.

Walked. It docks right in town.

Five minutes walk from the ship into the town, no shuttle or taxis etc required.

Hi. We did our first MSC cruise on here, we had seen some horror story videos on TH-cam so to be honest my expectations weren't high but we were pleasantly surprised. We considered the meals to be more basic than we had been used to on P & O and the presentation was a bit more "just throw it on the plate" but after this trip on Ventura I can say there was nothing to choose between them and their buffet variety was much better although I dislike the layout, similar to on IONA, but then I'm not a buffet fan. In typical European style, personal space is reduced and we found the tables in the MDR to be a bit tight together. But the waiters were very friendly and helpful and we are still not sure if you got free wine with dinner, we certainly never paid for any but got Rose with our meal every night. Which ships have you been on? Do you have a favourite?

Hi, we came back last Saturday. Would you let us know your Mums thoughts on the cruise?

Many many other people complained about the lifts, I'm not in isolation - and no doubt you had a moan about them yourself straight after a show or when trying to get to deck 5 on Saturday morning. I haven't at ANY time criticised people who complained of being ill and I have every sympathy with them, and have stated so on many occasion, because I have suffered AGE myself (land based hotel in Bulgaria) and I know EXACTLY how it feels. What I HAVE criticised is people posting on facebook groups and specifically the mainstream media reports which have tried to portray the ship as being swimming in sick for 14 days solid, or that it was some kind of plague ship that needed scuttling, or that this is a P & O exclusive issue and it's all their fault for not cancelling the cruise. It is unfortunate you saw sick on the floor, these things happen - But how many days was it there before it was cleaned up? Was it dried up and caked hard to the deck? Were people slipping over in it? Was it being trailed around the deck on peoples shoes? Or had it only just happened and the vomit fairy hadn't had time to magically appear and whisk it away? Or do you expect a member of staff to be following you with a bucket just in case you feel sick, so they can catch it mid-air? Did you walk away in disgust or did you also witness it being promptly cleaned up and you just decided not to mention that part because it doesn't fit in with the narrative that the ship should be in quarantine? If it had been as bad as you portray, I am utterly astonished that we didn't see more of it ourselves - in fact, we didn't see ANY of it, and we were out and about the ship just the same as the other passengers. If it would have been a rough crossing on the bay, no doubt you would have seen a lot more. The things I am criticising is service levels which should be easily controlled - food quality / facility quality for instance. What YOU are complaining about is something that is not so easily contained and controlled, as it relies on not just the ship's staff to step up their game but also for people to act responsibly and as we now know from the BBC South report, there were people who were NOT following the ships guidance by reporting illness. But I knew this already because we had heard people bragging in the buffet that they had been ill but not bothered telling anyone so as not to have to face isolation. Thanks for watching, and don't forget to subscribe if you want to see the next videos of our very enjoyable holiday on the Ventura...

@robandsue watch your one sided chanel you must be joking. I dropped on it by mistake but was gobsmaked at your comments when in the short video you said everything was okay....hope you viewers see you for what you are

I'm sure they will Derek. Thanks again for your input. Best regards.

That's not good news - that's the ship that will probably be doing the world cruise we were looking at - well, you can see the portion size on the video - it looked more like that's what was left after I had finished eating. I did complain about the runny gravy but then realised after it was 'lobster jus'. Never had lobster but the jus didn't smell or taste of seafood, so not sure what I was supposed to be expecting. But it wasn't good. I forgot to mention the beans in the video - so yes, there was a spoonful of beans too. Not at all exciting to look at and even worse to eat.

Thats' a drastic change from our days on Oceania when it was excellent quality and the portions were sizeable. I wanted to visit the buffet after this meal as I was left feeling very undernourished.

We said the meals on Virtuosa were sub-standard compared with our recent trip on Iona, but now we realise they were on par. And the buffet variety was certainly better. We have booked Iona again later in the year and I will definitely be keeping a close eye on quality, portion size and temperature. Might even have to take a thermometer with me!

Hi Cunard are my favourite I'm sticking with them ❤ hopefully food is great 👍

Hi hear you. I've definitely had to reconsider whether I want to hand over 10k and get 99 days of this for dinner. And at the moment, I don't see it happening. I think the days of quality cruising are gone, it's all about filling the cabins and if that means cutbacks to keep the price low, then so be it.

Even Cunard now pre plate the cheeseboard 😕 instead of you choosing your cheeses and them being cut to size according to your preference - and you selecting your preferred crackers .... a small thing maybe - but it's chipping away at the cruise experience. Having said that- Cunard are fab - and you will feel spoilt ❤

You see, that's the little things that I'm talking about. We always use to wait for the waiter to come round with the crackers in a beautiful silver box, and served with silver tongs. Now it's all pre-plated as you say - more efficient, but it's those little touches that made the experience special. Now, it's just like any other all-inclusive. but then again, it has prices to match...

I always feel Cunard still live in the upper class / middle class era, but having said that their ships look beautifully ornate inside and I'm definitely going to try one.

Actually I went on the Virtuosa adamant that I wouldn't like it and prepared to make all of these bad videos, based on what others had said - and then found actually it wasn't as bad as I had expected. So coming on a familiar P & O cruise with a long standing history of high quality service, you might understand how thoroughly disappointing this excuse for a meal was, and worse still, how upset I was that my friend didn't get anything like the experience we had promised her - I'm fairly sure she won't be cruising again.

We've been before but got to see some new places this time, really enjoyed it. There will be some destination videos appearing shortly.

@@robandsue hope you have a nice time !

Understatement. But keep watching, it does improve a little. Not enough , but a little.

wondered how much they paid for all this excitement !

You don't need to wonder - the prices are freely available on the internet. But we paid enough that we could reasonably expect better meals than the one presented on this occasion.

More to come! Some complementary, some rather critical... Don't forget to subscribe if you want to say future episodes

Have fun!

Ive subbed 😄

thanks much appreciated

Hi David - I'll get back to you on this shortly

Hi again - I have decided to print my thoughts rather than waste time trying to make a video. You can read them here rob-and-sue.uk/2024/05/28/living-with-norovirus-on-the-ventura/ If that's allowed by TH-cam of course.

I would hope that the situation has improved by then given the additional cleaning that took place over the weekend. But nothing is for certain is it?

Hi rob, thank you very much for your very knowledgeable reply to my question about the novo virus situation, you have reassured me that this is not a cruise only problem and P&O seem to take precautions very seriously to keep passengers safe. Very sorry to hear that you sometimes get criticised by some for telling the truth but I suppose that’s the downside of social media for you. Thanks once again, David.

I have friends travelling on Ventura on Saturday and apparently they have had an email from P & O stating the ship is now free from Norovirus. I haven't seen the email to confirm this, I'm asking for a copy.

Hi George. Yeah, I know, thanks for the tip. My arms are shorter than necessary and I'm trying to avoid the whole selfie stick thing. I'm also trying to get higher rather than lower, but same problem. Thanks for reminding me, I will definitely be working on it 👍😁

Most likely. I didn't recognise the place. the first time we drove to it, it was in open fields. We were totally lost driving through the middle of the city to get to it. Thanks for watching.

im sure you will love it.

Glad it helped, thanks for watching 👍😁

22nd April for a week. We've also been in July and August it was 20'C plus every day and just a fragment of snow on the mountain tops. I think maybe this was a tad TOO early, but then again the price was ridiculously cheap, the weather was still fairly good despite being cold, and the scenery at this time of year is stunning compared with Summer. Loen was definitely a highlight, glad we did it and would definitely go back up on a Summer cruise - i bet it's spectacular when its nice and warm.

Hi! Thanks for your comments. We love cruising as you can probably tell from our channel, and we have more planned this year and hopefully over the next few years as well - but we love travelling in general so there's a mixture of stuff on our site to hopefully meet everyone's taste. Iona was really nice, i had my doubts originally but my latest cruise video "Are cruise ships too big" sort of answers my own question. Our absolute favourite was Oceana, which was taken out a service a while back. Thanks for the subscription and please stay tuned later in the year, where we will be revisiting Ventura and maybe sneaking a late availability cruise in, as we did last year with Virtuosa.

Oh well THAT will be an interesting comparison - I look forward to hearing your thoughts. We are all for keeping an open mind, but the Virgin ships, from what we've seen, are all a little.... Red?

Thanks, you too!

@@robandsue brilliant thanks 🙏 will be heading to the fjords in June on Iona, can’t wait 👏

Need to up the stakes man

@@soulofsmoke6541 definitely take that under consideration next time 😁

Lol. We love the lake district, especially when the weather is good. Swimming? Hmmmm might save that for the Caribbean :)

Yes - And ironically we didnt know! We had been putting our key card into the slot, something i would urge everyone to do, and we could see points clicking up as we played, what we HADN'T realised is that the screen actually was displaying how many free drinks we had accumulated. When we finally realised, we asked one of the casino staff what the process was and the next thing i knew we had a waiter there taking orders for free drinks! I'm not sure if you could use the points for other stuff - so if anyone else is reading this please comment. We will be ventur.....ing (think a bout it) off on a P & O cruise soon, so this is something we are going to specifically get to grips with. The only tip i would say (unless you are a couple who both play a lot ) is always use one card, because its better to pool the points. Obviously you cant do that if you both play at once. But we tend to share a machine most of the time. Just a thought - I cant remember if we did this on MSC. Can anyone let us know if MSC have a similar system in place?

@@robandsuehow many points did you have on the card when you were able to get free drinks?

@@nitros3310 Hi - You know what, I couldn't answer that exactly as we didn't even realise they were available - then we heard someone else mention it, and we asked, and the barman pointed to the little screen that had like a progress bar on it, and a glass icon, and a large 2 next to it if i recall which he said meant i could get two drinks. We had 6 in total during the week, and we didn't spend a huge amount on the slots during the cruise. We are going again soon so I will definitely be checking the details around this now I know it's available!

Yeah, like I said in the video, I couldn't fault the quantity, quality and awesome variety (plus a few unusual dishes coming from their european origin i think) BUT - wow, was it difficult to get close to the counters, they were writhing with people most of the day - Absolutely impossible to take Sue in her wheelchair so she could select her own food. A lot of very ignorant and thoughtless self centred individuals. I think you probably get the picture :)

Well, I'm not going to single out any particular nationality, mainly because there were a few English regional dialects amongst them that were not exactly exemplary in their behavior. Obviously, us Brit's invented queuing and there's a lot of cultures that just don't get it, or why we take such offense when they barge into the front of a long line and help themselves. In any event, we found the main restaurants to be a better prospect for us and it was just a shame they were more limited for breakfast on Virtuosa.

Good point. I'm not actually sure, so that's something we check out on our up and coming trip on Ventura.