Thanks Linzi and Mark. Enjoyed this vlog, as it will really help shape our choices for when we go in the next few weeks. I didnt realise Sindhu wasn't a single cover charge - will still go of course, but a bit disappointing. I was surprised to see people helping themselves from the buffet, as thought it would be like princess, and the staff serve it - because of covid? Looking forward to your drinks package review lol hope you both had a fab weekend...Terry
Thank you Terry. We would still recommend Sindhu, it is just something to be aware of as a bigger family could end up with a bit of a large bill depending on what you eat, but it is a good option still. Buffets continue to confuse us in the current climate, as every cruise company (and in some cases different ships in the same cruise line) are doing things differently, buffets included. We both commented that it did seem odd to be simply helping yourself, and there was not even a member of staff at the entrances making sure people sanitised which made it all the more odd that it was self serve. Linzi & Mark
@@SuiteNatured thanks so much. I will definitely be trying Sindhu. What Sven more confusing is that I paid in advance for a table of 2 on the booking system, for £10 per person in Sindhu lol - goodness knows how this is going to pan out lol x
I also didn’t realise this about Sindhu and was quite disappointed when I got onboard, however the quality was really good so I quickly got over the fact you’re paying for an itemised bill!
Thank you for the review of the beach house, we have never wanted to go in there as the food is not to our liking. You are not the only folks to,have given it a low score review. Perhaps it’s time for a change especially if the glass house is closed. Can’t wait to be on Ventura again perhaps afternoon tea this time
Thank you Andy. It just really wasn't great on Ventura at all. Iona's Beach House though, to be fair, was a LOT better Andy. It is so annoying when you get such massive differences for the same venues (in theory) on different ships.
I totally agree with your comments as my husband and I cruised on P&O several times. The last cruise we took was to the Canary Islands on Iona and it was appalling. There were several times when we could not eat anything because the food was disastrous. Also, we noticed that every time we went into the buffet or a restaurant, no one washed their hands other than my husband and myself, therefore resulting in Covid for my husband and myself. We never had Covid all through the pandemic as we are so careful but we had to go on. P&O to get Covid. The service was appalling. You could not find someone to get you a drink anywhere. The only plus was a little bit of a sanctuary up in the crows nest. We spent the last five days in our cabin as we were that ill. We could not wait to get off that ship and we will never ever use.P&O again. We had two other cruises, but we cancelled and lost our deposit. We know that celebrity cruises are more expensive but they are top quality We have booked a celebrity cruise and we have also booked a cruise on Princess. I know we will enjoy these two cruises,
Oh no Nicki, that is such a shame that it was like that on Iona for you. We hope you both fully recovered from it, and are on countdown to your cruises on Celebrity (we are on Apex in November and can't wait) and Princess; and at least you have not let one experience like this put you off cruising. We had a similar one (without the illness) very early into cruising and it nearly put us off, we are so glad we didn't let it. Linzi & Mark
We won't hold on the huge ships Ventura the largest and we go on adult only in prefesnce We dont sit with anyone or visit buffet but we didn't before covid either but try to in theatre as well Sad isnt it but its here to stay sadly
Completely agree on Ventura Paul, it was so bad, however on Iona it was completely different. Better menu and really tasty. If you do get on Iona make sure to try it out, we nearly didn't and it was only people telling us it was different that made us try it. Have a lovely day Linzi and Mark
Really enjoyed your vlog, we just came off Ventura , the beach house wasn't great, I had the brisket which came with corn bread which is basically a sweet sponge covered in gravy a strange combination ! Great review, well done .
You two are sooo funny. Were locked onto what you’re saying and then you talk over each other. Lol 😆 Anyway your videos are definitely keeping me updated and giving me ideas. I’ve booked the Canarie island cruise for my new wife’s (married 1 week) 40th Birthday for 2 weeks for next September and she has no idea. I’m going to give her a jigsaw with Ventura picture and our dates printed on for Christmas and she’ll find out about the cruise when the Jigsaw is finished. I proposed with a jigsaw too and it’s on my channel. Thank you for entertaining me. Xx
Thank you Carl 😁 What a fantastic way to set up a surprise holiday. And we just watched your proposal video. So lovely. We wondered at what point did Lizzie really guess your question when she was putting it together. We think straight away but she kept it very together. Have an amazing cruise in Sept and let us know how you get on. Linzi and Mark
@@SuiteNatured thank you for your reply. It took her half of the writing to realise. She smiled and that’s when she realised. The photo was our very first photo on our first date. I will let you know how her gift goes and probably post it too. Thank you 😊
I’m really not convinced by the Beach House, mostly due to the fact that it just looked like the buffet but with difficult placemats. I did think there were so many other options for where that place could move to in order to feel more like a speciality restaurant!
We think you are right. It being a evening change of area from a buffet area to the speciality restaurant really doesn’t give it an identity of its own. It also doesn’t feel to have its own team at front of house and in the kitchens. Which in turn doesn’t help either. Conceptually we should love the Beach House. It’s a type of food we really enjoy but the execution to date has really not lived up to that potential. Maybe on future refurbs or new ships it will get its chance to shine in its own setting? Have a lovely day. Linzi and Mark
The beach house was good on Oceana and it was on Arcadia but not sure its changed nothing is as good as it used to be Sindhu on Arcadia has spectacular views as on too deck But for us it was better as the Orcid as it was Tai and Indian and we don't like Indian
Hi thank you for great Venture cabin review. We are booked on Venture Oct 22 for 7nights to Lisbon. Lots of people are saying not so good things about Ventura including she leans (lists) cleanliness is not great, food hit and miss. Would you recommend Ventura or should I go back to Iona which I loved.
Thank you Janet and hopefully some of our other Ventura videos will help you make up your mind a little. We’ve not been on Iona yet so we cannot directly compare but we did speak to others who have and they love Ventura. Sure it is not as new and there are some different things on the newer ship but that’s not to say better. Just different. On the listing. We went across the bay of Biscay and didn’t have any issues at all including some stormy weather. On the cleanliness no issue whatsoever, and on the food it was good apart from Beach House but that is apparently equally bad on Iona too. Not sure we’ve been a massive amount of use there Janet but we hope it helps a little. Again thank you for watching the video and for your comment. Linzi and Mark
@@SuiteNatured Thank you and yes Beach House on Iona is not good but everything else is great. Your comments and videos have eased my mind and we now will go on Ventura not expecting her to lean and definately not watching the tiny tv. Many thanks.
Thank you for the lovely comment. And yes we have tried Scarlet. You will find the various reviews, including our food review on the channel. We loved Scarlet. So much so we are booked on her sister ships next March & Nov. Linzi & Mark th-cam.com/video/8_lhDWiBEcU/w-d-xo.html
Great video will really help us for ours next month. Interesting on the beach house, seen some good reviews but agreed yours didn’t look great. Shame Sindu is not a fixed price could see that becoming expensive.
Thank you :) We saw mixed reviews ourselves before we went on for The Beach House so decided to give it a go anyway. It’s fair to say we wouldn’t be rushing back to it. Sindhu is great but we agree the costs could stack up quickly there. Have an amazing cruise. Linzi & Mark
We have gotten better (well we think) in the two years since we made the ventura video Lynn, it was one of our very early ones, and tend to recall much better. We still don't write it down though, just make a mental note to remember 😂
Hi Gavin. Ventura is a older ship than Iona and needed a bit of TLC in some areas when we got on. Having said that she was in Dry Dock having some refurbishments when we were in Hamburg In Feb, we don't what she had done but there was a lot of work going on. There are some parts of Ventura that we actually preferred to Iona. Glass House and The Crows Nest were both much better and th adults pool and hot tub near there the Spa were lovely. For a short cruise she is definitely worth trying out. Linzi and Mark
@@SuiteNatured thank you so much for the reply! I’ve viewed a lot of your videos and they are full of useful information for newer cruisers like myself- only being on the Iona once I have nothing to compare to (other than Norfolk broads holidays when I was a kid! 🤣). I am due to go back on the Iona twice this year though- but have been toying with the idea of doing a cruise to Amsterdam with some friends as I made my first cruise experience sound out of this world- but I’m a little worried about Ventura being a bit outdated for us? (We are all in our young 40’s- so similar to you guys 😉). Enjoy the bank holiday weekend ✌🏻
We thought the same. A Cover charge, then pay more for certain items and the quality simply couldn't justify it. We would have thought it was poor if it was a complimentary restaurant. With a charge it was not good enough. However we are disappointed to hear it was the same on Iona as we had from other is was better on there. Such a shame. Linzi and Mark
@@SuiteNatured was a bit disappointed with Iona cabins had dirty carpet had someone’s used row of eyelashes stuck to the bottom of my foot 🤢. The foot was not that good especially the buffet never any veg and lettuce in tiny bowls with two pieces of tomato in was classed as the salad selection. Also how you order a drink was silly . You couldn’t just ask at the bar for a drink you had to wait for a waiter who would then tell the barman what you wanted even you were stood in front of him. You then had to wait for the waiter to come back before you could take your drink from the bar . Which could take a while . Things have gone down hill since we last went on P&O we are booked on the Ariva hoping that’s better.
Thank you Patricia. It could be a P&O MDR thing as we've had them on Virgin, Cunard, Royal and Celebrity and we think Princess too. We got a tea pot on P&O in the Eric Lanyards Afternoon tea too, so maybe as you said it is a P&O MDR thing. Linzi and Mark
I'm not bothered with the teapot Since covid and return to cruising the included afternoon tea in mdr hasn't appeared but its just another cuttack The list is getting longer We stick to P&O as share holders and high loyalty level also sterling,ships But if and when Arcadia or Aurora go we will have to reconsider We do love adults only We do sail on Ventura on the 35 day Carib cruises every year Thought your video excellent and might try glass house Arcadia Ocean Grill is excellent by the way
Thanks for watching and taking time to comment Kay. The out of main dining times food was definitely not as varied in choice as say Princess, Royal or Celebrity (to name just a few) but as you said main dining times it was quite good. Apart from The Beach House! Linzi & Mark
Thanks Dennis. We have so many way given to us to remember them know we don’t think we will every forget 🤣 we even put it to the test on this last cruise and passed 👍 Linzi and Mark
Shepherd's pie is lamb; cottage pie is beef! I had been sorry that I'm going on Arcadia, which doesn't have a Beach House, but now I'm not so sorry... the menu looks great but the food just doesn't!
Thank you Lucinda for two things. One watching our video. Obviously. And secondly for reminding us we never checked the difference between a shepards and cottage pies and now we don't have to because you have just told us 😀 You are definitely not missing anything with an absence of The Beach House at all. Have a fantastic cruise on Arcadia and again thank you for taking time to watch our stuff and for commenting / chatting with us (and answering our Shepards pie question!) Linzi & Mark
@@SuiteNatured yep a shepherds pie is because shepherds look after sheep and cottage pie because the top is supposed to look like a thatched roof on a cottage
P&O has lost its way...Ventura was awful...awful food awful entertainment...just awful...they need a real overhaul. We travelled with them on a cruise for the Queens Platinum Jubilee celebrations....they did NOTHING...the highligh of one nights entetainment was covering Scotland v Ukraine football...i cant say strongly enough how poor it was and was a real insult to the name of the Queen
Oh no. Such a huge shame. Ventura was our first P&O experience and whilst there were things we had issues with (Drinks package to name one), generally the cruise was good and persuaded us to try Iona (end of Oct '22). We would have been incredibly disappointed though if we'd been on a cruise for the Jubilee celebrations and they did nothing. We'd have thought a gala night and a special menu to celebrate wouldn't have been that much to ask as a minimum. Hope your next cruise is much better. Have a lovely day. Linzi and Mark
Thanks Linzi and Mark. Enjoyed this vlog, as it will really help shape our choices for when we go in the next few weeks. I didnt realise Sindhu wasn't a single cover charge - will still go of course, but a bit disappointing. I was surprised to see people helping themselves from the buffet, as thought it would be like princess, and the staff serve it - because of covid?
Looking forward to your drinks package review lol
hope you both had a fab weekend...Terry
Thank you Terry. We would still recommend Sindhu, it is just something to be aware of as a bigger family could end up with a bit of a large bill depending on what you eat, but it is a good option still.
Buffets continue to confuse us in the current climate, as every cruise company (and in some cases different ships in the same cruise line) are doing things differently, buffets included. We both commented that it did seem odd to be simply helping yourself, and there was not even a member of staff at the entrances making sure people sanitised which made it all the more odd that it was self serve. Linzi & Mark
@@SuiteNatured thanks so much. I will definitely be trying Sindhu. What Sven more confusing is that I paid in advance for a table of 2 on the booking system, for £10 per person in Sindhu lol - goodness knows how this is going to pan out lol x
Yes, the £10 each confused us too, as we pre-booked. They simply take it off of your final bill.
@@SuiteNatured ahhh that makes sense. they dont make things easy and straightforward do they lol x
I also didn’t realise this about Sindhu and was quite disappointed when I got onboard, however the quality was really good so I quickly got over the fact you’re paying for an itemised bill!
Thank you for the review of the beach house, we have never wanted to go in there as the food is not to our liking. You are not the only folks to,have given it a low score review. Perhaps it’s time for a change especially if the glass house is closed. Can’t wait to be on Ventura again perhaps afternoon tea this time
Thank you Andy. It just really wasn't great on Ventura at all. Iona's Beach House though, to be fair, was a LOT better Andy. It is so annoying when you get such massive differences for the same venues (in theory) on different ships.
I totally agree with your comments as my husband and I cruised on P&O several times. The last cruise we took was to the Canary Islands on Iona and it was appalling. There were several times when we could not eat anything because the food was disastrous. Also, we noticed that every time we went into the buffet or a restaurant, no one washed their hands other than my husband and myself, therefore resulting in Covid for my husband and myself. We never had Covid all through the pandemic as we are so careful but we had to go on. P&O to get Covid. The service was appalling. You could not find someone to get you a drink anywhere. The only plus was a little bit of a sanctuary up in the crows nest. We spent the last five days in our cabin as we were that ill. We could not wait to get off that ship and we will never ever use.P&O again. We had two other cruises, but we cancelled and lost our deposit. We know that celebrity cruises are more expensive but they are top quality We have booked a celebrity cruise and we have also booked a cruise on Princess. I know we will enjoy these two cruises,
Oh no Nicki, that is such a shame that it was like that on Iona for you. We hope you both fully recovered from it, and are on countdown to your cruises on Celebrity (we are on Apex in November and can't wait) and Princess; and at least you have not let one experience like this put you off cruising. We had a similar one (without the illness) very early into cruising and it nearly put us off, we are so glad we didn't let it.
Linzi & Mark
We won't hold on the huge ships Ventura the largest and we go on adult only in prefesnce We dont sit with anyone or visit buffet but we didn't before covid either but try to in theatre as well Sad isnt it but its here to stay sadly
Agree about the Beach House- I couldn't get out of it fast enough. The Buffet was ok, but the serving area was too cramped.
Completely agree on Ventura Paul, it was so bad, however on Iona it was completely different. Better menu and really tasty. If you do get on Iona make sure to try it out, we nearly didn't and it was only people telling us it was different that made us try it.
Have a lovely day
Linzi and Mark
Really enjoyed your vlog, we just came off Ventura , the beach house wasn't great, I had the brisket which came with corn bread which is basically a sweet sponge covered in gravy a strange combination ! Great review, well done .
You two are sooo funny. Were locked onto what you’re saying and then you talk over each other. Lol 😆
Anyway your videos are definitely keeping me updated and giving me ideas.
I’ve booked the Canarie island cruise for my new wife’s (married 1 week) 40th Birthday for 2 weeks for next September and she has no idea. I’m going to give her a jigsaw with Ventura picture and our dates printed on for Christmas and she’ll find out about the cruise when the Jigsaw is finished.
I proposed with a jigsaw too and it’s on my channel.
Thank you for entertaining me. Xx
Thank you Carl 😁
What a fantastic way to set up a surprise holiday.
And we just watched your proposal video. So lovely. We wondered at what point did Lizzie really guess your question when she was putting it together. We think straight away but she kept it very together.
Have an amazing cruise in Sept and let us know how you get on. Linzi and Mark
@@SuiteNatured thank you for your reply. It took her half of the writing to realise. She smiled and that’s when she realised. The photo was our very first photo on our first date.
I will let you know how her gift goes and probably post it too. Thank you 😊
Cottage pie is beef, shepherds pie is lamb, i remember it as the shepherd looks after the lamb.
What a great way of remembering it. We will not forget that. Thank you , Linzi & Mark
I’m really not convinced by the Beach House, mostly due to the fact that it just looked like the buffet but with difficult placemats.
I did think there were so many other options for where that place could move to in order to feel more like a speciality restaurant!
We think you are right. It being a evening change of area from a buffet area to the speciality restaurant really doesn’t give it an identity of its own. It also doesn’t feel to have its own team at front of house and in the kitchens. Which in turn doesn’t help either.
Conceptually we should love the Beach House. It’s a type of food we really enjoy but the execution to date has really not lived up to that potential. Maybe on future refurbs or new ships it will get its chance to shine in its own setting?
Have a lovely day. Linzi and Mark
The beach house was good on Oceana and it was on Arcadia but not sure its changed nothing is as good as it used to be Sindhu on Arcadia has spectacular views as on too deck But for us it was better as the Orcid as it was Tai and Indian and we don't like Indian
Hi thank you for great Venture cabin review. We are booked on Venture Oct 22 for 7nights to Lisbon. Lots of people are saying not so good things about Ventura including she leans (lists) cleanliness is not great, food hit and miss. Would you recommend Ventura or should I go back to Iona which I loved.
Thank you Janet and hopefully some of our other Ventura videos will help you make up your mind a little. We’ve not been on Iona yet so we cannot directly compare but we did speak to others who have and they love Ventura. Sure it is not as new and there are some different things on the newer ship but that’s not to say better. Just different.
On the listing. We went across the bay of Biscay and didn’t have any issues at all including some stormy weather. On the cleanliness no issue whatsoever, and on the food it was good apart from Beach House but that is apparently equally bad on Iona too.
Not sure we’ve been a massive amount of use there Janet but we hope it helps a little. Again thank you for watching the video and for your comment. Linzi and Mark
@@SuiteNatured Thank you and yes Beach House on Iona is not good but everything else is great. Your comments and videos have eased my mind and we now will go on Ventura not expecting her to lean and definately not watching the tiny tv. Many thanks.
Great video. We are going on Ventura later next year. Have you tried Scarlet Lady?
Thank you for the lovely comment. And yes we have tried Scarlet. You will find the various reviews, including our food review on the channel. We loved Scarlet. So much so we are booked on her sister ships next March & Nov. Linzi & Mark
th-cam.com/video/8_lhDWiBEcU/w-d-xo.html
Great video will really help us for ours next month. Interesting on the beach house, seen some good reviews but agreed yours didn’t look great. Shame Sindu is not a fixed price could see that becoming expensive.
Thank you :) We saw mixed reviews ourselves before we went on for The Beach House so decided to give it a go anyway. It’s fair to say we wouldn’t be rushing back to it. Sindhu is great but we agree the costs could stack up quickly there. Have an amazing cruise. Linzi & Mark
Good vlog, but might it not be a good idea to make a note of what youre eating at the time rather than try and remember when you come to editing? 🤔
We have gotten better (well we think) in the two years since we made the ventura video Lynn, it was one of our very early ones, and tend to recall much better. We still don't write it down though, just make a mental note to remember 😂
Looking at this ship for a short trip to Amsterdam. I’ve only been on the Iona so far- but this looks like a right come down????
Hi Gavin. Ventura is a older ship than Iona and needed a bit of TLC in some areas when we got on. Having said that she was in Dry Dock having some refurbishments when we were in Hamburg In Feb, we don't what she had done but there was a lot of work going on. There are some parts of Ventura that we actually preferred to Iona. Glass House and The Crows Nest were both much better and th adults pool and hot tub near there the Spa were lovely.
For a short cruise she is definitely worth trying out.
Linzi and Mark
@@SuiteNatured thank you so much for the reply! I’ve viewed a lot of your videos and they are full of useful information for newer cruisers like myself- only being on the Iona once I have nothing to compare to (other than Norfolk broads holidays when I was a kid! 🤣). I am due to go back on the Iona twice this year though- but have been toying with the idea of doing a cruise to Amsterdam with some friends as I made my first cruise experience sound out of this world- but I’m a little worried about Ventura being a bit outdated for us? (We are all in our young 40’s- so similar to you guys 😉). Enjoy the bank holiday weekend ✌🏻
The Beach house on iona was terrible a cover charge of £7.50 each and then pay items on the very small menu only thing I could eat were the nachos
We thought the same. A Cover charge, then pay more for certain items and the quality simply couldn't justify it. We would have thought it was poor if it was a complimentary restaurant. With a charge it was not good enough. However we are disappointed to hear it was the same on Iona as we had from other is was better on there. Such a shame.
Linzi and Mark
@@SuiteNatured was a bit disappointed with Iona cabins had dirty carpet had someone’s used row of eyelashes stuck to the bottom of my foot 🤢. The foot was not that good especially the buffet never any veg and lettuce in tiny bowls with two pieces of tomato in was classed as the salad selection. Also how you order a drink was silly . You couldn’t just ask at the bar for a drink you had to wait for a waiter who would then tell the barman what you wanted even you were stood in front of him. You then had to wait for the waiter to come back before you could take your drink from the bar . Which could take a while . Things have gone down hill since we last went on P&O we are booked on the Ariva hoping that’s better.
2 out of 10 for the beach house is generous
We have never had a teapot on a P&O ship in MDR its served by waiters Maybe dangerous on table We have done 35 cruises on P&O since 2007
Thank you Patricia. It could be a P&O MDR thing as we've had them on Virgin, Cunard, Royal and Celebrity and we think Princess too. We got a tea pot on P&O in the Eric Lanyards Afternoon tea too, so maybe as you said it is a P&O MDR thing.
Linzi and Mark
I'm not bothered with the teapot Since covid and return to cruising the included afternoon tea in mdr hasn't appeared but its just another cuttack The list is getting longer We stick to P&O as share holders and high loyalty level also sterling,ships But if and when Arcadia or Aurora go we will have to reconsider We do love adults only We do sail on Ventura on the 35 day Carib cruises every year Thought your video excellent and might try glass house Arcadia Ocean Grill is excellent by the way
Been on a lot of cruise lines now and P and O set dining was alright but the out of hours food was abysmal.
Thanks for watching and taking time to comment Kay. The out of main dining times food was definitely not as varied in choice as say Princess, Royal or Celebrity (to name just a few) but as you said main dining times it was quite good. Apart from The Beach House! Linzi & Mark
The difference between cottage pie and shepherds pie is cottage pie is beef and shepherds pie is lamb, simple really
Thanks Dennis. We have so many way given to us to remember them know we don’t think we will every forget 🤣 we even put it to the test on this last cruise and passed 👍
Linzi and Mark
Will you ever go on Iona ?
Yes we hope to go on her next year. We originally hoped to go on instead of Ventura. It just didn’t work out as a last minute option. Linzi & Mark
Shepherd's pie is lamb; cottage pie is beef! I had been sorry that I'm going on Arcadia, which doesn't have a Beach House, but now I'm not so sorry... the menu looks great but the food just doesn't!
Thank you Lucinda for two things. One watching our video. Obviously. And secondly for reminding us we never checked the difference between a shepards and cottage pies and now we don't have to because you have just told us 😀
You are definitely not missing anything with an absence of The Beach House at all. Have a fantastic cruise on Arcadia and again thank you for taking time to watch our stuff and for commenting / chatting with us (and answering our Shepards pie question!) Linzi & Mark
@@SuiteNatured yep a shepherds pie is because shepherds look after sheep and cottage pie because the top is supposed to look like a thatched roof on a cottage
@@mrsprivate1678 thanks Mrs Private, we absolutely will not mistake a shepards and cottage pie again now. Linzi and Mark
P&O has lost its way...Ventura was awful...awful food awful entertainment...just awful...they need a real overhaul. We travelled with them on a cruise for the Queens Platinum Jubilee celebrations....they did NOTHING...the highligh of one nights entetainment was covering Scotland v Ukraine football...i cant say strongly enough how poor it was and was a real insult to the name of the Queen
Oh no. Such a huge shame. Ventura was our first P&O experience and whilst there were things we had issues with (Drinks package to name one), generally the cruise was good and persuaded us to try Iona (end of Oct '22).
We would have been incredibly disappointed though if we'd been on a cruise for the Jubilee celebrations and they did nothing. We'd have thought a gala night and a special menu to celebrate wouldn't have been that much to ask as a minimum.
Hope your next cruise is much better. Have a lovely day. Linzi and Mark