Sue and I booked a Christmas cruise long before I broke my ankle, and after some discussion, we decided that as part of my rehabilitation we should go so that I could learn how to cope with travelling, large crowds of people, and a busy – and possible turbulent – environment.
Tuesday 17th December: Southampton
We had just packed on Monday 16th December when we got an email from P&O asking us not to arrive at the port for embarkation at midday but to delay our arrival until 2.00pm. As a result, we did not set off from home until 10.00am and did not reach Winchester Services – our usual place to stop for breakfast and a comfort break – until 11.45am. Sue and I were looking forward to having our usual café latte and sausage in a roll and were somewhat dismayed to find that the branch at Winchester Services had not had its daily delivery. We therefore bought our coffee from them and some sandwiches from the Marks & Spencer Simply Food outlet for our breakfast.
We drove into Southampton Docks at 12.50pm … and were told to turn around and not come back until 2.00pm as there were no facilities open for passengers and their cars. I drove along the main road leading inland until I found somewhere to park in a small retail park, and we remained there for about an hour before returning to the docks. By the time we got back there, things were already beginning to happen, and after handing over our car to the valet parking service and our luggage to the porters, we made out way inside the Ocean Terminal building.
As I find it difficult to use escalators, we took the lift to the main reception area. Because we had a suite and therefore qualified for priority embarkation, we were processed in a matter of minutes and began to make our way to the queue for the security check. This was a much slower process than usual, and it was nearly 2.30pm before we had been checked and joined yet another long queue to go aboard.
On boarding the ship – MV Ventura – Sue and I went to our muster station at the Havana Bar and Show Lounge (Deck 7 Aft) to register that we knew where it was before making our way back to the centre of the ship to have lunch in the Cinnamon Restaurant (Deck 6 Midships). The food was excellent – as usual – and we ate the following:
Starters
Oak-Smoked Duck Breast with Pickled Carrots, Coriander, and Sour Cherries (Both of us)
Main Course
Pan-roasted Barramundi Fillet with Tarragon Crushed New Potatoes, Fine Beans, and a Sauce Vierge (Sue)
Harissa Lamb Cutlets with Sag Aloo, Chargrilled Courgettes, and a Tagine Jus (Me)
Desserts
Selection of British and international Cheeses with Banana Bread, Black Grapes, Mulled Apple Jelly with Fine Cheese Biscuits (Sue)
Sticky Muscavado Sponge Pudding with Candied Orange, Rose Petal, and Mascarpone Cheese (Me)
By the time we had finished, our suite was ready, and we made our way up to its location on Deck 10 Aft. We were greeted by our cabin steward (Mohammad) who had already taken four of our five bags into our suite. The fifth was still awaiting delivery and rather than wait for it to arrive, we began to unpack. Our butler (Anil) arrived during this, and it was a pleasant surprise to see him again as he had butlered for us on two previous cruises.
Our missing case had still not arrived by 6.30pm, and we began to get worried that it might have been left behind on the dockside. As it had been fitted with an Air Tag, we were able to get some idea where it was … but the location seemed to change every couple of minutes. At one point it was shown as being near Fowey on the other side of the river! Our steward conducted a thorough search and eventually found it outside another cabin on Deck 10 … but at the forward end of the ship. He got it to us just as Ventura set sail at 7.00pm, two hours later than originally planned.
Sue and I had booked dinner in the Epicurean Restaurant (Deck 17 Aft) at 8.15pm and decided to go to the Red Bar (Deck 7 Midships) for a pre-dinner drink. We arrived at the restaurant at 8.15pm … only to find that it wasn’t open! Luckily, we had time to go down to the Bay Tree Restaurant (Deck 6 Aft) for dinner, which was served to us by our waiters, Rohit and Fernando.
After dinner Sue and I went to Reception (Deck 6 Midships) to find out why the Epicurean Restaurant had been closed, but they were unable to give us a definitive answer. They did – however – promise to investigate on our behalf.
We had only just returned to our cabin when the captain made an announcement over the ship’s Tannoy system. Apparently, the ship was going to have to undertake a medical evacuation, and a helicopter was on its way to her location to pick up a casualty. All passengers were requested to stay in their cabins and not to go out onto their balconies or the open decks until the operation was over. Minutes later the sound of a helicopter could be heard flying overhead, and within ten minutes it had done its work and had departed back to the mainland.
By this time Sue and I were feeling very tired, and by midnight we were both asleep. Unfortunately, overnight the weather began to deteriorate, and we were both woken up by the motion. Going to the bathroom proved to be more than a little difficult but we both managed it before going back to sleep.
Wednesday 18th December: At sea
At 7.30am, Sue and I were woken up by a particularly violent series of movements by the ship. A quick look at the navigation channel on our in-suite TV showed that Ventura was still battling her way down the English Channel with 60 knot winds hitting her on the port side aft. As there was little likelihood that things would improve much and there seems no point in trying to get back to sleep again, we got up and washed and dress very carefully. We were ready to go to breakfast just before 9.00am, and within ten minutes we were seated in the Epicurean Restaurant and ordering our breakfast.
Whilst we were waiting for our food to arrive, the restaurant manager came over to speak to us. He apologised for the restaurant not being open on the previous evening and explained that he had asked that we be informed that due to technical difficulties our booking had been rearranged for the following day. As this was acceptable, we agreed to go for our meal that evening and not to ask for a refund.
After breakfast, Sue and I walked around the ship’s shops on Decks 6 and 7 Midships looking for a new alarm clock as Sue’s had stopped working. Our search proved fruitless, but Sue noticed that the queue at the Future Cruise desk (Deck 5 Midships) was short, and as we wanted to book a couple of cruises for 2025, we went down and joined it.
This proved to be a bit of a mistake.
There were three women in front of us being served, and it transpired that they each wanted to book cruises where they could travel together but in separate cabins that were near each other. This was slowing down the whole system, and another member of staff had to be called on duty to help out. In fact, she dealt with two other separate cruise bookings before it was our turn, and she had managed to process us by 11.30am … and the three women next to us had still not completed their bookings when we left!
Sue and I returned to our suite to have a bit of a rest before deciding what to do for the rest of the day. It was hardly surprising that we both dozed off and did not wake up until well after 1,00pm. We debate about what to do for lunch, and in the end, we decided to go up to the Waterside Self-Service Restaurant at 2.30pm.
We had eaten lunch by 3,00pm and went down to the Promenade Deck (Deck 7) for some fresh air. This proved to be a mistake as the deck proved to be very slippery and I almost fell over. In fact, the ship’s rail stopped my progress rather abruptly, leaving me with a bruised set of knuckles on my left hand and a knock to my growing confidence in my ability to walk with a pair of sticks.
Sue and I did manage to stay out on the open deck for about ten minutes before returning to our suite to read, rest, and write. We remained in our suite until it was time to go for a pre-dinner drink in the Metropolis Bar (Deck 18 Aft).
At 8.15pm Sue and I went to the Epicurean Restaurant for our postponed dinner, and the food and service was superb … as usual. We ate the following dishes:
Starters
Duo of Cured Smoked Salmon (Aged 21-year-old Malt Whiskey Lock Fyne and H. Forman and Son’s Famous London Cure Oak Smoked Salmon) (Both of us)
Main Course
Whole Dover Sole a la Meuniere with Maître d’hôtel Butter Sauce (Sue)
Dorset Crown Lamb Rump with Grilled Artichokes, Olive Tapenade, and Minted Greek Yoghurt (Me)
Desserts
Elements of Summer Trifle with Blackberry Jelly, Tarragon Meringue, Raspberry Roulade, Clotted Cream, and Fried Custard (Sue)
Banana and Peanut Butter Cannelloni with Muscavado Sugar Ice Cream, Rum Jelly, and Key Lime Gel (Me)
The meal also included a selection of three different types of bread, a piña colada-based amuse bouche before the Starter, a mandarin sorbet palette cleanser between the Main and Dessert courses, and chocolate truffles with tea or coffee after the meal.
We finished our meal just before 10.30pm and were back in our suite before 11.00pm. By this time the weather conditions had worsened again, and the movement in our suite was a mixture of rolling, pitching, and tossing. However, we were both so tired that neither of us had trouble falling asleep.
Thursday 19th December: At sea
Overnight the ship sailed almost all the way across the Bay of Biscay and the weather began to improve. By the time we woke up at 8.00am, Ventura was to the northwest of Cape Finisterre in Galicia, Spain.
After breakfast in the Epicurean Restaurant, Sue and I went for a walk along Deck 7 and down to Deck 6 to look at the sale that was taking place in the ship’s shops. As there was nothing of interest to us, we decided to go back to our suite, and we stayed there reading and resting until 11.30am, at which point we went up to the Metropolis Bar for a late morning coffee.
Whilst we were in the bar, we began chatting with a couple at the adjoining table, and in one of those coincidences that so often happen when travelling, it turned out that they lived only a mile or so for our home in London. In the end we stayed there with them until just before 2.00pm, and which point we parted company and returned to our suite for an hour before going to the Waterside Self-Service Restaurant for a late lunch/early afternoon tea.
After tea, Sue and I went down to the Promenade Deck for some fresh air. We then returned to our suite and stayed there until it was time to get ready for the first formal dinner of the cruise.
At 7.30pm, Sue and I went for a pre-dinner drink in the Red Bar. We had a chat with a number of people whilst we were there before going to the Bay Tree Restaurant for dinner. The restaurant was not very crowded, and we had eaten our meal by a little after 9.30pm.
Whilst Sue went out onto the Promenade Deck for some fresh air, I returned to our suite. Once Sue had rejoined me, we both had a chat about what we were going to do the next day before getting ready for bed and I did some work on designing a computer version of a family tree that Sue had been working on. We then both read for a while, but by midnight we were both sound asleep.
Friday 20th December: At sea
The weather continued to improve overnight, and we both slept very soundly. By the time we had begun to get ready to go to breakfast, Ventura was well on her way towards Madeira.
Following breakfast, Sue and went down to the Promenade Deck for a walk and thence to the Arena Theatre (Decks 6 and 5 Forward) to listen to a talk by the retired BBC journalist, John Young. His talk was entitled ‘The King, his Coronation & the Media’ …
… and looked at the way in which the coverage of this particular event had changed since the late Queen’s Coronation in 1953. In particular, he looked at the way in which the media tried to reflect the changing attitude to the monarchy. He followed his presentation with a short but very informative Q&A session, during which he was very careful to give a balanced view of the way in which the British TV media worked.
After this interesting talk, Sue and I went back to our suite to collect a few bits and pieces (e.g. Kindles) before going up to the Metropolis Bar for a drink and a read. We found some comfortable seats not far from the entrance and settled ourselves down for a relaxing time. In fact, we stayed there from not long after midday until 2.30pm, at which point we went down to the Waterside Self-Service Restaurant for lunch.
Suitably refreshed, Sue and I returned to our suite and attempted to do the ship’s daily crossword puzzle. This proved to be somewhat frustrating as some of the clues were so vague that the answers were difficult to arrive at. In the end we did what we could and then put them to one side in the hope that inspiration would come when we were not trying too hard to come up with the right answers. (This ploy worked. Just after our butler left us later that afternoon, Sue and I both looked at the puzzle afresh and got the missing answers almost immediately.)
At 5.40pm Anil – our butler – paid us a visit to tell us that he had been able to book us places for the special ‘Scenic Sail Away’ reception on Deck 19 Aft when Ventura leaves Funchal in Madeira on 21st December. We had the choice of taking part when the ship left Madeira or Lisbon, but Sue and I had already done this twice leaving the latter, the former was the obvious option for us to choose.
We went to the Red Bar for our customary pre-dinner drink, and on our way to the Bay Tree Restaurant for dinner, we stopped off at Sindhu Restaurant (Deck 7 Aft) to have a chat with the Head Waiter. We have known Jacob for many years, and earlier in the cruise he had asked us if we would like to eat in his restaurant. Although Sue has an allergy that is brought on by cummin, we wanted to see if it would be possible to eat food that did not contain this ingredient in the Sindhu Restaurant.
After dinner in the Bay Tree Restaurant, Sue and I returned to our suite via the Promenade Deck. As we had a slightly earlier start the following morning because Ventura was going to be visiting Funchal in Madeira, Sue and I got all our stuff ready for the morning before going to bed to read for a while prior to sleeping.
Saturday 21st December: Funchal, Madeira
The passage to Funchal was very smooth, and we were awoken at 7.30am by the sound of the ship’s thrusters manoeuvring her alongside the Cruise Terminal in Funchal. It was just getting light when she finally came to rest, and by 8.00am it was possible to see Cunard’s MV Queen Victoria moored just ahead of Ventura.
We could also see a sailing ship that was moored just across the harbour …
… as well as part of the local marina.
Sue and I had finished breakfast in the Epicurean Restaurant by 9.30am and chose to go down to the Promenade Deck to sit in the sun for a while … something that we have not been able to do for many months at home!
Crew drills started at 10.00am, and we decided to let things settle down before trying to go ashore. I had to use a sloping gangway, but there were members of the crew available to help me negotiate the steepest parts, and for the first time since I broke my leg, I stepped ashore in a foreign country!
The was the first of several ‘firsts’ that happened in Funchal. To get into the centre of the town, we had to shuttle-bus and I was concerned that the stairs might prove too steep for me. However, as I soon discovered, the presence of strong handrails that I could use to lever myself up, and the helping hand of Sue and a couple of other passengers made it possible for me to both get on and off the shuttle-bus.
Sue and I then went for a walk around the area between the main bus station (which is where the shuttle-bus had dropped us off) and the indoor market. Along the way we stopped off at the ‘Almirante Restaurant and Bar’ for a drink, which we enjoyed sitting in the establishment’s courtyard.
We also paid a visit to a local supermarket where we were able to buy some caffeine-free Diet Coke … which is my tipple of choice these days.
We returned to the ship by shuttle-bus and were back aboard about two hours after we had disembarked. According to my pedometer I had managed to walk nearly two miles whilst ashore … which is the furthest I have walked in two hours since April!
Sue and I had a snack lunch in the Poolside Grill at 2.00pm, and whilst Sue paid a short visit to the ship’s nail salon to have a quick repair done to a damaged nail, I returned to our suite to read and rest until she returned.
Just before 4.00pm, Sue and I went up to the Metropolis Bar for the ‘Scenic Sail Away’. Once everyone was gathered, …
… drinks and canapes were served to us as the Ventura unmoored and left Funchal.
Sue and I returned to our suite just after 6.00pm, where we spent the next two hours ‘recovering’ (i.e. resting!) before dinner. In fact, we even decided not to have a pre-dinner drink and just went out onto the Promenade Deck for some fresh air before going down to the Bay Tree Restaurant to eat.
By the time we had finished eating, the physical effort I had put into to going ashore began to tell, and after dinner we returned to our suite to get ready for bed. We both read for a short time, but by 10.30pm Sue and I were asleep.
Sunday 22nd December: Las Palmas, Gran Canaria
During the night the Ventura went at close to 20 knots in order to get from Madeira to Gran Canaria. When we awoke at 7.30am, she was to the north of the island and on schedule to dock in Las Palmas by 10.00am.
Sue and I had a leisurely breakfast in the Epicurean Restaurant before going down to the Promenade Deck for a short time. From there we were able to see three Spanish Navy patrol boats moored just across the harbour from the Ventura. They were …
… the Relámpago (P43), …
… the Tornado (P44), and …
… the Rayo (P42).
They are all members of the Metereo-class and seem to be semi-permanently based in the Canary Islands.
We then returned to our suite and stayed there until the initial rush to get off was over.
When she had moored in Las Palmas, Ventura …
… was the fourth cruise ship in on that day. Just across the quay from her was the Marella cruise ship Marella Discovery 2 …
… and in front of her was the AIDAblu.
One of TUI’s Mein Schiff cruise ship was also moored nearby, but she was difficult to see because of the building work being done in the cruise ship dock area.
Sue and I disembarked just after 11.00am and made our way slowly towards the entrance to the cruise ship dock. This took us somewhat longer than expected as the AIDAblu was doing a changeover (i.e. some of her passengers were getting off and new passengers were getting on.). There were people wheeling luggage to and fro and coaches were pulling up and either disgorging a load of passengers who were joining the ship or picking up those who were on their way home. Add in the additional complication of excursion coaches that were picking up passengers and others that were returning them to their cruise ships and the situation was chaotic … and somewhat dangerous for someone like me who was using walking sticks. Mine were clipped numerous times by suitcases that were being wheeled, baggage trollies that were being pulled, or people who were looking at their smart phones whilst walking.
Sue and I eventually made it to the dock gates and almost immediately crossed the road to go up the long slope to the entrance of the El Muelle shopping centre.
We had a walk around the centre and eventually stopped in the bar by the entrance for a cooling drink. We shared a table with two other passengers from the Ventura and had a long chat with them before making our way back to the ship. By this time the earlier chaos had ended, and it took us far less time to walk back than it had to walk to the El Muelle shopping centre.</
Sue and I were back aboard not long after 2.30pm, and after a snack lunch in the Poolside Grill, we went back to our suite to rest and recover from our exertions. (According to my pedometer, I had walked 2.7 miles by lunchtime … which I was very pleased with.)
Whilst we had been out, our bathroom sink had been painted and a large sign placed on it warning us that the paint was wet. Luckily, we had a second sink in our suite, but when we wanted to get ready for dinner, I tested the paint to see if was dry so that we could use the sink. At that point I realised that the painter had stuck to sign to the wet paint … and when the sign was removed, some of the new paint came off with it. We reported this to the Housekeeping Department who apologised that the sink had been painted without us being notified first … and we were then given £80.00 extra onboard spending money for our inconvenience!
At 7.15pm Sue and I went down to the Red Bar for a pre-dinner drink, and at 8.00pm we made our way to the Sindhu Restaurant for our evening meal.
The food was excellent, and we ate the following:
Starters
Tiger Prawns in a Tamarind Sauce with Deep Fried Lettuce Heart (Sue)
Beef Pepper Fry (Kerela-style Beef with Paratha Flatbread and Pickled Vegetables) (Me)
Main Course
Lasooni Machhi (Pan-Roasted Salmon with Spiced Wilted Spinach, Tomato, and Tamarind Sauce) (Sue)
Sindhu Signature Plate (Tamarind Salmon Curry, Saffron Chicken Korma, and Lamb Rogan Josh) (Me)
The Main Courses also came with complimentary dishes of Vegetable Curry, Naan Bread, and Dhal.
Desserts
Blueberry Bhapia Doi (Yoghurt and Berry Mousse with Mixed Berry Jelly, and Fruit Compote (Sue)
Cardamom Bread and Butter Pudding with Ginger Custard (Me)
Sue and I finished this excellent meal just before 10.00am and went out on the Promenade Deck to watch the Ventura set sail. However, her sailing was delayed, and we were back in our suite and getting ready for bed when she finally left Las Palmas harbour just before 11.00pm.
Monday 23rd December: Santa Cruz de Tenerife, Tenerife
The distance between Las Palmas and Santa Cruz de Tenerife is not very far, so Ventura sailed quite slowly between the ports and arrived in Santa Cruz by 7.00am, having sailed from Las Palmas at 10.00pm the previous evening.
From our balcony we had a view across part of the commercial part of the docks …
… and the local military museum …
… which was shut because it was Monday!
Sue and I ate breakfast in the Epicurean Restaurant before going down to the Promenade Deck to watch the bulk of the ship’s passengers streaming off. We waited until the rush was over and went ashore just before 11.00am.
As the distance to the centre of Santa Cruz was quite some way on foot, we decided to take a local taxi into town. This cost us €11.00 (including a tip) and the ride took approximately ten minutes. We were dropped off at the end of the Plaza de Candelaria and walked uphill from there along the Calle de Castillo.
Sue managed to undertake some retail therapy before we walked back downhill to the Plaza de Candelaria, where a local folk band was playing traditional music.
We stopped and listened for a short while before turned left and stopping for a coffee in the ‘Atlantis Restaurant & Café’.
As there was a taxi rank less than 200m away, we decided to take a taxi back to the Cruise Terminal. This cost us slightly more than the outward journey as the taxi had to pay a charge to enter the port area to access the Cruise Terminal. (I understand that charges like this are quite common at some airports and railway stations, but I had never come across this before at a Cruise Terminal.)
Sue and I were back in our suite by just after 1.30pm, and we rested for a while before going up to the Waterside Self-Service Restaurant for a snack lunch.
After lunch Sue and I spent some time in our suite resting after our morning exertions before getting ready for dinner. We had our usual pre-dinner drink in the Red Bar before eating dinner in the Bay Tree Restaurant. Because we would not be seeing our waiters again until after Christmas, we gave them both a small present and a Christmas card before leaving the restaurant.
Whilst Sue paid a short visit to the Promenade Deck, I returned to our suite to read and watch the BBC and Sky News channels on our in-suite TV. By the time Sue joined me, I had seen enough to make me realise how lucky we were to be on a cruise away from the stresses and strains of the modern world.
By the time we were ready to go to sleep, the weather had taken a turn for the worse, and the ships was experiencing high winds (45 knots or more) and heavy seas. As a result, Ventura was pitching and rolling enough to make it difficult to walk safely around the suite.
Tuesday 24th December: Arrecife, Lanzarote
The weather did not improve much overnight, and both of us were woken several times by the movement. However, by 7.30am the Ventura was entering the harbour at Arrecife, and the seas became calm again.
Not long after we had moored, another cruise liner – the Celebrity Infinity – also entered the harbour and moored on the other side of the port from Ventura
Lanzarote is the most obviously volcanic of the Canary Islands that we have visited, and although the town does not obviously reflect this, …
… close up one can see that many of the walls etc., have been built from dark grey basalt.
Because the shuttle-bus only took passengers part of the way into the centre of Arrecife and because we have been there several times before, Sue and I decided to stay aboard Ventura for the day.
By the time we had eaten breakfast in the Epicurean Restaurant, most passengers had already gone ashore, and she ship was very quiet. Several hundred other people had also stayed aboard, but they were so spread out that at one point Sue and I were the only people sitting on the Promenade Deck. We were even able to get into the onboard Costa Coffee bar (also known as the Tazzine Bar, Deck 5 Midships) and each get ourselves a café latte, something that it usually difficult to do when the ship is at sea!
We then spent the rest of the morning and the early afternoon in our suite or on our balcony reading, resting, and – in my case – writing my blog and making some notes about a new version of the Portable Wargame rules that I am developing.
As we expected to eat a large meal that evening, Sue and I opted for a snack lunch from the Waterside Self-Service Restaurant. We then went our onto the Promenade Deck for some fresh air before returning to our suite just before Ventura set sail for Lisbon. I then watched the second half of a film on the Prime Channel on our in-suite TV. As it was one that I had seen many times before, it did not matter that I had missed the beginning.
At 7.45pm we went down to the Red Bar for a pre-dinner drink. On the way, we paid a brief visit to the Sindhu Restaurant to leave a Christmas card and a small present for Jacob, the restaurant’s manager.
After our drink Sue paid a short visit outside onto the Promenade Deck – where it was exceedingly windy – before we made our way up to Deck 17 for dinner.
Prior to going on the cruise, Sue and I had booked dinner in the Epicurean Restaurant for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day. The Christmas Eve menu was no different from the normal one on offer and we ate the following:
Amuse Bouche
Melon and Mint Juice
Starters
Duo of Cured Smoked Salmon (Aged 21-year-old Malt Whiskey Lock Fyne and H. Forman and Son’s Famous London Cure Oak Smoked Salmon) (Both of us)
Main Course
Whole Dover Sole a la Meuniere with Maître d’hôtel Butter Sauce (Sue)
Olney Grounds Farm 28-day Aged Cote de Boeuf with Port Jus and Chimichurri Dressing (Me)
Palette Cleanser
Raspberry Sorbet
Desserts
Elements of Summer Trifle with Blackberry Jelly, Tarragon Meringue, Raspberry Roulade, Clotted Cream, and Fried Custard (Sue)
Banan and Peanut Butter Cannelloni with Muscavado Sugar Ice Cream, Rum Jelly, and Key Lime Gel (Me)
The meal also included a selection of three different types of bread and chocolate truffles with tea or coffee after the meal.
We finished eating by just after 10.45pm, and after returning to our suite we sat for a while reading and resting before getting ready for bed.
Wednesday 25th December: At sea
Overnight Ventura sailed through rough seas towards the coast of Portugal, and by 8.00am she was off the west coast of Morocco.
Although it was not sailing through a storm, the ship was being buffeted by high winds and this caused her to have a somewhat erratic movement, and one had to be careful as one moved about.
At 8.45am Sue and I went for breakfast in the Epicurean Restaurant, and after giving the Restaurant’s head waiter a large bag containing small presents for all the restaurant’s staff, we ate our meal. We were finished by 9.40am, and this gave us enough time to get to the Arena Theatre at the other end of the ship in time for the traditional service of seven carols and lessons.
The service finished just before 11.00am, and after a slow walk along Deck 7, we were back in our suite by 11.15am. We had a chat with our butler not long after we had got back, and he outlined the menu for the crew’s Christmas lunch. This was a mixture of traditional dishes from around the world and reflected the very multi-national nature of the crew.
Sue and I chose to go to the Saffron Restaurant (Deck 6 Midships) for lunch as we expected that the self-service restaurant would be much busier than usual. This proved to be a sound choice, and when we went down to the restaurant at 1.00pm there were very few people waiting to be seated. The service was unhurried, and we finished our lunch with plenty of time to go to the Promenade Deck for some fresh air before going to our suite to listen to the King’s Christmas Message.
We spent the rest of the afternoon reading and resting until our butler brought us a plate of canapes. Once we had had a chat with him and eaten the canapes, we began to process of getting ready for Christmas Dinner in the Epicurean Restaurant. The evening meal of Christmas Day is always a formal one and it gave me the opportunity to wear my new Christmas bowtie. This was a present from Sue … and looked very festive!
At 7.45pm Sue I went to the Red Bar for a pre-dinner drink … but it was so crowded that we had to go to the Metropolis Bar instead. Luckily, this is just above the Epicurean Restaurant and meant that we still had time to have a drink and get to the restaurant by 8.30pm.
The menu in the Epicurean Restaurant was different from normal and we ate the following:
Amuse Bouche
Rum Bloody Mary
Starters
Gin-cured Salmon Fillet with Wasabi Bavarois, Pickled Ginger Jelly, and a Seaweed Tapioca Cracker (Sue)
Chicken Liver and Fig Pâté with Confit Chicken Bonbon, Pedro Ximénez Pickled Blackberries, and a Fig Gel (Me)
Soup
Roasted Carota and Carraway with Toasted Carrot Chips and Wholemeal Seeded Croûtons (Both of us)
Main Course
Line-caught Sea Bass with Hand-dived King Scallops with Parsley Mousseline, Tenderstem Sprouting Broccoli, Fino Sherry, and Saffron Golden Raisins (Sue)
Northampton Dry-aged Tenderloin with Mixed Peppercorn Crust with Black Forest Ham-wrapped Asparagus, Fondant Potatoes, Baked Heirloom Carrots, Onion and Thyme Cream, and a Madeira Jus (Me)
Desserts
Mrs. Beeton’s Old-fashioned Christmas Pudding steeped in Giner Wine with Brandy Butter Ice Cream, Clotted Cream and Cognac Sauce (Both of us)
The meal also included a selection of five different types of bread …
… and warm miniature buttery mince pies and dark chocolate mulled wine jelly truffles with tea or coffee after the meal.
This was a very rich and very filling meal, and afterwards we needed to rest before we could do anything else. In the end we went back to our suite, and after getting ready for bed we sat and watched our in-suite TV until just after 11.00pm.
By this time the Ventura was already off the coast of the southwestern part of the Iberian Peninsula and well on her way to Lisbon.
Thursday 26th December: Lisbon, Portugal
We both slept soundly and were awoken at 7.30am as the ship began to move alongside the quay in order to moor.
Sue and I had eaten breakfast in the Epicurean Restaurant by 9.30am and after a short spell on the Promenade Deck we went back to our suite to discuss whether we were going to go ashore and where we might go if we did.
In the end we decided to walk to the Cruise Terminal and then decided. The walk was along a raised walkway, and by the time we reached the terminal building, Sue and I were both feeling rather cold. Along the way I was told by another passenger who also had mobility problems that the ground outside the terminal building was very uneven and that they advised me not to try to walk into the centre of the city. Sue and I therefore decided to go no further, and after buying one or two bits in the terminal’s shops, we returned to the ship.
As we did so, another cruise ship – the MV Artania – docked just ahead of Ventura.
Artania was formerly the P&O Artemis and was our all-time favourite cruise ship. She was not as glitzy as the more modern ones, and had fewer onboard attractions such as a big theatre and specialist dinning but she was a proper ship that could handle rough weather nd she was small enough to go to places that other ships could not. Sue and I were very sorry when P&O sold her to a German cruise company, but it was good to see that she is still going strong and looking as good as ever!
Once back aboard, we dumped our bags in our suite and then went down to Tazzine for a takeaway café latte. We took this back to our suite and then stayed there reading, resting, and watching the world go by from our balcony.
Just after 3.00pm, Sue and I went up to the Waterside Self-Service Restaurant for a snack lunch. After a short spell on the open deck, we then returned to our suite and stayed there until our butler paid us his regular daily visit. He arrived just before 5.30pm and had left us a few minutes before Ventura began the process of unmooring and making her way out into the River Tagus.
It was dark by the time the ship had reached the sea, and Sue and I were ready for our pre-dinner drink in the Red Bar before eating in the Bay Tree Restaurant. Because our waiters had fewer people to serve than usual, we were able to have a brief but informative chat with them. One is Indian and the other is a Pilipino and both have worked for P&O for some years.
After dinner, Sue went to the Promenade Deck for some fresh air whilst I returned to our suite to complete a bit of writing that I had begun during the afternoon. I did not manage to complete it by the time I went to bed but I did make some significant progress.
Friday 27th December: At sea
During the night the Ventura sailed northwards along the coast of Portugal, and when we woke up she still had some way to go before she would reach the traffic separation scheme off the northwest coast of Spain.
After breakfast in the Epicurean Restaurant, Sue and I paid a visit to the ship’s shops to undertake some retail therapy. Once that was completed, we made our way to the Arena Theatre to listen to a talk about the history of the Victoria Cross.
This talk – which was entitled ‘The Impossible Cross’ – was given by Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Dick Taylor and examined the reasons why the VC is awarded and how its award is now scrupulously adjudicated to ensure that only those who achieved the highest standard of bravery in the face of the enemy are given the medal.
We had just enough time between the end of the talk and the start of the Peninsular Club lunch for Caribbean tier customers – of which Sue and I are currently members – in the Bay Tree Restaurant at midday to restore our individual comforts. We then joined to queue to go in and were seated at a table for ten.
Starters
Pulled Chicken Terrine with Truffled Mayonnaise, Pickled Vegetable, and Smoked Bacon Crumb (Both of us)
Sorbet
Passion Fruit Sorbet (Both of us)
Main Course
Pan-fried Cod Loin with Buttered Samphire, Confit Potatoes, Caper Dressing, and Lemon Beurre Blanc (Sue)
Roasted Lamb Rump with Rosemary, Garlic Mashed Potatoes, Minted Green Beans, Braised Gem Lettuce, and Carrot Purée (Me)
Desserts
Fresh Strawberry and Zesty Lime Jelly with Yoghurt Sorbet, Strawberry Tuille, and Roasted Hazelnut Madeleines (Sue)
Caramel Banoffee Mousse with Banana Ice Cream, Salted Caramel Cream, and French Butter Sable Biscuit (Me)
We were sat between two couples who were very easy to talk to, and the two hours we were in the restaurant seemed to pass very quickly. We finally left at 2.00pm, and after a spell on the Promenade Deck getting some fresh air, we returned to our suite to rest.
We were visited by our butler at 5.30pm as it was the last formal dinner of the cruise and we were entitled to a plate of pre-dinner canapes. We were able to ask his advice about disembarkation as it will be the first time that we have done it since my mobility became impaired. He advised us not to try to get off early but to wait until most passengers had disembarked and there were far fewer people trying to get off in a hurry.
This was sound advice, and Sue and I agreed to do as he suggested.
We went down to the Red Bar for our usual pre-dinner drink at about 7.45pm, and although it was rather crowded, we did manage to find a suitable place to sit. Sue and I went to the Bay Tree Restaurant at 8.30pm, and we both noticed how there were fewer people there than usual. We concluded that many had either decided that going to a second formal dinner in four days was too much or that they wanted a break from the rich food served on formal nights. (It was interesting to note that the Sindhu Restaurant – where one could eat whilst casually dressed on a formal night – was full!)
Our waiters were particularly attentive, and Sue and I ate very well. We finally left the restaurant at just after 10.00pm, and whilst Sue went out onto the Promenade Deck for some fresh air, I went back to our suite and got changed out of the dinner jacket etc. Sue joined me soon afterwards, and by 11.15pm we were both in bed reading prior to going to sleep.
Saturday 28th December: At sea
During the night Ventura had sailed almost all the way across the Bay of Biscay and was only a few hours away from reaching Ushant, which marks the beginning of the English Channel.
The morning followed a similar pattern to the previous day: breakfast in the Epicurean Restaurant, followed by a spell on the Promenade Deck and then some retail therapy. By 10.30am Sue and I were sitting in the Arena Theatre waiting for speaker – Lieutenant Colonel (Retired) Dick Taylor – talk about a completely different topic for yesterday’s … reminiscences of the 1960s, 1970s, and 1980s.
The talk was very entertaining and looked at the lives we lived back then, the music we listened to, the cars we drove, and the TV programmes and adverts that we watched. Dick Taulor warned everyone that it was not going to be a woke presentation … and this comment was loudly cheered!
We were back in our suite by midday, and then began the process of packing those of our bags that could be collected that afternoon. This took us less than two hours – including a couple of breaks for refreshment – and by 2.00pm we had finished and were contemplating the afternoon tea that we had booked in the Epicurean Restaurant.
Savouries
Herb Lobster Roll with Celery, Chives, and Dill in a Brown Butter Brioche
Corn-fed Paprika Chicken Ciabattina with heirloom Tomatoes
Beetroot and Vanilla Smoked Salmon Shortcrust Pastry Tart with Dill and Caper Cream and a Beetroot Wafer
Sweets
Pistachio Financiers with Rose-scented Cream Cheese Frosting and Persian Rose Petals
Blueberry Yoghurt Cheesecake with Blackcurrant Jam Centre and a Graham Cracker Base
Golden Chocolate Sphere with Dark Chocolate Mousse, Framboise Macerated Raspberries and Chocolate Genoese
Verrine Mont Blanc with Crunchy Meringue, Blackcurrant Conserve, Dark Rum, and Sweet Crème de Marron
Raspberry and Raw Cacao Scones and Traditional Scones with Clotted Cream and Jam
It took us nearly forty-five minutes to eat this afternoon tea … after which we were both feeling very full! In fact, it took us several hours of sitting still to fully recover from this gastronomic extravaganza.
Our butler – Anil – paid us a farewell visit just after 5.30pm, and after he had left, we put all but our last piece of luggage out for collection. Sue and I then did some final packing of our hand luggage and the last bag that we will send off for us to collect when we get ashore. It was then time for us to get ready for our last dinner of the cruise.
Sue and I had our usual pre-dinner drink in the Red Basr and were in the Bay Tree Restaurant a minute or two after the 8.30pm opening time. The restaurant was less crowded than usual, and the service was both fast and excellent. We had finished eating in just over an hour, and after saying our goodbyes to our two waiters – Rohit and Fernando – Sue went off to the ship’s shops to make a couple of lastminute purchases whilst I went back to the suite.
Once Sue had returned to the suite, we both spend a bit of time packing the last items to go in the bag that we put out for collection before we went to bed. As we had to get up at 6.00am the next morning, we were in bed well before 11.00pm and fast asleep not long afterwards. One of the last things I did was to check Ventura’s position, which was northeast of the Cotentin Peninsula.
Sunday 29th December: Southampton
Sue and I woke up at 6.30am as Ventura turned to come alongside the Ocean Cruise Terminal.
We were dressed and ready for breakfast by 7.30am, but it took us nearly 15 minutes to get a lift from Deck 10 to Deck 17 so that we could have breakfast in the Epicurean Restaurant. This delay was due to the lifts being crowded with passengers going to and from breakfast in the Waterside Self-Service Restaurant or the other restaurants with their hand luggage … and sometimes getting into a lift to go up – or down – that was going in the opposite direction. This slows the process for everyone and often leads to people with mobility problems – such as myself – being left unable to find a lift that they can get in.
Sue and I eventually made it to the restaurant for breakfast, and once we had eaten and said goodbye to the excellent staff who had served us throughout our cruise, we made our way to the ship’s atrium to disembark. We reached the baggage reclaim hall at just after 9.00am and had collected all our luggage and made our way to the valet car parking by 9.20am. Once we had loaded everything into our car, we set off for home.
There was some fog about that morning, and this slowed us down. We did stop off at Winchester Services to restore our personal comforts and to buy some food from Marks & Spencer Simply Food, and this added about 20 minutes to our overall journey time. We had a further delay close to the junction between the M25 and A2 due to what is termed a ‘police incident’. This involved four police cars and a Highway Traffic car and about a dozen police and traffic officers … and the closure of the inside lane of the motorway.
Sue and I finally reached home just before 1.00pm and by the time we had unloaded the car and had a much-needed drink and lunch, it was close to 2.00pm … and our holiday was finally over!
So, did this holiday contribute to my rehabilitation?
I would say that it did. I did a lot of walking in sometimes difficult circumstances. For example, walking with sticks whilst the ship is rolling and pitching is physically demanding as is negotiating the gangways to get on and off the ship and the steps of a shuttle-bus. Luckily, most of my fellow passengers were understanding and helpful, and only a few behaved in unhelpful – and in a couple of instances, downright unpleasant – ways.
For example, I was jostled by a woman whilst I was negotiating a steep slope because she was in a hurry and wasn’t prepared to wait the few extra seconds it was taking me to get down the slope.
Another example was a man who did not want me to enter a lift he was in because he thought that it was already too crowded. (There were six people in a lift that had a capacity of fifteen!) He tried to block me from getting in the lift and I had to push my way past him to get in. He then loudly muttered unpleasant comments to himself about disabled people ‘thinking that they should have privileges.' Interestingly, when he got out, the other people in the lift apologised for his behaviour … for which I thanked them.
We are already looking forward to our next cruise, which will be taking place in a few months time and will be a short one to Zeebrugge and Le Havre. Hopefully, it will be as good as this one has been.
