City Sightseeing open top bus tour around Las Palmas, in our Granaria cruise stop

When we booked our excursions before departure, we tried to make sure we had a good variety of days out.  A natural wonder, a luxury tour, a day in port, a day at the beach, and a river tour.  Las Palmas in Gran Canaria was to be the day wandering around port.  This wasn’t actually by choice, it was more down to the fact none of P&O’s excursions appealed, and therefore was by default.  Although we’d heard good things about some of the beaches in Gran Canaria, the transfer times quoted by P&O were too long really for our liking. 

 

Las Palmas is a huge port, and had a very industrial feel to it, reminding me of Southampton.  Not the prettiest cruise stop, and the city also had a very “downtown” feel to it.  To be honest, we were at a bit of a loss as what to do with our time there, none of the excursions appealed, and on getting off the Ventura we knew nothing about the area.  We were greeted in the port by a small selection of local market traders, and had the pleasure of buying some beautiful leather goods, before even making it into the city! 

On leaving the port the first things we saw were a large mall, with some well-known brands advertising outside, and a City Sightseeing bus stop.  We opted for the City Sightseeing tour.  Apparently these big red open top buses had been extremely popular in the morning, with wait times of over an hour.  However, we didn’t leave the ship until about midday and only had about a ten minute wait! 

I’m going to cut to the chase a little here, we were quite disappointed with the tour.  There was not a lot to see, except some run down main streets and some suburban areas that we randomly drove around.  Apparently there is an “old town” area, but this couldn’t be seen from the bus either.  We didn’t know whether to laugh or cry at getting repeatedly whacked in the face with overhanging stray branches!  As we were handed earphones, I thought we’d be getting a comprehensive talk through of the area, but all we got was a few street names from time to time.  All for the grand cost of 17 euros each!  There were some quirky buildings along the way, but I would say Las Palmas is a small city best explored on foot. 

 

If we were to cruise again and stop at Las Palmas in Gran Canaria we would do one of the following:

-        Have a wander around the "El Muelle" mall next to the port.  It looked huge from the outside but we didn’t even put one foot inside!  There was also a lovely looking bar with swish outdoor area next to the stairs going up to it, which I’m sure we’d have enjoyed a drink in.  We may have also taken a stroll around the “Museo Elder”, which is the Museum of Science and Technology and again very close to the port.  I’m told the entry fee is minimal but unfortunately could not check this online as the website seems to be entirely in Spanish. 

 

 

 

 

 

-        Or, we would have spent the day at the city beach.  We caught a brief glimpse of it through the streets on our City Sightseeing tour and it looked lovely and golden.  The area around it was bustling with pedestrian areas and café bars overlooking the sand.  This beach, Playa de las Canteras, I would estimate, is about a pleasant ten minute walk away.  I noticed there was quite a lot of information on TripAdvisor on the beach if you want to look into it further. 

 

 

Santa Cruz de La Palma - what is there in port? Do you need to book an excursion?

La Palma, another beautiful island appearing on the horizon!  Lots of people were confused about this cruise stop, and La Palma the island shouldn't be confused with Las Palmas, the port in Gran Canaria, or Santa Cruz in Tenerife. 

We spent the most amount of money on the excursion for this port of call.  We figured that the rest of the stops, there’s a good chance at some point we’d end up back there, but for La Palma thought it might be a bit of a one off visit.  We booked the excursion through P&O, and went for the luxury coach tour, in order to fit in as much as possible.  The plan for this was lots of stops in a luxury coach with bar on board, sounded perfect!!  We booked before departure on the P&O website, and at the time of booking there was a message on it saying that it was down to the last few places available.  Imagine our disappointment when a few days into the cruise we had a letter delivered to our cabin saying that the trip had been cancelled due to insufficient numbers!  We looked at the positives though, we had a nice sum of money winging its way back to our account, perfect for a bit of shopping!!

The port of La Palma was very modern and looked like it had recently been built/refurbished.  We didn’t even make it into Santa Cruz itself and instead preferred to have a lazy day mooching around the marina.  This consisted of a handful of shops and restaurants, all of a good standard with a seating area outside looking out over the yachts. 

Our first stop was a restaurant/bar called Scooters.  It had an American theme, with photos of music and big screen icons such as Elvis and Marilyn Monroe.  Comfortable red booths added to the ambience.  There was a mixture of cruise passengers and locals, which is always a good sign!  The menu reflected the America theme, but also had an Italian edge.  Mr Roadtripper went for one of the tasty pizzas, whereas I chose a starter portion of the mouth watering parmigiana, accompanied by some garlic bread.   

Next stop was the Spar shop!  We used this opportunity to stock up on magazines, toiletries, water, cans of pop, some cans of beer and a bottle of white wine that cost about one and a half Euros!  We saved it until we got home and last night did the taste test.  I can honestly say it was really nice, and as drinkable as any £5-10 bottle of plonk from the supermarket.  For little more than a pound, complete bargain! 

Final stop before we took our haul back to the ship was a shop called “Natura”.  I’ve not come across it before but from my research it seems that these are dotted throughout Spain and the islands.  I absolutely adored this shop, from retro themed bun cases, to tweezers, to passport covers, to pretty storage.  Lots of vintage inspired and shabby chic items.  I also bought a beautiful scarf with a peace sign, that I wore as part of the 60s/70s evening on the ship. 

It’s a pity we didn’t get to see more of La Palma, and due to that we do feel the need to keep it on the “to visit” list.  Still a little bit disappointed that P&O cancelled the excursion, and out of the ones still available nothing took our fancy.  We were also slightly misled by one of the tour guides on board, I asked her if there would be taxis available in port and she categorically said no, because it was a very under-developed island.  There was a queue of taxis on arrival, and I was pleasantly surprised by the port area, out of all the stops on our itinerary it was easily the nicest, hardly under-developed!  The photo below was not taken by us but shows the modern waterside development. 

Santa Cruz de La Palma can be found by going through the marina development, and is clearly signposted, they also have like a painted walkway on the ground, which you just follow.  There did appear to be a volcanic sand beach across the port, which you may be able to just see in the photo below.  Anyone wanting to make the most of the weather could have a wander over or even take a taxi around to it. 
 

 

 

Santa Cruz de La Palma was our second stop, and after rejoining the ship for the day's sailaway party, we waved goodbye ready to head to Las Palmas, Gran Canaria. 

 

 

 

 

Porto Moniz Lava Pools excursion - what to do in Funchal, Maderia, as a cruise port of call

Following three days at sea, Funchal was our first stop.  We’d spent the last few days with blue horizons, and for most of it there wasn’t another ship in sight.  Waking up to the sight of Madeira, such a beautiful island, was an awe inspiring moment.  Absolutely magical and it brought a tear to my eye!

As we’d never been to Madeira before and as we’d never cruised before, we decided to book our excursion through P&O.  We liked the safety net of not bearing the responsibility of getting back to the ship on time, if you book your excursions through the cruise line they will not leave until you’re safely back on board. 

We chose the Porto Moniz Lava Pools trip, and we had such a great day out, in fact it was probably one of our favourite days of the entire holiday.  In fact the only negative we had about the trip is that it should have been the whole day, we didn’t want to get back on the coach!

Porto Moniz is on the north of the island and about a 45 minute to one hour journey from Funchal.  The coach ride went quickly as the scenery is beautiful, and the guide was very informative along the way.  The village itself is small but has all the facilities you would need for a day out, a handful of shops, bars and restaurants, public toilets by the coach stop and a tourist information centre.  As well as the Lava Pools, there is also an aquarium and a science museum, hence why three hours was just not enough!  There were beautiful views, of the sea on one side and the hills on the other.  If we ever cruise again and stop in Madeira we would consider hiring a car (remember they drive on the right!) and going to Porto Moniz ourselves, or getting a taxi from Funchal to optimise our time on the island.  The roads were clear, well sign posted and seemed easy enough to drive on.   

The excursion did not include entry to the Lava Pools, but this was only about three Euros in total for the both of us.  It’s like a big freeform swimming pool that has been naturally made by the rocks, and is filled with sea water.  It’s right on the water line, therefore its outer walls border the pool and the sea.  Dependent on the tide and weather, waves can come across these far walls, our bag got soaked, but it was all part of the fun!  There were sun loungers available to hire, for a charge, but we didn’t bother as we spent most of our time there in the water.  The bar had drinks, snacks and meals available at reasonable prices, and there was also a staffed area with lockers where we left our valuables.  I’m not usually a fan of swimming in the sea but it was so relaxing!  I started shyly, sitting on the side dangling my legs, then got a bit braver and sat on one of the set of stairs in the water, then just launched myself in!  Mr Roadtripper was braver than me and investigated the whole area.  We left just enough time to visit the two or three shops, stocking up on souvenirs and some of the local drink “Poncha”, a rum based honey and lemon concoction.  We didn’t have enough time to visit the aquarium or the museum, maybe we’ll have to look at getting a week away to explore further!

On the journey back, the coach gave us the option of being dropped in Funchal or at the port.  Unfortunately, we were still soaking wet and had to give it a miss, but on driving through we really wanted to go for a wander.  It was a bustling and attractive city centre, with well known high-street fashion names available for a spot of shopping.  There was very much a cafe culture also, with lots of people sat outside watching the world go by.  The centre was about 15-20 minutes walk away from the dock, but P&O did put a courtesy shuttle on also. 

The weather as we arrived in Madeira was overcast, but it soon cleared up.  We did find it to be quite changeable, so as we left the lava pools and the blue sky and sunshine, on arriving back at the port some clouds had rolled back in.  Madeira is a lot further south than I realised, and perhaps this is the reason I got burned.  I would urge people to be really careful, I sat outside reading in a maxi dress from 14:00 to 16:00, when the clouds had come back and the thermometer said 22 degrees Celsius.  Even wearing a thick coat of Factor 15 I still managed to burn to painful levels.  Don’t underestimate the strength of the suns’ rays!

The final two photos are as we sailed away from Funchal, the first of the locals/tourists gathered on the edge of the port to wave us off, the second a panoramic shot of the islands as we waved goodbye, hope it displays ok!

 

 

P&O Cruise aboard the Ventura, Portugal and the Canaries from Southampton

P&O Cruise, Ventura, N319 Portugal and the Canaries

Departing and returning to Southampton, stopping in Madeira, La Palma, Gran Canaria, Lanzarote and Lisbon.

Date & reason for travel: July/August 2013 for 12 nights, travelling for leisure as part of our honeymoon

How we booked: I chose to book direct with P&O on one of their “getaway” fares, I’m very impatient and when my new passport landed on the door mat I wanted to book now, now, now!  However, as this was our first cruise we may have benefitted from going via a travel agent.  I spoke to two different agents at P&O, one at the time of booking and one a little later when I realised I had some queries.  I found both of them to be very inexperienced and couldn’t answer basic questions on the tender process, whether there was air conditioning on board, the embarkation process, and the weather and therefore what to pack.  Having an experienced agent who could talk us through what to expect would have simplified things a little. 

Accommodation

We booked a balcony cabin on the “getaway” (late deal) fare and I think this was for a GE “AFT” cabin.  However, we were allocated cabin L218 on Ventura’s deck 15, the Lido deck, and this was classed as a GC cabin and as “FWD”.  We were about five cabins from the front of the ship and other passengers advised us being this far forward meant we would feel the sea more, however it wasn’t an issue for us.  The balcony on this cabin had a ceiling that came out more than the cabins further forward, due to the metal structure of the ship.  We thought this would stop us getting the sun but it had no impact, if the cabin to the right of us got sun so did we.  On cruise ships the bathrooms are notoriously smaller than hotels, but completely adequate.  Within the room there was a large, comfortable bed and loads of storage space.  This is one thing I’d been worried about as we completely over-packed and took so much luggage I’d wondered where we’d put it all!  However, there was a dressing area with lots of hanging and shelf space, and room under the bed for the empty suitcases.  The TV had movies (some payable) and channels with ship information, and there was a small fridge and hairdryer available.  The cabin was a decent size (dimensions can be found on the P&O website), and we spent a lot of time on the balcony gazing out to sea.  In fact I think we may have to frame some of the photos we took looking out as I don’t know how we can live without that view in our lives every day! 

 

 

Service

This was where we felt more improvements could be made on board.  Service was acceptable and functional but it didn’t “wow” us.  Due to the immense staff to passenger ratios on board I had much higher expectations of what the service would be like, and especially when compared with the service experienced at the pre-cruise hotel in Southampton, it didn’t quite meet those expectations.  We did experience some excellent service on the cruise and that deserves a special mention, our two wait staff in Saffron on an evening got to know us and anticipated our needs very well, the lunchtime service in East was also extremely attentive.  When I did raise a couple of issues with the Food and Beverage Officer he seemed to really appreciate the feedback and acted upon it.  An extra special mention has to go to the medical centre.  I had to attend (non-cruise related issues!) and the doctor and two nurses I saw completely put me at ease, were so warm and friendly and I felt like I was in safe hands. 

Food & drink

We were allocated the 8:30pm sitting in Saffron.  We opted for a large table and were glad we did, we were lucky to have met three other lovely couples and this had such an impact on our experience.  The food was to a very high standard, always cooked to perfection and presented immaculately.  The main courses in particular were so hard to choose from and included succulent steaks, Sunday roasts, beautiful vegetarian options like halloumi and hummus, fresh fish and regional dishes like chicken piri piri.  There was a smaller selection of starters and on a couple of occasions nothing took my fancy, not a problem as the waiter presented me with a lovely prawn cocktail instead.  Desserts again were varied, cheeses, pot au chocolat, lemon tart and lots of ice cream!!  The highlight was definitely the meringue swan, as pictured below.

In a morning we tended to order a continental breakfast through room service, having such a beautiful view from the balcony it would have been a shame not to! 

Lunches were, in a way, the most tricky for us.  We visited the buffet on a couple of days, and they had a wide range of good quality foods available.  I was slightly addicted to the fresh pizzas from the grill by the pool, with Mr Roadtripper going for the burgers.  What we felt was missing though was just some standard grub, by that I mean a nice sandwich or jacket potato!  We were treated to a fantastic meal at East, which is Atul Kochhar’s establishment.  The cover charge for this restaurant was £7.50 per person on a lunchtime, and this covered a three course meal.  We also pushed the boat out (excuse the phrase!) and had a bottle of Indian wine to accompany it. 

Public areas

The ship was in excellent condition.  It is so big that there is no way we can cover every single part of it on here!  Some of my non-cruising friends have said that they don’t fancy cruising as they feel it would be too claustrophobic.  This ship was so big you could get lost, and we did on many occasion! 

Our favourite spot throughout the day was the sun terrace around Breakers Bar on deck 16, aptly named the “Sun Deck”.  With waiter service from the bar and music coming from the pool below, it suited us perfectly.  This was the area used for any outside day/night entertainment, including the “sailaway” parties.  The picture below is of the busiest sailaway party, the last one, which they called the "Great British Sailaway".  These tend to start about half an hour before leaving port and last for about an hour. 

 

Metropolis was a sophisticated bar, which we visited for pre-dinner cocktails on occasion.  It was at the back of the ship with one long wall of windows overlooking the sea, and the opposite wall was full of screens that displayed the skyline of iconic cities across the world.  One night you could be in New York, one night you could be in Las Vegas!

We spent most evenings in Havana or the Tamarind Club.  Both were cabaret style, plush seating that focused on the stage area and dance floor, and both had a range of entertainment on an evening.  Havana would then turn into the ship’s nightclub at around midnight, where I admit to busting some dodgy moves on the dance floor!!

The Exchange was the English pub and was very popular on an evening due to the quizzes offered by the entertainment team.  We went on one night and found the “dad dancing” round to be one of the funniest things we’ve ever seen!  It was quite difficult to gets seats in this bar and if I was P&O I would look at moving the adjoining casino into one of the many function rooms and making that entire area The Exchange. 

Location

The biggest draw for us about this cruise was the fact it was “ex-UK” and departed from Southampton.  I’m not the best flyer in the world and something I’m utterly rubbish at is packing light.  This holiday let me avoid both of these things!  The holiday started as soon as we arrived at the terminal.  They have staff waiting to take your luggage for you as you pull up in the car, so you don’t even have to cart it to the check in desk! 

This itinerary had three days at sea, then visited Madeira, La Palma, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote all in a row.  This was followed by a day at sea, then Lisbon, then another two days at sea before returning to Southampton.  We’ll be covering each destination in separate blog posts due to the ever-increasing length of this one!

What next?

Apart from the couple of minor issues already mentioned, the main thing I’d like to see on Ventura is a dedicated adult only area on an evening.  Although I understand it’s a very family friendly ship, when we were in Havana (the bar/nightclub) at 1am/2am there were a lot of teenagers and it didn’t quite have the right ambience for us.  This view was shared by nearly everyone we spoke to about it. 

Overall

I can’t believe we’ve never cruised before!  We had such an amazing time, we relaxed, we sunbathed, we swam, we explored...!  We already have plans for summer 2014, but it has been tempting to change them to cruise again!  As it stands we will probably wait until summer 2015 and, as we can be fairly flexible, wait for the last minute fares to come out before choosing who to cruise with and where to sail.  P&O’s Ventura is an amazing ship with so many facilities and activities going on and we’d recommend it to anyone!