Welcome to the Complete Cruise Solution Blog: 2008 The Year of Ventura

Wednesday 9th April

Travel agents from Thomas Cook were invited on board Ventura for an overnight event Throughout their time on board agents had a busy schedule which involved a Complete Cruise Solution presentation, Ventura Experience, lunch and gala dinner.

To further enhance agents experience on board we gave 10 lucky winners the chance to take part in a 2 hour Cirque Ventura workshop.

These lucky winners also were given a fantastic surprise on the day, dining with Celebrity Chef Marco Pierre White in his signature restaurant on board, The White Room. Agents commented that this was the best experience they had ever received!

Thursday 10th April

Today we ran the Cirque workshop for the second time, however today myself and Sian had a go at developing our non existent circus skills. After signing up for the workshop and seeing the height of the flying trapeze we wondered what we had let ourselves in for!

Well what an experience, after the 2 hour workshop we had mastered the art of stilt walking and balancing on the tight-wire as well as facing our fear of swinging high above the ground on the flying trapeze.

This is really going to be a popular activity amongst passengers of all ages… despite the fact that it left every muscle in our bodies aching for at least two days, even those muscles we never knew existed.

Sunday 13th April

Rhiannon Kilbride from Stewart Travel was on board Ventura, read her blog below:

You’ve always thought that cruises are for the older generation? Think again. On Sunday the 13th of April I was introduced to the new P&O Ventura “The Superliner designed for Britain” a statement I have to agree with.

On arrival at the dock I could not believe the capacity of the massive vessel. She was brilliant white and my eyes were drawn to the never ending rows of balconies. We were dropped off at the P&O departures terminal where we were greeted by a member of staff and directed to check in. The Check in process went smoothly and it was not long before we embarked the ship.

On embarkation I was overwhelmed by the Grand Atrium of the ship, everything was new and gleaming. It featured two glass elevators with two impressive staircases which met at the bottom and led to a seating area.

Afternoon tea was served in The Waterside restaurant on deck 15. Ventura’s main informal food court serving sandwiches, fries, salad, quiche, steak pie and an array cute miniature cakes. This made a perfect lunch setting with views over the sea.

In the evening we had a black tie dinner where we ate in the Cinnamon Restaurant this is one of Ventura’s main dinning rooms. The dinner consisted of five courses each being to the highest taste and standard. For my main I had a Sirloin Steak with vegetables this was excellent and had been cooked to perfection following my instructions.

The girls from Stewart Travel enjoying their night in the Tamarind Club: From left: Mandy, Fiona, Susan, Jacqueline, Debbie, Bernedette, Claire

I really enjoyed the Havana bar, which is inspired by Latin America. We saw a Kylie, Robbie Williams and Elton John tributes, which were all excellent. A disco followed this where the DJ played a mixture of party tunes. After this we enjoyed a midnight buffet in the Beach House restaurant.

An experience I will never forget and would definitely go a cruise holiday.

Wednesday 16th April

After 4 nights of hosting our top travel agent partners onboard Ventura I was very lucky to attend the naming ceremony.

We spent the morning in the office trying to catch up on emails and ensuring everything was ok. Then at 13:00 we went back onboard which has been our home for the past 10 days.

Once onboard we were given a quick briefing and assigned our duties for the rest of the afternoon. The anticipation and excitement onboard was very apparent as people started to embarked the latest edition to the P&O Cruises fleet.

Standing in the Atrium I realised what a special event this was as camera crews went past and I even spotted a few celebrities.

At 17:00 I went back to my cabin to get ready for the evening. I used all the lovely Temple Spa products and even had a chance to have a quick cup of tea.

Once ready I headed to the Luguna Pool for my cocktail party where Champagne and Martinis were being served. The anticipation grew as the crowd gathered and listed to the band.

At 20:00 it was time for the ceremony to begin Nigel Esdale Managing Director of P&O Cruises took to the stage to welcome everyone. We then watched the giant plasma screen as the mission to ensure the bottle smashed began. We watched as lots of different secret agents including Roger Moore aka James Bond did not accept the mission. Suddenly Miranda Raison who plays Jo in Spooks jumped on the stage to ensure the mission was completed.

Dame Helen Mirren then took to the stage with Captain Clark and Nigel Esdale to name the ship. When she announced 'I name this ship Ventura' we saw two Royal Marines abseil down the bow of the ship where they smashed two bottles of champagne. This was followed by a fantastic fire works display.

Everyone then made there way to dinner where we enjoyed a lovely 5 course meal including a choice of lobster of lamb. After dinner everyone made there way to one of the 8 bars across the ship where they either watched a show or mingled with some of the celebrities on board.