P&O Ventura - Day 1 - Embarkation, Beach House & an Unbelievable Show!

We’re currently sailing on board Ventura for a 7-night itinerary (A Coruna, Gijon, Santander and La Rochelle), and this was one of our smoothest embarkation days yet.

We drove down to Southampton the night before, the drive very wet and very dark! We stayed at a lovely Airbnb which made such a difference. Getting a proper night’s sleep and avoiding the usual embarkation morning rush was 100% worth it, we’d definitely do that again. Plus, parking for the week was only £35, which is one of the cheapest prices we've been able to find yet!

We arrived at the terminal right on our 11:45 arrival time and were on board before midday, possibly a record for us! Everything felt really calm and organised, from check in to security, and we were straight to muster and then ready to explore the ship.

Our first impressions of Ventura are really positive. Before sailing, we’d heard she might be looking a bit tired, but so far we’re not seeing it. The public areas look great, our balcony cabin on Deck 14 is lovely (shower curtain aside… you win some, you lose some), and the staff have been brilliant, genuinely some of the friendliest we’ve come across on P&O.

We kicked things off with lunch in the buffet, followed bydrinks in the Glass House, and then a wander around the ship before cabins we available. Our suitcases were already there when we got to the cabin, so we unpacked quickly and were back out exploring in no time.

The sail away party ended up being indoors thanks to the weather, but it actually had a really fun, old-school feel. There were party dances and the full entertainment team including the Headliners Theatre Company were invovled, even Wallace & Gromit made an appearance.

We continued our first night dinner tradition with a visit to the Beach House, and it didn’t disappoint. Then it was wine, a surprisingly enjoyable theatre show that we hadn't seen before and finally a stop in Havana where the music had everyone up dancing.

By midnight, we were definitely feeling tired. It had been a long day and there was a bit of movement from the ship so we headed off to bed.

Overall, we really enjoyed our first day on Ventura and it was a great start to the cruise.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uJvQJS1N0Dw