Bits and the Poet Go Travelling: Christmas Comes to Ventura

We have been on Ventura since lunchtime yesterday. It was raining earlier, but this afternoon there are glimpses of sunshine on the horizon.

Ours is just a 3 day mini-cruise with friends, so it was great that we could get onboard really early. We arrived at Mayflower Terminal yesterday just after 11.30 am for a 12.30 pm check in and were sent straight to the priority desk. In fact, embarkation was so swift, that by midday we were sitting in the Cinnamon restaurant with a complimentary glass of champagne and a plate of hot food. I didn’t even have time to take my usual photographs. I’m afraid you will have to imagine the P and O check-in staff all wearing their Santa hats, apparently an obligatory addition to their dress code from yesterday until after Christmas.

Cruise ships look lovely when dressed in their festive finery, and Ventura is no exception.

The main Atrium is twinkling with lights.

A variety of Christmas trees are to be found in all public spaces.

I rather like this one, colour matched to the décor in the Epicurean Restaurant.

Today is a sea day. The sea is remarkably calm, and Ventura has been making a large navigational loop to prevent us reaching Zeebrugge too early.

There has been plenty of time to wander round the ship. This morning there was an onboard festive market in the Atrium. I found nothing remarkable in the Christmas selection, but it seemed to attract a fair few shoppers.

I eventually returned to our cabin empty- handed.

Although we have cruised many times with P and O, and once before on Ventura, this is our first time in a P and O suite, (thus the priority embarkation). We just wanted to try out a suite, and 3 days seemed a good way to do so without breaking the bank, so in my next blog post, I will include some ‘suite’ photos, and a bit more about the 'suite' experience. For today, I leave you with a photo of the last remaining treats from the plate which our butler delivered to our cabin prior to dinner. I think they may have disappeared by tomorrow.....