Shops Onboard Ventura

The shops on P&O ships do differ, and their stock varies, but if, like me, you enjoy a bit of retail browsing, then you might be interested in the shops that were on our most recent cruise on Ventura to Iceland. For passengers lucky enough to have some excess onboard credit, it was good to be able to choose to spend some of it at the various outlets on board.
For everyday basics, such as toiletries, painkillers and small souvenirs 'Essentials' was well stocked. I purchased a hairbrush as I had forgotten mine. However, please note that the shops do not open when the ship is in port, so don't save buying essentials on board until a two-day port visit!

There were also special events and temporary tables selling sale items, chocolate, inexpensive watches and costume jewellery in and around the atrium.

Some of the events were very busy.

There was a selection of medium priced clothing for men and women., which I judged to be mostly aimed at shoppers in mid-life or beyond.

At the 'designer' end of their stock were sunglasses, bags, and exquisite jewellery, though the more expensive jewellery prices were not displayed unless the customer actually asked.

And there was, of course a selection of perfume and duty free cigarettes and spirits. The alcohol was not for consumption onboard, so kept for collection by passengers until the final day of the cruise.

The highlight for me was the Dixons Travel shop which was located close to the photo gallery. They stocked a wide selection of competitively priced technology and accessories including fitbit watches, tablets, phones and earphones. The staff were very knowledgeable and would help anyone who needed to set up their purchases.

All very tempting......!!!

Reykjavik from Ventura

We are finally sailing in a southerly direction towards Scotland after two amazing days in Reykjavik. This is the most northern capital city in the world. It is clean and friendly with many interesting places to visit.

There were also lots of great tours on offer from Reykjavik to the surrounding geothermal landscape. However on this occasion we chose to explore the city itself. The cost of living in Iceland is far higher than in the UK, but with a bit of planning there are still plenty of affordable ways to enjoy the area.

The free shuttle bus provided from the ship took us on a ten minute journey from the port to the Harpa Concert Hall which was very close to the city centre. The Harpa itself, a beautiful example of modern architecture, was well worth a visit.

It had interesting souvenir shops (not cheap to buy, but free to browse), modern well appointed toilets ( about £1-60 per visit) and a FREE view of the harbour through the carefully sculpted windows at the back of the building.

 
 From the Harpa we took the 5 minute walk into the city centre, past one of the many free wifi spots and the Hard Rock Cafe to the traditional buildings of the main shopping area.

 We found some Christmas tree decorations to buy, and took the necessary statue photograph, before heading back to the ship for lunch (the cheapest food option!)

We bought our 24 hour hop on bus ticket (just over £20) in the early afternoon which meant we could use it the following morning as well.

So here (in no particular order) are a few of our 'hop on, hop off' discoveries starting with the Lutheran Church with its finely crafted steeple.

We were fascinated by the design of the sloping roofs intended to fend off the the snow from the newly built flats.

We were tempted to take the inexpensive ferry which carried passengers over to a nearby island.

For anyone curious about the life of whales, a visit to the Whale Exhibition is a must.

We spent our second morning on the viewing platform of the Perla Dome. This was definitely the highlight of our visit.

For about £7 each we took the lift to the fourth floor and walked all around the outside of the dome. The clear skies and sunshine offered us breathtaking views of the whole of Reykjavik and the surrounding mountains.

 So it's farewell to Reykjavik, at least for now. We were very lucky with the warm sunny weather, which really showed this wonderful city at its best.

For anyone interested in Ventura, we now have 2 sea days, so my next blog posts will focus on the ship and (of course) the food.