P&O Ventura in focus

If you’re looking for a family-friendly holiday on a big ship, Ventura could be the right choice for you – this 18-deck cruise ship is not so much a vessel as a resort – it has a shopping mall, theatre and art gallery, and accommodates 3,100 passengers who are served by 1,200 crew.

On board, 171,840 main meals are served on the average cruise! The food is very good, with a Marco Pierre White restaurant on board (you pay a premium to eat there) although it gets booked up very early in the trip still, and there’s Freedom dinging which allows you to choose when to eat and where. It’s a very British ship, with Noddy and Mr Bump on board to entertain the little ones while the older children can enjoy The Reef – P&O’s biggest ever children’s club – which operates in separate areas according to age: Splashers for 2 - 4s, Surfers for 5 - 8s, Scubas for 9 - 12s and H2o for 13 - 17s. There’s a multiplicity of activities from organised races on the Scalextric race track or Rock School for those who have some musical skills. Then, on Deck 19 there's Cirque Ventura which is a circus skills training school which is not exclusively for children, adults can book in too. It offers a bungee trampoline experience or you can opt for workshops teaching trapeze and tightrope walking for a very reasonable price.