MV Ventura

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P&O Ventura.jpg
Ventura in the Port of Lisbon, Portugal
History
NameVentura
OwnerCarnival Corporation house flag.svg Carnival plc
OperatorP&O-house flag.svg P&O Cruises
Port of registryBermuda Hamilton, Bermuda
BuilderFincantieri, Monfalcone Italy
Yard number6132
Laid down29 August 2006
Launched8 June 2007
Christened
Acquired31 March 2008
Maiden voyage18 April 2008
In serviceApril 2008
Identification
StatusOperational
Notes[1][2][3][4]
General characteristics
Class and type Grand-class cruise ship
Tonnage
  • 116,017 GT
  • 85,676 NT
  • 8.400 DWT
LengthLOA 288.6 m (946 ft 10 in)
Beam36 m (118 ft 1 in)
Draught8.5 m (27 ft 11 in)
Depth36 m (118 ft 1 in)
Decks19 (14 passenger decks)
Deck clearance27.55 m (90 ft 5 in)
Propulsion6 × Wärtsilä diesel engines (2 × I8, 4 × V12)
Speed23.2 knots (43.0 km/h; 26.7 mph)
Capacity
  • 3,192 passengers
  • 3,597 berths
Notes[2][4][5]

MV Ventura is a Grand-class cruise ship of the P&O Cruises fleet. The 116,017 GT ship was built by Fincantieri at their shipyard in Monfalcone, Italy and is 288.6 m (947 ft) long. She officially entered service with the company in April 2008 and was named by Dame Helen Mirren.[5]Ventura underwent a refit at the Blohm & Voss shipyard in Hamburg, Germany, during March and April 2013, and re-entered service on 7 April 2013 with a voyage to Spain and Portugal.

Overview[]

MS Ventura is owned by Carnival UK and operated by P&O Cruises. When the ship entered service in April 2008 she was one of the largest cruise ships built for the British market. Ventura can accommodate 3,192 passengers, and has 1,550 cabins, of which about 60% possess private balconies.[6] It has fourteen public decks, eight restaurants, six boutiques, five pools and three show lounges, including a theatre.

After being handed over on 29 March, Ventura arrived in Southampton in the morning of 6 April 2008, ahead of its first mini cruise to Belgium on 11 April, and her first full cruise on 18 April.[1][7]

British actress Dame Helen Mirren officially christened Ventura and became the ship's "Godmother", prior to its maiden cruise to the Mediterranean Sea.[8] In a break with tradition, Dame Helen commanded a team of Royal Marine Commandos to assist her in naming Ventura in a dramatic abseil.[5]

Accidents and incidents[]

Passenger "rebellion"[]

During the Christmas 2008/New Year 2009 period in the Caribbean, there were reports of loutish behaviour on board, culminating in a rift between passengers who had paid the full fare and those who had not, described by the media as a passenger "rebellion"[9] As a result of the problems, two passengers were ejected from the ship and three scheduled ports of call were omitted from the itinerary.

Bay of Biscay damage[]

After experiencing bad weather on 18 October 2012 in the Bay of Biscay, Ventura suffered slight damage to the aluminium superstructure deck high up on the ship. Ventura underwent repairs in Southampton on 19 October 2012. P&O stated that this had no structural strength or safety implications. Some passengers were ordered not to use their balconies.[10]

Power failure[]

Shortly after leaving the southern tip of Tenerife, on 25 October 2014 at around 6.15pm, Ventura experienced a fault with two of its six engines. As a result, power was lost. Once generators were working again and providing power to the ship, the engines restarted, around 40 minutes later. It then proceeded onwards, completing its further itinerary with no further issues. It was, however, reported by passengers that the same thing had happened on departure from Genoa, a week earlier.[citation needed]

Rescue mission[]

On 5 September 2018, Ventura was involved in a rescue mission off the coast of Gibraltar. Three men were rescued, when their jet ski had run out of petrol and drifted 100 miles (160 km) into the Mediterranean Sea. All three men were rescued safely and stayed on Ventura while the set forth to collect them.

Propulsion system failure[]

On 8 December 2019, Ventura suffered technical problems with her propulsion system. Tugboat assistance was called for and overnight Ventura was assisted back to the port of Santa Cruz de Tenerife. Repair work was completed on 12 December 2019 and Ventura returned to Southampton missing out on the scheduled stops of Lanzarote and Lisbon. A reduction of 50% of the fares was promised to all passengers. A total of 600 passengers elected to be flown back to the UK by charter aircraft on 12 December.

During a presentation to passengers in the Arena Theatre on 16 December 2019, Captain Andy Willard gave more details of the technical problems. On a scale of 1-10 he ranked this problem as '9'. He further explained that five tugs attended on 8 December two of which were 'pirate' tugs hoping for salvage rights. Parts to repair the propulsion problem were flown in from Los Angeles and Germany together with a team of technical specialists. Ventura returned to Southampton on 17 December 2019, three days later than scheduled.

2020 pandemic[]

During the 2020 coronavirus layoff, the vessel spent some time moored off Bournemouth. As of July 2021, it is moored outside Teignmouth.[11]

References[]

  1. ^ Jump up to: a b "Ventura leaves on maiden voyage". BBC News. 18 April 2008. Retrieved 13 May 2010.
  2. ^ Jump up to: a b "Advanced Masterdata for the Vessel Ventura". VesselTracker. 2011. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
  3. ^ "Keel Laying for the Superliner Ventura" (Press release). Fincantieri. 29 August 2006. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  4. ^ Jump up to: a b Micke Asklander. "M/S Ventura (2008)". Fakta om Fartyg. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  5. ^ Jump up to: a b c "Ship statistics: Ventura". P&O Cruises. 2006. Retrieved 17 January 2011.
  6. ^ Carnival to present new ship to P&O, South Florida Business Journal, 22 September 2005. Retrieved 2007-02-20
  7. ^ Ventura handed over to P&O Cruises, Travelmole. Retrieved 2008-04-08
  8. ^ "Marines help Dame Helen name ship". BBC News. 16 April 2008. Retrieved 17 January 2010.
  9. ^ "Caribbean cruise ends in rebellion", The Telegraph, 11 Jan 2009. Retrieved 17 October 2014
  10. ^ "P&O Cruises' Ventura to have crack repaired". TravelWeekly. 19 October 2012. Retrieved 26 March 2013.
  11. ^ "PICTURED: Ventura cruise ship arrives off Bournemouth (But Queen Victoria leaves for Southampton)".

External links[]

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