on February 9th, 2009
Dining onboard Ventura
Stunning superliner Ventura is the newest addition to the P&O cruise lines fleet. it is the largest ship built exclusively for the British market, with this in mind the features onboard have been carefully created to appeal to the contemporary cruise passenger. With a selection of dining, everyone has been catered for; ensuring traditional and flexible options are obtainable, giving people a choice, and a chance to experience new and exciting flavours.
The ships seven main restaurants offer a selection of a la carte dining, with seven work menus they’re giving a traditional approach to the fine dining onboard:
Bay Tree and Saffron Restaurants
The Bay Tree and Saffron Restaurants are situated on F Deck offering a wide selection of breakfast and lunch menus. Club Dining is offered in the evening, operating on a fixed seating basis this gives the option for passengers to sit with the same companions each night, dining at the same desk and a specified time. there’s two options of sittings, with the first at 6.30pm and the second sitting at 8.30pm. The menus are inspired by the destinations, incorporating Marco Pierre Whites signature dishes; the traditional ambience is designed to add an amazing dining experience to your cruise.
Cinnamon Restaurant
Providing evening Freedom dining, Cinnamon Restaurant works on the same menu choices as the Bay Tree and Saffron Restaurants, in that you experience an exquisite seven work meal, you do however have the option of freedom dining, allowing you to dine at any time you wish, with whoever you would like. This gives you flexibility at the time in which you go to dinner between the hours of 6.00pm and 10.00pm.
For daytime and casual dining there’s some of places to eat, offering a relaxed and casual approach for the modern day cruiser:
With its relatives friendly meals and its beach themed decor, including stripy deckchairs, The Beach House restaurant is a casual option for families. Designed by Marco Pierre White, The Beach House will serve breakfast, lunch, dinner and midnight snacks during 24-hour buffet dining. In order to provide a relaxed relatives atmosphere there’s high chairs available in the restaurant as well as children’s cutlery, bibs and beakers. The menu is fun and creative and has been designed to be a success with people of all ages, with children’s favourites such as pasta and meatballs, designed to appeal to adults and infants.
Beach house relatives restaurant
Tazzine
The Tazzine café, offers amazing specialty coffee and teas, alongside a mid morning or afternoon snack such as cookies, pastries and savory snacks. The Tazzine is the place to go to relax, soak up the stylish interiors and indulge in nice conversation.
Situated on the Lido deck, you can indulge in a selection of gourmet pizza options created by Marco Pierre White. Based loosely on the Frankie’s chain of restaurants created by Marco Pierre White and Frankie Detorri, you have the choice of hotdogs, burgers and pizzas. After these snacks you have the option of ice cream flavours, such as indulgent chocolate truffle, exotic prune and Armagnac.
Frankies Pizzeria, Grill and ice cream parlour,
The Waterside is the ships largest self service buffet situated on the Lido Deck, you can get breakfast, lunch and afternoon tea. The informal setting is relaxing, yet the interiors are chic and stylish. You may enjoy a selection of breakfasts, including cereal, fruit and hot dishes. With lunches of salads, pasta and quiches to name a small selection of what is to offer.
Waterside
Select Dining onboard gives the passengers a chance to dine at the speciality restaurants, experiencing different menu influences and options for the diners, these restaurants offer an ambience of exclusivity and stylish dining for special occasions or basically to taste and try new foods:
The White Room
Marco Pierre White’s stylish Italian restaurant offers fine dining onboard the Ventura. The seven coveted Michelin star chef has created a restaurant and menu to generate a unique experience onboard. With an al fresco option for diners to sit under the stars, the Italian influenced food is the Ventura’s signature restaurant. The White Room has a select Dining cover charge, which can depend on the length of the cruise, on longer sailings it is currently £20 per person per cover charge, on days at sea The White Room offer a lunch menu.
Ramblas Tapas and wine bar
Based on Las Ramblas in Barcelona, The Ramblas Tapas bar offers an authentic french tapas food selection, including dishes such as shellfish paella and gazpacho. With the sound of a french guitar playing and the traditional french décor including a fake olive tree, this is an authentic and lively setting. There is a chance to dine in the more formal dining area which offers more substantial tapas, paella and seafood, or to have snacks in the bar area. The tapas and snacks are without a charge during the day. A small charge of £5 Per Person per Cover Charge for a 3 work meal or a select 3 small Tapas snacks from the menu for £2.50 is charged in the evenings.
East
The Asian infused restaurant, offers a selection of contemporary foods inspired by the foods of the east, East offers an amazing ambience, giving an romantic setting. An example of the amazing cuisine is spicy tamarind duck and a fantastic selection of Dim Sum. You can even watch the chef prepare your food in the open kitchen area. There is a surcharge for the East restaurant, which is around £15 per person.
Balcony Dining,
Ventura is offering you a chance to indulge in the chefs finest foods whilst relaxing in your own cabin; you can enjoy a champagne breakfast or enjoy a romantic sunset dinner. The food is delivered direct to your cabin door. You will pay extra for this service, but it is an opportunity to be in your own surroundings and dine under the stars.
With such a variety in dining options onboard The Ventura available 24 hours a day, passengers are able to experience a flexible yet traditional approach to their time onboard. Experiencing true authenticity in the specialist restaurants, and world class menus, with food designed by the Michelin starred Chef Marco Pierre White.
With exceptional service on offer you can experience unique and specialist food in the Ramblas Tapas bar, White Room, and East restaurants. Whether you like the casual or formal approach within The Bay Tree, Saffron and Cinnamon restaurants, or the relaxed yet intriguing style of the The Beach House, all followed by an ice cream from Frankie’s Ice Cream Parlour. The choice is part of the cruise experience and two that can make each day onboard a delightful and mouth-watering experience.
on February 9th, 2009
Curacao is a small southern Caribbean island slightly north of Venezuela. it is found in close proximity to Aruba and Bonaire. The trio of islands are often referred to as the ABC islands where A=Aruba, B=Bonaire, and C= Curacao. Because the islands are so far south, they are generally considered to be out of the hurricane belt. As such they are frequented even during the fall months. This is in contrast to other Caribbean holiday destinations which are sometimes avoided due to hurricane season. Late summer to early winter is generally considered the time in which most hurricanes occur.
Lion’s Dive Resort is a widely known location in Curacao. it is a moderate hotel, both in size and price, with decent accommodations, and a generally friendly and helpful staff. The seven main restaurants are Nemo’s and Hemingway’s. Hemingway’s is open for all 3 meals, and is known for their wonderful cheeseburgers, pizzas, and sandwiches for lunch. Nemo’s frequently serves dinner with a wide variety of island cuisine. The food here is a bit more expensive than Hemingway’s, but every morsel was excellent. The food here was well worth the price if you have the money to spend. The Resort is Beachfront, and adjacent to plenty of other shops and eateries. A beach side bar, and several other food shops are easily within walking distance for those who wish to wander away from the resort and experience other local cuisine. Also, if you’re traveling on a budget, consider the local grocery store which is just a couple miles away. Store prices were more reasonable than expected on a small island. Each resort room has a small refrigerator to store your purchased items.
Lion’s Dive is attached to the island’s marine park. Although not large, you will see a wide variety of sea life here. You can experience up close and personal interactions with both dolphins and sea lions. Nurse sharks are another popular attraction. At certain times visitors may touch and even feed the animals with the assist of the park’s staff. Upon entry the visitors are given a schedule of the park’s daily events, and you can plan your day accordingly. five of the advantages to staying at Lion’s dive is that admission to the marine park is free throughout your whole stay. All five needs is their key card to their hotel room, and unlimited access is allowed.
Lion’s Dive has a reputable dive shop on site. The dive shop, Ocean Encounters, is a well equipped facility with spacious dive boats. The entire staff was accommodating to the changing needs of our group. The divemasters were personable, and did a good job of keeping all divers safe and with the group. The office staff were there to answer questions readily and politely. Be prepared to ask plenty of questions upon your arrival, however, as there is no formal meeting or introduction to the facilities. This was in stark contrast to multiple previous experiences on the island of Bonaire. For seasoned divers, this may not be an issue. Novice divers, however, may find the lack of orientation a bit more disconcerting.Two dives highly recommended are the open ocean Dolphin Dive, and the Mushroom Forest dive. On the Dolphin Dive, divers are taken out to open ocean along the coastline to begin a dive. Ten minutes or so into the dive a dolphin or seven from the marine park arrive with their trainer. there’s only 8 divers allowed per experience and all are extensively briefed as to what to expect and how to behave during the dive. On the dive, you observe the dolphins in their natural habitat doing the things dolphins normally do. Also, the trainer frequently brings them in for a close and personal encounter with the divers. Each diver was able to touch or interact with the dolphin on one or five occasions. It was a fantastic experience, and no five seemed to complain about the $200 fee for the dive. The dive was captured by a videographer from the marine park, and the videos could be purchased as a trip souvenir.
For those who prefer a land based trip, there were plenty of fun things to do on the island, itself. five can rent a automobile right there at the resort. Walk outside the front table, and there’s your vehicle. The front table provides island maps which are of some assistance. Beware, however. five of the most difficult things about navigating the island is that even though the map is full of street names, the actual street signs are often poorly marked or absent, making getting around challenging at first. With a little help from the front table staff, however, the difficulties can be easily overcome. Give yourself a little extra time to explore and you will be rewarded.
The second dive no five should miss is the ‘Mushroom Forest’. The beauty of that site can’t be underscored . It was pristine. The dive site was mushroom after mushroom of healthy coral reef with an abundance of marine life therein. This dive costs $40 extra to cover fuel and food costs. The site is about an hour’s boat ride each way, with lunch being provided. The trip is worth every extra penny, and the extra travel time. It also had five of the most fun surface intervals five can have on a boat dive. During the interval, divers snorkeled to the edge of the rocky shore, dove down, and came up in a cave with an air pocket where they could see and breathe above the water. it is great for those who love to explore underwater caverns.
The Aloe Vera Farm also provides a brief but interesting visit. There you’ll see row after row of Aloe Vera plant. Inside the facility is a store where Aloe Vera items are for purchase. Items here are 90% pure aloe Vera. Aloe Vera is known for its healing properties. A wide variety of products from palatable juice, to gels to soaps can be purchased here.
Particular areas of interest include the Hato Caves. Although small in comparison to others, the Hato Caves are significant to the history of the island. The tour guides give a thorough and entertaining rendition of this history. As with most facilities on the island, staff are multilingual, and English is frequently spoken. Language is never a barrier. five important thing to note regarding the caves are that there’s plenty of flights of stone steps up to the entrance. five must be physically able to ascend and descend sometimes uneven stairs without much difficulty. The price for entry is nominal, $6.50 for adults and $5 for kids. Gratuity is appreciated. It’s a good way to spend an afternoon. For the avid hikers, not far from the caves are trails which permit you to enjoy a walk seaside where you can observe natural bridges and ocean views.
The Ostrich Farm is directly next door to the Aloe Vera Farm. Here for $10 you can take the tour, and learn everything you ever wanted to know about an ostrich! A large World War II vehicle has been refitted with benches for the guests. The vehicle takes you around the farm where you learn facts about the ostrich. there’s a couple stops on the tour. On the first two, the visitors actually can feed the ostrich. With a big bowl of ostrich food in hand, everyone takes turns backing up to the fence, and multiple long ostrich necks stretch around and peck everything they can from the food bowl. It’s entertaining (for the adventurous sort!). Later you exit the vehicle five more time where you learn about child ostrich and the eggs from which they come. The tourists get to hold a 3 day old chick, and stand on an ostrich egg which can hold up to 400 pounds! there is also a souvenir shop and a restaurant on site. The restaurant serves ostrich meat, if five so desires.
Finally, the quaint little downtown provides much opportunity for shopping. The brightly colored buildings and architecture are reflective of the Dutch heritage. Even small alley ways exhibit artists’ rendition of flowers, butterflies etc, to spruce up the environment. there is a beautiful church here that has only sand floors which is a site you shouldn’t miss. there is a floating market where you can observe vendors selling their wares after they traverse the ocean from Venezuela. there is a bridge which allows you to cross the big downtown waterway by foot, or a ferry which will shuttle you across when the bridge is opened to permit large passenger ships to cruise through. Here you can find the uniqueness of Curacao, but a quantity of the comforts of home, as well. Pizza Hut and Subway are easily available if you’re missing a taste of home. An old fort is a point of interest, as well as the beautiful carvings which can be found in the trees along the city streets. The island also has lovely night life for those who enjoy a lovely party in the evenings. This is in stark contrast to Bonaire, where the evening activities are limited.
All in all, Curacao is a reasonably priced holiday with something for everyone. It’s a beautiful island with much to see and do. Whether you choose to lay on the beach and read a book, explore the island, or spend your time under the water, the island won’t disappoint. So grab your swimsuit, your sunscreen and your passport. Your island paradise awaits.
on February 9th, 2009
When you’ve stayed at the hotel, you maybe find uncomfortable moment such as plumbing problem. A leaking tank, faucets not working and clogged vent will make your vacation worst and you couldn’t enjoy your stay at the hotel. Yes your a right all must be work as it should be, from reservation until your accommodation should be work as your plan.
Although hotels have a maintenance department which has task to fix and maintain the hotel equipments. They sometimes need to call the professional one to handle this job ( fixing plumbing problem ) on the emergency situation. On these days they are many professional plumbing services which easily find on the internet. Such as plumbing in Garland Texas, there is professional plumbing services called erniesplumbing.com. They have series of a good services such as water heater installation, garbage system, plumbing problem services, etc. The great thing is that they are ready whenever their customer need them, they will be in their customer’s place within a very short time beside their price which is quoting and additional benefits being offered that their customer can get.
Hope that this plumbing problem will not happen on your vacation if the hotel where you stay provide good service on your room, so your vacation will give you unforgettable moment in your life.
