I Cruised on P&O’s Iona and Ventura – Here’s How They Compare

When cruise lines advertise their cruises, often it’s the newest and most exciting cruise ships you’ll see.

The majority of cruise ships owned by the major cruise lines are over ten years old, with many over twenty years old.  P&O’s Ventura was built in 2007, and Iona was built in 2020.

I recently took a cruise on P&O’s new mega ship, Iona. She is massive -over four times the size of the Titanic – and can hold well over 5,000 guests. 

What I wanted to know after disembarking my cruise on Iona was whether I enjoyed this cruise because of the cruise line or because of the exciting new ship.

If I cruised on an older, smaller ship from the same cruise line, would I enjoy it as much? would I feel ripped off that the older ship didn’t have everything that the larger ship did?

There were actually differences between the two that I had never considered, such as differences in the way the formal night dress codes were enforced, but more about that later. 

To find out how the ships compare I booked a cruise on P&O’s Ventura, she was built back in 2007 and is just over half the size of Iona in terms of gross tonnage. 

I had visions of the ship falling apart, things leaking and being broken. I had been on other cruises on ships of a similar age where buckets would be in the corridors to catch leaks, and you’d often find things frayed or cracking.

I’ve learned that it’s a lot more about how well a cruise ship has been looked after rather than her actual age, but I didn’t know how well Ventura had been looked after. 

I had heard that the cabins onboard Ventura were – to put it nicely, ‘dated’ – and I didn’t know if I would enjoy the cruise as much with less choice of restaurants and entertainment. 

P&O’s Iona and Ventura Have Very Different Atriums

When I boarded P&O’s newest ship Iona, there was an immediate wow factor. The central atrium area was one of the first places we visited, and it is split over multiple levels with large glass windows on both sides.

It felt very much like a fancy hotel, and you could tell that everything onboard was new. 

I was worried that walking on Ventura wouldn’t have this same wow factor.

In some ways, the wow factor was definitely there, but comparing the atriums of Iona and Ventura, you can see differences. 

P&O’s Ventura has a very classic atrium design. You’ll find this style of atrium with the glass elevators on a lot of the older Princess ships, as well as those owned by P&O. 

Personally, I really liked this design, and I loved how they would have live music here every day.

I prefer the design style of Iona’s atrium, but many people have described it as being like an airport or a shopping centre. 

The wood and colours used in Ventura’s atrium date the ship back to the late 2000s.

There were certain lounges onboard where you’d find chairs that I felt dated the ship, but we very rarely found anything that was actually broken or damaged.

P&O’s Ventura had a big refit in 2018, which is probably why. The actual fittings and furnishings on Ventura probably aren’t much older than Ionas.

Iona and Ventura’s Decor Differs

When it comes to larger pieces, like this tree in the glasshouse though, they have been there for years.

I quite like it – it’s something a little different, but I do think it gives away the ship’s age. 

I Loved My Cabin Onboard Iona

One of my favourite things about cruising on Iona was the amazing inside cabin we had, it was small but perhaps one of my favourite cruise ship cabins.

To learn more about the cabin, watch this video:

I loved the decor. It was incredibly well designed, bright and airy and the bathroom – although small was great.

The shower was powerful and I know many people will be pleased to hear that there was a shower door instead of a shower curtain.

I knew that my cabin on Ventura wouldn’t have the same design or look as new as the cabins on Iona.

Cruise ship cabins are one of the areas of cruise ships that seem to date quite fast. I’m not sure if it’s because of the number of cabins but it certainly isn’t easy for a cruise line to just update 1500 cabins. 

The main priorities for me when it comes to cruise ship cabins are, is it clean, is there enough storage and will I have a good nights sleep here?

I’m happy to report that I had some really good sleep on both cruises. 

Ventura’s Cabin Was Clean and Comfortable

The design of Ventura’s cabins is definitely dated, and the bathroom is showing signs of age.

I’m not too sure why but the showerhead was really quite low down. I’m only 5’6, so it wasn’t a problem for me, but anybody 6ft or taller would have to kneel down to use the shower.

I know people were shorter in the olden days (but I don’t think 2007 counts as the olden days!).

On Large Ships, Most of The Extra Space is Cabins

One of the biggest differences between smaller and bigger cruise ships is the number of cabins.

It isn’t uncommon to see a larger cruise ship that has basically the same facilities as the smaller one, but with an extra few decks of cabins in the middle. 

Ventura has six and a half decks of cabins, and Iona has closer to 9 and a half.

That does mean a lot more stairs to walk up, and a lot more guests onboard, but I don’t mind that. 

Beyond the physical differences on the ship, I was unsure if I could enjoy the actual cruise as much on Ventura.

There were so many restaurant and entertainment options on my Iona cruise that I worried that it would be boring… 

Was The Entertainment Different?

Both cruise ships have big theatres and lots of live music. I didn’t notice a big difference in terms of which activities were offered – there were, of course, more choices on the bigger ship.

Iona has a cinema and splash park that Ventura doesn’t have. 

In addition to the theatre, Iona has another performance space in the central dome, which means that sometimes we would go to the theatre shows and sometimes to the shows in the dome.

It felt as though the shows were repeated more often on Iona, but I suppose that makes sense considering the number of passengers on board.

Despite both ships being at reduced capacity Iona did feel busier than Ventura. We would often have to stand to watch the dome shows and some venues we never managed to get into during our cruise.

Watch the video below to get an idea of the spaces onboard, and the comparisons:

The App Had to be Used on Both Cruise Lines

When I was on both cruises, we had to use the cruise lines app to book theatre shows.

You might find that on some cruise lines, certain apps or pieces of tech are only available on newer ships, but all of P&O’s ships now use the same App.

During the 2020 cruise shutdown, Princess Cruises took the opportunity to fit all of their ships with their medallion technology. Many other cruise lines used it to bring all of their cruise ships up to the same standard as the newer ones. 

The Smaller Size Was Great in Some Ways

One big benefit of cruising on the smaller ship compared to the larger one was how much easier it was to get around the ship or just pop back to your cabin if you forgot something. 

On Iona, we were right at the end of the ship, and I didn’t time it, but I’m sure if I was at the other end and wanted to pop back to my cabin, I’d be gone for 10-15 minutes. On Ventura, we never had that problem – which was nice. 

It wasn’t quite the same as being on a river cruise ship where you’re only ever a few metres from your cabin, but it was nice to be able to wander around the ship without too much trouble.

If you are somebody with mobility issues or who doesn’t want to walk up 10 flights of stairs, smaller ships can be a really good choice.

Longer walks work well for me to burn off some of the cookies I’ve eaten in the buffet!

The Formal Nights and Dress Codes Varied

P&O are an interesting cruise line in how they do formal nights and dress codes.

Most cruise lines will have the same rules across the entire fleet, but things were different on both of our cruises.

I’m not a big fan of enforced formal nights on most cruises. I liked the way that Iona had one ‘formal’ night per week, and the dress code isn’t ship-wide.

On Ventura, we had three formal nights on our 12-night cruise, and the dress code also applied to a couple of other lounges and areas onboard.

This isn’t a problem. Lots of people love the formal nights and dress codes, but it just goes to show that just because you’ve enjoyed a cruise on one cruise ship, you can’t necessarily assume that you’ll like a cruise on all cruise ships in the fleet. 

One thing that Is different, though, is the way that the ships handle bad weather.

On our Iona cruise, the weather was perfect, but our Ventura cruise was the roughest cruise I’ve ever been on.

To find out how we dealt with it and why I wouldn’t take this cruise again, check out this video next:

I took a two-week trip on Iona’s identical sister ship, Arvia, and the weather was also bad. We sailed from the UK, past the notorious Bay of Biscay, and round to Barcelona in Spain.

Despite having bad weather, missed ports, and a medical emergency, I hardly felt the ship move. She dealt with the bad weather so much better than Ventura had.

Find out about that eventful cruise here:

Before You Go

I compare P&O to Cunard in the article below. Which is best?

P&O Cruises vs Cunard – Which is Better? (Tried and Tested)

Find out what to wear on your P&O cruise here:

What to Wear on a P&O Cruise – 39 Examples and Enforcement