Ocean Village Cruise

Ocean Village advertise themself as "The Cruise for people who don't do cruises", and it's a fitting slogan. Cruises are nothing new, but they all follow the same stereotype carried forward from the great transatlantic liners. I don't want to wear a monkey suit for dinner when I'm on holiday, and recognising that there must be a market for people who want to cruise but aren't hankering for the 1920s P&O have come up with a new concept, rebuilt ...
...We've taken two cruises with Ocean Village (which, in itself, tells you a little something, because I'm not in the habit of giving companies a second chance if they get it wrong), but there are already ample reviews of the Ocean Village cruises in the Med or in the Carribean. This review looks specifically at an Ocean Village Transatlantic cruise. Ocean Village cruises the summer in the Med and the winter in the Carribean, with the result that twice ...

mayalld 04.01.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Ocean Village Cruise

Ocean Village is part of the Carnival Cruise line, by the end of 2010 its ships will have moved to P&O Austaralia where the cruise market is expected to rise. The crusie tagets the 30-40 yeard old market and families. Ocean Village market themselves as the “Cruise for People who Don’t do Cruises”. Feeling that as a family we would feel restricted on a traditional cruise line we decided to take our first steps into the world of cruising using Ocean ...
...have another ship called Ocean Village two which is a bit newer but very similar in size. One week cruising in the Mediterranean was booked and the anticipation mounted. We booked flights with Ocean rather than booking independently for peace of mind. This proved very useful as our flight was delayed by several hours so the boat was kept in port until our plane arrived. If we had been independent it would have left. Arrival at the port was straightforward, ...

Meggysmum 13.10.2009 · Read full review
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Review of Ocean Village Cruise

...you get a chance. Ocean Village is a fantastic company to go with if you are looking at a cruise. They arn't very expensive and the staff and service is outstanding. The cruise was called Sugar and Spice. The itinerary was covering... Barbados Aruba Curacao Isla Margarita St Lucia Tobago All excellent destinations to soak up lots of sun. First we had to fly to Barbados the night before as that was the port of call. We stayed at the Tamarind ...
...was magnificent, and coloured in Ocean Village trademark colours thats is oranges, reds and purples. The decor made it a very bright and cheerful atmosphere at all times throughtout the cruise. There are 8 bars on the ship which include a swin-up bar. The most popular is The Connexions Bar, which is located in the centre of the ship. The others bars are called.. *The Sunweaver deck bar *The Bayside Bar and Nightclub *The Oval - which is more like ...

madhatter7880 10.04.2005 · Read full review
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Review of Ocean Village Cruise

...it really formal?" Well, NO! Ocean Village is "the cruise for people who don't do cruises". Formal is literally thrown over board on this liner. I've cruised the Caribbean twice before with the very impressive Royal Caribbean. So Ocean Village and the Med had a lot to live up to! I booked the stay and cruise option in June 2003 for my boyfriend and I. We spent the first week at Cala D'or gardens (pretty basic and average food) and then the second ...
...port and on first impressions Ocean Village looked more impressive than Island Escape, its nearest rival. When getting off the coach we walked straight through to the terminal and picked up our cruise cards, and then straight onto the ship. Very efficient! When getting on the ship we were handed a newsletter which tells you what’s going on that day, and over the week (these are also delivered to your cabin every night for information on the next ...

funphobic2 17.08.2004 · Read full review
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Review of Ocean Village Cruise

...cruise of the Caribbean with Ocean Village. It was fabulous. Anyone younger than 50 who thinks cruises are all old age pensioners having a 6 course dinner at the captain's table can think again - the company's logo is "Cruises for People who Don't do Cruises" and this is certainly true. I've detailed below all the facilities etc that are on board the ship but outline briefly here our experience. We flew from Manchester with Thomas Cook and they ...
...desk and you don't see them again until they arrive at your cabin later that evening. When you get off the plane in Barbados a coach arrives and takes you from the tarmac direct to Bridgetown Port meaning you don't have to queue up at customs in the airport. On arrival at Bridgetown Port one you have signed your cruise card etc, be ready to have your picture taken, the annoying ships photographer is lurking to take your photo as you get on board ...

miggmoggspud 13.04.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Ocean Village Cruise

...will be met by an Ocean Village Rep who directs your to a fleet of busses ready and waiting to take your for a 20 minute ride to your ship. This is when the excitement really starts. The sheer size of this beauty is amazing if youve never cruised before. Something like the length of 2 football pitches and in the region of 65000 tons. This was the last time we seen our cases until we reached our cabin. Once off the bus we qued for a few minutes in ...
...cruise cards ect. By this time everyone was getting excited and couldnt wait to embark. Once past the photographer (who, believe me, you will encounter a lot on your cruise) it was a blast of alcohol gel on the hands (another thing you will get used to every time you go into a restaurant or gym on the ship) and up the gangway. This took us straight to deck 5 where the main reception area was and it looks very impressive. We were in cabin E142 which ...

Shorty0301 28.05.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Ocean Village Cruise

Ocean Village offers many different choices of cruises in the Caribbean and Mediterranean travelling to many different places. You can choose from 7 or 14 night cruises or a 14 night stay and cruise where you stay on land for one week and then cruise the next. Prices are reasonable for a cruise starting at roughly £480 for the Med or £700 for the Caribbean for 7 nights ranging up to over £2,000. Ocean Village do offer a lot of deals every so often ...
...you will not get bored. Ocean Village offers Action Ashore trips and activities which you can book in advance of the holiday or once you're on the boat. These range from activities such as biking, jeep driving through the mountains, swimming with the dolphins, scuba diving/snorkelling and river tubing, to trips such as 'The Best of ...', city visits, shopping sprees, historic monument visits, etc. On one of our trips in St Vincent we visited part ...

frankiefromings13 17.02.2009 · Read full review
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...We were drawn to the ocean village two because it was refurbished in April and had a good itinery. Never been round the Med on a cruise before so was something different. Plus the price was good for full board. I HATED IT! let me explain why. Im not a fussy person, i just expect a good level and i read ALL the reviews for this boat before i went and i feel that they were not truly acurrate. Ocean Village is for people who dont do cruises and ITS ...
...dont know no different, they cant compare and they dont have expecatations.Butlins on sea is what i read on another review and i couldnt be more agreeing. I stopped going Butlins 10 yrs ago for a reason. Cabin: Clean, Spacious, Tidy, everything working, maid service was brilliant. No faults at all. Films on TV were good. Ship: overall pleasent, clean, rust in a few places!, few of carpets dirty, very basci range of shops that are expensive, the ...

egypt3361 17.09.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Ocean Village Cruise

...unhappy with this, particularly with Ocean Villages dishonest description of the tour and their rude (and quite frankly embarrassing) action ashore "manager" who was screaming to us over the reception desk when we complained. The sun deck area was very cramped, full of screaming kids and it is very difficult to find 1 sun bed, you can forget trying to find 2 sun beds together! The childrens pool was closed for at least half of the time we were on ...
...in Butlins but then again Ocean Village really is "Butlins on Sea". We had quite a few encountered with rough Sea, the ship handled the water quite well from a stability perspective but one thing with was quite annoying was in the cabins: the ceiling was a suspected ceilings as as the boat rocked as twisted there was lots of creaking noises which kept me awake one night, but generally nothing to worry about. There is also a Laundry on board which ...

DS2007 02.08.2007 · Read full review
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Review of Ocean Village Cruise

...dinner. Everything seems so formal. Ocean Village changed my misconceptions about this. AS soon as we landed everything was taken care of very efficiently, the OC representatives waiting for us, ready for us to board the coaches. Once we arrived at the dock at Palma, we were guided through customs, and to get our family photo taken (which you can buy on board later) and recieve our "cruise cards" which eliminate the need for credit cards and cash ...
...hand the card to the waiter, they scan the card and the bill is charged to your room account, the card also doubles as a boarding pass, giving you a feeling of security. The ship itself seems HUGE (this could be because it's my first cruise) but the exterior is immaculate, brilliant white, the the words "Do More, See More, Be More" painted across the bow, along with the distinctive pattern. Once inside you are greeted by plush carpets, not yet faded, ...

Stevehagerty 03.01.2005 (04.01.2005) · Read full review
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Review of Ocean Village Cruise

...end, our Mediterranean cruise on Ocean Village 2 was a great family experience. Booking is easy and can be done online, over the telephone or with your local travel agent. There is an online booking discount available of 5% however you are unable to book online if travelling with an infant, so will therefore need to call an Ocean Village representative, who, if you ask nicely will still honour the discount for you so you don't miss out. The flight ...
...Thomson Fly. Ocean Village charter this plane so all passengers have their own luggage allowance of 25kg and their own seat including infants. This meant we could easily take all our child's necessities in her own suitcase without having the worry of exceeding our baggage allowance. An in-flight meal was also provided for all passengers. The cabin crew were very courteous and helpful and due to being pregnant at the time of travelling, and suffering ...

rainy100 24.10.2007 (29.09.2007) · Read full review
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...for 2 weeks aboard the Ocean Village - our second cruise. We like cruising not just for the floating hotel but also as a way to easily see a lot more places in one holiday! We stopped at 11 (give or take!) Islands on this cruise - highlights being Dominica, St Lucia, Antigua and Barbados (not to knock the other 7 places!). The boat was fantastic, and I preferred it to the Thomson Spirit. It is a more relaxed atmosphere, aimed at younger cruisers ...
...The dining, entertainment and many of the excursions reflected this. The flight to Barbados is 8 hours - we upgraded to premium seats as our way of coping with that long a flight. Great part is you don't have to go through the airport or pick up your baggage on arrival - just straight off on to minibuses! You wont find many good reviews of the entertainment on the O.V., some if it is indeed painful, but I would say that there is something good for ...

Gemma_and_max 14.02.2005 · Read full review
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...one other review not reccomending Ocean Village at all ... I thought I would share my view. Being a travel agent I was lucky enough so spend a Week on Ocean Village in October, Sailing the Med for a week. Well.. I think it was fantastic. Which just about sum's it up! However, I do agree with the fact that upon arrival at the Docks in Palma that last thing you want is a picture being taken - though it is of upmost importance if you want you ID ...
...outside Cabin on B Deck. Ocean Village is well known for its generous cabin sizes.. and I was certainly impressed. It was very clean and we had room service without fail each day, of whom brought us fresh towels and beach towels and replaced the biscuits also! Now food wise! I was very impressed. The James Martin Resturant is well worth a visit... small cover charge to pay, but the food and service was exceptional. I've never had white chocolate ...

bang_it_tiger 10.02.2006 · Read full review
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Review of Ocean Village Cruise

...from 2 weeks on the Ocean Village 2 cruising the Caribbean on their Sugar and Spice / Coral Calypso cruise. The flight across with First Choice Airways was good although the aircraft (Boeing767) was replaced with a Thompson one through technical fault. No delays though and a good flight with 33 inches seat pitch so lots of leg room. The cruise: The ship is spotlessly clean, the crew 1st class in every way. The food is good but severely biased towards ...
...The cabins are good and big enough without being spacious. Lots of storage space - much more than a typical holiday hotel room. The shower etc is fine. The decks get crowded on the sea days and if you want a decent spot to sit together you MUST get up on deck and 'reserve' your sunbeds/chairs before 8.00am. This is a MUST. Other days are easy. There are some good quiet spots tucked away at the aft end (back) of the ship which are worth looking at. ...

IanDickson 07.04.2008 · Read full review
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Review of Ocean Village Cruise

...15 P&O) and so far Ocean Village has been one my favourites. In comparison to other P&O ships, Ocean Village really lives up to it's motto and really is different from other cruises.The whole approach is a lot more laid-back and casual, no dressing up for formal dinners and ordering your food. This, for me, is a great thing as I like to do what I want and when I want (as most teenagers do). Possibly the most important thing about children on holiday ...
...course not, which is why Ocean Village is so great, as it has it's unique selling point of it's large choice of offshore activities, suitable for everyone of every level of fitness. Depending on whether you're cruising around Europe or the Carribean, each port has it's own selection of activites, from rock climbing to kayaking to scuba diving. One of my favourites was the bike rides, that although daunted by because of my poor level of fitness, I ...

Jud7 01.09.2005 (15.02.2007) · Read full review
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Review of Ocean Village Cruise