everything on this cruise was amazing, but the entertainment was by far the best of any holiday we have ever been on.
Lisa Core is an amazing singer, and a very down to earth aussie,she has a beautiful voice, (gave us chills)and was always makig sure we were ejoying ourselves.
Also we must mention miss Penny Smart, the most talented dancer we have seen in years, the way she moves is incredible, better then Brittany Spears by miles. the girls also showed us a video of another dancer Rachel Kenny, who we ufortunatly missed seeing as she had hurt her foot, we thought that this girl really has something special and were very sad to have missed her.

After booking the cruise and spending nearly £3000 for a 2week cruise in the west indies i realised we were going on a moving Butlins Trip what a nightmare. I would not encourage anyone to use this company you would be better off spending a little bit more on a better company, Ocean Viallge do not have a compalints proceedure in place and have been fighting ever since our return on xmas eve regarding the flooding that took place in the corridor outside our cabin 4 days before the end of our trip which infact topped off the holiday. They seem to forget we could have been burnt or much worse but as they said "the person in charge at 4am seemed to miss the seriousness of what had happened when the hot water pipe burst" unbelievable. And then left nearly 12 cabins living with huge dyers (that didnt realy dry anything but certainly left us with a headache) for the remaining four days of the holiday yet they think that is only worth £50 refund and two bottles of the house wine. Yes this has been refused and the saga continues. If anyone else has had similar problems whilst on board OV please please get in touch before i take this to the next stage i would really appreciate anybody elses recent stories.

But please do not waste your money on this cruise.
snt1973@live.co.uk

If anyone else

I had a wonderful time on the Ocean Village, I thought the food was excellent and the staff were all extremely courteous and friendly. The entertainment was still good but not as high a standard as every other aspect of the ship. I did think the cinema was excellent though, as well as the Karma Spa because of the vast number of treatments available, most of which were very reasonably priced. I would not recommend the teeth whitening though as it did not work and cost £175! Apart from that, the ship was excellent.

The Action Ashore activities were superb and I enjoyed them thoroughly, although they were a little bit on the pricey side. My cabin was cleaned every day which i was also pleased with.

I did dine at the Bistro and was a little bit disappointed because i am a big James Martin fan, but for the price I really couldn't complain. All-in-all, the food at the 24 hour buffet was exceptional, the staff extremely friendly and the ship very clean. Definitely would recommend and would love to go again!

Our 2nd cruise on OC, w were generally happy, the crew are constantly cleaning and very cheerful apart from the desk staff who seem rather aloof and unhelpful. For us as non smokers,the large areas where smoking is allowed is a problem and we feel sorry for the staff who are required to work in the Oval Bar. Do not ever book the cabins forward on Deck 5 (no102) as the side thrust engines make a horrendous noise when coming into port - in Crete this was as early as 4:30 am! The food was excellent and the Bistro food was superb. The entertainment was poor and generally very loud, not at all suitable for the age range on board. The so called 'raunchy' night was ludicrous and boring. There are no quiet areas inboard for a quiet read when the weather is poor, the staff seem to think that loud piped music is required at all times in all areas. Would consider returning but with a more careful choice of cabin.

Just returned from a great week sailing with ov1 on the Temples and Tavernas route . This was a lovely route with very interesting ports of call all different in there own way, we took 4 ship organised excursions which were all well organised and reasonable in value alot of people say they are overpriced but you always pay more for covienience and security that the ship wont leave without you , We recieved a automatic cabin upgrade to C deck which was a lovely spacious cabin with big window Kept very clean by our cabin attendant Nathalie nothing was to much trouble for her . The food was always very good with a large selection always on offer also the la luna resturaunt was a pleasure to eat at again with great choices and perfectly presented dishes cooked as you want it . On a small down side although you want a drink thru the evenings and daytime the constant asking can become annoying on one occassion we were asked 14 times in 10 mins the staff are all very polite and dont take offence when you decline but a better system would be more acceptable . If any body is worried about ship movement DONT you hardly feel any movement in this ship at all, yes there is a small amount of vibration and shuddering at certain times but it only lasts for moments . This ship is clean and well maintained we even saw a crew member with a spray bottle and cloth spot cleaning the carpet and you always saw crew cleaning . And now the real down side the entertainment we read many reviews about this before going and reserved judgement but im sorry to say most of them got it right it was very poor not so much some of the acts ie: mick hucknell tibute elton john tribute and the magician comic but the sheer lack of it there was no variety or flow lasted only an hour and a half at a time, we have seen better so not just complaining because , the planet show up on top deck was good . It really needs a revamp some people say its like Butlins its not yesrs ago I worked at Butlins and this is nothing like it its just not free flowing and entertaining enough dancers should dance not look for the mirror . But overall this was a very good well organised holiday from boarding the plane to disembarking the ship. Well done ov1 but please update your entertainment profile .

ship very clean , cabin cleaned daily , deck towells and cabin towells changed daily.
food excellent , recommend the bistro restaurant.
staff all friendly and polite.
entertainment good.
we would visit again enjoyed the relaxed atmosphere.
trips on board we felt were overpriced, much cheaper to get the train or metro.

The Ship was very clean, except there was a bad smell half way along our inside passageway to our cabin we were on deck 10. The food was excellent, good choice. The Ship staff were excellent especially our Cabin Steward " Jeff" The Entertainment on board was very very poor. Sail on board again? no. reason very basic compaired to Royal Caribbean International but horses for courses less money to cruise Ocean Village you only get what you pay for. Not happy with Ocean Village choice of Air Transporters i.e. Thomas Cook Airlines. Thomas Cook left us stranded at Glasgow Airport ( transfered to overnight stay in Hotel ) they commandeered our Aircraft to fly to London Heathrow to cover a long haul flight and left us at Glasgow. We had to fly out the next day to Ocean Villages 1st. port of call on our cruise Dubrovnik and wait till the Ship docked on Saturday. We lost Two Nights Cruising. Ok Ocean Village paid a small cash compensation but just not good enough.

We have just returned after 2 fabulous weeks on this ship and wouldn't hear a word against it. The cabins are huge, the entertainment staff kept it going all day and night with all different sorts of music,games and shows although for 2 weeks we did see some repetition. We mainly ate in the Waterfront, but did eat in the Plantation a couple of times, especially for afternoon tea when the scones were around! The food was varied and hot, my only gripe was you kept on having to go back for a tray to carry everything, but by the end of the 2 weeks I was holding onto my tray and not letting the waiter take it as soon as I sat down!!!
Each port had something different and since we were independent travellers, we did our own thing - Crete walked into town, about 30 mins away. Limassol, went to Ladies Mile Beach, caught a taxi and on return asked them to drop us off in town. There is a local bus from the port to town for about 1 euro. Rhodes is near to the port, a nice walk through tiny streets.Has a nice harbour too. Ephasus was the one trip we did do organised, but you can get there by yourselves, but make sure you start at the upper gate, and also you will need Turkish Lira for the entrance fee. I think it was about 20 Lira. There was also some renovation that you can see for another 15 lira. All in all the cost would have been the same as the half day trip from the ship, so we opted for that. Mykonos - what can I say, we went to Platys Yialos beach, again a bus from the bus station for a euro or so straight to the beach, better than £12 the ship was charging and we had longer! Santorini, here you tender and catch a cable car to the top, go through the streets to the bus station and grab a bus to Oia yet again a euro or so. What a beautiful place, beware quite expensive. Dubrovnik - walk out of the port and up the road to catch a bus 1a/1b to the town it was the end stop - BEWARE,IF YOU HAVE NO LOCAL CURRENCY YOU HAVE TO POP INTO THE STATION BEHIND THE STOP AND CHANGE SOME EUROS WE JUST CHANGED 10 EUROS EACH- we walked through Dubrovnik main street to the port and then caught a water bus 12 Euros return (we got it down to 10 as there were 6 of us)to Cavtat for a few hours. Corfu,we caught a bus to Dassia Beach yet again a euro. Cephalonia another beach Makrys Gialos, got to be the best of the lot! (again a bus) then to Katakolon, we caught a train to Olympia, not much there although there is a nice small town, wouldn't bother going again but if you like that sort of thing..there is an interesting museum though. Lastly Athens, we walked and walked, caught a bus from the port to the station then a metro through to Athens (20 mins) we brought a day travelcard covering buses/metro etc for a few euros. When you come out of the station from the green line Monastra....something? if you make your way through the agora, you will come into the Acropolis from the side and the queue was not existent. You can buy a ticket covering 5 sites all for 12 euros. After we just roamed around, the best thing we did after visiting various places was Lecabettus Hill (I think that is what it was called) you can get a cable car up. All you need is a good pair of walking shoes!
It is a shame that the ships charges so much for the tours when you can do it for a fraction of the price on the bus and it is much more fun too! Don't be taken in by shuttle buses either, we found after that local buses come to the port when they were charging £8 and £5 Oh and don't buy the DVD's from the ship, we have 2 (each week)and apart from different ports, the contents are the same and it is not of your weeks holiday!
Apart from all that, I would go back anytime and would recommend it to anyone who likes a good value holiday and doesn't expect the likes of P&O (no offence)

Have Just returned from two week cruise around the eastern med. This was our third stay on Ocean Village and it just keeps on getting better.From check in at the airport, to (regretfully) leaving the ship to go home, we were made to feel very well looked after.

Ship staff. In our experience, all the staff from cabin boy to captain, gave 100% to make our holiday a very enjoyable one. The cabins were spacious and comfortable, being cleaned every morning by very thorough cabin staff. Although minor maintenance work was being carried out to certain parts of the ship, it was contained to very small areas. Anyway, if you've ever owned just a small dinghy, you'll appreciate that maintenance and boats go hand in hand.

Ship Food. This is one of the highlights of being on a cruise ship. Knowing that from breakfast, to evening meal, we were spoilt for choice. The buffet style service gives an extensive range that would challenge the fussiest of eaters to find fault with. The food was presented very well,tasted delicious and the restaurant areas kept very clean. If you fancied a treat, 'The Bistro,' for a modest amount extra is an excellent choice.

OnBoard Entertainment. The onBoard entertainment was excellent, from the tribute singers, (we saw Rod Stewert and Neil Diamond. Both excellent) to the outstanding shows performed by the Freedom 2 Move singers and dancers.Their shows are fresh, different, very slick,and greatly entertaining. West end quality without doubt.The Abba show was better than any tribute band i've ever seen. Keep on shining Jenny, your the brightest star on stage.

To sum it up, this was a great holiday,which has given some fantastic memories. I would recommend it to any one.

We sailed on OV2 last year so were a bit disappointed as I think OV1 is looking a bit tired. However, the cleanliness was excellent and our "cabin boy" did a good job. The food was very good - we ate in The Waterfront most evenings as it has more of a restaurant feel to it. The Plantation felt a bit like a cafeteria. A couple we met dined in La Luna or The Bistro for the whole week and raved about the food - this had no bearing on the quality of food in the other restaurants but they liked to be served rather than have buffet. We found it great as my two daughters are "picky" eaters so if they didn't like something they picked up they just put it to one side and got something else. The entertainment was good but unfortunately for me the two tribute acts were people I don't like but then that's personal taste - they were George Michael and Madonna. The aerial show on deck was spectacular and the Captain was milling round the guests so my daughters had a photograph taken with him. Any opportunity for a photo and they were there!!! Joking aside, that did get a bit tiresome - we just ended up saying no thank you with a smile.

We walked to Dubrovnik which took us about 45 minutes and then walked the city wall finishing off with a well earned pint in a little cafe. It's a very pretty town and well worth the climb to get to the city wall to take in the views.

We didn't get off the ship at Corfu as we've holidayed here in the past but most people just walked into town - hottest day of the cruise - 41 degrees!!

I would agree with the previous post about Cephalonia and Katakolon - not much there unless you do the trips which we did and were enjoyable but expensive.

Athens was the port I was most looking forward to. Needless to say I was disappointed to find the Acropolis covered in scaffolding for renovation - renovating an ancient monument - I couldn't get my head round this! It's very busy and quite a climb - would definitely recommend sturdy shoes (as they do on the ship - which I ignored)as underfoot is very slippery. There were 6 ships docked at the same time as us and I think all guests were at the Acropolis - but at least it's one more thing I can tick off my list!

It sounds like I've had a bit of a moan there but I really did enjoy the cruise and would recommend it especially to first time cruisers - I don't think the ship would suit the people who are used to the more formal cruise ships. I did hear someone say it was like Butlins at sea but I would certainly NOT agree with this.