had a fantastic time on board, the staff were very helpful and the entertainment was very good especially the resident singer brett cave. our cabin had a balcony to which i would recommend.the choice of excursions which you could pre-book before you go was excellent and had trouble choosing which to do,and very good value for money.we did the two week caribbean cruise and would definately book this trip again. well done ocean village and thomas cook for booking it.

We chose Ocean village because we have never cruised before and would reccomend it to anyone in the same boat.
The matter of hygeine was taken very highly e.g before entering the restaurants we had to rub a special cleaning gel on our hands.Our cabin was cleaned throughly every day and was always left spotless once the cleaning lady had been in.

There are two restaurants on board the ship,one serving foods like thai and chinese and the other normal foods.In both restaurants the quality of food is very high.

The ship staff are generally very friendly.

The entertainment wasn't our liking and I definetly think it could improve.

To bring to a conclusion,we had a very enjoyable and worthwhile holiday.
The only thing I would Like to point out is that my parents weren't that keen on the Kids club.

Ocean Village was a first taste of cruising for us, and was a delight.

We encountered the odd fellow passenger with more cruising experience who had a bit of a grumble that the buffet dining etc wasn't like on other ships, and they would rather have the formal meals, but one has to ask why they chose to go OV!

Accomodation on board was to a high standard, there was never a meal time where the choice was less than we could have wanted, and the standard of cooking was superb.

The (mostly Fillipino) waiting and domestic staff were unfailingly polite, and helpful. Regrettably though the english staff were not from the same mould, and epitomised the worst of lacklustre disinterested service that this country can offer.

We experienced only one shore excursion. It was so badly run that we vowed never to go on another. That didn't confine us though, and we made our own way to all the places we wanted to visit at a quarter of the cost (and the train journeys were so much more fun that the excursion coaches).

One resultant gripe was that where the trip ashore was by tender, passengers making their own arrangements for the day had to wait until all OV trips had departed (pay us money or wait till last).

Our trip was affected by bad weather, which prevented us from departing from Livorno for a full 24 hours, resulted in some missed ports, and led to a bit of seasickness from some passengers when we did set sail. Some were complaining and demanding compensation, but I really think blaming the company for the weather is a BIT much :-)

The one thing which really did need attention was the entertainment - because it wasn't. If they'd pay a bit more, they might get a better class of act than one expects in a second rate pub in a dodgy part of town.

All in all, a great holiday. We're off again in November for the transatlantic trip.

ocean village was our 1st cruise and was excellent.
we were in a c grade outside cabin opposite the childrens club, cabin was large and very clean, only downfall was that it was directly under the outside restaurant area and every morning at about 6am the staff moved the tables and chairs about making an awful noise. we had to complain a couple of times but then it stopped.
the food we found to be excellent, especially in the bistro, i advise to book very early into your holiday as it gets booked very quickly. only downfall was they had no food on board for our 10 month old son , however the head chef was excellent and pureed anything we chose.
the kids club was brilliant and the night nursery a blessing,
the outdoor circus show was excellent. would deffinately travle with ocean village again.

This was our first cruise and we were not to bedisappointed. We were very impressed with the way our luggage was handled and once it was checked in at Manchester airport we did not see it again until it was outside our cabin in Barbados. We were on D Deck (cabin 165) The room was very spacious and although I had taken my own clothes hangers there was really no need as there were plenty. Our room attendant was called Gracia, she was fantastic and could not do enough for us, the room was kept spotless. The food was fabulous with plenty of variety and everything freshly cooked. The staff on the ship were all lovely, very pleasant and polite,and friendly except for the woman in the jewellers, who was quite rude to my husband when he took a watch back which he had bought the day before - it had a faulty strap.
The entertainment on the ship was good, with plenty of variety for everyone. Our son Michael was 7 years old at the time, had a truely magical holiday, the staff in the childrens club were very friendly, and we had difficulty getting Michael out of the club at times. On the second week of our holiday we unfortunately had very noisy neighbours in the cabin above ours. This was very quickly and sensitively dealt with by the nightwatchman. Obviously ignorant neighbours could potentially ruin a holiday and I was very impressed with the way it was dealt with.

Would we go back again? We have already booked for next March and have booked a suite. We are taking family and friends with us, it is a special year for both myself and my husband, I will be 50 in January and my husband Stephen will be 50 on the 3rd of April we will be on board the Ocean Village and visiting Mayreau that day! Initially we booked for ourselves but so far there are another 6 members of the family coming (already booked) and another two, my daughter and her husband seriously thinking about it.

P.S (any chance of a complimentary 'welcome surprise' in our cabins when we arrive?) My cabin number is A123 arriving on the 23rd of March 2006 for fourteen nights and also my daughter's cabin P 170.
The other two lead names are Mr Walter Knowles booked into an outside cabin on B deck and also Mrs Christine Musgrave booked a balcony cabin on A deck.