Just returned from a 2 week July back to back cruise on the OV1 on the 'Temple & tavernas and 'Olives & Ouzo routes.

This is our 4th OV1 cruise having done one 'Western Med and two 'Caribbean' cruises. I will be brief, as I have left reviews on this site regarding previous OV1 cruises.

We had a great time and thought the cruise excellent value for money (Although we did book it 10 days before departure, so we did not pay the brochure price).

Briefly, the food was great with plenty of choice, cabins are big compared with other cruise ships and even have a fridge, Staff were very friendly as usual and even the entertainment has got better...finally! We had 2 tribute acts, 2 comedians and 2 production shows each week which were very good, but the TV copy game shows still leave a lot to be desired held in the connexions lounge. Hence the score for entertainment has gone from a 2 to a 3.

If I was only going on a 1 week cruise I would recommend the 'Temples & Tarvernas' itinerary. Santorini, Cyprus and Rhodes were the highlights. On the 'Olives & Ouzo route Cephalonia and Katakolon Islands do not have much to offer unless you do a tour and if you have 'done' the Acropolis site tour in Athens walking around town is not much of a pleasure - this is only my personal view however.

Disembarking: A lot of first time cruisers are confused with this issue, so here goes: The night before leaving the ship i.e. Wednesday night you have to leave your hold luggage outside your cabin door by 10pm for collection by the crew. You apply 2 provided tags to your luggage handle with you flight info and you also stick on a security sticker. Keep a few bathroom essentials and change of clothes behind in your hand luggage and don't forget the sun cream like I did! (Please note that your hold luggage is sent directly to Crete airport so you do not see it again until you land at your home airport - no checking in at Heraklion airport etc, good eh!?

Thursday morning you have to go into one of the lounges to collect your tickets for the flight (only one person need go per family). The seat numbers have already been allocated. You have to vacate your cabin by 08:30 at the latest and they are very strict about this. That’s it until you are called off the ship, so you can leave the ship for a walk, go on a tour or sunbathe etc. First flight is called off the ship at 11:40, last flight is 19:15 for the Cardiff flight!

I have brought home the bar price menu, tour prices and disembarking details etc, so if anyone has a question regarding this cruise please feel to email me at gwuk@go.com.

Ocean Village? What can i say? It is the best holiday ever!!
In 2004 we were looking for a holiday and we decided to go on a cruise. After a lot of looking we found Ocean Village. Going on Ocean Village was only ment to be a one off, but this certainly never happened. We have been on it 5 years in a row now, every summer from 2004-2008.

1. Ship cleanliness - The ships cleanliness is great. The cabins are cleaned every single day. The cleaners are very friendly. They never stop cleaning and trying to make your holiday great. The tables at the plantation and the water front restraunts are always clean and there is always a huge choice of tables to sit at.

2. Ship food - The ship food is fantastic. There is a variety of food 24/7. When we went on Ocean Village, we went to plantations every night around 12 o'clock or maybe even later and had a mid-night snack. At the Plantations, there is a different theme every night for example; chinese, indian, greek, french, spanish etc. On the other hand the Waterfront restraunt is a restaunt for you if you like a roast dinner. The waterfront has a variety of deserts, drinks, and food. In your cabins you will be given 2 bottles of water, and if they finish they will be replaced.If you dont like bottled water i would recommend that when the ship docks, go to a nearby shop and buy some bottles of juice.

3. Ship staff - The ship staff are extremely friendly.
If you need any assistance just ask and they would be there in a tick. The childrens crew are very good. All of them give it 100% percent to make sure that the children have the holiday of their life.
My daughter still keeps intouch with them all.
The freedom2 move cast are amazing. They taught my daughter and her friend a dance that they preformed in OV's got talent.

4. The entertainment is amazing. You can never be bored. There is always something to do, or to see. If you are into dancing there is a salsa workshop which is very fun. If you have a favourite singer you might even be able to see a tribute of them. On deck during the day there is always someone singing, dancing, ice carving, cycling workshops and even things like juggling.

If you are a very adventurous person and would love to see places all over the world Ocean Village is the ship for you.

For dinner at night,or lunch you dont have to get dressed up. You can just go in with your shorts and t-shirt on.

Over all Ocean village is a fantastic holiday and i would definately go on it again.

x

We have just returned from a two week eastern med cruise.This was our fifth cruise with ocean village.As on previous cruises we could not fault the food staff and cleanliness of the ship.However there are one or two things on board that need to change.There should be a no smoking policy anywhere inside the ship especially in the cabins or bars.The cabin we occupied smelt of smoke for the first week we were in it.Throughout our stay work was being done on deck and so you had to suffer the smell of paint if you sat on the sunbeds.Finally although this ship is aimed at 35-55 age group the majority of passengers at this time of year is considerably older and therefore the entertainment needs to be adjusted accordingly.Overall this is a good ship to choose if you want to try cruising for the first time.

We sailed on Ocean Village April 17th 2008 on a 7 night cruise on the Tempels and Tavernas Itinary. We found the ship spotlessly clean. As regards food there was plenty of variety hot,cold, different nationalities and of an excellent standard. The staff were all friendly and curtious and couldnt do enough for you.Childrens facilities were excellent and we would strongly recommend the kids clubs. On board entertainment was mainly tribute acts but these were of a good standard.We would deffiently recommend Ocean Village and have already rebooked to try Ocean Village 2 in October.

We have just recently returned from a transatlantic cruise on OV1, we picked the ship up at Montego Bay, then onto Catalina Island, Tortola, St Maarten, then a pretty rough 5 day crossing to Madeira, then to Gibraltar where the weather finally brought some much needed sun to this cruise, then a lovely 3 day sail to Crete all along the Med part of this cruise weather wise was brilliant, much better than the Caribbean and the Atlantic crossing.

The ship is very clean and the crew work tirelessly every day to keep it spotlessly clean and always with a smile. Most of the crew are philapino & indian & can't do enough for you. The food we found very good but our prefered restaurant onboard was the Water front restaurant, mainly British dishes served here along with chocolate fountains which go down well with the ladies onboard. There are 3 other restaurants 2 of which are waiter service which there is a small cover charge, one of these restaurants is the celebrity chef James Martin's called the Bistro.

Plenty of bars onboard the oval bar which is a smoking bar then you have connections bar, bayside bar , & splash bar, also the diso on top deck with another bar, on deck 4 you have the reception with charlies coffee bar where you can also get cakes etc & alcohol.

Onboard entertainment we thought was very good mostly tribute acts for which the majority where excellent .Also the ship runs ' up close & personnel' interviews with celebrities in the marquee onboard, on our particular cruise was the actress who played Sinita in coronation street & footballing ledgend Ian Rush both were very good.

My wife & I are both in our mid 40's & the only downside to this cruise for us was I think we went 20 years to early as we were some of the youngest people onboard. Ocean Village say they target the 35 to 55 year olds thats why we booked it but on this particular cruise I think it would be more like 60 to 85 year olds, it was like a floating geriatric ward on times.

Cabins are great and spacious, would we go again yes we would but I think we would opt for a Mediterranean cruise next in the summer , then I would hope the average passenger ages would be much younger as the wrinklies like to holiday in the winter, so hopefully it would be to hot for them peak season in the Med. All in all though a great cruise with very good value for money .

It was our first cruise and we were absolutely delighted. It was packed with fantastic entertainment and the ports were all outstanding.
I'd like to mention in particular Lisa Core, the resident vocalist who entertained us all cruise. she has a beautiful voice and personality. She never hesitated to come and chat to us and it really made us feel special all week. I wish her well and know she'll go far.
The rest of the entertainment was also very good especially the Queen tribute.

After reading reviews of the ship and entertainment, went with an open view as on previous cruises one of the main highlights for my husband and I is the entertainment, liking "west-end" style shows. We were thrilled with the shows put on. The entertainment crew were second to none. Where do the dancers get their energy from? Both main singers had excellent voices and the shows put on were of the highest class. Well done. The ship, as we expect on all crusies was spotless and the waiters and bar staff very friendly. Itinery was good although as usual the trips arranged on board too expensive. Majority of trips can be arranged once you land at half the price (admittedly not always with as knowledgeable a guide but the majority of taxi drivers are more than able to give a brief historical tour. Food was varied each day - something for all - although on some occasions could have done with being hotter. We do like the fact that you can eat at any time instead of being restricted to a certain time. On the downside the "pub" was not big enough and we never managed to get a seat to see the comedian. Would we use Ocean Village again - can't wait to book for next year.

PAST HISTORY. Have been cruising for 8 years on many different lines. With regards to OV this was our 4th visit on OV1 and we have done 1 cruise on OV2.

REASON FOR CHOOSING. Liked the itinery and as it was hubbies 60th reasoned that we knew the good and bad points of OV so no surprises.

FLIGHT. First choice. Upgraded seats (special birthday.} Very good outward flight with nice food and excellent service. Seats (9 a/b) comfortable. Home coming flight food so so, service tired ad disorganised plus they had run out of basic items. Didn't have same seats (3 c/d) meaning I was in the middle of a set of 3, not so good.

SHIP. Public areas in good clean condition. Smoking allowed in designated areas and cabins.
CABIN. A133 - suite. This was very tired and dated looking. Air con was inefficient. Bedding and furnishing dark brown which gave it a sombre appearance. Balcony good size but urgently needs a makeover and as you usually have to pay a highish price for these rooms (not many, so supply and demand} we thought it not worth the money. Had a balcony room last trip but the balcony was so tatty and tiny that I decided to upgrade (birthday treat.)Cabin very noisy due to staff dragging sunbeds on deck. This happened about 6/7 a.m. and 7 p.m.and seemed to last a long time. Other people on A deck had far worse noise problems so we were lucky by comparison. This may help although you would need to check for yourselves I was told that A204, 208, 210 and A189, 191, 193, 195 were very noisy.

FOOD. Breakfast (Plantation) Good choice. Tasty. Not hot hot but acceptable. Items did run out from time to time but not enough to cause problems and you could always get food from the other side. Staff attentive and helpful.
Evening (Waterfront) Reasonable choice, blandish, medium hot. Noticed food much, much downgraded from last time. Basic only. Fine to eat just to fill a gap but not anything to anticipate and savour over a glass of wine. Staff too efficient as they would remove items before you had used them. General experience was of a busy and rushed cafeteria with corresponding food.
LA LUNA. Day. Excellent pizzas with side salad. Free. Evening. Cover charge, we noticed this time that the cover charge did not cover much. Needed to pay an extra supplement to obtain anything like 'cruise food'. Very downgraded indeed from previous experiences. Staff excellent. Previously used La Luna a lot but this time once was enough.
BISTRO. Lovely to be waited on. Staff excellent. Food fine, not as good a choice as previously and blander. Have had better food on other lines in general restaurants. However, worth a visit especially on discount nights. Tip, iced water is supplied and topped up by the glass. You do not need to buy bottled water.

STAFF. Excellent as always. Captain invisible. Senior admin staff apparantly unhelpful and off hand if you have a problem. Take no notice of the 'ship is sailing full' sign. I know this wasn't the case either on this trip and on OV2 previously.

ENTERTAINMENT. Main source of general discontent. One tribute act end of each week, the day before you fill your comments form in. First week a Robbie Williams act (good). Second week Queen act (excellent as always). We stayed for both Queen shows but moved seats. No one could see or concentrate on the show due to the constant walking about of the waiters asking if drinks were required. This was continually done even though a fresh set of drinks had only just been served. Besides the nuicance value I think the constant pushing of drinks is irresponsible as people are not having time to determine their limits due to the continual prompting to re-order. Entertainment mostly consisted of participation shows (e.g. Mr. and Mrs.) Comedy, which I thought was outdated although Mia Carla is worth watching.
DRINKS. Neither I or anyone else ever detected any alchol in the cocktail of the day so we stopped buying them. Prices overall fine. NOTE: I was told by a relative of a high up member of staff that OV had a new bar mamager and his instructions were to push, push and push again the sale of drinks. Whether this is true I can't say, but it could explain why you dont have time to even half finish a drink and I have seen more glassy eyed passengers in the day on this trip than ever before.
CARTAGENA. Old town. Hot. Busy. Pavement full of holes. People shouted what I assume was abuse ending with the word 'Americanos' which we are not. You cannot walk or sit without hawkers bothering you. People who had booked a trip at port gates had a lovely day so that is probably best.
COLON. Booked ferry trip on canal from OV. Interesting although pricey. Tip. Snack on this trip is terrible much better to take a couple pieces of fruit with you. Soft drinks/water continually supplied f.o.c.
LIMON. Booked trip at port which included trip on Tortuguero canal. Excellent. Wonderful day and value for money as exactly half OV price and no crowds or hassle.
OCHO RIOS. General discontent by everyone as most people felt ripped off. Went Margaritaville, wouldnt bother again. My opinion overpriced and contrived drinking venue. Walked along beach to find 'Lobster Dave' Located a shack and had fresh lobster, kingfish, rice and beer. It is local eating place, we were the only white people there. Massively overcharged but it wwasn't the place to argue. Worth going but sort price out as soon as you enter as they simply start cooking your food when you sit down and you have what they serve.
MONTEGO BAY. Went Doctors Cave Beach by taxi. Paid $25 to get in and have 2 hairs and umbrella. Chairs are wooden deckchairs. I thought it was small and very crowded. No price on drinks and food and the roaving waiters charged different prices. Charged one man $20 for 2 beers in plastic cups and 1 soft drink. Best value is a bucket of beer for $10 but you have to go to the bar and get this yourself and even then that starts off at a higher figure.
IN JAMAICA I WOULD OPT FOR AN ALL INCLUSIVE RESORT FOR THE DAY. YOU KNOW WHAT YOU ARE PAYING AND WHAT YOU ARE RECEIVING. EVERYONE FELT RIPPED OFF AND NOTED THAT LOCALS SOON BECAME SURELY IF YOU WERN'T PARTING WITH $ss
PROGRESSO. I loved it. Had a $2 ride around the town on a double decker truck. Good market. Good local beach. Lunch, had huge plate for 2, oysters,lobster, grouper, conch, squid, octopus, large prawns, veg, rice. Paid $20 (£10) each. Beer $1 a bottle. Excellent.
COZUMEL. Went Chankanaab national park by taxi. Good snorkeling. Plenty of beds, hammocks, kids playgrounds, small botanical garden, food and drinks.
BELIZE. Good. Went 21 miles out on speedboat. I stopped on an island called caye caulker. Wonderful, safe and relaxing. Hubby continued on boat to Shark Ray Alley for snorkeling (not really for beginners as sea choppy) Speedboat returned and we all had lovely red snapper, beer and a little time on island. Excellent.
ROATON. Stayed on ship. People who went to beaches very pleased.
GRAND CAYMAN. Went to 7 mile beach as did most other people. $10 umbrella. $5 each chair. Drinks overpriced.

ROUND UP. First time cruisers were over the moon with everything and have booked again. I didnt speak to, or know of anyone who had done other cruising who would go again unless it was a bargain which couldnt be missed. We had a good holiday but wouldnt want to go with OV again whatever the price as, for us, too many things have been compromised. Hope this helps.

To put this into context,
I am not normally the sort of person who generally submits reviews or is particularly vociferous.
However after reading some of the ones submitted here I felt it was perhaps time to add my two-pennorth’s worth.
I have just returned from a two week cruise on the Reggae and Rainforests plus the Tapa’s and Tequila’s. I have also previously done a stay and cruise out of Barbados.
The Ocean Village is a spotlessly clean ship staffed by some of the friendliest people I have ever met. They are mostly Indian or Filipino and smile all day long, which for them is an 11 hour day 6 days a week for 9 months followed by 3 months unpaid leave!
The cabins are quite spacious and more than sufficient for a two weeks cruise and are serviced to a high standard every day.
The restaurants provide a buffet style service which is constantly replenished and the food is of a very high standard, yes something may run out, but the service area’s are duplicated in each restaurant so just go around to the other side and leave your complaining head at home.
I pride myself on my own cooking and whilst I could have been picky about some of the dishes on offer (i.e. the mildest pork vindaloo I have ever had … for this read bhuna ) they are cooking for the masses. On the other hand the roast beef and lamb shank was some of the best I have ever had, as for dessert ( which I’m not over keen on ) my wife was in heaven! I ate in both La Luna and The Bistro but felt you were only paying for the personal service.
Onboard entertainment was a mixed bag, the basic entertainment was quite average bordering on Butlins, although they do have some higher quality acts which are generally only onboard for a week doing two or three performances each. These can be exceptional, I have seen Junior Simpson ( comedian ) on Ocean Village on both voyages and most recently as a support act for Jim Davidson at Derby Assembly Rooms where he was by far the more hilarious. Keith Fields as a magic and comedy act was also high quality entertainment and on the previous cruise Manuel Martinez should become a household name. Some acts are adult entertainment but you are told this a number of times before the act.
Also in the Marquee was the ‘Stars In Their Eyes’ Neil Diamond winner, a George
Michael tribute and ‘Bongo Eddy’ from King Creole and The Coconuts who is the spitting image of Barry White. All good entertainment.
The Oval Bar is a smoking bar, but that seems reasonable to me ( I’m a non-smoker ), if you don’t like smoke don’t go in it.
The ports of call are a mixed bag also, these are generally third world destinations and are probably places you will never visit again but are probably places you have always been curious about, if nothing else it may make you happier with your own lot!
I also view it as a ‘would I like to go back again scenario’ and that is definitely the case for Roatan and Grand Cayman, one for it’s unspoilt off the tourist trail beauty and the other that is no less beautiful but is more cosmopolitan.
Tenders can be a long wait in some ports ( you are notified which are tender ) so get your ticket after breakfast and delay going to the waiting area by getting ready in your cabin for 40 minutes before going down and listening to the entertainments team performing an ad hoc comedy act attempting to take your mind off the usually hour wait.
The only other niggle was the ability of the English to outperform all other nations at the sunbed acquiring contest, which must start at dawn and continue throughout the daylight hours. Points must be awarded for those who actually use them for the least amount of time and after a 1000 points gift vouchers entitling you to a deed in covenant for the rest of your trip are hastily grabbed by anxious squatters.
You may also find as the sun moves around that your delightful ocean view is quite suddenly obscured by a roving group of OAP’s who drag all the ships complement of un-spraited sunbeds ( not bloody many ) directly in front of you as they treat you to an impromptu erotic display of how to apply litres of age and sun defying lotions to their bodies.
Ocean Village performs a service exceptionally well and if you don’t like the places you have visited then that is because they are what they are, Ocean Village provides good accommodation, the friendliest staff I have ever met, good restaurants serving on the whole fine meals and good entertainment as per the previous provisos.

We have previously travelled on OV (Caribbean 2005) and OV2 (Med 2007) and have to say that the standard of this cruise was noticeably worse than previously. There were, however, positive things about the package overall, including the premier seats on First choice airlines ex-Gatwick, and the space and cleanliness of the Suite on A deck. We chose this particlar cruise because of the 'unusual' ports of call rather than the 'traditional' islands in the caribbean. Having paid a lot of money for the suite, there was considerable noise in early mornings and late evenings with sun beds being dragged on the sundeck above the cabin. However, the cabin was spacious, although a little tired, (the television will probably be well placed in a museum) and well cleaned with ample stocks of tea and coffee, and Molton Brown toiletries. The quality and variety of food in both the Waterfront and Plantation restaurants has declined. Frequently there was a lack of replenishment of essential items - salad leaves and toast were often missing, and often it was necessary to have to ask for items of food especially at breakfast. Why should I have to go and beg for HP sauce to go with a cooked breakfast on more than one occasion? There was a decline in the availabilty of some foods - where has the seafood salad gone - in fact, where has the seafood gone? Rollmops are fine, but not every day - and is there a lack of prawns in the caribbean. Of course, the 'stealth' charges are now creeping in - should you want fish and chips in newspaper at lunchtime (not sure why you should want this in the caribbean in temperatures of 26C?) then you will need to pay a surcharge of £2.50 for the privilege. Where is the ice cream? Probably the cheapest dessert you can provide in mass catering - but only available at a surcharge for limited times on the leisure deck. The most off-putting thing is the behaviour of passengers. Do you really want to sit at a table for breakfast, when less than 2 metres away a mother is combing her young daughter's long hair? Do you really want to sit at a table outside the Waterfront Restaurant for breakfast when at the next table there is a man resting his foot and leg on the table? I know that Ocean Village cannot control the behaviour of passengers - but is this an example of the clientelle now being drawn onto this ship?
Despite all of this we did enjoy our cruise - like all holidays there were good bits and not so good bits. However, overall, the OV is not as good as previously and we shall being looking elsewhere for another cruise in the future.