This is the 2nd time that we have travelled on the Ocean Village, both times doing the Transatlantic Crossing (23 nights cruise)The 1st time that we did the transantlantic crossing there was and outbreak of the Noro virus. On our last crossing I am pleased to say that the ship was spotless and there were always crew members cleaning and polishing, on going back to our cabins in the early hous of the morning we noticed that there were cleaners disenfecting all areas of the ship even down to cabin door handles. No sign of any virus's so 10 out of 10 for cleanliness.

The plantation and Waterfront restuarant served a variety of different menus, food was always hot and looked very appetising. Full english breakfast in the mornings bacon, eggs, mushrooms, tomatoes, beans etc, with an option of a healthy breakfast if required as well as continental. Lunches in the waterfront varied from the plantation

Dinner in the evening was always varied, and if you liked currys and spicy food the plantation was your best option. Stuart the head chef was an English chef and he was so helpful, if you mentioned anything that you fancied he would go out of his way to make sure that it was on the menu, my only complaint if you can call it a complaint was the way that the meat was carved in the Waterfront, they seemed to cut against the grain of the meat hence making it tough.

For an extra special mean go to the La Luna where you will pay a small supplement, but, it really is worth it, food excellent, service excellent.

The Bistro in my opinion is overated, food cold, not cooked properly, (ie frozen starter and raw steak) on complaining to the manageress of the Bistro we were met with a somewhat could not care less attitude and she was quite rude to other members of our party, all in all of all the crew that were on board she was the most rudest person that we met. L:ast year on our 1st transatlantic cruise, James Martin was on board and the service that we received then was SECOND TO NONE.

Ship Staff, what can I say EXCELLENT always ready to help and with a smile even after a 12 hour shift.

Entertainment was very good although we had seen the shows from our first crossing, but, I believe from talking to entertainment staff there was all new shows starting in May of this year.

Yes we will be doing the Transatlantic crossing in April of 2008. The ship is casual, laid back and it is good value for money

This was our first cruise and we loved it, we were on the ocean village for 23 nights doing the crossing etc.
the ships cleaniness was fantastic, their was a varied menu in all the resturants, the ships staff were very good, the entertainment was also very good, man alive the resident singing duo just need to sing a little bit more rather than mess about.
Hello to paul the dj who's back in southampton, paul i'm the one who kept asking for i am the one and only by chesney hawks, hope your well mate,
the ports of call in the caribbean were fantastic, st maartin being the best, great beaches wonderful ocean etc, st lucia was more tropical and a wonderful place, went whale watching in dominica and loved it, we wouldn't do the crossing again though five and a half days at sea is too long especially when the ship has a fuel leak 800 miles from any land and the captain has to turn off all power while it's sorted, pretty scary half hour that.
when we got to medira we loved the place looks fantastic, gibraltar was also great said hello to ocean village two there, sardinia crap, naples mad, crete was also good.
As for going back we can't wait but only for two weeks in the caribbean next time.

It was the first time I had been on a cruise and was looking for cheap and cheerful over xmas. I choose this type of cruise one for the money (and it was worth the money - want 5* then pay 5* prices). Also as the age ranges in our party were from 35 - 75 I need something that would appeal to everyone - full marks there - no complaints.

cleanliness - no complaints here the crew work tirelessly to clean up after us. In fact it is the only holiday I have been on for longer than a week where I haven't been ill (low immune system so I expect it!!)

Food - plenty to choose from - didn't repeat the same meal more than once, used la luna (wasn't overtly impressed) and Bistro (5*'s). Anyhow it must have been good as I put on 7lbs in the 14 days I was on board. Xmas dinner was traditional english/american fare and covered all bases. I had mince pies too - so don't know where the chap below ate.

Entertainment - not sure what I expected probably Butlins and got Butlins from the entertainment and some of the clientle. Jaki graham and the Errol Brown tribute was excellent. There was one singer think it was seline who couldn't hold a note - even the shop staff grimanced when she played - some one give her lessons or put her out of her misery. The entertaiment manager Andrew loved the sound of his own voice and his rear spoilt my view of the staff xmas carols, my pictures of it and video footage no doubt. Kids xmas carols excellent. On the subject of kids - didn't see any really even though xmas week there was 300 of them. Apparently the kids clubs where superb open from 8am - 2am (babysitting). There were no screaming or kids running around. The toddlers had their own sun deck with small pool and there was one pool which was adults only. So full marks on that front.

The island trips - now some people moan here about the price of the Ocean Village trips but to be fair if your not an intrepid explorer ready to take your chances locally book a few trips until you find your feet. It can be daunting to be faced with 50 or so Taxi drivers in your first few days at each stop - if your not keen take an Ocean Village trip - if it does what you want to do.
Isla Margarita Dolphins - if your on for 2 weeks wait until Tortola to do the dolphin swim thing if you must (if you get up early when the ship is sailing into port - you'll see dolphins at the front of the ship)
Bike riding trips - great way to see part of the island the guys really look after you and its a laugh.
Beach - if you just want to go to the beach take a local taxi - they'll wait and take you back to the ship or return later if you ask them. ( there are always loads of other cruisers on the beach - you'll spot the towels to share mini buses with).
The local taxi drivers are seasoned tour professionals its how they earn their living!! the tourism info at each port will advise where to go and what to see or check it out on the internet before you go.
Safety - tip - remove all gold chains if they mean anything to you better to be safe. You can tell how safe an island is by the news sheet in your room - think it says something about valuables on ceratin islands. The worst I found was Trinidad and Tobago.

St Vincent - went on a new trip not in OV brouchure boat trip snorkelling, lunch waterfalls and tour of island - excellent well worth the money - saw the pirates of the carribean set!!!

what to buy - rum everywhere, Isla Margarita has the best hand made jewllery on market stalls in the port - it's not as pretty or as cheap on any of the other islands if they haven't got what you want they will often make it. Duty Free Isle of ST Maarten booze half the price of Barbadous. Spices - Grenada - walk out of the port to the local market.

On ship price's for everything from drinks - £2.80 per pint to costa coffee roughly the same price as UK (dependant on where you live of course)

On the whole I enjoyed the trip - it did what it said on the box and matched my expectations for the money.

P.S. xmas gifts from the ship - pedometer and sweat towel!!!

We have just returned from our second cruise on OV, the first being around the Med in 2005, which was great. As this one was over christmas, we were expecting the same standered or better, unfotunately we were a little disappointed, not with the whole cruise, just some aspects of it.

We flew to Barbados from Gatwick 12th Dec, on a plane which was to small for that length of flight, nearly 10 hours as we had a head wind. There was very little room to move about and to top it all, we had to put up with 2 children crying for most of the flight, so not much chance to sleep. The transfer to OV was great, straight from the plane on to air conditioned buses, then 25 minute drive to ship. Embarkation very quick, then a short wait till our cabin was ready, just time for coffee in Charlie's bar. Once in the cabin, we had a short wait for our suitcases to arrive, then came the task of unpacking and ironing our creased clothes, well they had been in there a long time.

CABIN. Clean and spacious, with eveything that you need. Loads of storage space, which is lucky because my wife puts the luggage label on her wardrobe.

CLEANLINESS. Really clean everywhere.

FOOD. On our Med cruise the food was fantastic, this time not so good. There was very little variety, although our daughter seemed to enjoy it. Worst of all, no mince pies on christmas day (ha ha).

STAFF. Well what can I say, they are great, nothing is to much trouble and so friendly.

ENTERTAINMENT. Mostly rubbish, I can think of other things to say but they wouldn't get printed. Selina was on our Med cruise, she was no better then, so practice doesn't always make perfect, Street, which is a duo didn't fair much better. OV seem to think that the near same program every night is suitable. Erol Brown tribute was very good, as was Simon Ledger, the ships singer and keyboard player. The moon show was as bad as last year and the christmas eve panto and after show were appaulling, with most people walking out. The saying "save the best till last" was true of this cruises entertainment, in the form of 80s star Jackie Graham and she could really give stars of today a run for their money, she really rocked. The Marqee came alive the minute she walked on stage, shame we had to wait 10 days for her. Wonderful lady on and off stage.

OFF SHIP.

Triadad. Went on back to nature trip, waste of money. (Booked through OV).

Isla Margarita. Lovely port, with market just outside ship. Great beach with bars and lovely food. Get a massage on beach, well worth $35.00 for 50 mins.

Grenada. Went on Etang and great lake trek, waste of money.(Booked through OV).

St Lucia. Went on Pitons cruise, great. Be careful of drinks which flow freely during the trip, most of all the rum punch, really strong.(Booked through OV).

St Vincent. Went for walk through town. Returned to ship after about an hour, didn't feel safe, not much to do either.

Barbados. Booked a trip on internet for snorkelling with turtles. Luckily we hadn't paid for it, as transport didn't turn up. We managed to get on the trip which OV ran, it was wonderful. Again loads of free drink and great food.

Dominica. We were booked to go on the arial tram, which we had been looking forward to but changed our minds, after talking to passengers who had already done it. They told us that it was a bit disappointing, so we went river tubing, which was fantastic. Warning, if you can't stand a little pain, avoid this trip. (Booked through OV).

Antigua. Catamaran trip around the whole island, fantastic, you see so much. Again, the drinks are free all day, so be carefull. Food also great. (Booked through OV).

St Kitts. We booked a trip on the St Kitts railway, which as the day approached, we started to think might be a bit boring, were we wrong. This is wonderful a must for a great day out. (Booked through OV).

St Maarten. No trip booked. We got a water taxi to the beach and had a great day.

Tortola. We went swimming with dolpins, which is the most wonderful thing you can do. OV charge £95.00pp, for the most basic swim, this is a rip off. We booked over the internet, with www.dolphindiscovery.com for the Royal Dolphin Swim, $139.00pp (£72.00). For that, you get a foot push, fin pull, dolphins singing with you and much more and there is only 10 people in the pool, with 2 dolphins, well worth booking off ship.

Christmas day was spent at sea, returning to Barbados, for our journey home. Pleanty off time to catch up on some well needed sleep. All the drinking and late nignts in Bayside club, had finally caught up. Once again Jackie Graham was the star of the evening show, can't wait to see her in Brighton.

Flight home. Better than the outward flight, slept most of it.

Overall, the holiday was good but OV need to improve their entertainment program. We would go with them again, maybe in a couple of years, after we have tried some other cruises.

If you want to know more, feel free to e-mail me. johnrogersdavis@aol.com.

did the stay and cruise holiday with my mum and daughter for the first two weeks in December.From getting off the plane in Barbados to flying home to Manchester two weeks later Ocean Village have everything organised to make it as easy as possible for you.Forget your luggage you see it in your room in the hotel,then on your final morning put it outside your door and the next time you see it it will be in your cabin. We were on our first cruise and stayed on A deck. The room was a lot bigger than I thought it would be and we had that much drawer space we didn't use half of it. Our room was kept spotless and has we were 3 sharing the 3rd bed was made up every evening after we had left the room. All of the ship was spotless and the staff were constantly spraying the rails and bannister's in fact anywhere you placed your hands was sanitised. The restaurants were very spacious and the meals were very varied.When you go abroad you don't expect the bacon to be English but on board ship it is. I love my food and this must be the best I have ever had abroad. The staff are extremely friendly and have always a smile for you. The youngster who were the entertainers are absolutely fantastic and so,so talented I`m surprised they have not been on TV. The only down side to the holiday I would say is when you dock in Trinidad. We docked at a working port with all the container lorries at work so it wasn't a pretty site although all the other islands were working ports they were so picturesque you didn't notice the containers so much.All in all we had a great holiday and would definitely sail on Ocean Village again

P&O Ocean Village Caribbean Cruise 12 – 26 Dec 2006 – Entertainment issues.

This was our third P&O Ocean Village cruise and our second in the Caribbean. We have cruised many times on Thomson, Island and the old Airtours ships, but this ship is our favourite due to the cabin size, food, informality and overall space.

We did our first ever Xmas cruise last year and enjoyed it so much, decided to book the Xmas cruise again this year. The destinations were similar, but that didn’t bother us, as we were looking forward to the new entertainment. Ocean Village try to do something different from the ‘West end’ type of shows that most other cruise lines show. BUT…

We couldn’t believe our eyes when we saw the weekly ‘what’s on’ guide. The entertainment was pretty much the same as last year! I expected to see the ‘Moon’ acrobatic show on the open deck again, even though its being running for years, as this is unique to Ocean Village (seen this now 6 times). But we didn’t expect to see ‘Pulse’ and ‘Crash’ shows still showing. Not only that, but they repeated these shows each week, so if your doing a 2 week cruise you see these same shows again!

But it got worse, not only were the shows the same, they even had the same comedians from last year – Mia Carla and Manuel Martinez, very funny first time round, but they came on with the same old acts/jokes. They also had the same Xmas carol show and even the same Pantomime – Aladdin. To top it off, they even had the same quizzes as last year, I kid you not! If you’ve been on this ship before, keep your quiz sheets, you can win some great prizes!

We decided to have a word with entertainment Manager, Andrew Millar (who was on the ship last year) and tell him how disappointed we were to see the ‘same old’ entertainment one year on. He said he was powerless to do anything as it was Ocean Village’s policy, but he did mention that some of the tribute singers were different and they were flying in the singer Jaki Graham for Xmas eve. (Ironically we saw her on the Ocean Village in May 2004 on a Med cruise). Oh and when we mentioned that the quizzes were the same as last year, he said that was out of order and would get his team to plan new ones!

Unfortunately, Ocean Village don’t seem to give a hoot when it comes to producing new shows and hiring new acts for their cruises. This is a slap in the face for repeat customers like us, whom I would assume P&O would like have back, baring in mind the competition in the UK cruise market. Island and Thomson cruise lines change their entertainment each year AND offer different shows each week for the 2 week guests, so why can’t Ocean Village?

I’m afraid to say that I wouldn’t consider another Ocean Village cruise if the ‘same old’ entertainment is showing most nights, year in year out. What worries me is are they going to repeat the same shows etc on the new Ocean Village 2 ship that comes into service this May 2007? After speaking to Mr Millar, he did say that they were thinking of having the ‘Crash’ or ‘Pulse’, show on the new ship! God help all the previous Ocean Village customers like us, who want to try the new ship this year.

At the end of the day, I would still recommend cruising on the Ocean Village if you have never done so, as long as you like the informal type of cruise. If however, you have sailed on her before and entertainment is an important aspect of your holiday, try another cruise line, or check to see they have changed the entertainment!

If anyone has a question about Ocean Village, please feel free to e-mail at gwuk@go.com and enter ‘cruise query’ in the subject box.

Best holiday ever. Well worth the cost. No fault with any part of the ship, all excellent. Plenty for kids to do in the evening at base camp. Trips were all brilliant, allthough some a little pricey. Independent trip from Dominica very good value. When in Barbados just walk or get a taxi to the Malibu beach attraction, it's only about 5 - 10 mins from port. In Tortolla get a taxi to Cane Garden Bay.
Prices on board ship quite reasonable, photos and trips can bump up the cost. Would recommend Ocean Village to everyone, 5 Star holiday.
We booked again for December 07 as soon as we got home.

The crew couldn't be more helpful and polite, especially when you consider you are not giving them tips.
I still can't praise Ocean Village enough and we're counting down the days untill we're on Ocean Village 2.
Cabin staff kept our cabin imaculate, so a huge thanks to Sheryl.
You'll love Ocean village if you want to visit the caribbean at an affordable price in a relaxed atmosphere. Thankfully none of the overdressing for meals.

Sailed on OV for 2 weeks last year. Absolutley fabulous. Ship very very clean, staffing very helpful, food wonderful. For every one who moans about the entertainment, if you don't like it don't watch it.
This is a relaxed informal cruise, and really enjoyable as you're not 'told' when to do everything.
It certainly isn't Butlins.

Yes the trips are expensive - it's a buisness, what do you expect. You know the price before you book, no body makes you book them.

A fabulous holiday, am looking forward to the caribean on OV2 again this year.

The cabins was very nice,was cleaned daily and towels changed as often as you like, food was very boring and you had to que for everythink, even a table inless you give up like we did and went late at night,e.g after 10.30. we even tried james martin resturant thought that would be better if you are paying, yes you got a seat but food was awfull and not worth the extra money. the entertainment was worse than butlins, night club was just a staff outing. drinks was expensive and warm no cold beer or cold cans, staff must of been on comission to sell you doubles or just a drink sometime we hadnt sat down before we were asked what we would like to drink.The pool was dirty and then closed for two days out of our one week stay. The excursion staff are rude and very unhelpful. and to add to the worst holiday i have ever had they did maintenance work all week from painting, drilling, sanding down the deck on the plantation resturant while you are eating. which is why i would not recommend ocean village to anyone inless i wanted to get rid of them for a week or two

We have just returned from our first ever cruise and what a fantastic time we had ! We thought the food was excellent especially in the Bistro which was the best and La Luna could not be faulted in fact everything we eat was very good!The staff in the restaurants were very attentive and nothing was too much trouble. We made our own way at most the destinations as we had heard how expensive the ship's trips were and we saved an awful lot of money!!! We did take the OV trip to Florence and Pisa but could have saved pounds had wwe been more organised !!!!!We had done some research about trains and local tours to see the sights in most places and found these very reasonable.We thought the stop in Tunis was a waste of time as having been there before knew it was a dump and chatting to people who went on that particular trip agreed with us !!Will Martin the singer and piano player was outstanding [Watch out X factor!!!] and really should be on a stage in the West end not on OV!!!! The bar prices were very reasonable , about the same as we pay here in U.K.All in all nothing to moan about, it was all very organised, from being met at Palma airport to disembarking there 7 days later. Can't wait to return hopefully to the Greek Islands or the Carribean next time.This holiday was absolutely superb and everyone should try it !!!