Image of MV Colombus (Formerley the Ocean Village)

MV Colombus (Formerley the Ocean Village)

1 of 2 Cruise & Maritime Voyages ships

A large vessel of superior rating. Built in 1989 and refit in 2003. The ship carries a maximum of 1856 passengers in 793 cabins, 64 of which have balconies and 544 have ocean views.10 cabins have wheelchair access for disabled passengers.

Cabins are a good size and all feature hairdryer, dressing room, fridge and VCRs. Bathtubs are provided in suites.

Entertainment features on show lounge, cinema and casino. Sporting facilities include fitness centre, sauna, volleyball, cricket nets and golf nets.

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155 Reviews

Traveller Rating

  • Excellent
    69
  • Very Good
    52
  • Good
    22
  • Average
    6
  • Poor
    6

Review Overview

  • Cleanliness
  • Entertainment
  • Food
  • Service
Pam
18 years 3 months ago
We sailed on a two week cruise on Ocean Village at the beginning of September. This was the first time we'd been on a cruise ship and it was everything we'd hoped and more.

The brochures pitches Ocean Village as informal cruising for people who don't do cruises. It was fantastic. We had an exterior cabin with a window, it was clean and comfortable and the cabin steward was lovely. All the staff were great and couldn't do enough for the guests. The ship was constantly being cleaned and our sheets were changed during the voyage - i'm not sure where some of the complaints on this site were coming from?

We mainly ate in the Waterfront restaurant and La Luna, the Bistro was nice but La Luna was our favourite. The quality of the buffet food was good, better than expected and quite varied. Ocean Village don't do 7 course formal dinners - if you want that look elsewhere. What they did well was tasty, good quality food in pleasant surroundings where you could eat as much or as little as you liked.

The ship was full during the first week and so was a little crowded but it was still possible to do most things with a little planning. There were a lot of kids who all seemed to be having a great time though as adults we hardly saw them as they had their own areas and we had a an adults only pool.

The on board activities were varied and plentiful, there were comedians, singers, tribute acts, circus acts, quizes, shows and the excellent moon show. Again the ship was full so you couldn't just turn up 2 mins before it was due to start and expect a prime seat but we saw everything we wanted to including an excellent Robbie Williams tribute. There were other activities including cinema, bingo, art auctions, casino with plenty of opportunity to learn new skills like juggling, dancing, pilates etc.

Cruising is a great way to see a lot of places very quickly and with lots of support if you've not been somewhere before. The cost of the trips can add up if you do them everyday and it is not always necessary to do formal trips. We hadn't been to most of the places on the cruise and so found the trips useful. Below is a quick summary:

Tunis - did Carthage & Sidi Bou said - ruins were fascinating but didn't like the village (not much to see and lots of hassle), didn't get off the ship the second time round

Rome - did best of Rome - was incredible, guide was excellent and well worth the money. Would choose the no lunch option as meal was disapointing, looked to be better food options

Genoa - Pure Portofino - boat trip from Santa Margherita to Portofino and then snacks and wine tasting on castle hill. Not a cheap trip but was very enjoyable. Was a bit of a trek up the hill, not one for people with walkng difficulties

St Raphael - did Easy Cannes - bit disapointing, long coach ride (2 hrs) on winding roads with no toilet stop! Then not long in Cannes. If did it again would just spend day in St Raphael which was a free tender ride away and looked to have nice beach and local centre to explore.

Barcelona - brilliant, just got bus into city and picked up local tourist bus tour. so much to see and not enough time in the day. Would definitely go back, if you just want to see the city don't bother paying for the trip.

Palma - middle day went to the water park, very enjoyable and nice chance to relax

Tunis - had nice lie in and morning by the pool

Naples - Sorrento & Pompeii - Sorrento was nice but didn't really have enough time to explore fully. Pompeii was excellent, guide was brilliant. Was very hot with little shade - take water!

Florence & Pisa - Florence was great with lots of stuff to see, again lunch was disapointing and could have done better locally. Pisa was ok but if did it again would spend whole day in Florence on own to see more there and do some shopping!

Monte Carlo - did easy French Riviera, good trip, Eze was good with amazing views, Nice was much better than Cannes.

Corsica - famous for one thing - Napoleon. The trip is all about him. If went again would just wander pff ship on own for little walk and skip the trip.

The temptation was to try and do everything, with trips starting early this was not the most relaxing of holidays and it is easy to spend all time running from one activity/trip to another. If we did this again would pick trips to be a little more relaxing. We didn't try the biking but the trips always seemed popular.

Overall it was a great holiday and would definitely sail with Ocean Village again as the ship/crew and general organisation were excellent. Not the cheapest holiday ever but one of the most fun!

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Travel operator: OCean Village

Recommended
Susan
18 years 3 months ago
ship is dirty, food appaling (unedible) and cold excursions diapolical for the money. morrings the cheapest the port could offer. sheets not changed for 12 days. entertainment well worth missing. ships maintance taking place next to occupied sun loungers. drinks not a full measure. £5.00 for a coach to palma and back (cash only) which should have been free. duty free more expensive than buying on shore. ocean village charge extra for everything they think they can get away with, making it overall dearer than other cruise companies. we have cruised with other companies who provided a far more superior holiday for less.
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Travel operator: go cruises

V King
18 years 4 months ago
We have just returned from a week on board the ocean village and I can only call the entire holiday perfect.The cruise was for myself my husband and two teenage children we have all travelled abroad for years but all agreed this was the best trip we had ever had. The ship could not have been any cleaner, the staff are all lovely and never stop working to make sure you have a good time. The food was fantastic in the bistro but was excellent in all the other restaurants. The entertainment was very good and we loved the moon show. Ocean village docked in some great med spots are favourite was rome. Anyone who loves a fantastic time on holiday this is the place for you.
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Travel operator: ocean village

Recommended
George Blackburn
18 years 4 months ago
the ratings on the left arnt high enough. we did a stay and cruise both were excellent. the ocean village rep was brilliant. transfer from hotel to ship perfect.
the cruise did excersions but you were still able to make your own arrangments with transport provided by the ship.
there is a mix of all ages and there is something for everyone. there was alot of noise BUT it was the sound of young and old enjoying themselves together.
the staff couldnt do enough for you.
for people who have never done a cruise and have doubts... TRY THIS ONE you wont be disappointed. ocean village is that good that they are putting on a second ship to cruise the greek islands. we are just back and want to go next year.
if anyone wants to know anymore please ask or log onto ocean village
regards
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Travel operator: thomas cook

Recommended
18 years 6 months ago
Top marks to Oceanvillage crew and staff , thanks for a great holiday that was ruined for me by certain other passengers !

Has anyone ever experienced nasty comments by other's who do not know their facts ? I hope any other disabled passengers do not experience what I did .

Let me explain - I recently went on a nice Oceanvilage cruise ship holiday and took my wheelchair which I need frequently nowadays . I have Parkinson's Disease and my condition changes hourly as well as from day to day depending on medication effects and rest periods ,etc , Some days I can walk OK for short periods , other days not at all , and there is no pattern to it . Sometimes my tremors are uncontrollable , other times they are non existent .

On this cruise ship other more able passengers made comments which I could clearly overhear such as , ' He is putting it on ' , ' Look at him now he can walk with his sticks ' , ' Look he used his right hand then ' , ' the guy in the wheelchair .. ? .' , ' watch him now ' , ' look see what I mean he can walk ' . These comments even continued on the plane home and just about ruined my holiday .

I did not challenge them since to do so would have caused friction and distress which makes my tremors go into overload ! My wife would have caused a riot if she had heard them but I did not tell her until later and refused to identify the passengers just to keep the peace .

The people who asked me outright what was wrong with me were really nice and wanted to understand more about Parkinson's , including most of the staff on this ship , why didn't the ignorant comment makers ask me instead of assuming ? ,.I am youngish and they could not see anything physically wrong me so I suppose I was fair game for criticism , but it hurt me .

I will not go cruising again since the especially nasty comment - ' he is putting it on ' - was said . I wish they were right , at least it would be curable then . Parkinson's is very complex and affects everyone differently , with me it is tremors , mobility , stiffness and balance . The more people stared at me the more agitated I became and my tremors increased , so I suppose the comment - ' only when he has got an audience ' - was also true .

How can people be so cruel as to think I am faking a serious illness ? It would be nice if they were right though - I could fix it then !

TO THE PEOPLE WHO MADE THOSE COMMENTS , I HEARD YOU CLEARLY BUT CHOOSE TO KEEP THE PEACE . I hope you never have to experience the same .


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Travel operator: OCEAN VILLAGE

Mr James Taylor
18 years 7 months ago
My wife and I have just returned from a 2 week cruise on the ocean village and it was a complete disaster from start to finish so much so that that we left the ship after only one week
We had been allocated cabin D136A (an inside cabin)the cabin had not been cleaned properly from the previous occupant and was dirty the carpet stained and was never hoovered at all , the fridge did not work and was not cold, the air conditioning was erratic , wall paper peeling off,no radio only TV, smell of sewage every morning at around 08.00am wafting through the cabin,the bed linen and towels were not changed for the entire week
The corridor carpets were badly stained throughout the ship in large patches
The food started off as a buffet service however after two days on board this was abandoned in favour of staff serving the food wearing disposable gloves and aprons the reason for this being the presence of norovirus on-board, after that and for the rest of the week - everywhere that people and food were together there was disinfectant being sprayed and hand wash disinfectant used (clearly there was a serious hygiene problem somewhere) - needless to say on the third day my wife fell ill and contracted this dreaded virus (vommiting and diahorrea and became very dehydrated)- the ship's doctor was called and prescribed imodium and paracetamol and issued a cabin confinement order (48 hours although it was actually 54 hours)- we never actually met the doctor again only recieved the odd phone call (I suspect he must have been very busy as there were a number of cases of this virus on board judging by the ammount of cabin food trolley deliveries I saw on the ship)- during this confinement period the bathroom toilet blocked up and over-flowed and the sink blocked up and would not drain (apparently there was some kind of problem with the entire vaccuum system on board) also during the confinement period my wife was offered a choice of steamed food and veg - she tried this once and it was cold and the potatoes were hard (try eating that with plastic knives and forks!)and bottled water - she ate nothing more for the remainder of the trip
I was at the reception desk on approximatley 12 seperate occassions over the week (as were several other dis-gruntled passengers) - I tried to get an up-grade to a cabin with a window to aid my wife's recovery for the second week and after several attempts to meet with the "hotel" manager she insisted that I pay an extra £126 (I refused because I hade paid in excess of £2000 already) the final straw came when the day the confinment order was lifted and we finally managed to get ashore to Barcelona (only for 3 hours)on our return we were met with an ambulance at the dock side and two people were being medi-vaced with drips attached I went straight to the reception and insisted that they get me off the ship on return to Palma as eneough was eneough
There were no good points to this holiday ,the food was very poor quality especially the cooked breakfasts which were cold and tasteless and the toast would have broken your teeth as it was so hard (I don't know how they managed this)
The evening dinners in the plantations restraunt were not very good and some hot food was actually only tepid and luke-warm (it puts you off eating when people are spraying disinfectant and serving you like this)
The "entertainment" (especially the singer and quiz host in connexions bar) was appalling
The shows in the Marquee were too short and not very entertaining apart from the tribute to Queen
When docked in ports such as Cittivechicca (Rome is actually 50 miles away)and there is major construction work at the dock-side and this is also the case in Barcelona where they are building a steel shed of some description
To cap it all off the return flight to Glasgow was 2 and a half hours late
In summary this is cruising at it's worst (I speak from experience as I have cruised on several occassions in the past with various tour operators and never had any problems whatsoever) and this particular cruise fell well below "reasonable expectations" (cleanliness and hygiene are of paramount importance especially on-board a ship)- I believe Thomas Cook and Ocean Village have got this wrong as the ship is too big and under-staffed and they have lost the plot with respect to cruising, this " pleasurable cruise experience" is nothing more than a cheap floating "Hi-de-hi" style hotel and if it was advertised like this then people would actually know what to expect and not be disappointed with what they recieve - It needs to be understood that there is "no frills" with this type of "cruising" and it is the stuff of bargain basement holidays - I suspect we will not be the only people complaining about this particular cruise for this year - you have been warned !
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Travel operator: thomas cook

Julie
18 years 7 months ago
After reading Mr Taylors review I felt that I had to write my own. I am sorry that he and his wife had such a bad experience but ours was the complete opposite. We guessed that there was a hint of the dreaded virus as we were being served our food and had our hands sprayed everytime we entered an eating area. We didn't have a problem with this, they were taking precautions. After about 3 days we were able to help ourselves.
I would also comment on the cleanliness of the ship. It was spotless. Ok maybe they were being extra careful because of the virus but this isn't a bad thing. The staff all worked extremely hard and always had a smile.
This was our first cruise so we have nothing to compare it to, but I certainly wouldn't describe it as "no frills" or "bargain basement". We had a wonderful time and we are booking again for next year. All the ports were great, the weather was fab all in all a great holiday.
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Travel operator: Bath Travel

Recommended
Gary
18 years 7 months ago
we enjoyed our holiday so much that we are going again this xmas 2006 for 2 weeks.some people expect something for nothing by the sound of it!.we found everything perfect,what kind of idiot moans about the length of a flight?"stay at home you morron".if you want a really good holiday ,with superb food,very good entertainment,lovely location,(you chose it)!.then ocean village is the holiday for you.I am 47 my wife 44 and 2 sons aged 13+14 ,(who never once got bored),these ages at time of cruise 2005.PS cant wait till xmas!.gary.
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Travel operator: holiday hypermarket ( first choice )

Recommended
Tom & Chris
18 years 7 months ago
We are comparing this ship to Thomson, Costa, Royal Caribbean, Princess and NCL.

The cabins are spacious and faclities good. However the bed linen ought to have been changed more than once a fortnight. The pool area was dirty. We saw food on the decks that had been left for days and was only eventually washed away by the rain.

The food was generally poor. We ate in the Bistro twice, paying the additional charges which we have never had to pay on other ships and even here the food was nothing exceptional. (Food was much better on all other cruises)

The entertainment on the ship was varied. The moon show was excellent but the solo singers were appalling. We saw one good comedian in a fortnight.
The entertainment was far superior on Thomson ships.

The ship is marketed towards people who don't do cruising and so many people were first timers and had nothing to compare the ship to. People who had cruised before were of the same opinion as us i.e. over-rated, expensive and poor value for money.

However on a more positive note the mountain biking was excellent. Stephen and Chris (biking guides)... you made our holiday.

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Travel operator: Ideal Cruising

18 years 8 months ago
We have just got back from the Coral and Coconuts and Rum and Reggae Cruise for our Honeymoon.

I know lots of people have done reviews, but the reviews helped me a lot, so hopefully our review can help too.

We have only previously been on the Island Escape so this is all we can compare to.

I would definitely recommend OV to those who DON’T like formal cruises.

FLIGHTS: We were on the 9.45am flight from Manchester, which was the Thomas Cook A330 airbus. You have to check in 3 hours before whether you are sitting in Premium or Economy. However Premium get called first from the departure gate to board first.
There were plenty of films to choose from, I can’t remember which ones, we watched Mr & Mrs Smith, which we wanted to see but haven’t got round to seeing.
Premium seats were very comfy and well worth the extra money. They were starting to look a little grebby though, and could probably do with a re-vamp. The foot rest kept falling down by itself, and it doesn’t help if you have an annoying woman in front who is inconsiderate and puts her chair fully down!
In premium you get a travel pack which was useful on the last night as we could pack our toothbrushes and use the disposable one. In all seats a pillow, blanket and bottle of water are on your seat waiting.
In premium there is plenty of free booze if you want it. The veggie food was very nice too.

EMBARKATION: When we arrived at Barbados airport, we were straight off the plane to an air conditioned bus which is parked by the plane. It took about 20 mins to get to the port. We had to queue up at the relevant desk with the letters for your surname to receive your cruise card. Straight forward.

CABINS: I knew it was supposed to be bigger than other ships, but it was bigger than I expected. We were on Deck 6, in cabin E201. There is ample storage space for your suitcases, there are drawers, and hanging space, and extra drawers by the bed. The bathroom is bigger than I expected too. Tea and coffee making facilities are available, and a fridge. There is a TV which shows some great films.

SHIPS NEWSPAPER: Has everything you need in it, if you go off shore or stay on board. It gives you info about the next port, and shows on the ship etc. Delivered each evening.

SAFETY DRILL: You only need to attend this on your first week. It’s at 7pm, and you have to get your life jacket and go to the muster station stated on the back of your cabin door.

LAUNDRETTE: £2 a wash and £1 a dry, very good too. We took our own tablets with us, or you can buy some in the kiosk. The wash takes about 20mins and the dryer depends on how much you put in there.

INTERNET: I wasn’t going to buy any credit for the internet as I was going to look for some in the ports, but we didn’t have time. You can buy and hour for £12 instead of £15. It goes slow but still got a lot out of it.

PHOTOGRAPHER: they were there when you embark and they are usually outside the restaurants and when you get off each day in a new port. We got some really nice photos done. We went to the Nouveau portraits in our combats and t "swear", we wanted a really casual relaxed look, and the results were fantastic. They were £16.95 each, but great and worth the money.

BARS: There is something for everyone, there is Charlies bar by reception where you can get alcoholic drinks but it is mainly a café sort of bar.
Sunweaver and the splash bar are on deck 12 by the pools. Connexions always got busy early as the comedians do their acts here. The oval is based on a British pub and is fab; we watched the footie here, played cards and also took part in the quiz each day.

ENTERTAINMENT: The entertainment was good; we watched ABBA and Robbie Williams in the marquee. Some of the other acts were good too. There is plenty for all age ranges. The moon show is well worth seeing.

RESTAURANTS: I was worried with me being a vegetarian. There was plenty of food. The plantations is 24 hours and they have a themed night each night which changes every day. The only night I wasn’t impressed was the Mexican and Chinese night as there was nothing I liked or it was too spicy. We ate our breakfast here a couple of time and our tea, or sometimes snacked here. The food was lovely and hot, a couple of times it could have been a little warmer.
Waterfront has one menu and is open for breakfast and tea. We ate here a lot of the times too. Again the food lovely and hot. People moan its luke warm, but the problem is they would get their starter, main and dessert all together, so by the time they finished their starter, the main would be cold. We got ours one at a time.
La Luna, we ate here a couple of times and had the pizza at lunch. We also ate here on my birthday. The food was nice but not as nice as the Bistro.
Bistro, went here to celebrate our honeymoon, the food was out of this world, well worth paying for. We enjoyed it so much we went back again!

OTHER PASSANGERS: the only problem with this ship is the passengers. Some are so rude, and give you a funny look if you use your manners. The rest were lovely. We met couples of different ages, and met a few couple on their honeymoon too.

FLIGHTS BACK: we were a little annoyed by OV here. We were supposed to leave at 12.30 to get to the airport for our flight at 3.45pm. It was announced that we weren’t getting picked up till 5pm. I went to reception and asked what time our flight would be, they couldn’t tell us. I told them I need to know, because it will be getting late in England and they guy who was picking us up might not be able to pick us up. They were useless, once you have paid you bill, they don’t want to know you. This is the only let down. In the end we had 5 ½ hour delay, which I am writing a letter to OV about, our friend had to take half a day off work, we had to pay for the kennels for an extra day, and no one was helpful. This is the only thing which spoilt our holiday.

EXCURSIONS:

TORTOLA: we took the OV swimming with dolphins in the morning. It’s absolutely chucked it down. It was okay, something I have always wanted to do; loved the dolphins the staff were a let down. You could hardly understand them, and our group and the deep part, Mark cant swim, so I told them and asked if he could join the group standing on the ledge, all I got was, ‘I cant I have to ask my supervisor’. Mark stood there like a lemon.
Eventually they took Mark to the ledge, then our group followed and we had some more interactive time with the dolphins, in the end we had longer. Definitely not worth £95 each but glad I have done it. In the afternoon we headed for Pussers Pub, wow, the cocktails were strong! It took me and hour and a half to drink my strawberry daiquiris!

ST MAARTEN: nothing booked here; we planned to go to Maho beach in the afternoon. We went to the beach by the port in the morning as it was Good Friday and everywhere was shut. It then chucked it down again, so we went back on board for a bit. You couldn’t see anything the fog was that thick, we left Maho beach. The USS George Washington was in, which I knew before we left, so we had plenty of time to film and get photos.
The celebrity constellation was in, she was huge but I wasn’t impressed with her!

ST KITTS: OV tour booked here; Scenic Railway. Went down to the quayside and waited for ages, eventually we told there were problems with the train which they were trying to fix. They said we can get our money back or come on the 12.15 trip. We wanted to do this trip so looked round the town first and then came back for the trip later. We went to Independence square, and the circus roundabout, and guess what, it rained heavily again. We had lunch on the ship and went to the quayside again. The trip was well worth waiting for. We had a good tour of the island and all the kids waved at us on the train. It’s a shame seeing them in their shanty houses. We had free drinks; I had a fruit punch as I had learnt the rum punches were too strong. I had a pina colada as well which was nice. St Kitts seemed to be one of the poorest of the islands.

ST LUCIA: In the morning I spotted the spotted dolphin out of our cabin window. When I went up top deck, we spotted whales. There was a mummy with her baby and a guardian. It was fantastic. Good time to see whales when there are young, as the young can’t stay down for a long time. OV tour booked, sail sightsee and swim! This was fab. We picked up a catamaran near where we docked. We sailed past Marigot bay, an exclusive resort, the place where they made Indiana Jones and eventually we arrived at the Pitons. There are free drinks all day, The Rum punch you could smell a mile away, I stuck with Fruit Punch, Mark had the rum punch. We picked up buses to go to the sulphur springs; it was quite cool up here. We have been to a volcano before so we were used to the ‘eggy’ sulphur smell. We then went to the botanical gardens, it was nice to see different and weird plants, I’m not usually into these things, but this was interesting. We also seen diamond falls. We then got back on the catamaran where a buffet was served. I was worried about the veggie food, but they had macaroni cheese, rice and veg.
We sailed back to our boat. We spotted to Hawkesbill turtles swim past us, they were huge. We stopped off at a beach which was dirty so they took us to another. I didn’t go in the water, it wasn’t very nice. It was a long day but well worth it.

MAYREAU: Small little private island. We got on one of the first tenders, to sit in the morning sun. There was a funny smell by where the tenders dropped us off. We went right down the far end, it was perfect. We went in the sea, and there were loads of fish swimming by us. It was far too hot, so we got on a tender and stayed on the ship in the afternoon.

BARBADOS: In the morning we shared a taxi to Malibu visitors centre and factory. It was really interesting to see how it was made, and of course sample it. You then have free access to the beach, which was lovely. I had my hair braided here. At midday we went back to the ship. We were going to get a taxi to the animal reserve but he said $55, and I thought no way.

ANTIGUA: OV excursion, Best of Antigua without lunch. This was well wroth doing. We visited Shirley’s heights, couldn’t see Montserrat though. The view was wonderful. Then we went to Dow’s Hill to the Fort. This was nice to. We could see Eric Clapton’s house on the hill. After this we headed to Nelsons Dockyard. It was wonderful. Pity we didn’t have longer here. It was really hot though, had to find some shade. On the way back we stopped at the Cheers bar near the port for a drink.

DOMINICA: OV excursion again, whale and dolphin watching. We got on to a reasonable catamaran. I went up top and within 20mins, I spotted a whale, they were really pleased, it was a humpback whale which they have not spotted in over a year. Unfortunately that is all we seen! We then stopped by a fisherman’s boat. He caught a malpin (tuna like fish, can’t remember the name). I was filming and I didn’t realise he was bashing it on the head, so I stopped when I did. They do that so it doesn’t move in the boat. It was horrible, and then they cut of his fin. Looking for more whales and dolphins, the captain put the catamaran at 14 knots! It was good fun up top getting wet; apparently there were loads of people being sick downstairs! We heard that a lady had her camera stolen, funny how she had her camera case and memory card. The captain had no choice but to phone the police. He was so annoyed; he said in the 11 years he’s done this, this is the first time to happen. When we got back the police were waiting. They searched the boat before us, everyone was annoyed. Everyone on OV were looking at us as we were next to her! They didn’t find anything.

GRENADA: OV excursion, OV mountain biking. I was getting worried, I hadn’t been on a bike in years, and luckily others were the same. Mark was okay with the bike, I was a little wobbly at first, but soon got used to it. It was scary riding with the cars round bends as they try and over take you. We had a stop to look at the carneage (sp) It was lovely. We then carried onto Grand Anse Beach, it was beautiful. Chris took a photo of mark and I with the ship in the distance. This was a quick stop, and we carried onto another beach. We had one hill; everyone had to walk up it. My hip was hurting by this point, Chris our guide offered to take the bike off me, I said I needed it to help me up! We passed really poor house which were damaged badly by the hurricane. Eventually we go to our beach, all we had to do was ride down a lovely hill to get to it! The beach was fantastic, with one or two locals, we had tow hours here. We had a dip in the sea, and then cooled off in the bar. I said to Mark, that hill we rode down, we have to ride up it!!!! Well we walked up it.
Eventually we got back to the ship. My bum was hurting, and my hands from braking.
When we got back to the ship I cancelled our Tobago bike ride, as my hip was hurting and we were told it was as hilly as Grenada, so I wasn’t taking any chances with my hip.
It was a good day though.

ISLA DE MARGARITA: we booked independently with a couple recommended to us on the message boards. We had a 15min walk out of the port to meet them. The day was fab.
We went to a place where locals go on an evening to see the sunset, we had a view of two bays, I think it was called ‘Juangriego’. We then stopped at ‘La Casa de las Munecas’ where Queen of Spain has visited for her pearls. I brought a lovely saltwater pearl bracelet and some pottery items. Then we stopped to look at a spider monkey who was adamant he was going to have my camera as he walked on me. We stopped and looked at ‘El Agua’ beach, the most popular on the island. From there we stopped at ‘La Asuncion’ which was beautiful. I took a few photos of the square and Catholic Church and we stopped at the castle.
Our next stop was a drive to the highest point on the mountains you could drive, ‘Sierra El Copey’, again there were shanty houses here which were sad. We had a fantastic view of ‘Polamar’. From there we visited a newish church I think it was in ‘La Sierra’.
We drove past ‘Polamar and ‘Pampatar’ and Mark picked up some rum he had tried for £1.50! We stopped at ‘El Yaque’ beach where windsurfers come from all over the world. There were loads of them, but I can understand why, it was so windy. On the way back to the ship we passed the airport, and then got dropped off. An excellent day.

TOBAGO: There was nothing we fancied as we had cancelled the bike ride. We stayed on the ship and actually sunbathed. It was my Birthday, so I was allowed! In the evening we went to La Luna for my birthday.
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Travel operator: Thomas Cook/OV

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