We went with OV2 last November 2007, with one week prior to the cruise at the Accra Beach hotel in barbados, that was fabulous, couldn't fault the hotel or Barbados.

We were then looking forward to the cruise, 'sugar and spice', well it was absolutely awful. If you like queuing this is the place to be, you have to queue for everything, the lifts, food, shops, getting on and off the ship, queuing everywhere.

The entertainment for children was almost non-existent, a swimming pool slightly larger than a paddling pool that smelt of pee, my son went in once and refused to enter again. I complained about the lack of facilities for children, considering that the cruise states there is plenty for them to do, I was told that there were only 50+ kids on board and if we had came the following week there would be 350+ kids on board and there would be more entertainment planned then. Hence the reason there are lots of children running around - nothing for them to do!

Due to the lack of facilities you are forced to take tours every day and that is very expensive, during our week in Barbados, we were taking trips and tours and on average I'd say the tours that you purchase onboard are up to three times more expensive. My tour bill for the 7 days for my son and myself £850+

The food and buffet service was unbelievably bad, fighting to get a table, the only food that was edible was the salad and fruits, impossible to get a drink while eating, not enough staff around and when it was really busy they totally disappeared. Ice cream and soft drinks are extra, my 12 year old managed with his room key to clock up £74 on them in one week. My husbands bar bill was considerably larger than that, but we won't go into that!

The sun deck is very small and we had a very bad experience with group of people, who after we had got two sun loungers and had been there for nearly two hours came up and demanded that they were theirs, no towels on them when we had arrived. They were very abusive all six of them and I was called all sorts of racist names (My crime, I'm Scottish), my Husband who has been at sea most of his life, knew to get the purser, and he left me alone for a short time with these awful people, and they reduced me to tears. I witnessed some appalling things on that sun deck, two very elderly ladies who had been at our hotel in Barbados, left their seats for a few minutes and a middle aged man came up and took their parasol. There is most definately an element of the drunken, beer belly, tattooed type here. It was a cattle market.

If you are traveling with children expect to stay in your cabin at nights because you will not be allowed them in the entertainment areas and since there is nothing else to do except watch the two films repeated daily or the news channel at night it will be very boring in the evening. If you buy duty free cigarettes or alchol in any of the ports they are confiscated when you return to the ship and will be returned when you leave, considering that the drinks charges on the ship are what you would expect to pay in the pub back home. There are no stops on any of the islands where you can go ashore at night, you have to return by 5.30pm. Which is a pity because as a bad sleeper and sitting out on deck most nights I couldn't help but notice that we were sailing in circles most nights.

The ship itself is a bit tatty, refitted they say, tarted up I say. It can be a bit smelly, hideous yellow and orange everywhere, we had only two nights when the bathroom facilities not not work, but there is no drinking water in the cabin's and you have to pay well over the odds for bottle water. The room was kept very clean by an excellent philipino cleaner, he was really lovely and couldn't do enough for us, he was the only one we left a tip for. Beware that the night before you leave the ship your luggage must be ready by 11pm and this is taken away, hence you have limited toilet/changing facilities in the morning. Neighbours to our room had two small children, having to keep in carrybags what they needed nappies, feeds etc for the next morning and flights. We didn't have a small holdall and had to use carrier bags also for our toiletries etc.

My husband is a mariner and has been for over twenty years and he reckoned that if the ship had an accident it would be a total nightmare with the amount of people crammed onboard.

To summarise it is a extremely cheap and very nasty holiday, in some respects a total rip off and I would never ever return to Ocean Village again. All the people who were at our hotel in barbados and went onto Ocean Village 2 said exactly the same.

SAGA BUTLINS ON SEA!

MY NAME IS CHRIS MAYNARD AND MY WIFES NAME IS QINGLI JIN , MY WIFE IS OF CHINESE ORIGIN AND POCESSES A CHINESE PASSPORT . WE GOT MARRIED ON NOVEMBER 10TH 2007 , OUR HONEYMOON HAD BEEN BOOKED SEVERAL MONTHS IN ADVANCE ,WE WERE TO HAVE A SEVEN NIGHT CRUISE ON OCEAN VILLAGE TWO COMMENCING ON 14TH NOVEMBER , FLYING FROM GATWICK ON FIRST CHOICE AIRLINES AND CONTINUING DIRECTLY TO THE OCEAN VILLAGE TWO CRUISE SHIP . THERE WAS NO VISA INFORMATION FOR MY CHINESE WIFE AND EVEN THOUGH THERE WERE DEPARTMENTS FOR SUCH INFO AT OCEAN VILLAGE , THE STAFF DID NOT KNOW THE CORRECT INFORMATION REGARDING MY CHINESE WIFE . ON FRIDAY 5TH OCTOBER MY WIFE AND I ,TRAVELLED TO THE BARBADOS HIGH COMMISSION AT GREAT RUSSELL STREET , LONDON TO APPLY FOR A TRAVEL VISA FOR MY WIFE BUT TO OUR SURPRISE , WE WERE TOLD THAT NO VISA WAS REQUIRED BECAUSE WE WOULD BE IN TRANSIT , WE WERE NOT STAYING IN BARBADOS OVERNIGHT SO NO VISA WAS REQUIRED . ON 13TH NOVEMBER 2007 WE STAYED AT THE GATWICK HILTON HOTEL , WE WERE IN THE HOLIDAY MOOD AND ON THE 14TH NOVEMBER WE PROCEEDED TO THE NORTH TERMINAL TO CHECK IN FOR OUR FLIGHTS . OUR NIGHTMARE WAS TO BEGIN. WE QUEUED AT THE FIRST CHOICE AIRWAYS CHECK IN DESK , AS SOON AS WE HANDED OUR PASSPORTS , THE CHECK IN PERSON LOOKED AT MY WIFES CHINESE PASSPORT AND DISAPPEARED FOR TWO HOURS , AFTER TWO HOURS WAITING MY WIFE WAS DENIED THE FLIGHT TO BARBADOS , FIRST CHOICE AIRWAYS CLAIMED THAT MY CHINESE WIFE REQUIRED A TRAVEL VISA , THEY WERE WRONG , THEIR VISA / IMMIGRATION INFORMATION WAS NOT UP TO DATE . THEY HAD AN OPPORTUNITY TO CONTACT BARBADOS AIRPORT BUT DECIDED TO DENY MY WIFE HER FLIGHT ON OUT OF DATE INFORMATION . I IMMEDIATELY CONTACTED OCEAN VILLAGE , AT FIRST THEY SHOWED NO HELP AND NEGATIVE ATTITUDE , THEY TOLD ME THAT MY WIFE NEEDED A VISA FOR BARBADOS AND EVERY PORT OF CALL , WHY WASNT THIS STATED IN YOUR BROCHURE I ASKED . THE REPLY WAS - IT WAS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO ARRANGE YOUR OWN VISAS .
THAT DAY SHOULD HAVE BEEN A HAPPY DAY , MY WIFE WAS IN TEARS AND BLAMIMG HERSELF FOR NOT BEING BRITISH , WE DECIDED TO BOOK A HOTEL IN GATWICK TO SORT OUT THE MESS WE WERE IN , BUT THE BEST ACCOMADATION WE COULD GET WAS A BED AND BREAKFAST IN HORLEY . WE TRAVELLED BY TRAIN FROM HORLEY TO LONDON , THERE WERE TRAIN DELAYS THAT DAY AND THE WEATHER WAS COLD AND MISERABLE , WE WENT DIRECTLY TO THE BARBADOS HIGH COMMISSION , I HAD TELEPHONED AND EXPLAINED THE SITUATION AND WE WERE MET BY THE FIRST SECRETARY OF THE BARBADOS HIGH COMMISSION ( ANDRE PADMORE ) , HE WAS VERY HELPFUL AND CONFIRMED THAT NO VISA WAS REQUIRED FOR MY WIFE TO TRAVEL TO BARBADOS , HE CONTACTED FIRST CHOICE AIRWAYS SUPERVISOR ( DANIELLE JOHNSON ) AND CONFIRMED VIA EMAIL THAT MY WIFE REQUIRED NO VISA TO TRAVEL TO BARBADOS . I CONTACTED OCEAN VILLAGE PASSENGER RELATIONS DEPARTMENT AND SPOKE TO SVEN GOSCON , HE SAID THAT IF MY WIFE DIDNOT NEED A VISA FOR EACH PORT OF CALL , THEY WOULD BOOK US A FLIGHT TO MEET THE SHIP AT GRENADA .I SPENT THE 15TH NOVEMBER CONTACTING EACH EMBASSY CONCERNED WHO CONFIRMED THAT NO VISA WAS REQUIRED , WE TRAVELLED BACK TO LONDON ON NOVEMBER 15TH TO GET MY WIFE A VISA FOR GRENADA BECAUSE WE MIGHT HAVE TO STAY OVERNIGHT IN GRENADA .THE GRENADA HIGH COMMISSION WAS HIDDEN IN A SMALL STREET IN WEST KENSINGTON , WE PURCHASED THE VISA AND LEFT . THAT EVENING - SVEN GOSCON AT OCEAN VILLAGE CONFIRMED THAT OUR FLIGHTS WERE BOOKED AND WE WERE FLYING TO GRENADA ON FRIDAY 16TH NOVEMBER . FRIDAY 16TH NOVEMBER IS MY WIFES 40TH BIRTHDAY , WE SHOULD HAVE BEEN RELAXING ON BOARD OCEAN VILLAGE TWO AND CELEBRATING HER 40TH BIRTHDAY BUT WE WERE BUSY TRAVELLING ON AN INDIRECT FLIGHT TO GRENADA , ECONOMY CLASS. EVEN WHEN WE ARRIVED IN GRENADA WE HAD TO BOOK OUR OWN HOTEL BEFORE WE WERE ALLOWED TO CONTINUE THROUGH PASSPORT CONTROL. WE EVENTUALLY BOARDED OCEAN VILLAGE TWO ON SATURDAY 17TH NOVEMBER AT GRENADA FOR THE REMAINING 4 NIGHTS . WE INTEND TO SUE OCEAN VILLAGE AND FIRST CHOICE AIRWAYS FOR COMPENSATION. FIRST CHOICE AIRWAYS STILL REFUSES TO ACCEPT RESPONSIBILITY FOR THEIR COCK-UP.

Sailed 18-09-07 to 02/10/07.Got on board and had to wait 3hours for cabin to be ready but we sat and had a drink. Not a problem.We were on cruise for my husbands parents 50th wedding Anniversary. We had a great time.The boat was cleaned all the time.The rooms immaculate.We were on deck 9 with window.It was lovely to wake up every morning in another port and the views were great.Sunrises was amazing.Ate in James martin The bistro,very nice.They put the napkin on your knee for you and you never had to fill your glass as they were there.£15 charge per person.Service very good.Once dined,then received letter asking us to dine another time for £12 per head which we did.We then tried LaLuna with cover charge £4.50 per head.Lovely food again and we did this once again too.Of the two we all preferred LaLuna as not as fussy but still excellent service.Had massage in Karma Spa,very helpful and informative staff.Food in Waterfront and Plantation we all liked it.So much choice.Ate more in Waterfront as a bit posher than Plantation.Never had a cold meal,all piping hot.They had BBQ on top deck,delicious,not just burgers and sausages.Entertainment was good.Matt Quinn best singer.The Freedom crew were amazing.Jacki Graham was on the last evening and when she stopped talking she was excellent. Trips, forget Tunisia. We did get off at Tunis La Goulette and walked around the streets.People very friendly.Went on what would be their promenade,like a ghost town.Buildings shut up for winter.Naples we adored and will go again.We did the morning trip to Pompei.Fascinating and it is huge.The guide walked far too fast and several older people could not keep up with him.best time to do this is the morning trip as afternoon was just mayhem but by this time we were getting back on coach.well worth a visit though.Got back to ship but then decided to have a look at Naples itself.You have the very expensive shops and shops where you can buy leather shoes from 10-35 euros of the softest leather.The buildings near main square spectacular.The president was coming the day we landed so very busy with police security,loved it all.Livorno loved as well.Didnt go on any trip but wandered round the shops and buildings.It was market day so just had to shop.Mens shirts 2 euros, jeans 5 euros.Had some lovely boutiques too.Walked along canals, beautiful place.Villefranche we went on our own.Trains were not working.Lovely place,built on a hill.Little streets with few shops.Castle was shut as Sunday. You would have to be fit to walk around hre.There is a mini train which is cheap and will take you all around. Corsica was very nice,lovely views.Palma,well I have been before but still good and bustling as usual.We walked from ship to town.Takes about 45mins to the Cathedral.Nice walk.Second week in Tunis stayed on board and sunbathed.Very popular is the Ocean Village Biking for Tunis and people did enjoy it.Rome - Wow.Did Rome on Your Own which is the best way to do it.Other people who went with guide wished they had gone on their own.Did Roman Forum - interesting, Colosseum amazing,Trevi Fountain - stunning,Pantheon - Wow, the churches just amazing. Spanish Steps - well just steps. Lots of shops,lots to do.Genoa - Amazing. So much to do and see.My father in law went to Aquarium on shore.He spent 3 hours in there.Loved it.Shops great.Buildings and fountains in square spectacular.Would go again.St Raphael - Lovely.Was told all shops shut as Sunday but as they knew the Cruise was coming in,they set up stalls on the prom.Approx 2 miles of it.Was in heaven.It started ceramics arts and crafts, then fruit and veg.Thought we would persevere a bit longer and then it was clothes,jewellery,etc etc.Barcelona was just ace.las Ramblas busy place though lots of side streets with shops.What I like about this place is that you can go down a side street and it may just all be jewellery shops, another street shoes, another clothes, another electrical.Well thought out.Sagrda Familia I thought was wonderful and wouldnt have missed it.Would go again.So you see there is plenty to do on your own without going on the expensive trips.All in all all four of us had an amazing time and the staff and service on Ocean Village 2 was outstanding.At end of first week you receive your bill and near end of second week it is till on the bill ready to take off your debit/credit card the day before you leave.You can pay cash to settle the final bill.Everything on board goes on your bill,whether it be gambling in the Casino,Karma Spa, shops on board,trips or eating in chargeable restaurants. Met some lovely people on board also. All in all we loved everything

Having travelled with Island Cruises on the Island Esacape we thought we would try a bigger ship which would offer better service - this was not the case

Restaurants - It was a free for all, one of you had to sit a table to hold it - thats if you could find one that had been cleared otherwise you would be walking round with your food for ages, on the Island Escape they have one restaurant that will show you to a table and that was yours for the duration. OV2 did not have this which I was upset about, however they did not seem to have enough staff to clear the tables.

The food itself was quite repeative and not very hot.

We ate in La Luna and could not fault the food and the staff. They had time to talk to you.

Bar areas and theatre - took ages to get a drink - Island Escape it was no problem, as soon as you had an empty glass they were there and we were on AI.

The entertainment was good, although at times you had a job to get into some of the bars.

We were told the ship was sailing full and this could be the reason but there were not enough sun beds.

The cabin staff were nice but had too many cabins to clean. We went back one day at 3pm and it had not been cleaned.

The Captain never spoke over the address system whilst on the Island Escape he would tell you places of interest that you were passing even bringing crew on the stage at the end of shows. OV2 did not seem to have this friendliness at all.

The trips like all these cruises are expensive but two of our trips were cut short due to the ship having to leave earlier then scheduled. In Corsica the guide left us and told us to make our own way back to the ship. Luckily we could see it from the town. Tunis - forget, we went to the market and were just taken to three different stalls one of which they tried to sell you carpets!

This was our first cruise, so we had no previous expectations. We flew from Gatwick on an early flight and were onboard by Noon. We went and found our cabin even though we knew it would not be ready before 3pm. We spoke to the cabin attendant who allowed us to leave our bags etc and take a key with us. She finished preparing our cabin by using the master key.The cabin service was friendly and excellent. Nothing was too much trouble, we were always greeted with a friendly smile and Cecelia didn't have a day off during our fortnight.
The ship was constantly being cleaned (I went on deck at 4am and they were washing everything- sunbeds, decks, hand-rails,steps, windows etc).
The gym was well equipped and not cramped with a beautiful view over the ocean. I never saw it full there was always some equipment available and I went through it a couple of times every day. The karma spa is out of this world. The staff are superb, friendly and know their subject. There was no hard sell for the products although I did indulge in quite a few.
The oxyjet facial really does work, I look and feel a lot younger although I was looking very haggardly at the start of the cruise due to 18 years of stress and neglect, I came off the ship feeling in my 30's instead of late 40's. The hot stones massage is great as is the deep muscle one. The mud wrap and dry floatation bed is very relaxing. I brought a pass for the spa area and used it everyday. £35 for the week or £10 a day. There are offers on treatments whenever the ship is in port. I tried the ladies night which was fun. The speed spa is great a 10 minute taster of 8 treatments.Just wish I had tried it the first week. Also lots of informative free seminars with very little hard sell at the end. Thanks to all the Karma staff for really making my cruise special.
Cabin facilities are good, the balcony was a must as I don't like air-con and it was nice to get some fresh air. Tea coffee and biscuits replaced every day and you could always get more from the cabin staff or restaurants if needed. Moulton Brown shower gel (although this is in a big bottle locked to the wall rather than individual bottles which I would have preferred).
Restaurants- plenty of choice, although I would have liked something other than burgers and hotdogs after 10pm although there was always fresh fruit available. The restaurants did get quite busy at peak times but I never queued more than 2 people in front for anything. The waiters are sometimes a little too enthusiastic when clearing away plates etc. but we always had someone at the table to stop them if we had just gone for something. There was a varied menu over the 2 weeks so we never had the same thing twice.
Chocolate fountain on Sunday evenings is great with strawberries, melon, pineapple and brownies.
Shops sell a variety of goods but not a huge range.Special offers on most days in the village square. Somethings do run out as they only restock once a fortnight in Barcelona.
Entertainment. A couple of good comedians, one or too singers ok but the rest are poor. The acrobats were good but repetitive. The only shows I actually enjoyed was 'Pulse' and 'Planets'although I didn't bother with that on the second week. The rest was mediocre. The quizzes were quite enjoyable even if some of the questions and answers were suspect. The performers moved from venue to venue but I would have preferred them to stay in particular bars. It is great to sit in the village square if the pianist or Chris Sullivan were singing but not with some of the others.

Ports of call were varied....Tunis surprised me, The first week I didn't venturer further than the port, but the second week I took the local shuttle tour 10 euros to the medina..It had an English speaking guide who was very informative, he took us through the souks giving us free time and returned us to the ship in plenty of time. I didn't like Naples which I thought was manic and dirty......I felt safer in Tunis than I did in Naples, We travelled to Pompeii which was great and VERY hot. Pisa was a great half day just enough time to see the necessary. Ville France-had a little wander but not much there as I didn't want to take the train to Monte Carlo. Corsica was lovely and I would have preferred a full day there.
Palma on the middle week we got on a bus to Palma Nova to buy a few cheap souvenirs.
Rome...what can I say, a day is not long enough, visited the Colosseum and Sistine chapel with a nice 3 course lunch, it seemed pricey for the 4 of us but when broken down it was actually reasonable. Genoa was ok and very hot. There was a water taxi but we walked back because of the queues. St Raphael is beautiful with a lovely market. It was the feast day of St Peter so they had a parade and dancing in the street, unfortunately the ship departed before the firework display so we missed that. Barcelona is huge we were going to go on the site-seeing bus but ended up just walking up la Ramble.
This cruise cost a small fortune as there were four of us in school holidays booked in advance. If we had booked 6 weeks before we would have saved £2000. But these things happen. When the children have both left school I will be able to go off peak. Our onboard bill came to £2000 but that was for 3 excursions plus 2 action bikes and spa treatments. We did go a bit ott because this was our first cruise and I wanted everything, however we could have made it a lot cheaper if we had wanted to. The soda card for the kids is great £15 for 20 large drinks.
Cocktails are very reasonable.
I loved this holiday for the first time ever, I felt like crying as I didn't want to come home.
I am now looking for where to go next.

Go with no expectations and you will enjoy it. It is definitely NOT Butlins in the sun, It is laid back casual cruising. The ship can not be held responsible for the behaviour of children although we never heard or saw any problems anyway. The adult pool was just adults, they tagged sunbeds if people weren't using them. I don't lie in the sun but always found somewhere to sit if I wanted to. There is just so much more to tell but ask if the forums for specifics and I will try to answer.
Biff

Cleanliness not as sharp as it could be...dirty pool beds,lifeboat deck always dirty with discarded ashtrays and glasses from the night before.Cabins always clean, but marked quilt covers(2 singles on a double bed!)and stained beach towels do not give a good impression.
Food average on balance.Plantations is a scrum at busy times,we tried Waterfront more often than not...why close it at lunchtimes on sea days?Even here it got busy.Plantations tables never felt clean,tables were tidied quickly but not cleaned properly.Menus did not offer enough hot choices for us,but plenty of salad choices.Deserts ok.We ate in the Bistro once and were not impressed.La Luna is the star place,excellent food and lovely staff,we ate there 7 nights out of 14.
No problems with staff anywhere on board.
Entertainment average,you cannot fault the onboard team for effort but the main shows were repetative.Comedians good although the one who took the mick out of the disabled customer at the front should be sacked!

Have just returned from a weeks cruise ending 31/7. We booked it last minute.

I think we should get some kind of perspective here. This cruise is clearly going to attract families and younger couples and perhaps if the previous poster had done some research he may have ascertained that schools break up at different times in July and often parents will take kids out of school early.

The transfer from Gatwick to Palma was without fault with Thomsonfly and we were guided every step of the way.

My wife and I had a balcony cabin on deck 10 and it was superb.Spacious,large en-suite and lots of hanging space,drawers etc. The shower was excellent as was the size of the cabin. Everything was kept spotlessly clean by a crew who never stopped and would do anything to help you.

All the action was clearly based around the swimming pools but we based ourselves at the rear of the ship on the lower deck where we enjoyed 7 days of complete calm and tranquility.

We actually found that most people DID make an effort during dinner and the only place i saw flip flops and the odd football shirt was at the beginning of the cruise and usually at lunch rather than dinner.

As for children, being school holidays there were kids and to be honest it was refreshing to see that they were having a good time,I didnt actually see any bad behavour.

The entertainment was ok....we were not expecting a West End show every night but what we got was good value and the planets show on deck was quite good.

We mostly ate in Plantations (due to logistics) but on my wifes birthday ate in the Bistro and would thoroughly recommend it.

As for tours we didnt get off at Tunis.We did the ships tour to Sorrento and Pompeii in Naples and tour to Florence and Pisa. Both well worth it.

We made our own way in Monte Carlo and Ajaccio in Corsica without any problems

All in all an excellent holiday.

Haveing traveled on board the original ocean village in the same month of 2005, which was great, my expectations of the newly refurbished ov2 {which was oringaly the german ship AIDABLU built in 1990}was even higher.How wrong i was. To put it in to a sentance all i can say is BUTLINS ON WATER.
Yes the food on board was still very good, the ship was kept very clean,and all the waiters and bar staff were very friendly. But truthfully thats all i can say in the ships favor.
When ocean village say wear what you want, do what you want, when you want they are not joking.
Our party traveled at the time when kids should still be at school or so we thought. They was everywhere. Twice durring our seven day cruise the kids pool was closed for cleaning because someone had had an accident in the pool which meant they all had to use the adults only pool{god knows what they was doing in that}. And when their pool was up and running again they still continued to use the adults pool. I even had to complain asking if a member of staff could police the adults pool as little gangs of teenagers were jumping in and being complete pests to the adults in the pool.There were kids constantly running around the top deck playing chase while you was trying to relax. One day i even saw a kid empty the water from an umbrella stand all over the deck and then just jump on it to crush it for something to do.Dont get me wrong i love kids and all our party all have kids but it just seemed the parents did't give a dam about anyone else.
As for dinning, well i know it's an informal ship, but please, going to dinner in vest tops, shorts and flip flops i think says it all about some of the people you now get on this ship.
I also belive cut backs have been made on the entertainment side, although the ships troup Freedom To Move was very good it seemed they was on every night doing some sort of tribute. Matt Quinn the resident singer seamed to think he was some sort of rock star and must have drove the over 50's mad. There was Red Mick a tribute to Mick Hucknall of Simply Red, but i walked out after five minutes as i thought he was rubbish. Altough Jacki Graham of past recording fame was quite good.
All in all the places we visited Rome, Gennoa, St Raphael, and Barcelona were great with the exception of La Goulette. But i belive Ocean Village 2 is now catering more for the person who would feel more at home at Butlins or on the Costa Del Sol with pub quizes and karaoke which was on one night, highlighted by a bloke called Ken who just kept getting up to sing, maybe they should have called it Ken's Night. Now i'am no snob but give it another year i bet they will be selling kiss me quick hats on board. i just think if you want a nice cruise to remember for the right reasons you should think more of doing a more formal ship.

We boarded OV2 from Palma just after midday, the boarding procedure went very quick, 2 or 3 minutes waiting in the queue.

We registered our credit card for our paying our onboard account when boarding, only to find that at the end of the cruise this information had been lost and we had to queue up and register it again.

Our cabin was ready when we arrived, we opted for a BB class cabin with a balcony on deck 11.

The room was good, lots of wardrobe space and the bathroom was quite good as well. The room decor was reasonably fresh, but you could tell from the carpets it had not been refurbished since the AIDABLU days.

The balcony was quite disappointing, not really worth the extra money. The condition was very poor, lots of rust around the edges and towards the floor. Definitely not up to standard in my opinion. However, I think on a ship like this, you DO NEED a balcony - since it is nice to have some chilled out space away from all the uncontrolled kids running around up on the deck areas.

The balcony had 2 wooden chairs, not deck chairs or sun loungers since the balcony was too small to sunbath on.

We had a few problems with the plumbing whilst on board, the toilets wouldn't flush for a while one day and one evening there was no hot water. There was also a "Costa Brava"-style smell of sewage as you walked down the corridor.

The general condition of the ship is quite good, but I would equate the facilities closer to a "cruise-ferry" than a "cruise-ship".

I say that because I have many times travelled on the overnight ferries between Norway and Denmark, and I have to say, that the facilities on board those "ferries" in many ways equals or exceeds the quality of the facilities on board OV2. And I don't make that comparison lightly, if you were to exclude the fact that OV2 has the karma spa and 2 swimming pools you could be mistaken for believing you were on the Dover-Calais.

The common facilities on board are a mixed bag. The Karma spa was very good, the Gym is free to use and we took a day pass to the facilities downstairs which were quite relaxing to use. The Gym seemed rather under-used and all of the equipment was brand new and good quality.

From a looks point of view, the interior of the ship is actually quite tacky. The carpets are the major let down here - red and yellow with "Tiger-Skin" pattern, quite nauseating. There is no grand lobby on board this ship, just a rather depressing atrium-style area featuring a few tacky shops, the nightly art auction, and special offer events. At times it felt like living in a home shopping channel TV studio. Suddenly it was "Diamonique Hour", then "Swarovski Day", etc, etc.

We found the excursions in general good, but quite over priced when compared to local alternatives.

It is worth pointing out that we took the Shopping Spree excursion in Tunisia which was ABSOLUTELY DREADFUL and was nothing like the description in the action ashore brochure. In the end we got 40 minutes (not 3 hours) to ourselves to do some shopping, the rest of the time our dodgy tour guy took us to pre-arranged "sales presentations". We were very unhappy with this, particularly with Ocean Villages dishonest description of the tour and their rude (and quite frankly embarrassing) action ashore "manager" who was screaming to us over the reception desk when we complained.

The sun deck area was very cramped, full of screaming kids and it is very difficult to find 1 sunbed, you can forget trying to find 2 sunbeds together! The childrens pool was closed for at least half of the time we were on board meaning that the adults pool was not pleasant to be in.

We found a quieter area towards the back of the ship, but after 10 minutes or so we were covered in black soot from the ships funnel (also lots fell in my beer as well - nice!).

There are lots of places to eat on board, 2 buffet style restaurants, la Luna and of course James Martin's bistro. Would definitely recommend la Luna, small cover charge of £5 in the evening, and free pizzas at lunchtime. Small problem with the evening though - you have to book. We eat there on the first evening, but then found there was a THREE DAY WAITING LIST for tables - HOPELESS!

The buffet restaurants... well, if you like eating in British Home Stores or in Tesco's restaurant, you'll love this.

As many people have commented, these restaurants are far too small for the amount of people. This means that it is very difficult to get and table, KEEP a table, and go and serve yourself food at the same time without someone else taking your table or the waiters clearing it away in the meantime. In reality, we found that as a couple it was also impossible to have a meal together since one of us has to "keep the table" whilst the other went for food. Only water was free in to drink and only served in tiny glasses at a time. The trick was to ask the waiters for a wine glass and fill that up instead.

The food quality was very borderline, it was usually only warm, not hot. Also there were not very many healthy opinions and it was obvious that certain dishes were made from yesterdays left overs. Most of the veg was overcooked with no flavour except the jacket potatoes which were almost cold and hard in the middle. There was however quite a good range of food, from curries, to english roasts. It was pretty much the same every day, so we got quite tired of it after the week.

If you want fresh food you need to pay extra and go to La Luna or the Bistro.

The entertainment is pretty basic, but I thought he comedy shows were quite good, but the singing by the ships residents was quite painful - especially when they are squealing like a cat at 3pm in the afternoon on the sun deck when all you want is some peace and quiet.

As you are probably aware the dress code is quite informal. That worked out quite well, most people dressed up a little in the evenings and if you are dining at the Bistro you are expected to be smarter than the average. Of course there were a few people wandering around looking like they are in Butlins but then again Ocean Village really is "Butlins on Sea".

We had quite a few encountered with rough Sea, the ship handled the water quite well from a stability perspective but one thing with was quite annoying was in the cabins: the ceiling was a suspected ceilings as as the boat rocked as twisted there was lots of creaking noises which kept me awake one night, but generally nothing to worry about.

There is also a Laundry on board which we used one time which was free, again no hassle in there. Just on point though, if you would like to iron anything, there are only 3 irons on board the ship, only 2 of which were working. So, if you would like to iron a shirt for the evening, don't leave it until late, otherwise you'll be queuing for sometime.


Overall, we enjoyed the holiday, although I have listed a few negative points in this review, but they should give a good idea of what to expect.

If you think of OV2 as simply a "floating-hotel" where you are visiting a new destination each day you can't go wrong, especially with some of the late minute deals. But, it you are looking for anything more sophisticated I suggest you look elsewhere.

Ship cleanliness was amazing. We would leave our cabin to go down for breakfast and by the time we returned it would be tidy, with all bed made and clean towels for us to use out on top deck. If we had any problems someone would be down straight away to sort it for us.

The ship food was gorgous. We ate in waterfront, plantation and the bistro and couldn't find a fault with any of them. They had a wide range of foods on offer which were also suitable for children. Also on a couple of days the foods were based on a theme like chinese or indian, which meant you were getting a variety. The onboard cakes were superb and made you want to go back for more (not good if your on a diet)

The staff on ocean village 2 are wonderful, always there when you need them. A waiter on there called Dean became a friend of ours because they always talk to you, ask how your days been and also just generally chat and have a laugh with you wish is nice and makes you feel at home.

Onboard entertainment was really good. They have many comedians on who are all very funny and never repeat anything, they have you laughing till the early hours of the morning. The singers were amazing on their espeially matt and Lucy. They were nice and relaxing to sit and listen to just before you went to bed. Matt has a amazing voice and also wonderful looks and Lucy had a calming voice. Chris sang some really nice songs and sometimes really got the party going. The performers on there do some really amazing perfomances which make you stand their and keep watching, it really blows you away.

Overall the holdiday was amazing and i would reccomend it to everyone, not matter what your age or sex. It was wonderful and carn't wait to do it again. Best holiday ever. Thankyou all of ocean village 2