Hi Rich

The problem is that this cruise is new to OV, therefore there will not be reviews yet on ports of call. The first cruise leaves Jamica next Tuesday, so hopefully some reviews will be posted after that

HTH
Biff

Rich

Which ports will your parents be visiting as some of our members may have visited them on another ship?

luci

this is the itinerary.
thanks again for your help.

1.Fly from UK to Montego Bay, Jamaica
2.Wednesday at sea
3.Thursday Cartagena, Colombia
4.Friday Colon, for the Panama Canal
5.Saturday Limon, Costa Rica
6.Sunday at sea
7.Monday Ocho Rios, Jamaica
8.Tuesday Montego Bay, Jamaica
9.Wednesday at sea
10.Thursday Progreso, Mexico
11.Friday Cozumel, Mexico
12.Saturday Belize City, Belize
13.Sunday Roatan, Honduras
14.Monday Grand Cayman
15.Tuesday Montego Bay, fly to UK

does anyone know if they have daily newspapers and/or weekly womens mags on board OV ships???

Sorry, very difficult to get daily papers when you are at sea !

bob

anyone know what channels are on the tv in the cabins on OV2. are there movies?
thanks guys and girls.
2 weeks to go

Anybody help with DIY excusions on the Reggae & Rainforests Cruise. We depart for 14 days on 4th March so any hints would be useful. Did the two week cruise out of Barbados last year and thoroughly enjoyed it but found a lot of the excursions are tied in to the cruise lines so very difficult to do it yourself. I have looked into the train trip along the Panama Canal but that looks like a cruise line only set up.

Hi jilly and welcome to HT!

If you list the ports you will be visiting then some members may be able to help.

In the meantime, have a look at the sticky topic at the top of the Cruise forum in case any of the ports are mentioned in the DIY Excursions - Caribbean Area topic.

luci

I've checked out the topic covering DIY excursions but the ports of call mentioned were mostly East Caribbean which I have already done. This time our itinerary is :

1.Fly from UK to Montego Bay, Jamaica
2.Wednesday at sea
3.Thursday Cartagena, Colombia
4.Friday Colon, for the Panama Canal
5.Saturday Limon, Costa Rica
6.Sunday at sea
7.Monday Ocho Rios, Jamaica
8.Tuesday Montego Bay, Jamaica
9.Wednesday at sea
10.Thursday Progreso, Mexico
11.Friday Cozumel, Mexico
12.Saturday Belize City, Belize
13.Sunday Roatan, Honduras
14.Monday Grand Cayman
15.Tuesday Montego Bay, fly to UK

OV Excursions are so expensive we really like to try to do our own thing but sometimes its just not possible. We like to snorkel so usually grab a taxi and ask the driver to take us to a good snorkelling beach and they are always so helpful.
Researching the Two Oceans Railroad but it seems the cruise lines have that sewn up.
Swimming with Dolphins etc. in Jamaica looks a possibility.
Any hints or tips would be greatly appreciated.

Hi Jilly,
We will be joining this cruise for two weeks from 11th March onwards....so will be aboard same time as you.
I am going to post you a link you might find useful (if I am allowed???)
http://www.cruisecritic.co.uk/ there is a lot of discussion in the forums and lots of descriptions on the Ports of Call for this cruise.
Lorraine

Thanks Lorraine. Just had a quick look and there is much to check out. Need a bit more time than I have now will check it all out later.
This is our third OV1 cruise but from reading in other forums the poor ship, and its facilties, is getting much criticism these days. We booked only because we prefer British Ships and fancied the itinerary. Will have to rethink next cruise although I fancy OV2 next winter. We'll see!

Hello - we've just logged on for the first time and we're glad to be here.

We've decided to go on the Ocean Village cruise in August this year - the two week med cruise and we're hoping that previous cruisers can provide some help, advice and tips so that we can make the most of our holiday. For example, what can we do to save money, or excursions are the best value, what to avoid, etc...

We would appreciate any help anyone can offer.

Thanks,
Amit and Louise.

One thing you don't say is if this is your first cruise.

The first place to save money is paying the right price for the trip in the first place. Sois OV the best choice for you, price style etc there are a lot of cruises to choose from.

Excursions are another big potential expence and reviews from any ship med cruise will help. Many ports are easy to DIY. List the ports and things you think you sould like and people can advise.

Booze, depend if you like to party up or keep yourself fresh to do the tours.

Other onboards spends are Spa,Casino,speciality eating all discretionary but can help improve a trip.

A little bit about yourselves can help people with guidance.

Best advise is to read as many reviews as you can not just OV but other ships as well a lot of info is transferable.

Hi AmitLouise and welcome to HT!

I have merged your post with an existing topic which may have some useful information.

Read the sticky topic at the top of the forums "DIY Excursions - Med Area" which should also help.

As WJ says, we need more information, particularly which ports you will be visiting.

luci

AmitLouise....if your paying more than £600 for a 2 week cruise its too much OV is very over rated and there are much better cruise ships out there for the same or less money.
Like WJ said search the reviews and compare them against NCL (same sort of thing freestlye cruise) and you will see there is no comparison.

Saturday, August 9, 2008 Southampton, England -- 04:00 PM
Sunday, August 10, 2008 At Sea -- --
Monday, August 11, 2008 At Sea -- --
Tuesday, August 12, 2008 Malaga, Spain 08:00 AM 06:00 PM
Wednesday, August 13, 2008 Barcelona, Spain 06:00 PM --
Thursday, August 14, 2008 Barcelona, Spain -- 05:00 PM
Friday, August 15, 2008 Nice, France 08:00 AM 05:00 PM
Saturday, August 16, 2008 Livorno (florence/pisa), Italy 08:00 AM 08:00 PM
Sunday, August 17, 2008 Civitavecchia (rome), Italy 07:00 AM 06:00 PM
Monday, August 18, 2008 At Sea -- --
Tuesday, August 19, 2008 Gibraltar, United Kingdom 12:00 PM 05:00 PM
Wednesday, August 20, 2008 Lisbon, Portugal 09:30 AM 06:00 PM
Thursday, August 21, 2008 Vigo, Spain 09:30 AM 06:00 PM
Friday, August 22, 2008 At Sea -- --
Saturday, August 23, 2008 Southampton, England 05:00 AM --
This on will cost about £1700 fo 2
OV will cost about £2400 for about same date

And if you go on the NCL cruise following one just listed for 13 nights Southampton to Barcelona an inside cabin can be got for $999 plus government taxes on vacationstogo.com. Including taxes will probably be in sterling about £650, and cheap flight back from Barcelona. Alternatively the same cruise, in reverse, is available 17 May for about £50 more.

Personally would not touch OV with a bargepole with such value elsewhere.

Could anyone tell me if Ocean village cruises do AI drink packages and if so how much are they.
many thanks
mark

Just booked OV1 Eastern Med four adults outside cabin deck C £4000 via Thomas cook site. It is currently showing as £4990 on the OV site for same cabin etc. The Thomas cook site had a tick box for special offer, when ticked the price of the cruise went up to £4800 but it did give me £50 on board credit

Hopefully the price wont drop much lower.
I think I got a bargain

Biff

From 18th April you are going to be able to use your clubcard points for Ocean Village holidays