Ocean Village Cruise Ship

1 reader found this review helpful

i have cruised with ocean village 3 times now and i am due to go again in nov 08, i have been on many other cruise and linners and this one is not the best but it is far from the worst, never found a problem with the food if you cant find anything to eat why go away, they are catering for 100's of people and i think they do a good job being a chef myself.
enteranment good
they do a drinks card for kid (adults use it to ) 20 drinks for £15 pounds (not cans and only coke or lemonade but still work out cheaper) you get free tea coffee and water in all buffet resterant.
a hoilday is only what you make,
the worlds use for the taking if you want it

Outgoing flights with thomas cook were ok, we paid extra for an upgrade. Incoming flights from Heraklion were hell!!!!!, no drinks service, rude cabin crew, and not even any water to wash hands in toilet. Will never fly Thomas Cook again. Ship OK, food quite good in waterfront,not so good in plantation. Didnt use pool deck, Loud music, pathetic entertainment, plus you would have to be a sardine to enjoy it. We had a suite, thank god so could escape to our balcony. Suite very spacious,clean. Ocean village need to look at the policy on children, large ammounts of ferral children running about at all times (mostly bored little boys). Noise from the deck above annoying, Didnt like all the extra charges, ie fresh juice at brakfast would set you back £1.50 per glass. Having cruised many times before will not say this was our best, but nor was it our worst. We went on this one for the ports of call. Staff mostly good and efficient. Entertainment dire. Trips ashore expensive but well organised.

my wife and friends had a two week cruise on ocean village from 7th aug to 21 aug.the cruise was good,cabins great entertainment ok food terrific(james martin dining i would recommend).the problem was the flights,we were supposed to fly with thomas cook but outgoing they transferred us to globespan which was not big enough to fly direct.we stopped at munich for just over an hour on the plane sitting on runway while re-fuelling.no in flight entertainment cold food and delayed,a nightmare.and at the end of cruise guess what no plane this time.put off ship at 9pm to go to airport to collect bags then to hotel.got up at 5am to go back to airport and surprisingly another delay.we finally got on a flight served a quick breakfast then cabin crew seemed to dis-appear for the remainder of flight.inferior flights when we all paid a fortune.we will not be booking again as long as thomas cook are the carriers for ocean village could not go through that again.

This was mine and my partners first cruise (i'm 25 and he is 34). We were a little wary as to whether we would enjoy cruising due to the reputation crusing has (i.e not a lot to do, lots of old people, cramped). This cruise blew us away. I can honestly say that we both had never had such an enjoyable holiday.
The ship was at full capacity (1800 people) yet there was always space and never felt too busy. There was about 1 staff member to every 2 people. The staff were the highlight of the holiday. They were always friendly and couldn't go out of their way anymore to make you happy. We like to stay in 4/5* hotels and the room would probably compare to a 3/4* but i was suprised how spacious the cabin was. I would recommend an outside cabin - its very exciting waking up in the morning looking at the window and seeing the port!
The food was AMAZING! I put on a few pounds but theres so much food to enjoy! And some of the best food I have eaten.
I cant say much more except I would highly recommend this holiday! We are looking at another trip on this ship or Ocean Village 2 for next year. Already cant wait!

We did the two week itinerary. Not a fan of informal cruising but was OK, food was reasonable but it has a 'canteen' feel about it & restaurants were very crowded at times. No-one escorted us to the tables and we often found ourselves sitting at uncleared tables, staff were sometimes tetchy when we asked them to clear plates away. Some food was overcooked. Bistro (extra to pay) was very good. TIP have lunch in La Luna
Cabins are spacious & comfortable, decor is old fashioned but quality, some public areas a bit shabby but not a problem. Cabins are serviced only once daily, an economy I suppose but the first time for us in 11 cruises. we had to use old towels after showering for the evening
Entertainment is poor, relies on 'has been' comedians & tribute acts brought in, on the last night we had Madonna tribute, she was awful & should have been made to 'walk the plank' for her performance. The resident singers & dance troup were quite good but the routines were not spectacular. The singers worked very hard indeed
Excursions were very expensive & there is no need to do any of them, team up into groups of four & research in advance & go by taxi there was always loads of them despite what the excursions crew tell you, don't even bother with the shuttle buses we paid no more than 20 euros for taxis. TIP take your driving licence, I rented a car in Heraklion for 50 euros, we went to Knossos & up the coast to Sisi, could do the same in Cefalonia
There is incredible 'hard sell' on board, eg ordering a glass of wine encouraged to have a bottle, there is a coffee bar which charges extra but the coffee in the Plantation Restaurant is better. We had to keep an eye on our onboard account, it can mount up alarmingly
Most ports of call were very good & the itinerary allowed a full day in all of them, Dubrovnik, Santorini are spectacular. Ephesus, Olympia, Knossos & Acropolis if you like ruins but they are HOT HOT HOT with lots of steps & little shade at the Acropolis

Me my partner, my 2 year old son, my sister, brother in law, father in law and his partner have just returned from a weeks cruise around the mediteranian. We loved it! The food was the best we have ever had away from home. The staff loved my son and made us feel really welcome. We really enjoted the shows there was something different every night. The drinks were not too expensive, The atmosphere around the whole ship was really friendly and happy, the staff cant do enough for you. We all had an inside cabin they are small but managable, The shower and beds are good quality. The only problem we had was that my son was too young to join in with the kids club, so he got a little bored when we were sailing all day. But apart from that we loved it and have booked to go next year.

Just got back from Greece travelling with Thomas Cook and Ocean Village. It's the second time we've been and we thoroughly enjoyed it. The trips were excellent value for money and gave us a really wide range of experiences around the islands.
The food was great. We ate mainly in the plantation and were able to enjoy a breakfast and evening meal in the sunshine outside on deck every day. You just have to know which times to eat to avoid the crowds!
The staff were friendly and happy to oblige every whim and the weather was so hot!
Downsides of the cruise were: We took our 22 year old daughter sharing our cabin. They provided 2 single beds and a bunk bed. We all had to sleep squashed together. Our choice I suppose. The entertainment was ok. 2 of the shows - Madonna and the Planet show were repeats of last year which was disappointing. I thought that after a year they would change the show. Finally the drinks were very expensive.
The flight, organised by Thomas Cook was enjoyable. The check in and out process was painless and the flights passed quickly with excellent cabin staff.
We have already booked for next year - Emporers and Expresso. Can't wait. Would recommend to anyone - but Ocean Village - Please stop repeating the entertainment!

Good Points: The Ports of call were fantastic. Loved Dubrovnik, Athens, Epheseus and Rhodes. Did organised trips at Athens & Epheseus and think they were well worth doing as the guides were really good and informative.
Bad Points: Entertainment, entertainment, oh and entertainment. Really low end acts - Stars in their Eyes has-beens. Why Ocean Village thinks guests want to see tribute acts I don't know! The company entertainment team - dancers and singers - were really cheesy in my view. Previous reviewers have summed it up in saying they are reminiscent of Butlins. I think this is an area Ocean Village really have to look at because it spoilt the rest of our cruise experience. Queues in the restaurants and lack of tables becomes a pain after a while. Yes informal dining beats having to go at a certain time every night but it seems everyone all wants to eat at once! The food is really good although it tends to be a little on the cold side.
General comments: Great way to see the world and I would advise you to make the most of your days ashore so that after your dinner you are ready to go to bed as the nights can be hard to put up with. The Blue Bar is ok for a quiet drink away from the hammy/camp shows and the staff throughout the ship are very friendly - although there is a wiff of insincerity and towing the company line from some! Overall I think my time on the Ocean Village (Olives & Ouzo/Temples & Tavernas) was good but the price of trips and drinks onboard impact negatively on its value for money. My son had an absolute ball!

We have just returned from 2 weeks on Ocean Village and loved every minute of it. My wife was a little concerned that we would be the oldest couple on board, being in our early 60's, but was relieved to see lots of people around our age and even older. We had a balcony cabin which was great and it was kept spotless. Ok, the decor was a little "tired" looking but definitely not as bad as other reviews have stated. The only complaint we had was that the fridge wasn't working. We found out that a number of other people had the same problem, but our cabin stewardess brought us a bucket of ice every day so that we could keep bottled water in it in the fridge which worked very well. She was very helpful throughout the 2 weeks and nothing was too much trouble for her. We found all the staff on board excellent, extremely helpful and always had a smile and time for a little chat. The food was plentiful and pretty good most of the time. We ate mainly in the Waterfront, but also went into the Plantation quite often. The meals in the Bistro and La Luna had a lot of seafood which we don't like and there was nothing else on their menu's that we particularly wanted. The entertainment was quite good but the "Planet" show on deck was brilliant. We booked 2 trips which were very good - one to Limmasol and the other to Santorini - although a bit expensive. We made our own way to all the other places we stopped and found them easy enough to either walk to or share a taxi. Last year we went on our first cruise with Emerald Princess and loved it. It was a brand new ship so obviously the decor etc was perfect so you couldn't really compare it with OV, being 20 years old. I have to say though that we preferred the casualness of OV and the staff were much better too. I have seen lots of reviews about OV with people moaning about having to carry trays in the buffet restaurants - well I didn't see anything wrong with that - at least you could get your plates, cups and cutlery in "one go" - on Princess you had to try and juggle things around or make a few trips to get each item!! The embarkation process was so much better on OV, no waiting around once you had "checked in", you went on board straightaway and when leaving the ship it was also very well organised. The Thomsonfly flights were quite good with better leg room than we thought there would be, although the food wasn't that good. Would definitely go on OV again.

Ocean Village Cruise Ship 3rd to 10th July 2008

My daughter treated me to my first ever cruise and the two of us have just arrived back from the Olives & Ouzo tour. I have had the time of my life.
I shall never forget it. To say I have enjoyed myself is an understatement, I thought I’d gone to heaven and back, beautiful scenery and places to visit.
Although the donkeys in Santouri proved for us a challenge.
Officers, crew, staff, entertainers, in fact everyone took a part in making my holiday as perfect as possible and a holiday to remember.
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I can thoroughly recommend Ocean Village cruises to anyone, good value, spacious cabins, food good, entertainment excellent, staff and crew friendly and pleasant,
who could ask for anything more? Can’t wait to save up for the next one.
Mr W Coleman (Revue June) complains about everything and anything. He wouldn’t be happy on any ship. Re his rude remarks re the over 70’s, and for his record!!
I as a74 year old female who is nowhere near dead with a foot in the grave. I enjoy life, play golf at least 3 times a week, a 20 handicap and could give him a run for his money!! There are many like me out there, who don’t complain and grumble enjoying life to the full probably spending their kids inheritance.
Good luck to them
At the end of the day the holiday is what you make it, so get out there and enjoy..
Here’s to my next holiday with Ocean Village Cruises. Cheers!