Ocean Village 2 Cruise Ship

3 readers found this review helpful

This was my 3rd OV cruise and yet again i came off the ship having had an absolutely fantastic time. I had booked for next year a month before i went on this one, just in case it sold out quickly, as it is going from two ships down to one. There were 11 in our group ranging from age 70 to 11 and we all loved it. I don't know what i'll do in 2010 when OV is no more.I love everything about OV from the staff, the food, the cabins, most of the entertainment - Rob the dancer was soooo hot! Lisa the main singer was fantastic too. The whole atmosphere is wonderful and i will really miss it but i know my husband will be pleased to do something else! Roll on July 1st next year!!

12 readers found this review helpful

We (age 32 and 29) have just returned from a fantastic 2 week holiday on OV2. This was our first time cruising and we could not fault it. We chose a cabin with a balcony which was a very good size, with a great amount of storage space & an excellent shower. Our room was cleaned to a high standard every day by Jessielyn and beach towels were replaced daily (don't bother taking your own). All the staff were extremely polite and couldn't do enough to help. There were lots of young couples & young families on the cruise aswell as couples in their 50s & 60s. Not at all a cruise for older people. The average age was about 40, though I don't understand why age bothers so many people who have commented on this!
The food was amazing with plenty of choice. Tuesday is Neptunes night and there's practically every type of seafood you can imagine. We ate mainly in Plantations which had a different menu each evening and served food 24/7. Clotted cream scones and other cakes are served in the afternoons along with snacks. The Watrefront served mainly British meals... carvery etc. We tried La Luna, which was very nice. This costs £4.75pp plus what ever your choice of starter, main, dessert costs. Though there are lots of options that are free. We also had an evening meal in The Bistro, which was well worth the £15pp cover charge. This was an excellent meal! If you book an Action Ashore trip from OV2, you will receive an offer of only £12 pp at The Bistro. Drinks are very cheap, especially compared to what you pay on land in Europe - a huge selection of cocktails starting from £3.60 - £5.45. There is a charge for ice cream purchased on the ship, but again this is not expensive.
We booked on 7 of the planned OV2 Action Ashore trips and each was excellent & very good value for money. We cannot understand other people's complaints. You're paying for the services of a guide and the full day being organised for you, with no stress. We went on The Best of Istanbul, The Best of Ephesus, The Best of Athens (without lunch) we had to wait approx 20 mins to access the Acropolis as v busy, Spinalonga (Crete), Gondola Ride (Venice - which cost £40 and included a water taxi to & from St Mark's Square & 40 mins Gondola ride), Krka National Park & Waterfalls (Split), Olympia & Beach (Katakolon). We thoroughly enjoyed each trip & would recommend all the trips especially Istanbul, Ephesus, Athens. In Venice you can walk from the ship into the town or purchase Water Taxi tickets at £12pp return £6 for children. I expected to be harrassed in Turkey by people trying to get you to buy their products, but this was not the case. They offer, but if you say "no thank you" they leave you alone. They do accept Euros in the Turkish ports, but you will need Kuna in Croatia.
There was a wide range of entertainment in the evening from quizs to comedians, magicians, acrobatics, singing, dancing. Our favourites were the Cuban magician, Annie Lennox tribute & Queen tribute. You don't have to sit through shows once they have started if you are not enjoying them, you are able to walk out. So to those who complain why watch - just leave! As for daytime activities at sea - there were lots organised but we chose to sunbathe & read at the back of the ship where it was v quiet. We also did a tour of The Bridge on this day which was well worth the £4.95 charge. The ships daily newspaper is delivered to your cabin every evening with a full itinery of the following days activities & entertainment.
Overall we could not fault OV2 on anything. We had a fantastic holiday & would recommend to all. We are now considering a trip on OV1 before that also sails to Austrailia at the end of 2010.

9 readers found this review helpful

We were two couples in our 50s ,first time cruising for one couple,i had been on ocean village twice before.
We both had inside cabins,no complaints,they were very clean and well looked after by Caitano,top marks for this guy.
There were kids on here as we expected (school holidays) they were well supervised and all of them seem to be enjoying themselves,think i have persuaded my grandaughter to come on cruise next year with our grandaughter who is 6 ,and my son in law .It will suite all ages .
Food was excellent,plenty of it,well presented,and as much as you wanted 24/7,drinks were not over priced,£2.95 draught stella,dont have one in the Marquee, beer is to warm in there,have a cocktail instead.Dont waste your money in La Luna,restaurants are better,cost us extra £20 was not worth it,did not try the Bistro.Cocktails were £3.65,GOOD VALUE.
Entertainment ,Freddie Mercury tribute,he was fantastic,best i have seen,rest of entertainment total rubbish,anyone remember Double Impact,were runners up in x factor about 5 years ago,they were bad then, they are worse now.Ocean village you really need a new entertainment director.Daytime activities when at sea,FLOWER ARRANGING,WHO THE HELL LIKES WATCHING FLOWER ARRANGING think most watching at one time was 5 people , that is not cruise entertainment ,Two performers they had singing ,they were not up to much,quoting Simon Cowell,you belong on a cruise liner,these two didnt .This was main reason we gave the cruise 7/10.Compared to ocean village 1,entertainment was bad.
Ports of call,try and do your own thing it is much less expensive than using their excursions,If you havent been to Turkey before go with others,Istanbull very intimidating,they do everything but physically drag you in their shops.Mytylene beautifull little harbour very pleasant walk,cafes open but nothing else open as its Sunday,Kusadasi,very pretty place worth a visit.Athens next port,we booked a taxi cost us 48 euros to visit acropolis and olympic stadium,very hot,queing was about 3 hours,Rhodes
probably the nicest place i have ever seen,the old town is remarkable,Heraklion not much to see there but we were going off ship that day ,had to carry flight bags around with us,had to be out of cabin by 830 am.
All in all it was a very good cruise,we all enjoyed,but please ocean village do something about the entertainment.
Smokers beware no smoking in cabins,and only smoking in designated areas,we expected this anyway.Make sure you ask for an ashtray in designated areas and ask,and ask.I think they hide them.And yes you still have to put your towels on sun loungers, as we found out,people still like to go out on excursions and leave their towels on them until they come back on.
I prefered Ocean Village 1

2 readers found this review helpful

Our time aboard ocean village two was one of the best holidays we have ever had. It was well presented, maintained and kept cool all the time. The food was superb, and it was allways available. La luna and the bistro were good and amazing respectively, but we ate in the waterfront most of the time (free but a nicer atmosphere than the plantation [24h buffet])

3 readers found this review helpful

We recently came back from a holiday onboard Ocean Village 2. It was amazing, the crew were all polite and helpful. As for the boat itself, it was always clean and well presented. I wouldn't say that the boat was brand new as they made out it was, but it was still in good condition. The places we went to were mind blowing, and the weather was brilliant. There was never a moment that you would feel hungry because of the constant supply of amazing food. It was well presented and tasted good too.
Overall, I would go back on Ocean village 2, however I don't think I will be able to because it is leaving to go to Australia. But It was amzing and would recommend it to anyone wanting to go and see different places, on a break.

2 readers found this review helpful

Just back from two week cruise on Ocean Village Two around eastern med. 4 Adults & 6 Kids went and we had a great time. Food was out of this world, there was just too much! We didn't dine in La Luna or The Bistro because we thought the food in The Plantation and The Waterfront was good enough. The staff was extremely kind and helpful and the cleanliness was OK. The entertainment was quite good, but the kids tended to become quite bored after returning to the ship. Overall it was a very good holiday and would I recommend it to everyone.

6 readers found this review helpful

Do not go on an Ocean Village cruise. The whole experience has put me off ever cruising again. We took them to the small claims court but they settled out of court. No entertainment, no air con, kids could not play in the pool due to the 18-30 louts. Not a snob but i was embarrased to be british. Butlins on water.

7 readers found this review helpful

Although there were many aspects to this holiday that I very much enjoyed(mainly getting off the boat)there were some things I feel the boat could have massivly improved on, or just changed all together. My dislikes to the boat included; -> I extremly disliked how much the trips off the boat cost, During our day in lesbos, my nan and I got of the boat, and walked into the town, we met two women off our boat who had done some research and found the name of a beach that was suppose to be good. So to cut costs which were already minimum, all four of us jumped into a taxi which cost 20euros there and back,so a round trip of 5euros each, the guy even came and picked us back up a few hours later. However, when we arived at Mayotte Beach, Lesbos we realise that the "beach trip" from the boat had also gone to this beach. However, they had payed £40 each to spend 3 hours on the same beach as a group of people who had got there for 5euros or less. When we went to athens, me and my nan walked off the boat, where we were then bombarded with taxi drivers trying to take us to the acropolis at a jawdopping price of 80-90euros.My tip to you, would be to walk out and away from the port, follow the main stretch down, where we found a taxi that would take us to Plaka(shopping district) for 15euros, which we did, only to arrive in Plaka and see people from the ocean village 2 who had been dropped there at a cost of £45 a head. I did enjoy our trip to Istanbul on our first day, however, when I asked a taxi driver how much it would be to take us back to the ship he said 5euros, it cost me and nan £40 each for our trip to the blue mosque, hagia sofia, and the topkappi palace, which were well worth the visit, but all within walking distance from another, hagia sofia is opposite the blue mosque, and the palace is just around the corner from hagia sofia, well worth a look. --> The evening entertainment provided by the "Freedom to move" dancers was horrific, the best entertainment we saw the whole time we were there was a comedian who took the stage on the first night of the cruise. Also I thought the freddie mercury tribute was alright. But one night me and my nan had the pleasure of watching "Fever" and erotic dance show, what we didn't realise was that this "Erotic" show would turn out to be nothing more than live pornography, I don't know who their target audience was, but neither me or my nan found it entertaining, it was humiliating to watch. One women performed an impressive ariel routine, to a simulated orgasm. If you enjoy you're evening entertainment, I would say that this boat is probebly not for you. ---> Another thing that was a problem for us, was the fact that the boat was so strict, on any other boat, they do not mind if you buy duty free alcohol and take it back to your rooms, however on the Ocean Village 2, they will quite happily search your bags and confiscate any alcohol brought back onto the ship. I felt that the ship was only interested in making money, everything was about money on this ship, from the confisgating of ones own alcohol, forcing you to spend more on onboard drinks, to the fact that the trips cost from £30 a head for a three hour trip, that might cost 5euros to reach in a taxi. Make sure you do you're reasearch about each of the stops, earsdrop on other people conversations around the pool, you'll quickly learn what places to visit. -- ladies beach, kusadasi turkey. Mayotte Beach, Lesbos. Plaka, Athens. I would not recommend the ocean village 2 to anyone under maybe 40, the boat was full of as my nan ironically calls them "coffin dogers", the average age on the boat was 65. however, the food was fantastic, I would not recommend a visit to the Bistro or la luna, you can eat under the stars in plantation, and the food is no better. It was all delicious. Also, I must recommend a visit to the spa during your stay, me and nan visited on "Ladies night" we were treated to 2 glasses of champagne each,a chocolate fountain with marshmallows, strawberries and brownies. the treatment was more than worth the price, for our money we we given access to the 2 saunas,the meditation room and the shower rooms, which were brilliant in themselves. also followed by a massage which sent me off to sleep and a facial which left me feeling completly blissed out.

2 readers found this review helpful

had a brill time on ocean village .great service , great meal,s ,great staff. cannot fault it ..pity it,s going out of service next year....sad.....

1 reader found this review helpful

we have just come back from a 7 day cruise on oceanvillage,2nd time went last year too.and i must say its one of the best holidays i could ever have.the cabin was light and airy,the staff kept it clean and comfortable and replenished tea coffee etc daily.the meals were full board . there was plenty of variaty to choose from and very well presented.the entertainment was very good,and the staff couldnt have looked after you any more than they did.we went on 5 different excursions and enjoyed all but one.but we except every thing isnt perfect.i would reccomend oceanvillage to any one.where else can you go on holiday and completely chill and visit 5 different parts of the world in a week.i'm going out soon to book next years.