ocean village

numpy

thinking of going on an ocean village criuse next year, has anyone been on one, would be grateful of any advice do's and don'ts and general advice please.

saveapenny

Yes we have been on it twice now ..fire away what do you want to know?

numpy

would like to know if its suitable for kids have 2 boys age 8 & 11 is there much to do for them? is the ship full of pensioners? whats food like and when youre in port are the trips expensive?

saveapenny

1) yes its suitable for your kids ages, plenty for them to do they even have there own set of excursions and a teenzone.

2)Not at all most people are in the mid 30's to 40's a few either side but not many

3) The food is lovely in all the restraunts from the Bistro where you pay a sup. right to the 24 hour buffet in the Plantation which BTW is great for afternoon cakes to take back to the cabin and watch a film before getting ready for the night
Its not stuffy dinning like on other cruise its very relaxed.

4)Yes the trips can be expensive we mainly do our own thing and only book trips in maybe 1 or 2 ports usualy the ones where its harder to get to places such as when we docked for Florence it was a 2hour bus ride so we booked a trip. You can pick up loads of tips for ports off places like ship happens https://www.chat-page.com/ship/1/ you will also find plenty of reviews there.

Where are you thinking of going and what time of year?

BTW e-mail me (in profile) and I will send you my photos

IvanOpinion

We did the Caribbean on Ocean Village. We had a great time but lately I have been hearing some 'Butlins at sea' type reports about it (which would be a shame). Try looking at the ship-happens web site .. loads of reviews and a basic chat board (I appear there under a different name).

The other thing I will say is that there are better deals out there than Ocean Village .. its almost as if you pay a premium to lose the 4/5 star service. Look at P&O, Royal Caribbean, Princess and Disney (yes they do have cruise ships). A great American site is cruise critic which has a very active chat board (same vBulletin software as this one .. and yes I appear there under another name as well).

Pile on the queries and don't listen to the myths ... the only one that seems to be true is that it takes 10 years to book your first cruise and 10 minutes to book your second. Time of year can make a massive difference ... the Caribbean is cheaper from June to October for a reason (risk of hurricanes) .. the Med is cheaper October to March for a reason (unreliable weather). Where are you thinking of cruising and at what time of the year?

Ivan

del_boy_

my cousin went had a lovely time, my advice book it

saveapenny

Disney are starting a med program http://disneycruise.disney.go.com/dcl/en_US/cruises/detail?name=11NightMediterraneanCruiseDetailPage
and I agree if you are going for 7 nights you might get a good deal but if you are thinking a 14 night cruise you will get better deals from other companies.
Last time we went on was CARIBBEAN O5 so cant comment on if recently its turned a bit Butlins at sea

saveapenny

: 580780-FFC
Ship: Thomson Celebration
Line: Thomson
Region(s): Canaries, Mediterranean
Date: Fri, Apr 28th 2006
Nights: 9

The Celebration
deck (1), Inside cabins, Double
Bristol C deck (1), Inside cabins, Double 2 £546
Nice price for a cheap and cheerful cruise