Ocean Village - Here We Go Again

by **Fruitie** on Fri Nov 09, 2007 9:53 am

Just booked up with Ocean Village for Feb. Can't wait to see how things have improved with the refit!Really looking forward to visiting the Western carribbean etc.Please place reviews if you are going before us as this is a first for O.V. and we would appreciate all points of view re.trips etc.Have read the flights are with First Choice - all good news so far! Anyone else going?

by **ianrich** on Fri Nov 09, 2007 3:19 pm

Fly to Montego Bay in two weeks to do this cruise. Enjoyed OV two years ago in east carribean.

by **Fruitie** on Fri Nov 09, 2007 5:22 pm

Bet you can't wait - let us know how it goes! Have you booked any trips?

by **Mrs A** on Sat Dec 15, 2007 3:26 pm

We have been back for a couple of weeks from the Caribean on OV1 after the refit, we had never cruised before so we have no comparision but we did find the ship to be spotless and clean and we had a brillant time. We only booked 1 trip with them and that was to Sandals in St Lucia, it was very nice but we thought the food on board the ship was better. We swam with Dolphins in tortola and we paid half of OV's price, but to be honest the other prices for the excursions were very reasonable. Have a great time,

by **mozziefood** on Sat Dec 29, 2007 6:15 pm

Hi, as the saying goes don't spoil the ship for a ha'penny of tar, its all very well being adventurous and doing the trips on your own, but you don't have time to muck it up in each port if you get it wrong then you will have missed out , we went on an organised trip at every port, we had a fantastic time, the guides were great, they made the holiday, they knew the best bits and made sure you missed nothing, they new there stuff!!! which although yes it's their job, they bought the place alive and could answer even the most trivial questions, they really depend on good tips so its in their interest to make sure you have a fab time.
I am sure that there are a lot of travellers who can jump of the ship spot a great local taxi driver and have a great time for less money.
but at least you know these trips are tried and tested and for me they represent a bit of a safety net, as remeber the ship sails even if your not back
staff are great, food wasn't al' a ' carte but it was good.
drinks are very reasonably priced
we had a suite and it was lovely, and we upgraded the seats on the flight and that was worth every penny.
we have booked to go back again in feb 2009 on ov2.
if you would like any more info please let me know as i can be more specific if you would like about the trips.

by **Fruitie** on Mon Dec 31, 2007 8:50 am

Hi Mozziefood (I wonder if that's significant?!!!)
Thanks for your comments. We found that it was easy to do your own thing in the Eastern Caribbean as the islands are reasonably safe and used to dealing wit cruise passengers who need to return on time.However this time round we are going to use the action ashore trips for most of the ports.So far we are going on the dome train in Colon and one of the easy Cartegena trips.We were too late to do the deluxe train so are in the standard seats - hope this will be o.k.
Any trip advise would be gratefully received as we intend to book the rest this week.
We fly from Gatwick on 5th Feb. with Thomson Fly not firstchoice as we originally thought.Main job for today is to do a park and stay package for the previous night.It is likely to be very cold then and we don't want to look and feel cold in sandals and t shirts at 6.30 in the morning!!!! However it's a pain carrying winter clothes with us on the flight.Any tips anyone?
We have upgraded the flight seats as we did before ( well worth it).This time round we have a balcony cabin. Like you we enjoyed a suite last time.While we were on board we had a look at the balcony cabins and they seem to have a deeper balcony so we opted for that.

by **ruby_nell** on Mon Dec 31, 2007 10:06 am

We are flying out on morning of 19th Feb for 2 week Reggae etc cruise on OV1. You should be back just before we go. Please let us know what you think about trips with OV or if you think it's safe to do your own thing. We haven't booked anything with OV but are a bit wary of getting off the boat and being left to our own devices. We have done this in Europe but Central America is a bit different. Help anyone.

by **mozziefood** on Sat Jan 12, 2008 7:34 pm

Hi.
problem with clothing, we wore linen trousers and tee-shirts, yes we were a bit cold getting from the hotel to the taxi and then from the taxi to inside the airport, and we noticed that some people on the flight just got changed into shorts and a tee shirt just before we arrived, but as you say it is such a hassle carrying winter stuff.
i just remember getting to the door of the airplane when we got there and my glasses steaming up, it was like walking into a sauna, there is no way i would of wanted anything but the thinest layer of clothing on, i think the best thing is to just think warm thoughts and suck it up on the way to the plane!! it's so worth it.
and your right about my name i get eaten alive and i have tried everything, i just put up with it now and take loads of antihystamine with me

by **Fruitie** on Sun Jan 13, 2008 4:49 pm

Thanks for the advice,Mozziefood.We are booked into our hotel now and can deposit bits in the car in the morning before they whisk it off. Only a short trip straight to the airport and I'll take a zippy for that. As you say It's only for a short time and we usually have plenty of room in hand luggage to store zippy's etc.Hopefully they will stay there till we get home! Only 3 weeks now - and counting!

by **andante** on Mon Jan 14, 2008 7:12 pm

this one is for fruitie.....i saw that you did the transatlantic last april....we are going this april..barbados to majorca, on ov2. Love to hear any tips you have...particularly about the weather between caribbean and med. Thanks.