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“First of all I have to say I have read the 2 previous...”

written by talkingpoint on 12/06/2004

Good Points
Excellent attentive and courteous staff, very good and plentiful food, very nice spacious cabins, lots to keep you occupied even if the weather is not too good

Bad Points
Excursions ashore not the best and a little on the expensive side

General Comments
First of all I have to say I have read the 2 previous reviews of the Ocean Village Cruise Ship and I am appalled by the inaccurate description of this Mediterranean Cruise holiday. These people must have been on a different ship or on another planet. To describe other passengers as 'scum' and 'louts' as one reviewer does is just inexcusable.



We normally holiday in minimum 4* and usually 5* hotels, and I personally have stayed in some of the best hotels in the world (on business) and we found that Ocean Village certainly compares favourably with most 4* hotels.



This was our first cruise, and we enjoyed it very much despite the weather not being very good. The ship is well equipped and very stable,(we had high winds on our first night out but the ship remained relatively smooth). Cabins are spacious and kept spotlessly clean. The food which is self service in the two main restaurants is of a very high standard and as plentiful as you want it, whenever you want it.



As I say the restaurants are self service so if you wait for a waiter (as one reviewer seems to have done) then you will wait a very long time. Staff in the restaurants are very efficient , they bring any drinks you want very quickly and tables are cleared , cleaned, and relaid as soon as they are vacated.

The two waiter service restaurants 'The Bistro' and 'La Luna' have a la carte menus at a small supplement and are well worth at least one visit during your cruise.



Action ashore excursions are available at every port but are not the best and can be a little on the expensive side. The only member of staff we had any issue with was a rather arrogant american girl from the action ashore team. All of the other staff were extremely efficient, courteous, and very friendly.



Our cabin boy was very helpful and courteous, towels and sheets were changed regularly and anything we left laying around was respectfully tidied or put away for us, if we asked for more supplies of tea etc. they were brought immediately.



Entertainment on board is good and featured some very good visiting comedians and tribute acts. The onboard entertainment team work very hard and put on some good shows, the only comment we would make is that the shows were too short and you often had to move to another bar to catch the next act.



It is true that Ocean Village is a casual ship but most passengers smartened up and covered up for meals and in the evening.



We met many people from all walks of life, some were seasoned cruisers , many like us were first timers, but all agreed that Ocean Village is good value for money. We are definitely hooked on cruising and will not hesitate to go on this ship again.