Ocean Village Cruises Answers

Cruised on Island Escape in May 2009 and never again. Couldn't fault the staff or the service but the ship needs to be retired. Constantly had problems with the toilet system (one day it didn't function on most of the ship between noon and 7pm), had cockroaches coming out from under the astro-turf on the top sun deck and as for the all inclusive package - forget it!! It's not worth paying the extra for. We have done 4 thomson cruises and thought we would have the same standards as Island is now part of the Thomson fleet but it is no where near the standards of the other ships and the all inclusive package which is sold on their web site for all their ships is totally different on the Island compared to the other ships. You get a fraction of the selection on Island compared to Destiny or Spirit. As for OV, we haven't cruised on it but when on a Princess cruise to the Caribbean in March, OV was along side and everyone seemed to be having a good time on it. I have heard it described as Butlins at sea but for 'younger' cruisers (sub-50) its probably got more life. Whatever you decide to do, i hope you have a fantastic time, although we had a bad experience on Island it hasn't put us off cruising.

Hope the wedding goes well. I wouldn't go with either cruise company. P&O, Princess or Royal Caribbean are much better cruise lines. There are always deals to be had as well. Just look on line or phone your travel agent for the deals. Its a lovely holiday and you will probably get hooked like we did.

Hi, Congratulations on your forthcoming wedding. My husband and i travelled with Ocean Village 1 in Dec 05 and thought it was ok as it was our first cruise. Because it was our first cruise and we had nothing to compare it to we decided to do another cruise with them on the Ocean Village 2. Big mistake,even though it was a newer ship. The cabins are a fair size but the walls were dirty in the cabin, the room wasn't cleaned properly and we were left dirty towels which might just as well have come directly from someone elses cabin. We complained but didn't get anywhere. Heard from quite a few other people that the O cean Village 1 had also gone the same. If you like bars and sunbathing then you might enjoy it but there isn't much else to do. Also know someone who went on Island Escape last year and they said the food was not very good and the cabins were quite poor. If you want to travel on an excellent ship and really enjoy your honeymoon then I suggest the Royal Caribbean. Nothing is too much trouble for them and they will treat you like royalty. We will certainly be travelling with them again. We went on Liberty of the seas which is one of the bigger ships but we heard the smaller ships are just as good. Good luck.

Not sure if this helps; we've been with both OV and Island (albeit on the Island Star). OV can only be described as Pants. The freestyle dinning option is just an excuse for canteen style food and the entertainment was non existent. The Island Star was far better, good dinning and excellent entertainment. However, that was the Star. We spoke many people whilst aboard the Star who had also been on the Explorer and they felt the Star was far better, because as you say; the Explorer was a converted ferry and badly needed a refit. We have also been with Carnival, an American line, who mainly cruise the Caribbean, but are now also doing the Med out of Rome. As you would expect the Americans do cruising exceptionally well. Fabulous food & entertainment. Far superior to both OV & Island. We thought they were brilliant. Given the exchange rate it can be a reasonable price too, we paid far less for drinks than the other two, but that was last year; so check them out.

The Ocean Village is a great ship with rooms that are a great size. The itinerary is also good with Rome and Barcelona especially if you want to see the history of some fabulous places. I would choose Ocean Village and have done for later this year. After that it goes to Australia and we wont get the chance again so I say go with it for the quality and the great destinations.

Hi..not travelled on Ocean Village so cannot comment on the ship as such ...but I certainly have the perception that Island are the better of the two cruise lines. We have travelled on both the Island Ships, Escape and Sky and would certainly agree that Escape is in need of a re-fit ..it used to be a ferry and it shows, compared with Island Star which was a cruise ship with Celebrity (Horizon) prior to being sold and is by far the better ship

We had our 2 week honeymoon on OV 5 years ago and loved it. In fact, we have been on it twice since and enjoyed both experiences. Haven't tried the Island Escape, but have cruised with Princess and NCL. OV is more intimate and geared to the UK traveller. Whatever you choose, this is your honeymoon, so go with a positive frame of mind and be determined to enjoy yourselves. You will remember this holiday for the rest of your lives. Best wishes for your future.

I went on ocean village for my honeymoon, did a fortnite, ist time cruise in 2006, had a fantastic time. (so much so we booked a 1 week cruise last year with them.) good size rooms, loved the entertainment, loved the free style dining, the staff were excellent. friendly, polite and always smiling. cant comment on any other cruises but i hope this helps in your choice. you will have a great time whatever you chose to do....enjoy!!!!

Don't even think about Island Escape! I have travelled on car ferries with bigger, cleaner and better equipped cabins! We had our first cruise on Ocean Village and it was spotless, the food was fantastic, the cabis were HUGE, toiletries were provided, you have a fridge in your cabin (useful for keeping your make-up in!!!) and the choice of entertainment was brilliant. Island Escape was dirty, rusty, the deck furniture was ancient and the food was just average. Because OV needs a much bigger berth than Island Escape, you may have to walk a little further to wherever you are going, but don't let this put you off. If I had cruised first on Island Escape, I would never have taken another cruise! The only problem with going with OV is that they set a high standard for any future cruise you may wish to take to live up to, and also they are moving to Australia very soon, so you may never get another chance to experience their cruises.

Personally I would always choose the itinerary and then choose the best cabin in your price range. You may never go to those ports again and so grasp the nettle and go weher you really want. Value for money Island is good, you also have easy flights from most of UK .