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Its Easy to critisize BUT
Reviewed By: Liddiard, ST.Osyth Essex on 22nd Sep 2008
Cruise Line: Ocean Village Cruises	Times cruised before: 3-5
Cruise Ship: Ocean Village Two	Sailed: September, 2008
Destination: Mediterranean	Age: 65+

Its Easy To Criticise BUT Just arrived back from Ocean Village Tapas and Togas, Villas and VInos, the holiday didn’t get off to a good start as we had to wait at Palma Airport for about an hour on the transfer coach which had filled in about 20 Minutes. On arrival at the ship we were speedily dealt with for our ship passes etc. But we couldn’t get into our cabins until three o’clock. We were informed of this before hand so we took our swim togs with us in our hand luggage. The pool was a welcome sight after travelling since about three in the morning, lunch was on the go, so this made up for our airport delay. The cabin was an outside one, was clean and of a reasonable size for two people. Plenty of drawer space and hanging room. Under the beds was an official notice which said” we also clean under here”!! I was surprised at the price of drinks, about the same as pub prices in the UK, I thought perhaps they would have been a bit less being tax and duty free lager was £2-80 a pint and Boddingtons was a bit cheaper, a double brandy was £6-20, and a small 150cl can of ginger ale was £1.25! A Bit much I thought. The wines were approx £ 12-00 a bottle served at table but due to the price I didn’t indulge. If they had been around the £8-00 mark I would have had a bottle almost every night. So I saved and the ship lost out over this. I wasn’t the only one that considered the drinks were too expensive. Twenty percent is better than no percent so the wine waiter was trying to flog a dead horse. We found the trips ashore were rather dear so we did our own thing when we arrived in port. A rail ticket from Civitavechia to Rome costs Nine Euros each and the train stops at St. Pietro , and the dome of St. Peters can be seen from the train. This day ticket enables the user to explore Rome on the bus and the Metro. The underground maps give the sights of interest by the name of the station in the train. Ships price for a walk round Rome is £48-00. The tour buses at the port gates are quite reasonable, we did a tour of Barcelona for 22Euros each and you could hop on and off where you liked, the ships price for this is Approx. £30/40-00. On board there was a sun bed issue whereas if you left your sun bed for more than half an hour you would get a parking ticket and the threat was that your towels etc would be taken to reception for safe keeping. I was in the swimming pool for about ten minutes and I received one. This I felt was ludicrous, how can one have a leisurely lunch, a swim, a massage, go to the toilet etc. if you risk losing your sun bed ?a person was supervising her disabled husband in the pool and they received two! I thought that the pop music entertainment was a bit over the top “yeah yeah “and all that especially as we were told that the average age was 62 I would have liked more easy listening music if we had to have any at all. There was a pianist that played wonderful cocktail piano and jazz but alas he was on only for a quarter of an hour twice a week or so and this wasn’t publicised as it should have been. Backing tracks reign supreme! On the whole as it wasn’t a dressy up cruise one has to bend with the wind and it was quite adequate. We were pleased that we didn’t go a week earlier as we were told allegedly that there were Four Hundred children on the ship!!!The entertainment in the ships theatre was good, but there again pop music ruled the day. I think that one week on this ship is the ideal time to have.
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Shore Excursions	n/a

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Children's Facilities	n/a

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Opinion: Disagree Comment by Hardwick, Northampton (07 Oct 08 22:58) about this REVIEW.

When one pays for a excursion ashore or a walk around the city,it is not merely a walk but a guided tour with knowledgable guide who gives out so much more information about the area than you would get from an independant walk. We had the most wonderful guides on our cruise excursions -they made the holiday.

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Comment by pirie, newbury (26 Sep 08 02:32) about this REVIEW.

Why go on a cruise aimed at younger cruisers then moan about the 'pop music' entertainment? Just cause you didnt like it doesnt mean it was not good so you should be fair and state whether what was on offer was good/good value for money then say that it just was'nt YOUR thing. Perhaps Thompson or Island Star is more up your street (so to speak. Read the brochure carefully. I wouldnt advise RCI or Ventura either!

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Comment by Wilkinson, devon (24 Sep 08 13:52) about this REVIEW.

I would like to know why you were horrified that there were 400 children on board, when clearly Ocean Village market their cruises as ideal for 'the family'. Do you feel they are marketing their product to the wrong crowd? I myself hope that there are plenty of youngsters on board when we sale, as there is nothing nicer than seeing children having lots of fun....

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