I am posting this review on behalf of my Mother & Father-in-law. (3rd time aboard the OC)
They had a A cabin with a balcony and was awoken every morning by deck chairs been dragged on deck above them. They constantly complained to no avail. They also thought the ship was shabby looking and was disapointed with the entertainment and not impressed by the food. They did however when they got back wrote to head office and complained and they offered them £700 off another cruise or £500 cash needless to say they took the cash.

Settle down this is going to be a long one,we would like to give you full information to make your mind up.
We travelled on Thomas Cook out of Manchester for a 10 hour flight in a coffin,(A330 Airbuses are far too small for long haul and you can't book Premier class for a 1 week holiday) to meet OV1 in Jamaica for the TOUCANS AND TEQUILLA cruise in January 08.
This is our 3rd trip on OV1 which you may take as approval of the ship,but we prefer to see it as a means to an end.OV sails to places in the Caribbean that are beyond the reach of the ordinary traveller on a limited budget,so basically we use OV to get there for less and put up with their shortcomings.
Although they bill it as informal which it is, people still dress for dinner in the Caribbean in nice casual clothes and don't stay in their shorts and
t-shirts all day.
FOOD AND ENTERTAINMENT
These are their biggest failings, the food in the non-payment restaurants is at best school dinners so if you are looking for a dining experience OV is not the ship for you,how simple is it to serve hot food and make sure it's still hot when it gets to your table?. LA LUNA is their shining star and for an extra £4.75 per person plus up to an extra £7.00 depending on your choice of main course you are treated to exceptional service as you dine under the stars. However the menu is limited even though it is changed every 3 days, but it is the best restaurant by far.The James Martin bistro costing an extra £12.50 per head has a menu that is far too fancy and the bookings seem to confirm this, as during the week they were sending menus to your cabin to encourage you to dine there.This is not for the 50plus winter travelling crowd, which leads me on the the entertainment, this has the problem of being aimed at their core market of 30-50 which may work in the Med in the Summer, but I would suggest they review the entertainmemt programme to cater for the Winter crowd. I do have to say that on our cruise the star turn was Jacqui Graham 80's soul singer,she oosed star quality which made the rest of the entertainment look even poorer.Other ships tend to copy musicals but the shows on OV just seem to be a mish mash of songs thrown together. The comedians were quite good but getting a seat was impossible they should have been on in the Marquee lounge.There was a female singer late a night in the Square who was so bad you wanted to slit your wrists!
PORTS OF CALL
Everyday there is a port fact sheet available from reception(not a published fact we stumbled upon it) This tells you how much you should pay for taxis to the various locations at the destination and also the walking distances.
PROGRESSO
There are taxis and tours at the port entrance which seem slightly cheaper than the ships tours...... it's your choice.
There is a bus that takes you from the ship to the town as you cannot walk the port roads, when you get there you will see why you wouldn't want to. In the town there is a market,shops and a bus tour you can go on, do it it's only $2 and the locals are so proud of their town.There is a lovely beach if you want to sunbathe with sunbeds and bars but not much else. The port duty free shop is the cheapest on the cruise with Bacardi under £5.00 a litre! Don't forget you have to pack it in your case going home.
COZUMEL
If your ship docks at the International Port then pay the $6 taxi fare into the town (it only cost us $2 each as we were put in a shared taxi it's all very organised)as unless you are a marathon walker it will take you best part of an hour or more walking to the shops.The shops sell all the usual stuff but it is a very good place to get your soft drinks, most of the souvenier shops sell coke at $1.50 for a litre bottle which is much cheaper than 95p a can on the ship. The bar at the port was good giving a good mexican feeling although pricier than the town at $2.50 for a beer.
BELIZE
A lovely purpose built port area,if you are nervous like me the tender trip was quite smooth and even better if you can get on the catamaran boats, as it's a staight step off they were even getting a wheelchair off. This is by far the best place to see the Mayan Ruins as it's a much smaller site that is almost flat, with everything in a square mile. The local guides are excellent and you get a trip around town on the way back which makes you feel very humble.Contrary to what OV tours will tell you, you can climb these ruins which you can't at Chichen Itza which is also a much longer journey from the ship.
ROATAN
This is a 1/2 day Sunday stop and you will be hassled by the taxi drivers at the port gate, there is not much to see if you walk into the town, and most of the activity is at the little market stalls at the port gate.
GRAND CAYMAN
Unfortunatly we did not get into this port because the winds were too high for us to anchor. I cannot tell you how disappointed we were as this was to be the highlight of the cruise,so we were left with a windy day at sea.My biggest gripe about this was that the news was not piped into the cabin (the captain didn't want to wake people) until 9.30 so we were 2 hours behind everyone else who heard it in the restaurant earlier, in the sunbed search.We were up but having a late breakfast so we could get straight off the ship at 10.00 when the tenders started. This is importatnt information as it shapes the rest of your day and should be given to everyone at the same time, they can then decide if they want to go back to sleep.
MONTEGO BAY
We didn't go far only into the Port Buildings which has quite a few shops selling the ususal things.Don't buy drink 'cos they will take it off you at the airport The airport was quite a surprise as it didn't look much on the way in but there are lots of shops very reasonably priced.
THE SHIP
The cabins are very spacious without a doubt the best of all the ships we've been on. There are plenty of sunbeds and a few quiet places to sunbathe away from the madness, but we're not telling you where or they won't be quiet anymore!They do allow children on the ship although I've never understood why you would take children on a cruise there too many railings for them to climb.You can aviod them by avoiding their parents or the crowded areas.
There were no queues for food but that could be because we ate outside of the peak periods, quite simple really just adjust you are on holiday...chill!
OV will never match up to the other ships in it's class and is miles behind the bigger ships but would you want to be 1 of 3000 passengers? Thomsons are much better for food and entertainment and now they are coming back to the Caribbean guess where we will be going.If you like all-inclusive holidays then OV is for you,however you will have to pay for your drinks which are surprisingly reasonable unless you drink at home!As we said before and to them OV are a means to an end we don't have to like them, but there are not many companies who do 6 ports in 7 days full board with a 10 hour flight for £750.00, we just wish they did it better.
We hope this tells you all you need to know to make an informed decision.

The disaster started at Manchester airport, we were shoehorned onto a Thomas Cook Charter Flight, I had an emergency exit seat that was according to staff extra narrow. The food was only fit to be fed as offal, the entertainment system kept requiring reset and the overhead lights would not switch on.

Once aboard the ship
Rooms were not even TravelLodge standard
Food in main restaurant was worse than 70's service station
Entertainment with the exception of one legend performer was worse than karokee night at a city-centre pub.

I felt sorry for the low-level staff who were overworked but still tried to please, more than can be said of the Hotel Management.

The score I have given are way above what I would have but there is no way to give negative marks.

My husband and I have done EVERY cruise in OV1 and enjoyed every one until CARNIVAL took over from P&O last year.The whole ship has just gone to pot from the food down to the entertainment.
I feel so sorry for the staff on board as they work so hard but even they are fed up with it and were saying no way were they coming back on board.The staff seem to think that OV2 is being prioratised over OV1 and some staff had been coming on board for 5 years.
The two weeks we were on board were utter and complete rubbish entertainment wise.We have seen some fabulous tribute artistes on board in the past but to say this was christmas(We came home boxing day)it was nothing special.
I have wrote to the company and received a reply today saying everybody else seems happy.I can only ask everybody with a complaint to write to head office and tell them to get their act together.
At one time I would recommend this ship to everybody but not anymore and as you can guess we will NEVER go back on this ship again while it belongs to CARNIVAL,

We travelled on Ocean Village from Jan 1st 08, we had a great time. The ship and food was ok, we had already done a Carribean Cruise on Ocean Village in 2005. The trips were fantastic, we went mostly with the cruise trips, they were good value for money. My favourite places were Panama and Costa Rica. There are not many cruise lines that visit the amount of places that Ocean Village does in one go, some only do a few stops. We were disappointed to hear that they are not doing this itinary again. Cruise holidays are now not as expensive as they used to be, and you get to see plenty of different countries. I would definitely recommend this cruise.

A surprise holiday for myself by my partner ocean village 1 from manchester to montego bay it was my 50th birthday and also celebrating donating my kidney to my son 6 weeks earlier loosing my mum very suddenly. Firstly found fleight very crammed through thomas cook, but could bare that, making good our holiday, everything seemed fine however, after our tenth day, we arrived at belize, queing was very long to leave ship so we decided to go onto the sun deck for a while, cutting a long story short, disaster happended, as we lay on the loungers, my partner turned his feet off lounger and felt the bottom of his feet burning. He lifted them up to me where they seemed to have blistered. I told him to go to the medical centre, which he did via reception, as ship had docked all shops and medical centre was closed. The receptionist telephoned medical centre explained about my partners feet, where he was told to go down at 5pm that is when it was opening. he did explain to my partner that it would cost him extra money before 5pm (we did have insurance cover so we were no bothered abouth this more bothered about his feet). after a lengthy conversation between receptionist, medical service and my partner, we went to medical centre where dr took one look at his foot (not feet) by telling him to lift his foot! he replied that this was not an emergancy, to call back at 5pm, as he had worked at 27hr shift!!!
Being very anoyed and in pain my partner hobbled back to our cabin, where he passed 2 bar staff if in the blue lounge (our cabin was on the same floor), they could not believe what had happened, they bandaged his feet, I went ashore to a pharmasist, passengers give us cream, the medical centre did not bother. Later that evening, my husband's feet went from bad to worse, I telephoned medical centre demanded some one to come to the cabin, ronnie was taken by wheelchair to medical centre told he had 3 degree burns, and could not believe he was neglected the way he was. Made a report. Since then my partner has had several operations to his foot, as his right foot healed, his left was left with an infection, since then he lost his toe, then two toes and now has lost his limb below his knee. We are now seeking leagal advise and cant believe that Ocean Village 1 are denying he burnt his feet on their ship. I cant believe it, they have also sent us leaflets advertising their ship with a person on a lounger sun bathing, only showing his legs and feet (below his knees). I feel that this company is a money grabbing company whom will not accept any responsibilies whatsoever. But we shall keep on fighting. What a surprise holiday that was.....

my husband and i have just returned from the double feature cruise on OV (23 nights from southampton). we drove to manchester, where we left the car at the shuttle park and proceeded to travel down to southampton with eavesway travel. halfway through the journey the driver had a call saying that the ship was late arriving in southampton because of bad weather in bremerhaven where the recent refit had taken place. this meant that we took a countryside detour and made an extra motorway service stop en route which only added to the already long journey to the ship. embarkation was much slower than last year (sorry forgot to mention this was our 2nd cruise with OV). due to the problems with late docking etc we were scheduled to sail at midnight instead of 5pm as originally stated but we were still there the following morning!!! the captain assured us that this wouldn't affect our arrival in madeira which i'm glad to say it didn't.
the ship had obviously just had a refit and i must say that it looks lovely but done far too quickly as the work was ongoing throughout the entire cruise. carpets were still being laid in certain areas and the plumbing wasn't finished, hence there were a few problems with toilets in some cabins. the main concern was the persistent problem with the ship's thrusters, which meant that there were teams of divers waiting for us at a number of ports. there were even rumours that the captain had contacted OV headquarters to report the problems but was told to take the ship regardless!!!!! this was somewhat unnerving but as it was never confirmed we didn't let it spoil our holiday.
cleanliness onboard the ship is commendable with every effort being made to ensure the health and safety of passengers and personnel alike. the only problem i had was regarding smoking. its allowed in the oval bar (centre ship) which means that you have to walk through the "fog" to reach both the waterfront and bistro restaurants or access them via the aft lifts, but if you are already on deck 7 then this would be inconvenient.
our cabin was very clean with pleasant decor and new carpet and curtains. no change to the balcony but nevertheless a godsend when you spend so long at sea! jo jo our cleaner was excellent at his job and nothing was too much trouble for him. would've brought him home if i could!! i feel sorry for all the staff as they are expected to work up to 14 hours per day with very little free time (just as well the wages are poor)!! they try their best to be very happy and cheerful but tiredness often showed. at least they got nice new uniform this year!
the captain and his officers never walked around the ship at all for me to witness. once i set eyes on the captain and that was high up on the bridge! last year's captain (now on OV2) was forever walking about greeting and chatting with passengers. no excuse for the present one as he is an irishman so english is his first language!
the events team however were a huge improvement on last year's bunch, especially jo b, emma, donna and ben. true naturals on the mike.
the entertainment has gone downhill very fast from last year. Freedom2move were fabulous last year but the new line up don't gel together quite as good. the girls were good but the boys need to practice their routines as they were amateurish in comparison. lots of tribute acts on this ship who were all good but didn't really appeal to the elderly passengers onboard ( the ship is clearly advertised as being aimed at the 30 - 50 age group) but they moaned a lot and most of them didn't participate as much as the younger generation. it can be quite embarrassing when you realise that you are only one of a handful of people showing your appreciation to the act in question!!!!
the planet show on top deck was far superior to the moon show last year with fantastic acrobats and music, but again, not something for the older generation.
i feel as though i've done nothing but criticise on this review but OV does have it's good points but these were somewhat spoiled by the above mentioned problems.
Plus points are the large, clean cabins, excellent staff, lovely food with good choices, nice decor and a great caribbean itinery.
It's a good way of visiting different countries if you can't afford the more expensive cruiselines, but beware of the expensive bar prices and the sell sell sell principle. steer clear of the art auctions and try where you can to do offshore activities independantly as the ships tours are overpriced. many trips can easily be done at half the price!!!
with only having a straight yes or no choice of answer when asked if we'd ever use OV again, i've put no but would've put maybe if it was on the list, as without the problems with the ship, arrogance of the captain and his officers, and the deterioration of the entertainment, then this cruise would've been as enjoyable as the last one, so i'm hoping for the company's sake that these issues are quickly resolved before they lose a lot of trade and credibility. come on OV buck your ideas up!!!!!!!!!!!

We can not fault this Cruise or Ocean Village. Here is a quick summary-
Cabin ; Clean, spacious, well equipped, the shower was good and powerful.
Food ; Mainly ate in Plantations which is self service, the food was to a very good standard with lots of choice. There really was something to please everyone and drink service was great.
Entertainment ; The Comedians were so good we could not believe they had not made it on to our tv screens.
Staff and Service ; We have never in our lives seen people work so hard, always had a nice word to say and smlies on there faces.
Last Bit; The only thing I would say is, the cruise is meant to be aimed at 30 - 50 yr olds, this was not the case on ours, we felt like babies in our 30's, but it did not spoil our fun at all.

Flight
Flew from Manchester on the 27/11. Our seats were disgusting. We were on the wing seats and we froze. We asked the cabin crew for assistance but they just shrugged us off. This meant that I had a soar throat for the first few days of my holiday. Thank you for all your help Thomas Cook we will not be traveling with your company again.

This is the second time we have sailed with OV1. The first cruise to the Eastern Caribbean was a delight. Well trained friendly staff, Entertainment that was second to none. A Captain who wished to be part of the cruise and a ship that was well maintained. When OV released its schedule for the Western Caribbean, we booked straight away. We were so excited. We could not wait. "Be careful for what you wish for" What a disaster. Yes, we visited some very nice places.We did not wish to get back on the ship though, because we had a Captain who was invisible. Bar staff who were training and could not wait to be competent at what they did, so they could be sent to OV 2. Entertainment that at best was poor. For example,on the 2nd night on board, there was erotic dancers in the Marquee and a blue comedian in Connections bar. Because of this, me and my family was forced to sit in the Oval Bar, which is a smoking bar. We do not smoke and I suspect that the Bar staff also do not smoke. But are forced to risk their health through passive smoking. In general the staff who work the bars are very friendly and are currently working in difficult conditions.

The ship is very clean, but on arrival at Montego Bay we witnessed maintenance being conducted on the ships Thrusters. We did not leave the port until 12:00am. This meant that our first day was about catch up. But for many it meant being sick and being confined to bed. What a start to the holiday they had wished for. I am no engineer, but the gossip on the ship was that the stabalizers were not working properly. The ports of call were very good and very safe. But we were due to birth at Ocho Rios in Jamaica. Everyone was very excited, Dunns River Falls etc to look forward too. But the Captain felt that it was unsafe to dock at Ocho Rios and Turned away from the port. It is sad that he does not take the same view about safety when he forces his staff to work in the Oval Bar. Ironic though that OV competitors were able to dock. The Captain remained invisible, but he sent out some of his trusted staff to speak to their disappointed paying customers. I must point out that it also happened at the end of the second week, when we tried to drop anchor at the Cayman Islands. Again all OV1 competitors had docked in the port. There was talk that the Thrusters were playing up again, but the ships crew denied this. We arrived some 12 hours early to our next destination Montego Bay. Yes the same engineers were waiting to start work again on the broken thrusters, even though early that day the ships crew had denied that there was any problems with the ship. On the positive side though, we had a great night out in Montego Bay. Thanks Nigel

In conclusion and I could go on. Yes, I would go on a cruise with Ocean village again. But i would make sure It was OV2.

We travelled to Jamacia on 27.11.07. We had no problems with the flight as we had upgraded to the premier class seats which I would highly recommed.This is the second time we have travelled with OV1. We left Jamacia late on the Tuesday and had to make catch up time the next day. What a bumpy journey we were rocking about all over the place and it was not very pleasant.All we heard for the next couple of days was how the ship from leaving Southampton had nothing but problems this proved to be true when we were supposed to Dock at Ochio Rios. We were told that the sea was too rough for us to dock which was a load of nonsense other ships were able to dock, so we made our way back to Jamacia which turned out to quite a good night. The second week on the last port of call Grand Cayman again we were told that we were unable to dock due to strong winds however five other cruise ships managed to dock. The captain was the invisible man and would not speak to anyone who had a complaint. I am glad that they will not be doing this route again as most of the ports were appalling with the exception of Mexico which we really enjoyed. Book your trips offshore as they are a quarter of the price onboard. The food was excellent a great choice. The ship staff what can you say they are the most delightful people to be around helpful, polite eager to please. The entertainment was appalling there was a girl singer and a bloke singer who took it in turns to "entertain" us they could not sing for love or money it was painful to listen to them. We will be going again with OV especially to the barbados route as these ports of call ar superb.