Great Family Cruising (Ocean Village Crusies)

Member Name: emmakate06

Product:	Ocean Village Crusies
Date:	21/02/09 (142 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: Spacious Rooms, Informal Dining, Pool

Disadvantages: Cramped Upper Deck

From beginning to end, our Mediterranean cruise on Ocean Village 2 was a great family experience. Booking is easy and can be done online, over the telephone or with your local travel agent. There is an online booking discount available of 5% however you are unable to book online if travelling with an infant, so will therefore need to call an Ocean Village representative, who, if you ask nicely will still honour the discount for you so you don't miss out.

The flight to our cruise was from Manchester and was provided by Thomson Fly. Ocean Village charter this plane so all passengers have their own luggage allowance of 25kg and their own seat including infants. This meant we could easily take all our child's necessities in her own suitcase without having the worry of exceeding our baggage allowance. An in-flight meal was also provided for all passengers. The cabin crew were very courteous and helpful and due to being pregnant at the time of travelling, and suffering from SPD, they contacted the ground staff in Majorca and arranged transportation for me and family to save us a twenty minute walk to baggage reclaim, and this was done without asking.
At baggage reclaim there were numerous Ocean Village staff on hand to assist and guide passengers to the coaches waiting outside. Luggage is all labelled up with your cabin number and so once you have loaded your bags onto the coach, you don't see them again until you get your cabin, they are all transported for you. A short twenty minute coach journey is all it takes to get to the ship from the airport which is fantastic when travelling with children.

On arrival at the boat, the check in process is quick and easy. Ocean Village offer a no cash onboard service, so instead you are provided with cruise cards, which you use throughout your holiday to bill your drinks and onboard shopping to your room. This is then settled at the end of your holiday by cash, cheque or credit card, so there is no need to worry about carrying large amounts of money around with you. The good news is that if you do choose to use cash, they provide free in room safety deposit boxes which you set to your own code. These are also really useful for storing your passports and travel documents in.
The facilities onboard Ocean Village 2 are fantastic. They offer an array of activities for all passengers during the day and provide excellent shows and entertainment in the evenings. The onboard children centre is called Base Camp and they offer various childrens activity programmes throughout the day aswel as a soft play area for children. The activities offered do vary dependent on your child's age and they have a dedicated team of qualified staff on hand to answer any questions you have. They also offer a night crèche which is free of charge to use until midnight and then a small charge is made per hour after that. Although we personally didn't use this service, many people did take advantage of it so that they could thoroughly enjoy all that the boat had to offer. From bars, restaurants, games room, swimming pools, casino and the largest onboard spa there currently is at sea, there is certainly something for everyone.

The Karma Spa offers a wide range of treatments at reasonable prices, and they offer a professional service. Massages, facials, manicures, pedicures, and a teeth whitening service are all available as well as hair consultations. The spa and gym both regularly hold free seminars on various health care topics throughout the day also.
There are several restaurants onboard, which all have highchairs available and offer free reputable brand baby food. There is food to cater for all tastes and the Plantations restaurant on the top deck also holds theme nights such as Indian, Italian and Chinese banquets. They also offer 24 hour dining which is great if you suddenly get a craving for a curry at 2am!!

The cabins onboard the ship are very spacious. We booked a suite for our cruise which was 375sq feet which is large compared to what other ships offer. There was a seating area, a large dressing table area, walk in wardrobe, private balcony, queen sized bed, sofa bed and ample room for a cot. On arrival to our room the cot had been assembled for us and was made up with blankets. A bottle steriliser had also been placed in our room and there were also bottle warmers available.
Overall, this ship offered everything a family could need to enjoy a great holiday. The staff all work so hard to make your holiday enjoyable and comfortable. We will definitely be booking again next year.

This is my own review and is featured on other review websites.

Summary: Great cruises suitable for all ages.