P&O Oceana vs Ocean Village

[SKEWBALD]

How are you longislandtea. Well you are truly hooked i did say i liked fishing,:d and you all said ov passengers all had a sence of humour. Well evidently not,;) stating p&o as being elite one of you picked up on that and i wrote it tongue in cheek. Ocean village passengers you need to have a more humorous outlook on life i wrote these to see how far i could wind you up and to some extent acheived it. And by the way i love lager its my favourite drink and yes i do wear a tux not my own choosing but my wife loves dressing up and obvioly i have to go along with it. I have also sailed with many cruise lines including five with thomson and enjoyed them all.:d

[Longislandtea]

How are you longislandtea. Well you are truly hooked i did say i liked fishing,:d and you all said ov passengers all had a sence of humour. Well evidently not,;) stating p&o as being elite one of you picked up on that and i wrote it tongue in cheek. Ocean village passengers you need to have a more humorous outlook on life i wrote these to see how far i could wind you up and to some extent acheived it. And by the way i love lager its my favourite drink and yes i do wear a tux not my own choosing but my wife loves dressing up and obvioly i have to go along with it. I have also sailed with many cruise lines including five with thomson and enjoyed them all.:d

 

Hello. I'm very well and have really enjoyed the banter..... I think I've seen you fishing from the back of the ship with a can of beer and a fag.;). Keep up the good work. :p

 

Like many people, we will miss OV so much and really want to find a similar cruise. Sadly its proving very difficult, Oceana looks very promising, but doesn't stop at so many ports.

 

:cool: Please keep up the banter, its great fun.......:D

[Single Cruiser]

Quote...give NCL & RCL a try.

 

I am a regular cruiser on RCL and find them VERY formal.

80% adhere to the formal nights so I would not think this was a good alternative.

American cruises on RCL make a big effort on these nights.

 

Remember if you want to use the speciality resturants you must be dressed for the occasion.

 

Most cruise lines ave done away with the semi formal nights

ie..

 

Formal-Tux

Semi formal-suit or sports jacket with collared shirt.

Smart casual -chinos with polo or collared shirt.

 

Well not the impression I get and also on the RCL boards where one recent returnee from IoS said only about 10% were in Tuxes.

 

Plus they have numerous outlets were the dress code is clearly stated by venue as always Casual - from promanade Cafe to the Pub to Johnny Rockets to the nightclubs...

[sandbox]

Well not the impression I get and also on the RCL boards where one recent returnee from IoS said only about 10% were in Tuxes.

 

Plus they have numerous outlets were the dress code is clearly stated by venue as always Casual - from promanade Cafe to the Pub to Johnny Rockets to the nightclubs...

 

I'm not even going to bite at this one.:p

All I would say is if it was anywhere near that percentage thay would not get my custom again but I know i'm safe:D

10% :rolleyes:

 

as fo.... from promanade Cafe to the Pub to Johnny Rockets to the nightclubs...

 

Promanard Cafe..very small venue mainly for coffee and a small snack.

Jonny Rockets....Burger bar..say no more

The Pub..Basic bar on the promanade and not a lounge bar

[davecttr]

As a multiple Thomsoner I thought I would try Ventura next year for a big ship experience. I will take my dinner jacket etc but I reckon there is a good chance that by next September formal attire will only apply to the main restaurants and a named bar. This would be a reasonable compromise and the sooner P&O admit that mixed messages in marketing is a bad idea the better.

[Single Cruiser]

I'm not even going to bite at this one.:p

All I would say is if it was anywhere near that percentage thay would not get my custom again but I know i'm safe:D

10% :rolleyes:

 

as fo.... from promanade Cafe to the Pub to Johnny Rockets to the nightclubs...

 

Promanard Cafe..very small venue mainly for coffee and a small snack.

Jonny Rockets....Burger bar..say no more

The Pub..Basic bar on the promanade and not a lounge bar

 

It wasn't meant as a bait to bite..

I was quoting from the RCL thread which mirrors some comments on this one:

http://cruiseforums.cruisecritic.com/showthread.php?t=1273305

 

Quote:

Originally Posted by dougp26364

The last cruise we were on (Oasis in January), I fealt out of place in my tux. I would estimate maybe 10% of men were in tuxes on either formal night. This next cruise, I'm just packing my suit.

 

 

 

On formal nights I'll be eating in Windjammers anyway.. :D

[butterflytiger]

Well from what you have said I just hope you continue to sail OV, at least you will not be scruffy in my dinning room.............:D:D:D:D

 

Oh Smee, where have you gone? I so miss our chats. I am nearly packed and looking forward to meeting you in the flesh.;) Or should I say in your Ballgown.:D

[Longislandtea]

Oh Smee, where have you gone? I so miss our chats. I am nearly packed and looking forward to meeting you in the flesh.;) Or should I say in your Ballgown.:D

 

Smee are you male or female. Sorry, just wanted to know if BT should be looking for a man of a lady....... hahahahah..:confused:

[ROSEBASKETS]

Smee are you male or female. Sorry, just wanted to know if BT should be looking for a man of a lady....... hahahahah..:confused:

 

Does it matter? there won't be too many blue, bug eyed monsters on board, should be easy to spot .............. or am I wrong?? :D

[Longislandtea]

Does it matter? there won't be too many blue, bug eyed monsters on board, should be easy to spot .............. or am I wrong?? :D

 

Very true. :)

[butterflytiger]

Smee are you male or female. Sorry, just wanted to know if BT should be looking for a man of a lady....... hahahahah..:confused:

Hello LLT he's a male so that narrows it down. Can't wait for Saturday and finding the Little Blue Bug.:D

We are going on Oceana on September 18th and I read there are four formal nights on this cruise, on our previous cruises there have only been a couple of formal nights for which I have always worn a smart suit and shirt with bow tie.

I am wondering whether to hire a Tux for this cruise, any advice guy's..:)

__________________

[Longislandtea]

Hello LLT he's a male so that narrows it down. Can't wait for Saturday and finding the Little Blue Bug.:D

We are going on Oceana on September 18th and I read there are four formal nights on this cruise, on our previous cruises there have only been a couple of formal nights for which I have always worn a smart suit and shirt with bow tie.

I am wondering whether to hire a Tux for this cruise, any advice guy's..:)

__________________

 

 

Oooh.... I thouught Butterflytiger was a girl. Are you buying a suit. Will it be blue so that you and Smee will both look like Blue Bugs in the moonlight. :eek:

[butterflytiger]

Oooh.... I thouught Butterflytiger was a girl. Are you buying a suit. Will it be blue so that you and Smee will both look like Blue Bugs in the moonlight. :eek:

 

Hi LLT, indeed I am female and looking forward to Saturday. Of course I have packed the little black dress etc no suit though. Oh the swimsuit but that is a very skimpy bikini or three. :D

[Denarius]

As a multiple Thomsoner I thought I would try Ventura next year for a big ship experience. I will take my dinner jacket etc but I reckon there is a good chance that by next September formal attire will only apply to the main restaurants and a named bar. This would be a reasonable compromise and the sooner P&O admit that mixed messages in marketing is a bad idea the better.

 

This was already the case when I sailed on Ventura last month

[davecttr]

This was already the case when I sailed on Ventura last month

Ah but is it official company policy?

 

Until it is official and actually in writing confusion will remain. It is not difficult to see that P&O are trying to square a circle. Put the liberal policy in writing and they will upset the traditionalists and this might impact on bookings on their other ships, not just Ventura and Oceana.

 

Thomsons had a similar problem with Island Escape, originally it was in the same brochure but this caused confusion amongst potential cruisers. Now the Escape is marketed as a seperate product with its own brochure. For P&O the best thing to do is to rebrand at least one ship and market it seperately. Call it P&O Casual or something.

[MattyBarlow]

Having actually travelled on OV, OV2, Oceana and Ventura i can say that the experience is all very similar. The only difference being the formal nights. From what i have seen, most people make the effort on the gala night and then more and more people just go smart casual.

 

When will you OV bashers wake and realise that they are both very good products. They are both owned by Carnival and OV is under the P&O arm of Carnival. They both use the same crew, entertainments, chefs, port agents etc etc. Remove the Formal nights and it is exacty the same product!

[David&Heather]

Call it P&O Casual or something.

 

Or even do the decent thing and call it Ocean Village and retain the loyal customer base that they have built up. Of course that will never happen as it would entail P&O UK admitting that they got it wrong.

Would not be surpprised to see a brand such as P&O Casual emerge to save the face of those pig headed numpties in the P&O management team.

[Denarius]

Davetheroad

P&Os latest brochure states that the formal dress code "applies to all restaurants with the exception of the buffet restaurants and certain bars" On Ventura the "certain bars" appear to have been the Red Bar and Metropolis - this was ascertained by passencers by trial and error, as it was not published anywhere! Casual dress appeared to be perfectly welcome on The Exchange, Ramblas and in all the entertainment venues. The buffet restaurants were promoted in onboard literature as a more casual dining option with a smart casual dress code.

[Longislandtea]

Oh Smee, where have you gone? I so miss our chats. I am nearly packed and looking forward to meeting you in the flesh.;) Or should I say in your Ballgown.:D

 

 

Hello BfT, Hope you have had a great time. Please let us know how you got on with Smee. Did he look good in his mankini.:eek:

[Longislandtea]

Davetheroad

P&Os latest brochure states that the formal dress code "applies to all restaurants with the exception of the buffet restaurants and certain bars" On Ventura the "certain bars" appear to have been the Red Bar and Metropolis - this was ascertained by passencers by trial and error, as it was not published anywhere! Casual dress appeared to be perfectly welcome on The Exchange, Ramblas and in all the entertainment venues. The buffet restaurants were promoted in onboard literature as a more casual dining option with a smart casual dress code.

 

Hello Denarius, Do you work for P&O.:rolleyes:

[GixxerGal]

Nothing witty from me (although I have cracked up reading this thread -- thats an OV term for those who have limited vocab)

 

The problem started the minute Ocean Village was launched ......... the casual cruising concept was to reel in a new breed of cruiser , loyalty points would not be needed as people were assumed to be one off bookers and then move up the P & O ladder, but the plan BACK-fired.

Instead a lot of formal and semi-formal cruisers started using Ocean Village and enjoyed the free style experience.

 

And the BIG factor that OV has had, is their Port days -- just one sea day a week - Having done a Formal as our first Cruise - (Mallaca Straights) and thouroughly enjoying and also getting the cruise bug. It was the port time that drew us to OV, NOT the casualness. Having then experienced casual crusing -we were hooked -- excatly what we want from a holiday with like minded people and no *Them and Us* , pompous obnoxious people on board - ...........

We have sailed twice a year with OV ever since, never had a qualm about anything --for any holiday I think thats good going .....

We have booked Ventura for Jan. but had OV still been sailing we would def be back for our 10th time.

[OldJerseycruiser]

Just a quick aside. I have seen on another website that M & S are selling DJs for £49.00. That's a lot less than hiring a DJ for a cruise on Princess. :)

[ROSEBASKETS]

Just a quick aside. I have seen on another website that M & S are selling DJs for £49.00. That's a lot less than hiring a DJ for a cruise on Princess. :)

 

Do they have a Simon Bates or Tony Blackburn left? I would prefer a Wogan but I bet they've all gone:D

[sabbrina]

The difference between Ocean Village and Oceana ? You have got to be joking yes........?????:eek:

 

snob alert...

[Merlin7]

Having actually travelled on OV, OV2, Oceana and Ventura i can say that the experience is all very similar. The only difference being the formal nights. From what i have seen, most people make the effort on the gala night and then more and more people just go smart casual.

 

When will you OV bashers wake and realise that they are both very good products. They are both owned by Carnival and OV is under the P&O arm of Carnival. They both use the same crew, entertainments, chefs, port agents etc etc. Remove the Formal nights and it is exacty the same product!

 

That is exactly the point..............formal nights are just that on P&O, formal! Remove them, and you might as well book Easy Cruise, if it is still operational.

 

I am sure that previous OV cruisers will find P&O to their liking as long as they can accept that formal nights are proscribed,on certain evenings. This them and us is absurd, IMO.