Ocean Village

This article is about the cruise line. For the marina, see Ocean Village (marina). For the cruise ship, see Ocean Village (ship).

Ocean Village

Former type	Subsidiary
Industry	Transportation
Fate	Brand Discontinued
Founded	2003
Defunct	2010
Headquarters	Southampton, United Kingdom
Products	Cruises
Parent	Carnival Corporation & plc
Website	http://www.oceanvillageholidays.co.uk/

Ocean Village was a British-American owned cruise line, based in Southampton, England. Designed to offer and alternative cruise experience, Ocean Village was founded by P&O Princess Cruises PLC, which later merged with Carnival Corporation to form Carnival Corporation & PLC. Ocean Village operated from 2003, until 2010 when the brand was discontinued, with the Ocean Village ship transferring to P&O Cruises Australia.

Overview

Ocean Village was formed as a sister company to P&O Cruises, providing an alternative cruise experience, targeting families and those looking for casual dress codes and fun events as opposed to formal dining. The target audience is 30 to 50 years old and with the cruise concept of freedom and flexibility on board with regard to food, clothing, and entertainment.

The company's slogan is "the Cruise for people who don't do cruises" and the company extends this policy over both of its ships.

It has a fleet of two ships which sail Western and Eastern Mediterranean in the summer and the Caribbean and Mexico in the winter.

The company's first ship, Ocean Village, was transferred from P&O Cruises in 2003. Ocean Village Two was transferred from AIDA Cruises, Carnival PLC's Germany-based brand with a similar ideology as Ocean Village, in 2007.

On 30 October 2008, it was announced that the Ocean Village brand would cease its operations in late 2010. Both Ocean Village ships will be transferred to the fleet of P&O Cruises Australia, as Carnival Corporation & PLC forecasts better growth potential in Australia.^[1] Ocean Village Two left the Ocean Village fleet in October 2009 and Ocean Village will be retired in late 2010.^[2]

The Ocean Village sailed on her final farewell voyage, a 23 day cruise stopping at Cairo-Egypt(from Port Said), Visiting the Suez Canal, Safaga-Egypt, Muscat-Oman, Dubai-United Arab Emirates, Cochin-India, Langkawi-Malyasia, Kuala Lumpur(from Port Kelang, Malaysia) and finally stopped at Singapore City, Singapore where she entered dry dock to become the Pacific Pearl, also marking the end of Ocean Village Cruise Line in October, 2010. There was the option for a 30 day cruise, a week in the Mediterranean and the final cruise itself, both the 23 or the 30 day cruises were adults only.^[3][4] The port call at Dubai was changed to Fujairah over security concerns. Passengers heading to Dubai took a free shuttle service, which was about a two hour bus ride away from the port.

History

Ocean Village was one of the world's most recent cruise lines, only operating from 2003 through 2010. It was an attempt to shake up the cruising industry and attract different types of holiday makers, which it certainly managed to do.

It launched with a slogan “The cruise for people who don’t do cruises” for a new generation of cruisers who probably would never have thought of a cruise. It was also intended to be ideal for families, with its extensive family facilities.

In 2008, Carnival Corporation decided to deploy both of the Ocean Village ships to P&O Cruises Australia. Ocean Village 2 went to Australia first, and is now cruising as Pacific Jewel, and Ocean Village completed her final cruise in October 2010 and entered drydock for a refit as Pacific Pearl. Her first sailing as Pacific Pearl took place on Dec 22, 2010. She has a webcam aboard, accessible through [1]

Former Fleet

Ocean Village in Dominica

Ocean Village Two in Saint-Raphaël, Var, France

• Ocean Village (currently operates as Pacific Pearl for P&O Cruises Australia)

• Ocean Village Two (currently operates as Pacific Jewel for P&O Cruises Australia)

References

1. ^ "Announcement from Ocean Village - 30/10/2008". Ocean Village press release. Ocean Village. 2008-10-30. http://www.oceanvillageholidays.co.uk/press-release-ocean-village-announcement.aspx. Retrieved 2008-10-30. 
2. ^ "New tonnage to increase P&O Cruises Australia's presence in Fremantle, Brisbane and Auckland". Cruise Business Review. Cruise Media Oy Ltd. 2008-10-31. http://cruisebusiness.com/news.php?u=20081031122959. Retrieved 2008-10-31. ^{[dead link]}
3. ^ http://www.oceanvillageholidays.co.uk/fond-farewell.aspx
4. ^ http://www.oceanvillageholidays.co.uk/the-big-goodbye.aspx

External links

• Ocean Village Official website
• Cruise Critic Review