Ocean Village was a
BritishThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
-
AmericanThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
owned
cruise lineA cruise line is a company that operates cruise ships. Cruise lines have a dual character; they are partly in the transportation business, and partly in the leisure entertainment business, a duality that carries down into the ships themselves, which have both a crew headed by the ship's captain,...
, based in
SouthamptonSouthampton is the largest city in the county of Hampshire on the south coast of England, and is situated south-west of London and north-west of Portsmouth. Southampton is a major port and the closest city to the New Forest...
,
EnglandEngland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
. Designed to offer and alternative cruise experience, Ocean Village was founded by
P&O Princess Cruises PLCP&O Princess Cruises plc was a shipping company that existed between 2000 and 2003, operating the P&O Cruises, Princess Cruises, P&O Cruises Australia, A'Rosa Cruises, AIDA Cruises and Ocean Village branded cruise lines...
, which later merged with Carnival Corporation to form
Carnival Corporation & PLCCarnival Corporation & plc , is a American-British Company, and the world's largest cruise ship operator. It is a dual listed company, with headquarters at Carnival Place in the Miami suburb of Doral, Florida, USA, and at Carnival House in Southampton, England, UK...
. Ocean Village operated from 2003, until 2010 when the brand was discontinued, with the
Ocean VillageFor other ships with the same name, see Arcadia .Pacific Pearl is the sixth cruise ship of the P&O Cruises Australia brand. She was built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique, at their shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, and launched in 1988 as Sitmar FairMajesty...
ship transferring to
P&O Cruises AustraliaP&O Cruises Australia is a British-American owned cruise line with corporate headquarters at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operational headquarters in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
.
Overview
Ocean Village was formed as a sister company to
P&O CruisesP&O Cruises is a British-American owned cruise line based at Carnival House in Southampton, England, and operated by Carnival UK. Originally a constituent of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, P&O Cruises is the oldest cruise line in the world, having operated the world's first...
, 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
CaribbeanThe Caribbean is a crescent-shaped group of islands more than 2,000 miles long separating the Gulf of Mexico and the Caribbean Sea, to the west and south, from the Atlantic Ocean, to the east and north...
and
MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
in the winter.
The company's first ship,
Ocean VillageFor other ships with the same name, see Arcadia .Pacific Pearl is the sixth cruise ship of the P&O Cruises Australia brand. She was built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique, at their shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, and launched in 1988 as Sitmar FairMajesty...
, was transferred from
P&O CruisesP&O Cruises is a British-American owned cruise line based at Carnival House in Southampton, England, and operated by Carnival UK. Originally a constituent of the Peninsular & Oriental Steam Navigation Company, P&O Cruises is the oldest cruise line in the world, having operated the world's first...
in 2003.
Ocean Village Two was transferred from
AIDA CruisesAIDA Cruises is a British-American owned German cruise line based in Rostock, Germany.Originally founded as Deutsche Seereederei with a ship called Völkerfreundschaft , the company entered the cruise industry in the 1960s and was later acquired by P&O Princess Cruises PLC in 2000...
, Carnival PLC's
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
-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 AustraliaP&O Cruises Australia is a British-American owned cruise line with corporate headquarters at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operational headquarters in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
, as Carnival Corporation & PLC forecasts better growth potential in
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
.
Ocean Village Two left the Ocean Village fleet in October 2009 and
Ocean Village will be retired in late 2010.
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. 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
http://media.pocruises.com.au/webcam/pp.jpg
Former Fleet
- Ocean Village
For other ships with the same name, see Arcadia .Pacific Pearl is the sixth cruise ship of the P&O Cruises Australia brand. She was built by Chantiers de l'Atlantique, at their shipyard in Saint-Nazaire, France, and launched in 1988 as Sitmar FairMajesty...
(currently operates as Pacific Pearl for P&O Cruises AustraliaP&O Cruises Australia is a British-American owned cruise line with corporate headquarters at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operational headquarters in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
)
- Ocean Village Two (currently operates as Pacific Jewel for P&O Cruises Australia
P&O Cruises Australia is a British-American owned cruise line with corporate headquarters at Carnival House in Southampton, England and operational headquarters in North Sydney, New South Wales, Australia...
)
External links