Ocean Village Sets New Record for Carnival UK

    October 22, 2009 /24-7PressRelease/ -- Ocean Village, the casual cruise line that dares to break industry norms, is celebrating today after a record-breaking run of holiday feedback scores that sets a new high water mark for the brands within Carnival UK. 'The cruise for people who don't do cruises' was given a glowing report card, achieving 90%+ scores from passengers for 'overall cruise enjoyment' for 23 consecutive weeks, the longest series ever recorded above the 90% company target.*

With the record run starting in March 2009, that's a near perfect score for almost half a year!
The exemplary result was captured from the brand's Customer Service Questionnaires which are regularly completed by over 75% of passengers.

The questionnaires also revealed that the average age on-board Ocean Village currently sits significantly younger than the traditional stereotype at just 47. 52% of the total passenger footfall over the 23 week period were also first time cruisers.

Ocean Village's informal dining continued to prove a big hit with passengers with a 90% average score whilst the culinary genius of TV celebrity chef, James Martin was also top of the menu over the last 23 weeks with his on-board restaurant, 'The Bistro' achieving a score of 93.9%.

Offering fantastic value for money, Ocean Village excelled in the family cruise department, with its free of charge daily kids entertainment club scoring a whopping 92.8%, whilst their notably spacious cabins were rated at a solid 90%. The highest score of all went to the on-board team with the dedicated crew collectively gathering a score of 96.3% for friendliness and attitude.

Gill Haynes, Head of Marketing Communications for Ocean Village is thrilled with the result: "To achieve a record-breaking result that spans all the way from spring in the Caribbean through to our late summer sailings in the Med is simply fantastic. We pride ourselves on delivering friendly, high quality but informal holidays and it's a real endorsement of how well the team of crew and officers on board is performing to get this massive thumbs up from our passengers right across the season. With another seven cruises in the Med and then a full Caribbean cruise line winter programme and a new Summer season in 2010 ahead for the ship, the team remains as tightly focused as ever on providing the best in casual cruising for 'people who don't do cruises'.

Ocean Village's Customer Service Questionnaires have proved invaluable to the brand since its launch in 2003, ensuring standards have stayed consistently high. Providing insightful feedback, they regularly inspire on-board developments and product alterations. The 2010 final Ocean Village Mediterranean season next summer for example was based on such feedback and entirely designed taking in to account where people have enjoyed most visiting to date.

The new summer 2010 programme is Ocean Village's biggest and broadest selection of Mediterranean cruise line destinations to date and aims to appeal to the full spectrum of Ocean Village passengers:

• For first timers in particular and cruisers in general, there's a choice of two peak season 7 night itineraries, sailing from Palma in Majorca to the big-hitting cities of the Western Med such as Rome, Monte Carlo and Barcelona.
• For those with perhaps more cruise experience wanting to go little further afield there's a series of early and late season departures from Crete that take in classic destinations such as Venice, Istanbul and Cairo as well as a sprinkling of Greek islands.
• For Ocean Village enthusiasts - repeat passengers who currently make up 30% of Ocean Village bookings - who love the brand's informal onboard atmosphere but are hungry for new destinations, there are two one-off departures introducing a fresh and different itinerary mix. Sailing in July from Crete to Majorca and in September from Majorca back to Crete, these options feature five brand new ports of call - Messina (Sicily), Marmaris (Turkey), La Spezia (Italy), Cagliari (Sardinia) and Toulon (France) - as well as a handful of places little-visited by Ocean Village such as Malta, Mykonos, Cephalonia, and Santorini.

Prices for a seven night Mediterranean sailing in Ocean Village's final 2010 season start from just GBP699pp and includes flights, transfers, on-board buffet dining and entertainment.

Website: http://www.oceanvillageholidays.co.uk

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