Ocean Village Two Farewell Cruise - Part 6, James Martin takes to the stage

Thursday 5th November saw Sweet Baby James take to the Marquee stage on board Ocean Village Two to show budding chefs some tricks of the trade.
It was just like an on board version of his BBC hit show ‘Saturday Kitchen’. Gastro-maestro James was assisted by Kenny, who has worked in James’ on board Bistro as Head Chef, to demonstrate how to cook the perfect steak commenting “the steak should be soft enough to eat with a spoon”.
At the end of his hour-long demonstration James showed the crowd how to spin sugar before taking the time to meet the passengers, and sign copies of his book and souvenir plates from the Bistro as well as pose for memento photographs for over an hour, something which was hugely appreciated by the passengers.
Top celebrity TV chef James will be back on stage over the next couple of days in an ‘Up Close and Personal’ chat show to talk about his appearance on ‘Strictly Come Dancing’ as well as his prime-time BBC show ’Saturday Kitchen’.

Paul

Ocean Village Two Farewell Cruise - Part 5

On Wednesday 4th November Ocean Village Two received a special visit from a professional belly dancer to add a splash of local custom to the ship’s two-day call in Dubai.

The top decks were full to see the Russian national (who now lives in Dubai) perform 2 half hour shows. She wooed the passengers with some mind-boggling moves and dance combinations and was on stage for the final 30 minutes of our call in Dubai, before we set sail for Cochin, India.

Paul

Ocean Village Two Farewell Cruise - Part 4

Hi,

Paul Wright here with the latest instalment of hot happenings from Ocean Village Two’s farewell cruise.

On Tuesday 3rd November, while in the port of Dubai, the talented ‘freedom2move’ team performed the final show of our Deck Spectacular ‘Planet’. With Dubai’s glittering skyline in the background the visual, aerial and musical extravaganza was performed on and around the custom-built four-point structure that stands 40ft above the top deck.

For those of you that don’t know, Planet is a thrilling, space-age re working by Micha Bergese Productions on Holst’s ‘Planets Suite’ – the most-performed composition of any English composer. It features heart-stopping acrobatic feats, a powerful modern re-interpretation of this musical classic and eye-popping costumes in an all-singing, all-dancing sensory experience.
Around 800 people joined us on the top decks in ideal weather conditions to watch the farewell show perfectly delivered by the international cast of singers, dancers and aerialists. Micha Bergese Productions also sent out a representative out from the UK to see the final show and to thank the cast for all their hard work.

Until the next update,

Paul

Ocean Village Two meets HMS Cornwall

The sight of HMS Cornwall and the accompanying chopper on 30th October 2009 was a real sight to see for everyone on Ocean Village Two as we sailed through the Gulf of Aden. While the helicopter buzzed overhead, a member of the flight crew took this dramatic photo of the two ships.
High quality copies of the photo are being sold on board Ocean Village Two with all profits being donated this year's Poppy Appeal.

A big thank you to the Ministry of Defence for permission to use this shot.

Ocean Village Two Farewell Cruise - Part 3 - A Special Visit

Hi from onboard Ocean Village Two

Since you last heard from me, Ocean Village Two has had a surprise visit. During the evening of Wednesday 29th, October Captain Vago received the news that Ocean Village Two would receive a visit from a very special guest... The UK Naval ship HMS Cornwall would be coming alongside at 6.00am on Thursday 30th October to say hello.

By 5.45am Deck 12 was full of passengers and in the distance under the rising sun we could see HMS Cornwall heading towards us. Tracey Clegg, our onboard Entertainment and Retail Director, explained that HMS Cornwall (with over 250 crew members) is currently the flagship coordinating the multi-national task force off the coast of Somalia.


As the ship approached, Tracey announced a helicopter would also be making an appearance to wish everyone well. Then from nowhere, the Lynx helicopter appeared by the side of the ship. The sound was incredible and we could see the pilot and crew waving down at everyone onboard. The helicopter circled us about 4 times and stayed for about an hour so the passengers could take their memento photos.


This unexpected visit has made this final cruise of Ocean Village Two feel even more special than ever.

Paul