Cruises

Friday 12 November 2010

The Big Goodbye - Langkawi

Sitting just off the coast of Malaysia, Langkawi is part of an archipelago of 99 islands and has more than its fair share of natural sights. Some passengers headed inland to explore the jungle covered hills and played spot the wildlife including a trip to Eagle Square to see the 12m high statue of a brown eagle poised for flight, others headed to the peak of Machincang Mountain by cable car to soak up the panoramic views whilst those seeking the sunshine stretched out on the pure white shores of this tropical island.



The sun was back out in force and as Ocean Village sailed away from the colourful island of Langkawi onto its final port of call, a beautiful rainbow appeared over the horizon as if saying goodbye and good luck to its future voyages.

The last OV radio show from the events team was aired from the Village Sq with passengers making their final dedications and requests and as the show came off air in recognition of the 11th November a short remembrance service for those who lost their lives during conflict was conducted by passenger Lord Steven Gardner at 7pm ships time which was 11am UK time.

The penultimate night of entertainment in the Marquee was welcoming a great friend of the Ocean Village brand back to the stage for one final time. Tony Lewis and his Tribute to the bad boy of pop Robbie Williams was on top form as he belted classic Robbie hits such as Let Me Entertain You, Rock DJ and Angels to a packed theatre of Robbie fans. Tony found the whole experience very emotional as he had also performed on the first ever Ocean Village cruise and has been a firm favourite during the last seven years.


One of Ocean Village’s unique entertainment features is the delivery of daring circus performances and tonight was the grand finale. Members of the Freedom 2 Move aerialists performed their most impressive collection of amazing circus vignettes including trapeze, tissue and bamboo routines and passengers watched in amazement as they flew through decks 5, 6 & 7 of the Village Square in an aerial spectacular display.


As the evening for passengers continued in Bayside for a 60’s music extravaganza the Marquee opened its doors once again but this time for something very special...a crew only farewell show.

Members of the ships company gathered together resplendent in their ‘Big Goodbye’ Final Farewell T.Shirts for an evening to remember including thank you speeches to the crew and the shore side support teams from Captain Charlie Carr, Hotel Director Michael Lobban, Product Director Jenny Fortune and Ocean Village’s Managing Director Nick Lighton.
The evening continued with sentimental and emotional good luck messages from members of the shoreside teams and members of the Ocean Village ships company past and present within a specially produced souvenir DVD.

Then the party got into full swing as crew members were treated to performances from the Chapman Brothers, Jaki Graham and Tony Lewis as Robbie Williams. The overriding feeling of the night was one of being proud to have been a part of the Ocean Village brand and extreme sadness that it was all coming to an end. One thing was for sure, the Ocean Village crew were determined to see the ship out with a bang and not a whimper.
Tracy - Entertainment and Retail Director

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