Once again Ocean Village pulled out all the stops to ensure that the children of the St Kitts' Orphanage had a great start to the Christmas period.
Prior to the visit collections had been made amongst the crew, where the bar department collected $400 and purchased Bijoux Terner watches for each child, and the restaurant department collected $500. The photographers donated 10 large picture frames to the Youth department and after a very talented painting competition from the passenger’s children, ten paintings and frames were auctioned off in the Village Square before our ‘Big Night Out’ celebrations, raising a total of $617! Over 150 Christmas gifts were purchased (using some of the donated money as well as crew member’s own purchases) then wrapped by the Youth Team and given out to the children during the Santa Claus’ visit. The balance of the funds was then handed over to the carer for the charity for orphanage repairs and upkeep.
The children’s day began as they were met in the port at 10.30, where they were taken on board and escorted up to the Splash Bar to be given sport soda bottles, which were duly filled by the bar staff. After a session of face painting, PlayStation and fun and games in Base Camp and sport nets it was time for lunch in Plantations, after which Paddington Bear came to visit and walk them to Sunweavers for ice cream and another soda bottle refill.
Next the children were entertained with a fantastic hour-long variety performance in the Marquee by the Freedom 2 Move cast and Jayne Middleton as Annie Lennox, which was hosted by our zany magician Gary Keates as Manuel Martinez. After the show it was down to the MovieDrome to watch the “G Force Space Guinea pigs” movie before Santa Claus arrived for his annual visit to hand out the presents! In addition, each child received a rucksack containing a watch (from the bar staff), sunglasses and other small items before lining up for a group photograph. We then presented the group leader with an envelope containing over $900 and also gave 4 boxes of donated, good quality, clothing, two pallets of crockery and other items no longer in circulation on board.
The day finished when sad and somewhat tearful farewells were said around 16.45.
The Ocean Village Officers and Crew sincerely hope that, as we shall not be around in the Caribbean for Christmas 2010, another P&O vessel would consider taking over this very rewarding event.
The Ocean Village Youth Team, headed up by manager Jade Dimech, took the reins and headed up an action-packed day for the children and carers who visited Ocean Village during our call to St Kitts on the 20th of December.
Prior to the visit collections had been made amongst the crew, where the bar department collected $400 and purchased Bijoux Terner watches for each child, and the restaurant department collected $500. The photographers donated 10 large picture frames to the Youth department and after a very talented painting competition from the passenger’s children, ten paintings and frames were auctioned off in the Village Square before our ‘Big Night Out’ celebrations, raising a total of $617! Over 150 Christmas gifts were purchased (using some of the donated money as well as crew member’s own purchases) then wrapped by the Youth Team and given out to the children during the Santa Claus’ visit. The balance of the funds was then handed over to the carer for the charity for orphanage repairs and upkeep.The children’s day began as they were met in the port at 10.30, where they were taken on board and escorted up to the Splash Bar to be given sport soda bottles, which were duly filled by the bar staff. After a session of face painting, PlayStation and fun and games in Base Camp and sport nets it was time for lunch in Plantations, after which Paddington Bear came to visit and walk them to Sunweavers for ice cream and another soda bottle refill.
Next the children were entertained with a fantastic hour-long variety performance in the Marquee by the Freedom 2 Move cast and Jayne Middleton as Annie Lennox, which was hosted by our zany magician Gary Keates as Manuel Martinez. After the show it was down to the MovieDrome to watch the “G Force Space Guinea pigs” movie before Santa Claus arrived for his annual visit to hand out the presents! In addition, each child received a rucksack containing a watch (from the bar staff), sunglasses and other small items before lining up for a group photograph. We then presented the group leader with an envelope containing over $900 and also gave 4 boxes of donated, good quality, clothing, two pallets of crockery and other items no longer in circulation on board.
The day finished when sad and somewhat tearful farewells were said around 16.45.The Ocean Village Officers and Crew sincerely hope that, as we shall not be around in the Caribbean for Christmas 2010, another P&O vessel would consider taking over this very rewarding event.
Michael Lobban,
Hotel Director
Michael, who lives in York, had considered many different ways to propose to his girlfriend Sharon Fox but it was catching the end of the film “An Officer and a Gentleman” one night that sparked his imagination.
Michael and Sharon took their places in the Bistro and began their meal. Between courses, Michael excused himself for a few moments. In the Gent’s bathroom, a couple of helpers aided Michael’s transformation into a vision of an Officer and a Gentleman that would do Richard 
Everyone at Ocean Village wishes the Michael and Sharon all the very best for their future together.
The event was carried over 2 days and featured some great events including:
The Ship’s Company supported the event by dressing up as Little Brittan Characters and we even had Paddington bear helping us out as Pudsey was busy in the UK.
The above picture shows two couples with Captain Hutley on the sail away, which raised a total of £750 alone.
From left to right - Colin Pomeroy (Food and Beverage Director), Tim Newman (Entertainment and Retail Director), Tracy Clegg (Entertainment and Retail Director), Daljit Sharma (Hotel Director), Angelo Vago (Captain), Jim Lakin (Chief Engineer), Caroline Cromarty (Personnel Development Manager).
The show started at 10.30pm and the theatre was full to the gunnels. First on were our resident singers Katy Reilly, Chlor Du Pre and Simon Ledger we then introduced Will Martin who sang Nights In White Satin. Like a true tenor, he finished the song in Italian, to great cheers from the audience. Jaki Graham then came on stage and the dancefloor sprang to life when she sang "Ain't Nobody (does it better than you)".
The Double Impact boys then took over with a disco medley which kept the audience on its feet and then Steve Larkins came on to close the show with his Freddie Mercury tribute act. 
He dedicated "We Are The Champions" to all the crew and passengers and as he came to the end of the song a procession of crew from all departments made their way to the stage to join in with the final chorus. This was a really emotional scene as the crew and audience hit the last notes together. There were people in the audience in tears as the confetti exploded to signal the end of what had been a truly fitting way to send Ocean Village Two off to its new home.
It's been great being on board for Ocean Village Two's farewell cruise and I hope you've enjoyed reading my blogs as much as I've enjoyed writing them.
He gave an ‘Up Close and Personal’ informal chat to passengers along with a live performance singing hits from his Number 1 album as well as some of his favourite songs by Elton John, Billy Joel and Crowded House.
Will performed as the opening vocalist in the 
The staff hosted different themed activities including ‘Bat The Rat’, ‘Ball in the Hole’ and ‘Hook a Duck’ where the passengers competed against each other to win some great prizes, with the top prize up for grabs being an Action Ashore tour of their choice in either 
The Ocean Village spirit lives on!
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’.
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.
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