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I have been on many a cruise ship and trying to convince my family that it would be a great holiday was difficult. My husband was the worst offender as he had always compared a cruise ship to the "white knuckle ride" ferry that crossed the Bay of Biscay from Plymouth to Santander.

However, I had finally convinced my husband to give it go and so off we set and boarded Ocean Village in Heraklion, Crete. I had picked this particular itinerary because as a family we had been to other Greek Islands plus you did not have the formality of a normal cruise ship.

During the days at sea, we spent lounging by the pool with our cocktails and ice-creams - our son played basketball and my daughter went to the kids club which had a daily theme. One day she was making chocolate truffles and the next she was dressing up as a pirate - she thought it was great fun.

Our days in port involved taking in the sights, and we did participate in some of the excursions, such as a guided walk along the city walls of Dubrovnik for half a day. We did a beach transfer in Kefalonia and took in the wonderful sights where "Captain Corelli's Mandolin" was filmed whilst my son took a cycling tour around the island. The last trip was to Athens with it's historical sights and this is where we visited the Acropolis, the Parthenon and the Olympic Stadium.

The organised excursions did start early in the morning as some of the trips had to be taken by tender to port. This was the only downside but once you were on the excursion and taking in all the sights, you forgot that you were up at 7:00am!

When we arrived in the ports of Corfu and Katakolon, we got off ship and explored the towns on our own merit. In Corfu Town, the locals played cricket on the town green with it's colourful market and Katakolon was steeped in history as this is were the Olympics originated.

As a family, we tended to do half days on shore rather than full days, as the children enjoyed the experience on ship as much as off ship.

Evenings were spent in the Marque Theatre watching the wonderful tribute bands such as Abba, Robbie Williams, and Tina Turner rather than the typical West End shows. However, the ships crew did put on two shows; Fever in the Marque and a fantastic open air acrobatic aerial show on top deck. After this, if you were still wanting entertainment you could go to the Connexions Bar which on most nights had a comedian on and late night Kareoke. There was plenty of entertainment for everyone and all ages.

The week went a little too quickly but it was probably the most relaxing holiday I had ever been on. My husband never took sea sickness tablets once but am happy to report he has the cruise bug and cannot wait until our next one.
The thing that we all liked is that every morning we were in a different port - so it was like a new adventure and it was excellent value for money.

I would highly recommend a cruise to anyone and please try it before you make any assumptions!