Totally tropical: Seek the sun on a scorching Caribbean winter break
After the frenzy of Christmas shopping, cooking, nativity plays and hosting in-laws, what better way to bring inthe New Year than a Caribbean cruise? It’s utterly relaxing for the adults and a luxurious geography lesson in 3D for the children.
Having flown to Barbados, we were on board the Azura, one of PO’s most modern and well-designed ships. Someone has clearly thought of everything – from the luxury of the flight on the Thomson Dreamliner (which left us more relaxed than we started, something you can’t say about many long-haul flights) to the Azura’s brilliantly designed accommodation.
Some of the family rooms interconnect and have sitting rooms and private balconies, which cleverly solves the problem of space for larger families like ours. It’s almost like having your own floating Mediterranean villa.
Mere hours after setting sail, the children had discovered the kids’ club, while we adults soon found we had a choice of four swimming pools to sit beside. you can go at your own speed both on and off the boat – there’s an activity to suit everyone’s age, state of mind and strength of hangover.
My favourite spot was at the stern, beer in hand, watching the horizon. The joy of the Caribbean is that, from Tortola to Saint Maarten, each island has its own character – though they all share world-class beaches and a friendly welcome.
On excursions, we varied our time between beaches, bars and just mooching around, although the children loved river-tubing on the stunning island of Dominica – far less developed than its ritzier neighbours. I wondered if I might miss a traditional New Year’s Eve at home. Not a jot.
At 8pm when it was midnight in the UK, we were toasting 2014 in the ship’s pub. By the time the clock struck midnight, we had retired to our private deck and were cruising past St Lucia. With timing that would put German railways to shame, the whole island seemed to explode in celebration.
We sat on our balcony, counted our blessings and promised to lose weight in the year ahead – perhaps not the wisest resolution on a cruise, particularly one serving such amazing food.
One of the highlights of our trip was swimming with stingrays off Antigua. We took a boat to a small patch of ocean so shallow, my eight-year-old could stand up, and the guides threw in small squid as bait. Suddenly the rays appeared from nowhere and swam around us like black table tops after a bottle of whisky.
We were even allowed to feed and hold them. On our penultimate day, we visited turtles in Barbados. The turtles are protected and trust humans, so while we were not allowed to touch them, these huge creatures (some seemed even bigger than my wife’s suitcase) glided silently around us.
The two-week cruise gave us experiences of a lifetime and memories that kept us warm the rest of the winter. And no, it’s not too early to think about doing the same thing next year.
PO Cruises offers a 14-night Caribbean cruise on the Azura from £1,549 per person departing on November 14 or £1,749 per person departing on January 9, 2015. Prices include flights from selected UK airports, inside cabins, all meals, entertainment and kids’ clubs.
Departing from and returning to Barbados, ports of call include St Kitts, St Vincent, Dominica, St Lucia, Antigua, Grand Turk, Tortola and St Maarten. See pocruises.co.uk, call 0843 373 0111 or visit your local travel agent.
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