Sky’s the limit in the Med...
THE VIEWS were superb as I pedalled around the Mediterranean. I spotted little yachts bobbing in a harbour, a distant island shimmering in the haze, and the lush, green hills of Tuscany. Gulls skimmed the sea 150ft below on one side and a game of crazy golf was hotting up on the other.
I was stretching my legs in a SkyRide pod, the first hanging, recumbent bikes at sea, whizzing around an aerial track.
Out of the corner of my eye I could see a pair of teenagers teetering on wobbly bridges of the ropes course. And the shrieks from the Kaleid-O-Slide water chutes were drowned out by the whoosh of a giant bucket drenching frolicking toddlers in the WaterWorks aqua park.
If you are a fan of Florida’s theme parks, a cruise aboard new Carnival Vista is just the ticket. And you don’t have to fly long-haul because Carnival – whose slogan is ‘Fun for all. All for fun’ – has returned to Europe after an absence of more than two years. The Vista is cruising the Med from Athens and Barcelona until October.
My voyage included a stop in Marseilles and an excursion to nearby Aix-en-Provence. This delightful town was founded in Roman times and is filled with beautifully preserved 17th and 18th Century buildings.
Back on board, a chilly mistral was blowing off the Alps all afternoon, so I headed inside and donned special glasses to watch the new 3D version of The Jungle Book in the only IMAX cinema at sea.
Fortunately, the wind dropped as we sailed away from Marseilles and the sun was shining on the outdoor tables of the Fahrenheit 555 restaurant as I tucked into a juicy rib-eye steak.
My well-thumbed daily programme told me I was spoiled for choice for afterdinner entertainments. Would I attend a 1980s deck party, be entertained by a comedian in Punchliners, test my poker face in the casino, go late-night shopping, have a nightcap in the piano bar, or do the lot?
On Carnival Vista, the fun goes on and on…