Hooked on cruises . . . but I’m a ski whizz, too

FORMER model Dawn Ward now runs her own property and interiors businesses.

Dawn and her husband Ashley have four girls, Darby, 21, Taylor, 19, Charlie, 10, and Aston, eight.

They live – of course – in Cheshire, as Dawn is one of the stars of ITVBe’s reality show The Real Housewives Of Cheshire.

It returns on Monday at 10pm on ITVBe.

TThe Petronas Twin Towers dominate the Kuala Lumpur skyline.

HE two most memorable holidays I’ve been on could hardly be any more different.

Being shut out of Butlins – and cruising on a 90-metre superyacht!

When I was seven, my mum and a friend took me and five cousins to a campsite at Butlins.

When we got there the site was closed so we all had to sleep in the car overnight.

The following day we finally got the tent up and playing on the beach, full of freedom, has to make it my favourite holiday ever.

I didn’t go abroad until I was 11 when we went to Corfu.

I’d never experienced hot sun like that and my memory is of burning my nose.

It’s all a world away from the yacht. It’s owned by a friend and I’m really lucky that we’ve been invited a few times.

We used it to see Thailand and Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital city.

It’s the last word in luxury and is every bit as amazing an amazing experience as you’d imagine. I have to admit I love life afloat. When Ashley and I were married in 1995 our honeymoon was two cruises to the east and west Caribbean.

That got me hooked and we’ve been on another 15 cruises since.

I adore life on board and get totally into it. I can’t say I pack light – in fact, it’s the opposite.

I come with a case for every eventuality and occasion on board.

And then I take another case, just in case!

When you settle into it then it’s all so chilled and relaxed and friendly.

And you wake up and there’s another new place to explore.

The other thing the whole family loves is skiing.

Val d’Isere is the place we go most with a big group of friends.

We hit the slopes straight after breakfast, fuel up a bit more with a nice lunch and then there will be a bit of après-ski at night.

A lot of the time I have to dress up but there it’s different and you barely get out of your salopettes.