Travel Caribbean cruise
The Caribbean isn’t just the rich and famous! An island-hopping adventure is open to everyone, says Woman’s Day’s LAURA EVANS
My friends baulk when I tell them I’m going on a Caribbean cruise. “Isn’t cruising for old people?” they ask.
I have to admit I didn’t know what to expect either, and was secretly alarmed at the thought of fistfights at the buffet cart and returning 5kg heavier.
But fast-forward a couple of weeks and I’m standing on powder white sand, staring out at the azure waters of Magens Bay, St Thomas – which is regularly voted one of the top 10 beaches in the world by National Geographic – and I can’t quite believe my luck!
Later, after paddleboarding around the bay, the promise of rum-spiked cocktails seemed to be the only worthy reason I could think of to tear myself away from the picture-perfect idyll.
And it’s just the tip of the Caribbean dream. Although the beautiful islands were devastated by Hurricane Irma and Maria last year, the tourism industry is slowly rebuilding – so there’s no better time than now to throw our support behind them!
Sailing on the Royal Caribbean’s Oasis of the Seas s is the perfect way ay to explore the region. Our round-trip cruise se from Orlando has ports of call in Nassau, the Bahamas and the islands of St Maarten and St Thomas.
Peeking out of the window every morning as we cruised into a new port, I felt like a kid at Christmas with endless adventures stretching out before me.
Every island has its own unique atmosphere, which extends on both land and sea. Take St Maarten for example – it’s an island literally divided in two.
Head to the Dutch side for ru rum-filled parties and casinos. Bu But don’t miss out on crepes fo for lunch, shopping galore and be beautiful white sand beaches on the French side of the island. Sitting down for a conch salad, fri fried chicken wings and a “sky ju juice” (a high-octane libation of coconut water and gin) at O Oh Andros in Nassau, with reggae m music blasting in the background, it it’s easy to forget you have to return to the ship before it sets sail. But that would be doing the Oasis O of the Seas a disservice – b back on board the activities are j just as enticing. Want to surf t the high seas? Head to the F Flowrider wave stimulator. Feel like zip-lining nine decks high? Soar across the open-air atrium. A massage? A sunrise yoga session? It’s all sorted.
It’s easy to stay entertained while you’re at sea. I begin the day with a guilt-free gym session, then head to the sauna and steam room, before refuelling at the breakfast buffet – I figured I’d earned my points to indulge!
But the icing on the cake has to be the first class dining. It’s hard to beat Miami chef Michael Schwartz’s 150 Central Park restaurant.
Tucking into lobster gnocchi, braised beef short ribs and warm doughnuts with chocolate sauce, suddenly the thought of that extra 5kg weight gain doesn’t seem so bad after all!