The Daily Observer London Desk: Reporter- Sarah Marshal
The Caribbean: 7,000 islands which make for an alluring mix of breathtakingly beautiful beaches, lush rainforests and lively port towns.
And recently it eclipsed the Mediterranean as the most important market for cruise holidays – worth £32 million a year – which explains why the ships are getting bigger and more luxurious and their technology is swiftly advancing.
This week, at a ceremony in Bridgetown, Barbados, the largest British vessel plying the jaw-dropping one million square miles that make up the Caribbean will be officially launched by P&O Cruises.
Named Arvia, the ship cost a reported $1 billion to build and can carry 5,200 guests and a crew of 1,800. It contains ten decks devoted to accommodation – superluxe suites at the top with their own restaurant, and cabins below for those with varying budgets.
Having never been on a cruise or visited the Caribbean before, I jumped at an invitation to hop aboard Arvia and spend a week on one of its first Caribbean voyages as it sailed between beautiful tropical islands with plenty of time for lazing on deck. What’s not to like?
Singer Nicole Scherzinger is behind the ship’s music shows
To quench their own thirst and that of many generations of visitors, the settlers opened rum shacks. The Irish may have gone but many of the shacks remain, serving ice-cold beers and the ubiquitous rum punch.
The shacks are rough and ready – don’t expect to drink your beer out of anything but a bottle or, for that matter, pay with a card. As in much of the Caribbean, US dollars are accepted in the most run-down of establishments.
It’s also worth pointing out that even the most unprepossessing of shacks are jolly, safe and welcoming. I left my iPhone in one, only to return five minutes later and find that the barmaid was keeping it safe for me behind the counter.
Ship-shape lodgings: Arvia contains ten decks devoted to accommodation
A feature that’s sure to make a splash – Arvia’s swim-up bar at dawn
