United kingdom Daily news: Cruise holidays: Have a high old time on the Caribbean's 'Tarzan tour'

Senin, 28 Mei 2012

Cruise holidays: Have a high old time on the Caribbean's 'Tarzan tour'

Cruise holidays: Have a high old time on the Caribbean's 'Tarzan tour'

By Amy Watkins

PUBLISHED: 10:43 EST, 28 May 2012 | UPDATED: 12:39 EST, 28 May 2012

Hanging out in the Caribbean usually means lying on a golden beach and topping up your tan, not dangling from a wire high above the rainforest in St Lucia. Yet here I was attached to a zip-wire and about to whizz through the jungle canopy, before descending on a rope and swinging Tarzan-style on a vine.

It was all in the name of fun - I had opted for this excursion as part of a Caribbean cruise that took in Barbados, St Lucia, Antigua and St Maarten.

Taking the plunge: Amy Watkins gets ready to snorkel in Barbados

My previous Caribbean holidays had been beach breaks, but I wanted to see a different side to the islands this time.

I sailed on PO's Azura, a 3,000-passenger ship that is based in the Caribbean this year. Azura is one of PO's largest vessels and is certainly family-friendly. There are four pools on board, a number of kids' clubs and plenty of adult-only spaces too, including the Oasis spa and the outdoor Retreat area.

The Planet Bar, where images from a different continent are beamed on to big screens every night, proved the perfect spot to enjoy a pre-dinner cocktail. Speciality restaurant Seventeen offered top-notch food, while Olly Smith's Glass Hou se was a cool place to eat with friends.

When we arrived at Bridgetown, Barbados, I jumped straight into action with a catamaran cruise from a jetty near the cruise terminal.

Our boat took us along the calm waters on the western side of the island, passing rum factories and hotel resorts, to reach Paynes Bay, where some special residents were waiting for us. Even from the boat we could see the turtles gliding through the blue water and, after strapping on snorkels, we joined these graceful giants in the water. They quickly swam around us, surfacing every now and then to gulp air.

A view of St Lucia with yachts in the harbour

Craggy: St Lucia has a dramatic landscape, with mist-covered hilltops and a thick carpet of rainforest

We then sailed past the celebrity hotspot Sandy Lane to the resort of Folkestone, where yellow and black striped sergeant major fish, blue chubs and parrotfish swam through the reef. After lunch aboard and copious amounts of rum punch handed out by the crew, we headed back to the ship.

In contrast to flat Barbados, St Lucia has a craggy and dramatic landscape, with mist-covered hilltops and a thick carpet of rainforest.

We passed brightly coloured roadside rum shacks before we made our way into the rainforest for the zip-wire excursion.

During the safety briefing, our guides literally showed us t he ropes, then we used nine wires to hurtle through the wet jungle, high above a babbling river lined with tropical flowers. When I got back down to earth, I had enough time to enjoy lunch at a local fish restaurant.

Tourists play on the beach in Philipsburg

Soak up the sun: The golden sands of Philipsburg are just a boat-taxi ride away from the island of St Maarten

Antigua is most famous for its '365 beaches, enough for every day of the year' but, as well as golden sands and abandoned sugar-cane fields, the island has some fascinating mangroves.

At Exchange Island, just off the coast of Antigua, we took a guided kayak tour through the salty mangroves, which are home to starfish, upside-down jellyfish and sea-cucumbers.

Brown pelicans ruled the roost at another nearby island where we stopped to snorkel with pufferfish.

On the half-Dutch, half-French island of St Maarten, the quayside is full of duty-free shops but a boat-taxi ride away are the golden sands of P hilipsburg.

After all that action I needed some time just relaxing on a beach - after all, I was in the Caribbean.

Getting there

A 14-night Caribbean cruise on board POâ€™s Azura next year costs from Â£1,179 per person, including flights from Gatwick to Barbados.

The ship sets sail from Barbados on March 21, 2013, and calls at St Lucia, Dominica, Antigua and St Maarten before arriving back at Southampton on April 4.

The cruise is on a full-board basis, including all main meals, entertainment and most facilities. For more information or to book, call PO Cruises on 0845 3 554 444 or visit pocruises.co.uk.