Shropshire Magazine

Arcadia cruises out of the port of Castries in St Lucia

Carl Jones enjoys the floating palace that is P&O’s Arcadia cruise ship

Tom the sprightly pensioner was feeling pleased with himself. He’d reached the final of the afternoon shuffleboard competition, losing out in a titanic tussle to a perma-tanned retired bank manager from Cumbria, and met a host of new pals.

Now, back on his balcony to watch the sun go down, the Yorkshireman was filling his wife in on all the fun she’d missed.

She sounded distinctly underwhelmed. Joan preferred to just sit back and watch the world go by, with a cocktail in one hand and a good book in the other.

Therein lies the essence of a classic cruise – the chance to take part in activities you would never dream of trying back home, or just disappear and let the world sail sedately by, with the ship doing all the work. You can be as active, or as sedentary, as you wish.

It was 5pm on P&O’s adults-only liner, Arcadia, and she was preparing to set sail towards another slice of Caribbean paradise.

We’d just come back from a fabulous Scenic Railway tour on St Kitts, through the old sugar cane plantations, and were overhearing Tom and Joan’s conversation from our neighbouring balcony as we grabbed some downtime before dinner.

“Are we going to St Kitts tomorrow?” the conversation continued.

“No, we were there today,” came Tom’s reply.

“I thought that was Antigua. Oh, well I didn’t like it as much as St Lucia.”

“How do you know – we haven’t been to St Lucia yet!”

Cruising does have a habit of making some of the world’s most magical places rather disposable.

Our 14-night feast began and ended in Barbados, taking us to Tortola in the British Virgin Islands, St Maarten in the Antilles, Antigua, St Kitts, St Lucia, Dominica, St Vincent, Mayreau in the Grenadines, and Grenada. So much to talk about, so many memories.

Customer service

One of the big pluses of travelling with P&O is its Britishness. They’re sticklers for customer service right from airport check-in – after handing over our cases in Birmingham, the next time we saw them was when they were delivered to our cabin. Being spared the usual free-for-all at the baggage reclaim was a great start.

There’s been much talk about health problems on board a cruise. P&O is meticulous with its onboard hygiene to ward off the dreaded Norovirus. No one is allowed into an eating area without a dose of antibacterial handwash, and in-cabin cleaning is reassuringly thorough.

In fact, the whole ship has a feeling of zesty, healthy freshness, aided by the impressive number of no-smoking zones.

Our blissfully air-conditioned five-star cabin was excellent. As well as the aforementioned balcony, it had a bathroom with a bath, double bed, sitting area, fridge and TV with lots of English-speaking channels to choose from.

The two-storey Palladium Theatre on board Arcadia hosts daily shows

Not that we spent much time in front of the box. With three pools, countless bars, a fabulously equipped gym, mini tennis court, golf driving nets and busy programme of organised daily activities, there was too much to see and do.

Food is a key element to any cruise. The cost of all meals is covered in your holiday package, so it’s criminal not to indulge. Those who enjoy dressing for dinner – we had four formal black-tie occasions on our trip – are stylishly catered for at the Meridian restaurant. We enjoyed its waiter service most nights, although when we didn’t want to be restricted by its rigid seating times, we relaxed in the almost deserted Belvedere buffet instead. There’s never a shortage of choice.

Our most memorable meal, however, was in Arcadia’s fine dining restaurant, Arcadian Rhodes. Created by celebrity chef Gary Rhodes, it treated us to the best meal we’ve eaten at sea. Impeccably cooked and professionally served from a choice of two different menus, it was traditional British cuisine with a modern twist, and well worth paying the £15 cover charge.

Evening entertainment is a big part of a cruise too. The two-storey Palladium Theatre on Arcadia blends West End quality shows and guest performers (we had Roy “Catchphrase” Walker as the bill-topper).

Being a British ship, facilities are tailored heavily towards UK tastes. In the Rising Sun pub, you can sail round the Caribbean with a pint of John Smith’s, draught Boddingtons, or a bottle of Newcastle Brown Ale. At reasonable prices, too.

There’s no excuse for missing any activities on board. Every night you receive a copy of the Arcadia Today magazine outlining dawn-to-dusk activities, dining arrangements, shore excursions and live music, most of which was absolutely top-notch. And if you have an appetite for news from home, it’s all summarised in a daily four-page A4 Britain Today mini-bulletin.

Marigot Bay in St Lucia has been used as a location in several movies

Of course, the ports-of-call itinerary is important too. For duty-free shopping at designer-name stores, St Maarten was king. For great sea and beaches, the tiny island of Mayreau was picture-postcard beauty. And for cricket lovers, Antigua was superb – it’s only a short walk to the old test match ground where Brian Lara scored his world record innings, and friendly locals will give you a tour for little more than a fiver.

We went whale-watching in St Vincent and were lucky enough to pass just yards from a family of eight sperm whales, and escaped the rather industrial port city of Castries in St Lucia to hop in a taxi for an enjoyable half-day tour to see its famous Piton rocks and the picturesque Marigot Bay.

Barbados loves British people – and we love Barbados. The capital, Bridgetown, has a market town atmosphere, a colourful wharf and warm, larger-than-life local characters. We stepped on board the Cool Runnings boat for three hours of crazy fun on a great sunset cruise.

The ship’s entertainment team arrange some light-hearted sailaway parties on top deck as the ship pulls away each evening towards the setting sun. I can’t remember singing Land of Hope & Glory with such vigour for many a year on the ‘proud to be British’ night!

For experienced cruisers, Arcadia may lack the head-turning features of some rival ships (there’s no giant shopping arcade, glittering atrium or noisy hi-tech gimmicks) but its stylish, rather shy demeanour is one of its charms. And for returners – of which there are already many – it’s like a trusted old friend.

Perhaps that’s because you’re paying to live in a child-free zone which doesn’t cram you in like hot-and-bothered sardines. No hidden menaces. No stress. No contest.

• Call P&O Cruises on 0845 3555 333 of check out the website www.pocruises.co.uk