A Calm Oasis on the High Seas

Have you ever had to take holidays at a specific time of the year and been thrown into turmoil about the thought of cruising at a time when hundreds of families with children are planning on doing the same thing??

Now don’t get me wrong, I do like children (ish) and don’t normally mind some being around but lets just say I am no Mary Poppins. I fully understand families need to get away – I remember the holidays we had as children and how much fun they were – but I also remember the grumpy people around the pool who gave us the dirty looks if we were really loud and splashing everyone with the water. Well I am afraid I am now firmly in the grumpy camp. I like the bigger ships, with loads of facilities and I am aware that this also attracts families. My favorite days on board are sea days where I can lazy around, soaking the sun and having a few cocktails without feeling guilty that I have missed a Port of call. Thus I have my major bug bear with every single cruise line I have been on – sun beds. Or actually the lack there of!

This leads me to avoid the lido deck and head higher up to the sun decks but again that throws a few problems of its own in. There never ever seems to be enough beds for those that wish to be up on the sun decks on sea days. Mathematically I understand a ship will never be able to have unlimited amounts and they do squeeze in as many as they can into tight spaces. But when you are trying to negotiate the areas with a wheelchair you end up either being so frustrated you want to go back inside or ramming into sunbeds, by accident of course, of the rude people who will not move an inch to let you through.

So in recent years I have just put up with it. Drank my daiquiri without trying to elbow the person beside me and tried to squeeze my sister and I into a corner where we still get some sun but without blocking the whole deck with her wheelchair – now you know why we need the cocktails!

When I was away in September on my cruise I discovered something that will change my cruising experience for ever – the adults only retreat!! I was wandering around doing a self tour on the ship and came across an area on the MSC Magnifica called the Top 18. It turned out to be an private adults only area that you had to pay to enter. As no one was there yet the staff member/guard dog at the entrance to the area offered to give me a quick tour. OMG it was everything that I ever would have wanted in an Oasis. There was huge rattan beds big enough for 2 people and individual rattan sun beds for a single person. The area only held 90 people and had a private bar, shower and Jacuzzi. After spending 30 mins waiting for a drink on the pool deck the day before and literally becoming almost German and getting up at cock crow with a towel to try and reserve a sun bed in the normal sun deck I though all of my prayers had been answered.

So I ran down as fast as my little legs could carry me to my cabin and collect all my necessary sun bathing things and off I went – still smiling away like a child on Christmas Morning.

I decided to break out and book the individual sun bed for the whole cruise for 40 euro. I know some people will moan and say the cruises are expensive enough and why should they have to pay more but I would honestly have paid double that to be able to spend some time relaxing, with loads of space around me, a bar man hovering to refill that fab cocktail and due to the location of the Top 18 deck you can view the whole ship beneath you and can still catch all the on board entertainment.

The Sun bed itself was very comfortable. You can have unlimited towels there and due to the heat wave we had the cold shower gave great relief to cool down. The waiter also was at hand to supply you with fruit skewers to keep your 5 a day on track.

If there are two people looking to spend some time up there the rattan beds are fab value. The cost indicated above for them is based on two people and the mattress was so spongy and comfy and luxurious.

It really made my cruise and I will be looking to see if there is something similar with Royal Caribbean for my trip next August. If you are on a ship that does have some kind of adult retreat I would most definitely have a quick visit and weigh up if it is something you would get value on – I most certainly did!