Cruising the Caribbean on a super ship

• Oasis of the Seas, Berthed at Labadee, Haiti.

There haven't been any posts on this site for several weeks, for good reason. I've been cruising the wester Caribbean on the magnificent Oasis of the Seas, owned and operated by royal caribbean International.

We visited ports like Labadee, Haiti; Falmouth, Jamaica (we were the first major cruise ship to visit this port and there were big celebrations all over the small town) and Cozumel, Mexico.

The seven night cruise was an unforgettable experience and full marks to Royal Caribbean International for providing great value for money, top service and an allround first class cruise.

Although the travel radio show has been broadcast and auto-posted on its podcast website throughout my absence, it's now back to the real world of producing new episodes each week.

The latest is now posted on www.travelradioaustralia.com.

In the current edition, Aussie contributor John Crook chats with his mate Phil who is an avid cruise junkie. The US team led by Arthur von Wiesenberger converse with author Nan Lyons about her book  'Around the World in 80 Meals'. Euro correspondent Frances Beasley (currently based in Munich, Germany) shows her 'passion for Passau'. US correspondent Max Hartshorne from Gonomad.com visits Australia and hits the Great Ocean Walk on the far south coast of the continent.

The long and the short of cruising!

New South Wales-based travel writer (and good mate) David Ellis has copped the 'short straw' (purely physically speaking) when each of us takes off reviewing different cruise ships in the first quarter of next year. David will be travelling on the five star SeaDream 1 from Athens through the Greek Isles to Malaga in Spain. This five star 'mega-yacht' (along with its identical sister-ship SeaDream 2) offers five star all-inclusive cruising in different parts of the world. Several years ago I enjoyed a week-long Mediterranean cruise on SeaDream 2 which was truly the most wonderful holiday experience I've ever had. Meanwhile I'll be trying out the world's renowned mega-cruise ship Oasis of the Seas on a western Caribbean jaunt from Fort Lauderdale (Florida) to Cozumel (Mexico) and return next March. Just for size comparison, take a look at the above photo showing both SeaDream 1 and Oasis of the Seas, berthed side-by-side at St Thomas and you'll be amazed by the difference in ship-sizes.

-Photo courtesy of Seadream Yacht Club