I HAD always dreamed on going on a Caribbean cruise, or any cruise for that matter, and I had to pinch myself when I was invited on a high seas' adventure.

It wasn't a royal Caribbean cruise ... but it was an opportunity to sample the splendour of Royal Caribbean International's five-star, luxury cruise liner Celebrity Equinox on its inaugural launch from the English port of Southampton on a two-night mini North Sea voyage.

So I packed my bags and sacrificed six hours of nocturnal wait at Dubai International Airport to fly to Gatwick where I would join other journalists from the region as we transferred to the port.

As we neared our destination, we could see the outline of the majestic ship in the distance and I immediately had my camera at the ready.

But all I could do was stare with my mouth wide open. Not only was it just stunningly large, it was the first time I had actually seen a cruise liner up close instead of in a photograph in a magazine or travel brochure.Wow!

Pushing away thoughts in my mind of the final tragic scene in the movie Titanic, I bravely climbed higher and higher to the entrance where we were all welcomed by big smiles and bubbly beverages.

We were then led to the ship's elevator for a trip to the 11th deck, the 'AquaClass' where our staterooms (not cabins) were allocated.

I walked down the aisle, passing a TV crew, to get to my room, number 1602. As I opened the door, the sea breeze blew into my hair and I had to hold myself from falling backwards.

And there it was, the bright blue sea complemented by perfect, cool weather. I was in heaven.

The room looked very cozy with a comfortable bed, a couch, a fruit basket and boasted a stunning view of the beautiful, blue sea from the room's balcony.

As much as I wanted to laze and do nothing but stare into the blue yonder and glance at the skies I had to follow the working agenda and rushed to join the others.

Our itinerary for the day began with lunch (I almost fainted seeing the size of the kitchen) at the Ocean View CafŽ.

We then piled on various decks for the emergency lifeboat drill and then returned to our rooms to change for a cocktail party at the Passport Bar followed by dinner at one of the cruise's specialty restaurants, Blu.

A theatre show and entertainment at the Equinox Theatre was held for guests after that but I decided to retire to the room as tiredness had caught up on with me, or, maybe that was just an excuse to sink in my bed and hear the waves play their melodic tunes.

The next day the Press party enjoyed watching the Hot Glass Show at the Lawn Club, where master glassblowers or 'gaffers' from the Corning Museum of Glass showed us the tricks of their trade and made some stunningly pretty vases.

During the day I was one of three judges putting the culinary talents of French Chef Pascal and American Chef Peter to the test. We chose the French dish.

We we able to tour the galley and also the bridge, where we were told how the crew kept the wonderful vessel intact. We also met the master of the ship, Captain Apostolos Bouzakis.

We then returned to our rooms to dress for the 'black tie party' that was to be held at the classy Silhouette restaurant which boasts an exquisite two-storey glass wine tower.

After dinner we gathered in the Equinox Theatre to watch some absolutely stunning acts featuring singers, dancers, ring jugglers, still performers, fairy characters and a variety of acrobats.

We disembarked the following morning and took a coach back to the airport. We passed through various landscapes of lush green fields with cows and sheep grazing happily in the pleasant, sunny weather.

To accentuate the greenery were the amazingly cute cottages with wonderfully decorated creepers around the doors and little windows that were an image of Olde England described and best captured within the pages of novels such as Little Women.

The trip was one of a kind... and an experience everyone must enjoy at least once in a lifetime.

So it is worth noting for cruise lovers that Royal Caribbean International is bringing its Brilliance of the Seas liner to the Middle East in January for the region to get a real taste of luxury sea travel closer to home.

Dining venues include the Silhouette Dining Room, the Oceanview CafŽ & Bar, Bistro on Five, CafŽ al Bacio & Gelateria, AquaSpa CafŽ and Mast Grill & Bar.

Specialty restaurants include Murano offering a blend of classic and modern continental cuisine, Blu - designed exclusively for AquaClass guests, Silk Harvest Restaurant offering exotic Asian fusion cuisine and Tuscan Grille offering Italian flair with steaks.

Guests can also check out the Martini Bar, Crush, Quasar and Michael's Club.

For shoppers there are 18 retail outlets and the vessel also has an AquaSpa where guests can pamper themselves.

The ship can accommodate 2,850 guests and weighs 1,22,000 tonnes.