The iner points o Mauritian hospitality might be wasted on her

I the Upper Class pods - a reclining, upholstered leather armchair, table and separate oot rest cocooned between two cur ing walls - are roomy or adults, they are positi ely Brobdingnagian or a child. Pressing the button to make the seat lip o er into a proper lat bed, with a mattress, sheet, du et and pillow, was almost as much un as playing on a GameBoy. Lar a-like in their ree sleepy suits, the children climbed in and slept or 12 hours apiece.Once they awoke, they worked the in- light entertainment to the max - about a third o the 30 on-demand mo ies were or amilies. And adjusting their body clocks to Oz time was made a lot easier by the non-stop menu Bacon roll and warm milk at 4.30am? No problem.

I barely li ted a inger - other than to order another glass o chardonnay.The rest o the passengers didn't seem to notice the children in the cabin - apart rom one American woman d'un certain ?, who asked to be mo ed away rom a pretty T presenter tra elling solo with her our-month-old baby. As the child - swaddled com ortably in a cot next to its mother - didn't so much as peep or the whole trip, it must ha e been the pre alence o modern celebrity culture that so disturbed the older lady.Top tipsTra elling in a cabin with beds will make a long-haul amily holiday get o to a much easier start. By holidaying in low season, buying well in ad ance, and choosing less lexible ares, you can reduce the cost. Just be sure to check the ine print - our tickets were Z-rated, which meant there were se eral perks we weren't entitled to, such as limos to and rom the airport.. It was with huge satis action that I bought my daughter, Lucy, her irst cocktail. At the age o three and a hal , she lo ed the attenti e waiter and the rangipani lower and ruit garnish, and she adored the straw.

And I lo ed the act that we were lounging in a resort bar with no happy hours and that Lucy's drink cost only ?3. or this, I got grandstand iews o the sun as it dropped through palms into the Indian Ocean and the sky exploded into a palette o purple and mau e. It had seemed a little o er the top or my wi e and me to take a toddler to One&Only Le Touessrok, one o the top resorts in Mauritius. We might ha e a taste or luxury, but Lucy was per ectly happy with the simpler things in li e; colouring in, chocolate ice cream, and swimming pools. The iner points o Mauritian hospitality might be wasted on her.Exhausted rom an o ernight light rom London, we were shown into our split-le el, Junior Suite eaturing a huge balcony, a plasma T and a raised, open-plan bathroom with a ree-standing tub My wi e, Nicky, lost no time in using the espresso machine. Lucy hopped rom our huge bed to her small one with wild exuberance Scrooge-like, I glared at the minibar price list.