Having been before on the Star Clipper we liked the format and knew what to expect - good quality cabin, great choice of food and plenty of it. Most of all that great feeling as the sails are hoisted to the stirring sound of Vangelis' Conquest of Paradise.

Oh dear, seems the owner has instructed that the stirring music be relegated to background music thus destroying the magic that so many returning passengers have booked for, and encouraged others to do so. A passenger petition managed to raise one click on the volume control but the issue remains and would make me, and others, seriously consider whether to go again.

Our cruise started from Phuket (Penang was nearest departure port in the drop down options). The usual life jacket and lifeboat drills took place on day 1 & 2 and at 7am on day 3 we pulled alongside the dock in Penang. All of a sudden there was a series of lurches followed by random blasts on the ship's siren and the call to "abandon ship". Luckily the incident was down to an over-enthusiastic tug having caused the ship to scrape along the rather crude dockside - the nautical equivalent of a supermarket trolley damaging your car door. Anyway we didn't sink and breakfast wasn't burnt! Read more