We sailed on Royal Clipper in 2014 and loved it. We couldn't wait to go back, so much so, we booked two cruises back-to-back.
This time was a VERY DIFFERENT experience.
- Blistering paint and rust on ceiling, banged up woodwork, bad stains on carpet, chipped up paint on walls
- Malfunctioning toilet (twice). We didn't have a working toilet for 16 hours. We had to use the toilet in ...
A trip on Star Clippers was on our bucket list but this just did not meet our expectations.
Sailing on a clipper ship requires compromises. This is not a 90,000 ton behemoth and you have to accept the space limitations that are to be expected on a 164 passenger 360 foot Barquentine.
The cabins are tiny, the dining room feels cramped. There are not many public rooms. Shaded deck space is ...
It was our hearts desire to sail on the Royal Clipper after seeing her come into view at Rodney Bay when we were staying in St Lucia some years ago. We love cruising and the luxury of visiting interesting and beautiful destinations. Not so with this sailing vessel. Embarkation was a nightmare. No one to greet you at the terminal. Once boarding the ship the we had to queue for over forty minutes in ...
I booked this cruise one year ahead for our special anniversary, I told the UK agents and my own travel agent told them that it was a special time, yet it was forgotten about. No mention of it in spite of others having the waiters sing happy birthday and such. Also we do not eat meat and ordered vegetarian food. On arrival the restaurant had no idea of our request and could only offer frozen ...
We wanted to try the small boat experience. Wind in the sails etc.Freedom. What happened was unexpected and not very good.
Worse parts first I think - which may take a while.
The sails only went up when the boat was becalmed and not moving. Then only for short periods to take photos.So travel was by engine - noisy and smelly.
We missed one important port due to weather conditions. ...
I choose this cruise because the vessel is small , she sails , and has an appealing destination : Thailand.
My rating : I give one star for the very good looking of the ship on pictures and a second star for the food.
What we did not like :
I. General lack of comfort :
* starting from the early beginning in the welcome room in Phuket,
* the boat tender access is complicated and ...
We choose this cruise because we were already going to Cuba for 5 days prior and 3 days following; but we wish that we hadn't! We boarded on January 7: We were picked up by Star Flyer bus at Iberostar. We were not on the passenger list. Fortunately, a Star Flyer person said he remembered our name and that we should board the bus! After almost an hour of driving we stopped because the Star Flyer ...
The Royal Clipper is a beautiful sailing ship. What excited us the most was the chance to see the five masted fully rigged ship from one of our excursions. Unfortunately, Captain Mariusz Szalek sailed the tall ship using mostly the engine during the entire seven days in the Caribbean.
We motored our way from Saint Maarten's to Barbados sometimes navigating in bad weather. Unfortunately, we ...
good:
- excellent service of the stuarts and very friendly service people
- very friendly and urbanity Capt'n and Officers
poor to absolutely inaceptable:
Ship & interieur & equipment is 15 years old with year round refurbishing during the cruises! -> means: lots of noise the whole day and you get much more of it when you paid much more = for a luxury cabin. So be sure that you ...
First the good stuff:
The service staff (waiters and barmen) were consistently excellent. The sailing experience was great especially when you could see the spectacular stars at night. The food was surprisingly good given the galley conditions and a difficult dining room but the second week was a repeat of the first and while the quality was the same it got a little repetitive, on balance no more ...