PurleyKing

This looks to be the third bunk, normally much less conspicuous as it is folded against the wall above the main bed when not in use. You can tell from the cabin plans on the website which cabins have a third bunk.

We stayed in such a cabin on one trip (not using the third bunk); despite it being folded up against the wall, I did find it annoying when sitting up in bed reading....I have avoided such cabins since.

Quite a number of people go on the transAtlantic without their spouse. Single occupancy of a cabin is charged at 150% of a single person fare.

On the transAtlantic voyages, the ship is required to carry a doctor.

I sailed on Star Flyer west-bound last November, my first trans-Atlantic trip (though I have been on these ships quite a few times). When choosing which direction to go, I opted for west-bound as it should get somewhat warmer heading from Europe to the Caribbean helped (as I understand it, correct me if I'm wrong) by the west bound route being more southerly to pick up the trade winds at that time of year. You also get the advantage of an 'extra' hour on four or five nights as the clocks change.

We were under sail without engine assistance for about 60-70% of the time; the engine was used at night to assist progress if we had fallen behind the daily schedule. We did not have any bad weather or rough seas for this trip, just a fairly continuous swell.

I thoroughly enjoyed the experience and will be repeating the trip next year.

We are on this cruise as well. We were due to fly from Gatwick to Copenhagen on the 0720 this morning. We checked our bags in at about 0515 and strolled to the security area. The electronic gate there refused us entry - it turns out that between checking our bags in and walking to security, our flight had been cancelled 'because of air traffic control problems'! There were no seats available on any other Gatwick-Copenhagen flights for two days. We have been very fortunate to be able to book another flight (from Heathrow this time) departing this evening, but have lost our planned day in Copenhagen. Unsurprisingly, it took quite a while to get our luggage back.

We will be on the 26 July Splendor cruise from Copenhagen to Southampton; we were recently advised that we were no longer stopping in Stavanger and would instead be having a "relaxing day at sea".

I checked the cruise schedule for Stavanger, and Splendor was the only cruise ship due to be in that port that day.

This topic came up on the recent Star Flyer trans-Atlantic cruise. It was suggested that the company would only return to the area when / if the stalled purchase of Golden Horizon (aka Flying Clipper) goes through. I should add that that was pure conjecture, but based on the thought that The Mediterranean and the Caribbean would not support four Star Clippers ships. The cruise director pointed out that it takes about two years to plan a route, so it's hard to see anything happening before 2025.

There is normally plenty of room under the bed for a couple of good-sized suitcases. I haven't stayed in a Cat 5 on Royal, but there's nothing to suggest it would be different in this respect to a Cat 3 or 4 (which I have stayed in).

We were on the Splendor in The Med last November. We had most types of weather, from warm sunshine to pea-souper fog in Istanbul! So I concur with the advice to go for layers. Note that the large sheltered area at the pool bar on Splendor has overhead heaters to keep you cosy on cooler/wetter days.

Thanks Hobbsie - that sounds just the ticket!

We have a week's holiday staying on St Maarten, followed by a week on Star Flyer (St Maarten to St Maarten). When we leave Star Flyer at the end of the cruise, we (along with our luggage!) need a convenient spot to pass the time from 9 am until about 2pm, when we head for the airport. I'm hoping for a local beachfront spot with chairs and umbrella to rent, along with drinks and lunch. Star Clippers will probably offer a tour, but we will have explored the island in our first week.

Does anyone have any particular favourite spots?

Thanks, in anticipation.

Thanks Cluso....I expect there is not an array of satellites across the vast expanse of the Atlantic ocean waiting to forward my inanities!

My wife may well appreciate two weeks of radio silence!

I am on the Star Flyer's trans-Atlantic crossing from the Canary Islands to St Martin this November. My wife, although a long-time fan of Star Clippers, didn't fancy the two-week crossing, so will be flying out to join me in the Caribbean. What experience do people have of the wi-fi capability on Star Clippers on such a crossing?

No reservation required. There is a limit to the number of people allowed in the net at any one time. You are supposed to let the bridge know you are going to the net (just pop your head round the corner of the wheelhouse and ask if it's OK).

The net is not available in rough seas, nor when there is a lot of crew activity on the fore deck when entering or leaving port.

Don

I would have a leisurely lunch and aim for 1pm.

Other timing factors to consider will be whether the ship has to get clearance from the port authorities before people can venture ashore and whether the ship is at the quayside or at anchor; if the ship is at anchor (and therefore using the tenders to get ashore), sometimes the first tenders are 'reserved' for those going on the ship's excursions.

Dinner is served from 7.30pm; many people head to the dining room as soon as it opens whilst others go there over the next hour.

Very occasionally, I have been on board when breakfast or lunch times have been adjusted to fit in with the excursion schedule, but this is very rarely required.

I have been on five Star Clipper cruises that included the Greek Islands and have only had one occasion when the ship couldn't get to the expected port (Hydra) - this was because of a very strong wind making it unsafe to enter the harbour; the Captain took us to Poros instead. On another occasion, a powerful wind from the north made it very tricky to get alongside the pier in Mykonos - it took an hour of manoeuvring before we were safely tied up - but we made it!

If we are doing an excursion, we tend to book one of the ship's excursions, then there is no worry about when the ship docks. 

Have a great time!

I have friends on the Star Flyer at the moment, and they report that it is in excellent condition and that the food is as good as ever - it has been carrying passengers again for many weeks now, so I expect Star Clipper will similarly be back up to the expected standard in the not too distant future.

Back home now after the Suez Canal to Athens Star Clipper trip (20 - 30 April).

Whilst the experience fell short of Star Clippers at its best, it was simply a delight to be back on board at last and visiting new places. The ship was pretty well full - with 95% repeaters!

We anticipated that things might not be as good as normal on the ship, given that this was its first passenger-carrying voyage in two years....and so it transpired. During the last two years, most of the crew were sent home and had only just returned to the ship; many of them were on a Star Clippers ship for the first time (and literally being shown the ropes!). There was much maintenance going on around the ship, and most of the woodwork needed varnishing and most of the white paintwork was rust-marked. Several sails were out of action, awaiting repair or replacement. The main swimming pool had sprung a leak and was out of action for the first week whilst being repaired. The interior of the ship was, pleasingly, in good decorative condition.

The ship had been resupplied (I assume in Egypt) and some essentials were missing - most noticeably gin! A supply of gin arrived four days into the voyage. But we were denied the usual range of bread and pastries as the pastry chef tested positive when he came to rejoin the ship and couldn't get back onboard until we docked in Alexandria following his negative test. Breakfast and lunch were generally pretty good but evening meals generally did not reach previous heights often, and most people found the meat poor though the fish choices were considerably better.

As seems to be the case on the other SC ships, in these Covid times you are now assigned a table in the restaurant and are supposed to sit at it for all meals. It is hard to understand the logic of this given that we are mixing freely everywhere else on the ship. We were occasionally asked to wear masks whilst inside the ship, but only about 20% of people adhered to that. 

Sailing was severely limited by the fact that we were heading north for much of the cruise and there was a strong wind from that direction most of the time. Not much SC could do about that. The north wind was cool, so you needed to be well wrapped up to be in the Tropical Bar for the evening entertainment - accordingly, the entertainment wasn't always well-attended as people 'sheltered' in the Piano Bar.

In summary, we had a really good holiday despite the limitations. Perhaps, however, SC should accept that all was not up to the usual standard and consider some sort of compensation by way of a future cruise credit? Doubtless by our next booked trip, all will be back to normal on the ship (Covid permitting!).

Just heading to Egypt today to join the Suez Canal to Athens cruise on 20th April.

Yes, we had to have the PCR test - another 3 days and that would not have been required! Thankfully our results were negative.

I think this will be our particular ship(Star Clipper)'s first passenger-carrying voyage in two years, so it will be interesting to see how quickly the staff become a well-oiled machine again. We were wait-listed until a couple of months ago, so we are anticipating a fairly full ship.

On the Star Clippers UK website (starclippers.co.uk), if you search for October Star Flyer cruises by month and ship, all Star Flyer's voyages in October will be shown. Select your cruise and click on 'View Itinerary' and then 'Shore Excursions'; each excursion for each day is detailed.

However, this does not give port arrival and departure times, which clearly doesn't help if you are looking to organise your own excursions - I seem to remember only getting these timings when the final documentation is sent through a couple of weeks before sailing. Probably worth calling/emailing Star Clippers to see if they can give you that information.

My wife and I did back-to-back cruises in 2012 on Star Flyer that had similar itineraries to the current ones. We enjoyed both routes and would not suggest one was preferable to the other - do both, if you can! The emphasis is on visiting the natural habitats of this region mixed in with a few beach days.

Our memories are of sloths, little green frogs, brightly coloured birds, much sea life and several sightings of whales (almost a daily occurrence, in fact). 

The port where the ship sails from is primarily industrial, so find somewhere else to stay if you are arriving a day or two before the cruise.

Don

1. I don't know the answer to this. There wasn't an x-ray machine for checking bags last time I was on board (2 years ago), but if the bottles clink together as you come up the gangway, you might be stopped (the bottles would be returned to you at the end of the cruise). 

2. The cost of laundry is low compared to other ships I have been on. 

3. The majority of passengers are likely to be in their 60s, 70s, and 80s; you won't feel out of place.

4. Filter coffee, tea (a good selection of choices) and water are available at no extra cost 24 hours a day. Soft drinks are charged for, though I seem to recall that there was iced tea at no charge served at lunch. 'Speciality' coffees are charged for.

5. House wines were 16 Euros a bottle and were very acceptable. There is a good range of wines available, many in the 16-25 Euro bracket (clearly, there may have been some increases in the past two years, but the mark-ups are definitely not extortionate).

I hope you have a great time.

We were on a Miami to Miami cruise with Regent a couple of years ago, and had an evening flight back to the UK. Regent organises excursions (at no extra charge) to help bridge the gap from getting off the ship until the flight. We enjoyed the open-top hop-on/hop-off bus tour of South Beach and other parts of the city. They then provided a coach to the airport. 

After experimentation, I put the port name 'Piraeus' in the zip code....and it worked!

That's nearly all the forms completed - I need a holiday!

I am on the 4th November Splendor cruise out of Athens and will be flying into Athens that morning and transferring straight to the ship.

When completing the Temporary Address section of the Greece Passenger Locator Form, despite ticking the Cruise Ship box, it insists on the city box and zip code box being completed (and valid). Regent's advice in this area isn't clear:

"• If you are not staying in a pre-cruise hotel and going straight to the ship on arrival into Greece just add the address details, check the “Cruise Ship Name” box and add the name of the ship you will be sailing on as “Temporary Address” 1 and leave “Temporary Address 2” box unchecked". (Note: the underlining is mine - what address details?)

Can anyone advise how to fill this in satisfactorily please? Many thanks in advance.

Hello SB44. I have not been on Windstar ships. Whilst I have done many Star Clippers cruises, my only other cruising holidays have been on Regent.

I mentioned that the Golden Horizon food was on a par with Star Clippers. I found the food good on the whole though it falls below the standard you would get on a top-of-the-range cruise line like Regent, both for choice and quality; set your expectations accordingly.

We did not find the shower floor slippery; we were not in a cabin that had a bath tub. We did comment that there is an awkward step up into the bathroom that might prove tricky for someone with a knee or hip issue.

We did not have a balcony, but could see that the balcony cabins had a table and two chairs on the balcony. As for cabin location on this style of ship, the usual rules apply about keeping near the middle of the ship to minimise movement caused by the sea (everything was so calm when we were on board that you didn't really know you were afloat when in your cabin) and the lower deck cabins at the stern are more likely to pick up noise from the engine.