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cj013

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Hadn't heard that, so I did some research & found this article in Tahiti Presse: http://www.tahitipresse.pf/tourisme.cfm?snav=see&presse=26846

 

It's a shame, it was an awesome experience for us. Maybe they will go back to the Yucatan...that would be great for us!

 

Mike

 

Here is the latest...no word yet on Winter 2010/11:

 

>>It's the Mediterranean or bust for Star Clippers in 2010. The line will commit all three of its tall ships there for the summer season.

 

>In the spring Royal Clipper, Star Clipper and Star Flyer will reposition from their winter homes in the Caribbean, Far East and Tahiti, respectively, to begin the Mediterranean sailings. Star Clipper will continue round-trip Athens routes, while Royal Clipper will operate between Rome and Venice. Star Flyer is scheduled to sail seven-day round-trip Monaco itineraries, as well as eastern Mediterranean and Turkey cruises from Rhodes, Greece.

 

>"In this challenging economy, we thought it prudent to bring all three ships closer to where our guests reside and have them sail itineraries with proven success," said Mikael Krafft, owner and president of Star Clippers. "While Star Flyer's Tahiti itineraries have been popular, redeploying Flyer to the Mediterranean with the other two ships ultimately will make taking a Star Clippers vacation more affordable for our guests."

 

>Specific ports of call on the Mediterranean itineraries, as well as the cruise schedule for the remainder of 2010, will be available in March. Reservations through spring 2010 are open to book, and sailings for the remainder of 2010 will open for booking by April 15, 2009.

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EXODUS OF TAHITI-BASED CRUISE SHIPS RAISES CONCERN - There are quite a few articles now showing up concerning the Star Flyer leaving Tahiti at the beginning of 2010.

 

"We recently heard word from Star Clippers that they were repositioning the Star Flyer back to the Mediterranean and discontinuing their sailings in French Polynesia."

 

We are joining up with the Pedalers Pub and Grill http://www.pedalerspubandgrille.com/contact.htm for their "Bike and Sail Polynesia" trip in June. This will likely be the last one, at least until 2012, when Star Clippers have said they "might" return.

 

Would love to hear from anyone who has participated in this bike/sail tour in the past, or has any experience with it.

 

The articles that talk about the Star Flyer leaving have lots of finger pointing back and forth, between the company, the government, and the hotels, as to the reasons why.

 

Politics! Travel safe, Rickey Wray

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HI Rickey,

 

We are booked for Jun 21 Star Flyer cruise in Tahiti -Active boomer couple with 2 young adult daughters. We are not booked with the bike group but directly through the Star Clippers. We love biking and had planned to do some on the trip so are thrilled to hear that a group of bikers will be on board.

 

I hope you won't mind if I ask a few questions about the bike tour. Are bikes included or do you bring your own? Do you know average age in your group?

 

Anyone else booked on the June 21 Tahiti cruise?

 

thanks and look forward to meeting you on board.

Lisa

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I just read on another forum that the Star Flyer is leaving FP in 2010. Is this true and what is the reason.

 

 

Yesterday we booked the July 23rd sailing. Anyone else on this trip?

 

Why do you suppose the Star Clippers are leaving? Not enough business???:confused:

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Why do you suppose the Star Clippers are leaving? Not enough business???:confused:

 

No...answered in Mike's link below (select English version so you don't have to register), and many other places online.

 

Latest:

 

"Star Flyer will continue its Tahiti itineraries until February 21, 2010, after which it will make a ‘Grand Pacific Crossing’ from Papeete to Panama City. The ship will then sail a Panama Canal cruise that ends in St. Maarten, followed by an Atlantic crossing to Lisbon."

 

Last years Canal Cruise from Barbados was a terrific 17 day voyage.

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Hello Lisa,

 

First, looks like you live in a terrific area yourself. We love to visit and cycle in Northern California. That's where we spent two weeks back in 2007. Starting from Petaluma, out to the coast, up to Napa, Sonoma, etc. Wonderful cycling, wonderful wine.

 

Glad to know that you will be on the cruise, also. I know that one of the shore excursions that I saw mentioned cycling, but not sure of the quality of the bikes. We have never done a Pedalers Pub and Grill tour group trip before, so can't speak from experience, but I think that they have a good group of boomers like us. This cycling tour group made the top ten bicycle tour groups in National Geographic Adventure magazine rankings.

 

While they do offer bikes on some of their excursions to Thailand and other places, they are not offered on this trip. Most everyone will be on Bike Friday type bikes, or like us, regular size bikes that are fitted with S&S couplings (you can find out more about that on the web) that allow you to break the bike in half and pack in a legal, checkable suitcase.

 

Looking forward to meeting you - Rickey Wray and Mary Kay Wilson from Texas.

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So my question is,, who wants to go sailing in Feb '10?? I know I am interested,,, I just called the Star Clippers US office and they said mid April the bookings would be open for the Trans-Pacific back to Panama,, am thinking that it would be a great trip. Kathy, if you are reading this, remind me of how great the crossing to Tahiti was.... since retirement does not look reasonable in this economy seems a long sail might give me the will to work another year!

 

Anyone else out there thinking of joining up for this one? I did the 7 day Tahiti sail on SF last Nov (hated the flight, loved the sail), and previous years have done the Royal Clipper trans-Atlantic (Oct 05), Star Flyer Caribbean (Nov 06) and the Indian Ocean crossing (fall 07) - so this little trip would be a great way to help fill in my "sail around the world in bits and pieces, only on sailing ships with massage therapists, bartenders and sailers,, not hoisting those sails myself" goal. Anyone know if they are doing a limited booking, like they did for the sail to Tahiti (only 50 passengers)? If anyone has more info, please share!

:cool::cool::D:cool::cool:

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Maybe they will go back to the Yucatan...that would be great for us!Mike

 

Star Clippers will base the 170-passenger Star Flyer in Costa Rica from November 2010 to March 2011. The vessel will operate two seven-day, roundtrip itineraries from Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica. It marks the first time Star Clippers has deployed a vessel in that region. Group and charter reservations for the Costa Rica voyages are open, and individual bookings will open in April. “We brought Star Flyer closer to home, yet we wanted to offer something new and expand our horizons,” said Mikael Krafft, owner and president of Star Clippers. “Costa Rica offers the perfect combination of exotic scenery and exciting tours that appeals to Star Clippers guests -- it’s progressive, it’s current and we’re confident the cruises are going to book up quickly.”

 

The first itinerary calls at San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua; and Cuajiniquil, Playas del Coco/Flamingo, Puerto Carrillo and Islas Tortugas, Costa Rica.

 

The second itinerary calls at Isla Coiba, Panama; and Golfito, Isla del Cano/Drake’s Bay, Quepos and Islas Tortugas, Costa Rica.

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Close enough....interesting they are staying on the Pacific side and not Caribbean. anxious to see the bookings posted......will probably be our next voyage!Mike

 

Hi Mike...I hadn't realized it was on the Pacific side. Clever marketing...it sets up more Canal cruises. When we went through, the ship was full, with a long stand-by list of folks who didn't book fast enough.

 

Temps hit the 50's here...started up my '91 Miata for the first time since October!:cool:

 

Cheers

 

Bob

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I've already contacted Star Clippers, & they are sending me the info as soon as they get all the neccessary details. The months they will operate is prime Humpback season, so maybe we'll see some this trip....just missed them in Tahiti.

 

Glad it's warming up there....been in the 80's here the past few days:)

 

Mike

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Bobby, thanks for the Costa Rica information,, that will provide a nice (new for me) sailing option. I will be siging up for the Tahiti to Panama crossing, sailing gods and jobs permitting, so if anyone else is signing up for that let me know! Keep the info coming, not sure where you all find it but nice to hear. Gail

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We were on the Star Flyer for an 11 day cruise (2/15 to 2/26/09) in French Polynesia. There were only a couple of empty cabins. They were having a lot of equipment problems at that time (like no AC in the tropics!!!) (the washing machine was also broken so no clothes cleaning was available, the net on the bow sprit was in a deteriorated condition so this was unavailable, lots of other broken stuff of unknown use was stacked on top of the Tropical Bar, one of the tenders blew an engine so we were down to 3 life boats, no spa services were available). I understand that they've now made all the necessary repairs and the spa person has returned. The problem seems to be that FP is remote from their suppliers so getting something fixed is difficult. In the Med or even the Caribbean, problems can be fixed fairly easily. Getting parts and expertise to FP presents a far greater challenge. I guess sailing ship parts are fairly exotic and not available locally. I'm told that this is one of the major reasons Star Clippers is pulling out of French Polynesia

 

Food and service aboard the Star Flyer was excellent. The wine steward was just amazing (he knew our names, cabin number and preferences from the first bottle we ordered). The food service in the dining room was excellent and our cabin steward worked hard to serve our needs. I have only compliments for these people. I don't think anybody has to worry about a service decline just because the Star Flyer is relocating. The crew is international and sign long term contracts with Star Clippers.

 

Fortunately, the captain really loved to sail and was always ready to hoist sails. The passengers aboard (Americans, Brits, Germans, Canadians, and French) were also a great group and we had endless fun together. The islands (of course) are truly beautiful and are awesome to behold!

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I did the 7 day Tahiti sail on SF last Nov (hated the flight, loved the sail), and previous years have done the Royal Clipper trans-Atlantic (Oct 05), Star Flyer Caribbean (Nov 06) and the Indian Ocean crossing (fall 07)

:cool::cool::D:cool::cool:

 

Apologies; I know this is off topic from the Tahiti discussion, but I am trying to learn as much as I can about sailing transatlantic on the Royal Clipper, and so far my specific query has only been answered by one person. So seeing that you have done the transatlantic crossing, I can't resist asking. My husband and I are considering sailing from Lisbon to Barbados in October. What can you tell me about the transatlantic crossing? What is life aboard ship like for the many days when the ship does not put into land?

 

Thanks!!

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Doc - the Royal crossing in 05 was the first ocean crossing I had ever done, so I was concerned about the amount of time without land, etc. I very much enjoyed it (we left from Malaga, stopped several places in Morroco and in Tenerife, Canaries, then 10 days to Barbados.

 

It seemed like a great adventure, leaving from Tenerife,, and it was, i saw one ship the first day out of Tenerife, then nothing ,, spent my days laying in the widows net, painting, a few parties, including Neptunes party for 1st time crossers,,(great fun but still do not want to be around seafood spaghetti,,,), massages, dancing and evening bar -game type activities, captains chats,, there were knotting classes, fruit carving, yoga, water aerobics, other exercise items and I understand the steam room was very popular around 5:00PM!

 

The time went by very easily. I am sure you will enjoy it, and the Royal is a very nice ship, and crew was extremely friendly. The passengers were from all over the world, heavy on Brits, Germans, but many interesting folks, mostly couples, but there was a group of us singles. Great time, made me want to spend more time at sea, which the Indian Ocean crossing certainly provided. What else can I tell you? Gail

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No...answered in Mike's link below (select English version so you don't have to register), and many other places online.

 

Latest:

 

"Star Flyer will continue its Tahiti itineraries until February 21, 2010, after which it will make a ‘Grand Pacific Crossing’ from Papeete to Panama City. The ship will then sail a Panama Canal cruise that ends in St. Maarten, followed by an Atlantic crossing to Lisbon."

 

Last years Canal Cruise from Barbados was a terrific 17 day voyage.

 

If anyone has any dates for these segments (Tahiti to Panama and Panama to St. Martin, please post. I cannot get the information from Star Clippers.

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Has anybody an idea how long the trip will take from Tahiti to Europe through the Panama Canal via Sint Maarten and on to Europe?

Requested information from Star Clippers Monaco, they will inform me as soon as itinerary is known.

Would love to do this once of a lifetime trip.

Have done the Atlantic crossing 3 times and once the Indian Ocean crossing, but this one is something else in my opinion.

I have already checked available flights from Amsterdam/LA/Tahiti. I was suprised at the reasonable deals I have found. It will be a long, long flight, but at the end there will de the Flyer.:D

Hope to hear from somebody.

Pralientje

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Pralientje:

 

Star Clippers gave me the following information

 

Papeete to Panama 34 days

Panama to St. Martin 13 days

St. Martin to Europe 16 days (I think--I wasn't paying so much attention to this as I plan to debark in St. Martin.

 

The Papeete to Panama leg will start February 14. Here's what they couldn't tell me:

 

Will the Panama canal crossing be on the Tahiti to Panama leg or the Panama to St. Martin leg?

 

What are the ports? The original "no frills" crossing from Panama to Tahiti was 22 days. This one which is being billed as the "Grand Pacific Crossin is taking 34 days, so I'm really curious about the ports. Really hoping for the Galapagos, which would be fabulous.

 

Will there be a dry dock stop between any of the legs?

 

Are they doing a final swing through Tahiti before heading for Panama? The website has stopped advertising Tahiti trips as of the end of December, so I'm guessing that perhaps they will add some Tahiti stops before setting sail. That would make sense if you are going to Tahiti to do the transPacific and you haven't done Tahiti yet (which is my case).

 

All of these are unknowns, but info is supposed to be available mid-April. I can't wait. I agree with you that this is looking like a must-do.

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KathyA

Thank you for the info. There are even more days than you think. As far as my memory goes it will take the Flyer 21 days to do the crossing from St. Maarten to Europe. It takes the Royal 16 days.

I really hope there will be no dry dock period involved. That means I cannot do the whole crossing. It will take 68 days at least.

I would prefer some Tahiti ports, which are nicer than the Galapagos Islands:). I would prefer another stop in Peru, very very beautiful.

Will keep my fingers crossed everything will work out and it will not be too expensive since I am on my own, so or guaranteed single or 150% plus category 5.

Please let me know if you hear anything from Star Clippers. I will do the same from my side. Have a nice weekend.

Pralientje

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KathyA, thanks for posting the info on Pacific crossing dates,, I have my request in for a cabin on the Tahiti to Panama leg once it opens up,, so sounds like I will see you and Pralientje there as well,, I am hoping for Easter Island and Galapagos,,,, and I guess they could dip down to Pitcarin island before leaving that area closer to Fr Polynesia,,, regardless, sounds like a fantastic trip that I plan on making!

 

Keep the info coming! thanks, Gail

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After reading GHRAustin's post I sent the office an email requesting a reservation. They don't accept any reservations yet. More information should be available next week. As soon as I know more I will post a message on the board. Please keep me informed from your side since you are prabably dealing with the office in the States.

Can't wait.

Pralientje:D:)

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