New to Star Clippers

[satchiesmom]

Hi,

We received a Star Clippers brochure in today's mail, I don't know why as we didn't request one, nor have we ever sailed with Star Clippers. It looks like the Star Clippers experience would be right up our alley. We are HAL/Celebrity people and wondering if we could get some information from the experienced pax on this site. How would you rate the food? The cabins? and any other info you might want to share. We are looking at the Grenadines itinerary for Feb. 2011. Any advice or assistance would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thanks,

Susan

[KathyA]

Food A minus.

 

Cabins B plus.

 

Sailing A plus.

 

Staff A plus.

 

Other passengers A minus.

 

You'll have a wonderful trip, but this is a sailing ship, not a cruise ship (at least in feel). My guess: once you try it you'll never go back to the otheer cruiselines.

[MSEm]

We have sailed on both HAL and Star Clippers. In fact we sailed on the Star Clipper in May 2009 for a Back to Back Med. We have already booked at B/B for Dec 2010 on the Costa Rican Pacific coast.

 

Comparing Star Clipper to HAL is like comparing Oranges to Squash. Two very different types of cruising.

 

Star Clipper are true sailing vessels. Casual dress. The cabins are smaller than on HAL.

There are no shows, casinos, room service on Star Clipper.

 

The Star Clipper food is very good and staff very helpful. Dress during the day is casual. At night I wore black slack with a nice top. My nusband worn slacks and a dress shirt. Many men worn polo knit shirts. Few women wore skirts or dresses.

 

I suggest you read the reviews and more on this board.

 

Only you can decide if a Star Clipper cruise is for you.

 

MSEm

[satchiesmom]

Thanks KathyA and mseM.

Actually I have experienced tall ship sailing, just not on Star Clipper and only once. I loved it, but am not so sure about DH. He has always loved sailing, but I think his expectations might be a little high in how much sailing will actually be involved aboard a Star Clippers ship. I was just looking for some random thoughts about the experience from Star Clippers past pax. I find that this is the most useful way to get information (for me anyway) about whether a ship/cruiseline will be a good fit for us rather than a review.

 

Susan

[MSEm]

On our Med cruise (2 weeks) we were under sail most of the time. Star Clipper tries to use the sails as much as the winds allow.

 

MSEm

[mek]

I know the answer to this question depends on the weather, but how much movement is felt on this ship? The reason I ask is my husband has some back problems and is concerned that there will be a lot of jerking around because of the size of the ship and the sails. Is this the case? Neither of us gets seasick, so that isn't an issue; I'm just concerned about his back.

[rogerc1944]

Which of the Star Clipper ships are you considering? The least amount of motion is felt in the cabins in the middle of the ship. We were in cabin 119 on the Star Flyer last February and didn't feel much motion at all. There were some pretty good thunder storms too! The sailing was really fun. In 2003 we were on a transatlatic cruise on the Royal Clipper. We were located on the Clipper deck next to the Atrium. This cabin was also pretty much amid ships. The weather and seas were so calm that we never experienced anything more than gentle rocking. We were disappointed as the ship couldn't sail in such a calm. Imagine taking a sailing ship across the Atlantic Ocean and only be powered by motor!

[mek]

Royal Clipper. I'm not so concerned about our cabin, but movement in the public areas and out on the deck.

[FirstClassDiva]

I was on the Star Clipper in August for two weeks sailing from Athens to Venice.

 

When we filled out a comments sheet at the end of the cruise, there was a question asking you to recommend a friend/family member to Star Clippers so that they could send out some information. I hazard a guess that someone put your name down.

 

I have a condition called Ankylosing Spondylitis and in my case, have severe sciatica symptoms which can be very painful when I move. In my lower back running down both my legs I am very stiff and was also worried if I would be able to brace myself adequately in heavier seas. I used to sail so knew what it was like to move around a yacht in weather. I did struggle a bit on board the Star Clipper in terms of the amount of stairs I had to navigate as my knee's seemed to be playing up at the time also. There were two days when we were heeled over a little and there was some pitching movement. I did have slight difficulty in bracing my legs/body but it was manageable. Once the weather settled there was hardly any movement at all. I took my anti-inflamitory meds and that took the edge off.

 

The movement was nothing like a smaller yacht in weather as the Star Clipper has stabilisers and the crew is very vigilent about how much sail is up to keep the ship comfortable for passengers. There is always the possibility though that wherever you are sailing, you might encounter storms that do affect a boat as large and heavy as the Star Clipper. If that is the case, then I would just rest in my cabin and not walk too much on deck which may inflame my condition. The boat is so well equipped with radar, weather information, GPS etc that the crew would make every attempt to ensure the smoothest and least disruptive course is taken I am sure.

 

Being a traditional sailing vessel, there are a lot of hand-hold's here and there which greatly assist movement under heavy conditions so you may actually be better off on a yacht than those floating monster's I saw around the Med.

[yourcruisingeditor]

I agree with KathyA, "Once you sail on a Star Clipper, you'll never go back!"

 

I just returned from a 10-day Western Med cruise from Venice to Rome (Civitiavecchia), including Croatia, Montenegro, Greece, Sicily and Italy, and all I can say is - I WILL NEVER TAKE A HUGE SHIP AGAIN!

I've sailed on the QE2, I even worked for Royal Viking before they merged with NCL, but this is something entirely different! Sure, I'm a sailor (I sailed my own boat from San Francisco to Florida), but this was a trip of a lifetime! She is a lovely ship carrying a relatively small load (197 passengers on our voyage and about 100 crew)! Nice balance, eh?

 

I was truly impressed by how stable she is. Even on our worst day, in Corfu where it rained like never before (or so the locals said!), she barely rolled side to side. Make sure you get a mid-ship cabin, just in case.

 

Look for my upcoming article on our voyage in the December issue of Blue Water Sailing Magazine. (www.bwsailing.com)!

[mek]

I was looking at Tahiti, but it seems to have disappeared next fall.

[muskatnuss]

I was looking at Tahiti, but it seems to have disappeared next fall.

 

Hi! This ist my first posting....:o. We are on the 26, Nov Tour with the Star Flyer thru French Polynesia. They are leaving the area, as far as I am informed, at the end of January.

 

So, that was painless....;)

 

Muskatnuss

[ambaker6]

Yes will no longer be going to go to Tahiti. That is why we booked. We are on the Nov. 8 sailing. I think there is still space..join us!

[mek]

Wish I could, but we just returned from Alaska two weeks ago and already have a cruise in the Caribbean booked for the end of November. Guess I'll just have to find another itinerary with spectacular scenery. How are the SE Asia cruises?