Info on the Royal Star

Has anyone sailed on this ship....out of the West Coast of Atrica?

I know the history of the ship and her many lifes, but have no idea what condition she is in. I have sent away for the brochure from Global Quest......but would like to find someone who has flown to Mombasa on African Safari Airways and then cruised on this small ship.

Tom

Hello. We are going flying to Mombasa with ASA and cruising on the Royal Star in April 2005. Can't wait!

Tom,

We sailed the Royal Star about 10 years ago out of Mombasa, with a few days at either end in one of the African Safari Club hotels. The organisation is a Swiss one with quite a lot of hotels, the ship and airline, obviously, plus local air and road transport to enable trips into Kenya's interior for the game parks.

The ship is small (5600 tons, 220 passengers) and now almost 50 years old, but still "reasonably clean and tidy" (quote from the 2005 Berlitz guide). At that size and age, there are naturally fewer facilities, little by way of entertainment and so on, but it is one of the few ways to see some of the Indian Ocean islands at a reasonable cost, and this area has the best beaches we've come across so far in 35 years of travelling.

We enjoyed the holiday very much, having gone in the knowledge that this wasn't going to be a mainstream cruise company experience. As I mentioned, the packages usually come with time at one of their hotels (ours was the Flamingo Beach, and was excellent), and if you haven't visited East Africa before, I would suggest adding on a short safari. The Tsavo parks are within driving distance of Mombasa, or you could fly to the Masai Mara - in either case African Safari Club can do all the arrangements.

Hope this helps; if I can supply any other info, just ask.

Richard

Tom,

 

We sailed the Royal Star about 10 years ago out of Mombasa, with a few days at either end in one of the African Safari Club hotels. The organisation is a Swiss one with quite a lot of hotels, the ship and airline, obviously, plus local air and road transport to enable trips into Kenya's interior for the game parks.

 

The ship is small (5600 tons, 220 passengers) and now almost 50 years old, but still "reasonably clean and tidy" (quote from the 2005 Berlitz guide). At that size and age, there are naturally fewer facilities, little by way of entertainment and so on, but it is one of the few ways to see some of the Indian Ocean islands at a reasonable cost, and this area has the best beaches we've come across so far in 35 years of travelling.

 

We enjoyed the holiday very much, having gone in the knowledge that this wasn't going to be a mainstream cruise company experience. As I mentioned, the packages usually come with time at one of their hotels (ours was the Flamingo Beach, and was excellent), and if you haven't visited East Africa before, I would suggest adding on a short safari. The Tsavo parks are within driving distance of Mombasa, or you could fly to the Masai Mara - in either case African Safari Club can do all the arrangements.

 

Hope this helps; if I can supply any other info, just ask.

 

Richard

Hello Richard,

Did you take any of the organised tours on the islands? We are visiting Zanzibar, Mayotte, Nosy Be, Reunion and Mauritius and are undecided which of the tours to do. Also if not, how easy is it to get around by ourselves on these islands? We are staying near Mombasa for 4 days after the cruise and have already booked a safari.

Thanks

Cheryl

Cheryl,

I can't help with Reunion or Mauritius, as our cruise didn't go there. On Zanzibar, we didn't take a tour, but just walked visiting the Sultan Palace Museum, Old Stone Town and the local markets, all of which are in easy distance of the port.

Mayotte was very much in it's infancy as a port of call when we were there (although it may have changed in 10 years), so we did take an island tour as there didn't seem to be too much else to do - no local taxi tours, for instance.

On Madagascar, as well as a quick walk around Nosy Be, we also tendered off at Nosy Komba, specifically to go and see the Lemur Sanctuary, and then swam and snorkelled off the beach.

Our other port of call was a little island just off the Tanzanian coast called Shungu Mbili, and that was basically a swim/sunbathe/beach/BBQ stop.

If you haven't done a safari before, make sure you have some binoculars and, if possible, a camera with a telephoto lens - some animals you should get pretty close to, but a lot will be in the middle distance.

Hope this helps; let me know if there is anything else.

Richard

Cheryl,

 

I can't help with Reunion or Mauritius, as our cruise didn't go there. On Zanzibar, we didn't take a tour, but just walked visiting the Sultan Palace Museum, Old Stone Town and the local markets, all of which are in easy distance of the port.

 

Mayotte was very much in it's infancy as a port of call when we were there (although it may have changed in 10 years), so we did take an island tour as there didn't seem to be too much else to do - no local taxi tours, for instance.

 

On Madagascar, as well as a quick walk around Nosy Be, we also tendered off at Nosy Komba, specifically to go and see the Lemur Sanctuary, and then swam and snorkelled off the beach.

 

Our other port of call was a little island just off the Tanzanian coast called Shungu Mbili, and that was basically a swim/sunbathe/beach/BBQ stop.

 

If you haven't done a safari before, make sure you have some binoculars and, if possible, a camera with a telephoto lens - some animals you should get pretty close to, but a lot will be in the middle distance.

 

Hope this helps; let me know if there is anything else.

 

Richard

Thanks Richard. It all sounds wonderful. We have been looking on the internet at the ports we will be visiting and will probably do our own thing at most of them. The tours organised by ASC seem very expensive and we can put that money to good use towards another cruise!

Thank you for your help, it's nice to find someone out there who has actually done this trip before!

Cheryl

Since I am doing a safari package in the near future ,I am more interested in the cruise experience in general. I have followed this ship over the years and realize her limited facilities.....this presents no problem as long as I have a clean bed, hot shower and some decent service. I will definitely consider this ship...thank you for the information.

Tom

Anyone else with any feddback on Royal Star - thinking about a trip to Cape Town on her in 2007

Ken

...... anyone ?????

Our trip was some 5 years ago from Mombasa for 10 days, it was very enjoyable. The ship is small and intimate, the weather was perfect, the entertainment, for ships size , was very good. A small combination group( all Russian) and 6 dancers. Considering the size of the stage ,they surpassed some of the larger ships entrtainment shows.Our trip included 5 days post cruise in an African Safari beach resort, a tour of Mombasa and a trip to a games reserve ,at the foot of Mount Kilimanjaro via light aircraft a 6 in the morning, to see the RED elephants.

All in all I would recommend this company to anyone, and have done so on numerous occassions.

Pictures are available if needed.

We were on the Royal Star last month. We thought it was great. Only about 125 onboard and we all got to know each other during the 9 days at sea. Mostly british with a handful of swiss & german. Food was plentiful: buffet breakfast, lunch either a la carte or buffet some days, dinner (a different theme each night) with about 7 courses. (Don't choose 1st sitting for dinner as its a rush after a busy day on land).

Waiters very eager to please. Cabin attendant very accommodating, came in twice a day to make/turn down beds, empty bins etc and all staff were really friendly and couldnt be faulted. Always someone painting, tidying and cleaning around the ship. We took the day trips from the ship, they were expensive but we enjoyed them all the same.

Not a great deal of entertainment onboard, there is a singing group and dance troup doing their thing in the evening. After a busy day and a big dinner and a drink in the bar we were ready for bed anyway. A few children onboard who found there own entertainment and made very welcome by the staff.

The seas were calm from Mombasa through Zanzibar, Mayotte and Nosy Be and no problem at all. From Nosy Be down to Reunion and Mauritius the sea was choppy and lots of people were feeling ill those 2 sea days. Having said that the ship is having a refit at the moment. We spoke to the cruise manager while onboard and he said the air conditioning and lots of other technical stuff was being done during this refit.

We'd go again on the Royal Star but not on the same itinary as we like to try new places each holiday.

Please ask if you've any other questions, I'm sure I've missed something out!

Hi UKGenevieve

Many thanks for responding. Just a few more of the 'usual' questions if you wouldn't mind answering???

- how 'compact' are the cabins and shower rooms? I believe there is no chance of having a portable kettle for cabin use?

- what sort of condition are the public areas in considering the ship is 50 years old??

- I realise the ship was only a little over half full, but did you have any problems getting 2nd dinner sitting (since our last cruise, where this was not possible, we have become paranoid about being forced into first sitting!!)

- what size table did you go for and was it OK?

- how formal/casual was the dress for dinner?

- any tips about things you wished you had taken but didn't?

- how was the open deck space? Plenty of sunbeds?

- what currency is best to have onboard or for ports of call?

- any tips about visas?

- did you have any vaccinations or take malaria tablets?

After the mega ships we've been on recently, we are really looking forward to something small and intimate without too many frills - just for the change.

Thanks

Ken

Hello Ken

We had an inside Category A cabin which had twin beds. As there were three of us, a cabin bed pulled down over one of them making the third for our 12 year old daughter. There was about 3 feet between the beds. Suitcases went under the beds no problem. There was a big wardrobe opposite the bathroom, chest of drawers between the beds and a separate chair which we could have done without as we always sat on the beds. The bathroom was fine, lots of space around the sink for everything. The shower I thought was great, water always hot and shower head easily manageable unlike some hotels! Lots of towels too. Plumbing for loo was abit lacking at times and sometimes smelled abit "foreign" but maybe I use too much disinfectant and bleach at home! We had no problem with the room at all. We did get to see some of the suites on the same deck but personally I wouldn't pay all the extra to get more room when you only sleep in your cabin.

Very unlikely you'd be able to use a kettle in the room unless you can find a very low wattage one. I think the maximum wattage is 300w. Also you need an adaptor and the voltage is only 110v. Tea and coffee is available anytime in your cabin just ring the cabin attendant and also served in the pool area about 4 pm each day ( and yummy biscuits too).

We found the public areas very nice. The Marco Polo lounge had smoking and no smoking areas, and we didnt notice any shabby or stained furniture or carpets. The dining room (no smoking) always looked nice. Some said the public rooms were too warm and the air con wasn't working properly but I did not find that so. I'd say for a ship of 50 years old it is lovely and don't forget it's in dry dock now having new things done to it.

We were put on 1st sitting but others changed easily to 2nd. It was a struggle to shower and change quickly after a day out to rush to the dining room for 6.15 but was great finishing early when 2nd sitting didn't start til 8.30. We were on a table for 7 - 3 of us, another couple with a child and another lady about our age. After 2 nights the other couple changed to 2nd sitting but let their daughter carry on coming to 1st sitting with us! (Nice to be asked!!) However we got on well with the other lady so we always enjoyed our evening meals.

Some were moaning about having to pay for the bottled water (the ships tap water was undrinkable - might change due to the drydocking). However it was cheap - $1.75 for a big bottle and we personally did not mind paying.

Our cruise was 9 nights, we had 2 formal, 1 tropical, maybe 1 smart casual and the rest casual. Some dressed up for formal night (ball gown & tux or wedding clothes) others not quite so formal. My husband wore his dark suit on the formal nights, and trousers and short sleeved shirt on all of the others. I wore different skirts and tops each night.

Things I'd wished I'd taken? Yes! A spare power adaptor as the only one we took broke and we had a borrow one of the cabin steward. And some hair straigheners as my hair was frizzy for 9 days due to the humidity! Also flat shoes as it was hard to balance on the high ones on a couple of the nights.

There were plenty of sunbeds (though only 125 us on board). Some at the front of the ship where it was always sunny but windy, some at the back near the pool and bar which was sometimes busy - more shade, no wind and hotter. Some nice table and chairs with umbrellas around the pool area and upstairs on the deck above.

The currency onboard is USD. In all of our ports we used USD (apart from Mayotte and Reunion when we used Euros). Bank officials came aboard before we got to Mauritius if anyone wanted to buy local currency but we used USD and Euros with no problem at all the places we visited in Mauritius.

Visas were sorted out by the ship for the ports of call. We got forms to fill in on the plane for the transit visa to Kenya however we'd already printed them out from the Kenyan Embassy website. At the airport pay in GBP it's cheaper than USD.

We had vaccinations for typhoid & hepatitis A. Your doctor will be able to tell you if you need any others. Also yellow fever, we paid £40 each- shop around as it was up to £25 difference we found from place to place. We all took Malaron ( can't remember the cost - but expensive).

Well I think I've gone on enough but let me know if I've missed anything out or you want to know something else.

Genevieve

Hello Genevieve

Thank you for all the useful information, you are a real star (A Royal Star!!!). Looking forward to our trip even more now. we are sailing from Mombasa to Cape Town on 13 Jan 07 - in an A Grade outside. Spending a week beforehand at Watamu Beach which should be a real eyeopener from the reviews we've read!!!

Regards

Ken

Thanks Ken

I dont know why I said we were in an inside because we were actually in an outside cabin!

Cant help you on Watamu Beach as we stayed at the Flamingo Beach. Take a safari if you can, we took the Masai 1 night safari and it was great.

I'm sure you'll love your trip. It's one we can't consider as we can only take time off in the school holidays.

hi we (party of 4) sailed on royal star out of mombassa i think i have the year right below but anyway what a brilliant group of passengers n crew loved every second ,useless at remembering names but there was bob marley the pub landlord 2 doctors one irish one a yorkshireman with a hat :the haulage fella ,me n bro in law dave all the ladies ,had a whale of a time :)