I was a First Timer on the Aug 10 Cruise out of Cannes (aka Savona). We arrived in Paris on a non-stop from Oakland August 6-7 and were in touch with Star Clippers in Miami on the 5th as were never receive our boarding passes. Those were immediately sent via email with our luggage tags and there was NO mention of an Itinerary change. We had an Air France flight we arranged to Nice, a car pickup at NCE thru Sixt, and an AirBnb in Villefranche Sur Mer for 3 nights. This trip, followed by 3 nights in Trastevere Roma, was a birthday gift from my sweetheart.
So for us, the date-timeframe of the trip was more important than the ports themselves.
However - as we drove around In circles in Cannes (not fun - traffic sucks and I’m from the SF Bay Area And we KNOW terrible traffic) looking for the 5 masts were a bit unnerved. Air plan to drop our bags off early didn’t work so we dropped off the car and hired a taxi that took us right to the “bus-stop” where we were told of the changes and given a paper with the new itinerary.
Its all an adventure and we were ready.
They efficiently handled the luggage and the bus transfer. We were Bus 2. The trip followed the same path we drove the year before when we drove our rental car from Villefranche Sur Mer to Riquewihr through Genoa and Switzerland.
We boarded very quickly and had our bags delivered to our cabin (316) within the hour.
So no Corsica - ok disappointed a bit. But we had added Santo Stefano and Lerici added. And instead of one port in Sardinia we had 2. Stopping along the CinqueTerre was a pleasant surprise but I heard complaint some wanted only one port instead of 3. Not me!
I can understand the “veterans” being dissatisfied with the changes - particularly those that booked “back-to-back”.
However, our big adventure was the ride from Isola d Alba to Alghero! Rough seas hit us at 2am and continued to the port. We were rockin’ and rollin’ - and I sail on the SF Bay in the summer - but we all survived.
The crew and all the team members were the best service I have had on any cruise - ok the food was not Michelin * quality but was well prepared and served. Wines choices were excellent (and I was in the business in Ca for many years) and well priced
We did excursions in Lerici, Elba, Alghero, and Porto Cervo. We enjoyed all of them including the 2 wineries. Two ports had no excursions - Santa Margarita and Santo Stefano. - we enjoyed walking, shopping, viewing, photos, breezes (it was hot) and great meals.
i am ready for another SC cruise - probably Caribbean- but I want to make sure all the issues are resolved with France because I don’t want to be “diverted” from St Bart’s, Martinique or other French islands. So I will hold back my next booking until that is resolved. And I can’t think of a better cruise than the Dalmatian Coast - and that won’t work out too well without Croatia!
I am a “new” fan of Star Clippers. Thank you very much!
Royal Clipper Disaster
in Star Clippers
Posted
Good Day All!
I was a First Timer on the Aug 10 Cruise out of Cannes (aka Savona). We arrived in Paris on a non-stop from Oakland August 6-7 and were in touch with Star Clippers in Miami on the 5th as were never receive our boarding passes. Those were immediately sent via email with our luggage tags and there was NO mention of an Itinerary change. We had an Air France flight we arranged to Nice, a car pickup at NCE thru Sixt, and an AirBnb in Villefranche Sur Mer for 3 nights. This trip, followed by 3 nights in Trastevere Roma, was a birthday gift from my sweetheart.
So for us, the date-timeframe of the trip was more important than the ports themselves.
However - as we drove around In circles in Cannes (not fun - traffic sucks and I’m from the SF Bay Area And we KNOW terrible traffic) looking for the 5 masts were a bit unnerved. Air plan to drop our bags off early didn’t work so we dropped off the car and hired a taxi that took us right to the “bus-stop” where we were told of the changes and given a paper with the new itinerary.
Its all an adventure and we were ready.
They efficiently handled the luggage and the bus transfer. We were Bus 2. The trip followed the same path we drove the year before when we drove our rental car from Villefranche Sur Mer to Riquewihr through Genoa and Switzerland.
We boarded very quickly and had our bags delivered to our cabin (316) within the hour.
So no Corsica - ok disappointed a bit. But we had added Santo Stefano and Lerici added. And instead of one port in Sardinia we had 2. Stopping along the CinqueTerre was a pleasant surprise but I heard complaint some wanted only one port instead of 3. Not me!
I can understand the “veterans” being dissatisfied with the changes - particularly those that booked “back-to-back”.
However, our big adventure was the ride from Isola d Alba to Alghero! Rough seas hit us at 2am and continued to the port. We were rockin’ and rollin’ - and I sail on the SF Bay in the summer - but we all survived.
The crew and all the team members were the best service I have had on any cruise - ok the food was not Michelin * quality but was well prepared and served. Wines choices were excellent (and I was in the business in Ca for many years) and well priced
We did excursions in Lerici, Elba, Alghero, and Porto Cervo. We enjoyed all of them including the 2 wineries. Two ports had no excursions - Santa Margarita and Santo Stefano. - we enjoyed walking, shopping, viewing, photos, breezes (it was hot) and great meals.
i am ready for another SC cruise - probably Caribbean- but I want to make sure all the issues are resolved with France because I don’t want to be “diverted” from St Bart’s, Martinique or other French islands. So I will hold back my next booking until that is resolved. And I can’t think of a better cruise than the Dalmatian Coast - and that won’t work out too well without Croatia!
I am a “new” fan of Star Clippers. Thank you very much!
Michael and Davina