Thinking of booking 2/6/2010 Royal Clipper?

[rez4jc]

Anyone else? There are not many reviews out there, so I have a few questions. We've been on 15 cruises, from Oceania to Carnival and are looking for something different. This sounds like it would fit the bill.......

[rogerc1944]

We went on the Royal Clipper's 23 nite transatlantic voyage (Rome to Barbados) in 2003. We had a wonderful time. The food was great (4 to 5 stars) and our fellow passengers were wonderful. We still get together with some of them and exchange email with others. Our only complaint was that the weather was so calm, the ship couldn't really sail very much. Oh well.

 

How much you would enjoy a Royal Clipper cruise is pretty much dependent on your expectations. The Royal Clipper is a sailing ship so you do feel some motion (I expect a big storm would produce lots of motion). There is little organized entertainment on board (no Las Vegas reviews, etc.) but there is plenty to do. There are 3 swiming pools (actually dipping pool). There some organized events like a crew party, passenger/crew talent show, etc. There are lecturers, water sports, mast climbing, and port tours. Mainly, you are on your own. Your fellow passengers are likely to be very experienced travelers so just talking and comparing notes with them is entertaining. On our cruise, there were some 200 passengers (10% English speaking, 10% French, and most of the rest were German).

[rez4jc]

Thank you, Roger. When ever we have cruised in the past, we have done everything on our own, so this sounds like just the ship for us. We rarely, if ever take ships excursions, we love finding our way off the beaten path. Since we have a few time share choices in Barbados, I am planning on staying a week after the cruise there. I cannot book our timeshare week until June 1, so that is when I'll be booking the cruise. So, I guess I have a couple more months to check into things.

 

Do you happen to know about the diving aboard? Equipment and guides provided at extra cost?

[rogerc1944]

The Royal Clipper offers the free use of all sorts of water sports equipment (snorkeling stuff, banana boats, sail boards, kayaks, etc.). They have zodiacs on board to take you to dive locations but I think there's a cost involved (we're not divers although we really enjoyed a helmet dive in Bora Bora). Of course, guided snorkeling and diving tours are done as paid excursions. You can also book your own tours on shore (likely at a much reduced cost). You can bring your own equipment or rent some from a dive company. If you go to starclippers.com, you will find a list of their usual paid excursions. More are offered depending on location. We were just on the Star Flyer in French Polynesia for 11 days (2/15 - 2/26/09) and diving/snorkeling seemed to be their real focus. We will be going on the Star Clipper 37 nite relocation cruise from Athens to Thailand in October. A year from now we've booked a 14 nite cruise on the Windstar (Antilles to Lisbon). We just love to sail!