Old-world charm with modern amenities
Royal Clipper, with room for 227 guests sails — literally — to ports of call in the Caribbean
If you’ve always wanted to cruise to the Caribbean but have been put off by the thought of sailing aboard a megaship carrying thousands of passengers, I might have just the ship for you: Star Clippers classy Royal Clipper.
She’s the largest full-rigged sailing ship in the world, but carries just 227 guests — and commands attention wherever she sails.
I recently hopped aboard Royal Clipper in Barbados for a week of sailing around the Southern Caribbean. Normally, “sailing” is just a term used to describe the act of navigating from one port to the next, but for Star Clippers, it’s their mantra.
With the theme from 1492: Conquest of Paradise playing over the ship’s loudspeakers, our sails were raised and we sailed — literally — out of port in Bridgetown, passing a much larger cruise ship as we zipped by at a comfortable 12 knots with absolutely no engine assistance at all.
Royal Clipper, of course, has a standard engine-driven propeller should the winds change, but during my week on board, we only really utilized the ship’s diesel engines once, on our return to Barbados.
The rest of the time, we steamed under a full head of sail for some of the Southern Caribbean’s most picturesque islands, including Bequia in St. Vincent and the Grenadines and Fort-de-France, Martinique.
Everything about this itinerary was designed to maximize the enjoyment of guests on board, but this was particularly true of our day on uninhabited Tobago Cays, where we enjoyed a full beach day complete with onshore buffet lunch, and mixed cocktails and beers we could conveniently charge to our stateroom.
On board, Royal Clipper exudes the charm of an old-world schooner crossed with a historic ocean liner.
Public rooms are panelled with wood and brass accents, and a beautifully nautical theme prevails throughout.
Still, owner Mikael Krafft has outfitted Royal Clipper with more than a few whimsical touches, including a glass-fitted ceiling above the ship’s three-storey atrium that also serves as the bottom of the ship’s swimming pool and windows in the gymnasium and spa that look out into the sea below the waterline.
While her decor hearkens back to another time, her amenities are decidedly modern.
Staterooms are beautifully designed and feature flat-panel television sets with DVD players (DVDs can be rented from the reception desk free); along with customdesigned toiletries, marble bathrooms and plenty of lighting options. You won’t find many balcony staterooms, but we would encourage you to get one of the standard oceanview staterooms with dual porthole windows for the true nautical sailing experience.
Based in Monaco, the on-board currency is the Euro, but costs are reasonable—even with the exchange rate. For maximum value, amble up to the bar and get the Drink of the Day, which is always offered at a discount.
Culinary offerings were better than expected, with some of the most spectacular soups I’ve had at sea.
Overall, Royal Clipper proved to be a decidedly cosy, intimate, and above all else, unique way to explore the Caribbean — an area of the world increasingly crowded with mega ships carrying thousands of guests.
Royal Clipper will stay in the Caribbean until April, when she sets sail across the Atlantic on a spectacular voyage that departs Barbados April 9, bound for Lisbon, Portugal.
She then sails a variety of European itineraries before making her westbound Transatlantic crossing Oct. 22, sailing from Rome bound for Bridgetown.
She then returns to her alternating weeklong journeys through the Grenadine Islands and the Windward Islands.
If you don’t ‘do’ cruises, consider Royal Clipper. Star Clippers offers an uncommon experience that will have you looking at the Caribbean — and cruising — in an entirely new light.