• Itinerary: One-week, or combine itineraries for two weeks; longer for repositioning cruises. A Caribbean cruise goes from Antigua or St. Maarten. Cruises go from Costa Rica to various ports in Costa Rica, Panama and Nicaragua. A cruise from Cannes goes to  Bonifacio, Portofino, St. Tropez, Monte Carlo and other ports. Cruises from Rhodes go to Greek islands and to Turkey.  All have alternating ports each week. There are transatlantic repositioning cruises.
• Cabins: 85. Cabins range from 95 to 150 sq. ft. Most are outside and have twin beds convertible to queen. Others have fixed twins or double bed,  some have a third berth, and lowest category have upper and lower berths. Aft cabins on lower decks have engine noise. All outside cabins have satellite phone, VCR, and private bath with shower. Some cabins have whirlpool tub. An owner’s cabin has a queen-size bed, sofas,  jacuzzi tub, and a hatch to the pool deck above. Smoking is not permitted in cabins.
• Dining: There is an open-seating dining room for passengers and officers. Breakfasts and lunches are buffet.
• Dress: Casual during the day. Informal "casual elegance" at night, with no cocktail dresses or high-heeled shoes to be seen. At captain’s dinner men wear jackets and women wear mostly long cotton skirts or dressy outfits.
• Facilities and Activities: These are identical sister ships, modern barkentine schooners that are modern versions of  classic clipper ships of earlier times. There are four masts and 16 sails including five square sails. Most of the time the ship is totally under sail. Speed under sail usually is between 8 and 12 knots. There are anti-roll tanks and bilge keels for stabilization. There are two pools (one fresh, one salt) and a piano bar directly beneath one of them, so you get a pool view while sipping and listening. There is very little entertainment except for a steel drum band one evening and piano concert another. The library, with original marine paintings, has daily news faxes. You can visit the bridge at any time. A lecture by the captain on sailing a square-rigger is part of every cruise. Passengers can take the wheel, join the helmsman on watch, and help hoist the sails; or lie in the netting on the bowsprit and do nothing. There is a fleet of zodiacs, sunfish, windsurfers, banana boats, and boats for water-skiing and underwater viewing. Snorkeling and scuba gear are available. There is a charge for each dive and air-tank refill. On one day you can climb the rope ladder to the crow’s nest. The internal stairs, as in most sailing vessels, are steep so passengers should be reasonably fit. In April one cruise is in Antigua for the annual Classic Yacht Regatta, and instruction in sailing, navigation, and seamanship is offered on board by guest instructors. The ship usually anchors out and tenders take passengers to shore. Zodiacs go to remote coves for snorkeling, diving, windsurfing or swimming. Departures are often in the early morning, giving passengers time to sample life ashore on some evenings.
• Recent Fares Reported to Us: Seven-night cruise starts at $1,145 (upper/lower berths inside, plus port charges. Third person in a cabin less. Book at least six months in advance for early bird discount and sometimes a category upgrade. A group of 10, one free cabin on some sailings. Discount for past passengers. Air/sea packages are available for a week on land before or after a cruise. Transatlantic cruises are less.

ROYAL CLIPPER    
Passengers: 228
Launch: 2000
Length: 439 ft
Beam: 54 ft.
Draft: 18.5 ft.
Crew: 100

• Itinerary: 7 and 14-day cruises in the Caribbean from Barbados to the Grenadines and Windward Islands, and British Virgin Islands. In the summer there are 7-night cruises in the Mediterranean from Rome and 10- and 11-nihht crises up the Dalmatian Coast to Venice and return.
• Cabins: 112. There are 90 outside cabins (148 sq. ft.), 16 suites, and 6 inside cabins (100 sq. ft.). Queen-size beds convertible to singles, and 22 cabins are available as triples. Each cabin has VCR and satellite telephone and private bath with shower. Suites have private veranda, whirlpool tub, butler and meal service. Two owner’s suites (320 sq. ft.), are accessed by a private stairway and may be combined to accommodate up to eight guests.
• Dining: Single seating. Officers and passengers eat together.
• Facilities and Activities: This is a sailing ship, designed after the Preussen, the fastest clipper ship in the world that carried cargo between Chile and Germany in the early 1900s. The ship has five masts, 42 sails, most of them square-rigged. There are three pools, observation lounge, piano lounge with dance floor, hairdresser, spa, exercise room, and library. The Captain Nemo Club is at the bottom of the ship with thick glass portholes overlooking underwater life. There are two tenders, 150 persons, and two landing craft,  60 persons, and a drop bow for easy shore access. When the ship is at anchor, a dock hinges out from the stern and a swimming float is tethered 50 feet behind. Scuba, water-skiing and banana boats are available. Anti-heeling tanks are filled with 160 tons of water directed from one side to the other as conditions require. Passengers are allowed, in safety harness, to climb up to a yardarm and handle sails. Lectures are given by oceanographers and experts on old sailing ships. Passengers may learn sail handling, knot tying, and use of a sextant.
• Recent Fares Reported to Us: Seven-night cruise from $1,086 per person double occupancy, 10-night cruises starting at $2,835, plus port charges. Third person in cabin $735. Transatlantic crossings from $1,747 for 16 nights.

  
  Want to read a we-were-there day-to-day report on an Star Clipper cruise?
  Go to:
  A WEEK ON A TALL SHIP IN THE MED -- THE ROYAL CLIPPER
  TRANSATLANTIC ON THE STAR CLIPPER

  
  For current fares and detailed itineraries for these Star Clipper cruises,  go to starclippers.com
  
  To book a Star Clipper cruise, fill in our Cruise Request Form.

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