| Zoe Archer, freelance journalist |
| Thursday, 03 July 2008 08:22 |
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Having been on “regular” cruises to the Caribbean on a couple of occasions, we decided to try something a little bit different for our holiday this year and opted for a sailing experience on Star Clippers – Royal Clipper. We booked the 7 night Windward Island cruise starting in Barbados, flying out a day earlier to stay at the Tamarind Cove hotel. Our room was overlooking a palm-fringed beach, one night just didn’t seem enough in this paradise, but our ship was calling us. As we pulled up to the quayside the next day, our home for the next 7 nights stood magnificently before us. Royal Clipper is the largest and only 5 masted sailing ship built since the beginning of the last century. With 42 sails, 439ft in length and 54ft wide with a mast height of 197ft, she’s remarkably smaller than any ship I’d ever encountered, but certainly made up for that in the adventurous spirit she exuded. We boarded to the sounds of the Caribbean and were greeted by the crew and rum punch. We were shown to our room, the standard outside cabin was spacious and very nautically decorated with all the facilities you would expect on a luxury liner. But there was no time to relax; we wanted to get back on deck to see the sails rise as we made off into the sunset. The open air Tropical bar is where everything from pre-dinner drinks to crab racing happens, this very relaxed atmosphere gives you the opportunity to meet other guests and discuss your day before heading off to dinner. Most meals are served in the elaborate Clipper Dining room where the menu’s vary to accommodate all nationalities, of which there were ten onboard this cruise, but if there wasn’t anything to take your fancy, you could always opt for Steak and Chips! For me, one of the real selling points of Star Clippers, was that the ports of call visited were not those regularly frequented by the larger cruising vessels. This meant that we got to see the island for what it really was and not swarmed with visitors from enormous floating resorts. After boarding in Barbados, we sailed to Rodney Bay in St. Lucia. Most ports of call require the use of a tender to the beach; once there, we took advantage of Royal Clippers’ watersport facilities and went for a canoe ride. After 10 minutes of going round in circles we finally got the hang of it and I worked out my left from right. All watersports facilities (excluding scuba diving equipment) are free for passengers to use under the watchful eye of the Watersports Team. This cruise also took in the island of Dominica and Antigua. Nelson’s Dockyard in Falmouth, Antigua is not to be missed, named from when Captain Nelson was made temporary Commander of the Leeward Islands Station (1784-1787). A leisurely walk around the old buildings, including the Admiral’s House and the Officers Quarters Building gave us an insight to history of this area and a chance to see some fantastic yachts in the marina. We enjoyed all 7 ports of call and when the time came to leave the friendly staff onboard it seemed like we’d been away for a month rather than just one week. Leaving the ship in the morning we were transferred to the Bayshore Complex in Barbados where we spent the day making the most of the facilities and grabbing those last minute rays of sunshine. With a maximum passenger capacity of just 228 and 106 staff you do get a high level of personal service and you really can’t compare this to any “regular cruise”. For those wanting a very relaxed pace of life where the emphasis is on the ports of call rather than the entertainment onboard then this is the cruise for you. The only thing I missed from regular cruising was the opportunity to get dressed up, but it certainly helped me with my luggage weight allowance!! |
