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Royal clipper now. Grenadines.


janecambridge
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On Royal clipper now,sailing the Grenadines.

Embarkation at Barbados went well.muster(x2) is dreadful and we were/are unable to hear Steffi,our cruise director. Our cabin is on deck one with 2 portholes the most common cabin.Little tight for storage space,so my husband keeps a few bits of clothing under the bed in his case.If you look on the deck plans,any cabin with a triangle symbol,means a third pull out bed.This is located just behind our heads,sticks out about a foot so is impossible to sit up in bed for reading.Double bed is comfortable,a quilt each.Good lighting.Cabin bathroom good size,plenty of storage.Good lighting.Cotton wool balls,cotton buds,nail file,sewing kit,shampoo,bath gel( no bath!) and body cream.Cleaned twice a day,very well.small pull-out line across shower.TV has only one channel in English and that is CNN. DVD under TV and free loan of DVDs if you wish.No channel available to show any maps or info about ship or destinations.Daily information sheet delivered to cabin on activities next day,excursion disembarking times,tender times etc...Would like to see maps somewhere of each port we visit and information about that island.As we sail past islands no one knows where we are.Fortunately we have been here many times and know the area.

The ship is full and bursting.Dinner in the evening is not comfortable.Queuing to get in,then almost a scrum to get at a table as everyone now turns up at the same time.only two tables for two.Obvious preferential treatment to a few! Maitre-de (nice chap)seems to have no control..Very loud and people complaining they cannot hear each other speak.Lunch and breakfast are buffet style and queuing at buffet tables often behind staff.

There does not appear to be enough staff.No one comes round the tables to check all is well and staff appear glum.Chairs tired and cushioning gone.Dining is a negativity that has so far put me off returning.Food is mediocre,used to be better and we have had better food on other cruise lines.

For 2 days we had no teabags as they were meant to stock up in Barbados,but failed to check that was a Bank Holiday.They do not do poached eggs either or cream for coffee.

 

Tips,take a torch if you get up to the toilet at night (putting on the light, lights up the whole cabin) and a bedside clock.No clock in cabin.(do not know about luxury or owners suite cabins).

Tours so far have been good and haven't heard any complaints.(except do check and double check if you are in any way slow or frail,because we have tender service at every port and some tours are very demanding hikes).

Water sports at back of boat and on each beach we go to.havent used either of the pools yet.Gym is well equipped with a few antiquated bits of equipment,but they do what they are supposed to.Have yet to use sauna,hamman etc.

Bar staff,serving staff and tender staff,seem to be either tired or miserable.Mannolito,bar manager, is the exception as is one writer and Our cabin boy too is cheery and smiling.

Drinks are very good price and cocktails good!

Will catch up later.

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Jane, very nice and comprehensive review, warts and all. We have been on 8 Star Clipper cruises. Based on your observations I would hazard a guess that whomever is the current hotel manager is not doing his job. Same for the cook. We have had much better experiences on some cruises and somewhat similar experiences on others. It is a small ship and the attitude and style of leadership makes an immediate effect. That said, staff is limited and they always work very hard.

 

On this same cruise about a year ago the Maitre d' and wait staff were able to quickly and efficiently seat everyone and he and the hotel manager were always coming around to see how you were doing. On that cruise the CD was awful. The company seems to have some difficulty getting and keeping good management staff.

 

Agree that the drinks are good and a good value - so relax and have another drink :D

 

Robbie

 

PS perhaps we will see you sometime on Oceania

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Thanks Robbie.You are spot on.The staff are uneasy with the Captain who doesn't appear to be approachable.This will filter down.I have wondered if someone from Star Clippers has read this as things have improved slightly.???

We sail Oceania Marina in Jnuary 2018.

 

Nearly finished our trip and the food in the last couple of nights has been a lot better.We discovered only omelettes,fried or sometimes scrambled eggs are available at breakfast.The hotel manager has been walking around tables too.We have found a particularly happy waiter and try to sit at his tables each night.Some staff seemed to have cheered up and are more relaxed.

We have really enjoyed using the platform at the back of the ship at the end of the day.We lay on one of the 9 floating mattresses,swim,paddle board or kayak.Always quiet out there.

We have had all but one anchors for ports with tenders.This can be time consuming when doing 2 stops per day.

Evening entertainment is varied.

Apparently if you go to the port information talks in the evening,you get some info on the towns and sometimes a map.

Information has been lacking.

Some tours have been cancelled due to lack of interest,whilst others are over subscribed.

The library is the best place to receive wi fi.It is 6 Euros for an hour.You can have more hours if you wish.There are games in the forward lounge.

Beach towels are plentiful and are available as you return to ship after a tour or on the pool decks.I have only seen one couple in the pool,but that may be because we have a lot of swimming at the beach daily.

Each day there is a cocktail special at only 5 Euros.

Water is free at all meals (except bottled) and there is a 'tap' on the bar deck and in the gym to refill bottles.

Our captain has his wife and daughter on board so we don't see much of him.He does not seem to interact with passengers like other captains we have met.

Last night was Captains night and it was a fun and enjoyable meal.Today (St.Lucia) we have an oriental buffet lunch on the outside deck.Not quite sure where we will sit!

 

I am unsure that we would sail Roayl Clipper again but maybe try one of the others.Any questions and I will be happy to answer.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPad

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Captain Mariusz Szalek

Apparently there have been quite a few different cruise directors recently.Our Steffi is a lovely lady but only there 10 weeks and was still learning whilst we were onboard.The Captain is moving on in a couple of weeks.(gossip from staff).

The hotel manager has also only been on board a few weeks and we did warm to him when he started appearing at mealtimes and chatting.

More than half the passengers were 'repeaters'.

The passengers we spoke to on their maiden voyage were all extremely happy and thoroughly enjoying the experience.

Safe travels everyone.

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It's funny how subjective things can be. I have experienced three separate captains on RC and Mariusz is the favourite. Always approachable and very visible. Seemed to enjoy himself. In terms of hotel manager etc it must be in transition. When we were on in December the team was very experienced.

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Hi! We were on the RC in Dec going from Barbados over to Venezuela, ABC's and back. We were only about 115 Paxe. It was great. No Problems with tables, etc. The crew was wonderful AND our Cruise Director was terrific. We didn't have much fun with Mariusz. And unfortunately we couldn't understand him well. Our Hotel Director was also good. Due to the fact, that we were so few people on board, I guess everything went almost perfect. The food was sooooo good!!! We are used to the captains being outgoing, but Mariusz wasn't very open. I guess he missed his family. The guys and girls doing the drinks were top.

We really enjoyed ourselves. It was our 3rd time on the RC and the 6th cruise with Star Clippers.

Captain - Mariusz

Hotel Directress - Anita Rollin

Cruise Director - Gabor Torma

Edited by muskatnuss
Added some names
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Great reporting of your trip. We so enjoyed our first experience on Star Clipper last February and can't wait until next February to venture on the southern trip, this time on Star Flyer. Steffi was our cruise director and her ability to speak three languages with the daily events was impressive. She was always bubbly. Our best cruise ever and made great friends to share the beautiful islands.

 

One question if someone can answer-the bed quilts. Do they go length wise or width wise? We tried both and always short,(some body bit caught the cool) :rolleyes: Is there a trick to keep them together?

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The quilts are all the same size on all ships of the star clippers. About 6 ft long and 3,5 to 4 ft wide. Each person has his own quilt. What do you mean with keeping them together? Remember, the owners of Star Clippers are Europeans. This is how the Europeans (most) sleep. Germans, Italiens, Spaniards, French. The one-bed quilt is more typical of America.

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When we disembarked at Barbados,we returned to Union Island for 10 days.The day the RC ( first beach stop) stopped at Chatham beach on union,this week,we saw first hand how busy the first stop is.We were there with two others when the tenders came in.Advice: get the first tender or you will be grovelling for shade,There is hardly any.maybe take an umbrella?The snorkelling is the best we had in the grenadines.You only have to go out a few feet to see an abundance of fish and lobsters.We were sad to see so many people walking all over the reef without a care at how they were destroying the coral and the future of this beautiful area.

We actually saw the captain for an hour too on the beach,more than we saw him on the ship!

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Yes I agree with you, the snorkeling there is fine. But Petit Bateaux (BBQ) is much better - on the other side!!! There is a path which leads to the other side. No Chairs or so, but snorkeling....SNORKELING!!! Amazing. We had great luck and had calm water and very, very clear water. And a lot of Iguanas!!!

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Yes I agree with you, the snorkeling there is fine. But Petit Bateaux (BBQ) is much better - on the other side!!! There is a path which leads to the other side. No Chairs or so, but snorkeling....SNORKELING!!! Amazing. We had great luck and had calm water and very, very clear water. And a lot of Iguanas!!!

 

I think that is Tobago Cays,day three of itinerary.Admit,it is beautiful there.We stayed on board for lunch that day and had bbq there instead of beach.Got the tender later to beach and less crowded.There was another cruise ship there the same day!!

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Hello. Our return flight to the UK is on the day of disembarkation at Barbados, but we cannot check in until about 1.30pm, at the earliest. I believe we have to leave Royal Clipper at about 9am? Has anyone used Star Clippers' shore excursion on the final day that ends at the airport? There's currently 2 listed in their shorex leaflet - a sightseeing trip and a beach one. If you didn't use one of these, what did you do to pass the hours? Thanks.

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Hello. Our return flight to the UK is on the day of disembarkation at Barbados, but we cannot check in until about 1.30pm, at the earliest. I believe we have to leave Royal Clipper at about 9am? Has anyone used Star Clippers' shore excursion on the final day that ends at the airport? There's currently 2 listed in their shorex leaflet - a sightseeing trip and a beach one. If you didn't use one of these, what did you do to pass the hours? Thanks.

 

 

 

We have done both the beach trip and waited at the airport. Beach trip (transportation, lunch and a few drinks, baggage storage and a shower) was quite enjoyable.

 

Wait in airport was ok - book and a hard seat before check in and then a few more hours airside after.

 

 

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

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We have done both the beach trip and waited at the airport. Beach trip (transportation, lunch and a few drinks, baggage storage and a shower) was quite enjoyable.

 

Wait in airport was ok - book and a hard seat before check in and then a few more hours airside after.

 

Sent from my iPhone using Forums

 

Thanks for the info. Our TA has pre-booked a port-airport transfer for the last day, and I'm wondering whether to cancel it and do the beach trip. Our checkin should open at 13.15, so is it worth it? What time did you leave the beach to go to the airport? Also, when you went straight to the airport, what time did you have to leave Royal Clipper? Also, I gather that the beach transfer trip hasn't always run, if there's insufficient takers. Maybe people-watching on a hard airport seat will be OK for a few hours? Sorry for all these questions!

 

I just wish there was a left-luggage facility at the port so we could wander along the seafront to the nearby shopping centre and around the port's own shops.

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