ghraustin1

Your cabin steward can set you up with an extension cord and tape it down so you don't trip over it.  I had my own extension cord but he wanted to use theirs, so fine by me!  You could carry a cord just in case, 6 or 8 feet should do it.  Enjoy your sail.

The third berth is like a pullman on a train, it folds down - and I assume there is a ladder. The other two are regular twins or moved together per normal double.

Hate to burst your bubble, but Best of the Grenadines will probably be a beach with perhaps a beach bar,,,, if big beach and a big beach bar you might get some super bowl viewing, but I would not assume the ship will show the super bowl, based on many previous Star Clipper sails. They have TVs in the cabins but they normally show ship videos, movies and perhaps an odd channel or two based on location, but the ships are not geared towards viewing big US sporting events. Hope you get a good Pain Killer or 2 at the beach bar though and enjoy that sail!!

I went on that itinerary this past spring and it was a really nice sail. I highly recommend the rafting tour in Port Antonio, Jamaica, be sure and wear something you can swim in,,, we slipped off the raft at one point and just floated down the river. It is a very nice trip 8 miles down to the sea, and you have an oarsman who does all the work. The historical tour in Santa Domingo was also very interesting. Have fun, plenty of days at sea and fun things on the island stops,,, good itinerary and we only had 90 or so passengers on board, so plenty of space on the ship.

Have been home 1.5 weeks from a great 2 week cruise. Here is a very long note,, but hopefully will be helpful to you. We were in Monte Carlo for the time trials of the Historic Grand Prix race,, so the town was somewhat blocked off due to the race, however I had a great time during our stay there (Sat was turn around there so we were there from 8AM till 10PM).

We docked at the far left side of the main port (oriented with your back to the sea) right next to the Port Terminal building (the port was full of mega yachts due to the race, and I guess in general). We were docked next to 3 masted sailboat EOS, owned by Diane von Furstenberg and Barry Diller, so in good company!! It was very easy to leave the ship and enter the port building, and assuming that minus the race media staging area (at the base of the port) it would be easy enough to get a taxi to the ship and get close by.

I spent the day basically up at the Oceanographic Museum and the Palace, both an easy walk from the ship. The ship check in was done IN the port building so you could dump your bags once you get in town, and I would highly recommend the Oceanographic Museum. I spent about 3 hours there and absolutely loved it. The lower floor is an aquarium, which was fine, but it was the upper floors that were amazing. The building is about 4 stories, hangs off the cliff above the sea, and is more like a palace than a museum (think 20 foot ceilings, huge arched windows, parquet floors). I would really recommend spending hours there if you have the time. The Palace is a short walk away from the Oceanographic Museum and I think I paid around 12 or so Euros for a combo ticket.

The path to the Oceanographic Museum from the port building: In the port building, we took the elevator to the second floor, then we walked (follow the signs) along a paved sidewalk above the sea around the back of a parking garage,, (sounds weird but this is a definite shortcut). At the BACK of the parking lot (the sidewalk leads you around to the back,, and you have a great view of the back side of the museum, very majestic hanging off the cliff), you go up two flights in the escalator in the back of the parking lot. This basically deposits you within yards of the Oceanographic Museum,, then to get back to the port building, just retrace your steps (enter the parking garage from outside the museum, down 2 flights on the escalator, walk outside and around the back sidewalk, which leads you to the second floor of the port building,, then down in the elevator... folks who did not know of the shortcut said it was a much longer walk with lots of steps and steep hills if you go on the streets.

I did not get into the actual Monte Carlo town (where the casino and shops are) as the streets were blocked off due to the race time trials, but heard from folks who stayed at the big hotel next to the casino that a pot of tea was like 35Euro and two gin and tonics were 70Euro,,, so beware!! I had a lovely coffee with a free chocolate at the historic chocolate shop just outside of the Museum for 2.50Euor,, same price as a bottle of water or soda from the machine, and I had a comfortable seat, so was happy with that.

The cruise was great, we loved Corsica (big winds, snow on the mountain peaks,,,). In Bonifacio walk into the little port center (lower town) and take the little train up to the top city, saves lots of steps and you get a little tour - it is not a hop on hop off train per se,, it takes you to the top stop, then you catch the train back down when you are done with the top historic town.. which is great! Some friends took a small boat ride to an island, it was a really windy day, and they got bounced all over but enjoyed it (once they were back!). There are great limestone cliffs like the Calanques outside of Marseilles and Casis on the French coast. You CAN walk 187 steps down the hand carved stairs on the back side of the old town, down to the sea,, I passed on that,, a bit too dramatic for me....

In Corsica, DO get some of the chestnut honey,, and local cheese and wine, eat them together and you will think you have gone to heaven! You can get this up high in the old village, or you can get it down in the grocery stores in the lower village (you can also buy the chestnut flour to bring home and bake with). That honey is just fantastic,, as is the cheese. I did not do the cured meats but am sure they are great too.There is also a self serve laundramat in the lower town too, by the grocery store. I kept on washing my long pants and long sleeved shirts (after buying a jersey in Spain) as the evenings were really cool. Coming back from Sardinia and going through the straights between Sardinia and Corsica we hit gale force 9 winds, and only made 1-1.5 knots during the night, so we missed the stop at Porto and the Scandola Nature Preserve (we missed it coming and going, rough water and winds), but we had a lovely brisk day at sea so that was ok.

St Tropez had the Harley Davidson rally the first week we were there, and the day of St Tropez (think men of all ages dressed in historical military garb marching the streets and shooting off muskets for 3 days,,,,) the second week, but there is a great museum (Annunciacion Museum??) just on your right as you leave the ship as you get to the main street, closed for lunch, as was the tourist office, reopens at 2 or so) and that museum has some lovely impressionist works.

We loved the stops at Porquerroles (sp?) tiny town on an island,, there is a tiny square and a nice Palm garden associated with a state house, nice visit, and Sanurey sur Mer (sp?) was fine,, they put on a little reception for us with free wine and snacks and live music (sounded like oompah music but was old French country music) at 6PM at the base of the port,, and there is a great Carousel there too,, which we rode!!

The only bust was probably the town at Smeralda on Sardinia,, the folks who stayed in town said nothing was open, the town is new and not that interesting, I took the tour to the ruins and a great vineyard, good wine and cheese and meats,, nice pours too! And you get to see a bit of the island. Maybe since you will be there "in season" there will be more going on.

Anyway, a great sail, loved it all, we had blue skies the entire time with few exceptions,, big wind and did lots of sailing (also motoring against the wind). We had Captain Juergen Mueller,, but I think he was going on his vacation, but he was great as always. New cruise director Matt was just getting his feet wet, but he tried and had good humor so he probably will be better by the time you get there. Hope you have a great time,, let me know if more questions, I will try and remember to check back from time to time on this site.

Oh, one last note, I took the train from Cannes to Nice, at the end of my sail,, I forget where you are training from,,,,, FYI no escalator or elevators in Cannes train station making hauling heavy suitcases really a drag,, literally, same with Nice,, but really nice people helped me with my bags as I clearly could not get them up and down the steps to get over to the tracks I needed by myself. Also trains were nuts (standing room only) due to Cannes film fest when we disembarked there. And the taxi drivers in Nice would not take me the 10 blocks to my hotel,, too short of a fare for them, so again, hauled bags on the street. Taxi and/or the ship transfer service was very expensive but may have been worth it,, but then again, I got to see just how friendly the French were, when they just grabbed my bags and helped me out! Have a fantastic sail,,, Gail

Hi Randco, I am sailing the two weeks before you and disembark in Cannes, where the film fest will be in full swing. I am doing research on Corsica, where we stop on my cruise, and it looks lovely, as well as the Spanish islands of Majorca and Ibeza. Usually dinner dress is somewhat dressy, as in capris/slacks or dresses or skirts for women and nice shirt and long pants (no jeans) for men. The Flyer should be less formal than the Royal, but it depends on the crowd. The temps the first two weeks of May indicate 50s-70s so figuring a light wrap at night and perhaps long pants if off the ship, and jacket/rain jacket in case....

I have gone on all 3 of the Star Clipper ships many times, and am sure you will enjoy your cruise. Let me know if you have any other general questions and I will try and answer. I got a tour booklet with my cruise docs but it appears that some of the stops don't have tours finalized yet. I frequently just walk the towns or team up with other travelers to do a taxi tour, usually much less expensive than the cruise tours (which are all charged in Euros, which causes higher costs for Americans due to current exchange rate...). I do research online then paste everything about the various stops into a word doc and bring it with me, so I have a mini tour guide set for most of the stops I am not familiar with. Hope this helps.

I have booked for the two week Star Flyer sail from Malaga to Cannes, May 3-17. Anyone else out there booked for all or any portion of this sail? I will be staying over just one night in Malaga pre-sail (Monte Malaga, close to the harbor) and two nights in Nice post-sail. I see the Cannes Film Festival will be going on when we disembark and most Cannes hotels were full or filling up. Let me know if any fellow sailors out there. I have gone on Star Clippers since 2005 and enjoy all the ships and especially the ocean crossings.