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New to Star Clipper - Cabin choice


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I'm looking at taking a first trip on Star Clippers - probably one of the March 2019 Star Clipper itineraries but also considering Star Flyer Leeward Islands or Treasure Islands. I would be traveling solo.

 

Are there any Cat 4 cabins to avoid? I'm leaning toward Cat 4 because I don't want one very far forward or aft and I don't want an inside cabin. The price difference isn't much so a Cat 3 would be okay if there is a reason to upgrade but there doesn't seem to be much difference between the two categories and I like to keep costs down when traveling solo.

 

Some Cat 3 cabins are located under the dining room. Are there noise issues when they are getting the dining room ready in the morning? I've seen comments about that with some of the main stream line cruise ships.

 

Most of my cruises have been on Windstar so I'm used to being on ships with about this passenger capacity; love being on smaller ships that can get into uncrowded small ports; wanting to try out a ship that sails more.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I believe that the differences between grades 2, 3 and 4 mainly reflect the size of the cabin. Unlike the big cruise ships which have largely flat sides, Star Clippers vessels have curved sides. This means that midships cabins will be longer than those nearer the bows or the stern, as will those on a higher deck.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I decided that it might be worth paying a bit more to be on the same level as the dining room and have one flight of stairs to the main and sun decks. The price difference isn't very much: $100 if one of the cat 3's 331 or 328 is available or $210 for Cat 4. The other Cat 3's on the deck are either far aft or open into the dining room and I think I'd rather not have that. 331 is available on the date I'm leaning toward. Anything I should be aware of?

 

The Royal Clipper deck plan shows where the tender embarkation is on the ship. The Star Clipper and Star Flyer deck plans don't and it isn't obvious where access would be. Is it the gap between 106 and 108 on one side and between 107 and 109 on the other?

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331and 328 are our favorite cabins. Both are very similar in size to the neighboring cat. 2 cabins. They are built where the corridor has a small corner - that is all the difference. Bed is placed underneath the porthole. That means, that only one side of the bed can be entered from the side.

 

We even stayed in 310 and 311 with access from the dining room. Both of them have a slightly larger bathroom than other cabins, resulting in more shower space. While the access to 310 is through a little office (separated from the dining room, not visible on the deck plan), 311 is accessable from the dining room directly. I would book 310 again, but 311 is far more noisier. The first table of the dining room is directly behind the wall.

 

No experience with the cat. 3 cabins at the aft.

 

For our next trip (starting in 86 days - yeah!) all cat. 3 cabins on the upper deck were already booked at the time of our booking, so we decided to move one more deck lower instead of spending more for a cat. 2 cabin. But, naturally, it is much more comfortable to stay on the upper cabin deck.

 

On all Star Clippers ships the gangway will be outside of the ship's hull. The difference between Royal Clipper and the other two ships is, that Royal Clipper has a tender platform installed on each side of the ship which can be 'folded' out. The two smaller ladies have a smaller platform, every time installed onto the outside gangway directly. While it is (re)movable, you will not find it on a deck plan.

 

I hope my english was good enough to answer your questions and to explain the differences regarding the cabins and tender platforms.

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331and 328 are our favorite cabins. Both are very similar in size to the neighboring cat. 2 cabins. They are built where the corridor has a small corner - that is all the difference. Bed is placed underneath the porthole. That means, that only one side of the bed can be entered from the side.

 

We even stayed in 310 and 311 with access from the dining room. Both of them have a slightly larger bathroom than other cabins, resulting in more shower space. While the access to 310 is through a little office (separated from the dining room, not visible on the deck plan), 311 is accessable from the dining room directly. I would book 310 again, but 311 is far more noisier. The first table of the dining room is directly behind the wall.

 

No experience with the cat. 3 cabins at the aft.

 

For our next trip (starting in 86 days - yeah!) all cat. 3 cabins on the upper deck were already booked at the time of our booking, so we decided to move one more deck lower instead of spending more for a cat. 2 cabin. But, naturally, it is much more comfortable to stay on the upper cabin deck.

 

On all Star Clippers ships the gangway will be outside of the ship's hull. The difference between Royal Clipper and the other two ships is, that Royal Clipper has a tender platform installed on each side of the ship which can be 'folded' out. The two smaller ladies have a smaller platform, every time installed onto the outside gangway directly. While it is (re)movable, you will not find it on a deck plan.

 

I hope my english was good enough to answer your questions and to explain the differences regarding the cabins and tender platforms.

 

Great and very useful description to choose my future cabin on the smaller sisters! Thanks so much.

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331and 328 are our favorite cabins. Both are very similar in size to the neighboring cat. 2 cabins. They are built where the corridor has a small corner - that is all the difference. Bed is placed underneath the porthole. That means, that only one side of the bed can be entered from the side.

 

We even stayed in 310 and 311 with access from the dining room. Both of them have a slightly larger bathroom than other cabins, resulting in more shower space. While the access to 310 is through a little office (separated from the dining room, not visible on the deck plan), 311 is accessable from the dining room directly. I would book 310 again, but 311 is far more noisier. The first table of the dining room is directly behind the wall.

 

No experience with the cat. 3 cabins at the aft.

 

For our next trip (starting in 86 days - yeah!) all cat. 3 cabins on the upper deck were already booked at the time of our booking, so we decided to move one more deck lower instead of spending more for a cat. 2 cabin. But, naturally, it is much more comfortable to stay on the upper cabin deck.

 

On all Star Clippers ships the gangway will be outside of the ship's hull. The difference between Royal Clipper and the other two ships is, that Royal Clipper has a tender platform installed on each side of the ship which can be 'folded' out. The two smaller ladies have a smaller platform, every time installed onto the outside gangway directly. While it is (re)movable, you will not find it on a deck plan.

 

I hope my english was good enough to answer your questions and to explain the differences regarding the cabins and tender platforms.

 

Thank you, that helps. I was able to book 331 :).

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