Dinner Times on Star Flyer

[donaldsc]

Got a question on dinner times on the Star Clipper ships and specifically the Star Flyer.  Is the time for dinner at a specific time or is there a reasonable time range that we can come into eat.  Also I know that lunch is served buffet style but how early can we get lunch. The reason I ask is that we are doing the Greek Island Star Flyer cruise and most of the port times are from ~12:00 to ~23"00.  I am looking at some tours that leave shortly after 12:00 and may get back as late as 18:00 or 18:30.  Will I be able to get lunch and dinner or will these longish tours not work.

 

Couple other relevant question regarding port times.  I know that the ships are sailboats (that is why I am doing these cruises) and port arrival times are estimates.  However in general how accurate are the arrival times; i.e., if they say arrival is 12:00 is it likely to be 11:30 - 12:30 or between 11:00 and who knows what time.

 

One last question.  On a Greek Island cruise what are the chances that we will completely miss a port.

 

I am excited about sailboat cruising but I also know nothing about what may happen except that I am sure that I will have a great time.

 

DON

[PurleyKing]

Dinner is served from 7.30pm; many people head to the dining room as soon as it opens whilst others go there over the next hour.

 

Very occasionally, I have been on board when breakfast or lunch times have been adjusted to fit in with the excursion schedule, but this is very rarely required.

 

I have been on five Star Clipper cruises that included the Greek Islands and have only had one occasion when the ship couldn't get to the expected port (Hydra) - this was because of a very strong wind making it unsafe to enter the harbour; the Captain took us to Poros instead. On another occasion, a powerful wind from the north made it very tricky to get alongside the pier in Mykonos - it took an hour of manoeuvring before we were safely tied up - but we made it!

 

If we are doing an excursion, we tend to book one of the ship's excursions, then there is no worry about when the ship docks. 

 

Have a great time!

[donaldsc]

1 hour ago, PurleyKing said:

Dinner is served from 7.30pm; many people head to the dining room as soon as it opens whilst others go there over the next hour.

 

Very occasionally, I have been on board when breakfast or lunch times have been adjusted to fit in with the excursion schedule, but this is very rarely required.

 

I have been on five Star Clipper cruises that included the Greek Islands and have only had one occasion when the ship couldn't get to the expected port (Hydra) - this was because of a very strong wind making it unsafe to enter the harbour; the Captain took us to Poros instead. On another occasion, a powerful wind from the north made it very tricky to get alongside the pier in Mykonos - it took an hour of manoeuvring before we were safely tied up - but we made it!

 

If we are doing an excursion, we tend to book one of the ship's excursions, then there is no worry about when the ship docks. 

 

Have a great time!

 

Many thanks.  I have a follow up question.

 

If I do decide to do an independent cruise and the ship has an ETA of 12:00, am I save booking the tour to start at 12:30.  Or should I schedule the tour start time for 13:00.

 

Sounds like you like Clipper Cruises.  This will be my first and I am excited.  

 

DON

[PurleyKing]

Don

 

I would have a leisurely lunch and aim for 1pm.

 

Other timing factors to consider will be whether the ship has to get clearance from the port authorities before people can venture ashore and whether the ship is at the quayside or at anchor; if the ship is at anchor (and therefore using the tenders to get ashore), sometimes the first tenders are 'reserved' for those going on the ship's excursions.

[mapsd]

We did Star Flyer in Greece and we usually were within 30 minutes of their estimates, but I'd allow for delays.

 

The safe part of booking your tour with the ship is that the tour will wait for you.

A private guide should have some flexibility to match your arrival at the dock as well.

 

We rented an ATV for 8 hours and negotiated the start time to match when we were handed the keys, not a specific start time.

 

We missed Mykonos due to winds, and stopped at Paros instead, which we wound up  LOVING!