Not live from The Royal Clipper

[TheTwinsMom]

Sox, Thank you so much for your write up. It was very helpful.

You said a lot of people don't go on excursions and just stay onboard. Do most of the people just snorkel around the ship and play in the water? Or are they hanging out in loungers on deck all day?

Did they provide beach towels? Or should we bring our own for beach time?

Thank you again!

 

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

A little of both. I do think more people go ashore than I let on but yes a lot of people hang out on the loungers. You really can’t stay at the marina deck for too long as the current is usually pretty strong (where we were). In fact I swam with my flippers to make sure I was okay. 
 

And you do NOT need to bring your own beach towels. They are provided in your room, up on deck and at the marina platform. 

[JeanKC]

Thank you so much. This advice is all so useful. Roll on Feb 25th!!

 

Jean

[Blighty770]

Dear Sox, thanks so much for the write up on the sailing! We'll be onboard on 18 March, so are counting down the days (and calories) until then.

It's really helpful your info about the casual nature of the sailing and various events (classes, etc.). We shall ask onboard and just make sure we're aware of the options on activities.

Given the coffee was so bad, I think I may have to bring my own.... 😉

[Cotanomore]

I know you can not wear shorts to dinner.  Do the men wear jeans or casual dress pants?

[Denarius]

On 1/15/2023 at 1:56 AM, Sox Fan Cruiser said:

I promise, I will answer all your questions tomorrow. But one thing I have to get off my chest is that the coffee everywhere is horrible!  We were having coffee delivered to our room every morning thinking maybe that would be better and individually made.  We changed to tea after day two. Every cup of coffee was undrinkable. 

 

In fact, and I know this is subjective, but the food on the ship was really bad. I ate salad for lunch every day. I will not cruise with them again because the food was so bad. BUT, I don’t regret the cruise at all. It was magical. But the food was forgettable. 
 

I’m sorry to say this when you have an upcoming cruise. The cruise is still great. 

The food was really good on Royal Clipper in June, as it has been on all my ten or so Star Clippers cruises.

[TheTwinsMom]

3 hours ago, Denarius said:

The food was really good on Royal Clipper in June, as it has been on all my ten or so Star Clippers cruises.

Denarius, thank you for your point of view also. People's opinions are so very different. I went on a cruise and they did a crawfish boil for dinner one night. I had people telling me they were too spicy to eat. I thought they had no heat or flavor at all. LOL Other things like supply is effecting quality at various times too. Hopefully, Sox experience was a one off. 

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

8 hours ago, Denarius said:

The food was really good on Royal Clipper in June, as it has been on all my ten or so Star Clippers cruises.

Food is really subjective. I’m glad you found it to your liking. 

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

9 hours ago, Cotanomore said:

I know you can not wear shorts to dinner.  Do the men wear jeans or casual dress pants?

The folks we met on the ship and had dinner with the rest of the cruise wore jeans to dinner every night. It would be fine. 

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

And I hope that my comments weren’t too negative. We had a wonderful time. We met a lot of interesting people and when the ship was under sails, it was magical. Truly, it brought tears to my eyes. The crew was very friendly and attentive. And I really appreciate the very patient Austrians who allowed me to practice my rudimentary German with them!   

[JeanKC]

Hi

I've thought of another question! Various reviews/forums mention a couple of theme-nights; like pirate night and white party type thing - Is this the case? I have very few white clothes and it is a colour I stay away from, particularly on holidays....mainly as if I wear something white, I am guaranteed to spill something almost as soon as I put it on 😄. But I'm wondering if I should throw something into my bag.

 

Thanks

Jean

Edited January 17, 2023 by JeanKC

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

They DID have a "pirate night" and some people dressed up.  People might wear an eye patch or bandana but you didn't have to dress up to participate.  A few people went all out and bought costumes specifically for this party.

 

To be honest, I didn't want to attend so we avoided the party at the Tropical Bar that night.  We ended up just going up on deck and watching the moon and the stars and then headed to bed.  After talking to people the next day, I am very glad we did.  They did a bunch of relay races involving things like hula hoops and did other silly games.  Even the people that participated felt pretty silly.  Not sure what that really had to do with pirates but I guess it's something fun to do.  To be honest, I felt that it diminished their brand.  

 

There was no "white party" on our cruise.

 

They do have a "Passenger and Crew Talent Night" where people could sing or tell jokes or play the guitar or whatever.  I also found it silly and not what I look for in a cruise.  The 'big ships" have them too and I never go to them.  

Now ABBA Night was a lot of fun because it was just them playing music and everyone dancing and singing.  We had some Swedes on board and they were loving it!  Who doesn't love ABBA!?! 🙂

 

After any themed event, they DJ would then start playing music and people would dance.  I would rather just have that every night.

Oh, and I don't think I even mentioned the midnight snack every night from Midnight to 1am.  They would put out something like chicken fingers, or egg rolls or other bit size snack for people to help soak up that alcohol before going to bed.  We don't eat that late so we can't comment on the quality but it was a nice touch late at night.

(Again, don't mean to sound so negative.  You might have a wonderful time at these themed get togethers.  These type of activities just aren't for us.)

[JeanKC]

Thank you, and I don't think you are being negative at all- Just honest! "Organised" fun like that is definitely not our bag either and a passenger & crew talent night is something which we would be a little bit allergic too (well, unless everyone proves to be exceptionally talented 😄). 

And a midnight snack - Jeez, I'm gonna be so fat by the time I come back!! 

Thanks again. 

 

[TheTwinsMom]

JeanKC, I think my problem is going to be how late everything is. I REALLY try to sleep in, but I fail. LOL I'm usually eating breakfast at 5am, lunch at 11 am and dinner at 5pm. I think the ship will be an hour ahead of my time which should help. We go before you do and we are doing the Windward Islands. So let me know if there is something you want me to try and figure out. 

[JeanKC]

14 hours ago, TheTwinsMom said:

JeanKC, I think my problem is going to be how late everything is. I REALLY try to sleep in, but I fail. LOL I'm usually eating breakfast at 5am, lunch at 11 am and dinner at 5pm. I think the ship will be an hour ahead of my time which should help. We go before you do and we are doing the Windward Islands. So let me know if there is something you want me to try and figure out. 

Thank you. We were going to do the Windward Islands in March but had to switch to the Grenadines going a week earlier because the only cabins left on the Windward cruise the week we wanted were category 1 or 2 and that was a step too far for us moneywise!! I'll be really interested to hear how you get on generally. 

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

One thing I forgot to mention that we never want to talk about is disembarkation.  SO much more relaxed than on the "big ships".  With so few passengers you don't need to put your luggage out until 4am.  This allows you to enjoy the night and then pack up those clothes to send with your luggage.  Heck, TheTwinsMom, might wake up and pack in the morning.  🙂

 

Then you can enjoy the breakfast buffet and not have to be of the boat until 10am depending on your flight info.  Customs is done on the ship and very easy.  

They also have a couple of tours for things to do if you have a late(r) flight.  

The most relaxed disembarkation ever.

Edited January 19, 2023 by Sox Fan Cruiser

[mrs.cog]

We leave in about a month for the Grenadines. Do we need to bring along seasick meds. We have done multiple sea icruises with no problem, but it’s noted that sail boats rock a lot more. 

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

7 minutes ago, mrs.cog said:

We leave in about a month for the Grenadines. Do we need to bring along seasick meds. We have done multiple sea icruises with no problem, but it’s noted that sail boats rock a lot more. 

We did not need them at all and we were rocking and rolling!!  Never felt even been the least bit queasy. But if you think you might then you should bring something. Better to have it and not use it…. 

[janecambridge]

Such great information, thank you. We have sailed Royal Clipper twice. Sailing Star Clipper in  March and I  assume it will be much the same. 

[TheTwinsMom]

For those of you who have gone before, is there anything you can think of that might not be obvious to take? Specifically thinking about the bathroom. Do they have all the basic supplies? (shampoo, soap, wash cloths, etc...? I have noticed that wash cloths aren't a thing in many European countries.) What about night lights and plugs in the bathroom? Most big cruise ships I've been on don't have a way to plug in a night light in the bathroom. I usually take batttery powered ones on cruise ships. Thx!

 

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

We had everything we needed in the room.  Shampoo, conditioner, body cream and bars of soap.  The rest is stuff we would normally bring that is part of our specific regime.  BUT, a nightlight is a great idea!!  The light switch for the bathroom is on the outside so if you go in the middle of the night, you need to first turn on the light then open the door causing the entire room to light up.

 

I think I mentioned this before but a light jacket may be beneficial.  It rains often in the caribbean (passing showers) and these boats can't really sail around them like the big ships can.  So a light rain coat to keep you dry and warm might help.    

 

Also bring a water bottle if you drink water all day as they charge for bottled water.  There is filling station in the Tropical Bar for you to fill up your own container.

 

Some of the excursions don't provide snorkeling gear so we brought our own.   We also used our own flippers when swimming off the back as the current was very strong.

 

If I think of other things, I'll come back.  It really was a low-key vacation and I can't think  of things I was without.

[TheTwinsMom]

1 hour ago, Sox Fan Cruiser said:

 

Some of the excursions don't provide snorkeling gear so we brought our own.   We also used our own flippers when swimming off the back as the current was very strong.

 

Thanks Sox. We bring our own masks and snorkels. But we generally use provided fins as they take up a lot of space in our luggage. I thought the ship provided all of the snorkeling equipment for our use. Is this incorrect?

[Cotanomore]

When do they send the documents?  We sail in about a month.

Edited January 23, 2023 by Cotanomore
misspelling

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

We got our docs two weeks and a day before we sailed.  They said they do that because things are still changing day by day.  Not sure if that was their process pre-covid.

 

The biggest thing we found out from the docs is that we didn't board the ship until 4pm which is guess is standard for Star Clippers.  Super late for those of us who sail the big ships.  So we just say around the resort for the day.  

Edited January 23, 2023 by Sox Fan Cruiser

[Cotanomore]

Are they still swabbing for covid at the dock.?