Not live from The Royal Clipper

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

4 hours ago, Cotanomore said:

Are they still swabbing for covid at the dock.?

They are not.  We showed our vaccination card and never heard anything more about it. The crew was masked most of the time but we were not at all. 

[mrs.cog]

Will Star Clipper let us bring a case of water on board?  Royal Caribbean allows a case per room. 

[JeanKC]

19 hours ago, mrs.cog said:

Will Star Clipper let us bring a case of water on board?  Royal Caribbean allows a case per room. 

I got my documents yesterday and it doesn't mention it as a specific exclusion. The only thing I can see that is a definite no is alcohol. I do think with the cabins not being particularly spacious, you may not want to waste the limited space with a case of water when they do provide unlimited filtered water, so maybe a better idea would be to just bring a reusable bottle (unless there is a specific reason that you need bottled water as opposed to filtered) but maybe @Denariuscan advise - He has been a few Starclipper cruises. 

[janecambridge]

We have been advised to take our own reusable water bottle. Some people on our cruise are using the collapsible type. Better than plastic bottles. 👍

[mrs.cog]

Thank you. We will bring reusable water bottles.  Enjoy your trip.  Can’t wait to hear all about it when you return. 

[mrs.cog]

JeanKC did you receive your docs in the mail or by email?

[JeanKC]

20 minutes ago, mrs.cog said:

JeanKC did you receive your docs in the mail or by email?

By email - I didn't book direct with Starclipper - I went through an agent. Not sure if that makes a difference but on the starclipper docs , it says to "print" a luggage tag for each piece of luggage so that is an indication that they email rather than post them. 

[Denarius]

5 hours ago, JeanKC said:

I got my documents yesterday and it doesn't mention it as a specific exclusion. The only thing I can see that is a definite no is alcohol. I do think with the cabins not being particularly spacious, you may not want to waste the limited space with a case of water when they do provide unlimited filtered water, so maybe a better idea would be to just bring a reusable bottle (unless there is a specific reason that you need bottled water as opposed to filtered) but maybe @Denariuscan advise - He has been a few Starclipper cruises. 

There is a drinking water tap plus glasses in the Tropical Bar. You can use this to refill water bottles if you don't want to risk the one in your cabin, although I have no reason to believe that water from the latter is not drinkable. As far as I am aware there are no restrictions on bringing non alcoholic drinks onboard. You are not supposed to bring alcoholic drinks onboard but I have never known hand luggage to be checked on boarding the ship; in some ports bags are checked by the port authority before entering the dock area but they are looking for weapons not booze, so you could probably get away with bringing some onboard as long as you did not consume it in public.

[TheTwinsMom]

Are lanyards a thing on Star Clippers like on big cruise ships? Wasn't sure if it would be helpful to bring one on Star Clippers.

[janecambridge]

We have only done  Royal  clipper and never saw a lanyard. When you order drinks at the bar or at the table, you just say your room number. 

[Sox Fan Cruiser]

The only time you ever need your cruise card is when you are getting off or on the ship.  Then they scan it.  Otherwise, you don't need it. Oh, and to open your cabin door.  Keeping it your pocket is perfectly fine.

 

  

[mrs.cog]

We received our documents this morning!

[janecambridge]

Look forward to hearing all about it  please . 😊

[TheTwinsMom]

We got back at 2am this morning. I've got a lot of things to catch up on but will try and post a trip report soon. I'm happy to answer questions. A couple of quick things to note: 1) People did wear lanyards. I noticed maybe a 3rd. But many wore them under their shirts so they weren't as visible. You need it to open the door and that is it. As women have no pockets in bathing suits, I'd take one. If you don't want to use it you don't have to. 2) We did the Windward Islands. It was really windy (even for them). If you have a hat with a strap, you won't regret taking it. 3) Tendering was a bit treacherous at times as there was a lot of movement. It was not an issue if you are in good shape. Last comment for now, I'd strongly suggest taking some non-drowsy Dramamine. I was surprised how well most people did.  But it was REALLY rocky at times. The worst was leaving and returning to Barbados. 

 

Edited February 12, 2023 by TheTwinsMom

[janecambridge]

6 minutes ago, TheTwinsMom said:

We got back at 2am this morning. I've got a lot of things to catch up on but will try and post a trip report soon. I'm happy to answer questions. A couple of q

 

Rest up. Will look  forward to hearing your report when you are ready. 

[TheTwinsMom]

Thanks Jane. I realized I made a mistake on my above comment. You needed your card for your door AND whenever you got on and off the ship. It was often windy and the stairs to the tender are a bit steep and shaky, so you want a lanyard or a pocket so your hands are free. A couple of other things I wanted to throw out because I know some of you are leaving soon... 1) We had a Pirate Night. I asked and was told that was standard in the Caribbean itineraries, they do White  Night in other itineraries. They played some games. I was told it was a lot of fun though only a handful of people dressed up. I was also told the talent show night was great. I did not do any of the late night activities as I was struggling to stay awake through dinner. Dinner lasts until at least 9:30 pm. 2) The one thing I was totally off on was the Marina Platform. I expected to hang out there for a while most days and snorkel. It turned out we never used it at all. They anchor the ship at depth, so they said there is very little to see near the ship. They did tie on some floats you could lay on. But it was really too wavy to use them. One person went into the water one day. No one else ever used it to my knowledge. They recommended snorkeling from shore instead. 3) Embarkation:  There are a fair number of shops but only one real restaurant at the port in Barbados. There are no signs for Star CLippers. If you go through the port to the customs area at the end, they set up some tables.. They will let you hand off your bag when they get there. But they weren't there til about 2 pm. 4) Lastly, look over all of the excursions before you leave. Decide what you want to do. (They have a description book but it isn't always there.) After you check in, go straight to the desk and sign up for anything important to you. Some of the popular things filled up on the first day. Some excursions didn't make their minimums. So it depends on what you want to do. 

[TheTwinsMom]

I posted my trip report as a new thread. Thanks again everyone for your help planning this trip. It was a great experience.