Star Clipper - RT Phuket

[Pacific Sandy]

Hi -

 

We are thinking about doing the Star Clipper rt Phuket in November.

 

I would love to hear your thoughts on Star Clipper.

 

Thanks,

 

Sandra

[bajaed69]

We took the Star Clipper in Oct of 2008 from Athens Greece to Goa India. It was only 24 days, We did enjoy all aspects of the trip. We couldn't really say anytjing negative about anything. This was our second trip on the Star Flyer.The first was in the Caribbean two years ago. This but wetted our appetite for more. We are signed up for the 34 days trip from Tahiti to Panama next Feb. I have pics on SNAPFISH.COM if you would like to see them;)

[DottieD]

We did the Phuket Star Clipper cruise just last February and absloutely loved it. We are used to big ship cruising but this was definately the best cruise we've ever done.

 

The ship is very informal but very elegant too, there were 119 guests and 79 staff who were helpful, friendly and made our holiday. The cabins are small but very well furnished. We had a Category 4 - the lowest outside grade but it was fine. We spent very little time in there except for sleeping as there was always somethning happening on deck. We were up at about 6.30 just after sunrise - there was always tea, coffee and at that time, continental beakfast.

 

We had holidayed in this area several times before, but this cruise took us to small islands we had never been to. The only busy port was Penang where the ship restocked. We did our own thing and the ship provided lunch at the E & O hotel. The other island were small, beautiful and sometimes we were the only people on them.

 

I'm sure you'll enjoy the experience.

 

DottieD

[ckcruise]

We are thinking of doing this cruise in November and I was wondering if there was a lot of movement on the ship when sailing in this area? Thanks for the info.

[susiesan]

We were on the Star Clipper Nov. 2008 from Phuket. I had always wanted to sail on a clipper ship and also enjoy travel in SE Asia. I was somewhat disappointed with the cruise. Of the places we visited, only one was an actual city, Penang. Every other stop was an uninhabited island to go to the beach and snorkeling. I had planned on doing this a lot but thought there might be villages or towns to wander through in addition to going to the beach.

 

I was also disappointed in the quality of the food. A few of the main courses at dinner were inedible and had to be sent back to the kitchen. Dinner is one seating at 7:30pm and I don't like to eat that late. Lunch buffets were adequate. Drink prices are very high due to everything on board being in euros.

 

There were 130 pax on our sailing, mostly Europeans. The smoking was intolerable. Even though they were only supposed to smoke outside by the bar, it was so heavy I couldn't sit there. And they were smoking all over the ship on the open decks with all the rope and wood which is a major fire safety concern. No one on the crew enforced the smoking limitations.

 

We happened to be returning to Phuket in the middle of the Bangkok airport closure and knew we couldn't leave Phuket as scheduled upon disembarkation. The staff on the ship were absolutely of no help in getting information about changing flights or other options for those stranded in Phuket. The only people that got help had bought their air through Star Clippers.

 

I might consider Star Clippers again, but in the Caribbean where you expect to be going to beaches. And only if there was a super cheap fare. The cost per diem for what you get is not justified compared to other small ship lines like Azamara.

[JTor]

We did this itinerary on Star Flyer a few years ago, but I think it's an exact twin of Star Clipper. I loved it. You need to know what to expect and that it is for you - the "negative" review here appears to be from someone who expected Azamara - that's not what this is about. It's a large, traditional sailing vessel and you will be undersail most of the time (winds permitting). There are no glitzy shows, ballroom dancing, art auctions, or even a gym. Don't bring heels or gowns! It's more like a private yacht. On board you'll have the chance to interact directly with the captain and the crew (we got our chance to climb the riggins, hoist the sails, and pilot the ship - all this is optional, of course, but fun), listen to the captain's daily "story time", and be entertained very informally by the crew with activities like learning a folk dance, competing in a "liar's club" or watching the crew talent show. Expect to be on shore a good part of every day, beautiful unspoiled beaches and fantastic snorkeling, very little in the way of civilization. We swam, snorkelled, strolled the beaches, spent hours lying in the bownets while undersail, and made friends with a pile of crazy Aussies and some rather elegant Europeans (yes, some smoked, but it is only permitted outdoors; on our sailing, it was tolerable for me and I am quite anti-smoking by nature). Southeast Asia in fact has some of the world's best unspoiled beaches (so you should "expect" beaches there, maybe even more so than in the Caribbean!). I would see this as a (great) alternative to a beach-based holiday, rather than to a big-ship cruise experience. There is motion but it's smooth (the ship moves with the sea, rather than bucking against it) and we found it soothing.

[hightlow]

Works great! Thank you for posting this.

I really hope you like this new challenge! Best of luck, everyone!

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[FirstClassDiva]

We have just returned home after a 6 week world trip incorporating an 11 night cruise on the Star Clipper from Athens to Venice being an absolute highlight.

 

In my opinion, this cruise is not for everyone. For those who prefer to have their day planned and filled with organized activities from sun up to sun down, they will possibly struggle on this type of sailing ship. For me, the Star Clipper was about my choices each day. We were given options of things to do; however, my husband and I never participated in the organized tours but hit the port and sought out a private taxi, negotiating with the driver where he would take us and the cost of that. We managed to visit places no bus could navigate having lunch where he wanted and seeing out of the way places. Often the cost was on a par with the tours organized by the ship and we were by ourselves with wonderful guides, ie the drivers, always in air conditioned Mercedes cars.

 

I found the food choices for breakfast, lunch and dinner quite amazing. Considering the range of nationalities on board, I thought they did a terrific job in catering to a range of tastes. At port, we didn't eat on board, rather we enjoyed our own choices of restaurant in the towns.

 

We had a Cat 3 cabin (340) on the Clipper Deck which was more than ample in terms of space and comfort. In fact, we had so much luggage given we were on the road for 6 weeks that I managed to stow everything in the cupboards provided. I only brought extra coat hangars and that worked well. Our cabin was spotlessly clean and every morning and evening, the cabin managers seemed to know when we were out and were like phantom's, coming in to clean or turn down.

 

The ratio of passengers to crew was wonderful and we never felt neglected in any way whatsoever.

 

For us, there is just no way we would ever enjoy cruising on a floating apartment and we felt very much a part of the boat. Sitting on the deck watching the sun go down with the wind through the rigging is something I will never forget. The atmosphere was casual and relaxed with nobody bothering you to get to your food sitting at a certain time. You could do as much or as little as you wanted without pressure.

 

We made our own way to the port and our own way upon disembarkation so we weren't tied up with other people.

 

We are definitely going to return to the Star Clipper/Flyer or Royal Clipper again as part of a wider trip in the future. That is always the best gauge of a good trip...when you would do it all again.

 

It was one of the highlights of my life. Our bill at the end of 11 nights which included numerous massages, laundry and all alcohol (bottles of wine, cocktails, beer and mixer drinks) was EURO 1,300 which considering we had a ball and never went without anything was good. The staff were utterly amazing and I was ever so sad to say good-bye. Being independent travelers, I was so surprised that this cruise was down our ally but it was perfect for us in every way.