Reflections on a Caribbean cruise on the 'Royal Clipper'

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I have added the attached comments for those who may be considering a cruise around the Caribbean, and specifically for those considering booking it on the 'Royal Clipper'. But just bear in mind that we are all different, so what works for me might not work for you and vice versa, so please read these comments with that perspective.

The Caribbean Destinations:
To be honest, I’m not really sure what I was expecting when I booked this trip early this year. I had always wanted to experience a cruise on a Clipper ship and the timing and location of these two voyages fitted in well with our plans to spend Xmas in the US, given that the Caribbean was probably the biggest void in my worldwide travel experiences.
Looking back now at the places we visited, the fact that by being on a cruise ship we didn’t get to sample a single Creole meal on shore, didn’t stay in any local accommodation, and only had a couple of drinks at local bars, probably excluded us from much of the people interaction which for me would likely have been the highlight of this part of the world. Sure, the islands were pretty, most of them mountainous with lush rainforests and attractive coloured houses, but there wasn’t anything that I would describe as ‘spectacular’, unless you include the hundreds of luxury cruisers and yachts we saw at marinas or at anchor in bays throughout the islands. For us, the beaches and the snorkelling were disappointing, but perhaps that’s not totally surprising given our background and where we have visited previously.
In hindsight, just the one week might have been enough for us. Having done a couple of island excursions on minibuses, checked out a couple of larger towns and some seaside villages, and visited a number of beaches, we had to some degree covered most features, and we felt the second week was a little bit of a repetition of the first, albeit in different countries. So in summary, we found the destination visits relaxing, enjoyable but nothing of special interest or spectacular.

The Clipper Ship:
While we have done a number of cruises previously, this was our first experience on a clipper. And to begin with the 5-masted biggest clipper in the world is a good start! The ship holds around 220 passengers, serviced by over 100 crew, but we only had around 200 on the first cruise and 130 on the second, the latter likely because of the proximity to Xmas. We never felt crowded as there were a variety of locations to hang out - the upper deck, including three small pools and many lounge chairs; the outdoor Tropical Bar, which included ‘Smoker’s Corner’; the inside, air conditioned, Piano Bar, where we did most of our reading; and some other smaller rooms such as the library and the conference room. Probably the individual highlight was the sail away at the start of the cruise (refer Barbados blog) and at various interim locations to the dramatic music of Vangelis.

The Passengers:
On the first leg of our cruise, as best I could assess, the mix of nationalities on board was around 40 per cent Brits, 30 per cent North Americans, 20 per cent Germans, and 10 per cent ‘Other’, including us, who we were advised were the only Aussies on board. Given the former of all these, there was plenty of light-hearted banter (but never any sledging!) about rugby and cricket, and we formed some good friendships with some of the Brits, which included Scottish and Irish. All safety and other instructions on board were given in each of English, German and French in turn, which took a long time and became a bit tiring, especially as I suspect there were more Spanish than French speakers on board. I would guess that at least 80 per cent of the passengers on this first cruise were of retirement age, and there were only two children on board.
We didn’t mix as much on the second leg of the cruise, so I’m unsure of the mix, but there appeared many more Americans this time and a lot more younger adults, travelling with or without their parents. Once again we were the only Aussies on board and cricket didn’t get a mention all week. While other passengers were generally friendly, we really didn’t get close to any individuals on this leg of the cruise so it was more of a week of relaxation for us.

The Cabins/Service:
The cabin stewards were great. We actually changed cabins for the second voyage, moving to a slightly more roomy cabin on a lower deck. This was actually just above water level, which made for some interesting porthole viewing (unfortunately there are no cabin balconies on this clipper except in first class!) when the seas were churning. While certainly not ‘roomy’, it’s amazing how you adapt to the restricted space and it gives plenty of incentive to spend time on deck, mixing with other passengers, rather than hiding in your cabin. On each cruise, our respective steward couldn’t do enough to make it clean and comfortable, and in each cabin worked up a suitable structure to house my wretched CPAP machine.

The Food:
Overall, the food on board was great, both quantity and quality, and the meal stewards were again superb. There was only a very limited overlap in the individual dishes, even over the two cruises, and there was a good variety of meat, pasta and fish dishes at most sittings, supplemented each dinner by entrees, soups and sorbets, and complemented by a superb range of sweets that I suspect have added six inches to my waistline. Breakfasts and lunches were buffet-style, with again no shortage of food on offer, and rarely a queue waiting. They also offer afternoon and midnight snacks, such as tacos, meatballs and wings, and a 24 hour bar service, with cocktails their specialty. If I were to voice a criticism, they need to develop a greater awareness of the gluten-free needs of the coeliac. While the meal stewards bent over backwards to assist Joan with her selections, in this modern day and age, most restaurants now signify a ‘GF’ on their meals, but this did not occur on these cruises.

The Organised Activities:
They made it clear in the brochures that this was not a ‘night entertainment’ ship, and while they did offer something each night, eg talent show, quiz, pirate night etc, the 10pm starting time generally counted us out. During the day, at each of the beach stops, they had various ‘water sports’ activities such as snorkelling, kayaking, longboarding etc, while on board, I took the opportunity to climb the mast to the crows nest, visit the captain at the bridge and swim off the back of the ship while at anchor - all very interesting, but really a sideshow to the port visits and organised excursions.

Port Planning:
By all means do your homework on the planned visits, as we did, but don’t even consider booking a shore-based excursion in advance. The cruise itinerary is subject to change (eg we replaced Dominica with an extra stop in Guadeloupe), and the hours at anchor are not fixed, so your only options for excursions are those organised by the cruise. We did a few of the excursions, which we considered were relatively expensive for what we got, but found by the end of the cruise that it was more enjoyable to do our own independent trekking around, for which I had prepared maps and potential walking tours before we left.

For anyone considering taking such a cruise, I’d be happy to hear from you if you have any specific queries. As for blogs, this takes me out for six months or so and my next planned trip is a Caucasus trip in June to each of Azerbaijan, Georgia and Armenia.

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Comments

[Dancing Dave]

At full sail
Great pic. I've posted it in the Cruising thread in Photography Forum.

[Nomad Old Farts]

At full sail
Thanks Dave. Pity you couldn’t have been with us to enjoy a quiet ale and check it out in person.

[Home and Away]

Thanks for all the detailed information...
I've been intrigued with sailing ships for several decades when there was a company called Windjammer. Did you get more seasick than on a cruise ship? I think I would follow your advice and only spend one week. My alternative idea has been to fly to Guadeloupe and take the ferry to Dominica, Martinique and St. Lucia, thereby being able to stay on each island several days, which would seem to address your issue with not getting to know the people. Any thoughts? I look forward to reading about your adventures in the Caucuses! I'm reading "The Silks Roads" by Peter Francopan which is the world history from the perspective of Near and Central Asia. You might want to read it before you go.

[Nomad Old Farts]

Caribbean
The only swell we got of any significance was in and out of Barbados, and people suggested that once you get out of the Atlantic and into the Caribbean, that is not unusual. But we have no history of seasickness at all, so sadly we are not the right people to ask. Our preference for the clippers, apart from the obvious, was the smaller number of passengers that actually allowed you to see people around and gave a better opportunity to develop friendships. I personally have a slight preference in my travels for people over scenery, and thus my comments, but as I said we are all different. Re Caucasus, I did a lot of Silk Road research when I visited the Stans, but thanks the feedback. Happy to maintain the dialogue.

[D MJ Binkley]

Wow
That is Cool.