Royal Clipper - cruise ship

Cruise Travel, July, 2001 by Theodore W. Scull

The World's Biggest, Bloomin' Sailing Ship

Five tall, bare, pole masts rose above everything else in the far distance. Once we were beyond the breakwater, the full length of a shapely steel hull appeared, stretching forward from a rounded overhang at the stem to the angular raked bow. A thick black stripe ran the full length, and black gun-port squares below gave the ship a sense of importance. And if one did not have a passenger ticket in hand, this vessel might pass for a man-of-war, or at least a commercial cargo carrier.

The Royal Clipper's purposeful appearance contrasts sharply with her running-mates, the Star Flyer and Star Clipper, both of which resemble large, white-hull racing yachts. The $75-million Royal Clipper is a full-rigged ship, with square sails on all five masts, while the earlier four-masters are barkentine-rigged. The Royal Clipper, at 439 feet, is 79 feet longer than her fleet-mates, and qualifies as the longest and largest sailing vessel ever built, besting the Russian training ship Sedov in length and the German Flying P Line Preussen (1902-10) in overall size at 5,000 gross register tons. She carries 56,000 square feet of Dacron sail, compared to 36,000 for the Star Clipper and Star Flyer.

With those two sister ships, Star Clippers has built up a highly loyal clientele that hails from North America and Europe, and it is not uncommon to have more than half the passengers repeaters. On this October sailing from Cannes, France, the figure was even higher, and many came aboard the Royal Clipper wondering if they would like the much larger ship, which has a passenger capacity of 228, 60 more than her fleet-mates.

Being one of the repeaters with three previous cruises (one in the Mediterranean and two in the Caribbean), I wondered, too, but not for very long. I was won over by the Royal Clipper instantly, and find the comparisons with her running-mates verging on apples and oranges--with size, the square sails, the sheer amount of deck equipment, and lavish Edwardian interiors contrasting with the smaller scale and relative simplicity and sleekness of the two sisters.

Upon reaching the main deck, I walked along the side promenade, protected from the sea by a thick steel bulkhead, and entered a central, narrow, mahogany-paneled companionway with cabin doors opening on either side; a thick sloping mast penetrated the corridor at the forward end. Upon opening the door into cabin 303, I stood agape. The luxurious space featured mahogany paneling with rosewood framing and molding that contrasted with an off-white ceiling and upper portion of two walls. Pale, gold-framed mirrors enlarged the space, and brass-framed windows brought in light to bathe the far-corner sitting alcove. The bedspread had a silver fleur-de-lis pattern and a deep blue background, and the rust-colored carpet was decorated with a small, blue-floral, bud pattern. The television and mini-bar were happily hidden from view. The brass wall-lamps and sailing-ship prints rounded out the feel of an upward sloping ship's cabin, not a hotel-style room on a hull.

A heavy wooden door led to a private, furnished, teak veranda with shrouds passing upward from the ship's side. Another door led to a huge marble bathroom with Jacuzzi bath--like the TV, another nod to upscale cruise-ship amenities. There are 16 of these 255-square-foot deluxe one-room suites, plus two even larger 320-square-foot owner's suites located at the stern, and two 175-square-foot deluxe cabins that open onto the after deck. The most numerous standard cabins (88), in categories 2 to 5, are 148 square feet and vary mostly by location; they offer marble bathrooms with shower, TV, satellite telephone, radio channels, private safe, and hair-dryers. Six inside cabins round out the accommodations.

On Main Deck, an upward sloping observation lounge has a view of the forward deck, and sees use for meetings, informal talks, and Internet connections. The main lounge, located amidships, is as comfortable as they come with banquette, soft couch, and chair seating, a situp bar, and a central well that looked down into the dining room two decks below. Aft of the main lounge, the covered Tropical Bar recalls those on the smaller Star Cruises' vessels, as does the paneled Edwardian library with its electric fireplace, though both are on a larger scale here.

The handsome, paneled dining room comes complete with brass wall lamps, and is reached via a freestanding staircase from the lounge. Tables are rectangular, round, and banquette-style. A large upper level with more tables and the buffet surrounds a central well. An omelet chef cooks to order at breakfast, and a carvery features roast beef, ham, and pork at lunch. Seating is open for all meals, and the lunch buffets were the biggest hit, with this menu for the first day at sea: jumbo shrimp, foie gras, artichoke hearts, herring, potato salad, lots of salad fixings, hot and cold salmon, meat balls, and sliced roast beef. The dining room is set low enough so that in any kind of sea the water splashes washing-machine-style over the portholes.