My wife and I are thinking of a vacation and we would appreciate hearing from anyone who has experienced the "Clipper Ships" that sail around the Caribbean. We would be happy to have a relaxed, casual trip with adults and no loud music till all hours, Peaceful is high on our priorities. We could go without the formal dinners, shops and tourist traps. Anyway,, did you find the rooms clean? Service good? Do you feel like your sailing or do they motor a lot to keep a schedule? and lastly, would you pay for the room upgrade or are the "middle of the road" rooms good enough? Thanks in advance, jack
Clipper ships
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Jack, My wife and I have had numerous trips on different "lines". overall the experiences have been very good. we've experienced the "motel 6" witha gourmet chef to the more luxurious in both the Caribean and the Med. like most crusers, these ships motor a lot to keep a schedule, but I've also experienced an 11 hr sail with staysails only a 11-15 knots. quite a rush when these things get moving. one of the nicer points of these lines is they can vary off the beaten cruise ship line and avoid the more common tourist sites. we've had last minute schedule changes because a port is busy with cruise ships. if you like to sail and be relaxed I think its a good way to see a lot of area in a short order. if you have specific questions I'm in the directory. Bryce S/V Spellbinder H410
Highly recommend the Wind Jammer Cruises
Did the 13 day Grenada to Antigua 2 years ago on the Mandalay. Great vacation - great food - 28 crew members and 60 passengers. Visited small islands, snorkeled or just vegatated. They motor sail a lot but if the wind is right it's pretty neat watching all the canvas hoisted. They even let some of use at the helm for a while. Night sailing is great.
Did the 13 day Grenada to Antigua 2 years ago on the Mandalay. Great vacation - great food - 28 crew members and 60 passengers. Visited small islands, snorkeled or just vegatated. They motor sail a lot but if the wind is right it's pretty neat watching all the canvas hoisted. They even let some of use at the helm for a while. Night sailing is great.
while your at it...
This same type of trip interests me greatly because the typical cruise ship "experience" seems like the anithesis to vacation. I've always wanted to know what kind of expense it would be. You can get straight rates from the bookind agencies, but what are the REAL costs? What have you folks experienced?
This same type of trip interests me greatly because the typical cruise ship "experience" seems like the anithesis to vacation. I've always wanted to know what kind of expense it would be. You can get straight rates from the bookind agencies, but what are the REAL costs? What have you folks experienced?
I second...
FrankR's post about Wind Jammer and specifically that itenerary. Do the 2 weeks because you won't want to get off after one. You can be as crazy or as laid back as you want. The way the ship is laid out, the rowdier group, if present, really won't disturb you. Stick with the regular cabins down in the middle of the ship. You'll feel like family before you leave because of the way the crew goes out of their way for you. They sail predominately, but you will hear the generators running to keep A/C, electric, and water pumps going. Proof in the pudding is that way over 60% of their business is repeat customers who come back. We went last March and are booked for March '06 already with a group of over 20 "jammers".
FrankR's post about Wind Jammer and specifically that itenerary. Do the 2 weeks because you won't want to get off after one. You can be as crazy or as laid back as you want. The way the ship is laid out, the rowdier group, if present, really won't disturb you. Stick with the regular cabins down in the middle of the ship. You'll feel like family before you leave because of the way the crew goes out of their way for you. They sail predominately, but you will hear the generators running to keep A/C, electric, and water pumps going. Proof in the pudding is that way over 60% of their business is repeat customers who come back. We went last March and are booked for March '06 already with a group of over 20 "jammers".
Windjammer
My wife and I did a Windjammer cruise almost 2 years ago during the Christmas holidays. We did the Grenidenes on the Yankee Clipper, and it was great. Because it was the holidays, they only had about 35 guests instead of the usual 60 or so. They did motor sail most of the time, but when I mentioned to the captain that it would be great to sail only some, he said they would typically do so if requested. So, we spent most of one day under sail only. I have no interest whatsoever in a "cruise" on those floating hotels, but this was great. I'd do it again, and plan on doing so sometime soon.
My wife and I did a Windjammer cruise almost 2 years ago during the Christmas holidays. We did the Grenidenes on the Yankee Clipper, and it was great. Because it was the holidays, they only had about 35 guests instead of the usual 60 or so. They did motor sail most of the time, but when I mentioned to the captain that it would be great to sail only some, he said they would typically do so if requested. So, we spent most of one day under sail only. I have no interest whatsoever in a "cruise" on those floating hotels, but this was great. I'd do it again, and plan on doing so sometime soon.
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