In response to growing demand for short ‘taster’ cruises, tall ship sailing specialist Star Clippers has added new short break cruises in the Baltics for 2013, in addition to Mediterranean sailings during 2012, including a five-night mini-cruise from Athens to Malta in October 2012 for just £999 per person, including flights and transfers.
Departing Athens on 20 October 2012, the 170-passenger square rigger Star Clipper sails to the picturesque ports of Monemvasia and Pilos in Greece, both relatively untouched by tourism, followed by a day at sea in which to relax on the warm teak decks, enjoying the autumn sunshine. There’s a day in historic Syracuse, Sicily, before arriving in Malta on 25 October 2012.
“We find more and more guests who have perhaps already spent their main holiday on board one of our ships are treating themselves to a second mini-break with Star Clippers,” says Star Clippers’ UK general manager Fay McCormack. “And for first-time cruisers, often people who have seen and admired the ships in port, these shorter voyages are the perfect way to test out life on a magnificent sailing ship before committing to a longer voyage.”
The companies new shorter cruises in 2013 cost from £690 per person, cruise-only, for three nights on Star Flyer (a sister ship to the four-masted Star Clipper), including the `Sailing Parade’ tall ships festival in Hamburg, to £1,025 for a five-night sailing from Monaco to Rome on Star Clipper. Other mini-cruises depart from Venice and Rome, for three and four nights respectively, on the company’s flagship, the five-masted, 227-passenger Royal Clipper.
To book, call 0845 200 6145 or visit www.starclippers.co.uk
Star Clippers, one of the premier speciality cruise lines, operates three of the world’s largest and tallest sailing vessels, each offering passengers the activities, amenities and atmosphere of a private yacht. The two smaller ships, Star Clipper and Star Flyer, carrying 170 passengers each, are perfect recreations of traditional clipper ships, with billowing sails and graceful lines, while the magnificent flagship, Royal Clipper, carrying 227 passengers, is the world’s only five-masted square-rigger. All three are the result of the childhood fantasy of Star Clippers’ Swedish owner, Mikael Krafft.
The three ships roam the Mediterranean, the Baltic and the Aegean, and in winter, the lesser-known islands of the Caribbean and the coasts of Panama, Costa Rica and Nicaragua in Central America. Longer voyages are also possible, as the ships reposition from one cruising area to another, and anybody who has experienced a transatlantic crossing on a beautiful sailing ship will agree that it’s an unforgettable experience; a chance to appreciate real peace, and to commune with the sea and sky for days on end, either from a lounger on the sun-warmed decks, or from the bowsprit nets, high above the ocean.
All three ships have expansive teak decks, swimming pools, informal dining, a convivial Tropical Bar on deck and a comfortable piano bar and are large enough to offer first-class accommodation and dining, but small enough to call into intimate ports, untouched by large cruise ships. On board, passengers can enjoy the romance of sailing on a true tall ship in a relaxed atmosphere with high standards of service provided by an attentive crew. There are opportunities to learn about navigation, to help raise the sails or to climb the mast to the crow’s nest for incredible views, but guests are equally welcome to lie back with a book and their favourite cocktail.
Fellow passengers are sophisticated Europeans, Australians and Americans, many of them either incurable romantics, or sailing fanatics, or both. Many of them are repeat passengers; a voyage on a Star Clippers ship is truly addictive.
To book, call 0845 200 6145 or visit www.starclippers.co.uk
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