![]() ![]() The Captain Nemo Lounge provides a health spa and fish observatory, where guests can unwind. The ship is also equipped with a fully stocked library and 3 sun deck pools, while at the stern of the vessel a marina platform can be lowered for a variety of water sports, including water-skiing and scuba diving. Royal Clipper is relatively small in comparison to some of today’s cruise ships, providing only 114 staterooms to a maximum of 228 passengers, which vary in luxury from the sumptuous Owner’s Suite to the comfortable Category 6 inside stateroom.ĭue to the vessels fine construction, there are 1760 square metres of open deck space aboard the Royal Clipper, for strolling or sunbathing. The vessel is magnificent upon the water and to watch its 100-man crew manipulate the ropes and rigging is a very enjoyable sight. So we ordered a chauffeur from Blacklane Limousines who would take us straight to the ship in a luxury limo-van of sorts.īut first, he sat patiently with us for hours, first as we waited for Kari, Josh and my parents to get in from Charlotte, and then waited some more while we tried to sort out our luggage situation, with no help from Delta.Royal Clipper joined Star Clippers in 2000 and is one of the largest fully rigged sailing ships, with 5 masts and 42 sails. ![]() ![]() Since there were six of us, we definitely wouldn’t fit in a cab. ![]() It’s nearly an hour’s car ride from Rome to the port of Civitavecchia, from where most Italian cruises depart. In the meantime, we were extremely grateful that we had organized transportation ahead of time in Rome. Who’s surprised? More on that as we continue to fight the world’s worst airline at a later date…I still haven’t cooled off from our travel debacle. They didn’t even offer us a toothbrush in the meantime. Have we seen a penny of compensation? Heck no. Of course, Delta didn’t want to make it easy on us and nearly made us miss our flight on a delayed connection-seriously, they cannot make the 34-minute hop from Nashville to Atlanta a seamless transition ever-and lost both SVV’s and my bags. We were able to merge the two and spend two weeks on the ship and in Rome with my family, then split off for a week visiting his former haunts on the small Italian isle. Simultaneously, SVV and I had been planning a long vacation to Sicily for his 40th birthday. Luckily, my sister and her boyfriend-both of whom work at a Big Four firm-were able to get the time off, too. We briefly toyed with the idea of repeating an Enrichment Voyage, but the timing was tough and the route too similar, so my mom said: “hey, how about we all take a family cruise on that line you liked so much?” A little digging on the Star Clippers site resulted in the perfect itinerary: 11 nights in the Mediterranean, covering Italy, Greece, Montenegro, Croatia and Slovenia. Last year, we took a family trip to Europe while I was still working on Semester at Sea. After raising two kids then having both of her parents live with her for the better part of a decade, I’d say she deserves it. We all miss him dearly-he would turn 93 this Thursday happy birthday, Granddaddy-but suddenly my mom was free to roam a bit more. He had been living with my parents for years (and, for nearly a year after we moved back, us, too). The week after we returned, my beloved grandfather died at 91 years old. It was one of my favorite vacations to date. Maarten and making stops on Nevis, Antigua, Îles des Saintes, Dominica, St. For a week, we bopped around the Caribbean, starting and ending in St. It was a work trip, and lucky for SVV, he was able to come along for a change. Two years ago, we had our first brush with Star Clippers. Coming back and starting a new job-my first stint in an office in six-and-a-half years!-just two days later means my summer has flown by faster than most, and I feel like our time abroad was only a fleeting dream.īut it was very much real, and before I tell you about all the fabulous places we visited over the following 21 days, first I’ll give you a bit of a backstory about how this trip came to be. It’s hard to believe it’s been more than two months since SVV and I boarded that plane bound for Rome. ![]()
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