Royal Clipper is a wonderful ship to be on especially for a special occasion (my Husband’s BIG birthday).
The sailaways were magnificent – atmospheric music (Vangelis – The Conquest of Paradise) being played as the sails unravel and we sailed into the sunset (or the lights on the masts twinkling as we sailed into the darkness).
The majority of the staff were very good, our cabin stewardess was excellent and the destinations and trips out were superb.
The only downside was when our toilet stopped functioning – it took 48 hours before the switch was replaced enabling us to use it with confidence that it would flush.
Each time we reported it wouldn’t flush we were assured that it had been fixed, it flushed a couple of times and then ceased again – when it is your big birthday the last thing you want is to have to sling on clothes and go and find a public loo.
When I pointed our problem out to the Hotel Manager he tried to make a joke out of it and totally humiliated me – I suggested on the cruise feedback form that he needs customer service training.
He then avoided us for the rest of the trip – so no enquiring as to whether our problem had been sorted out.
Another minor point was that between Monday and Friday there was no decaffinated coffee available – we managed to buy some in Martinique – but the crew didn’t.
Also the menu choices for vegetarians were very poor, often no suitable starter (although melon was provided on request) and little protein available.
