Christmas (And New Year!) On A Tall Ship

Here's a Christmas or New Year with a difference - spend the festive period this year snorkelling off the white sands of a tropical island in Central America, in the yachting enclave of Antigua’s Falmouth Harbour or in Iles des Saintes in the Caribbean. 

Tall ship sailing specialist Star Clippers is offering spectacular Christmas and New Year itineraries on each of its tall ships, two of which will be in the Caribbean and one in Costa Rica. All the ships will be festively decorated and a traditional Christmas will be celebrated on board, adding to the atmosphere in all the ports.

Christmas departures

The stunning, five-masted flagship Royal Clipper, with a capacity of up to 227 guests, will be sailing a seven-night round trip from Barbados through the Windward Islands, departing on December 22. Christmas Day is spent anchored off Antigua, in beautiful Falmouth Harbour, a popular yachting enclave. The cruise costs from £1,390pp, including all meals on board (excluding flights).

The 170-guest, four-masted Star Clipper sails on December 22 from St Maarten on a seven-night Leeward Islands itinerary, spending Christmas Day in Iles des Saintes, a stunning anchorage popular with private yachts, usually with a great festive spirit over Christmas. The voyage costs from £1,255pp, again  including all meals on board (excluding flights).

The third ship in the fleet, Star Flyer, will be sailing the coast of Costa Rica over Christmas 2012 on a seven-night voyage from Puerto Caldera, departing on December 23. Christmas Day will be spent on the tropical island of Isla Gamez, Panama, with soft sand beaches, superb snorkelling and protected waters for dinghy sailing, windsurfing and kayaking, all complimentary on a Star Clippers ship. It costs from £1250pp, including all meals on board, (excluding flights).

New Year Departures

Royal Clipper will spend New Year on a seven-night Grenadines cruise, round-trip from Bridgetown, sailing December 29. On New Year’s Eve, the ship will be in St George’s, Grenada, sailing to sleepy, uninhabited Tobago Cays the following day, where guests can relax in the sunshine or snorkel over dazzling reefs. The cruise costs from £1,490pp.

Star Clipper departs Philipsburg, St Maarten, on December 29 for a seven-night Treasure Islands cruise, spending New Year’s Eve in Virgin Gorda, where all the yacht clubs will hold big parties, and moving on to Soper’s Hole and Norman Island on New Year’s Day. The cruise costs from £1,355pp. 

Star Flyer sails out of Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica, on December 30 for a seven-night cruise along the Pacific coast, spending New Year’s Eve at sea, with a special party on board to toast the New Year. It costs from £1,90pp, again including all meals on board but excluding flights.

For bookings, follow this link to The Cruise Line Ltd, the UK's leading luxury cruise specialists.

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Australia Tops For Zegrahm's Adventure Cruisers

Zegrahm Expeditions, a leader in adventure travel for the past 20 years, is excited to announce the findings of a recent survey of adventure travellers. When asked to share regions of most interest, 63 per cent of survey participants listed Australia, making the island-continent the top adventure travel destination for 2013.

“Based on the findings of our travel trends survey, we introduced a number of new itineraries to Australia and the Pacific regions for 2013,” stated Zegrahm president Jon Nicholson. “I am pleased to report that pre-reservations for these itineraries are selling exceptionally well, and overall pre-bookings are equal to or exceeding our most popular itineraries in 2012.”

The survey also revealed a number of other areas of interest for travel in 2013. Adventure travellers reported that 57 per cent would like to visit Asia and 49 per cent listed Central and South America as a top choice. In contrast, the Middle East was the area of least interest, with only 34 per cent expressing interest to visit the region (respondents were asked to check all areas of interest so percentages don’t add up to 100%.)

Featured itineraries in 2013 Include:

Rain Forests & Reefs — Belize to Costa Rica: 15-day journey departing March 8, 2013, aboard the Island Sky
Australia’s Kimberley — 15-day journey departing September 12, 2013, aboard the Caledonian Sky
Tasmania, Sub-Antarctic Islands & New Zealand —20-day journey departing November 25, 2013, aboard the Caledonian Sky
Mongolia —18-day overland adventure departing August 20, 2013
Circumnavigation of Sumatra —19-day journey departing January 2, 2013, aboard the Clipper Odyssey (above)
Vietnam & Cambodia by Sea —19-day journey departing January 27, 2013, aboard the Clipper Odyssey

In addition to the destination findings, Zegrahm learned that 20 per cent of adventure travellers usually travel solo and the company is now offering lower single rates in 2013 on all ship-based itineraries.

For booking details in the UK, be sure to check this link with the leading adventure-cruise specialists of The Cruise Line Ltd.

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Cabin Upgrades from Star Clippers

To celebrate National Cruise Week, which runs from September 18-25, tall-ship sailing specialist Star Clippers is offering free cabin upgrades for all bookings made during that period.

Book any Star Clippers voyage to the Mediterranean, the Caribbean or Central America during National Cruise Week, or one of the longer ocean crossings, and the cabin paid for will be upgraded by one category (terms and conditions apply).

For example, pay for a Category 3 cabin on Commodore Deck and stay in a Category 2 cabin, which has more space and superior fittings and is located on Clipper Deck. On one of Royal Clipper’s seven-night Caribbean cruises this winter, this represents a saving of £110 per person. Better still, this cabin upgrade offer, if taken up during National Cruise Week, can be combined with existing early booking offers. These include 10% off any cruise in the 2011/2012 programme and a spectacular 20% discount on selected sailings for 2011 and 2012, as follows:

On Royal Clipper, the five-masted flagship of the fleet, special offers include departures in October and April and certain sailings out of Barbados in December and January.

Special offers on the four-masted, 170-passenger Star Clipper are valid for Mediterranean cruises in April, early May and October, as well as four Caribbean sailings from St Maarten in December 2011. Take advantage of a Mediterranean mini-cruise; a five-night short break from Athens to Malta (departing October 8), which calls at Monemvasia and Pilos in Greece and historic Siracusa in Sicily.

The 20% saving on cruises operated by sister ship Star Flyer, meanwhile, applies to six Mediterranean cruises and five sailings out of Puerto Caldera, Costa Rica in 2011 and 2010. These fantastic Central American voyages call at the laid-back beach resort of San Juan del Sur, Nicaragua, as well as the national parks, scattered islands and sheltered bays of Costa Rica’s rich, rainforested coastline, with superb opportunities for diving, snorkelling and hiking.

For more details, visit www.starclippers.co.uk or contact the specialist cruise agents of The Cruise Line Ltd.

Time Spent at Sea has moved and can now be found at World of Cruising. You can follow World of Cruising on Twitter and Facebook for the very latest in cruise news.

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