Guides
Star Clippers Insider’s Guide: Sailing a Real Tall Ship in the Caribbean
At a glance
- Fleet: three sailing ships, Royal Clipper, Star Clipper and Star Flyer (checked Oct 16, 2026).
- Size: Royal Clipper is five-masted, 134 m, 42 sails, 227 guests, 106 crew, built 2000 (checked Oct 16, 2026). Star Clipper and Star Flyer are twin ships of about 115 m carrying 166 guests (checked Oct 16, 2026).
- Caribbean homeports on the published list: Bridgetown (Barbados) for Royal Clipper, St. Maarten for Star Flyer (checked Oct 16, 2026).
- Winter Caribbean season runs early December to late March, per the same page.
- Dress: smart casual, one Captain's dinner, no black tie (checked Oct 16, 2026).
- Kids: infants under six months are not accepted; no children's club or babysitting (checked Oct 16, 2026).
- Deposit: $400 per person (Categories 2 to 6) or $800 (Category 1, Deluxe, Owner's); final payment 90 days before departure (checked Oct 16, 2026).
- Gratuities, Wi-Fi, drink packages and loyalty program: Not confirmed on https://www.starclippers.com/ as of 2026-10-16 — check there before you pay.
Who it is for
Star Clippers is for people who want the ship itself to be the point. You sleep under real sails, you can watch the crew set them, and the days are built around anchorages and beaches rather than a theatre schedule. The line says plainly that there are no rigid schedules and the Captain gives a daily briefing on deck (checked Oct 16, 2026). It is a poor fit if you want a casino, a big-ship show lineup, a kids' club, a large spa menu or a dozen restaurants. Light sleepers who need a large cabin should look hard at the cabin sizes before booking. Cross-reference /guides/cruises/first-time-cruiser/ if this is your first ship of any kind.
The fleet
Royal Clipper is the big one: five masts, 134 m, 42 sails, 227 guests, three pools and a spa lounge with underwater portholes (checked Oct 16, 2026). Star Flyer, launched in 1991, is 115.5 m with 166 guests and 74 crew, two pools, an open-seating dining room, a Tropical Bar, a Piano Bar and an Edwardian-style library (checked Oct 16, 2026). Star Clipper is its twin as described on the home page. Cabins range from a Category 6 inside cabin of about 8 m² on Star Flyer to deluxe suites; sizes differ by ship, so check the deck plans on the line's site.
What is included, what is paid
Included, per the line's pages: open-seating meals in the dining room, free water sports (water skiing, kayaking, windsurfing) and yoga classes . Paid: alcohol, sodas and mineral water are listed as excluded from the fare in the Contract of Carriage (checked Oct 16, 2026). Shore excursions, spa, flights, hotels and travel insurance are typically extra — Not confirmed on https://www.starclippers.com/us-dom/contract-of-carriage.html as of 2026-10-16. Gratuities: Not confirmed on https://www.starclippers.com/us-dom/contract-of-carriage.html as of 2026-10-16 — check there before you pay.
Rough cost of a week, three ways
Plan your budget
Your trip budget worksheet
Prices change daily, so we don’t quote them. Fill this in from the official fare pages.
| Item | Your amount |
|---|---|
| Fare band: read the current price for your cabin category and date on https://www.starclippers.com/us-dom/destinations/caribbean-sailing-cruises.html and write it here |
Plan your budget
Your trip budget worksheet
Prices change daily, so we don’t quote them. Fill this in from the official fare pages.
| Item | Your amount |
|---|---|
| Cash everything: fare + flights to Barbados + one hotel night + drinks and excursions budget. Your number | |
| Points for flights: fare in cash, flights on miles (see the points play below), one cheap hotel night. Your number | |
| Points for flights and hotel: only the cruise fare and onboard drinks in cash. Your number |
Safety and advisory line
The representative week touches five places. Barbados: [read 2026-10-16, https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html — Level 1, issued April 10, 2026]. Martinique: [read 2026-10-16, https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html — Level 1, issued 08/20/2026]. Saint Lucia: [read 2026-10-16, https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html — Level 1, issued 07/10/2026]. Saint Vincent and the Grenadines: [read 2026-10-16, https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html — Level 1, issued 07/07/2026]. Grenada: [read 2026-10-16, https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories.html — Level 2, issued 01/05/2026]. Read the current advisory for each island before you pay. The Barbados country page points to petty crime and thin safety inspection on water activities, and strongly recommends medical evacuation insurance [read 2026-10-16, https://travel.state.gov/content/travel/en/traveladvisories/traveladvisories/barbados-travel-advisory.html — Level 1, issued April 10, 2026].
Three free or low-cost things
Watch the sails go up. On most days the crew raises sails and you can stand on deck and watch, which costs nothing and is a good free show. Ask at the daily briefing which day the big setting is planned; it depends on wind.
Use the free water sports. Kayaking and windsurfing off the marina platform or beach are included, per the line. Go early when the water is flat.
Walk a town instead of paying for a tour. In many Caribbean ports the main sights are within a short walk or a short local bus ride; use /guides/cruises/cruise-shore-excursions/ to decide when a ship tour is worth it.
Points play
Cruise fares usually cannot be paid for with airline miles, so the play is flights and the hotel night. On our transfer chart (checked 2026-10-08), Amex to British Airways is 1:1, Capital One to Flying Blue is 1:1 and Chase to United is 1:1; check each program's own award chart for Barbados flights and for the Bridgetown hotel night. Credit-card cruise credits exist on some cards; check your card's own page. Not on our chart — check the card's own transfer page for any other pairing.
This is the free lite guide. The full day-by-day guide, with maps, photo stops, rain plans and the points playbook, is part of PerkJolt All-Access.
Good to know before you go
Facts in this guide were checked on 2026-10-16. Confirm fares, fees, inclusions, itineraries, port calls and policies on the line's official site (https://www.starclippers.com/) or in your booking before you pay or sail. Port calls on a small sailing ship can change after booking for weather, swell at an anchorage or port congestion, so treat any day-by-day plan as a plan.