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Emma & Ali’s Blog Sailing the Western Mediterranean... Aboard Royal Clipper
Sailing the Western Mediterranean... Aboard Royal Clipper Day 1 - We arrived into the beautiful Cannes and transferred to the port, where we went through security ready to await our tender to board the Royal Clipper. I would
highly recommend walking around the port, as you can gasp at the pristine mega yachts with jets skis on board dripping in money. There are also many boutique shops, bars and delicious restaurants. Upon embarking the tender boat to get on the Royal Clipper, the sheer elegance and enormity took my breath away. It’s certainly a ship you can’t not brag about when getting on
board as everyone is taking pictures! Once on board, we were greeted with welcome drinks and shown to our lavish cabins where our suitcases were sat waiting. Our wellappointed room came complete with a marble bathroom, dressing table, TV, porthole and plenty of space for those ‘just in case’ outfits. After settling in and taking in all of the Royal Clippers beauty, passengers met at the Tropical Bar for a thorough safety talk with the Hotel Manager, Anita; Cruise Director, Gabor; and all of the fantastic staff aboard. When walking through the core atrium of the ship, you can really take in the intricacy of the authentic design that was based on the German Preussen- a five-masted windjammer built in 1902. The Royal Clipper is the largest square-rigged sailing ship in service.
With five masts consisting of 5,202 square metres of sail, the Royal Clipper is worthy of Guinness World
Record status! As the night slowly drew in, we met at the Tropical Bar for a glass of prosecco ready for the famous Sunset and Sail away. Frequent sailors have told me about this memorable moment, but I had not realised how amazing it really is. Up on deck, everyone watched in awe as all of the sailors hoisted the sails, with the majestic Vangelis music booming through the deck. We slowly pulled out of the port and the masts twinkled in the darkness amongst the tea lighthouses near the shore. This magical moment on board was unforgettable. A five-course a la carte meal was awaiting us, with the spacious dining room seating all passengers at any one time. We
quickly headed downstairs to savour the courses. Our attentive servers brought over a phenomenal menu of sorbets, starters, entrée’s, la salade, le fromage and desserts! We were certainly looked after immensely well, with every need being catered for. Drinks flowing and food galore, we finished our plates and walked up to the Tropical Bar for the evening entertainment, which consisted of fantastic music and the
bar person at the ready. Day 2 - There is nothing like waking up to look through your porthole and seeing a new destination to explore! We arrived in Lerici, on the Italian island of Elba. The picturesque town is a sight of terracotta, mustard-yellow buildings that sit amongst a sea of boats. Well worth walking around the town itself, as there is plenty of cafes,
restaurants and souvenir shops that enable you to soak up the Italian culture. Let alone basking in the quaint scenery, with the Royal Clipper floating amongst the towns boats.
Passport at the ready, we boarded the tender to the town where we got onto a coach to Pisa. With our tour guide, we flowed through the market stalls to reach the famous Leaning Tower! Flocks of tourists pretend to hold and hold up the leaning tower, while others relax on the well-maintained grass around the stunning monument. You can visit the splendid Piazza dei Miracoli, the Cathedral and Baptistery, and the Museum of the Synopses. Our tour guide showed the group around, offering an in-depth background into the area. We then had a few hours at leisure to sit
in a real Italian café nearby to the peering monument before boarding the coach back to Lerici. I would highly recommend this tour as it gives you a great insight into not only the leaning tower itself, but also the beautiful monuments next to it and a picturesque drive through Tuscany. When leaving the coach and walking to our tender boats, we had our cameras at the ready as the sky turned into a water painting of pinks and blues before the sunset on Lerici. Day 3 - Following our late arrival back to the ship last night after a fabulous trip to Pisa, we were up early again this morning – some of us feeling brave enough to climb the masts. Bathed in sunshine, we were treated to a stunning view of Portoferraio. After a lovely buffet breakfast packed with fresh pastries, fruit, cereals and cooked options, we all disembarked ready to explore everything Portoferraio had to offer. We were docked in the port, so the town was only a short five-minute
walk away. What a gem it was! A beautiful harbour with yachts of all sizes dotted around, so we decided to take a stroll along the seafront. We were feeling energetic, so off we went up the many winding streets and steps up to the fortressa massive architectural complex built back in 1548 to protect the harbour and town from the threat of pirates. Today the fortress offers walks, where visitors can enjoy fabulous views at all angles.
On one side of the fortress, you can follow a path that overlooks the sheer cliffs looking out to sea and the beaches below. These cliffs proved to be a good defence against pirates and attackers. For anyone looking for more culture, there is a fascinating museum to explore which houses many archaeological finds from the region. It was lunchtime by the time we’d
finished exploring, so we decided to enjoy a traditional Italian pizza in a local pizzeria – there are plenty to choose from and prices generally start from around 8 Euros. A great meal was had by all and it was back to the ship for Zumba to help burn those calories! With the fabulous food on board, it was hard not to eat lots! Into the Tropical Bar we went to learn some moves from Debbi, who had everyone thoroughly enjoying themselves. This was followed by a mile-long walk around the deck. Another highlight this afternoon was the “Behind The Scenes” talk by Anita, the Hotel Manager, where we learnt about life on board the ship. This was really fascinating and she provided us with lots of interesting information from how the food comes on board to how many bottles of wine are consumed each
week. By this time, we were ready for afternoon tea on board – we just couldn’t resist the selection of sandwiches and cakes! Sail-away was stunning this evening with the backdrop of Portoferraio shining in the early evening sun. Who could turn down a glass of prosecco to sip whilst listening to the beautiful sounds of Vangelis, watching the sails go up and admiring the coastline in the distance?
Dinner tonight was the usual feast of five courses. You really are spoilt for choice on board and I eventually opted for the steak tonight. There is always a pasta dish and a steak option, should you not be able to find a main that you like- but there is always plenty of choice available. The evening was rounded off with a nice cocktail in the Tropical Bar and a dance on the dancefloor, before
climbing into bed ready for our next port of call… Day 4 - Palombaggia Beach, Corsica – following a busy couple of days sightseeing, this was our first beach stop. Royal Clipper dropped anchor and offered regular tender services to and from the beach, which is a short five-minute ride away. Ashore, we had the choice of a beach bar offering loungers and umbrellas for a small fee. However, there was plenty of sand to just drop a towel onto and make the most of the morning sun. The sports team brought an array of water sports equipment over for the more energetic ones amongst us including kayaks and wakeboards – all complimentary for Star clippers guests. One of the highlights of the morning was watching a group of riders on horseback frolicking in the sea with the stunning Royal Clipper in the background. Before long, it was back on board ready for our afternoon visit. Bonifacio, Corsica – after a light lunch, we were all up on deck to watch us sail into another beautiful port of call – Bonifacio, at the
Southern tip of Corsica. The town and citadel stand majestically on top of cliffs, which overlook the Mediterranean Sea. We dropped anchor and, after a 10 minute tender ride along the coastline, we arrived via a gap in the rocks- where a stunning marina packed with yachts, chic bars and restaurants is ready to greet you. The old town is a labyrinth of narrow streets and medieval townhouses – all of which are five or six stories high and enclosed within the ancient walls of the citadel. The town is the oldest in Corsica and steeped in history, with plenty of reminders that Napoleon spent time with his relatives down here. It takes around 10 minutes to walk up to the top, but visitors are rewarded with stunning views across the cliffs and limestone rocks out over the sea. The walk to the top
was definitely the highlight of the day and the Royal Clipper anchored off the coast just added to the beautiful views. There are plenty of bars along route to stop for an ice cream or refreshment, as well as a number of little shops selling trinkets and gifts.
Tonight was a late departure at 11pm, so we were back on board late in the afternoon to try our hand at some rope tying, up on deck, which was followed by delicious afternoon snacks. As we went to dinner, we were met by all the crew (and a lot of the other passengers) dressed as pirates – tonight was pirate night, although no walking the plank was expected! After dinner, everyone was up in the Tropical Bar showing off their pirate wear whilst the Cruise Director had some of the audience
up playing games. A great night was had by all and our bartenders kept us entertained with their fabulous cocktail making skills. By now, they all knew what our favourite tipple was and our names – such personalised service. After a few drinks, we all headed off to bed so we’d be up and fresh for our next day of visits Day 5 - One of the most exciting parts of any cruise is waking up in a new port of call each day and we had another great day ahead. Opening the curtains revealed another beach stop, this one was Porticcio Beach. Once again, we were just a short five-minute tender away from the shores of Corsica. The beach was lined with plenty of bars and coffee shops and even a small supermarket just in case you needed any supplies. Out came the water sports activities again- it was a bit windy this morning, which made wakeboarding a bit more of challenge but plenty of guests were giving it a go. It was nice just to relax and people watch- it was a busy beach with lots of small sailing boats heading off from the shore and there
was plenty of free sand to drop your towel onto and while away a couple of hours.
We were back on board for lunchtime ready to sail over to Ajaccio. What a treat we had ahead of us! The weather was perfect, just the right amount of wind and the sun was shining. The captain announced that the tender would be doing a sail around the ship whilst we were under full sail. What an incredible sight, with all of the sails up and the crew lined up along the bow, it made for a unique and simply unforgettable photo opportunityone which had everyone very excited and certainly a sight that none of us will ever forget. Over we went to Ajaccio under natural sail and arrived on the quayside a couple of hours later in the bustling marina. Ajaccio is Corsica’s
capital and is steeped in history, with it being the birthplace of Napoleon. Not surprisingly, there are lots of sites to see including Napoleon’s ancestral home – now a museumand his famous monument. One of the easiest ways to spot everything is the small tourist train that takes you around the narrow streets to all the key sights in the old town with a supporting commentary. This drops you back near the marina where there are a host of shops, bars and cafes to choose from for an afternoon stroll or nice cold beer. For some of us, it was our last evening on board so we went up on deck for our final sail-away. This time, we chose our positions well and stood just behind the bridge so we had a bird’s eye view of the captain steering us out of the harbour – another memorable moment. Day 6- Waking up in Monaco is certainly something special. The cloud from the hills gradually disappears to reveal the palace, which stands strong amongst the mixture of glamorous yachts and
buildings. After gawping at the view, our tender boat was ready to take us straight to the action amongst the fabulous speedboats. We were fortunate enough to be able to experience the mesmerising Monaco Grand Prix race.
From the Royal Clipper itself, you could feel the roar of the F1 Cars racing round and round the track. This became intensified and, once we disembarked the tender, we followed the roar through the cobbled streets, up and down the outdoor escalators and round to the main street where all the action was. On the sides of the roads, Formula 1 memorabilia was aplenty from caps, earmuffs, pens, t-shirts – you name it! When reaching the source of the roar, we peered through the fences to catch a glimpse of the action up
close! As we had not bought tickets for the event, we walked up to the Palace to get the best view of the track (this is a great spot to watch and listen to the race, with plenty of shops/restaurants also close by). We then walked down the hill back to our tender boat at the Port of Fontvieille, where we rubbed shoulders amongst the stars and admire the yachts. Each vessel has to be less than 30 metres high and the port only has berths for 160 vessels, which makes it that little more special and it’s not as crowded. From this port, you can catch a speedboat taxi to get to the other port. This port is a part of the Circuit de Monaco for the Formula 1 and
well worth a glimpse as you can walk alongside the Sky News reporters and huge yachts ready for the buzzing after parties! Hopping on a speedboat just to take in all of the action is also great fun and a must do! After a ‘bite-sized’ sailing around the French Riviera, I certainly have the Star Clipper buzz! The sheer elegance and relaxed atmosphere on board is something everyone needs to experience. The stunning selection of ports – many of which you would not necessarily think of visiting- are actually the most beautiful places I have ever visited.
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