Reviewer
Roland from Germany.
Cruise Line
Ship
Star Clipper.
Destination
Thailand’s Andaman Sea.
# of Nights
7.
Departure Date & Ports
April 15, 2017, round-trip from Phuket, Thailand to offshore islands in Andaman Sea.
OVERALL RATING
3 out of 5 stars.
(5=EXCELLENT; 4=VERY GOOD; 3=GOOD; 2=POOR; 1=TERRIBLE)
Have you been on a small ship cruise before?
I’ve been on 2 small ship cruises.
Review
Paradise beaches crowded with Chinese people
We travelled with a real sailing cruise ship through beautiful Thai national parks and spend lot of time anchoring in front of beautiful beaches. We had to tender to the beaches and had very often wet landings. Unfortunately the Crew was not very courageous, so we had either to jump in quite deep water or change from the tender to dinghis to reach the beaches. The many local boats on every beach brought the chinese People, always wearing orange swim wests closer to the beach. So some of Star Clipper guests decided not to go to the beach as it was not very comfortable.
Furthermore I claim that the ship started every day 6:00pm with a fantastic ceremony with Music under sails to reach over night the next destination but during the night it stopped and waited with 0 speed hours on the open water. I do not know why. But next morning we never reached early the next destination. What I missed were anchoring near small harbors where there was the possibility to walk around drinking a coffee and so on. Only in Langkawi, Malaysia, we tied up at a pier for a bus tour.
I enjoyed very much the many lovely people from Singapur, USA, Australia, Switzerland and Bavaria and found new friends. We had a funny table and enjoyed many fantastic dinners and breakfasts. The Crew was always very friendly. Some guests were even allowed to take the steering wheel and operate the rudder. I even had the chance to see how astro navigation works with the navigator’s sextant.
I recommend this tour for all people interested in sailing, nature and snorkeling. But a little fitness is required. If you prefer to see more of a country, people and villages, I would recommend another Star Clipper tour e.g. in the Caribbean sea.
For sure it was not my last Star Clipper tour.
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HEIDI SARNA
