Royal Clipper

The Largest Full-Rigged Sailing Ship in the World

Royal Clipper holds a distinction that no other ship afloat can claim: she is the largest full-rigged sailing vessel currently in active service. Her five masts carry 42 sails covering 5,202 square metres of canvas, a spread of cloth that, when fully set in a following wind, drives this 134-metre ship at speeds that leave motor yachts struggling to keep up. She carries 227 guests, and she genuinely sails.

Built in 2000 and inspired directly by the Preussen, the legendary five-master of the early 20th century, Royal Clipper represents what Star Clippers originally set out to do: bring the age of sail back in a form that modern travellers can actually experience. She is not a facsimile. She is a working ship, operated by professional seafarers who take the sailing seriously.

Five Masts, Forty-Two Sails

The experience of being on deck when Royal Clipper sets sail in earnest is unlike anything a conventional cruise ship can offer. The crew takes to the rigging, the canvas unfolds from yard to yard, and the ship begins to move with a purposefulness that has nothing to do with engines. When the sails are full and the hull is moving cleanly through the water, the engines are cut. The silence, broken only by wind, sea, and the sound of rigging, is the signature of this ship.

Guests who want to understand what is happening are welcome on the open bridge. The officers explain their decisions, share the chart table, and discuss the trade-offs of wind, current, and schedule that are part of every passage. It is the sort of access that simply does not exist on any other kind of ship.

Water Sports and the Sea

Royal Clipper carries a stern water sports marina, a platform at the waterline from which guests can swim, snorkel, kayak, and use stand-up paddleboards directly from the ship. The equipment is brought out at anchor, the marina opens, and guests enter the sea without formality. All water sports are included in the fare.

The three pools, including the distinctive glass-bottomed pool that looks down into the main lounge below, add a dimension of resort comfort that the smaller Star Clippers ships do not offer. Royal Clipper is the most complete ship in the fleet: the full experience of a tall ship sailing cruise, with the amenities to match.

Accommodation

The cabin range on Royal Clipper runs from well-appointed standard cabins with portholes to the Owner’s Suites, which offer private balconies and the kind of space and finish normally associated with luxury motor vessels. The upper categories include marble bathrooms, bathtubs, whirlpool tubs, and dedicated butler service. Whatever the category, the sense of being aboard a working sailing ship is present in every cabin: the motion of the hull, the occasional sound of the crew on deck above, the light through a porthole at the waterline.

Itineraries

Royal Clipper sails the Caribbean in the winter season and the Mediterranean in summer. Her Caribbean programme covers routes through the Windward Islands and the Leeward Islands, itineraries shaped by the trade winds and the geography of the eastern Caribbean. In the Mediterranean, she ranges widely: the Adriatic coast, the Dalmatian islands, the Tyrrhenian Sea, and passages that take full advantage of a ship that can anchor where others cannot. Royal Clipper is Star Clippers’ flagship, and her itineraries reflect that status.