Star Clipper

Twin to Star Flyer, Character All Her Own

Star Clipper is a four-masted barquentine and the sister ship of Star Flyer. She carries 16 sails, 170 guests, and the same fundamental conviction: that sailing is better than motoring, that small is better than large, and that the best anchorages in the world are the ones too shallow for a cruise ship. Built in 1992, she has been refining the Star Clippers formula ever since.

She sails itineraries in the Mediterranean and the Caribbean that take full advantage of her size. In summer, she works the western Mediterranean, the Spanish coast, the Balearics, the French Riviera, before moving to the Aegean and the Adriatic for the main season. In winter, she crosses to the Caribbean to work routes among the eastern islands.

Sailing as the Point, Not the Setting

On Star Clipper, the sails are not background scenery. They are the reason the ship exists, and they shape every day at sea. When the wind is right, the engines are cut and Star Clipper moves under canvas alone, the kind of sustained silence that even experienced sailors find surprising after years on motor vessels. Guests who want to understand how it works are welcome on the open bridge at any hour.

At anchor, the ship opens herself to the sea. The boarding ladder goes over the side, and guests who want to swim, snorkel, or simply float in a turquoise bay do so directly from the hull. Kayaks and stand-up paddleboards come out from ship’s stores at no extra charge. There are no additional fees, no mandatory briefings, no queue.

The Right Scale

One hundred and seventy guests is the right number for a ship of this character. It is large enough to create a genuine social atmosphere, there are always new people to meet at dinner, always a conversation worth joining at the Tropical Bar, but small enough that every guest knows the ship within a day. The crew, by contrast, numbers around 74: a ratio that makes service feel attentive without being performative.

Open seating in the dining room means no fixed tables, no assigned companions, no necessity of the same arrangement night after night. Guests sit where they choose, join whoever interests them, and eat from a menu that gives proper weight to the regions the ship is visiting.

What You Will Remember

Star Clipper is the kind of ship that rewards those who pay attention. The creak of the rigging in the first hour of a passage. The moment when the captain gives the order and the crew begins working the sheets. The anchorage reached before any other vessel, in a bay that most tourists will never see. These are not incidentals, they are the point of a sailing cruise with Star Clippers.