Caribbean Cruise on Star Flyer Part 1

Why the Tall Ship, Star Flyer?

Everyone has been asking us, what made you go on a tall ship cruise on the Star Flyer? Well, Scott and I have always wanted to book a charter boat in the Caribbean, but we’ve hesitated for a few reasons. One, we don’t know how to bare boat & we were not sure if we would like sailing for seven days straight.  The best alternative was to book a sailing trip with Star Clipper vacations, on the Star Flyer.  This tall ship holds about 180 people and does not have the same luxurious amenities as a large cruise ship. My girlfriend from college cruised o this ship in the Mediterranean and loved it!  

The Itinerary

This cruise was a 7 night cruise, visiting a new island every day:

• Saint Maarten
• Nevis
• Dominica
• Isle des Saints
• Guadeloupe
• Antigua
• St. Barths

Hurricane Irma

We left  on Thursday, March 7^th on a red eye flight out of Seattle and arrived in Sint Maarten, on Friday, March 8^th around 12pm. We chose to arrive a day early, in case we had any flight issues.

Scott and I knew that the island was still in recovery mode from Hurricane Irma two years ago. The airport was nearly destroyed and now the airport is almost back to normal. Customs and Immigration took us about an hour and was a bit chaotic.  The drive to the hotel (Holland House) which was in Philipsburg took about an hour too. As we drove around the island, we saw numerous abandoned boats and buildings damaged by Hurricane Irma. Traffic can be bad driving around the island. So plan accordingly.

 It was our wedding anniversary on March 8th and the hotel upgraded us to a suite – oh my, what a treat! Located right on the beach overlooking the bay, this is the place to stay!

Things to do

Sint Maarten is known for its airplane beach “Maho Beach”. Here jets fly directly over beach goers as they fly in.  Scott and I couldn’t pass this opportunity up, so the following day we took a taxi to the beach to check it out.  I will say, it was packed and loaded with people! There are two bars and they also have the flight schedules. Planes come in about every 20 minutes and we were there between 11:15am and 12pm. It is definitely a unique experience and I do not recommend standing directly behind a plane when it takes off.  We were standing to the side and still got sand blasted.  Be sure to watch our video on our YouTube channel for all of the footage.

Downtown Philipsburg, St. Maarten

Our friends, Ben & Maria were joining us on the cruise and they arrived about the same time we were at Maho Beach. We instructed them to go to Holland House, get a day pass for their bags and meet us for cocktails.  The hotel is located on Fontstreet, which is the main shopping district. The outdoor bar is located along the beach boardwalk, which is full of restaurants, shopping and bars. 

After a few cocktails, Maria and I headed to the Saturday Market for some souvenirs. One thing I will say about Sint Maarten, is that the residents are so friendly – probably one of the friendliest islands in the Caribbean.

Around 3:30pm, the hotel lobby was full of guests heading to the cruise terminal.  Check-in for the cruise was between 4pm – 7pm, so we decided to hang back for an hour to avoid the crowds. This turned out to be a smart decision, as we flew through the terminal check-in.

The Star Flyer – Departure Day

Check-in on the ship was pretty fast (if you wait an hour).  First you meet the purser, who takes your passports. If you know anything about traveling by boat to other countries, you know that the captain maintains your passports for check-in authorities. The same is true for large cruise ships. In return, you are given an “official ID” card from the cruise line – this allows you to enter and depart each country.  Next we were given our keys and off we went (oh, with our welcome cocktail too).

Because the ship was swaying right away in port, I immediately put on my Sea-Band and took a Bonine motion sickness pill.  Both worked like magic!  After we dropped our bags off, we headed straight to the library to sign up for our excursions. These fill up FAST, so don’t wait too long.  We missed out on a couple, but were able to get the Sting Ray Experience on Antigua.

We stayed in room 302 – which was located on the bow .  Our room was nice a roomy and were told it was bigger than most.  We do know that some of the top end rooms had couches and Jacuzzi tubs too.

One thing we didn’t think about though, was our room was near the top deck and it swayed not only side to side, but up and down.  If you get motion sick, don’t pick this room!  Every night from 5p – 6p, the cruise ship has light snacks and then dinner begins at 7:30pm.  We were scheduled to leave port around 10pm after dinner and set sail.  This was a pretty cool experience. 

As we set off into the pitch darkness, they began raising the sails and also played the theme song, Conquest of Paradise each time. After spending about an hour on deck, it was time to head to bed. 

Quick Note about Wi-Fi:  The boat has it, but it’s $10/hour, so we never used it except on the last day. We waited to get on land and find bars that offered it for free.

Day one – Nevis

Since Scott and I were not used to sleeping on a moving boat (that went up and down all night long), we had a rough first night’s sleep.  Scott and I headed to breakfast around 9am and we were still sailing (try going thru the buffet line while at a 15 degree heel). Finally we arrived in Nevis around 11am and dropped anchor. 

The reviews said there wasn’t a lot to do or see on Nevis, so the four of us decided to relax on deck and soak up some sun. Keep in mind, they have two very small pools on deck meant to just cool you off.  

To get to shore, our life boats (tenders) are dropped into the water and passengers use the gangway steps to climb down the side of the ship to the tender. It was pretty rough in the bay, so it was interesting to watch people maneuver both.

Our days on the ship consisted of the same activities each day – breakfast, lunch, cocktails, light snacks, cocktails and then dinner.  

Each morning, the activities director will do a briefing of the new island  and give instructions on what to do, type of currency and times of departure.  Every evening, the ship has different activities at the tropical bar each night. This bar is the only bar and is the hub for all meetings.

Day two – Dominica

Each night the ship puts the next day’s itinerary in your room.  Our next stop was Dominica, which is a very small rustic island.  Dominica is the northernmost of the Windward Islands (though it is sometimes considered the southernmost of the Leeward Islands). They are a French colony.

The excursions for the island included river rafting, which we didn’t want to do, so we planned on checking the island out on our own.  Before we arrived, we had a scheduled sail with our sister ship, The Royal Clipper from 9am – 10:30am. This was a really cool and beautiful experience.  I was surprised to see so many people on the bow plank though!

What to do in Portsmouth, Dominica

There were two things to do on your own – you could go to the beach or go to the Fort. Scott and I love old Forts, so we headed in that direction. It’s located in the Cabrits National Park, about a 10 minute walk straight up hill. 

We loaded up in the tender, which is scary at first. The ship is moving up and down about a foot and then you have to gracefully get on board.

The ride to the dock, was about 5 minutes and we immediately noticed the damage from Hurricane Irma. Dominica was nearly destroyed during the hurricane and they are still recovering.

Check in at Prince Rupert’s Tavern to buy your pass (I think it was US $5/pp) and this gives you access to the Fort and also the hiking trails.

I wasn’t up for any hike, so we just checked out Fort Shirley.  You can explore the different buildings and the view look-outs over the bay. 

After our hike, we headed back to Prince Rupert’s Tavern for a cold beer.  They have free Wi-Fi when you buy food or drinks. We bought two beers and they came out of the freezer (almost slightly frozen). It was so hot that day, that these were the best beers we’ve had in a long time!

We returned to the ship a few hours later and discovered where they store all of their booze! They keep it in the belly of the ship and use a cargo net to bring it out.

Sundowner

We wound down the day with a cocktail watching the sunset. No matter the day, you can’t beat a warm Caribbean night with good friends, cocktails and an amazing sunset.

Next we head to Isle des Saintes. Stay tuned for our next update and be sure to check back for our episode on Day 1 – 3. As always, thanks for following our blog! Be sure to follow us on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter @BoatingJourney.

Cheers, Scott and Ally

Watch Episode 30 on YouTube of Part 1