My husband and I have just booked a 10 day cruise (Italy/Adriatic) on the Royal Clipper. This is our first cruise and I have no idea what to expect - obviously it won't be the typcal multi-shop/restaurant experience. I'm wondering about basics - like laundry service, tipping, etc.

My husband and I just got home from a week long cruise onthe Royal Clipper. It was wonderful! The ship is kept very polished and clean. They have the traditional laundry service available. We did not use it however. They reccomend- as a guide for tipping- 8 Euros per day per passenger. They can add it to your account at the end of the cruise. They ask you not to tip the individual staff members. A tip is automatically added when you use a service on the ship ie. bar items. The dress on the ship was more casual than on a traditional cruise ship. We did not wear anything dressy for dinner. Very few men had suitjackets or ties when in the dining room. We would love to take anoother cruise on one of the Star Clipper ships. It was amazing! Hope you have a great time.

You are so lucky!! My husband and I watched a one hour documentary about the Royal Clipper on t.v. on the Discovery Channel about two weeks ago. Right from it being built to the itineraries it offers now. One day we would love to go on this boat. It appears to offer a truly unique experience. They encourage passengers to get involved and watch the "daily grind of sailing" and to talk with and mingle with the crew. The atmosphere is very relaxed on the ship, just kind of like if you were on your own sailboat. You can even climb up the mast, and hang out in the crow's nest. There is a pool on the boat, I am not sure about a hot tub, I don't remember seeing one. Service appeared to be very attentive. Dinner was very relaxed, no need to get all dressed up, just casual and the food looked really, really good. The officers sit at different tables with the guests at dinner. They have dancing at night, and would also bring entertainment on the boat from the places where they we be docked in port. The staterooms looked absolutely lovely. You are going to have a really good time, it will be very relaxing and your right, it will be very different from your typical cruiseline. Enjoy!

Thanks very much for the info. We are so excited. I'm glad that it is rather casual - we've lived in Florida for about seven years now and have gotten used to not dressing up!

Libby