Highlights of the six new itineraries in Indonesian waters include the opportunity to view Komodo Dragons, the world’s largest living species of lizard, while a port call into the village of Wera provides the opportunity to see ‘Pinisi’, traditional Indonesian sailing ships, being made and sailed.
Tall ship sailing specialist Star Clippers will be sailing in Indonesian waters for the first time in 2017. The company, which operates three fully-crewed clippers, is offering a choice of 19 departures between May 6 and October 14, 2017.
There will be sailings of 7, 10, 11 and 14 nights, from Bali and Singapore, including Bali round trips and itineraries from Bali to Singapore and reverse.
Indonesia’s towns and villages provide the opportunity for guests to experience the exoticism of Hindi culture, returning at the end of each day to Star Clipper, where sundowners are served on teak decks before dinner and a memorable departure to the strains of Vangelis’s “1492 Conquest of Paradise”.
Highlights of the six new itineraries in Indonesian waters include the opportunity to view Komodo Dragons, the world’s largest living species of lizard, while a port call into the village of Wera provides the opportunity to see ‘Pinisi’, traditional Indonesian sailing ships, being made and sailed.
The compact size of the Star Clippers’ vessels enables the ships to sail waters uncharted by most commercial cruise lines. Typical of the type of port call that this opens up is a call into the island of Pulau Satonda, off the northern coast of Sumbawa, formed by a volcanic eruption on the sea floor millions of years ago.
Other highlights include an optional excursion to Mount Bromo, an active volcano in East Java, and a visit to the Borobudur Temple Compound, built in the 8th and 9th centuries, and one of the greatest Buddhist monuments in the world.
Star Clippers founder and owner, Mikael Krafft, said, “The Indonesian waters will really bring out the very best of a Star Clippers cruise and the natural scenery and spectacular sights will provide an exceptional back-drop for our beautiful ship, Star Clipper.”
The two smaller ships in the star Clipper fleet, Star Flyer and Star Clipper, take 170 passengers each, with a crew of 74, while Royal Clipper carries 227 with a crew of 106. The ships sail Mediterranean waters during the summer months, relocating to the Caribbean, Cuba, Asia (new for December 2016) and, (new for summer 2017) Indonesia.
A 7-night Indonesia sailing on board Star Clipper, cruise only, costs from A$3,185 (US$2,380) per person, including all meals on board & port charges.
All three ships have expansive teak decks, swimming pools, informal dining, a convivial Tropical Bar on deck and a comfortable piano bar and are large enough to offer first class accommodation and dining, but small enough to call into intimate ports, untouched by large cruise ships.