off2kokomo

I absolutely love the idea of a cruise on a true clipper ship but am rather nervous about possibly getting seasick. I have a tendency towards motion sickness so always have dramamine in my bag. I don't find it to be a problem very often on regular cruise ships or even the small cruisers that do the bay cruises. However, I am wondering how the motion will be when using actual sails.

RiverBoat

I wouldn't expect the motion to be particularly different. Yes, you will move a little slower, but in a rough sea I would think that a powered ship would suffer the same problems as a clipper.

I too love the romantic idea of sailing on a clipper, especially if it were a fairly period equipped one.

filleduroi

Having just returned from my first experience aboard any clipper ship, I consider myself a recent expert on this subject. The Royal Clipper definitely rolls -- in fact, the Captain said, "if we are not rolling, we have problem"! The days were fine, especially when the sails were up. The only uncomfortable times were when they motored in the night, especially the last night from Martinique to Barbados. I took a Bonine tablet as we left the harbor and so did many of my friends. Those of us who took them were able to go to the dining room for dinner, albeit with both feet firmly planted to keep chairs from tipping over, while those who didn't take the tablet were predictably sick in their cabins. Bonine didn't have any side-effects such as drowsiness caused by Dramamine. I'm going to keep some with me for any eventuality. A crew member told me early in the week that Friday night's run back to Barbados would be rough -- he advised, "take tablet"! He was right! I am still enthralled with the experience and looking for a way to repeat it. My only previous experience was on a large Carnival cruise in '02 and I was sufficiently unimpressed as to figure once was enough. Too many people, too many rules and if I wanted Vegas, I'd go to Vegas. This was as far from that as it could be and I would recommend it to anyone.

Ally

hmmm...its when you get aboard a sailing vessel that you realise why stabilisers were invented

It must have been a great experience as Royal Clipper is a stunning ship, especially with full sail deployed. I would dearly love to give it a go one day...its on the 'things to do' list

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Ally - CruisingTalk Administrator

1965 - Cunard Queen Mary
1967 - Cunard Queen Elizabeth
1970 - Cunard Queen Elizabeth 2
1971 - P&O Oriana
1972 - SS France
1975 - SS Leopard
1977 - P&O Canberra
2005 - NCL Norwegian Jewel - Shakedown Cruise - Jersey
2005/6 - NCL Norwegian Crown - Chile, Cape Horn, Falkland Islands, Uruguay & Argentina - Christmas/New Year cruise
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2007 - Fred Olsen Braemar Transatlantic - Jamaica, Cuba, Bahamas, Bermuda & Azores
2007 - Fred Olsen Braemar Mini Cruise - Guernsey & Amsterdam
2007 - NCL Norwegian Gem - Shakedown Cruise - Amsterdam
2008 - Costa Allegra - Hong Kong, Philippines, Borneo, Brunei, Singapore, Saigon, Da-Nang & Sanya

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10/10/2009 - Costa Classica - Grand Oriental Cruise - Shanghai, Nagasaki, Tokyo, Kobe, Naha, Keelung and Hong Kong - 16 Nights Cruising in: 272 day(s), 12 hour(s), 7 minute(s)