Star Clippers Brings Costa Rica Expert on Board

Tall ship sailing specialist Star Clippers has announced that it will carry a guest lecturer, German-born Steffi Adels (above), on board Star Flyer for the ship’s forthcoming 2011/2012 Costa Rica season.

During each voyage, Steffi will talk to the guests about her experiences in Costa Rica, where she worked for a year as a tour guide. She has guided and travelled in all the most beautiful and popular areas of the country, including the volcanoes, the cloud forests, the rivers and canopy trails, the rainforests and national parks, as well as being a regular visitor to neighbouring Nicaragua.

The 170-guest Star Flyer spends from November to March each winter sailing the tropical waters of Central America’s Pacific coast, visiting dramatic rainforests, sweeping beaches and secluded inlets and islands, with plentiful opportunities for spotting wildlife and birds, as well as snorkelling over the reefs and hiking the forest trails.

Star Clippers offers a seven-night Costa Rica and Nicaragua cruise from just £1,140, cruise-only, round-trip from Puerto Caldera, calling at San Juan del Sur, Playa del Coco, National Park Santa Rosa, Samara, Puerto Carrillo, National Reserve of Curu and Isla Tortuga.

For more info, visit www.starclippers.co.uk or sailing cruise specialists The Cruise Line Ltd.

Christmas Under Sail

By guest blogger Steve Newman

Tall ship sailing specialist Star Clippers is offering spectacular stay-and-cruise packages this Christmas, combining a few days on the beach in a luxury hotel with a voyage on a romantic square rigger in either the Caribbean or Costa Rica.

Choose from three alternatives:

Christmas cruise & stay; Beach & Grenadines

Spend four days topping up your tan in Barbados at the newly-renovated Tamarind, one of the finest boutique hotels on the island’s ritzy Platinum Coast, before boarding the magnificent, five-masted flagship, Royal Clipper, which carries 227 guests, for an eight-night, round-trip sailing from Barbados. Ports of call include various islands in the Grenadines, among them the beautiful Tobago Cays and pretty Grenada and Bequia, as well as Martinique and Dominica. Christmas Day is spent soaking up the sun in Marigot Bay, St Lucia, in the morning, moving on to Soufriere after lunch, and returning to Barbados on Boxing Day. Departs December 14, from £2,199 per person including four nights’ hotel accommodation, eight days full board on the ship, flights, transfers and port taxes.

Christmas cruise & stay; Caribbean gems

The 170-passenger Star Clipper sails from St Maarten for her Christmas cruise on an eight-day round trip, calling at Anguilla, the British Virgin Islands, St Kitts and Antigua, spending Christmas day anchored off the chic little port of Gustavia, St Barths. Spend five nights before the cruise at the four-star Grand Case Beach Club on St Maarten, on one of the island’s most beautiful beaches. Departs December 13, from £1,999 per person including five nights’ hotel accommodation, eight days full board on the ship, flights, transfers and port taxes.

Christmas cruise & stay; Central America

Star Flyer, meanwhile, will be sailing the coast of Costa Rica, offering a chance to escape completely. On a week-long voyage from Puerto Caldera, the ship will call at out-of-the-way ports and anchorages in both Costa Rica and Nicaragua. Guests will wake up on Christmas Day in the stunning National Reserve of Curu, moving on to Isla Tortugas for a beach barbecue and overnight. Spend four nights before the cruise in the four-star Hotel Parador, a stunning beach resort set in 12 acres of tropical rainforest, adjacent to the Manuel Antonio National Park. Departs December 15, from £2,299 per person including four nights’ hotel accommodation, seven nights full board on the ship, flights, transfers and port taxes.

For more details, log on to http://www.starclippers.co.uk/ or call the specialist cruise agents of the Cruise Line Ltd on 0800 008 6677.