Royal clipper maiden visit

The largest masted cruise ship in the world The Royal Clipper made her maiden visit to Palma yesterday after having put into the Port of Mahon in Minorca on Monday. Think of exotic locations, luxurious cabins that faithfully reproduce the elegance of Edwardian cruising, five spectacular masts and huge, billowing sails. The Royal Clipper was built at the Merwede Shipyard in Rotterdam at a cost of 55 million dollars. The ship's vital statistics are awesome – 439 feet in length, five fully rigged masts towering 200 feet above the ocean and bearing 54'000 square feet of sail, 106 square feet of deck space per passenger, three swimming pools, 90 large outside double cabins, 14 whirlpool–equipped deck suites with private verandahs and two 400 square feet super cabins accommodating 228 passengers and a crew of 105. Before setting up Star Clippers Ltd – which currently has two further sailing ships in operation, the Star Clipper and Star Flyer in service since 1991 and 1992 respectively – Mikael Krafft would follow small cruise ships around the Caribbean in his own yacht and when they docked he would invite passengers on board and ask them what they looked for in a cruise. ”Over a period of time I interviewed 3000 passengers and perhaps the most important thing I discovered was it's not what the cruise guide says, it's what the passenger says that really counts.