Fifty-something Beth from Orinda, Calif., was on her third Royal Clipper cruise, which she loves for its intimate scuba dives. Robert and Debra, an outgoing couple in their 60s from Glasgow, Scotland, were on their fourth and weighing route options for their fifth. Veronica, a 20-something from New Zealand by way of Frankfurt, Germany, was on her second cruise in just six months and had recruited gal-pal Victoria to join her. Pat and Pam, two very tiny, very energetic, very white-haired British ladies who were rumored to be pushing 90, were on their sixth Royal Clipper cruise together and outdanced the other passengers nearly every night.
At some point during the week, I asked each of these folks if they had ever been on a larger cruise. Most of them looked at me like I was crazy. These are people who hate big-ship cruises. And they love the Royal Clipper.
They're not alone either. Dexter Donham, owner of Sailing Ship Adventures, a specialty travel agency that represents only sailing-ship operators, said bookings on sailing ships are more popular now than ever. Why? Blame the big boats.
"What's happened in the cruise business is that the ships have gotten exceedingly large and much more impersonal, so it's like going to a Las Vegas hotel for a week," he said. "Many people have been turned off. They feel like they're one in a herd of cattle, so they're looking for something different.
"There's a romance to sailing that's very different from a cruise ship. It's a gentler experience." Still, sailing ships the size of the Royal Clipper, with a capacity of 227 guests, are not without their big-boat moments. My clean towels were subjected to embarrassment in the form of being folded into frumpy sea creatures. There was a dress-up Captain's Dinner (although there were still a few flip-flops present), a few bad meals and more than a few nights of eye-rolling entertainment courtesy of Misha and Katya, the Russian musical duo who appeared to have made a cruel pact with one another: When in doubt, do another ABBA cover.
Misha and Katya are forgiven, though, if only because their shtick was so well suited for its context. On a typical cruise, they might have gotten lost in the shuffle of Vegas-style revues. Here is this odd-couple - tall, slinky Katya towering over wee, round Misha and his cheap acoustic guitar - who gracefully sway with the swells from a corner of the Royal Clipper's modest Tropical Bar, keeping time to a pre-recorded keyboard track. Rumor has it, they've been performing on the Royal Clipper year-round since its maiden voyage eight years ago. This ship is their life, its passengers their people.
