Star Clippers: King of the sea

Who: Mabelie Bruijns

What: Press trip with the Royal Clipper

Where: Amalfi & Sorrento coast (Italy)

When: May 2012

Star Clippers is a cruise shipping company, but they don’t offer just any cruises: they sail! Star Clippers has three vessels in their fleet: the Star Clipper and its identical sister the Star Flyer, both four masters and the king of the sea: the Royal Clipper. This is the only sailing five master worldwide and we were so luck y to join a sailing cruise from Rome- Rome. The three ships in the Star Clippers fleet are modern, high-tech, re-creations of the classic clipper sailing ships that dominated the oceans of the world in the 19^th century. Today they offer passengers comfortable, crewed sailing on traditional clipper ships, built to uncompromising yacht safety, with the luxurious surroundings of a private yacht.

And that’s what we have experienced! Although the weather could have been better, we sailed along the coast of Italy and visited the idyllic village Ponza, Sorrento and Amalfi coast, famous for its lemons and limoncello liquor.

We were surprised by the service of the crew, the quality of the food (every day an extensive buffet for breakfast/lunch and a la carte for dinner) but most of all by the relaxed and informal atmosphere on board among the guests. The Royal Clipper can host 270 passengers at the most, so it gets never crowded. The staff knows you by name and after only one day the bartender knew my favorite drink. This feels like home but with the advantage to see the beauty of the Aeolian Islands and Sicily as well.

Tip: visit the lemon orchids of the Family Massa who produce the best Limoncello liquor of the world: Villa Massa and have a tasting.

Tip 2: Hire your own convertible to drive along the Amalfi coast and visit Positano.

Got curious? Look at: www.starclippers.com for more information.

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Authentic & Traditional Oman



Who: Marthe van Leeuwen
What: Press trip Oman
Where: Oman
When: 9th until 15th of October 2011

WOW! Is this also Oman!? I’ve visited the country numerous of times and each time Oman continues to surprise me. For this press trip the theme was markets & traditions. During a whole week we could literarily get a taste of the authentic and traditional Oman. We travelled at least 1400 kilometer, from the desert to the green Jebal Akhdar and from the camel markets in Sinaw to the goat market in Nizwa and white sand beaches and tropical wadis. But it has to be said: every kilometer was worth wile!

Boat sailing on the sea… 
Since the theme of the press trip is traditional Oman what better fit than a cruise on the sea with a huge dhow? The authentic dhows are traditional wooden sailing ships that people used to travel on to China, India and even Zanzibar and Egypt. After a city tour in Muscat we sail in style with a dhow to the Shangri-La's Barr Al Jissah Resort & Spa for lunch. The trip is short but still an unforgettable experience to sail along the coast of Oman in this splendid ship. The perfect start for an incredible week!

Fairytales do exist 
If you think fairytales only exist in books, you’re definitely wrong! What a beautiful camp, we literarily travel back in time and experience the fairytale from 1001 nights at first hand. The tents camp is set up in a traditional way met authentic tents royally richly provided with colored cloths and pillows. There’s no electricity in the tent so everything is romantically lid up with candles and oil lamps. If you want to relax, the desert is the place to be because there’s no reach for your mobile phone let alone internet. If you still want contact with the populated world then you will need to look for a high dune and hope you have reach. 

Green, greener, most green
Yes, I’m still talkin about Oman, more known as a sandbox among most people! Maybe hard to believe but Oman is incredibly green. Today a trip to Jebal Akhdar is on our planning. Translated it means “the Green Mountain”. The way up is on a well maintained road but still a 4WD is a must. The way goes incredibly upright and without a 4WD and a powerful motor you simply won’t make it. Once you reach the top at 2100 meter you have an incredible view of the mountains. On the Jebal Akhdar it’s only 25 degrees but this serves as a refreshing cool off after the 40 degrees we endured in the desert earlier during the trip. We visit the mountain Al Ayn where we all enjoy a short walk. What a peace but also what a green landscape. We walk between the plantations and have a view on a enormous waterfall. You would almost think we ended up in a different country because this part was very green and wet. And once again we meet the Omani, who are yet again very friendly and always in for a talk while drinking a cup of Kahwa (coffee flavored with cardamom).

Marthe’s tip:
The Al Hajar mountain is the spine of Oman. The tops reach at least 3000 meter high and come with spectacular views. The ultimate experience would be a night in the mountains of Oman! Do take a 4WD because only then will you see the beautiful and intact parts of Oman.

For more information about Oman visit http://www.visitoman.nl/

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