Royal Clipper cruise cost: 2027 and 2028 prices, by cabin

What does a Royal Clipper cruise cost? Below are Star Clippers’ own published fares for her 7-night Caribbean sailings from Barbados, cabin by cabin, for the 2026–27 and 2027–28 winter seasons. Every figure is US dollars per person, sharing a cabin, from Star Clippers’ US rate file as of November 2026. Fares change and Star Clippers runs promotions, so treat this as a guide and check the live fare on Star Clippers’ website before you book. And no, I don’t have a “what I actually spent on board” story for you. We sail her in January 2028.

Royal Clipper prices for January 2028

These are the fares for the 7-night round trips from Bridgetown, Barbados, departing 8, 15, 22 and 29 January 2028. All four sailings have the same fares.

Cabin	Brochure price	Advance-purchase fare
Owner’s Suite	$17,340	$6,070
Deluxe Suite (verandah)	$14,110	$4,940
Category 1 (deck cabin)	$11,570	$4,050
Category 2 (superior outside)	$9,710	$3,400
Category 3 (outside)	$9,280	$3,250
Category 4 (outside)	$8,820	$3,090
Category 5 (outside, double bed)	$7,850	$2,750
Category 6 (inside)	$7,480	$2,620
Third person in a cabin		$1,460

The 7-night February and March 2028 Caribbean sailings, and the late-November 2027 sailings, show the same fares. See the Royal Clipper cabins guide for what each category is.

Brochure price or advance-purchase fare?

Star Clippers’ rate file gives two figures for every cabin. The brochure price is the full list price. The advance-purchase fare is roughly a third of it, and it’s the figure Star Clippers uses in its own promotions: in July 2026 Cruise Industry News reported the 8 January 2028 sailing “from $2,620,” which is the Category 6 advance-purchase fare. If someone quotes you a Royal Clipper fare near the brochure price, ask why. Then ask again.

Royal Clipper cruises 2026–27 prices

This season’s 7-night Caribbean round trips from Barbados are cheaper. These are the advance-purchase fares for a standard January to March 2027 sailing:

Cabin	Jan–Mar 2027, 7 nights	New Year, 26 Dec 2026, 7 nights
Owner’s Suite	$5,410	$5,610
Deluxe Suite	$4,210	$4,410
Category 1	$3,260	$3,460
Category 2	$2,770	$2,970
Category 3	$2,660	$2,860
Category 4	$2,530	$2,730
Category 5	$2,330	$2,530
Category 6	$2,080	$2,280
Third person	$1,380	$1,580

Holiday sailings in 2027–28

Christmas and New Year sailings are longer and cost more:

Sailing (from Bridgetown)	Nights	Category 6	Category 2	Owner’s Suite
4 and 11 Dec 2027	7	$2,550	$3,310	$5,900
Christmas, 18 Dec 2027	11	$4,120	$5,350	$9,540
New Year, 29 Dec 2027	10	$3,860	$5,010	$8,930
January 2028	7	$2,620	$3,400	$6,070

The early-December 2027 sailings are the cheapest Royal Clipper Caribbean weeks of the 2027–28 season.

Royal Clipper cruise cost per night

Divide the January 2028 fares by seven nights and you get a rough nightly cost per person:

• Category 6 inside: about $374 a night
• Category 4 outside: about $441 a night
• Category 2 outside: about $486 a night
• Deluxe Suite: about $706 a night
• Owner’s Suite: about $867 a night

That’s your bed, three meals and the water sports. Drinks come on top (see below).

Royal Clipper prices compared with Star Flyer and Star Clipper

Star Clippers’ two smaller ships cost a little less. Advance-purchase fares per person, sharing, for comparable 7-night Caribbean sailings, as of November 2026:

Ship and sailing	Inside (Cat 6)	Standard outside (Cat 4)	Superior outside (Cat 2)	Owner’s cabin
Royal Clipper, from Barbados, 15 Jan 2028	$2,620	$3,090	$3,400	$6,070
Star Flyer, from St Maarten, 15 Jan 2028	$2,060	$2,570	$2,800	$4,370
Star Clipper, from Antigua, 4 Dec 2027	$2,020	$2,520	$2,750	$4,280

The smaller ships carry 170 guests, have smaller cabins and no suites with verandahs. Our tall ship cruise lines guide compares the three ships.

Royal Clipper Mediterranean prices

In summer the Royal Clipper sails the Mediterranean. Her 7-night summer 2027 sailings from Nice and Venice run from $2,660 to $2,710 per person, sharing, for Category 6, and $3,440 to $3,490 for Category 2, at advance-purchase fares as of November 2026.

How to pay less for a Royal Clipper cruise

• Book the advance-purchase fare. It’s the fare Star Clippers quotes, and it’s far below the brochure price.
• Sail in early December. The 4 and 11 December 2027 sailings are the cheapest Royal Clipper Caribbean weeks of the 2027–28 season.
• Skip the holidays. Christmas and New Year sailings are longer, so they cost more in total, and New Year’s is a little more per night too.
• Share with a third person. In cabins with a third berth, the third guest pays $1,460 for January 2028, which brings the average down. (Someone gets the upper bunk. Settle that before you book.)
• Pick an inside cabin if you only sleep there. Category 6 is $780 per person less than Category 2 in January 2028.
• Watch for promotions. Star Clippers runs offers such as onboard credit and Wi-Fi on selected sailings.

Is the Royal Clipper all-inclusive?

No, and it doesn’t claim to be. Think of it as “meals and toys included, drinks and tips not.” According to Star Clippers’ deck plan and its published guidance, and iglu cruise’s Star Clippers FAQ, the fare covers:

• Your cabin, with a private bathroom, air conditioning and TV.
• Meals on board, in the dining room at one open seating.
• Coffee, tea and juice at breakfast, and water.
• Water sports from the marina platform: water-skiing, paddle-boarding, windsurfing, kayaking, small-boat sailing and snorkeling.
• Entertainment on board, and sailing activities such as the bowsprit net and supervised mast climbs.

What costs extra

Plan for these on top of the fare:

• Flights to Barbados, and a hotel night before if you’d otherwise fly in on the day. Our Bridgetown, Barbados guide covers the port and the airport.
• Port charges, added per sailing. Ask the amount when you book.
• Gratuities. Not included. Star Clippers gives a suggested daily amount per guest; check the current figure when you book.
• Drinks. Alcohol and most other drinks are paid on board.
• Shore excursions. Star Clippers sells its own; you can also go ashore on your own at most stops.
• Scuba diving, and Wi-Fi unless a promotion includes it.
• Travel insurance. See the next section.

Do you need travel insurance for a sailing cruise?

Our own trip requires it, and I’d buy it for any cruise you have to fly to. Here’s why it matters more on a ship like this one:

• Medicare stops at the water’s edge, more or less. Medicare’s own fact sheet says Original Medicare doesn’t cover care you get on a cruise ship more than six hours from a US port, and in most cases doesn’t cover care outside the US at all. Barbados is a lot more than six hours from Miami. If you have Medicare, read Medicare Coverage Outside the United States before you buy anything, and check what your Medigap or Advantage plan says.
• Ships sail on schedule. Miss boarding in Bridgetown because of a late flight and catching up with the ship is on you. Missed-connection cover, plus flying in a day early, is cheap peace of mind.
• It’s six islands in a week. Most stops are by tender, and every island has its own hospitals and rules. Evacuation cover is the bit people skip and shouldn’t.

What to look for: medical cover abroad, emergency evacuation, trip cancellation and interruption, and missed connections. Read what the policy says about pre-existing conditions before you pay.

Deals and promotions

Star Clippers runs promotions through the year. In July 2026 it announced two free shore excursions per cabin, given as $200 onboard credit per cabin, plus a 3GB Wi-Fi package, for North American and Latin American residents on new bookings for selected January to March 2028 sailings, including the Royal Clipper’s 8 January 2028 Grenadine Islands sailing. Check whether an offer applies to your date; offers change and aren’t on every sailing.

Is the Royal Clipper worth the cost?

That depends on what you want from a week. You’re paying for a real square-rigged sailing ship, anchorages that big cruise ships can’t use, included water sports and a small crowd of up to 227 guests. You’re not paying for resort-ship extras: the only private verandahs are on the 14 Deluxe Suites, and there’s one dining room. If you want a water slide and six restaurants, this isn’t your ship, and that’s fine. For how her fares compare with other sailing ships, see tall ship cruise lines compared. For the ship herself, start with the main Royal Clipper guide.

The price of our hosted trip

Our trip, Mermaids, Pirates and Poets (Caribbean Sail), is a hosted group week on the Royal Clipper’s Windward Islands sailing, 15 to 22 January 2028. The trip price covers the seven nights on board with meals, me as your host on board all week, a story stop on shore at each island, and the reading months from August 2027 with books, films, music and two video calls a month. Flights, drinks, travel insurance and personal spending aren’t included; details of port charges, gratuities and solo prices go to the waiting list. Prices are on the trip page.