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About
Clipper
Cruise
Line...
Clipper Cruise Line is the ultimate destination-oriented
cruise line, operating four small ships, which are designed to get in and out of
ports small and large. All of Clipper's cruises emphasize eco- and other types
of educational travel. Clipper, based in St. Louis and part of INTRAV, a major
American tour operator, has carved out a niche as well in its range of
destinations, from some of cruise-dom's usual suspects to, well, none of them.
It's also one of the few existing cruise lines with U.S. flagged ships.
Founded in 1982, Clipper consists of the 100-passenger Nantucket Clipper
and 138-passenger Yorktown Clipper, which were designed to sail tidal estuaries,
rivers and bays of the coastal U.S., Canada, and the Caribbean. The company's
most exotic itineraries are handled by the 122-passenger Clipper Adventurer,
which, with an ice-strengthened hull, can cruise in Antarctic and Arctic waters,
not to mention Chilean fjords and Brazilian jungle rivers. The ship has its own
fleet of Zodiac landing craft for an even-more up-close-and-personal look at
these remote areas. Clipper Adventurer also sails more conventional western
European itineraries. Finally, the 128-passenger Clipper Odyssey is the
company's Pacific emissary, focusing on itineraries that visit places ranging
from Australia, New Zealand and Tasmania, the South Pacific, Korea, Japan, and
even Russia's Kamchatka Peninsula and the Aleutian Islands.
While
creature comforts vary between ships, all offer standard luxuries most cruise
passengers expect, such as comfortable staterooms, fitness facilities, lounges
and libraries, and outdoor pools. Otherwise, prepare to do without the flashier
cruise accouterments, such as discos, alternative eateries, rock climbing walls
and casinos. These ships prefer to focus on the destination. Speaking of which,
one of Clipper's most distinguishing features is its onboard programs, which
feature distinguished naturalists, ecologists and other experts. Another appeal
-- for some, anyway -- is that all Clipper's ships are nonsmoking.
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CRUISECLEVER - CLIPPER
CRUISE LINE
