Club Med, SAILING SHIP, built by French naval architects in Le Havre in 1992, is a Wallis & Futuna-flagged vessel. At 14,000 gross tons, with a length of 617 ft, beam of 66 ft, and draft of 16 ft, this vessel is, in brief, one of the world's largest sailing ships. Wallis & Futuna registry (French Overseas Territory in the South Pacific) notwithstanding,
Club Med 2 is French through and through, with a bit of France seemingly built into every deck.
She unfurls seven computer-monitored sails on five 164-ft masts. Six of her eight decks of Burmese teak are for her 394 passengers, double occupancy. French and international officers and a mostly French and Mauritian crew work in tandem with a mainly Filipino cabin staff. Electric engines provide quiet auxiliary power to keep the ship on schedule when the wind fails.
Club Med land resorts predate Club Med at sea, beginning in 1990 with Club Med 1. At one point it looked like Club Med would leave the cruise business altogether but that has not yet happened. The informality, outdoor activities and complimentary wines certainly evoke the land resorts. However, the ship is more upscale in its food operation.
The great majority of the passengers will be French or fully conversant in French. While the staff may speak English, most of the passengers will not want to, so consider this ship only if comfortable with the language. Passengers younger than 12 are not accepted. Currency is the euro, and smoking is permitted in designated areas.
The Club Med 2 cruises the Caribbean and Mediterranean (west and Adriatic) and links the two cruising regions with spring and fall transatlantic positioning voyages. Much of the cruise is spent in port, at anchor or docked, to be able to spend the day ashore and to use the aft marina platform and the watersports facilities.
The atmosphere is relaxed and casual except for the two formal dinners on each cruise. The ship is glorious under 8,200 sq ft of sail (computer operated), and is very much like a floating Club Med resort except for her cruise-ship amenities and her tastefully understated surroundings, which show meticulous craftsmanship, fine mahogany, and fine fabrics and leather. The French accent is noticeable, right down to the Gentils Organisateurs, the go-go social hosts who behave like the cheerful camp counselors familiar to anyone who has ever stayed at a Club Med village.
Spacious rooms, with understated decor in white and blue, show brass, chrome, glass and mirror accents that add a nautical toot to the Gallic ambience. Guests take meals in the dining room and the open veranda cafe, both with single sittings and unassigned seating at dinner. Each has a different menu.
Le Grand Bleu, seating 168 on the top deck, serves casual breakfast and luncheon buffets and theme dinners featuring foods from around world. Le Deauville seats 280 in a more formal atmosphere. While the French take their food seriously, the cuisine aboard is rarely inspired. Each course offers several choices, and the club's private-label wine, beer and bottled water are free at lunch and dinner. Officers and crew dine with passengers, and the French and Filipino service is first-rate.
Caberet entertainment is in the chrome and glass disco, small casino and several bars. The Topkapi Piano Bar is popular for tea and after-dinner drinks and also functions as a nightclub at times. Another lounge, with a bar, stage, bandstand and dance floor, doubles as a theater. The GOs serve as amateur entertainers nightly. Oddly enough, the nightclub is all but hidden on the lowest deck next to the engine room. In contrast, a glass roof covers half the main lounge, giving it an airy feeling. Window-walls, and both enclosed and alfresco sections, impart the same breeziness to the two aft bars.
Two small dip pools, daily aerobics and exercise classes, snorkeling, sailing, kayaking, sailboarding, waterskiing from the watersports platform, and dive boats for certified divers (extra charge) keep the active in motion. Captain's chairs await loungers on three decks. Other facilities include a fitness center, sauna, tanning salon, spa treatments, whirlpools, boutique, beauty salon, observation deck, computer workshop and laundry (with no dry cleaning).
Standard cabins are 188 sq ft, with no singles aboard. They include mahogany desks, phones, TVs and radios, minibars, large mahogany-framed mirrors, ample stowage, safes, and teak-floored baths with showers, hair dryers and robes. Outside cabins come with twin portholes, and configurations include 124 twins (55 convertible to doubles), 31 kings, 23 triples (extra Pullman berth) and four quads. Room service is on-call around the clock, and cabin service is excellent even with Club Med's no-tipping policy.
Laid-back cruisers enjoy activities ranging from bridge to dance contests to just lazing about. The port visits are incidental, particularily on Caribbean itineraries, save for eating out. Francophiles and especially Francophones will have the best time, as the Club Med 2 at sea is definitely not for monolingual English speakers.
