Hospitality on Board

We are very proud of the standard of hospitality we offer guests on board Irene.  Unlike many tall ships, we don’t expect guests to bunk down in the saloon and all share the same bathroom (or heads as it’s referred to on board!).  On Irene, we have two types of cabin:  Our standard cabin and our state room.

Our four standard cabins all have en-suite showers and toilets.  A large double berth and a single bunk make up the sleeping arrangements in each cabin meaning that we can take up to three people in each, although we only ever have a couple or two single people, per cabin.

We also have our State Room cabin.  This is very special.  Initially built for the owners, it spans the full width of the ship at the aft end.  It sports a large double berth and has it’s shower room separate from its heads.  There is a heart shaped dining table raised at the aft end end which is perfect for a late night game of cards.  It also has an interesting chair mounted halfway up the starboard bulkhead which the owner had installed so that he could read a book comfortably when the ship was heeled.

We are also extremely proud of our on-board catering.  Food is an essential part of any voyage and essential to morale when the weather turns against us.  Our guest book is filled with rave reviews of the standards and we work very hard to ensure that continues.  We recently ripped out our old galley and installed a commercial grade one which made life very much easier for the below-decks team.

We are used to catering for specific food and dietary requirements on board Irene, be these for religious, health or preference reasons.  It is always helpful to know these in advance, though, so that appropriate arrangements can be made.  We provide a specific section on our booking forms for you to fill in, that gives our chef the relevant information.  Please also let us know of any special anniversaries, birthdays or other events.  We do like to help you celebrate with something special from the galley!

When not at sea, we regularly host events for larger groups and have a particular reputation for the freshest sea food and local produce.  Wherever we are, we always try and prioritise local producers, farmers markets and fishermen to ensure the providence of the raw ingredients.

Our saloon is spacious and plenty of room for guests and crew to enjoy meals and relaxing after a hard day’s sailing.  We can also accommodate much larger parties when we are not at sea for events and functions.  Catering for groups of more than 40 people is not uncommon.