From the bridge of the three-masted sailing ship Sea Cloud Spirit, the captain yelled the words we were all waiting for.
“Let's set the sails!” he yelled after shutting down the engines as 18 deckhands climbed into the shrouds and maneuvered to find the perfect angle to hand-unfurl the ship's 44,132 square feet of sails.
The crew ran up the mast like acrobats, approaching the top sails that towered some 200 feet above our heads. The captain, Vukota Stojanovic, later insisted that this was no pretense. “Whenever there’s an opportunity to sail, we sail,” he said.
For the next hour, the crew tugged on ropes until the 28 sails billowed in the wind, propelling the 452-foot ship — the world's largest passenger ship with hand-hoisted sails — toward its first port of call, Portofino, Italy.
As cruise lines get bigger and bigger, cramming water parks and basketball courts into their ships, the 136-passenger Seacloud Spirit stands out with its old-fashioned clipper design and wooden decks. It's Hamburg-based Seacloud Cruises' newest ship and its largest, but the company says it wants to leave space for passengers to interact with their surroundings.
“No matter where you are on the ship, you feel like you're sitting on the water,” said Amelia Dominik, 71, a retired real estate agent from Cologne, Germany, who was on her third cruise aboard the Seacloud Spirit.
I arrived to take a four-night “test sailing” from Nice, France, to the Liguria region of Italy, designed to entice passengers to sign up for a longer cruise. Here's what I saw:
Ship and cabins
Spirit offers many comforts and luxuries, including a fitness center, library, hair salon and spa with Finnish sauna overlooking the sea. The deck layout is spacious, with nooks provided for privacy and relaxation.
The hotel's 69 spacious rooms all have windows facing the ocean. My room was a junior suite on the third floor with two large arched windows, a mahogany table, a balcony, and a comfortable sofa and armchairs. The marble bathroom was luxurious, with a gold-plated sink and a large jetted tub.
The elegant interior, with its polished wood paneling and gold accents, is inspired by the original Sea Cloud, built in 1931 for Marjorie Merriweather Post, the American heiress to the General Foods Corporation. Sea Cloud was the world's largest private sailing ship until Post turned it over to the U.S. Navy for use as a weather reporting boat during World War II. The four-masted, 64-passenger vessel has since been restored to its former glory and is set to sail the Aegean and Adriatic Seas this summer.
Sailing
Detailed safety training provided a realistic experience even before the sails were set. On most cruises, training involves watching a safety video and signing in at the muster area, but here, passengers donned life jackets and went through emergency scenarios, including handing out food and fishing from lifeboats.
Each day the sails were set, in heavy rain and winds of over 30 knots. Guests who want to join in the sail setting are usually invited, but this weather made sailing too risky.
“It was amazing to see the work of raising and lowering the sails and to experience how the boat can be pulled so fast by the wind without an engine,” said Malte Lahnenfühler, 50, a psychologist from Zurich, who was travelling with her partner and two children.
captain
Cruise guests rarely meet the captain beyond the initial welcome drink and gala dinner, but Captain Vukota Stojanovic was there throughout the entire cruise, from setting up the sails to lifeguarding and interacting with guests.
Captain Stojanovic, originally from Montenegro, has been a container ship pilot for many years. When he was asked to helm the original Sea Cloud nearly 10 years ago, he was hesitant because he had no sailing experience. Even after learning the ropes (the ship has 340 ropes, or running rigging), he was nervous. “I fell in love with sailing, the ship, the crew and the lifestyle, but I still wanted to be on a container ship,” he says. “It'll be a big change, because I'll have to shave every day,” he jokes.
Eventually, he accepted the opportunity and worked tirelessly to learn how to navigate and steer the ship. Now, he keeps an “open bridge” policy, allowing passengers to visit the control room even when battling the winds.
“The crew and passengers are all part of the experience and I love meeting people and getting their feedback,” Captain Stojanovic said.
environment
Seacloud Cruises is taking a “gentle” approach, using wind power to power the ship whenever possible, even if it means changing course for optimal weather conditions. When sailing isn't possible, Spirit has two diesel-electric engines that run on low-sulfur marine diesel fuel. The company is also working with ports that have shore power facilities that can plug into local electricity.
On board, there is an emphasis on the use of reusable bottles and paper straws, and crew members separate solid waste, compacting it and removing it when in port.
Excursions and Activities
We stopped in Portofino, San Remo, Italy, and Saint-Tropez, France, anchoring offshore and taking people ashore in tenders — a stark contrast to the big cruise ships with their loud horns and thick exhaust fumes spewing from their smokestacks.
For those who want to splash around (there is no pool), the crew set up a water area with swim rings and inflatable slides. Although the water was cold, many guests jumped in from the swimming deck. Passengers can also take a “Zodiac Safari” around the ship, allowing them to view the ship from the water.
Excursions range from food and wine tours to electric bike rides and beach trips. In Portofino, passengers had free time to explore sites such as the Castello Brown fortress and the rock-top lighthouse of Punta del Capo. The ship doesn't leave until 11pm, so there was plenty of time to eat on land. Seacloud Spirit cruises a variety of destinations during the summer, including Spain, Portugal, France and the Azores. On November 11th, it will set sail for St. Maarten in the Caribbean for its winter stop.
Mirell Reyes, president of Seacloud Cruises North America, said that wherever the cruise ship goes, the company is “trying to stay away from the congested ports and ports where the big cruise ships with 6,000 passengers disembark.”
Summer rates range from $3,995 for a four-night voyage in a Superior Cabin to $9,420 for a Veranda Suite, including meals and beverages, while seven-night voyages range from $6,995 to $16,495.
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