Built in Spain in 2000 and registered in Malta, the
Sea Cloud IIupdates the classic style of her legendary sister,
Sea Cloud. Noted Hamburg ship designers Kai Bunge and Siegfried Schindler, who earned kudos for their design of the
River Cloud and their renovation of the
Sea Cloud, are responsible for this beauty as well.
She preserves the romance of the classic windjammer yet comes enhanced with extras to offer a high degree of comfort and modern efficiency. This three-masted, four-deck ship boasts two dozen billowing sails of 29,600 sq ft and with a main mast of 174 ft.
Her manually operated sails—no Windstar computers here—rekindle memories of a bygone seagoing age. She can sail at 12 knots and runs at 14 under the power of a pair of four-stroke engines. German officers and an international crew of 60 cater to a maximum of 96 passengers.
Sea Cloud Cruises is a German company that got its start with the purchase and renovation of the original Sea Cloud and then added Sea Cloud II and the riverboats River Cloud and River Cloud II. An even larger Sea Cloud Hussar is under construction, and it is likely that the original Sea Cloud will be withdrawn due to the new Safety of Life at Sea regulations due to kick-in in late 2010.
If chartered, the passengers will reflect the nationality of the tour operator, while on cruises sold to individuals, there will be a global clientele, though Europeans (especially Germans) and Americans are often in the majority.
The 3- to 12-night itineraries take in the Caribbean from Barbados, the Mediterranean and Baltic, with some cruises based in Hamburg. Many Germans will come aboard the cruises from this old Hanseatic city. Transatlantic cruises link the European and the Caribbean seasons with calls in the Canary Islands.
The Mediterranean and Baltic cruises are more seriously destination-oriented than the Caribbean. The weekly cruises based in Barbados begin with one full sea day under sail, a highlight for many. Snorkeling, water-skiing and windsurfing gear are supplied without
Her tasteful interiors are comfortable and up to date, yet replicate a traditional sailing yacht where possible, and her technology is right from the new millennium. Public rooms include a beautifully furnished panoramic lounge that is likely to prove the ship's most popular rendezvous. The bar and cozy library also boast wonderful views. Carefully chosen fabrics, leather, rattan, brass, precious woods, and marble create an impressive interior reminiscent of the opulence of 1930s yachts.
The tasteful restaurant is bright, modern and nautical, with an open-seating policy for its local specialties. The elegant gold-rimmed dinnerware for the captain's dinner has the ship's crest emblazoned on its white porcelain. Large deck areas and a swimming platform provide plentiful outside space. The Cabin Deck includes a small fitness room, a sauna, and a watersports platform built into the aft quarter starboard.
The 48 outside cabins measure from 129 to 247 sq ft, while the two owner's suites are of 290 sq ft each. These latter two feature canopied beds with two separate mattresses and tub baths, a feature also of the junior suites. Each wood-paneled cabin has a phone, TV, radio and music channels, minibar and safe. The spacious marble baths have a stall shower, hair dryer and robes. Stowage is ample. On the Promenade Deck, the cabins open onto the side passage, while the others open more traditionally to a central corridior. The smallest cabins have upper and lower bunks or they may be sold as singles.
This is a tall ship replica built to cater to every need, a true beauty under sail. Its accommodations and food and service levels put it above the Star Clippers, and the sailing experience is more genuine than Windstar.
