Sea Cloud II

The Sea Cloud II is a large barque built as a cruise ship, and operated by Sea Cloud Cruises of Hamburg, Germany.

Concept and construction
Due to the success of the operator's first ship, Sea Cloud, but also for economic reasons, the operator decided to put another sailing ship into service.

Unlike the Sea Cloud, the Sea Cloud II is a newbuilding. The contract for her construction was awarded to the Spanish shipbuilder Astilleros Gondán, SA. The keel laying was held there on 24 June 1998. The rigging was planned and produced by Navicom in Wolgast. The 23 sails were made in Poland.

Sea Cloud II was launched on 18 March 1999. However, the owner's exacting demands in relation to interior fitout caused delivery problems and personnel problems. This led to a roughly one-year delay. The ship was eventually handed over to Sea Cloud Cruises on 29 December 2000, in a not yet completely finished state.

On 22 January 2001, the final work was completed. The Sea Cloud II was christened on 6 February 2001 in Las Palmas, Canary Islands. The sponsor was Sabine Christiansen.

Hull
The Sea Cloud II has an overall length of 105.90 m. Her maximum beam is 16.0 m and her draught is described as 5.70 m. Her hull is built of standard shipbuilding steel, and is fitted with eight watertight bulkheads.

Three of the Sea Cloud II's decks are continuous. She has a, and is equipped with three anchors, weighing a total of 2,280 kg.

Decks
The ship has five decks. The bridge deck is used as a sun deck behind the superstructure. Below it is the main deck, which is called the lido deck. It has a bar, lounge, the Owner Suites and the library. The promenade deck, or first sub-deck, houses the reception area, restaurant, boutique, and the junior suites. Outside the windows of the suites is a promenade; no balconies are available. Externally, the Sea Cloud II is recognizable by the long "cutouts" in her hull.

The cabin deck is the second sub-deck. As its name suggests, it houses the cabins, but also a fitness room, sauna and a room for medical care. On the lowest deck are cabins for the crew members, along with the kitchen and other service facilities. A freight elevator connects the decks.

There is no pool aboard the Sea Cloud II. Instead, she has a foldable platform, which facilitates sea-based watersports.

Cabins and suites
In the cabins and suites, a maximum of 96 passengers can be accommodated. The interior of the Sea Cloud II is air conditioned, and in the cabins and suites, the temperature can be regulated. There are 27 outside cabins with portholes. By price category, the room sizes range from 12 m2 to 20 m2. They are always equipped with two beds, and a TV, safe, shower, toilet and marble vanity tops with gold-plated taps, amongst other features. In the three interior cabins, the lowest category, there are bunk beds.

The 16 "junior suites" are 23 m2 in size, and are equipped with large windows. They also have more luxurious furnishings and interior decorations. The bathrooms are slightly larger than in the cabins and have a bath. The two so-called "owner suites" differ from the "junior suites" by having a room size of 27 m2, more extensive furnishings (including a four-poster bed) and a much larger bathroom with tub and separate shower.

Rigging
The Sea Cloud II is a square-rigger with fore-mast, main-mast and mizzen-mast. The top of her main-mast is 57 m above deck. Her 23 sails have a total area of approximately 3,000 m2. She is sailed traditionally by hand, as is common, for example, on sail training ships.

Machinery
The vessel's main power plants consist of two four-stroke diesel engines made by Krupp MaK Maschinenbau GmbH, each developing 1240 kW at 900 revolutions/minute. The propeller is driven via a gear mechanism. Using this means of propulsion, the Sea Cloud II achieves a top speed of about 13 knots. Additionally, she is equipped with a bow thruster. Three main generators developing a total of 1653 kW generate the on-board voltage of 380/220 V AC, 50 Hz. There is also a 187 kW emergency generator.

Cruise regions
The Sea Cloud II sails mainly in the Mediterranean in summer and in the Caribbean in winter. Her Atlantic crossings between these two regions are also marketed as cruises.

Rating
Comfort, service and cuisine are at the highest level on the Sea Cloud II. In 2004, the Berlitz Complete Guide to Cruising & Cruise Ships therefore gave her a five star rating.