thoughts and observations about Sea Cloud II

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Sea Cloud II is amazing. It's bigger than we thougtht it was going to be. Extremely well appointed with various hardwood cabinetry, moudlings, overhead paneling. The deck and side rails are teak and brass fittings are polished. The crew is amazingly attentive. Our rooms on the 3^rd deck are spacious with our beds fitted with douvets. We have our own attendant who makes sure we have fresh fruit, ice, bottles of water, etc everyday and turns down our beds, etc. the bathroom is 1^stclass. The ship so far hasn't done much rolling.

There is an internet service but it costs 10 euros for a 24 hour period, Ken has tried it but it's slow. I finally paid up and it's OK but every now and then you get kicked off so if you haven't saved something like this blog entry I just wrote before, it's gone, so now I'm rewriting again . . . grrrrrr.

Each cabin has a music channel, many light fixtures, a fresh rose at the desk each day and original paintings on the walls. We have 3 windows off the starboard side of the ship with a grand view and we are near the anchor chain so when it's lowered or hoisted we know it. We have air conditioning and a nice seating area and also satellite TV which mostly shows CNBC. Our attendant, Rommel is always smiling and ready to do anything for us.

There are 4 decks. Sea Cloud II is a 4 masted bark (google it) and almost 400' long. It's sails are changed out about every 5 years. Everything is teak. Teak deck chairs, deck, railings. A 15 man deck crew is accomplished at setting sails and maintaining the ship. There is a nice lounge for cocktails and lectures and watching a big screen TV (the Euro Cup is going on now so all the Germans are in there watching). There is a nice outside bar / lounge area on the 4th deck where we have breakfast, lunch and snacks during the day and I'm writing this entry . . . the internet connection is best here.

I'll have more thoughts in a few days. I suggest googling Sea Cloud II to learn more about this sailing ship.

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