It was evident from the start that this tall ship cruise was a 5-star experience. There were 81 guests, mostly Germans. The ship’s language is English, so the captain gives his orders in English. Although, there were only 10-12 English speaking guests, we did not feel left out or uncomfortable. Many of the Germans spoke enough English to carry on a brief conversation. We had 2 guide/interpreters/lecturers on board, one for English speaking guests and one for Germans. These guides were well traveled and very informative. Unfortunately the English speaking guide met with a medical problem half way into the cruise, so the German speaking guide expanded her role to include some English lectures.

While boarding, we were greeted by the cruise director and others, who gave us a card to use for cabin entry and shore excursions (so they could account for all guests). While in our cabin, unpacking, our housekeeper came by to introduce himself and ask us of any needs. There was ample storage space for clothing, luggage, toiletries, etc. Even our lowest-priced room category was roomy, with a table and 2 chairs. We did not feel cramped, even in the beautiful marble bathroom, with a shower stall that had a removable, adjustable height shower head. Our cabin was tended to twice a day, always with fresh washcloths and towels. And when returning to the cabin after dinner, we had a hard copy of our itinerary for the next day

The captain had the crew set sail on our first day out from the port in Colon, Panama. Although not all sails were set, it gave us the feel of the sailing experience. There was only a window of about 2-3 hours to do this before the Panama Canal transit, which was very interesting. Our lecturers/guides told us of its history and how things worked along the way, as we observed from the “monkey deck” (on top of the bridge). Read more