Sea Cloud Spirit Activities

Lectures and Shows on Sea Cloud Spirit

As with most small and sailing ships, there’s no Broadway-style entertainment on Sea Cloud Spirit. On our cruise, there was a classical clarinetist, as well as a pianist, who gave concerts both solo and together – the latter taking full advantage of the Steinway piano onboard.

Sea Cloud Spirit also has lecturers onboard. On our trip, we had the versatile Steven xxx, a Costa Rican marine biologist who gave lectures on a variety of natural subjects, ranging from seashells to hummingbirds to sharks. His talks were done in English. There was also an Austrian travel writer onboard who gave lectures in German about the ports.

Every few days, the captain also gave a talk with passengers, giving them advance information about the weather and itinerary. On one day, he also talked about the structure of Sea Cloud Spirit’s sails, and took questions about the ship from the guests.

The Sea Shanty sing is a treasured Sea Cloud tradition, and the crew on Sea Cloud Spirit dug in with gusto on Pirate Night. Most of the shanties are in English, with a few in German and one in Tagalog. Songbooks were distributed to guests so everyone could sing along, no matter what the native language.

On New Year’s Eve, the ship brought in a band from Cartagena, Colombia, to play local music; dancers also performed. The party took place on the top sun deck, underneath the masts, where we also had a perfect view to Cartagena’s firework display.

Daily Things to Do on Sea Cloud Spirit

Sea Cloud Spirit is very quiet during the day. On port days, passengers can take extra fee excursions, or do your own thing. Sea days are also surprisingly quiet. On one of our three sea days, people had the opportunity to take a knot tying class. On another, people could tour the bridge or engine room. But there were no planned activities like trivia, and most spent their time quietly reading or baking in the sun.

You can access the daily program through a QR code that’s left in your room. Paper programs for the next day are also placed on your bed the night before during turndown service.

Shore Excursions on Sea Cloud Spirit

Sea Cloud Spirit has excursions in each port for purchase, or you can do your own thing. If the group is mixed language, the ship will make sure that there is a guide who speaks English (although our English guide in Cartagena was definitely not as good as the German one, who gave very detailed information versus the basics we received).

The shore excursions seemed to be a nice mix of watersports, such as snorkeling; cultural, such as a city walk or island tour; and touristy, such as a quad trip around Aruba. In some ports, the ship will offer a shuttle to the city center or to a resort for beach time.

Nightlife and Theme Nights on Sea Cloud Spirit

For a ship that is so quiet during the day, it’s funny how lively Sea Cloud Spirit became at night. An excellent Brazilian DJ spun tunes nightly, from all decades and genres, at the Lido Bar, which has a dance floor. The Germans on our sailing were enthusiastic dancers, particularly to disco songs and (of course) ABBA. Things were often still going past midnight so if you like to boogie, bring your dancing shoes.

Sea Cloud has several theme nights onboard. The Pirate Night is a fun line tradition, and the line puts out pirate regalia, including hats, swords and eye patches, for passengers to borrow for the night. The climax of the evening is the Sea Shanty singalong, which you don’t want to miss.

Sea Cloud Spirit also had a White Night evening, and most passengers complied. The evening had a special Lido buffet, complete with fresh sashimi from a massive tuna carved directly in front of you. The DJ also led those who wanted to move through various line dances.

Sea Cloud Spirit Bars and Lounges

The Sea Cloud Spirit fare includes wine and beer at lunch and dinner (and for those who want an eye opener, sparkling wine is available at the breakfast buffet). Pours are liberal and constant.

Cocktails are now included on Sea Cloud Spirit, and that’s great news. The list is extensive, and includes all the Caribbean classics from around the islands, plus some you’ve probably never heard of. Our bartender on Sea Cloud Spirit, Anton, is somewhat of a line legend, having been with the company for more than 25 years.

We found the Lido bar and dance floor the best place to meet and mingle with the German passengers. As the only native English speakers and Americans, we were somewhat of a novelty, and the other passengers were happy to introduce themselves and say hello, even if there was a bit of a language gap. We got the impression that Sea Cloud Spirit is as social as you want to be; we saw groups making friends and also people who were doing their own thing away from the crowd.

Pools and Hot Tubs on Sea Cloud Spirit

There is no pool or hot tub on Sea Cloud Spirit, unfortunately. We found that we really missed a pool during the long hot sea days. The lack of one made a difference.

Sea Cloud Spirit does have a water sports marina that it can deploy, if conditions are suitable (basically, calm seas and little wind). When it’s out, passengers can swim around the boat, and use float toys. These are called “Swim Days,” and we heard passengers asking for them. Sadly, our sailing didn’t have one.

Sundecks on Sea Cloud Spirit

Sea Cloud Spirit has a gorgeous line of sun loungers and clamshells big enough for two on its top deck, under the sails. Bottled water and towels are available up here, although there is no bar service.

Note that smoking is allowed on the top deck, as well as the back of the Lido. While our sailing did have smokers, we found them to be considerate, with most choosing places to smoke away from other passengers.

While this is the main sunning area, there were also a few loungers on some of the side areas too.

Services and Wi-Fi on Sea Cloud Spirit

Sea Cloud Spirit has Starlink Wi-Fi, and we found that it worked really well, both on deck and in the cabins. The only annoying thing is that ship sells passes by the gigabyte, and not by the day. Everyone is given one megabyte of free data, and you buy installments after that. It is nice that you can use your Wi-Fi card for up to four devices.

Given how much data it takes to operate apps like Zoom or Peloton, however, we found ourselves burning through the Wi-Fi quickly. If you’re going to work onboard, prepare to pay for several cards during your stay.

The ship has a doctor onboard. There is also a small boutique, where you can buy Sea Cloud logowear, jewelry and a few boutique clothing items.

Spa and Thermal Suite on Sea Cloud Spirit

Sea Cloud Spirit has a nice-sized spa for a ship of its size. There’s a Finnish sauna – no bathing suits allowed, in keeping with the European style – as well as a steam room and shower. The spa itself has a relaxation room with loungers and cold water where you can relax before your treatment.

The spa has massage, facial and body treatments, with prices in Euros. The prices are about what you’d expect to pay at a high-end spa on land. Our 90-minute massage with Omar was a dream.

The ship also has a salon for hair and nails, although it was not open during our sailing.

Fitness and Gym on Sea Cloud Spirit

Also surprising for a small ship, the gym on Sea Cloud Spirit is a nice size. It has a great location, air conditioned, with full-sized windows that bring in light and room for several cardio machines, as well as a weight stack. Cold bottled water is also available. It receives the most use from guests early in the morning.

Is Sea Cloud Spirit Family Friendly?

Sea Cloud Spirit does not go out of its way to encourage children and in general, it’s a fairly adult experience. That being said, there was a teenager on our sailing who had been on Sea Cloud ships before and had a fine time talking to adults, going to the lectures and making friends with the crew.