Susan's NGTAW Blog: "Under Sail on the Dalmatian Coast"'

Our first look at this beautiful 4 masted barque - our home for the next 10 nights

Sunday, July 3 - Trip Day 4

Today we officially begin our voyage on the Sea Cloud with National Geographic and Lindblad. We will be on the ship for 10 nights, stopping in nine ports in four different countries. I included the map of our itinerary at the bottom of the post. It's called "Under sail on the Dalmatian Coast," as they plan to sail as many days as possible on this expedition through the Adriatic, Ionic and Aegean Seas.

We had a leisurely morning; Michael went kayaking to Lokrum island. We had a late checkout and waited in the lobby until a bus came to transport us all to the port.

Breakfast al fresco this morning, very leisurely

On the bus, we met Paula, our expedition leader. She's from Ecuador and is often the leader for the Nat Geo Galapagos trips. She says we have a smaller group than typical. Only 28 passengers (with room for 58); we will have 50+ crew members, so we will be well taken care of.

It's very hot today, including in the bus, which was struggling to keep up with the heat. We had a 15 minute ride to the port, where we stopped for passport checks and Covid 19 testing. No one boards the boat until we have a negative Covid test.

The port in Dubrovnik is located near the beautiful Franjo Tudman span bridge, where the Rijeka Dubrovacka joins the Adriatic Sea. It was spectacular to get our first glimpse of the Sea Cloud docked at the port. We couldn't wait to get our negative Covid tests and walk over to the ship.

We all walked over to the ship, just as soon as our port duties were completed.

Those four masts are tall! Main mast is over 180 feet high.

There are 36 passenger cabins, with a crew and staff of almost 60 people.

Sea Cloud is ready for our embarkation

Our first siting of the Sea Cloud was pretty exciting. She's really beautiful with her 4 masts - and tall! She was docked at the end of the port quay, right near the cable span bridge. There was something especially beautiful about the bridge juxtaposed with the ship's tall masts and rigging.

We were welcomed by the captain and crew at our embarkation station at the base of the Sea Cloud. We were photographed to make our boarding cards (don't lose them!) and our passports were collected. We were welcomed with juice and cold towels and invited to climb up the gangway and explore the ship.

Our purser is making our boarding cards for the voyage.

Cold juices were very welcome on the 90+ degree day.

Promenade deck and windows of the main dining room

We were excited to have our first on board look at the ship and walk around its length and breadth. First impressions include the beautiful wood detailing everywhere, the huge number of spaces to lounge and read and watch the sea, the tall masts and rigging and the lines and ropes everywhere you turned.

We went up to our cabin, and unpacked our suitcases and then walked around to check it out.

Port side promenade deck, looking toward the bow.

The top level, spanker deck, named for the spanker sail in the stern.

Looking down from the spanker deck to the blue lagoon lounge area with its circular seating

Our cabin, number 34, is located on the lido deck. It's very convenient, as it's located next to the lido lounge where our lectures occur, where lunches are served and its the location of the main bar. Michael quickly found a gin and tonic :-)

We were asked to gather at 5:30 for our safety briefing, where we again met the Captain and all the officers. We practiced putting on our life saving equipment. We learned that seven short and one long alarm means go to your mustering stations immediately for instructions during an emergency. And one short and one long alarm repeated, means abandon ship immediately when the captain gives the order! They have 2 fully enclosed lifeboats with full capacity for the ship, which contains food, water, radio beacon, medication, etc. I was impressed!