Sea Cloud Spirit was officially christened at the cruise terminal in Palma de Mallorca (Majorca Island, Balearic Spain) on September 3, and Sea Cloud Cruises put its 3-masted full-rigged vessel into service.
The godmother Gabriela Toran (wife of the superyacht designer Inigo Echenique Gordillo), said:
“May you always carry a special spirit across the oceans, as your name promises.”
Toran is the wife of the ship’s designer Inigo Echenique and took over the godmother duties after the originally planned godmother of Sea Cloud Spirit, Infanta Elena of Spain, had to cancel.
The bottle of champagne used for the naming ceremony was blessed on a pilgrimage of ~120 km (74.5 miles). Javier Arias-Camison, Spanish shipping lawyer and legal representative of Sea Cloud Cruises, kept the promise made at the beginning of the construction, to personally bring the champagne for the christening on foot to Santiago de Compostela and have it blessed there.
The 138-m (453-ft) long tall-sailing cruise ship is Malta-flagged, with 4 passenger decks (69 staterooms) and has max passenger capacity 136 (plus 85 staff/crew). The newbuild is equipped with the characteristics of a modern liner, including balcony staterooms, a fitness center, and a wellness area. Conceptually, the vessel is an alternative offering for cruisers in the premium segment who wish to forgo the large passenger ships.
Sea Cloud Spirit's Maiden Voyage from Civitavecchia-Rome Italy is scheduled for September 14th. Following initial voyages along the coast of Italy between Tuscany and Sicily, the windjammer will sail around the Canaries from November 2021 through April 2022.
For the winter 2022-2023 season, the ship is due to debut in the Caribbean and Central America. Sea Cloud Spirit will also sail from Florida to the smaller islands in the Bahamas for the first time.