Sea Cloud Cruises CEO & President, Mirell Reyes, believes the Australian market holds untapped potential for the brand, suggesting frontline luxury advisors should consider the “romance” of tall ship sailing.

In Las Vegas at Virtuoso Travel Week, Reyes told LATTE the experience for guests differed greatly from white ships, offering a “highly emotional” connection to the sea.

Sea Cloud Cruises’ fleet comprises the original Sea Cloud, built in 1931 as a private yacht and acquired by the company in 1979. A sister-ship, Sea Cloud II, launched in 1999, and the most recent vessel, Sea Cloud Spirit, debuted in 2021. Capacity on the vessels is 64-, 94- and 136-guests, respectively.

“Which is nothing compared to everything else that is out there,” Reyes said, referring to their capacity compared to other ocean cruise brands.

Subscribe to LATTE Cruise’s free eNewsletter to keep up to date with everything in the luxury cruise space.

Reyes says Sea Cloud’s 22-person crew climb the riggings and unfurl the sails for a “true sail away experience” unlike a motorised yacht, superyacht or big ship. The whole process, of sails up and sails down, takes over an hour, with guests watching on from below. Now, guests also the opportunity to view the spectacle from the tall ship’s crow’s nest.

“There’s nothing like it. Guests are crazy about it!” she said.

And while the raising of the sails has a close connection with ‘yachties’ and sailors, “given their connection to tall ships,” other holidaymakers are gobsmacked by the process, given they are used to a far more scaled-down version on their own 3- to 13-berth cabin private yachts.”A lot of people who are not into cruising at all, non-cruisers, who don’t like choosing, or don’t like being with a lot of people, like what we offer.”

“When the advisor explains where we go and how we do it, it triggers interest.”

Reyes said Sea Cloud’s itineraries unlock destinations that are either difficult or near impossible to coordinate on the ground, such as a round-trip Malta sailing to only Sicily. “Doing this by land is painful.”

“And we’re still one of the only ships that can still sail out of Old Town Venice. We’re doing that right now on a 10-night Venice itinerary.”

“Guests sail down the Grand Canal, dock, and walk right off into the old town. Guests don’t have to wait. There are no lines. It’s just awesome.”

A key element of Sea Cloud’s itineraries are the brand’s five pillars — art, history, wellness, culture and cuisine.

“We’ll endeavour to bring guest lecturers or chefs onboard our sailings, or we’ll arrange an after-hours tour of the Guggenheim Museum, or a concert, or bringing local artists onboard.”

“Everything is authentic and immersive. We’re very proud of the way we are operating our itineraries.”

Reyes cited an example of a Greek itinerary, saying they bypass the tourist dense ports of Mykonos or Santorini.
“We’ll take guests to Patmos, Amorgos, Spetses, Syros… lesser-visited and smaller ports. That’s what our guests want. They like us because of the itinerary, because of our size and then the romantic aspect of sailing and getting closer to the sea and to the destination.”

“There’s a lot of potential for us right now in this market,” Reyes said of the US. “It’s getting bigger and bigger and bigger.”