Months before my traveling companion and I boarded the Sea Cloud Spirit for an eight-night voyage, I screenshot a photo of the ship on my phone. If I wanted friends to understand that this would be no ordinary cruise around the Canary Islands, only a photo of the elegant three-mast, full-rigged tall ship would do. Sure enough, their enthusiasm echoed my own: It did look straight out of the 19th century, and it was magnificent.

The newest ship in Sea Cloud’s fleet of three, the 453-foot Sea Cloud Spirit was built in 2021, exactly 90 years after its legendary namesake, Sea Cloud, owned by E. F. Hutton and Marjorie Merriweather Post, launched as the world’s largest private sailing yacht at the time. The Spirit may lack the historic pedigree of its sister ship, but it’s every bit as glamorous. The oiled teakwood and polished brass get as much care as the 136 guests. Aside from loving to sail, we were especially interested to try this vessel, because German-owned Sea Cloud only recently started to court American travelers.

Though our port of embarkation had been changed at the last minute because of a technical glitch, the actual boarding process went smoothly. In fact, only 15 minutes elapsed between laying eyes on the ship and touring our cabin with a welcome glass of Champagne. Our Junior Veranda Suite — of the 69 cabins, only the three Veranda Suites are bigger — had a vibrant saffron-and-sapphire interior that was a refreshing change from the more common neutral tones. Twin beds (configurable as a king) and a sofa took up most of the 302 square feet, but arched windows looked out to our private balcony and made the room feel bigger. Across from our spacious closets, our marble bath had the very thing that says “luxury” in a cabin: a soaking tub.