Home > Cruise Reviews > Sheltered Seas

Cruise West Antebellum South Cruise Review: Spirit of Nantucket

May, 2006

Cruise West invited me on this cruise to allow me to experience their new Atlantic Coastal Sailings.I have to admit I went with a ho hum attitude since I had just returned from exotic sailings in Baja, Sea of Cotez and before that Costa Rica/Panama.

Amazingly, I so thoroughly enjoyed my cruise, it presented a real attitude adjustment from what I expected. I had been to Charleston and Savannah before, so I wasn’t expecting too much. But I had not been in Savannah and Charleston the way we did it, arriving by ship.

Cumberland Island, Brunswick, Beaufort, never heard of these places. Approached them with a ho hum attitude, yet every one of these unique, out of the way, never heard of, quaint little locations are now added to my life long "want to live for one month" list.

Maybe it is the fact that we were presented with lessons in history, architecture, geography, and wildlife that made each destination so interesting. Maybe it is the fact that arriving into town by ship has a romanticism all it's own. Maybe it is that we got the inside track from our onboard naturalists, go to Leopold's in Savannah for tutti frutti ice cream, check out the Forest Gump chocolate shop in Beaufort, buy a sea grass bowl, as they will be an investment for the future, watch for the dolphin downspouts in Charleston.

Maybe it was, the excellent food, the outstanding service, and my cute little cabin with an outside door, which allowed me to stand at the rail as we sailed along.

Maybe it was not having to fly half way around the world to a foreign port that made it so easy. Maybe it was Sandy and Rachel our naturalists who knew everything and was always with us teaching what they knew. Maybe it was the unexpected visit to Bette’s beautiful old house on our architecture tour.

Whatever it was…I thoroughly enjoyed this cruise. I am closely looking at the Fall on the Hudson River for my next one. Relaxing, casual, educational and convenient fit this experience.