Start with the papers
Before anything else, find your passport and check the date. It needs six months left after your voyage ends. Put your yellow fever card inside it, and keep both in your hand luggage, never in the suitcase that goes to your room.
Pack for three kinds of day
Sea days are slow and warm: light clothes, a hat, something to read. Port days need walking shoes and a bag that closes. Evenings are smart casual, with one dressier night on longer voyages. Many guests bring one native outfit for that night, and the photos are always the best of the week.
Leave these at home
Irons and candles are not allowed for safety, and there is a steamer in every suite. Extension cables are not needed: every room has Nigerian and UK sockets and USB-C beside the bed. Leave the heavy jewellery in the safe at home.
Bring less than you think, and leave space in the suitcase. Everyone goes home with something from the market in Lomé.
Seasickness, honestly
Most guests feel nothing at all on the Gulf of Guinea in the dry season. If you worry, choose a cabin low and in the middle of the ship, eat lightly on the first evening and visit the medical centre for a remedy. Fresh air on deck helps more than anything.
The first afternoon
Arrive between 1pm and 3pm, have lunch on deck while your luggage is brought up, and take a slow walk round the ship. Book Kola and the spa on day one; both fill quickly. Then find a seat at the stern for the sail-away.
Published October 2026. Example article for this demo.