a real cruise sounds like a capital idea, if I can bring my guitar and cat-o-nine tails !!
The futtock shrouds ..the masts of the big ships were in two, sometimes 3 pieces, but, lets take the ones with one extension. At the top of the first mast, where it joins the extension, there is a small platform with a hole in it which a seaman had to climb through. It was there that he had to grab the futtock shrouds to continue up the mast extension. A shroud is the "ropes" which ran from the dead eyes to the top of the mast. There were usually four of them, side by side. Running horizontally like steps of a ladder were the "rat lines" the men would grab the shrouds and step on the rat lines. The main job of the shrouds was to keep the masts in line. Lets not get too technical.. it could be boring