Puerto Rico 1897: Special Edition · Board game rules
How do you fully load a ship versus dispatching an X ship?
Quick answer
"Fully loading" a ship means filling all its Crate slots; "dispatching" means placing the last Crate to complete it. These terms are functionally identical for Cargo Ships. [p.30 — Expansion V: Festival Cards]
Details
In the base game, when a Cargo Ship reaches its maximum Crate capacity, it is considered "full." At the end of the Captain phase, all full Cargo Ships are emptied and their Crates returned to the supply. [p.14 — Captain (Ship Goods)]
The term "dispatch" is introduced in Expansion V: Festival Cards and refers specifically to the action of placing the final Crate onto a Cargo Ship, thereby completing it. [p.30 — Expansion V: Festival Cards] This is functionally the same outcome as "fully loading"—the ship reaches capacity and will be emptied at phase end.
Watch out: Personal Ships cannot be "dispatched" because they have no Crate limit and therefore can never be fully loaded. [p.30 — Expansion V: Festival Cards] Only Cargo Ships with fixed capacities (4, 5, 6, 7, or 8 slots depending on player count) can trigger dispatch conditions on Festival Activity cards.
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