The 1889 Apia cyclone destroyed the gunboats and in March, so the navy ordered "Sophie" to leave East Africa to replace them. Three days after the ship's new commander arrived on 2 April, she departed, but had to stop in Port Louis, Mauritius to repair damage to one of her propellers. She arrived in Apia on 25 June, where she met the only other German warship in the Pacific, the gunboat , which had brought Malietoa Laupepa back from exile. "Sophie" fired a salute to mark his return to power as the ruler of Samoa. After her sister arrived on 14 December, "Sophie" departed for Sydney to repair damage sustained during a cyclone, arriving there on 2 January 1890. On 25 January, with repairs completed, she began a tour of the Bismarck Archipelago, which concluded with a visit to Sir Charles Hardy Island to punish locals who had robbed and murdered a German merchant. In early March, she went to East Asian waters, and while en route, joined the fruitless search for a boat lost near the Jaluit Atoll that had been at sea with two dozen people aboard. "Sophie" arrived in Hong Kong on 22 March, where she met "Leipzig". "Sophie" went into the drydock for an overhaul that lasted from 23 April to 10 May. On 18 May, she left Hong Kong to cruise along the southern Chinese coast and visit Singapore, at which point she rendezvoused with "Leipzig" to visit Sydney. There, they were joined by "Alexandrine", and the three ships proceeded on together to New Zealand before turning north to Samoa. They arrived in Apia on 19 December, and remained there until early January 1891. "Sophie" went to the Marshall Islands and then returned to Hong Kong, where she remained from 14 February to 4 March. After leaving Hong Kong, "Sophie" visited several other Chinese and Japanese ports. In the meantime, the Chilean Civil War of 1891 had broken out, prompting the German high command to send the three ships there on 3 May to safeguard German nationals in the country. They arrived in Valparaiso on 9 July and proceeded to visit other Chilean ports before returning to Valparaiso on 28 August. There, they sent landing parties ashore to protect Germans living in the city. After the war ended, "Sophie" and the other ships were able to leave for Cape Town before proceeding on to German East Africa in April 1892.