You have to run to God's Grip twice. So if you have a gathering job that can give you the run buff, use it here.
There were two opportunities for conversation options.
1) The first was running into Hob below deck and he asked if I wanted to return to Limsa Lominsa immediately. I said no and continued to explore the ship to find Emerick.
2) The second was when Emerick and the tall elvaan guy (I forget his name) were mock fighting, it seemed I could choose to help one or the other. I doubt it mattered since it was revealed they were not seriously fighting (only revealed in the quest log rather than any useful conversation).
I suppose no fighting is needed since I could have just let the two duke it out to the end without intervening and it would not have changed anything.
I finished the quest with indications that I need to meet an NPC named "Blackburn" in Ul'dah for the next step. Rewarded 40,000 gil and learned Parley.