The ship's next cruise began with exercises in the Baltic from 6 June to 29 July, followed by visits to Copenhagen, Denmark and Oslo, Norway. She then proceeded into the Atlantic, stopping in Vigo, Spain, after which she sailed to the West indies. On arriving in Venezuela on 25 November, she joined the East American Cruiser Division, the flagship of which was the protected cruiser . She was present during the Venezuelan crisis of 1902–1903, though her role in the crisis was limited to taking the German ambassador from La Guaira to Curaçao. On 29 January 1903, "Stosch" was detached from the squadron and she arrived back in Kiel on 20 March. On 19 May, "Stosch" began a cruise in the Baltic and North Seas that included stops in Libau, Russia and Bergen. Afterward, she began a cruise to South American waters, as far south as Bahía Blanca, Brazil, and returned to Germany on 16 March 1904. She began another cruise to the Mediterranean on 16 July, stopping first in Stockholm, Sweden and Bergen, where Kaiser Wilhelm II visited the ship. From Bergen, she sailed to Cueta and then to Constantinople, where her commander made an official visit to Abdul Hamid II. She arrived back in Kiel on 18 March 1905.