Advertisement

SAGA CRUISES: Busy times for Saga

Saga Cruises will be busy in the next few months, introducing one ship, transferring a second from one brand to another, and disposing of a third. As reported in June’s SM, Royal Caribbean’s subsidiary, CDF Croisieres de France, has sold Bleu de France (1981/37,301gt), Hapag Lloyd’s former Europa) for a reported US$55 million to Saga and she will enter service as Saga Sapphire on 26 March 2012 after a major refit.

Her inaugural voyage will be a 23-night Mediterranean cruise round-trip from Southampton. Shortly afterwards, at the end of May, the 446-passenger Saga Pearl II (1981/18,591gt), introduced just over a year ago after a £14 million refit, will be transferred to Saga’s subsidiary, Spirit of Adventure, and will be renamed Quest for Adventure, replacing the line’s smallest ship, the 352-passenger Spirit of Adventure (1980/9,570gt). Quest’s inaugural cruise will be an eight-night sailing roundtrip from Dover, visiting the Isle of Man, Londonderry, Isle of Mull, Dublin, Cobh and Guernsey.

Spirit of Adventure’s scheduled 14-night Relics of Rome cruise on 29 April, which included port calls in Libya, Tunisia and Algeria, was cancelled because of the unrest in North Africa. Instead, she was drydocked in Gibraltar for a refit, before embarking passengers in Malaga on 13 May for an 11-night cruise to Leith in Scotland. Plans forSpirit of Adventure’s future have notbeen revealed, but it is believed she will be sold.

Ships Montly - January 2024

Royal Australian Navy Commissions New OPV HMAS Arafura

On 28 June 2025, the Royal Australian Navy commissioned HMAS Arafura, the first Arafura class Offshore Patrol Vessel (OPV), marking a key milestone in...
Advertisement

Related articles

Royal Australian Navy Commissions New OPV HMAS Arafura

On 28 June 2025, the Royal Australian Navy commissioned HMAS Arafura, the first Arafura class Offshore Patrol Vessel...

New Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) conversion contract awarded

Seatrium Limited has announced the award of a new Floating Storage Regasification Unit (FSRU) conversion contract from Kinetics,...

Damen building Fast Ferry 4212 for South Korea’s Starline

Damen Shipyards Group has signed a contract with South Korea’s Starline Co. Ltd. for the delivery of a...

Waverley takes a tour of the Western Isles

Andrew Young recounts his trips on board the famous paddle steamer Waverley during her Western Isles programme in...