The Saga Pearl II will be taking over the
work of the Spirit of Adventure under a new name of Quest
Time is running out for passengers to enjoy
the small but perfectly formed delights of the Spirit of
Adventure.
In what promises to be a momentous Diamond Jubilee year for
Folkestone-based Saga, the group’s cruise ship for the over-21s has
taken thousands of passengers to exciting places around the globe.
It has even outwitted Somali pirates.
But 60 years after the late Sidney De Haan founded the firm
a few weeks from the Queen’s accession to the throne, Saga
passengers will disembark the Spirit for the last time on May 4 at
Civitavecchia, Rome.
There will be few dry eyes. Spirit customers are fiercely loyal
to a ship that made her maiden voyage in 1980 and joined the Saga
fleet in 2006.
But age and the market have caught up with her. Saga says a
larger ship is needed with newer facilities and it’s time to move
on. It’s not the end of the Spirit after her sale to a German line
for a new life.
In its place sails Saga Pearl II under a new name - Quest for
Adventure. Her farewell voyage as Pearl II will take in Spain and
Portugal, culminating in a special concert by Lesley Garrett in
Lisbon on May 3. She will be renamed on May 6 and make her Dover
debut as Quest on May 14.
There was a poignant moment a few months ago when the two
vessels passed within half a mile of each other in the North Sea.
The Spirit was returning from the Norwegian fjords and Pearl II was
bound for the Baltic.
Passengers crowded the Spirit’s deck to watch her successor sail
by. Many waved across the ocean as the future hove into view before
disappearing into the distance as Spirit made her way back to
Dover.
For her final voyages, Spirit. pictured right, lives
up to her name with cruises in exciting distant waters - Australia,
New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Borneo, Hong Kong, Ho Chi Minh
City, Bangkok, Mumbai, Suez, Limassol and Piraeus before her final
stop.
While there may be no more time to explore the fjords in the
Spirit, the Quest will follow in her wake to these spectacular
places. Both ships are ideally suited to fjord cruising, their
compact size allowing them to reach where bigger ships cannot
go.
There is nothing quite so awe-inspiring as seeing the Spirit
anchored off Flam, famous for its mountain railway, Gudvangen and
Jondal against a backcloth of spectacular mountain scenery.
The tenders take passengers back and forth to the shore where
they board coaches to other destinations such as the Tvinde Fossen
waterfall perhaps, or a glacier hike at Fola Penna.
Away from remote spots, you can tour town quays on foot. The
Bryggen in Bergen is lively and colourful, recalling a rich
Hanseatic past. You can continue with a trek up Mount Floyen or
music lovers might opt for a visit to Edvard Grieg’s home at
Troldhaugen. At Stavanger, you can embark on a fast trip up the
narrow Lysefjord to sail beneath the imposing Pulpit Rock and sip
pure clear water from the falls above.
Talks by Jane Ann Davey, an expert on Norwegian history, a
military historian, a Viking specialist and representatives of
ORCA, the whale and dolphin conservation charity that observes
wildlife around the clock from the deck - enhance the cruise
experience.
Spirit travellers savour many happy memories, not only the
places visited but the warm welcome and attentive service from
friendly, efficient Filipino staff.
The Spirit may go, but there is little doubt that Saga will
ensure her spirit lives on in Quest.
Quest’s inaugural cruise around the UK and
Ireland leaves from Southampton on May 6, arriving Dover on May 14.
She sails the same day for Norway’s fjords.
Saga Sapphire, the company’s new flagship,
will be in Dover for the first time on May 21. She will also be in
port for the arrival of the Olympic Torch on July 18.
Contact Saga on 0800 300432 or visit saga.co.uk/cruises
(for Quest cruises) and http://www.spiritofadventure.co.uk/