saga cruises in september

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Saga Cruises cruise September 2023

Cruise to the spectacular Northern Europe with Saga Cruises in September 2023.  From the British Isles to incredible Northern Lights and the magnificent Norwegian fjords and Scandinavia, via the Baltic States and Russia, cruising becomes a unique experience, sailing past enchanted castles and glaciers under the midnight sun, between some of the most fascinating cities in the world. Cruise all the way to the mythical Cape North, separated from the North Pole only by the Svalbard Islands, in the Arctic Sea. Experience all Europe has to offer with Saga Cruises in September 2023 with destinations to Norway Fjords, Baltic Sea, Scandinavia and more on Northern Europe Cruises. Easily find and compare all Saga Cruises cruises in September 2023.

Find and plan your next Saga Cruises cruise in September 2023

8-day Northern Europe cruise from Dover

Spirit of adventure, saga cruises.

Date: September 3, 2023

Ports of Call: Dover, Dover; View Itinerary

6-day British Isles cruise from Dover

Date: September 11, 2023

Ports of Call: Dover, Cork, Isles of Scilly, Saint-Malo, Dover; View Itinerary

7-day Norwegian Fjords cruise from Dover

Date: September 17, 2023

Ports of Call: Dover, Rosendal, Nordfjordeid, Flam, Bergen, Dover; View Itinerary

Please note that port orders, dates, and itinerary details, including content, are subject to change. Verify specific details for your chosen sailing date on the Saga Cruises website.

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20 March 2024, 09:27

From Classical Greece to Ancient Egypt - Experience the best of the Eastern Mediterranean this September

Saga Cruises, the UK’s leading cruise line for the over 50s, is promoting its From Classical Greece to Ancient Egypt cruise on Spirit of Discovery , with a new special offer of £7,550 per person (previously it was £7,950pp).  The 26 night all-inclusive cruise sails from Dover this September and includes opportunities to visit some iconic world sites such as the Acropolis in Athens, Egypt’s Sphinx and Pyramids, and the Tomb of the Kings in Paphos, Cyprus.

Guests on this unforgettable cruise of the eastern Mediterranean will discover all about the rise and fall of the great civilisations of this region, as well as experience its rich culture and heritage. 

The itinerary includes highlights such as Sicily, Crete, Rhodes, the Turkish port of Antalya, which is steeped in Roman and Ottoman influences, and Paphos in Cyprus, with its archaeological treasures.  It also includes Alexandria in Egypt, plus Piraeus, which offers a gateway to ancient Athens, as well as Nafplion, which is a new port of call for Saga Cruises and offers the opportunity to visit Epidaurus.  The voyage continues to Valletta in Malta, the Knights of St John’s ‘Golden City’, before experiencing the exotic fusion of Spanish and Moroccan culture in Ceuta.

From Classical Greece to Ancient Egypt departs Dover on 9th September 2024.  The cruise is priced from £7,550 per person, based on two people sharing a guaranteed standard balcony cabin.

There are seven excursions available in: Gibraltar; Syracuse, Sicily; Rhodes Town, Rhodes; Paphos, Cyprus; Alexandria, Egypt; Athens (from Piraeus), Greece and Valletta, Malta.

Saga’s Ocean cruises are all-inclusive, with a complimentary door-to-door chauffeur service, or Saga can arrange car parking near the port, or domestic flights. There are no hidden costs on-board and included are speciality dining options in a choice of restaurants, as well as house drinks including a selection of cocktails, draft beers and lagers, wines, spirits, mixers and soft drinks. Also complimentary are the Wi-Fi, gratuities, fitness facilities, 24-hour room service, sightseeing tours in selected ports, entertainment (from lectures to recitals to shows), porterage of luggage, shuttle buses to nearest town centres and travel insurance.

Additionally, guests will be joined by wildlife experts from ORCA , the foremost European whale and dolphin conservation charity, devoted to studying marine wildlife and protecting it for future generations and have the chance to spot whales, dolphins, seabirds and an array of other wildlife throughout the voyage.

Book online at saga.co.uk/sd145 or call 0808 273 6463.

Saga’s brand-new season of 2025 all inclusive no-fly cruises launches in the coming weeks, sailing aboard sister ships Spirit of Adventure and Spirit of Discovery. To find out more about Saga’s award-winning boutique ocean cruises, visit www.saga.co.uk/cruise .

Sarah Lloyd-Morrison

Notes to editors

Saga is a leading provider of products and services primarily tailored for customers over the age of 50 in the UK. The Saga brand has been carefully developed over the past 60 years to become one of the most recognised and trusted brands among UK consumers over 50. Saga is synonymous in the UK with the over 50s market and is recognised for its high-quality products and services. These include cruises and holidays, home and motor insurance, savings and share dealing and the UK’s award-winning Saga Magazine.

DST Greece EXT 17552b

• Saga Cruises

At last, a Saga forum

By silversurf1 , May 29, 2019 in Saga Cruises

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silversurf1

I, along with many others, have been asking for a dedicated Saga forum for a long time. Interesting that the first post is from an Australian.

We are booked on the new ship to Norway in September.

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I am amazed that they have created this forum.

Next cruise on Saga I will spread the word about Cruise Critic and try and recruit some new members.

Hopefully they will join roll calls and private tours can be arranged.

On other cruise lines we generally take part in roll call organised tours.

We are on Spirit of Discovery at the end of September.

I asked the mods to move any Saga threads from Other Cruise Lines to here: they've been helpful and moved the three most recently active threads, so perhaps I wasn't the only person to have asked. I'm not convinced there's really enough traffic to justify a Saga forum but here it is so people are very welcome to prove me wrong - perhaps now there's less chance of threads being lost in the general noise around other smaller lines we'll have fewer lengthy threads meandering over all sorts of Saga related topics and more threads focussed on one or two related topics. 

Pleased to see this, and I hope that we can justify having a Saga forum.  It is not a lack of technological knowledge holding people back; almost everyone, regardless of age, on our last Saga cruise, had their iphone, Ipad, laptop, whatever.

It seems mainly to be that Brits. generally do not know about Cruise Critic,and it  behoves those of us  who do to tell others on board about it - as well as people having a moan now and again it is a very helpful tool to find out about the line and cruises.  Some small lines have long had their own forums  - Seabourn for instance, with up to 2,500 passengers, and Saga will have 2,000 in the not too distant.  The difference being, I think, that Seabourn is essentially American,  where CC is better known.

So pleased to see that there's now a Saga forum.  I hope Saga cruisers will find out about it and start posting.  With my first Saga cruise coming up in September I'm desperate for information and have found it very strange how little there is online.  I know there can't be much about Spirit of Discovery yet - although saying that, with other cruise lines there's often plenty of online chat about new ships before they're launched.  Perhaps the new ship and this new forum will be catalysts to get people talking about Saga on Cruise Critic.

Tigrou - if there are any questions you would like to ask about Saga, please do not hesitate - if I (or anyone else) can give advice we would be only too happy.  I now have about five Saga cruises under my belt, most recently a few on Sapphire, so  obviously do not much about the new ship as yet, but the general Saga style regarding staff, meals, drinks, on board happenings etc. will probably be much the same (only better!)

Thank you lincslady, that is much appreciated.  I know that some time ago I picked up the answers to a couple of questions I had from one of your posts.

Given that I am at the lower end of the Saga age group, and fully able to move under my own steam, do you think I'm likely to feel out of place? 

Although I'd originally planned Saga to be my first solo cruise, recently I was tempted by a good deal and did a round trip transatlantic on QM2.  I loved the ship but on the first leg, whilst not wanting to be disrespectful to anyone, it was like being on a floating nursing home.  I'm not ageist - in fact mostly I can't tell what age anyone is between 18 and 80 - but it wasn't so much an age thing as an attitude/awareness thing.  The Grand Lobby constantly seemed full of people propped up on one side by their seat and the other by a walker, and I couldn't help but wonder whether a crew member was sent around regularly to check if they were still breathing!  A lady I got chatting to one day said it was the first time she and her husband had cruised, and the average age/inactivity/poor mobility of the passengers had put them off ever doing it again - and she was 74.  The demographic on the return leg was different, a wider mix of ages and more as I had expected.

Anyway, it got me wondering about Saga.  I take every person as they come, I genuinely do not care about age, gender, colour, creed or anything else, as long as people are polite, friendly and pleasant.  But being brutally honest, I don't want to spend my holidays feeling like I'm doing community service in a care home - and that is how the first week of my QM2 trip felt.

As a regular cruiser on other lines and a very regular member of CC I too am pleased that Saga now have their own forum. 

We are booked on the new Discovery for a Norway cruise in early September, our first Saga cruise. Azamara has been our favourite line for a while but we really fancied trying out a new ship and booked the cruise with an agent as we normally do. We were given a small discount on the price available via Saga themselves. 

However, it has proved impossible to find out about Saga’s own shore excursions. I had an internet ‘chat’ with someone in the Saga Office because I’m not able to access any info in advance, due to not booking directly. Apparently our agent will be advised of Shorex 6-8 weeks ahead of sailing. 

Is this the norm with Saga?

1 hour ago, cinnamon said: As a regular cruiser on other lines and a very regular member of CC I too am pleased that Saga now have their own forum.  We are booked on the new Discovery for a Norway cruise in early September, our first Saga cruise. Azamara has been our favourite line for a while but we really fancied trying out a new ship and booked the cruise with an agent as we normally do. We were given a small discount on the price available via Saga themselves.    However, it has proved impossible to find out about Saga’s own shore excursions. I had an internet ‘chat’ with someone in the Saga Office because I’m not able to access any info in advance, due to not booking directly. Apparently our agent will be advised of Shorex 6-8 weeks ahead of sailing.  Is this the norm with Saga?

Hi Cinnamon, I touched on the inability of being able to access the personaliser a while ago.

We had booked through our normal agent and everything, even booking excursions had to be done through our agent. I found it very frustrating.

He did intervene on our behalf and persuade Saga to send the excursions brochure direct to us rather than indirectly through the TA.

I even complained to ABTA but to no avail.

We received our excursion brochure just before Christmas for our February 12th cruise and had to relay our excursion choices through our TA.

Future cruises we have booked with Saga have been booked direct.

2 hours ago, cinnamon said: Apparently our agent will be advised of Shorex 6-8 weeks ahead of sailing.  Is this the norm with Saga?

They do appear to release shorex info later than most lines which was why they just didn't make top spot in the recent Which? review of cruise lines. To be fair the reason given in the review was that shorex prices aren't available at the time of booking which doesn't make much sense: I've never seen excursion prices at the time of booking any of the (comparatively few) ocean and river cruises we've been on. Saga does make it that bit more difficult to weigh up whether to book private excursions or not.

102 days out from Myths and Legends of the Baltic with no excursions listed, whereas with our July Viking River cruise we'd booked the excursions in late November i.e. months before final payment date. Which reminds me that I need to pay the balance to Saga PDQ.

2 hours ago, Tigrou said: Thank you lincslady, that is much appreciated.  I know that some time ago I picked up the answers to a couple of questions I had from one of your posts.   Given that I am at the lower end of the Saga age group, and fully able to move under my own steam, do you think I'm likely to feel out of place?    Although I'd originally planned Saga to be my first solo cruise, recently I was tempted by a good deal and did a round trip transatlantic on QM2.  I loved the ship but on the first leg, whilst not wanting to be disrespectful to anyone, it was like being on a floating nursing home.  I'm not ageist - in fact mostly I can't tell what age anyone is between 18 and 80 - but it wasn't so much an age thing as an attitude/awareness thing.  The Grand Lobby constantly seemed full of people propped up on one side by their seat and the other by a walker, and I couldn't help but wonder whether a crew member was sent around regularly to check if they were still breathing!  A lady I got chatting to one day said it was the first time she and her husband had cruised, and the average age/inactivity/poor mobility of the passengers had put them off ever doing it again - and she was 74.  The demographic on the return leg was different, a wider mix of ages and more as I had expected.   Anyway, it got me wondering about Saga.  I take every person as they come, I genuinely do not care about age, gender, colour, creed or anything else, as long as people are polite, friendly and pleasant.  But being brutally honest, I don't want to spend my holidays feeling like I'm doing community service in a care home - and that is how the first week of my QM2 trip felt.      

I’ve cruised on various lines and there are always different levels of mobility, whichever cruise I have been on.

A cruise is an easy holiday for the elderly, they are well looked after and don’t even have to get off the ship to enjoy a restful break (not they could on a TA 😊 ), so I don’t think that will change. 

Obviously being a line catering for the over 50’s there will be an older demographic but that doesn’t stop people enjoying themselves. We had a very active and fun group on our Northern Lights cruise and of course there were some not so active.

I’m hoping that these beautiful new ships will encourage those who haven’t considered Saga before because of their ‘age’ perception to give them a try.

Whilst they are not cheap, they seem to offer good value because of their inclusions.

Thanks for the replies ‘chris’ and ‘glenn’. 

In fact, we’ve been to all three of our ports before on other lines and know that trips in Norway are very expensive. We had just wondered if the Saga  mark up is as crazy as Azamara, our favourite line, where we only book with the ship if we have generous OBC. 

10 minutes ago, Glenndale said: Whilst they are not cheap, they seem to offer good value because of their inclusions.  

I was about to make the same point. Our first cruise was on Saga and cost the proverbial arm and leg, but things like the included wifi, and bottles of water when going ashore, rather spoilt our experience on cheapskate lines like P&O and Cunard 🙂   where lots of little things cost extra. You've obviously paid for all the goodies several times over on the inclusive lines but you feel much more looked after.

Sadly I don’t have the excursion brochure for our Northern lights holiday but we booked 4 trips with Saga and I do have a record of how much they cost.

We visited Griegs house and attended a piano recital that cost £69 each

A visit to Sommaroy island from Tromso was also £69 each.

A hunt the lights evening trip was £54 each and a rail journey from Narvik into Sweden with a stop for refreshments at a ski lodge was £89 each.

I can remember when Azamara discounted tours by 50% if you booked ahead, then cut the discount to 25% before stopping it altogether.

Thanks for that ‘Glenn’. 

Azamara trips when discounted we’re great. Now they’re priced stupidly high. However, last year we had a fabulous day out in Tuscany. There were only 8 of us, food and wine tasting plus a beautiful village visit. It was supposed to be 4 hours was actually 5.5 and a highlight of our trip. It cost about £100.00 each though!  We had OBC given us following a slight problem the previous year so it didn’t actually cost us anything. 

I think the prices you've quoted sound reasonable, providing the group’s are not too large. I dislike being on a coach of 50 people and waiting for them all at stops. 

I am pleased to see new posters here.  Regarding excursions -  Saga are a bit later than most lines to announce them.  Good points are that IMO, they are comparatively  reasonably priced, and in all case are classified as easy, moderate, or strenuous, with distances to walk and stairs, etc. quoted.  This is very helpful to all, and generally stops those who cannot walk well from going on unsuitable trips.  For the active people, there are always some involving a bit of adventure.

Regarding the demographics, a good point is that I have found that the Brits over 60, who are the vast majority of those on board, tend to have good manners and to be pleasant and helpful to others.  This does contrast with some other lines we have been on, including British ones.  Also, though there will be quite a few using walking sticks, and just a very few with walkers or wheelchairs,   the general atmosphere is of lively minds and interest in other people, and the ports being visited.  Having said that, if you are under 70, you will feel quite young!

I'm so glad there is a forum just for Saga.

I go on my first Saga cruise next year and have been trying to pick up information. Now it will be easier to find.

4 hours ago, Scorpio41 said: Where have the Saga roll calls gone?   

They're where they've always been (unless I've misunderstood your question) in the All Other Cruise Lines Roll Calls forum. Glenndale has helpfully created an index thread here containing links to the roll calls themselves.

As for social media, you're on your own: discussing that in any detail isn't encouraged on CC.

On ‎6‎/‎1‎/‎2019 at 1:06 PM, lincslady said: Tigrou - if there are any questions you would like to ask about Saga, please do not hesitate - if I (or anyone else) can give advice we would be only too happy.  I now have about five Saga cruises under my belt, most recently a few on Sapphire, so  obviously do not much about the new ship as yet, but the general Saga style regarding staff, meals, drinks, on board happenings etc. will probably be much the same (only better!)

Are guests - not having the British nationality welcome ?

Aside of my many cruises on HL, SS, SB and Crystal , I did P&O , Cunard on QE2  and Q V - so i am aware of the "formal style"  and other British items ( as long as i am not forced to eat haggis )

I did visit the S Rose and Ruby when they were  in my hometown  ( i did 20 on Vistafjord ) years ago.  

Is there a wine list with non complimentary wines ( and champagne ) available ?

38 minutes ago, vistaman said: Are guests - not having the British nationality welcome ? Aside of my many cruises on HL, SS, SB and Crystal , I did P&O , Cunard on QE2  and Q V - so i am aware of the "formal style"  and other British items ( as long as i am not forced to eat haggis ) I did visit the S Rose and Ruby when they were  in my hometown  ( i did 20 on Vistafjord ) years ago.   Is there a wine list with non complimentary wines ( and champagne ) available ? Hi Vistaman Of course all nationalities are welcome on board and no one is forced to eat Haggis  😁 I have only taken 2 cruises with Saga and generally most of the guests were British, but there were a couple of American couples on our cruise to the Northern Lights. I suppose it depends on the marketing by Saga.  Sorry I can’t help you with a wine list but maybe you could find an example on their website. i sailed on Caronia (Vistafjord, Saga Ruby) many years ago and look back fondly on the experience.        

I seem to have destroyed the quote function in my previous post!

Vistaman - like you, we have done many cruises on Seabourn.  One reason why Saga is popular with Brits. is that they include giving you a car and driver from your door to the ship, and back.    We no longer fly, for various reasons, so this is part of Saga's attraction.

I am not sure how this would work from your country - you would have to ask Saga.  You can telephone them, or ask questions on the website.  I am sure there is a paid for wine list, but we find the included wines pretty similar to those on Seabourn and other wine inclusive lines.    The new ships, all cabins outside and with balcony, look as though they will be not unlike the Seabourn big ships - they will hold almost 1,000 passengers, and have several extra restaurants.

Many thanks to both of you.

Most of the time , I stay overnight in a hotel in the port of departure -  and in case of Southampton or Dover in London.

So eventually i can get a car from London to one of these ports.

 1000 guests is not much more as on the Crystal   - and the cabins on the new ships seem to be bigger as those on Crystal.

For various reasons I will not return to SB .

• 1 month later...

I’m really pleased to see this Saga forum.  As some previous posters have already said, I don’t think many British people know about Cruise Critic and that’s a shame as it’s a wonderful place to get information about all sorts of cruise related topics, to arrange private tours and meet & mingles.

Having cruised 45+ times before, we’ve booked on our first ever Saga cruise on the Spirit of Discovery sailing on 26 September.  My sister and brother-in-law were lucky enough to be on the shakedown cruise and they said that it’s a beautiful ship.  We’re so looking forward to it.

However, I have a frustration with Saga.  We booked through a travel agent, which is how we usually book.  With all the other cruise lines we cruise with - Celebrity, Cunard, P&O - we can access our booking online and enter all our personal information (passport details, etc) and view and book excursions.  When I tried to do this for this cruise I couldn’t access our booking.  When I phoned Saga to ask why, I was told that online access was only for people who’d booked directly with Saga.  I had to provide all our personal information direct to our travel agent.  I find this to be a very odd way for them to operate.

As I can’t access our cruise online, I’m assuming that at some point we’ll be sent information about excursions prior to our cruise, or do we have to wait until we’re on board?  Experienced Saga cruisers, I’ll welcome the benefit of your experience.

24 minutes ago, Londoner51 said: I’m really pleased to see this Saga forum.  As some previous posters have already said, I don’t think many British people know about Cruise Critic and that’s a shame as it’s a wonderful place to get information about all sorts of cruise related topics, to arrange private tours and meet & mingles.   Having cruised 45+ times before, we’ve booked on our first ever Saga cruise on the Spirit of Discovery sailing on 26 September.  My sister and brother-in-law were lucky enough to be on the shakedown cruise and they said that it’s a beautiful ship.  We’re so looking forward to it.   However, I have a frustration with Saga.  We booked through a travel agent, which is how we usually book.  With all the other cruise lines we cruise with - Celebrity, Cunard, P&O - we can access our booking online and enter all our personal information (passport details, etc) and view and book excursions.  When I tried to do this for this cruise I couldn’t access our booking.  When I phoned Saga to ask why, I was told that online access was only for people who’d booked directly with Saga.  I had to provide all our personal information direct to our travel agent.  I find this to be a very odd way for them to operate.   As I can’t access our cruise online, I’m assuming that at some point we’ll be sent information about excursions prior to our cruise, or do we have to wait until we’re on board?  Experienced Saga cruisers, I’ll welcome the benefit of your experience.

Hi, It seems you will be on the same cruise as ourselves, really booked as a try out of the new ship and a taster for my s-i-l.

I agree with all you say about booking thru an agent, it is a pain to have to go thru them. I notice that Saga are acting as agents for other lines, I wonder if it means that I would be denied access to other cruise lines personalisers? I doubt it.

My TA did try on my behalf to allow us access but was unsuccessful when we booked our Northern Lights cruise.

He did get a concession that Saga sent us the tours brochure direct rather than indirectly thru him.

Speak to your TA about this.

I anticipate we will get our excursion brochures in about a fortnight.

I have posted a screen shot, on the Spirit of Discovery thread, of the Concierge services you can pre-book thru your agent.

Join the roll call I created, it's a very sad looking roll call at the moment. 😃

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Spirit of Adventure

Cruise line Saga Ocean Cruises (Saga Cruises)

• Dover (England)
• Portsmouth UK (England)

Spirit of Adventure current position

Spirit of Adventure current location is at North East Atlantic Ocean (coordinates 57.72077 N / -6.36982 W) cruising at speed of 10.4 kn (19 km/h | 12 mph) en route to IM DGS>GB STO. The AIS position was reported 4 minutes ago.

Current itinerary of Spirit of Adventure

Spirit of Adventure current cruise is 10 days, round-trip Summertime in the British Isles . The itinerary starts on 16 Jun, 2024 and ends on 26 Jun, 2024 .

Specifications of Spirit of Adventure

•   Itineraries
•   Review
•   Wiki

Spirit of Adventure Itineraries

Spirit of adventure review, review of spirit of adventure.

The 2020-built/2021-inaugurated MS Spirit of Adventure cruise ship is the second of two identical polar expedition vessels built for Saga Cruises at Meyer Werft's shipyard in Papenburg Germany . Spirit of Adventure (delivered in August 2020/inaugurated in July 2021) has one sistership - Spirit of Discovery (delivered in June 2019).

The vessel (IMO number 9818084) is UK- flagged (MMSI 232026551) and registered in London .

Saga Cruises is a UK company, a division of Saga Group. With the purchase of Saga Rose (former NCL ship MS Sagafjord), in 1997 Saga Holidays started passenger shipping operations under the brand name "Saga Cruises". Unlike Saga's old fleet ( Saga Sapphire/now Blue Sapphire and Saga Pearl 2 ), the new liners are fully owned by Saga Group and replaced the two chartered vessels (Sapphire, Pearl 2).

The vessel is owned by Saga Group and operated by the UK-based cruise company (via Saga Holidays) exclusively. The shipowner Saga plc is a British travel company and cruise brand targeting mainly UK travelers in the 50+ age group. Saga UK annually serves around 2,7 million customers. The company is LSE-listed (on London Stock Exchange) under the stock symbol (ticker) SAGA.

Decks and Cabins

Saga Spirit of Adventure staterooms (554 total) are all with step-out balconies, which also means that the ship has no Inside cabins. Cabin categories include Standard Balcony, Deluxe Balcony, Midship Suites and larger Panorama Suites. More than 100 "single cabins" are specifically designed for solo travellers (can be booked with single occupancy rates), which is approx 20% of the ship's capacity.

Staterooms as decors and colour schemes are in three styles. First group's design features garden-like elements with light timbers, pastel-green colours, beautifully embroidered fabrics. Second group's design incorporates the more sophisticated grey with a dark-timber scheme, with pink-orange accented furnishings and carpet and upholstered headboard. Third group's colours are most calming, in neutral sunset tones with burnt oranges.

All cabins offer as standard (complimentary) amenities smart HDTV (infotainment system - Internet, on-demand movies, ship info channel, real-time camera views from the Bridge), direct-dial phone, large wardrobe, electronic safe box (in the closet), hotel-type beds (two twins, convertible double beds or fixed double beds with headboards), luxury bedding and pillows, bedside cabinets, wall-mounted reading lamps, mirrored dressing table (writing desk with a chair and magnifying mirror), separate lounge area (low table with two comfortable armchairs), en-suite bathroom (WC, glass shower, single-sink vanity with under sink storage), private step-out balcony (with table and deckchairs), individually controlled air-conditioning, LED lighting, keycard room access.

The boat has 14 decks , of which 10 are passenger-accessible and 6 are with cabins.

Shipboard dining and entertainment options

Spirit of Adventure has 4 restaurants (3x specialty, 1x Dining Room), several bars and lounges (indoor and outdoor), wellness complex (Fitness, Spa, Hydrotherapy Pool, 5x treatment rooms, 2x Saunas, Steam Room, Beauty Salon, Sports Court), Boutique Shop (jewellery, perfumes, clothing, special occasion gifts, confectionary), Library, Lobby area (Reception, Tour Desk), 2 swimming pools (indoor and outdoor), Promenade Deck (wraparound), Sun Deck (with comfortable seating, outdoor gym equipment), laundrettes (on all cabin decks). The ship has all 6 elevators (2 clusters of 3 lifts).

"Saga Adventure" ship features all-balcony staterooms, modern hotel amenities, British-style themed onboard activities, professional and traditionally attentive service. There is a choice of dining experiences, bars and entertainment venues, including speciality (one of which Asian, serving complimentary wines), outdoor Lido Deck (with open-air/alfresco dining space), Saga's signature Britannia Lounge, theatre lounge, central hub (named "The Living Room").

The Living Room is a midship lounge with floor-ceiling windows, comfortable modern seating (3-seater sofas, lounge chairs). Living Room's cafe bar doubles as patisserie during the day (serving gelato ice-cream, premium coffee and fresh-baked cakes) and as speciality cocktail bar in the evenings. The design features a sculptural grand staircase and full-height artworks.

The cruise liner also has a modern wellness complex and 2 swimming pools (outdoor and indoor). The Spa complex consists of Beauty Salon, Hydrotherapy Pool, Salt-Steam Room, Saunas (one is infrared), 5 treatment rooms (for massages, latest beauty treatments and therapies). Library Lounge offers coffee and fresh cakes and one of the best-stocked book collections at sea. The 444-seat Playhouse Theatre has tiered seating and hosts grand-scale evening show productions, cinema screenings, live music performances.

The ship's team of Executive Chefs serves the all 5 onboard restaurants. Grand Dining Room (main restaurant) serves the best of British-influenced cuisine specialties. The chefs use locally produced food sources (based on cruise itinerary/destination) and create menus of ever-changing dishes. Passengers are able to make a reservation and eat in any of the other 4 restaurants at no extra cost. House wines from the ship's cellar are complimentary and served in every restaurant.

On Lido Deck is The Verandah Restaurant that consists of Bar and Grill with separate indoor and outdoor seating areas. These are actually two restaurants combined into one, with self-service buffet lunch and waiter-served dinner. Open-kitchen allows passengers to watch ship's chefs preparing the food during their galley (kitchen) show.

Khukuri House is an Italian restaurant with Nepalese cuisine, traditional artwork, room dividers (Dhaka fabrics), hidden lighting. Most tables are 2-seat (combined into 4-seat clusters) plus 4-seat tables with sofas and armchairs (by the floor-ceiling windows).

The Amalfi is a sophisticated Italian restaurant providing an authentic dining experience. Its design features 4-colour tiled flooring, floor-ceiling lighted wine cabinets, up-lit screens, red leather chairs.

In June 2018, Saga Cruises signed a partnership deal with Jools Holland (English pianist, singer, BBC TV presenter) for "The Club by Jools" steakhouse restaurant. By the 5-year partnership deal (until 2024), at the Jools restaurant will be performed live music and its bar will be designed like a cabaret lounge from the 1950s. The dinner-only restaurant's menu features classic steaks (fillet, T-bone, ribeye, tomahawk steaks), live music performances (by resident and guest musicians) and premium cocktails.

Itineraries

Saga Spirit of Adventure itinerary program is based on roundtrips from two UK homeports ( Dover and Southampton ) and was planned to start with the Maiden Voyage from Dover leaving August 21, 2020. The 17-day Baltic Sea voyage featured an overnight in St Petersburg Russia and also visiting Stockholm Sweden , Copenhagen Denmark , Visby Sweden , Tallinn Estonia , Aalborg Denmark . Other scheduled for the inaugural 2020 season (and eventually cancelled) itineraries included:

• "The Inaugural Cruise" (August 21 from Dover) - prices started from GBP 4700 pp.
• "This Sceptred Isle" (September 7 from Dover) - from GBP 3470 pp.
• "A Norwegian Canvas" (September 21 from Dover) - from GBP 1510 pp.
• "A Taste of France and Spain" (September 28 from Dover) - from GBP 2710 pp.
• "Tales from the Ancient Mediterranean " (October 10 from Southampton) - from GBP 5180 pp.
• "Stars of the Canaries" (November 1/Southampton) - from GBP 2670 pp.
• "Rhythm of the Caribbean" (November 15/Southampton) - from GBP 6670 pp.
• "Christmas Sights of Amsterdam " (December 16/Southampton) - from GBP 750 pp.
• "Canary Island Christmas" (December 20/Southampton) - from GBP 3750 pp.

Due to COVID-related construction delays (shipyard closures), the ship's inaugural cruise was rescheduled several times - and eventually planned for July 26, 2021. However, the Maiden Voyage had to be amended due to Scotland's continuing lockdown restrictions (enforced through August 9, 2021).

• Departing from London-Tilbury England , from the itinerary were excluded all the Scottish ports ( Newhaven-Edinburgh , Kirkwall Orkney Island , Dundee , Ullapool , St Kilda , Greenock-Glasgow ) and replaced with Belfast , Newcastle upon Tyne , scenic cruising (off Isle of Man ), Holyhead (Isle of Anglesey, Wales) , Liverpool , Bristol , scenic cruising (Isles of Scilly), and Falmouth , returning to London-Tilbury on August 10.
• The naming ceremony (in Portsmouth England ) was also rescheduled - for July 19.
• Strangely, the ship's first cruise (officially opened for booking) was departure August 29. The 15-night "Postcards from the Baltic: August" itinerary (Dover roundtrip) included ports in Sweden (Goteborg-Gothenburg, Stockholm), Finland (Helsinki), Russia (St Petersburg), Estonia (Tallinn), Denmark (Copenhagen, Skagen) and Norway (Oslo). Prices ranged between GBP 4157 per person (EUR 4850 / USD 5726) for a Standard Twin cabin with double occupancy, and up to GBP 8204 pp (EUR 9572 / USD 11300) for a Midship Suite with double occupancy.

Like the sistership Discovery, Saga Adventure will be also operated on polar cruises to European and Canadian Arctic regions, as well as on Antarctica cruises with departures from South American ports. Traditionally for Saga, the new liner offers roundtrips from UK ports and fly-cruise deals.

Saga Cruises' new ships are operated with all-inclusive package deals. Fares include unlimited (shipboard-served) house spirits, beers, wine (by the glass) and soft drinks. Packages also include:

• UK travel package (to/from departure port), Shuttle bus transfer (to the nearest downtown from homeport)
• Onboard gratuities, Porterage
• Onboard Welcome cocktail party
• All onboard meals, afternoon tea, live entertainment
• Unlimited tea and coffee (selected ship venues)
• 24-hour room service
• premium service (2 staff members for 3 passengers)

Spirit of Adventure - user reviews and comments

Photos of spirit of adventure.

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Other Saga Ocean Cruises cruise ships

• Spirit of Discovery

Spirit of Adventure Wiki

For the new ship series, Saga employed the designer company SMC Design, which has extensive experience with cruise vessel design. Among SMC Design's customers are also P&O UK (Sindhu / Indian restaurant), Viking Ocean Cruises (Explorers Lounge), NCL (Mandara Spa).

In early-March 2019, Saga Cruises announced that its newbuilds (the sisterships Adventure and Discovery ) are all-inclusive liners. This means that Saga Group's cruise fares are inclusive of specialty restaurant dining, drinks (wine, beer, house spirits, soft drinks), 24-hour room service, Wi-Fi, gratuities, transfer (chauffeur service to/from homeport for cruise passengers based within 250 mi / 402 km distance). Shore excursions remain optional and at additional cost. The cruise company offers complimentary shuttle bus services in all ports where the town/city is over 0,5 km from the ship.

The vessel's construction started on March 27, 2019, with the steel-cutting ceremony at Meyer Werft's Papenburg shipyard . The vessel's keel-laying ceremony was held on June 3, 2019, and attended by Robin Shaw (Saga Travel's CEO). The ship's inauguration was planned for August 2020. During the keel-laying, a special-edition coin was positioned under the hull's first block. The coin was stamped with the vessel's name, the keel-laying date and the lettering S715 (the newbuild's identification marker during the construction period). The process involves assembling a total of 54 blocks (hull and superstructure).

Next timelapse video shows some phases of the vessel's construction process .

The vessel is UK- flagged (MMSI number 232026551) and registered in Southampton . The liner was initially scheduled for launch in July 2020, and the naming ceremony was planned for August 19 (to be held in Portsmouth England ). However, as the global Coronavirus crisis affected the shipbuilder's activities, in early-April, Saga Plc announced that the delivery from Meyer Werft will be delayed, but still taking place within the next 12 months.

The vessel was launched (floated out from drydock / covered building dock I / Hall 5) on July 24, 2020. In the afternoon, the funnel was fitted (by a crane) then the vessel was moored at the outfitting pier. The launch ceremony was attended by Nigel Blanks (Saga Cruises' Managing Director).

In August 30-31, 2020, was completed Spirit of Adventure's conveyance (along Ems River) from Meyer Werft's Papenburg Shipyard to Emden Germany , from where started the planned North Sea trials.

The cruise ship was officially delivered to Saga Cruises by Meyer Werft on September 29, 2020, in Emden Germany . The ceremony was attended by Thomas Weigend (Meyer Werft's Managing Director) and Nigel Blanks (Saga's Managing Director). Saga also announced the extension of Spirit of Adventure's canceled voyages through February 4, 2021, with the Inaugural Cruise rescheduled for February 19. Spirit of Discovery 's departures were rescheduled to start on March 8, 2021.

Next table shows SAGA Adventure ship's Maiden Voyage in 2021. The 15-day ex-UK itinerary was themed "Postcards from the Baltic August" and priced from GBP 4157 (EUR 4824 / USD 5880) per person with double occupancy.

In mid-June 2021 SAGA Cruises Ltd announced the names of its cruise ship Captains - Darin Bowland (Spirit of Discovery) and Jason Ikiadis (Spirit of Adventure). Bowland (starting in 1985) was previously employed by RCG-Royal Caribbean Group and Carnival Corporation ( HAL-Holland America Line 's ship Zaandam ). Ikiadis (starting in 1984) was previously employed by RCG ( Azamara 's ship Journey ) and TUI ( Marella 's ships Discovery and Discovery 2 ).

On June 22, 2021, SAGA announced Spirit of Adventure's Godmother - Commodore Inga Jane Kennedy (1962-born in Aberdeen Scotland  nurse and British Royal Navy officer). "Commodore" is a Royal Navy rank (above captain, below rear admiral) and has NATO ranking code OF-6. Commodore Kennedy is also appointed CBE (Most Excellent Order of the British Empire), QHNS (Queen`s Honorary Nursing Sister), and QARNNS (Queen Alexandra's Royal Naval Nursing Service/Matron-in-Chief between 2015-2017).

• Her military career started in 1987 (Royal Naval Reserve). Between 1998-2000 she served in the Royal Naval Hospital Gibraltar (as Senior Midwife).
• In 2000-2005 served the QARNNS.
• In 2011 she was promoted to Captain, and in 2015 to Commodore.
• In 2012 she was appointed "Honorary Nursing Sister" (QHNS).
• Between 2015-2017 she served as Inspector General of DMS (Defence Medical Services/within the UK's Ministry of Defence) being responsible for inspecting the medical departments across the UK's armed forces (ships and land-based facilities).
• In 2017, she was appointed Head of the Royal Naval Medical Service, Naval Medical Director-General, and Commander (CBE).

The ship's official christening ceremony was held in Portsmouth on July 20, 2021, scheduled to coincide with "Freedom Day". 

The Maiden Voyage is currently planned to depart from London-Tilbury on July 26, 2021. The 16-day itinerary (Around Britain/July 2-Aug 10) included as destinations/ports Isle of Man (Douglas) ,  Newcastle ,  Belfast ,  Liverpool ,  Holyhead (Isle of Anglesey, Wales) ,  Lundy Island ,  Bristol , Cornwall coastal cruising, Scilly Isles, and Falmouth .

Inaugural cruise itineraries 2020-2021 (CANCELLED)

The Maiden Voyage was originally scheduled for August 21, 2020 (themed "The Inaugural Cruise"). The following tables show the liner's inaugural itineraries in 2020-2021. However, due to the COVID pandemic, the shipyard's operations were severely impacted and the vessel's completion/delivery was delayed.

The Inaugural Cruise's date was first rescheduled for November 5, 2020, then (in late-September 2020) for the following dates in 2021 - February 19, May 5, June 26, and eventually for August 29.

(2020) The 17-day "Inaugural Cruise" was priced from GBP 4700 pp (USD 6150 / EUR 5540) based on double occupancy Standard Balcony cabin rates.

(2020) 14-day inaugural British Isles itinerary (This Sceptred Isle) - from GBP 4015 pp

(2020) 7-day inaugural Norway Fjords itinerary (A Norwegian Canvas Dover) - from GBP 2070 pp

(2020) 12-day repositioning cruise Dover to Southampton (A Taste of France and Spain) - from GBP 3535 pp

(2020) 22-day inaugural Mediterranean itinerary (Tales from the Ancient Mediterranean) - from GBP 5930 pp

(2020) 14-day inaugural Canary Islands itinerary (Stars of the Canaries) - from GBP 3050 pp

(2020) 31-day inaugural Caribbean cruise roundtrip from UK itinerary (Rhythm of the Caribbean) - from GBP 7120 pp

(2020) 4-day inaugural mini-cruise (Christmas Sights of Amsterdam) - from GBP 925 pp

For all cancelled 2020-2021 Saga Spirit of Adventure cruises see at the ship's CruiseMinus page .

(2021/rescheduled and cancelled MAIDEN VOYAGE ) 16-day "A Norwegian Aurora" (Norway Fjords itinerary).

(2021/rescheduled and cancelled MAIDEN VOYAGE ) 15-day "Grandeur of the Baltic" (Baltic Capitals itinerary).

(2021/rescheduled and cancelled MAIDEN VOYAGE ) 15-day "Fjordland Focus" itinerary

Cruise Line   Saga Cruises

Saga Cruises Calendar

Saga’s Spirit of Discovery Returns to Dover

• June 21, 2024

This weekend, Saga’s Spirit of Discovery returned to Dover for the first time in 2024, joining the Spirit of Adventure for a season of 20 cruises departing sailing from the port.

Peter Wright, head of cruise at the Port of Dover said: “It’s a pleasure to see Saga Cruises’ season here already in full swing – we look forward to welcoming back the wonderful Spirit of Discovery at the end of the week.

“We are proud to host thousands of Saga’s guests here in Dover every year, as they begin their holiday of a lifetime with iconic views and a convenient, hassle-free experience from wherever they are in the UK.”

Nigel Blanks, CEO of Saga Cruises, added: “We are delighted to be back in Dover this year, as we know it’s a port our guests love and is one of the best places to start their holiday from. 2024 has been Saga’s fastest selling season ever, and highlights departing from Dover include our Scandinavian Islands cruise in August and the Classical Greece to Ancient Egypt sailing this September.”

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Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ Lands at Lionsgate for U.S. Release After Divisive Cannes Premiere

By Rebecca Rubin

Rebecca Rubin

Senior Film and Media Reporter

• Francis Ford Coppola’s ‘Megalopolis’ Lands at Lionsgate for U.S. Release After Divisive Cannes Premiere 4 days ago
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Francis Ford Coppola’s sci-fi epic “ Megalopolis ,” which proved to be wildly divisive after its Cannes Film Festival premiere, has finally found a distributor. Lionsgate has signed a deal to distribute the film in theaters in the U.S. and Canada.

It will be released on Sept. 27. “Megalopolis” is playing in Imax, but it will likely share screens with Christopher Nolan’s 10th anniversary “Interstellar” rerelease. It’ll also have to relinquish those coveted premium large format screens a week later, as “Joker: Folie à Deux,” which was filmed with Imax cameras, lands on Oct. 4.

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Coppola has a lot riding on “Megalopolis,” which the 85-year-old “Godfather” director ended up independently financing for $120 million. Adam Driver stars in the film as an architect who accidentally destroys a New York City-esque metropolis and works to rebuild it as a sustainable utopia. In the process, he’s challenged by the corrupt mayor (Giancarlo Esposito), who wants to stick to the status quo, as the beaurocrat’s daughter (Nathalie Emmanuel) comes between the two men. Aubrey Plaza, Shia LaBeouf, Jon Voight and Laurence Fishburne round out the cast.

“One rule of business I’ve always followed and prioritized (to my benefit) is to continue working with companies and teams who over time have proven to be good friends as well as great collaborators,” Coppola said in a statement. “This is why I am thrilled to have Adam Fogelson and Lionsgate Studios release ‘Megalopolis.’ I am confident they will apply the same tender love and care given to ‘Apocalypse Now,’ which is currently in its 45th year of astounding revenue and appreciation.”

Coppola’s producer and longtime lawyer, Barry Hirsch of Hirsch Wallerstein Hayum Matlof + Fishman, oversaw the deal on behalf of American Zoetrope. Lauren Bixby and Christopher Davis oversaw the deal for Lionsgate.

IndieWire first reported news of the sale.

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