Spirit of Adventure Inaugural Cruise live blog

[BestGuessed]

6 hours ago, Host Sharon said:

we arrived in Falmouth around 230pm Friday and are staying overnight. All the tours have been rearranged so we don’t miss any, just not on the original day. All the included tours are this afternoon. I joined the last one leaving at 3.45pm cor 3 hours, driving from Falmouth, through Penryn to the mining areas around Redruth and then to Marazion for a photo stop opposite St Michael’s Mount. Then we returned via Helston to the ship. It was frustrating seeing the town all lit up but unable to go ashore. However, as the winds increased the temptation waned. After dinner I went to the Britannia Ouge for some light music and to watch the dancing. No dance hosts are on board due to Covid. 

Please can I ask if guests are permitted to do the usual ballroom/Latin/ jiving and jigging type dancing to the live music?   You say there are no dance hosts on your cruise which is to expected but I am curious to know what is allowed for those who enjoy taking to the dance floor !!

[Host Sharon]

2 hours ago, BestGuessed said:

Please can I ask if guests are permitted to do the usual ballroom/Latin/ jiving and jigging type dancing to the live music?   You say there are no dance hosts on your cruise which is to expected but I am curious to know what is allowed for those who enjoy taking to the dance floor !!

You may dance with your own partner only and are supposed to wear masks while doing so at present.

[BestGuessed]

Ok thank you, that’s what I had thought would be the case. 
 

[Prefdavid]

14 hours ago, Host Sharon said:

You may dance with your own partner only and are supposed to wear masks while doing so at present.

I've heard of a masked ball but that's somewhat ridiculous. 😂

[Host Sharon]

4 hours ago, Prefdavid said:

I've heard of a masked ball but that's somewhat ridiculous. 😂

I expect it’s the resulting heavy breathing that is the problem!😅

[Host Sharon]

We left Falmouth an hour later than planned at 7 pm due to the winds being too strong to safely leave the berth. When is kept up all night and the seas were the roughest it has been so far but the ship is very stable. It was beginning to look doubtful for our tender ride to the Scilly Islands. The next morning when I got up and looked out of the window it was more like December than August. In fact the site of these rocky outcrops and islands reminded me most of my first sight of Greenland. I had decided that I would not be going ashore in any event and this was reinforced when eventually the shore tenders arrived. The captain had asked for the most comfortable and in closed boats but that was not what we were offered – small open boats within close wheelhouse, boats that required you to step off the tendering pontoon and onto the side of the boat and step down onto the seats. Given the 3 foot swell Captain called it off and we sailed away an hour or two after our arrival. We then had a leisurely sale to reach cowls on the Isle of Wight on Sunday morning to anchor and watch the start of the Fastnet boat race. By the time we had reached the coast of Cornwall the Sun had come out and it was quite hot so I retreated to our balcony to watch dolphins. For dinner that evening we had booked Amalfi, the Italian restaurant on board. The food was amazing, the best Italian food I can remember since we ate on-board Nautica. I chose a shrimp and courgette starter, swordfish for the main and for desert we had a complimentary birthday cake for my friend. 

[Host Sharon]

This morning I woke up to find us very close to Cowes and just about to anchor ready for our grandstand view of the start of the 2021 Rolex fast net yacht race. Had breakfast in the grill - A delicious freshly made waffle with maple syrup and a cappuccino. On saga you can have any coffee you like with any meal – cappuccino Americano latte et cetera - they are all included. There is a church service this morning in the Britannia lounge led by the on-board chaplain with contributions from the captain. We have been given our disembarkation instructions so the end is very near now. There were some good offers to stay on board for the next cruise but sadly I have commitments and cannot do that. The race was very exciting much more than I was expecting. Our position meant the yachts had to sale very close. The winds were quite strong and two yachts were dismasted. There was a staggered start for different classes of yacht so in all it lasted from 11 am until nearly 1 pm. We went in for lunch and had a delightful table of six sharing with the ORCA team. During lunch the captain announced a surprise for us. After dinner tonight, or supper as he calls it, there is to be a private firework display from a barge close by adventure.

 

Particularly nice to hear was that he is allowing as many crew as can make it to join passengers in watching the display.

[Host Sharon]

The firework display was from a barge moored just off the port side of Adventure and the display lasted a good 5 minutes, during which stewards came round with trays of brandy or port. The start of the Queen tribute show was delayed by 15 minutes to allow people time to get to the theatre after the fireworks. Monday was lovely sunshine again and the usual final day stuff to sort. My disembarkation information was ambiguous as to whether my friend and I had a shared or separate cars home - we live 100 miles apart, but it was sorted eventually. In the morning I watched the celebrity chef, Kevin Woodford do a demo with Nigel Blanks, CEO of Saga Cruises and the captain Kim Tanner as contestants. It was very amusing and I watched it live on cabin TV while packing. In the afternoon I particularly wanted to see the Cruise Summary of wildlife recorded by ORCA. Animals included Minke whales, common, bottle-nose and Risso dolphins, harbour porpoise, a loggerhead turtle and basking sharks. That evening we ate in The Supper Club again as it was my friend's birthday. I don't know what happened regarding the furnishings on the ship, but that is the only venue I cannot get a comfortable seat. The first time we ate there I coulgn't get out of the chairs so we had a banquette booth but I could hardly get in between the table and seat - OK I know I could lose some weight but then so could many people on board! Food was good though. Then it was time for bed and putting out cases. There wasn't a single case in the corridor as we returned to our cabin about 10.30pm and I soon understood why. As soon as I put something out, it was magically whisked away by  crew. 

[Windsurfboy]

Thank you for a great informative blog

[Kohima]

Thank you so much for giving us all an insight into your experience of the new ship.

[Host Sharon]

On 8/1/2021 at 10:12 AM, Windsurfboy said:

Host Sharon , if you come across a "premium" wine list if you have a minute could you take some pictures and post them , thanks .

Sorry - never found one, but enjoyed the included ones - mostly Chilean, with the occasional Italian, Californian and Spanish.

 

[Windsurfboy]

35 minutes ago, Host Sharon said:

Sorry - never found one, but enjoyed the included ones - mostly Chilean, with the occasional Italian, Californian and Spanish.

 

 Thank you for looking, thanks again enjoyed the journey. 

[ann141]

Thank you for your blog.Looking forward to my first Saga cruise in January

[Prefdavid]

Thanks for the blog Sharon. Hope you'll be showing us all the best places to go next year when we're onboard with you. That is assuming Saga ever sort out what's happening with our insurance. 🤬

Edited August 11, 2021 by Prefdavid

[Host Sharon]

22 hours ago, Prefdavid said:

Thanks for the blog Sharon. Hope you'll be showing us all the best places to go next year when we're onboard with you. That is assuming Saga ever sort out what's happening with our insurance. 🤬

At the moment, with both ships now sailing, all their shore-based admin seems to be in chaos. Never did get luggage labels, or written confirmation of transport times, and it's happened on the following cruise as well. Hoepfully they will bring back more staff now as things get going again.

[Kohima]

Unfortunately Saga have never been great with admin at Head Office, even in the best of times. Their IT systems have never been as good as they should have. At present the pandemic is the plausible excuse for every issue but some changes need to be made if the service from head office is to match that on the ships.

[grapau27]

On 8/5/2021 at 10:35 AM, Host Sharon said:

Thursday 5th August and it looks more like October outside. I woke early just I time to see the Seven Stones Lightship. As it is a little bumpy now, breakfast was in the dining room rather than the grill - mixed berries and blueberry pancakes. 
People at home are asking me if Saga are worth the extra. Only you can decide that. I can only describe the differences, many of which are quite small but overall add up to a lot. We are treated as adults, with no tour stickers put on our coats, glass used to serve drinks on deck, not plastic. Around 11am stewards walk around the prom deck with trays of ice water, coffee and hot chocolate or will get whatever you wish. The staff are very anticipatory, holding chairs out for you before you have even decided to sit down. Craft classes, including materials, are free. All drinks, food etc is included, such as ice cream, snacks etc Room service is free 24/7, even dinner ordered off the MDR menu. Cabins are spacious and even the lowest  grade has all amenities. Luggage is handled from home to cabin and back to home. The new ships are very disabled friendly with automatic doors to open decks and level access. 
Birthdays are automatically recorded and singing and a cake provided for free. The track and trace system on board is simple but effective. Every venue you visit such as the dining room, the spa, the grill et cetera you give your cabin number and it is recorded where are you sat and who you sat next to. In the buffet you are allocated a table. All tables have numbers and you have the table for the duration you wish. This means that as a solo for example if you get up to get something from the Buffet your table won’t be cleared and you lose it to someone else.

This all sounds very nice Sharon.

Your description is excellent.

Pauline and I were actually sitting in the beach car park at  South Shields looking out to seawhen your ship left Newcastle.

Graham 

[Bloodaxe]

Very interesting and informative, we may give Saga a try has seems that it would  be a good fit for us.

Our favourite line Azamara rarely sails round trip UK and our flying days are probably over.

[Glenndale]

3 minutes ago, Bloodaxe said:

Very interesting and informative, we may give Saga a try has seems that it would  be a good fit for us.

Our favourite line Azamara rarely sails round trip UK and our flying days are probably over.

Both Saga and Viking have some very reasonably priced 6/7 night cruises at the moment.

[P&O SUE]

I enjoyed that Sharon, thank you.

[BestGuessed]

Sharon, Thank you for allowing us to share your cruise with you !!

[mcloaked]

This thread is really nice to get a good feeling about the new ship. One question I would like to know, is roughly what proportion of any evening in Britannia Lounge allows passengers to dance ballroom and Latin dancing?  Are there a few short half hour periods between dinner ending and the end of the evening or can you dance much of the evening but with a few entertainment sets such as a singer? We like to dance quite a lot of the evenings on a cruise but we haven't been on Saga before. Thanks for any reply.  Also are there any chances to do ballroom dancing during the day (aside from any dance lessons)?

[Host Sharon]

22 hours ago, mcloaked said:

This thread is really nice to get a good feeling about the new ship. One question I would like to know, is roughly what proportion of any evening in Britannia Lounge allows passengers to dance ballroom and Latin dancing?  Are there a few short half hour periods between dinner ending and the end of the evening or can you dance much of the evening but with a few entertainment sets such as a singer? We like to dance quite a lot of the evenings on a cruise but we haven't been on Saga before. Thanks for any reply.  Also are there any chances to do ballroom dancing during the day (aside from any dance lessons)?

I am afraid I can't really answer your question as I was there long enough in one evening to really notice but I believe you would be able to dance most of most evenings. I don't think you would be able to dance much during the day due to other activities going on there.

[Host Sharon]

On 7/27/2021 at 11:34 AM, Glenndale said:

What cabin are you in Sharon?

Would you post some pictures please? We will be cruising on her next year 🤞

B033

[Windsurfboy]

Looks nice, roomy , carpet unusual pattern but good at hiding stains. 

 

Only negative I  can see is chairs on balcony, good for sitting and reading , but not for sunbathing.  Think it would be a bit obvious trying to carry one down from upstairs , would it fit in lift?