Our port of departure was switched from Portsmouth to Southampton. The Spirit of Adventure needed to have its “extra” emergency generator removed. This was our first cruise on this Saga ship and we looked forward to spotting differences!
Day 1: Saturday 22nd March 2025
Our pickup had been scheduled for around 11 am. Our taxi was a Mercedes-Benz E-Class estate car that did arrive earlier than scheduled.. We had an excellent ride down to Southampton.
The Southampton’s Horizon terminal was empty when we arrived. Unusually we had security checks before we reached the cruise check-in desks. Everyone we met was relaxed and we had a long chat with the check-in ladies about the upcoming cruise a Saga. The boarding ramp to take us to the ship went down rather than the usual up to bigger ships. Our lunch was in the main dining room and after 1pm we had access to our our cabin.
Afternoon in Southampton
From our balcony I watched the large crane unloading equipment from the rear of the ship. The note that we had received explained that this work was scheduled to last from 1pm to 3pm.
Below us pallets of food were being loaded for the cruise. The workers on the dock were taking turns to go to the side of the warehouse to pick-up their lunches.
Once our cases arrived we unpacked filling up the drawers scattered around the cabin and filling the wardrobe space. The ship’s muster drill took place at 4:30pm when we went to have our cruise cards scanned. The ship’s departure was announced to be at 7:30pm to allow time for work on the aft of the ship and to wait for new crew members to board.
Evening on Spirit of Adventure
We joined our friends for a pre-dinner drink before going into the Main Dining Room.
The Bluebirds
The Bluebirds were in concert in the Playhouse theatre. This show was called “Meet the Birds”. They are Jane
The Seastars
The Seastars were playing in the Britannia Lounge. We stayed to watch (and listen) to this new group to us..
Day 2: Sunday 23rd March 2025: At sea
It was very windy on our walks outside.
Dinner in the Supper Club
The large speciality restaurant on this ship is called The Supper Club. After pre-dinner drinks we joined our friends for a special meal.
Graeme Mathews
After dinner we went to the theatre to watch Graeme Mathews perform “Standup Magic”. His show included comedy, magic , some mind reading and audience participation.
Day 3: Monday 24th March 2025
After breakfast we made one of our rare visits to the onboard shop. The bear was watching the sea!
Afternoon
After lunch we again braved the outside.
At the aft we watched the ongoing work removing the “damage” to the promenade deck caused by the addition of the emergency generator and its associated equipment.
The Bluebirds in the Britannia Lounge
After our dinner in the main dining room we were a little late in the lounge for the best seats. This ship just like the other Saga ship puts guests entertainers in this lounge for their second performance no matter how popular they might have been. The only advantage is that if you are lucky enough to get “good seats” they you are close to the performers. The downside is that usually the angle is a little awkward.
The Bluebirds show was titled ” “Gatsby to Glitterball”.
Our first port was Leixões in Portugal. From there we went to Porto on a shop organised excursion.
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