How you can help Saga to save whales

During Saga Cruises 30th anniversary in 2027, we also celebrate a valuable – and vital – 20-year partnership with marine conservation charity ORCA .

By Lesley Bellew

Spotting wildlife at sea can be one of the most memorable experiences of an ocean cruise.

Around 5,000 sea mammals have been seen from Saga Cruises’ ships over the past year. The data collected by marine conservation charity ORCA, whose volunteers join sailings on Spirit of Adventure and Spirit of Discovery to help guests look for sea life, contributes to global research.

Journeys to the Mediterranean, the Canaries, Norway, Iceland and around the UK totalled 24,608 km of surveying with 1,028 sightings of 4,929 individual animals from 27 species.

2027 is the 20th anniversary of Saga Cruises’ partnership with ORCA and the charity’s volunteers will be joining us on cruises during 2026-2027, and you can now book these, below.

The team of four volunteers on each sailing provide expert guidance to guests on spotting wildlife with confidence. They also host wildlife watches on deck and hold workshops, lectures, and drop-in sessions so that guests can share sightings of the day and verify species captured on camera.

ORCA Director of Programmes Lucy Babey says the guests and ORCA volunteers don’t just watch wildlife together, ‘They bond and form a group of friendly enthusiasts throughout a cruise’.

Lucy continues: 'Saga is our longest cruise partner, 20 years in 2027, and it's a partnership we greatly value. We achieve vital, high-level data collection on our almost monthly trips sailing through UK waters and this allows us to contribute our findings for further investigation – and alerts the UK policy and decision makers where action is needed.'

To meet its statutory reporting obligations, the UK government relies on ORCA’s annual surveys because government-based surveys only take place once every 10 years.

ORCA reports to the Joint Nature Conservation Committee (JNCC) about what is happening with the whale, dolphin and porpoise populations and it also supports the International Union for Conservation of Nature (ICUN) and the Important Marine Mammal Areas (IMMA) programme which focuses on species’ survival and protection.

Lucy adds: 'In the last decade we have seen various shifts, especially in common dolphins. There are large numbers, and we still get them in the Bay of Biscay, especially on the continental shelf, but we are now seeing them more and more in the English Channel.

'Another success story is the higher number of humpback whales. There are now more humpback whales around the UK, with their numbers bouncing back to pre-whaling times.

Three feeding humpback whales were recorded by the ORCA team on Spirit of Adventure when departing Killybegs in Ireland, earlier this year. Juveniles tend to use the region as a resting ground on long migrations from the Caribbean to Iceland. The humpbacks are also being seen around Cornwall, Devon and Scotland.

'When Spirit of Discovery was sailing out of Reykjavik, Iceland, in July, large numbers of humpback whales, pilot whales and minke whales were recorded and in Norway, five humpbacks were seen in one day.

'All of this data collection is so important in offshore areas that are otherwise impossible to reach and monitor. Doing repeated itineraries provides us with the long-term coverage, not just seasonally, but over decades. We can see what’s happening within our oceans and that’s the true conservation highlight and value of our being on Saga cruises.”

Sailings to the Canaries

One of the top five places in the world to see marine life is the Bay of Biscay, says Lucy. 'Every sailing to the Canary Islands passes through this extraordinary stretch of ocean, where guests frequently enjoy unforgettable moments with marine wildlife in its natural habitat.

'And, further south, as ships pass the Portuguese coast, guests have watched bow-riding false killer whales playing alongside – a truly spectacular sight.

'Once in the Canaries, a year-round high diversity of marine life promises many sightings. This is due to the topography of the archipelago – shelf edges, canyons, sea mounts and deep-sea open waters close to land create an exceptional habitat.

'Pods of more than 300 short-finned pilot whales have been seen as well as sperm whales, bottlenose dolphins, Atlantic spotted dolphins, rare Gervais’ beaked whales and Cuvier’s beaked whales, which can dive 3,000 metres and hold their breath for 222 minutes!”

Choose a 2026 or 2027 cruise to the Canaries

There is still availability to sail on two Canaries cruises in 2026, while Spirit of Adventure and Spirit of Discovery’s 13 to 18-night winter sun itineraries in 2027 are now open for bookings. Here is a taster of the itineraries, which all depart from Portsmouth.

2026

Contrasts of the Canaries

Visit seven islands during this 15-night cruise on Spirit of Adventure departing on 10 October. The first call is to Funchal, Madeira, before sailing into La Palma, Tenerife, La Gomera, Gran Canaria, Fuerteventura and Lanzarote in the Canaries.

Contrasts of the Canaries

Canary Island Vistas

Portugal’s capital Lisbon awaits after visits to Madeira and five of the Canary Islands – La Palma, La Gomera, Tenerife, Gran Canaria and Lanzarote – during this 14-night cruise departing on 22 November.

Canary Island Vistas

2027

Casablanca and Canary Island Duo

Kick off the New Year with a sailing into warmer climes on Spirit of Discovery’s 14-night cruise on 6 January. After balmy days in the Moroccan port of Casablanca and Tenerife and La Palma in the Canary Islands of look forward to staying overnight to make the most of exploring the ‘Flower Island’, Madeira.

Casablanca and Canary Island Duo

Autumn Sunshine in the Canaries

Two sea days, before and after the fishing port of Vigo in Portugal, give guests plenty of time to enjoy Spirit of Discovery before arriving in the Canaries and Madeira. The 15-night cruise departs on 1 November.

Autumn Sunshine in the Canaries

Madeira and a Canary Island Duo

As the UK weather turns colder this 14-night cruise departs on 18 November. The Canary Islands of Lanzarote and Gran Canaria are on the itinerary plus Spirit of Adventure moors overnight in Funchal, Madeira.

Madeira and a Canary Island Duo

A Canarian Christmas

Spirit of Discovery’s 18-night festive cruise on 18 December is a real Christmas cracker! Enjoy wildlife watching and calls into five Canary Islands as well as stops in Leixeos and Lisbon, Portugal; Funchal, Madeira and Cadiz, Spain.

A Canarian Christmas

For more information on cruises to the Canaries visit orca.org.uk

More about ORCA

What began as a group of enthusiasts hopping on board ferries in the 1990s to record sea life in the Bay of Biscay has grown to become a highly respected charity, ORCA, performing vital marine conservation work spanning the world’s oceans.

Now, 25 years on, wildlife spotting – gathering important information on marine life trends - is still at the heart of ORCA’s work, with volunteers monitoring whales, dolphins and porpoises from ferries and cruise ships around the world.

ORCA’s volunteers are members of the public from all different backgrounds, from students to people in retirement. ORCA provides training so they can share knowledge and actively contribute to marine conservation.

Download the app

Before Saga guests go on their cruise, they can download the free ORCA OceanWatchers app to look at key identification features of marine life. This helps the ORCA team collect vital data. Guests can also take our online self-led e-learning course to discover more about data collection. Once that’s completed, it unlocks a higher level of data collection on the app.

Visit orca.org.uk