Spirit of Adventure blog

Ahoy there faithful Saga Cruises blog readers, Captain Tanner back at the helm of Spirit of Adventure once again after a spell of “land-lubbing” holidays ashore.

Portsmouth lay slightly gloomy with a chilly breeze, as I joined along with our guests looking forward to our upcoming ‘Cities of Spain and the Western Med’ cruise. Already aboard to welcome us all are Hotel General Manager Gemma, Chief Engineer Len and Staff Captain Simon.

We were all looking forward to warmer climes and clearer skies, but first we had to get south through some wintery Atlantic weather before we could find a change in climate. Fortunately, with such a mass of food, drink & entertainment on board, the first few days at sea passed with what seemed like great haste and on day 3 towards Gibraltar, we awoke to calm seas and sunshine.

On Sunday morning, the famous Rock of Gibraltar lay right ahead of us in the early hours and, as the sun crept above the horizon, we docked placing our gangway right next to the cruise terminal and attached duty free shop – the latter of which always receives plenty of interest in this port.

A glorious early spring day passed, with temperatures soaring into the mid 20 Celsius range along with uninterrupted sunshine. Allowing everyone to enjoy a well-earned day ashore either on organised tours or merely just wandering around the shops, bars & restaurants.

One more day at sea, with our Newcomer’s cocktail party held in the evening to formally welcome all our first time Saga cruisers aboard, took us up to the Balearic Islands and Mallorca with its famous waterfront cathedral, where we arrived on Tuesday to again another sunny, warm day.

Most guests either enjoyed trips to the countryside and UNESCO protected mountains surrounding Valldemossa, or took a free trip into town aboard our shuttle service to roam around the charming old town of Palma.

Many who know me will remember that I have family living here as well as property of my own, and so a natural assumption was made that I would head ‘home’ for the day. However, instead I had invited family and a few friends aboard to ‘show off’ the ship as they had never had the opportunity to see her previously. I think most very much enjoyed the food on offer, probably much more so than catching up with myself…

A grand day passed for all, and in the late evening it was time to head north to a city that Freddie Mercury once sang about…

Kind Regards
Captain Kim Tanner