Spirit of Discovery blog

It was a very early start again with our arrival into Aalborg. A rude awakening at 0330 to be on the Bridge for 0400 – I like mornings but this might be pushing it!!

Anyway, all was quiet and under control when I arrived on the Bridge and my first cup of Earl Grey was just the job to heighten my senses. The pilot boarded at 0500 and boy was he chatty, so much so that I welcomed the Staff Captains arrival at 0630 as an opportunity to have a break.

We swung on arrival and docked stb’d side too. The great thing about Aalborg is that the ship is berthed downtown and within a couple of hundred metres of the city centre, which our guests just loved. At 0800 we were greeted by an all- female marching band and lots of volunteers at the hospitality area to welcome our guests. They even had local volunteers to show guests around the local church. We had also heard that as part of the maiden call welcome there would be a mobile food van on the quayside serving free Danish hotdogs – this was clearly popular as every time I looked onto the quayside there was always a queue. The crew of course took full advantage of the free food, but as always allowed the guests to go first – they are so polite and respectful!

No shore leave for me today as all very busy with report writing. Departure was at 1600 as we had a high-speed run to Dover. With everyone on board we slipped our moorings and headed down river at a speed of between 8-11 knots. Once clear I headed to the Grand Dining Room to host a table of frequent and new to Saga Cruisers. It always great to have a mix as we must clearly look after both groups!!

Captain Julian Burgess