I see that Spirit of Adventure, the one-ship Saga-owned brand for the over-21 market, has bought the 500-passenger Astoria from Dutch-based Club Cruise and will refurb and rename the ship Quest for Adventure, reducing capacity to 450 at the same time.
http://www.cybercruises.com/cruisecolumn_july7.htm
Although mainly direct sell, Saga and Spirit are both sold through Thomas Cook.
Astoria is currently on charter to Transocean Tours and sold in the German market. That's the same company that operates Marco Polo under charter for the UK market.
Last week I reported that the Orient Lines' name - Orient Lines is the company that used to operate Marco Polo - had been acquired from Star Cruises. Now I see Gerry Herod, who started Orient Lines, has just bought a ship - Aegean I - so speculation is naturally rife that it and Orient Lines might about to start a new and beautiful relationship.
And so it all goes around....
Jane Archer
