Quest for Adventure, the ship slated to join Saga's Spirit of Adventure cruise line for the young at heart, will instead replace Saga Rose, which is being retired in October 2009.
Its Farewell Voyage will be a 37-night cruise from Southampton around the Med, to the Greek Islands, Egypt, Malta and Morocco.
Like Cunard's QE2 and Fred Olsen's Black Prince, Rose does not meet the standards required by the Safety of Life at Sea regulations being introduced in 2010 and the cost of making her shipshape and SOLAS acceptable are just too high.
It's sad news for all Saga Rose fans, but also a bit of a blow for Spirit of Adventure, which was due to start sailing Quest for Adventure in July 2009. It was already in the brochure and some passengers on my recent Spirit cruise in the Black Sea were booked on it.
The ship, currently named Astoria, was built in 1981, weighs 18,591 tons, holds 450 passengers and is sailing for German company Transocean Tours.
Instead of becoming Quest and going in search of adventure, Astoria will become Saga Pearl II, devoted to passengers aged 50-plus who want tradition, convention and formality.
Jane Archer
